Lethal Bayou Beauty (27 page)

I crouched down and my body instantly responded by assuming a comfortable position for a long-term stakeout. If needed, I could stay in this position for hours without cramping or aching, but if Ryan were going to show, I knew we wouldn’t be waiting that long. He had to take his chance while Celia was out of the house.

The last bit of sunlight disappeared over the tree line, and the sounds of night creatures started echoing across the backyard from the swamp. I brushed an ant off my arm and scanned from Ida Belle’s position to Marie’s upstairs window. I couldn’t see her, but I knew she was up there watching, cell phone in hand. For that, I was glad. This entire setup had the potential to go bad quickly.

Probably another ten minutes passed before I heard movement behind me. The blackberry bushes were positioned under the edge of an oak tree, so not even moonlight reached my hiding place, but I lowered myself even more in case his eyes had acclimated to the dark conditions. I peered through the blackberry bushes and watched as a faint stream of moonlight illuminated a large figure as it slid over the back row of fence and into Celia’s yard.

Showtime.

My pulse ticked up a notch as he crept across the lawn. He paused about ten feet from the back of the house, and I figured he was assessing his options. Fortunately, he followed Ida Belle’s train of thought and moved toward the booby-trapped window. I inched to the edge of the blackberry bush and placed both hands flat on the ground, preparing to spring like a sprinter.

My pulse spiked as he crept up to the window, and I prayed that Ida Belle and Gertie executed everything with perfect timing.
 

As soon as his hands touched the window, Gertie pulled.

The net wrapped around his feet like a charm, trapping him in place. Ida Belle sprang up and jumped across the steps, attempting to tackle him. Unfortunately, Gertie chose that moment to lose her balance, and fell backward out of the tree.
 

The rope must have hooked on to her as she dropped because all of a sudden, the intruder’s feet flew out from under him and straight up into the air, yanking him upside down into the tree.
 

Gertie and the intruder both screamed, and he thrashed about so much I expected the net to break at any moment. I leapt up from my hiding spot and ran for the house, intent on helping Ida Belle wrestle him to the ground before he could get away. As I reached the fray, Ida Belle pulled out a curling iron and poked him in the ribs with it. He screamed bloody murder as a sizzle of electricity went off, then the thrashing stopped.

We spun him around so that we could see his face, and gave each other a satisfied smile as we gazed on the contorted face of Dr. Ryan.
 

“You did this with a curling iron?” I asked, starting to rethink my aversion to girlie products.

“Stun gun,” Ida Belle said. “Looks like a curling iron, which makes it quite handy to carry. No one suspects you’re packing.”

Gertie yelled and brought us back to reality. Since it appeared that Ida Belle had the situation under control, I hopped up on the fence and saw Gertie, hanging by her feet from the other end of the rope.
 

“Gertie’s acting as a counterweight,” I said. “That’s why he’s still up there.”

“If Gertie’s the one keeping him up there,” Ida Belle said, “she needs to drop a few pounds.”

“I heard that!” Gertie yelled.
 

A police siren sounded in the distance and a second later, Marie rushed out the back door.

“Don’t just stand there,” Gertie said. “Someone get me down from here.”

“I think we ought to wait until Carter gets here,” Ida Belle said and grinned. “No chance of Ryan getting away as long as he’s dangling from the tree.”

“You heard the boss,” I said, trying not to smile.

“Well, he better hurry,” Gertie complained. “My boobs haven’t been this high up since my thirties. They’re going to suffocate me.”

The siren grew closer, then stopped in front of Marie’s house. I heard a truck door slam and Marie directing Carter to the backyard. He ran around the corner of Marie’s house and slowed just a second as he caught sight of me sitting on the fence. Then he yanked open the gate and hurried into Celia’s backyard.

He took one look at the dangling Dr. Ryan and his jaw dropped.
 

“We tried to call you earlier,” Ida Belle said, before he could start yelling. “But Myrtle said you weren’t to be disturbed.”

“So you thought…you know that’s not…I…never mind. Help me pull him down enough to cuff him.”

Ida Belle grabbed hold of his shoulders and tugged the still-groaning doctor down far enough for Carter to place him in handcuffs.
 

“Okay,” Carter said and pulled out a knife. “I’ll cut him loose.”

“No!” Ida Belle, Gertie, Marie, and I all yelled at the same time.
 

“We have a bit of a situation here,” I said and gestured to the other side of the fence.
 

Carter pulled himself up enough to peer over the fence and stared. His lips quivered and I could tell he was struggling not to smile.
 

“Fine then,” he said. “Pull Gertie down and cut her loose. Ryan can drop for all I care.”

Completely on board with that plan, I jumped over the fence and with Marie’s help, lowered Gertie to the ground and unwrapped the rope from her ankle. As soon as I let go, I heard Ryan crash to the ground on the other side of the fence and let out a string of cursing about lawsuits and crazy people.

A couple of seconds later, Ida Belle tossed the net and rope over the fence and into Marie’s backyard.

“Tell you what,” Carter said as he pulled Ryan through the gate, all of us trailing across the front lawn behind him. “We’ll let you explain to the judge all about the mistreatment you received from citizens while you were trying to break into a private residence just days after murdering the owner’s daughter.”

“I didn’t murder anyone!”

“Uh-huh,” he said as he pushed Ryan into his truck. “You can tell me all about it when you’re behind bars.”

Carter climbed into his truck and looked at all of us standing on the sidewalk, his expression serious and slightly anxious. “For the obvious reasons and a couple that aren’t so visible, I’d prefer if this arrest and the details surrounding it don’t get out just yet. Can I depend on you four to keep this quiet?”

