by V. M. Burns
A few seconds later, the front door opened and, to my surprise, in walked Red.
My initial reaction was that he’d planned this as a way of protecting me. However, one look at his face told me that wasn’t the case.
Red was in full-blown law enforcement mode, and I knew his presence here had nothing to do with me. In fact, he glanced in my direction and barely nodded as he focused in on Dallas Simpson.
“You’re the officer who came by the other night.” He glanced at me but quickly returned his gaze to Red. “I’ve answered all of your questions multiple times. This is harassment, and I’m going to call my lawyer if this doesn’t stop.”
Red walked up to him. “Is there someplace we can talk in private?”
I expected Dallas to escort him to his office and immediately started to back up. However, he surprised me by saying, “I don’t have any secrets.” He spread his hands wide. “This is definitely starting to feel like harassment.” He turned to me. “Mrs. Echosby has apologized and acknowledged she made a mistake, so I think it’s bad taste for the police to continue to persecute me.” He huffed.
In fact, I could feel his energy level rising and knew an explosion was coming. I didn’t have to wait long.
“My wife and I are trying to run a respectable business and you have no right to come traipsing in here, asking questions, taking pictures, and looking for evidence that doesn’t exist.” With each statement, his voice and gestures grew larger, to the point that his arms were flailing so much he looked like he was trying to land a plane. Some of the workers in the day care room had stopped and walked closer to the lobby to see what the commotion was about.
Red stood still, but I noticed the vein on the side of his head pulse.
Joe and Turbo had also grown still and yet, they seemed more alert than they had moments earlier.
Dallas ranted on for several moments. He threatened to contact the mayor, write letters to his golf partner who was neighbors with several state representatives, and finished with his attorney who would sue the state of Tennessee, the TBI, the police department, and Red personally.
When he stopped for a breath, Red said quietly, “I’m sorry to inform you there’s been an accident.”
Dallas’s face went from red to stark white. “An accident? Who?”
“I’m sorry to inform you that your wife was killed in a car accident on her way back from Georgia.” He paused. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Dallas let out a scream and then collapsed onto the floor.
Chapter 13
Red ordered Madison to get some water. He then worked to revive Dallas.
Madison returned with the water. Several of the kennel workers had come out to watch.
I turned to Madison. “Is the vet onsite today?”
She nodded.
“Go get him,” Red ordered.
She hurried to the back and returned quickly with a short, brown-skinned man with jet-black hair and glasses.
“I’m Dr. Patel.” He squatted next to Dallas. “What happened?”
“He received a shock and fainted.” Red squatted nearby.
Dr. Patel went to work. He lifted Dallas’s eyelids and checked his pulse. He turned to Red. “Help me get him to the back.”
Red stood up from a squatted position and bent over. He reached underneath the back of Dallas’s knees and pushed his legs backward so his feet were tucked up against his butt and his knees were in the air. He grabbed Dallas’s left wrist and pulled him forward. With legs spread wide, Red lowered his left shoulder and bent down. This move allowed Dallas’s upper torso to fall over his back. He grabbed one of Dallas’s legs and then stood up. He shifted the man’s dead weight slightly so it was balanced. The entire maneuver took less than ten seconds. When he was upright, he followed the doctor to the back. Red walked upright and didn’t appear to feel any strain, even with Dallas wrapped around his shoulders like a fur stole.
Several of the workers stood nearby, mouths open, and shock registered on their faces. They looked unsure of what to do.
Joe moved forward. “I think you should all go back to work. Mr. Simpson will be well taken care of.”
Madison nodded. “He’s right.”
Slowly everyone returned to what they were doing. That left, David, Joe, and me in the lobby with Madison.
She took a few deep breaths but was obviously shaken up.
David stepped forward. “You’re looking a bit peaked yourself.” He placed an arm around her back. “Let’s get you a cup of coffee or tea.”
She hesitated and glanced back at the reception area.
David glanced at me. “My mom can fill in.”
I nodded. “You go in the back and take a few moments. I’ll look after things here.” I smiled.
She nodded gratefully and allowed David to escort her to the back.
I walked behind the counter and sat down.
One of the workers returned and walked to the desk. She had a card in her hand. “Are these the two dogs for the spa package?”
I exchanged a glance with Joe, who shrugged. I wasn’t sure how long Red would be or whether or not Madison would be in any shape to continue working. I turned to the girl. “Yes. This is Aggie.” I handed the poodle to her. Then I turned to Joe.
He handed over Turbo’s leash, but before he gave it to her, he said, “He isn’t to play with any other dogs, just Aggie.”
She smiled and escorted the dogs away.
Joe looked at his watch.
“You don’t have to stay. I know you need to go meet with the breeder.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I’m just going to sit here and smile and greet whoever walks through that door. You go!”
