“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said.
“I’m thinking it means you’re somehow indirectly involved.”
My vision blurred into tunnel vision and I stared into the past, looking through Maude’s eyes on the night of Amanda Robbins’s murder. I was outside, wandering aimlessly until I reached the librarian’s house. I could feel Maude’s concern for Amanda because she’d gone to the doctor that morning.
I lifted my hand to knock, but I heard shouting from inside. Someone was arguing. I walked around to Amanda’s bedroom window and looked inside. I could see her trying to get a man to calm down, but he wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t see the man clearly, but he was angry at her because she wouldn’t be reasonable. She was the one who wouldn’t listen.
Suddenly, he shoved her hard. She tripped and fell back, hit the side of her head, and collapsed on the floor, blood seeping out all over her carpet. I could feel the man’s alarm, as though he hadn’t meant for that to happen. He left the room and came back with digoxin and a towel. He added some of the heart medicine to Amanda’s teacup and then poured the liquid down her throat, breaking her cup on the carpet when he was finished. He wiped down everything with the towel, erasing his fingerprints, and then left through the front door as though he’d never been there at all.
I snapped out of my trancelike state and retold exactly what I had just seen. “The digoxin was just a cover-up. I couldn’t see the man’s face, either. It was blurry. But I’m pretty sure it had to be Pendleton. Amanda wouldn’t change her mind on the bookstore deal, so he got angry and shoved her out of frustration. He hadn’t planned on her dying. So he found and used the digoxin she must have picked up for Maude.” I looked at Mitch. “Don’t you see? This proves I’m innocent and Ms. Robbins was killed by a man like I first claimed.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Mitch said. “You could have made the whole thing up just to clear your name.”
“Are you kidding me?” I stared at him, seeing the doubt all over his face. “This also proves Maude’s innocent. You already have your man locked up. At least give him a lie detector test, then you’ll see I’m not lying.”
“That might work,” Mitch said, and sent a text to Lucinda, I assumed. “At the very least it will put an end to your little storytelling. You can’t go around messing with people’s emotions, Tink.”
I could tell he meant the reading I’d given for him, and the havoc it had wreaked on both our lives.
“Just because you won’t admit—”
“It’s all my fault,” Maude said quietly.
We both stopped arguing and looked at her with concern. Her voice sounded so dejected.
“If I had been stronger, maybe I could have saved her.” She shook her head sadly. “If only I had remembered, I could have gone to the police immediately.” She looked up at me. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
“Well, I’m not sure.” I reached out and squeezed her hand.
“Can you see my future as well?”
“I really don’t think—” Detective Stone started to say.
“No offense, young man, but I didn’t ask you,” Maude said.
I pressed my lips together to keep from grinning. Mitch held his hands up and then sat back quietly. I picked up her teacup and this time turned it in a counterclockwise direction.
“I see a knife, which indicates a hidden enemy, but I think it’s safe to say we just found out who that was. At least we know he’s locked up, so you’re safe. I also see . . .” I stared at the image before me and bit my bottom lip.
“What is it?” Maude asked. “Please don’t keep anything from me. I need to know.”
Mitch’s cell phone rang, and he stepped out of the room.
“I see a nail, which means pain and anguish. Next to that is an hourglass, which means time is running out and you should proceed with caution.” My gaze met hers. “You are in imminent peril. And, last, I see a ladder, which signifies turmoil and evolution. A rise or fall in life. It’s a sign of travel. You’re going somewhere soon. Where, I don’t know. That’s all.”
Mitch stepped back in, looking a little pale and disturbed.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
He glanced at Maude and then back to me as he said, “Alex Pendleton has just escaped from jail.”
Mitch took a disturbed and upset Maude home and stayed with her until Bernard finished his shift at the mill. Then Mitch came back to my place to discuss our next move. I was pulling my suitcase out of the storage area in the basement when Mitch walked back in.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
“I thought I should stay in a hotel or something until you catch Pendleton again. If he finds out I gave Maude a reading and that we’re on to him, he might come after me.”
