Kicked the Bucket

by CeeCee James

  Disgusting, and I need a shower. Fine. I’ll clean the tub. From under the sink I brought out some cleanser and a sponge. I scoured the tub’s tiles, determined to get them white again. This literally was my least favorite chore, next to the cat box.

  As I scrubbed, I continued to mull over the new Harry/Corey dilemma. So Corey was not Nikki’s boyfriend. Why had we assumed so? Even the police had believed that.

  The thought of the police made my anxiety ramp again.

  My phone rang. I started to stand up and crashed my shin against the blade of the shower door.

  What happened next was a torrent of colorful words that squeezed all together into a single run-on sentence. The phone rang incessantly. I tried to squelch my riposte as I reached to answer it.

  “Hello?” I gritted out.

  “Chelz, what’s wrong?” Tilly asked, her voice pinched with fear.

  “Washing the tub.” I sat on the edge now and clutched my shin.

  “Oh. You don’t like that chore do you?”

  Slowly I eased a breath out as the pain dulled slightly. “It doesn’t like me either. What’s up?”

  “Well, I just got off the phone with Emma and she is doing great. I thought I’d call and see how you are doing as well. You okay?”

  “Yep. The animals and I are all surviving.”

  “Surviving?” Her tone raised. “They all eating okay? Are you?”

  Eating okay… that was triggering a memory for me. “Seriously, we’re all doing good. I promise. Just this darn shower and bathtub is causing me troubles.” I bit my lip, trying to think of what was spinning just in the back of my mind. Something with Officer Orville….

  “I’ll let you get back to it, then.”

  That was it! “No wait! I’m glad you called. Listen, I know this is going to be weird, but can I have Scotty’s number?”

  “Mr. Hay Guy? You need more feed? Sure!” She rattled off the number.

  I typed it in my phone. “Thanks! Things going well out there?”

  She assured me they were, and we said our goodbyes.

  I started scrubbing again. A few more swipes, and I rinsed the mess. My shin throbbed the whole time.

  Stalker. Phone call. Silver truck. The words ran through my brain, each yanking me in a different direction. I knew Corey had really liked that restaurant, and Nikki was known for her karaoke there. Had it actually been him who'd been stalking her?

  Then there was that silver truck. Scotty. He said he talked with Officer Orville’s partner.However, I just remembered that Officer Orville said his partner had been out sick. So had Scotty lied to us? And what did that mean?

  I realized I hadn’t heard Jasper in a while. If that dog made me go out and hunt for him, so help me…. I sighed. I was going to need a flashlight and jacket, wasn’t I? Resigned, I picked up a hoody from the back of the chair. As I walked past the mirror, I caught a glimpse of the photo Tilly had left. Something stuck out to me. I slowed down to examine it, tapping my thumb against the blue shirt I was wearing in the picture.

  That was it. I spun around to the laundry I’d chucked by the bathroom. There was that shirt. I remember when I had it on. It was the day I’d first milked Daisy. I’d come inside and flung it off to get ready for lunch with AJ.

  My mouth went dry as I realized what that meant. Tilly had already left that morning for the airport.

  I gripped the dresser and stared into the mirror. Who had taken the picture? More importantly, who had been in my bedroom?

  Chapter 19

  I stared at the photo again. I remembered that moment. I’d been sitting in the barn, thinking about Corey, actually. I’d had no clue someone was in there with me.

  Spying on me.

  Goosebumps rose along my arms and I shivered. I rubbed my arm and spun around in the room, searching for anything else that might have been touched.

  This was much more serious than I thought. Someone had been in my house.

  I thanked God that Emma wasn’t here. The person who I’d seen had a silver truck. Scotty had a silver truck. He said he’d been here that morning and had seen someone at the lake. He said he talked to Officer Nelson, Orville’s partner. I knew that couldn’t be true.

  I had his phone number now. I thought about calling him. What would I say? Would he admit it?

