Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7)

by Teresa Watson

  “I might call her when I get home. We’ll see.”

  “When do you think that will be?”

  “I don’t know,” I sighed. “Not until I know Jake is going to be okay.”

  “If you need me, I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”

  “How are the babies?” I said, changing the subject.

  “Babe and Mittens are just fine,” she assured me. “I’m spoiling them rotten, of course.”

  “Of course,” I laughed. “Give them a big hug from me.”

  After making me promise to call her as soon as Jake was out of surgery, we hung up. Patricia was still on the phone, so I sat back on the couch and looked around the room. Plain beige walls stared back at me, and I wondered why they couldn’t make the room more cheerful. On one wall was a picture of Jesus, hands folded together, looking up at the sky. Another wall had a large painting of a floral arrangement. The TV was on the third wall, and the couch I was sitting on was against the fourth wall. The end table next to me held a dimly lit lamp and various magazines. My couch was dark brown, and Patricia was sitting on the matching loveseat.

  I glanced at the TV again. The movie was an old Jimmy Stewart movie, although I couldn’t think of the name of it. A Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell movie followed that one, and a Hepburn/Tracy movie had started when Dr. Morgan finally came into the waiting room. Patricia had fallen asleep on the love seat, and I went over to wake her up.

  “The surgery went well,” he told us. “We did have to remove his spleen, but there were no other complications. They’re moving him to a private room, and you’ll be able to see him in an hour or so. I strongly suggest the two of you go home, get some rest, and come back later. He’s going to be asleep for a while.”

  “I’ll stay,” I said. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest, Patricia? When you come back this afternoon, I’ll go back to the house.”

  “Are you sure? You’ve been through enough already today.”

  “When a child is hurting, no matter how old they are, the one thing they want first is their mother. I’ll stay with him until you come back.”

  She gave me a hug. “You are a sweet woman, Lizzie. I’ll be back in a few hours. Try to get a nap if you can.”

  She stayed long enough to look in on him in his room. before she left. A nurse brought me a pillow and blanket. “That chair by his bed reclines if you want to get some rest,” she told me.

  I thanked her and gently sat down. The aches and pains of the accident had caught up to me, and I took one of the painkillers Dr. Morgan had given me. Then I leaned back in the chair, put the blanket over me, and fell asleep.

  The accident played out over and over in my sleep. Sometimes Jake was in the SUV when I came to, sometimes he wasn’t. I stumbled through the trees, calling his name. But Ethan would show up instead, chasing me through the countryside, laughing every time I fell. He reached out, grabbed my arms, and started shaking me. “Lizzie, Lizzie, did you really think you could get away? You’re not going anywhere. I’m always going to be here.”

  “Lizzie?” a male voice said. “Wake up.”

  “Ignore him. He can’t help you,” Ethan laughed.

  “Lizzie,” the voice said, more forcefully this time. Ethan held on tighter, but I managed to kick him in the shin, and when he let go of my right arm, I slugged him.

  Only I hadn’t slugged Ethan. When I finally opened my eyes, T.J. was kneeling beside me, holding his jaw. “T.J.! What…how…oh my gosh, did I hit you?”

  “You’ve got a mean right hook, woman,” he said, rubbing the left side of his face.

  “I am so sorry, T.J. I…” I started crying.

  “Hey now, there’s no reason to cry,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “It wasn’t a fatal blow. It just surprised me, that’s all.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him after a few minutes.

  “A man named Garth called me, and told me about the accident. He said Jake’s mother was sending her private jet to pick me up. I brought Owen with me. He’s out in the hallway.”

  “What time is it?”

  “About 10 a.m. How’s he doing?”

  “Broken shoulder, cracked ribs, no spleen. The doctor told us he’ll recover.”

  T.J. looked at the cut on my forehead. “What about yourself? Did they look at you?”

  “Just a few bruises.”

  “A few bruises?” Patricia said as she came in the room. She looked impeccably dressed as usual, wearing a tan sweater with dark brown pants and brown heels. “She’s one giant walking bruise.”