“Relax, Tink, you’re not going anywhere. Just because he escaped from jail doesn’t mean he killed Amanda Robbins. I’m still not buying what you think you saw in the teacup. We need hard evidence, not fairy tales.”
“You are so infuriating,” I snapped, and stomped my foot. “Just because you don’t believe, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I’m telling you I am in danger. I can sense it.”
“You are,” he pointed out. “You’re in danger of me locking you up if you try to leave town. You’re still officially a suspect until this case is closed.”
The shutters on my house shook, and Mitch looked around warily.
“Careful,” I said. “You’re upsetting Morty.”
Mitch’s phone rang, and he frowned at me as he answered it. A minute later, he snapped it closed and walked over to the coat closet and grabbed my coat. “That was Captain Walker. Bernard called and said Maude ran off again. She was upset and kept saying something about it was all her fault, and she was a danger to everyone. Then Captain Walker said he got a call from Maude herself, saying something about the reading triggering her memory. She remembers that night and wants to identify the killer, but then her phone went dead. They are all out looking for her now.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yeah. See what you’ve done to the poor woman with your nonsense?”
“It’s not nonsense. It helped her remember, and now she’s trying to do the right thing. We have to help her before Pendleton gets to her.” I grabbed my coat from him and the pocket wacked against a table, making a loud clunk. I sucked in a sharp breath.
“What the hell was that?” Mitch asked, his face riddled with suspicion.
“Nothing.”
“What are you hiding, Tink?” He reached for my coat. “I said nothing.” I jerked away from him.
He sighed, took a step forward, and easily took my coat from my hands. His eyes never left mine as he reached inside the pocket and pulled out the contents. His face grew hard, and he looked at his hand to confirm what he obviously suspected. Then he stared me down, looking angry and disappointed at the same time.
“You know, you almost had me convinced,” he said quietly, gazing at the bottle of digoxin. “But my past experiences should have clued me in. Women can’t be trusted, especially frauds from the city like you.”
“That’s not fair. That’s not even mine. Someone has been trying to set me up. You have to believe me.”
“Life’s not fair, and I’m not buying anything you say anymore.” He grabbed my arm and hauled me outside and then stuffed both me and my coat into his car. “I’m taking you in.”
“But what about Maude?”
“You let the department worry about her. Our partnership is officially terminated.”
“What are you going to do to me?”
“Make sure you don’t leave town, which is probably what you were about to do. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you and Pendleton have been working together from the start. I think you’re the one who needs a lie detector test. I’m taking you both down.”
I sat quietly, looking out the window, unable to process what had just happened. I couldn’t believe Mitch actually thought I was g
uilty. After all we’d been through, that hurt. My instincts were right. Falling for him was such a bad idea.
“Now you get quiet?” he grumbled through his teeth, the muscle in his jaw knotting with frustration.
“I plead the Fifth until I talk to my lawyer.” I had to wonder if he’d cared about me at all. He was angry because he thought I’d duped him, but that didn’t mean he was hurt or brokenhearted.
“It must be bad if you’re willing to call your mother.”
Oh, it was bad all right, but I had no intention of calling my mother. I did, however, have every intention of defending myself. Just as soon as I found a way to escape. We rode in silence for the next couple of blocks, and then he turned down a side road that was a shortcut to the station.
“Look, over there.” I pointed out his window. “I think I see Maude!”
“Where?” Mitch turned his head to look out his window, and I grabbed the wheel, yanking it to the right.
“What the hell?” Mitch said, fighting for control as the car spun wildly in a wide 360-degree turn.
I screamed, unbuckling my seat belt and opening my door all in one motion while the car was still spinning.
“Wait, you’re going to kill yourself,” he shouted, but it was too late.
