1 Hairspray and Homicide (4 page)

"All right, I'm not the robber," she laughed as she looked up at him. He met her gaze with a hardened glare and she realized that he was not in the least pleased.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "How did you guys get here so fast?"

"Because," Nick replied as he handed one of the other officers the weapon and pulled out his own handcuffs. "We were looking for you."

"Me?" Bekki's heart had not slowed down yet from the confrontation with the two men. The look in Nick's eyes made it pump harder again. "Why?"

"Rebekah Wilson you're under arrest for the murder of Daisy Carmile," he spoke in a calm unwavering voice. When Bekki felt the handcuffs close over her wrists, her heart sank.

"Murder?" she gasped out. "You mean Daisy's dead?" she looked from him to Doug behind the bar, and then back to Nick. "You can't possibly think I had anything to do with it?" Her tone was incredulous as she stared at the man she had once considered the most handsome boy in class.

"I'm just doing my job, Bekki," he said through gritted teeth and led her out of the bar. He put her inside one of the patrol cars, pushing her head lightly to prevent her from hitting it on the door.

"Please Nick," she whispered as she tried to meet his eyes. "You know me, I wouldn't do this, please."

Nick studied her for a long moment, his green eyes darkened with emotion.

"I used to know you Bekki. If you didn't do this, it'll all get straightened out," he slammed the door shut. Bekki watched him walk away through the thick glass of the window.

Chapter Four

Bekki was led from the car and directly into an interrogation room. The entire time all she could think of was Daisy. Could it really be true that she was dead? She was certain that the entire matter would be cleared up easily. She sat calmly in the interrogation room, not allowing herself to panic. When the door to the room opened and Nick stepped inside she looked up at him with relief. But his expression remained hardened and focused as he sat down across from her. Behind him another detective stepped in.

"Rebekah, I'm detective Williams," the woman said as she walked up to the table. "And this is my partner Detective Malonie."

"I know who Nick is," Bekki said quietly as she looked from one to the other. "This is all ridiculous, I mean I know you're just doing your job, but Nick do I really need to be handcuffed?" she asked with a frown.

"You two know each other?" Detective Williams said with surprise as she walked around the side of the table to unlock Bekki's handcuffs.

"We were friends in high school," Nick admitted and briefly met Bekki's eyes.

"Is that going to be an issue?" Detective Williams asked as she turned back towards Nick.

"Not at all," Nick assured her and flipped open the thin file on the table in front of him. "Rebekah, it seems that you had a confrontation with Daisy this evening," he said in a professional tone.

"Yes, I did," Bekki said feeling very flustered. "It was just a business thing."

"Really, because I have witnesses saying that you threatened her," he pointed out and met her gaze, his green eyes filled with determination. "Is it true that this is an ongoing feud between Daisy and your family?"

Bekki's mouth dropped open but she could not bring herself to speak. She was putting the pieces together much in the same way that Nick must have. She had threatened Daisy, and there were plenty of witnesses who had heard it. She could understand why it was that she would fall under some suspicion.

"Look, I was at Doug's bar all night. He'll tell you that, just ask him," she said quickly as Detective Williams leaned against the table beside her.

"Oh, we have talked to Mr. Matthews," she said with a forced smile. "And he informed us that you had a couple of drinks, and told him how frustrated you were with Daisy. You then proceeded to pick a fight with two armed men. Did you have a few before you went to the bar Ms. Wilson?" she asked sternly.

"What?" Bekki shook her head with irritation. "Of course not. I had a couple of beers, I wasn't drunk. Was it a crime to stop a robbery?"

"It's not a crime," Nick said firmly. "But, it does demonstrate that you have the ability to attack, and obviously, you don't have a problem with physical confrontation."

"I don't have a problem with physical confrontation?" Bekki asked, her voice raising with each word she spoke. "Excuse me? So, I am trained in martial arts, that doesn't mean I would ever hurt anyone intentionally. What I did tonight was in self-defense!"

