“It doesn’t matter, I need to speak to Logan.” For the life of her, Rose couldn’t remember his last name.
“He’s out. I can put you in touch with one of the other detectives,” she said. Then she proceeded to chew chips in her ear. Rose clenched her fists. She needed to get through to this unhelpful woman, not cuss her and make things worse.
“No just send help,” Rose said, but the woman had already put her on hold. She paced not sure what to do. If she ran over to the bakery, she could get them both killed and that wouldn’t be good. If she tried calling again, she was going to get the bored receptionist.
She called back and didn’t let her talk. “Someone is trying to kill my best friend at the new Mad Batter in town. I need you to send a car, now!”
“Is this the same girl from earlier,” she asked.
“Yes!” Rose screamed.
“Hold on,” the hold music came on again and Rose almost threw the phone. Then someone picked up.
“Rose,” he said.
“Logan,” she asked, “how did you know it was me?”
“Caller ID. What’s going on. Is something wrong?”
“Yes, is Red the killer or not?” Rose said impatiently but her gut told her he wasn’t.
“No, he's not. His alibi came through for him. She remembered him coming by and even showed me the flowers he brought. Honestly I think Henry may have persuaded her but...”
“Get to the bakery, now,” she said. “Coco is in danger, I’ll meet you outside.”
“Okay,” Logan said without another word and Rose told Priss she’d just have to hold tight as she clipped her leash to the bar above the bath. Coco needed her. Luckily as she rushed past the poodle’s owner, she saw she’d fallen asleep in the driver's seat.
Chapter Nineteen
“Just so you know, killing me won’t make you feel better,” I said as Jeff lifted the bloody knife out of the grate. It turned my stomach seeing it, even though I’d had a first person encounter with the body it left behind. Now caked in blood my poor, expensive knife looked plain evil.
“No, but it will keep me safe,” he said as he came towards me with the knife. The insane part of my brain screamed why is he using the knife with old blood and not the gun? The logical part of my brain said, duh that’s what he can get to first. The smart part of my brain made me scream bloody murder.
“Please,” I said, “you don’t want to do this. I have babies.” I started to scream as loud as I could.
Granted they were baby cupcakes, but I needed everything in my arsenal at that moment.
“If it comes down to my life or yours, I’m going to go with me every time,” he said. “It’s nothing personal.”
“Actually, I think getting close to someone and then plunging a knife into their skin is very personal.”
I struggled against the restraints harder and dug the ropes into my wrist. He advanced with strangely unfeeling eyes. There was no way to get away from him, he was going to kill me. I closed my eyes and waited for it. I heard a clang and then a thump.
“Coco,” Rose yelled, “are you okay?”
“Rose, yes,” I said as I slumped from relief. “Did you hit him with a frying pan?”
“A cake pan, but I put some power behind it,” she said.
“How did you know to come in here?” I looked in shock at the man on the floor and my friend in her hug a puppy dog grooming apron.
“I saw him creeping around outside earlier then I noticed your car was here. Red has been cleared,” she said as she untied me.
The relief washed over me both for Red and for myself and I started to cry as Rose wrapped me in her arms. Shaking uncontrollably from almost dying I let her lead me to a booth.
“Police,” came Logan’s voice from the front. “Put your hands up.”
“He’s out,” I called to Logan, “Rose took care of him.”
“Coco,” Logan said as he came in. “You shouldn’t have been here by yourself.” Logan’s voice was full of alarm, he’d really been worried about me. He moved forward with his arms out like he intended to hug me. When he looked at Rose, he thought better about it and put his arms down.
“I know, but I forgot and left my phone here,” I said like that made up for it somehow.
“So, this guy killed Tom,” Logan said. “I can’t believe we missed it.”
“I know, he even came here earlier and played me that he was picking up boxes. The ticket wasn’t his, it was Tom’s. He was the one going to the antique store and looking for those eggs.”
“You got all that out of him,” he asked.
“Yes, he was planning on killing me. He told me a lot.”
“Oh my God, Coco,” Rose said, “he was planning on killing you?”
“It’s okay now,” I said, but when I tried to stand up my legs were shaking so badly, I had to lean on Rose. Now Rose was shaking too, and I knew we’d go through the whole thing again when we told Masie.
Groans came from Jeff as Logan moved behind him and cuffed him quickly. A news van pulled up out front and Gus Smathers was in the driver’s seat. Surprisingly Masie was in the passenger seat. She came flying at me and grabbed me in a hug.
“Are you okay, you should have called me!”
“I would have, I came back for my phone,” I told her truthfully. “Of course, then I wouldn’t have come back so I wouldn’t have called you.”
“Shut your beautiful face and let me hug you,” Masie said. Rose joined and the three of us just hugged for as long as we each needed.
“Is Gus?”
“No, I told him to drive me here and if he reported this, I’d shut his bolts in his toolbox,” she smiled at me and then hugged me again.
I didn’t ask any questions. We decided to stay after and have coffee and cupcakes since we’d been through it. Now the killer was arrested, and we were safe. All the police left, and we relished it just being the three of us.
