Death by Committee

by Alexis Morgan

  There—he was headed west toward the outskirts of town. At this time of day, there should be enough traffic on the road to provide adequate cover for her. She drove the first two blocks on Main Street a little above the speed limit to narrow the gap between her car and the truck. After that, she slowed down to keep pace with the rest of the cars around her.

  It didn’t take long for them to reach the two-lane highway that led out of Snowberry Creek. Traffic picked up speed, but she had no trouble keeping him in sight. When he slowed to turn right onto a secondary road, she debated whether to keep following him. Luckily, the two cars ahead of her went the same direction, which would continue to give her some cover.

  This was a dangerous game to be playing, and she knew it. By this point, her hands ached from the tight grip she had on the steering wheel. Even Zeke was picking up on her growing tension. He whined softly and alternated staring out the windshield and looking at her for reassurance.

  “Don’t worry. We’re fine, boy. Just out for a drive.”

  Okay, that was a lie, and not even the dog was buying what she was selling. She patted him on the head. “I promise we’ll call in the big guns at the first sign of trouble.”

  Another mile had passed when Troy suddenly cut across the center line into a large parking lot on the left side of the road. He took the turn so fast that his tires kicked up a huge cloud of dust and gravel as he hit the brakes and came to a stop at the end of a row of semitrucks. Abby drove on by, slowing just enough to risk a quick glimpse at the company name on the side of the trucks. The logo jumped out at her immediately—a bright pink high heel. Step Fast Trucking, the company name, was written underneath in a flowery font.

  Her mind struggled to make sense of all the information coming at her. Why hadn’t it occurred to her before now to wonder which trucking firm Troy worked for? She drove into a busy gas station and mini-mart across the street and parked where she could keep an eye on him. He was out of his truck with the two trash bags in his hand. After putting them in the cab of the nearest rig, he headed into the small building that must serve as the office for the trucking company.

  If he was leaving on a cross-country trip, there was no telling where those quilts would end up. It made her furious that he would treat other people’s hard work with such casual disregard. Not only that, he was pointing the blame in his poor wife’s direction and letting her friends think she’d betrayed their trust. What a jerk!

  “Well, mister, you wait to see what Gage Logan has to say about all of this.”

  She reached for her cell phone to make the call when the door of the office slammed opened again and Troy came stomping out, yelling at the top of his lungs at someone behind him. Abby quickly rolled her window down to see if she could make out what he was saying.

  Unfortunately a string of cars passed by, which prevented her from hearing anything. By the time they were out of her line of vision, a woman had followed him outside with her own phone in hand. She was clearly angry as she shouted, “Don’t you walk away while I’m talking to you, Troy. It’s your own fault you lost your run again this week. I warned you that’s what would happen when you show up late. Regardless, I’ve had it with your attitude in general. And for threatening me, you’re fired, effective immediately.”

  Even from a distance, the quietly pleasant demeanor that Troy normally showed the world was nowhere in evidence. His face was flushed red, his chest working like a bellows. As soon as the woman spoke, he spun back around with his fists clenched. “Just shut up, lady. You really need to learn your place.”

  The woman realized she was in jeopardy and backed away. “Come near me, and I’ll call the cops!”

  To Abby’s horror, he slapped his employer hard enough to send her stumbling backward. Before he could do more damage, the woman caught her balance and bolted back inside the building. Abby was afraid he’d try to follow, but he didn’t. Instead, he ran back to the semi to retrieve the garbage bags. This time, the already damaged one split open, and quilts spilled out onto the ground. He snatched them up and tossed them and the other bag back into his truck. Seconds later, he peeled out of the parking lot.

  What should she do?

  First, she needed to call Gage. No doubt the police were already en route, but she wanted to make sure he knew what was going on. Besides, the cops would come to the trucking office first. By the time they got there and found out what was going on, Troy could be anywhere. If he had time, he’d probably ditch the quilts someplace, and they’d never find them. Her mind was still struggling to put all the pieces together, but somehow she knew that it was paramount that they not lose track of the quilts. That he had them in his possession meant something.