  Closing my eyes, I dialed Officer Orville again. It went straight to voice mail. With a deep breath and a rush of words, I filled him in on the photo I’d found in my room, along with the fact that Scotty had a silver truck. I tried to squeeze in Scotty’s impossible conversation with Orville’s sick partner but the recording hung up on me. I hoped he’d call me back soon, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

  I studied the photo I’d taken of the security footage of the guy who’d left the flowers at the thrift store this morning. No amount of zooming helped. I still couldn’t make out any detail. He didn’t look like Scotty, but he didn’t not look like him either. I was about to close the photo when I noticed something. A patch on the front of the sweatshirt.

  It was too blurry to make out but I still had a zip of excitement. I felt certain I’d seen something like that before.

  I dropped the phone onto the bed and ran out the door. Would I still be able to find it? Why hadn’t I at least brought it to the porch? I jogged down the stairs, pulling on my hoody, and ran out the front door. Okay, now where had I been standing? Right about here and I threw the frisbee….The gross blue piece of cloth that Jasper had brought me must be right over there.

  Determination fueled my steps as I ducked between the bars of the fence and strode out in the direction where I thought I’d dropped the fabric. Right before the spider had crawled out, I remember spotting a patch or a design on the front upper corner.

  Where was that dog? I whistled a few times as I pushed aside the tall grass. Rosy watched me with interest. I needed to get her in her stall soon. I had to be close to where I’d dropped it. I turned around and back tracked. The grass was becoming matted from my smashing it down. It had to be here somewhere.

  “Jasper…” I called, distracted. Aha! There it was. Gingerly, I picked up the piece of fabric that was now stiff from being drenched by rain and heaven knows what else and then dried again under the baking sun. I shook it carefully, wary of spiders.

  Creased with mud, it stubbornly resisted opening.

  “Come on,” I whispered and committed using the fingers from my other hand. I peeled it open and searched.

  There it was. An emblem. It was in the same shape as the one in the picture. What I couldn’t make out in the photo, I could see now. My smile slipped.

  It was of a rooster.

  I carried it back to the house with a frown. This was the same mascot as the Rusty Rooster.

  Something wasn’t adding up. How was Scotty involved with the restaurant? Further more, what would be his motive to murder Corey Brickstone? This didn’t make sense at all.

  I ran inside, leaving the front door open. I just wanted to grab my phone. I was almost to the top of the stairs when I heard a creak coming from somewhere in the direction of the kitchen. I froze to listen. It didn’t repeat and I reminded myself this was an old house. Finding a picture of myself in my room was reason to be extra cautious though. I would grab my phone and run back downstairs.

  I hurried down the hallway to my bedroom when I heard it again. A definite creak. I realized then I still didn’t know where Jasper was. That thought alone nearly made me scream in panic.

  Suddenly it occurred to me that I was trapped up here with no way out. I hurried over to the window and peered out.

  There was no one here. I listened again. Something was going on outside. I unlocked and tried to heave up the window. It hadn’t been opened in a while and was stuck in its tracks. I got my fingers under it and yanked. It came up in jumps and shivers, until it stubbornly froze about half-way.

  I leaned down to listen, this time holding my breath.

  There it was. Jasper was barking.
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  “Jasper!” I called, cupping my hands around my mouth.

  He paused for a moment before barking furiously again. It was coming from the barn. He didn’t sound angry. Instead, it sounded almost like his greeting bark. “Hey, look at me.”

  I slid the window down again, puzzled. Maybe he was playing with the goats. I was just relieved to know where he was and that he wasn’t barking in warning.

  Okay, phone. I needed to make that call to Scotty. Why had he said he’d talked with Officer Nelson when he obviously had not?

  I hurried over to the bed for the phone. It wasn’t there. Weird. I was sure I left it there. I scanned the room. Oh. There it was, on the dresser. I grabbed it and hit dial on the number Tilly had shared with me.

  As it rang I lifted up the curtain and looked out again. Jasper let out another excited yip. Had he gotten himself stuck in there?

  “Hello?” a male voice answered.

  “Hi, is this Scotty?”

  “Speaking.”

