8 Blush, a Bride and a Body

by Cindy Bell

  “I am going to get married tomorrow,” Bekki said sternly as she stepped out of her car. She closed the door and began walking confidently towards the building. There was one visible door on the right hand side of the building closest to the parking lot. It was painted the same color as the gray building, so it nearly blended in.

  When Bekki reached for the knob she wondered what she would find on the other side. Carefully and quietly she turned the knob, then opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the smell. It was stale cigarettes mixed with some seriously bad cologne. Even on the inside the warehouse looked empty. There were a few scraps of cardboard on the expansive concrete floor, indicating that at one time boxes had been stored there. But other than that, there wasn't much to indicate that the warehouse had been used at all in the recent past. Bekki felt a little let down as she had been certain that the warehouse had something to do with Patty's death.

  Bekki was about to turn around and walk back out, when something caught her eye. Along the furthest wall there was a large tarp. It seemed to be covering something. Bekki knew she would have to walk all the way across the warehouse to get to it, and leave herself very vulnerable as there was nowhere to duck down and hide. Still, she didn't see any harm in it considering that there was no one else in the warehouse. If she was able to get some solid proof then she might have the crime solved before she even got home that evening. As she crept forward she attempted to keep her steps as silent as possible. Every creak and quiet groan of the old building set her on edge. When she heard a loud squeak she whipped around, expecting someone to be standing behind her, but there was nothing. She spotted a high window that was hanging partially open and assumed that was where the sound had come from.

  As Bekki walked towards the tarp she heard a slight scuttle and ducked to the side. A moment later a large rat bolted out from under the tarp. Bekki clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from crying out in surprise. She closed her eyes for a moment then took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. As she edged closer to the tarp she cringed and hoped that there wouldn't be more rats underneath. She lifted the edge of the tarp a little and discovered there were several wooden shipping crates underneath it. Bekki smiled as she began to pull the tarp back. She hoped that what she was about to find would solve the case. But what she found when she tossed the tarp back was not what she expected.

  There were several sealed crates as well as a few that were open. In the open crates, large automatic guns were stacked. Her eyes widened at the sight of them and she knew in that instant she had made a mistake. Diamonds were one thing, but guns were quite another. She whipped out her cell phone from her pocket and began snapping pictures of the guns. As she leaned over one of the crates to get a close up image she realized there were trays of diamonds underneath the guns. Bekki took a step back, and let the tarp fall back down. Now, she was more than a little frightened. She had dealt with some shady characters in the past, but no one involved with guns and diamonds.

  This looked like a real black market business, and that meant if anyone caught her in the warehouse, she would not likely make it out. Bekki turned to hurry out back across the warehouse. She was hoping the pictures would be enough to tie everything in the case together. But as she walked back towards the entrance of the warehouse, she noticed something she hadn't seen before. There was a sliver of light that spread across the floor, near a closed door. It was all the way on the other side of the warehouse, so she had barely noticed it. Once she did though, she couldn't ignore it.

  Someone had to be behind that door. She had come so far to get proof, she wanted to ensure she had enough to get her name cleared. She needed more than just guns and diamonds, she needed Patty's killer. Bekki crept slowly forward, and did her best to stick to the side wall. She had no idea what to expect, but she remembered the way the owner of the bookstore had described the men he saw going into the jewelry store. Bekki was sure that at the very least they would be armed, if that was who was inside the office. When she reached the wall with the door, she could hear muffled voices. She walked even more carefully towards the door. When she was close enough to make out some of the words that were being spoken, she heard the heavy accent of one of the men.

  “You promised me,” the man's voice said. The accent might have been Russian, but Bekki couldn't be sure. She carefully opened a recording app on her cell phone and held the phone towards the crack between the door frame and the door. “You said, simple, in and out, we make the money, everybody's happy,” he continued in a sharper tone. “But what do we have here now? Trouble!”

  Another voice responded, but he spoke so quietly that Bekki couldn't make out his words.

  “I don't care about the girl,” the loud, accented voice replied to whatever the second man had said. “She's not going to take the fall for this. I looked into her. She's going to marry a police detective. They're not going to let her get arrested for something she didn't do. I'm not stupid.”

  Again she heard that muffled voice. She was determined to find out who was speaking, so she leaned a little closer to the closed door.

  “She is a problem, too,” the voice with the accent responded before she had the chance to hear the second man's words. “Now you've got her involved, we've got a body, and we still don't have our cash. This is a big problem. Big trouble. So, I think you lied to me. Are you a liar?” he asked sternly.

  Bekki held her breath as she wondered just how heated this encounter was going to become. She wasn't sure if she should try to slip out before the fireworks started, or hang in there long enough to get some solid proof of who the people were and what they were discussing. She was still deciding when the door she had her ear pressed against suddenly and forcefully swung open. It actually struck Bekki on the side of her head as she scrambled to flatten herself against the wall. She held her breath as the door was pushed the rest of the way open. It hid Bekki behind it, but also prevented her from seeing the men who were walking out.

