Terror in Taffeta (31 page)

“What?” I asked. “What happened?”

“I decided to search her room to see if she already had the money. And you know what I found in her bag? A bank deposit slip and a plane ticket to Barbados! She wasn't planning on coming home at all. She was going to take the money and disappear.”

“Oh, I'm sure she wouldn't have done that!” Actually, I was totally sure she would have done that.

He spun around, eyes flashing. “Of course she would. She was lying to me all along!” Kirk's fists clenched at his sides, and his eyes darkened even further. “Do you really think I was going to stand for that?”

“So you killed her?”

He gave me a look of surprise, incredulous that I didn't get it. “She left me no option.”

I could think of some other options, but unfortunately, it was too late to offer them.

“After she left for the rehearsal dinner, I started making some calls. Turns out, it's not as easy to buy poison in a foreign country as you would think. Luckily, there's an auto parts store on the edge of town that set me up with a little ethylene glycol.” His expression had turned smug as he recounted this small victory.

“Ethylene glycol?”

“The main ingredient in both antifreeze and one very special margarita I made for Dana before she left for the bachelorette party that night.”

“Why go to all that trouble? Why not just shoot her?” I asked, jerking my chin toward the gun in his hand.

“Too many people around. No way I would have gotten out of that house when everyone came running. Besides, a cocktail seemed like a much more civilized way to go.”

Ugh. I'd warned the girls about drinking. If only I'd been more specific.

One detail was still bothering me. “I'm curious: Why did you pin it on Zoe? The police said they found poison in her room.”

He shrugged. “It was nothing personal. When I was leaving, I heard someone coming, so I ducked into one of the rooms and hid the bottle under the sink. I didn't know whose room it was, but I didn't want to get caught with it.”

I glared at him openly. “I know you probably thought Dana got what she deserved, but doesn't it bother you even a little bit that an innocent girl is sitting in jail right now?”

Kirk smirked as he folded his arms in front of his chest. “If you see her, be sure to pass on my apologies.”

Just then, we heard the sound of the front door opening. Thank God! They were back.
About damn time.

Kirk held a finger up to his mouth and looked directly at me. “Not one word or I shoot you.”

We paused for a minute. I could hear Mrs. Abernathy, Nicole, and Vince above us, settling into the living room. Kirk didn't seem especially daunted by their appearance; then again, he had a gun.

“I'm going to go upstairs and say hi,” he said in a low voice, waving the gun in the air in a gesture that would have seemed friendly had it not been for the weapon. “I think you know more about those files than you're letting on. There might even be an extra copy floating around.”

“Kirk, I'm telling you—”

He cocked the gun and pointed it straight at my face. Oops. Okay, I was just going to let him do whatever he felt like he needed to do.

“You make a noise and I'm going to kill your friends. Then I'm going to come back down here and kill you. You got it?”

I nodded mutely. The guy with the gun gets to call the shots.

He walked up the stairs, tucking the gun into the back of his jeans. “Hello!” he called out cordially. “Sorry to startle you, but you said if I needed a place to stay I could come here. I hope that's okay. I was just doing some laundry.” The door closed behind him, so I couldn't hear how his arrival was received. Hopefully Mrs. Abernathy wouldn't say something stupid and make him mad.

I realized with horror that they had no idea he was dangerous. They didn't even know he'd broken in; for all they knew, he had just sweet-talked someone at the rental company. I had to find some way to get free. I closed my eyes to concentrate, frantically working at the knots. Too bad I didn't have my wedding emergency kit with me.

I heard a soft meow and opened my eyes. Guapo the cat was staring right into my face. He must have slipped past Kirk when he went upstairs.

“Hi, kitty,” I said quietly, still tugging at the rope with an urgency the cat did not share. He butted my face with the top of his forehead and started purring.

“Good boy! Be like Lassie—go get help!” In response, the tabby started licking my forehead in short, raspy strokes that actually kind of hurt.

“Ewww, that's not helping,” I said, moving my face away from his, but he was persistent. “Stop that!”

Bored, he walked several feet away and began cleaning himself.

