Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7) (28 page)

“Well, that would certainly explain how Barbara knew where Ethan would be. Edward told Kassandra, who told Barbara.” Garth shook his head. “I see what you mean about running around in circles.”

“Welcome to my nightmares.”

Chapter 37

Thankfully, it was a quiet evening. The food and the company were a welcome break from the chaos. Since Trixie was unaware that Ethan was still alive, we avoided talking about the case. She left around ten. “How long is Garth going to be in town?” she asked me at the door.

“I have no clue.”

“If he doesn’t ask me out in the next couple of days, I might have to do the asking.”

“I believe he’s a widower. Want me to find out if he’s interested?”

“Isn’t that what best friends are supposed to do for each other?”

“Of course,” I laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

T.J. left a few minutes after she did. “Garth says he’s going to be here all night, so I’m going to go home and get some sleep. I’m working the morning shift. But, if there’s anything you need, call me.”

“I’ll be fine.”

I locked the doors and turned on the alarm. Garth was in my office, looking at the corkboard. “She certainly went to a lot of trouble, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did,” I replied, sitting down.

“Taking revenge to a whole new level, don’t you think?”

“Yep.”

“Was there anything else on that flash drive?”

I handed him the rest of the papers. “That’s the rest of it,” I yawned.

“Why don’t you take a shower and go to bed?” he suggested. “I’ll go through the rest of these by myself.”

I got him a blanket and pillow out of the linen closet. “The couch is comfortable, but the recliner is better.”

He took the bedding from me. “Good to know.”

The hot shower helped me relax. I grabbed my tablet, crawled into bed, and started reading. The next thing I knew, Garth was gently shaking me. “Sorry to wake you up, but we’ve got a bit of a situation out here.”

I groaned. “I thought this was going to be a stress-free night. Go away.” I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head.”

“You’re really going to want to come into the living room,” Garth insisted.

“No, I’m not,” I said from under the covers. “I’m tired, I’m fed up, and I’ve had enough. Let someone else deal with whatever the problem is out there. Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“I’m here to protect you.”

“Great. Then protect me from whatever is in the living room. Now get out!”

Garth started to say something else, but changed his mind and left. I was just starting to go back to sleep when someone else shook my arm. “Lizzie.”

“If this place isn’t on fire, you’d better get out of here.”

“Lizzie.” I grabbed a pillow and took a swing at whoever was standing by the bed. “That’s not really a dangerous weapon, you know?” T.J. laughed.

“What are you doing here at…” I checked the bedside clock, “…2 in the morning?”

“Well, we’ve got a bit of a situation…”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“Hopkins.”

“You mean he’s here? Why?”

“It would really help if you would get up and come out into the living room.”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” I growled, throwing back the covers and getting up. “Let me put something else on.” I stomped over to the dresser, pulled out a pair of lounging pants, and put them on.

“You look so cute, except for that unfortunate team t-shirt,” T.J. said.

“I can’t help it if you root for the wrong team,” I told him as I put on my slippers.

“One thing before we go out there,” he said, grabbing my hand. “I’m staying right here with you, all right?”

“It’s just Hopkins, for crying out loud. I might be leery of men, but I’m not afraid of Hopkins. Who in the world would be afraid of him?” I said as I walked toward the living room.

“Lizzie, wait…”

I turned the corner and stopped dead in my tracks. “What in the name of all that is holy is he doing IN MY HOUSE?!”

“How disappointing,” Ethan said. “I always imagined that you wore something a bit more…sexy to bed.”

Hopkins slapped him on the back of the head. “Shut up, Winthrop.”

“Why did you bring him to here?”

“Well, we had a small problem at the safe house,” Hopkins replied. “Someone broke in and tried to kill him.”

“And you stopped them? Why?”

“Lizzie!” T.J. said.

“What? You expect me to feel sorry for him? After everything he’s done to me?”

“As much as I agree with you,” Hopkins said, “we need to keep him alive until after he testifies. After that, I don’t give a flying…well, you know what I mean.”

“Where did you have him?”

“Jake’s house,” he said.

“Does he know that you were using his place?”

“Owen got permission from him.”

“So why bring him here?”

“Well, we couldn’t risk taking him to the station, in case whoever is trying to kill him has someone on the inside.”

“Are you saying you think Owen’s got a crooked cop?” T.J. said.

“I think we have to consider that possibility. I mean, who else knew we were keeping Ethan at Jake’s place?”

“Well, Jake, for starters,” T.J. replied. “I didn’t know until we got back from Virginia, so that leaves me out.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Hopkins said. “Once you knew he was still alive, you could have told anyone who wanted to get rid of him. In fact, you’d be number one on anyone’s list. Ethan tried to sexually assault your girlfriend twice, not to mention he has been harassing and terrorizing her for over a month. You, Jake and Owen all have good reasons to see him dead.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” T.J. said, shaking his head. “We worked together how many years? And you have the audacity to sit here and say this to me?”

“I’m merely pointing out what any other agent would say,” he replied. “The three of you certainly have strong motives. And don’t get me started on Lizzie herself.”

“Leave me out of this,” I warned him. “I didn’t know the jerk was still alive until we got back to town, nor did I know that you were keeping him here in town. If I had known, I’d have gotten back on Jake’s jet and flown back to Virginia. I don’t want to be in the same state with…with…” I gestured at Ethan, “…that.”

“As much as I hate to say this, but I have to agree with Agent Hopkins here,” Ethan said. “For the right price, anyone can be bought.” I glared at him. “Although there are rare exceptions.”