  Be cool and calm. “Hi, Scotty. I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Tilly’s roommate.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He sounded cautious.

  “I had a question for you. It was probably nothing, but I was confused. Did you say you talked with Officer Nelson to tell them you saw someone here?”

  “Oh, it was one of those cops. I’m not sure. Why are you asking?”

  I swallowed hard. What excuse did I have to ask him? “Because I haven’t been able to get hold of Nelson. He was such a nice guy. I heard he was really sick, and I’ve been worried. How did he sound to you?”

  The seconds ticked by while I chewed my thumbnail.

  “Okay, yeah. You caught me. I actually didn’t talk with him. Listen, this is kind of awkward. Can we keep it between the two of us?”

  My mother always said to never lie. “Scotty, what’s going on?”

  He sighed. “Listen, I’ve been hammered at work. Someone is always wanting a delivery or a pickup. It’s been crazy. I was double booked, my roommate took a load out for me. Afterwards, he was doing some sight seeing. He was out your way when he saw it. Thing is, he doesn’t have a license. He did call it in, but he pretended to be me. I wanted to give you a heads up so you could be watching. It was too awkward to explain, so I pretended it was me that had seen it.”

  “How did you know who he talked with?”

  “He told me.”

  “What’s your roommate’s name?”

  “Kevin, why?”

  My shoulders slumped forward. A complete and total dead end.

  “Anyway, he’s working on fixing his license. Has some unpaid tickets he needs to take care of, and it should be done this week. Then he can man the delivery truck full time.”

  “All right, thanks for your time.” We hung up. So Scotty’s roommate was out here sightseeing. My brows lowered. It was him in the silver truck that I’d seen that morning. Kevin was nothing similar to Harry, but I was still curious what he looked like. It still didn’t answer the question of how Officer Nelson was involved.

  The phone rang, making me jump. I picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number. The only people calling me from numbers like that wanted to offer me credit card deals. I hit ignore.

  Downstairs, a door slammed.

  Chapter 20

  I ran out into the hall and leaned over the stairwell. Everything was silent. A gust of wind hit the windows and they rattled. It must have been the wind that slammed the front door shut.

  Even with that excuse, I wasn’t convinced. I hovered by the railing for a minute more. You know what, I was way too creeped out to stay here. Maybe I should just grab Jasper and go find a hotel to stay in tonight.

  I started down the stairs when I realized I was missing my phone again. After a quick pat search in my pockets I ran back to my room. I decided to pack a few things while I was there, and then go outside and get the animals all cozy for the evening. Next on the list was to grab Jasper and head out. I could be back first thing in the morning to take care of Rosy and the goats.

  I yanked open the closet and found a duffle bag on the top shelf. The wind hit the house and something downstairs creaked again. My panic amped and I threw things into the bag without thinking.

  The phone rang again. Irritated, I grabbed it and almost threw it back on the bed when I saw it was the same unfamiliar number. My arm froze in mid launch. How often was it that I had spam calls from the same number two times in a row?

  Not often.

  With a bit of trepidation, I answered it. This better be good because I was in no mood. “Hello?”

  “Chelsea?” asked an unfamiliar female voice.

  I was immediately suspicious. “Who is this?”

  “Chelsea, this is Nikki.

  Chills ran down my spine, and I sank to the bed. “Nikki? Where are you?” Crazy question if you thought about the fact that this was my first time talking with my sister. I rubbed my forehead. She didn’t know about Corey. But who was Corey to her? The stalker?

  “I’m with my dad. William.” Her words tumbled out in a rush.

  “William? How?”

  “We’ve been hiding out. Chelsea, this is important. You are in danger!”

  “What? Why?” I stood up and walked to the window. Lifting the curtain, I peered out. No one was there.

  “It’s Harry. He’s looking for me. And he thinks you know where I am.”

  I knew it. “Was Harry your boyfriend?”

  “Yes. No. His name is Kevin. Listen, I—”

  “Who was Corey, Nikki?” It was odd that we were talking with such familiarity. One of the stranger aspects of the murder. Crisis seemed to bond people together to our basic commonality.