He left and I looked at the scheduling computer. It appeared to be a glorified calendar. Only one person came in during the few minutes while I sat there, a man in a business suit with a dog I recognized as a shih tzu. The dog’s name was Lester. I saw from the calendar Lester had an appointment for day care and grooming. The dog looked bored, and his owner looked impatiently at his watch. I wasn’t sure what button triggered the workers to come out, so I smiled and extended my hands. His owner deposited the bundle of fluff in my arms, turned, and walked out, muttering something about his wife picking up the dog later.
Lester and I sat at the desk and waited for Madison or someone else to come back. If no one came, I would have to leave the front desk and take him back myself. As we sat, I got a text message from Dixie. I shifted the dog so both thumbs were free and I was able to respond. I quickly updated her on the latest news about Keri Lynn and even managed to take a selfie of Lester and me.
Dixie confirmed he was a shih tzu, which she said was one of the toy breeds. Before I could respond, the back door opened and Red came out.
“Is this where you’ve been working?”
I explained that Madison was shaken up and David took her to the back.
He nodded.
“Red, it can’t be Keri Lynn in the car. I mean, how could it be?” I shook my head. “It can’t be Keri Lynn. I saw him.” I looked around to make sure no one was listening. I leaned close and whispered, “I saw him strangle her.”
He shook his head. “She’s on camera. She stopped for gas and used her credit card. We have eyewitness testimony who confirmed it was Keri Lynn Simpson driving.”
“But…how is that possible?”
The back door opened, and David and Madison came out. Her color was closer to normal, but she still looked a bit wobbly.
“I can take over from here.” She extended her arms.
I stood up and handed over Lester. She swiped the screen and, within seconds, the back door opened and the same person who had taken Turbo and Aggie came out and collected Lester.
Madison sat down. She forced a smile that never made it
to her eyes. “Thank you.”
“Are you sure you’re up to working? I can stay. I came to work today and I’m fine with sitting here if you give me a quick training on how to work your fancy system.”
This time the smile did reach her eyes. “Thank you, Mrs. Echosby, but I’m fine.”
“Please call me Lilly.” I glanced at David, who was hovering nearby.
“I’m going to sit out here with her and then I can take her home. I don’t think she should be driving.”
I hid a smile and nodded.
“Why don’t you take Lilly’s car? I’ll drive your mom home.”
I had forgotten Red was standing there until he spoke. I turned to look at him.
“If that’s okay with you?” he asked.
I nodded and turned back to Madison. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do?”
She shook her head.
I turned to leave but quickly turned back to Madison. “What about Turbo and Aggie?”
“No worries, Mom. I’ll bring them home.”
I asked Madison if it would be okay if I paid for the services in advance, and she assured me I could. She then took my credit card and processed the transaction.
Red and I left together. Once we were in the car, I noticed he wasn’t driving toward my house.
Before I could ask, he said, “Let’s grab lunch, and I can fill you in.”
I looked at my watch and noticed it was a lot later than I realized. It was only when I saw the time that I realized how hungry I was. My stomach reinforced the realization by growling.
“I’ll take that growl as a yes.” Red grinned and drove to one of the new restaurants in town that we’d talked about trying but hadn’t yet made it to.
The restaurant wasn’t crowded, so we were able to be seated immediately.
We took care of the important business first. We ordered beverages and scanned the menu. When our waiter returned, we placed our orders. Once those decisions were completed, we were able to focus.
“What happened?”
Red took a sip of the coffee he’d ordered. “I got a call from the state police about the accident. One of the officers remembered I’d been asking questions about Keri Lynn Simpson, so when the accident was reported, they called me.”
“But what happened to cause the accident?”
He shrugged. “She left Georgia on her way back to Chattanooga early this morning. She must have wanted to avoid rush hour traffic in Atlanta, so she timed her departure accordingly.” He sighed. “She never made it out of Georgia.” He tapped the table with his fork. “Apparently she’d been visiting a sick relative in rural Georgia. We don’t know for sure. The traffic investigators will have to take a close look to tell us exactly what happened. However, best guess at the moment is she was in the mountains and came around a corner too quickly. Sometimes the fog settles on the mountain and those roads can be slippery.” He shrugged. “We think she lost control of her car and the car careened over the side of the mountain.”
“That’s horrible.” Visions of Dixie traveling up Lookout Mountain made my eyes fill with tears.
Red slid a handkerchief toward me.
I cried. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I barely knew that woman. It’s just…I worry about Dixie driving up Lookout Mountain.”
Red was well aware of how afraid I was of driving in the mountains and didn’t say anything. He merely reached out and gave my hand a squeeze.
“I just don’t understand how this can be. I mean, are they sure it was Keri Lynn?”
Red nodded. “I had one of the troopers take a look at the camera footage from the gas station.” He nodded. “It was definitely her.”
“What’s wrong?” I looked at him.
“Nothing.” He rubbed the back of his neck and the scar that covered one side of his face pulsed.
