Coughing & Donuts: A Mercy Mares Cozy Mystery (17 page)

We commiserated for a few minutes while deciding what our next move should be. I didn't have a good feeling about how things would play out, but it was all we had. I would have to confront everyone head on before Eli was sent away for good.

*

Sleep had not been in my favor while I'd been in Pleasant Cove. Another couple of sleepless nights and I was pretty sure that I'd turn into a zombie, but it was either that or watch a town ruin a young man's life.

“Why are you calling me so early?” Brandi whined.

“Why did Eli live with Jill Lerner and her family?” I didn't have time to waste.

She exhaled slowly. “His girlfriend is Jill's daughter. They felt sorry for him.”

“Why was he placed on a police hold?” I hoped she'd answer every question for me.

“He got into an argument with his dad and it escalated. I don't know what happened after that. The next thing I knew he'd escaped from the hospital and people were saying he killed Mike.” Brandi said.

“You don't know why he was placed in police custody? Now, why don't I believe you?” I was so tired of listening to everyone act like a young man's life wasn't on the line. Why didn't anyone care about Eli? What had he done that made everyone turn their backs on him?

She was stalling. I could tell by the nervous laughter and awkward pauses as I waited for her to tell me the truth. Finally, either she realized how incredibly thick she was being or she was the first official person that saw me as a threat. Whatever reason, I liked having the feeling of superiority, it gave me.

She sighed and said, “It's not what you think.”

Ruby squealed. "Are you flippin' kidding me? After all this time? After all they put you and this kid through? How could that be?"

"I don't understand anymore than you do. I'm not even sure that Brandi is telling me the truth. I tried to call Charlie and consult with him, but his phone is off. I don't know if he's working, sleeping or just avoiding me." I wondered because of the way we left things. I shouldn't have been so rude, but I was at my wit's end with all of the nonsense going on in this town.

"So, now what? I really think you should hop in your car and come home. Barney misses you. I miss you. Hank says that you're going to get yourself thrown in jail or worse." Ruby pleaded with me to get out of town right away, but with all that I knew now, I couldn't do that.

"Ruby, you know I can't run from this. I won't be able to live with myself if I do." I said.

"How do you know she's telling you the truth? She could be setting you up, just like that poor Eli was set up. I don't trust this at all. If you're not going to come home, I'm going to you and don't try and talk me out of it because I'm already walking out the door." Ruby said. I could hear Hank calling out to her in the distance. What was she doing?

There were some inaudible noises on her end, then, the phone went dead.

"Hello? Ruby? Hank?" I waited until the dial tone rang in my ear. "Great, Mercy. Now what?"

I knew what I had to do, but didn't know if it would be a wise move. Who was I but a stranger in this community and not a very well-liked one at that. I checked my phone, searching for the number that I needed to call.

"Captain Benetto here. Speak." Lou answered gruffly.

"Um, hi, It's Mercy Mares." I said tentatively.

"I know who it is." He snapped. "What do you need, Mercy?"

"Do you have a few minutes to meet me somewhere?" I asked.

He groaned. "No, but tell me what this is about. I don't have time for nonsense. In case you've been living under a rock, I'm kind of busy these days."

I rolled my eyes. I know he was busy, but so was everyone else in town and right now that didn't matter.

"I swear, if you are rolling those giant eyes of yours, I'm going to hang up right now." He warned me.

Where did that come from? I thought my eyes were my best feature, aside from my full lips, but I digress...

"Why are you so rude? I didn't call you to be insulted." I said.

"No, you called me to make me wish you'd never been given my phone number. Do you realize how much I have on my plate right now? I have a murder. Not just any murder, but my best friend's murder and I am fielding calls from panicked residents about Rollie's death and reporters are clamoring to get a juicy story. I don't have time to listen to some hysterical nurse with no vested interest in any of them." He sounded angrier than I thought he was.

Now, I was angry. He didn't know me well enough to be able to speak to who or what was important to me.

"I don't have to listen to this. I'm trying to help you and you're calling me names. Goodbye." I wanted to slam a phone receiver down, but I'd forgotten that no one could do that anymore these days with the invention of phones that practically fit in our mouths and gave a green light to every man, woman and child in America to find you and dictate your every move.

He laughed. "You didn't hang up."

Ugh!

"No, this is too important, so I guess I'll just have to tolerate your bullying until we can get this thing solved." I hated eating crow. It wasn't appetizing.

"What do you mean 'we'? This is my case. My town. My murder to solve. You're a nurse, not a detective, so don't start acting like one." He warned me.

"Will you meet me now?" I asked, pleased with myself.

He groaned. "Where?"

I smiled and told him. Finally, someone with some authority was going to take me seriously. I just wished that I'd been able to get a hold of Charlie so he could offer me guidance as to how to proceed. I didn't like the idea of confronting a murderer on my own. I had no experience in these kind of things. At least, not the right kind of experience.

I tried Charlie's phone again. Still no answer and it didn't go to voice mail. He was avoiding me. I tried his office phone next. No answer there either.

"Where are you, Charlie?" I asked out loud, but I wasn't expecting what I'd heard next.

"Did you check the spare bedroom?" A male voice asked.

"Charlie? Is that you? My goodness, what are you doing here? How did you get in here?" I almost cried because I was so happy that he was here.

