Death Loved A Woman (Happy Holloway Mystery Book 2) (11 page)

“Why should I care about Flynn?” he snapped. “Oh, now I remember.”

He let go of her so fast Annie stumbled backward and had to grab hold of her trunk to keep from falling. With freedom, she managed to calm down just enough to suck in a few deep breaths.

“Annie Holloway. Or should I say
Happy
Holloway? Your father assaulted you and your sister and murdered your mother. Your sister is currently in an asylum for the criminally insane.”

“H-Happy?” Barbara Jean muttered.

That’s the part she hears?

Nausea made Annie stomach roll, but she held her head high. “You say all of that as if I’m supposed to be ashamed of myself.”

Annie waited for him to make further threats, but he chuckled and spun away from her. While she watched him walk across the parking lot, she began to notice the dotted crowd of onlookers. None were close enough to have heard what Mr. Witman said about her.

Barbara Jean began to speak, but Annie unlocked her car and dove inside. She didn’t care to hear what the two of them were up to or what Barbara Jean thought of her family and past.

Before pulling out of the parking lot, she took a few minutes to calm down. Chewing gum always helped, and she dug through her purse for a piece. She popped a stick of peppermint-flavored gum into her mouth and chewed it for a while.

Her cell phone rang, and she answered.

“Where are you, Annie?”

“I’m heading home.”

“What’s wrong? I hear a tone in your voice.”

“Mr. Witman saw me and threatened me.”

“He what?” Flynn’s voice exploded over the line so that she winced.

“He said he can make my life very difficult. At first he couldn’t remember my name, and then he did.”

“Annie.”

“He knows everything about me. I’m guessing he already did research, or somebody did, before today, and he needed to take a moment to match my face with the name.”

“When you say everything…”

“Yes, everything.”

Flynn dropped a few curses. “I never suspected him of killing his son.”

“I do! I think he killed him, and now he’s going to try to kill me, Flynn.”

“Annie, easy. It’s more likely he’s going to try to use his influence and his money to get you blacklisted. You don’t move in the same circles, and you work for yourself, so it’s possible he won’t find anything to hold over you. I’ll talk to him after I talk to BJ.”

“She was right there, too.”

“Annie, I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her, like I said.”

“Don’t.” She ran hand over her eyes and started the car. “I’ll be okay. It doesn’t matter. I am who I am.”

“Can you get home okay? Do you need me to pick you up?”

She smiled. “No, thanks. I’ll be fine.”

Annie found out later from Flynn that Barbara Jean refused to return to her house and demanded he bring her things. Flynn didn’t say, but Annie felt pretty sure the woman behaved as if she worried for her safety living with a murderer’s daughter.

A
nnie received
the email the next day. A claim of copyright infringement was aimed at three of her books, novels that were somewhat new and her biggest earners. She sat at her desk and burst our crying. For a good hour, she threw herself a pity party, and then she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

She picked up her cell phone and texted her aunt. “Aunt Bridge, I need a lawyer.”

The phone rang. Annie groaned but answered.

“What’s going on, honey? Did you…”

“No! It’s not like that. Someone has accused me of copyright infringement, and before this goes any further, I need to consult an attorney. I won’t have my reputation ruined. Plus, I can’t prove it, but Mr. Witman threatened to ruin me.”

“Annie! You were nosing into something you shouldn’t have, weren’t you? I’ve told you, your boldness will get you into trouble some day. Well, don’t you worry. I know a lawyer or two, and at least one of them will be informed about intellectual property laws. I’ll call you back.”

Annie sat waiting and had another idea. She called Flynn.

“I’m on my way to the firehouse, but I plan to talk to Barbara Jean and Witman when I get off. You okay?”

She decided not to tell him about the false claim. “Yes, but I had a thought about that medicine you found in the pharmacy bag. Did you already turn it over to Sheriff Appleton?”

“I turned it in, but he wasn’t around to receive it. I’m not sure how seriously the officer on duty took our story. Dang, that’s another thing I meant to follow up on. Why do you ask?”

“Did you look inside to see if there was a name on the bottle?”

“Annie, no one would be stupid enough to leave their name visible on a prescription bottle. It’s too easy for anyone to take it to the pharmacy and ask for a refill. The name on the label was blacked out. Besides, it wasn’t a pill bottle. It was epinephrine, two doses.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That sounds familiar. Remind me what it is.”

“People with allergic reactions carry them for emergencies. It’s adrenaline. If you had been shot up with both those, it might have been enough to stop your heart.”

She felt like her heart might stop just hearing his explanation.

“Annie, are you there?”

“I’m here. I’m just trying to take in what you said.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Now, don’t say no until you hear me out.”

“Something tells me I’m not going to like this.”

“Depends on how you look at it. So…”

“Out with it.”

