Girls' Night Out Murder (Ryli Sinclair 2) Page 18

  “Let me show you what she can do,” Aunt Shirley said excitedly. She opened the car door and motioned for me to follow her.

  Sighing, I turned off the Falcon and followed her down the street to the city park. Not surprising, there wasn’t a single person in the park.

  “See that tree over there,” Aunt Shirley said, pointing to a spot about twenty yards away. “I’m going to hit it with this dart.”

  She put a tiny dart into the tube then lifted it to her mouth. The dart flew out of the end of the tube…and landed with a thwack! on the bench next to the tree.

  “Okay, so my aim’s a little off,” she said, jogging to retrieve the dart.

  “You know how much I hate anything related to darts after my run in with Sharon. Why did you buy that?”

  “Well, your Barney Fife boyfriend won’t stop busting my balls about my gun…so I thought this might come in handy.”

  “He’ll arrest you if he hears you call him Barney Fife,” I said smugly, watching her put the tube and tackle box inside her camouflage parka.

  “Doesn’t look like the flower shop is going to open early. How about you drive on out to Jim’s business? Let’s see if Amber Leigh is out there.”

  It didn’t take long to get to Jim’s place. We were lucky enough to see Amber Leigh coming out of the office, stopping to lock the door. From the look of things, she’d been packing up and moving.

  “Hey, Amber Leigh,” I called from the Falcon.

  Screaming, Amber Leigh whirled around. “You scared me!” she yelled at us. “What do you want?”

  “I just want to ask you a quick question. What are you doing?”

  “That’s your question?” she raged. “You want to know what I’m doing?”

  “Um…no. I have a different question. I was just being friendly and asking what you were doing here on a Sunday morning moving out boxes.” Okay, I probably could have said it a little nicer, but her attitude was pissing me off.

  Aunt Shirley and I got out and walked over to where she was standing.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but Josh is still wanting to finish the jobs. No way am I sticking around and working for a kid.”

  Aunt Shirley peeked into the open box. “Still doesn’t explain why you’re taking files out of the office.”

  Amber Leigh glared at us. “None of your business. These are my leads. Josh is on his own.”

  “I don’t think legally you can take files out of a business that isn’t yours. I believe they call that stealing.”

  Amber Leigh huffed. “What do you want?”

  “We came by to see if you have diabetes or take insulin?”

  “What? Why?”

  Thinking on the fly I said, “Because we found a bottle the other day out here, and we figured it must be pretty expensive, so we wanted to give it to the owner.” I thought it sounded plausible.

  Amber Leigh shifted the box to her other hip, obviously irritated. “No, I don’t have diabetes or take insulin shots. Happy now?”

  Not until I solve this murder and clear my name.

  “Yes, thanks.”

  We trekked back to the Falcon and headed back into town.

  “Well, I guess that takes care of that. We can scratch her off the list,” Aunt Shirley said. “I think I’ll call Josh and let him know what’s going on over there.”

  “You have his number?”

  Aunt Shirley grinned. “I pocketed some of Jim’s business cards the other day when we were inside. They also list Josh’s number.

  Aunt Shirley dialed the number on the card and told Josh what was going on.

  “He’s on his way over. I hope she doesn’t take much,” my aunt said as she dropped the phone into her purse.

  The flower shop was open when we arrived. Two people were inside answering the phone and taking orders. It was awful busy…which was understandable seeing as how in one week there were two deaths.

  The owner ran over to us. “We are breaking our rule about not opening on Sundays. With this second murder, our orders for funeral flowers are numerous. We’ll never get everything done if we don’t work today,” she said politely.

  “Have you heard anything more?” I asked, hoping she didn’t say I was the number one suspect.

  “Not really,” she said, biting her lip nervously. “We’re all so scared that we decided to work in pairs today. No one is to be left alone in the shop.”

  “I’m sure you have nothing to worry about,” I assured her.

  Suspicion had her giving me the eye. “Why do you say that?” The store owner took a step backward and looked over her shoulder at the young girl on the phone taking orders.

