Color Me a Crime (21 page)

Pac charges in with his fists full. In one, he is holding Hope by the hem of her shirt, and in the other, he has Buddy by his collar. Both are fighting him. Both are losing.

He shoves them on the couch across from me. We glare at each other.

“You had to go and be nosey.” She grins, squatting down between my legs, and resting her hand on her gun holster. “One more big shipment and we are done.”

She stands up, flicks the snap pulling out the gun and waves it between us.

“It was planned out perfectly. Poor Joel didn’t have any clue when I called him about going undercover for the team.” Her laugh rings in my ear. Her aura has a dirty brown overlay, letting me know she is holding onto energy and some secrets. “It was perfect. I found him a job with the Park City Podunk police.”

“There really wasn’t a sting operation with the FBI?” I ask. Thank goodness, Joel is in the hospital and not here in danger.

“No. Joel is in charge of the drug smuggling operations, and when I called to tell him that I was put in charge of this sting and I needed the best undercover agent, he was all over it. After all, I was willing to sacrifice him as the ringleader. You know ‘all-the-woman-scorned’ crap.” She waves the gun in the air. “Payback is hell. If something went wrong with the deal, I’d already laid the groundwork to send Joel to prison for a long, long time.”

Hugh starts to clap. “Bravo.” As he plants a big kiss on her, I watch her hand with the gun go all willy-nilly in the air and I am trying to dodge the direction she is pointing it.

“And you.” She turns to Hope. “Linda used you all your life. You were her doormat. You never got any glory.” She points the gun at Buddy. His aura darkens because of his fear. “I don’t get you trying to save her. You are a fat slob. She’d never have touched you with a ten-foot pole.”

Hugh doesn’t say a word. He lets Christy do all the talking. While her back is still to me, I glance down at my phone and see that it’s still recording. If they do kill me, maybe someone will find my phone and solve this crime.

“Linda became a liability when she started the process to sue 4Play, and then she sealed her fate when she started snooping around, just like you.” She turns her attention back to me. I wish Buddy had kept her attention instead. “She overheard a conversation about this one last time and threatened us. You see what threatening does?”

“How did you do it and why pin it on me?” I plead to know the answers before I go meet my maker.

“Like I said, I felt scorned when Joel talked about his cute little blonde and how happy you make him.” The look of death crosses her face. Darkness settles in her eyes. “Why not make him suffer more than being in prison. I was on ‘stakeout’ the night of the hoedown.” She finger quotes stake out. “And when you slapped Linda, I knew it was you that I was going to frame. It was all working out.”

I gasp, sitting on the edge of the chair.

“Oh shut up!” She pushes me back; Pac steps up behind her for backup. “I ran her down and planted all the evidence on you.”

She orders Pac to keep the gun on me while she takes care of Hope and Buddy.

“Wait!” You haven’t answered all of my questions. “How does Buddy fit in?”

“You tell her.” She orders Buddy to talk.

He clears his throat. “I was a huge fan of Linda Minx and when she wanted to sue 4Play, Hope contacted me because she’s the fan club president and knows I’m a lawyer.” He looks at Hope. “I told Hope I’d help them if she could get Linda to go on a date with me.”

“That’s when I told him about Color Me Love.” Hope adds. “I don’t know how they pair people up, but I knew he might have a shot if he wrote down all things Linda loved, as well as her body type.”

Everything fit like a puzzle.

“I knew that someone from 4Play had killed her and I needed Buddy’s help to continue with the lawsuit and bring justice to my sister’s death.” Tears trickle down Hope’s cheeks as she tries to keep it together. “For years I begged her to get out of the porn business. She always said that once you are in and get a taste of the money, it’s hard to leave.”

“You see what trying to leave got her…and you.” Hugh’s voice drips in disgust.

The door busts open. In one swift move, Christy points her gun in that direction and screams, “Stop or I will shoot!”

Without even looking at the face or the aura, I know exactly who it is by the chomping of the gum.

