She didn’t want to go back to the bedroom and tell him because she knew he wouldn’t approve of what she was doing, so she left him a note. She figured sooner or later he’d come into the kitchen wondering what had happened to her, and he’d find it.
Kelly wrote “Mike, something came up and I had to leave for a while. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. If you can’t wait for dinner, there’s plenty of chicken noodle soup left. Otherwise, I’ll fix the Salisbury steak for you when I get back, but the cheesecake is already made. You can fill your dessert pocket before dinner, if you’d like.”
She signed it and put the time on it, so he’d know when she’d left. She quickly fed the dogs and made sure the sliding door was open so they could get in and out of the house without bothering Mike. She walked out to her car and started driving towards the truck stop with no plan in mind.
When she was halfway there, she felt guilty about what she was doing and tried to call Mike with her Bluetooth, but it wouldn’t activate. She reached in her purse for her phone, and thought since the Bluetooth wasn’t working, she’d just pull off the highway and give him a call.
She pulled off and parked her car in a gas station parking lot. After several minutes of searching in her purse for her phone, she realized she’d left it on the kitchen counter.
Swell, she thought, I have no phone, no way to get in touch with Mike, and if I find out anything, I won’t be able to tell anyone. Dumb thing to do, Kelly.
She drove out of the parking lot and got back on the highway. A half hour later she pulled into the truck stop lot and parked at the very back of it. She looked around and didn’t see Snacks or Jet’s trucks, but she really hadn’t expected to, since they usually ended their route in the afternoon.
Kelly sat in her car and looked towards Lizzie’s house, wondering if there was any evidence in it that would lead to her being identified as the one who had murdered Kimberly. Daylight savings time hadn’t started yet and it was beginning to get dark, making it harder for her to see if anyone was in Lizzie’s house. There were no lights on, and she knew if she wanted to see what was in the house, she’d better do it before any of Lizzie’s clients went to her house.
She’d always played her hunches, and they’d always worked well for her. Just now she had a compelling hunch that the secret to Kimberly’s murder was in Lizzie’s house. She looked around and didn’t see anyone. Kelly got out of her car and walked over to the bushes, intending for them to provide cover for her in case someone was in one of the nearby trucks.
When she got to the highway she waited until no cars were coming and then dashed across, knowing that it probably wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done, but also knowing that a strange car in that little housing complex would be noticed or worse.
CHAPTER 27
A few minutes after Kelly ran across the highway, Jesse pulled his big rig into the truck stop parking lot. Pete had added some extra pickups and deliveries to his route for today, and he knew he wouldn’t be home for at least three more hours. He thought he’d stop at the truck stop and grab a sandwich or something to go and eat it on the road.
He parked his big rig, patted the dashboard thanking her for a safe day, and got out. He stretched and moved his shoulders to get rid of the kinks that invariably were there after long hours sitting in the same position.
Jesse rotated his head and neck in a circle and heard the crunches in the back of his neck, which also told him he’d been sitting for too long. One thing he’d learned on the road is that if he got caught up in one of his audio books, his body would pay later, because he’d been concentrating solely on the narrator’s words.
As Jesse was rolling his head and neck back and forth, he noticed a car that looked a lot like Kelly’s in the back of the parking lot. The thing that caught his attention was a dent in the left front fender. He’d noticed it when he picked her up at her coffee shop a couple of days earlier, and they’d had a conversation about it.
She’d mentioned how she’d come out of the grocery store a few days earlier and someone had evidently backed into her car, denting it. She’d told him she had a call into her insurance company and hadn’t heard back from them, but as soon as she did, she’d get it fixed. When he walked over to the car, he was certain it was hers, but she wasn’t in it.
Jesse thought it was a strange time for her to be at the truck stop, so he took his phone out of his pocket and called her. There was no answer. He began to get concerned and called the deputy sheriff Kelly was working with, Deputy Josh. He didn’t answer the call and it went to his answer phone. Jesse said, “This is Jesse Ramos. I’m at the truck stop, and I see a car that looks a lot like Kelly’s…”
He was interrupted by Josh. “Jesse, I’m sick, so I’m trying to screen my calls, but I’m very concerned about Kelly. I’ve been trying to reach her and there’s no answer, plus I got a call earlier from her that’s the reason for my concern.” He told Jesse about Susie’s call to her.