"And you broke the man's forearm," Nick clarified, his eyes locking with hers as his own voice began to rise. "Daisy had multiple contusions and broken bones Bekki, so what am I supposed to think? That you were perfectly satisfied to simply have words with Daisy and walk away, but later on the same night you decided it would be a good idea to take down two large men?" he demanded. "Obviously you were capable of the crime, and you had motive..."

"Nick," Detective Williams interrupted sharply. "Calm down," she studied him intently.

Nick fell swiftly into silence and looked quickly away. Bekki could see the ripple of his clenched jaw, she knew he could barely contain his emotions. She had a feeling though, that those emotions had less to do with anger than they did with fear.

"I'm sorry," Bekki said quietly as she stared down at the table. "I didn't do this. I didn't do it," she promised and squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment.

"Isn't it possible," Detective Williams started again in a soothing tone. "That you might have left Daisy's salon, and had a few drinks down the street at the liquor store. Then maybe, you decided to go back and finish your conversation with Daisy. When you came back, Daisy was being her usual self, and you just couldn't take it anymore. So you lost your temper, and you beat her up, maybe you didn't even realize that you killed her, and then you went to drown your anger over at Doug's bar. Don't you think that makes sense?"

"Are you insane?" Bekki snapped as she suddenly jumped up from her chair. "No it's not possible! No it doesn't make any sense! I would never kill Daisy!" she slammed her hands hard against the table, making Detective Williams and Nick jump up at the same time with the intention of restraining her. Nick glowered at her so darkly that her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," she said and raised her hands up into the air as if surrendering. "I'm sorry," she added as she sank back down into her chair. She realized that blowing up was not exactly helping her case. "What do I need to do?" she asked in a shaking voice. "Do I need to get a lawyer?"

"I would recommend it," Detective WIlliams nodded her head as she swept the file up into her hands from the table. "I would call one fast. We don't have enough to book you tonight, but once we've done all of our interviews and we finish analyzing the forensic evidence, I can promise you Ms. Wilson we will make sure that you are behind bars. Don't even think about leaving town, understand?" she demanded.

"Of course," she muttered trying to hold back her tears. She had herself convinced that none of this would be a big deal, but now she was terrified. All of the evidence they had was true and it was stacked up pretty high against her.

“Do you want me to call Sammy?” Nick offered, his voice softening just a little when he noticed the tears in her eyes.

“Oh please, don't bother,” she glared in his direction. “I think I can find my own way home.”

“Bekki,” Nick started to say but a look from his partner silenced him.

“We'll be in touch,” Detective Williams said sternly before they both left the room. Bekki wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before following after.

***

Of course in the tiny little town word had travelled fast that not only was there an attempted robbery at Doug's Bar, but Rebekah Wilson had also been arrested. She was not feeling very proud of her choice to interfere with the robbery, even though she was certain that it had been necessary. As she walked out of the police station an old beat up station wagon pulled up at the curb.

"Need a ride jailbird?" Sammy asked as she smiled through the windshield. Bekki sighed with relief and opened the door. She settled down into the passenger seat and glanced over at her friend.

"Get me away from here," she pleaded.

"No problem," Sammy replied and drove away from the police station. "Can you believe that witch is really dead?" Sammy asked with a shake of her head.

"You heard?" Bekki asked hesitantly.

"Of course I did," Sammy frowned as she glanced over at Bekki. "I'm just sorry I didn't stick with you tonight, then we could tell all these gossips where to shove their suspicions."

"Thanks Sammy," Bekki sighed, glad that at least her friend did not suspect her.

"Are you doing okay, sweetie?" Sammy asked as she looked over at her. "I heard about you taking down those two armed men, that's amazing!"

Bekki didn't feel amazing. She felt sick in the pit of her stomach. She was scared and there wasn't much she could do about the fear she was feeling. She had a right to be scared. She might just become a convicted murderer.

"I'll just take you home," Sammy said gently in response to Bekki's silence. "I know you've had it rough tonight."

