Death by Coffee

by Alex Erickson

  Vicki shrugged. “Nothing like yesterday.”

  “Good.”

  I chugged the coffee and instantly regretted it. I’d been so anxious to get to work today, I hadn’t bothered to do much more than shower before coming in. The coffee was running through me in a bad way.

  “Be right back,” I said, setting the mug and soggy cookie aside.

  Thankfully, the restroom was clean, probably because no one had come in all day. I suppose that’s one good thing about not having a ton of customers; you don’t have to clean the restrooms as regularly. Both stalls were empty, meaning I had my choice of thrones. I chose the farthest from the door because, well, why not?

  I sat down, did my business, and then left to wash my hands. My cell was still in my pocket and I considered calling Paul again, but banished the idea before I could act on it. If he couldn’t be bothered to pick up the first three times, then I wasn’t going to give him a fourth. If he wanted to talk to me, well, he could just call.

  I used the dryer on my dripping hands, checked to make sure my hair wasn’t too disheveled, and then left the restroom, mind on Officer Paul Dalton and his inability to keep a girl happy. I was halfway across the room when I saw her.

  Tessa was standing at the counter, waiting for her order. Her foot tapped impatiently and she kept looking out the window like she expected someone to come rushing in after her. Did nervous behavior like that prove her guilt?

  Vicki was busy mixing what looked to be cappuccino of some sort, completely oblivious to the fact that the woman she was serving very well might be a killer. I wanted to scream at her to be careful. Who knew what kind of weapon Tessa might be packing?

  But I simply stood there, uncertain what to do. Tessa was right here, in my territory, where I could do what I pleased. I could approach her, accuse her, and then hope she gave herself up easily rather than attack me. Or I could follow her, see where she went, and make plans accordingly. Maybe she’d lead me directly to a barrel of peanuts she was in the process of dusting so she could kill someone else. Maybe she was looking to become the Peanut Killer. She’d strike fear into each and every person with a severe allergy.

  Okay, maybe the last was a little far-fetched. Tessa wasn’t a serial killer—if she was a killer at all. She’d been rejected by a man who she thought had loved her and then proceeded to sleep with his wife as a form of revenge.

  My mind boggled a little at the last, but that didn’t change the fact that it had happened.

  Vicki finished with the cappuccino and handed it to Tessa, who paid and then turned toward the door.

  I couldn’t let her go.

  “Tessa! Wait!” I shouted, running toward her.

  She turned, saw me, and frowned. She glanced toward the door as if considering just walking out. She had no reason to talk to me.

  “I know,” I said, being purposefully vague. “I know all about it.”

  That caught her attention. She turned, one hand on her hip, the other holding the cappuccino.

  “You have no idea,” she said. “Just leave me alone.”

  I moved closer. I knew what I was doing was stupid. Didn’t this sort of thing always end badly for the good guy? I really should have just called the police station and let whoever answered handle it, even if it was that jerk Buchannan.

  But I didn’t know for sure Tessa had anything to do with Brendon’s death. For all I knew, Heidi had put me onto her trail because she realized I was getting too close. Maybe I’d been right when I’d thought Mason and Heidi had conspired together. Just because Tessa had slept with both of the Lawyers didn’t mean she was a murderer.

  “I know,” I said again, stopping just outside of her reach, just in case.

  “And what do you think you know?”

  “I know about you and Heidi.”

  There was a collective gasp from the five customers scattered around the room. I could feel them pressing in on me, getting a better view. This was probably the most entertainment they’d had since, well, since the cat went on a rampage upstairs.

  Tessa swallowed hard. She sucked in her cheeks and bit down, as if trying to keep from saying something she’d regret. From her wince I could tell it hurt.

  “What of it?” she finally asked. “I don’t see how it is any of your business what I do in my private time.”

  “Both of them?” I asked. The small crowd gave me strength to go on. She wouldn’t do anything with the witnesses here. If I could get her to confess in front of these people, there was no way she could snake her way out of it later. “How could you?”

