Single Elimination: A Cozy Mystery (Brenna Battle Book 4)

by Laney Monday

  “We aren’t trying to do anything but abide by the law,” Hatton said.

  “Harvey, Mr. Hatton sees things differently, but we’re all going to make sure this is settled fairly, according to the rules.”

  Harvey looked at me like I’d stolen his dessert.

  Behind the Council, picture windows revealed a panoramic view of the Bay. The sunset cast peaceful waters in a warm, serene glow, contrasting sharply with the tension of the panel of council members. Hands clenched pens, jaws were set, eyeglasses nervously adjusted on downcast noses.

  Herbert Random said, “I’d like to propose that the council waits until after the election results are in and the new mayor is in place to make a decision on this issue.”

  Soon Random’s motion was seconded.

  “I thought you were on my side, Brenna,” Harvey said as the council cast their votes.

  “I am on your side,” I whispered. “We just have to be smart. I have a strategy.”

  “What strategy?”

  “You’ll, see, Harvey.”

  Harvey shook his head. “I don’t believe you. You didn’t even get Gunter to withdraw from the race for mayor.”

  I couldn’t risk telling Harvey I was going to try to nail Gunter for what he’d done to Dina Hermiston, that once he was under arrest, there would be no chance of a majority against Harvey, and everyone would have other things to be concerned about anyway. Harvey was unpredictable. He was sharp in his own way, but I still wasn’t sure how much he understood of what was going on around him. Was he in touch with reality enough to comprehend how important it was to keep a secret? Was he stable enough to bite his tongue and not try to rub Gunter’s imminent downfall in his face?

  Elizabeth Bower announced, “The motion to postpone the vote on Reiner House’s exemption to the sidewalk widening plan until after the mayoral election has passed.”

  I stood up and clapped, along with most of the citizens. Even Gunter Hatton looked pleased. I’d been so busy keeping Harvey calm, I’d missed whether he’d voted for or against. If he’d supported the motion, it was probably because he thought he was going to win the election and have even more sway over the council.

  I turned to Harvey. Time was ticking, and I had a murder witness—or culprit—to meet. “This is going to work out. I wouldn’t lie to you, Harvey. I do have a plan. And I need to stay on good terms with Gunter in order to see it through. Just a few days. Promise me you’ll leave him alone for a few days. If you feel like you need to rant, call me.”

  “Alright,” Harvey grumbled.

  “Promise? You’ll call me first, before you do or say anything to Gunter?”

  “I promise.”

  All I could do was hurry up and dig up the truth about Gunter, and pray that Harvey remembered his promise.

  24

  It was cool and breezy down by the water. Soon, the sun would start setting. The park closed at dusk, but there were a few scuba divers lingering on the beach, a man throwing a football around with a young boy…I’d be okay. Especially since one of those divers was Will.

  He’d texted me a few minutes ago and told me about his disguise. Once I’d arrived, he would approach the meeting place. He’d stay hidden as long as it was safe. Then he and Officer Random would intervene if necessary. Backup was standing by. We had no idea who I was meeting, since the phone number I’d gotten the calls from belonged to one of the only pay phones left in town. It looked like I was officially part of a sting operation.

  I approached the bathroom, then walked around the building. I hesitated at the corner, then turned into the shadows, where the mysterious caller was supposed to be ready to meet me.

  A thin, male figure stepped out of the deeper shadows of an evergreen tree. He was slouching, hands in his pockets, head down. My heart pounded. I watched his hands. Was there something in his pockets? Who was he?

  He lifted his face, and I saw who it was—Zack, Dina Hermiston’s grandson.

  “Take your hands out of your pockets really slow, Zack,” I said.

  He looked a little startled, but he complied. He showed me his empty palms.

  “Are you the one who called me?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I couldn’t decide at first, if I was going to tell. But I can’t keep this secret anymore. I know it’s only a matter of time before the police find out.”

  “Before they find out what?”

  “Who killed my grandma.”

  “You told me you knew who did it. Is that true?”

  He laughed, a strange laugh that sent a chill running down my spine. “Yeah. I know who did it. It was me.”

  “Did you just say…you did it?”

  “Of course I did it. I’m the loser in the family. I’m not going anywhere in life. All I do is screw up.” Zack was ranting now, and crying, too. Pacing back and forth.

  I just watched him, ready to fight, ready to defend myself. But he seemed completely absorbed with himself, totally unconcerned that I now knew this secret or that anyone might walk by and overhear him.

  “I mean, my sister would never do anything like this, right? Lose her mind and kill her own grandma? It doesn’t matter how much grandma hates her boyfriend or how many times she threatens to leave her out of her will if she marries him.” He turned to face me, and I put my match face on and didn’t let myself shrink back. “She’d never do that. Because she’s sensible. She’s a good girl. She got her degree in four years, like you’re supposed to do. Me? I don’t have any sense. I can’t handle the real world. I can’t even handle my own grandma. So I killed her. She threatened to cut me off, and I killed her.” He looked right at me, wild-eyed. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  What kind of question was that? One that planted a seed of doubt in my mind, that’s what kind.