As she drove, Bekki glanced out the window. She watched all the familiar houses and buildings pass her by. The town she had once left behind for brighter and greater things, was now going to believe that she had come back a killer. Her poor parents would be shunned by the neighbors. Worst of all, Daisy really was dead. As many fights as she had with the woman, she certainly never wanted to see her dead. No one deserved to be victimized in such a way, and she could only hope that the real killer would be caught. But what if he or she wasn't? What if all this turned into her going to prison?

"I need to hire a lawyer," she murmured to herself. Unfortunately, there was only one person she knew with the connection that she needed.

***

The next morning she placed the phone call.

"'lo?" was the casual response when Trevor answered the phone.

"Hey," she sighed as she tried not to let her emotions run away with her. "Listen, I need a lawyer."

"Bekki?" he asked, acting as if he wasn't sure it was her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just got myself into a bit of a mess, and I need a lawyer."

"What kind of mess?" Trevor pressed. "Is this some kind of ploy to get back together with me?" he demanded. "I gave you the chance to apologize."

"Me apologize?" Bekki gasped out. "Oh forget it," she hung up the phone sharply and flopped back on her bed. She closed her eyes against the wave of fear and depression that threatened to settle over her. In just one day she had gone from believing her life was about to change for the better to being terrified she would never have the freedom to live it again.

"Get a hold of yourself," she told herself with a frown. "You didn't kill her, there has to be a way to prove that."

That's when Bekki decided she wasn't going to leave it in the fumbling hands of the police department, she was going to figure out who the killer was herself, no matter what it took to do so. As she sat up in her bed she recalled how it had felt when Nick had placed those handcuffs on her wrists. She was seething with anger that he would think it was acceptable to do such a thing. It didn't matter to her that it was just his job, after the summer they had shared, she expected him to know her better than that, she expected so much more from him.

She wanted to stay holed up in her house all day. She wanted to hide out from the looks and the curious questions, but she knew she couldn't. The more guilty she acted the more guilty people would believe she was. She left her house with her chin held high, hoping that no one would notice the tremble in her hands. Her mother was waiting for her at the salon.

"Oh my God Bekki, what happened?" she asked as Bekki unlocked the door. "Did you really get arrested?" she asked.

"Not exactly," Bekki replied as they stepped inside. "I was taken in for questioning, but I wasn't booked."

"Oh thank God, Dad has a call into cousin George, you know he's a lawyer," she patted Bekki's arm lightly.

"Cousin George is a paralegal," Bekki said firmly and sighed as she set her keys and purse down on the front counter of the salon. "Don't worry Ma, everything is going to be fine. I'm going to figure out who really did this."

"But how?" her mother asked, still looking very frightened. "You're not a detective."

"Well, I'm going to be one now," she replied. "Now go home and rest Ma, you're supposed to be on vacation. I have customers coming in first thing."

"Shouldn't you close down the salon for the day?" her mother suggested nervously.

"It's fine Mama," she promised. "If people don't want to come in, they will cancel their appointments." As if to punctuate this statement the phone began to ring shrilly through the salon.

"Ah there's a cancellation now," Bekki smiled grimly.

"All right if you're sure," her mother said with a frown. Just then Sammy walked in.

"Morning," she called out as she poked her head into the reception area. "Just checking to make sure there's no wild bar fight going on," she chuckled. It was Sammy's attempt to brighten the mood but it only made Bekki grimace. She didn't want to remember what she had done the night before or the way that Nick had looked at her.

After her mother left, a few customers did trickle into the shop. Some just wanted to see if they could find out more details, while others were there to show their support.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me," Mrs. Culpper said with a lofty smirk. "She had it coming, if you ask me."

"Why do you say that?" Sammy inquired as she ran a comb through Mrs. Culpper's thinning red curls.

"Well, everyone knows she had a lover," Mrs. Culpper explained in a hushed whisper. "I bet that scoundrel decided to do her in, maybe she got too old for him," she giggled devilishly.

"She was having an affair?" Sammy asked with interest and met the woman's eyes through the mirror.