Assault and Batter (20 page)

Once we were back in the Jeep, I drove down the street and then pulled into a parking space. George soon parked right behind me, and he got out and approached the Jeep.

“That was close,” he said. “I thought he was going to come after you, and I wasn’t sure that I could get there in time.”

“It worked out fine, though, didn’t it? That’s really all that counts.”

“You handled him like a pro, Suzanne,” George said. “You didn’t even really need me there watching your back.”

“Don’t kid yourself,” Grace said, the relief clear in her voice. “If you hadn’t been there, I would have jumped off that porch the second Frank came out.”

“I’m just glad that I could finally help,” the mayor said, clearly pleased that he’d been able to back us up.

“Two down, and one to go,” I said. “Are we ready to tackle Reggie now?”

“Give me a minute to get there ahead of you,” George said.

“You’ve got it.”

Before George left to return to his own car, he looked at us and said, “I know I shouldn’t say this, but this is kind of fun, isn’t it?”

“It’s actually pretty dangerous,” I said, reminding him that we weren’t playing around. We were baiting a killer, and things could still go horribly wrong for us if our plan didn’t work.

“I know, but I miss the excitement. It’s just not the same presiding over a city council meeting, or sitting in on the zoning board.”

“We’ll try not to stimulate your level of excitement too much,” I said as I fought back a yawn. “If I’m going to get any sleep at all tonight, we need to make this quick.”

“Got it, boss,” he said, and then he actually trotted back to his car. George had suffered a pretty severe leg injury once upon a time helping me, and it was nice to see that he’d fully recovered from it.

I just hoped no one else got hurt because of one of my investigations. It had nearly made me swear off any amateur sleuthing in the future, but circumstances kept dragging me back in. It appeared that for me, there was no getting away from it.

“Hi, Reggie,” I said when he answered the door ten minutes later.

“What are you two doing here?” he asked as he looked at Grace and me. It was pretty clear that he wasn’t all that happy about seeing either one of us. It seemed to be the night for it, but I decided not to take it personally.

“We came to apologize,” Grace said, beating me to it.

“About?” he asked.

“Everything,” I answered. After I repeated our story, I concluded by saying, “We meant no disrespect to you or your daughter. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us.”

“We’re okay,” Reggie said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m watching a movie.”

“That’s all we wanted to say,” I said, and Grace and I left the porch.

George followed us again, and we stopped by the clock near city hall. “That was all relatively painless, wasn’t it?” the mayor said. It was clear that he was actually a little disappointed by the lack of action. “What do we do now?”

I didn’t even try to hide my yawn this time. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m going home to get as much sleep as I can. No matter how this plays out in the end, I still have donuts to make tomorrow.”

“How can you do that, knowing that you’re going to confront a killer tomorrow?” George asked me.

“How could you put on your uniform and strap your gun on every day when you were a cop, knowing that something very bad could happen to you at any time?” I asked him.

“That was different. It was just all part of the job.”

“Well, that’s the way it is with me. Rain or shine, snow or sun, I make donuts. It’s what I do, but it’s more than that. It’s a part of me.”

“Can you ever envision yourself doing anything else?” Grace asked me softly.

“I don’t honestly know,” I said. “Given the right circumstances, I might be able to find another passion in my life.”

“Like for someone currently in Alaska?” George asked.

I just laughed. “Good night, George.”

“Night, ladies. I’ll see you both bright and early.”

“I’m counting on it,” I said, and then I drove Grace home.

As I pulled up in front of her house, she hesitated before getting out. “Suzanne, do you regret your decision not to go to Alaska with Jake?”

“Do you want to know the truth?” I asked her.

“I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise.”

“I still might end up there,” I said after a long moment of silence.

“Are you thinking about joining him?” she asked, clearly surprised by my answer.

“I’m considering it,” I said. “Would you ever be able to forgive me if I did?”

She didn’t even hesitate. “Suzanne, I would never hold following your heart against you. Just make sure to get a place with enough room for me to visit. I’ve got vacation saved up, so be warned. If you end up going, I’ll be coming your way soon.”