  She dialed Gage’s number as she started her car, determined to follow Troy until the police could close in on him. The call went to voice mail.

  “Gage, it’s Abby. I just saw Troy Tolbert hit a woman in the face at the Fast Step Trucking Company. Sorry, I don’t know the address. I’m sure she’s already called 9-1-1. The trouble is, Troy has the quilts and is going to get rid of them. If he’s the one who sold the quilts to Rowena, it makes me wonder why he tried to make it look like his wife took off with them.”

  She had no idea how much room was left on the recording. “I’m following him at a distance. We’re headed north. Call me.”

  “Zeke, this is either the craziest or the bravest thing I’ve ever done. We won’t know which it is until it all plays out.”

  She concentrated on her driving. It didn’t take long to get far enough down the road that she could see Troy’s truck in the distance. She hadn’t gone more than a mile when her phone rang. She hit the button on her console, routing the call through her car radio. “Gage?”

  “What on earth do you think you’re doing, Abby?”

  She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I’m trying to keep track of Troy until the police get here. I have no intention of doing anything that would allow him to get his hands on me.”

  “First, I’m only a few miles out from where you are. I just picked up Tripp from school, so he’s with me.”

  It was amazing what a relief it was to know the cavalry was already on its way even if both men were likely to be furious with her. “That’s good, Gage.”

  “Does Troy know you’re behind him?”

  “Not that I can tell. I’ve made sure to keep several cars between us the whole time.”

  “Smart girl for doing that much to keep yourself safe, but we’re going to have a talk when this is all over. It will be long and unpleasant.”

  She shouldn’t laugh, but she couldn’t help herself. Maybe it was a touch of hysterics, but at least it helped ease the knot of fear lodged in her chest. “He’s turning onto another side road. There’s a sign pointing to a county park.”

  Gage spoke up. “Thanks for the update. I’ll let the county police know what’s going on. They may get to you before we do. I’m going to have Tripp call you on his phone so I can keep this line open.”

  “Okay.”

  She disconnected the call and counted the seconds until the phone rang again. “Tripp?”

  “I’ve got you, Abby. We’re coming.”

  Even Zeke perked up as Tripp’s deep voice filled the car. “And just so you know, when Gage is done talking to you, I get a turn, and it’s not going to be pretty.”

  His grumpy statement made her smile. “Duly noted.”

  She crested a hill, which afforded her a clear view of the road for at least a mile or more ahead. No sign of Troy’s truck anywhere. “He must have driven into the county park.”

  “Then you keep going, Abby. Let the cops handle this.”

  Before she could respond, Troy’s truck shot back out onto the highway about half a mile ahead of her from a different entrance into the park. “He’s back on the road, Tripp, still headed north. There’s no shoulder on this road, so I’m going into the park long enough to turn around and head back toward town.”

  �
��Do that.”

  The road into the park was narrow and wound through a stand of tall Douglas firs. She followed it around to the parking lot, the only place where she could turn around. As she pulled in, she saw why Troy had risked stopping here even knowing the police were looking for him.

  “Tripp, there’s a Dumpster in the park. I’m betting he’s already ditched the quilts in it.”

  “No, Abby, leave them right where they are. Just get out of there.”

  “I’m already here, Tripp. It will only take a second.”

  She pulled up in front of the huge trash bin and got out, leaving her car door open just in case she needed to make a run for it. Meanwhile she was going to need both hands free.

  “I’ll be right back with you, Tripp.”

  After stuffing the phone in her pocket, she lifted the lid of the Dumpster and was relieved to find two quilts lying right on top. There was a bag right below them that contained at least one more quilt. After pulling those things out, she spotted a second bag like the ones Troy had been carrying. With some heavy duty maneuvering, she managed to drag it out of the depths of the Dumpster and drop it on the ground. As far as she could tell, she’d managed to retrieve everything he’d thrown in there.