He lunged for me, but I tumbled out the door, hitting the ground hard and rolling into a ditch. Seconds later I heard a loud crash and looked up to see his car wrapped around a tree.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, climbing to my feet and hobbling in his direction, battered and bruised.
I’d only wanted to escape. I hadn’t counted on the roads being that slippery or, God forbid, him getting hurt.
I reached his car. The radiator hissed steam into the frigid air. I managed to crank his door open and pressed my lips together as I looked at him. His head rested against the steering wheel with a bump and trickle of blood oozing from it. I slowly reached my hand out and touched his neck, wilting with relief when I felt a pulse. His chest rose and fell with steady breaths. He would not be happy with me.
I’d knocked him out cold.
I called 911 from his cell phone and then left it turned on inside his car. He had a blanket in the backseat, so I covered him up. Once I was sure he would be okay, I kissed his cheek and whispered, “I’m sorry,” then shut his door and took off running.
My house wasn’t that far away, but it felt like forever in the ice and snow. Opening my front door, I flew inside and grabbed my suitcase. Running upstairs, I tossed it on my bed and started throwing essentials inside. I didn’t know who I was more afraid of at the moment: Pendleton or the Grumpster. Either way, sticking around now was not an option.
I was officially a fugitive.
I had no clue where I was going to go, but I figured anyplace was better than here. I only prayed they found Maude in time and that she could identify the killer. I needed time to figure out how to prove my innocence. I had no connection to the killer at all, but Mitch was determined to find one somewhere.
When the police hadn’t ruled Amanda Robbins’s death a suicide, Pendleton must have tried to set me up since I was also a suspect. He knew I was getting too close, and now he’d escaped from jail. If he caught Maude, I was a goner for sure.
I turned toward my bed and blinked. Morty had appeared out of nowhere as usual. He sat on top of my suitcase like he didn’t want me to go. I picked him up and deposited him on the bed.
“I’ll be back. I promise.” I petted him behind the ears and then picked up my suitcase and headed for the stairs.
Morty jumped in front of me and hissed.
“What is with you?” I nudged him out of the way, and he scratched me with his paw. “Ow!” I rubbed my hand. He’d drawn blood. “Naughty boy. Why’d you do that?”
He licked his lip and kept staring at me, the hair on his back raised. He really didn’t want me to go out the door, but I didn’t have time to figure out why.
“I’m sorry, Morty. I’m not abandoning you. I have to go away for a little while, but I will be back. You have my word on that.” I hoisted my suitcase and kept moving. When I got to the top of the stairs, Morty was already at the bottom, staring up at me and meowing.
It was a strange and eerie meow.
I stopped in my tracks and pursed my lips at him. “Morty, this isn’t funny,” I said, but then I heard it.
A noise coming from downstairs.
20
Oh my God, what if someone was breaking into my house?
Was it Pendleton coming to kill me? Or maybe Mitch seeking revenge? Or the police coming to lock me up and throw away the key? None of the options were favorable, but I didn’t have a clue what to do.
I listened a minute, but didn’t hear anything more. I didn’t want to call the police on a false alarm, yet I wasn’t foolish enough to open the door. Maybe if I peeked out through the peephole, I would see something. I looked outside and almost fell over with relief. As I unlocked the door and yanked it open, a gust of wind filled with snow swirled around my legs. “Goodness, Maude, you scared the wits out of me.”
She gave me a look almost as creepy as Morty’s meow had been, and for a brief moment I wondered if maybe she were the killer. But that was crazy. The vision had clearly shown the killer was a man, although it had also revealed that Maude was indirectly involved in some way. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to invite her in.
“Are you okay?” I asked when she stood there, her eyes wide and glazed, giving me a funny look.
“No,” she said, shaking her head, looking as though she were in shock. “Everything is a mess.”
“But I thought everything was clear, and you were going to identify the killer.”
“I was.”
“The police are looking for you. I was on my way out. I can drop you off at the station, or near it, anyway.” No way was I getting too close to a jail of any kind.
