A Cuppa Trouble

by Angela Ruth Strong

  McNeil’s tinny voice continued to bark through the phone.

  Marissa laid a palm on Tandy’s forehead.

  Greg gripped her shoulders from where he hovered above.

  She stared at him in confusion, her throat constricting in panic. Could this be an allergic reaction? After her visit to a Maine hospital, Dad had bought her an EpiPen. She’d quit carrying it years ago in favor of simply avoiding shellfish. And she certainly hadn’t had any shellfish today.

  All she’d had recently was a bite of Marissa’s cookie and the fast food Vic had bought her. He knew about her allergy, so he wouldn’t have fed her any shellfish. Unless he’d wanted to hurt her…

  She opened her mouth to express her revelation, but only a raspy cough came out.

  Marissa tugged the phone from Tandy’s grip, her pulse pounding in her ears at the memory of the last time she’d seen someone fall in this shop. The prior owner had been poisoned. And the woman hadn’t survived.

  Marissa pressed the phone to her ear. “Sir, Tandy is having trouble talking and breathing, and she stumbled to the ground. I’m going to call an ambulance.”

  “We’re not waiting that long.” Greg scooped his girlfriend into his arms.

  “I’ll meet you at the hospital.” McNeil ended their conversation.

  Marissa pushed off the floor and set the phone in its cradle with shaky hands. Was the agent always this concerned over sick people, or did he think there was some kind of foul play involved? The question scratched at Marissa’s concern like a lottery ticket revealing the losing numbers.

  Connor peeked out from the kitchen. “What’s going on?” His gaze traveled to Tandy in Greg’s arms, but rather than wait for an answer, he grabbed his jacket and rushed to open the front door.

  Marissa ignored the twinge of her heart at the visual of how much Connor cared about the other woman. She knew he would have done the same thing for anyone. And Marissa wanted him to. Especially for her friend. Even if the friend had betrayed her.

  No. Tandy didn’t betray her. She’d been in another scary situation. Marissa should have wanted Connor to kiss Tandy to save her life every bit as much as she wanted him to hold the door open for Greg to carry her outside.

  Though the thought made Marissa feel like she was betraying herself.

  She’d untangle her emotions later. Right now they had to get to the hospital. She raced out the door into the snow to catch up.

  Greg spun toward her. “Get my keys out of my coat pocket.”

  Marissa glanced past him toward the street. His car was the closest, otherwise she would have pulled out her own keys. She stepped closer to him and stuck her hand in his cool, leather pocket.

  Tandy lisped something else between gasps of air. Something about being “selfish”? Was she jealous of Marissa getting so close to Greg? It wasn’t like she wanted to be.

  Her fingers closed around the hard, jagged keys. She tugged the ring free and clicked the button on the fob. Connor stepped in front of her to pull open the passenger door.

  Greg lowered Tandy in.

  Tandy clutched at her throat and coughed.

  Marissa’s own throat tightened at the idea of not being able to breathe. The doctors wouldn’t cut a hole in Tandy’s neck for a tracheotomy, would they? Marissa needed to go with them to make sure her friend was all right, but she also needed to lock up.

  Connor opened the back door of Greg’s Mercedes and motioned for her to climb in. “You go. I’ll close your shop.”

  Marissa nodded, thankful, yet unable to kiss Connor goodbye. The last person he’d kissed was Tandy, and she still hadn’t come to terms with that fact. She’d kept her reaction in check earlier because she needed to be understanding. Though with the way her guts twisted, she didn’t feel understanding. She ducked under Connor’s arm and dove into the backseat. “Thank you.”

  He eyed her, knowingly. So knowingly that he might be staying behind on purpose.

  Never mind that. Tandy was wheezing in the front seat.

  Marissa snapped her door shut and leaned forward. “I’m going to ask yes or no questions. Nod or shake your head.”

  Greg climbed behind the wheel and started the engine in one motion. “Vic must have done something to her. I knew he couldn’t have given up that easily.”

  Marissa shot him a wary glance as the car lurched away from the curb. “Poison?”

