“Let me think about it,” he said. “Are you going over there tomorrow?”
“Yep.”
“Be careful,” he said. “Ava won’t like you snooping around in her life.”
“What? Lil ole me?”
“Just be careful.”
“I’m so good at this I could be a professional,” she said. “Bonnie’s going to glue herself to Ava’s side and keep her distracted while I snoop.”
“They have a security guy.”
“He’s a drunk,” Hannah said. “Maggie’s going to get him liquored up.”
“Are there any donuts left?”
“Just one,” Hannah said. “But I don’t think you’ve earned it.”
“What more can I do?”
“I don’t know if you can do more,” she said. “I may need a younger man for this. An underdog.”
“I can promise you my blade will not break.”
Sam pounced, Hannah squealed, the donut was squished, but neither of them much cared.
Melissa lay in bed, unable to sleep. She still felt numb and exhausted, but her mind was restless. When her phone made a noise, she pounced on it.
It was Tommy.
“Patrick called me,” he texted. “Do you want me to come home?”
“No,” she texted back. “I’m fine. You stay in school.”
They exchanged some chit chat and told each other they loved each other.
Afterward, she felt better. At least she felt something other than helpless grief. Ava could take everything she had, but she couldn’t come between her and Tommy. That thought made her wonder if Ava would be tempted to try something on Tommy.
“I’d kill her,” Melissa said out loud.
Her phone made another noise, and it was Patrick this time. She ignored it and then deleted it. She looked at the time; he was just about to leave work at the Thorn. On impulse, she got out of bed, put on some clothes and shoes, turned off the alarm, and let herself out of Delia’s house, locking it behind her.
It was clear and cold; bound to be a hard frost before morning. All the stars in the sky sparkled, and the moon was just a sideways smile in the dark sky. She walked to the end of Iris Avenue and stood at the corner, behind an oak tree. She watched the part-time waitress leave the bar. Then the light went off above the side entrance.
There was a movement in the alley behind the bar.
She blinked and squinted to try to make out what moved out of the darkness. It was a person, a slim form, dressed in a black hoodie and dark pants. Melissa’s heart thumped as this person went up the wheelchair ramp to the side door, the door opened, and the person slid inside, closing the door behind.
Melissa started to move, walking faster and faster, not thinking about what she was doing. She marched up the ramp, reached the side door of the bar, and pulled on the handle; it was locked. Thinking fast, she took out her keys and searched through them until she found the one she used to use on this door. It still fit. She unlocked it and pulled it open, trying not to make any noise.
The back room was dark, with only a shaft light from the front to illuminate a sliver of it. Melissa could hear Patrick in the front room doing closing chores. She looked around but could not see where the other person had gone. She stepped forward, toward the pull-down stairs to the attic, and her foot kicked against something that was on the floor. She picked the pieces up– a hoodie, a pair of leggings, and small hiking boots, too small to be a man’s.
Melissa looked up toward the top of the ladder, where she could see candlelight flickering against the slanted ceiling.
So this was what they did and where they did it.
What they were still doing.
She considered her options.
She balled up the clothes, clutched them and the shoes to her chest, and left the way she came in, locking up behind her. She went back to the alley and tossed the bundle in the dumpster.
Then she made a call.
Melissa waited, concealed up in the branches of the oak tree until she saw the revolving, colorful lights of a county sheriff’s car coming up Rose Hill Avenue. It was followed by two more. Melissa grimaced; she didn’t realize there’d be more than one squad car responding to a suspected burglary.
Three county cops exited their cars and converged on the corner next to the bar; then one disappeared around to the front, and another came back to the side door. The third stayed at the corner. Melissa could hear the cop at the front, pounding on the door. Then the cop nearest to her did the same on the side door. He drew his gun as the door opened and Patrick came out with his hands up.
At least he was dressed.
