by Renee George
A choking sob forced its way from his chest. I looked at Buzz. He frowned and shook his head. I knew he wanted me to keep my mouth shut. Poor deluded man.
“Is that why you killed Donnie?” I asked.
“What?” He blinked up at me, surprise clear on his face. “I didn’t—”
“All right folks, clear off,” I heard Deputy Bobby Morris say to the diner crowd. “Either go back inside or leave.” There was a lot of murmuring as they dispersed.
Bobby stood over us from the sidewalk. “What’s going on, Ms. Mason? Buzz?”
“Richard here tried to attack my cousin,” Buzz said. “I saw he had a gun and tackled him to the ground.”
The deputy leaned forward. “Richard O’Reilly? What in the world?”
“You know him?” I asked.
“Yes,” Bobby said. “Richard’s wife is Rita, the evidence-room clerk.”
“Nadine has something you all are going to want to see before you let her come back to work.”
Richard sobbed again. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth about his wife. But how in the world did anyone know I had the flash drive?
Bobby secured Richard’s gun, then got the man up from the ground and put him in handcuffs. He looked at Buzz and me. “You two are going to have to come down and give a statement.”
“Great. I can’t wait.” I looked back at the dropped dinner bag. “Can I make a quick detour first?”
“Give us an hour,” Buzz said. “I’ve got to get the diner closed out before I can head over.”
Bobby nodded. “See you then.”
I picked up my sack. Buzz put his arm around my shoulder and walked me to my driver door. “You going to be okay, kid?” The way he said it, the tone, even his expression, reminded me so much of my dad. And at that moment, the grief of his death hit me all over again.
I teared up. “Thanks for being here for me tonight.”
“You’d have handled it,” he said, but not in a way that made me believe him.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to handle it.”
“By the way, that’s some trick you’ve got there.” He raised his brows, his green eyes staring into my soul.
“What trick?” I wasn’t dumb, but maybe he was talking about something other than my ability to get people to tell the truth.
“How did you do it? How did you get him to say all that?”
“It’s a long story,” I told him. “One for another night when Parker’s dinner isn’t cooling ten degrees every minute.”
“But you will tell me?”
I smiled. “Cross my heart.”
Chapter 14
The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention while I waited for Bobby to take my statement. According to Deputy Janet Larimore, a large, confident brunette, Bobby was still processing his earlier arrest. I yawned as I sat next to his desk in the witness-slash-perp chair. It had been an early morning for me. Still, I was grateful for the late hour. It meant Sheriff Avery had already clocked out for the day, and I wouldn’t have to deal with his suspicious, probing questions. The man liked to probe so much he could give a proctologist a run for his money.
Parker, who shared my concern about Avery, had offered to go to the station with me, but Elvis had been particularly clingy when he was saying the words. The dog could sense Parker’s deep anxiety related to the sheriff’s department. I didn’t blame him. He’d been locked up for several days in the jail, and it had placed a real strain on him.
Smooshie had wanted to go with me. I think she was ready for one of our nightly runs, but I wasn’t going home, and while it wasn’t hot this evening, it was unseasonably warm. I had no idea how long it would take to give my statement, and I didn’t want my baby girl waiting in the truck the whole time.
Nadine had texted right before I’d arrived that she and Reggie were done at the station. I don’t know if Buzz told her about the guy who tried to attack me. Since my new phone wasn’t blowing up, I guessed probably not. I stretched as I yawned again. I don’t like to think of myself as impatient or irritable in general, but I felt both as I waited on Bobby Morris. I was ready to be home in my own bed, snuggled down with my Smooshie girl, and done with this whole awful business.
And then I saw it…
Donald Doyle’s file was in the tray on Bobby’s desk.
It was as if the Fates, who I’d heard were horrible creatures, were testing my resolve. I will not peek, I repeated several times in my head.
