“Recognize this?” she asked.
“Of course, I do.” Steven reached into his pocket. He pulled out a set of keys with a matching key ring on it. “I have one just like it. As do most of the people in this town.”
“What are you talking about?” Meg asked.
“In addition to all the members of my family, every employee of the Treadwell company has one. Human resources hands out one of those key rings to every new hire during their orientation,” Steven explained.
“This one isn’t like the others,” Meg replied.
“Why not?” Steven asked.
“It was found at the scene of the crime,” Meg revealed.
“So what, you’re going to question all fifteen hundred people that have one?” Steven wondered.
Meg shook her head. “No. Just the people that had a reason to want Sabrina dead.”
“I already told you, I didn’t--”
Meg wasn’t done. “It’s true, isn’t it? You’ve been illegally supplying your brother with performance enhancing drugs. That’s why you were afraid of Sabrina’s book getting published because you could lose your license if the word got out.”
Steven went into full denial mode. “You can’t prove that I supplied anything, just like you have no proof that I killed Sabrina because I didn’t.”
“At least not yet we don’t,” Connor added.
“I know my rights. You can’t hold me for longer than seventy-two hours without evidence,” Steven proclaimed.
“No, but I can hold you right now,” Connor said.
Steven folded his arms in defiance. “Fine, hold me. I already told you the truth. If you have a problem with that, you can talk to my family’s lawyer.”
Connor wasn’t intimidated in the least. “I’m not quite done with you yet. You can go ahead and call your lawyer, but I’ll tell you what you aren’t going to do, and that's leaving town anytime soon.”
Steven was determined not to say another word to Meg or Connor. Knowing he had no hard evidence against Connor, the detective let Steven go, but not without a little insurance. Connor put a patrol car on Steven to watch his every move. Steven wouldn’t be able to do so much as blow his nose without a police officer watching him. Connor wished he could do more, but despite their best efforts, Meg and Connor still hadn’t gotten the big break in the case they’d been looking for.
Chapter Twenty-Six
By the time Meg and Connor were done questioning the last suspect, they were emotionally drained. It had been an unforgettable day. Unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons. She wished she could put the events of the day behind her, but with the killer still on the loose, Meg would be taking a troubled mind home with her.
Meg used to think it was a gross exaggeration when the locals warned her to steer clear of the Treadwells. Now she knew what all the fuss was about. They all had killer instincts. Normally, Meg preferred to conduct investigations herself, as she was free to cast as many spells as possible. Today, having Connor by her side was very comforting. She got the sense that there truly was strength in numbers.
Meg’s mind was swirling with thoughts, but they were becoming increasingly incoherent. It wasn’t just because of emotional overload. Her stomach was rumbling for dinner, and she’d be foolish to ignore her hunger pains.
Part of her wanted to grab some dinner and get right back to sleuthing. She felt a burning desire to make sure justice was served. That’s what Sabrina deserved. At the same time, she’d been through the ringer today. With the adrenaline pumping in the heat of the moment, she’d been able to shelve her emotions. Now, with quiet setting in, she began feeling overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. If she didn’t make a conscious effort to relax, she felt like her head might explode.
She went to her default reaction, which was sarcasm. “Well, another open and shut case, huh?”
Connor couldn’t help but laugh, even if it was just to blow off steam. “Oh yeah, this one couldn’t have been easier if we’d found the killer holding a smoking gun over the body.”
“In all seriousness, could this case have any more twists?” she bemoaned.
“This is just day one. Who knows what’s awaiting us tomorrow.”
“Don’t remind me. I’ve seen soap operas with less outlandish storylines.”
“No wonder Sabrina couldn’t resist writing a book about the Treadwells.”
With the mention of Sabrina, Meg shut down. The sadness of her friend’s passing that she’d kept at bay for so long would no longer be denied. Grief filled her face.
Connor immediately regretted his last comment. He would have given anything to take it back. Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
“Meg, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought Sabrina up.”
She stopped him right there. “This isn’t your fault. It’s the Treadwells. I won’t rest until they’ve paid for what they’ve done.”
Connor had seen that strident look in his girlfriend’s eyes and knew exactly what it meant. He rarely disagreed with her, but couldn’t be further apart from her on this issue.
“Only, here’s the thing. You do need to get some rest, especially at a time like this.”
“No. What I really need now is food. What I do after making my stomach happy is a different story.”
This time, Connor was firm about his opinion. “As tough as today has been for me; it’s been infinitely worse for you. Meg, you need to give yourself a break.”
“I know you’re just looking out for me, but--”
He stopped her right there. “This is serious business. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about here. I’ve solved dozens of cases. And, while it sounds counterproductive to take a break while the killer is still on the loose, by giving your mind a rest, you’re actually doing yourself a favor.”