  “No, no,” I said quickly. “I just mean it’s unlikely that…” I trailed off. I didn’t know what to say without making me seem suspicious.

  “Statistically speaking, the chances of another murder happening are slim,” my aunt said.

  The shop owner still looked uncertain. But I guess human nature being what it is she didn’t want to ask too many questions for fear of the answers.

  The young girl on the phone taking orders hung up and stood in front of us. She was your typical high school kid…long, flowing hair, thin and curvy at the same time. She had beautiful green eyes with a few freckles scattered across her nose.

  “Hi, my name’s Annabel. I kind of eavesdropped on your conversation. It’s so sad what’s happened,” she said. “I’ve talked to a lot of my friends from school, and we’re all in shock.”

  “How so?” Aunt Shirley asked.

  Annabel chewed on her lower lip. “Well, a lot of kids are saying that Josh is responsible. That he killed Jim and Julie.”

  I could tell Annabel’s mom was not exactly happy we were having this conversation with her daughter…but she didn’t stop us, either.

  “Of course, I keep telling my friends Josh couldn’t have done this. I mean, he’s so nice and cute.”

  It took all my effort not to laugh. I didn’t want to insult her. I also didn’t have the heart to crush her innocence by telling her being cute wasn’t a good enough alibi for the police.

  “I have heard, though, that he’s kinda taking over right now since Jim’s dead. So maybe that’s why he did it?” Annabel shrugged.

  “If he only wanted the business, there’d be no reason to kill Julie,” Aunt Shirley informed Annabel.

  “You’re right,” the girl said. “I don’t think Josh had anything to do with it. I just hope the kids at school don’t harass him too much if the killer isn’t caught by the time we get back to school.

  Me, too. That’s the last thing he needs.

  “By the way,” Annabel said to Aunt Shirley, “Rocking the hair!”

  Aunt Shirley grinned and patted her colorful curls. She’d decided to wear her hair curly for the wedding, which really made her colors pop. “Thanks,” Aunt Shirley said.

  It didn’t take long to load the flowers into the backseat of the Falcon. I decided to text Garrett to see where he and Hank were.

  Picked up the flowers. Heading to Susie’s house 2 get a surprise 4 Paige. Don’t tell her. Where R U?

  Less than a minute later I got a reply text from Garrett. Pulling into lake house right now. Hurry home…missed u!

  I felt a silly grin spread over my face. Should be back at lake house in 15 minutes. Missed U 2.

  Feeling giddy, I slipped the phone back into my pocket and steered the Falcon toward Susie’s house. I’d already pulled her address up on Google Maps, so I knew where to go.

  Unlike Julie, Susie bought a house closer to the lake. It was definitely in a newer section of homes. If I remembered correctly, when we were kids, this area used to be where the old hospital clinic was. We pulled into a cul-de-sac. With only three houses on the street, it offered seclusion, a private dock to the lake, and spectacular views.

  A new home and a new business. Her parents must have had one hell of a life insurance policy.

  “How do you think she affords all this?�
� I asked Aunt Shirley as we parked in the cobblestone driveway and got out of the Falcon. It was almost identical to Whitney’s house. Brick, lots of windows, numerous pitched roofs.

  “Don’t know. I guess she’d have gotten money from both the fire insurance and the life insurance policies.”

  I suddenly felt guilty for envying Susie. No amount of money would be worth losing my family over.

  Aunt Shirley and I carefully made our way up the cobblestone walkway toward the front of the house. I was just about to ring the bell when the back gate opened and Susie popped her head out.

  “Right on time, Ryli,” she called cheerfully. “Oh, hello Aunt Shirley. I wasn’t expecting you, too.”

  Aunt Shirley and I peered around the corner and waved.

  “Come on back and help me load it if you don’t mind. I have the cake already loaded up and ready to go. It looks fabulous!”

  Aunt Shirley and I walked around the house and through the fence. It was odd she’d put a fence up around the house, because now she had to open it to go down to her private dock.

  “I know it seems weird putting a fence up,” Susie said, as though she’d read my mind, “but Jim talked me into putting a little shed back here for my business. It’s temperature controlled and has electricity. Before I set up shop downtown, this is where I baked and housed my goods. I felt I needed some privacy because of the expensive items I had to have back here.”

