Karma's A Bitch (A Pet Psychic Mystery) (23 page)

My heart lurched. I hoped that wasn’t true. I needed to be able to talk to her, try to reason with her but the cloth stuffed in my mouth prevented that. The only thing I could do was shake my head vigorously.

“Yes! Yes, you did.” She swung at me, her knuckles connecting with the bottom of my chin. It hurt but could have been worse. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for her to hit me again.

“Whoa,” Vick said. “There’ll be plenty of time for that. Wait ‘til the video’s rollin’ darlin’.”

My eyes flew open. Plenty of time? Video? Oh, this wasn’t good.

Vick finished tethering me to the punching bag and stepped back. His dark eyes bore into mine. He reached over and pulled the cloth from my mouth.

I took a deep breath and moved my jaw around. “Please, I didn’t mean to…”

“Shut your mouth!” Maddy screamed.

Vick grabbed her around the waist as she lunged toward me again.

“You shut your mouth," Maddy choked. "You’re the one who should be dead! Not my baby!”

“It’s all right, Maddy. You’ll get your revenge.” Vick grinned at me. “You messed with the wrong girl, honey.”

My head was pounding and I was freaking out. I watched in horror as Maddy stumbled back to the box and pulled out a pair of leather gloves with metal spikes sticking out of the knuckles. As she came toward me, pulling them on, I thought of my mother and sisters. Who would tell them what happened to me? Will they know that I loved them, even as I had to leave them? I closed my eyes as Vick stepped behind a video camera and yelled, “Showtime!”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

The first blow was to my chest. It knocked the wind out of me and the spikes stung as they penetrated my skin. I braved a look into her eyes as she wound up for another punch. What I saw there was pure rage…maybe madness. Whatever part of her that had been human, that could have prevented her from killing me, was gone. The single-mindedness of her hatred terrified me. Nothing I could say would stop her. So, I closed my eyes and tried to put myself as far away from my physical being as possible. I went back home in my mind, to Savannah.

My sisters were gathered in the kitchen. They smiled at me as I entered and I rushed into their arms.

The second blow was to my head. It felt like a boulder crashed into me and the shocking pain pulled me back to the townhouse. I felt the spikes tear through the flesh of my cheek. Tiny black dots danced in my vision. I decided it was better to keep my eyes open, if I could, and know when the next blow was coming.

How long would I stay conscious during a beating like this? I felt the blood, wet and sticky, running down my face and into my shirt. I hoped the next blow would knock me out.

“This video is going to be gold, darlin’!” Vick said, laughing.

In the back of my mind, Vick’s words disturbed something deep within me. I reached for the questions that now rose like sediment floating impossibly upward toward the surface. “Video?” I managed to push the word out on borrowed breath.

Maddy swayed in front of me, grinning but let her arms drop. “Oh, yeah. You’re gonna be an internet star just like your friend, Mad Dog.”

“Shut up, Maddy! Just keep workin’ her.”

“No,” she whirled around to face Vick. “It doesn’t matter if she knows now. She can take it to the grave with her.” She turned slowly back to me and put her face inches from mine. I could smell her sweat mixed with alcohol. “I didn’t mean to kill Mad Dog. I liked him, actually. We were shooting the video and us girls had been drinkin’. Tonya said, ‘Hey, I dare you to use the new brass knuckles.’ Maddy swayed and fell back, laughing and shrugged. “Why not?”

Tears were streaming down my face, mingling with the blood. The salty mixture filled my mouth. Maddy killed Mad Dog? But why didn’t he stop her? Was he tied up like this? The thought made me sick to my stomach. I dropped my head.

“Yep, so now you know. We panicked and dumped him at the lake. Tried to make it look like he just got drunk and drowned.”

“With my good rum!” Vick threw in.

“Oops,” Maddy laughed then shifted back into psycho mode. “But no…you just couldn’t let it be. Probably dump your nosey ass there, too.”

It was truly over. I knew the truth but I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone. Maddy would get away with it. The best I could hope for was my death would lead Will to investigate further and maybe they would uncover the truth then.

I’m so sorry, Karma
. I pictured him in my mind and tried to send him a last goodbye. I could almost hear his deep bark.

Suddenly, the door shook as someone pounded on it.

My head snapped up. Maddy whirled around and shared a concerned look with Vick.

