Eggs Benedict Arnold (56 page)

“
What happened?
”
asked Suzanne, stunned.
“
What
’
s going on?
”

“
I just gotta go,
”
said Dil. He looked past her, his bleary
eyes rolling back and forth with fear.
“
It isn
’
t safe,
”
he told
her in a hoarse whisper.

“
You
’
re not making sense,
”
said Suzanne. And wasn
’
t that an understatement?

“
Can
’
t stay,
”
muttered Dil, struggling into his army jacket.
“
Scared,
”
he added.

“
Scared of what?
”
asked Suzanne. She was getting a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like she
’
d eaten something that didn
’
t agree with her.

“
I saw the woman,
”
Dil hissed.
“
She
’
s a bad woman.
”

Suzanne stood stock-still and stared at him.
“
What?
”
she whispered in disbelief. She glanced back at the Cack
leberry Club. What was Dil talking about? Had he seen Missy or Carmen enter the Cackleberry Club? Had he had a previous encounter with either one of them? Or maybe
with Kit? Was something going on with Kit that she didn
’
t
know about? Suzanne glanced back toward the Cackleberry Club and frowned. Or... and it could be as simple as
this ... was Dil the gingerbread thief and Toni had scolded
him about it earlier?

As if that notion seemed to hold a little credence, a shadow wavered inside the Cackleberry Club, behind the screen door.

“
Wait a minute,
”
Suzanne murmured.
“
Hold everything.
”
She was trying to make sense of Dil
’
s paranoia, to pull it all together into one nice, neat package. But her thoughts hadn
’
t quite gelled yet.

“
You stay here,
”
Suzanne told Dil,
“
while I go check on
something, okay?
”

“
No,
”
said Dil, pushing past her.
“
Got to go!
”

“
No. Please!
”
cried Suzanne. She dashed out into the
rain after him, reaching for him, but the tips of her fingers only caught the rough cotton of his army jacket. And
th
en
he was gone. Ducking around the side of the Cackleberry Club and virtually melting into the darkness.

“
Please?
”
she called after him in a small voice. She
stared into the night, rain slashing down at her, drenching
her in a cold spray. Then she turned and noticed Baxter,
who had followed her out into the rain.
“
You poor thing,
”
she told him,
“
you
’
re absolutely drenched. Get back inside,
okay? I
’
ll get a towel and dry you off. Doggone it,
”
she
muttered, as the door creaked open behind her.

Suzanne whirled around, expecting Petra to be standing there, peeking out the back door, gesturing for her to come inside. Or maybe even holding out a towel for her.

Instead, the cold, hard face of Nadine Carr stared at her.

“
What?
”
said Suzanne, momentarily startled.
“
What
’
s . . . ?
”

That
’
s when Suzanne noticed the gun. A Smith & Wes
son pistol pointed directly at her heart.

Chapter thirty two

“
Where
is he?
”
demanded Nadine.

“
Who?
”
said Suzanne.

“
You know who I
’
m talking about,
”
snarled Nadine.
“
That ragtag ex-
soldier
you were just talking to.
”

“
Gone,
”
said Suzanne.
“
And why are you ... ?
”

“
Shut up,
”
snarled Nadine.
“
Don
’
t say a word. From now on you do
exactly
what I say.
”

“
Okay,
”
said Suzanne, staring at the small round hole
that was so carelessly pointed at her rapidly thudding heart.
“
Sure. Whatever.
”

Nadine held out a hand.
“
Give me your car keys.
”

Suzanne stood still as a statue, her wet hair plastered against her head, her teeth beginning to chatter.
“
What?
”
she said, feeling stupid.
Is that what this is about? No, it can
’
t be. She
’
s after Dil.
“
What
’
s wrong with your car?
”

“
There are cars parked all around me,
”
Nadine snarled.
“
So you
’
re going to give me yours.
”

Suzanne patted the pockets of her khaki slacks and came
up empty.
“
In my jacket,
”
she told Nadine.
“
Inside.
”
Cold
water trickled down the back of Suzanne
’
s neck. An even colder feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach.

“
Where?
”
demanded Nadine.

Suzanne made a slightly futile gesture.
“
In the kitchen, hanging on the back hook.
”

“
Get over here,
”
ordered Nadine.
“
And don
’
t you dare cry out. Don
’
t utter a single word.
”

“
Just the keys,
”
murmured Suzanne.
“
I
’
ll hand over the
keys and then you
’
ll leave?
”

“
Nothing
’
s that easy!
”
barked Nadine.
“
You, Miss Snoop, are coming with me.
”

“
No way,
”
said Suzanne, finally putting some force in her voice.
Go with this crazy lady? I don
’
t think so.

The pistol in Nadine
’
s hand waggled back and forth.
“
I
have ways of making you do exactly what I want,
”
said
Nadine with a giggle. Her voice was a low mix of craziness
and excitement.

What happened to the Nadine I thought I knew?
Suzanne
wondered.
What happened to Nadine Carr? Has some hell
ish doppelganger suddenly invaded her body?

Could this possibly be the same woman who
’
d come to the Knit-In? Who
’
d just been awarded a bright purple
ribbon at the cake-decorating contest? What was going on?
Had the world gone completely mad and suddenly lurched
off its axis?

Then it all hit Suzanne in a rush. Like a freight train steaming recklessly toward her, like a terrible cyclone churning its way across fields and city blocks, wreaking
destruction.
“
You killed Ozzie Driesden!
”
Suzanne said, in
a pained voice.
“
And Bo?
”

Nadine
’
s aged face pulled itself into an evil, knowing smile.
“
Aren
’
t you the clever one.
”

“
But why?
”
asked Suzanne.
Why on earth?

“
Not remotely your business,
”
said Nadine.
“
Even though
you took it upon yourself to
make
it your business. Always
trying to stay one step ahead of our illustrious Sheriff Doogie. Well, we
’
ll just see what happens when
you
disappear.
See how fast it takes him to find
your
dead, decaying body.
”

Suzanne stared at her.
“
You
’
re insane.
”

“
No,
”
said Nadine, her voice dripping with venom,
“
I
’
m
just tying up loose ends. Because you, Suzanne
The
tz, have
been
way
too interested in my personal business.
”
Nadine pulled her lips into a tight rictus of anger.
“
Now . . . move!
”

“
Not gonna happen,
”
declared Suzanne.
“
No way, no
how.
”
She knew she had to make a stand. Here was as good
a place as any.

Nadine swung her arm around and pointed the gun directly at Baxter
’
s head. He was standing in the rain, some
ten feet from Suzanne, watching the two of them as though
he were a spectator at a tennis
m
at
ch, wondering in his lit
tle doggy brain what part he should play. As Nadine aimed
directly at him, worry seemed to flicker in Baxter
’
s brown
eyes as lightning blazed in the sky above.

“
No!
”
screamed Suzanne.

“
Then
move
!
”
ordered Nadine.

Suzanne clumped woodenly toward the back door.
Would Dil come running back to tackle Nadine? Or would
Baxter come charging after them like Rin Tin Tin on a res
cue mission? Grab Nadine from behind and shake her like
a rag doll until the pistol flew from her hand?

None of that happened. Even though the night sky crashed
and boomed above them, no deus ex machina descended
from heaven to serve as Suzanne
’
s ulti
m
at
e salvation.

All Suzanne could do was grab the spindly little door
handle and yank the back door open. And hope. Fervently hope that someone would come to her rescue without any
one getting shot!

There was another loud crack of thunder, a flicker of
lights, and then a strange sulfurous, electrical smell seemed
to permeate the air.