Meg could see the grave concern in the detective’s eyes. She took a moment to contemplate what he’d just said. “Maybe you’re right.”
He corrected her. “No. I’m definitely right. Now, I’ll tell you what, why don’t we grab some food, then crash on the couch and watch some mindless TV?”
“Actually, I don’t think I’d be much company right now,” she replied.
“You don’t need to be. We can just be together.”
It was then that she was struck by how exhausted she truly was. “Thanks, but I actually think I might just crash out.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“I’ll give you a call in the morning.”
Connor pulled her in close and gave her a hug.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
They then gave each other a kiss and parted ways.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The plushy couch in Meg’s living room had never looked so welcoming. She was all ready to curl up on it and zonk out. It was too early to go to sleep, but she was also too exhausted to do anything more strenuous than acting like a complete couch potato. After the day she had, her brain needed a rest, and there was nothing more mindless than TV.
Surprisingly, her grandma didn’t greet her at the door, begging for food like always. As a matter of fact, her talking cat was parked in front of the living room window, staring outside with great intensity. Penelope was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t even notice Meg coming in.
Meg’s curiosity was piqued. She had to see what was so special to keep her grandma from hitting her up for grub. Like all plump, happy housecats, Penelope seemed to live to eat everything in sight; until today.
Meg approached her cat at the window. “What’s going on?”
Penelope jumped up in shock so high that it was like she’d just bounced off a trampoline. When the cat landed back on its paws, she turned to Meg, still wide-eyed.
“What do you think you’re doing, sneaking up on me like that?” Penelope asked.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“You scared me half to death. I only have eight other lives to work with here.”
Penelope gave Meg the stink eye. “Give me a little more credit than that. You act like all I care about is my next meal.”
Meg stared back at her grandma.
“Well, it’s not all I care about,” Penelope explained.
Meg kept staring.
“Besides, you left the fridge open when you left, and I cleaned the sucker out,” Penelope revealed.
Meg turned to her fridge and sighed. She cast a spell, closing the door of the fridge, then shook her head at Penelope. “You really are something, grandma.”
“What can I say? If you didn’t want me to raid the fridge, you shouldn’t have left it open by accident,” Penelope joked.
Meg couldn’t help but laugh at a comment that ridiculous. Still, it was good to be dealing with the lighter side of life again. Too much of her time today was spent dealing with darker matters.
Penelope continued. “By the way, I was sorry to hear about Sabrina.”
Penelope rubbed her fur against Meg. She knew her grandma meant well, but Meg couldn’t handle going back down that road again.
“Grandma, I love you, but I really don’t want to talk about that right now.”
“I understand. What do you want to talk about then?”
Meg shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Something mindless.”
“I know just the thing.”
“What is it?”
“I saw the most entertaining thing today.”
“Don’t spoil the latest Detective Danger episode for me,” Meg insisted.
Meg and her grandma loved the long-running Detective TV show. For the longest time, it was appointment viewing for them, but with all that had been going on in Meg’s life recently, Penelope had gotten a few episodes ahead of her granddaughter.
“No. This is much better than the detective,” Penelope insisted.
The cat then moved back to the window.
“This should be good. What’s going on out there?” Meg replied.
“For the last hour or so, I’ve been watching this feisty squirrel trying to get the best of our neighbor’s squirrel-proof bird feeder,” Penelope explained.
Meg stared out the window at the feeder. It was unlike any she’d ever seen before. The contraption looked like it pulled out all the stops to keep squirrels from horning in on the birdseed inside it.
“To be fair, squirrels are the ninjas of the woodland kingdom,” Meg said.
“Only, this particular squirrel seems to have met its match. The little guy has tried everything; climbing, jumping, every permutation it could think of.”
“With no success?”
Penelope shook her head. “Nope. At least not yet.”
“Yeah, squirrels aren’t known for giving up easily.”
“Not usually, but I thought this one would after the spill he took.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s amazing the things desperation makes someone do. That squirrel was so determined to get to that feeder, he climbed that fence all the way over there, then tried to make a ten-foot jump onto the feeder. He missed and landed hard on the grass. I thought after that, he’d lick his wounds and move on, yet here he is, back for more, proving once again that desperate times lead to bad decisions,” Penelope explained.
Meg did a double take as her grandma told that story. “Wait a minute. Say that again.”
“That determined little bugger is back to try again,” Penelope replied.
“No, the thing about desperation.”
“Just that desperate times lead to bad decisions.”
Up until that point, Meg’s mind was swirling with thoughts. There were so many that she couldn’t keep track of them all. Then, with Penelope’s statement, it was like a lightbulb had gone off in Meg’s head. Suddenly, everything became crystal clear.
