Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 08 - Vows & Victims (14 page)
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Authors: Laina Turner
Tags: #Mystery: Cozy - Wedding - Illinois
“We didn’t have a relationship,” Chris insisted, but no one was really listening to him. We were too focused on the drama unfolding in front of us.
“Oh, quit whining. She was trash and evil and a sinner. You did the community a favor!”
“Trish, if you felt so strongly, then why didn’t you kill her yourself?” I asked.
“Because thou shalt not kill,” she said to me like I was as stupid as they come. Twisted logic she had. Actual killing wasn’t OK, but tricking someone else into doing it wasn’t a problem.
“Well, all the little kiddies are here,” a woman’s voice said behind us, and I turned to see Helen and Simon walking up.
We had all been distracted, and no one had heard their car pull in or saw them walking up to us.
“I’ll take that, thank you,” Simon said to Jonathan, taking his gun.
Jonathan looked almost relieved to not have it in his hand anymore. Simon was almost surely packing a gun already and now he had two.
“Nice of you to join us,” Dirt said with a smile, and I could tell he was glad they had arrived. I was sure Jonathan and Trish being here made things more difficult but nothing to be done about it now.
“We couldn’t have you go around spreading lies about Simon. That’s just not right,” said Helen.
“Can’t Simon speak for himself anymore, Helen?” Dirt said sarcastically, no doubt just to annoy her, which was fine with me.
“Simon isn’t like you, Dirt. He understands the value of a good woman on his side. Not a little girl,” she said and looked at Katy. I could see Dirt bristling at her comment, but he was doing a good job at maintaining his control.
“Let’s just cut the crap, Helen. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life in jail for a crime I didn’t commit,” he said in an even tone.
“Isn’t it a little too late for that?” Helen said. “You’ve already gone down that road and no one’s going to believe you’re innocent now. People in jail tend to always claim to be innocent. Who believes them?”
“How can you live with yourself, knowing that your boyfriend killed your husband?” Dirt asked.
“I don’t really think about it.” She said. “Tom was a weak man. It was only because of my money and my connections he became senator anyway. He just outlived his usefulness.”
“Simon, I know Helen’s a cold–hearted bitch, but I thought you wanted out of your father’s life of crime. Why would you go down the same path?” Dirt said.
Simon shrugged. “Sometimes you have to take drastic measures and people get in the way. I don’t like it when people try and complicate things,” he said, walking over to Dirt with Jonathan’s gun casually in his hand. “I like life simple and complications annoy me. You know, Helen,” he added, glancing at her, “it’s a good thing these extra people are here. With his prints on this gun it won’t need to involve us at all.” He pointed to Jonathan, who gave a little whimper.
“Well, I’ve had enough chitchat, so let’s just get this over with,” Helen said.
“You can’t kill us all,” I said. “That would look more than a little suspicious, don’t you think?”
“We didn’t plan on Dirt turning this into a party, but we can’t have any witnesses,” Helen said. “I don’t want to have to go through this again. Come on, Simon, deal with this!”
The woman was delusional, I thought. Even more so than Trish, who didn’t really seem fazed by all this.
“Simon, just answer me one thing,” I asked, trying to buy more time. “Why kill the senator? Why not let Helen just divorce him?”
“It wasn’t about Helen. I wanted to make my dad think I was doing him a favor so he wouldn’t realize I was working to double–cross him. The senator was just collateral damage.”
I couldn’t help but smile a little when I glanced at Helen after Simon said that. She didn’t look too happy, but she must have decided this wasn’t the place and time to discuss it because she didn’t say anything, which was unusual for her.
I looked at Dirt, hoping this was all part of his plan. I just wanted him to do something.
“Simon, just let everyone else go. I’m the one you want,” Dirt said.
“Sorry, that just can’t happen,” Simon said slowly. “Helen’s right. Too many loose ends that we’ll only have to take care of later.”
“Helen, don’t you feel the least bit guilty?” I said.
