Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear (27 page)

Something warm brushed
over Ginger’s cheek, just a fleeting touch. A bug maybe? Her head swam. She couldn’t process. Her limbs were like wet rags. What was it? She couldn’t remember the word. Oh yeah. A hand. A hand touched her cheek.

Then a voice twirled through the air. “My problem here is that I have to make this look like an accident.”

Noises. Shuffling. Her head dropped forward and then jerked back. She swayed and slipped deeper into her spa tub. Her chin grazed the surface of the water.

The voice had been Victoria’s. But she wasn’t really Victoria, was she? She had to be a look-alike, a twin.

She couldn’t lift her head, but she could look around.

Her last memory was of lying in the spa bath. She’d been relaxed and tired from the workout. When she asked Victoria the question, she hadn’t seemed upset, said something about her and Dustin exchanging smoothie recipes and watching old movies. It all made sense. Her suspicions were way off base. She had drifted off to sleep … smelled the strong scent of peppermint.

What was Victoria talking about? Making what look like an accident? She couldn’t put the thoughts together. Couldn’t make things fit.
God, help me
.

Victoria was dressed in her workout clothes. When had she done that? Some time had passed, and Ginger wasn’t sure how she had spent it. Probably sleeping. Victoria lifted her chin. “I turned on a different amber light so I could get this job done without interruption. It’s not like stupid Pauline pays attention to which light is on. She can barely count to two.”

“Why?” The question sort of fell out of Ginger’s mouth. It hadn’t even really formed in her brain.

The woman who called herself Victoria slammed something on the dresser. “Because Victoria got everything. This all should have been mine anyway.” She touched her chest. “I was talented too. No cares if you’re a great swimmer. So what if you can’t sing?” The imposter tilted her head side to side and put a finger on either cheek. “But it was all about being cute.”

That was way more of an answer than Ginger had expected. She swallowed. She had just wanted to know why she felt so drowsy. Now she remembered. Victoria had tossed something in her tub, strong scent of peppermint. She had been tired enough to drift off.

Victoria paced. “You want to know what? All those tap dancing lessons didn’t do her a bit of good when the boat capsized.” The imposter smirked. “I made it to shore. Everyone thought I was her. They wanted me to be her.” Her hand massaged Ginger’s shoulders. She leaned close and whispered in her ear. “A stolen life.”

“Dustin?” Again, the question hadn’t formed in her mind; it had simply spilled out. Her subconscious was working on things while her conscious mind nodded off.

Victoria dug her fingers into Ginger’s shoulders. Fingernails prickled her skin. The pain roused her a bit.

“Dustin sold everything to the highest bidder. He thought he could get more for my secret from someone else.” She wandered toward the dresser. She picked up a hand mirror turning her head side to side. “He just made me so mad. I saw his appointment with Edward Mastive in his Day-Timer when we were looking for the elevator code and I knew what was up. I knew I could find him waiting on the dark side of the pier where he did all his little secret deals.”

Ginger nodded. Not because she agreed with Victoria, but because she didn’t have the muscular control to shake her head.

Victoria trotted back over to the spa bath. “You’re too smart. Nobody else figured it out.” Her jaw tightened. “I still don’t know what he did with the birth certificates. I looked everywhere, in his place, in his suit.”

She smiled a saccharine-sweet smile as she swished her hand through the water. “I live in this hotel. I’ll find it sooner or later.” Victoria’s face filled Ginger’s vision. She whispered, “Just as long as no one but me knows.”

Victoria’s voice was bone chilling. The emotional coldness of the moment cleared Ginger’s head.
She’s going to kill me
.

Victoria held up a
pill bottle. “Look at this. It’s the muscle relaxant I told you about.”

Ginger slipped even farther into the tub. She tilted her head.
I have to get out of here
. She leaned forward. The effect of the herb seemed to be wearing off, but fatigue weighted her limbs.

“After you put too much valerian in your bath, you were disoriented, and your muscles were so sore.” Victoria slapped her cheek with theatrical exaggeration. “Silly me, I went and left my purse here, and you, you naughty girl, you found the pills I had been raving about. I’ll do a little drama so Pauline is sure to remember when I left and when I came back looking for my purse.” She forced Ginger’s chin down and placed the pill in her mouth.

Ginger tried to push the pill out with her thick and fuzzy tongue.

Cold fingers clamped on her shoulders. Victoria put her mouth close to Ginger’s ear. “You just fell asleep and slipped into the water.” Fingers dug into her like chilled butter knifes. “You drown, quite by accident.”

Ginger stiffened. She wiggled. Her hand jerked out of the bath, spraying water.

