Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 05 - Till Death Do Us Part (6 page)

“Well, thank God for that. I’m exhausted, let’s go to sleep.”

“How many steps?” I teased.

“In my mind, less than one. But I’m exhausted from driving all day, so I’ll have to give you a rain check.”

“That’s okay. We need the rest and I want to be at Disneyland when it opens tomorrow.”

“What time is that?”

“Eight.”

Tom groaned. “Then I need to be asleep immediately. I don’t want to start the day exhausted.”

You’ll be all right, I thought. I’ll do most of the running. I’ll just station him at different places and then meet up with him.

I slipped out of bed at six, showered and dressed for the day in blue jean capris and white t-shirt with Minnie Mouse embossed on the front. When I looked in the mirror, I flinched. Damn, this outfit was similar to the dead woman’s. I quickly changed into my black Mickey Mouse shirt. That was better. Then I quietly stepped out of the bathroom and over to Tom. When I got close to the bed, he grabbed my arm, pulled me down onto the bed, flipped me over and pinned me under him.

“Hey,” I said.

Tom leaned in and kissed me. It was a nice way to start the day, but I had bigger plans for the day. If we didn’t get over to Disneyland and get our first Fast Pass, the whole day’s plan would fall apart.

When he deepened the kiss, I debated – Disneyland or Tom? I’d let him make the choice.

I pulled away and said, “Liza would stay here, Stretch wants to go to Disneyland.”

Tom rolled his eyes but didn’t let me go either.

“You’re the one that won’t let me put that ring on until you
know
Stretch.”

Tom huffed. “Okay, Stretch. Let’s go to Disneyland.”

Fifteen minutes later, we walked across the street, went through the turnstiles and walked into Disneyland. My step lightened. I dropped him off at the Carnation Café, telling him to order me a Mickey waffle and an iced tea while I got our first Fast Passes. When I was sure he couldn’t see me, I picked up my pace, dodging in and out of people. I got 9:15 Fast Passes for Space Mountain. That was great! We would be just finishing breakfast about that time and we could get another set of Fast Passes.

By the time I got back to the café, Tom was seated and enjoying his first cup of coffee. When I sat down he said, “Since when do you drink iced tea? I thought in Monterey you were drinking it because there wasn’t any Diet Coke. What happened to your Diet Coke addiction?”

“I gave it up when I drank some at the Rodeo Dance. I find the tea much more refreshing. Before I’d drink a Diet Coke and then another but it never quenched my thirst. Tea works better.”

“That’s great. All those preservatives in Diet Coke can’t be good for you.”

I reached over, grabbed two packets of pink Sweet’N Low and added it to my tea. It was just too bitter without a good dose of sugar and I wasn’t about to take a diet drink and make it better by adding real sugar. That just didn’t make any sense.

Tom frowned and mumbled, “Never mind.”

They brought us our food and it tasted wonderful. As soon as we were finished, I got up and headed us toward Indiana Jones, for our next Fast Pass.

As we passed Jungle Cruise, Tom’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“We’re in Disneyland,” his voice sounded irritated.

Silence. But Tom was seriously frowning.

“Okay,” he covered the phone and said. “The detectives from last night have a few more questions, they want to come here and talk to us.”

“Here?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Now?”

He nodded again.

They will not screw with my Disneyland schedule. “Tell them not now. Tell them to meet us at around 12:00 at the
Tomorowland Terrace. We’ll have lunch there and talk with them.”

Tom relayed the information to the detectives, who obviously agreed because Tom nodded at me this time.

We got Fast Passes for Indiana Jones and while we stood in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, I asked, “What do the detectives want?”

“You,” Tom said, a serious frown on his face.

Chapter 6

“What do you mean they want me?” I said, stepping away from Tom.

“They talked enough to me last night, but never got to talk to you. They insist that you need to be interviewed.”

“Why? I have nothing to say. I don’t know anything.”

“I know that, but they have to cover all the bases.”

We stood in line for Pirates and actually got on in eight minutes.

Tom pointed over to the restaurant as the boat began floating. “What’s that?”

“That’s the Blue Bayou. It’s a wonderful restaurant. We have reservations to eat there on Monday at 7:00 pm.”

“Why so late?”

“We were lucky to get one at all since we just decided to go two days ago. Usually they are all booked up. It’s fun to sit inside the ride and be surrounded by the twilight, winking fireflies and the soothing sounds of the bayou’s crickets and frogs. You can even see the boats from the ride heading into the section with the water filled with pirates and their boats.”

“That’s cool.”

For the next two hours, I would put Tom in line for something, while I ran to get more Fast Passes and checked cast members’ lanyards for Mary Poppins pins, then we’d use one of our Fast Passes and the whole process would start over again. He stood and I ran.