“Guilty? No. Bored? Yes. Simon, please can’t we hurry this along. I want to get out of this Godforsaken town.”
“You’re right, no sense in waiting any longer,” Simon said raising the gun, Jonathan’s gun, to Dirt’s temple.
I heard a gun go off and closed my eyes, not wanting to open them for fear of seeing Dirt lying on the ground dead.
“Son of a bitch!” I heard Simon yell. “That bitch shot me!”
I opened my eyes to see Simon grabbing at his bicep where I could see blood seeping through his shirt and Trish standing there with a gun in her hand. What the hell? Why did she have a gun? Thank goodness she was a decent shot.
“Everyone stay right where you are!” I heard another voice behind me. I wheeled around to see three cop cars and a black Escalade behind us. Officer Schultz and several other officers with drawn guns were standing there and Officer Schultz was the one speaking. I had never been so glad to see police officers and…Cooper. Oh my God, it was Cooper!
“Get him, he’s running away!” Jonathan yelled, pointing to Simon who had reached the car he and Helen had arrived in and was getting in.
Simon started the car and was backing out when more shots were fired by the police, blowing out the tires. Good try, Simon, I thought, but you’re not going anywhere.
Chapter 20
A
re you OK, King?” Cooper said, rushing up to me.
I gave him a huge hug. I was so happy to see him. “I’m fine.”
He told me he’d be right back and went to check on everyone else.
“Can you believe what just happened?” I said to Katy who was standing by me.
“No, I feel like I’ve been dreaming and will be waking up at any minute. How do you feel about seeing Cooper?”
“I’m so happy he’s here. Makes me feel much better.”
The police came over to take our statements and we saw them talking to others as well, eventually putting Jonathan, Trish, Simon, and Helen in the back of cop cars and taking them off. Dirt was also taken to the station.
Cooper walked back over.
“What’s going to happen to Dirt?” I asked.
“They have to take him back, but after what just happened, he should be able to have his sentence repealed. He may still have to serve time for the escape charge.”
“So you think they’ll believe him?” I asked.
Cooper pulled a small receiver from his pocket. “I had him wired. The cops heard the whole thing.”
I looked at him with surprise. “You and Dirt had this planned?”
“Yeah. I just had a hard time convincing the police. It wasn’t until they heard Helen and Simon pull up that they believed me.”
“I’m glad you believed him and helped,” I said. “Will Helen and Simon finally get what they deserve?”
He nodded. “I think the police finally have what they need, and for the murder of Bethany Granville, too.”
“Let’s hope,” said Katy, shivering. “Though I would still like to know why Jonathan would leave her in my salon.”
“Because he thought you were in on it, too, and wanted you and Chris to suffer for Chris taking Bethany away. Or so he thought,” Officer Schultz interjected as he walked up and overheard us.
“He thought I was involved?” Katy exclaimed.
Schultz nodded, “He’s tripping over himself trying to tell the story and we’re still piecing it together but it appears that Chris was assisting Bethany in getting the word out about her services for a small fee. For some reason Jonathan thought you and Chris were both helping her, and he left her body there in an attempt to ruin your business like Bethany ruined his. Cooper, we need to talk to you again before you leave.”
Cooper nodded, “OK. Be right there.”
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” said Cooper to me.
“Sure,” I said nervously. I handed my keys to Katy. “Here you have a seat in the car and turn the heater on.”
When she started walking away, I turned back to Cooper and smiled brightly. “What’s up,” I said, trying to sound casual.
He had an expression on his face I couldn’t really read, but it scared me. I was afraid of what he was about to say.
“I’m leaving.”
“Me?” I squeaked out.
“I’m going overseas for six months.”
“Why?” I asked, feeling my eyes fill with tears.
“It’s a job. A good job. I just don’t want to turn it down.”
“So what does this mean? For us?”
He sighed. “Presley, this isn’t easy for me. But the fact is we seem to be in different places in our lives right now.”
“But I…”
He held his hand up. “I’m not mad. I understand. You’re not ready. I think we just need to have some time apart.”
