Death by Intermission

by Alexis Morgan

  From that point, they made quick work of putting their plan in motion. Owen placed the call, saying Jada was having a friend deliver the ledger to Owen. That part would be carried out by Tripp. He had left about fifteen minutes ago to drive over to the restaurant. He was to pull up at the front door and wait for Owen to step outside. After giving him the manila envelope, Tripp would head straight back to the house. In the meantime, Abby, her mother, and Jada were all supposed to remain inside with the doors locked with one of Gage’s deputies stationed right outside of her house.

  Once Owen had the ledger in his possession, he would text Will to come pick it up. Both Jada and Owen promised to keep their mouths shut, so Will would be free to get on with his plans to leave the country. Owen had added a stern warning that Will had to deal directly with him. If the man made any attempt to involve Jada, all bets were off. Additionally, if he wasn’t there within the hour after receiving the message, Owen’s next call would be to Will’s ex-wife, who would be delighted to get her hands on the book. In the interim, Gage and his deputies had positioned themselves out of sight around the restaurant, ready to scoop up Will as soon as he showed up.

  On the surface, it seemed simple. Nothing could go wrong. Right?

  All they could do was wait and see what happened. Of the three of them, Jada seemed to be handling the situation the best. Right now, she was seated at the dining room table with her earbuds in, listening to music while she worked on a class assignment. Maybe keeping busy was the right idea. Time would pass more quickly if Abby could get her mom to concentrate on something besides waiting for the phone to ring.

  “I could use a cup of tea, Mom. How about you?”

  Without waiting for her mom to answer, Abby set the kettle on the stove to heat. “What kind of tea would you like?”

  “Decaf if you have some, otherwise anything would be—”

  Before she could finish her answer, a loud crash coming from the front of the house froze both of them as they tried to figure what was going on. Seconds later, that was followed by a heavy fist pounding on the front door as a familiar voice shouted, “Jada, I know you’re in there. Let me in before that cop comes to. I want that ledger. I warned you what would happen if you involved anyone else in this.”

  Jada poked her head out of the dining room. “What should we do?”

  Abby motioned her to go back inside. “Stay out of sight, Jada. We’ll deal with him.”

  But how? Meanwhile, her mom whispered, “What’s Will doing here? He was supposed to go to the restaurant, not here.”

  “I don’t know, Mom.”

  By that point, Zeke was pitching a fit. The dog would do his best to protect his people, but Abby was terrified Will had come prepared to defend himself if Zeke attacked. She looked around for a possible weapon. Her mom must have been thinking along the same lines, because she grabbed a small cast-iron skillet from the cabinet. “Why didn’t the deputy stop him?”

  Abby had been wondering the same thing. “Maybe Will crashed his car into the cruiser, trapping the deputy inside. Either way, we need to phone for help and do what we can to keep him from getting anywhere near Jada.”

  Before she could carry out their plan, Will shattered the narrow window next to the door.

  Her mom tightened her grip on the skillet and started down the hall toward the door. “You make the call while I keep that man from getting inside.”

  Abby wanted to argue, but that would only delay help arriving. She dialed nine-one-one and waited for the dispatcher to pick up. “Hello, this is Abby McCree. Please tell Gage Logan that Will Swahn is trying to break into my home. I think he may have hurt the deputy who was parked in front of my house.”

  She confirmed her address and answered a few quick questions. After hanging up, she peeked down the hall to check the situation. Jada was nowhere in sight. Good. Meanwhile, her mom was hollering right back at Will, swatting at his hand with her skillet every time he tried to reach through the window to unlock the door.

  Abby was about to enter the fray when it occurred to her that if Will somehow managed to get past both her mother’s fry pan and Zeke, he couldn’t take Jada anywhere if his car was immobilized. Surely Tripp had to be on his way by now, not to mention the cops. They just needed to hold down the fort for a little longer.