  “Sure, Zack…I believe you.”

  “You have to,” he said desperately. “You have to believe Delaney had nothing to do with it.”

  That was exactly the opposite of what I was starting to believe. Either she really did have something to do with it, or Zack thought she did. Something in my gut told me he was trying to manipulate me somehow. Something was just off. Maybe it was me. I was off. Will and I were going to be okay, but now there was this…Jake thing between us. It had always been there, but I was having a hard time dealing with it being in the open. Having a hard time, once again, understanding why Will wanted anything to do with me, let alone wanted anything serious with me. Did he want anything serious with me? It had seemed like he had, but maybe now that had changed. Maybe he wasn’t sure, anyway.

  And I didn’t have Blythe to run to. Or even Lourdes, my sweet, understanding neighbor. Blythe was staying with her, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Lourdes feel like I wanted her to take my side. I didn’t know if things would ever be the same with my sister again. She’d always love me, sure, but would she still trust me? Still be my best friend?

  Now this, on top of everything! A murder confession, and probably a false one. I just couldn’t process it. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw my hands up in the air and give up on trying to figure out who had really killed Dina Hermiston. For just a second, I wanted to give up on figuring out what to do about my messed up life.

  But I wasn’t a quitter. For now, I’d play along.

  “I believe you. Zack, are you planning on going to the police?”

  If Zack really was the murderer, why was he telling me this? So he could get it off his chest and then kill me? I scanned his body again for any signs of a weapon. There was nothing I could see. I watched him closely, just in case he made a move to pull out a knife—or a meat thermometer. As long as I stayed alert and he didn’t have a firearm, I was confident I’d be okay.

  He shook his head. “I couldn’t do that.”

  “Why me, then? Why did you decide to tell me?”

  “I thought you’d understand. At the picnic, it seemed like you understood me.”

  “It did? Um, sure. I understand. You’re under a lot o
f pressure.”

  “Are you going to call the police?”

  Heck, yes, I thought. They’re already here. But I said, “Do you think I should?”

  He slumped down lower. “I guess you have to.”

  In the shadows, I saw movement. Will, gesturing to Walter to move forward. He was still all in black—still wearing the wetsuit. Probably just in case my suspicious caller spotted him.

  “Police! Hands up, Zack.” Will drew his weapon on Zack, and Walter approach him with a pair of handcuffs.

  Zack’s hands went up in the air, but the rest of his body kind of crumpled. Like he was all used up. Done.

  I felt a little ill. Not triumphant, not relieved. With Zack secure, Will holstered his weapon and radioed the waiting backup.

  Even Chief Sanders arrived.

  Will looked me over. “You’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just…can’t believe it.”

  “It is strange. I think we’re going to have a long talk with Zack.”

  I felt a little better, knowing that Will felt uneasy about this arrest, too. He’d get to the bottom of it.

  “First he threatens me, and then he confesses? I want this thing to be solved, but that just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Maybe it was meant to be just a warning,” Will said.

  “Yeah, a warning to stay out of it. And then he brought me into it.”

  “I know. Zack is really…confused. I think the loss of his grandmother really hit him hard. Survivor’s guilt.”

  “On top of feeling like a failure already.” Maybe I’d judged Zack too harshly. Maybe everyone had.

  “Wet suits?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

  “What do you think?”

  “It’s a good look for you.” Everything was a good look for Will.

  “I meant, it turned out to be the perfect disguise, right?”

  “Definitely a stroke of genius.”

  “We commandeered them from a couple of guys we found suiting up in the parking lot.”

  I smiled. “You sound like a pirate.”

  Walter, who’d handed Zack over to the other guys, grinned. “We got to flash our badges and everything.”

  “How are you going to those suits back to their owners?”

  Will said, “I told them to come by the station tomorrow to pick them up.”

  Walter fumbled with his wetsuit. “Help me out of this, Riggins.”

  “Sure.”

  “Call me when you’re done with this,” I told Will.

  “Of course. Brenna…” He lowered his voice and moved closer. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” I could barely say it; all of a sudden there was a great, big lump in my throat. He loved me. He still loved me.

  25

  By the time pulled into the dark, empty parking lot and climbed the steps at the back of the studio, up to our little apartment, I was completely drained. I expected to open the door to a living room that was equally dark and empty. But, sitting on the couch with her feet propped on the coffee table, surrounded by several bottles of nail polish and a neatly arranged pyramid of used-up tissues, was Blythe.

  “Hi,” I said.

  She didn’t answer. She pulled another tissue from the box in her lap and blew her nose. I locked the door behind me and proceeded to the couch with caution. Blythe picked up the remote and turned down the volume on The Sound of Music. Trying to cheer herself up with whiskers on kittens, I guess.

  I sat down beside her and regarded her still-wet toenails. “I like the purple.”

  “Thanks.”

  She leaned toward me a little bit, so I snuggled right up to her. I put my hand over hers. “I’m sorry.”

  “I know. I don’t know if you really even have anything to be sorry for. That’s the problem. I just can’t sort it out.”

