“When I was inside the joint, my cellmate told me a story about a crooked judge in Dallas with whom she’d exchanged sexual favors in return for his keeping her out of jail. Said he made her do things that some of her most perverted johns didn’t even ask her to do.” Helga wrinkled her face in disgust. “The man was a pig, but I was sitting in a jail cell with a life sentence and no chance of parole, and I was desperate. I knew the money was out here waiting for me, but I needed his help. So I wrote him a letter, offering him a million dollars if he could somehow get me an early release. I don’t how he did it, but six months ago, I walked out of jail.”
“Did Kershaw know about the rest of the money?” Vince asked.
Helga nodded. “He must’ve done his homework and figured out there was a lot more than one million involved. After he got me out of jail, he never let me forget that he owned me—that one slip-up would land me right back in the clinker, only the next time, he’d see to it that the new jail was twice as bad as the old one.” She paused to shake her head. “He was the scum of the earth. Anyway, we researched this place and discovered that Agostinelli’s whore had left it to Haley after Eddie killed her. We knew the place had closed down, and we planned on driving up here and checking it out, brick by brick if we had to, until we found the stash. When Haley decided to transform the place into a spa, it put a monkey wrench into our plans, and we had to come up with something else. He sent me to New York to convince Sergio to sign on as the chef here, but only if he’d bring me with him as his assistant. We figured we could have an insider’s view of the place and a legitimate reason to search for the money without arousing too much suspicion.”
“You tricked me into coming here?” Sergio said with a look that said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Helga flashed him a smile. “You were washed up, Serg. All I had to do was file a few complaints with the city health inspector about the quality of your food, and when you were nearly homeless after losing your job, you were easy pickings.
He started toward her and would have reached her if Vince hadn’t thrown out his arm and forced him back just as Helga cocked the weapon in her hands.
“So you killed Kershaw to keep him from getting half the money?” Deena asked, trying to get Helga back on the real issue of why she’d committed murder. The longer they kept her talking, the better chance they had of finding a way to disarm her.
“Yes, and you would’ve done the same thing,” Helga said.
Deena shook her head. “No, Helga. I’m not you.”
“You’re not,” Helga said with amusement in her eyes. “Otherwise, you would’ve been able to keep your husband from falling into bed with me. He was tired of a submissive, pathetic woman like you.”
Deena’s anger had been building ever since they’d discovered Helga’s true identity, but that last remark was too much and sent her over the edge. Without thinking about the consequences, she sprang from her position on the floor and hit Helga with the full force of her body, knocking her over. As she wrestled with her for the gun, it went off, fortunately missing all the people against the wall who had dropped to the floor as soon as the action began. The stuffed black bear above the mantle was not so lucky, though. As the full velocity of the bullet ripped into it, the more-than-fifty-pound bear head came crashing to the floor and broke apart like a Mexican piñata.
And just like a piñata, it was filled with treats. But this one didn’t have a treasure of hard candy, candy bars, or gum. As it exploded on the tile floor, a sea of hundred dollar bills rained down on them like green snowflakes.
Chapter Nineteen
All hell broke loose as everyone raced to the center of the room to catch the floating bills. It was like watching them in one of those flying dollar bill booths used for promotion events. Apparently, they’d all forgotten that there was a woman in the room with a weapon as they shoved each other to get to the money.
Deena wrestled with Helga over control of the gun, and when Vince and Maddy ran over to help, it went off again. She glanced over to see Vince fell backwards, landing on Theo Elliott, who was on his hands and knees grabbing the green bills by the fistfuls.
“You little witch,” Deena shouted, letting go of Helga’s left hand.
Before the chef could react, Deena used her free hand to jab at Helga’s face. When her thumb made contact with one of Helga’s eyes, the woman screamed and covered it with her hand, dropping the gun in the process. Deena didn’t waste any time grabbing it from the floor and slamming it against the side of Helga’s head. Instantly, the chef stopped fighting and slumped to the floor. Without wasting a moment, Maddy pulled the gun that Helga had taken from Sheriff Wilkerson from the woman’s waistband and then took the revolver that Deena held out to her. Helga moaned once more before losing consciousness.
With Helga no longer a threat, Deena ran over to Vince, who was sitting up and holding his shoulder. “Thank God it hit your shoulder instead of your chest,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“I’m pretty sure it missed everything important, so I’m okay. See if you can find duct tape or something to restrain Helga before she comes to,” he said, attempting to smile through his pain. “That was quite a number you did on her. Remind me never to piss you off.”
Deena was too worried about him to be amused. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He nodded. “I won’t be playing golf anytime soon, but I’ll live.” He looked at the scene around the broken bear head. “I don’t guess there’s any way to get control of the situation right now. That looks like a feeding frenzy over there.”
“Theo and Annie are taking what they believe is rightfully theirs, and even Haley is joining in the fiasco.” Deena shrugged. “I can’t say that I blame them. Until the cops arrive and make everyone hand over the money, let them have their fun. It’s been one helluva morning for all of us.”