  Tandy shook her head.

  Not poison. Did Tandy know something? Marissa gripped her friend’s hand. “Has this ever happened before?”

  Tandy started to nod then leaned back and opened her mouth to suck harder at the air.

  “Anaphylactic shock?” The words came out of Marissa’s subconscious like her brain was repeating a Dr. Oz episode that she didn’t remember. What did the term even mean?

  Tandy grunted and squeezed her hand. Was she in pain or was she saying yes? Probably both. So much for nodding. “She’s squeezing my hand. I think that means yes.”

  “It’s an allergy then. I don’t remember her being allergic to anything in childhood.” Greg ran a stop sign. “Do you have an EpiPen, Tandy?”

  Tandy loosened her grip.

  Oh no. Either she was blacking out or answering in the negative. “She probably would have gotten it out by now if she did.”

  “True.” Even when Greg was in fight or flight mode, he still reasoned like an attorney. “Vic would have known she had allergies. Did Vic put something in your burger, Tandy?”

  Tandy jerked forward in a coughing fit, and Marissa couldn’t tell if she was squeezing as an answer or out of fright.

  “It’s a good thing McNeil is coming.” Greg turned the corner, stomping his brakes hard enough to make them screech. He stepped on the gas then spun the wheel to bump over the curb into the hospital parking lot. “Vic is going to get arrested, and I’m going to quit my job and become county prosecutor.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  How often Tandy took her breath for granted. But now the simple act of inhaling was a fight, like when slurping up a berry stuck in the straw of a milkshake. Only not as delicious.

  Had Vic really done this to her? Or could it be an accident? Her deluxe cheeseburger might have simply gotten too close to a popcorn shrimp basket when being prepared. Though strange it didn’t affect her right away. Back in Maine that lobster had started her throat itching immediately. Then she’d begun gasping like she was currently doing.

  Tiny puffs of oxygen clawed her throat. Her surroundings dimmed with every attempt to inhale. How much longer before her whole world went black?

  The car jerked to a stop, and her door popped open to a gust of chilly air that would be welcome if she were capable of sucking it in to cool her burning lungs. Strong arms lifted her from her seat and she tried to curl into the comfort of Greg’s chest, except coughing fits kept shaking her away. She clutched his neck to let him know she was grateful. And scared.

  Marissa trailed behind without incident, momentarily the less clumsy one. She’d even been quick-thinking in the car there with the hand squeeze thing. If only she’d understood Tandy’s explanation about the shellfish. But she was here, and that’s what mattered.

  Sliding doors whooshed open, and warmth enveloped her. Nurses rushed out from behind the counter before Greg even reached them. Tandy would have sighed in relief if she had any air to exhale.

  “It’s anaphylactic shock,” Marissa called. “We think she has an allergy.”

  Tandy timed her small nod to the rhythm of her gasping.

  A tubby woman in Valentine’s scrubs stepped forward and popped the top of a clear plastic tube like she was Cupid, unsheathing an arrow. She took aim and shot.

  Direct hit in Tandy’s thigh. She barely noticed the sting as seconds later, the vice on her throat released its hold. She drank in a cleansing breath that washed away the terror. Then another. Until she was shivering in relief. A sob escaped, as well. Not an I’m-so-sad sob, but an I-cheated-death sob.

  Greg laughed
to let out his own tension and sank down in a chair, still holding her. She was finally able to curl into him while Marissa took care of admission paperwork and made a phone call. The fact that her phone hadn’t died yet was almost as miraculous as Tandy’s survival.

  The sliding doors whooshed open to reveal Agent McNeil. He stood there with his hands on his hips like a superhero, and Tandy wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d blown the doors open with Super Breath. He probably could have even blown her esophagus open with Super CPR.

  He strode to their chair and planted his feet wide. “Are you okay, Miss Brandt?”

  “I’m alive.” In the midst of a murder investigation, that was better than okay.

  “She went into anaphylactic shock. The nurse treated her with an EpiPen,” Greg explained. “I suspect Vic Whitaker of feeding her something she’s allergic to.”

