Close Knit Killer (6 page)

Barbara was fairly shaking in her white-faced fury. Rizzoli, however, was getting
redder and redder, Kelly noticed as she drew beside Barbara. She sensed an explosion.

Instead, Rizzoli’s voice came out cold as ice. “I paid my debt to society. Ten years
in prison.”

Barbara drew herself up even taller than her six feet, and her features twisted with
a sneer. “
Ha!
Don’t hand me that! You were in a minimum-security prison doing administrative work.
That’s not a real prison! You should be out on the highway picking up trash in the
hot sun every day.
You’re
a piece of trash!”

Rizzoli’s eyes narrowed on Barbara. “And you are a sick woman. You need therapy.”
He turned away from her and spoke to Jennifer. “Call me when you’ve drawn up the contract
offer.” Then Rizzoli stalked away toward a sleek, expensive-looking car.

“People lost their lives because of
you
!” Barbara yelled at him, her arm raised as she pointed.

“Get over it!” Rizzoli yelled over his shoulder. Then he jumped into his car and gunned
the motor. Spitting gravel, he sped down the driveway toward the busy avenue running
alongside.

Kelly stared at Barbara, who was still shaking in anger and swaying on her feet now.
Barbara’s face was nearly purple, she was so angry. Kelly noticed a blood vessel throbbing
in Barbara’s temple and feared for her heavyset friend’s health.

She reached out and touched Barbara’s arm. “Let’s go back inside, Barbara. You need
to sit down.”

Jennifer interceded then, reaching for Barbara’s other arm. “Come over here in the
shade, Barbara. There’s an empty table. I’ll get you some iced tea. Would you like
that?”

Barbara didn’t answer, just kept staring after Rizzoli’s car. Kelly followed Jennifer’s
direction, guiding Barbara toward the shady table beneath a large cottonwood tree,
its branches spreading wide enough to shade half the patio. She glanced around and
noticed the café customers returning to their lunches. She also glimpsed Malcolm standing
beside the storage building, watching them.

“Here we go,” Jennifer said, directing Barbara to a wrought-iron chair. “Let me get
you something to eat along with that iced tea. Would you like one of Pete’s bran muffins
or banana nut ones?”

Kelly helped Barbara into the chair. She seemed less steady on her feet now, as if
her outburst of anger had drained all her energy away. She leaned against Kelly. Fortunately
Kelly was strong, because Barbara was a big woman.

“I’ll take one of those banana nut muffins, Jennifer,” Kelly said, glancing to Barbara.
“Let me get you one, too, Barbara. You need something. It’s lunchtime.”

“I . . . I’m not hungry,” Barbara mumbled.

“Then just nibble on it, okay?” Jennifer coaxed. “You need some food. I’m a waitress,
so I recognize hunger. And you’ve just been through a stressful situation, Barbara.
You need to take it easy now.”

“Jennifer’s right. Let’s just sit here and cool off in the shade. We’re getting summertime
heat already. That iced tea should taste good.” Kelly reached over and patted her
arm. Glancing up at Jennifer, Kelly added, “I’ll join Barbara and have some iced tea,
too.”

Jennifer blinked. “You’re going to have iced tea? Well, now I’ve heard everything.”
She smiled as she headed toward the café steps.

“First time for everything,” Kelly teased, vowing to choke it down if it helped Barbara
relax. Glancing up, she spotted Barbara’s mother Madge hurrying down the café steps
and headed their way.

* * *

Kelly
waited for Jennifer to join her in Lambspun’s foyer.

“How’s Barbara doing?” Jennifer asked as she followed Kelly out the front door. “Julie
and I were swamped with the lunch rush, so I never got to see her before she and her
mom left.”

“She’s calmed down. That’s good,” Kelly said as they both walked toward the driveway.
“Of course, I was as worried about Madge as I was about Barbara. She was white as
a sheet when she came running out to us on the patio. Clearly, she was petrified that
Barbara had confronted Rizzoli.”

Jennifer shook her head. “I tell you, I was afraid Barbara was going to blow an artery
when she was out there. I’m trying to remember if Mimi ever mentioned Barbara’s health.
Mimi has known both Barbara and her mother for years.”

“Are you heading back to your office? It sounds like Rizzoli is serious about Hal
Nelson’s property.”

“It sure looks like it. I took him up there this morning and he really loved it. I
could tell. We walked around for about twenty minutes, then left. I swear, that was
the shortest canyon showing I’ve ever had.”

“Well, that’s good because I know you were pressed for time.”

