Harley Rushes In (Book 2 of the Blue Suede Mysteries) (35 page)

“You’ve got it backward. Harry killed Bernie and Julio.”

Harley stared at him. “Wait. Harry’s dead. I saw him, remember? Unless . . . you mean Bernie is really Harry?”

“Yep. After serving time in Ohio, he was extradited to Missouri for old charges, and he just got out of jail there a month ago. The way I figure it, he tracked down Bernie and Frieda, who had changed their names. Bernie took on Harry’s identity, and Frieda took on her dead sister’s name. It would have caught up to them eventually, but apparently Julio got greedy and wanted a bigger piece of the pie, and Bernie and Frieda didn’t want to share. Bernie shot Julio and hid his body, and then the real Harry showed up. Since he started the whole operation and went to jail for it, I imagine he demanded either all the profits or merchandise, or he was so mad at taking the rap in Ohio alone he killed Bernie. Either way, it looks like he killed Bernie, after Bernie had already killed Julio.”

“But . . . the gun. They were both shot with Aunt Darcy’s gun.”

“Bernie took it from your aunt’s desk, killed Julio, and still had it when Harry showed up. Harry probably wore gloves when he shot Bernie, and then stuck the pistol in the nearest car, which happened to be your aunt’s. Your cousin Madelyn told me she showed up, saw that Harry was dead, then saw her sister leaving from the parking lot next door and thought the worst. She took off when you showed up. Meanwhile, the real Harry must have been going crazy with all the activity in a shop that was supposed to be closed. He didn’t have time to look for ledgers or bank account numbers, so he took Bernie’s car, the blue Mustang you saw, switched plates and ditched it when it got too hot. From what I can figure out, José here thought it was this Harry who killed his brother.”

A little dazed, Harley shook her head. “How’d you find out all this stuff?”

Bobby grinned. “Easy. When fingerprints proved Harry Gordon wasn’t Harry Gordon, it all came together pretty quick. We just had to find Harry and Frieda.”

“Well, I did that for you. Shouldn’t I get some kind of reward?”

He stood up. “In the first place, they found you, not the other way around, and second, there was no reward offered, and thirdly, you were more of a hindrance than a help.”

“Bummer.”

“Look at it this way, you’re still alive and you’ll get paid by your aunt.”

She perked up. “That’s true.”

“Now, do us all a favor and go home. You can show up at the precinct tomorrow to give an official statement.”

“But what are you going to do about Anna and Frieda? They got away.”

“We’ll find them. We’ve got the make and plates on the car Frieda’s driving, and we’ve put out an APB. They’ll get picked up before long. Just don’t try to help, dammit. Okay?”

“No worry. I think I’m done for the day. Or year. I’ve had enough excitement to last me a long time.”

“Good. If only I could believe that.”

Harley smiled. Sometimes Bobby could be so untrusting.

She had Morgan take her to her aunt’s house for her bike, and found to her surprise, that Darcy hadn’t retreated to her usual form of medication but was quite sober and alert. And grateful.

“I’ll never forget how you went with that murderer just to save us, Harley,” she said with a tear in her eye. “It was so heroic. You’re the bravest person I know!”

“Well, maybe not the bravest. I was pretty scared,” she said modestly, and heard Morgan cough to cover up a snort of laughter. She ignored him, and let Darcy lavish praise on her for a few more minutes before she said she had to go.

“Wait—here, sugar,” Darcy said, and handed her a check. “It’s what I owe you, with a bit more for all your trouble.”

Harley’s eyes bugged out and she got a little lightheaded. “Aunt Darcy, this says ten thousand dollars.”

“You’re worth every penny. Besides, I can afford it. If not for . . . everything . . . maybe Paul and I wouldn’t have realized how much we mean to each other. He’s moving back in, and things are going to be all right again. I told you I was with a man the night Harry was killed, remember? It was my divorce lawyer. Madelyn took me to my Junior League meeting, but I called a taxi and went to meet an attorney, then went back to the meeting in time for her to pick me up. When I found out you’d seen my car at the shop when Harry was killed, well, I thought . . . I just didn’t know what to think. I couldn’t tell the truth without incriminating my daughter.” She paused and took a deep breath. “It was all such a mess, but Detective Baroni, he really was nice about all of it. When he finally convinced me that telling the truth would be best for not just me but all of us, that we were in danger as long as I didn’t, I believed him but I was still so afraid.”

Darcy looked over at her husband, who stood quietly nearby. Her expression softened. “Then Paul came to talk to me. He convinced me I needed to tell everything I knew.”

Uncle Paul smiled. He never said much. Maybe living in a household of three talkative females had drained his conversational skills. Not especially tall, but very distinguished looking with gray at his temples and an expensive suit that shouted “money” much louder than anything he could have said, he just nodded at his wife.

“So I finally told all that to the police,” Darcy said, “and now . . . now I don’t want a divorce. And I’ve agreed to go to . . . to AA. Paul’s been very supportive. I owe you so much, sugar.”

Well, a hero,
and
a therapist. She was really getting good, even if by accident. There were times everything just seemed to go right.

As Morgan walked her out to her bike to follow her home, his cell phone rang. He got it on the second ring, said a few terse words, then hung up and looked at Harley.

“I promised Bobby I’d see you home, but that was the hideout. We’ve got some things going down and they need me. If I leave you, do you promise not to get into any more trouble?

