The only self-preserving thought Kat was able to come up with was that there might be a creek in the wooded area. Often, where there were dense patches of trees, there was a creek running through it. The one hope Kat held out for was that she might be able to catch Jenna off-guard when they were next to the creek.
“You walk in front of me,” Jenna said. “I’m going to keep my gun concealed, but the slightest strange movement, noise, or otherwise from you, and I’m going to blast you and your dog. Got it?”
“Yes,” Kat said.
“Okay. Go. Thataway.” Jenna motioned towards the nearby treeline.
They walked along the street, in the same direction the babysitter had gone. Instead of making the turn at the end of the block they angled off towards the trees. At first, the only noises Kat could make out were the sounds of distant traffic and someone blaring some loud country western music from a block or so down the street. When they got closer to the trees, Kat heard the sound of running water in a small creek.
“I read murder mysteries,” Jenna said, “and I always like the ones where the killer digs a grave and puts the victim in it. Sometimes the body isn’t discovered for a long time, but you probably know that.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Kat said. She tried to keep her own tone light and said, “I’m actually an author and beginning to write murder mysteries myself.”
Jenna snorted. “Well, isn’t that cute? You don’t need to write any now, because you’re about to become the victim in your very own story.”
Kat tried to laugh along with her, but it got stuck in her throat.
“Anyway, that grave thing?” Jenna continued. “That’s what I’m going to do to you and your dog. Sorry, but you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don’t usually come home at this time of day,” Jenna said, “but Bree’s been sick for the last week, so since I didn’t have any customers to cook for today, thanks to Ashlee, I told my waitress I was going home to check on her. Just lucky I got here when I did.”
Kat glanced down at Rudy, and her heart sank. He was trotting along happily beside her, oblivious to what was going on. Kat could barely believe what was happening. None of it seemed real.
Jenna gave a horrible laugh. “Well, I guess it was lucky for me, but unlucky for you. Now, hurry up and keep walking. The grave I dug is just next to the creek.”
“Why did you dig a grave?” Kat automatically asked. “Chance’s body was at his office. You couldn’t put his body in the grave.”
“I wasn’t planning on putting his body in it,” Jenna said scornfully. “Chance wasn’t the main target. I just killed him to give his wife, Miss Know-It-All-Ruin-People’s-Lives, a little taste of what it feels like when something precious is taken away from you.” Her venomous voice continued. “She took Chance away from me, and then she ruined my business.”
“Yes, she certainly did,” Kat said in her most agreeable tone of voice, hoping to curry a favorable response from Jenna. “I’m not crazy about her either.”
“That’s a shame, because you’re about to be buried next to each other for eternity. I guess you can have her spot for now. In a few more days I’ll be digging another grave. Hers. I just wanted her to have a little time to know what it’s like to suffer.” Jenna paused for a second, then she grinned. “Or maybe I don’t have to. I wasn’t counting on you and your dog joining her, but I made the grave pretty big, so hopefully I can get all three of you in it. That’ll be cozy, for sure.”
Kat had no reply. What was there to say to such a horrifying statement?
“We’ll stop here,” Jenna said. “No one’s around, and even if they were, no one can see this far into these trees.”
They’d left behind the street sounds, and Kat knew no one would hear her scream. All of a sudden, something pricked at her mind. The signal, the signal. She looked down at Rudy and felt a memory coming back to her. The trainer had said the hand signals he trained the dogs to obey were physical motions that people would rarely do. Then finally, it all clicked into place.
“Stand over there with your dog,” Jenna said, “I want both of you right in front of the grave.” She looked down at her gun, making sure that everything was okay with it. “I’m going to shoot your dog first, then you. I should have brought a camera. Could have been a heck of a picture. You, your dog, and your grave with the creek behind you, framed by the trees. It would have made a nice photo. I could have put it up on the wall in my memory room.” Then she gave Kat a nasty smile. “All right. Say bye-bye,” she said as she swung her gun down to point it at Rudy.
chapter twenty-four
As Jenna started to swing her gun towards Rudy, Kat put her right hand up to the base of her throat and made a circle with her index finger. She was so, so afraid it wouldn’t work, but in the next second, Rudy leaped up at Jenna, and smashed into her chest. The gun fell from her hand onto the grass, and Jenna fell backward into the creek, her head hitting a rock. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Kat ran to where the gun had landed and grabbed it. Rudy stood over Jenna, his teeth bared, growling menacingly.
Kat swallowed, then got a firm grip on the gun. Hands shaking, she tried to keep the weapon steady as she approached Jenna very slowly. Although it looked like Jenna was unconscious, Kat was worried she might be faking. “Don’t even think about moving,” Kat said in a croaky voice which didn’t sound quite as intimidating as she’d hoped. “There are other commands I can give Rudy, and believe me, they’re not pleasant.”
Kat kept a close eye on Jenna, who moved slightly and started to moan. Rudy continued to growl, which made Kat feel safer. She reached for her cell phone that was attached to her belt, glad she’d thought to bring it with her. She briefly considered calling 911 but decided to call straight through to Chief Moore’s cell phone.