At noon, it was time to settle Tom down for some lunch, talk to those detectives, and to get another set of Fast Passes. So I put him in line at the
Tomorrowland Terrace, told him I’d take a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger and bottled water. Then I walked over to Star Tours to get a Fast Pass.

When I got back to the Terrace, Tom carried a tray with our food and glanced around, looking for me and for a place to sit. We found a seat on the outside of the Terrace, enjoyed our food, and people-watched. My leg kept twitching. I was having trouble sitting still. It wasn’t something I did when I was in Disneyland. It was 12:30 and the detectives still hadn’t shown up.

“Do we have to keep waiting for them?” I asked.

“We’ll give them another thirty minutes, then we’re leaving,” he said.

“Fifteen,” I told him.

Tom smiled and continued to search the crowd for the detectives.

At exactly 12:44, he spotted them and waved them over. Today they were in identical brown suits. I hadn’t seen a suit in Disneyland since, wait, I had
never
seen anyone in a suit in Disneyland.

Tom stood and extended his hand. Both men shook his and sat down with us.

“This is Detective Johnson and Detective Miller. They are investigating the woman’s murder.”

I nodded, then said, “Didn’t know the woman. I just fell on her. Can we go now?”

The detectives looked at each other, then at Tom, then back at me.

“What?” I said, with a little more force and tone than I intended.

Tom flinched, but the two detectives stared at me impassively.

“Had you seen the woman before, maybe at the hotel?” Detective Johnson asked.

“No,” I answered.

“She and her husband checked in about the same time that you and Chief Owens did, are you sure you didn’t see them?” Detective Johnson asked.

“No,” I repeated my earlier answer.

“Come on,” Detective Miller said. “Do we look stupid?”

I looked at Tom and smiled, saying, “Is he asking a real question? Because actually dressing in those suits when the outside temperature is close to ninety,
is
probably stupid.”

Tom’s back stiffened.

“Look, we can ask these questions here or take you down to the station,” Detective Miller said sternly.

I glared at the two detectives and said, “Do I need a lawyer?”

Tom chuckled, then quickly covered his mouth. I had been in this same position before and dealt with a good-cop/bad-cop team. Of course Tom had come to my rescue that time. Now he was sitting next to me, why didn’t he do something?

“No, you don’t need a lawyer,” Detective Johnson said, then continued, “We just need some answers.”

“We know that you’ve been involved in several murder cases over the last few years and we want to know if you are involved in the death of Kathy Mitchell,” Detective Miller added.

I sat up straight and glared at Tom, who immediately looked away. Him and his big mouth!

“And we know about your dad,” Detective Miller continued before I could even speak.

I turned to Tom and said, “I’m starting to not like you again.”

“Look, guys. I told you all about Liza’s previous experiences and her dad because I knew you’d put her name in the system and come up with all of it. But, believe me, she had nothing to do with Kathy Mitchell’s death. She was with me the entire time.”

“I don’t need an alibi, Tom,” I told him.

Tom leaned over and whispered, “Yes, you do, Liza. These guys want to haul you down to their station because they think you have something to do with that woman’s death.”

Detective Johnson pulled out a picture and laid it on the table. It was a copy of her driver’s license. He pointed to the picture and said, “This is Kathy Mitchell. Do you recognize her at all?”

I picked up the photo and stared at her. According to her license, she was five foot one inches tall, 145 pounds, which seemed less than what it looked like she weighed in the hotel room – but then again what woman’s weight is actually right on her driver’s license? Her eyes were blue and she had long auburn hair. Nothing that stood out in my mind, except one thing – my stats read the same, although my long hair was listed as red and hers was auburn – reddish brown.

Chapter 7

I handed the picture to Tom. “Have you seen this?”

“No. They didn’t have it last night.”

“Does she remind you of someone?”

Tom stared at the picture for several minutes, and then I saw when he got it. “She kind of looks like you.”

I nodded.

Detective Johnson brought out another picture and laid it next to Kathy’s picture. It was another woman with similar stats.

“This is Miranda Carter.”

I sighed in relief. “Oh, that makes me feel so much better.”

All three men stared at me.

“Why?” Detective Johnson asked.

“You’ve got a serial killer who has a type. That’s so much better than someone trying to kill me and mistakenly killing Kathy Mitchell. I’ve got Tom. I’m not in any danger. Can I please go back to my Disneyland vacation?”

The detectives look at each other and then at Tom, who said, “I
will
keep her safe, so she’s not in any danger.”

The detectives weren’t happy but I didn’t know anything that would help them, so they asked a few more questions and left.

When they had left, we walked toward the Matterhorn. Tom insisted on stopping twice – once to use the restroom and then, again to get ice cream. That is something you were supposed to do when you were already
in
line but I just smiled and waited for him.

