Chapter 25
I grabbed Millie by the forearms. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. Everything is excellent.”
“Then why the urgency?”
Millie bounced up and down on her toes. “We need to tell her to make an appointment at the salon, fast. Over 150 orders have been placed for Independence Day Arrangements!” She squealed.
Gladys shifted, looking between Millie and me. “I don’t understand what that has to do with Sam getting her nails done.”
“Not her nails,” I said. “Her hair. Sam made a deal that if over 150 orders were placed during the Fourth of July Sale, she would dye her hair ‘patriotic’ before the parade.”
“Patriotic?”
“Mm-hmm. That’s what she said.”
“Well, what are we waiting for? Get Sam on the phone.” Gladys circled her hands at me, hurrying me along.
I pulled my phone from the apron pocket. “Hey,” I decided to call Griff first.
“Hey, yourself. Is everything okay?”
It crossed my mind that we all really had to find some new, safer hobbies if we each thought something might be wrong at all times. “Yep. Everything is excellent,” I borrowed Millie’s words. “I was calling to talk to Sam actually, but I wanted to check with you first and see how she’s been doing.”
Griff let out a sigh and I could practically see him rubbing tired eyes. “She’s been struggling with the headaches more this afternoon. Too much going on, I think. I can go check, but I would guess she’s resting. She turned all the lights off and put half the pillows from her bed on the couch. When I left to come outside earlier, she was curled up and half asleep already.”
I heard the scrape of chair legs. “Griff, just peek inside. Please, don’t wake her if she is asleep. It can wait until tomorrow.”
He mumbled agreement and I waited for a few moments in the quiet. Then his voice came back on the line. “Yeah, she’s out like a light.”
“Good. Maybe she’ll feel better tomorrow. Listen, BeeBee and I are going to my apartment tonight.”
“I don’t….”
“No, no arguing. Sam needs rest. You need to keep an eye on her way more than on me.”
Griff snorted. “Not sure about that.”
“We will be okay. The cops are staking out Susumu’s hangouts. Court will be over tomorrow. I’ll even let you pick me up and drive me to the trial if Sam is still doing fine in the morning.” I smiled, imagining Griff rubbing the back of his neck and trying to think of a way to convince me to stay at Sam’s place again.
“Lock your doors,” Griff put his serious voice on, obviously deciding to save the arguments for a bigger issue.
“I will.”
“Call me if you need me.”
“I promise.” It was funny how he’d gone from my best friend’s brother to super-protective boyfriend and we’d only had one official date. It was also funny that I didn’t mind a bit.
Millie, though disappointed we couldn’t tell Sam the good news right away, was happy to hear she was home and doing okay. She promised to let Flo and BeeBee know. “We will just pray those headaches will disappear soon,” she said with a sharp nod and a bob of her long ponytail before spinning and marching back out the front door.
“Speaking of Sam,” I turned back to Gladys. “Why did you need to know her favorite cookie flavor?”
“Not a favorite cookie, favorite Fourth of July cookie,” Gladys corrected me.
“Right. What was that all about?” I asked, but Gladys only shrugged. I caught her smiling as she turned away. “Tell me, c’mon. You know you want to.”
“If you insist.” Gladys waggled her eyebrows. “Guess who ordered cookies for our Samantha?”
“Who?”
“Landon!” Gladys shouted, causing several customers to look up from their tables. She kept going, not paying them any attention. “Landon ordered two dozen of those truffles you said Sam likes. With a discount coupon. That means he bought her flowers, too!”
“He did. Buy flowers I mean; I saw them when Sam was at the hospital but her mother left them behind when she took Sam from there.”
“That horrid woman. Why doesn’t Sam just disown her or something?” Gladys went back to the cash register mumbling to herself.
“Sam isn’t the only person who got a delivery from what I hear,” I sidled up next to Gladys and spoke quietly.
Her eyes widened. “Who? Who?”
“You.”
“What?” Confusion settled over her features.