“What worries me is that I know from what her husband, Mike, has told me, she tends to go off, as Mike puts it ‘half-cocked’ sometimes, and I’m wondering if this is one of those times. It would be just like her to try and go to Lizzie’s house to talk to her and see if she could get Lizzie to admit to being the murderer, and if she does that, and if Lizzie is the murderer, it could be very dangerous, even fatal, for her.”
“I agree. I called Kelly, too, but there was no answer. What would you like me to do?”
“Where are you physically located right now?”
“I’m at the rear of the truck stop parking lot.”
“Can you see Lizzie’s house from there?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t look like anyone’s there.”
“Jesse, do you have a gun?”
“I do, but technically it’s illegal to have one in a commercial vehicle. I’m not supposed to have it, but I think Pete kind of overlooks that, because all of his guys carry one.”
“I’m looking the other way, too, and Pete will never know. Get your gun and go over to Lizzie’s. I’m too sick to go to the truck stop, but I’m sending a couple of my men out there as soon as we end this call. With sirens, they can be there in half an hour. Now go, Kelly might be in serious trouble. Call me when you know something.”
Jesse ran back to his truck, got his gun, and ran over to the bushes, not wanting anyone to see him. He didn’t want the lights of cars to illuminate him, so he waited until he could cross the highway under the cover of darkness. When he was safely across, he went from tree to tree, but didn’t see Kelly.
CHAPTER 28
Kelly stood by the back door of Lizzie’s house, listening for sounds telling her that someone might be inside. When she didn’t hear any, she gingerly put her hand on the doorknob, hoping that Lizzie kept the house unlocked for her clients. She did. A moment later she was inside the kitchen. Again she stopped and listened, but heard nothing.
She had no idea what she was looking for as her eyes adjusted to the deep twilight, but she could see a hall with three doors leading off of it. She stepped into the hall and saw that one of the doors led to the bathroom and one to what was an office or bedroom. The third door was closed, and Kelly had the horrifying thought that maybe Lizzie was in there conducting business with a client.
Kelly glanced into the tiny living room, but saw nothing other than a television, couch and two chairs. Lizzie might be a murderer, but she was also a very good housekeeper. Nothing seemed out of place. Kelly had noticed the same thing when she was in the kitchen.
Deciding that maybe something was in the desk she could see in the second bedroom, she walked in and gasped. Even though it was twilight, the open blinds revealed a photograph of Kimberly with the words “Sister’s Dead, Too Bad” scrawled in red ink over the front of the photograph.
What in the devil is that all about? Kelly wondered. Does that mean Kimberly was Lizzie’s sister?
She reached into her purse, took a penlight out, and carefully
opened the right-hand desk drawer. She remembered Mike had once told her that right-handed people tended to keep important things in the top right-hand drawer of their desk because it was much more natural for them to open that drawer with their right hand than reach across their body to open the left-hand drawer. Kelly hoped that Lizzie was right-handed.
She saw the usual minutiae of daily life in the drawer such as bank statements, pens, stamps, etc. She was about to close it when she saw an envelope she’d almost missed. She pulled it out and saw on the return address that it was from the McGregor DNA Lab.
Curious, she opened the envelope and read the report that was inside. After reading it, she understood what Lizzie had meant by “my sister.” Lizzie had sent three hair samples to the lab, and they had confirmed that Jack Laughlin was the father of both Lizzie Riley and Kimberly Laughlin.
As she was returning the envelope to the drawer, she also understood why Lizzie had murdered Kimberly, her half-sister. She was so lost in thought she didn’t sense the presence of someone else in the room.