“Agent Hopkins, while I do understand your line of reasoning,” Garth said, “might I point out that the same could be said for you and your people?”

“Are you accusing one of my agents?” Hopkins said.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do remember overhearing you say that one of your men called in sick tonight, isn’t that true?”

“Well, I…”

“Who was it, Hopkins?” T.J. said.

“Crawford. He said he had a family emergency.”

“Who filled in for him?”

“A new guy, Brice Dillard. He just transferred here from Richmond.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” T.J. said.

“He’s been here about a week.”

I rubbed my hands over my face. “Oh man, this is unbelieveable. And I thought my life was screwed up,” I shook my head and sat down on the couch. “Hopkins, if you so strongly suspect that one of us tried to kill Ethan, then why is he sitting in my recliner? I’m going to have to fumigate it now.”

“I’d burn it,” T.J. said.

“Well, I…um…I need a favor.”

I looked at him. “What kind of favor?”

“Well, you see, it’s like this…” Hopkins stammered.

“Oh no, forget it,” I said, suddenly realizing what he wanted. “Absolutely not. Are you out of your liver-loving mind?!”

“Look, right now, I don’t have much of a choice. It’s the middle of the night, and I can’t make any other arrangements for him right now.”

“Throw him in a jail cell! That’s where he belongs anyway.”

“You can’t seriously want him to stay here, Hopkins,” T.J. said. “She’s traumatized enough. What are you trying to do to her?”

“You have a security system in place. The Englishman is staying here; you could stay as well,” Hopkins pointed out. “More than enough to protect him from whoever is out there, and you can protect her from him.”

“There is one more thing in our favor,” Garth said.

“What’s that?” I said.

“Hold on a minute, and I’ll show you.” He pulled out his phone and pushed a button. A minute later, there was a knock on the door. When he opened it, a young woman came inside. “Is there a problem, Garth?

“No, everything’s okay,” he reassured her as he closed the door. “There’s some people I want you to meet. Everyone, this is one of my most valued employees, Olivia Dominguez. This is Agent Richard Hopkins, Deputy Sheriff T.J. Roosevelt, and Lizzie Crenshaw.”

“Pleasure to meet you all,” she said.

“Good to see you again, Livvie,” Ethan said, looking her over.

“I’ve asked you not to call me that, Mr. Winthrop.”

“But it suits you so well.”

In the blink of an eye, she had a knife at his throat. “And a Columbian necktie would suit you. But we don’t always get what we want, do we?”

“You must be the young lady Micha mentioned to us,” I said as she sheathed her knife. “She’s right; I do like you.”

“Olivia is a sharpshooter. Former Marine; highly trained. You’re lucky she didn’t shoot first and ask questions later when you showed up.”

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” I asked T.J.

“Doesn’t look like it, sweetheart.”

“He sleeps on the couch, he doesn’t leave this room. If he has to go to the bathroom, someone stands outside the door. If he gets anywhere near me…”

“He won’t, I promise,” T.J. said.

“One night, Hopkins, that’s it. You make new arrangements for him first thing in the morning, is that clear?”

“I’ll make sure of it,” he said.

“Do you need anything else from me, Garth?” Olivia asked.

“Just be extra observant tonight. Someone’s already tried to kill him once tonight.”

“It’s a shame they missed,” she said as she left.

“Boy, your list of enemies just keeps growing, doesn’t it, Ethan?” I said.

“Must be my magnetic personality.”

“I’ve got to get back to the other house,” Hopkins said. “They’re trying to identify the shooter.”

“You mean you got him?” T.J. said.

“We got him, we just don’t know who he is.”

“I meant what I said, Hopkins. Get him out of here ASAP.”

“I’m sorry to put you through this.”

I leaned in closer to him. “If you think for one minute that I believe this was your only option, you are sadly mistaken and clearly delusional. I won’t forget this.”

He started to say something, but the look on my face clearly told him it was wiser to leave, which he did.

“Being a bit harsh on Agent Hopkins, aren’t you?” Ethan said as I closed the door and reset the alarm.

“Nobody asked you.”

He looked around the living room. “Nice little place you have here,” he said. “Not something I would expect for someone worth millions of dollars.”

“Not all of us like to live ostentatiously.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Doing so has certainly helped get me plenty of dates.”

“You mean like Gabrielle, Penelope, or Valentina?”

“Among others,” he smiled.

“T.J., would you mind getting the board out of my office?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, shaking his head.

“Oh, I think it’s a fantastic idea.”

He shook his head again. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said.

“What’s this board you’re talking about?” Ethan said.

“You’ll find out in a minute.”

T.J. came in with the corkboard. “Where do you want it?”

“Just lean it against the entertainment center. Garth, would you mind getting a chair out of the kitchen?”

He went and got one. “Where do you want it?”

“In front of the coffee table is fine. Ethan, move over to that chair, please.”

“Why? I’m perfectly comfortable in this recliner.”

“Humor me.”

“Anything for you,” he replied, getting up and moving over to the chair.

“T.J. and I found some information on a flash drive that I think you will be very interested in,” I began. “Before you is a list of every place you have lived the past five to six years, every place you’ve eaten, every girl you’ve dated, every person you’ve ever had a meeting with.”

“That’s ridiculous. There’s no way you could know that.”

“Oh really?” I pointed to one pile of papers. “When you lived in London, you took Penelope Dixon to Wimbledon. You even enjoyed strawberries and cream with champagne.” I pointed to another pile. “You had a very romantic evening with Gabrielle Delacroix, followed by a stroll down the Champs Elysees. Do you want me to keep going?”