  “I hope the ladies at the guild appreciate everything I’ve gone through to get these back for them.”

  She sure hoped they also knew how to get the stench of park garbage out of cotton. No way she wanted something that smelly in the car with her and Zeke. The distant sound of sirens was comforting as she dragged the bags around to the back to put them in the trunk. But before she could get it open, another vehicle came tearing into the parking lot. She glanced back over her shoulder, praying that it was Gage and Tripp, but the gods weren’t listening.

  Troy pulled to a stop right behind her car, blocking her in. As he climbed out, she retrieved her phone from her pocket. Hoping Tripp would know to stay quiet, she spoke loud enough that she hoped both he and Gage could hear what was going on. “Troy, imagine running into you here.”

  He sneered at her. “You stupid fool, you just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?”

  Acting wide-eyed and innocent probably wasn’t going to save her, but she had to try something. “What are you talking about?”

  He picked up one of the trash bags and flung it through the air into the bed of his truck. “What I’m talking about is you not knowing what your rightful place is in this world. I’ve had it up to here with being disrespected by a bunch of women who have no business talking to any man that way, much less me.”

  When he edged closer, she automatically retreated, only to find herself backed up against the side of her car. She sidled a little toward her left, hoping to reach the front end of the car and give herself more room to maneuver. His crazed eyes tracked her every move like a cat toying with a mouse.

  “Well, this is your lucky day. I’m going to teach you some manners. While I’ll enjoy it, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t.” His hands flexed as if he could already feel the crack of his hand against her face.

  “I’ve never been anything but polite to you, Troy.”

  “Yeah, right. You’re just like my wife and that nosy old woman who kept coming around asking about her and those ridiculous quilts.”

  The truth about what he’d done snapped into pure clarity, and it was far worse than anyone had suspected. The quilts were only the tip of the iceberg.

  “You killed Dolly Cayhill, didn’t you?”

  His shoulders straightened up in obvious pride. “Of course I did.”

  “And you wrapped her in one of the quilts before you buried her in my aunt’s backyard.”

  “I did.” His laugh was death personified. “Did you appreciate the irony of her being wrapped in your aunt’s quilt? I loved hearing all those old ladies wondering if she’d finally done away with her archrival.”

  Abby didn’t know what was scarier, the fact that he had just matter-of-factly admitted that he’d killed someone, or that he sounded so proud of what he’d done.

  And he wasn’t finished bragging. He held up one finger. “First, I choked my wife with my bare hands, because I’d had it with her whining. Maybe I would have let her live, but she defied me one too many times. I told her she had better things to do with her time than hang around with that bunch of biddies, but she snuck around behind my back and did it anyway. If I hadn’t come home early from a trip, she might have even gotten away with it.”

  Up went another finger. “Second, I hit good old Dolly in the back of the head with a shovel. I don’t know what she and my wife were up to, but she showed up at our house and demanded to talk to Julie. When I told her to get lost, she was stupid enough to follow me into our backyard to tell me she knew I’d been using Julie for a punching bag. Obviously, I couldn’t risk her calling the police. After all, a man has a right and a duty to discipline his wife. Besides, I hadn’t finished burying Julie’s body under our patio yet.”

  He shook his head as if amazed that any woman would’ve dared stand up to him. Then a third finger joined the other two. “And, Ms. McCree, they say good things come in threes. I guess that means you have to die to round things out.”

  Time stood still as Abby saw her death written in the depths of Troy Tolbert’s hate-filled eyes.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Running was her only hope, even if a successful outcome was extremely doubtful. She had on the right kind of shoes, but there wasn’t any clear sanctuary anywhere in sight. If he wasn’t so close, she might have been able to get back into the car and lock the doors. But Troy had longer legs and was extremely motivated to get his hands on her. That didn’t mean she was going to stand there and let him steal her life without putting up a fight. She was about to make a break for it when she felt the car behind her move.