  T.J. stood up. “You must be Mrs. Mathias,” he said, walking over to shake her hand. “I’m T.J. Roosevelt.”

  “Please, call me Patricia. How was your flight?”

  “Just fine, thank you. I got some sleep on the way here.”

  “And who is the gentleman in the hallway?”

  “Sheriff Owen Greene. He’s in charge of our little town, and a good friend of Jake’s.”

  Patricia nodded. “Good. It sounds like Lizzie will have plenty of protection while Jake is laid up here.”

  “Garth didn’t provide a whole lot of information when he called. Could someone tell me what is going on around here?”

  Patricia moved over to the bed and gazed down at Jake, stroking his hair for a moment. “Someone tried to kill them last night. They were run off the road.”

  “I’m really sorry about your Lexus, Patricia,” I said.

  “Pft, it’s just a material thing, easily replaced. You two are alive, and that’s the most important thing.” She looked up at me, and I could see tears in her eyes. “Would you excuse me for a minute? I’m going to see if I can get an update on his condition.” She hurried out of the room.

  Owen walked into the room, glancing briefly at Jake as he came over to me. “You don’t look too bad,” he said, giving me a big hug.

  I winced as he squeezed a little too hard. “I felt okay until you squeezed the stuffing out of me,” I gasped.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said as he let me go. “What have you two been up to out here?”

  “Nothing.”

  “So someone decided to run you off the road just for laughs?”

  “Well, you know…”

  Owen snorted. “Yeah, I know. You asked too many questions again.”

  “We haven’t talked to that many people, Owen.”

  “Who did you talk to?” T.J. asked.

  “Ethan’s father, two women who used to go to school with Ethan, and a former school teacher.”

  “Four people? That’s it?” Owen said.

  “A few others, but they couldn’t tell us anything. Someone tried to kill two of us, but they did kill the person who gave us the information.”

  Chapter 25

  “What?” Owen said.

  I nodded. “Ruthdale, Simpkins, a former teacher at the high school. She was found dead a few hours after we talked to her.”

  “Whatever she told you must have been really good.”

  “Remember Jessica, the young girl that accused Ethan of assault, and was later found dead? Mrs. Simpkins was able to provide Ethan with an alibi, although no one asked her about it back then.”

  “Who knew that she told you that?” T.J. said.

  We were interrupted by Patricia and Garth. “Why don’t the three of you go back to my house and relax? Lizzie needs a hot shower, some food and some sleep. You can interrogate her later.”

  “We aren’t interrogating her,” Owen protested.

  “Could have fooled me,” Patricia replied, giving him an icy glare. “Garth will drive. There’s plenty to eat in the kitchen, so help yourselves. We’ll fix up bedrooms for the two of you, assuming of course that you plan to stay for a while?”

  “Yes ma’am,” T.J. said. “Thank you very much.”

  “You’re welcome. Now go on, take her home, and make sure she takes her medication.”

  I looked at Jake. “You’ll call us when he wakes up?”

  Patr
icia nodded. “You have my word.”

  I gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry for,” she said, patting me gently on the back. She looked at T.J. and Owen. “You two let her get some rest. When Jake wakes up, Garth will bring you back.”

  I started to bend over to pick up the overnight bag, but T.J. grabbed it for me. The three of us didn’t say anything as we went downstairs and through the front doors. Garth was waiting for us, leaning on the passenger side of a black Cadillac Escalade. “Is he awake yet?” he asked as he opened the back door for us.

  Shaking my head, I climbed into the back seat and leaned back against the leather head rest. Garth closed the door while Owen got in the front seat and T.J. got in on the other side. He intertwined his fingers with mine as Garth got in and drove away from the hospital. “Did Patricia buy a new car this morning?” I asked Garth.

  “No, this is my personal vehicle,” he replied. “We’ll be perfectly safe.”

