2 A Dyed Blonde and a Dead Body (7 page)

“Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?” he asked a little nervously as he tossed the boxes and plates in the trash.

“No, I don't know if I could sleep with you next to me,” she said slyly as she sat back in her chair.

“I slept on the couch,” he said quickly, blushing a little.

“Oh,” Bekki felt a little disappointed. She had enjoyed imagining him laying beside her. “Well, maybe when I'm feeling better we can make this a real dinner out, hmm?”

“I'd love that,” he agreed and then paused beside her. “If anything happens tonight, just give me a call. I'll be at home only a few minutes away,” he reminded her.

“Thanks Nick, for everything,” she smiled. When they kissed she felt a ripple of desire that almost convinced her to forget about searching the bakery. But she couldn't. She pulled away from him and yawned, as if she was exhausted.

“All right, you head to bed,” he murmured reluctantly. Apparently he had felt the same pull.

“I'm going,” Bekki assured him. She walked into the bedroom and lay down. Then she listened for the door to close behind him. She waited until the sun had fully set and then climbed right back out of bed. She peered through the front window but she couldn’t see him. She knew she had to be careful not to be spotted
.
She slipped out through the back door, and headed straight for the bakery.

Chapter Four

The bakery was dark except for the natural light of the moon filtering through the front window which illuminated enough of the front of the store for Bekki to look around. She knew that the moment Nick found out she had snuck into the bakery, he would be livid, but as she had told him, this was who she was. She was not going to let a silly thing like trespassing stop her from discovering the truth. A hair pin had made the lock very easy to open. As she studied the room around her she began to imagine what Lydia's last moments might have been like. Maybe she and Julie were arguing. Maybe Julie had drugged her so that she would be easier to kill. But Nick had claimed that the toxins screen they ran on her, to rule out any influence of drugs or alcohol, was clear. So Lydia, a relatively strong woman, and Julie, a thin but powerful woman, were arguing in the front of the bakery. How did that argument transform into a murder that looked like a suicide? It just didn't make sense. She could not figure out how Lydia ended up hanged in her own bakery.

Of course the noose had been cut down from the rafter. But Bekki wanted to recreate the crime scene as much as possible. It had been burned into her mind, but still, she might have overlooked something.  Bekki pulled a chair back under the spot where Lydia had been found. She tested its sturdiness. Then she climbed on top of it. From her perspective she could see the entire front of the bakery. She was slightly shorter than Lydia had been, but not enough to make a big difference. She stood on her toes, imagining the noose around her neck. It was an eerie thing to think of, even if she knew it wasn't going to happen to her. She couldn't imagine how it must have felt for Lydia.

"Then she kicked it out from under her," Bekki said under her breath as she tried to figure out the sequence of events. "That's what she would have had to do if she killed herself.”

Bekki's eyes glanced down in the direction of the floor. She remembered where the suicide note had been. She could tell that Lydia would have been able to look right at it. In fact, the words were positioned facing her, so that she could have read it.

"Lydia, why would you want to look at the note?" she asked out loud, her voice filling the empty bakery.

Bekki frowned and then stepped down from the chair. This time instead of imagining the suicide, she envisioned the murder.

"Julie, what are you doing here?" she asked, as if the woman had walked up behind her.

Perhaps Julie had threatened her. Perhaps she had simply attacked her. She was certain there would have been a lot of anger.

"No, that isn't right," she frowned. "Lydia had no bruises or scratches on her. But if she wasn't drugged, if she wasn't beaten, then how did Julie get her into the noose?"

"Excuse me?" a voice said sharply from behind the counter of the bakery. "Just who are you, and what are you doing in my mother's bakery?" Dan demanded as he walked swiftly around the counter toward Bekki. Bekki's eyes widened as she recognized him. Her heart pounded. Dan had seemed so upset, but there was still a chance that he had something to do with his mother's death as well. He would certainly have been strong enough to help his wife.

"I'm Bekki," she said quickly and stepped back away from him. Dan's eyes flashed with annoyance.

