All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt (16 page)

“I've never seen a look in anyone's eyes like that before,” Heather said, panting.

“I've seen it before. When I confronted Charlotte's killer,” I said.

“Oh yeah, that was bad,” Charlotte said.

I glanced over my shoulder. Jessica was gaining on us.

Heather was wheezing for breath. “We need to hurry.”

“Maybe going to confront Jessica wasn't such a good idea after all,” Charlotte said.

“I tried to tell you all that it wasn't such a good idea. But you wouldn't listen to me. No, you had to do it anyway. Maybe next time you will listen to me when I tell you something.” Exasperation filled Alice's voice.

“Alice, this is not the time to say ‘I told you so.'” Adrenaline rushed through me as I pushed to run faster.

“You might as well stop. I'll catch you,” Jessica called out.

Chapter 23

This wasn't looking good.

“Maybe if we act like we don't hear her she will go away?” Heather asked.

“Something tells me that won't make a difference. If anything, it would probably make her angrier.”

“Why don't you just stop and simply explain to her that you just want to go to your car and that you don't want any trouble?” Charlotte asked.

“Did you see the look in her eyes? I think she'd kill us if we did that. Let's just keep going,” I said.

We had almost reached the pond again. I had grass and mud on my shoes. The lawn wasn't so neat anymore. When we reached the path, we would have to decide which way to turn. I thought it would be best to go toward the plantation. There were other houses and even a small cottage in the other direction. But it would be more likely that the crew was at the plantation.

I glanced back and saw Jessica right behind us.

“You might as well stop,” she said.

She was right. I looked at Heather, and we both turned around at the same time.

Jessica placed her hands on her hips and glared at me. Her hair was wet and stuck to her face. Black mascara had run down her cheeks.

Of course my makeup probably looked the same.

“Hello, Jessica. We were just getting ready to leave. I hadn't expected the rain.” I pointed at the sky.

“You're really talking about the weather? Ask her if she killed Nicole,” Charlotte said.

“She can't just come out and ask that,” Alice said.

Jessica squinted. “Why are you spying on me? What's your name? Are you Cookie?”

She knew perfectly well what my name was. She knew where my shop was too.

“Yes, my name is Cookie, and no, we weren't spying on you.”

She arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Then why were you and your pal hiding behind that minivan and peeking at me?”

“Like I said, we were just going to leave. You just happened to be in the parking lot at the time.”

I had to let her know that I wasn't going to be afraid of her anymore. It was the only way to get out of this situation. I decided to go on the offensive.

“Did you get a set of tarot cards from Shiloh?”

She scoffed. “I don't think so.”

I knew by the look in her eyes that she was lying.

“Shiloh gave you the cards and you left some of them in my shop. You did that on purpose to send me a message, right? And you locked me in the back room?”

If I was falsely accusing her, then this would be awkward, but I had a feeling that I was right on track.

“Keep up the questions, Cookie. I think you're getting to her,” Charlotte said.

“You are crazy,” Jessica said. “What makes you think I would do something like that?” Her voice sounded more anxious than before.

I pressed on.

“What about the text messages that you sent to Nicole?”

She studied my face. The black mascara really gave her a spooky look. “What are you talking about?”

“The messages that you sent to Nicole. You told her that you wanted the lead role for this movie. I found her phone,” I said.

“You took it?” Jessica asked.

“No, I found it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You will not get away with this. I tried to give you a warning. I figured your friend would see the meaning of the cards and tell you to back off. But you didn't listen. I told you I would get revenge. You had to keep coming around here. I saw you poking around. You wouldn't mind your own business.”

I realized she was confessing to me.

“You had the cards wrong,” Heather said. “That wasn't their actual meaning. That was how we knew it was a novice who left them. We figured out that Shiloh had stolen the cards.”

Jessica clenched her fists. “I should have known not to take something from her. She's constantly taking things. Both of you will pay for this,” Jessica snapped.

“I'm going for help,” Heather said.

“You won't find any help around here. The security guard is always sleeping. You'll never find his secret spot.”

Heather took off running down the path. “Cookie, I'll go get help.”

Jessica laughed. “Oh, that is so sweet. She is going to help her friend. When she comes back with no help she'll find you dead and then I will kill her.”

Chills ran down my spine.

“My heavens, I've never heard anyone so evil,” Alice said.

She was right. Jessica was evil. I had to get away from her. If only I hadn't left my phone in the car. I hoped Heather remembered that it was there. She could call for help. That was when I remembered that the car was locked. And Heather, most likely, had forgotten to charge her battery.

There would be no way she could call for help. I would have to get away from Jessica.

“Why did you kill Nicole? Couldn't you have just gotten a part in another movie? Was it really worth killing her?”

“She was with Preston too. She had it all. My roles and my man.”

Oh, I'd forgotten about her involvement with Preston.

“Now that she is gone I don't have to worry about her taking my parts or my man.”

I felt bad for the next actress who won a part over Jessica. She would try to kill her too. She had to be stopped.

“You had Nicole's phone and lost it here when you came back to the scene of the crime, didn't you? You wanted to come back here so you could relive what you'd done, right?” I asked.

She glared at me and I knew my assumptions were correct.

