A Day Tea Die For

by Elle Dalton

  “What?” I released him.

  He pointed to a chair in the corner of the room.

  “What’s that?”

  A light blue jacket was draped over the back of the chair, splattered with blood. I would recognize it anywhere. Jordan used to come in every day with the same jacket.

  “We got her. That’s Jordan’s jacket. Call the police, Ervin.”

  Ervin was reaching for his phone when we heard a horrifying scream. Suddenly, Chloe’s mother came tumbling down the basement stairs and crashed into the wall. She wasn’t moving.

  A scream tore through me just as Chloe took slow, deliberate footsteps down the stairs.

  She smiled when she reached the bottom. “Welcome to my home, Ervin. What a pleasant little surprise.”

  Chapter 19

  “Oh my God.” I stumbled back in horror. My eyes were fixed on Chloe’s mother, whose body lay motionless on the floor. “You… you killed her… your mother.” Tears burned my eyes.

  Fear like I’d never experienced before arrested me. If Chloe could kill her own mother, what would stop her from killing us?

  “What kind of mother is she? She let you into our house, into my basement. I don’t need a mother like that.”

  “She did it because she was afraid of you,” Ervin said in a sharp voice. “And she should have been. You are completely out of your mind.”

  “And you killed Jordan,” I added, my words drowned by tears. “Why? Why would you do that? What did he have to do with this?”

  She threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, he had a lot more to do with this than you think. You’d be shocked.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ervin pulling his phone from his back pocket, attempting to make a call. I tried not to be obvious about it, but Chloe caught my eye.

  From behind her back, she pulled out a gun.

  My stomach turned and bile touched the back of my throat.

  “Drop it, Ervin,” she said in a low, dangerous voice. “Unless you have a death wish.”

  At first Ervin hesitated, then let his phone fall to the concrete floor. We all heard it crack as it bounced once.

  “Good. Now that we’re all alone, let’s have a conversation. Diana, you were asking me what Jordan had to do with this. Allow me to explain.” She walked toward us. “Jordan was a good buddy of mine. He really liked me, as most men tend to do. And he wanted to help me make my life easier. So I guided him on how to do that.”

  I squinted at her. “What did you get him to do?”

  “My bidding,” she said with a smile, “and he wasn’t the only one. Don’t worry, you shouldn’t feel bad for Jordan. He was responsible for ending the life of your little friend.”

  I shook my head. “You liar. You’re the one who killed Donny.”

  She shrugged. “You’re kind of right. It was my idea. But Jordan was the one who carried it out. Because I stupidly quit my job in a moment of rage. I didn’t have access to Donny. I was at the hotel, sure, but you would have been completely freaked out if I just waltzed into the kitchen. So, I asked Jordan to sneak in for me.” She paused to let her words sink in. “And while he did, I made a huge scene in the lobby, begging you to accept me back to work.” She laughed and started making fake crying sounds. “‘Please, Diana, I won’t be able to pay my rent!’ You’re so pathetic. You fell for it.”

  “I was just trying to help you…”

  “Then you should have helped me by staying the hell out of Shadow Creek. My life was going great before you arrived. I had a great guy, a good job, and then you came and stole him away from me.”

  “That’s not true,” Ervin argued. I wished he wouldn’t, though. I didn’t want him to agitate Chloe even more. “Chloe never stole me from you. I was never yours. It wasn’t serious between us.”

  Enraged, Chloe pointed the gun at me. “You’re only saying that because she made you. She manipulated you. I saw that you loved me. I did.”

  “Put the gun down, Chloe. Don’t you dare hurt her.” Ervin stepped in front of me, trying to protect me.

  Chloe’s eyes flashed with rage. “Step away from her, Ervin.” She redirected her gun at him.

  “Chloe, you wouldn’t hurt Ervin. You’re obsessed with him. Look at this room. You want to be with him.”

  She smiled. “And I will be. It may take a while for him to forgive me for what I’m about to do, but ultimately, Ervin will be mine.”