There was a piece of paper sticking slightly past the opening in the manila folder. Maybe I should just tuck it in. After all, the way it was placed, it could easily fall out and then some key piece of the investigation might be lost forever. Even to myself that last part of my thought process had come off as lame. But still, it was my civic duty to help the police when possible. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.
I reached out and flicked the file where the paper was out, and—not unpredictably—the entire folder slid out of the bin and spilled onto Bobby’s desk. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed.
Nope. No one. Larimore was on the far side of the room with her head behind a computer monitor, pecking away at her keyboard, and totally not paying attention to me. Once again, the Fates were rearing their ugly heads. I used a pencil, eraser side down, to move the papers out in a way that I could see what was on them.
A small handwritten note, the words written in big, bold letters, caught my attention right away.
I saw what you did. I am watching you.
Goddess. Was this note written by Doyle? Had he been the poison pen all along?
My stomach churned. He had lived less than a mile from my place. What if he’d seen me change into my other form? What if he’d taken video of my transformation? What if…
Oh, crap. The empty drive cap. What if he had something incriminating on me that the killer took from Doyle’s office?
I took a deep breath to steady my racing pulse. No. I had been staying in the apartment over Parker’s garage when I received my own poison-pen note. I wasn’t even on Donnie Doyle’s radar at that time. It couldn’t have been him. But maybe Donnie had gotten a letter, too. And that meant someone probably knew what he was doing.
“What in Sam Hell are you doing, Ms. Mason?”
I’d been so distracted by my fear of what Donnie might have on me, that I hadn’t noticed the clomping hooves of the overweight Sheriff Avery.
“I…nothing.” I tried to scoot the chair back from the desk, only to discover it was bolted to the floor. I glanced guiltily at the folder. “I accidentally knocked the file over. I didn’t want to touch it, you know, just in case there was, er, something in there I shouldn’t touch.”
Sheriff Avery honest-to-goodness growled at me, and for a second there, it was old home week. He’d made a noise so rumbly it would have made a werewolf proud. “I need you to get up, Ms. Mason, and step away from Deputy Morris’ desk. Now.”
I stood up and took a giant sidestep away from the desk and the sheriff. He smelled like alcohol that had been set on fire and put out with garbage. Blech. He straightened the folder and put it back in the tray, all the while mumbling harshly under his breath about pain-in-the-butt women, and I’m paraphrasing here, and how he had half a mind to arrest me for being a nuisance.
“You’re right about the half a mind,” I muttered, too low for him to really hear.
Sheriff Avery turned his sharp gaze on me. “Did you say something, Ms. Mason?”
The sheriff’s hearing had been better than I thought. Oops. A familiar face walked through a door on the far side of the room. “There’s Deputy Morris.” I turned to the sheriff. “Once I make my statement, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“The only way you could get out of my hair is if you moved to another county.” And with that grouchy statement, the sheriff headed toward his office.
Morris sat down in his chair, his eyes tired as he glanced my way.
“You arrived in t
he nick of time,” I told him.
“What’s the sheriff doing back in the station?” Bobby asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I told him.
Nadine and Buzz arrived just as I finished writing down everything I could remember about the incident in the diner parking lot, minus all Shifter stuff. Richard was too messed up to even notice anything paranormal. I really felt for the guy—especially when he found out that his wife was a willing participant in Donnie’s bed.
Larimore got up to open the locked front door. She ushered in a thin, wispy woman with short blonde hair. I recognized her as one of Donnie’s lovers from the drive. She said to the deputy, “This is all a misunderstanding.”
I glanced at Buzz, raising my brows. He gave a slight shake of his head. I turned to Bobby. “Do you need anything else from me?”
“Not tonight,” the man said. He gave me a crooked smile. “Try not to trip over any bodies on the way home.”
“That’s not funny.”
He smirked and shrugged. “It kind of is.”
Across the room, I heard Nadine talking in low tones to Larimore. Larimore told her that the sheriff wasn’t happy about the USB discovery, and he’d come in to view the new evidence for himself. Larimore also told her that she recognized one of the women on the videos as the sheriff’s niece, Rachel Keeton.
