5 Conditioner and a Corpse

by Cindy Bell

  “And you were still in trouble with the bad boys, hmm?” Bekki asked and again tried to move slightly to the side. She was trying to get to the cover of the reception desk, but the moment she moved to the side he pointed the gun directly at her.

  “They're the ones who gave me this fancy weapon,” he said with a grim smile. “They gave me a choice. They would shoot me right away, or I could get their drugs back to them, and then they might let me go. So, imagine my desperation Bekki, when the police began questioning me, all because a nosy hairdresser can't stay out of my business.”

  “Well, I guess you picked the wrong town to commit a murder in,” Bekki pointed out, though her voice had grown a bit shaky. “What are you going to do when they come looking for the drugs, and you still haven't found them?” Bekki asked, hoping he wouldn't realize that she was stalling.

  “Well, I was hoping that you would be able to help me out with that. Since you are Jasmine's friend and you're the only one she knows in this god forsaken town, I know you have to have the drugs. So where are they, Bekki?”

  Bekki felt the heat of his words as he stepped closer to her. She could see his finger playing lightly on the trigger of the weapon he carried. With her heart pounding she knew that she would only have one chance. One mistake would mean the end of it all for her, because Jeff had nothing to lose. He had already killed once, and he was willing to do it again, whether or not she had the drugs.

  “Sure, of course,” Bekki whispered. “Jasmine came to me when she found the drugs.”

  “Did she?” he asked and Bekki felt the gun looming closer to her as he hovered right in front of her.

  “Yes. She wanted to know what to do with them. So I told her I'd hide them for her,” Bekki cleared her throat.

  “You told her that you'd hide them for her,” he repeated with disbelief. “Even though your boyfriend is a detective? Why didn't you just tell him?”

  “I didn't want to get Jasmine into trouble,” Bekki explained with a slight shrug. “Just because she's my friend, didn't mean that Nick wouldn't arrest her for possession. He's a very by the book detective.”

  “I see,” he nodded a little. “So where are the drugs Bekki? Where have you hidden them?”

  Bekki tilted her head slightly away from the gun. “I'll go get them for you.”

  “How stupid do you think I am?” he scoffed, and Bekki bit her lip to keep from offering an honest answer. “Take me to them,” he said sternly.

  “Okay,” Bekki nodded and raised one hand in the air to indicate her surrender. She was still holding the broom in her other hand. As she turned away from him, she did so slowly at first. But the moment her heel pivoted against the floor her body snapped into fluid motion. She swung the broom hard and swift around behind her, knocking it into the gun and the knuckles of the hand that held it as she stepped out of range.

  “Ouch,” Jeff complained as his knuckles instantly reddened. Unfortunately, he didn't drop the weapon as Bekki had hoped. Instead his grip tightened. In an instantaneous follow up Bekki swung the pole of the broom upward and struck out directly at Jeff's temple. Jeff ducked beneath the broom and reached for the wrist of the hand that was grasping it. Bekki stepped backwards and in the same moment attempted to sweep her leg against his to knock him off balance, but he was already tugging her forward by her wrist, which sent her off balance. He ripped the broom out of her hand and threw it hard across the room. It bounced off the window, wedging a few of the blinds open. He pulled Bekki's arm downward hard until her body was bent forward slightly and pointed the gun directly in her face.

  “The only reason you are still breathing is because I want those drugs,” Jeff growled and gave her arm another tug. “Now take me to them.”

  “Okay,” Bekki said breathlessly. When he lowered the weapon from her face Bekki could see that any trace of civility he may have once possessed was long gone.

  “Now,” he insisted as she straightened up.

  “It's over here,” she gasped as she headed across the salon, towards the partially opened window. He followed two steps behind her, his gun still aimed in her direction. She crouched down in front of one of the stations and began to tug at the bottom drawer. She was pretending that it was stuck, that she couldn't get it open.