Pressure on her shoulders. Legs kicking. Face going under. Water surging against her ears. Kicking. Air. She needed air …

As the water encased her, she saw flashes of light. She twisted to one side, pushed herself to the surface for a moment. Gasping. Breath, precious breath.

Victoria grunted.

Weight came down even harder on Ginger’s shoulders. She kicked. Strength ebbed away.

A muffled crash reverberated as she went under and water covered her face.

Earl Salinski pushed the door open with hulklike strength. It slammed against the wall.

Victoria’s hand flew up, and she whirled around. Her eyes flamed with rage.

A foot stuck out of the spa tub. He’d recognize that foot anywhere.

How dare this woman try to hurt his Ginger.

He bolted toward the bathtub. Ginger’s face appeared murky and distorted beneath the water.
No, please, no
. Grabbing her shoulders, he yanked her out of the water.

Something solid hit his head. Despite the searing pain, he gathered his wife close to him, cradling her in one arm. Victoria lifted her arm behind her, preparing to strike him again. His forearm jerked up to protect his head.

A blond head bobbed into view and then a gray one.

One of them yelled, “Oh no, you don’t!”

Suzanne filled the doorway. Kindra had jumped on Victoria’s back. A wooden candlestick rolled across the floor. The ladies could handle Victoria just fine.

While things crashed and banged behind him, he laid Ginger on the tile floor. Ginger’s still body numbed him. She wasn’t breathing. His precious wife wasn’t breathing. Her chest was frozen, mouth slightly open. On autopilot, he placed his fingers on her neck. A faint pulse pushed against his fingers.

Suzanne kneeled on the floor beside him. “You got something?”

He nodded. He knew what he had to do, but it was nice to have someone beside him. Her proximity broke the paralysis that had made it hard for him to put thoughts together. He tilted Ginger’s head and lifted her chin.

“Nose.” Suzanne pressed her finger against her thumb, reminding Earl to pinch Ginger’s nose.

Earl sealed his mouth over Ginger’s and blew gently.

“You got breath into her. Her chest rose and fell.”

Earl counted to five and breathed life into his wife again.

“Hello. Ginger I’m So
glad to meet you. I’m Crazy in Calamity. You have no idea how your blog has helped me already.”

Ginger had a clear view of the ceiling. She must be dreaming. Like those dreams she used to have the night before the end of the season sales. Now Fiona Truman, the Shopping Channel lady, was talking to her. About to tell her about a good deal? No, that wasn’t it. Fiona was Crazy in Calamity?

A warm hand touched her shoulder. That was Earl. She couldn’t see him, but she could hear him. A moment before he had held her and said over and over, “I am so glad you are back.”

That part of what had just happened was the clearest of all. She was resting on the floor of the private spa where Victoria had tried to drown her. Someone had put a bathrobe over her swimsuit.

“Did they catch—?” she croaked.

“We have taken Veronica Stone into custody.”

The lady detective showed her face. What was her name? Mallory.

Still a little dizzy, she sat up. All of them surrounded her, kneeling and sitting cross-legged: the detectives, Earl, Fiona a.k.a Crazy in Calamity, and her precious BHN friends.

“We owe you a debt of gratitude for catching Dustin’s killer.” That was the other lady detective.

Ginger sighed. “I’m sort of an accidental detective. All of this started because I was looking for my missing cat.”

“You lost a cat?” asked Detective Mallory. “Is she gray with white toes?”

Livin’ Large on the Cheap

TUESDAY, JULY 27

Strange Blessings

I am sitting here with my fuzzy slippers on, in Earl’s lounge chair in my own house. The rest of the Bargain Hunters are in the kitchen getting tea. I hear them laughing. We had quite the adventure in Calamity. My world has righted itself and turned upside down at the same time. Earl’s invention didn’t quite get off the ground. We are still hopeful. Fiona Truman from the Shopping Channel thinks I should become one of those financial advisors, go on television, and sell CDs and books that explain how to live large on the cheap. She thinks she can make it happen. Maybe the money we made from that would help us get out from under this second mortgage and build our savings back up. I just don’t know.

What I do know is that I love my husband. I want him to succeed. I love my Bargain Hunter friends. I know I could lose every material thing tomorrow and I would still be okay. Been there, done that. You can survive without a cell phone, purse, or credit card.

I sit here with this computer and my cat on my legs. I got my Phoebe back, and right now she’s making my thighs fall asleep. What a nice feeling. The detective who took care of her for me has decided to get a cat of her own. She said taking care of Phoebe was the first step toward realizing she was too alone. Who would have thought my monster cat could be a good counselor?

I don’t know what I will do about this Shopping Channel thing. I just know the blessing of loss clarifies things way more than the blessing of success and abundance. That’s all for now, bargain hunters. Stay in touch.