  She snorted. “They were both . . .” She looked as if she was searching for the right word. “Lovely people,” she concluded. “They were terrible for each other.”

  “But right for you?”

  She shrugged. “It was their choice. I didn’t force them into anything.”

  “At least until things started to fall apart for you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “And what do you mean by that?”

  I took a deep breath and looked around the room for support. All eyes were on me, including Vicki’s. Word of the encounter would surely spread throughout Pine Hills within an hour. If I was wrong about her, I was going to be the laughingstock of the town. But if I was right . . . Visions of parades and maybe a medal or two swam through my head.

  “You thought Brendon was going to leave his wife for you, but he cheated on you with Beth, instead.” I nodded toward Lawyer’s Insurance.

  Wait. Is that Paul Dalton’s car over there?

  The thought that he might be close helped strengthen my resolve. If anything went wrong, I could scream for help and he’d burst in and rescue me.

  “When that happened and Heidi came to confront you about it, you somehow convinced her to sleep with you, too. Maybe it was her idea. Maybe it was yours. I don’t know. I have a feeling that you both thought it would be a good way to get back at Brendon, so you went through with it. Maybe in the end you actually cared about her. Maybe you still do.”

  Tessa glared at me, but she didn’t speak. The hand on her hip kept tightening. It was a wonder her nails didn’t pop right through the fabric of her dress and spear her.

  “But when you learned Heidi and Brendon had called off the divorce and were getting back together, you realized you’d been dumped again. That had to infuriate you.”

  “What of it?” Tessa said, voice tight. “It sucks. I’m sure you’ve been dumped before.”

  “I have,” I admitted. “But not like this, not by two people who were so close. It had to eat you up inside to see them together when you’d thought that they both loved you, instead.”

  Chairs scraped forward as our little crowd moved to get a better view. Even Vicki had come around the counter to watch.

  Tessa ignored them all. She only had eyes for me.

  “Everyone knew Brendon was allergic to peanuts. You somehow managed to steal his EpiPen, get into the office unseen, and plant the dust in the vent so that when the air kicked on, he’d breathe it in. Without his EpiPen, Brendon would stand no chance.”

  Tessa paled. “And how was I supposed to do that?” she asked, still trying to put on a strong front. She stuck out her chin and glared at me defiantly.

  It was then I knew I had her. This woman had killed Brendon Lawyer, all because she felt humiliated by being dumped. I still wasn’t positive how she’d pulled it off, but I figured the police could figure that part out. They had to be good for something, right?

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But I’ll find out.” I took a chance and moved closer, like you’d see in a movie, crowding her space and lowering my voice. “Maybe you broke in. Maybe you entered his office while wearing a disguise or paid someone to do it for you.”

  She laughed, but it was strained. “You’re insane.”

  “Am I?” I gave her my best “I’ve got you now” smile. “Am I really?”

  Tessa looked around the room, seemingly noticing our audience for the first time. S
he licked her lips and then glanced back at Vicki, who had her hand over her mouth as she watched us. I could almost see the calculation in Tessa’s eyes as she scanned the room, looking for a way to escape.

  Finally she turned back to me and smiled. There was so much hate in that smile, I took an involuntary step back. So much for my tough-girl persona.

  Tessa took a deep breath, looked to the ceiling as if hoping for rescue from Above, and then made her move.

  I should have seen it coming. I mean, I’d seen enough TV and read enough novels to know the killer wouldn’t simply turn herself in when confronted with her crimes.

  No, the killers always tried to run and often used whatever they were holding as a weapon.

  Tessa screeched at me and threw her coffee directly into my face. The lid popped off as I lifted my arm defensively to protect myself. Hot cappuccino splashed across my arm and face, but it didn’t get into my eyes.

  I yelped in pain and surprise and someone else screamed. There was a moment of confusion where I couldn’t see, but I could hear the startled sounds of people getting to their feet and Vicki asking me frantically if I was all right.

