The Pit List Murder

by Renee George

  I smiled at my two friends bickering back and forth. “I had sex with Parker last night.”

  Nadine grabbed my arm and brought me to a halt. Reggie stopped, and muttered, “Thank God.” Then she looked at me. “That we stopped, not that you and Parker had sex. Congratulations.”

  “Oh my gosh, Lily, talk about burying the lead. That’s the first thing you should have told us tonight. I was just teasing you on the phone, but day-yam. You really did it.”

  “Well, we did it…” I amended, “…like five times.”

  “I’m not jealous,” Nadine said. “Buzz is a beast in bed.”

  I shook my head. “Ew. T.M.I.”

  “You just told me about your sex life.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not sleeping with your un…cousin.”

  “True that.” Nadine smiled brightly as we started walking again. The ladies were just up ahead in a public parking lot. “Does this mean you all are an official thing?”

  “I think so.” I nudged Reggie. “Get your phone ready.”

  Reggie held it up, and the bright screen illuminated our faces. I slapped a palm over it. “Sorry,” Reggie said. She dimmed the screen. “Ready.”

  “One more thing,” I said. “Don’t get too loud, but I passed my GED.”

  Nadine harsh-whispered, “Cheese and rice, Lily!”

  Reggie hugged me and bounced on her toes in a happy dance. “You are winning at life, lady.”

  “Thanks. I’m pretty proud of myself.”

  “As you should be,” Nadine said.

  We hugged the buildings on the last block before the parking lot. This close to Shelly, Rachel, and Rita, I could overhear some of the conversation.

  “We’re fine,” Rachel said. “Just stick to the plan. This should be the last time we meet.”

  “But the police know about us,” Shelly said.

  “They know we had sex with Donnie, but as long as that’s all they think, they’ll keep it quiet.”

  “Jerry can’t find out. I… I don’t want to hurt him.” Shelly toed the ground.

  “You should have thought about that when you were boffing a man ten years younger than you.” This was Rachel. She sounded angry.

  “My husband is in jail because of your bright idea, Rachel! So, you need to shut up and stop acting like you have all the answers.”

  “Call Donnie’s number now,” I whispered.

  Reggie hit the phone with her finger. “Oh my God, oh my God! It’s ringing.”

  I heard a ringtone sound I didn’t recognize and held my breath. Was this it?

  Rachel pulled the phone from her purse.

  “Why do you have that?” Rita asked. “I told you to toss that in the lake!”

  “Who is it?” Shelly asked.

  “Hot Doc,” Rachel said. “Another one of Donnie’s whores.”

  Reggie frowned. She looked at me, and I shook my head. She hung up, and we backed behind a protruding wall. “I think that confirms Lily’s theory,” Reggie said. “Now can we call for backup?”

  Reggie’s phone rang. Loudly. The screen lit up with the name “Donnie” across it.

  “Oh, no.” Reggie tried to turn it off, but her panic made her fumble the phone and it hit the sidewalk. “No!”

  “Over there,” I heard Rachel say.

  “I think they know we’re here,” Nadine had her own phone to her ear. “This is Deputy Booth 10-10 at Twelfth Street and Oak, requesting backup to my location for three P.O.Is in a murder investigation.”

  “They can’t find that phone,” I heard Rita say. “You have to get rid of it.”

  “I gotta get Donnie’s cell,” I said to my friends, then took off running toward the three women with my focus on Rachel.

  I knew Nadine and Reggie couldn’t have heard the distant conversation, so they wouldn’t understand me bolting toward what they considered danger, but I couldn’t let Rachel trash the evidence that would put away Donnie’s killers.

  I heard the clack of Reggie’s heels, and the heavier footfalls of Nadine’s tennis shoes right behind me. The three ladies saw us coming and split into separate directions at a jog.

  “I’ve got Rachel,” I shouted. Shelly seemed the slowest, so I said, “Reggie, you take the one heading toward the bank. Nadine, you get Rita.” I didn’t give them a chance to argue as I chased down Rachel at top human speed. But when I saw her crouching next to a drain on the road, I kicked it up a notch, engaging my cougar abilities.

