Throw a Monkey Wrench (an Emma Cassidy Mystery Book 1) (20 page)

He sounded almost hurt, she thought in
surprise. “You didn’t believe me when I told you about the pickup truck,” she
answered defensively. “You thought I was imagining it all.”

He let out a sigh, and his eyes drooped as
if all the stress of the past few hours had finally caught up with him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” he said,
his voice soft. “And I’m relieved to see you in one piece, even if you are
wearing Sean’s clothes.” An edge had returned to his voice.

“I was filthy,” she protested. “Now, are
you going to take those cuffs off Sean? He’s innocent of everything.”

“Everything?”

“Yes. Sean didn’t kill Tony Barnet, Kyle
did.”

“Kyle. Kyle murdered his own father. Is
that what he confessed to you when he kidnapped you?”

The wariness in Owen’s expression didn’t
escape her notice. “He didn’t exactly confess, but all the evidence points to
him. Kyle was responsible for the food poisoning at the housewarming party. He
disguised himself as one of the wait staff and doctored the ice cream with
crushed up slug pellets. He was angry with his father because Tony had refused
to pay any more of his outstanding debts. Kyle owes some mobster boss a hundred
grand. He was desperate for money, and he was under the impression that he
stood to inherit the bulk of Tony’s estate. Plus, he hated Sean because, in Kyle’s
eyes, Sean had stolen his girl from him. Did you know that Madison and Kyle
were once an item?

“Anyway, Kyle saw his opportunity to get
rid of both obstacles at once. He’d previously brought his truck for repairs at
Sean’s auto shop, so he knew where Sean’s tools were kept. He was also there
when Sean had a blazing row with Tony over the phone and threatened to make him
pay. Kyle followed Sean to Tony’s house, waited for Sean to leave, then hit
Tony over the head and left the wrench for the police to find. It all makes
sense.”

But Owen didn’t seem as stunned by her
brilliance as she’d hoped.

“Well, it’s a good theory, I’ll give you
that. I’m sure the local police will follow it up.”

“Is that all you’re going to say?”
Indignant, she pressed hands on hips.

“Of course not.” His eyebrows slammed
together. Once more he looked annoyed with her. “I, along with the rest of the sheriff’s
department and the local police, will be searching for Kyle Barnet, and when we
find him, we’ll question him about everything, including his possible
involvement in the murder. But we have to hear his side of the story before we jump
to conclusions.”

Owen might have a point, but why did he
have to lecture her like she was a kid? She jabbed a finger in Sean’s
direction. The poor guy was still hunched on the floor, his arms awkwardly bent
behind his back.

“Can you at least jump to the conclusion
that Sean had nothing to do with my abduction and take off those damn cuffs?”

With an exasperated sigh, Owen stalked over
to Sean and uncuffed him. Sean scrambled to his feet as Emma hurried to his
side.

“I’m so sorry about that,” she said as it
became clear that Owen wasn’t about to apologize for restraining him.

“I’m used to it,” he said gloomily.

He was still rubbing his wrists when
Sherilee arrived, the lights of her police cruiser flashing through the open
front door. Owen stomped out onto the porch to greet her.

Sean sighed. “I guess I’ll make more
coffee. Looks like it’s going to be a long night.”

Emma woke at ten
the following day. She’d thought she would sleep past noon, given her ordeal
from yesterday plus the fact that she’d only gotten home at two in the morning,
but part of her must have sensed that there was too much unfinished business
for her to be sleeping in.

Last night, she had repeated to Sherilee
what she’d told Owen, and the two officers had alerted their respective agencies
about Kyle Barnet. Then Emma had accompanied Sherilee to the police station
where an ME had checked her out and she had given her statement all over again.
About fifteen minutes after that, a couple of cops had brought in Kyle Barnet,
handcuffed, disheveled, and belligerent.

Of course Emma hadn’t been allowed to talk
to him, and she didn’t want to, either. She was just relieved that the guy was
off the streets, which meant she could sleep in peace tonight. Owen had
returned her tote bag and then driven her home, both of them too exhausted for
conversation. When they got to her house, she hadn’t protested when he insisted
on searching the house before letting her retire.

Now, after a few hours of restless slumber,
she was awake, fidgety, and on edge. She wanted things to happen—Sean
exonerated, Kyle charged with murder, everything to be set to rights—but she
realized that the wheels of justice ground slowly. She would have to be
patient.

But she was too antsy to stay at home, even
though the ME had recommended she rest for a day or so. Her head didn’t hurt
much at all, and the prospect of lolling on the couch watching television held
no appeal. So she pulled on clean jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers and drove to her
office. As soon as she stepped into the building, Caitlyn came flying out of
Lulu’s Salon and flung her arms around her.

“Omigod! You’re safe! I was going to come around
to your place, but Becky said you were probably sleeping and not to disturb
you. You must have been so scared. I can’t believe it! That dirtbag Kyle!”

“You know?” Emma asked when Caitlyn finally
let her go from her python squeeze.