The knocking stopped and then the door crashed in. I saw Vick drop to the floor and go for the gun he had left there. Maddy bolted for the back door, jumping over Mac’s body, tripping then stumbling back up.

Will and three other officers pushed into the room, guns out, yelling, “Police, freeze!”

A large brown mass pushed by them and tackled Maddy in the hallway with a loud thud.

Karma!

“Get off me!” She screamed. One of the officers grabbed her arms and cuffed her. Another officer wrestled Vick to the ground, knocking over the video camera. The third one checked Mac’s vitals. “He’s alive! I’ll call it in.”

Karma limped over to me and began sniffing me with abandon, his tail wagging. Will was right behind him.

“Oh my god,” he whispered as he saw my face. He worked quickly to untie me and I collapsed in his arms. All the pain was a tidal wave rushing in now. I whimpered as Will helped me to sit on the floor. Karma pushed in next to me, resting a large paw on my leg. “Hang on. The paramedics will be here soon.”

I squinted at Will through my swollen eye lid and tried to smile, but the tears just spilled out faster. “Maddy killed Mad Dog. She confessed. They videotaped it.”

Will reached out and held his palm to the side of my face that wasn’t beat to a bloody pulp. “We’ve got her. We’ll sort it out, don’t worry. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Darwin.”

I glanced up as the officers escorted Maddy and Vick out. “How did you find me?”

“Karma.” Will patted his flanks affectionately. “I got worried when you didn’t show up at dinner, with someone threatening you and then running you down in a car…so I had Sylvia let me in your place when you didn’t answer. Karma was frantic. We let him out and he led us here. When I saw your bike in the grass, I knew you were in trouble.”

Dizziness rushed in as I turned my head. Karma couldn’t save Mad Dog, but he saved me. How did he know? I closed my eyes as Will instructed the paramedics who had arrived. Maybe the visions were more like a connection, a two way exchange of energy? Will reluctantly let me go as two gentle hands took over.

Good boy
.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Three days later, I was back at the boutique, enjoying a cup of tea and feeling lighter than I had in months, despite my new injuries. It was already a gorgeous St. Pete morning, full of sunshine and possibility. Or maybe it was just the fact that I had survived? There’s something precious about each new morning after you thought you’d never see one again.

Sylvia and Frankie were hanging out with me. We were all thanking our lucky stars we lived through the threat Vick and Maddy had posed in our lives. Even Mac had survived. He would be in the hospital recovering for awhile but he wasn’t complaining about the soft bed, hot food or cute nurses.

I adjusted my sore bones on the chair in front of the window, letting the sunshine warm the side of my face not covered in bandages.

“I still can’t believe it was Maddy who killed Mad Dog,” Frankie said. “I guess you never really know somebody.”

“Shocking, yeah. But so is the fact those three girls were involved in such a barbaric activity to begin with,” I said.

“Sim é demente,” Sylvia sighed. “Landon must now find new assistants. Demente meninas. So,” her brow furrowed, “they would pay the homeless people for these girls to beat them up? And sell the videos? Who would buy such a thing?”

“Not just that,” I said, “but Vick had a hidden page that you could only shop on after he charged five thousand dollars on your credit card. Will said it was real sick stuff, including the video of Mad Dog’s death.”

I still couldn’t digest this part. Yeah, Vick deserved to be locked up, but what about all the people buying this kind of violence? Supporting it? Do they just get to walk away?

“So, Vick wrote the suicide note and forced Junior to turn it in?” Frankie asked.

“Yep.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t see what a scumbag he really was,” Frankie said.

We all sat sipping our tea for a moment. It was all so surreal.

“Was it Vick who tried to run you over then?” Sylvia asked.

“Nope, Will said it was Maddy. She apparently got the car from her brother, who stole it in Tampa. I guess Vick told her I was still suspicious of Mad Dog’s death and she decided she needed to cover her tracks.” I didn’t mention the part where I confronted Vick on the yacht with the words ‘I know about Maddy.’ He must’ve thought I was talking about her killing Mad Dog.

“You could have gotten yourself killed,” Sylvia scolded me, then made the sign of the cross.

“Yeah,” Frankie said, “but she didn’t, thank the Lord. And they would’ve all got away with it and kept hurting people. You did the right thing, Darwin. Maybe not the smart thing…but the right thing.”