  The last ten feet, I dove at Rachel, soaring through the air before I tackled her sideways. The phone flew from her hand and skidded across the asphalt. I flipped Rachel onto her back.

  “Why,” I growled. “Why kill Donnie?”

  “Because,” she blustered. “I loved him!”

  “You don’t kill people you love.”

  “You do when they don’t love you back.” A sob wrenched from her. “I was searching his phone to see who else he was seeing. I saw the videos. He has them uploaded to his cloud. I couldn’t believe it!”

  “Why involve Shelly and Rita?”

  Rachel stopped crying. “Because I could. I told them that Donnie had video of their sexcapades. I’d downloaded enough to my phone that they believed me. After that, it was easy to convince them. Rita’s experience with evidence, Shelly’s with chemicals, and my determination, it wasn’t hard to plan his death. But when you came to Walmart Saturday, I knew you knew about the videos.”

  “Actually, I didn’t. Is that why Richard O’Reilly came after me?”

  “Rita was more than willing to send him to do the dirty work.”

  If it were possible for smoke to come out of my ears, I’d have been setting off alarms. “So, you guys kill Donnie. Why pose him as if he slipped in oil? Did you plant the blood?”

  “He had a seizure and hit his head when he fell. Rita said that the sheriff would call it an accident.” She glared at me. “And he would have if you hadn’t stuck your nose in.”

  “Or if you all hadn’t been dumb enough to put the freaking oil bottle away.”

  Rachel blanched. She’d been so talkative that I had let my guard down, which was the first lesson in Dumb Moves 101.

  Rachel bucked beneath me and got her leg up high enough to kick me in the stomach. The air whooshed from me as I staggered to my feet. Rachel was already running toward the phone. I let more of my cougar out, fur sprouting along my arms, and I did what was humanly impossible. I beat her to it.

  I snatched the phone just inches from her grasp. She looked at me and staggered backward. “What? What are you?”

  “Your worst nightmare.” I touched my tongue to a fang. “Try that again, and I will make sure you regret it.”

  “You’re a monster!”

  I willed my cougar to recede, and when I knew I was fully back to my human form, I gave Rachel a look of pity. “Oh, Rachel. You’re the only monster here.”

  Rachel gave me no more trouble as we walked back to the parking lot. Deputy Larimore and Deputy Morris were on the scene. They’d taken Rita and Shelly into handcuffs already, and Larimore came and got Rachel. I handed the cell phone over to Bobby and told him it was Donnie’s phone. Then I went to stand by my girls who were leaning against a sporty Mustang in the lot.

  “Any trouble?” I asked.

  “Rita gave me a bit of a chase, but I got her. I had to threaten physical violence to get her to come along quietly,” Nadine said. “I’m not sure running on a Merry-Go-Cherry was such a great idea.” She pressed her palm into her stomach.

  Reggie shrugged. “Shelly gave up before I caught her. I think she was ready for it to be over.”

  “How did she manage to get a chemical burn and pneumonia when the other two didn’t?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

  “She confessed everything,” Reggie said. “She stole chlorine, ammonia, and three hazmat suits with hazmat masks from the hospital. Rachel and Rita met her at Donnie’s house. While he was at work, they filled the sink with the mixture then waited
outside for him to come home. What Shelly hadn’t counted on was the puppy. When Donnie took the dog inside, she waited a few minutes then ran inside without her mask on and her right glove off. Donnie was dying as she rescued the dog from the house. The dog ran off. After, they put all their gear on, drained the sink, cleaned the house top to bottom. Shelly said she’s very good at her job. And after, they set up the scene to look like an accident.”

  There was still something I didn’t get. “With all the careful planning, why’d they put the oil away? A dead guy can’t do that.”

  “The accident staging wasn’t part of the plan. Shelly said she put it away out of habit.” Reggie leaned back with a satisfied smile. “I now understand why some people find investigating so thrilling. Though next time I’m wearing sensible shoes.”

  “Yeah, right,” Nadine snorted.

