“Come on, Rosa,” Ellie said. “You have to admit it’s a bit suspicious. Oswald was working in the haunted house, the same place where your husband was killed. What was his exact role there, anyway?”
The other woman waved it off. “Nothing big. He told me that he had to dress up as some sort of ghoul and hide under a bank of fog, waiting for people to come by to scare.”
Ellie blinked. That sounded familiar. She shivered. “Rosa, his room was right next to the room I found your husband’s body in. He would’ve had ample chance to kill him, and probably ample reason. Just think about it for a second.”
“No,” the other woman snapped. “Oswald did not kill Tim.”
“I know that you care about him, but just think…”
“I know he didn’t do it,” Rosa said simply. “Nothing you can say will change that. He did not do it. And you just got a man fired because you can’t keep your nose out of business that has nothing to do with you.”
“It certainly does have something to do with me,” Ellie snapped back, pushing her plate away from herself. She had lost her appetite. “Do you have any idea what the accusation that your mother made has done to my reputation and my business? At the rate we’re going, we’re going to be in the red for at least two weeks. If things don’t pick up again, I’m going to be seeing a serious loss of profit. Business is down fifty percent, people can’t even look me in the face, and if they do, they look at me like they want to see me strung up. Someone threw rotten fruit at me restaurant. So yes, this is my business, and I will not keep my nose out of it. I know you’re blinded by your emotions for that man, but it makes the most sense. He was there, he had motive, and he obviously has some anger control issues.”
“He doesn’t have anger control issues,” Rosa said. “He has a right to be mad if someone goes around smearing his name through the mud. He just lost his job, he’s been accused of murder, and he thinks I’m the one who called the police on him. Of course he’s angry.”
“Regardless, everything else I said still stands. I’m sorry, Rosa. We have to consider the possibility that –“
“He didn’t do it.” The other woman spoke with such conviction that Ellie actually paused.
“Do you… Do you actually know who did do it?” she ventured.
Rosa hesitated, but that was enough. “No,” she said, almost stuttering on the word. “I don’t. I think you should leave now. You’ve caused enough trouble here. Your meals are on the house, or I’ll pack them up for you, but you should go.”
With that, she turned to walk away. Ellie pulled out her phone. She wasn’t planning on actually calling Russell until she was outside, but she was preparing for it. However, she heard more Spanish from the older woman and Rosa turned back around.
Her mother must have had told her that Ellie had pulled out her cell phone.
“Are you going to call the police on me?” Rosa asked. “Go ahead. I didn’t do anything but ask you to leave my restaurant, and I’m pretty sure that’s not illegal.”
“We’re leaving,” Ellie said. “But I’m pretty sure you know more than you’re saying, and I’m not going to let this go.”
The older woman said something else in Spanish, directed to her daughter, then in English she said, “Stop. You’re not going to get away with wrecking my daughter’s life. Put the phone away.”
Ellie, Joanna, and Shannon, all of whom had stood up to leave, turned back to look at her.
“Not a chance,” Ellie said. “Listen, I don’t know what your daughter is hiding, but if she really doesn’t know anything, then she has nothing to worry about.”
“A false accusation of murder will follow her for the rest of her life. She could lose the business.”
Ellie snapped. “Do you hear yourself? You’re such a hypocrite. You almost wrecked my life by accusing me of the same murder. I had even less motive than your daughter does. And I don’t even think that she necessarily did it. I think she might know who did it, that’s all. Why would you even accuse me of killing him, anyway? I’ve been wondering all week.”
“I saw you arguing with him, and I saw you go into the haunted house shortly after he went inside,” the other woman replied. “Shortly after that, he was found – dead. What else was I supposed to think?”
“What, you were just watching the haunted house the entire time? Was I really the only one who went in after Tim did? I can’t believe that. The festival was busy. A lot of people must have gone in before I did, and they just missed his body or thought it was a prop.”
“Not everyone had an argument with him right beforehand. But maybe I was wrong. If I apologize for that, will you let this go?”
Ellie paused. It was almost tempting. Not the idea of a personal apology, but if the other woman went public, and retracted what she had said about Ellie…
“No,” she said. “Sorry. But getting to the bottom if this is more important than just clearing my name. And I could never keep my suspicions from my husband anyway. We don’t keep secrets.” She moved to leave, but paused when Mrs. Garcia spoke again.
“Stop,” the other woman said. “Please. Don’t call the police on my daughter.” The older woman actually seemed more worried than angry now.
“Why?” Ellie asked. “If she really has nothing to hide, nothing will even come of it.”
“Go ahead and call them,” Rosa snapped, apparently deciding that she had been quiet long enough. “I want to talk to them. I want to tell them Oswald is innocent. I’m not letting him take the fall for this when–“ She broke off.
“You do know something,” Joanna said suddenly from behind Ellie. “Don’t you?”
