by Wendy Byrne
"I've helped her out some," he said sheepishly.
"But you never have explained what exactly that entails." I felt like I finally had him against the ropes. "Don't even try to tell me it has something to do with your mad carpentry skills."
"You're right. It has nothing to do with that." I gave him the come on sign. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, when his phone rang. He immediately put it on speaker so I could overhear.
"First off, Jen and Mel are doing fine," Nate said. "They found trace evidence of some funky stuff in Mel's bloodwork similar to GHB. She can't remember a thing, so no help there. Jen's bloodwork wound up being a cocktail of illegal substances. And, as usual, she's no help."
Nate continued. "We rounded up the guys who were driving Purdy's van, but they claim they had nothing to do with putting Izzy, Jen, and Mel in that storage shed. I leaned on them hard. So unless they're seasoned liars, I'm pretty sure they don't have a clue about what's going on."
"How about Charlie Evans?" I asked, even more convinced that the guy had something to do with this.
"As much as I'd like it to be him, it wasn't."
"But Mel—"
"It wasn't Charlie," Nate said, sounding exhausted.
"Have you come any closer to figuring out who Moochie is?" I didn't want to prejudice his answer even as Gabe gave me a skeptical look.
"Not a clue. Jen didn't know."
"Have you considered Purdy?" I retold him what I'd already shared with Gabe.
"The idea hasn't come up, but I'll look into it."
I had to be happy with that small victory. "Maybe whoever did this left town after their plan—whatever that might have been—fell apart." I was playing the optimistic card for now.
"That's a possibility. We need to stay alert, but I suspect they'll lie low for a day or two until the dust settles."
"What about that drug dealer from New York who Jen supposedly owed money to? That's got to figure into this somehow. She told me his name is Donny."
"Funny, she didn't mention Donny. I'll see what I can find out, specifically if this Donny guy has a last name."
* * *
I stayed the night at Gabe's because…well…I was a bit of a hot mess. I'm not proud of it, but I couldn't seem to stop crying. Everything from Joseph's infidelity to getting shoved into a storage shed rumbled through me, causing intermittent crying jags.
The next morning, I woke up snuggled next to Gabe, and my world felt a little more right. It wasn't all because of him but a combination of a good night's sleep and the fact that a few more pieces to this puzzle had locked together in my head. Right now, I needed to get to the center of it.
Nate. Somehow, he was the key to this from the beginning—and it had nothing to do with Jen. She might have been drawn into it but wasn't lucid enough to do anything except be a distraction and cause trouble. It all made sense even while I hadn't fine-tuned any of my thoughts into a cohesive whole yet.
"I've got to do some work at Henry's house. Want me to take you back to your apartment? Or to Vi's? Or do you want to stay here?"
"My apartment would be good." I needed to change and shower and overall get my frickin' act together.
"You sure?" His eyebrows rose as a bit of worry entered his gaze.
"Yeah. I've got to figure this out. And painting helps clear my head."
After feeding me, he pulled into the parking lot of my apartment. "Looks like the police dropped off your car as promised." He slung his arm over my shoulder and walked me inside. I appreciated his attentiveness since I still felt a little shaky. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I nodded. "I'm going downstairs to work so no need to worry. Lots of people are coming and going this time of day."
"I'll still worry. How about if you spend the night with me?"
"If you twist my arm and make me dinner, I'm there."
"Consider it twisted. I'll pick you up around four." He kissed me goodbye and smiled as he walked back out the door.
I took a shower, changed into painting clothes, gathered my supplies, and headed to the storefront downstairs, where I kept my other supplies. After gathering quarts of paint and opening them, I turned the music on and began to work.
I splashed a myriad of colors on the canvas as I tried to unlock the mess in my mind. I spotted the glitter left over from a play date with Emily and smiled. But then I paused because it reminded me of Cleo. What had she said about starting at the beginning to unravel what had happened to Nate? I had to revisit that again, as I had a sense that's where I needed to go.