  “Look, I think you're getting too wound up,” a familiar voice said with warning in his tone. She was trying to work out to whom the voice belonged, but she couldn’t place it. “Everything is going to be just fine. I know where the money is, and I will get it for you. Okay?”

  “Oh, you better,” the man with the accent snapped. “And it better be by tonight. Understand?” he growled. “We've already waited long enough. We were supposed to be done with this and out of this country by midnight last night. Instead, I don't even have my money. I don't like when plans go wrong, it makes me very angry,” he growled and then snapped his fingers loudly. “And when I get very angry, Alvin and Paul get angry, too,” he explained.

  Bekki heard four additional footsteps and realized that it hadn't just been two people in the room. Now she knew that Alvin Manchester was one of the men in the room. She was faced with four men, most likely armed and very eager to exterminate any witnesses that might have overheard information about their crime. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment in an attempt to calm herself. She knew that despite her training in martial arts, she was not going to be able to take four armed men down. Of course, she would have to try, but she hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that.

  “I assure you, you'll be on your flight tonight,” the second man said as soothingly as he could. “There was no way I could predict that she would walk into the store before I had a chance to take care of things. I did what I could with the opportunity it presented me, and now here we are. She's the prime suspect, not any of us, doesn't that tell you that you can trust me? Huh?”

  “Sure, I'll trust you,” the first man chuckled and Bekki heard a loud clapping sound as if the man had smacked the second man on the back. “When I have my money, I'll trust you.”

  Bekki shrunk back more against the wall. She knew as soon as that door was let go it would swing closed, and she would be revealed. In an attempt to buy herself some time she wiggled the toe of her shoe in the space between the bottom of the
door and the cement floor. She hoped this would allow her to keep the door open even after it was let go. But would anyone notice the toe of her shoe sticking out? Bekki tucked her phone into her pocket, but kept it recording. She didn't want to miss any confessions.

  “Well? What are you waiting for?” the first man demanded.

  “Yes sir, I'm going to get it now,” the familiar voice replied respectfully. Bekki felt the door ease somewhat as the man released it. Then she heard him and two of the men step back inside the office. She knew that one of the men was still standing just in front of the door. She winced as she knew that if she didn't let go of the door he would look down and see the toe of her shoe. She braced herself, ready to attack, and reluctantly pulled her foot back out from under the door. As soon as the door swung closed Bekki was fully exposed. The man walking away from her could look back at any time and see her standing there. Or the men that had ducked back into the office might open the door again and catch her if she tried to move away from the door. Each of the man's footsteps seemed extremely loud in the almost completely empty warehouse.

  Bekki inched her way along the wall. There wasn't even a wide pillar to hide behind. She thought about laying flat on the floor, hoping that the man wouldn't notice her, but if he did, he would surely alert the others. So she thought of the next best thing. If she was going to have to be caught, then she would rather be caught by only one man, instead of four. She spotted a piece of wood that must have served as a doorstop for the office door at one time. She crouched down and picked it up quickly. The way it was slanted was perfect. She slid it under the office door so that it would be very difficult for anyone to get it open.

  As Bekki stood back up she heard something very disheartening. It was the click of a safety catch being released on a gun. As she braced herself for the bullet she expected would come whizzing towards her, she bravely looked up at the person standing before her. At first she felt a brief sense of relief, until she began to put the pieces together. The man with the familiar voice that was now standing before her was Officer McKay, and he didn't look pleased to see her.

  Chapter Nine

  “Officer McKay, what are you doing here?” Bekki asked in an attempt to play innocent. “Were you following up the same lead I was?” she suggested. Bekki could only presume from the conversation she had overheard that he was involved in Patty's death, and might have even killed his friend himself.

  “What lead?” he growled and took a step closer to her. “Looks to me that you put your nose in the wrong place. All you had to do was take the fall, your detective fiancé would have got you off with a light sentence. Instead, you had to get in too deep, now there's no way you'll be walking down that aisle.”

  Bekki's heart skipped a beat at his words. Her first thought was for Nick, and how devastated he would be when her body was discovered. She knew she had to think quickly to save herself, but this time, she didn't see much of a way out.

  “To think I actually felt sorry for you,” she scoffed a little as she narrowed her eyes. “I thought you were such good friends with Patty, that explained why you were so bent on pinning his death on me. But really, you just weren't fast enough to get rid of the body, were you?”

  “That's a very dangerous accusation, Bekki,” Officer McKay replied gruffly as he took a slight step closer to her. “As I said before, all you had to do was stay out of it, you would have been just fine. Now, I'm going to have to make sure that you don't talk to the wrong people.”

  All Bekki could see was the barrel of the gun pointed directly at her.

  “Who's out there?” the man with the accent shouted from inside the office. Bekki heard pounding as the men attempted to force open the door. Officer McKay kept the gun trained on her as he moved back towards the door of the office. He kicked the wedge out from under the door. The door instantly swung open. A man stepped out through the door that Bekki recognized as Alvin Manchester. He glowered at her, his brows knitted together with the promise of violence as he took a step towards her.

  “Who are you?” he barked. From behind him another man stepped out, a few inches taller than Alvin. Bekki could only assume this was Paul. He had muscles so thick that she was sure he could break a brick just by flicking it.