  “Unless someone tries to run us off the road again,” I muttered.

  “Not bloody likely,” Garth said. “They’d have to catch us first.”

  “What exactly do you do for the Mathias family, Garth?” T.J. said.

  “Whatever they require of me, Agent Roosevelt.”

  Owen looked back at T.J., who shrugged. “I’m retired.”

  “One never really retires though, do they?”

  “You tell me.”

  Garth didn’t say anything. A few minutes later, he turned to the left and headed down the long driveway to the Mathias house. “This is Jake’s house?” Owen said incredulously.

  “His parents’ house,” I corrected him.

  “Just how rich are these people?” he said.

  “I didn’t ask.”

  Garth parked in front of the house. “There are some things that people around here don’t ask,” he said. “That is one of them.” He got out, leaving us sitting there.

  “Who is this guy?” Owen said, looking at me.

  “The only answer I ever get is ‘It’s classified’.”

  “Really?” T.J. replied. “Interesting.”

  We got out and followed Garth inside. The guys were more overwhelmed by the inside than they were the outside of the house. Their rooms were near mine, but what was really cool was when Garth took us downstairs to a game room. A huge TV on the wall (don’t ask me about size, I’m really lousy trying to figure those kind of things out), leather theater seats, a Rocky and Bullwinkle pinball machine, a kitchen area, and a regulation-size pool table filled the huge space. “I thought you might like some privacy to talk,” Garth said. “The room is soundproof. Jake and I are the only ones who come down here. I stocked the fridge earlier, so there’s plenty of food and drinks. If there is something you want that you don’t see, let me know. Oh, and the chairs recline if you want to get some rest. The remote for the TV should be on one of the chairs.”

  “Would you care to join us?” I said. “We’d welcome your input on the situation.”

  He looked at his watch. “I have some business to take care of first, but perhaps later.” He smiled and left.

  “That guy creeps me out,” Owen said, pulling out a cue stick from the rack on the wall.

  “He’s actually very nice, very understanding,” I said. “He’s kind of a big brother to Jake, I think.”

  “Did Jake tell you anything about him?” T.J. said as he racked the balls on the pool table.

  I shook my head. “He gave me the same answer, ‘classified’. I don’t know if that means he doesn’t know, or if Garth vowed to cut out his tongue if he ever told anybody.” Sighing, I sank into one of the theater chairs and rubbed my face.

  T.J. came over and knelt down. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like ten Mac trucks ran me over, backed up, and did it again.”

  Owen sat down in a chair next to me. “What’s been going on around here, Lizzie?”

  “That’s the same thing your sister said to me at 3:30 in the morning.”

  “You talked to Trixie?”

  “I was looking for T.J. I thought she might know where I could find him.”

  “What did she say?”

  “I got the impression she wanted to jump on the first plane out here.”

  Owen chuckled. “Sounds about right.”

  “Tell us what has happened since you and Jake got here,” T.J. said.

  So, while they shot a game of pool, I told them everything, at least everything I could remember at the moment. I was so tired that I thought I was leaving something out.

  “A bit coincidental that your accident happens right after you finished meeting with Edward Winthrop,” Owen commented.

  “That thought crossed my mind,” I said.

  “What was your impression of Edward, Lizzie?” T.J. asked.

  “Controlling. Someone who was used to getting his way, and God help you if he didn’t get what he wanted.”

  “Like father, like son,” Owen said.

  “Well, at least we know where Ethan learned it.”

  “You want to play the winner?” Owen held out his cue to me.

  “Too sore to kick your buns right now. Maybe later.”

  “Is it about time for you to take your medication?” T.J. said as he racked the balls again.

  I looked at the clock on the wall. “Not for another hour. There’s something that’s bothering me.”

  “Just one thing?” Owen snorted. “I can think of several things that are bothering me about this whole mess.”

  T.J.’s phone rang, and he stepped into the kitchen area to answer it. “Was Ruthdale Simpkins killed for what she told us? And if so, then how did the killer find out about it?”