Finally, the tears spilled over and the look on his face was equally as miserable.
“Presley, I’m sorry. This is just something I need to do right now.” He gave me a hug and kissed me softly on the lips. As he walked away, I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. Oh, please don’t let the best thing that had ever happened to me walk out of my life forever.
If you loved this book, I know you’ll enjoy the rest of my novels. Scroll through the titles below, or check out my website at
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Presley tells her boss what he can do with her job in HR and embarks on a new career as a freelance journalist. What seems like a simple interview with a Senator turns to murder when the day after her interview the Senator turns up dead. Does the fact that Presley was one of the last people to see him alive make her a suspect? Her ex–boyfriend Cooper, who was in charge of the Senators security, might think so. Presley is determined to clear her name but can she do it and resist Cooper’s charms?
A FREE download available on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Smashwords, and Kobo and you can purchase the paperback on Create Space or audio book on Audible or iTunes.
When Presley’s boss is found hanging she thinks its suicide until the police discover its homicide. Who would want to kill a boutique owner? Presley’s not sure but she’s determined to find out. The cute detective assigned to the case makes it all the more exciting.
Available on Kindle, Kindle UK, Kobo, Smashwords, Nook, and iTunes and as an audio book on Audible.
Presley went to Vegas to watch her friend Anna get married and the event turned into solving the mystery of her brother’s girlfriend disappearance. But Ashley wasn’t exactly the schoolteacher she appeared to be. Who was she and was she kidnapped?
Available on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords and as an audio book on Audible.
And the holiday short…
Mistletoe & Murder
In this holiday short story, Presley goes home for Christmas expecting it to be a relaxing holiday until her old boyfriend, Brian, asks for her help finding out who has been stealing from him and it turns from theft to murder. Why would anyone want to kill Tommy and what was he hiding?
Available on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords and iTunes and purchase the audio book on iTunes or Audible.
Presley heads to San Diego to hang out with Cooper and enjoy the great west coast weather. She didn’t expect that while hanging out at the local coffee shop she would be a witness to a robbery and murder at Gemstone’s Unlimited. Much to Cooper’s dismay Presley feels compelled to investigate. She discovers that not only was the storeowner a womanizer but also was filing false insurance claims for diamonds that weren’t really stolen. Was that why he was being blackmailed? Was that why someone robbed his store? Presley’s determined to find out!
Available on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.
Get the first 5 Presley Books PLUS the short story
A Day in the Life of Trixie Pristine
in the
Presley Thurman boxed set
.
Available on Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.
Presley wins a bet and thinks she finally is going to get a chance to work with Cooper and show her she’s got the potential to be a good security detail for his company. She is miffed when she finds out her first assignment is to protect a bunch of self absorbed beauty queens at a Texas pageant. It soon becomes a more interesting gig than she thought, much to her delight and Cooper’s dismay, when one of the beauty queens turns up dead and the fierce competition leave the door wide open to suspects.
Available on Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, Kobo and as an audio book on iTunes and Audible.
A trip to an all–inclusive resort in Cabo San Lucas. No work and all play was all that was on her mind until well renowned Mexican soap opera star, Lucia Vegas, turned up dead in the hotel pool. Accident it was not and Presley couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Then she met reporter, Belinda, who told her the theory that Lucia was just one of a string of murders targeting young actresses. Vacation or not, Presley had to find the murderer!
Available on Kindle, Kobo, Smashwords and Nook.
Coming back in Alkon for her best friends wedding, Presley shaded her eyes with her hands and leaned against the front window to eliminate glare so she could see in better. She looked around and could see Katy had replaced the tile colors with a softer blue, which gave the salon a much lighter feel than it had before. As she looked around she saw a mannequin sitting, or rather slumped over in one of the hair styling chairs. Why would Katy have a mannequin in there? Or was it a mannequin? She squinted to see better and almost wished She hadn’t. Holy crap, that was most certainly not a mannequin. Presley reached for her phone thinking where were the odds this would happen to her twice. She had just found a dead body.