Southern Sass and a Battered Bride Page 27

  “Alex just makes me so mad. He thinks because we’re girls, he’s superior to us. Well pooh on him. We were the ones to find the crooks’ hideout, and he thought I’d be baggage.” She had a point there.

  I opened a briefcase I found on the floor next to the sofa and sucked in a breath. There were driver’s licenses for different states, with Lucy’s picture on them and duplicates of the same states with Paul’s picture. The gut punch, a single Georgia license with Lucy Carmichael’s name on it. The girl with an angelic face a little older than the picture her mother had given me. I palmed the picture and began tearing through the unit. I spied a tarp in the very back, behind several boxes. I climbed over them.

  “What is it?” Betsy was behind me.

  I was a woman on a mission. I jerked the tarp off and there it sat. The piece of the puzzle that’d I needed. The Harley. It all clicked.

  “Whoa!”

  Betsy helped me back over to the couch.

  Poor Lucy Carmichael. I rubbed the face of the young woman staring back at me. I wished I’d been able to do something before she ended up needing my help.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered to the image. I looked at Betsy, fighting the emotion welling up within me. “We were wrong. I was wrong. They’re in this together, Paul and . . .”

  The shadow of a man appeared, and he began clapping. Paul.

  CHAPTER 33

  “Well, well, well. Nancy Drew and her sidekick have cracked the case.”

  “Nancy who?” Betsy edged closer to me. “And what made you shave your head? It’s a good look. We’re glad you’re okay. Marygene here was worried about you. Thought you were going to be blown to smithereens.” Betsy had her phone behind her back and was typing away.

  “Nice try.” Paul held out his hand. “Phone. Now.”

  “Why should I? There’s two of us and only one of you.”

  Paul smirked and reached behind his back, pulling a gun from where he’d had it hidden in the waistline of his jeans. He pointed it at her. “Still want to argue?”

  Betsy put the phone in his hand. “So, uh, you got sick of Lucy’s mouth and whacked her, huh?”

  He laughed; the low, dark chuckling sound caused a shiver to climb up my spine. How could I have been so blind.

  “Lucy, the real Lucy, the daughter of the Carmichaels, died months ago,” I told my friend, not taking my eyes off the madman in front of me. “The woman who stole Lucy’s identity is the one we knew. I’m assuming, when they weren’t able to gain access to the poor girl’s trust fund, they killed her.”

  “Wrong. I mean right but wrong. I’m not the monster you think I am. I’m the easygoing one of the dynamic duo.”

  A witch’s cackle echoed throughout the space. Betsy and I jumped in unison, colliding into each other.

  “He’s right. The brains and brawn of this operation is me.” In walked the woman who had wrecked our lives. She had short black hair and wore more makeup than any normal woman would find fitting, but it was her. “Poor, pitiful, drug-addicted Lucy. All she had to do is marry Paul here, make her parents turn over the money, and we’d have taken our spoils and left her to her devices.” She tsked. “Sadly, she had to be difficult. Do you want to know how I killed her?”

  “Winona . . .” Paul seemed to be cautioning, as his attention slid in her direction.

  Winona laughed. “Who cares. I’m free.” She ran her hands through her hair and cackled loudly. This woman was certifiable.

  Paul looked uneasy. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “Okay, mum’s the word.” One of her eyes began to twitch.

  Betsy grimaced and she shook off a shiver. “How did you manage to be somewhat normal all this time? I mean, you were always a whacko, but this”—Betsy waved her hands in the woman’s general vicinity—“is a whole new level of cray-cray.”

  “She took her meds,” I answered, making a face at my friend, hoping she’d read my nonverbal cues to not agitate the insane.

  “Bingo.” She pointed at me. “Those nasty things dampen who I really am. Dim my aura and detract from my raw beauty.”

  What?

  “I can see from your friend’s confused expression she’s unable to see my otherworldliness.”

  “Say what?” Betsy face scrunched up in disbelief. “I think you need those little pills.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I took them, off and on, until I managed to play your boy toy for a fool. Got him addicted to all this.” She ran her hands down her bright red skintight dress. “I mean, really, you have nothing on me. It was easy as pie. The closer I got to him, the more I learned about this little island’s law enforcement. Alex likes to talk about his work. Things were going smoothly. Then his stupid family, including Miss Fatso over there, had to be a pain and I had to get creative.” The baby.