  Doing an about-face, she charged back through the kitchen and straight out the back door. She made her way across the yard to the driveway and crept along the side of the house toward the front. She stopped at the front corner of the house to evaluate the situation. Good, judging by the amount of yelling going on, it sounded as if her mom was still keeping Will at bay.

  As long as his attention was focused on her, maybe he wouldn’t notice Abby sneaking past to disable his car. She cringed as soon as she peeked around the corner toward where the police cruiser was parked on the street. The front end of Will’s car was jammed against the driver’s door. Fury washed through her veins when she realized it was Deputy Chapin slumped over the steering wheel.

  How did Will plan to make his escape in a vehicle that was clearly no longer drivable? Momentarily at a loss what to do next, she stayed where she was and hoped like heck the police arrived before anything more happened.

  Then she caught sight of a familiar SUV parked a short distance from the police cruiser. Could this day get any weirder? What was Eve Swahn doing there? Hadn’t she heard Gage’s warning to stay away from both Jada and Abby? Should she warn the woman that her ex was in the middle of a total meltdown and more police were on their way?

  Crouching low, she inched forward, trying to make sure Will couldn’t see her over the low wall that surrounded the porch. From there, she darted down the driveway to the cluster of tall rhododendrons near the sidewalk that ran along the edge of the yard. After another quick look at the porch, she dashed across the grass to the opposite corner of the yard to duck into the same bushes where she’d hidden the last time Eve Swahn had been scoping out the house.

  By that point, she was close enough to realize the SUV’s engine was running and Eve was in the passenger seat. That didn’t make sense at all. Well, unless Eve and Will were working together. Why would they do that? Had they both been lying about their separation and impending divorce? She’d believed Eve’s sad story about Will hiding money from her, but maybe Abby had bought into that scenario because of her own experience with Chad. That wouldn’t account for Gage’s acceptance of Eve’s claims, though.

  None of that mattered right now. Although it had been several minutes since she’d called for help, there was still no sound of approaching sirens. It was time to make sure that neither of the culprits made an escape before Gage and company arrived.

  Still crouching, she waited until Eve was looking in the opposite direction before scrambling down the sidewalk to hide behind the SUV. Her pulse was all she could hear as she crawled around to the driver’s side. Well aware that if anyone was watching, she’d look like a crazy woman as she shoved her favorite chef’s knife hilt-deep into the side of the back tire. Yanking it back out, she went into full retreat.

  She’d almost made it back to the bushes when a car door opened. It was too much to be hoped that she’d simply missed hearing Tripp pulling into the driveway. A glance back toward the SUV verified her worst fears. Eve was out of the vehicle and heading her way, screaming, “What did you just do to my car?”

  Deciding now wasn’t the time for caution, Abby took off running toward the back of the house. As she passed the porch, Will yelled at her. “Hey! I need to talk to Jada. Where are you hiding her?”

  Picking up speed, she prayed she had one more sprint left in her, just enough to reach the relative safety of the kitchen. In her hurry, she stepped wrong and almost hit the ground. In the time it took her to regain her balance, Eve Swahn had closed the gap between them and now stood only a few feet away. Abby knew she should keep moving, but the sight of the huge knife in Eve’s hand temporarily short-circuited her ability to move. The woman hel
d the knife at her side as she said, “If you don’t want to end up like Mitch Anders, you’ll give us what we want, Abby.”

  Yeah, like that was going to happen. Doing her best to sound calm, she said, “I see you’ve tracked down your ex. Congratulations, I’m guessing you’ve convinced him to share the money he’s been hiding. One question, though. He was supposed to pick up the ledger at Owen Quinn’s restaurant. What are you doing here?”

  The woman’s eyes held a whole lot of crazy in them. “The jerk didn’t believe Jada would be stupid enough to give the ledger to her boss. He figured she still had it with her.”

  “She doesn’t.”

  Actually, the police had it. Abby kept backing toward the porch, hoping to get close enough to make one last dash to safety. “How did you convince your husband to share the money?”