"What are you doing in here? Why were you saying those things about my mother and my wife?" he looked quite menacing as he drew closer to her.

"I'm so sorry," Bekki said quickly. "I knew your mother, and I just, I just couldn't picture her taking her own life."

He paused a moment as if her words had struck a chord with him, but then his anger swiftly returned.

"And that gives you the right to break in here and imagine such horrible things about my wife?" he asked. "What did you mean by, how did Julie get her into the noose?"

Bekki shivered as she realized how much trouble she had gotten herself into. Not only had she been caught trespassing, and truly breaking and entering, but she had also openly accused Dan's wife of murder with no proof whatsoever.

“I didn't mean anything,” she insisted, her panic growing. “I'll leave right now. I'm sorry to disturb you,” she started to move towards the door but the moment she did, Dan stepped in front of her and pulled out his cell phone.

“Oh no, you won't. You're not going anywhere. You broke in here, and you're accusing my wife of horrible things. We'll let the police deal with this,” as he dialed, Bekki felt her heart sink. Her attempt at being clandestine had certainly not worked out very well. Nick was not going to be pleased that she had lied, yet again, about what she was up to. Worse than that, it might not be Nick at all who came to the scene. To any other police officer this would look like a simple case of breaking and entering, and she would have no chance of defending herself. But maybe that would be better than Nick being the one to walk through the door. She closed her eyes and imagined the exact look that would be on Nick's face. He wouldn't be able to sweep this under the rug.

***

The police station was relatively calm. It was Nick's night to catch up on some paperwork, but his mind kept wandering back to the case. He had sent the suicide note for handwriting analysis, despite the trouble he could get into for investigating a closed case. He just could not shake Bekki's insistence that something was not right about the case. He also wanted to figure out who might have attacked her in order to get the notepad back. The last thing he wanted was for her to be in danger. A part of him hoped it wasn't true. That the case was as simple as it seemed. But he had begun to trust Bekki's instincts.

Nick's partner, Detective Williams, paused beside his desk and knocked lightly on it.

“Just thought I'd give you a heads up,” she frowned. “Your little amateur detective got herself into some serious trouble again,” she sighed and rolled her eyes. “I intercepted the call, and told the uniforms that you would take care of it. But you better get out there fast. Sounds like she broke into the bakery, and Lydia's son caught her.”

“You can't be serious?” Nick sighed as he wiped a hand across his face. “I can't believe she did it again.”

“I am serious,” she replied and leaned a little closer to Nick. “Look, she may seem pretty sharp but you've got a good reputation right now Nick. If you keep covering for her, you could lose it, and even your job,” her tone was full of warning as she added. “I won't get involved again.”

Nick nodded and drew his fingertips along his temples. He knew that she was putting her own job at risk by interfering.

“I know, thanks,” he frowned and stood up from his desk.

“I mean it Nick, you need to get a handle on this situation,” she insisted.

“I know, I know,” he repeated, his heart pounding harder with each word he spoke. As he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door anyone watching would have been certain that he was a man on a mission.

***

Waiting in the bakery for the police to arrive was tedious for Bekki. She knew that she would have no good explanation to offer. She had to come up with some reason why she was there. If she didn't she might find herself spending the night in jail. Dan was standing sullenly beside the counter, doing his best to ignore her. Bekki decided to try to reason with him. Maybe he would let her leave before the police arrived.

“Listen, I didn't mean to upset you,” Bekki assured Dan. “I didn't think anyone would be here. I just wanted to help.”

“Well, you didn't,” he shot back with a stormy expression. He had begun pacing back and forth as he waited for the police to arrive. His eyes kept traveling back to the chair that Bekki had placed back in the center of the room. “You think it helps to see that?” he gasped out and shook his head. As his shoulders began to shake Bekki realized that he was not as angry as he was sorrowful.

“I'm sorry,” she said again and took a step towards him. She truly did regret causing all of his pain to be stirred up by the way she had set up the scene. For just an instant she wondered what might happen if she turned out to be wrong.

