A Killer Stitch (21 page)

“Hey,
Burt, I was hoping it was you,” Kelly said, answering her cell with one hand while she steered through holiday traffic with the other.

Last Saturday before Christmas, and the roads were gridlock. Parking lots were a nightmare. Kelly swore she would shop earlier next year. But then, she said that every year.

“I'll bet you're out shopping, right?”

“Ohhhh, yeah. Me and thousands of others, bumping into each other.”

“Well, don't bump into anyone. I've got a few answers for you. Still waiting on the others.”

Kelly held her breath, feeling her pulse race. “Hold it, Burt. I've gotta pull out of this traffic so I can pay attention. Otherwise I'll run into someone for sure.” Spotting an entrance for a discount store ahead, Kelly steered into an illegal parking place and idled her engine. She took a deep breath. “Okay, tell me what you found.”

“Well, I checked on that voice message first. My friend said the message was short but the woman really sounded angry. She called Derek a ‘bastard' and said something like ‘you've done it again, but you won't get away with it this time.' Something like that. Then she hung up.”

“Interesting,” Kelly said, wondering what Derek had “done again.” Was the woman talking about herself or Lucy? Had Derek hurt Ellen in some way other than dumping her?

“I can tell you're thinking that caller might be Ellen.”

“Yeah, I am, and I'm wondering what Derek did to her to make her so mad she'd stalk him. Clearly, it sounds like she was trying to hurt Derek in some way, don't you think?”

“Well, if she did stalk him or go to his ranch, there's no record of it. No reports filed, not even for the broken windshield, nothing. So Diane was either mistaken or lying. Maybe Ellen was just another dumped girlfriend, and Diane exaggerated.”

Kelly stared out at the volunteer bell-ringer standing in the cold beside the store entrance. Shoppers piled through the doors and piled out of them. Many of them dropped something into the red kettle, Kelly noticed. Spreading holiday blessings.

“I don't think so, Burt. Jennifer and I verified Diane's account. We went to the bar last night and showed the photo to Ted, the bartender. He identified Ellen Hunter as the woman who used to come to the bar pestering Derek a couple of years ago.” She waited for Burt's reaction to her news. It came quickly.

“You're kidding.”

“Nope. Ted said Ellen came in several times, and Derek laughed about her ‘stalking' him. Derek made a joke of it, of course. But Ted remembers her.”

“Well, I'll be damned. You've got my instincts buzzing on this now. Wait a minute…there's another call coming in. I'll get back to you, Kelly.”

Kelly clicked off her phone and tossed it to the seat, wondering if she should venture out into the traffic nightmare again or wait for Burt's call. One look at the bumper-to-bumper traffic made her decision for her.

Spying a car backing out of a nearby parking space, Kelly swiftly pulled her car into the empty spot. If she was going to wait for Burt's call, she might as well get more shopping done. A chill breeze whipped the knitted scarf around her neck as she trekked through the melted snow-slush in the parking lot. Brilliant blue sky, bright sun, cold as hell.

She dropped some dollar bills into the bell-ringer's kettle and was about to join the throngs crowding into the store when her cell phone rang. Kelly stepped away from the shoppers and their noise before she answered. Burt's number flashed on the phone screen. “Hey, Burt, what's up?”

“Kelly, can you call Ellen and ask her to come to the shop this afternoon? We need to talk to her.”

Kelly felt her pulse speed up. “What did you find, Burt?”

“Yesterday I called and asked the deputy sheriff who patrols Bellevue Canyon to check his records to see if any unidentified cars were spotted on the road near Derek's that night. He said he didn't remember any, but he'd check again. That was him calling back. Dispatchers received a neighborhood nuisance complaint that night. Someone parked a car partially blocking a canyon resident's driveway. Seems the old man didn't like that, so he took down the license plate and called it in.” Burt paused to take a breath.

Kelly couldn't hold hers any longer. “And…?”