  Eve’s smile was chilling to behold. “I pointed out what happened to Mitch Anders when he tried to play games with me about the money. That jerk swore he’d already decrypted the key on the picture and knew where the ledger was. But once he got a good look at the knife I ‘borrowed’ from the food truck, he admitted he lied about that last part. I wasn’t happy to find out that Mitch had double-crossed me and offered a better split to Will.”

  She pointed the knife at Abby. “That didn’t end well for Mitch, but it’s amazing how much that has inspired Will to cooperate with me. He decided to quit screwing around and put pressure on Jada to turn the ledger over to us.”

  Realizing she was facing the real killer, Abby picked up speed. The back steps were only a few feet away when Eve upped the ante. “Stop moving, Ms. McCree. Just tell me where the ledger is or you’ll be sorry.”

  Pretty sure her heart just skipped a beat—or several—Abby ignored the threat and took off running. Surprisingly, she actually made it to the first step just as Eve shrieked, “Will, come help me!”

  Abby risked a quick look back only to see Deputy Chapin, bruised and bleeding, wrestle the crazed woman to the ground. Will must have noticed the deputy had escaped their trap, because he was shouting a belated warning as he came tearing around the corner. Unfortunately, he was so focused on the couple grappling on the ground that he didn’t notice the very real threat bearing down on him from behind.

  Abby watched in equal measures of admiration and horror as her mother swung her skillet straight at Will’s head. The man hit the ground hard and didn’t move a muscle. Her mother stood over him, weapon in hand, snarling, “Take that, you jerk. Threaten helpless women, will you?”

  Abby didn’t think her mother looked all that helpless at the moment and doubted anyone else would, either. Regardless, it was hard to tell if Will was truly unconscious or just afraid a second blow would cause permanent damage. Either way, her mother’s actions had taken him out of the equation. By that point, Deputy Chapin had also managed to subdue Eve Swahn. He had her arms behind her back with a zip tie on her wrists. Her knife was safely out of reach, lying on the grass several feet from where he stood.

  Jada peeked out the back door. “Is everyone okay?”

  Abby sank down on the steps, struggling to catch her breath. “Yeah, but would you grab a damp cloth for Deputy Chapin? He should put something on that gash on his face until the EMTs get here.”

  At that point, she became aware of a whole lot of other people charging across her lawn. Most were in uniform, with Tripp and Owen being the only exceptions. Owen had the good sense to approach her mother slowly, waiting for her to recognize him before wrapping her in his arms. It took him a few seconds longer to convince her to release the skillet into the care of a nearby police officer.

  At the same time, Tripp made a wide detour around the deputy and his prisoner in his determined march straight toward Abby. When he finally reached her, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her up onto the porch where he sat down in one of the Adirondack chairs and settled her on his lap. Evidently Owen thought that he had the right idea, because only seconds later he dropped into the next chair with his arms locked tight around her mother.

  The four of them watched the swarm of police action taking place only a short distance away. Finally, Owen glanced at Tripp. “So this was what you were talking about when you said the McCree women were magnets for trouble.”

  Tripp jerked his head in a quick nod. “Yep, exactly. To tell the truth, I’ve lost count of how many years have been shaved off my life expectancy dealing with just this kind of situation.”

  There was a hint of laughter in Owen’s voice when he said, “But I suspect it’s been worth it.”

  Abby held her breath as she waited for Tripp’s response. He tightened his hold on her, pressed a kiss to her temple just before he finally said, “Yeah, it has. But I’ve gotta say, Owen, I swear I had easier missions back when I was still on active duty.”

  Abby didn’t know whether to hit him or hug him. She was still debating the issue when Gage stepped up on the porch, his notebook and pen in hand. “Okay, ladies, who wants to go first?”

  * * *

  A week later, Owen invited them to the grand reopening of his restaurant. Her mother had driven back down for the occasion. He’d reserved a table for their party in a private room near the buffet table.

  Their waitress walked up to the table. “Can I take your order?”