She found William Peabody, the desk clerk, and asked him to bring her a roll of duct tape. Reluctantly, he pocketed the wad of bills and ran over to the registration desk. When he returned with it, she tore off several long pieces and taped Helga’s hands and then her feet. Satisfied there was no way the woman could get out of the restraints, she took one of the clean towels that Kate had brought earlier and walked back over to Vince, whose eyes couldn’t hide his pain despite his denial.
“Lean forward,” she instructed after kneeling down beside him. When Vince did as he was told, she used a trick she’d been taught at the nursing home before she’d changed careers. Skillfully, she turned the towel into a sling and placed it over his right arm. “That should immobilize your shoulder until we can get you to the ER.”
After a quick glance around the room assured her that no one else had been injured—at least not from a gunshot wound—the muscles in her entire body began to relax. The crisis wasn’t over yet, but at least Helga couldn’t hurt anyone else. The guests and staff members were still crawling on the floor, picking up the falling money. Everyone, except Olivia Mason. Deena did another quick scan around the room, and although Sam was right in the middle of the melee, his young wife was nowhere to be found. Before she had a chance to find her in the mess of bodies, the door burst open and a young police officer rushed in with his gun drawn.
“Everybody get your hands in the air and back up against that wall,” he commanded in a high-pitched voice that sounded like he’d never made it out of puberty.
Deena bit back a smile as she imagined him facing a hardened criminal with that voice. Even from across the room, she could see that his hands were shaking, and she wondered if this might be the first time the young officer had ever pointed a gun at anyone.
“Where’s Sheriff Wilkerson?” he shouted. “His cruiser’s outside, so I know he’s here somewhere.”
Kate stood up and pointed to the wounded man in the corner. “He was shot, and he’s lost a lot of blood. We need to get an ambulance up here quickly.”
“Oh, Christ!” The deputy started toward his wou
nded boss just as Kate took a step in his direction. His eyes widened, and he pointed the gun at her, his hands shaking even more than before. “Who shot him?”
Kate held her arms in the air and backed away as Deena pointed to Helga who was just beginning to stir. “You’re wasting time, Officer. Go back to your car and call for an ambulance and then the Oklahoma State Police.” When he didn’t move quickly enough, she snapped her fingers. “Every minute you waste gives your boss that much less of a chance to walk away from here with his life.”
Something about the urgency in Deena’s voice finally hit home with the young cop, and he turned and ran out the door.
Deena focused on Sheriff Wilkinson, who actually looked better since Kate had given him the hydrocodone. “I just said that so your deputy would go call for help. Although you’re looking better, the quicker we get you to the hospital, the faster they can get that bullet out of you.”
“Seth will probably need some Valium when this is all over,” the older cop said, before he grimaced in pain.
“Try not to talk. Save your energy—and your sense of humor—for the bumpy road back to civilization,” Kate said, coming over to stand in front of him again. “You’ll need it, although they’ll have much stronger meds on board for the ride.”
By the time the young cop came back into the lobby, most of the money had vanished from the floor. A few stray bills had gotten stuck under the bearskin rug where Sheriff Wilkerson lay, but obviously no one had the courage to run over and snatch them up with Deena standing guard, almost daring them with her eyes.
She was distracted when Maddy bent down besides Vince, then motioned for her and her sisters to come over there.
“What’s up?” Lainey asked when they were in a circle away from the others.
“I don't want the others to hear,” Maddy whispered. “If all goes well, the state troopers will be here in about an hour, and things will start happening fast. We have to decide what we should do about the money.”
“Why do we have to do anything? Isn’t it Haley’s money since the spa and everything in it is hers?” Lainey asked.
“In all probability the money belongs to Nicky Cavvichia and the New Jersey Mafia, but since they never actually filed a police report, it might be hard to prove,” Maddy said. She looked at Vince. “Any thoughts?”
“Technically, if Haley’s sister specified in the will that Haley was to receive the hunting lodge and all the property within, then the money is definitely hers.” Vince paused as a sudden, sharp pain forced him to suck in a huge gulp of air.
Maddy held up her hand. “We’ll talk. You just listen, Vince.” She turned to her sisters. “The law will see this money as ill-gotten booty, and it will be forfeited to the government as proceeds of illegal activity.”
“We’re not even sure it is Mafia money, Maddy,” Deena argued. “According to your own investigation into Joey Agostinelli’s death, Chrissy Rockford was making a boat-load of cash from her blackmailing scheme with Agostinelli. Who are we to say where she got the money?” She stole a quick glance at the men and women lined up against the wall, all curiously staring at her, probably wondering if she would force them to give back the money.
Maddy rubbed her forehead as if chasing away a migraine. “No way there was ten million in that bear. More like two. Wouldn’t you say?”
Everyone nodded. “So is the general consensus that this is probably Chrissy’s rainy-day stash?” Deena asked. Again they all agreed. “Then technically, it belongs to Haley.” As soon as she said it, she imagined the disappointment on their faces when the others were told. She made eye contact with Haley and motioned for her to join them. After explaining the situation and asking what she’d like to do, Deena was surprised by the tears that formed in the spa owner’s eyes.
