Isaac laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny. But you’re right. She never believed you would.”
“So, what if I’ve been trying to be something God doesn’t want me to be just to show my mom I was right?”
“Or what if God planted the seeds in you so you could get the training you need for a job he has in mind for you—in the future.”
“That’s what I console myself with.” Jane combed through her hair with her fingers. “I scrub toilets now so I can spread the gospel later.”
“I think that’s pretty cool.” Isaac’s voice was relaxed, like life at his island seminary suited him.
“It’s easy to admire when you aren’t the one scrubbing.”
“You won’t have to scrub toilets in Montreal.”
Jane smiled. Montreal was better than joining her parents in their early retirement life in Phoenix. “And after Montreal?”
“Who knows? Professors get sabbaticals and long summers and research trips to far off lands. Who knows how God could use this for us.”
“You start this year?”
“Yup.”
Jane sighed.
“You can transfer your credits there.”
“One major conciliation at a time, okay? For the moment, let’s imagine that I finish what I start.” Jane rolled her neck from side to side. She was out of school for the summer, but that didn’t mean she wanted to abandon her program to follow her man.
“Whatever you say. Now listen, this is important.”
“Yes?” Jane sat up. It had better be life or death if it wanted to be considered important in light of her current goings on.
“You are in a crisis and I have been ignoring you. Please tell me everything that is going on with the Swanson situation and what I can do to help.”
His words flooded her heart with relief and put a smile on her face. She lay back on the sofa and told him every last detail. Before they said goodnight, he had confirmed her plan to talk to Amy in the morning, but added his advice to not go alone.
Jane went to bed and squeezed her eyes shut like a child pretending to sleep. Her heart was racing, her mind was spinning. There wasn’t one thing on her plate that made rational sense or fit into her own plan for her life. She tried to pray, to both calm her mind and to focus on what really mattered, but all she could say was “thank you” over and over again.
Chapter 23
The next morning, Jane served Gemma and Stephanie steaming cups of cappuccino, crisp, buttery English muffins, and yogurt.
“This is nice. Early, but nice.” Gemma rubbed her eyes.
Jane tried not to stare at Stephanie. Somewhere in the middle of rejoicing over her newly not-engaged-but-basically-engaged status, she had realized where she had seen the eyes of the mystery blonde before.
Stephanie.
Stephanie wore black hipster glasses, but that didn’t hide the pale blue, pop eyes that were behind them.
Jane had theorized the night before that Stephanie made liberal use of mascara, and/or fake lashes, and that was what had kept Jane from pinning the resemblance down immediately. She was using an early breakfast to try and catch her guest make-up free.
It worked.
If Stephanie was the key to the murder, she was a cool operator. From her natural relationship with Gemma, to her excitement over the stolen jewels, she seemed legitimate.
Jane needed to get under her skin, to up-end her complacency. From the phone to the letters, to the missing hamper, Jane knew she was being set up, and who better to do it than the girl sleeping in her bed? Her instinct was crying out to drag Stephanie to the Swansons’ to see if Stephanie would crack under the pressure.
Gemma chuckled at something Stephanie had muttered under her breath. Jane chewed on the inside of her cheek. Gemma and Stephanie appeared to have a real friendship.
She could be wrong about Stephanie. Fortunately, nothing she had planned for the day would hurt Stephanie—if she was who she said she was.
Jane took a sip of her coffee. Then she looked at her watch. Then she coughed lightly, and fingered her stitches. As soon as Stephanie and Gemma looked up she smiled conspiratorially. “So… Caramel has not told me to stop coming in in the mornings to open the house.”
“Jane… what are you thinking? She tried to run you over.” Gemma took a big crunchy bite of her English muffin.
“I’m thinking she’s cracked, and if I go now, I might be able to find some crucial evidence to connect her to the murder.” Jane sipped her coffee again. She made a discreet glance in Stephanie’s direction. Stephanie appeared preoccupied with her phone.