Before I could think too long about the answer, my phone rang. I pressed the screen with my pinky untouched by paint and put it on FaceTime. "Good morning, ladies."
Viola was in the middle of the screen, but the others surrounded her. They brought a smile to my face. "We wanted to call last night, but Nate said you were exhausted and staying at Gabe's. Oh honey, you still look tired. How are you?"
"Frustrated, especially when I still have no answers. What happened at Purdy's?"
"One minute you were there, and the next you were gone. Even your twin disappeared," Dolly said.
"I got on the loudspeaker and threatened a few people. That got things moving along, but we still couldn't find you," Alice said.
"How about Purdy? Did she get involved at all?" I asked, curious as to the answer.
"Not sure she was there. A couple of the bartenders went outside to help look though," Viola said.
I couldn't help but smile. "It all worked out." Kinda-sorta. But I couldn't verbalize those doubts out loud or they'd worry.
"It looks like you're working in the studio downstairs," Ramona said.
"Painting has a way of releasing my mind."
"I know we aren't going to feel safe until they find the culprit," Viola said.
She had given me my opening. "I know it sounds crazy, but do you think there's any way Purdy could be Moochie?"
The ladies were quiet for a few moments as they whispered together. "Word from our contact at the sheriff's office is Nate went to talk to her this morning, and it looks like she and Boris might have left the area," Dolly said.
Validation of my suspicions didn't make me feel any better. Being right wasn't all it was cracked up to be. "Do any of you know what Boris looks like?"
"I heard he worked as one of the bartenders at Purdy's," Dolly offered. "But I couldn't tell you which one he was since they all looked alike."
It was starting to make sense in a weird and twisted way. "And I also saw a guy in a corduroy coat talking to Purdy in the back right before they injected me with that stuff. Did any of you see a guy wearing that last night?" A memory clicked inside my brain—the hair color, the way it was cut. "How about a—" The words stopped as someone came through the door.
I put my hands to my lips to let the Qs know they needed to be silent before I turned around. Instinctively, I knew.
Like a giant letter D, it lit up my awareness. The one person I hadn't considered while thinking about suspects suddenly seemed like the only viable answer. I turned around slowly, looked at the gun he held in his hand, and spoke his name loud enough so that hopefully the Qs would hear me identify the guy. "Drew Lannon. Or should I call you Donny?"
His evil smile made my insides quiver. I tried to put out of my mind what Jen had said about him. Why hadn't I seen that before? He nodded toward the front of the store where my car was parked. Except it had been in the back parking lot when Gabe dropped me off. A shiver made the hair on my arms stand up. My heart fluttered then sank. I glanced toward my car, and a hand waved at me from the backseat. A small hand. Tears sprang to my eyes and quickly rolled down my cheeks.
"Emily." Her name spurted through my lips as fear unlike anything I'd ever known squeezed my heart. "What have you done?" I rushed toward the front door, but he stopped me with an outstretched arm.
Emily gave me a shaky smile and waved again. I breathed a sigh of relief even while my pulse rate quadrupled. I had to get
her out of the car and over toward Otis's, where Jeremy could ensure her safety.
"Leave Emily out of this," I ground out while I stared him down as best I could.
Gone was his affable nature, and the man who'd first came to my place returned with an even harder shell. "How can I? She's a part of this, and so are you. With the two of you, I'm going to get what I need."
"You mean money?"
He laughed in response. "Of course, along with some revenge."
"Revenge?" As far as I knew Nate didn't know Drew/Donny.
"Oh yes, Nate and I go way back, although he might not remember me. He's the holier-than-thou FBI agent who sent my father to prison for life. Funny that all that time he was saying what a bad guy my father was, he had a druggie wife at home."
My breath caught in my throat as Cleo's words came back to me—avenging spirit, starting at the beginning. It all tied together, and I was right about it being all about Nate. I couldn't talk. Geez, I could barely process what I'd just heard.