“You picked the lock on Racine’s door. How confident are you about breaking into a pharmacy?”

“You sound serious. I think I’ve created a monster. No, wait. The monster existed before I got there. She was hiding in the closet.”

“How rude.” She giggled, her mood lightening because he didn’t sound like he would say no to her idea. “You live in a small town. We might be able to narrow down the list of people who use epinephrine. At the least, there should be a name we recognize.”

“You have a point, but that doesn’t mean I should take you.”

“Flynn, if you don’t take me, I’m going by myself. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Stubborn woman,” he grumbled. “Fine. Let me get some tools together, and we’ll go tonight after closing. Annie,
wait
.”

“Is that an order?”

He chuckled. “No, I have a feeling if I order you, you’ll be there before I can get off the phone.”

“Don’t be silly. It would take me a least five minutes.”

They both laughed, and he disconnected the call. Annie’s phone rang again right away.

“Annie, honey, take down this number.”

Aunt Bridge passed on the lawyer’s number, and Annie phoned the man. Within twenty minutes, she was confident she had nothing to worry about. All of her material was hers, and she had worked darn hard at the various jobs she had held just for research.

She could stop worrying and think only of solving the mystery. After being threatened, she refused to give up before this case was resolved.

A
nnie considered doing
a shoulder roll across the square of lawn behind the pharmacy and signaling Flynn that they had the all clear. Then she figured it would make no sense to break a bone and pass out.

Flynn chose the boring route by climbing out of his car, parked in a shadow in the alley, and walking across to the rear entrance of the pharmacy. Annie sighed and followed.

“Do you think they have an alarm?” She checked the area around them, but all lay in silence. The town’s crime rate was almost nonexistent—except for Wesley’s murder, of course.

“They might, but I have my ways of getting around it.” He pulled a pouch of tools from his pocket and set to work on the lock.

Annie squinted at him. “Who are you?”

His smile flashed for an instant in the dim lighting. “Investigative training, remember? Plus, I’ve read quite a bit. By the way, if we’re caught, I lose my license. Just so you know.”

“You don’t have to do this, Flynn. A good lawyer can probably get Barbara Jean off because without the marriage license, she doesn’t have a clear motive.”

“You think I’m doing it for her?”

“I…”

“Annie, someone intended to kill you. I’m going to find out who that is, and he’s going to be sorry for it.”

“Oh.” Her breath caught in her throat. “Um, okay. Thanks.”

Soon they were inside the pharmacy, and Annie shined her flashlight around. The store wasn’t very big. While they entered the back behind the counter, Annie had a good view of the rest of the shop. Four rows of products made up the entirety.

In the back, tall shelves from floor to ceiling contained various bottles and boxes. “It’s all just lying out like this?”

Flynn ignored the shelves and moved to the computer. He tapped a button on the keyboard, and the screen came to life. “I’m guessing the harder stuff is locked away. We’re not interested in drugs. We want information.”

“No one’s around down here. I’m wondering if it’s safe to turn on a light.”

Flynn nodded his agreement, and Annie flipped a switch. Light illuminated the area behind the counter and left the front part of the shop semi-dark. If anyone wandered about in the downtown area, they would see the light from the street. She and Flynn needed to work fast.

A password page came into view on the computer, and Annie moaned. “I don’t know how far your reading has taken you, but I don’t see you as a hacker.”

“You mean
you
aren’t?”

She stiffened, seeing their plans circle the drain, but Flynn chuckled.

“Don’t give up yet. I’m not sure of any other town, but I know the guy who runs this pharmacy, and something tells me…”

Flynn searched under the keyboard and in several drawers near the computer. She got where he was going and looked as well. “This might be it.”

Annie handed a small bit of paper to Flynn, which had been taped to the underside of the monitor. The single word couldn’t be anything other than the code used to log into the computer. Flynn tried it, and it worked.

“I think my computer at home is harder to break into than this one.” She shook her head in wonder as Flynn brought up the main screen to the pharmacy’s record system.

“When the worse you ever deal with is a couple teens joy-riding in a stolen car, you get lax. I still think this is the best place to live in America.”

Annie scoffed. “Amberlon is the best.”

He grinned. “We’ll debate later.”

They scoured the records for half an hour, first trying to figure out the system and then how to search for what they needed without having any specific information such as birth date or a name. The pharmacy’s files weren’t set up in a way to search for all users of epinephrine pens.

“Maybe dates of prescriptions filled?” Annie suggested.

“Good idea. Let’s go with drawing a report of all prescriptions in the last two weeks. There’s no guarantee the person filled their prescription just before deciding to pay you a visit, but we need a little luck.”

The information popped up on the screen. “One hundred thirty? Oh boy, people are unhealthy.”