“Thanks a lot, cat.”

I looked around the room to see if there was any means of escape. I could hear the cat playing with something in the corner of the room, and I twisted around to see what it was. My knife!

“Don't suppose you know how to fetch?” I asked, scooching across the floor toward him without waiting for an answer.

With my back to the knife, I twisted my body into a position for which I have yoga to thank and managed to take hold of the handle. The cat batted playfully at my fingers, happy that I was joining him in his game. “Sorry, kitty, this is mine now.”

It took some maneuvering, but I finally managed to wedge the knife against the rope with my wrists bent backward in an awkward position. A lot of good it did me. I could barely manage to move the blade back and forth; at this rate, it would take forever to get free.

I could hear the sound of muffled voices coming through the door, the tone sounding more urgent than before. What was happening? I resumed my sawing with greater intensity. If Kirk returned before I got free, it would all be over.

Finally, I felt the rope start to give. I had frayed it enough to loosen my wrists. I dropped the knife and began frantically working my hands around until—success!—I managed to get one hand loose. I quickly freed my other hand and then my feet, and I scrambled to stand. The cat followed me up the stairs, whapping playfully at my heels as I went.

I paused at the door. I didn't have much of a plan. I cracked it open a hair and peeked out. Kirk had the family lined up on the couch where I'd been attempting to nap not all that long ago.

“… so are you sure no one made a copy or anything?” He was chatting amicably with them, trying to learn what he could without the use of the gun.

As I swung the door open a few more inches, I caught Nicole's eye and held one finger up to my lips. Her eyes grew big, but she didn't say anything. She nudged Vince and somehow did some secret look at him, then me, then back at him, and he nodded imperceptibly. How did couples do that?

I spotted a heavy ceramic vase on a table a couple feet from the basement door. Maybe I could grab it before Kirk noticed me.

Mrs. Abernathy caught sight of me right at that moment and opened her mouth to speak. “Kelsey—”

“—is supposed to join us a little later for a glass of wine,” Nicole interrupted with surprising force, giving her mother a pointed look. “In fact, Kirk, maybe you could ask her about the files. You know, she planned the most beautiful service. I'm so glad I trusted her, because she always knew exactly what to do.” Mrs. Abernathy looked confused, but Nicole continued with her monologue, providing the distraction I needed.

I darted for the vase, and Kirk spun around at the movement, pulling the gun out of his waistband. Right as he lunged at me, the cat zipped across his path, causing him to look down for a split second.

“Kelsey, what are you doing?!” Mrs. Abernathy cried, jumping from the couch. But it was too late. I swung the heavy vase with all my might, landing a blow squarely on the back of Kirk's head and sending shards of Mexican pottery flying and the gun skittering across the floor.

Nicole was on it before anyone else. She scrambled across the floor and grabbed the gun, holding it victoriously over her head. “Got it!”

In the meantime, Vince had pounced on Kirk, who was lying on the floor, not quite knocked unconscious but looking pretty woozy. “Yeah, how does it feel having someone smash you over the head?” I yelled at his prone figure, still hopped up on adrenaline.

“Kelsey, what in heaven's name were you thinking?” Mrs. Abernathy demanded, nostrils flaring.

“Mrs. Abernathy, it was Kirk! Kirk killed Dana. He was in on the blackmail with her and he poisoned her and he had me tied up downstairs.” I was out of breath and not sure if I was making much sense.

Nicole tossed me the gun. “I knew it!” she exclaimed. “I thought it was weird when he was asking all those questions, and then when I saw you on the stairs, I knew something was up.”

Kirk was starting to come to, but Vince shoved him down on the floor while I held the gun on him, hands shaking.

Vince looked up at me. “What do you want me to do with him?”

“Feel free to punch him in the face if you'd like.” I figured the groom probably had a lot of pent-up frustration from spending his honeymoon with his new mother-in-law. “In the meantime, does anyone remember how to dial 911?”

Mrs. Abernathy let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, did you absolutely
have
to break my vase in the process?”

“Your vase?” I sputtered. “I thought it came with the house.”