Instead, he continued with his tirade. "You know that saying what goes around comes around? Well that happened when Jen fell into my lap looking to score. And boom. There was my chance for the ultimate in revenge. I recruited Boris and Purdy because somebody has to be the fall guy. Except you were a pain and kept interfering with my plan."
"I like the sound of that."
"And it would have worked like clockwork, except for you. Boris even had his girlfriend running around town pretending to be you just to stir the pot and keep you off guard. Jen was a vehicle to make this happen."
"What did you do to Purdy and Boris? I heard they've gone missing."
"You screw up, you pay the price."
My heart stopped for a second as the likelihood of what that meant sank in. Yes, I was biding time, hoping that something might come to mind in the way of a solution.
First things first—people were milling about but not paying attention. Jeremy was across the street but probably wouldn't notice anything amiss unless I screamed and caused a raucous. I couldn't do that because of Emily. And, more importantly, the Qs were listening to every word that had transpired. They'd know what to do.
As soon as that thought popped into my brain, I caught site of Viola coming around the back of my car. She had her finger to her lips as she motioned for Emily to unlock the door. That's when I spotted a gun-wielding Nate out of the corner of my eye and knew I had to keep Drew distracted and talking.
"Don't tell me you killed Purdy and Boris." I hoped for a tone of righteous indignation, but given that I could barely breathe, I wasn't sure if I was successful. One shaky move and he'd turn around and shoot Viola and Emily. I had to keep him steady until they made it across the street to Otis's.
"I didn't say anything about killing. They might survive." He laughed. "Then again, they might not."
"I have money upstairs. I can give you what you want." I moved slightly and pointed toward my apartment to keep him distracted. Anything to stop him from looking out the window.
"You're an artist. What you're offering has got to be chump change. I expect a big payoff. Nate's got a million dollars. Now hurry up. The kid should be getting antsy soon. Besides, you're my ace in the hole. I'll have you for leverage to get the money out of Nate. Emily told me you two were going to get married. I'm sure he'll hand over the money if he knows I have both you and Emily."
A laugh bubbled in my throat. "Emily strikes again. I'm not his fiancée. In fact, we're barely friends. Believe me, you'll get no money for me."
It took every ounce of concentration for me to keep focused and prevent him from turning to see what was happening outside. Just a few more seconds. Viola had grabbed Emily's hand and was ushering her across the street. I knew they were moving as fast as they could, but it felt like slow motion to me as my breath caught in my throat with each step.
Finally, they reached the door to Otis's. Jeremy grabbed them and ushered them inside. I did an internal sigh of relief.
I turned on Drew, anger fueling my thoughts and movements. "Do you think you're going to get away with this?"
"You forget I'm from New York."
"Does that make you tough? Because"—I poked him in the chest to keep the focus on me—"so am I. Don't ever underestimate me."
He sneered. "You are pretty hot, especially when you get mad."
A creepy sensation rolled down my spine. "Well, Donny, what's your master plan? That kidnapping thing never ends well. Surely a big shot like you has a plan. Where are you taking…" I didn't finish my question as I spotted Gabe coming up on the left side while Nate was on the right, leading with his gun. Gabe was holding a gun as well, like he'd done this kind of thing many times before.
Drew grabbed my arm while he simultaneously turned to see what had garnered my attention. When Drew raised the gun and pointed toward Gabe, I reached back for my full pail of blue paint I'd yet to open and swung for the fences, as they say. Just as he fired off a shot at Gabe, the weight of the can hit the side of his head. The top exploded, sending blue paint all over both Drew and me.
Nate and Gabe rushed inside. Despite the paint spray, Drew managed to maintain control of his gun and set his sights on Gabe once again. I had one opportunity and took advantage of Drew's distraction. With more strength than I knew I had, I kicked his arm with as much force as I could, causing me to slide and take out his legs at the same time. Gabe rolled inside. Nate did the same from the opposite side. Drew's gun discharged, sending a bullet through the window.
