Murderous Lies (17 page)

Sally sighed, but didn’t voice any arguments. “Where will you go?”

This was the tricky part. Even though Sally seemed to agree with him about them needing space apart, she wouldn’t like this. “Rose’s place. She asked me to live with her.”

Sally’s eyelids twitched and she took a step back. “I guess that’s your choice then.” She shut the door.

Damn. That didn’t go well. Max wondered if Sally would ever come around and make peace with his decisions to be with Rose. He would love to have a close relationship with her some day, although that might be further in the future than he had planned. Still, Julie’s death proved that he didn’t know how much time he had with his mother. “No matter what happens, I just want you to know I love you with all my heart,” he called through the door.

After waiting for a few seconds, Max realized she wouldn’t respond. There was nothing he could do about it right now. It was time to go home and be with someone who wanted him around.

His phone beeped in his pocket again, and Max pulled it out. Another call from Rose. They’d been playing phone tag all afternoon. He quickly swiped to answer. “Hey, love. What’s up?”

“Where are you?” she asked.

“At my mom’s house, getting my things.” He walked into the bedroom and slung the bag across his shoulder. “I figured I’d make a nice meal for you tonight when you get home from the gas station, but I need to go grocery shopping. You don’t have a lot of food. What sounds good?”

“Have you seen Calvin or that Officer Jet person?” She sounded scared.

Sudden acid chewed its way up his stomach and into his throat. “No. What happened?”

Rose’s breath came quick and loud over the phone line. She was definitely freaking out. “They’re going to arrest you, Max. I can’t talk now, but you need to get home and stay there. Don’t answer the door. I’ll be there right after work.”

Max glanced at the clock. “It’s only six. You have to stay at the store for six more hours. I’m not going to hide out like a criminal.”

“I’m trying to find someone to cover my shift. Look, there are customers here. I can’t talk right now. Just don’t talk to Calvin. Maybe call your lawyer.”

“This sounds serious. I’m going to come over there and talk to you.”

“Jimmy’s dead,” she hissed quietly.

Max felt numb for a few moments, trying to process her words. “And I’m the only suspect.”

“Pretty much,” she said at a more normal volume. “I think it’s a set up. Promise me you won’t let Cal near you. I’m afraid he might try to do something to you next.”

“Calvin? You think he’ll hurt me?”

“Yes.” She paused a minute and the sound of another voice came muffled through the phone. “I have to go. Someone’s having a problem with the gas pump. You’ll do what I asked, right?”

“Sure, yeah. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He disconnected the phone and headed for the door. If Calvin was coming after him, Max didn’t want his mom involved. Especially if Rose was right. If Calvin set up the murders to make it look like Max did them, then things could go wrong when he came to arrest Max.

It wouldn’t matter if he quietly waited for the handcuffs. If Calvin really wanted Max to go down for the crimes and the officer was the killer, he might decide to shoot Max and then claim he resisted arrest or something. It’s what Max would do if the situation was reversed and he became desperate.

It was a fact that dead men couldn’t defend themselves or their good name. Dead men couldn’t expose anyone’s murderous lies.

R
ose glanced at the clock on the wall in the back of the store. It was after ten, and she hadn’t found anyone to come in and cover for her. She never heard from Max again and hoped everything was fine. If Calvin did arrest him, someone would be sure to come in and tell her about it.

She sold a twelve pack of beer to one of her regulars, knowing Mr. Anderson would be back tomorrow for more. Then, the store was finally empty. It’d be good to check in with Max. Just to ease her mind.

Quickly dialing his cell number, she breathed out a relieved sigh when he picked up on the second ring.

“How’s my beautiful girlfriend holding up?” he asked.

“I can’t find anyone to cover my shift. You haven’t seen Cal, have you?”

“Nope,” he confirmed, easing her anxiety. “Also, no one around town seems to know about Jimmy yet.”

Around town? “What do you mean? Have you been out?” She tried to keep her voice level, but it sounded a bit panicked to her own ears.

“Relax, Rosemary. I decided I was better off with a group of people if Calvin came after me. I went to the library to do some research. Then I went grocery shopping. I have orange chicken simmering in your crock pot. Also, I have some good news to discuss when you get home.”