Crap on toast. Poop was about to hit the fan. “Okay, well, I’ll see you later, Deputy Morris.”
I grabbed my purse and hauled my butt toward the door. Buzz took my arm. “Did you hear what that deputy told Nadine?”
“Why do you think I’m leaving so fast? I’m sure if Sheriff Avery can find a way, he’ll arrest me for his niece’s indiscretion. Depending on how fast he watches all the files, I’d say you probably have five minutes before this place blows up. You should hurry up and make your statement.”
Buzz shook his head and gave me a half smile. “Avery doesn’t dislike me the way he dislikes you.”
“Let’s face it. The man hates me. Which is why I’m leaving. Call me tonight after you’re done here.”
Nadine approached me after Buzz made his way to Morris’ desk, her face somber and serious.
“How’s Reggie?” I asked.
“She’s upset about the whole thing. I’m glad she wasn’t on the drive, but damn, those poor women.”
Reggie wouldn’t have been on the drive even if she had been on it, because friends don’t let friends go down like that. But I agreed with Nadine’s sentiment. “Do you have to work now? Or are you here for Buzz?”
“Both. Avery has found a way to blame me for the late discovery of the evidence and for not notifying him sooner about Reggie’s involvement.”
“That’s a bunch of bull! You didn’t find out about any of it until tonight.”
“You’re acting like the sheriff is a reasonable human being.”
“Man, Nadine. I’m sorry.”
“For what? Bringing us the drive is the first real lead we have.” She looked at the sheriff’s closed door. “Now get on out of here while you can. I’ll call you when I know anything new.”
By the time I picked up Smooshie and got her home, I was completely exhausted. Shifters have a lot of energy and stamina, but the lack of sleep had taken its toll on me. Smooshie danced around me when we got out of the truck.
“Sorry, girl.” I scratched her ear. “Not tonight.” I put the key in the trailer door and turned it, but it was still locked. “Dang. I really am tired.” I tried again, and this time it opened. “Come on, Smoosh. Let’s get to bed.”
My adorable pittie whacked her tail against my legs several times then headed to the back of the trailer to our bedroom. I yawned deeply, suddenly even more tired than before. This had been a day from hell. First, probably blowing my GED, then finding out about Reggie and the drive, confronting the attacker—all of it had drained my energy. I wasn’t sure I could take any more. I stretched, shedding clothes on my way through the kitchen area into the narrow hallway, past the tiny bathroom, until I collapsed on the bed next to Smooshie.
She crawled toward me, planting her elbows and paws on my back. “Off, Smoosh,” I mumbled. My voice sounded weird, almost hollow. Smooshie began to lick my ear. I tried to push her away, but my arms felt leaden. “Stah—op,” I slurred.
Smooshie barked and whined. Why won’t she stop licking my face? Did she have to potty? She’d just gone both number one and number poo at Parker’s right before we’d left. I giggled at my play on words. “Number pooo,” I said.
Something wasn’t right.
Smooshie nudged me with her big head, pushing against me until I forced my legs to move. I slowly rolled out of bed, but when I tried to stand, I collapsed to the floor.
My faithful companion jumped down in front of me. She barked, but it was more like a cough. Whatever had affected me was affecting her as well. My skin had turned a bright shade of pink.
Pink skin, lethargy, drowsiness. Symptoms. Of what? My brain felt foggy. I knew what this was. This was…
Smooshie had gotten behind me and was now pushing me forward. I couldn’t keep my feet, so I dropped to my knees and crawled toward the back door.
Carbon monoxide poisoning.
The sudden, awful thought gave me a small jolt of adrenaline. I got to the door, reached up to unlock it, and shoved it open. Smooshie and I tumbled out into the fresh air. Why in the heck hadn’t the carbon monoxide detector gone off? If the concentrations were high enough to affect me, they were high enough to set off the alarm.