The other woman didn’t speak, but she looked worried. The tension was broken by Rosa’s mother, who said, “Please, don’t get my daughter in trouble. We’ll tell you the truth. I…”
“No, Ma –”
The other woman waved her hand, cutting her. “I did it. I killed him. Rosa had nothing to do with it.”
Chapter Thirteen
No!” Rosa immediately called out. She stepped forward, coming between her mother and Ellie. “I did it. I did it, not her. She’s just trying to protect me.”
Things had escalated so quickly that Ellie was unsure what to do. She still had her phone out, but she was certain that if she tried calling the police now, at least one of the two women would try to stop her. She didn’t quite feel like she was in danger, not with Shannon and Joanna with her and no obvious weapons on either of the other woman, but she really didn’t want this to escalate into a fight. She could only hope that either Shannon or Joanna would be able to get to one of their own phones without the other two women noticing.
“You did?”
Not even five minutes ago, she would have been happy to hear a confession from Rosa, but this wasn’t sitting right with her. “After everything you said about how you were innocent?”
Rosa looked frightened, but she nodded. “I killed him. Tim was a terrible husband. I just couldn’t take anymore.”
“Rosa.” Her mother stepped around the counter, reaching for her. Rosa jerked away.
“No, Ma, leave it,” she snapped.
“Rosa, don’t do this.”
“I killed him,” Rosa said firmly, looking at Ellie defiantly. “I’ll even admit as much to the police over the phone right now. My mom didn’t do it. Oswald didn’t do it. Even Ethan’s innocent, though I know he did hate Tim with a passion. I’m the only one who had anything to do with it.”
“How did you do it?” Ellie asked.
Rosa blinked. The question seemed to be unexpected. “I stabbed him.”
“Where?” Ellie asked.
Rosa bit her lip before answering. “In the chest. I went into the haunted house with him and dragged him aside for a kiss, and then I stabbed him before he even knew what was happening. I thought it would be fitting, you know. Stabbing him in the heart, since he broke mine.”
Ellie fell silent. Tim had been stabbed from behind,
not in the chest. The details of the murder were, of course, kept secret from the public, and while Rosa had been right about the knife, she had gotten the location of the wound wrong. There was no way she had done it.
The silence seemed to stretch on. Rosa looked nervous, and her mother looked a mixture of angry, frightened, and… proud?
“Then… then when he tried to get away I kept stabbing him. I don’t remember where, exactly.” She finished weakly. “I swear, it was me. I may have some details wrong. I was very shaken up by it.”
Ellie remembered the happy, smiling woman who had served her and Joanna tacos before they started walking around the festival. No, that woman hadn’t seemed shaken up at all.
“You didn’t do it, Rosa,” Ellie said gently.
Rosa took an angry step forward, but her mother reached out to hold her back.
“She’s right,” she said. “Rosa, stop this. You’re being silly. You’re just going to get yourself in trouble for no reason.” She took a deep breath and turned to face Ellie. “Rosa didn’t kill him. I did.”
This time, Rosa made no moves to defend her mother. All five of the women let the silence stretch on for a long moment.
“Why?” Ellie asked. She spoke louder than she might have normally. She could have sworn she heard the soft sound of a phone line ringing through behind her. One of the other women must have made the call for the sheriff’s department on her cell phone. She wanted to keep the others distracted long enough for someone to pick up.
“I hated him,” Mrs. Garcia said, her voice heavy emotion. “I hated the way he treated my daughter. I hated the fact that she was living with him, even though he was a terrible excuse for a human being. I hated the fact that when that she found happiness – even if it was with a lowlife like that Oswald character – she could never fully live it because she refused to get a divorce from Tim. And I hated that he stole my family recipes and used them to make his restaurant successful, without so much as giving me credit.” She took a deep breath. “Rosa was so worried about what I would think if she left him, but all I really wanted was for her to be happy. And so when I saw Tim going into the haunted house, I knew that was my chance. I know Oswald was working there. I thought it would be blamed on him, then I also tried to put the blame on you. I thought another suspect would help throw them off my trail. Yes, I killed him because I love my daughter and I wanted her to be free to live her life the way that she wanted.”
“And you thought dragging her into all of this would help?” Ellie asked.
Mrs. Garcia shook her head. “Rosa was never supposed to know. I didn’t tell her.”
“But, it seems like you did know about it, Rosa,” Ellie said, confused. “You tried to take the blame instead of your mom.”
Rosa, who had tears in her eyes now, nodded. “I figured it out. When we got back home I saw little bit of blood on her shirt. I think the police missed it, but that, combined with the way she accused you out of the blue, it made it click into place.” She turned to her mother. “I’m sorry, Mama. I should’ve told you that I knew. It was just such a scary thought. I mean, you killed the man that I’d married. I know you didn’t like him, and I didn’t like him very much myself, but still, you shouldn’t have done that. And now… now there’s no way you’re getting out of this. You might end up in prison for the rest of your life.”