Chapter Twenty
Scooter usually didn’t like taking his ride out at night. His friend Dip had let him borrow a head light from his father’s toolbox. He could only imagine he looked silly riding through town on his scooter with a light shining from his head. It was the only way he could see where he was going.
He’d been playing video games when the police scanner at Dip’s house said there was a hostage situation at the Mad Batter.
“I’ve got to go, they could need my help,” Scooter said.
“You ain’t no vigilante,” Dip said. “What are you going to be able to do that the police can’t.”
His intention had been to reach the bakery in time to help them. It took so long to take his Scooter over to the store that Dip called him when he was halfway there.
“Yo, man, they cleared the situation and apprehended the suspect, no casualties,” Dip said. “You can come back and let me finish destroying you.”
“You weren’t destroying me. I need to go see if my friends are okay. I’ll call you later.”
Coco and the girls had taken him in and allowed him a creative outlet in the bakery. He would do anything for them, and they were going to be really shaken from a dangerous killer being that close too them.
Scooter finally arrived at the bakery and came up on the back side. He parked his Scooter in the back during the day, so customers didn’t see it. There was a form moving around in the dark outside the back door.
At first, Scooter thought it was Coco and started to call out. The closer he got, the outline of the form grew bigger and he realized it wasn’t Coco. It was a large man. Scooter couldn’t see what he was doing. He appeared to be bent over the ground rummaging through trash.
“Hey man,” he said somewhat apprehensively. “What are you doing?”
The man jumped up and started coughing. Scooter didn’t recognize him. Something felt off like the amount of sweat rolling off of the man’s forehead.
He looked up to the sky and sighed loudly before looking back with a glare. “Well, darn. Now I�
�m going to have to kill you,” the man said pointing a gun at Scooter. He had no clue what he’d just walked up on, but it had been a mistake.
“I don’t get it. Why are you out here rummaging through boxes?” Scooter asked.
“Walk,” the man said pressing a gun into Scooter’s back. The young man hoped somehow the ladies had left. Unfortunately, as the walked through the back door he heard Rose laughing loudly and knew he couldn’t be that lucky.
Chapter Twenty-One
Scooter rushed in through the back door and at first, I thought he was alone. Then I saw a man standing behind him.
“So, I heard the police scanner when I was at my friend Dip’s house so I rushed over and parked my bike out back. I was coming in to be the hero then this guy took me hostage. He’s got a gun in my back, yo,” Scooter said, “it’s not cool at all.”
“Bald Sweater,” I exclaimed recognizing him immediately.
“Wait,” Rose said, “you’re hanging out with someone named Dip?”
“Priorities, Rose,” Masie hissed.
“Okay, well I definitely didn’t think all of you would be here,” he said glaring at us, “and my name is Nelson. Up against the wall, all of you.” He gestured with the gun towards the wall behind the front counter. We all lined up and put our hands up. He wasn’t pointing the gun at anyone yet and I wanted to keep that up.
“What the hell, we thought you were innocent,” I told him feeling like he’d betrayed me somehow. “We had that moment when you were hiding in your house, and I felt sorry for you.”
“Well, I need the eggs. That moron left them here in the moving boxes so now I gotta kill what four people,” he said. “Damn it, this was not how today was supposed to turn out.”
“You don’t have to kill us,” Masie said, “we aren’t even looking at you.”
“She yelled bald sweater, so you know some characteristics.”
“Wait, the eggs are in the moving boxes?” I asked trying to put everything together. The stress of my life being in danger a second time made my brain turn to mush.
“Jeff didn’t know that part of the arrangement. I assumed he would have taken them with him, but he didn’t. There’s a lot of money out there. Unfortunately, this little punk caught me, so I had to take him hostage. I haven’t really thought through anything else.”
“So,” Rose said, “you can just let us all go, no harm. Take your eggs and go.”
“No,” he said, “you know too much. I need to think.”
If he killed all four of us, the gun shots would bring in people that lived nearby. I had to think he knew that. It could be he was bluffing to scare us. Had he driven here? There was a lot going through my mind, but I wanted to make sure no one else got hurt.
Maybe I could get him monologuing while I came up with another plan.
“So, you were responsible for killing that annoying Tom guy,” I said. Rose shot me a look and I shrugged. I needed to get him talking and criticizing the man he killed seemed to be the way to do that.
“No, well yes,” Nelson aka Bald Sweater Guy said. “I put the idea in Jeff's head. I didn’t do the actual stabbing obviously. But then Jeff just couldn’t keep it together.”
I assumed Jeff was the guy that Logan had just carted away.
“You mean he couldn’t handle taking someone else’s life?” Masie said.
“No, he couldn’t handle doing what had to be done,” Nelson yelled pointing the gun at her.
“Don’t agitate the bad man, Masie,” Rose whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
“I told him, all you have to do is kill him. The eggs, I’ll handle. We don’t have to cut him in, he’s an unpleasant human being.”
“I can’t say I disagree with you there,” I told him, “but what are you going to get out of killing all of us? Jail time? You leave with the eggs and you can get away free and clear. I only know your first name and what you look like in a sweater.”
“No, you also know what I look like in a t-shirt,” he said pointing an accusatory finger.