He talked to the side door cop while the other two came around the side of the building; their guns were drawn. Patrick turned around, placed his hands against the wall, and was patted down. He pulled out Patrick’s wallet, removed his ID, and examined it by flashlight. They allowed Patrick to turn around, talked to him some more, and then stood around for a while, as one of the cops spoke into the radio handset stuck to his shoulder.
Eventually, someone came down the sidewalk toward them, and when he reached the streetlight, Melissa could see it was Scott. Scott showed them his badge and ID, talked to them for a bit, they all shook hands, and the county cops left. Patrick spoke to Scott for a little while and then Scott left.
Patrick went back inside.
Melissa was chilled to the bone, her teeth chattering, but still, she waited. After about fifteen minutes, the smaller person left the bar via the side door, wearing clothes and shoes that were much too big, and disappeared down the alley. Melissa dropped out of the tree and ran down Iris Avenue, staying close to the apartment buildings on the east side of the street. When she reached the end of the street, she hid in the vestibule of the next to last building and watched as the slim person walked down Pine Mountain Road, got in a white SUV, and drove away.
A few minutes later, Melissa was treated to the sight of Patrick, dressed in his socks with a tablecloth wrapped around his waist, walking home to his mother’s house. Melissa had to clasp her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Melissa left the vestibule and walked back down Iris Avenue. As she crossed the street toward Delia’s house, headlights illuminated her, and with the roar of an engine, a vehicle bore down on her. Melissa was momentarily stunned, transfixed by the bright lights, but was able to gather her wits fast enough to scramble out of its path as it flew by.
Melissa whirled around fast enough to see the back of the white SUV as it reached the corner, then turned left with a squeal of tires. She could hear it do the same at the corner of Pine Mountain Road and Rose Hill Avenue. Melissa began to run, fearing it would circle around to try again, but as she reached Delia’s front porch, she could hear the SUV roaring northward as it left town.
Her heart was pounding as she fumbled with her keys and let herself in the house. She reset the alarm and crept down the hallway, back into her room, out of her clothes, and into bed.
Too keyed up to sleep, her eyes flickered back and forth as she replayed in her mind what had just happened.
Ava knew what she had done or at the very least, had seen her afterward.
And had tried to kill her.
Her phone made a noise, and she checked it.
Patrick was texting her.
“Thinking about you. Missing you.”
Melissa deleted the text with a furious punch of the finger.
She had sunk her last cost on that fallacy.
Chapter Seven - Saturday
S aturday morning, bright and early, Hannah, Sam, and Sammy arrived at Bonnie’s house to do some work. Uncle Fitz was stretched out in his recliner, watching golf on a sports channel. Aunt Bonnie was kneading dough at the kitchen counter. Sammy hugged Bonnie from the side, and she turned to kiss the top of his head.
“Whatcha making?” Hannah asked her.
“Cinnamon rolls for the Halloween party tonight.”
“Yum,” Hannah sa
id.
Patrick was sitting at the table, dark circles under his eyes, drinking black coffee. His beagle Banjo was asleep on his feet. Sean was sitting with him at the table, going through their father’s toolbox.
“We’re going to need new everything,” Sean said. “Most of this stuff is either broken, rusted, or both. Plus we need scrapers, exterior house paint, caulk, rollers, and brushes.”
“And new boards for the front porch,” Sam said. “A tape measure, nails, a hammer, and a saw.”
“I’ll paint the trim if you do the rest, Sean,” Patrick said. “Let’s get one of those spray guns. It’ll go so much faster.”
“I wanna spray the gun,” Sammy said. “Can I spray the gun? Please?”
“No way,” Sam said. “You’re my helper today, and we’re on porch duty.”
‘You probably shouldn’t be up on a ladder, considering the state of you,” Sam said to Patrick.
“You’re in charge of the circular saw,” Patrick said to Sam. “I’d probably saw off all my fingers.”
“Painter’s tape, drop cloths, and a circular saw,” Sean said, as he made a list on his phone. “It might be cheaper to burn it down.”