“I’m sorry,” Vive chomps and stares at Christy. “I’m here to collect my man.” Her hot pink nail leads the way to Buddy. “I don’t know who that bimbo is that he is with, but I will take her down.” Vive whips out a small gun and shoots Christy’s pinkie finger, causing her to let go of the gun.

I scramble to my knees, slide across the floor and grab the gun.

“Hold it!” I scream at Hugh before he bolts toward the door heading for Vive, but Vive doesn’t give him a warning and shoots him in the foot.

“I told you I am here to collect my man.” She holds the gun tip up to her mouth and blows. Her aura turns even redder when she catches Buddy’s eye. There is no doubt that she is there to help. “No one stands between me and my man.”

“You can have him!” Hope shoves Buddy. She holds her hands up in the air, and begs, “Just don’t shoot me.”

“Oh, shut up!” Vive waves her little pistol at Hope. Hope starts to cry. She points the gun back to Christy, and looks at me. Her lip curls. “What in the hell do you have on?”

“Don’t ask.” I try to steady my shaking hands.

“Don’t worry. She’s here to help us,” Buddy says to Hope, and looks at Vive with a thankful look in his eyes. His aura goes from orange to a burnt orange…almost red. “I do like a strong woman.”

With a quick double-take on his color, I have to admit he is falling for Vive just as much as she’s falling for him.

“We have to hurry.” I look around for anything to tie Christy and Hugh up with. “They sent a big guy to get Harold and he will be here any minute.”

“No he won’t.” Aunt Matilda nudges Pac through the door with a taser stuck in his back. “This baby took him down in one trigger pull. What do you have on?” Aunt Matilda’s disgust for my barely-there outfit shows on her face.

“I’ll wear anything to clear my name. Including, nothing at all.” I jab my gun in Christy’s direction.

“Let’s go.” Vive waves her gun at Christy and Hugh to get up and go out the door.

“We can’t go out there.” Beth and the others will try to keep Hugh safe.

“Yes we can.” Aunt Matilda jabs Pac harder and he cringes. “Carl and the police are out there gathering up all the evidence now.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, grateful for my Aunt Matilda.

“I always have to keep an eye on you.” She has on her serious mom-face. Like the look she had when I got in trouble in high school. “I told you it wasn’t a good situation…with Buddy and Felicia, that is.” She nods in the direction of Buddy and Vive. “Now that is a good match.”

We all walk out together. Pac does everything Aunt Matilda tells him to do; Buddy has a death grip on Hugh, while I have the gun pointed on Christy.

All the lights are on in the big warehouse where the party was taking place. All the employees are lined up sitting on the couches. It looks like Carl called in reinforcements from other counties. They are interviewing each employee individually.

Harold is in the corner talking to a police officer, giving his account of what he saw at 4Play and at the warehouse.

“It’s a shame too.” Hugh says to me.

“What? That we blew your little cover off?” If stares can kill, he’ll be dead. “Or that I had to spend a few days out of my busy life to prove that I didn’t kill Linda Minx?”

“You could’ve been a star.” He grins. I swear I can see little horns pop up out of his head.

“I’d rather keep my clothes on.” I drop the gun in the police officer’s hand as he walks up and handcuffs Hugh and Christy. “Make sure Hugh takes a nice long shower in the state pen. He loves nice
long
showers.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Aunt Matilda let me take her truck. Unfortunately, I have to leave the Lamborghini at the warehouse. If I drove that, I could be at the hospital much quicker than the old truck. I can’t wait to see Joel and tell him all about the bust.

Ain’t nobody that spies like us
, Paul belts out at the bottom of my bag. I pull it toward me and get it. I hope its Erin. I need her to go let Herbie out.

“Who is this?” I demand when the mystery caller’s number pops up on my screen. Now it’s freaking me out. The bust is over and I figure the calls had to do with Linda’s death. This makes me think that it has to do with Splitsville.com. “Hello?”

There is a little static on the line, and then it goes silent.