  “Answer the question, darling,” the voice with the accent requested. The man it belonged to stepped out from behind the two other men who were likely his bodyguards. He had long blonde hair that fell in waves to his shoulders and a little further beyond. His eyes were a crystal blue shade that would have been stunning, were it not for how icy they were. His features were ruggedly handsome and he appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties. Bekki stared at him for a long moment, and knew that if she tried to respond with any kind of attitude he would have no qualms about making her pay for it.

  “My name is Bekki,” she said quietly and continued to remain still under the shadow of the barrel of Officer McKay's gun.

  “Well, Bekki,” he paused and glanced over at Officer McKay who nodded slightly. When he looked back at Bekki his thin lips had curved into a grim smirk. “It looks like you just made our day a little easier.”

  “You won't get away with killing me,” Bekki warned him, her eyes widening slightly with fear. “People know that I'm here, and they will know that you're responsible for my death.”

  “Slow down, slow down, Bekki,” the man with the accent said. He chuckled a little and winked at her. “No one said anything about killing you, did they? Hmm?” he shot a glare in Officer McKay's direction. “Did you say anything about killing her?” he asked in a demanding tone.

  “No, Dimitry, she must have misunderstood,” Officer McKay said quickly.

  “No, no,” Dimitry clucked his tongue. “We're not going to kill you. We need you alive,” he explained patiently. Then he snapped his fingers at Alvin. “Bring me a chair,” he requested. Bekki shifted from one foot to the other but was careful not to make any sudden moves. She could see the hatred boiling in Officer McKay's eyes, and didn't want to give him a reason to pull the trigger. When Alvin returned with the chair Bekki eyed it warily.

  “Put it here,” Dimitry directed Alvin to a spot right in front of him. “Bekki, please, have a seat,” he smiled charmingly. Bekki reluctantly moved forward. She sat down in the chair and did her best to remain calm. In the back of her mind she was plotting how she might use the chair as a weapon. “There you go,” Dimitry said with a purr in his voice. “Comfortable enough, hmm?” he asked.

  Bekki nodded a little and slid one of her feet behind one of the legs of the chair. She knew if she lifted herself up off the seat of the chair she could fling the chair into the nearest person. Then she would only have three others on her hands. Unfortunately, three was a bit much for her to handle. “So tell me, Bekki, did you take a look around our warehouse?” Dimitry asked. Bekki could feel Officer McKay's stare and knew he was still pointing the gun in her direction.

  “I…” Bekki began to speak, but Dimitry wagged his finger sharply.

  “Don't lie to me, Bekki, okay? No lying,” he growled and shot a glare at Officer McKay before looking back at Bekki. “It doesn't make a difference to me if you saw it or not.”

  “I saw, something,” Bekki cleared her throat. She was deliberately speaking slowly to draw out the conversation.

  “Something…sparkly?” Dimitry suggested. Bekki frowned and then nodded a little. “Yes, you saw those beautiful diamonds,” Dimitry clapped his hands happily.

  “And the guns,” Bekki added, and wished she had chosen to pick one up herself. She really wasn't good with guns, but anything would have been helpful against the four of them.

  “Yes, that's all very valuable merchandise,” Dimitry explained calmly. “But it is also very illegal.”

  “They're conflict diamonds,” Bekki said boldly and met the man's eyes. “And Patty figured that out.”

  “Clever girl,” Dimitry chuckled and winked at her.

  “What I don't understand is how
you are involved in this,” Bekki said as she looked over at Officer McKay. “Why would you betray a friend?”

  “Oh darling, there are things so much more important than friendship, like diamonds,” Dimitry pointed out without giving Officer McKay a chance to speak.

  “Look, none of this needs to come out,” Bekki offered pleadingly. “I don't care if you sell your diamonds or your guns. All I care about is getting out of here.”

  “Oh, don't worry, you'll be leaving,” Dimitry assured her. Bekki narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she studied him. She couldn't quite pin down what his next move was going to be.

  “You see, Bekki, Officer McKay came to me after Alvin was busted the last time for smuggling. He told me, that if I had diamonds, he had a buyer, didn't you?” he glanced over at Officer McKay who had lowered his gun slightly.

  “Yes,” Officer McKay admitted. Bekki noted how quickly he was willing to confess. He obviously considered Dimitry a threat.

  “So, you're the one that got Patty involved in all of this?” Bekki asked with genuine surprise. “He must have really trusted you.”

  “He should have,” Officer McKay grumbled.

  “Then we might not have this little problem,” Dimitry added as he shot another side long glare towards Officer McKay.

  “Patty checked the diamonds,” Bekki suggested coolly. “That's what he was doing before he died. He discovered they were conflict diamonds, didn't he Officer McKay?” she asked.

  “Let me stop you right there,” Dimitry growled and took a step closer to her so that Bekki had to lean back against the chair to avoid coming in contact with him. “It doesn't matter what you think happened, Bekki, because what we are going to do now, is take your confession.”

  “What?” Bekki asked with surprise as she stared into the cold eyes of the man leaning over her. “I didn't do anything,” she pointed out hesitantly.