Once again, things seemed to move in slow motion as Gabe kicked away the gun and Nate turned Drew over and clicked on handcuffs. With my whole body shaking, I struggled to get to my knees.
Gabe grabbed me under the arms and pulled me into a hug before he kissed me. "You look cute in blue."
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I hope you don't mind if I smother you in my blueness."
"Not at all."
EPILOGUE
Later that night and after a long hot shower, Gabe brought me to Viola's to meet up with the Qs as well as Nate. Emily had fallen asleep and was resting peacefully upstairs. When Viola and I hugged, we both had tears in our eyes. I hated to let her go. She'd saved the day with her actions.
"Viola, you're…so…brave." Words failed me.
"It sounded like you needed some help, and we sprang into action," Viola said.
"Sometimes you have to let us do the heavy lifting," Dolly said.
She squeezed my hand before pulling me into a hug, followed by Alice and Ramona. It felt so darn good, I couldn't put together words to describe the feeling.
"I managed to get a pic of you covered in blue paint." Alice chuckled as she showed me her phone. "It's getting blown up as a poster as proof of what a tough chick you are."
I started laughing and couldn't seem to stop. Leave it to Alice. But it felt so good. Every time I thought I'd finished, another rumble of giggles broke through. Finally, I managed to regain some control. "I look like a giant Smurf. And I don't think they're known for their toughness."
"But it's a good look for you," Ramona added.
I rolled my eyes at her. "I guess if I'm going to audition for a new giant Smurf movie."
Nate walked up, a huge smile on his face. He pulled me into a hug. "You're amazing."
"I'm going to remind you of that next time you want to strangle me."
He laughed. "We found Purdy and Boris. They're both fine. At the suggestion of Boris, they had branched out their lucrative moonshine business to the strictly illegal drug business, and that's how they got hooked in with Donny aka Drew. Jen's headed to rehab, and Donny Branch is headed back to New York on some pending charges." He shook his head. "All this because he was mad that I testified at his father's racketeering trial."
He cleared his throat before continuing. "After that, we'll get a crack at him too. I confirmed that Boris had his girlfriend act as your twin except for the last time at Disco Night, when he forced Jen to play the par
t so he could get rid of both of you at once and wait for Drew's orders. The best I can guess is that Mel walked into something she shouldn't have and got rolled into the mess as well. He had Boris's girlfriend call Emily's babysitter and say you were coming by to pick her up. She saw your car and went running out the door."
"Wow. You've been busy." I didn't want to get into the ransom thing right now, but I was sure he knew about what Drew had been planning anyway. "Does anybody have any wine?"
Everyone laughed, but I was serious. Talking about this got me all wound up again.
"I'll get you a glass," Gabe volunteered. "Anybody else interested?" When the Qs raised their hands as well, Nate followed him into the kitchen.
Viola grabbed Alice's phone and showed me another picture. "Alice likes the picture of you covered in blue, but this is my favorite."
Somehow, unbeknownst to me, she'd captured a picture of Gabe and me locked together in an embrace and staring at each other. It brought a tear to my eye. "I love this." I pulled Alice into a hug. "Send it to my phone." Gabe delivered my wine, and I showed him the pic. He slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.
"Let's talk." He led me into the kitchen. "I know you have questions about me and what I do."
Finally. I did an internal fist bump. "You seemed really comfortable with a gun."
"I do some side jobs occasionally here and there that involve some investigative work."
I made a come on sign with my hands, knowing there was a whole lot more to this story than he was saying.
"I worked as a federal prosecutor when I was a lawyer and managed to bring down a major counterfeiting organization. The FBI got wind of my skills and tap me as a freelancer for them when they're in a pinch. I didn't want to sign on full-time, but I'm okay with the occasional assignments. It turns out I have a knack for certain things."
I could tell he was sugarcoating the truth about that but didn't want to stop his flow. "I think you're probably underestimating your efforts, but please continue."