  It took every bit of self-control she could muster not to react. How could she have forgotten she wasn’t alone with a killer after all? To give her would-be rescuer time to get into position, she attempted to reengage the enemy in conversation.

  “Wouldn’t it have been better to return the quilts when the ladies asked for them? They all believed your story about Julie running off. Once they had the quilts back, no one would’ve bothered you except to bring casseroles and desserts to your house.”

  “Why?” His lips curved into a sneer. “Because it would’ve been difficult to explain the blood stains on some of them.”

  The sirens continued to grow louder, but Troy didn’t seem to notice. Maybe he was too focused on what he planned to do to her to realize that the police were breathing down his neck.

  “I can see where that would be a problem.”

  Okay, resorting to sarcasm wasn’t her smartest decision. Unfortunately, her brain had run out of safe topics of conversation at the same time Troy finally noticed they had company coming. He cocked his head to the side as if trying to judge how far away the cops were.

  “You might still be able to get away before the cops get here.”

  Doubtful, but it was worth suggesting.

  He shook his head and offered her a chilling smile. “No, it’s too late for both of us.”

  When he lunged forward to grab her, she threw her cell phone at his face to distract him. At the same time, she broke into a run straight toward the entrance of the park. Her ploy didn’t slow Troy down much, but it was long enough for Zeke to enter the fray. The determined dog caught up with Troy within a few steps and threw all of his strength into knocking Troy to the pavement, his teeth bared and ready to do battle.

  Troy might have been brave enough to use his brute strength against women, but one big dog was enough to have him curling up into a ball and screaming like a banshee. Zeke grabbed hold of Troy’s sleeve and held on tight, growling every time the man tried to break free.

  It was a few seconds at the most before the first police car roared into sight, even though it seemed like an eternity to Abby. Two more came in right behind it. Thank goodness Gag
e and Tripp were leading the charge. Right now she wasn’t sure she could offer up any coherent explanation of how she came to be standing in a parking lot with bloodstained quilts, an angry mastiff, and a cold-blooded killer.

  Gage looked deadly as he approached Troy with gun in hand. “Don’t make a move, Tolbert. It won’t end well for you.”

  Troy kept thrashing around on the ground and screaming, “Get this crazy dog off me.”

  While Gage held his position, Tripp approached Zeke. “Down boy. Gage has got this, and Abby needs you.”

  Evidently that’s all the dog needed to hear. All signs of aggression immediately disappeared as he trotted over to her side. Gage barked orders at Troy as the other officers joined the party, but Abby couldn’t make sense of a single word. The afterburn of the adrenaline rush hit her with a vengeance, and her legs buckled. She had lost count of the times Tripp’s strong arms had kept her from hitting the ground since she’d met him, but she drew comfort from the sound of his voice as she laid her head against his chest.

  Zeke had nothing on Tripp when it came to growling, but at the moment she didn’t care. He settled her on the seat of a nearby picnic table and sat down beside her while Zeke laid his head in her lap. The three of them sat in silence as the police cuffed Troy and stuffed him none too gently into the back of a police cruiser.

  Once Troy was out of the picture, Gage joined them. “Are you all right?”

  Her eyes were a bit blurry, but what were a few tears in the grand scheme of things? “I will be.”

  “The EMTs will be here any second. After they check you out, Tripp can drive you to the police station to give your statement. Thanks to your quick thinking with the phone, we already know most of what happened.”

  “He killed Julie and Dolly.” She shivered and leaned in closer to Tripp. “Then he went on with his life as if their deaths didn’t matter. What makes a person do something like that?”

  Neither man had an answer for her, and maybe there wasn’t one to be had. But at least the truth would come out. She supposed that was a victory of sorts, if not a very satisfactory one.