  “How many people saw or overheard you talking to her that day?”

  “A few people passed us on the sidewalk. One lady stopped to remind her about some meeting. That’s it.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “We had lunch with Kassandra Sherwood and Sage Kingsley, two of Jake’s old school friends.”

  “Did you mention meeting her to them?”

  T.J. glanced over at me and smiled. “I remember her name came up, and Jake might have mentioned the conversation we had with her.”

  “Could one of them have told someone?”

  “Anything is possible, but who would they…Edward. You think one of them told Edward?”

  “It’s certainly a place to start, I think. Do you know how to get a hold of them?”

  “No,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m sure Garth would know, though.”

  T.J. came over at that moment. “Sorry to interrupt, but someone wants to talk to you,” he said, holding out his phone to me.

  “Who is it?”

  “Your mother.”

  Chapter 26

  “Hello, Mother.”

  “Would you please explain to me why I have to find out what is going on with my only child from the biggest blabbermouth in town?”

  “It’s nice to hear from you too, Mother. How’s your honeymoon going? Where are you now?”

  “I’m standing in the middle of my living room, and quit trying to change the subject,” she snapped. “Is what Gladys said true?”

  “You’re home already? Short honeymoon,” I said sarcastically.

  T.J. and Owen laughed.

  “Elizabeth,” Mother said, using that tone of voice that said I was trying her patience.

  “I don’t know how to answer your question because I don’t know what Gladys told you.”

  “She said you were attacked by a man, and that you publicly humiliated her again. Then she said you and Jake murdered a man, and skipped town to avoid being arrested by Owen.”

  “I know for a fact you just spent ten minutes talking to T.J., during which time you probably asked him what you just asked me. Am I right?” No answer. “That’s what I thought. So tell me what’s really wrong, Mother.”

  She was quiet for a minute. “That I wasn’t there f
or you when you needed me. Why didn’t you call me, Lizzie?”

  “Because…” Why hadn’t I called her? Because I didn’t know where she was? Because I didn’t want to ruin her honeymoon? “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “T.J. said you were in an accident last night.”

  “Yes,” I replied, glaring at T.J., who shrugged. “I’m fine, just a couple of bruises.”

  “He told me you were with Jake.”

  “It’s not what you think, Mother. We had a meeting with someone that he knew.”

  “So you aren’t dating him again?”

  “Good grief, no! Who gave you that idea, as if I have to ask?”

  “Just put it over there, Jack,” Mother said to her husband. “When are you coming home?”

  “I’m not sure. I want to make sure that Jake is out of danger, and there are a few more things to do here. Maybe three or four days. I’ll call and let you know for sure.”

  “Promise me you’ll be careful, and don’t take any unnecessary risks. Whatever you’re doing isn’t worth dying for, Lizzie.”

  “I promise. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, sweetheart. Be safe.”

  I ended the call and handed the phone back to T.J. “Did you really have to tell her about the accident?”

  “Trixie already told her; I was just confirming the news.” I massaged my temples.

  “Headache?”

  “It’s starting to pound,” I said, checking the time. “It’s after four. I haven’t eatien in almost twenty-four hours, not much sleep, and I was in an accident. Can’t imagine why my head hurts.”

  Garth came downstairs at that moment, wearing hot pads and carrying a glass dish. “A friend of mine made a chicken and rice casserole for you,” he said, putting the dish on the counter. “There’s some green beans and fruit salad upstairs. I’ll bring it down next. You’ll find some dishes in the cabinet by the fridge, and silverware in the drawer next to the sink.”

  “T.J.,” Owen said as Garth went back upstairs, “don’t you have someone in the FBI you can call to find out some info about this guy?”

  “Because he brought us some food?” T.J. said. Owen gave him a dirty look.

  “Look,” I said, “Jake trusts him, and he hasn’t done anything to make me doubt him. On the other hand, he’s just a bit…odd. Like he knows things, but doesn’t want to share.”