“Believe me, I’ve had all the trouble I can handle. I’m ready to go home and soak in the tub for a few days, maybe even play with my rubber ducky and plastic boat.”

He grinned. “I’ll join you later if I can.”

“Hurry back, sailor. When this ship goes down, it’d be nice if you were there.”

“You scare me.”

She just smiled. Morgan left in his car—actually, a car that belonged to the MPD—and she fired up her bike and put on her helmet. If she was lucky and the traffic wasn’t bad, she could be home in fifteen minutes.

As usual, her luck remained bad. An accident on Poplar tied up traffic for miles, so she took the interstate and got off at the Nonconnah exit. Might as well run by to tell Cami what had happened. After all, she was involved in this too. Then she’d take another route home and bypass the wreck that’d probably take hours to clear away.

Cami was surprised to see her. “Hey, Harley, I didn’t really expect you back today.”

“Wait’ll you hear this—Harry Gordon is alive.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I just had to see your face when I told you that.”

It didn’t take too long to tell her most of the story, and she finished by saying, “As soon as they catch Frieda and Anna, they’ll be able to find out all the stuff that was smuggled in and who bought it. It ought to be interesting to see just who in Memphis knowingly bought illegal artifacts and goods, don’t you think?”

“Frightening, too. Heads will probably roll. No wonder everybody wants that ledger. It’s almost as valuable as the illegal goods if you’re a criminal who doesn’t mind a little blackmail.”

“I imagine Darcy will lose a few clients over this. But she’s agreed to go to AA. Oh, she and Uncle Paul are getting back together.”

Cami blinked. “I didn’t know they were apart.”

“Neither did I. Apparently there was some kind of reconciliation brought on by Aunt Darcy being in danger. Romantic, huh? Oh, and she paid me, too.”

Cami looked underwhelmed until Harley whipped out the check and showed it to her. Then she let out a squeal. “Ten thousand dollars! My God, Harley, what are you going to do with it?”

“Pay some debts, buy a new cell phone if it doesn’t take too much of it, and save the rest.”

“That’s so responsible of you.”

“I know. Lord. Now I sound like Grandmother Eaton. Maybe I should take a cruise with some of it. Ever been to the Bahamas?”

“No, but I’ve been to Acapulco. My honeymoon with Jace. In retrospect, that was the best part of our marriage. It went downhill from there.”

Harley nodded sympathetically. She was just about to offer condolences when the doorbell rang and the dogs started barking so loudly Cami wouldn’t have heard her anyway.

“Put them out in the back while I get the door, would you?” Cami yelled as she headed to the door, and Harley opened the French door leading to the deck and back yard and then stood back as all the dogs tried to get through it at the same time. Maybe all dogs were alike. They were remarkably similar to King. Loud, obnoxious, but fortunately for them, cute enough that the rest didn’t really matter as much as it should.

When she heard Cami give a startled cry, she turned to see two women push their way in the front door. She recognized them immediately: Anna and Frieda. And they didn’t look very friendly.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded as she started toward them, then saw the pistol in Frieda’s hand. “Not that you aren’t welcome, of course.”

“José said he left something with you. I want it.”

Harley blinked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. He didn’t leave anything with me but his gun, and the police have that.”

“Yes, he did. I talked to him earlier. José had something that belonged to me and he said he’d trade it to me if I gave him information on where he could find Harry. He said you have it.”

“Well, José lied. Is that how you found me here?”

Frieda looked smug. “I made a deal with him, and I’ll make one with you—give it to me and I won’t kill both of you. If you don’t, I’ll start with your little friend here.”

Cami looked pale but defiant. “If Harley says she doesn’t have it, she doesn’t. She’s not dumb enough to risk our lives for whatever it is you think she has.”

“Guess we’ll find out then, won’t we?” Frieda aimed the pistol, some kind of revolver, and slowly pulled back the hammer with her thumb.

Harley’s heart beat so loud it drowned out everything else, but Cami let out a shriek that could peel wallpaper. It even startled Frieda. She jerked, and the shot went into the ceiling.

Seizing the moment, Harley rushed toward her, but Anna got in the way. She grabbed at Harley’s arms and tried to stop her, and just as Harley broke free, Frieda let out a scream. It took only a few seconds to recognize what had happened.

Frightened by the loud noise, Sam had attacked Frieda just like he had José in the car, and still clung to her leg. It looked like he’d dug in with all claws, holding on to her pants and leg as Frieda frantically tried to pull him off without losing skin. Cami leaped forward to protect the cat from the wild blows aimed at his head, and Harley grabbed for the pistol.

After a brief tussle, Frieda was outmatched even with Anna trying fiercely to intervene, and Harley had the gun in her hands. She aimed it at both sisters.

“Better put your hands up or this thing might go off by accident.”

Cami finally got Sam detached from Frieda and immediately dropped him when he lashed out at her, too. The cat took off with tail high in the air while Harley kept her eyes on Frieda and Anna.

“Cami, call the cops. I think they’ll be really interested in catching up with these two. I hear they’ve been looking for them.”

It seemed to take forever for them to get there, but in reality it was only about five minutes before a cruiser pulled up outside with siren going and lights flashing. Not long after those officers arrived, Bobby showed up. When he saw Harley he just shook his head.

“Hi, Bobby. Fancy meeting you here,” she said, and the look he gave her was grim.