“Breaking news on the Swanson case,” Stephanie said, looking up for a second.
Jane leaned forward to see the screen. “Really?”
Stephanie held the phone out, but the screen was small. Jane thought she recognized the logo of the local paper, but couldn’t read the text from across the table.
“Have they made an arrest?” Gemma asked.
“They announced the funeral.”
Jane narrowed her eyes. “That’s breaking news?”
“I’d say so. They wouldn’t release the body for the funeral if there was still a suspect, right?” Stephanie shook her head while she spoke, a little quirk that made Jane doubt her words.
“That hasn’t been my experience.” Jane dusted the crumbs off of her hands. “So, can I ask you guys to join me at the Swansons’ today? I just don’t want to go alone.” Jane widened her eyes, hoping it made her look vulnerable.
“Of course.” Gemma smiled. “I don’t know how much help we’ll be, but if nothing else we can sit in the car, and you can call us in if you get scared.”
“We could be the getaway drivers.” Stephanie’s face was shiny. Was she sweating?
“Oh no, I really can’t go in the house alone. Couldn’t you come with me? Since you want to take on some houses, I could say I was training you.”
“And I can stick in the car and be the getaway driver. I’ll wear my dark glasses and a wig, or at least a hat.” Stephanie giggled a little.
“Honest, I’d be scared to leave you out there. Just come in with us, and we probably won’t have to explain anything.” Jane leaned forward and whispered, “What I really want to do is goad Caramel into saying something. I’ll be so much more confident with you all in the house.”
Gemma set down her cup. “I’m in. I know I owe you for all the times you spot the rent. And Steph, you owe her for that comfy bed. Let’s get dressed and get this over with.”
“Thank you soo much.” Jane picked up her coffee cup and smiled.
Stephanie stretched, and popped her back. She chewed her lip, and looked over her shoulder. Jane marked each tiny movement. Were they evidence of her chronic pain issues or evidence that she was nervous about going to the Swansons’? Right now, it was anyone’s guess.
A text came through from Isaac while the girls were getting dressed. “Just hi.”
“Off to catch a killer.” Jane read her note and then went to delete it, but hit send instead.
“WHAT!”
“Today’s the day. I have a hunch. Pray!”
“Si!”
“& I love you.” She bit her lip.
“I am PRAYING you don’t get killed, because I love you!”
“I won’t.” She worked her jaw back and forth. She wasn’t likely to get killed in a house full of people… was she?
Stephanie came back out, dressed in sweats, sneakers, and big, dark sunglasses.
Jane shoved her phone in her pocket. She forced a smile.
The drive to the Swansons’ was tense. Jane was on her third cup of coffee, and her hands were shaking.
“Can you drive through Bean Me Up Scotty’s really fast?” Stephanie pointed toward the coffee shop up the street.
“We can drink the Swanson’s coffee. They don’t mind.” Jane merged to the left, keeping her distance from the coffee shop.
“My blood sugar is a little low…” Stephani
e leaned her head against the window.
Gemma threw her a granola bar from the back seat. “Perk up. Jane needs us!” Gemma sat on the edge of her seat, straining the seat belt. “What’s the game plan?”
Jane picked up her travel mug, but her hand was shaking so badly, she set it back down. “I need to play it by ear, sorry!” From the corner of her eye, Jane thought she saw Stephanie shiver.
At the house, Jane established Gemma and Stephanie in the kitchen. As a cover, she pulled a housecleaning blog up on her phone. Were a member of the household to enter the room, the two women were to appear to be reading the tips of the trade and could say they were there to be trained.
Jane went through the motions. She made coffee, opened the curtains, and went to the office to turn on the equipment. The room had changed again. This time, piles of books had been added to it, perhaps from Douglas’s work office, wherever that might be. Jane whipped a rag out of her apron pocket and dusted the top of the nearest pile. Perhaps something stuck discretely into a book from his work office would reveal what she needed to know.