“Hell yeah,” Gertie said while the rest of us nodded.

Then we all gave each other high fives.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that,” he said and pulled away.
 

“I need a drink,” Ida Belle said as we trailed back into Marie’s house.

“I need a new bra,” Gertie said. “My strap broke.”

I glanced over at Gertie, who had her hand under her right boob, trying to hold it in place and failing. “Now
I
need a drink.”

Ida Belle’s cell phone rang and she answered it. After a brief conversation, she disconnected and frowned. “The prayer is over and Celia will be heading home any minute. We should clear out of here before she catches sight of us.”

We hustled to the garage and waved to Marie as Ida Belle backed Gertie’s Cadillac out of the garage and headed back to my house.
 

“What’s up?” I asked. “You have that look like you didn’t tell us everything.”

“It’s more a feeling than anything,” Ida Belle said. “Beatrice said Celia acted strange at the prayer.”

“Strange how?” I asked.

“Beatrice said she seemed fine, considering, then at the end of the prayer, Celia said she was tired of being the only one who lost when it seemed other people more deserving of loss never seemed to suffer any. She said that needed to change.”

“Okay,” I said. “I don’t claim to be a Biblical scholar or anything, but is she saying she’d rather someone else be cursed instead of her? That doesn’t sound overly Christian.”

“It’s not,” Gertie said, “and it’s also a stretch from normal thought, even for Celia.”

“True,” Ida Belle agreed. “Don’t get me wrong. Celia can be a stone bitch, but she’s not usually cruel.”

“Maybe this has broken her,” I said. “I mean, I know how hard it was losing my mother. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to lose a child.”

Ida Belle nodded. “No more downer conversation. We just hand-delivered Pansy’s murderer to Carter. Come tomorrow, your good name will be restored.”

“Whoot!” Gertie cheered.

“You guys should come in and celebrate. I think I have a bottle of champagne left.” I looked at Gertie. “You only need one hand for a champagne glass.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Gertie said.

Ida Belle’s phone rang again and she answered. I could tell by her expression that it wasn’t good news.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as she pulled up to the curb in front of my house.

“There’s a mob downtown in front of the sheriff’s department,” Ida Belle said. “They’re calling for your arrest or Carter’s resignation. Vanessa Fontleroy gathered a bunch of people after the prayer and led the charge.”

Gertie bit her lip. “It’s too soon for Carter to come out with the Dr. Ryan angle. He’ll want to make sure he’s got his bases covered before announcing it to the public, especially given the reason why Dr. Ryan killed Pansy.”

Ida Belle nodded. “We should get down there and check it out. Fortune, you better sit this one out. We’ll fill you in as soon as we know something.”

“No problem,” I said and jumped out of the car. “Be careful. Everyone knows we’re friends.”

“Get inside and lock your doors,” Gertie said. “We’ll call when we’re on our way.”

I watched for a couple of seconds as they drove off, then looked across the street and saw a curtain drop back in place at Mr. Foster’s house. I gave the block a quick scan, then hurried inside, where I was certain a hot shower was calling my name.

I pushed the deadbolt on the front door in place, then headed to the kitchen to draw the deadbolt on the back door, but the second I set foot in the room, I knew someone had been there recently. My eyes locked in on the small pie tin on the breakfast table with a piece of folded paper next to it. I picked up the paper and read.

Testing a new blackberry cobbler recipe. Let me know what you think.

Ally

I put the note down and walked to the back door. It was already locked, so I drew the deadbolt into place. Ally used to deliver food to Marge when she was ill, so she probably had a key. I knew Gertie and Ida Belle did, but maybe it was time to change the locks. Not that I minded any of those three letting themselves inside, but I had to wonder if any other keys to my house were clinking around pockets in Sinful.
 

But that was something that could wait until tomorrow. Right now, I had delicious blackberry cobbler to test. The least I could do was get to it right away. After all, Ally was my friend, and since she’d taken the time to sneak in my house and deliver baked goodies, the least I could do was give her some feedback.
 

I opened the refrigerator and poured a glass of milk, already smiling as I sat down at the table and stabbed my first forkful. It was still warm and the sugar granules melted as soon as they hit my tongue, mingling with the tart sweetness of the berries. When I’d been hiding behind those blackberry bushes, I’d had no idea they yielded such heavenly results.

In hardly any time at all, my fork scratched the bottom of the pie tin, and I wished I had more. I slumped back in my seat with a satisfied sigh. What a perfect ending to an odd but productive day.
 

I picked up my cell phone from the table and started to dial, but then figured Ally had attended the prayer and may still be around family or other Sinful residents who sided with the mob down at the sheriff’s department. A text would be better. That way, if she was able to speak, she could call.

The blackberry cobbler was incredible. Thanks!

I knew I should head up to the shower, but at the moment, the kitchen chair seemed awfully comfortable. It had been an odd day, but at least the end had been satisfying. Carter could put together his case on Ryan and hopefully, in a day or two, everyone in Sinful would know that the good plastic surgeon was the culprit and not me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking I might go straight to bed after the shower, then my phone beeped. I slid my hand across the table and turned the phone where I could see the display.

What blackberry cobbler?

A cold chill ran through me and I blinked, then struggled to sit up straight. My breathing became labored, and the kitchen counters tilted to one side, then blurred. Panicked, I fumbled with the phone but it fell from my grasp, slid across the table and dropped onto the kitchen floor.

This wasn’t exhaustion. I’d been drugged.

The phone beeped again and I knew Ally was trying to text me again. I had no way of knowing what I’d ingested. If I had to wait on Ida Belle and Gertie to return, they might be too late. I forced myself to concentrate on my breathing.