by Emmie Lyn
She looked at me. A grin spread across her face. “You finally found your sense of humor. I think now we’re ready for phase two of this secret undercover operation.”
I shook my head. It was no use trying to talk any sense into Tilly. She loved drama, and right now she was in her element.
“Okay. I’m all ears,” I said, knowing it was much better to hear her plan than be surprised by whatever was marinating in her brain.
“Well, I just thought of a slight adjustment. We’ll go to your house in case the suspects, you know who I mean, are next door. We might be able to eavesdrop on them through your fence.”
Before I digested this, a strong hand, reaching from behind my seat, gripped my shoulder.
I never knew my lungs could emit such a blood curdling scream. Actually, I realized that it was both Tilly and me screaming. This big distraction made Tilly take her eye off the road and her little Volkswagen bug swerved left and right and then headed straight toward a maple tree at the side of the road.
I screamed louder, not knowing that was possible either.
I looked at Greg, his hand on my shoulder and now sitting up in the back seat with his wide eyes focused on the tree coming toward us.
Tilly came to her senses, sort of, and slammed her foot on the brake. She forgot about the clutch and the bug jerked to a sudden stop, sending Greg forward, crashing into the back of my seat with a bone-crunching thud.
I patted my chest, thankful for my seatbelt.
At least Greg had his hands to himself now, instead of on our shoulders. He clutched his face as blood dripped through his fingers. Well, it was more than a drip and it was making a mess in the back of Tilly’s car.
“You shouldn’t have a license!” he yelled at Tilly. “Are you trying to kill us?”
He was the second person in two days to tell Tilly she shouldn’t have a license, and I was sure that she wouldn’t listen to either of them.
“Kill you maybe but not us. We’re wearing our seat belts which saved us when my lightning reflexes hit the brake stopping us just in the nick of time from crashing into that tree.”
Now that I knew I was, in fact, still alive and, more importantly, unhurt, I let myself look out the windshield. The stately maple tree, only inches from the front bumper, hadn’t flinched at Tilly’s close call. Of course not, I told myself, it’s a tree.
“Here.” Tilly threw a handkerchief to Greg. “Clean yourself up and stop dripping blood in my car.” She backed up and headed toward my house.
She was back on track with her plan.
I shuddered at the thought.
25
Tilly zipped into my driveway.
Greg groaned in the back seat but hadn’t tried to strangle me or otherwise cause a problem, so I relaxed a little. Maybe he was afraid of Tilly. Or, maybe he wasn’t the bad guy. Time would tell.
“How’s your nose, Greg? Did the bleeding stop?” Tilly asked, sounding slightly sympathetic.
“Broken, I’m sure.”
“Come on inside. Sunny will get some ice for you. I’ve got to run over to my house for a minute.”
“Huh? You’re leaving me alone with him? I don’t even have Jasper to help.” Forget about that five seconds of relaxing I’d just enjoyed.
“Take this, then.” Tilly reached under her skirt and tried to hand me her pistol.
Greg fell back against the seat. “I’m not going inside. At least out here, someone might hear me scream for help or see you shoot me so you don’t get away with murder.”
Like you? I almost said but I didn’t want to play that card yet. Instead, I shook my head and refused the gun. Greg wasn’t paying attention so maybe I could bluff my way to staying alive.
Tilly pushed her seat forward and pulled on his arm. “Greg, no one’s going to shoot you if you don’t do anything stupid. Follow Sunny, she’s much nicer than I am.”
Normally, I would have appreciated that compliment, but under these circumstances I’d rather have Greg think I was mean and nasty. And maybe even trigger happy.
“Besides,” Tilly said, “If you stay out here you might get a visit from Violet, or one of the other girls, including your wife. Their cars are all parked next door. Is that what you prefer? I could arrange it very easily. I have Violet’s number on speed dial.” She even held up her phone.
