Zelda came outside with another bottle of wine and waited with me. "They'll be here."
I shook my head and stared at the gate. "I feel like I'm going to explode."
Zelda put her arm around my shoulders. "It's going to be okay."
I pulled away from her. "Okay? The cops think Ted killed two people. How is anything going to be okay?"
Zelda held up her hands. "We've been through worse shit, Scotti. We'll get through this."
I cried. "We? But you're going to Nebraska. How are we…"
Zelda extended her arm and clicked the remote.
I turned to the gate as Dan's Mercedes pulled in. Before he stopped I was running toward them. Ted threw open the car door and jumped out. I leapt into his arms and wrapped myself around him — I sobbed.
Ted held me tight. "It's okay, baby. I'm home."
I held onto him like my life would end if I let go.
Ted held me and let me cry until the tears subsided. He whispered in my ear, "Okay now?"
I nodded. "Yes." He set me down. He was missing half his clothes. "What happened to your shirt and jacket?"
Ted guided me toward the house. "Let's go inside."
When we came inside Zelda and Dan were talking quietly on the sofa. Dan with his own glass of wine in front of him, looked up and smiled. "Not a good night for you, I expect?"
I sat with Ted on the easy chair. I shook my head. "Worst night of my life." Ted squeezed my hand but I looked at Dan. "What happened?"
He shrugged. "The police didn't have enough to hold him. It took a little convincing but eventually they saw the light." He stood and gave Ted a serious look. "You, however, are still a person of interest, so mind your manners, son."
Ted nodded. "Roger that."
Dan patted my arm. "I'll let your fella fill you in on the details." To Ted he said, "When we get the test results, I'll call you. But I think that'll get us out of the woods." They shook hands. “For now you take care of this little lady.”
"Thanks for your help, Dan."
Dan nodded, then Zelda walked him out to his car.
Ted pulled me into his lap and tried kissing me but I pulled away. "Are you kidding? I need answers and I need them now."
He nodded. "I’ll tell you everything but can't it wait for a few minutes?"
I climbed out of his lap and stood. "No, it can't."
Zelda cleared her throat to make her presence known. "I'm going to take off now."
I hugged her tight. "Thanks for coming, I would’ve lost my mind without you." I looked at her hopefully. "Are you coming home?"
She smiled and tugged on my hair. "I'll call you later." She made a face. "And jeez do something with your hair, will you? Halloween is still weeks away."
I laughed and shoved her. "Bitch."
"Slob." She gave us one last look then left.
I turned back to Ted. He was pale and looked as though he'd been through another war. He held up his hands. "I know, I have a lot of explaining to do."
"Have you talked to Melinda or any of your family?"
He nodded. "Yeah, they're fine." He caught my frown. "They don't blame you."
I sunk down on the floor in front of him. "They should, it's my fault."
He rolled out of the chair and sat on the floor with me. "Nah. I've always been a hot head. Nobody can lay that on you."
I reared back my head. "You're not a hot head."
"I am when I'm pissed." He blew out a breath. "I guess I should've stuck with that yoga class, huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows and I laughed. "That's better."
I swatted his arm. "I'm still freaking out here. You need to tell me what happened."
Ted put his finger to my lips. "All right but you have to promise to listen. No outbursts. No faces. No questions. Until I'm finished. Deal?"
I nodded. "Deal."
Ted blew out a few more breaths and cleared his throat. "After you left this morning, I went to the courthouse for Beidemeyer's arraignment and bail hearing. I was hoping you were right and he wouldn’t get bail, but he did. So I waited until he was released and followed him. He picked up his car at the impound yard." He frowned. "It was weird – he wasn’t fazed by any of it. Just paid the impound fee, got in his car and drove to a diner. He made a call on a pay phone, then sat down to pancakes and eggs. After he finished eating, he lingered over the newspaper. Like it was just an ordinary day."
He shrugged. "After he finished his paper, he left the diner and sat in his car. A few minutes later a guy in a beat-up black Firebird drove into the lot and parked next to him. The guy got out of his car then got in with Beidemeyer. They talked for a few minutes, then the guy got out and drove away."
"What did the guy look like?"
Ted raised an eyebrow and I shut up. "Just a guy – medium height, little stocky, wore a ball cap pulled down and a baggy jacket. Maybe ex military, he had the posture, but his back was to me most of the time so I didn't get a look at his face." He shrugged. "Their body language told me they knew each other well. Could’ve been a friend, his brother, who knows?
After his buddy left, Beidemeyer pulled out and I figured that was it, he was going home. But he headed back this way." Ted drew in a deep breath. "And I thought, 'Okay now I've got you mother-fucker,' because I was sure he was heading here. Except he turned up Oro Vista and parked at the top at the Wash. He waited a few minutes like he was expecting somebody then got out of the car and headed down one of the walking paths toward the golf course.