“That’s right. I know about your fancy lunch delivery.” I teased, smirking as Gladys’s mouth rounded into an O. “So. When do we get to meet Mr. Fancy Chef again?”
Saved by a customer, Gladys turned and smiled sweetly at a young couple holding hands. “What can we get for you two today?” she asked them.
Closing time came not too much later. I had given up teasing Gladys; it would be more fun another time when Sam would be there to help. I sent a text to Flo asking if they were finishing up for the evening and told her to bring the crew into the kitchen for a snack before we all went home.
Five minutes later, we all gathered in the large kitchen which felt smaller with six people in it.
“What are we taste-testing tonight?” Millie asked.
I uncovered the two platters of ooey gooey goodness in the center of the island and everyone moved in a bit closer.
I tilted one tray up to show. “Double Deluxe Cookies.”
“And,” Victoria did the honors on her tray of tiny desserts, flourishing a hand around them. “Mini Cherry-Limeade Pies.”
Chapter 26
I flipped on the light in the hall as BeeBee and I entered my apartment. I grabbed the fanny pack off the side table when I put my keys down, intending to take it to my room. This time I made it to the living room before tossing it on the coffee table.
Both desserts had been a success, though Flo wasn’t fond of the fizzing candy in the Mini Cherry-Limeade Pies. I smiled, thinking of everyone’s face when the candy registered on their tongues, their brains taking a minute to catch up. Victoria had asked me if it was okay to keep the ingredients secret and see what the reactions were; that was the perfect thing about using your friends as guinea pigs – they never stayed mad forever – so I told her I was perfectly fine with that plan.
“Thanks for letting me stay, Piper.” BeeBee plopped her bag on the floor by the couch. “You have a cute apartment.” She followed me into the kitchen. “Maybe I can get one like it after I’ve been working a little bit.”
“Maybe so. But don’t worry about that right now. Sam and I are happy to have you until you get on your feet. I’m sorry that I don’t have a spare room for you, but the couch is pretty comfy.”
“It’s cool.”
“Help yourself to anything in the kitchen or fridge,” I opened the refrigerator and stared at the mostly bare shelves. “Not that you have a lot of options. Looks like I have water and some about to expire milk.”
BeeBee laughed. “I’m good, but thanks. Do you mind if I use your shower? I feel like I have plant juice all over me from my lessons with Flo and Millie on cutting and arranging the flowers.”
“Go right ahead.” I led BeeBee through my bedroom, clean thankfully, to the bathroom. “Use my shampoo, soap, all of it. There are towels and wash rags in this cabinet.” I opened the door below the sink.
“Perfect.”
I pulled some extra blankets from my closet and took them to the living room. I didn’t know how warm or cool BeeBee liked to sleep at night, but I hoped she would be comfortable. I relaxed onto the couch and picked up the remote, figuring I would flip channels while I waited for her to get out of the shower.
My eyelids grew heavy and I stretched, settling down further into the couch until I was lying on my side. Headlights flickered through the closed curtains of the living room window, the one that faced the parking lot. I smiled as I remembered Griff spendin
g the entire night sitting outside watching over me. My eyes drifted shut again.
Seconds later, or what felt like seconds, loud bursts of noise startled me wide awake. Automatically, I clutched at the remote driving the volume button down as far as it would go. The noise came again, and this time I flopped to the floor as bullets whizzed through my living room window. Glass in a picture frame on the wall shattered and crashed to the couch, bouncing off to land near my leg. BeeBee! Must find BeeBee! My brain screamed at me. I wanted nothing more than to cover my ears and hide behind something. The noise assaulted my ears. I crawled across the floor, sliding on my stomach, not daring to lift my head more than an inch. If BeeBee were in the shower, she might not hear the shooting. If she was out of the shower, she might come rushing right into the line of fire. My cell phone peeked out at me from beneath the coffee table where I dropped it when I dozed off. I slid it to me. Opened my contacts. Kept crawling. Dialed. Crawled.
“911 speaking. What is your emergency?”
