Strung Out to Die (21 page)

“I’m going to win this.” I pointed to myself like
The Under
could really hear me.

I went into the kitchen to retrieve the plug-in flashlight that I took from Sean, and clicked it on to make sure it worked.

“Aha!” I pointed the light toward the futon and waved it around like a light saber.

I lay back down on the floor and the light illuminated the dark
Under
. Just a glimmer of pink was visible. I zeroed in on the glistening hot pink spot.

There was no way I was going to move the futon or stick my hand in
The Under
, but I could get the broom. I jabbed with the handle and knocked the pink thing out.

I crawled on my knees to see what it was.

A fingernail?

“What the hell?” I inspected it more closely.

It was a hot pink press-on nail. There was only one person I knew that was fake all the way to the tippy tops of her eyelashes.

Marlene.

Here was my proof that Marlene planted that cell phone. At least it was proof enough for me. I took it into the kitchen and put it in a snack baggie. Willow came running back out because she thought I was giving her a snack.

“You are one smart piggy.” I dangled the zip lock over her head to show her the evidence she found. I put it on top of my refrigerator. “I will put this up here until I can gather all the evidence I need.”

There were a couple of stops I needed to make before I went to work. The Beaded Dragonfly’s mortgage wasn’t going to pay for itself. Today was the first day of Beading 101, and I couldn’t afford to be closed another day.

Before Willow and I headed out, I glanced across the lake to see if Bernadine’s kitchen light was on. Before I went to work, I’d usually see a few lights on, but not that day.

I called her anyway. If I woke her, I didn’t care. She’d offended my slumber plenty of times. I wanted to give her a quick rundown of what was going on.

Besides, it was in the Divas creed that we could call anytime of the day, and it didn’t matter what we were doing.

Unfortunately, she didn’t answer, so I was going to have to leave a message.

“Hey, Bernadine. I know you are coming to the bead class today, and I’ll see you there, but I wanted to give you a heads-up on what I think has really happened to Sean. Marlene is the one who planted Sean’s cell under my futon.”

I went on to explain how Willow was ass-end up in
The Under
of the futon with a hot pink fiberglass nail teasing her. And reminded her that Marlene was the only one in Swanee that wore hot pink fiberglass nails on a daily basis.

Coincidence?

I think not.

“Anyway, I’ve got more digging to do, but I’ll fill you in on those details later.” I said my goodbyes and hung up.

If she had trouble following me, I’m sure she’d call my new ePhone.

Willow danced around the floor under where her leash was hanging and twirled her tail. There was no way I could leave her here again. Plus, I didn’t want to come home to roast pork like the bunny that Glenn Close’s character boiled in Fatal Attraction.

With a click of the leash, and another quick glance over at Bernadine’s dark house, Willow and I were on our way to our first stop–the Swanee Police station.

Since Noah Druck was true to his word, he’d already be in South Burrow. I bet he’d already impounded Sean’s truck if it hadn’t been sold to someone else yet.

Willow and I walked right in like we always did and the officers fed her pieces of their leftover doughnuts.

“What can we do for you, miss?” One of the new deputies asked from behind the counter.

Noah’s desk was empty like I’d hoped it would be.

“Is Noah around?” I pretended to look around to throw him off.

“He’s gone for the day to a neighboring town.” The officer tugged on his belt. “I’m in charge today.”

I bet you are.
I smiled, knowing this new guy probably had no clue how close-knit Swanee was.

“Is that right?” I batted my eyelashes, but they got caught on the edges of my bangs. “I’m here to get my police report about the break-in at my shop. I need to turn it into my insurance company.”

“What’s the name?” He picked up a cardboard box with a bunch of papers in it.

“Holly Harper from The Beaded Dragonfly.” I folded my hands and Willow sat down next to my feet.

“Wow. You’re the Holly Harper that all the talk is about around here?” His eyes grew wide as I nodded. “Well, I’ll be. Yep, lots of talk about you.”

“I bet there is.” I noticed his badge said Gilley. I tapped my watch and said, “Officer Gilley, I’ve got to get back to the shop, if you wouldn’t mind grabbing that report so I can get out of your hair.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He scurried to the back and through a door.