When I was sure he hadn't seen me I got out of my car and followed him.” He grimaced. “So I’m about ten yards down the path when I heard gun shots. Small caliber, .22 or .25, and right away I knew it was trouble." He rolled his eyes. "Much as I wanted to kill the prick myself, I ran toward the shots."
"What?"
He shrugged. "There’s a lot of kids and homeless hanging around there. What was I supposed to do? Run away? Somebody could've been hurt."
I frowned. "God forbid that Captain America would run away from trouble."
Ted gave me the one-brow raise. "You want to hear this story or write an editorial?" I cranked my hand. "About twenty yards in I see them lying on the path. I didn't give a shit about Beidemeyer but the woman – I didn't know if she was dead or hurt. I had to confirm one way or the other. The gun was a few inches from Beidemeyer's hand – small Smith & Wesson. You know, a girl's gun." He chewed on his lip. "Suicide-murder from the looks of it but something was off about it. Too neat. Too easy. I tried to call the cops but I couldn't get a signal. I took a quick look around for suspects but you know what it's like out there, wild acres for miles. Whoever the shooter was, he had plenty of escape routes."
He sighed. "So I start heading back to the car, hoping to get a signal and I met a not so happy park ranger. He pointed a Sig 226 at me and it went sideways from there."
"That's it?"
He nodded. "I tried to explain the situation to the Ranger but with two dead bodies laying behind me, he wasn't interested in my explanations. When the cops showed up, I exercised my constitutional rights and shut my mouth." He shrugged. "Eventually, they let me call Joe, who got Dan down there to sort things out."
"So you prolonged it because you wouldn't talk to the cops?"
He shook his head. "They weren’t about to let me go. Talking to them would've only encouraged them to try to break me."
I frowned. "Didn't they check the gun for your fingerprints?"
Ted shrugged. "They printed me but you can't get a print off a gun anyway. The bullets, possibly." He smiled. "They've got my clothes to test for GSR and they tested my hands. That’s what Dan was talking about." He shrugged. "That should cinch it because they'll come up negative."
I frowned. "What if they find other stuff?"
He creased his forehead. "What other stuff?"
I heaved a sigh. "You threatened him, Ted. And there were witnesses."
He nodded. "Yeah, it occurred to me that it might be a set-up. "The guy was stalking you, I'
m ex military and people probably saw me at the arraignment too."
"And?"
He shook his head. "Joe went to my place to check on things."
I frowned. "What kind of things?"
He rubbed his face. "To make sure no ammo or guns were missing at my place." He rubbed my arm. "It's cool, nothing missing."
I let out a sigh. "What did Daniels say to you?"
Ted shook his head. "Just the usual cop-speak." He frowned. "Weird, but I don't think his heart was in it."
"Who Daniels? Why?"
Ted shrugged. "Seemed like he was going through the motions. He had no choice but to take me in. I was at the scene, I'm former Special Forces, and one of the victims was stalking my girlfriend. Perfect profile for a suspect."
"Then his heart should’ve been in it."
Ted tilted his head and looked at me wistfully. "Maybe he has a soft spot for you? And I cooperated — surrendered my clothes for blood and testing. Even offered to take a polygraph. Considering how good I looked as a suspect, I'd be insane to do that if I had anything to do with it."
I scooted next to him and lay my head on his chest. "So after the tests come back it'll be over?"
Ted tipped my chin up. "You thought I lost it, didn’t you?"
I sucked in my lips. "Yeah I was scared. But in my heart I knew you couldn’t have done that.” I pinched him. “Now if Beidemeyer had ended up in the hospital in traction, I’d figure you for the perp." I snapped my fingers. "Like that."
He laughed. "Oh yeah? You could see that, huh?" But the laughter was short-lived and he turned inward. "Shit."
I squinted at him. "What are you thinking?"
He sighed. "That I seem to be their only suspect."
I frowned. "Well when the tests come back negative they’ll have to find another suspect." I remembered what Beidemeyer said to me in the parking lot Saturday night. "What if someone is setting you up? Remember how Beidemeyer swore he was being set up the other night?"
Ted furrowed his brow. "Even if that was true. Who’s to say he didn’t meet with Marika to deliver some payback? And now that I think about it, I hope it is a murder-suicide."
I nodded. "Because then not only are you off the hook but we also don’t have to worry about another boogie man?"
He hugged me. "Try not to let your imagination go wild."
I pulled away from him. "It's not my imagination, Ted. It's a real possibility. If Beidemeyer was telling the truth then he didn't kill Ron. That means somebody else did. What if he planned to tell the cops everything he knew? Maybe that's why he met Marika in the Wash to tell her."
Ted frowned. "So then she pulled a gun on him and they struggled? He shoots her, then realizes he's screwed and shoots himself?"
I gaped at him. "But you just said the scene looked too neat."
Ted threw up his hands and sighed. "Can we just concentrate on moving away from this? Get me cleared and let the cops do their job?"
I sighed and leaned against him. "Sure, if you promise not to pull a stunt like this again." I looked up at him. “You could’ve just gone to work this morning and let it be."