  And then my vision cleared. I caught a glimpse of Tessa as she bolted out of Death by Coffee and turned to run down the sidewalk, toward Tessa’s Dresses.

  “I’m going after her!” I called, wiping coffee from my stinging face. “Call the police!”

  I took off at a run.

  The chase was on.

  28

  Have I ever mentioned how much I hate running?

  Tessa easily pulled away from me while wearing a dress and flats. I was wearing my work tennis shoes and still couldn’t make up any ground. She didn’t appear much more athletic than I was, but she was definitely a lot faster.

  I could only hope Vicki complied and called the police the moment I was out the door. Maybe they could pick me up and we could ride after her together. Of course, if Tessa got into a car while I waited for them, she could keep on driving until she was so far away from Pine Hills, we’d never find her again.

  Pedestrians leapt out of our way as we ran down the sidewalk. Tessa glanced back at me a few times, sneering, which thankfully slowed her down or else I definitely would have lost her. I already had a stitch in my side and was just over a block down the road. I felt like I’d run a marathon.

  I really do think she would have gotten away if she hadn’t stopped. She pulled up short in front of Tessa’s Dresses, a good ways ahead of me, and fumbled for something in her purse. She kept shooting glances my way, but unless she was actually trying to pick the lock with a toothpick, there was no way I was going to catch up with her before she was inside.

  Fate, however, must have been on my side. Tessa pulled her keys from her purse, moved to shove the store key into the lock, and then dropped them. It was a move I’d seen in movies a million times, but I never thought it actually happened in real life.

  I heard her curse from down the block as she scooped the keys up, sorted through them, and shoved one into the lock. She turned the key and pushed through the door just as I reached her. She tried to slam the door in my face, but I managed to get my arm through the doorway. The pain was nearly unbearable as she tried to squeeze my arm off with the door. After a moment of futile pushing, she cursed again, shoved one last time, and then ran for the counter.

  Sucking air, I pushed the door open and entered Tessa’s Dresses. My arm wasn’t broken, but someone had forgotten to tell my nerves that. They were screaming for help, causing pain to shoot up and down my arm from elbow to shoulder. The door closed behind me, cutting off the gawking pedestrians who had watched the chase with no idea what was happening.

  “It’s over,” I gasped, bending over to catch my breath. Boy, I really needed to work on my cardio if I was going to live here. All of this running was getting old, fast.

  “I don’t think so.”

  I looked up to find myself staring into the barrel of a gun. It was a tiny thing, something Tessa’s small hands could handle without fumbling. Her hands were shaking, her hair was a mess, but I was the one who was in some serious trouble.

  I raised my hands, palms outward, just like the movies showed me to do. The stitch in my side wailed and I winced, very nearly doubling over from it. However, I had a feeling if I did something like that, she’d shoot. I sucked in a pained breath and took a tentative step forward. Tessa’s aim firmed and I stopped short.

  “Tessa,” I said. “You can’t run forever.”

  She snorted, clearly laughing at my overused cliché. I was going on pure instinct now, and instinct told me to do what I knew. I’d never been in a situation like this before, but years of sitting on the couch, reading a book or staring at the television, gave me some indication of how to do this and survive.

  “How did you know?” She brushed a strand of hair out of her face with her free hand. She was aiming at me one-handed, which I knew from my dad’s books wasn’t easy. It wouldn’t be long before her arm would fatigue and she’d have to switch hands or go with a two-handed grip.

  See what you can learn if you pay attention?

  I licked my lips and slid a little to the side. Her gun followed me, but at least she didn’t shoot or make any overly agitated movements that would cause the gun to go off accidently.

  “I put the pieces together,” I said, speaking slowly so as not to cause her alarm. “They were sitting right there in front of me. Eventually the police will figure it out as well, with or without me.”