“It’s Kat. I’ve got Jenna. She’s the one who murdered Chance,” she said breathlessly. “She tried to kill my dog and me. We’re in the wooded area down the street from her house.”
“I’ll track your phone location,” Chief Moore said. “We’ll be there in a couple of minutes. Are you safe?”
“Yes, I think so,” Kat said, though she didn’t exactly feel that way. She looked at Jenna’s prone body, lying half in and half out of the creek, and tried to breathe normally. “But please hurry.”
“We’re on our way.”
The next few minutes were probably the longest in Kat’s life. In her mind she kept seeing Jenna rise up, murder in her eyes, and charge toward her. What would she do? Pull the trigger? She’d never killed anyone before. Could she do it? She wondered where she could aim to disable Jenna, but not kill her? Maybe shoot Jenna in her leg? Was she a good enough shot to make sure she shot her?
If she missed, Jenna wouldn’t hesitate to attack her to get the gun back, of that she was certain. All Kat could do was hope and pray that Jenna would stay where she was, but with every moment that went by Kat became more and more tense, and her breathing became shallower. For a moment, she thought she was going to faint.
Finally, she heard police sirens. She’d never been so glad or relieved in her life to hear their screeching wail, and she burst into a smile. Moments later she heard men crashing through the trees and underbrush.
The sound of the police chief’s voice boomed out. “Kat, are you okay?” he yelled.
“Yes,” she yelled back, relieved. “We’re over here by the creek.”
Chief Moore and two officers raced to where she and Rudy were standing and trained their guns on Jenna.
“Nice work, Kat,” Chief Moore said, his eyes lighting up when he saw how well Jenna was cornered by Rudy. “Would you call your dog off? We need to pull Jenna out of the creek, cuff her, and take her to the station.”
Relief flooded through Kat’s mind and body. She’d never experienced such a visceral reaction before. “Rudy, stand down,” she commanded. The big dog jumped up on the creek bank, bounded over to Kat, and sat down next to her. Kat gave him a huge hug, feel
ing incredibly proud and grateful for what he’d done. Without him, she knew she’d be dead.
“Bruce, Joel, cuff Jenna and take her down to the station. Book her for the attempted murder of Kat, and after I talk to Kat I imagine there will be a few other things to charge her with. Send the crime scene investigation people out here,” Chief Moore said. Then he took a recorder from his shirt pocket and said, “Tell me what happened, Kat. This is Jenna… Darn, I can’t remember her last name. This is the Jenna who owns the diner that was close to getting shut down?”
“Right,” Kat said. “Her name is Jenna Stewart.”
As Kat watched the officers take Jenna away, she told Chief Moore everything. She let him know about all the different suspects she’d identified, what Nick had found out, the conversations she’d had with Ashlee, everything.
The chief was quiet for several moments after she’d finished and then he said, “Thanks, Kat. I have to admit my department hasn’t done much on this case. I liked Chance, but Ashlee has been a thorn in my department’s side for several years.” He sighed deeply.
“She’s responsible for one of my best men leaving the force with a medical disability, a mental health disability. She implied that he’d botched an investigation and that several people had died because of it. It wasn’t true, but it destroyed him. He became severely depressed. His wife left him and eventually, he took his own life.”
Kat’s heart sank. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“I’ve never forgiven her for it,” Chief Moore said. “It’s probably wrong of me to say this, but I hope she suffered as much from her husband’s murder as the many people she’s hurt with her sensationalist claims and despicable ethics.”
He sounded angry, but then he looked sharply at Kat and said, “You’re shaking. I’ll take you home. It’s on the way to the station, and I definitely don’t want you driving in that condition. If something happened to you, Blaine would never forgive me. You can arrange to pick up your car later.”
“All right,” Kat said, thankful for the offer.
Just then, they heard more police cars with sirens pulling up on the street.
“Give me just a minute,” Chief Moore said. “I need to tell my officers exactly what I want done to secure this crime scene. They’ve got a few hours of daylight left, but it’s going to go fast. You and Rudy can sit in the squad car while I do that, then I’ll give you a ride home.”
A little later, the chief pulled up in front of Kat’s house. The garage door was open, and it was apparent Blaine had just arrived home as he had the car door open and was just stepping out of it. When he saw the police car, he ran down the driveway towards them. “What happened?” he asked, his voice and face so full of loving concern that Kat wanted to cry.
“Rudy saved my life,” Kat blurted out, then she got out of the squad car and threw her arms around Blaine’s neck. “Jenna Stewart murdered Chance.”
Blaine’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes,” Kat said. “I’ll tell you everything in a minute.”
“I have to get back to the station to wrap things up,” Chief Moore said.”
“We have to go, too,” Kat said. “I need to go to Ashlee’s home and tell her what happened, although I think I’ll have a glass of wine first. And I just may give Rudy a whole box of dog treats.”