“That’s it,” Meg declared.
Penelope was confused. “What are you talking about?”
Meg smiled. “I know who killed Sabrina.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Not only did Meg know who the killer was, but she also had the perfect plan to catch them. This involved a little scheming. Meg tipped off the media that she had a scoop, and they were more than happy to put her onscreen to reveal her insider information.
Before she knew it, Meg was being interviewed by a reporter.
“Sabrina Beckett’s murder has really broken my heart. She was a great woman and an even better friend. There was nothing she loved more than writing, to get her words out into the world. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that despite reports to the contrary, there was more than one copy of her yet-to-be published manuscript. I have a copy of the book, and will be sending it off to her publisher tomorrow. So, while her life was cut tragically short, her literary legacy will live on,” Meg said.
***
The trap had been set. The question was, would the killer step into it? Meg didn’t have to wait long to find out. That night, Meg received an uninvited visitor.
Shortly after dark, she heard a rustling noise coming from her back door lock. A moment later, once the lock had been successfully picked, the door swung open. Within a few seconds, the lock-picker made their way into the living room where Meg sat on the couch.
“Eric Treadwell, I’ve been waiting for you,” Meg said.
Eric Treadwell came out of the shadows and pointed a gun at Meg.
“You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? Your stubbornness is going to cost you, just like it did Sabrina,” Eric declared.
“You’ll never get away with this,” Meg replied.
“Of course, I will. I’ll just ransack the place, then go out the window, just like I did with Sabrina’s motel room. I got away with that, and I’ll get away with this too.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
Just then, Detective Connor Smith emerged from his hiding place in the hallway and snuck up behind Eric, placing the barrel of his police revolver against the back of Eric’s head.
“Drop the gun,” Connor demanded.
Eric Treadwell froze with fear. Right then, he knew he’d been played. Feeling the cold steel against the back of his head, he realized he had no choice but to comply with the detective’s orders.
Eric dropped the gun.
“You vile scumbag. How could you do something so despicable?” Meg asked.
“Me? What about Sabrina? She was just some lowly maid that got lucky selling her book. How dare she think she could topple the Treadwell family. Don’t you know who we are?” Eric replied.
Meg narrowed her eyes. “I know who you are. A man that is going to spend the rest of his life in jail.”
Right then, the gravity of Meg’s words hit Eric hard.
He scowled, full of frustration. “How did you know I was the one who killed her?”
“Desperate times lead to desperately bad decisions. If you were desperate enough to kill Sabrina to keep her manuscript from seeing the light of day before, I knew you’d be desperate enough to kill again. Only this time, we’re the ones with the killer twist,” Meg revealed.
The overwhelming emotions of knowing he’d been caught and that he’d be living behind bars suddenly overtook Eric. He had an emotional meltdown, blurting out his deepest thoughts.
“The only thing I’ve ever wanted in life was to play professional baseball. It has been my dream, my reason for living. I was so close, but I needed the performance-enhancing drugs to give me that boost. I’d do anything to get that call up to the big leagues--”
“Even kill for it,” Meg interrupted.
Eric glared. “I wasn’t going to let some former maid take that away from me with some stupid book.”
“Speaking of, when Sabrina’s book gets published, I’ll be sure to send a copy to your jail cell,” Meg insisted.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Take him away,” Connor said.
Unlike Meg. Connor was all worked up. The adrenaline of the case finally being cracked had him in high spirits.
“You did it again. Another home run,” Connor said.
Meg clutched her chest, still feeling rattled. “Barely. If I ever have another gun pointed at me, it’ll be too soon.”
“Trust me, I know the feeling,” Connor joked.
Meg was still tense.
Connor tried a different approach. “You had serious guts to have come up with that trap.”
“It helped that I knew you’d be right in the next room.”
“Still. Most people wouldn’t have been able to do what you just did. The whole town owes you a big thanks for taking another killer off the streets.”
Meg took a few deep breaths and finally calmed herself down. That was enough to finally shake off the daze she’d been in.
She then unbuttoned her shirt to reveal a bulletproof vest underneath. “Let’s just hope the streets decide to stay clean from here on out. I don’t want this Kevlar vest to become a permanent part of my wardrobe.”
“Tell you what, from now on, why don’t you let me be the one to wear the bulletproof vest?”
“I like you better in a suit and tie.”
“And I like you better in a nice cocktail dress.” He then switched gears. “Well, maybe now things will finally get back to normal.”
Meg once again got caught up in her thoughts.
He tried to pull her head out of the clouds. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s never really going to be normal ever again with Sabrina gone.”
Connor gave his girlfriend a hug. “I’m so sorry about your friend.”
Witch Cozy Mystery Nine Book Set Page 16