  She wiped at her forehead with her arm. She was sweating heavily and her chest was rising and falling in a way that told me she was close to panic. What we both needed were a couple of comfy chairs and some iced tea. That would ease both of our minds. No one would get shot and I wouldn’t keel over from exhaustion. I’d call that a win-win.

  “I didn’t mean to do it, you know?” she said. Her arm drooped and then rose again. Fatigue was definitely setting in.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said. “He’s dead.”

  That was probably the wrong thing to say. She sneered and the muscles in her arm bunched. I winced, anticipating the bullet, but she didn’t fire.

  “I know that!” she shouted. Tears began pouring down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to kill him. It was an accident.”

  I wasn’t sure how slipping peanut dust into a vent and stealing the man’s EpiPen could be called an accident. However, since she was the woman holding the gun, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

  “Okay,” I said. “It was an accident. I believe you.”

  She sniffed and once more wiped at her forehead, this time with her gun hand. “I didn’t mean it. I admit I went in with the dust, but I was just going to throw it in his face after confronting him, I swear.”

  My mind was racing, trying to put the last pieces together. I was also hoping I could keep her talking until someone arrived—the police, preferably. The door was unlocked, so it wasn’t like they’d have to break in. All someone had to do was go over and tell Paul what happened and he’d come and save me.

  “I went to see him during my lunch break, but when I saw him go into Raymond’s office with Beth right beside him, I just sort of wigged out. I went into Brendon’s office and thought about sprinkling the dust in his drink and then leaving, but I saw the vent and thought, ‘What the hell?’ I used a piece of paper to funnel it in, and on the way out, I grabbed his EpiPen because it was lying right there.”

  “And he died because of it.”

  She nodded. Her arm was seriously drooping now. The gun was still aimed in my general direction, but at least if it went off, the bullet would hit the floor rather than me.

  Or so I hoped.

  “I thought he’d choke for a little while and then call for help. I didn’t know he’d die from it.” The tears were really running down her face now. “No one told me how bad his allergy was. I thought he’d just break out, have some trouble breathing, and that would be it.”

&
nbsp; “I believe you.” And the funny thing was, I did. When people think of allergies, they often think of normal, everyday allergies where your eyes water and you sneeze a lot. They don’t think about the bad ones, the ones that kill. Unless you actually saw someone suffering an attack, it wasn’t something you thought about.

  “But he deserved it,” Tessa snarled, wiping away the last of her tears. “He was going to ruin me. Heidi and I . . . we were in love!”

  The gun rose and I could see her resolve firming. She actually thought she was still going to get away with this. I had no idea how she would explain away the encounter in the coffee shop or explain my body, outside of maybe claiming I’d broken in and attacked her. There were so many witnesses, no one would believe her, though.

  But then again, I wouldn’t be around to see it. That wasn’t exactly reassuring.

  “Tessa,” I said, borrowing more from the books I’ve read. “Think about what you’re doing.”

  “I can’t go to jail,” she said. “Brendon has ruined my life in more than one way, but I won’t let him ruin this.” She took a deep breath. “You’re going to have to die. I’ll tell everyone how you accused me of things that weren’t true, how I tried to get away from you, and then how you came in here and threatened me. I’ll tell them you were the one who killed Brendon, that the whole reason you came to Pine Hills was to sleep with him. They’ll believe me.” A look of doubt passed across her face and the next was spoken at a whisper. “They’ll believe me.”

  “Tessa . . .” I had no idea what I could say that would calm her down. She truly believed she was the victim here. She might have killed Brendon accidently, but what she was doing now was no accident.

  “You should have stayed out of it.” Her second hand came up to steady the gun and I knew she was going to shoot.

  And that’s when an angel appeared.

  There was a crash as the door to Tessa’s Dresses flew open. Sun bathed Officer Paul Dalton where he stood, his own gun raised and aimed at Tessa. I swear I could hear the sound of angels singing as he shouted, “Drop it!”

  Tessa stared at him, her gun hovering somewhere between Paul and me. She was watching him so closely, she didn’t notice me as I started to move.