  Bobby walked over. “You all need to come down to the station and make a statement.”

  “We really know how to party,” said Reggie.

  “I think the next girls’ night out needs to be a girls’ night in. We wear pajamas, drink wine, and marathon Netflix shows,” I said.

  “I’m in,” said Nadine.

  We turned to go, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  No more dead bodies, I told myself.

  I wondered if it was a promise I could keep.

  Chapter 22

  Over the next week, a lot of things changed for me. For one, Naomi and Seth agreed to testify against Tom Jones for conspiracy to commit murder. The prosecuting attorney then offered Tom a deal—plead guilty on all charges, and he would get life without parole, or he could try his luck with a jury, but the state would recommend the death penalty.

  Tom took life. Yay! I was finally free of Tom Jones.

  Adding to that, Rita and Shelly turned hard on Rachel and took deals for twenty-five years in jail. Also, Hazel had relayed my Shifter-witch theory with the powers that be, and she confirmed that it was likely that my magic may have made the mate bond possible between Parker and me. Even better, thanks to our magic-bond, it also meant Parker would enjoy the same long life I had ahead of me.

  When I wasn’t with Parker or at the shelter, I spent all my free time holding Reggie’s hand as she struggled through the last few days before CeCe’s graduation. Every time I brought up telling Greer about Donnie, she would make some excuse about party planning, errands, patients, and whatever else she could think of to avoid dealing with her personal life.

  Needless to say, the week sped by like a bullet train. Collision course: Graduation.

  Parker drove me to the graduation. We arrived early for Reggie, CeCe, and Addy. He was part of our shelter family, and we wanted to celebrate with him, too.

  Ryan pulled into the parking lot next to us with Paul Simmons.

  “What’s Ryan doing with Paul? I didn’t know they knew each other,” Parker said.

  I leaned over to get a better glimpse at Ryan’s sports car. Paul brought Ryan’s fingers to his lips and kissed them. I smiled. “Yep. They know each other.”

  “Oh.” Parker tucked his chin. “Oh,” he repeated. “Okay. I get it now.” He looked at me and grinned. He got out of the truck. He gave Ryan’s hood a quick slap. “Hey, Petry, you guys coming in?”

  Ryan got out of the car, his cheeks flushed. “We’re, uh, sure.”

  I waved at Paul. “Good to see you again.”

  “You too, Lily.” His smile was shy. “How’s the house coming along?”

  “It’s slow but steady,” I said. “So nice of you to ask.” As we walked into the auditorium, I looped my arm in Parker’s. I got up on my tiptoes as we neared the doors and said in his ear. “See, I told you Ryan wasn’t interested in me.”

  Inside, I found Reggie chasing CeCe around with a camera, taking a million pictures of her with her friends in various states of pre-graduation. Where CeCe was, Addy was close by. I gave them both hugs and gave them cards with some cash I’d saved just for this day. “Congratulations, both of you.”

  “Thanks, Lily,” Addy said. “I don’t think I would have gotten through this year without you.”

  CeCe whacked him on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m the one who got you through math.”

  Addy grabbed her hand when she tried to smack him again. I felt the electricity between them when he didn’t let go. Then they were holding hands, and Addy couldn’t get the stupid grin off his face.

  I went to Reggie. “Alert, alert! Teenagers in lust.” I pointed to the intertwined fingers.

  Reggie’s eyes misted up. “It’s about time.”

  I put my arm around her. “How you holding up? Do we need to bury an ex yet?”

  Nadine jumped into the conversation. “The loser keeps trying to talk to Reggie. It’s like playing chess, and we keep sacrificing seniors to save the queen.”

  “It’s not that bad. Every time he approaches, I walk the other way.”

  “And I put three graduates in his path.” Nadine smirked. “It only looks easy because the guy behind the curtain is doing all the work.”

  “Good strategy,” I said.

  “I’m glad you approve because you’re on Roger duty now.”

  I watched as the seniors around us laughed, snapped selfies, fixed makeup and hair, put messages on their hats, and in general, shared the camaraderie of having this huge common experience. I sighed. I couldn’t help it.