“I could use good news,” she said. “Want to tell me now?”

His rich chuckle came over the line. “So eager. I wanted to tell you in person, but I don’t want to wait either. I got a phone call from one of my uncle’s friends a few hours ago, and he has a really good job for me working as a mechanic up in Beaverton.”

“Near Portland?” she asked. That’d be quite the long distance relationship.

“Yep,” Max confirmed. “He even has a lead on an affordable apartment we could rent and start fresh. It would only be a three-hour drive to visit my mom, but we would be in a big town where people wouldn’t gossip about us all the time.”

He wanted them to move? How could they afford that right now when were supposed to be finding a new place for her mom? Now wasn’t the time to take on other expenses. A higher-quality mental facility had to be the focus.

The buzzer attached to the door sounded, and Rose glanced up.

Kelsey walked into the store, heading for the cooler in the back.

“Max, I can see a lot of problems with moving, but we’ll have to talk about it later. Kelsey just walked in, and I haven’t talked to her for a couple days. Can we talk when I get home?”

“Sure thing.” Max sounded disappointed and Rose felt bad, but she had to be realistic.

“I’ll see in you in a couple hours,” she said. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Rose stuffed her phone into her pocket and walked around the edge of the counter. “Hey, Kelsey,” she called toward the back of the store. “I’m sorry for just dropping the kids off on your porch and not coming in to say hello. There was an emergency and I had to go.”

“I heard,” Kelsey replied. “Poor Julie.” She grabbed a gallon of milk and shut the cooler door, turning around. She had a handkerchief over her hair and dark sunglasses hid most of her face.

Rose narrowed her eyes. The sun was down. What was Kelsey doing wearing sunglasses? “Are you okay?”

Kelsey brushed past her and set the milk on the counter. “Of course. We just ran out of milk and the market’s closed. The boys want chocolate milk and pancakes for breakfast, so here I am.”

Reaching out to her, Rose grabbed Kelsey’s arm. “What’s with the glasses?”

Sighing loudly, Kelsey turned to face Rose fully and pulled them off. The skin around her left eye was dark purple and swollen, and a long scratch marred her other cheek.

“Did Bill...?” Kelsey had called in sick to the restaurant again this afternoon, but Rose assumed she was still taking care of Bill after his drunken episode.

Rose felt a bit guilty. The truth was, she hadn’t worried at all when Kelsey called in. She was too busy worrying about Max.

“This is none of your business,” Kelsey answered. “He loves me.”

Rose raised her eyebrows. “Looks like it. So, what happened? You tripped and fell into his fist.”

Kelsey blinked rapidly and then put the glasses back on. “When he gets drunk like that, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He didn’t mean to hurt me.”

Rose felt like a shitty friend. She didn’t call Kelsey after dropping the boys unceremoniously on their doorstep, wrapped up like she was in her and Max’s love. Sure, she watched until the twins entered the house, but she didn’t take the time to check on Kelsey herself.

“Do you and the boys need a place to stay?”

Kelsey shook her head. “Get that horrified look off your face. I love Bill. He didn’t mean to hurt me. You should be more worried about yourself, having Max at your house all the time. I heard he killed Julie.”

Rose opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again without saying anything. She’d never thought Kelsey was the type of woman to let herself get smacked around, but she didn’t really have a right to judge her. She also knew Kelsey was lashing out against Max because she didn’t want to face her own problems. Rose grabbed her in a hug.

Her friend struggled for a second, trying to get away, then hugged her back. “I really am okay, Rose. You don’t need to worry. Bill’s doing better again, and he promises not to drink so much. He won’t hurt me.”

Rose released her and stepped back. “What if it’s one of the boys next time?” she asked softly.

Kelsey shook her head. “It won’t happen. I know it won’t. He’s a good man, he just has a problem once in a while.”

Yeah, a good man. Right. He sat on his ass, drunk as a skunk all the time, while Kelsey worked herself to the bone to provide enough money for the family. But saying all that wouldn’t help Kelsey. It would only alienate her and make her never confide in Rose again.

“Just know if you ever need anything, I’m here for you.”