  I put my hand on Betsy’s arm before she lunged and got herself killed.

  “Oops. I hit a nerve.” She smirked another creepy smile. “Anyway, I had to get my man here on the island to help me enact the plan of all plans. And desperate little you, so hurt by the rejection of the love of your life, ate up his false affections. I mean, really, you people on this island are such backwoods hillbilly morons, I had a hard time imagining anyone here would have the brains to make any real money. But lo and behold, people can surprise you. Now you’ve gone and ruined everything. You have to die.” She made a pouty face.

  Oh sweet Lord.

  “Winona, enough. Let’s lock them inside and get the hell out of here.”

  Betsy and I exchanged a quick, hopeful glance. It’d be stuffy, but we could find our way out after they left. At least they’d leave us alive.

  She shook her head. “My man still has a weak stomach when it comes to the wet work.” She teetered up to Paul, or whatever his name was, on her impossibly high heels and planted a huge openmouthed kiss. There were a lot of sucking noises.

  Betsy squeezed my hand and gave me her game face. The one she got when we watched our high school football team play. Lord help me, I was in on this plan. We hadn’t another choice. I nodded, hunkered down, and, right before they disengaged, we charged like two Georgia Bulldogs running backs with our eyes on the prize. My shoulder radiated with pain and my teeth rattled upon impact.

  They went down with a thud; a shot went wild. Winona grabbed my purse and jerked. My foot shot out on reflex and connected with her face. She screamed like a banshee, swearing a blue streak about how she was going to disembowel me or impale me or something only lunatics dreamt up.

  I scrambled to my feet and followed Betsy out the door, running as fast as I could. When we made it to the end of the row, we hid, panting. “Oh my God. Your boyfriend is a maniac!” Betsy gasped. “You and Alex sure know how to pick ’em. I never liked either of those nutjobs.”

  “Marygene! Where are you? You naughty girl. Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Paul sounded as if he was a good distance from us but getting closer by the second.

  “We have to get to the truck,” I whisper-shouted to Betsy. Then I realized I no longer had possession of the keys. “That psycho lunatic has my bag!” I panted.

  Betsy pulled at her hair with both hands. “What are we going to do? We don’t have the keys, they took my phone, and I don’t have my gun!” She mouthed all of this, but I could clearly hear the shout behind the words.

  I grabbed her hand and we moved low together to the next bay. If I could find an empty unit, perhaps one that wasn’t locked, we could hide in there. The chances of that were slim. Still, I had to hope. This wasn’t run as a tight ship or anything. The security cameras didn’t work, and no one seemed to notice that two insane people were living on the premises. My thoughts jumbled together as I desperately tried to come up with a plan. And slowly, I became aware of the fact this might be the end. When Mama appeared, a sob left my lips.

  “Mama.”

  “I know, I want my mama too.” Betsy sniffed and wrapped her arms around herself.

  “No.” I pointed to where
Mama stood. “Mama is here.”

  Betsy’s eyes brightened, and she wiped her nose. “Good, ’cause you were really gettin’ scared and all worked up.”

  “Come with me,” Mama instructed as I kept hold of Betsy’s hand since she wouldn’t be able to hear the instruction.

  “Marygene, I’m trying to help you here,” Paul called out. “I cared about you. I truly did. My hope was we’d be gone before you were any the wiser. Only your pride would’ve been hurt then. You broke Winona’s nose. She’s doctoring herself up now. Get out of here before she comes back, or your fate will be way worse than death.” Lord help me, I believed him about my fate if it were up to Winona.

  Mama led us to the next bay with her fingers on her lips. I nodded and mirrored it to Betsy, who made a signal of locking her lips and throwing away the key.

  “Follow my voice and I’ll lead you out of here.” Crazily enough, Mama was leading us toward him. My heart raced and blood pounded in my ears so loudly I could barely make out Mama’s words.