On our way to the Matterhorn, I saw a cast member walking by and I said, “Can I look at your pins?”

The young girl smiled and said, “Sure. Any ones that you are particularly interested in?”

“I only collect Mary Poppins.”

“Wow, I haven’t had one of those in months. Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” I told her and she walked away.

“What was that about?” Tom asked.

“You see the lanyards around people’s necks?”

“Sure, you’ve got one with your annual pass in it.”

“Well people collect pins and attach them to the lanyards. The people who work here also wear them and you can trade
pins with them. There are also some designated places where you can trade the pins.”

“And you collect Mary Poppins.”

I nodded.

Tom smiled, “Practically perfect in every way.”

I bowed and said, “That’s me.”

Tom huffed. “Fast Passes and pins? This is a whole lot more complicated then when I last went to Disneyland. Michael and I just wandered around and went on a few rides, went back to the hotel and swam, and then came back and rode a few rides.”

I smiled and thought,
and you probably got in five rides in two days. I can do them all in three, sometimes each ride twice if the Fast Passes and wait times go my way
. When we finally got to the Matterhorn bobsleds, Tom sat behind me. I missed the old bobsleds where I could have leaned back against Tom’s chest.

We continued as we had in the morning. I would put Tom someplace, run and get Fast Passes and check lanyards, then go back to him. Tom enjoyed the
Astro Blasters, except I beat his score. Afterwards we went on Star Tours. Then we walked back to Frontierland and spent several dollars at the Shootin’ Exposition. Tom did much better since it was more like a real gun than the space shooters of the Astro Blasters.

At 4:15, I pulled on Tom’s arm. “We’ve got to get up Main Street by 4:30.”

“Why?”

“They bring down the flag at 4:30. I never miss it when I’m here.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

We walked briskly and made it. It always made my heart fill to watch the band play the Star Spangled Banner and several guards retire the flag. I’ve even seen a serviceman blow a horn and retire the flag, too.

Tom and I watched in silence as they brought down the flag.

“That was cool,” he said.

It was almost five, so I said, “What would you like for dinner?”

“I’d rather not have another burger, but what are my choices?”

“Here in Disneyland we can have BBQ at the Bengal Barbecue, Mexican at the Rancho del Zocalo Restaurant, or a soup and salad at the Harbour Galley.”

“I’ve eaten two huge meals, plus snacks, can we go to the soup and salad place?”

“Of course, it’s over by Haunted Mansion.”

Before we got there, Tom saw the place where people lined up to ride the Riverboat. “Can we ride that?”

I had never ridden the Riverboat or the Sailing Ship, not
ever
. “Sure,” I said.

“Michael thought it was too boring and refused to ride on it when we were here last, but I like the idea of sitting on the top deck and just going for a ride.”

“Then let’s get in line.” I actually agreed with Michael but didn’t say so.

The ride was … boring, but Tom enjoyed standing at the railing, holding my hand, and watching the sights of Disneyland go by. Go figure?

Afterwards we had great salads at the Harbour Galley. Mine was the steak salad and Tom’s was grilled salmon salad and a bowl of vegetarian chili.

When our meals came, I said, “So Anaheim’s got a serial killer. I didn’t read that in the paper or see it on television last night or today.”

“Kathy is only the second girl, so I don’t think they’ll be calling it a serial killer yet.”

“I didn’t hear about the first girl, did you?”

“It wouldn’t be good to let all these vacationers know that a possible serial killer was on the loose in Anaheim.”

“That’s true. I was kind of freaked out when I first read Kathy’s stats.”

“I didn’t see it last night, but when I was staring at her DMV photo, I saw it too. While you were getting the Fast Passes for Space Mountain, I made a few calls, just to be sure.”

“Who’d you call?”

“I called the FBI and made sure that Emily and Jack were still in custody and both she and her husband are locked up tight. By the way, I don’t think I ever told you their real names.”

I felt a chill run down my spine. Emily and Jack were two professional assassins who succeeded in killing several of my parents’ friends and also made attempts on my life during our Mexican cruise. They were captured in the end and as a result, I reconnected with the father I had thought was dead. “No, I just always think of them as Emily and Jack
Stillman.”

“Her name is Sasha. Jack’s is
Niki and they really were married. Their married name is Borske. Sasha’s gotten into drama and has been performing in their prison plays and he’s still in the hospital.”

“She is a beautiful woman and I can see her getting into acting. Jack, no, I mean
Niki, is still in the hospital?”

“Yeah, the doctor he went to in Mexico after he was shot must have used a dirty instrument to take out the bullet and sew up his wound. He ended up with blood poisoning and several of his organs stopped working. He’s in a coma and being kept alive by several machines.”

“Karma’s a bitch,” I told him.