“I think you both deserve your treats,” Blaine said. He turned towards the chief. “Thank you,” he said. “I don’t know exactly for what, but I’m about to find out. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“That you will,” the Chief said. “But the real heroes here are Kat and Rudy, not me. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Kat couldn’t believe that she’d nearly died and never would have been able to see Blaine again. “I love you so, so, so much,” she said, hugging him tightly.
“I love you more,” he replied, holding her closely. “Now, let’s go inside, I’ll pour that wine for you, and you can tell me exactly what happened.”
“Okay,” Kat said, “but at some point, we’ll need to get my car. It’s still in Jenna’s neighborhood.”
“Why don’t we do that on the way back from Ashlee’s?” Blaine suggested, as they walked through the garage.
“Sure,” Kat said. She reached down and unclasped the latch on Jazz’s kennel. When Jazz stepped out of it, Kat have her a big hug. “Hello, my special girl!” she said. “It’s so good to see you. You have no idea!”
Rudy and Jazz nuzzled their heads into each other, which was unusual. More often than not they were pawing at one another in playfights. Maybe, just maybe, they sensed the seriousness of what had happened.
The dogs bounded through the house with Kat and Blaine, then dashed off into the back yard when Blaine opened the double doors for them. “Sit down and relax,” Blaine said to Kat. “I’ll get the wine. Red or white?”
“Hmm, let’s go with red,” Kat said.
Blaine picked a cabernet sauvignon from the wine rack and poured them each a glass before he sat down at the kitchen table opposite her. “Okay, Kat, shoot. Tell me everything that happened.”
chapter twenty-five
Kat spent the next fifteen minutes telling Blaine everything. When she was finished, he walked around to her side of the table, pulled her up to her feet, and held her close to his chest. When he spoke, his voice was full of emotion. “Kat, please don’t do this anymore. Let the police do their job. This is not your job. I know I’ve kidded you about becoming a private investigator, but I want a wife who is safe all the time, not someone who spends a lot of time looking down the barrel of a gun and is lucky to be alive. I’m just so glad I bought Rudy for you.”
“So am I, Blaine,” Kat said with a sigh, “and I’m sorry that I’ve caused you such concern. It never occurred to me when I was talking to Jenna’s babysitter that a few minutes later I’d be wondering who was going to be the first to die… Rudy or me.”
Blaine shivered.
“Anyway, I need to call Ashlee and tell her I’m coming over,” Kat said. “I’d rather she heard about this from me, rather than on the news from doughboy.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Blaine said. “That’s next on the list, but please, think about what I’ve said. I want you to be safe.”
Kat looked up at him. “I will think about it. I promise.”
“All right,” Blaine said. “Do you want to pick up your car on the way to her house?”
“No,” she said. “Let’s do it on the way back. I think Ashlee deserves to know as soon as possible.”
“Yes, I think so too. Let’s go.”
When they arrived at Ashlee’s house, Tyler’s car was in the driveway. “Good,” Kat said. “It looks like everyone’s home.” She hurried out of the car and knocked on the front door.
It was Ashlee who answered it. “Hello, Kat, Blaine,” she said. “Any progress on the case?”
“Plenty,” Kat said, “trust me.”
“Great,” said Ashlee. She led them into the living room, where Tyler and Lacie were sitting.
“Would you like a cold drink or anything?” Tyler asked.
“No, thank you,” Kat and Blaine said in unison.
Ashlee sat down on one of the couches. “Sit, please, you’re making me nervous. What’s going on?”
“It’s good news,” Kat said, sinking into a couch and sitting next to Blaine, then wondering if she’d said the wrong thing. After all, how could any news be good news in this situation, given the fact that her husband was still dead. “Well, we caught the killer. And it’s a good thing we did, because you were next on the killer’s list, Ashlee. A grave to put you in had already been dug by the killer.”
Ashlee’s eyes widened. “Who did it?”
“Jenna,” said Kat.
Tyler and Lacie gasped.
Ashlee jumped to her feet. “I knew it!” She had an intense, frenzied look in her eyes. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”
“No way,” Tyler said. “Really? Jenna?”
; Lacie just sighed and shook her head again and again while Ashlee paced dramatically back and forth for several moments, then suddenly sat back down on the couch, as if all of her energy had been drained from her body. “What happened?”
Kat told them everything, ending with Jenna being arrested and taken to jail.
As Kat was talking, Ashlee became more and more withdrawn. Her head was bowed, her shoulders were hunched, and Kat spotted a couple of tears trickling down onto her lap.
When Kat was finished, no one spoke. Silence hung heavily in the room. After a few moments Ashlee stood up and walked over to the window.
Lacie and Tyler exchanged worried looks, then Tyler got up and walked over to Ashlee. “Are you okay, sis?” he asked in a gentle voice.
Ashlee choked back a sob, then turned to them. Silent tears streamed down her face, and she didn’t bother to wipe them away. “In many ways, this is my worst nightmare. I bear the ultimate blame for my husband being murdered. I bear the blame for putting your life, Kat, and Rudy’s life, in danger.
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