  “Oh, Corey….” She gave a sharp intake of a breath, and I felt badly like I’d sucker punched her somehow.

  “So you know,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  “We’ll talk about that later. You have to get out of there now. Go someplace safe. Harry knows where you live.”

  “How does he know about me?”

  “He followed us that morning. Corey had talked me into meeting you and maybe getting some help. But he followed us. I dropped Corey at the driveway to talk with you and drove away, meaning to draw Harry off.” She choked back a sob. “It was too late. I went to my dad’s, and we’ve been hiding ever since.”

  “Nikki, you have to go to the police!”

  “I’m trying. You don’t know what it’s like to have your life threatened. My attorney is bringing me down to make a statement. I’ll take care of it, I promise. But for now, you have to go find someplace safe. When Harry finds out I’ve talked to the police, he’s really going to come undone. You have to be careful. Sometimes he does a fake southern accent.”

  “Fake….” Her words were ringing a bell. “Nikki, what does he look like?”

  “He’s about five-foot ten and—”

  “As bald as a billiard ball,” said a man standing in my doorway. “That’s why they call me Harry.”

  Chapter 21

  My eyes locked on to his. Immediately I knew who he was. The man who’d made the donation to In For A Penny thrift store.

  “Yeah, you remember me? I’m the Tennessee good ol’ boy.” He switched into a southern drawl. I jerked and he laughed. “I didn’t think anyone would be as stupid as to believe that accent was real. I guess I was wrong. You even fell for the stuff I said was leftovers from my move.” He snorted. “I swung by the Good Will and picked it up. I bet there were price tags still left on some of those things.”

  I remembered then being pricked on the finger by a staple left in a towel. And the woman who’d said she’d seen a teapot earlier just like the one she’d found at our store. I flushed, feeling stupid and naive.

  “I’ve been following you. Knew you’d lead me to Nikki. Now you tell her to come here. See if she’s brave enough to trade your life for a little talk. That’s all I want, a little talk with her. Tell her no funny business or you’re a goner. Don
’t think I won’t do it. Why, I—”

  He didn’t get to finish. As soon as he indicated the phone in my hand, a plan formed in my mind. Not a good one, but self-preservation plans rarely are. His eyes had just half-closed in a pleased expression at how well this had all worked out for him. Here he was, with the cheese and about to trap the mouse. His demeanor relaxed the tiniest bit. While he was bragging, I sprung into action.

  I flung the phone.

  It flew through the air and hit him right in the forehead. He screamed and batted his hands. I didn’t wait to see his next action. Power coiled through my midsection, and I darted around him and through the door, feeling like my legs were on fire.

  He turned and grabbed for me, and I felt the gust. It only spurred me to move faster. I reached the stairs and raced down them with a speed that only weeks of practice and familiarity can accomplish. I heard him behind me trying to keep up. He missed a step and partially fell, cursing.

  I didn’t stop. I ran to the front door and flung it open. For a split second I stood there wondering where to go. The barn? Down the road? I stared straight ahead and ran to the fence. In a heartbeat I was through. I knew this field. I passed the feeding bin where Rosy still stood eating. She watched me curiously but I couldn’t think. Harry was screaming from the porch.

  In the next second, I dropped to the ground. The grass was tall, it would conceal me. I made my way around Rosy, hoping she wouldn’t start. She ignored me, like she usually did.

  “You trying to run from me just like Corey did? It didn’t end up too well for him. I’ll find you!” he snarled, much closer. It sounded like he’d reached the fence.

  Rosy’s tail twitched. I crawled through the bits of hay that had fallen from the trough and maybe her mouth. This area here had been trampled. I needed to get deeper into the grass. It was the forest that might protect me.

  I could hear him now. He stepped through the grass straight toward the feeder.

  “You knew it was me, didn’t you? I was watching while you found my shirt that Corey had torn off when I was holding him under. I know you called the cops. I was scrolling thorough your phone while you were out looking for the shirt. Come on out and let’s have a talk.”