“You didn’t get in trouble for looking into this, did you?” I waited.
“I’ll be fine.”
I could tell by the look in his eyes and the red tint that traveled up his neck that he was lying.
I waited.
Eventually, he sighed. “Dallas is claiming I’ve been harassing him. I’ve been ordered to stay away. My boss thinks…he thinks I’m biased.”
He didn’t need to tell me I was the one who was accused of creating the bias.
He looked up. “It’ll be fine. Really.”
My brain felt like mush. Thoughts raced around, but I wasn’t able to connect them into complete sentences. Keri Lynn had been alive this morning.
Our lunch arrived. The hunger I felt just a few short minutes ago had vanished, and the sight and smell of food made me want to gag. I excused myself and found the ladies’ room.
I took several deep breaths and splashed my face with cold water. After a few minutes, the wave of nausea I’d felt earlier passed and I went back to the table.
During my absence, Red had had the waiter box up both of our meals, so when I returned to the table, I was staring at a Styrofoam box.
I mouthed a thank-you and he nodded as we left.
He didn’t say much during the ride home, other than to ask if I needed him to stop anywhere.
He pulled up to the house. “Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need me to get you anything?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your lunch.”
“You know I don’t care about that.”
It took a little work, but I was finally able to convince him I was fine.
It wasn’t long after he left that I got a text from Dixie. She was in the area.
I made tea and she was at the house by the time it finished brewing.
We sat outside on the patio and drank in silence for several minutes. Eventually, she turned to me. “I can’t take this. What happened?”
I told her all that I knew and sat silent.
“Okay, so now what?”
I stared, confused. “What do you mean?”
“What are we going to do now? You can’t just give up.” She stared at me as though I was a stranger and she was trying to remember my name.
“There’s nothing more to do. Obviously, I was wrong. Obviously, I’m a crazy woman who is hallucinating and no one, especially Red, will ever believe me again.” I turned my head away so she couldn’t see the tears that were about to overflow.
That was when she smacked the back of my head.
“Ouch!” I turned to face her. “What did you do that for?”
“Well, somebody had to smack some sense into you.” She grinned. “Might as well be me.”
I stared at her openmouthed for several moments. Eventually, laughter bubbled up inside me.
We both laughed. We laughed long and hard. When one of us stopped, we looked at each other and started all over again. Eventually, we pulled ourselves together.
“I can’t believe you did that.” I rubbed the back of my head.
“Well, you were talking like a crazy woman, so I had to do something.”
“I’m not talking crazy. It’s the truth.”
“First off, you are not crazy and you don’t have hallucinations—”
“But—”
“Don’t but me. Lilly Ann Echosby, I’ve known you for close to thirty years. You’re an intelligent woman. You’re not crazy. My aunt Constance, who believed her brain was a radio transmitter that she could use to talk to aliens in outer space, was crazy. My uncle Horatio, who liked to run around the neighborhood buck naked in the middle of the winter and tried to dig his way to China, was crazy.” She pointed at me. “You are intelligent and caring, and you’ve got a mind as sharp as a meat cleaver. So, stop wallowing in self-pity and turn on that brain and let’s figure this thing out.”
I looked at my friend and struggled to find the right words. “Dixie, I appreciat
e the faith you have in me, but I can’t…I don’t know what you’re saying.”
She sighed. “Look, I’m saying you’re not crazy.” She looked at me expectantly.
“Okay, maybe crazy was a bit of an exaggeration. Maybe delusional would be more accurate.”
She reached over and smacked me again.
“Ouch.” I rubbed the back of my head. “Now, what was that for?”
“I’m trying to get your brain to reset because right now, it’s stuck on stupid.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She huffed. After a long pause she said, “Look, remember what Sherlock Holmes said?”
“Elementary?”
“Stop being daft.” She looked up and clucked her tongue. “Once you take away the impossible, whatever’s left is the truth.”
I smiled. “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
“Yeah, that’s it. So do it.” She stared at me. “Eliminate the impossible.”
I stared at her for several minutes.
“Do I need to smack you again?” She raised her hand.
I held up my hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay.” I thought.
“I’ll start. You’re not crazy.” She held up her hand and ticked off each item. “You’re not hallucinating. Nor are you delusional.”
I nodded. “Then, that means…” I stared at her.
She nodded. “That means you actually saw someone get murdered.”
“But how can that be? If Keri Lynn died this morning, that would have to mean…”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
“It wasn’t Keri Lynn I saw murdered. It had to be someone else…” The realization hit me. I stared at Dixie. “Heather?”
“Who?”
“Heather. She worked at Pet Haven. She had long blond hair. She looked a lot like Keri Lynn.” I was so excited I was talking quickly. “Oh my God. She’s the one I thought was having an affair with Dallas.” I thought back to the video. “Oh my God, it had to be Heather because of the watch.”
“Okay, now you’ve lost me. What watch?”
“I knew something was off.”