Jessica reached out and grabbed the sleeve of my dress. It happened so fast I didn't have time to move. Wiggling like a crazy eel, I managed to pull away.

“We can't let her do this,” Alice said.

“I don't know how to stop her,” Charlotte said.

I stepped backward, trying to put distance between Jessica and me. She moved toward me with every step I took. I slipped in the wet grass but managed to right myself.

We crossed over the path and back onto the grassy area.

“Cookie, look out,” Alice yelled.

“Behind you,” Charlotte shouted.

When I turned around, I realized that I was by the water. Was this how she'd killed Nicole? Would I end up with the same fate?

“Don't let her get you,” Charlotte called out.

I was trying my best, but Jessica was tough. She was much stronger than she looked.

“Oh, I can't watch. All the negative vibes are snapping my energy,” Alice said.

I moved forward. I'd only made it one step when Jessica grabbed me again. I was so very close to the edge of the water. I was just an okay swimmer. I didn't know how deep the water was. Jessica would probably hold me under. I hoped Heather didn't come back. I didn't want Jessica to attack her too.

I pulled my arms up and managed to spin Jessica. Now she was the one on the edge. Just a little more and I might be able to push her in. That might allow me time to get away. She had her hands on my arms, but her grip wasn't nearly as tight as it had been. Was she getting tired? I knew I was, but I couldn't give up now.

I pushed Jessica, but it wasn't enough to get her in the water.

“Keep going, Cookie, you almost had her,” Charlotte shouted.

Jessica's sandal was now stuck in the mud at the edge of the pond. Our eyes met. She looked panicked.

“You've got her right where you want her now,” Alice said.

“Give her a shove.”

I pulled away, gasping.

“You won't get away with this. Get back here and help me,” Jessica said.

Yeah, right. Did she think I was that stupid? Trying to keep as much distance between us as possible, I reached over and shoved Jessica. She stumbled backward, trying to right herself with the aid of her arms. But it was no use—she fell backward. A large splash rose up when she hit the water.

“Good job, Cookie, now get away from her.” Charlotte didn't have to tell me; I was already moving across the path.

When I looked back, I realized that Jessica had gotten the shoe off.

“Uh-oh, here she comes,” Alice said.

Jessica had managed to get out of the water. She looked even angrier now. I was in trouble if I couldn't get out of there.

“Run, Cookie,” Charlotte urged.

I took off across the lawn, trying not to slip. I wish I had time to stop and take my shoes off. I could move faster without them, but I couldn't afford to stop. I was headed in the direction of the parking lot. If I could just make it to my car, I could use the phone.

Jessica slowed down because her feet were slipping. I moved my legs as fast as I could until I felt they would fall off. My side hurt, and it was difficult to catch my breath.

A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I fell to the ground. Jessica had caught up to me. I struggled to my feet. Jessica got up at the same time. She reached to grab my arm yet again. She just wasn't going to give up. I saw the hate in her eyes.

“You aren't getting away,” Jessica said.

I was going to try my best to get away, that was for sure.

“Let her have it,” Charlotte said.

Jessica swung at me with her other hand, and I managed to duck. Now she was throwing punches. My daddy had taught me a thing or two about fist fighting. I just needed to land a good one on her jaw. Jessica still had a hold of my left arm. But that left my right arm free. So I pulled back my arm and punched forward with all that I had. My fist landed squarely on her jaw. My daddy would be proud to see that I'd used what he'd taught me. I yanked my arm away and spun around.

When I took off, I ran smack-dab into someone's hard chest. I knew it was a man. I looked up into Dylan's eyes. Was I ever glad to see him. I stumbled forward, and he helped me right myself. He had a firm grip on my arms until I got my balance again. I wasn't sure how he'd found me, but I was thankful. And I didn't care if I had to explain why I was there. He would just have to deal with it.

He looked me in the eyes, but didn't say anything.

When I was on my feet, he yelled out at Jessica. “Stop right there.” He pulled his gun and pointed.

She was frozen on the spot. But it didn't look as if she was quite ready to turn herself in just yet.

“Oh, thank goodness he is here,” Alice said.

“My nerves couldn't have handled much more of that,” Charlotte said.

Jessica didn't stop like Dylan had told her to. Instead, she turned around and ran. Dylan took off after her. He was much faster than she was, and I knew it would be a matter of seconds until he caught up to her.

Just as I knew he would, Dylan caught up to her, giving her shoulder a hard shove. She fell to the ground, and he grabbed her up, bringing her to her feet.

“You're hurting me,” she said.

Yeah, she hadn't been too worried about hurting Nicole or me. Besides, he wasn't hurting her.

“Thank goodness this is over,” Charlotte said.

“You're going to jail,” Alice said.

I released a deep breath. Where was Heather? Had she been the one to find Dylan? Now I was worried about what had happened to her.

Dylan put Jessica in handcuffs and spun her around. “Come on. We're going for a ride.”

He walked Jessica across the lawn.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I'm fine. But we need to find Heather. She could be in danger.” I hoped Dylan understood the seriousness of the situation.

“I'll look for her after I secure this suspect,” he said. I followed Dylan as he led Jessica toward the parking lot.