“I loved my sister,” she began, “but I didn’t always like her. Even as teenagers, I knew she usually took the easy way out—stepping on other people to get what she wanted.” She turned and faced the guests. “She definitely caused Theo Elliott a lot of pain and anxiety. I don’t blame him for being resentful. And then there are the others that Brent and Paulina…Helga messed with. Even Gary Wharton was a victim.” She sat down on the floor beside Vince. “So here’s what I’d like to do. If it’s okay with you all, I say let them keep the money. I collected enough for myself to keep this place running until I can finally turn a profit. I feel like I owe it to all of them for the sins of my sister and my employee.”
Vince nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, Chrissy earned the money herself and hid it in the stuffed bear. So it’s Haley’s now to do with as she sees fit.” He made eye contact with Deena. Both knew the money was probably “ill-gotten booty” but neither said a word.
“Ambulances are on the way,” the young cop said, walking into the front door and nearly tripping on the edge of the carpet. “Also the state patrol is sending everyone they have available.” He checked his watch before hurrying over to Sheriff Wilkerson. “Jerome, I almost forgot the real reason I came looking for you.” He bent down and grabbed his hand. “Consuela has been trying to reach you all morning. When you didn’t answer your phone, she called me, and I headed down to the station to try to connect with your GPS Messenger. When that didn’t work, I figured your cruiser must have broken down, or you’d skidded off into a ditch somewhere.”
“Thank God you did,” Wilkerson said softly. “You saved the day, Seth.”
The young officer beamed before he slapped his forehead “I keep forgetting the real reason I’m here. Emma went into labor.”
Wilkerson’s face fell. “Is everything all right. You know she has a problem with her blood pressure going up. Is that why she went into early labor?”
“Relax, boss. I called Consuela before I reached the spa. They had to do a C-section, but both your daughter and your grandson are doing great.”
“It’s a boy?” When Seth nodded, Williams attempted a smile. “No way that kid will ever be a cop if I have any say in the matter.” He reached for Seth’s hand. “I owe you.”
While they waited, Maddy instructed everyone to go back to their rooms and pack their belongings so they’d be ready to leave as soon as the police were through questioning them. Vince had Deena call his employees and instruct them to drive the limos up earlier than planned and transport the people back home. Haley elected to stay at the spa, and much to everyone’s surprise, Theo and Annie offered to stay behind and help her, along with all of the staff.
But when Sam Mason finally realized that his wife was not in the lobby, he panicked. Frantically, he’d searched everywhere and discovered that she was nowhere to be found, nor was her purse or her passport. Deena assured him that she couldn’t have gone far and that the police would find her once they arrived. That seemed to appease him somewhat, although she wondered why the woman had disappeared in the first place, and why she’d taken her passport.
Thirty minutes later, four ambulances arrived behind three state patrol cars. After loading a semi-conscious Helga into the first one, along with a police escort, the first ambulance headed back to the nearest hospital, which was an hour away. Sheriff Wilkerson was the next to go after they’d started an IV and given him morphine for the trip. However, Vince proved to be a challenge to them when they tried to get him to lie down on a gurney let alone put him in the back of the third ambulance. After insisting he wasn’t hurt and arguing that he wanted to wait for his employees to arrive with the limos, they finally got him to compromise. They convinced him to let them replace the improvised arm splint with a much better one and then allowed him to ride in the front seat of the ambulance to the hospital.
Next, they went to Brent’s room and transferred the body, still packed in ice, from the bathtub to a body bag and loaded him into the last ambulance headed for the Marietta County Morgue. When all the injured were on their way to medical facilities, the police officers began their interrogation of the others.
Much to Deena’s surprise, Annie Elliott p
ulled her aside. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for all the mean things I said about you. I really thought you were the one who killed Brent, and I couldn’t understand why your sister was letting you off the hook.” She offered her hand. “I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Deena didn’t even hesitate to shake her hand. This woman had just found out that not only had her husband cheated on her, but he’d also given away their home and then lied to her about it for more than two years. “Under the circumstances, I might have acted the same way.”
Annie nodded and walked back to the corner of the room where her husband was in a discussion with Haley and Yolanda Templeton.
After the police took all of their statements, they were allowed to leave with the stipulation that they be available for more questioning at a later date. Not long after the first four ambulances left, two more ambulances arrived, along with an ATV to locate and bring back Naomi Patterson’s body. The second one was there in case Olivia Mason or Gary Wharton had met a similar demise.
After saying goodbye to Haley and everyone else who stayed behind to help get the spa up and running again, the four sisters piled into the last limo. The mood inside the vehicle was unusually somber, and Deena couldn’t help thinking how ironic it was. They’d been so excited on the way up to the spa on Friday, anticipating a relaxing weekend, and now they couldn’t wait to get home after narrowly escaping with their lives. Even Tessa, who showed up and squeezed in between Lainey and Kate, wasn’t talking. That, in itself, was a miracle.
As she stared out the window at the passing landscape, Deena replayed the last few days over and over in her mind, scolding herself for not realizing that Paulina was really Helga, a blast from her past. She hoped they’d lock her up and this time throw away the key for all the pain she’d caused. Deena thought about all the warning signs she’d missed, although in her defense, she’d only had contact with the woman a few times and her disguise had been very convincing.
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