“Yeah, but Julie was able to handle it, thank goodness. I asked Rizzoli if he wanted
to use a buyer’s agent to draw up the offer, and he said he understood contracts so
he trusted me to handle the entire transaction.” She shrugged. “Rizzoli didn’t blink
an eye at the asking price when I showed him the listing. So, we’ll see what he does.”

“Well, I wish both you and Hal good luck. You can use a real estate sale right now,
and Hal said he needs the money, too. And Rizzoli will be putting fifty percent down
in cash. You can’t beat that.”

“That definitely makes it easier.” Jennifer clicked the door locks on her car. “Oh,
yeah, I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Pete called right before lunch and said Ben’s
finally awake. That’s the best news for today.”

“Wonderful news. So Pete will be able to spend some time with him and maybe come back
home after the weekend, you think?”

Jennifer shrugged, then slid into her car. “We can hope. Meanwhile, I’ve already checked
and both our temps, Doreen and Bridget, can come in and help Julie and me this weekend.
With the weather as gorgeous as it is, everyone wants to dine outside. We’ll probably
put up extra tables.”

Kelly gave her a thumbs-up. “Excellent idea. You and Julie need the help. Meanwhile,
the rest of us will get you all moved from the apartment and into your new house.”

Jennifer closed her eyes. “Ohhhh, that reminds me. I still have stuff to pack in those
boxes tonight. I can at least clear out the desks and the bedroom dresser drawers.”

“Don’t worry if you can’t get to it. You’re so tired, you’ll probably fall asleep
as soon as you get home. Which wouldn’t be a bad idea. Take it easy, Jen, and call
me if you need anything.”

“I promise,” Jennifer said with a smile, then revved her car engine and aimed her
car down the driveway.

Kelly gave her a good-bye wave, then turned toward her cottage office. Unfinished
spreadsheets were waiting. This had been a very weird day.

Six

Kelly
slid
open the glass door and stepped out onto her cottage backyard patio, a large water
pitcher in her hand. “Hey, Carl, here’s some fresh water, boy,” she called to her
Rottweiler.

Carl paused in his sniffing of the fence perimeter for signs of Brazen Squirrel and
his myriad relations—brothers, sisters, cousins, Colorado cousins, Wyoming cousins—and
glanced Kelly’s way. For a second only; then he returned to sniffing about the fence.
Recent scents were still on the grass, no doubt.
Drat!
He’d missed the nimble-footed trespassers by minutes.

Noting Carl’s lack of interest if it wasn’t in his food dish, Kelly refilled his large
metal water bowl anyway. “You’ll need this, Carl. It’ll be really hot today. In the
nineties,” she warned, watching the clear cool stream pour downward and splash into
the metal bowl.

Carl trotted over and slurped up some water. Kelly rubbed his shiny black head. “You
miss those squirrels when you’re over at the new house, don’t you, Carl? Maybe we
can persuade one of the neighborhood cats to come visit you.”

At the mention of the Magic Word, Carl’s head jerked up.
A cat? Ohhhh, devoutly to be wished!
Kelly could almost read his thoughts.

She laughed and gave Carl another head rub. “I’m not sure I’m that persuasive, Carl.
But I’ll give it a try. You be good. I’ve got to get back to work. Spreadsheets are
waiting,” she said as she slid open the patio door and stepped inside. Carl trotted
off toward the garden and began snuffling about the plants. The next item on his morning
itinerary, separated by naps.

Checking her ceramic mug, Kelly saw that it was empty, so she headed toward the cottage
kitchen and her old familiar coffeepot sitting on the counter. Steve had brought his
fancier coffeemaker to their new Wellesley house, but she didn’t think the “bells
and whistles” made the coffee taste any better. If she remembered, she’d bring an
old one from the garage storage to replace it.

Draining the last of the coffee from the pot, she found that it barely filled an inch.
Rats!
She’d forgotten that she’d already refilled her mug during the long morning phone
call from her Denver client, Don Warner. She glanced at her watch. Only ten thirty.
Well, time for a coffee break anyway, she decided as she snatched up her portable
mug from the counter and headed out the cottage front door.

Passing by the flower beds bordering her front walkway, Kelly leaned over and inspected
the young plants. Pink, white, deep rose impatiens, purple and gold violas, and blue
and white lobelia. Shade-loving plants. Her front yard had just enough sun for them
to thrive but maintain their delicate colors.

Kelly started across the driveway, glancing toward the remodeled garage in progress,
and saw Malcolm, not working on the garage but standing, talking to someone behind
the building. Talking loudly, she noticed.

