Strung Out to Die (22 page)

The hedges were neatly trimmed, and the edging along the sidewalk was perfect. Even the colors in the flowerbed were coordinated.

He waved from the front door before I even turned the car off. He was wearing a black tracksuit. Most of the time, I didn’t like the look of a man in a sweat suit, but with his tall slender frame, he actually looked pretty good.

I grabbed the videos off the passenger floor and Willow’s leash off the seat.

“Hey, you two.” Donovan took the VHS tapes out of my hand, and read the label. “The Livin’ End.”

“Uh-huh.” I followed Willow into his house.

Of course, her snout took us straight to the kitchen.

“Is it okay to let her off her leash?” I wanted to make sure he hadn’t left anything out he didn’t want a pig to get into. “She can be nosy.”

“She’s fine. Nothing here to bother.” Donovan put the VHS tapes on top of his TV cabinet.

His house might resemble Sean’s from the outside, but the inside had been completely remodeled to an open floor plan. He definitely didn’t have the bachelor pad look with empty pizza boxes and beer bottles lying around.

The black leather motif worked with the open feel of the modern combined kitchen and family room. Granite counter tops and black cabinets added to the elegance.

“I love your house.” I walked around, looking at the people in all the picture frames.

“Thanks.” He handed me a cocktail. “Those are my family members.”

He took a stroll down memory lane, giving me a glimpse into how each of them was related to him.

Most of his family lived two hours away. Besides being a defense instructor, he was a professor at the local community college Cheri attended. He was in the computer department.

No wonder he loved fooling around with old equipment.

Too bad my mind wasn’t focused on getting a boyfriend. He would have been perfect.

“The pizza should be here any minute.” I checked my watch, and then took a sip of my drink.

Not long after I said that, the doorbell rang and it was time to eat. We chatted about Swanee, my shop, and then it came time for the video portion of the evening.

“So, The Livin’ End?” He picked up the tape and opened one of the doors on the TV cabinet, exposing an old VHS player. “Isn’t that the name of the bar on the outskirts of town?”

“Yes.” I sat down on the edge of the couch. “We are going to watch surveillance tapes of the parking lot.”

There really wasn’t a reason to keep the truth from him at this point. Cheri had already told him about the break-ins, and everyone knew Doug Sloan was murdered in my shop.

This was the last piece of the evidence I would collect before going to Noah. The grace period he had given me was up, and this was my Hail Mary pass. I had nothing to lose letting Donovan in on it.

He was silent as I told him about Marlene, her precious diamond, and the lack of details about her past. There was no change in his expression when I clued him in on Sean, his truck, cell phone, and the outgoing message.

“So, let me get this straight.” He sat on the edge of the couch next to me. “You think that Marlene killed Doug and set Sean up. When something went wrong, she kidnapped him only to frame you. And these tapes are going to prove it?”

“Something like that.” I really hoped the tapes had something on them that would prove Sean’s innocence.

He circled his forefinger in the air, and said, “So, this little dinner is really about using my video equipment, not a real date.”

“Something like that,” I whispered, hoping that if I said it low enough that it wouldn’t hurt his feelings.

“What if all this murder stuff wasn’t going on? Would you go out on a date with me?” He asked. He took his finger and tilted my chin up, so he could look into my eyes.

“Yes, definitely.” I nodded and smiled.

I was sure that if circumstances were different, I would definitely go out with Donovan. He might not have been my type at first sight, but he was really growing on me.

He stood up and rubbed his hands together. “Good. Let’s solve this murder and exonerate you of any part of it.”

We watched the tapes, pausing and rewinding often, but it wasn’t until the very last tape that I saw what I needed to see.

“Wait!” I jumped up and pointed at the screen. “Rewind it.”

Donovan rewound the tape and we watched it in slow motion. As plain as day, Doug followed Sean out of the bar, just like I had seen that night. I wasn’t going to follow him out of The Livin’ End. Ginger and I were enjoying a drink, and we weren’t going to let them ruin our night.