“Sure,” Kelsey said, a ghost of a smile crossing her face. “For now, could you sell me this milk and promise not to tell anyone about this?”

Rose nodded. The last thing Kelsey needed was to hear whispers and snickers behind her back. No wonder she’d called in sick. “My lips are sealed.”

***

M
ax heard Rose’s truck pull into the driveway, and he popped the garlic bread into the oven and put the mixed vegetables into the microwave and turned it on. Maybe not a perfect dinner, but it was the first meal he’d ever really cooked. The chicken smelled great, and he thought he did a passable job.

Now to talk Rose into moving to the Portland area with him. True, they had only been officially back together for a day, but this opportunity was too great to pass up.

“Hey, baby,” he called when the front door opened. “You hungry?”

“Hey,” she called. “Where’s Gizmo? He usually greets me.”

Not a word about how good dinner smelled or anything. Max tried not to be jealous of the cat.

“I fed him his dinner and then shut him into the bedroom. I didn’t want him underfoot while we eat.”

Rose walked into the kitchen, eyes narrowed. “That’s not going to work for me. I always spend time with Gizmo when I first get home. I know you didn’t know, but that’s the way it is.”

Without waiting for his response, she turned and walked to the bedroom door, opening it.

Gizmo sprung out and leapt into her arms, and Rose snuggled him to her chin murmuring baby talk to him.

She seemed upset, jittery. Rose usually wasn’t that short with him. Then again, he was sure today had been stressful for her. He wished she wouldn’t take it out on him, however.

The timer went off and Max turned to get the garlic bread from the oven. It would do no good to argue with her about the cat or the way she snapped at him. He wanted to put her in a good, agreeable mood.

Perhaps he and Gizmo would find a way to like each other eventually. He thought they had a moment tonight when Max gave him his dinner, but although Gizmo allowed Max to scratch behind his ears, the cat then snubbed him in favor of lying on the back of the couch.

Rose walked into the kitchen, looking happier now that she had the cat in her arms. “Dinner smells great. I didn’t know you could cook.”

So, he came second now. At least she seemed appreciative of the dinner now.

“This is my first time cooking something more than in the microwave, but it wasn’t that hard to follow the recipe. I printed it out from the internet and followed the directions.” Max uncovered the pan of wild rice and scooped a large helping onto the two plates sitting on the counter, then opened the crock pot and placed a chicken breast across each pile. “The vegetables are in the microwave, and I just need to cut the bread up.”

Rose finally put the cat down and walked to the microwave, pulling out the bowl of veggies. “Thanks. You went to a lot of trouble today. Sorry I’m kind of grouchy. It’s been a really rough day.”

At least she recognized that she wasn’t acting exactly appreciative. Max stepped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing a kiss against her ear. “Sorry about Jimmy. I didn’t really like the guy, but we’ve known him our whole lives.”

Rose tipped her head back and leaned into him. “It’s not Jimmy. I mean, I’m sorry to hear he was killed, but mostly it’s been worrying about you. And also, things didn’t go so good with Kelsey tonight.”

“Is she angry that I’m living here?”

“Actually, I didn’t even tell her that it was official.” Rose stepped from his embrace and carried the vegetables to the small card table in the corner of the kitchen. “I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone what she said, but it’s really been bothering me since she left.”

“Wouldn’t tell anyone what?” For some reason, the change in Rose’s voice put Max on edge. She was worried, but didn’t know if she could confide in him.

Rose sat down, chewing on her bottom lip.

Max set the bread on the table and then carried over their plates, not pushing her. He hoped she’d decide to trust him, but he couldn’t force it.

“How well do you know Bill Tanning?” she asked, surprising him.

“Kelsey’s husband?”

At Rose’s nod, Max tried to remember anything about the man.

“Let’s see... He is two years older than us and knocked Kelsey up near the beginning of our senior year,” Max said slowly. “He always had a nasty temper and a drinking problem, but once he and Kelsey got together, he stopped going out as much. I figured he was settling down. Never really thought of him much to tell you the truth. Why do you ask?”

“Do you think he’s capable of murder?” she practically whispered.

“I guess so. He used to be quite violent before marrying Kelsey, getting into fights all the time. Is Kelsey okay?”