I knew that was a lie. I doubted Tilly had ever called Violet in her life, but Greg didn’t need to know that detail. He was stuck between me or three women he was trying to avoid like the plague. Especially his wife. It didn’t sound like a difficult choice to me.
“Okay. I’ll go with Sunny. She’s by far the best option.”
Tilly flashed me a thumbs up before she jogged across the street. Tilly’s demolition derby demonstration shook Greg out from some of his alcoholic haze, enough for him to pour himself out of the back of her bug without my assistance, though he had to lean on my shoulder to navigate my front walk into my house. Princess Muffin and Stash jumped off the couch and stalked us as soon as I closed the door. A bit of normalcy in this upside-down day.
“You have kittens here, too?” Somehow, somewhat unsteadily, Greg crouched down and scooped them both into his arms. The kittens gave him affectionate head butts which actually made him smile. He plopped onto the floor and talked to them as if they were babies. Could a man who unabashedly cooed to kittens be a killer?
“Stay where you are, Greg. I’ll be right back.”
I’m not sure he heard me; the kittens had his full attention. I got some ice from my freezer and wrapped it in a towel for his rapidly swelling nose.
“Yes,” I said when I returned. “There never seems to be a shortage of kittens needing good homes. Are you a cat person?” I asked even though answer was crawling over his arms and heading for his neck. “Can you put Princess Muffin down for a few minutes and sit on the couch while I take care of your injury?”
He shed himself of my menagerie and said, “I love cats, but Carla,” he rolled his eyes, “says she’s allergic. I wish she was allergic to me.”
Here was the perfect opening. “So, tell me, Greg,” I said as I tilted his head back and arranged the ice pack on the bridge of his nose. “What’s the deal with the roommates? I didn’t get the feeling that they are actually fond of each other.”
I give him credit. He was a good patient. I took his hand and placed it on the ice pack to hold it in place. “Ha!” he said around the bulky device. “You’re very perceptive. You picked up on their dysfunctional relationships quickly. I’m sort of used to it after all these years.”
“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows hoping he’d spill the dirt.
My door opened, spoiling the moment.
Tilly entered juggling her coffee carafe and a tub of ice cream. “Have I got news for you two,” she said enthusiastically after she’d kicked the door closed. “But first, mint chocolate chip ice cream,” which she set on my coffee table like it was a bigger present than winning the lottery. Well, with Tilly’s addiction, that might be true.
“And coffee,” she added with a nod toward Greg. “Then I’ll tell you what I just saw.” She grinned at us and left us hanging on that comment as she rustled around in my kitchen for mugs, bowls, and spoons. I could have offered to help but decided to keep an eye on Greg in case he decided to make a run for it.
Returning with her loot, Tilly got right down to business scooping out huge portions for each of us while I poured the coffee.
“Dig in,” she said.
Greg ignored his bowl of ice cream but managed to sip his coffee while holding the ice on his nose. “Jealousy. To answer your question, Sunny, the roommates are all jealous of each other. Or, maybe envy is more accurate. One makes more money than everyone else. One is prettier. Another one is smarter. I’ve tried to stay out of all the drama, but Carla always wants me to choose sides, hers of course, which is an impossible position to be in.”
He let out a long exhale, like he was glad that was finally off his chest. He put down the ice
and swapped it for the ice cream.
Both envy and jealousy were dangerous emotions. I could imagine that it might eat away over years and years until something happened to make someone snap. And that might lead a person to justify murder; that someone deserved to die. I shuddered at that thought but understood it could happen in a worst-case scenario.
I glanced at Tilly and raised my eyebrows. I couldn’t help wondering what she thought of Greg’s comments. She shrugged.
“Anyway,” she said, scraping her bowl of every last bit of ice cream. “Laura just stormed out of Violet’s house and drove away like a bat out of, you know where. Violet and Carla stood in the doorway looking like they’d just swallowed a week-old bowl of clam chowder. Kind of green around the gills if you know what I mean.” She sat back and crossed her legs. “What do you think that could be about?” She looked at Greg.