  Tandy closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to breathe.

  “I heard about their little sting operation at the car lot, which never should have happened. Taking the law into your own hands is dangerous. Even when your cohort isn’t trying to kill you.” McNeil paused. “So why do you think he was?”

  Tandy especially didn’t want to think about that. She’d had a heart to heart with Vic. He’d seemed so sincere. Could this be about the car thefts like Greg had suggested in the beginning? Someone was still responsible for turning Mrs. Thomas’s Porsche around, if nothing else.

  “He probably did it because she chose to be with me instead of him,” Greg’s tone dropped.

  Tandy’s eyes popped open. She forced herself to speak despite the way her throat had turned into the Sahara Desert. “That’s not it. He bought the food before I told him I was committed to Greg.” Something didn’t fit here.

  “Then it’s connected to the car thefts.” Greg studied her. “Either he came to town for Tandy and couldn’t pass up stealing Randon’s Corvette. Or Tandy is only an excuse for him to be here because he set up the whole car-theft ring. I suspect he wanted to create a scare to ensure his job stability, but it got out of hand with George’s murder, so he stayed here to clean up the mess.”

  McNeil’s eyes narrowed. “Interesting.”

  Marissa stepped forward. “You can ask him in a minute. I called to let him know about Tandy. I want him to come down here, so you can arrest him.”

  McNeil clenched his jaw. “I get it that you girls solved the last local murder, but this case is much more dangerous than a caffeine overdose. You can’t keep hanging out with suspects and not get hurt.”

  Tandy twitched. Now that her lungs were comfortable, she was starting to realize the rest of her wasn’t. And not only because she was crunched on Greg’s lap between the arms of the chair. She slid her feet to the floor to face McNeil, though she didn’t have the energy to stand yet. Greg supported her with his hands at her waist. “I don’t believe Vic stole any cars. If he did this to me it was so he could be the one holding me right now. He must have thought my allergic reaction would kick in more quickly, and he’d be my hero.”

  “Ohhh…” Marissa’s eyes grew wide. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “I’ll still question him.” McNeil shook his head at the ridiculousness of their situation. “Does he know what you’re allergic to?”

  The front doors slid open as McNeil spoke. Vic strolled in, a grim expression hiding his dimples. Concern darkened his already dark eyes. “She’s allergic to shellfish, and I’m glad to see she’s okay. I was always very careful when we dated, and I didn’t even eat shellfish in case it could affect her when we kissed.”

  Tandy felt Greg stiffen behind her. Here she was in the middle again. Though why did Greg have to let it bother him that she used to kiss Vic? She was kissing him now, and… Oh.

  She gripped the arm of the chair and twisted to look at her boyfriend.

  He flinched when her gaze met his. “I ate crab salad for dinner.”

  Marissa sank down across from Vic in the waiting room. Tandy and Greg had been ushered into an exam room so she could get checked out by a doctor. McNeil was outside on the phone with Griffin, and Connor was on his way to pick up Marissa. That left Vic as the only other person around.

  She didn’t quite trust him yet, but he did know a lot about car theft, and she wanted to know more.

  “That was their first kiss,” she said as an ice breaker.

  One corner of Vic’s mouth curved up. “Some kiss.”

  Marissa smiled sadly. Was it horrible that she wished if anybody’s kiss was going to send Tandy to the hospital that it would have been Connor’s? Drat. She needed to forget about it. Tandy was head over heels for Greg. Literally. “He’d been waiting to make their first kiss memorable.”

  Vic nodded. “Well, I’m glad to know he really cares about her, and their relationship is more than a rebound thing.”

  “It is.” Maybe Vic wasn’t such a bad guy after all. If Marissa could forgive her boyfriend kissing her best friend, then maybe she could forgive her best friend’s ex for stuffing her in the trunk of his car. It was his passion for stopping car thieves that she wanted to talk to him about. “So, you know a lot about car theft?”

  Vic rolled his eyes toward the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. “I’ve been through this with your sheriff already.”

  He thought she was still suspicious of him? “I know he interrogated you, but has he asked you for help?”