“Shooting. Someone is shooting at me. 102 West Haven Apartments, Camden Drive. Hurry.” I kept the line open, but nothing the woman on the other end said penetrated the pounding of my blood in my ears. And sirens. I heard sirens. That must be the fastest response time in recorded history. Still, I kept crawling. Once I reached the hall, I came to my feet and ran, bent as low as humanly possible, until I reached my bedroom. BeeBee reached the doorway at the same moment. She stumbled over me and we crashed to the floor. Everything went quiet.
“What in the world is going on?” BeeBee asked, fingernails digging into my arms. “I heard so much noise.”
“Shooting. Are you hurt?” I looked over her as we struggled upright and leaned against the wall. Her caramel hair dripped puddles onto the floor. Her pajamas were damp. She must have just gotten out of the shower, I surmised.
“No. Who is shooting? Shooting here? Are you okay?”
Down the hall, my front door began to rattle. I huddled closer to BeeBee, trying to shield her behind me. Two rapid bangs, the door shuddered. I towed BeeBee back into my bedroom and closed the door. Wood splintered and another crash sounded from the hall.
Footsteps banged out a steady beat on the floor.
Someone was in my home.
Chapter 27
“Piper?”
I let out a breath and slumped against the door in relief.
“Piper? BeeBee?” the voice called again.
Opening the bedroom door, BeeBee and I stepped cautiously into the hall. Landon stood beside a uniformed police officer, the two of them barely fitting side-by-side in my tiny entry.
“We’re okay,” my voice shook.
“Ma’am, paramedics are almost here. They’ll want to look you both over, just in case.” The officer leaned through the kitchen doorway then gestured inside. “Why don’t you come sit down in here and I’ll get your statements wrapped up.”
I tiptoed through the mess that was my home. Sheetrock dust and shards of glass littered the living room floor, and I stumbled as I walked past the doorway. Bullet holes in the walls made me dizzy. I swayed. My breath came in jerky gasps.
“Come sit. Come on.” Landon led me slowly to the kitchen table, BeeBee just behind us. Someone put a glass of water in front of me and I gulped it down, pressing the cool cup to my forehead a moment after. “The shooters?” I asked, sitting the glass down.
Landon and the police officer exchanged a look. I gripped the edge of the table, fearing the worst. “They got away?” I hated the fear, the desperation in my voice.
“They’re dead,” the officer said bluntly.
BeeBee leaned back and rubbed a hand across her forehead, her posture moving from tense to relaxed.
“Do you, do you have an identity yet?” I crossed my fingers under the table that it would be Susumu, that this nightmare would be over.
“My partner is working the scene now. I came to make sure there were no…that nobody was hurt.” He patted me awkwardly on the shoulder. “I’m going to leave you here with this young man until the paramedics arrive.”
Long strides carried him quickly from my kitchen. I listened for the door, then remembered it would have to be replaced. “Looks like we’ll be house-crashing on Sam after all.”
BeeBee smiled. “Yep. It would seem so.”
“I still don’t understand how the police arrived so quickly. And you,” I turned to Landon. “What are you doing here?”
We were interrupted by the arrival of two paramedics. Landon explained, while BeeBee and I had our vitals checked and answered questions, that Griff had sent him to keep watch for the night.
“Of course, he did.” I rolled my eyes.
The paramedics determined we were fine, warning that shock might begin to settle in later. They told us to watch for the signs such as rapid breathing, erratic pulse, cool skin, dizziness and so on. With nothing more to do, they left.
“Yeah,” Landon pulled out a chair and sat down once they were gone. “He said the sheriff would be busy keeping an eye on that auto shop place. Wanted to know somebody was keeping an eye on you, but he felt it best not to leave Sam completely alone for a few more days.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “He’s going to kill me when I tell him I fell asleep for a few minutes though. Dozed right off, otherwise, maybe I would have realized the shooters were watching your apartment.”
“How could you have known?” BeeBee frowned.
“I never saw them pull up, so, when I woke, I assumed that car parked under your window was empty; just another resident. All the lights were off. When the headlights came on, I thought it strange that I hadn’t seen anybody approach the car, then suddenly guns appeared out the window and they started shooting your place. I dialed the police right away and they told me not to get involved.”