“Interesting,” he said. “It looks like they’re choosing sides.”
“I wonder if it had anything to do with our conversation at the Kitty Castle,” I said, knowing I’d zapped a few nerves. “Violet and Carla against Laura?”
“Must have been quite the conversation,” Greg said, finally giving me his full attention.
“Oh,” I waved my hand dismissively. “Not that big of a deal unless one of them was hiding a big secret. I just put some ideas together, which led me to kind of sort of accuse each one of having a motive for murdering Ginger. And, much to my surprise, it didn’t go over very well. You have to wonder whose secret had something to do with Ginger.”
Greg’s mouth dropped open. “I wish I’d been a fly on that wall.”
“Or, one of the kittens,” I said. “I also learned that Laura likes cats but Violet and Carla don’t. And I really don’t trust people that don’t like animals.”
Greg grinned at that last comment. “So, you trust me?”
“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that yet.” I didn’t want him to get too comfortable. I felt my phone vibrate, which reminded me that I should really be at Shakes and Cakes helping Hitch instead of running around with gun-toting Tilly.
I checked the text message from Hitch: Where are you? Everything okay?
On our way back, I responded.
“Tilly, we gotta go. Right now. Hitch is worried.”
“Drop me off at my car?” Greg asked. “I’m okay to drive thanks to your intervention.” He gently massaged his nose. “This will be my reminder to watch out for a pistol packing lady driving a red Volkswagen beetle in the future.”
“Nope,” Tilly said as she headed to the door. “You’re on our team now, Greg. You’re staying with us.”
What did she think this was, a baseball game?
Greg didn’t move to follow us. “Come on,” I said, frustration beginning to overwhelm me.
He held his hands out to the sides. “Can’t move,” he said with a what-do-you-want-me-to-do-about-this-problem expression.
“Oh.” Stash and Princess Muffin were curled together on his lap, fast asleep and completely comfortable.
I gently lifted them off Greg’s lap and placed them on the couch in a patch of sunshine where they usually liked to sleep.
It was hard to think of Greg as a potential murderer when he had such a soft spot for my kittens.
I hoped I wasn’t letting my guard down too soon.
26
“Your team?” Greg shook his head once he was settled in the back seat again.
I knew how that sounded. To the inexperienced, dealing with Tilly was like falling into some kind of twilight zone with no exit. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Tilly, but it had taken time to unlock her heart and understand the goodness behind her somewhat unconventional tendencies.
Greg was in for a bumpy ride if he chose to stick around.
“So,” Tilly said, looking at Greg in the rearview mirror. At least she hadn’t turned completely around. I kept my eye on the road in case I had to commandeer the steering wheel.
“Who do you think killed Ginger?” she asked. Assuming, of course, that it wasn’t you.”
Oh, did I mention blunt? Tilly liked to cut right to the heart of the matter.
Greg leaned between the two front seats and sputtered. “Is that what this… this abduction is all about? You think I killed Ginger?” He crashed back, smacking loudly against the seat.
Tilly looked at me.
“Watch out!”
“Oops.” She’d wandered into the other lane but made a quick correction. “No harm done.”
“I didn’t say that, Greg,” Tilly said in a soothing tone. “Why did you jump to that conclusion? You don’t have a guilty conscience, do you?”
He folded his arms over his chest and looked out the side window. Tilly drove in silence, which meant she had something up her sleeve.
“I loved Ginger,” Greg said eventually. His voice was so quiet I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.
“You what?” I asked.
“I loved her. It really wasn’t much of a secret with the roommates. I had my eye on Ginger before I even met Carla. Ginger made it clear that she had other plans, of course. Carla tried to spin our marriage like it was this fairy tale romance right from the get-go. The truth was the complete opposite.” He let his head fall back against the seat.
Now I understood Tilly’s silence. She was giving Greg enough rope to hang himself, or at least time to get him talking.
