by Cindy Bell
Derek glowered at her, but he did as she instructed. “You, against the other wall.” She pointed the gun at Karl. Karl nervously moved towards the opposite wall. Eddy stood in the middle of both of them. His heart sank as he realized that his last hope had faded. Charlie was right. He hadn’t listened to anyone. He had tried to do things on his own. Now he was going to pay the price. His only hope was that the tape recorder was recording and Charlie, Derek and Karl would be held accountable for their actions even if he wasn’t around. Charlie turned her attention back to Eddy.
“Well, I guess it’s now or never.” Charlie pointed the gun at Eddy and started to pull back on the trigger.
“Drop the weapon!” The shout carried through the room with such force that Eddy jumped in response to it. It was not from either of the men beside him. It was from a man standing in the doorway. Detective Brunner had his gun aimed at Charlie. “Drop it now or I will shoot!”
Charlie stared hard into Eddy’s eyes. The moment for her to flee had passed. The moment for her to shoot him had passed as well. There were no more options for her. She sighed and released her grip on the gun. The gun fell from her grasp and hit the ground beside her feet. Eddy sighed with relief. He stared at Detective Brunner as he walked up behind Charlie and pinned her arms behind her back. Behind him a few uniformed officers jogged up to the scene. They began taking Karl and Derek into custody.
“Don’t you forget what I told you, Eddy, I’m a victim in all of this!” Karl wriggled his body in an attempt to escape the handcuffs.
“Oh, give it a rest, nobody believes you.” Derek rolled his eyes. He submitted to the arrest as if it was a familiar act. “Just watch the wrists, all right? Last time the guy put the cuffs on too tight and it hurt for weeks.”
The officer arresting him didn’t seem too interested in being gentle.
“Are you okay, Eddy?” Detective Brunner turned to look at him with concern clear in his eyes. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine.” Eddy was still amazed that the last person he would expect to save him did. “How did you know?”
“Later. Right now, we need to get these three into custody,” Detective Brunner said. “Do you know who’s responsible for what?”
“They were all involved in the robbery. Charlie just admitted to organizing the murder, but Derek pulled the trigger. I think you’ll find that John Baker had nothing to do with the robbery. He was used as a fall guy and was murdered because of his personal ties to Charlie,” Eddy said as he slowly pulled the tape recorder out of his pocket. He looked down at it and sighed with relief as he stopped the recording. “This will explain it all,” Eddy said as he handed it to Detective Brunner.
“Old school.” Detective Brunner nodded.
“Always the best.” Eddy smiled. “The money. The money is at a storage facility across town.” He saw Charlie flinch as she was lead out of the house by the officers. She had overheard Eddy mention the storage facility and he knew that he was right, the money was there. “Now Detective Brunner, your case can be closed. Please, make sure these criminals get the justice that they deserve.”
“Not just yet.” Detective Brunner grimaced and looked away from Eddy.
“What do you mean?” Eddy narrowed his eyes. He wondered if he had missed something important. He couldn’t have gone to all of this trouble only to have everything fall apart. “Don’t you have all of the proof that you need?”
“Oh sure. Along with the confessions that I’m sure we’ll get when they try to pin everything on each other.”
“Then what is the problem? Why can’t you close the case?” Eddy frowned.
“The paperwork, Eddy. There’s always the paperwork.” Detective Brunner hung his head. “It’s going to be hell explaining this one.”
Eddy chuckled and nodded. “I don’t miss the paperwork.”
“Nobody does.” Detective Brunner grinned.
As Eddy looked into the young detective’s eyes he felt a pang of remorse for ever doubting him. Maybe he didn’t do things the way Eddy would have, but in the end he had arrived just in time.
“Apparently, there’s a mole in the department that’s been feeding information to Derek.”
“Really,” Detective Brunner said thoughtfully. “I have a feeling I know who that is. They are being investigated by Internal Affairs at the moment. I’ll have to pass that information on to the relevant people for them to look into.”
“Do you mind if I get some air?” Eddy pointed to the door.
“Feel free, just don’t go far. The fresher the information, the better.”
“I won’t.”
Eddy walked out of the house and sighed with relief at the fresh air. As he walked towards the curb, he began to get an inkling of what had saved his life. Samantha stood beside one of the patrol cars. As soon as she saw him she stood up and ran towards him.