Though the older woman looked sad and frightened, she held firm. “Sorry, Rosa, but it was still worth it. You have the chance for happiness now. That’s worth whatever they might throw at me. Just come visit me sometimes, okay?”
“No. We can still figure out a way to get you out of this. We could… we could buy their silence.” She turned back to the three other women. “Please. We’ll pay whatever it takes. Tim had life insurance, and we have some savings… Anything, just don’t tell anyone that my mother killed him. She’s old – sorry Mama, but it’s true – and I don’t want her to die in prison. I’ll do anything. We’ll leave town. You’ll never have to see us again.”
“I can’t,” Ellie said. “I’m sorry, but she killed someone. She committed murder in cold blood. She has to face whatever justice is coming for her.”
Rosa took a step forward, and Ellie took half a step back, worried that the other woman might get violent, but Rosa’s mother grabbed her wrist. “It’s okay, sweetie,” she said. “I made my choice. I knew there was a chance I might get caught. I gave up my freedom so that you could live your life. Please don’t throw that away.”
A heartbroken expression on her face, Rosa stepped back. Behind her, Shannon said, “The police are on their way. They heard all of that.”
Ellie worried for a second that one or both of the women might try to flee, but neither of them did. Instead, Rosa wrapped her arms around her mother and broke down sobbing. Mrs. Garcia hugged her daughter back tightly, and Ellie thought she saw a few tears in her eyes as well. Even though Ellie firmly believed that Mrs. Garcia deserved whatever justice was coming to her, it was a tough sight to see and she averted her eyes. Mrs. Garcia might be a killer, but she had done it out of love for her daughter, and the two of them deserved at least a few minutes of peace to say their goodbyes.
Epilogue
Andrew giggled as Shannon pointed out a group of kids wearing costumes to him. He was wearing a fluffy brown teddy bear costume himself, one that was warm enough to hold back the cold and covered his whole body, and he seemed to be enjoying the entire experience. Shannon had dressed up too, in a Goldilocks costume, and Ellie had stuck with her chefs costume, mostly because she hadn’t had any time to figure something else out. Sawyer and Bunny were both walking on their leashes next to her in their own respective costumes, though Ellie knew she would have to pick Bunny up soon. Walking all over town was quite the effort for the little dog.
“And look, that boy is dressed up as a robot,” Shannon said. “That’s such a neat costume. I love how it lights up.”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea,” Ellie said, taking a second look at the costume in question. “The kid’s a lot easier to see that way. Crossing the road will be safer for him. You should do something similar when Andrew starts going trick-or-treating with his friends.”
“That’s still years off,” Shannon said. “Thank goodness. I don’t know what I’m going to do when he starts leaving the house without me. I have so much more sympathy for my parents now. But Andrew will be a responsible kid. Won’t you?” She turned her attention back to him. “You’ll grow up to be nice and sensible, and follow all of the rules. No dating until your thirties. Or forties.”
Ellie chuckled. She knew that Shannon would probably be a pretty laid back parent as Andrew grew up, but she also knew it would be tough on her friend. Ellie was glad that she got to experience Andrew’s childhood without all the stress of actually raising him.
“This is fun,” she said. “I’m glad we came out tonight. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Of course. I knew Russell was working, and James was going to come, but I think he was secretly relieved when I told him you were coming instead. He got the house all decorated and I think he wanted to stay back and hand candy out in his super scary zombie costume.”
Ellie chuckled. “It looks like it’s a fun experience for Andrew, even though I doubt he’ll remember it. And even if he still too young for candy. Besides, it’s been years since I’ve been trick-or-treating. It’s making me feel nostalgic. And old.” Her friend laughed. “But honestly, I’d probably be in a good mood even if I was just sitting at home doing paperwork.”
Even though it wasn’t public knowledge yet, with Mrs. Garcia’s arrest, Ellie’s name would soon be cleared. Hopefully, everything would get back to normal and people would stop looking at her so strangely. She really wished that she had thought to grab a mask or something for her costume. That way at least people wouldn’t be able to see her face. It hurt to see parents grab their kids hands and cross the road when they recognized her.
“I know that Mrs. Ga
rcia deserves whatever sentence she gets, but I can’t help feeling bad for them,” Shannon said after a moment. “They obviously are very close, and it’s got to be heartbreaking for both of them to know just how much things are going to change.”
“I know,” Ellie said. “With luck, Mrs. Garcia will end up going to one of the closer prisons, and Rosa will be able to visit her frequently. That’s probably the best that they can hope for.”
“Yeah.” Shannon pointed out a girl running by in a dragon costume and Andrew waved at her. The girl pause to wave back at him. Shannon turned her attention back to Ellie once they passed her. “Oh, did you hear from Joanna? She decided to hire Ethan on after all. She thinks anyone who could stand working with Tim for the past couple of years is bound to be a good worker, and now that she knows for sure he didn’t kill anyone, she’s ready to hire him on pretty much immediately.”
Spooky Pizza Murder Page 6