“I’m counting on it,” I said, “but I haven’t made any decisions one way or the other yet.”

“In the end, you’ll make the right one. I’m sure of it.”

“I wish I could be that sure myself. Good night, Grace.”

“Good night, Suzanne. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Sorry about that,” I said. “If there had been any other way, I would have made the time closer to your liking, say noon.”

“Yes, we need to work on that in the future,” she said with a smile as she got out.

“Will do,” I said, and then I drove the short distance down the road home.

Momma was back already; at least her car was in its spot, and from the way the cottage was lit up, I expected to walk in and see her sitting on her usual spot on the sofa reading her latest mystery.

What I found inside, though, was something entirely, and frighteningly, different.

“Put the knife down, Lisa,” I said in horror as I saw that she held a long blade to my mother’s throat. “You don’t want to do something that you’re going to regret.” It appeared that our trap had indeed caught a rat, just too soon for us to react in time.

“I’ll put it down when you tell me who your source is, and don’t try to feed me that bull that you don’t know who it is. You made it pretty clear that you knew, or at least that you thought you did. I’ll take whatever name you’ve got.”

“It was all just a ruse,” I said, trying to be as transparently truthful as I could be. “We wanted to trap the killer, so we made up that story. We didn’t think that you’d react before you found out who the eyewitness really was.”

“Why would I do that, when you made it so easy for me to take you out first? By we, I’m assuming you mean you and Grace.”

“Who knows? There could be more,” I said, hoping to change her mind from killing my mother and me. I turned to look at my mother and I asked, “Are you okay, Momma?”

“I’m fine, dear,” she said.

Lisa dug the knife in a little, and a line of blood trickled down Momma’s skin. “I told you not to say a word when Suzanne got home,” Lisa said angrily.

“My daughter asked me a question,” she said.

“I don’t care if the Queen of Hearts asks you to tea; the next word you say will be your last, and when I’m finished with you, I’ll kill your daughter, too.”

Momma didn’t respond, but I did see her eyes dart over to the closet where we kept a baseball bat on hand for protection. It wouldn’t have done us much good if Lisa had brought a gun, but in a knife fight, it could come in pretty handy.

But I had to get to it without Momma dying first, and that I could not imagine doing.

“Why did you kill Jude?” I asked. “Was it because of the fake gold he sold your husband, or because he was done with you?”

Lisa shook her head. “Don’t try to be clever, Suzanne; it doesn’t suit you. Who do you think gave Jude that gold-plated junk in the first place? I knew that it was worthless, but I also realized that my husband wouldn’t be able to tell. It was supposed to be our seed money.”

I nodded as though I understood. “So, no to the gold, but yes on the rejection.”

She held the knife closer to my mother’s throat when I said that, and I heard Momma gasp. “Really, Suzanne? Do you honestly want to anger the woman with your mother’s life in her hands? I’d watch my tone, if I were you.”

“But you were clearly afraid of something or someone the last time we spoke,” I said. “You were going to tell Grace and me something important when you were interrupted by a phone call.”

Lisa smiled, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as she said, “It was all just an act. I was afraid that you two knew more than you were letting on. The phone call was a convenient way to stall you until I could find out just how much you knew. After all, I didn’t want to have to kill you both if I didn’t have to. You really shouldn’t say anything bad about Jude to me.”

This woman had clearly gone off the deep end. I was going to have to find a way to appease her without endangering my mother any more than I already had. “Take it easy, Lisa. I didn’t mean anything by what I said about him.”

“I know exactly what you meant,” she said, and then her face softened. “What happened to Jude was an accident, something that couldn’t be helped. He was going to leave without me, despite all of our plans. I had to convince him that he needed me.”

I never thought that I’d ever hear a killer describe hitting her victim with an iron bar and killing him as an accident.

“Tell the police that,” I said, trying to be as convincing as I could. “I’m sure that they’ll believe you if you just tell your side of the story.”