  “Then don’t act like you’re going to hurt him,” I shouted. I didn’t care if she pointed the gun my way. I just wanted it off Ervin. Enough people had died. The thought of him being the next victim terrified me. Losing him would kill me inside.

  “I said he will be mine, I never said I wouldn’t hurt him.”

  Without warning, she held up the gun and I heard a click.

  A gunshot rang out.

  Ervin’s body fell backwards.

  “No!” I screamed. “No, Ervin...” I fell to my knees next to him as blood pooled around him.

  “I’m fine,” he croaked, his eyes struggling to stay open. “Really, I’m—” Before he could finish his sentence, his eyelids closed.

  My body shook with fear. This couldn’t be happening. We were supposed to spend our lives together. He couldn’t die.

  “Call an ambulance,” I shouted to Chloe. “Please.”

  “Oh, relax, he’ll be fine,” she scoffed. “I shot him in the arm. Stop being so damn dramatic. I will call an ambulance once I finish the little business between you and me.”

  I didn’t have a phone. Ervin was unconscious or dead and so was Chloe’s mother. No one could save me from the madwoman.

  I saw no way out. She’d wanted me out of the way for a while. Now that we were alone, the time had come.

  My only comfort I had was that Chloe would not be able to cover up her crimes. There was too much evidence in the basement, too much blood on her hands.

  I didn’t want to die, but my death could end up clearing Karen’s name and my mom would have nothing to fear.

  But if I was going to die, I had to ask her one thing that had been eating me up inside.

  “Did you do it all? The other deaths… Were you involved?”

  “I’m so glad you asked. Kind of.” She batted her thick lashes. “I was the one who helped provide the means to an end. Every time I saw an opportunity, a break in a family bond, a secret that was being kept, I took advantage. You’d be shocked at how easy it is for me to manipulate those around me. So, yes, I manipulated many of those people to kill the people they hated.”

  My knees went weak and I stumbled back until my back hit the wall. “But why?” I whispered. “Do you just enjoy killing? What would possess you to convince people to murder?”

  “You, of course. You came to Shadow Creek, stole my boyfriend, and became my boss. You were so condescending to me, making me your little personal assistant. Making me fetch you paperwork and coffee. I was Jolene’s favorite employee before you came along. I was poised for a promotion. Then her wretched niece shows up and thinks she can take Ervin and the Ivory Rose away from me.” She inhaled sharply. “You know, for a moment, I thought when I quit I’d finally give up and move on with my life. Then I saw Ervin enter that jewelry store.” She let out a bitter chuckle. “I just knew he was buying a ring for you. That was the last straw. I decided I was going to take him back and the hotel.”

  I shook my head. “Neither of those were yours to begin with, especially the hotel.”

  “You’re wrong.” She gritted her teeth. “It was always mine. Even while you were running it, it was mine. You have no idea what I had going on behind the scenes. Jordan wasn’t the only staff member I convinced to follow my plans. He was just the first one to chicken out.”

  “Is that why you killed him?”

  “Yep. He came to me, I guess after you talked to him, and told me that he had to come clean about Donny. He insisted he didn’t think the poison I gave him would kill anyone, just incapacitate them. I may have been
a little vague on what the poison did exactly. He felt horribly guilty and said he had to tell the truth. Jordan was just another person you forced me to murder. If you had minded your own business, the poor guy would still be alive.”

  I wasn’t going to do that. I’d spent enough time feeling guilty about everything that had happened at the Ivory Rose. Chloe would not convince me for one more second that I was responsible. I felt a shift in my attitude, one that I wished had happened months ago.

  I never should have taken on the weight of those crimes. What did I rob myself of by feeling responsible for the deaths? A lot of good times, that was for sure. I caused myself more stress than I needed to. Because this was never me. It was always Chloe.

  I was done. I wouldn’t let her take one more moment from me. I couldn’t get back the time I’d lost, but I could die with dignity.

  “I’m not responsible for the murders you directly or indirectly committed, Chloe. That will always fall on you. And you’ll never convince me it was my fault.”