  I started to pull Betsy toward the next storage bay, but she dug her heels in. She’d picked up the direction we were going. Back to their unit. She kept shaking her head violently and turning to run the other way. I gripped her shirt tight, fearing, in this moment of panic, she might bolt.

  “It’s this way,” Mama insisted, her face stern. “If she goes that way, she’ll run into Winona. You’re going to have to be fierce.”

  “Betsy”—I put my mouth directly at her ear—“they’ve got us boxed in. We have to go this way. Back to the unit. We have to fight for our lives here. Do you understand me? It’s us or them, and, by God, I won’t let it be us! Let’s make them pay. Are you with me?”

  Her head bobbed up and down. Her emerald eyes showed the fear within. Fear I understood, felt, and validated. We were in this together.

  We wasted no time. We bolted forward with new resolve, slipping back into the storage unit. I hunted around for a weapon, anything I could use to protect Betsy and me. Betsy spied the golf bag at the exact moment I did. Each of us chose a club.

  Mama said, “Get down on either side of the doorway. You here and Betsy there and wait for my signal.” I pointed to where Mama instructed Betsy to go and her eyes bulged. Yes, she and I would both be exposed if we settled on either side of the opening. Still, I had to make a choice here. To trust my mama or not. I went with trust.

  “It’s going to be okay. I swear it,” I whispered. Taking my place, I watched my friend take hers, and I prayed to all that was holy to have been right.

  Tears stung in my eyes at the sight of my best friend shaking in the corner. We could hear them approaching. Winona taunted, calling our names. Promising pain like we’d never experienced before. Her tone sounded cold, callous—and worse, honest. She would enjoy making Betsy and me suffer. Something scurried and a shot fired so close to us it made my ears ring. Betsy screamed at the top of her lungs. Footfalls got louder and then the lights went out all over the facility, and we were plunged into pitch-black darkness.

  “What the hell?” Paul shouted, and we heard loud thuds as they ran into aluminum siding.

  “Do something!” Winona commanded.

  “Like what? I can’t control everything. We should have left after we discovered they were here. You really need to dampen your sadistic desires to hurt people.” They were close. So very close.

  “You’re such a p—”

  “Now!” Mama shouted.

  “Now!” I shouted and stood swinging with all my might as the lights came on and my club made contact. Betsy and I stood over Paul and Winona’s bodies. Both were knocked unconscious. Sirens were blaring loudly.

  “I guess Alex called them. When I sent him all those texts, he said Get out now. I’m calling for backup.” Betsy shrugged. “Sorry, in all the commotion I forgot to tell you.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Next week’s order was placed. The chair rolled back as I stood in our tiny office and closed the laptop before untying my apron and tossing it over my shoulder while stretching. Working a double shift always did a number on my muscles. Everyone had gone home, except for me; the diner was silent. I walked around the counter. In a few hours, the janitorial team would come in and polish the black-and-white checkered tile floors, wipe down the peach vinyl booths, and scour the kitchens and grill line. And Monday, we’d start a whole new week. New beginnings. I smiled.

  I locked up and took my time strolling to my car. Everything had calmed down and settled back into life as normal on Peach Cove island. For weeks, following the fiasco with Paul, who turned out to be David Parsons, and his lover, Winona Howell, it had been a circus. Winona was wanted for suspected embezzlement in three different states. They were still trying to figure out how she got past her employment background checks. News and magazines were running stories entitled “The Woman, The Monster, The Genius.” Winona was pictured behind bars in full makeup, smiling. Just thinking of the haunting image creeped me out.

  David, who turned out to be the more normal of the two, confessed and copped a plea. He’d laid most of it at Winona’s feet, and she’d seemed quite pleased—no, happy—about it. At least from the interviews I’d seen. She touted how it took guts to allow someone to inject you with the drug tetrodotoxin, which slowed her heart rate, reduced her metabolism, pulse, and breathing. As long as she wasn’t examined closely, she’d pass for dead. And she had. David had the smallest of windows to move her body, and they timed it to perfection. He’d even changed shirts after relocating her body and no one even noticed. The explosion was supposed to take me out and create a diversion. David had spared us by not engaging the bomb until he managed to get Betsy and me to safety. She’d paused and made a pitiful face at her lover’s weakness. Our names weren’t mentioned, thank God. Still, people around here knew. Later, he’d admitted he wasn’t sure why he’d spared us exactly, just, in that moment, he’d been compelled to do so.