“Thanks, Frankie,” I laughed and then winced as the stitches in my cheek pulled tight.

“Though Hops is gonna be sore at you for awhile for getting him out of jail,” she chuckled.

Just then, the first customers of the day entered the boutique.

“Welcome to Darwin’s,” Sylvia smiled. “What can we help you senhoras with today?”

The woman adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “Hi, are you Darwin?”

“That’d be me,” I raised my hand. “Can I help you?”

Her eyes widened at the sight of the bandages covering the side of my face. She put a protective hand on the young girl’s shoulder standing next to her.

Karma had gotten up and ambled over on his three good legs to greet them. The young girl kneeled down and slipped her arms around him.

“Wow, he doesn’t usually greet people like that,” I smiled. “Your daughter must be a real dog person.”

“Yes. She’s been begging me for a dog forever,” the woman said. She seemed nervous. “Is he dangerous?”

“No, he’s a big love…besides, he doesn’t have any teeth.”

“Oh, okay.” She held out her hand to me. “You left a message on our phone. I’m Nina Fowler.” I took her hand, every hair standing up on my arms. “This is Mariah.” She nodded down at the girl.

I glanced from her to Mariah and back, my eyes blurring with tears. I stood up and gently hugged her. “Thank you for coming. I know he’d want Mariah to have his sketch book. Follow me.”

I walked her to the counter where I had stashed the book. When I held it out to her, she closed her eyes for a moment as her fingers clutched it. I couldn’t help but notice she was still wearing her wedding band.

“There’s an envelope of money in the back, too. He wrote Mariah’s name on it.”

She flipped back to the envelope then met my eyes. “Can I ask you how you got this?” Her voice shook. “How did you know him?”

“I only knew him for a week, really. But that was long enough to know he was a good person that deserved better. You knew he was homeless?”

“Yes,” she kept her voice low, wiping at a tear that slipped out. “He left us because he was afraid he would hurt us. Not on purpose. But, he was a haunted man. He couldn’t be indoors or control the day terrors. What happened? How did he…?”

“That’s a long story.” I glanced over at Mariah, who was watching us, one arm draped over Karma. “One I’d rather tell you when your daughter isn’t around. Can you stay? I’ve got plenty of room in my townhouse upstairs and I can fill you in on everything tonight. Also, your husband was cremated but the ashes are still in storage. If you’d like, we can give him a proper goodbye. Maybe have a sea burial?”

“Yes,” she was holding back sobs now, “I would like that very much and I think it would be good for Mariah to have closure. Thank you.”

***

So that’s exactly what we did. Frankie worked her own particular kind of magic and chartered us a yacht for the next evening. A different kind of energy brought as all together this time—relief and love and gratitude.

Nina and Mariah got to meet Mad Dog’s Pirate City family and we even got G onboard—with the promise of cookies, of course. She shared with us the person Mad Dog was before the war; the kind, sensitive happy family man. I was glad his little girl got to see how much he meant to us all. We had a celebration of Mad Dog’s life before we let him go.

At one point on the way back, with the salty breeze and the lights of St. Pete dotting the perimeter of the Bay, Will stood behind me and slipped his arms around me.

“So, what was it you wanted to share with me?”

“Oh.” My heart sank. Yeah, that. Did I still need to tell him everything now that the case was solved? I didn’t feel up to it, that’s for sure. “Nothing important.” Maybe another day it would be important, but right now, I didn’t want to risk losing this oasis of happiness we had found.

“Okay but you owe me a dinner and an explanation.” He squeezed me tighter. “How did you know about that townhouse being connected?”

“Women’s intuition.” I held onto his arms, his warmth and the moment, burning each into my memory.

***

For the two days Mad Dog’s family stayed with me, I noticed Karma never left Mariah’s side. I had a decision to make.

We said our goodbyes outside the boutique Wednesday evening and, with a heavy heart, I made the only decision that made sense.

“Nina, I think you should take Karma home with you, for Mariah.”

She began to shake her head in protest and I stopped her and turned her around to look at the mastiff with her daughter. Mariah had her arms wrapped around him, her head buried in his fur. “That dog belongs in your family. He attached himself to your husband…and now your daughter. He belongs with her.”