“Sonny’s store is open,” Bonnie said. “I can give you some money.”
“Not necessary,” Sean said.
“Don’t worry, Ma, we’ve got this,” Patrick said. “I’m poor but strong, Sean’s rich and generous, and Sam’s smart and partly bionic.”
“I’ll cook you something good for lunch, but I can’t stay,” Bonnie said. “How do chili and cornbread sound?”
“Delicious,” Hannah said. “I’m going to be working mostly in a supervisory capacity, but I’ll be certain to work up an appetite.”
“I’m off to the hardware store,” Sean said.
“I’ll go with you,” Sam said.
Bonnie poured oil into an enormous ceramic bowl and rubbed it all over the interior. She then balled up the dough and plopped it down into the bowl, covered it with a wet dish towel, and set it on top of the gas range to rise.
Hannah poured herself half a cup of coffee, topped it off with half-and-half and several spoons full of sugar, and then sat down across from Patrick.
“You look like you sorted wildcats before breakfast,” she said.
“Something like that,” he said.
“I’m going to go to the IGA to get some groceries,” Bonnie said, as she took off her apron. “Are you going to Ava’s later?”
“I am,” Hannah said.
“Are you going to change clothes?” Bonnie asked.
“I will,” Hannah said.
“Are you planning to wear a bra?” Bonnie asked.
“And makeup,” Hannah said. “Just like church.”
“C’mon Sammy,” Bonnie said to Hannah’s son. “You can push the buggy and pick out one treat.”
“I want ice cream, and candy, and a soda pop,” he said.
“You’ll get what you get, and you won’t throw a fit,” Bonnie said.
When Hannah heard the door close behind them, she rooted around in the cabinets until she found a bakery box full of leftover sticky buns and sat it on the table. When Patrick reached over to help himself, she smacked his hand, and he stuck out his tongue at her.
Hannah closed the door between the kitchen and the front room. Her Uncle Fitz was sawing logs in his chair, but she didn’t want to take a chance he would overhear. She cut off a couple of rolls for Patrick, put them on a plate and set them down in front of him. Then she got a fork out of the drawer and sat down with the rest in the box.
“All right, dick-for-brains, what in the hell is going on with you and Ava?”
“Don’t start, Hannah.”
“I’m gonna start, and then I’m gonna keep on going until you confess,” Hannah said. “Nothing can stop me. I’m tenacious, you know that. You might as well spill it.”
“It’s complicated.”
“I can guarantee it’s not,” Hannah said. “You’ve been boning Ava for years now, right? I know she’s beautiful, any idiot can see that, but it must be real love to have gone on for that long. You could have married her after Brian died, your mother be damned. Why didn’t you?”
“She didn’t want to,” Patrick said. “One condition of Theo’s bequest was she not get married again.”
“I didn’t know that. What a weasel. And Theo was a jerk, too.”
“I can understand it; what have I got to offer her? That money rescued her business, paid all her bills, and would pay for the kids’ college tuition. It just made sense to collect the money and still see each other in secret. That way Ava got the money and my mom stayed off my back.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Hannah said. “Also very convenient for Ava. What about Melissa? Why drag her into it?”
“Melissa loves me, she always has. We were tight, man, she was always a good friend to me, and Tommy was my little buddy. When she took up with Ed, I realized how much I loved her. And then when she went to prison I had to be there for her.
“I didn’t intend for the thing with Ava to go on after Melissa got out of prison,” he said. “But I couldn’t stay away from her. Then she got pregnant, and I’m pretty sure I’m Olivia’s father.”
“Anyone with two good eyes can see that,” Hannah said. “You should have come clean with Melissa and married Ava then.”
“Yeah, but Will had all that money, and Charlotte was in trouble. Ava couldn’t pay for boarding school in Switzerland like Will could, and I certainly couldn’t. Ava knew if she married him she’d lose Theo’s trust fund, but she would never have to worry about what happened to her kids.”
