Murder on Wheels (21 page)

“Just get us out of here.” I hugged Sadie. “My friend has a Bible study to get to tonight.”

A few minutes later, Toby and Greg burst through the bush and stopped short when they saw the grate locking us into the cave. Greg came close and studied me. “You're something else, you know that?”

“Can you get us out of here?” So far, the men had just been studying the situation. “Sadie and I tried to get it to move, but we didn't have much luck.” I was beginning to feel a bit like the lions at the zoo, closed in with time to pace.

“I don't know.” He looked back at Toby. “At least with you in there, I know you're safe.”

Looking at the rain puddling around us, I shrugged. “Until the cave fills up with water. What a day for the drought to end.”

“One rainstorm doesn't end a drought, but it's a good beginning.” Greg squeezed my fingers. “Hold on, slugger, we'll get you out of there.”

The men gathered around the mouth of the cave, and after a few test runs, lifted the grate up far enough for Sadie and me to squeeze through. Greg handed me a bottle of water, but I shook it off.

“Sadie had us well-stocked.” I held up the water jug that I'd strapped over my shoulder that morning. “So, if you found us, you probably found Taylor, as well?”

Greg and Toby exchanged a glance.

“Don't tell me you let him go. The guy is crazy. He locked us in here.”

“And he killed Kacey and vandalized the food truck to make it look like Austin had done it.” Sadie paused. “But I guess I should thank him for returning my recipes. The man's not all bad.”

“The only reason he returned them was to make Austin look guilty.” I couldn't believe my friend. She was always seeing the best of people, even the ones who left her for dead in a cave.

“Hold on, he's not gone. Tim has him in the back of the patrol car cooling his jets. I can hold him for your kidnapping and attempted murder, but I got nothing tying him to Kacey's murder except your word.” Greg held up a hand before I could speak. “I didn't say it wouldn't sway a judge, but he might be able to play a jury.”

“Believe me, he killed Kacey.” I started shaking in the rain, and Greg put his arm around me.

“Let's not worry about that right now. Let's get you down the mountain and into a warm vehicle.” Greg took my arm and motioned to Toby to help Sadie down the trail.

“How did you find us so fast? I figured we wouldn't be missed until Sadie didn't show up at the church tonight.” I leaned my body into Greg's to try to feel some of his warmth. The guy was like a furnace.

“I don't know if I want to tell you.”

That made me stop dead in my tracks. “You were following me?”

Greg laughed and, with his hand, gently pushed at the small of my back to get me walking again. “Not exactly.”

“How is it, ‘exactly'?” Now I was on the edge of mad. If he was following me around or worse, having Tim or Toby follow me, I was going to give him a royal piece of my mind.
Even though he found you before the cave filled up with water?
Sometimes I hated my logical side.

“Well, Toby set the tracker app on your phone after you told him about the GPS coordinates that Ginny gave you. So when he saw you leave in the Jeep, we just tracked your phone. Once we knew you were heading here, we figured we wouldn't be the only ones here.” Greg looked at me. “Don't tell me you didn't see Taylor watching Ginny give you the paper. Come on, even I saw that.”

I hadn't. I'd been too involved in trying to figure out what Taylor knew, he'd played me like a little violin. I shrugged, not wanting to admit my mistake.

“Then when Ginny was found, she'd said more than just your name. She told us that Taylor was going to get you, too.” Greg stopped near my Jeep. He threw Toby his truck keys. “Take Sadie home. I'm going to drive Jill back.”

When we got into the car and turned up the heat, Greg passed the basket of muffins that was in the backseat. “You want one of these?”

I took a couple. Greg chuckled, took one, and then pulled up next to the patrol car. “Hand out the rest of these to the volunteers and make sure the basket gets back to Sadie.” He handed the basket to Tim, who grinned. “Oh, and take Mr. Archer to the station. I've got some questions for him before I decide what charges I'm going to ask John to file.”

We drove in silence as I consumed the first muffin. Then I leaned back in the seat and thought about all that had happened.

“You really don't have anything linking Taylor to the murder except our testimony?” I aimed the heater vents to blow the warm air toward me. The rain was still falling, making it hard to see out the window to the road. Thankful Greg was driving, I put my leg up under me and turned toward him.

“Nada. At least not yet. I wish I could put him in South Cove the evening of Kacey's death.” He put his hand on my knee.

“Did you check Kacey's planner? Maybe she made a note about meeting him.” I leaned my head against the seat. I felt so tired, I was going to sleep for days after this.

“What planner? How do you know she had a planner?”

I yawned. “She told me when Austin was trying to get her away from me before I told her about him and Sadie. She said she'd bought it in Bakerstown when they started working on the food truck.”

“Interesting.” Greg's voice seemed very far away. When I woke up, we were in my driveway.

“I guess I was tired.” I turned toward the door, but paused. “So Toby turned on the GPS on my phone, that little tattletale. I'm going to have to give him a piece of my mind when I see him.”