He kissed the top of my head. "Said the woman who can’t mind her own business for five minutes."
Chapter Forty-One
The alarm shot me out of sleep like a flying Wallenda and straight into the arms of impending doom. Squinting in the darkness, I braced for something to jump out at me, and when Ted touched my arm, he got a poke in the nose. He bolted up, rubbing his nose. "What’d you do that for?"
I shivered and hugged myself. "You startled me."
Ted switched on the lamp and pulled me down. "It's okay, you're safe. It's just us."
I put my arm around his waist and hooked my leg over his. "Stay with me today –don't go to work."
He tilted up my face and kissed me. "It's over, babe. It's just a regular old Tuesday."
The more he tried to reassure me the more worried I became. Clinging to him I said, "Please don't leave me today."
Ted looked into my eyes. "Hey. Come on, Scotti. I'm okay. Nothing's going to happen."
I shook my head. "Say it all you want but I don't believe it."
Ted stroked my cheek. "You’re really that worried?" I nodded. "Okay then I’ll stay with you today." He chuckled. "I'll be your food truck bitch and I won’t leave your side all day. Sound good?"
I nodded and felt like I could breathe again. "You promise?"
He kissed me. "I promise."
"Good." I rolled out of bed and tossed on some clothes. "Now take a shower, you smell like jail." A pillow flew past my head and hit the wall as I ducked out of the room.
I went to the kitchen and opened the windows. The cool air felt good on my face and the day ahead of me seemed less ominous. I shook off the cobwebs of sleep and started breakfast. By the time Ted was showered and dressed and Matt walked through the door, I had pancakes, eggs, bacon, and coffee waiting for them.
Matt didn’t even notice breakfast and went straight to Ted. He threw his arms around him. "Oh man!" He clapped Ted hard on the back. "Damn it, man."
Ted hugged his little brother. "It's okay, bro. It’s over."
They were like two kids clutching each other for reassurance. I imagined when Ted was deployed to the Middle East there'd been a similar scene. Matt would've been ten or eleven back then and looked like that young boy now as he clung to his brother. Suddenly aware I was watching, Matt shoved Ted back and shook a fist at him. "You freaked us out, man. Don't pull that shit again."
A wave of guilt hit me. Ted's family hadn’t seen him yet. They'd gone through the same worry I had last night and I'd kept him to myself. I touched Matt's sleeve. "Oh Matt, I'm so sorry."
Matt knitted his brows. "Why Scotti?"
"We should've come over last night, when Ted got out. I didn't even call you guys."
Matt put his hand on my shoulder. "No, no, no. Don't cry boss lady." He bent down and looked into my eyes. "He called when he got out. His lawyer called. Zelda called. It was a whole call-fest, dude. We were all on the speed dial." He backhanded Ted's arm. "Not the first time big bro got his ass dragged in." They laughed gleefully. A look passed between them that was definitely bro-speak and wouldn't be translated for me.
"How's your mom?"
Matt squeezed my hand and smiled sweetly. "We're good. It's all good." He sniffed the air and his green eyes gleamed at the sight of breakfast on the butcher-block. "Looks like you got a serious food emergency." He pulled out a stool. "Stand back, I'm going in."
After breakfast we headed out to feed the masses. We hawked desserts and coffee so well that there weren't any leftovers for Matt to take home at the end of the day. Though between the two of them, half my stock was gone before noon.
Ted and Matt took turns driving and during a break tried to teach me to parallel park the green monster but the dumpster I backed into would never be the same. And I saw a side of Ted that was playful and goofy that I really liked. Seeing him with Matt made me think about how he’d be with kids. I decided he’d be a great father and it hurt a little that I wouldn’t be able to give him that. But my personal experience told me there were lots of foster kids out there who’d die to have a dad like Ted.
After we stocked the truck Matt made his exit – promising to be back bright and early the next morning. I sent Ted back to the shower to wash off the pie stink. While he was singing and soaping, I called Melinda. She was glad to hear from me but I could tell she was anxious to see her boy.
"He’s in the shower but I’ll send over when he’s done. He should be with you guys tonight — I can’t hog him all to myself."
"No Scotti, we can’t leave you by yourself. Just come over for dinner when you’re ready." Sounded like a perfect compromise to me and I told her to expect us within the hour.
I did busy work on the laptop while Ted showered. Despite my stress-free day, Beidemeyer's death and his last words to me were still in my head. The man was a creep, no doubt about that.
But his claim of being set up rang true. The question was, by whom? I hoped it wasn't one of the guys but I had to accept that was a possibility. All Mike’s warnings about the Jody could've just been his mind protecting him from the truth. I would’ve loved to believe the murder-suicide theory but it seemed too convenient, too easy. I was tempted to call Daniels but in the current circumstances he wouldn’t discuss it with me.
M.urder R.eady to E.at (A Scotti Fitzgerald Murder Mystery Book 2) Page 26