Tom nodded. “I also checked on the people your dad is testifying against, they’re all incarcerated, too.”

“That must have been some conversation for the people in line at the Matterhorn to hear.”

Tom shrugged and said, “You’re more important than strangers, Liza.”

I smiled, leaned over and kissed him. “Thanks.”

With time to kill, I suggested we ride the Railroad around the entire park. Tom loved the idea. After the Riverboat ride, I knew he would. For the next several hours, I dragged Tom around the park. Around nine he slowed down, but I kept pulling him along to the next ride.

At 10:30, I asked, “We’ve got one more Fast Pass. It’s for Thunder Mountain. How about we go to the hotel after the ride?”

“That would be great,” Tom said with a small sigh I was sure he had hoped I hadn’t heard.

We walked slowly so we were right on time for Thunder Mountain. After a fifteen minute wait, we rode the ride, then walked toward the main gate.

There were lots of families leaving the park and more teenagers coming in.

Tom glanced at the hordes of kids coming towards us and said, “I just realized something.”

“What?”

“We never went near Toontown, Small World, or any of the rides in Fantasyland.”

“I spend one hundred and eighty days with young children. I try to avoid them as much as is possible in Disneyland.”

He laughed, put his arm around me and we walked toward our hotel.

We might have gotten all the way to the room and safely tucked in bed if Detectives Miller and Johnson weren’t standing in front of our door.

Chapter 8

I lowered my head and mumbled, “What now?”

Tom took a step ahead of me and said, “What can we do for you, detectives?”

“We have a few more questions.”

I glanced at my watch. It was almost eleven thirty. “Now?” I asked.

“Yes,” Detective Miller said.

Bad cop was starting to get on my last nerve.

“We’ve only got a few more questions and then we’ll let you get some sleep,” Detective Johnson added.

Good cop was starting to get on my last nerve, too.

“Was there anything missing from your hotel room?” Detective Johnson asked.

I looked at Tom. I didn’t look, did he? Tom shrugged.

“We didn’t even think to look,” Tom told the detectives.

“Can you look for us, please?” Detective Johnson asked.

“Have you found something that you think belongs to us somewhere it shouldn’t be?” I asked.

Detective Johnson’s eyes shot up and Miller scowled.

Tom looked at me and smiled, “Good question, Liza.”

“Can you just check your stuff?” Detective Miller growled.

I laughed. “If you tell me what I’m missing – I can tell you that I’m missing it.”

Detective Miller took a step toward me, Tom got in between us.

Tom looked over his shoulder at me and said, “Stop baiting the man, Liza.”

“Easy target,” I mumbled.

“This is silly, detectives. If you’ve found something of mine or Liza’s, just tell us what you found.” Tom insisted.

I put my hand immediately to the chain around my neck. The ring and my half of my mom’s unicorn locket were still there. Anything else, I didn’t care about.

Detective Johnson pulled out an evidence bag and emptied its contents into his hand. It was the bracelet my students gave me at the end of the school year. It had twenty-six little charms, one for each of them. They had each picked one out for me: some were
dogs, soccer balls, ballerinas, and letters. A heart charm was engraved with the words, “We love our teacher.”

I put out my hand, “That’s mine.”

Tom turned to me and said, “Did you have it with you?”

“Yes, it was in my make-up bag.”

“Where’d you find it?” Tom asked.

“On the dead woman’s wrist.”

I shuddered.

But Tom relaxed immediately. “So whoever killed the woman, rifled through Liza’s makeup bag looking for money or jewelry, took it and put it on the woman’s wrist?”

“Possibly,” Detective Miller said.

“Probably,” Detective Johnson added.

I put out my hand. “Can I have it back?”

“No,” Detective Miller said.

“When can she have it back?” Tom asked.

“When we determine it has nothing to do with our investigation,” Detective Johnson answered.

“Great,” I mumbled. “I’ll never see it again.”

“Can I get an inventory of all twenty-six charms?” Tom asked them.

“Sure,” Detective Johnson said.

Tom turned to me and said, “I’ll replace the bracelet, Liza. It will be easier and less of a hassle then getting it back from them.”

“It won’t be the same,” I mumbled.

“Is there anything else, detectives?” Tom asked.

They both shook their head and Tom said, “Good, now we’ve had a long day in Disneyland and we’re going to bed.”

And that’s just what we did. When we crawled into bed, Tom pulled me close, and tears filled my eyes. I loved that bracelet and it just wouldn’t be the same to have Tom replace it, even though it would physically be the same, it wouldn’t be. I knew that didn’t make any sense but it was the way I felt.

I was up again at six, dressed and ready to go again. Tom rolled over and glared at me. “We’re going early
again
?”

“Today is California Adventure day, plus a little Disneyland, too.”

Tom sighed, got out of bed and headed to the shower.