  Thank you, Mama. Again.

  Winona went on to explain why she’d chosen Lucy. She believed Lucy had been gifted to her by a cosmic force due to their doppelgänger status, with similar facial structures and the same eye color. Losing a few pounds and coloring her hair took the most effort and were nothing compared to the payoff of a hefty trust fund. If she didn’t allow close shots, she was golden. She all but applauded her own efforts before switching topics and laughing maniacally and boasting of all her fan mail and plethora of marriage proposals. The woman was deranged, and we were all glad to rid the island of her presence. I took solace in the fact she’d remain behind bars until she took her last breath.

  The Carmichaels were grateful to finally have answers and be able to take their daughter home and bury her. Detective Thornton seemed happy to close the case and leave too. For good this time, he’d said. I’d heard rumors he would be facing his own legal troubles when he got home, although the detective showed no signs of concern. Even if he skated from whatever charge they thought they could make stick, my friend Calhoun would never rest until he proved the detective’s complicity in his brother’s death.

  Eddie, like Alex said, had been furious with everyone: law enforcement, Alex, Javier, Betsy, and me. Bless his heart, he was cooling down now but swore he would never leave his department in the hands of nitwits.

  Alex was sitting on my stoop when I got home. He held up a six-pack. This had become a semi-regular thing since the case had closed. We went out onto the deck, and he cracked open two not-so-cold ones. We sat shoulder to shoulder, staring out at the ocean. We didn’t talk this time. Just sat there drinking and listening to the waves. Alex was navigating the waters of trauma, a first for him. In his life, he’d never been played the fool. Never been used by anyone. It was a new experience for him, and I promised myself I wouldn’t let him flounder out there on his own. He was already getting enough razzing from his buddies when they’d had a few too many.

  My job would be to support him as a nonjudgmental person who would allow him to lick his wounds w
ithout taunt. He needed this. What we all needed at one time or another in our lives. From the moment we came screaming into this world until the moment we left it, our lives were a series of blips. Blips of happiness, sadness, hard times, joyous times, and everything in between. When the good times came, hold on to them, and when the difficult times emerged, have faith another positive moment was on the horizon.

  “Is this a private party?” an accented voice I’d grown mighty fond of called loudly, and it drifted over the sound of the wind and the waves, causing my heart rate to speed up. He was coming back from one of his runs.

  “Nope. And I was just leaving.” Alex was on his feet before I could say anything, lifting a hand in his partner’s direction. I’m not even sure Javier heard him from the distance he was from the porch.

  “You don’t have to go,” I told Alex, and he gave me one of his rare lopsided smiles.

  “I do, though.” He kissed me on the head. “Love ya,” he whispered.

  Mama materialized and we watched Javy stroll toward the deck in the bright moonlight.

  I covered her hand with mine as she placed it on the banister. “You said he was on the island for a reason.”

  “Yes.”

  “And that reason would be?”

  She smiled. “Let your hair down, my love. You have such beautiful blond locks. Jena Lynn’s father used to call you Goldilocks. Do you remember?”

  “No.” I shook my hair out as I pulled the band out. I’d been so young when he passed away. I wondered if my sister recalled the nickname.

  Mama ran her fingers through my shoulder-length hair. “You’re going to be so happy.” Her smile was watery before she faded away and Javy made it to the top of the steps and grinned.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded, not able to speak yet as I searched Javy’s face. For what, I wasn’t sure. The joy welling up within my chest regarding Mama’s revelation that I’d be happy threw me. In this moment, I suddenly realized that deep down, since the trauma from my ex, I never expected to be truly happy again. Just from the confirmation that happiness was possible, hope bloomed. Mama hadn’t confirmed if the man who stood before me would have anything to do with my happiness. For now, I decided, it didn’t matter, and I’d hold on to this moment in time for as long as it lasted. And either way, I’d be okay.