“Eddy! You’re okay!” She gazed at him with relief. “They told me I had to wait out here. I didn’t want to. But Detective Brunner threatened to cuff me.” She scowled.
“I’m okay.” He smiled at her. “Thanks to Detective Brunner showing up at just the right time. I wonder how he managed that.” He raised an eyebrow and looked into her eyes.
“I called him.” Samantha frowned as if she expected him to be angry. “I knew you didn’t want me to, but I was concerned and my gut instinct told me I could trust him. Sometimes, Eddy you forget that not having a badge can make a big difference, and not having back-up can make an even bigger difference. I knew that you would come here, even when you said you wouldn’t.”
“Maybe it was risky, but I felt like I had to do it.”
“What? Walking into a den of thieves and murderers with the purpose of agitating them,” Samantha pointed out with a grim smile. “A bit risky?”
“Okay, a lot risky.” Eddy smiled. “But it all worked out in the end. Charlie admitted to arranging for Derek to kill John and Derek admitted to doing it. So, they should go down for the murder as well as the robbery.”
“That’s a relief.” Samantha smiled. “Good work, Eddy.”
“Thanks to all of us,” Eddy said. Eddy looked around to make sure no one could hear him. “I also found out that Terry was being blackmailed by Karl because she worked out he was involved in the robbery, but I’ll tell you the whole story later.”
“Ooh, I can’t wait,” she said enthusiastically. “That was certainly the most adventurous birthday present I’ve ever received.”
“I didn’t expect it to get quite so adventurous.” Eddy laughed. “How did you get Detective Brunner here?”
“I called to tell him we had found the floorplan and the gloves and he agreed to send a car over to check. I had no idea that he was going himself.”
“Apparently, he trusted my instincts.” Eddy smiled.
“And mine.” Samantha gave him a quick hug. “I’m just glad that you’re safe, Eddy. You know that you mean a lot to all of us. We need you to be safe.”
“I appreciate that, Samantha. I have to say that if we hadn’t all worked as a team I don’t think we would have been able to pull this off. It’s good to know that if there’s ever trouble in Sage Gardens I have plenty of back-up.”
“Absolutely.” She smiled at him. “Never forget that, Eddy.”
The End
***
If you are ready for the next book in the Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Series, Rocks Can Be Deadly, it is available now:
Click here to view a sample or order Rocks Can Be Deadly
Also by Cindy Bell
A Chocolate Centered Cozy Mystery
The Sweet Smell of Murder
A Deadly Delicious Delivery
Dune House Cozy Mysteries
Seaside Secrets
Boats and Bad Guys
Treasured History
Hidden Hideaways
Dodgy Dealings
Suspects and Surprises
Ruffled Feathers
Sage Gardens Cozy Mysteries
Birthdays Can Be Deadly
Money Can Be Deadly
Trust Can Be Deadly
Ties Can Be Deadly
Rocks Can Be Deadly
Wendy the Wedding Planner Cozy Mysteries
Matrimony, Money and Murder
Chefs, Ceremonies and Crimes
Knives and Nuptials
Mice, Marriage and Murder
Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mysteries
Hairspray and Homicide
A Dyed Blonde and a Dead Body
Mascara and Murder
Pageant and Poison
Conditioner and a Corpse
Mistletoe, Makeup and Murder
Hairpin, Hair Dryer and Homicide
Blush, a Bride and a Body
Shampoo and a Stiff
Cosmetics, a Cruise and a Killer
Lipstick, a Long Iron and Lifeless
Camping, Concealer and Criminals
Treated and Dyed
Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mysteries
Murdering the Roses
Dead in the Daisies
Killing the Carnations
Drowning the Daffodils
Suffocating the Sunflowers
Books, Bullets and Blooms
A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest
A Bridal Bouquet and a Body
About the Author
Cindy Bell is the author of the cozy mystery series Sage Gardens, Chocolate Centered, Bekki the Beautician, Dune House, Heavenly Highland Inn and Wendy the Wedding Planner.
Cindy has always loved reading, but it is only recently that she has discovered her passion for writing romantic cozy mysteries. She loves walking along the beach thinking of the next adventure her characters can embark on.
You can sign up for her newsletter so you are notified of her latest releases at http://www.cindybellbooks.com.