After several minutes of deep breathing and wishing like hell I hadn’t taken all my clothes off, I held my breath, ran back inside and grabbed my robe and my phone, then headed back out with Smooshie. Also, I noted the carbon monoxide detector dangling on the wall, the battery missing from its slot.
I punched the all-too-familiar numbers into my phone.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” the switchboard operator answered.
“Please send a deputy,” I said. “I think someone just tried to kill me.”
Chapter 15
The police, the fire department, and the paramedics tramped around my property. There was so much flash and color it looked like a county event.
I called Parker for moral support and Ryan Petry for Smooshie. I needed the vet to make sure she was okay. The sweet baby, once again, had saved my life.
A paramedic named Robyn, with short, tight curly hair and beautiful dark skin, put an oxygen monitor on my index finger and an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. She was as short as me, but with a better, more feminine figure. “Breath deep,” she told me. The redness in my skin had already disappeared, and while I had a headache, I didn’t feel tired anymore.
I watched Parker rush past the fire truck to get to me. He stopped just short of the gurney Robyn had insisted I get on. “Is she all right?” he asked the paramedic. “Are you taking her to the hospital?”
I lifted the mask from my face. “She can talk.”
Robyn shoved the mask back down. “No, she can’t.”
I grabbed Parker’s hand and lifted the mask again, but not so far off my face. “Get Smooshie,” I said. “She’s over there with Jerry.” Jerry had kindly taken responsibility for her so that the paramedics could do their job and also keep her out of the way for the firefighters. “Ryan is on his way to check her out.”
I was proud of Parker for not even looking the tiniest bit jealous. Instead, he went into “I’ve got a purpose” mode and made a beeline for Jerry and Smooshie.
“That your fella?” Robyn asked.
I nodded, even though we hadn’t even had our first date. He was mine, and that was that.
“Bravo,” she said, a slow smile spreading across her lips as she gave him a cursory glance. “Brah-vo.”
“What in tarnation have you gotten into now?” asked the less-than-sympathetic voice of Sheriff Avery. “I swear I’m going to have to hire new deputies just to keep up with all your shenanigans
. What do you have to say for yourself?”
I sighed and pointed to my mask. When he narrowed his suspicious gaze at me, I shrugged. If I wasn’t allowed to talk to Parker because I needed the oxygen, then I certainly wouldn’t break the rule for this jerk. He opened his mouth to protest, but Robyn, my new knightess in shining armor, stepped in.
“You’re going to have to ask your questions later, Sheriff. Right now, the patient needs oxygen. Carbon monoxide poisoning is very serious. I’m sure you don’t want to be responsible for any lasting damage Ms. Mason suffers.”
Avery’s face went a dark purple color. “Now you just wait a minute…”
“Sheriff!” Bobby Morris shouted. “The fire chief needs to talk to you.”
That was something I did want to hear. I tuned out the running engines and extraneous chatter and dialed into the conversation between the fire chief and the sheriff.
“The levels in the house were twenty times the normal limit, and that’s with Ms. Mason leaving the door open after she exited.”
“Is that a lot?” the sheriff asked. I could hear the incredulity in the chief’s voice.
“Yes, it’s a lot.”
“Any chance it’s an accident?”
Well, I knew that someone had taken the battery out of the carbon monoxide detector, and, I suspect, that my mishap with the front door, locking it when I turned the key, was because the door had been unlocked. I’d look for tool marks in the keyhole when all this was over.
“A rag blocked the vent to the furnace, and it didn’t just stuff itself in there. Someone did this on purpose.”
“Could be attempted suicide. Maybe she changed her mind.”
“Well, that’s for you to find out, Mike. My job is to investigate the cause and determine if it’s an accident or a crime. It’s a crime. That’s your territory.”
“You’re awfully testy tonight, Lloyd.”
“It’s my wedding anniversary.”
Avery laughed. “Once a year whether you deserve it or not, right?”
I groaned at the implied nod-and-wink then tuned the two men out as they jabbered about things that didn’t apply to me.