Euphoria Lane (30 page)

“We are truly sorry for your loss,” Luke offered.

“You wanted to know about the bookmark. No, I don’t remember seeing it before. Reverend Nichols must have placed it around her neck when he killed her.” He gnawed at his lip while glancing out the window, then back at her. “He signed a confession.”

“I heard,” Andi said softly.

“So why are you here?” Doctor Owens asked, confusion registering on his frail features.

Andi stood. “I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry I bothered you.”

On the way to the door, Luke and Andi both noticed boxes stacked at the end of the hall, near his bedroom door. Was he planning to move, or was he wasting no time in removing his wife’s belongings?

Andi’s gaze traveled to the dining room table. Luke’s followed the same path. A pile of paperwork and a cup of coffee covered the flat wooden surface. For a man on tranquilizers, he appeared to be getting a lot of work done.

Once the door closed behind them, Andi took slow, deliberate steps toward the sidewalk.

“I thought Tess committed suicide, but I don’t think so any more. And I don’t think Reverend Nichols killed her.”

Luke knew the boxes and paperwork in the condo had something to do with Andi’s new line of thinking. “Promise me you will not go near Doctor Owens again.”

She glanced back at the door as if pondering his statement.

“Andi, promise me.”

“I already promised,” she offered reluctantly.

Soon after the sun set, Andi stood in front of her condo, pretending to shoot the breeze with Meg and Roxie while they waited for the veterinarian to leave. They knew he would because Roxie’s son, currently out on bail, had called his after-hours emergency service. His pet Doberman had “eaten a poisonous plant” and needed immediate attention. He refused to let anyone other than Doctor Owens treat his dog. Andi had been amazed at how the bookie took orders from his mother without question or explanation.

She had heard Doctor Owens took his job seriously. Living up to his reputation, he soon emerged from his garage. He carefully backed his black SUV out onto Euphoria Lane. Although the streetlamp shone down on his windshield, it was difficult to make out more than his shadow from half a block away. Meg waved to him as he left through the gate like she normally would have. Andi pointed toward Harry’s condo as if complaining to Roxie about the former HOA president.

The second the vet was out of sight, Roxie handed her the universal garage door remote with a flourish. “You hurry up and do your thing. We’ll keep an eye out for the doggie doctor.”

“What should we do if we see him?” Meg asked.

“Text me.” Glad her friend had inadvertently reminded her about the possibility her cell phone could ring during her Luminol test, Andi set it to vibrate. She nervously slipped the phone into the pocket of her tan shorts. She had never broken into anyone’s home before. If caught, she could go to jail and lose her job.

But I have to take the risk. Lives are at stake.

She pointed the remote toward her condo and the garage door lifted. In the back trunk of her Mustang, she found the Luminol and black light where she’d left them in the gym bag.

“This should take only a few minutes. If I’m not back in fifteen, call my sister. She’s at the police station filling out paperwork.”

Meg patted her on the back. “I wish I were as brave as you. I wouldn’t want to be all alone in that garage if a body had been stored in the freezer. What if it’s haunted?”

“Thanks. Now I have something else to worry about.” She shrugged the bag of equipment over her shoulder. “Remember, fifteen minutes.”

Keeping out of the light of the streetlamps, she sneaked over to the vet’s condo and pointed the remote. The garage door lifted with more noise than she’d anticipated. A quick glance around confirmed there were no witnesses, other than her friends. She could feel her pulse racing. No one at her school would ever guess she was capable of committing a crime.

Hopefully, they’ll never find out.

She halted the garage door when it reached the halfway mark, bent under to enter the dark room, and then sealed it shut with another press of the remote. For a second she thought about Meg’s fear of a ghost and shuddered. Not willing to give in to paranoia, Andi dropped the remote into the bag and felt for the flashlight. She pulled it out of the bag and pushed the switch to the “On” position. A small circular spotlight hit upon a dark-colored suitcase and a set of golf clubs resting against the far wall. The clubs cast eerie shadows resembling alien creatures with odd-shaped heads. Near the door leading to the condo, she found several paint cans and a pole attached to a roller that had been left in a spotless silver tray. They hadn’t been there the last time she had checked out the garage. Doctor Owens was planning to paint.