She knelt on the thick carpet and dusted the spines of the books, checking for any loose papers that might have been slipped between the covers.
The first stack was barren, but the second stack looked like it had some promise. The bottom of the stack was a leather-bound, three-ring binder, stuffed to overflowing.
“Whoops!” Jane knocked the stack down and looked over her shoulder.
She ignored the fallen books for a moment and opened the binder. The top pages were some kind of outline. Jane didn’t read it, but scanned it and the other pages for handwritten notes, phone numbers, anything. Then she dug through the pockets pulling out every scrap that had been tucked inside. Most were just scribbles, but some had dates and names. Jane turned back to the first page of the outline and began comparing. If she had to guess, she’d say Douglas had been working on his autobiography.
“Excuse me?”
Jane flushed. “I knocked this stack of books over.” Jane slid the pieces of paper into the pockets.
“And I watched you open that book up and read it. What are you doing?” Amy stood with her feet apart and her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m just putting it away.” Jane shut the book and stood up.
“What are you doing here?”
“Opening the house… I mean, I know it was rough last time I was here, but I really need my job.” Jane heard something fall in the kitchen. She frowned. Now was not a good time for her friends to draw attention to themselves.
“I think you need to leave.” Amy scowled. She had dark bags under her eyes, like she hadn’t been sleeping well, and her thick red hair was pulled back in a scraggly bun.
“Do you think I can have my last paycheck first?” Jane pulled out the first reason she could think of to stay.
“You tried to have Caramel arrested.” Amy held her position in the middle of the doorway.
“I really didn’t. I was just scared.” Jane let her hand drift to her face again, lightly touching her wound. “I don’t want to lose my job.”
Amy cleared her throat. “Listen, I don’t not like you. But it was foolish to come here. Especially if you are just poking around in my family’s business. If you leave now, I won’t mention you were here.” Amy took a step back into the hallway. “And I’ll make sure you get paid. Okay?”
Jane shook her head. “I feel like I ought to at least finish the job.” She bent down and picked up the notebook.
Amy flew forward and grabbed the book. “Let me have that.” She pressed it to her chest and took a deep breath. “Go ahead and finish today’s work. Just… make this the last day.” She started down the hall, then stopped, and turned around. “Sorry about that.”
“I understand.” Jane straightened the rest of the books, mostly encyclopedias and biographies.
Jane turned on the computer, the whirring buzz as it came to life was drowned out by another crash from the kitchen. Jane ran for the door, but tripped over the stack of books. She scrambled back up and threw herself into the kitchen in time to see the back door swinging and a coffee mug in pieces on the floor. She could hear voices screaming.
She paused for a second and considered calling for help, but ran instead. She could see Gemma and Amy down the field a stretch, but where was Stephanie?
Gemma and Amy swung hard left, so Jane did, too, hoping to cut diagonal and catch up with the girls, who were only a couple of hundred feet ahead of her.
As soon as she was close enough she reached for Gemma’s elbow.
A bang like a gun sounded and Gemma fell to the ground, her hands over her head.
Jane dropped, too. She threw herself on her cousin, as though she could protect her from what had just happened.
Jane felt Gemma’s head for blood, daring to hope that she wouldn’t find any. If Gemma died from this stunt…
Jane’s heart stopped.
Her fingers had found a warm, wet spot on Gemma’s temple. She held Gemma’s head in her arms, desperate to keep it together.
“Get off of me!”
“But your head.” Jane tried to keep her cousin pinned to the ground.
Gemma squirmed and shoved Jane to the side. “We’ve got to find her.” She scrambled up and ran again.
Jane stared at her fingers, which were wet and warm and brown. She sniffed them. Dog doo. Wet, fresh, dog doo.
Jane wiped her hand on the grass and took a deep breath. She had to calm down. After all, she had no idea what was happening.
Jane shoved her hand in the pocket of her jeans, but her phone was still in the kitchen. Her heart was like a hammer in her chest, beating so hard it hurt.