Curious, Kelly angled that way, and suddenly saw the man Malcolm was talking to. It
was Jared Rizzoli. And from the expression on Rizzoli’s face, he was not enjoying
the conversation.

Uh-oh,
Kelly thought, and walked closer, remembering Jayleen’s comments that Malcolm had
also “lost everything” because of Rizzoli’s Ponzi scheme. Not wanting to witness another
angry confrontation, Kelly feared Rizzoli’s temper wouldn’t hold back if a man confronted
him. Kelly stopped beside a van, Malcolm’s angry voice capturing her attention.

“You got a lotta nerve coming back to town,” Malcolm accused, voice louder, jabbing
his finger at Rizzoli. “You think holding those free seminars will wash away your
crimes? Well, they
don’t
!”

Once again, Kelly noticed Rizzoli’s face darkening with anger. Yesterday, Rizzoli
had clearly held himself back, despite Barbara’s threats. Kelly guessed that was because
Barbara was a woman. But this time, with Malcolm, Kelly sensed Rizzoli wouldn’t show
the same restraint.

“Back off, creep!” Rizzoli sneered, knocking Malcolm’s hand aside. “I went to prison
to pay my debts.”

Malcolm’s face reddened, clearly enraged himself now. “Don’t you brush me off like
I’m some piece of trash! You lost me
everything
! My job, my wife, my home, everything!
You
did, you son-of-a-bitch!” This time Malcolm jabbed his finger right into Rizzoli’s
chest.

The explosion Kelly had feared erupted. Rizzoli shoved Malcolm back hard. So hard,
Malcolm stumbled and fell backward onto the driveway. “Get your hands off me, you
piece of crap!” Rizzoli yelled. “Don’t blame me for what you’ve become!”

Just then, Hal Nelson ran over from the parking lot. “Back off, Rizzoli!” he yelled.
He shot Rizzoli a glare as he helped Malcolm up from the gravel.

“You tell
him
to back off!” Still furious, Rizzoli pointed toward Malcolm. “I’ve been to prison,
but
you’re
the one down a rat hole! Nobody’s to blame for what you’ve become! You did it to
yourself!”

Kelly watched a silent Malcolm stare at Rizzoli, stricken.

“You better leave now, Rizzoli,” Nelson said in a cold voice.

“You bet I will. Tell your agent to call me when the contract’s signed,” Rizzoli snapped,
then turned and stalked off to his car. The tires squealed this time in Rizzoli’s
haste to leave the driveway.

Kelly ran over to Malcolm, who still stared—white-faced and shaking—after the departing
Rizzoli. “Are you okay, Malcolm? Did you hurt yourself?” she asked, grasping his arm.
Nelson still had hold of the other arm.

“No . . . I’m . . . I’m okay,” Malcolm answered, in a hushed voice.

“Why don’t we go inside the café and get you a cup of coffee and something to eat?”
Nelson said, guiding Malcolm toward the garden patio.

“That’s a good idea,” Kelly said, following Nelson’s lead and guiding Malcolm toward
the garden pathway leading to the café. She couldn’t help noticing the stares from
customers who didn’t expect drama to accompany their breakfast alfresco.

Waitress Julie walked over to them as they approached the steps leading to the café
back door. “I swear, if that man ever shows up here again, I’m going to accidentally
pour hot coffee all over him,” she said with an uncharacteristic scowl, lifting her
coffeepot in defiance.

Wow,
Kelly thought as they climbed the steps. Jared Rizzoli seemed to ignite universal
animosity. Even good-natured Julie was mad at him.

Jennifer pushed open the door and held it for all three of them to enter. Kelly followed
Nelson and Malcolm, and Jennifer muttered none-too-softly to her, “I tell you, that
Rizzoli is a piece of work. I almost wish Hal and I weren’t doing business with him.”

“Hey, hold your nose and take his money,” Kelly said in a rasping whisper as she passed.
“You can use it, and so can Hal. He told me so.”

Hal ushered Malcolm over to a small table for two around the corner and helped him
into a chair. Clearly, Nelson was making sure Malcolm got settled. Glancing toward
the grill, Kelly noticed Rosa standing in the back hallway watching everything.

“Brother, this morning’s confrontation had an even bigger audience than yesterday’s
with Barbara,” Kelly said.

Rosa hastened their way. “That man is a menace. I can’t wait until he leaves town.
All he’s done is rile up all the people he cheated years ago. You’ve seen those stories
in the newspaper, right?”

“You couldn’t miss them,” Jennifer said, picking up her tray as she headed around
the grill to load breakfast orders.