He stepped out into the living room, carrying a set of keys. "I made copies and you really need to learn to check your surroundings. So, are you ready to catch a killer?" He smiled, moving closer to close my open mouth. "You're going to catch flies in there. Close your mouth. It's not like you've never seen my face before."

That's when it happened. That's the moment when I lost my mind.

After I managed to get myself together and splash some water on my face with Charlie's help, he and I walked out the door together on the way to pay Lou a visit and start a chain of events that I hoped would put this whole ordeal to rest. It was do or die time.

*

Lou stood up, throwing his chair back in the process. "Are you out of your minds?" He shouted, scaring the people around us in the coffee shop.

I jumped, but Charlie grabbed my arm to prevent me from adding more drama to the scene we were already causing.

"Settle down, Captain," Charlie warned, masking his anger with his signature smile.

"No." Lou said, before sitting back down and lowering his voice. "How do you know all this? How could this be possible? I know everyone in this town. We eat together. We celebrate together. We cry together and, now, you're telling me that one of my own - someone I've known for years - since the moment I arrived in town - isn't who I thought they were? Are you both insane?"

I knew this wasn't going to go over well, especially where Lou was concerned, but I had hoped that with Charlie by my side, Lou's reaction wouldn't have been so angry.

Charlie patted my leg under the table, telling me to answer Lou's questions. I was nervous, but it had to be done.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you to hear, but all roads lead to this. I wouldn't have brought it to you, if it wasn't the absolute truth or what I... we believe to be the truth." I said, indicating Charlie was on board with me.

Lou pounded his fists on the table, shaking our table and the tables around us. The girl behind the counter watched him, horrified. "Is everything okay, Captain Benetto?" She asked.

He glared at her and she turned away quickly, watching the woman who was walking in the door. We watched with interest too. I didn't think she'd show.

"Adrienne? What is she doing here?" Lou looked at me, knowing I'd invited her.

"She's Eli's mother. She has a right to know the truth." I said by way of explanation. "I am surprised she came."

Charlie turned to greet her. He was the friendly face of our bunch. I wasn't sure I had the courage to ask the hard questions of both her and Lou.

"Welcome. Thank you for joining us," Charlie stood up, motioning for Lou to do the same. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

She stood next to the table, refusing to sit in the only remaining seat, next to Lou. He rolled his eyes and moved his chair closer to the wall next to him, letting the legs squeak on the floor.

Adrienne sat down, pulling her chair toward the edge of the table. "Is it true," she asked. "Was my son set up?"

I nodded. "We believe so."

"Was it his father? Please, don't tell me that it was. I don't know if I'd be able to stop myself from killing Simon. Eli's my boy. He's my world." Emotion welled up in her throat as she spoke.

Charlie tried to console her. "We didn't look at this lightly. We checked every angle, and, quite honestly, it did start to look like Eli did this, but what we couldn't understand was why he chose Mike. Of all the people that your son had... had issues with, why Mike? What did he have to gain by killing him?"

Adrienne answered immediately. "Nothing. They didn't like each other, but it wasn't so much that anyone had to die. If anything, we were always afraid that Mike would do something to him."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, not knowing how to proceed with this grieving mother. She spoke first, breaking the silence.

"I knew you were up to something." She said to me. "That's why I photographed you. I wanted to remember your face in case you got my son convicted for something that he didn't or would never do."

Charlie answered to that. "We saw you, so naturally I checked into you and your background. When I found out who you were, I couldn't blame you for looking into Mercy's background. What I don't understand though, is why did you steal her laptop? What did you think you would find? It's not like Mercy is tech savvy. She barely knows how to use a cell phone, so I think that move was probably a waste of your time."

"What? Excuse me, but I know how to use more than my phone and how did you know that she took my laptop?" Now, I sounded like I didn't have a clue what was going on.

Adrienne clapped her hands together. "So, what happens now? How do we save my son?"

I looked at Charlie.

He asked, "Shall I, or do you want to?"

"I'll do it." I said.

*

Eli looked like he hadn't slept in days. The stubble on his face hid his true age. He had bags under his eyes and his pallor was ghostly. Another few weeks in lockup and I'm convinced he would have been hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition.

"We can't let your mom see you like this." I said, grabbing his wrist to take his pulse. "Have they given you your medications?"

He didn't look at me. His eyes were trained on Lou's gun and Lou's angry eyes were locked on him.

"Don't get any crazy ideas, Pardo. I'm here to help you. Now, follow us and let's get you out of here." Lou ordered him.

He was sluggish, but cooperated. "Where are we going? Are you taking me to the electric chair now?"

I see he hadn't lost his smart mouth. That was a good sign.

"We're taking you home." I told him.

His eyes lit up for a second. "I don't have a home. The old man kicked me out and this jerk had me committed." He pointed to Lou.

"I'm helping you and you're calling me names. That's appropriate." Lou groaned.

We walked him out of the building through the back door without incident. No one questioned Lou. I didn't know what he'd told the staff, but whatever it was, it worked. They let it happen and even unlocked the doors for us in the process.

*

We'd discussed where our next stop would be, but I don't think any amount of preparation could have prepared me to see his face. I was hurt and angry. It didn't have to be this way.

"Are you ready?" Charlie asked as Lou pulled the car over.

Eli groaned. "Why are we here? I thought that you were taking me home. This isn't Jill's house."

"She'll be here." Charlie said. "Just sit tight. This is a good thing."

We waited a few minutes for the others to arrive. Adrienne arrived first, anxious to see and hold her son in her arms.