  Abby looked up from her menu and smiled at Jada on her first night back at work. “I’ll have the brisket platter with slaw, and the cheesy scalloped potatoes.”

  Her mother said, “I’ll have the same.”

  Jada turned her attention to Tripp, and Gage, who was sitting on Tripp’s other side. “How about you two?”

  Tripp collected their menus and set the stack on the corner of the table. “I don’t know about Gage, but I’m having the all-you-can-eat buffet. You might want to warn Owen to brace himself. I’m feeling extra hungry tonight. I plan to consume a whole lot of ribs and a piece of that peach cobbler I saw listed on today’s specials.”

  Gage also surrendered his menu to Tripp. “Me too. The buffet keeps me from having to choose between Owen’s brisket, ribs, and the pulled pork.”

  As Jada jotted down their orders, the man in question appeared and took his seat next to Phoebe. “Eat all you want, you two. I knew you were coming, so I smoked twice the normal amount of meat for tonight.”

  Jada picked up the menus. “I’ll go get your food started.”

  Abby waited until she’d disappeared to ask Owen, “How is Jada doing?”

  “Okay, as far as I can tell. She admits the first night back at her house on her own was a bit rough, but it helped to know the man who broke into her house is safely behind bars. I’ve also been giving her a hand, helping her figure out her finances. She’s in better shape than she thought and will be able to pay her remaining tuition with no problem. Once she graduates and gets a real job, she should do just fine.”

  Her mother joined the discussion. “The prosecuting attorney verified Jada’s clear of any legal issues regarding the money. She had no way of knowing what her father and his buddies were up to, and he’s sure the feds will agree. I was really glad to hear that.” She threaded her fingers through Owen’s with a bright smile on her face. “Also he admitted that Owen had nothing to do with the entire affair, as well.”

  Abby really would’ve preferred a lighter topic for their pre-dinner conversation, but she did have a couple of questions for Gage. Keeping her voice low so Owen’s other customers didn’t hear her, she asked, “So did the prosecutor decide which one of the Swahns killed Mitch Anders? Was it really Eve?”

  Gage glanced to make sure they were alone before answering. “They’re busy pointing fingers at each other, so we’re still trying to sort it all out. Will admitted to breaking into Jada’s house, but he says it was Eve who vandalized the cars and killed Anders. We know she lied about her whereabouts on the day of the murder. She did visit her mother that day, but she left in plenty of time to kill Mitch Anders. We think she saw Jada leave the food truck and used that opp
ortunity to steal one of Owen’s knives. Even if she denies it, Deputy Chapin can testify that he overheard Eve telling you that she killed him. One way or the other, both Will and Eve are facing long prison terms.”

  At that point, Jada arrived with a big basket of corn muffins, a tub of honey butter, and three empty plates for the men. “Okay, gentlemen, here you go.”

  All three headed for the buffet line, the whole time giving each other a hard time about who could consume the most food. Jada watched them go with a grin on her face. “I’ll go get your dinners, ladies. And for the record, tonight’s on me. I can’t thank you enough for everything you all did for me. And thanks to Chief Logan, I’m even going to get my dad’s picture back from the police.”

  Abby immediately protested. “That’s great, Jada, but you don’t have to pay for our dinner.”

  Jada just grinned and walked away. “That may be true, but I want to. Enjoy your meal.”

  “We shouldn’t let her pay for all of this, Mom. She’s a college student struggling to make ends meet, but she’s too stubborn listen to reason.”

  Her mother shrugged. “Reminds me of someone else I know. As I recall, it wasn’t Jada who rushed into danger with a chef’s knife and no worry for her own safety.”

  Abby rolled her eyes. “Says the woman who took out a bad guy with a cast-iron skillet. What can I say? We McCree women are tougher than we look.”

  They were both still laughing when the men returned. Owen took one look at them and asked, “What’s so funny?”

  Her mother smiled at her man. “Nothing. It’s just a mother-daughter moment.”