  “Regina,” a tall, lanky man with sandy-brown hair said. He had a long face, a thin nose, and deep-set green eyes that made him…not handsome, but attractive.

  Nadine turned on me. “You had one job, Lily. One.”

  Roger the Douche cleared his throat. “I’ve been trying to find you all day.”

  Reggie stiffened. “I’m too busy right now, Roger. I’ve got important stuff to do for our daughter’s big day.”

  “It’s just high school,” he said in disgust. Did I say attractive? I meant ugly. Like troll ugly. “You can take two seconds.”

  “Hello, sweetheart.” Greer Knowles, like a knight in a shiny charcoal-gray suit, joined us. He put his arm around Reggie and gave her a look I recognized from when his son was throwing it my way. One-hundred-percent heat. “Sorry I’m late.”

  I could see the tension leave her face. “It’s all right.” She leaned in for a kiss. Not a long one, but more than friendly. “I’m glad you’re here now.”

  “I’m Roger Crawford,” the man said to Greer.

  Greer gave Roger a look that would shrivel a hippo. “So?”

  “So?” I could see the wheels spinning in Roger’s head. What can you say after something like that? Nothing. Which is what Roger did. He turned on the heel of his expensive Italian loafer and left our little group.

  Nadine hooted and high-fived Greer. “Dude. That was seriously badass.”

  Reggie laughed. “It really was.”

  Greer gave her another kiss, and he went off to find Parker. “So,” I said. “You told Greer about Donnie?”

  Reggie nodded. “Yes, I did.”

  “And I guess it all worked out?”

  “Yes.” She wiggled her eyebrows in a very un-Reggie way. “It really did.”

  Nadine and I, along with Parker, Greer, and Buzz, jumped to our feet with Reggie when her grown baby was finally announced.

  “Cecelia Lynn Crawford,” the announcer said.

  We all hooted, hollered, and whistled. We made enough noise to fill a stadium. CeCe’s smile was ear to ear as she took her diploma.

  “I really wish I would have done this,” I said to Parker.

  “What’s that?”

  “You know. Graduation. Walking across the stage. The cap and gown. Everything.”

  Parker laced his fingers with mine. He dipped his head to whisper in my ear. “I bet I still have my old cap and gown lying around if you want to roleplay a little graduation tonight.”

  “Can we play ‘Pomp and Circumstance’?”

  “Anything you want, Lily.” Parker chuckled. “And I mean anything.”<
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  The End

  Paranormal Mysteries and

  Romances

  By Renee George

  * * *

  Peculiar Mysteries

  www.peculiarmysteries.com

  You’ve Got Tail (Book 1)

  My Furry Valentine (Book 2)

  Thank You For Not Shifting (Book 3)

  My Hairy Halloween (Book 4)

  In the Midnight Howl (Book 5)

  My Peculiar Road Trip (Magic & Mayhem)

  Furred Lines (Book 6)

  * * *

  Barkside of the Moon Mysteries

  www.barksideofthemoonmysteries.com

  Pit Perfect Murder (Book 1)

  Murder & The Money Pit (Book 2)

  The Pit List Murder (Book 3)

  * * *

  Madder Than Hell

  www.madder-than-hell.com

  Gone With The Minion (Book 1)

  Devil On A Hot Tin Roof (Book 2)

  A Street Car Named Demonic (Book 3)

  About the Author

  I am a USA Today Bestselling author who writes paranormal mysteries and romances because I love all things whodunit, Otherworldly, and weird. Also, I wish my pittie, the adorable Kona Princess Warrior, and my beagle, Josie the Incontinent Princess, could talk. Or at least be more like Scooby-Doo and help me unmask villains at the haunted house up the street.

  When I'm not writing about mystery-solving werecougars or the adventures of a hapless psychic living among shapeshifters, I am preyed upon by stray kittens who end up living in my house because I can't say no to those sweet, furry faces. (Someone stop telling them where I live!)

  I live in Mid-Missouri with my family and I spend my non-writing time doing really cool stuff...like watching TV and cleaning up dog poop.

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