“Find what you were looking for?” asked a female voice. “I don’t know who you are, but obviously given what happened to Kimberly, I can’t let you live. I’ll just kill you with this gun and leave. I was getting tired of this place anyway, plus the owner of the truck stop told me this afternoon that I was no longer welcome there.
“Nice thing is, there are plenty of truck stops around. One thing I will miss though is having my house so close by. Never did like using tacky little motels or trucks to conduct my business in. Now tell me who sent you here. Really don’t want to kill someone unless I know their name. Tell me yours. I’m Lizzie, by the way.”
*****
As Jesse stood outside the back door of Lizzie’s house, he could make out the sound of female voices. He reached out and turned the doorknob. The door opened, and he quietly let himself inside. He slowly walked towards the sound of the voices, glad he was wearing tennis shoes.
He heard Kelly say, “Lizzie, I’m Kelly Reynolds, Sheriff Mike Reynolds’ wife. Mike and a number of his staff at the sheriff’s station are sick, and I’ve been helping them out, trying to find out who murdered Kimberly Laughlin. Now I know, and I also realize because I know, you’re going to kill me. Would you grant me a dying wish?”
“Depends. What is it?”
“Why now? You must have wondered for years if Kimberly’s father was also your father. Why didn’t you find out earlier?”
“Didn’t know how to do it. I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago to one of my customers, and he told me his brother could find out through DNA testing. He said I’d need a sample of hair or something like that. I had the hair from the man who’s my father. My mother had a lock of his hair framed on her nightstand. After she died, I kept it.”
“How did you get a sample of Kimberly’s hair?”
“Easy. Just went into the lady’s restroom one day after she’d been on her morning break. Everybody knew what time that was. Guys used to laugh about it. That’s how I found it. Easy-peasy. Same way I got in the truck stop to kill her. Used that back door that was supposed to be locked, but had been broken for forever.
“And as far as why now? That’s easy-peasy too. She was stealing my customers, and along with her bookmaking operation, she was getting rich, and I was getting poorer and poorer. Kind of like survival of the fittest, and I proved I was the fittest.”
Unseen by either of them in the now almost dark room, Jesse had crept up behind Lizzie and shoved his gun in her back, at the same time saying, “Lizzie, drop the gun or I’ll shoot.”
At the sound of Jesse’s voice, Lizzie whirled around, intent on trying to shoot Jesse. When she turned her back to Kelly, Kelly took advantage of the opportunity and leaped on Lizzie, knocking her to the floor. Lizzie’s gun discharged with a wild shot and the bullet shattered the window. After a brief struggle with Lizzie, Kelly knocked the gun out of Lizzie’s hand, and it skittered across the floor.
“Lizzie, stay where you are,” Jesse shouted. “The sheriff’s department will be here in a few minutes. Kelly, you can stand up. I’ve got her covered. Turn on all the lights. If I have to shoot, I want to make sure I hit Lizzie and not you. Grab her handgun off the floor and hold on to it.”
Kelly turned on the lights, and Jesse said, “Here’s my phone. Call Deputy Josh and tell him what happened. I’ll keep my gun on Lizzie until they get here.”
When Kelly had finished telling Josh what had happened, he said, “Kelly, Mike called right after I talked to Jesse. I told him about what Susie told you. Long story short, he’s on his way there, and if his tone of voice was any indication, I think there’s a good chance he’ll beat my men there.”
As Kelly ended the call, she heard the sound of a siren and then the roar of a car as it skidded to a stop in front of the house. A moment later Mike and Rebel ran through the door, Mike with his gun drawn, Rebel instinctively going to Lizzie and pinning her on the ground with his front paws.
Mike hurried over to Kelly, pulled her to him and said, “Are you all right?”
“Yes, thanks to Jesse. I don’t think you’ve met each other. Jesse, my husband, Mike Reynolds. Mike, meet my hero, Jesse Ramos.”
“Jesse, I can never thank you enough for saving my wife’s life. Josh told me what was happening. Fortunately, I was feeling better, and I’d gotten dressed. It was just a matter of driving like a bat out of hell to get here, but I can see that you have things under control.”