The tape showed exactly what had transpired outside of the bar. Doug and Sean had exchanged a couple words between them, and then they did the most amazing thing. They shook hands. They were smiling the entire time.

Sean got into his truck and drove off. Doug turned around, as though he was going back into the bar, and Marlene came out of nowhere swinging. She hit Doug a couple times with her fist. He shoved her and she fell to the ground, but she got up with a vengeance. Then the tape stopped.

“What happened?” I ran over and looked at the machine.

Donovan checked a couple different things, even rewinding the last hit delivered by Marlene.

“The tape ran out.” Donovan clicked a couple more buttons. The tape popped out, and it was at the end. “Is this the last video you have from there?”

“Yes. And it’s all I need,” I muttered, fearing that I was right.

Marlene had been the last one with Doug Sloan that night, and she had tried to frame Sean and me. Somehow, it did backfire and now she was framing me.

I grabbed my cell to call Agnes Pearl. It was clear that she might be in danger.

“Hello?” Agnes answered.

A big sigh of relief escaped my lips.

“Agnes, its Holly Harper.” I frantically said. “Is Marlene there?”

I didn’t want to risk Marlene being there, overhearing our conversation and then hurting Agnes.

“She’s not. She went away for a couple days after she dropped me off at the hospital.” Agnes said.

“Hospital?” I didn’t recall Agnes mentioning to the Divas that she was going to the hospital.

“I just couldn’t take it anymore. I went in and had my eyes fixed.” She sounded tired. “Marlene is going to be so surprised when she comes back tomorrow night to pick me up at the hospital and they tell her I’ve gone home early.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, trying not to alarm Agnes.

“The doctors said I would be in the hospital for three days. There wasn’t anything for Marlene could do for me, so she left a note with the nurse saying she was going to visit friends for a couple days and for me not to worry because she’d be back to pick me up.”

I looked at the clock, and then at Donovan. I had twenty-four hours to get all my evidence together before Marlene attempted to show her face again. I was going to be ready for her.

“I called a cab and came home as soon as the doctor said I was healing nicely.” There was obvious pride in her voice.

“Agnes, I will be over in the morning to bring you some breakfast.” I knew Agnes had opted for one of Jim’s security systems and had the monitor put in her house.

At least that’s what Jim had told me when he was trying to sell me monitors for my shop. I wanted to get my hands on Agnes’ and see if Marlene had been up to anything.

“I’d love the company,” she said. “But my eyes still aren’t completely healed. The doctor said it could take weeks to get my good vision back.”

“Perfect.” My plan was coming together. “I will see you in the morning.”

I let Donovan in on my conversation and plan.

“While you’re doing that, I will see what I can salvage from Sean’s message.” Donovan pointed to the kitchen table where my old answering machine sat.

“But tonight, you and Willow will sleep in my guest bedroom. There is now way I’m letting you go home with that nut job on the loose out there.”

I didn’t fight him. It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in days.

Chapter Thirty-Four

“Wake up, sleeping beauties.” Donovan flicked the light on. “It’s nine o’clock.”

I was momentarily confused. I’d forgotten where I was. The bed was so comfortable compared to the bed in the furnished cottage.

I wasn’t complaining about the cottage because I loved it. I had just forgotten how nice a really good mattress could feel.

“I have a tee and sweats that might fit you.” He sat them on the dresser. Before he walked back out, he said, “I really don’t want you to go to your house so try to make those fit.”

Why in the world did I learn all those defensive moves if I can’t use them?
I rolled over and looked Willow in the eyes. She nestled her snout against my cheek. Willow enjoyed a good snuggle, and so did I, but there was more investigating to do.

I threw back the covers and changed into the tee shirt and sweats he had left. It was the exact same tee shirt he was wearing when my face planted into his chest. If I recall correctly, I was trying to get away from Bernadine and her questions, only to be completely embarrassed. That shirt would be tattooed in my brain forever.

“Good morning.” I got Willow’s leash. “Come on, Willow.”

I walked her up and down Donovan’s street a couple times, giving her ample time to do her business. There were a lot of people who stopped and stared.