Greg smoothed down my hair. “I guess I should tell you all of it. I was having Toby spy on you.”

“That's why he moved into the shed?” I looked out to the back of the driveway. Toby's truck wasn't there yet.

“No, that was all the two of you.” Greg chuckled. “I asked him to keep an eye on your investigating since I knew you were up to something and I couldn't figure it out. He gave me reports daily, then we decided what information to feed you to hopefully keep you safe and out of harm's way. The friend thing was supposed to keep you researching on Facebook, not locked in an abandoned mine shaft.”

“Now I'm really going to have words with the boy. He tricked me.” Actually, he'd tricked me several times, but I wasn't going to admit that to Greg. I was just happy to be home, where I could listen to the raindrops hitting the roof without worrying about anything.

I
got a text from Aunt Jackie Monday night. Actually, two.

When I sent back a yes with a smiley face, I got a quick response:

And that was how I came to sleep in this morning. But as usual, my body had other plans, and I was up and wandering the house by seven. I called Aunt Jackie at the shop to see how things were going.

“You need to be resting. I swear, you get in more trouble than anyone I know.” She called out to Heidi, one of my regulars who only came in the morning, mostly to avoid talking to my aunt. “I've got to go. Customers to serve. I suppose you'll want to work tomorrow?”

“I suppose so.” When I chuckled, she hung up on me. I knew she was just worried about me, and that gave me a warm feeling. Emma whined at my feet. “Your aunt says hello.”

I got a bark from that, and she headed to the door. After letting her out, I called Greg.

“Hey, sunshine. I figured you'd sleep in today,” Greg said.

I slumped into a chair. “I tried. No luck. Anything in Kacey's planner about meeting with Taylor?”

“Yep. And she was going to cut him from the club. There was a whole discussion written out on a sheet of paper about how she caught him skimming from the treasury. We asked him, and the guy confessed to everything.” Greg chuckled. “I guess he thought your testimony was going to send him up the river anyway.”

“What did his lawyer say?”

“He talked before his court-appointed lawyer got there. We tried to get him to shut up, but he waived counsel. Man, that woman was hot when she got to the station. But it was all on tape, and we didn't do anything wrong. John is over the moon since he only has to do the sentencing part of the trial.” I could hear Greg tapping on his computer.

“Sounds like you're busy tying up loose ends. I'll let you go.”

He stopped typing. “Just want you to know I love you. And stay out of trouble.”

“Trouble seems to follow me.” I tried to remember what the line was from the movie, but it wasn't coming to me.

“Honey, you dive in feet first. It doesn't follow you, you find trouble.” When I started to object, he laughed. “Go read and take care of yourself. I've got a delivery coming from Lille's for your lunch.”

A knock on the front door had me distracted. “Is it here already?”

“Shouldn't be. I told them to deliver about noon. Don't hang up until you check to see who's there.” Greg didn't like me having unscheduled visitors, especially living so close to the highway.

I peeked out the side window; a woman stood there with a large flower arrangement. “Crap, I forgot that Allison was coming over for coffee this week.” I started unlocking the door. “Sorry, hon, I've got to go.” I hung up the phone and set it on the table in the foyer.

When I swung the door open, I greeted her. “I didn't expect you to show up today. At least not with flowers.”

The woman thrust the flowers into my hands. Then she spoke. “I figured as horrible as I've been, I'd better arrive bearing gifts.”

It wasn't Allison on my doorstep, it was Amy. She looked me over. “Are you okay?” She paused. “Can you forgive me?”

“I'm fine, and of course.” I set the spring arrangement on the table and pulled my friend over the threshold and into my arms for a hug. “I missed you so much. Have you ever had a meal with Darla? She's impossible.”

“Justin says I've been a total brat about this. When we heard the news last night, I wanted to come then, but Greg said you were worn out.” She walked over to the couch. “Come sit down and tell me everything. I'm tired of getting my gossip from secondhand sources.”

Leave it to Amy to put it all in perspective. I sat down and the two of us talked until the second knock on the door brought a basket of fried chicken along with mashed potatoes and gravy. It was enough to feed ten adults.

“I wonder who else is showing up.” I carried the boxes into the kitchen and started unloading. Amy got out the good paper plates and silverware.

“Greg told Justin to be here just after noon. I guess Greg will be arriving anytime.” Amy looked in the refrigerator. “Good, you have sun tea.”

As she set the jar on the counter, Toby knocked on the kitchen door. “Am I too early for lunch? Sasha's bringing your aunt from the shop. They closed down for the afternoon.”

“Seems like everyone but me knew there was going to be a party here today.” I hugged him. “Thanks for watching out for me, even when I don't think I need it.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Not my fault at all. This was all Greg's plan. He knew you were investigating, but he couldn't figure out what you were doing. So I was his mole.”