“Is Barbara all right?” Kelly asked, suddenly worried that Barbara’s fiery outburst
yesterday had triggered a health problem.

Rosa’s brown eyes grew larger as she leaned closer to Kelly and lowered her voice.
“Madge came in this morning to teach Burt’s class all by herself. When I asked where
Barbara was, she said that Barbara took a day off. Madge said that last night, Barbara
was still so mad at Rizzoli she went down to the hotel where he was holding one of
his seminars. And she confronted him right there in front of everyone! Then Rizzoli’s
security guards took Barbara away and threatened to call the police! Can you believe
that?”

“Oh, no! Please tell me Barbara went home.”

Rosa nodded. “Yes, thank goodness. But still, can you imagine down-to-earth, practical
Barbara doing something like that?” She shook her head.

“No, I can’t, Rosa. I tell you, I was really concerned about Barbara yesterday. I
was afraid she might blow an artery or something after that confrontation outside.
Mimi’s known her for a long time. Has she ever mentioned any health problems?”

“Yes, I remember her saying Barbara has high blood pressure and is on medication for
it,” Rosa said. “So you were right to worry about Barbara. I was, too, and keeping
my fingers crossed nothing would happen.”

Kelly looked out toward the café and watched Jennifer walking toward the grill where
Eduardo had placed more breakfast orders. “Well, let’s hope that episode with the
security guards was a wake-up call for Barbara. She needs to calm down and leave Rizzoli
alone. He’s a scumbag, from what I’ve heard about him and seen for myself. And he’s
certainly not worth risking her health over.”

“You’re so right, Kelly. Let’s hope Barbara can put the past to rest. Oooops, I hear
the shop phone. Talk to you later.” Rosa hurried back around the corner into the shop.

Kelly walked over to the grill where Jennifer was loading up her tray. “Sounds like
Rizzoli has already made an offer on the land.”

“Yep, and at the asking price, too. And accompanied by a cashier’s check for half
the purchase price. With the balance to be paid at closing in ten days. Naturally,
Hal accepted the offer and signed it immediately.” She gave a wry smile.

Kelly let out a low whistle. “Wow, he really must be rich. The papers weren’t exaggerating,
I guess.”

“Actually, the gossip in the office is his wife’s the wealthy one. She and he knew
each other years ago, before he got into financial trouble with the law. Anyway, she
inherited a bundle when her first husband died, while Rizzoli was in prison. Apparently
he found out and started writing her. Love blooms in strange places, I guess.” Jennifer
lifted the tray to her shoulder. “Listen, I’ve gotten all the bedroom stuff packed
or into garment bags. So the only things left for you to pack tomorrow will be stuff
from our desk drawers and then the kitchen, of course.”

Kelly gave a dismissive wave. “Piece of cake. We’ll be finished before dinner tomorrow,
I predict.”

Jennifer grinned. “Pete says to tell you guys he’s gonna make everybody their favorite
pie when he gets back.”

“Ooooh, make mine pecan.”

Jennifer started to turn away, then stopped. “Oh, yeah. Pete finally got in touch
with Tanya. She claimed her cell phone wasn’t working. They’re over in Omaha, can
you believe? Anyway, Pete said she ‘panicked’ when he asked her if she could come
back to Denver to help take care of Cassie. Tanya says the band is starting to get
recognition now. So, she can’t come back. She’s singing backup with them and doing
their publicity.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “So Pete told her that he was going to
bring Cassie up here to Fort Connor to stay with us. Ben’s going to be recovering
and in rehab for months.”

Kelly gave her a rueful smile. “I’ll bet Tanya was relieved to hear that.”

“Ohhhh, yeah.” Jennifer nodded. “And that made Pete feel even better about bringing
Cassie here. Tanya clearly wants no responsibility for her daughter, so Cassie will
be better off here with us.”

“Sounds like it. Listen, stop by Megan and Marty’s tonight, why don’t you? Lisa and
Greg will be out, so the rest of us are relaxing with pizza. It’s too hot to sit outside
for dinner.”

“Pizza’s good. I’ll be there,” Jen said, then returned to her waiting customers.

“Want some coffee, Kelly?” Julie offered, pot at the ready.

“I sure do,” Kelly answered, suddenly realizing she no longer had her mug with her.
“You know, I think I dropped my mug in the driveway when Malcolm and Rizzoli were
getting into it. Let me retrieve it. Hold that offer.”

“Will do.”

Kelly left through the café back door and ran down the steps, still unable to forget
the stricken look on Malcolm’s face.