“Everyone knows.” Caitlyn flapped a hand as
if it was a silly question. “You’ve forgotten how many bored people around here
have police scanners. It’s all over town. Oh God, Emma. I’m so glad to see you
in one piece. I hope that Kyle gets what’s coming to him.”

Just then, Emma’s cell phone started
ringing, and she saw it was her dad. She groaned, silently cursing the small
town gossip channels that had undoubtedly worked its way to her father. She
hated that she was the cause for his rare time away being interrupted.

“Excuse me,” she said to Caitlyn. “It’s my
dad calling.”

Climbing up the stairs, she answered the
call. It took several long minutes before her father was satisfied that she was
safe and unharmed and the perpetrator was behind bars. Then she spent several
more minutes convincing him that there was no need for him to rush home early.

“I’m fine,” she repeated for the umpteenth
time. “I insist that you stay where you are and enjoy the rest of your
seminar.”

“I don’t know,” he said uncertainly. “Maybe
I’ll call Owen just to reassure myself.”

Emma pressed her lips together. “You do
that. He drove me home last night and checked under all the beds and in the closets
for me.”

“He did? Oh, that’s a relief. I’ll definitely
call him and thank him for looking after you.”

Wow, did both her dad and Owen think she
was such a helpless lamb? But she didn’t protest. To be honest, she secretly
appreciated Owen’s protectiveness last night. Even if it did spring from his
opinion that she was too reckless for her own good.

After her father’s call, she dropped into
her chair behind her desk and hunted through her bag for a breath mint. Popping
the mint into her mouth, she leaned back in her seat. From her position by the
window, she had a clear view of Becky’s Diner across the road. As she sucked on
her mint, she spotted Sherilee walking out of the diner holding a takeout
coffee and a brown paper bag.
Ah-ha
. Just the person she wanted to see.

Emma shot out of her chair and clattered
down the stairs. As she hurried across the street, Sherilee caught sight of her
and frowned.

“Any news?” Emma asked as soon as she
reached the sidewalk.

The officer sighed. “I can’t discuss an
ongoing investigation with you, sorry.”

“Oh, come one, Sherilee.” Emma huffed out a
breath as all her brewing emotions came to a sudden boil. “A man assaulted me
and threw me into his truck, and God knows what he would have done to me if I
hadn’t managed to get away. So don’t hide behind your badge. Tell me what’s
happening with Kyle!”

Her determination must have made an
impression because Sherilee blinked and stepped back. The cop looked like she’d
been up all night. Her shirt was creased, her make up had melted away, and dark
circles showed beneath her eyes.

Sherilee let loose with a deep sigh, part
tiredness and part resignation. “Okay, I’ll tell you what I know, but you
didn’t hear it from me, got it?”

Emma nodded.

Sherilee took a gulp of coffee before
continuing, “We’ve arrested Kyle Barnet for assault, false imprisonment, and
kidnapping. He’ll be transferred to the county lockup today, and most likely
he’ll be arraigned tomorrow. You may have to testify at his trial, of course.”

“And Sean McCluskey? The district attorney
will drop the charges against Sean, won’t he, when he reads the evidence?”

The police officer pulled a face before
meeting Emma’s eyes. “No, Sean is still facing murder charges.”

“But he’s innocent!” Emma protested, her
head spinning. “It was Kyle. He killed Tony.”

“I’m afraid he didn’t.”

“You sound very sure of that.”

“We are. I’m sorry, Emma.”

The sympathy in Sherilee’s face only made
Emma more frustrated. “Kyle did it. He knew I was trying to clear Sean’s name,
that’s why he stalked me in his SUV the other day. To frighten me off.”

Sherilee rubbed her forehead, looking even
more exhausted. “Kyle denies stalking you.”

“What?” Emma shook her head in disbelief.
“But it was him. He ran me off the road.”

“We questioned him thoroughly about that,
and I spoke to Owen, seeing as he drove you home after the incident. You
couldn’t give a clear description of the vehicle, and there’s no evidence on Kyle’s
car linking it to yours, so we can’t charge him with that.”

“But why did he kidnap me last night, then?
He wanted to shut me up because he knew I was getting closer to the truth.”

“Kyle was angry with you because he thought
you were coming between him and Madison White. Then yesterday he saw you
talking with a certain Sergio Garcia—and yes, we’re aware of what Garcia does—and
Kyle confessed to us about the money he owes to Garcia’s employer. He thought
you were plotting to hand him over to his, uh, creditors. He went away, drank
too much alcohol, and concocted a crazy scheme to teach you a lesson. That’s
why he kidnapped you. Not because he’d murdered his father.”

“Is that what he told you?” Incredulous,
Emma crossed her arms, her body twitching uncontrollably. “And you just took
his word for it?”

The tiredness faded from Sherilee as her
expression firmed. “No. I believe he didn’t kill his father because he has an
alibi.”

“Ha,” Emma snorted. “I’m sure he has plenty
of rich, spoiled buddies to give him a false alibi.”

“Do you think Madison White would lie for
him when it’s her fiancé in the firing line?”