What?
Have these people never seen a slightly chunky woman walking a pig with a beaded collar attached to a hot pink leash?

But I didn’t say anything. I didn’t plan to make this a daily walk for us. I’d probably never see these people again.

The freshly brewed coffee smelled heavenly. I couldn’t wait to get a cup. I helped myself by getting my own mug and pouring some of the fresh brew.

I pulled a stool up to the counter and watched Donovan take apart my answering machine.

“Unfortunately, the tape looks like it’s been cauterized to the roller.” He pointed into the machine with a very small screwdriver, showing me what he was talking about.

“Just salvage anything you can.” I pleaded, and then took a sip of the coffee.

There might be little hope to save some of the tape, but I wasn’t giving up hope yet.

“Why don’t you leave Willow here so you can snoop around Agnes’ house without worrying about her in the car?” He looked up, and for a brief moment, I thought I saw some real concern on his face. “Be careful and take your ePhone with you.”

“How did you know I have an ePhone?” I knew we’d never talked about it and I hadn’t told Cheri.

He pulled his ePhone out of his pocket. I had no idea he had one too. He showed me the symbol next to my phone calls that I had placed to him.

“This phone is amazing. It tells you what type of phone people are calling from.” He pushed all sorts of buttons.

I had no clue what he was doing. I had to admit, I did need to learn how to use the phone, but that was on the back burner until I got out of this mess.

“Very cool,” I said, and then I patted Willow on the head. “I need to get out of here while I have a window of time.”

With the way my luck was going, Marlene would show up early and catch me snooping around Agnes’ place.

I waved bye to Donovan. “I’ll let you know what I find out,” I yelled over my shoulder before I slammed the front door.

I had told Agnes I’d pick up breakfast for us. I hoped she liked White Castle breakfast sandwiches, because I needed a coffee. Besides, who doesn’t like White Castle?

With my coffee and sack of breakfast sliders, I was off to Agnes’.

There wasn’t a time I could remember being so excited to go to Agnes’ house. I just knew there was going to be another big break in the case today. There had to be. The deadline Noah Druck had given me was quickly approaching.

I pulled up to the curb a few houses down the street from Agnes’ house. I didn’t want to make it obvious that I was visiting Agnes.

Before I got out of my car, I called Donovan.

He answered immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said to put him at ease,although I thought it was cute that he was worried. “I just wanted to let you know that I was here.”

“Any luck on my answering machine?” I held out a glimmer of hope with my fingers crossed.

“I did get the tape freed from the roller. I’m in the process of trying to piece it together.” He paused. “I’m afraid there’s going to be a good portion that I won’t be able to save.”

I smacked the stirring wheel. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

“At least something is better than nothing.” I tried to sound positive. “I’ll keep you posted about what I find here.”

I grabbed the White Castle bag and walked up to Agnes’ house. I was glad that no one was walking or driving by. Not that it would be unusual for me to be visiting Agnes. She was a divorced Diva, after all. The community was used to seeing us together, but the fewer people that noticed me, the better. Noah didn’t need to find out that I’m doing my own snooping around. He’d hear everything I had to say soon enough.

Chapter Thirty-Five

I tapped on Agnes’ screen door and even pulled on it, but it was locked. The main door was also locked, which struck me as odd. Agnes always kept that door open unless it was during the winter or at night, and it was neither.

I knocked louder and looked into the lead glass window next to the door, but there was no movement. No silhouette of a floating feather attached to Agnes’ turban.

I got an uneasy, almost queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn’t right. I jogged around the back of Agnes’ house and through her beautiful garden, quickly checking the gardeners’ shed. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t in there. Agnes took pride in her yard and was constantly working on it.

That door was also locked. I turned and trotted to the back door.

“Whoa!” I grabbed my ankle as I fell to the ground.

I looked into the hole I stepped into, but there was nothing in it, just freshly dug dirt. Agnes was always moving bushes and plants around her yard.

I got up and brushed myself off. There was no way I was going to let a little twist of an ankle keep me down.