“Did Charlotte kill Professor Richmond?”
“If she did he deserved it,” Patrick said. “Bastard molested her.”
“Did Ava kill him?”
“No way,” Patrick said. “There were some other kids involved; Ava thinks it was probably one of them.”
“I don’t know about that,” Hannah said. “I think Ava’s got it in her, and Charlotte does, too. I think whoever gave Ava up for adoption probably did time for being a serial killer. You’re just blind to her faults.”
“I’m not,” Patrick said. “I just love her in spite of them.”
“So you know she’s not perfect?”
He nodded.
“Let’s just say I recently had my eyes opened.”
“Tell it all to your little cousin, sweet potato,” she said. “Contrary to what my husband says, I can keep a secret, at least for a couple of hours.”
He shook his head.
“C’mon,” she said. “I can help. Let me help.”
“No one can help,” Patrick said. “It’s all going to hell, and no one can stop it.”
“Please, you’re so pitiful,” Hannah said. “Listen, you may have lost Melissa, I don’t know. She’s pretty fed up, and I don’t blame her. But I’m not gonna let Ava destroy her or you. I’m just not. I’m sick and tired of Ava getting away with murder.”
Patrick’s head popped up.
“Sam told you.”
“Yeah, of course, he did,” Hannah said, and then willed her face to maintain a poker player’s lack of expression.
Patrick took a deep breath and sighed as he slumped into his chair.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” he said. “It’s in the video, though, and there’s no denying it. Ava killed that guy.”
“The guy who was investigating her.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Patrick said. “She thinks maybe Will’s mother hired him. There were photos of her on his camera from pretty far back.”
“Did she confess to you when you told her you knew?”
He nodded.
“Last night,” he said. “I’ve been avoiding her since I saw the video, but I let her come to the bar last night. I told her I knew what happened and she didn’t deny it. She said she did it for me, for us.”
“Ava only ever does anything for herself,” Hannah said.
�
�Maybe,” Patrick said. “If she goes to jail, Hannah, what happens to her kids?”
“I guess Will doesn’t know about Olivia.”
He shook his head.
“I’d have to take them to court to get custody, get a DNA test, all of it, and then how is that best for Olivia? She likes me, I’m her Uncle Patrick, but Will is her father, the only one she’s ever known. It’s effed up.”
“You can’t let her get away with murder. She tried to kill Melissa.”
“She knew Melissa wasn’t staying there,” he said. “She just wanted to send her a message. It’s still bad, I know.”
His voice was filled with anguish and his eyes filled with tears.
“She’s got you excusing attempted murder as some kind of a teenage lark,” Hannah said. “That’s what’s effed up, Patrick.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Pull yourself together, ya big dumb punkin’ head,” Hannah said.
“I loved her,” he said. “I still love her. How could I do that to her?”
“Melissa will be all right.”
“I meant Ava,” Patrick said. “How can I be the reason she goes to prison?”
“Murdering that man will be the reason she goes to prison,” Hannah said. “How could you live with yourself if you don’t? She might kill somebody else.”
“What’s wrong with her? Why does she do these things? Is it just money?”
“Money, status, vanity, pride, self-preservation,” Hannah said. “Take your pick.”
“I know she loves me,” he said. “The way she explained it, it was just more practical to do it the way she did. She gets all the material things she needs from Will, but she still has me. I know you don’t understand, but we have something that’s bigger than anything else. I can’t help it, I just love her.”
“Ava only really loves herself,” Hannah said. “I’m not saying that because I’m jealous she’s so beautiful and all you men fall at her feet like fools. Ava does everything she does because she adores herself, first and foremost. She loves her kids when they’re tiny reflections of her, and to keep up the perfect mother image that’s so important to her. When they become individuals apart from her and embarrass her, talk back to her, or do something to make her look bad, she’s done with them.
Pumpkin Ridge (Rose Hill Mystery Series Book 10) Page 15