For a couple of seconds Emma couldn’t
breathe, all the air knocked out of her by Sherilee’s bombshell. “I…I can’t
believe it,” she wheezed.

“Well, it’s true. I spoke to Madison
myself. On the night that Tony Barnet was killed, she was with Kyle for several
hours. He can’t possibly have killed his father.”

“But maybe the coroner got the time of
death wrong. Maybe Kyle killed him before or after he’d seen Madison.”

“The coroner didn’t get it wrong.” Sherilee
was beginning to look exasperated. “Madison met Kyle in La Quinta at six-thirty
that night, and they were together until ten-thirty. Tony Barnet died between
six and eight pm. Given the distance between his house and La Quinta, there’s no
way Kyle could’ve killed his father and then met Madison at six-thirty. She was
with him in a bar for four hours, as confirmed by the bar tender and the CC
footage. He didn’t do it, Emma.”

Dazed, Emma limped over to a nearby
building and leaned against it. “I got it all wrong,” she muttered. An image of
Sean’s face from last night swam into her head. Oh damn. He’d looked so
optimistic. She’d raised his hopes for nothing. When he heard of this latest
twist he’d feel even worse.

“You don’t look so good.” Sherilee wrapped
her fingers around Emma’s wrist and peered at her.

Emma forced herself to straighten up. The
last thing she needed was to faint at Sherilee’s feet. “I’m okay.” She pushed
her hair away from her face, feeling sick. A sudden thought hit her. She turned
back to Sherilee. “What about the food poisoning at the housewarming party? Are
you charging Kyle with that, too?”

“He denies doing that. You said in your
statement that he admitted to it, but there’s not much evidence.”

“But he was seen at the party dressed up
like one of the wait staff.” Was Kyle going to get away with this too?”

“Who saw him? You?”

“No, not me. It was…” Suddenly Emma came to
a screeching halt. Was it safe to drag Mateo into this mess? What if the police
became interested in him and found out about the cigar thefts? The nausea
intensified. She couldn’t risk getting Mateo into trouble. “Um, I can’t
remember who it was.”

Lips pursed, Sherilee regarded her silently
for several seconds. Finally, she lifted her shoulders. “Well, if you can’t
remember, then it boils down to hearsay, and we need more than that to charge
him. But look on the bright side. He’s already facing some serious felony
charges.” She patted Emma on the arm. “You shouldn’t be stressing out over all
this. You should be resting up. Do you want me to drive you home?”

Emma shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said,
feeling anything but.

“Okay. Well, give me a call if you think of
anything else.” Juggling her coffee and brown paper bag, she fished out a
business card and pressed it into Emma’s hand. “That’s my cell phone number.
You can call me directly.”

Biting her lip, Emma pushed the business
card into the pocket of her jeans.

“I need to get back to the station,”
Sherilee said. “Gotta fill in a mountain of forms before I can finally go home
and get some sleep.” With a final nod, she walked away.

***

Feeling like she’d
been run over by a bus, Emma limped into Becky’s Diner. Preoccupied though she
was, she couldn’t help noticing that the entire diner fell quiet when she
walked in.

Then Faye Seymour piped up from the nearest
booth. “Hey, that was quite an exciting night you had, hmm?” Her avid gaze took
in every scratch and nick on Emma’s arms and face. “You don’t look too bad,
considering.”

“Er, thanks, Faye,” Emma murmured as she
shuffled toward the counter, heading for the empty stool at the far end. To her
relief, Becky quickly bustled up to her, placing a glass of water in front of
her and pouring a cup of coffee.

“You just sit there and relax.” Becky
patted her hand. “Anyone starts to pry, I’ll deal with them. Can I get you
anything to eat, hon? How about some pancakes with a side order of bacon?”

Tears welled in Emma’s eyes, and she could
only nod. Becky flitted away, leaving her to re-gather herself. She sipped her
coffee and felt the hot liquid slide down her throat, warming the chill inside
her. This morning she’d felt fretful but positive, buoyed by the conviction
that Sean would soon be free, but now gloom threatened to overwhelm her.

She’d tried hard to clear Sean’s name, but
she’d failed, just like she’d failed at her relationship and her business. Just
like she’d failed to heal the rift between her and Owen.

Becky brought her pancakes and bacon, but
the aroma failed to lift her spirits. Listless, she poked a fork at the
pancakes and wondered if she should go home instead.

The diner door jingled, but she barely paid
it any attention. Seconds later, she sensed someone standing close behind her.
Glancing at the mirrored wall, she saw it was Madison. Her surprise grew as she
registered her gray complexion and red, puffy eyes.

“Madison?” She spun around on her stool.
“What’s wrong?”

“You!” The woman’s lips quivered. “You’re
what’s wrong. Sean broke off our engagement, and it’s all your fault!” And she
broke into noisy sobs.

***

It was a nightmare.
Somehow, Emma managed to coax the weeping Madison out of the diner away from
all the curious onlookers and across the road to Emma’s office. She ushered
Madison to the comfy couch in the corner, fetched two bottles of water from the
refrigerator, and set a box of tissues on the coffee table.