Flynn made a noise of agreement and ran his finger down the screen. Annie leaned over his shoulder reading as he did. They both reached the familiar name at the same time.

“I never would have imagined, not in a million years,” she whispered.

“We don’t know he’s involved.”

Something niggled at the back of Annie’s mind, a memory. She shut her eyes and thought hard. Then it came to her. “Flynn, at the Witmans’ party, Percy Kelley refused to eat a crab puff. In fact, he looked almost scared of it.”

Flynn turned to face her. “His name is on the list, but like you, I can’t imagine him poisoning Wesley.”

“Well, we won’t know until we go over there and confront him.”

“You’re determined to go with me?”

“Of course. I want to know the details of what happened. He smiled at me at the party and seemed so nice. When I visited his office, he was resentful of me poking into the Witmans’ business, but that was only natural. I didn’t get a vibe of murder off him at all, and that honestly makes me nervous.”

“There are no guarantees a murderer will look like one.”

She agreed.

“Okay, we’ll pay him a visit in the morning. Let’s get out of here before we’re caught.”

They left the pharmacy after covering all traces they had been there. Annie rode in silence beside Flynn and then looked over at him. “Are you going to Barbara Jean’s?”

He glanced at her and then focused on the road. His hand moved to take hers, but he paused, hovering above her hand and drew back. Annie hesitated and then slid her palm into his warm one. She and Flynn had worn gloves to enter the pharmacy, but they removed them afterward.

“Now that she’s been blocked from claiming to be married to Wesley, she’s not a threat.”

“What about her meeting with Mr. Witman?”

His mouth tightened. “She tried to bribe him. She pretended she had found the license and could prove she was married to his son, but she didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the family. If he would give her money, she’d give him the license and go away.”

Annie gaped. “You’re kidding. She would go to such lengths to get money?”

“Apparently, yes. And when she got him at the restaurant since she obviously didn’t have the license, she moved on to trying to seduce him.”

“I’m sorry, Flynn.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“I know you care about her.”

They arrived at her house, and Flynn parked and walked inside with Annie. When Annie opened the door, Shadow raced out, and she let him go. She and Flynn hardly moved more than a few feet inside the house and closed the door, before he drew her into his arms. Her heart rate jacked up a thousand times, and she grew short of breath. She froze, unable to move.

Flynn drew back, but he raised both hands to her cheeks. “I keep having to remind you it’s you I’m interested in. I don’t mind doing it. I like you a lot, Annie. You’re one of a kind.”

She lowered her gaze. “I’ve got major problems, Flynn.”

“I know.”

“You don’t know.”

“You have OCD.”

“That’s not all of it.”

“Annie, look at me.”

She resisted.

“Annie?”

She swallowed and raised her gaze from his chest. Expecting him to start pleading his case, she lost the ability to think when he kissed her gently on the lips. For the first time in her life, a man kissed her.

Annie jerked away from him and stumbled backward until she hit the wall. Her eyes were so wide they hurt. Yet, deep in her belly, butterflies stirred. Desire and other emotions danced a jig all over her consciousness.

“Flynn, I—I—I…”

He didn’t move from the spot she left him, and he let his hands fall to his sides. “Annie, do you like me?”

“You know I like you, but—”

“Are you attracted to me?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“I’m asking you out again.” When she would have protested, he raised his hands. “I don’t mind if we have to take it super slow. I’m a pretty patient man.”

I’ve been kissed, and he knows about me and my family.

Annie squinted at Flynn and studied his face. He seemed dead serious. “Maybe you have problems, too.”

He chuckled. “I’m not ruling it out.”

With space between them, Annie started to calm down. Flynn remaining still helped. He was so good with her emotions she couldn’t believe it. Yet, he had pushed past all of them to kiss her. That part she couldn’t get over.

“Funny you should mention going slow.” She gave a small shaky laugh. “Would you be willing to meet my aunt and pose as my boyfriend?”

He blinked. Annie had a vision of him running down the driveway and causing his tires to screech as he made his getaway.

“Pose?”

“Yes, I told her to stop trying to set me up with men. Then she found out you were staying at my house, and she assumed we were living together. She demanded I bring you by to assess your worthiness. You can say no, and I’ll deal with her another way. I think I’ve spent too many years letting Aunt Bridge think she can control my life.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Huh? Flynn, you don’t have to.”

“Annie, I said I’ll do it. But I don’t want to pose. I want to be your boyfriend.”

She gulped. “I thought we were going slow.”

“It’s a title. Let’s try it on for size.”

She couldn’t believe him. He amazed her every time she spoke to him, which was why she wanted so desperately to overcome her past, enough to have a relationship with him. She didn’t know if it was possible for her, but she was willing to try.

“Okay, let’s do it.”