“They aren’t ever going to hear it. After I take care of you two and Grace, I’ll be long gone.”

“What about Frank?” I asked.

Her grin was chilling. “Nobody’s going to check on my dear husband anytime soon. I’m expecting him to bleed out at any minute. At least that man deserved what he got.”

And there it was. No matter what she said, Lisa was planning to kill everyone.

Not if I could help it.

I started to move, and Momma must have seen something, because she shook her head slightly before I could implement my plan. The knife bit in a little deeper as she did, but her movement served its purpose.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Instead, Momma said loudly, “We’re in here.”

“Who are you talking to?” Lisa asked as she loosened her grip on the knife for just one second.

Momma must have been able to feel it, because she grabbed Lisa’s knife hand with both of hers and fought to get control of the blade.

She didn’t fight alone, though.

“Run, Suzanne,” my mother commanded.

I never even gave it a single thought. At that moment, I didn’t think about the baseball bat, a gun, or even a tank.

All I could think about was helping my mother.

The blade was turned toward my mother’s neck again, and I could see that she was quickly losing the battle. If I didn’t do something, and quickly, she would be slashed with it.

I threw myself straight into the fray, grappling with the knife as Momma and I fought Lisa for control.

She was strong, though, stronger than I bargained for. Was it that edge of craziness that was powering her? Whatever it was, I could see that despite all odds, we were losing the battle. The blade dipped closer and closer, nearer to my mother’s precious skin.

I had to make a decision, and I had to do it quickly.

In an instant, I took my hands off the hilt of the blade and went straight for her throat.

She wasn’t going to kill my mother, not while I was standing by.

If nothing else, my direct attack made Lisa drop the knife in surprise and claw at my hands for a breath.

I wouldn’t let up, though.

She’d just tried to kill my mother, and in my mind, she’d forfeited all rights to my mercy. I felt her hands on mine weaken as I pressed harder and harder, doing my utmost to choke the life out of her.

Suddenly, there was a faint whisper in my ear. “Stop, Suzanne. We’ve won.”

I tried to shake her off, but she told me again in that gentle voice of hers, “Stop.”

I finally loosened my grip, and I heard Lisa gasping for breath. “Are you crazy?” she tried to shout. “You could have killed me.” Evidently I’d bruised something important in her throat, because it came out in a raspy voice.

“That was the general idea,” I said as I stood up and grabbed the knife. “Momma, do we still have that rope in the hall closet?”

“Yes, it’s still there,” she said, clearly relieved that I’d stopped in time. If she hadn’t been there, who knew? Then again, if Lisa hadn’t threatened my mother, I never would have tried to choke the life out of her.

“Get it, and tie her up. After that, I need you to give the police chief a call.”

“Shouldn’t I call him first?” Momma asked as she stood there looking down at Lisa.

“No,” I ordered. “Get the rope first, and then make the call.”

“Yes, dear,” she said as though I’d asked her to pass the pepper at the dinner table.

Once I had the rope, I knelt down low to Lisa. “If you move, I’m going to finish what I started. Do we understand each other?”

She tried to speak, but her ability to do so was nearly gone.

“Just nod yes or no,” I said. I was getting impatient with her and ready to express it again physically. What had gotten into me? I suppose it was that nobody, and I meant nobody, threatened my mother, or they were going to face the consequences.

Lisa quickly nodded, and I tied her hands and legs together, and then I secured her to our heavy couch.

This crazed killer wasn’t going anywhere.

“Now, call the chief, and I’ll call an ambulance for Frank. With any luck, they’ll be able to get to him in time.”

It was all oddly anticlimactic after Momma and I made our calls.

As we waited for the reinforcements to arrive, I said, “Thanks for stopping me.”

“I was afraid that you couldn’t even hear me,” she said. “It was honestly the most frightened I’d been all night, and that’s saying something.”

“We don’t have to go into too much detail when we talk about that part of it, do we?” In all honesty, I was a little embarrassed about how I’d behaved.

“Your secret is safe with me,” she said.

“What about her?” I asked as I looked down at Lisa.