“Stay.” I held my hand out to Willow and hurried over to Noah’s desk.

Sean’s cell had to be there somewhere. I had to check his call log. Someone, probably Marlene, knew that Noah was going to be at my house that night, and she wanted him to find the phone, so she called it.

Luck was on my side, because the cell was in the second drawer I checked, as if it had been waiting on me.

“Hello, old friend.” I scrolled through it like I had so many times before when I was looking for other women’s numbers.

The time stamp gave me the exact number that I needed. I grabbed a pen and scrap paper off Noah’s desk and scribbled the number on it. I put the cell back in the drawer, grabbed Willow, and bolted out the door.

There was no time to wait for the police report. I had to get to my next stop before the shop opened. Sloan’s Hardware.

Chapter Thirty-One

I drove around the lot a couple of times to see if Jim’s truck was there. I didn’t see it, so I thought I’d take my chance to find Joni.

If he was there, I could hire him to change the locks at the bead shop.

It was early in the morning, so there was barely anyone in the store. I found my way to customer service where Joni was sitting underneath a sign that read, “Rush Protection Service.”

“Hi, Holly. You here to see Jim?” Joni folded her hands in front of her and sat them on the counter.

“Yes. I need some of the video footage of my shop.” Oh, how I prayed Jim wasn’t in the back.

“I’m sorry. He isn’t here, but I’d be more than happy to help.” Joni jumped off the stool in excitement. “They promoted me.”

Her five-foot frame padded around the Customer Service counter, and she motioned for me to follow her.

“I heard.” I boasted, trying to inflate her ego. “Ginger said that you’ve been working really hard.”

Joni jumped up and clapped her hands in delight. “Really? I
have
been working hard. I really want to make them proud.”

“Oh, you do.” I nodded.

Joni unlocked the door just before her name was called over the loud speaker.

“I’ll be right back. Go in and help yourself. I have alphabetized all the tapes.” Joni flung the door open, and walked up to the front of the hardware shop.

I stood in awe, looking at rows and rows of VCR tapes on steel shelves. Who still uses VCR tapes? I started at the A’s and ran my finger along the videos until I reached the B’s.

Ginger wasn’t kidding when she said that everyone and their brother in Swanee wanted a security camera.

We might not know who the killer was, but I did know that this had to be filling Ginger’s pockets, which were pretty well padded before.

“Beaded Dragonfly, The.” I said, touching each ‘The’ tape there was. “Tan Your Hide, The; End of the Line Liquor, The; Livin’ End, The.”

But nothing labeled The Beaded Dragonfly. There definitely wasn’t one for the shop. On second thought, Jim did say that it would take a few days to fill a tape since we were only taping during the hours the shop was closed. Maybe there wasn’t a full tape yet since it only had been a couple of days since he’d installed them.

I just needed to find out which recording device the camera feed was sent to. That’s what I get for opting for the cheaper package. Jim did try to talk me into having the monitors located at the shop, but I refused.

Hindsight
, I sighed.

Before I left, I did one more check through the “The’s.” Gently, I pulled out the cassettes for The Livin’ End. I tried to recall where the cameras were in the smoky and dimly-lit bar. I couldn’t remember seeing any.

What if there were some clues on these tapes? I was desperate for anything.

I tucked them under my arm and walked out of the store. Joni was too busy helping a customer to even notice me. I slipped out unseen.

Willow was asleep in the passenger seat like a good little piggy. I put the cassettes on the floorboard.

“One quick drive by The Livin’ End, and then on to the shop.” I scratched Willow’s ears and got a satisfied snort in return.

The gravel parking lot was empty. Slowly, I pulled in to see if I could find any outside cameras. I scanned the outside of the building twice and came up empty handed. I drove around the light post and happened to look up.

There it was. There was a sphere that sure did look like a Rush Protection Service outdoor camera.

“We’ve got something,” I said to Willow and put the pedal to the metal.

I picked up my phone to call Sean and tell him I knew something was wrong, but put the phone down. His phone was in Noah’s desk and did me no good.