  Susie stopped talking when she came to the door of the beige shed. “You didn’t tell me how things were going this morning. Is everyone ready for the ceremony?” she asked.

  “Yep. I took some pictures this morning of Paige and Matt in their wedding attire. The natural lighting was perfect.”

  “I love your hair up like that,” Susie said.

  I patted my updo. I was ecstatic at how wonderful it came out. “Thanks.”

  Susie swung open the door and motioned Aunt Shirley and me to go on in. “I’m so glad to hear everything’s ready. It seems to be coming together on my end, too,” she said as she closed the door behind us.

  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the poorly lit room and Dexter-like plastic all over the place definitely wasn’t it.

  Aunt Shirley and I walked farther into the room. I let out a yelp when I saw Jolene sprawled out on a metal table, obviously high as a kite, a needle haphazardly next to her.

  Aunt Shirley was just as shocked. “What the—”

  She didn’t finish her sentence…instead, she crumpled to the ground in a huge, camouflage heap. It’d happened so fast, I didn’t even see it coming.

  I dropped to the ground next to Aunt Shirley to check on her. My hands were shaking as I pushed the hood back to see her face. Blood was running down her head. I wasn’t sure if it was from the blow Susie gave her or from hitting her head on the cement when she went down.

  “That’s for talking shit about my healthy bread the other day, you old cow. Get up, Ryli,” Susie ordered, waving around the gun she’d hit Aunt Shirley with. “She’s fine. I just gave her a tap, that’s all.”

  I looked up at Susie, so filled with rage I couldn’t see straight. I guess she must have guessed my intent, because she jabbed the gun against my forehead.

  “I said get up!” Spittle flew from Susie’s mouth.

  So…this is a new twist.

  I was trying to stay calm. I couldn’t get my body to comply with her orders, so she yanked me up herself…the whole time keeping the gun aimed at me.

  “I don’t understand,” I said, hating the tremor in my voice. I didn’t want her to know how scared I really was.

  “Of course you don’t, Ryli,” she sneered, pushing me toward the middle of the room. The clear plastic crunched beneath my feet as she led me over to a workbench on the other side of the room. As I passed by Jolene, I couldn’t help checking to see if she was still breathing.

  She was.

  “Put your hands together,” Susie demanded as she snatched up some rope off the workbench. I was trying to come up with a plan to get us out of this mess, but nothing was coming to me. Susie stuck the gun in her waistband and proceeded to tie my hands together.

  Chapter 26

  I looked over at Aunt Shirley again. She still hadn’t moved.

  Susie finished tying me up, pulled the gun back out of her pants, and motioned for me to sit on the wooden barstool next to the workbench.

  I sat down and silently watched as Susie went to stand by Jolene. She tucked the gun back into her pants. In the blink of an eye, Susie slapped Jolene across the face with her open palm. Jolene moaned but didn’t open her eyes. “You’ve always been a worthless sister,” Susie sneered. “I guess I’ll have to do this all on my own…then blame it on you like I did our parents’ death.”

  I jerked my head up.

  Holy shit…was she confessing to killing her parents? If I managed to get us out of this alive, Hank was gonna give me a huge promotion with the story I was going to give him.

  “Why did you kill your parents?” I asked.

  Susie glared at me. “Shut up, Ryli. I’ll get to you after I take care of your nosey aunt.”

  My heart dropped to my stomach. I couldn’t let her kill Aunt Shirley. “Please don’t hurt her,” I said, standing up from the barstool.

  Susie whipped out the gun and pointed it at me. “Don’t even think of moving. Sit back down,” she said as she walked backward toward Aunt Shirley.

  Susie stared down at Aunt Shirley, who was still out cold. She reached down and yanked Aunt Shirley’s arms up and started dragging her across the cement floor on her back.

  “Jesus, old lady,” Susie said, pausing to wipe sweat from her brow, “lose some weight. It’s like dragging cement sacks.”