  She glared at me. “That’s fine. I don’t need to convince you of anything. I just need you out of the picture. With you gone, I can take my hotel back, and my man.”

  She looked down at her ring finger on the hand that didn’t hold the gun. “Ervin really does have wonderful taste, doesn’t he? This diamond is breathtaking.”

  Her taunts couldn’t bother me anymore. I’d accepted my fate. Even if I tried to make a run for it to get to a phone, Chloe would either shoot me or shoot Ervin in retaliation. She might even kill herself as well. She was obsessed enough for me to think she’d rather die with him than live without him.

  For Ervin’s sake, if he was still alive, I was making a deliberate choice not to run. I hoped to God that he was still alive.

  “He does have great taste, yes,” I agreed, my eyes on her hand. It would have been nice to be able to wear my ring the rest of my life.

  I tried to imagine what our future would have looked like. We would have gotten married, probably at the Ivory Rose Hotel.

  In my mind, I pictured my friends there, all the staff who worked with us, my Aunt Jolene, and my mother. In my greatest fantasies, my mother had stayed true to herself and strengthened our relationship. Karen would be my maid of honor.

  Then we’d move into my old cottage, but we’d spend a lot of nights at the hotel after working late. Ervin would help me organize beautiful events, where tragedy never struck. One day, when business was booming and we didn’t have any financial stress, we’d decide to have children. I want one boy, two girls. They’d run around the hotel chasing Clover.

  We were going to be so happy.

  I glanced at Ervin and my heart leapt when I saw his fingers move. If he survived, I hoped he would still have that life, even if it wasn’t with me.

  “Please tell Ervin that I love him, that I always will.”

  “Are you an idiot?” Chloe’s sharp words bounced off the walls. “Of course I won’t tell him that. You really think I’d want him thinking about you as we start our lives together?”

  True. She wouldn’t say anything to Ervin that didn’t reflect well on her.

  But that gave me an idea, a chance for me to still say my last goodbye.

  “What if I ask you to tell him that I want him to be happy without me? That I want him to live a full life with you, that he shouldn’t mourn me? Chloe, I just want him to continue to thrive and be happy.”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, okay, I might say that.”

  Ervin wasn’t going to end up with Chloe. No matter what happened, he’d eventually get out of her grasp. But he would understand my message to him. I wanted him to know that he had my permission to continue to live and love his life. I wanted the same for all my loved ones.

  I closed my eyes. “Okay, do it. I’m ready.”

  Chloe cackled. “Ready for what?”

  “Ready for you to shoot me.”

  She laughed even harder. “I’m not going to shoot you. That’s way too easy. You have caused me endless amounts of grief. You even made me kill my own mother. You’re a sick, twisted woman and I’m going to make sure your death is slow and painful.”

  From her back pocket, she pulled out a carving knife.

  Until that moment, I’d felt some sense of peace. I was ready to accept my fate. But I did not want to die a slow and painful death at Chloe’s hands. She had caused me enough pain already.

  I didn’t get a chance to come up with a plan because she lunged for me, tossing the gun behind her. She held the knife over my head. I extended her arms to keep the blade from reaching my face.

  “I’m going to cut you up so good, Ervin wouldn’t even be able to recognize you. He won’t remember you as his beautiful fiancée.”

  “You’re sick and so twisted.” I injected as much venom into my voice as I possibly could. “Ervin is never going to love a psychopath like you.”

  “He already does, even if he doesn’t know it.”

  The angrier I made her, the stronger she seemed to become. Normally, I might be able to hold my own with Chloe, but I wasn’t in my best state. I was weak, and my arms were starting to shake. The little energy I had left would desert me at any second.

  Chloe knew it too and laughed. “Did the poison I put in your orange juice hurt you? At first I was disappointed when you didn’t die, but now I’m relieved. This is a more memorable way for you to die, wouldn’t you say?”

  The knife inched closer until it made contact with my head. Chloe laughed at my misery.

  But as quickly as it had started, her laughter died at the sound of a trigger being cocked.