  “I'm pretty sure I put it in this drawer.” she muttered. She tugged again, and pretended again that the drawer would not move. Then he did what she had been hoping he would. He tucked the gun back into his belt and reached down to help her. In that moment she reached up to grab the gun from his waistband, but before she could, he shoved her hard into the corner of the station. Bekki struck the side of her head and sunk to the floor with a gasp. She blinked through pain-blurred eyes up at the man who stood over her, his gun pointed directly down at her chest.

  “Do you think that was wise?” he asked with narrowed eyes. “I don't think you understand how serious this situation is, Bekki. You should know, if you don't give me the supplies, I won't stop with you. I'll shoot you dead right here, then I'll go after the rest of the people you care about in this common little town. Got me?” he kicked her sharply in the side and Bekki curled up in pain.

  “Get up,” he growled. “Get the supplies.”

  Bekki rolled over onto her side and pushed herself to her feet. The pain in her side made it feel like she might have a broken rib, as each time she took a breath a stabbing sensation coursed through her. She stumbled towards the supply closet, and as she did, she leaned against another one of the stations. She could feel him right behind her. She knew that once he figured out she didn't actually have the supplies, she would become useless to him. She only had one chance. She had to take it. When her hand swept across the station she curled it around a large white hair dryer. She swung swiftly around and slammed the hair dryer right into the side of his face. As he stumbled she picked up a bottle of hairspray and squirted it directly into his eyes.

  “Agh! Ouch!” he winced and wiped at his eyes. He was stumbling backwards towards the window when Bekki lunged for a chair to strike him with. In the next moment the glass in the front window shattered, and Jeff's eyes grew wide. He stumbled forward a step or two as Bekki ducked to the side. The gun fell from his hand as he gasped for breath. Bekki lunged for it and held it tightly in her hand, but did not fire it. She could see the blood spreading through the shoulder of his dress shirt. Someone had shot him through the front window. Bekki stayed low as she had no idea whether it was the drug dealers who had shot Jeff, or the police.

  “Bekki,” Nick called out from outside the broken window. “Unlock the door, I can't get it open,” he said quickly. Bekki sighed with relief and headed for the door. As she walked past Jeff he reached for her ankle, but she easily evaded his grasp. She had to struggle to unlock the door, it was still sticking, but when she did, Nick pushed inside followed by several uniformed officers.

  “Are you okay?” he asked her with urgency in his voice. “Are you hurt?”

  “No,” Bekki shook her head quickly. “Not really,” she tried to keep her breaths shallow and held out the gun by the butt of it. “Just get this thing out of my hands, will you?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with a hint of hope.

  “You're amazing!” he exclaimed with a slight chuckle and took the gun from her.

  She glanced over her shoulder to see Jeff subdued on the floor. It looked like he had only been hit in the shoulder, but the way he was writhing and moaning, Bekki could tell that he was in a lot of pain. She felt a little guilty for feeling happy about that, but all she could think of was Jasmine's murder.

  “I had no idea if you could hear me or not,” Bekki said with a sigh of relief as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I didn't even know if you had answered.”

  “You have your mom to thank for that,” Nick replied. “But I'm afraid,” he paused as the paramedics moved past him to tend to Jeff's shoulder. “I might have gotten you into a little trouble with her. Apparently, I was supposed to be helping you close
up the salon. When she called me to check, I told her I hadn't heard from you. When I hung up the phone, it rang right away, and it was you. I heard you talking in the background. I've recorded the entire conversation, so we have Jeff's confession.”

  “That's great,” Bekki said as she wiped a hand across her forehead and tried to clear her mind. “I hope he never gets to walk the streets again.”

  “The judge will make sure of that,” Nick said with a solid nod. His gaze shifted past Bekki to Jeff who was now handcuffed to a gurney. “With his confession there's no way he's going to wiggle out of this one.”

  “Bekki, Bekki, are you okay?” Morris called out as he jogged up to the salon. “I'm so sorry, I went to check on Sammy, because she said Nick was on his way, I'm so sorry!”

  “Don't be,” Bekki assured him. “It's okay Morris, everything's fine.”

  Morris felt relieved and then bear hugged her, which caused Bekki to cry out in pain.