  “What is it that bothers you the most, right now?”

  “That I never knew. I want to be mad at you for not telling me, but the thing is, I keep asking myself when you should’ve told me, and I don’t know. I don’t know the answer. And then I think about how hard that must’ve been for you, keeping it a secret all this time. And when it first happened, and it didn’t work out, not having anyone to talk to…I can’t believe you thought you couldn’t talk to me about it! But I know you, and I know it wasn’t because you thought I wouldn’t listen or because you didn’t trust me. I know you just didn’t want to face it.”

  “That’s true. I couldn’t deal with it, on top of everything else I was dealing with at the time. I didn’t want to talk about it, to make it even more real.”

  “But, Brenna, how could I never know? That’s what’s killing me! Will never even saw you two together, and he guessed, but I never knew my own sister, my best friend—”

  “Jake and I were together all the time. We were close because he was my coach. It would’ve been hard to tell the difference in how I felt. Plus, I tried to shut it off. I tried to shut it down. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of my training.”

  “But what about after? How could I not tell then?”

  “Because of when it happened.”

  Blythe’s eyes widened, and I knew she’d put the pieces together. “Right after the Olympics?”

  “At the Olympics. After I fought. What happened on the mat had already changed me. What happened with Jake got all mixed up in that.”

  “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe he did that to you. That he took advantage of you like that!”

  “He was devastated too, I’m sure.” Why was I defending him? Because he was a person. A person I’d cared about for a reason.

  “Not like you were. He should’ve known better. He should’ve put you first.” She squeezed my hand.

  “Thank you, Bly.”

  “How are things with Will?”

  “He says he loves me, but I’m still worried.”

  “Did you see him after the meeting?”

  I realized then that Blythe had no idea what I’d just been through and no idea how the Town Council meeting had gone.

  “Oh, Bly. I’m sorry I didn’t call. The meeting went pretty well. Your speech was perfect.”

  I told her about the decision to delay a vote on Harvey’s exemption, about the phone calls, about the sting at the park. I made us some instant ramen and we talked for a long time.

  “So you don’t think Zack is the guy?”

  “I don’t know what to think, but it sure sounded like he was trying to protect his sister.”

  My phone buzzed with a text message.

  “Will?” Blythe asked.

  “Yeah, he’s home.”

  “Are you going over there?”

  “No, I’m staying here with you. Let me talk to him for a minute and find out how things went.”

  I dialed Will and Blythe headed for the bedroom to change into pajamas.

  “So what’s the scoop?” I asked Will.

  “We’ve released Zack and arrested Delaney. He told us how he’d stabbed Dina in the heart.”

  “Not the head?”

  “Nope.”

  “I don’t think that’s even possible with a meat thermometer. But how did he know about the murder weapon at all?”

  “His sister. Once he realized we knew he was lying, he broke down. He told us Delaney told him about the meat thermometer. That he was trying to protect her. He felt guilty for not turning her in right away, and he believed someone should pay for the crime. He blamed himself for the conflict between his sister and grandmother. They fought over him, over what to do about him.”

  “Delaney thought she should cut him off.” I scooped up Blythe’s tissue pyramid and stuffed it in the kitchen trash.

  “Right. She was furious when Dina refused to stop giving him money with no strings attached. According to Zack, she’d found the thermometer in the grass and was planning on returning it to the barbecue area. She had it in her pocket when she and Dina fought. She snapped, and she killed Dina with it in
a rage. She was distraught about what she’d done to her grandmother, and she came to Zack and told him what she’d done. Zack felt terrible.”

  “He didn’t want his sister to go to prison.” I would never lie to the police about a murder for my my sister, but I had hidden the truth from her, in part to protect her.

  “Right. I think he’s a little bit disturbed. He doesn’t make a lot of sense. Things are kind of twisted in his mind.”

  I wandered around the living area as I talked, straightening pillows, wiping the counters. I said, “It seemed to me like he felt entitled and he didn’t blame himself for not getting the job done at school.”

  “I don’t know if realizing how passionately Delaney felt changed that, or realizing Dina was gone because of it. Maybe the entitled attitude was his way of covering up feelings he had all along that he wasn’t deserving, that he was a failure.”

  “Could be. He did seem to take his sister’s comments to heart. And she was mean about it. I mean, I was a total stranger, and she told me what a screw-up he was, right in front of me.”

  A familiar pat-pat-pat sounded on the window pane, getting louder and faster by the second. So much for the beautiful weather. The rain was back, pattering against the glass.

  “Maybe that’s why he was such a screw-up,” Will said. “Who knows which one came first? He’s used to being blamed and this time he decided to take the blame. Maybe he felt like he could finally do something right, in his own twisted way. He knows his parents and everyone else will be much more distraught over Delaney going to prison. Can you imagine how he felt, knowing that?”

  “So he just accepted his fate as the family loser?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “What about Delaney? Is she talking?”

  “Oh, yes. She confessed.”

  “What?”

  “She took the blame, and she verified her brother’s story.”

  I plopped down on the couch. What a shame. “I never would’ve thought…”

  “That she’d be capable of that?”