Is he hoping to cover up any trace evidence?

Andi set down her bag and removed the Luminol. She attached the spray nozzle and took aim at the walls, the cement floor, and the freezer lid, both inside and out. After returning the bottle to her bag, she removed the black light. Once she was ready to flip on the switch, she summoned the courage to face whatever she might find.

Taking a deep, grounding breath, she slid the switch into place and found only the circle of light from her flashlight shining on the wall behind the freezer and on the cement floor. If he had killed Bernice or his wife and dragged them to the freezer, there should have been evidence of blood.

Feeling a bit disappointed without knowing why, she scanned the room again and eyed a couple of spots that appeared to be glowing on the wall near the door. Not sure what to make of that, she continued to turn slowly to the right. On the opposite side of the garage, the wall lit up with glow-in-the-dark blood spatter. Evidence someone may have been killed in that very room made her stomach lurch. Her knees threatened to give out from under her.

The door creaked open, and Andi’s heart jumped. She stared into the face of the cowboy peeking out from behind it.

“What . . .” she couldn’t find the words needed to finish her thought.

“I was going to ask you the same thing, girly.” He stepped into the room and stared at the wall, the floor, and then back at her. “The freezer used to be on that side. It needed to be moved to clean the walls properly.”

How would he know that? Are the two men working together?

She’d fainted enough times to know the tunnel vision she was currently looking through was not a good sign. She blinked, forcing it away. Her life depended on her remaining lucid.

“How did you get in here?”

“I have a key.” He held it up for her to see. “I’ve had it for a while now. I watch the house when Chris, Doctor Owens, leaves town with the missus.”

Were the two men working together to knock off the board?

He stepped closer to the golf clubs, which were spotted with glowing blood spatter.

“This here would be the murder weapon, I suspect.”

“How cleaver of you, Mr. Decker.” Doctor Owens flipped on the light switch. He held a gun pointed directly at Andi. “I knew something was up when I reached the clinic and my ‘emergency client’ was running happily around the parking lot. I immediately smelled a setup. Creating a diversion could only mean you needed me out of my condo.” He waved the gun toward the cowboy. “I didn’t expect to find you both here.”

“I spotted this one sneaking into your garage and decided to check it out.” Still holding the golf club, the cowboy sidled up to Andi. “Now, Chris, you know you can’t shoot us both here and get away with it. Guns make too much noise.”

He tapped the barrel. “Not this one. I had it modified. No one will hear more than a couple of pops like champagne bottles opening. With so many people squeezed into a small location, people don’t investigate a faint noise here or there.”

“I see your point.” The cowboy nodded glumly. “They don’t notice noises like this one.” He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket with his free hand and tossed them at the far wall.

Doctor Owens followed the motion with his eyes, and the cowboy swung the golf club with the strength of a man half his age. He batted the gun out of the doctor’s hand. The weapon flew across the room and skated across the cement. In a complete rage, the veterinarian jumped the older man and yanked the golf club away. Before the cowboy could react, Doctor Owens clubbed him over the head. Mr. Decker fell forward, sprawling out over the pavement. Blood dripped down his gray hair.

Andi stared at the body slumped on the cement floor.

I’m responsible for the cowboy’s death. He wouldn’t have come over if he hadn’t seen me sneaking into the garage.

The veterinarian turned toward the gun. Andi had to act fast. Running ahead of him, she kicked the gun high. It slammed against the wall behind the hot water heater and fell out of reach. Having bought just seconds of time, she ran to the garage door button, pushed hard, then ran to the bag containing the golf clubs. She pulled one out and spun to face him.

He hit the button on the wall, forcing the garage door to stop lifting. He pushed it again, and the door closed. Reaching to the side, he turned on a radio on top of a cabinet.

Andi knew the radio meant her fate had been decided. He didn’t want anyone to hear him killing her with the club. She should have screamed when the garage door was open. If she tried now, no one would hear over the radio. Her only hope was that Meg and Roxie had seen the door opening and closing.