Soon they heard more sirens and the sounds of doors slamming. Mike yelled, “In here, guys. Everything’s under control. The house is secured.” Three deputies ran into the house and Mike said, “Mirandize this woman and take her to the station. She’s being placed under arrest for the murder of Kimberly Laughlin. Kelly will be there tomorrow to give her statement.”
He turned to Jesse and said, “Would you like to give one of my men your statement now? I believe Kelly told me you live in Portland, so it might be easier to do it now rather than later.”
“Yes, it would. If you don’t mind, I’d like to call my wife and tell her I’m going to be later than I thought.”
“Of course not.” He turned to one of his deputies and said, “Lance, please take his statement immediately, so he can get on the road.” He turned back to Jesse and said, “I owe you, big time.”
“And so do I, Jesse,” Kelly said. “I’m going to ask Pete to invite us to the next party he gives for his truckers. I’d like to stay in touch with Jet and Snacks, but I’m hoping that I’ll be seeing you more often at the coffee shop. And after saving my life, the least I can do is make sure you get whatever you want, and I’ll take care of it.
“Also, Jesse, it might be better if you didn’t tell Cash about this. He tends to worry about me, and I think he’s got enough to worry about, just being over in Iraq,” Kelly said
“Agreed. Never knew when I got in my truck Tuesday morning, it would end up this way.”
“Nor did I,” Kelly said with a thankful smile on her face.
EPILOGUE – TWO WEEKS LATER
“Kelly, I am happy to tell you that, once again, we are fully staffed at the sheriff’s station. Everyone is healthy. Josh still can’t believe you went over to Lizzie’s on your own and feels personally responsible for it.”
“And I’m sure you told him something like, ‘Don’t feel bad about it. That’s just the type of thing Kelly does.’ Would I be right?”
“You know me too well.”
“What’s going to happen to Lizzie?”
“She pled not guilty, so she’ll be up for a trial. If it does go to trial you and Jesse will have to testify, since you’re the only ones who heard her say that she killed Kimberly. The District Attorney should have a pretty strong case against her, because the gun you knocked out of Lizzie’s hand has been identified by a ballistics test as being the murder weapon.”
“Well, if we do have to testify, so be it. Anything else going on that I should know about?”<
br />
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Jesse called me this morning and said he had something for you. He said he’d be here around 5:00 this afternoon and asked if we’d be home. Actually, that’s why I’m home a little early today.”
“Wonder what he has for me?” she said.
“I have no idea. I’m curious, too. I’m going to get out of this uniform. Back in a few minutes.”
Kelly was deciding what to make for dinner when the doorbell rang. Kelly and Mike both got to it at the same time. Kelly opened the door and found Jesse standing there. “Hi Kelly, I just wanted to stop by and leave something off for you. I think you’ll like it.”
When he finished speaking, Cash stepped out from behind the corner of the porch, grabbed Kelly, hugged her, and spun her around, all at the same time. He put her down and then hugged Mike.
“Cash,” Kelly said through her tears, “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Iraq.”
“Mom, did you really think Jesse wouldn’t text me about the adventure the two of you had? And then I had a great idea, so I texted Mike and here’s what’s happening,” he said as he handed an envelope to Kelly.
“What is this?” she asked taking it from him.
“I’m on leave for two weeks. Jesse picked me up in Portland this afternoon. In three days, you, Mike, and me are heading for Kauai. The reservations are made, Roxie’s taking over for you at the coffee shop, and some guy named Josh is taking over for Mike. It’s been way too long since we’ve spent some time together and when you hear that your mother was almost murdered, it kind of brings things into perspective.
“Like maybe it’s time to spend time with the ones you love rather than be in some remote war zone on the other side of the world. I figure it’s time for what we call in the service, ‘R&R,’ which stands for rest and relaxation. I can’t think of a better place for that than on the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii. So pack your bags, and we’ll be out of here headed for a place where we’re all going to relax.
Murder at the Truck Stop: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 16) Page 11