  Vic grunted. “Hardly.”

  Marissa shifted forward and leaned her forearms on her knees. “Well if he did, what would you say? Who is behind the prank on Connor’s mom’s car, and is it the same person who killed George?”

  Vic took a moment to read her expression, his own reflecting cautious collaboration. “Only someone with knowledge about cars and a high-tech connection would both have the relay attack unit that you found in George’s jumpsuit and also be able to break into a Porsche.”

  That made sense. Though who would this apply to besides George’s brother and niece? “Do you know of any high-tech car theft rings in the area?”

  Vic shook his head. “I don’t, but I do know that with advanced technology, replacing parts like airbags and headlights are more expensive. That means the demand for cheaper parts through chop shops is on the rise, which is probably why George’s brother got back into the game.”

  “Hm…” Marissa leaned back. “Could Susan Snodgrass be here to throw suspicion off her dad by doing things like turning Abigail’s Porsche around.”

  “Possibly.”

  A chop shop made more sense for their area than what she’d been reading about in the newspaper. “Do you know about how car thieves are smuggling stolen cars out of U.S. ports to sell in foreign countries?”

  Vic’s eyebrows arched. “You’ve been doing your homework.”

  She didn’t have time for his condescension. “Meaning you do know.”

  Vic huffed. “Yeah. It’s about time the U.S. cracked down.”

  Marissa tapped her chin and mulled over the information. “Smuggling is going down, but chop shops are going up.”

  Vic shrugged his good shoulder. How could he be so nonchalant about this when he was supposed to be passionate about preventing car theft? “Yeah, smuggling doesn’t really affect Ohio. Unless the smugglers could somehow figure out a way to smuggle cars first into Canada, they are pretty much stuck here.”

  There had been an article on how Canada was more lax on car smuggling. “How would they do that?”

  Vic scratched his bald head. “Well, Canada is only on the other side of Lake Erie. If they were able to sneak cars across, they could then get shipped out through the St. Lawrence Seaway.”

  Shipping cars from Ohio to the drug terrorists she’d read about in Africa seemed like a huge expense and big risk. Why would criminals go through that rather than buying a car legally? “How much did Randon pay for the Corvette?”

  “Almost three-hundred thousand.”

  Marissa’s mouth dropped open. Three hu
ndred grand? Randon had more money than she realized, and so did Vic. “Where did you get that kind of money?”

  Vic adjusted his sling. “Inheritance. I wanted to buy the ‘Vette as an investment, but also to make myself feel better after Tandy and I broke up.”

  She stared. Did he truly feel three-hundred-thousand-dollars bad about the breakup? And whether he did or not, was it possible that his wealth came not from an inheritance but from smuggling cars?

  Vic laughed. “If I were the car smuggler that you think I am, I would be able to sell Randon’s car for two to three times that on the overseas black market.”

  Marissa kept her calculating to herself though obviously Vic knew what she was thinking. “I didn’t say I think you are a smuggler.”

  Vic leaned forward, realized he couldn’t rest his injured arm on his leg then leaned back again. “Then who do you think is?”

  “It would have to be someone with access to a boat.” Good thing she knew a guy with boats.

  Billie’s boyfriend, Joseph Cross, made his money from riverboat cruises, but could he possibly have the ability to ship cars? She’d find out tomorrow.

  The line for coffee at their grand opening circled out the door and around the block. Tandy had been pouring heart shapes on the top of coffee for two hours straight and not even minding that she hadn’t gotten a chance to drink her own. This grand opening was everything that she’d hoped it would be.

  Not to mention the way Greg had kissed her the night before. It almost ended her life, but other than that, it had been grand.

  Marissa wobbled away with Opal’s tea, then strode back the best she could in red stilettos. “This stinks.”

  Tandy scooped a bag of the Valentine’s Day popcorn she’d made to give out free for their first day. It wasn’t regular popcorn but drizzled with white chocolate and tossed with sprinkles and conversation hearts. Conversation hearts were always good for word-of-mouth promos. “If your feet are hurting, Marissa, put your snow boots back on.”