  “Drop the knife, Chloe.” It was her mother’s voice coming from behind her.

  Thank God she was alive.

  Chloe turned as though in slow motion, eyeing her.

  “You can’t kill me. I’m your only daughter.”

  “I said drop the knife, Chloe.”

  She didn’t listen, still holding it to my temple.

  “You’re really going to stand there and threaten to shoot me, Mother?” Chloe asked.

  Her mother moved closer until she pressed the gun to Chloe’s head. She looked nothing like the woman who had offered me cookies.

  Hate boiled in her eyes and blood trickled down her cheek. She was also clumsy on her feet. She probably wouldn’t be able to physically defend herself from Chloe, but that didn’t matter. She had a gun in her hand.

  “How could you? How could you kill all those people, Chloe? And you did all that for a man?”

  Chloe didn’t flinch. “That’s right, Mom. Maybe you should try it. Maybe if you had put half the energy into Dad that I put into Ervin, he wouldn’t have left us. But you didn’t. You let him walk away.”

  A tear dripped down her mother’s face, right next to the blood.

  “After everything I did for you, what I sacrificed… You still resent me for your father’s choices?”

  “And I always will. Because you are weak, Mother. You were always too weak for this family. And that’s why I know you won’t kill me, no matter how much you hate me.”

  Her mother’s face crumpled and she lowered the gun, tears in her eyes. “You’re right. I never planned to kill you. As evil as you may be, you’re still my daughter.”

  A sick grin spread across Chloe’s face. She was about to return her attention to me when her mother raised the gun again. “I wasn’t trying to kill you. I was just trying to slow you down.”

  At that moment, noise erupted around us, the stampede of feet running down the stairs. A swat team had arrived, their guns drawn, pointed at Chloe.

  “Drop the knife,” someone ordered. “Put your hands up.”

  Chloe did as they said. “These people broke into my house. I was only defending myself.”

  “That’s not true,” Chloe’s mother said as she pulled out her phone. “I recorded the whole thing. My daughter has admitted to murdering multiple people. She’s a murderer. Please take her away.”

  Chloe
spat in her mother’s direction. “I hate you. I wish you weren’t my mother.”

  “And I wish you weren’t my daughter.”

  The cops handcuffed Chloe and dragged her away from me.

  My first instinct was to rush to Ervin. I dropped to my knees next to him.

  “Quick, we need an ambulance. He’s lost so much blood!”

  But evidently, one had already been called. Or, rather, the 911 operator was able to assess that an ambulance was needed from the phone call Chloe’s mom must have made before being thrown down the stairs. Thankfully, Chloe had not seen the phone.

  I wrapped my hands around Ervin’s.

  “Come on, baby, it’s going to be okay. You just have to hold on a bit longer.”

  He couldn’t answer me, but he did stir, groaning softly.

  Though I hated that he was in pain, his groan was a relief. He was alive. That was what mattered.

  When the paramedics arrived, they echoed my same thoughts. That he was going to be all right.

  I followed the paramedics to the ambulance, where they packed Ervin up and drove off. I would follow in Ervin’s car. From the hospital, I’d call my mom and Aunt Jolene to explain what happened.

  I turned to walk back to the neighbor’s house, where Ervin left his car keys, but the sounds of Chloe throwing a fit on her front lawn distracted me.

  “You don’t understand. I didn’t do anything. This is all a big misunderstanding, please.” She used a soft, pleading tone like she had with me to get her job back. But she wouldn’t be able to manipulate herself out of the mess she made.

  “Wait,” I called out to the officers.

  Chloe’s eyes were trained on me, looking to see if I’d help her.

  But I just stepped behind her and grabbed one of her cuffed hands. I slid my engagement ring off her finger and placed it on my own.

  “Okay, that’s all. Take her away.”

  She continued to struggle until they tossed her in the back of the van and drove away.

  Chloe’s mom walked up behind me, placing a hand on my back.

  “I’m so sorry for this, for all of this. I should have known better. I should have done something sooner.”