Time was running out. She couldn’t let the vet win. Their gazes locked, each holding a golf club ready to do as much damage as possible. Empowered by the adrenaline rushing through her body, she shifted her balance back and forth like a wrestler.

“My friends know I’m here.”

“But they don’t know I am.” An evil grin lit up his face. “I parked outside the gate and sneaked inside the complex.”

“I see.” Her jaw clenched. She needed to hold him off for as long as possible. Her friends would call Jessie after fifteen minutes. “You killed your wife.”

“Took you long enough to figure that one out, detective,” his words dripped with disdain. “I can’t blame you for not putting the pieces together earlier, though. I did plan it all quite well.”

“Your wife’s death was premeditated?” That she hadn’t suspected.

“No, you idiot, the cover-up. Although I did warn Tess if she ever tried to leave me again, I would kill her.” He gestured to the suitcases with his club. “We had a fight over me playing golf, just like I told the cops. She annoyed me, and I slapped her. She claimed it was the final straw and came out here to grab a suitcase.” He shook his head. “I told her she could never leave me. She should have listened. Just like you should have stayed away while you could.”

He took a step forward.

She took a step back.

The cowboy lifted an eyelid, but didn’t move. He was probably too weak to be of any help, but Andi was glad he wasn’t dead.

“Bernice,” she muttered. “Why did you kill her?”

“I had no choice. She heard us fighting on her way back from the board meeting and knocked at the door. Her mistake was noticing the blood on the cuff of my shirt. I told her Tess had fallen off a ladder and I needed her help. She fell for it and rushed to the garage. I was forced to kill her, too.”

He took another step forward.

Andi took another step back.

“You used bleach to clean up the garage, and it killed the fish.” She knew she had gotten that much right.

“I do regret killing the fish.” His tone said otherwise.

“You took Bernice back to her house and dropped her out of her window.”

“True. And now you know too much.”

He lunged at her and she jumped to the side, out of his reach.

“Why try to kill Helen and Harry?” She had to know the whole truth.

“I wasn’t sure how this was going to play out until you found Bernice’s body in the dumpster. Everyone assumed a deranged killer was after the board. I decided to keep the myth alive. When they find your body, and his,” he pointed to the cowboy, “they will think the killer is going after the newly appointed members of the board as well.”

“But the motel manager saw Tess.”

“He saw a hooker in a blonde wig. I needed you to think Tess was alive.”

She suddenly realized what was odd about the person who had walked past her security camera. “
You
left the note on my bathroom mirror. You dressed in a black sweat suit and wore a blonde wig so I would think it was Tess.”

A sinister smile spread over his face. “Everyone in the complex heard about Luke hiding cameras for you to catch Harry. I used them to make Tess look guilty, and you fell for it.”

The garage door jerked to life and lifted.

Not understanding why, or how, she took advantage of the sudden distraction and swung her club at the veterinarian. The impact to his stomach left her hand feeling the force of the strike. Doctor Owens doubled over and dropped to his knees. She swung the club down over his back before he could recover.

The garage door continued to lift and Andi’s heart lifted as well when she spotted Luke standing in the center of the driveway with a remote in his hand.

She ran into his arms. “Luke, he killed Tess and Bernice.”

The cowboy swayed as he tried to stand. Doctor Owens recovered and pushed him back against the wall with a thud that echoed throughout the small room.

Luke took the golf club from her hands and stormed inside. He swung hard, connecting with the vet’s chin. The man slammed into the wall and slid to the ground, next to the cowboy. The older man rolled to his side as if wanting to get as far away from him as he could. Doctor Owens’s eyes rolled up to the ceiling, and he passed out cold.

Four squad cars descended on the scene. Officers jumped from their cars, guns extended.

Luke dropped the club with a clank.

Jessie ran to Andi’s side. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Arrest Doctor Owens. He’s the killer, not the reverend.”

“I heard everything,” the cowboy mumbled. “He’s guilty. He admitted everything.”

The older sister raked a glance over her. “You sure you’re okay?”