“Let me guess,” I said. “Laura strikes me as the one in the group who likes to stir up trouble, get under people’s skin, especially needling Carla. Laura wasn’t surprised at all when Tilly suggested that you and Ginger went off on a sightseeing trip together to explain Ginger’s disappearing act.”
“I already told you that I saw Ginger walking when I was on my way to Misty Harbor,” he said. “What I didn’t say is that I did stop to talk to her. All I wanted was to have a friendly conversation because she’d been avoiding me. I didn’t know why. I’d long ago given up the idea that she and I could have anything beyond a friendship. Not because she was loyal to Carla. She couldn’t care less about hurting anyone. No, she told me that she had her eyes on someone.”
“Who?” I blurted out.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care.” He sniffled, suggesting he cared. A lot. “She wouldn’t say, except it was someone she’d met in New York. She wanted to get to know him better and was heading to his apartment.”
Hitch? He’d met Ginger in New York. She’d left him multiple messages and texts. She’d found her way to his apartment and got herself murdered there. Tingles of fear crept up my spine. Was Greg spinning us a tale of woe to cover up his crime?
Tilly rubbed my arm. “I know what you’re thinking. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Sooner or later.”
Tilly was right, and I was more determined than ever to find out what made Ginger go into Hitch’s apartment and who followed her.
Greg’s next words sliced right through me. “She did let me give her a ride, though. I don’t think she realized how far it was when she decided to walk. That’s how I know where the guy lives.
“Do the police know you gave her a ride?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“Of course, they don’t. I’d be a fool to tell them something like that. Especially with Carla ready to throw me under the bus because of her jealousy. It worries me a little though. How did you two know where to find me today?”
I looked at him in the mirror of my visor, “Someone saw you sitting there in your car and thought it was kind of creepy.” As annoying as Ashley was, I wasn’t going to identify her and risk Greg targeting her if he was more than an innocent bystander.
He stared out the window for a minute before his face lit up with a new revelation. “Must have been that blonde. She stared at me while I was drowning my sorrows before she scurried into her car. What’s wrong with sitting in my car and minding my own business?”
So much for protecting Ashley. “It’s creepy, Greg. This is a small town. People don’t
just sit in their car on the side of the road.”
“Whatever. I wanted to get a look at the guy Ginger planned to meet.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“Greg,” Tilly said as she pulled into the Shakes and Cakes parking lot. “You never told us who you think killed Ginger.”
I silently thanked Tilly for changing the focus away from Hitch.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “Any one of the roommates could have done it. Carla hated Ginger. She was always jealous of her probably because she knew that Ginger was my first choice. With Ginger gone, maybe she thought I’d somehow miraculously fall in love with her the way I did with Ginger.”
That made a lot of sense.
“But Laura had her reasons, too.”
Oh boy.
“Laura was the smart, studious one in the group. She’d tutored Ginger through college, but then Ginger applied for the dream job that Laura expected to get after graduation, and guess what? Ginger got hired. Laura never forgave her.”
“And, Violet?”
“Ah, yes, Violet. She worked for a few years before she went to college. She was older than the others. Always pinching pennies. She wanted to fit in with the group. Even when she didn’t have the money to go to whatever restaurant or fun activity they’d all planned, Ginger would say, ‘Oh come on, I’ll treat’.”
“Let me guess,” I said. “Ginger didn’t follow through with the money.” I was starting to get a better picture of these so-called friends.
“Exactly,” Greg said, slapping his knee for emphasis. “Violet graduated with a ton of debt from student loans and several maxed out credit cards that she blamed on Ginger.”
Before we got out of the car, there was one more question I had to ask.
“Why did they come for this reunion if they didn’t like each other?”
“Because it was Ginger’s idea. They all wanted her to like them. It was another one of their competitions they never outgrew. Who did Ginger favor on any particular day? It was exhausting, and I didn’t want to be part of it, but Carla insisted.” He shrugged. “I figured I’d get to see Ginger, so I came along.”