“The car is registered to Ellen Hunter of Fort Connor.”

Kelly held absolutely still while her mind raced, puzzle pieces sorting in her head, fitting together at last.
Ellen
. It was Ellen waiting in the car. Why? She must have followed Lucy to Derek's that night. Did she wait in the car? No. No, she couldn't have. The canyon resident would have seen her. Ellen must have left the car and walked up the driveway. Was she spying on Lucy and Derek?

“I'll call Ellen while I drive to the shop, Burt. I'm heading there now.”

Kelly
signaled a waitress as Ellen shed her coat and settled across from her at a corner table in Pete's café. This late in the afternoon, only a few customers were scattered about. “Coffee?” she asked Ellen as the waitress refilled Kelly's mug.

“No, I'm good,” Ellen said, digging into her briefcase and opening a notepad. “Now, who is this client of yours again? I know a lot of doctors in town, and most of them are with group practices of some sort. They may have their own transcription people.”

“I think this guy is on his own,” Kelly said, willing the lie to her lips. “And he said he was looking for someone.” She glanced to the doorway where Burt was hovering and beckoned him over. “Hey, Burt, come over and join us.”

“Thanks, Kelly. I could use some coffee,” Burt said with a friendly smile as he joined them. He reached for the carafe the waitress had left and poured a dark stream into his cup. “How're you doing, Ellen?”

“I'm fine,” she replied, looking at Burt with surprise. “Do you have a class today? You're usually not here this late.”

“No, Ellen, I don't,” Burt said, leaning his arms on the table. “Kelly and I are here to speak with you. We think you need some help.”

Ellen peered at them both, clearly surprised by the turn of conversation. “Help with a client?”

Kelly leaned forward then, cupping her hands around her mug, and spoke in a soft voice. “Ellen, we need to talk with you about Derek Cooper.”

Ellen sat back, glancing from Kelly to Burt then back again. Kelly glimpsed fear in her eyes before anger swept it away. “Why? I didn't know Derek Cooper. He was Lucy's boyfriend.”

Kelly reached into the folder at her elbow and withdrew the photo of Ellen and Derek, handing it to her. “Jayleen said she remembers seeing you at several alpaca banquets with Derek a couple of years ago. And the bartender at Derek's favorite bar identified you as well. He remembered you kept coming into the bar looking for Derek. Did Derek dump you, Ellen? Is that why you started stalking him?”

Ellen's face flushed as she stared at the photo, her mouth tightening. She tossed the photo to the table. “I wasn't stalking him. I went there to tell him what a piece of trash he was, that's all.” She bit off the words.

“Is that why you broke his windshield one night? Diane remembers you yelling at him and calling him names,” Kelly continued, keeping her voice calm. She didn't want to stoke Ellen's anger any more than she had to. Ellen blazed with it already. Kelly could feel the heat.

The mention of Diane's name brought a fiery glare. “That drunk! Are you going to believe
her
?”

Kelly let the flames die down while she switched her approach. “Derek sounds like a bastard—”

“Damn right!”

“Apparently he dumped every girl he ever went with. I can understand your being hurt when he left you, Ellen. Is that why you've been so solicitous with Lucy? You've been taking care of her like a big sister, almost. Were you trying to keep her from being hurt by Derek?”

Ellen's expression changed swiftly. The flames disappeared from her gaze, replaced with concern. “I didn't want Derek to hurt Lucy like…like he hurt me,” she said in a quiet voice.

Kelly studied Ellen for a moment as stray thoughts drifted through her mind. Another and another. Ellen's concern for Lucy. Not wanting her to be hurt. Hurt like Ellen. How had Derek hurt Ellen? By dumping her? That didn't make sense. Derek dumped every girl he slept with, according to Jennifer. No, it had to be something else, something more than getting dumped, something…

Suddenly, one thought crystallized before Kelly's eyes. That had to be it. Why hadn't Kelly seen it before? Ellen had become pregnant just like Lucy.