Frustrated, I dial Erin’s number and leave a message on her answering machine when she doesn’t pick up.

Whipping the truck into the visitor’s spot at the hospital, I rush in.

“I’m here to see Joel Shelton,” I tell the receptionist as she types on the computer.

“Room 124,” she says.

I take off down the hall to the elevators, only to find a long line. The stairwell is next to it and I take those instead.

Joel is sitting up in his bed when I walk in, puffing from climbing the stairs.

“Olivia!” He outstretches his arms. His aura instantly brightens. “I’m so glad to see you. With one eye at least.” He points to the patch on his right eye.

“I’m so sorry I did that to you.” I melt into his arms.

“You’re safe.” Erin rushes over and wraps her arms around me as I stay in Joel’s hug. “If you are here, it means that the bust went well.”

“You know?” I stand up and look between them.

Michael walks in with a cardboard carrier full of coffees.

“Vive called me. She said that she’s been tailing Buddy with all sorts of devices from the Surplus.” Erin takes a cup of coffee and hands it to me.

I laugh. I should have figured it out because I can’t put anything past Vive. Especially with all her little gadgets.

“She said that she saw you drive like a bat-out-of-hell in a Lamborghini.” She blows in her cup to cool her coffee. “When she gave me the address, I knew I had to tell Joel.”

I rub Joel’s arm, so grateful for him.

“Vive was so mad about Buddy. She thought he was cheating on her, so she continued to follow them as Joel called Carl and backup police.”

“Yeah, I told them about the drug smuggling ring.” Joel is proud of his role he pulled off from his hospital bed.

“You don’t even know half the story,” I warn. “You’re little ex, Christy...”

He has an ‘oh shit’ look on his face.

“Yeah, her.” My eyes squint. “She is the head of the drug ring and she killed Linda.”

Joel sits up in his bed, with the look of worry in his one eye.

“Linda’s sister had hired Buddy, who is the president of Linda’s fan club, to be the lawyer in the lawsuit she had against 4Play for not paying her.” I sit down on his bed next to him when I feel the agitation coming from his aura. I hold his hand to help calm him. “Only Buddy wouldn’t do it unless he got set up on a date with Linda. Hope, Linda’s sister, told him about Color Me Love. Needless to say, Linda uncovered the drug smuggling ring and threatened to go to the tabloids if 4Play didn’t settle.”

“Wow! You are definitely Veronica Mars.” Erin glows in my sleuthing ability. I’m honored to be compared to one of my all-time-favorite super-sleuth heroines.

Joel runs his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe it. But why would she want me to help her when she knows I would never condone such a sting?”

“She is bitter about me. She said that she was going to frame you.” I pat his hand. “Her exact words were, ‘I’m a woman scorned’.”

Joel’s mouth drops. There is hurt, embarrassment and anger swirling in his blue aura.

“You should’ve seen Vive.” My eyes brighten. “She was amazing.” I told them about her Wonder Woman moves and how she can handle a gun, not to mention how badass she is.

Oh, Oh what do you do,
my cell sings.

“You have
got
to be kidding me.” Frustration resides in my gut. I hold the phone up, showing them the number that keeps pranking me. “I’ve got to find out who this is.”

“Grab my wallet.” Joel points to the side table next to the hospital bed. “I did find out some information.”

Eagerly, I grab his wallet and hand it to him. He pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to me.

“You read it. I’m not so good with one eye.” He smiles, letting me off the hook. “It’s one of those prepaid cell phones. You can’t trace a name, but I did trace where the person bought it.”

I unfold the sheet of paper.

“I contacted the gas station it was bought from and they had surveillance cameras. They rolled the tape back and sent me a picture of the shot.” He taps my hand. “You’re shaking. Do you know him?”

Erin peers over my shoulder, and gasps.

“Bradley,” I whisper, looking out of the window, knowing in my gut that he is on his way to pay me a visit.

A Note From The Author

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International bestselling author Tonya Kappes spends her day lost in the world of her quirky characters that get into even quirkier situations.

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