  I prayed to God Aunt Shirley didn’t wake up and hear Susie…Aunt Shirley would go postal on Susie’s ass. Which would definitely end with Aunt Shirley being shot.

  Susie opened a door I hadn’t noticed at the back of the shed. She tugged Aunt Shirley’s unconscious body inside the room.

  Jumping up from the seat, I frantically searched for my cell phone in my pocket. I’d heard it vibrating twice in the last two minutes. I knew it had to be Garrett, worried why I wasn’t back yet. I just didn’t know how to let him know where I was.

  I started whimpering when I realized my hands were too tightly bound to reach into my pocket and retrieve my cell. Trying not to let panic set in, I tried to think of a way to stall Susie.

  “I told you to sit down!” Susie screamed as she came back into the room.

  “Where’s Aunt Shirley?” I demanded.

  Susie smiled at me. “In the shower. I figure after I kill you, I can just shoot her in the shower and let the blood drain out. No mess to clean up. So practical…so practical,” she practically sang as she went to stand near Jolene.

  How is it I seem to attract the nuts? First Sharon and now Susie! I’ve gotta start branching out…or stop hanging out with women whose first name starts with an S.

  I felt my pocket vibrate again. Time to stall until I could come up with a way to let Garrett know where I was.

  “Okay, I give. Why did you do all this?”

  Susie’s hate-filled eyes locked on me. She hit Jolene upside the head again. “Do you know what it’s like to grow up with a sister addicted to drugs? A sister that’s done nothing but spread her legs for any guy that will give her something for free?”

  “No.”

  Susie laughed bitterly. “All my life I grew up with this messed up piece of trash for a sister. Every time she’d get in trouble, my parents would come down harder on me! I never did anything wrong, because I wasn’t allowed to do anything!”

  A light was beginning to come on…but I didn’t know how Jolene’s pathetic life led to Julie and Jim having to die.

  Susie picked up a knife lying near the table. “The night before I killed my parents, they told me they didn’t want me going to my senior prom. They said since Jolene had managed to get in trouble with the
law that night by getting high, leaving the dance, and then getting into a car wreck, that somehow I might fall into that same routine. Me!”

  I watched in horror as the knife accidentally nicked her under her chin when she pointed to herself.

  “You know those moments of clarity some people say they have?” Susie said. “That’s what it was for me. I knew all I had to do was get Jolene high as a kite, set the fire, and watch her take the blame.”

  Tapping the blade against Jolene’s head, Susie continued, “But that worthless Taggart couldn’t make shit stick to you, could he my little meth whore? Nope, no matter how many lies I told about seeing Jolene going to my parents’ room that night, about her being mad they took her drug stash away, the threats she supposedly made…he let her walk!”

  Susie slapped Jolene again. This time Jolene moaned and tried to open her eyes.

  “I thought getting rid of my parents would make things easier for me…but no, I had to stay with Julie and her strict-ass parents until I turned eighteen and the insurance kicked in.”

  “Susie,” Jolene moaned hoarsely, “what’s going on?”

  “Nothing you need to worry your pathetic little meth head over,” Susie sneered down at her sister.

  “Okay.” Taking Susie at her word, Jolene closed her eyes and fell blissfully into a drug-induced sleep.

  “Disgusting, isn’t she?” Susie asked.

  “But you never said why you killed Jim and Julie. What did they ever do to you? I mean, Julie took you in when—well, after you cold-bloodedly murdered your parents.” I knew I probably shouldn’t taunt her, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.

  “Please,” Susie spat. “You think I wanted to go live with her? I couldn’t wait to get away from that pathetic loser. I hated her as much as Whitney did. I couldn’t wait to get out of this town and away from everything here.”

  I tried to stay focused on her confession, but my mind kept trying to formulate an escape plan.

  “I’d made some sound investments with the money I got from the insurance company. So when I came back, money in hand, Jim was so helpful in building me a house. Then he helped me renovate the bakery in town. We were spending so much time together…” Susie trailed off, looking into space. “I’d listen to Whitney go on and on about how she thought Jim was in love with her because they spent so much time together building and selling houses. Ha! That stupid bitch was so delusional!”