“Just remember to take the GPS locator off my phone. I don't need Greg knowing everything I do.” I shot Amy a knowing look, and she blushed.

Toby's phone rang and he glanced at the display. “Sorry, I've got to take this.” He walked into the living room.

“So Greg found you by using your phone app?” Amy handed me a glass of iced tea. “That's kind of awesome.”

“It's kind of invasive, but I'm glad they took that step. Sadie and I didn't even have time to finish the water we'd brought for the hike.” I sipped my tea.

“You shouldn't joke. That guy was crazy, he could have killed you.” Amy leaned against the cabinet. “Do you know how he killed Kacey?”

I shook my head. “He didn't say. He was just so excited about having done it.”

“I heard that he mixed a wheat germ into water, let it steep, then strained it. While they talked, he switched out her water bottle.” Amy shrugged. “Another reason why water's bad for you.”

“I guess so.” I thought about Kacey and her love of people. “I feel bad she didn't get a chance to really be a resident of South Cove. I think once the Austin and Sadie thing blew over, she would have been fun to have around.”

Amy walked over and put her arm around me. “That's why I adore you. You're always thinking about the underdog.”

“Well, maybe not always.” I held my hand up, stopping Amy from disagreeing. “Look, I was wrong to say I wouldn't support you in the water conservation plan. I should have been more understanding whether or not I knew it was your project.”

Amy shrugged. “Thank you. I kind of went overboard crazy with my reaction, too. I guess I was trying so hard to not tell people it was my project, I forgot to get buy-in before I went all psycho water saver on you.”

I looked out at the gently falling rain. “I guess two days of rain doesn't stop a drought?”

“Two days might not, but the forecast is rain for a week. We'll be disbanding the water conservation committee next week when the council meets. Bill's already talked to me about it.” Amy dug through the chicken and pulled out a wing.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I've learned a lot the last couple of weeks. I know I'll do the next project totally different.”

Toby came back into the room, and Greg followed him along with Sasha and Aunt Jackie. The kitchen was full of people. Emma sat out on the porch, looking in through the screen door. She whined when she saw Aunt Jackie.

“That was the hospital,” Toby said. “Ginny's awake and talking. They are predicting that she's going to make a full recovery.”

I sighed. Ginny needed some good news. I just hoped she could find her way in the world now that she was going to be all right.

Greg came over and put his arm around me. “I just wanted to bring together Jill's favorite people and celebrate the fact that we have another day with the most beautiful woman in South Cove. Thank you for being who you are, even when it drives me crazy.”

“And risks your life,” Aunt Jackie added.

“Here's to Jill.” Amy held up a glass of iced tea, and the rest of the group held up their empty hands. “We love you.”

 

After we ate, Greg and Toby had to get to the station to start the paperwork. Amy had to get back to work. She squeezed me tight before she left. “Girls' night Thursday. We'll go to Bakerstown and do that painting and wine thing.”

“Greg and Justin can take us and pick us up. Then we can come back to the house for a movie.” I adjusted our plan so we wouldn't be drinking then driving back.

“Sounds perfect.” She waved and headed out the door.

Sasha looked at my aunt. “You ready to get back?”

Aunt Jackie slouched into my recliner and kicked off her shoes. “Why don't we stay and talk a bit.”

I sank down on the couch and Sasha sat on the other end. “Hey, I'm getting ready to go back to school, and I have to take a test. You want to help me study?”

“I can do that. I've gotten really good at testing lately. In high school, I'd freeze up, but now, if I don't know the answer, I just guess. And usually, I'm right.” Sasha twisted her hair between her fingers.

“What's going on between you and Toby?” Aunt Jackie asked.

Sasha didn't miss a beat. “I'll tell you right after you tell us what's going on with you and Harrold.”

“Touché.” I grinned. The girl was learning. “What other gossip have you heard?”

“There's a new store opening across the street next to The Glass Slipper. Some kind of china shop, from what I hear. The name is really cute, Teattee.” Aunt Jackie closed her eyes and leaned back her head. “I'm so glad we closed the shop for the day. I'm beat.”

“Cheesecake and movie afternoon?” I thought about my movie collection. “Romance, mystery, or comedy?”

“Comedy. Let's watch
Ghostbusters
. Or anything with Bill Murray.” Aunt Jackie sat up. “Soda in the fridge?”

“Yep. Bring me one.” I stood and grabbed the movie off my shelf. I also grabbed
Groundhog Day
. We might as well make an afternoon of it. I put the DVD into the player and messed with the remote.

Sasha was looking at the movie case.

“Excited?” I pressed Pause on the DVD as we waited for Aunt Jackie.

Sasha looked at me and shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, I love hanging out with you guys.”

My aunt handed her a soda and then gave another to me. “But what? You think you need to study or something? Relax, the books will be there tomorrow.”

Sasha shook her head. “It's not that. I just have a question.” She paused, looking at the movie cover again. “Who's Bill Murray?”