Chapter Thirty-Two

It was already after ten when we pulled up in front of the shop. Some of the class members were standing next to the door, including Flora.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” I profusely apologized and unlocked the door.

“Where is everyone?” Flora twirled a strand of her wavy brown hair with one hand and held the phone against her ear with the other.

“I have no idea where the Divas are,” I said, and quickly got the bead boards and a few supplies out for the class. “I left Bernadine a message on her machine, but I haven’t heard from her.”

In this class, I was going to teach the group how to start a simple beaded bracelet. Crimping was first on the list, since it was how the toggle stayed on.

“Of course you haven’t. You don’t have a cell for anyone to get in touch with you.” Flora held her cell out for me to see.

If only she knew. I couldn’t tell her I had the new ePhone. The fewer people that knew, the better.

Before class, I went into my office and called Donovan.

“Hi, Holly.” He answered more cheerfully than I thought he would.

“Hi. I was hoping to collect on that rain check tonight.” I held my breath for an answer.

“Absolutely. What time should I pick you up?” He asked.

“I was thinking that after work I could pick up a pizza and we could watch some old videos.” I was technically
using
him.

I did enjoy his company, and I was sure it would have been different if it weren’t under these circumstances.

He mentioned he was an old equipment guy, and how much older could you get than VCR tapes?

“Okay. What movies?” He questioned me.

“Do you have a VCR?” I felt my check flush with embarrassment for asking him that.

“Yes, but that’s an odd question.”

“Good. I know you’re going to like what I have to show you.” My voice escalated with excitement.

I had to put on a good act in order to get what I needed.

“Sounds good.” He gave me his address, and we were all set.

“One more thing.” I interrupted him. “Can I bring Willow?”

I never took her to anyone’s house without asking first. Some people think pigs are…well, pigs. But not Willow. She’s cleaner than any house pet I’ve ever seen.

“Of course, she’s welcome here.” He said, and then we hung up.

Halfway through class, Cheri burst through the door with a huge smile on her face.

I was bent over one of the students, who was sitting next to Flora, showing her how to hide the snipped piece of wire in a bead.

“Donovan told me you two have a dinner date tonight,” Cheri whispered between me and Flora.

“Big deal. What’s dinner?” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Defense Donovan? Dinner?” Flora hung up her cell and put it on her bead board next to the all-sterling silver 8mm bracelet she was finishing. “A very big deal.”

“Yes, Defense Donovan,” I said. Leave it up to the Divas to give him a nickname.

Willow must’ve heard Cheri. She high-tailed it as fast as her hooves could carry her to Cheri’s side.

“Hey, girl.” Cheri was the only Diva brave enough to actually ever pick Willow up and let her give her kisses. “You want to go for a walk?”

Willow fought her way out of Cheri’s arms. She knew what ‘walk’ meant.

“We’re just having a pizza and watching some old movies.” I clicked Willow’s leash on and handed it to Cheri.

“Wait until I tell the other Divas.” Flora’s nails were clicking away on the screen of her phone.

Yep, there were no secrets between us. Or so we thought.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The class was a huge success, but Flora was not doing well on her goal to tell the Divas about my dinner date with Defense Donovan. None of the Divas answered their phones, including Bernadine.

She even tried Marlene, and never once questioned why she wasn’t at the shop. If Flora had questioned me, I’m not sure I’d have been able to keep my little investigation a secret.

Before I closed up for the night, I called the local pizzeria to order our pie and have it delivered to Donovan’s house. It should be delivered by the time I got there and finished explaining my situation.

I typed Donovan’s address into my fancy new ePhone. With the shop all locked up, Willow and I headed over there.

I tried calling Bernadine, but got her machine again. This didn’t worry me, because it wasn’t unusual for Bernadine to get a wild hair up her butt and drive to a big city just to get some shopping in. The Divas could go days without hearing from her.

I did think she would at least call me in light of everything that had transpired.

Oh, well. I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind when we pulled up to Donovan’s house. It was similar to the house Sean and I had shared, but Donovan’s landscape was immaculate.