“I can’t go anywhere.” Her eyes met mine sadly. “And neither can you, I’m afraid.”
“Why not?” An uneasy feeling settled over me, and I took a step back.
“Because I won’t let you,” said a menacing male voice from just outside the door.
I looked around for a weapon, but it was too late. The door swung open wide, and I saw a man holding a gun pointed at Maude, only it wasn’t Alex Pendleton. . . .
It was her husband, Bernard.
I gasped. “Mr. Sampson? What on earth are you doing?”
He pushed Maude all the way in and shut the door behind him. “What I should have done from the beginning. Get rid of the evidence.”
It finally sank in. “You’re the killer?”
He scowled. “I’m not a killer. What happened with Ms. Robbins was an accident.”
“Okay, then help me understand.” I looked around for Morty, but I didn’t see him. Some watch cat he turned out to be. If I could keep Bernard talking, it would buy me some time to figure out what to do.
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” he spat. “It’s because of you we’re in this mess right now.”
“Me?” I took another step back. “What in the world did I do?”
“You and those stupid tea leaves. If you’d left well enough alone, Pendleton probably would have taken the wrap. But no, you had to go and help Maude remember with all your psychic mumbo jumbo. All this time I been taking care of her, and now she has to up and get sane on me. It’s not fair. None of it is fair.”
“Not fair?” Maude snapped. “You’re not the one losing his memory. Your life will go on. Soon I won’t remember mine at all. How is that fair, Bernard? Huh? You tell me.” She started to cry. “I might as well be dead.”
“See, that’s just the thing,” Bernard ground out. “Save your tears, woman. I worked my whole life taking care of you and the girls. We saved and we planned, and now it was supposed to be our time. We were going to retire and move to Florida where I could fish every day if I wanted. But no, you had to go and lose your mind. When you got fired, it set us back financia
lly. I had to postpone our retirement and take care of you. I’m exhausted, Maude. I can’t do it anymore.”
“But I didn’t get sick on purpose, Bernie. And why kill Amanda? You knew how much she meant to me,” Maude said on a sob.
“I went to her and pleaded with her to give you your job back. She refused to listen. Said she was sorry, but her hands were tied. I got so angry. I could feel all my rage and frustration build in me until I couldn’t stand it anymore. So I pushed her. I swear that’s all I did, but she was so dang small. She fell back and hit her head, and just like that she was dead.”
“You should have called the police right then and there,” I interjected in a calm voice. “You’d be in far less trouble. You still will be in less trouble if you call now.”
“I panicked. Haven’t you ever panicked?” He looked at my suitcase. “Seems to me you were doing just that when I got here, so get off your high-and-mighty horse.”
He had me there.
“Besides, even if Amanda’s death was an accident, I’d still do time. I’m too old to do time.” He looked back at Maude with pleading eyes. “You’ve got to understand my situation. What it will be like for me once you don’t remember.”
“You should have killed me instead of her, then.” The look on her face was pure anguish. “I’m obviously dead to you already.”
“I told you I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did and that’s that. So be it. I had picked up your prescription for digoxin before stopping by her place. After the accident, I poured some in her cup and thought people would assume she’d committed suicide on account of everyone knew something was wrong with her. I forgot all about the stupid note, though. I meant to leave one. When they declared her death a murder and suspected Miss Meadows, I tried to help that theory along by framing her.” He looked at me. “No hard feelings, ma’am.”
“No hard feelings?” I sputtered. “It’s just my life you were messing with!” The man was insane.
He raised his hands in the air. “I was desperate. When that didn’t work, I came clean about Maude’s memory loss and figured they might think it was her.” He glanced at her and winced. “I’m sorry, Maude, but like you said, soon you won’t remember anything, so what was the harm? A nuthouse or a nursing home, you wouldn’t know the difference, anyway. I’ve already done my grieving for you after I first found out about your condition. Don’t you want me to have the retirement I deserve?”
Tempest in the Tea Leaves Page 21