She knelt to pick up one of the larger pieces off the floor. “It was a wedding gift for the kids. It's one of a kind, made by a local artist who's earning quite a name for himself. It wasn't technically for sale, so you wouldn't believe how much it cost me.” She added an eye roll for dramatic flair.

We all stared at her, not sure what to say.

She tossed the jagged shard back onto the floor and sighed. “Well, this is clearly beyond repair. I suppose you can reimburse me.”

 

CHAPTER 32

Thanks to a roll of duct tape Vince remembered seeing in the hall closet, we were able to subdue Kirk until the police came. It was going to hurt when they removed the tape later. They'd probably end up pulling his arm hair out by the roots. I hoped he'd think of me fondly when that happened.

“Let me go! You can't prove anything!” Kirk spat, writhing on the floor while we all watched from the couch. “I'll have you arrested for assault!”

“Oh, please,” Mrs. Abernathy snorted. “Kelsey, will you be a dear and tape his mouth shut?”

“Glad to oblige, Mrs. A.” I applied a piece of the sticky silver tape with a satisfying slap to make sure it stuck. Mrs. Abernathy cocked her head to one side. Had I really just called her Mrs. A? My triumphant mood was making me a little brazen.

Soon enough, a couple of officers arrived to take away our bound suspect, followed moments later by Detectives Ortiz and Nolasco.

As Nicole led them into the living room, I greeted the officers enthusiastically. I was genuinely glad to see them, although it was a bit difficult restraining myself from dancing around the room like it was a college football end zone, chanting, “I told you so!” at the top of my lungs.

“Kelsey,” Ortiz said formally, as Nolasco merely nodded to me by way of greeting. I noted the lack of astonished appreciation in their tone. I was going to miss them.

Okay, no, I really wasn't.

They took our statements separately, starting with Mrs. Abernathy. Although they were in the other room, she managed to raise her voice just enough so we could hear her mention the “very expensive vase”—pronounced
vahzzz—
that had met its untimely demise.

“Don't listen to her,” Nicole said, smiling warmly at me. “You were amazing. You may have even saved our lives.”

“I don't know about that,” I demurred.

“Besides,” Nicole said, “you caught the bad guy! I wish I were as brave as you.” Her look of admiration made me feel proud inside.
I am pretty brave, aren't I?

“Yeah,” Vince agreed, almost in response to my unspoken thought. “You were a total badass.”

Nicole brightened. “And now maybe we can actually go on our honeymoon!” She leaned over and kissed Vince—just a peck at first, but then I swore I could see a little tongue.
Ewww. Get a room, people.

*   *   *

I was waiting outside the jail, catching up on my e-mails and phone messages, when Zoe emerged into the early afternoon sun, flanked by her mom, sister, and new brother-in-law. She wore a flowered dress her mother had bought her in one of the boutiques near the plaza, a definite improvement on the prison uniform she'd been forced to wear, and she broke into a huge smile when she spotted me.

“Kelsey!” she exclaimed, and she rushed over and tackled me in an enthusiastic hug. She pulled back and looked at me, eyes tearing up with emotion. She brushed at the tears and started laughing at the same time. “Nicole told me everything. I don't know how to thank you!”

“Oh, no need to thank me,” I said modestly. “Just doing my job.”

“Are you kidding me?” she said. “I'm pretty sure your job duties don't normally include smashing bad guys over the head.”

“Well, I'm glad it all worked out.” I glanced at Nicole sheepishly. “Although I think I owe your sister a vase.”

“Now, don't you think you're being a tad overdramatic?” Mrs. Abernathy said. I opened my mouth to protest but saw a hint of a smile creep over her face.

Nicole and Vince laughed as Zoe pulled me in for another hug.

“That's enough, girls,” said Mrs. Abernathy. “People are starting to stare.”

Zoe snuck in an extra squeeze, then pulled away. “I thought you had a plane to catch?”

“And miss all this?” I beamed. “No way!” I was leaving with a clear conscience, and that was all that mattered.

“Why don't you fly back with them?” Vince asked, jabbing a thumb in the direction of his new in-laws.