  “You're not okay,” Nick accused and then noticed the deep, dusky bruise on the side of her head. He noticed the way she was carrying herself slightly tilted to the side. He reached for her shirt and began to tug it upward.

  “Don't,” she winced as even the slight movement of the shirt shot a new wave of pain through her.

  “Bekki, we have to get you some medical attention,” Nick insisted as he waved to the paramedics who were nearby.

  When the paramedics inspected the large bruise on her side they confirmed that it was likely a broken rib.

  “Let's get you to the hospital for some scans,” one suggested.

  “No,” Bekki shook her head and held tightly to Nick's hand. “I just want to go home.”

  “Bekki,” Nick warned with a sigh. “Remember that time you fell off the dock?” he asked her. “You hit your head on the side of it and got tangled up with the cooler underneath. You wouldn't let any of us tell your parents.”

  “But you did anyway,” Bekki reminded him with a subtle glare.

  “And?” Nick asked one brow raised.

  “And it turned out I had a concussion…” Bekki began to say but her eyes were widening with every word she spoke. “That's it Nick!” she suddenly announced, and then winced at taking too big a breath. “I know where the drugs are, I know where they are!”

  “What?” Nick narrowed his eyes. “One of the men we arrested admitted he was part of a drug running scheme with Barnes, but without having the actual drugs we can't trace them to the actual dealer.”

  “Nick,” she met his eyes with a slow smile. “I want to see the stars.”

  He hesitated and glanced at the paramedic who only shrugged.

  “I'll go to the hospital and get checked out,” Bekki promised. “But first take me to the water, to the dock, okay?”

  “Okay,” Nick sighed and gave her a confused look. She knew he had no idea what she was up to, but she was touched that he would agree to it anyway.

  He drove them down to the water. As he helped her out of the car she leaned heavily on his arm. The beauty of the place struck her, the combination of the early evening starlight, the subtle lap of the water, and the quiet creak of the old slab of wood rocking back and forth.

  “In the cooler,” she whispered.

  “Do you think that's still there?” Nick asked with surprise.

  “Just look,” Bekki murmured. “I used to tell Jasmine about this place. The time we spent here together. If she wanted to hide the drugs, this is the place she might have thought of.”

  “Maybe she just tossed them out, or flushed them,” Nick pointed out as he walked towards the edge of the water.

  “No,” Bekki shook her head. “She was going to turn them in. She was a good person Nick, and she never would have been a willing part of any of this.”

  Nick tugged the cooler out from under the dock. When he opened it up he shook his head with surprise.

  “It's here,” he called out to Bekki. “It's here!” He pulled out his phone and called in the find. As he walked back to Bekki she admired his moonlight streaked hair, and the way his lips seemed to anticipate their kiss before he even offered it. It was soft, as if he was afraid to hurt her, but full of reverence.

  “Let me take you to the hospital,” he murmured.

  “Yes,” Bekki nodded as he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

  ***

  After spending a few hours being carted from scan to scan Bekki was released from hospital with the orders to rest. Bekki actually liked the idea. She wanted nothing more than her very soft bed, and Nick's very warm body next to hers. He helped her inside the house.

  “Let me get you something to eat,” he offered as he headed for the kitchen.

  “No,” Bekki shook her head as she headed for the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. He followed after her to make sure she was comfortable.

  “Want me to get you some extra pillows?” he suggested.

  “No,” Bekki shook her head again and stared up at him with appreciation. “Just lay with me,” she pleaded. He smiled a little and kicked off his shoes. As he climbed into bed beside her he was careful not to jostle the mattress too much. When the warmth of his body curled around hers, Bekki could breathe easier.

  “I'm so glad you're here,” she murmured as she began to drift off to sleep.

  “I'm here,” he replied with affection. “I always will be.”

  The End

  More Cozy Mysteries by Cindy Bell

  Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mysteries

  Hairspray and Homicide

  A Dyed Blonde and a Dead Body

  Mascara and Murder

  Pageant and Poison

  Mistletoe, Makeup and Murder

  Hairpin, Hair Dryer and Homicide

  Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mysteries

  Murdering the Roses

  Dead in the Daisies

  Killing the Carnations