She leaned forward and touched Ellen's hand. “Ellen,” she said softly, “were you pregnant with Derek's child? Is that why you're so concerned about Lucy?”

Ellen's head jerked up, and Kelly saw the truth shimmer in Ellen's eyes along with the pain. Ellen looked away and didn't answer, staring out into the nearly empty café. Kelly caught Burt's sympathetic glance as they sat and waited. Waited for Ellen to speak. Kelly could see the struggle inside reflected on Ellen's face.

“Yes, I was pregnant,” she said at last. “Just like Lucy. Until Derek pushed me down the stairs. I lost the baby a few days later.”

Kelly sat back in her chair, shocked by what she heard. “Ellen, I'm so sorry. That must have been awful.”

Ellen nodded as she turned back to them.

“Can you tell me how it happened?” Burt asked in a low voice.

“I went over to Derek's ranch to tell him right after I got the news from the doctor. I was so excited, just like Lucy.” Ellen's voice grew cold. “But Derek wasn't happy at all. He was furious. He didn't want a baby, and he didn't want me. Not anymore. He threw me out like a piece of trash. Pushed me out the front door. I pushed back, and he got really mad. That's when he pushed me down the porch steps. Then he threw some money on the ground and said he never wanted to see me again.”

Kelly watched the emotions flash across Ellen's face as she stared at her hands. Kelly didn't have the right words, so she simply reached over and placed her hand over Ellen's and held it there. Ellen's mouth tightened, and her eyes started to glisten.

“That's why you've been taking such good care of Lucy, isn't it? You didn't want the same thing to happen to her, right?”

Ellen gave a little nod, but didn't say a word, simply wiped at her eyes.

“Is that why you called Derek?” Burt asked. “You called to warn him not to hurt Lucy?”

Ellen looked up, glancing from Burt to Kelly. “I didn't call Derek. What are you talking about?”

“The police have your message on Derek's phone. The message where you said he wouldn't ‘get away with it this time,'” Burt explained. “You were warning him about Lucy, weren't you?”

“I told you, I didn't call Derek.”

Kelly pulled her cell phone from her pocket and held it up. “I've saved your phone message from last night, Ellen. The police will be able to match the voices.”

Ellen's face paled, and Kelly glimpsed fear dart through her eyes again. She sensed Ellen was on the edge, so she pushed and asked the question they'd come for.

“You went up to Derek's that night, didn't you? You followed Lucy in your car. Did you go there to protect her in case Derek got violent?”

Panic raced across Ellen's face for a moment, and then the anger returned, flaring. “I know what you're doing. You two are trying to pin Derek's murder on me, so that drunken slut, Diane, can get off. Well, it won't work. You have no proof I was there at Derek's. I left him a message, so what? You're crazy if you think I'm going to sit here and listen to this garbage.” She grabbed for her briefcase, clearly planning to leave.

Burt reached over and placed his hand on Ellen's arm, gently holding her in place. “Ellen, your car was spotted parked at the bottom of Derek's driveway that night. A neighbor called in the license number because the car was blocking his driveway.”

Once again, panic flashed across Ellen's face, but this time it stayed as all color drained away. She stared at Burt, then at Kelly, then she slumped in her chair.

“Why don't you tell us what happened that night? It'll be easier if you tell us first.”

Ellen's lower lip trembled. “I…I didn't mean for it to happen. I just went up there to make sure Derek didn't try to hurt Lucy when she told him she was having a baby.”

“Did you follow them to the barn?” Kelly asked.

“Yes, I slipped in the back and hid in one of the stalls. Derek started yelling at Lucy, and she was crying and…and it brought back all those old memories.”

Kelly noticed a tear slide down Ellen's cheek. Release at last. “That must have been hard for you to listen to.”

She nodded. “It was. Especially when he was shoving money at Lucy and yelling at her and pushing her out the door. I was about to come out of the stall when Lucy ran off to her car.”