“Thanks for that observation,” Masie said throwing a ton of sarcasm into her voice.
Knowing my best friends and knowing they weren’t going to just hang out while someone with a gun forced them to be still, I got nervous.
True to form, Masie started inching her way towards the table in front of her where her phone sat. Nelson paced back and forth swinging the gun in his hand. He didn't see her yet, but it was just a matter of time. If I tried to get her attention, I worried Nelson would hear me, but even if she got to her phone, there wasn't a way she could make a call without him knowing.
"Psst," I hissed at her. It did no good, she didn't stop.
Meanwhile, Rose had started inching her way backwards. I assumed she was trying to grab a utensil or pan as a weapon. So now two of my friends were slowing moving in opposite directions. Good grief!
"Psst," I hissed at Rose and then looked over to make sure Nelson hadn't heard me. He looked out the window and seemed for the moment to be oblivious.
I watched and held my breath as Masie moved forward a little more. She had gotten pretty far just slowly inching forward while he was distracted. My heart sank when Masie somehow managed to graze against a chair and the noise it made was the loudest thing I'd ever heard.
"What the hell," Nelson said turning around, "do you guys think I'm playing around."
Spit flew from his mouth as he yelled and marched back towards us. He pointed the gun right at Masie as he moved forward. Rose grabbed the pan off the back counter and let out some sort of battle cry as she started forward. Nelson seeing this pointing the gun to the ceiling and squeezed the trigger.
Masie went down like she'd been shot. Rose screamed and dropped the pan. Scooter ran, he just shot through the back door and was gone. Nelson took large steps and yelled as he pointed the gun through the door to the kitchen.
"One more step and this one goes into your head."
Reluctantly, Scooter walked back in with his hands up.
"I'm sorry Coco Puff, I wanted to try and get help," he said.
"I know Scooter, and that was very brave. But, I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Listen, Nelson," I said, "why don't you just take me as a hostage so none of them leave. I'll help you load up the eggs and then you can drive away," I suggested.
"No, I should be the one," Rose said.
"That's not a bad idea actually," Nelson said and he walked forward grabbing Rose roughly by her arm. "Come on. Anyone leaves, and I kill her."
"Police! If you're inside with a gun place the weapon on the floor," a voice yelled from outside.
“Who called them?” Nelson said in alarm as he let go of Rose and moved to the side of the building. He didn't drop his gun.
A bright light shone in the front windows and I shielded my eyes against it.
“I’m telling you one more time to drop the gun or we’ll be entering the building and will be forced to take action,” the voice, clearly magnified by a megaphone, continued.
“Aw, hell,” Nelson said putting his gun on the ground and leaning back against the wall.
Logan and four more officers ran in guns drawn. “Put your hands up. Man, I’m saying that a lot tonight.”
Nelson put his hands up and kept looking behind him like he was going to run.
“I wouldn’t try it there, bald sweater,” Logan said. “I’m a really good shot.”
The officers advanced and took him down.
After they had handcuffed and taken Nelson out the front of the bakery, I let my body relax. Part of me worried maybe it wasn’t over, but the second killer had been arrested and there couldn’t be a third. I hoped.
“How did you know to come,” I said pulling him into the hug he’d almost gone for earlier.
“There was a woman waiting outside Roses' shop. She said her poodle was inside. She climbed out of her car to have a smoke and saw the guy waving the gun at you all through the front window. She c
alled us.
“Miss Priss,” Rose exclaimed, “I gotta go.”
She ran out the door as Logan called after her. “We’ll be over to get your statement.”
“Well that’s lucky.”
“Jeff had already told us Nelson had been in on it. He said the reason Nelson didn’t think he’d say anything was because he planned to cut him in while he was in jail.”
“Oh, so you knew there was another killer.”
“Yes,” Logan said, “just not that he’d also made his way into your bakery. You know those paranormal cats may be right. This place is haunted.”
“Nothing some good bakes and a lot of love can’t fix,” I told him feeling cheesy and not really caring. I needed a sign that said something like that to hang up. The recipes were passed down and Masie and I loved to bake. It just fit.
Chapter Twenty-Two
This time when we all went out together it was to celebrate Red getting out of jail. Him and Henry decided they weren’t speaking to Vivian and Stella so the group spent the evening going in between them at the bar.
Masie showed up late. “Hey guys. I hope you don’t mind but I brought a guest.”
Gus Smathers walked up and smiled at us. “Hi everyone I’m Gus, you probably have seen me on your television.”
I wanted to say we’d seen him in person recently, but I didn’t. There was no need to ruin the night by being sarcastic. Masie picked up on everyone’s hesitation.
“Gus, why don’t you go get us some drinks,” she said.
That ended up being when Gus bought everyone a round of tequila shots and a side of the strongest margarita I’d ever had.
In true Rose form she got up onto stage to channel Dolly. The unexpected part of that was when Gus jumped on stage with her for Kenny’s part. Masie put her head in her hands, and I got a case of the giggles.
“That’s a match made in the stream,” Logan said. It was a terrible joke, but I leaned on him laughing until I couldn’t breathe anymore. It felt good to laugh and just relax with people who made me happy.
A Drizzle of Murder Page 8