I placed a hand on my chest, imagining how scary the scene in the parking lot must have been. Knowing we were inside. “I’m glad you didn’t try to stop them; they could have shot you.”
“Well, I didn’t exactly sit and do nothing like I was told.”
“What do you mean?” BeeBee asked.
I leaned forward. “Did you do something dangerous?”
“I stayed out of sight, don’t worry.” He crossed his arms, braced for an argument. “I couldn’t very well let them shoot up your apartment and leave though. I may have put my car in neutral and pushed it in the general direction of the rear of theirs.” Landon’s lips twitched.
“You blocked them in?”
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t in my car, I made sure it would roll up behind them and then I hid behind another vehicle until the cops came. The idiots could have gotten out of their car and run, but instead, they just kept trying to back up.” His brows creased. “Though I probably should have told dispatch my plan because for a minute, I thought that cop was going to shoot me when I stepped out of hiding.”
“I thought so, too.” A deep voice rumbled from the doorway.
My head whipped around and then up. And up. How did a giant of a man like that appear without so much as a peep? Considering the fact that he had to duck half an inch to come through my doorway, I estimated the police officer to be pushing seven and a half feet tall. He must have been the partner, now finished working the scene downstairs.
“Thank for not shooting our friend,” BeeBee said when the quiet had moved to the awkward stage.
“Which of you is Miss Rivers?” The officer didn’t acknowledge the comment. His face sported a mask of professionalism; still, I couldn’t help but think he appeared uncomfortable crammed in my tiny kitchen.
“I am.”
“I need you to come with me, ma’am.”
BeeBee’s eyes widened in fear. I forget, with her previously lifestyle there’s no telling what her experience with cops has been like. I smiled and squeezed her hand, offering reassurance that I’ll be fine.
Landon began to stand, but the officer waved him back. “This will only take a moment. After we’re done, I’ll escor
t Miss Rivers right back here.” He glanced at BeeBee then back at Landon. I took it to mean he wanted Landon to stay and make sure BeeBee stayed put because Landon gave a brief nod and settled back into his chair.
I followed the officer through the broken door of my apartment into the parking lot, trying not to gawk. A hard thing to do when my head barely reached above his elbow. What in the world did his mama feed this man as a child?
Red and blue lights still swirled, but the sirens were no longer blaring. Two long white sheets lay across the ground. I didn’t have a good feeling about this. “Sir, what is it you needed from me exactly?”
“Sheriff Kent radioed over after hearing dispatch send us to your place over the radio. He suggested you might be able to identify one of the shooters.” He pointed his long arm toward the ghostly sheets several feet away.
Identify the perp. The body, he means. I clenched my hands by my side and close my eyes. Counting. Praying. Steeling myself. “Do I…do I have to touch it?” I pointed at the sheet.
The officer loosened his stance. “No, ma’am. You tell me when you’re ready,” his rumbling voice softened. “I’ll pull the sheet down just enough for you to look at the face and torso and put it right back. Quick as can be, then we’ll get you back to your friends.”
I jerked my head in a quick nod and walked forward. Even with a few steps head start, the officer passed me and was waiting, giant hands poised on the corner of the cloth. “Okay,” I said.
With a flick of the wrists, he folded the sheet neatly below the shoulders of the man on the ground. I searched the face. Tried humming in my head to tune out the blood. Glanced at the arms and turned away, shaking my head. “I don’t know him. Haven’t seen him before.” The man had no tattoos on his neck and only a large tiger visible on one of his sleeveless shoulders.
The gentle giant next to me moved on, hands at the ready on the second sheet. “Best to get it over with,” he told me. “Ready?”
I rub my hands across my face, blow out a breath and agree. “Let’s do it.” The sheet whipped back and I hugged my arms across myself. It was him. Susumu, intricate tattoos dancing across his body, lay motionless. His tan face looked paler, empty; his body just a shell. I stepped away.
Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Box Set Page 44