“Don't,” he warned her. “Please. I just need all of this to be over with. The media is going to have a field day with it. I have her funeral to plan. I just can't take anything else,” he said with frustration. “I just want to get my wife and myself out of this little town,” he shot a disgusted glare through the front window of the bakery.

Bekki stared hard at the floor as she realized she had caused him more pain than he was already in. Even if she did find out the truth, it would not necessarily make things better for him. Could he survive knowing that his wife had killed his own mother? What if she didn't find the proof she needed? Could she just let Dan walk away, knowing that he was married to a murderer? Bekki fell silent as she resigned herself to waiting for the police to arrive. She could only hope that she would not end up in handcuffs.

***

When Nick stepped into the bakery Bekki sighed with relief. But when he turned his professional glare on to her, she cringed and realized he might not be able to protect her this time.

“What seems to be the problem?” he asked Dan, his words careful.

“This woman broke in here,” Dan said sternly and pointed an accusing finger at Bekki.

“Nick I…” Bekki started to speak.

Nick snapped his gaze toward her before she could continue. “Not a word,” he warned and then pointed at the wall. “You, against the wall.”

Bekki's lips parted to protest but Nick's intense gaze made it clear that she needed to do as he instructed.

“What's going on here?” Dan demanded as he looked between the two. “Do you know her?”

Bekki bit into her bottom lip to keep from offering yet another explanation, or more likely another lie. She reluctantly rested her shoulders against the wall, and watched as Nick turned back to Dan.

“I'm sorry if there's been some confusion here tonight,” he began carefully. “Bekki, as you may be aware runs the local salon.”

“And?” Dan asked with annoyance. “What does that have to do with her breaking in here?”

“She knew your mother quite well,” Nick explained patiently, as if he was trying to reason with the man. “And had asked her to bake a special cake for her friend's birthday. I'm sure she was just here, hoping to get the cake. Weren't you Bekki?” he asked without turning to look at her.

“Yes, of course,” Bekki gasped out. She was very impressed with Nick's quick thinking, but she also knew it had to be going against his moral compass to be fabricating a story to cover for her illegal actions. “I just didn't want to sound crass by asking you for it, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have come, but it's for a very good friend of mine, and I didn't want to see it go to waste.”

'A cake?” Dan said skeptically. “Then why were you accusing my wife of horrible things? Why did you put this chair here?” he demanded, his rage resurfacing swiftly.

“I'm not sure what you mean,” Bekki said quietly. “There are some rumors going around town. Working where I do, I hear them all. I was just saying them out loud. I guess, I just didn't believe that what happened could be true.”

“Well, this isn't some piece of gossip to feast on,” Dan hissed. “My mother is dead, she's gone, and you and this entire tiny town seem to think it's just something to talk about.”

“It's not that at all,” Bekki insisted, her voice softening. “It's just that everyone who knew your mother cared about her.”

Dan still did not look pleased but Nick planted himself firmly between Dan and Bekki.

“I'll tell you what Dan, I'll take her over to the station, question her a little further, and you can decide if you want to press charges,” he said with a mild shrug.

Bekki held her breath, wondering if Nick really would arrest her. He was pulling handcuffs off of his belt, and she knew they were meant for her.

Dan sighed and reluctantly shook his head. “Look, I've been a bit overwhelmed by all of this. She didn't steal anything, and she didn't break anything. Maybe we can let it go.”

“Are you sure?” Nick asked with concern. “I want you to know that our entire community is here to help you with whatever you need.”

“I appreciate that,” Dan said quietly. Then he looked past Nick to where Bekki was still standing against the wall. “Just keep her away from me, and my wife, and everything should be fine.”

“No problem,” Nick assured him with a polite smile. “Rebekah?” he summoned her and she winced at the use of her full name. Bekki walked towards him slowly, each step feeling as if she was delivering herself to her judge and jury.

“I'm sorry again Dan,” she said with genuine remorse. The last thing she wanted to do was cause him more pain. Nick was obviously tense as she stood beside him. She could tell his patience was running thin.