Another reverberating bang broke the silence of the morning.
Then a scream.
Jane got up and ran. She ran until her lungs burned. She ran until she passed Gemma. She ran into the woods, through the brambles that scratched lines of fire in her arms. She ran straight to the next-door neighbor’s property line.
Chapter 24
Jane stopped at the edge of the woods and hid behind a large rhododendron. She knew Amy and Stephanie were just the other side of the bush, but her heart was beating so loudly she couldn’t hear a sound. She took a slow deep breath. She couldn’t burst onto the scene if there was a gun out there. She wanted to stop the violence, not die.
She gripped a thin branch and pulled it down so she could see. Stephanie was crouched behind a blue plastic canister.
Jane looked from side to side until she found Amy crouched behind a concrete urn full of roses. Amy’s face was scared, but she didn’t look like she was in pain. Jane turned her eyes back to Stephanie. Who had the gun? Her or Amy?
Stephanie narrowed her eyes, her thick lips pinched.
There was a whirr, then a piff.
A yellow ball shot out of the plastic tennis ball machine and hit the wall of the aluminum shed behind Amy with a noise so loud it made Jane’s skull vibrate.
Amy rolled away from the planter and took shelter behind the shed. Then she poked her head out. “Stop it, Stephanie!”
Another ball rolled out and rammed into the shed.
Jane counted four dents, one for each “shot” she thought she had heard.
Stephanie wasn’t talking.
Jane inched her way around the bush. If she could get Stephanie away from the machine, she could turn it off.
Jane heard Gemma behind her, panting. Jane turned, a finger to her lips, but she wasn’t fast enough. Gemma burst through the bushes. “Stephanie! What’s the matter?” she cried out.
Stephanie spun her machine. A ball flew out and hit Gemma in the shoulder. “Ouch!” Gemma fell to the ground. “What did you do that for?”
Jane picked her way through the edge of the woods until she was sure she could come out of them without Stephanie seeing her.
“My mother did not kill that man!” Stephanie spit the words out.
“Jeeze, Steph! No one sa
id she did.” Amy shouted from behind the shed.
Stephanie spun the machine again. This time the ball came out while she was turning. It flew through the window of the pool house with a great crash. A scream came from inside.
Jane froze. Who was in the pool house?
“Why would your mom kill someone?” Gemma stayed low, one hand holding her shoulder.
“She wouldn’t.” Stephanie pushed the machine closer to the shed.
“No one thinks your mom killed my dad.” Amy poked her head from behind the shed again.
“Then why are the police looking for her? What did she ever do? She loved him, that’s all!”
Amy let a long breath out through pursed lips.
Jane stepped onto the lawn, hoping Gemma wouldn’t notice her.
“What are you afraid of, Steph?” Amy pulled her head back behind the shed before Stephanie could answer.
“I’m afraid that the police will be prejudiced against her because she loved him. It’s always the lover, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter that they had been together for over twenty years. And it doesn’t seem to matter he married a crazy lady. It will still look like my mom’s fault, but it wasn’t.”
Gemma made eye contact with Jane. She opened her mouth as though to speak, but Jane shook her head. If Gemma revealed her…she flinched just thinking about what the tennis balls, shooting in close range, at one hundred and thirty miles an hour, could do to her cousin, to Amy, or to herself.
“No one thinks your mom did anything wrong, sweetie.” Amy popped out from behind the shed again, but on her hands and knees so she’d be lower than the tennis balls. “We do want to find her and let her know what happened, but no one blames her.”
Not so, Jane thought. If Stephanie’s mom was Douglas’s lover, the lover with the missing phone, then Jane thought there was a good chance she was the murderer.
“Well, she didn’t do it. She’s been in Cabo for a month. He was with her for most of it.”
“She’s still seeing him?” Amy crawled on her hands and knees to Gemma.
Plain Jane Mystery Box Set 1 Page 40