Witches of Three_Philomena (13 page)

Tammy’s cry was a desperate howl of rage. She wrestled with Beck, struggling to break free of his grip and all the time her eyes, bright with madness, stared at Phil with evident murderous intent. Beck subdued her on the floor, her hands pinning behind her back, but her legs thrashed as she tried to break free. Charlie moved forward and quickly clipped a pair of cuffs on her wrists, only then did Tammy stop struggling. Charlie glanced at Phil and nodded toward the lounge door. Quickly, not wanting to miss anything, Phil entered the bathroom, made another pirouette and headed back out as herself.

“Did you see a woman back here?” Junior Boniface asked as she re-entered the main bar.

“A redhead?” Phil asked. “She went out the back door.”

Junior hurried toward the back. Phil rejoined the group of people gathered near the pool tables. Charlie was reading Tammy her Miranda rights.

“Anything you say can and will used against you in a court of law,” she finished.

“I don’t care if everyone knows,” Tammy said defiantly. “I killed the bitch. She deserved it. I’ll kill her again if I get the chance.” She glanced at Beck. “The only thing that I’m sorry for is that you were blamed.”

“Did you have anything to do with Lenny Barnes’s death?” Beck asked.

Tammy lowered her gaze to the floor then faced them all again with the same defiance she’d shown before.

“Yes, I killed him and I’m not sorry for that either. He was at Diane’s house that day spying on her for Joey. He saw me leave. He was blackmailing me to keep quiet, and when I ran out of money, he demanded sexual favors, disgusting things. I couldn’t stand it anymore.” She lowered her head and began to cry then glared at Joey Strada.

“It’s all your fault,” she cried. “You knew how much I loved you. She didn’t love you. She didn’t love anyone but herself, but I loved you. I would have done anything for you. When I heard you tell Lenny she was getting to be a pain in the ass and wouldn’t leave you alone, I knew what I had to do. I killed her for you, but you wouldn’t even look at me anymore. Do you know how that made me feel?” Her expression hardened.

“I should have killed you. I should have killed you!” The words ended on a high, shrill sound of anguish. At that moment, the door to the bar opened and a couple of police officers entered. One of them was Captain Nick Hilliard.

“What have you got, Spencer?” he snapped, noting the restrained woman.

“She’s confessed to the murder of Diane Crawford and Lenny Barnes,” Phil said. “She made the confession after I read her the Miranda rights. Several witnesses overheard her.”

“Good job, Spencer,” Hilliard said and nodded to his man to take Tammy away. The woman went silently, casting a final glower around the bar as if searching for someone.

“Captain,” Charlie said. “I’m bringing Joey Strada in, as well. There’s evidence he was aware of who had killed Diane Crawford from the very beginning.”

Hilliard observed the carwash owner. “Bring him in. We’ve been wanting to talk to him about some of his other activities. And Spencer…” He held out an extra pair of handcuffs. “Cuff him.” He glanced at Beck.

“We want to see you and Miss Spencer down at the station for questioning. You’re witnesses to what went down.”

“We’ll follow you,” Beck said.

* * * *

Much later they all gathered in Phil’s kitchen to do a replay of all that had happened. Nothing had been said at the station about the sudden reappearance of a woman who was supposed to be dead, but now Phil glanced at Beck.

“I’m sorry I had to impersonate Diane,” she said softly. “I hope it wasn’t too much of a shock.”

“Not to me,” he said, taking hold of her hands. “I knew the minute you appeared as Diane that it was you, and I knew who you did it for.”

“Tammy was absolutely transfixed when she saw you,” Charlie revealed. “She leaped up and headed to the bar where she grabbed the knife they use to cut up lemons and such and headed straight for you. Luckily Beck’s fast on his feet.”

“Among other things,” Phil grinned at him.

Suddenly, she wanted to be alone with him. She wanted to strip away his clothes and run her hands over his body. Her muscles quivered with a sudden and urgent need that only he could assuage. Images of his large body and all of its large parts pumping into her sent a shot of heat through her.

Beck seemed to read her thoughts because his grip on her hand tightened slightly, enough to send her a message that he was thinking and feeling the same. Phil couldn’t wait to get him alone in their bedroom. She yawned elaborately.

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow. I’m exhausted.” She faked another yawn.

“What I want to know is how you figured out it was Tammy?” Charlie said. “What gave you the clue?”

“She asked about the dog,” Phil said somewhat impatiently. Her need for Beck was growing.

“That’s right, she wouldn’t have known the dog was missing unless she’d gone out to Barnes’ trailer after we’d left. Good catch, Phil.”

She beamed at her sister and Phil realized Charlie had just given her a rare compliment. Her mouth fell open in disbelief and a warm feeling of pride.

“You did a great job tonight, Beck,” Charlie said, grinning at Beck.

“I know,” he said, getting to his feet. “But let’s talk about it tomorrow.” He pulled Phil up into his arms.

“Okay, but you know, I was just thinking that I’ve never had a big brother before,” Charlie said, blissfully unaware they were waiting for her to leave. “I think I’m going to like this.”

“Goodnight, Charlie,” Beck said, swinging Phil up into his arms.

“I haven’t finished my coffee,” Charlie said, blowing on the steaming cup of liquid. Then she looked up and, seeing Beck already walking toward the stairs, shrugged and got to her feet.

“Don’t worry about me, guys. I’ll let myself out,” she called after them.

About the Author

Temple Hogan is the author of over forty books, some hard cover, under the name of Peggy Hanchar and Peggy Roberts. She lives on an inland lake in Michigan with her husband, three cats and one naughty Shitz Tzu named Gizz. Her hobbies are cooking, gardening, acrylic painting and reading detective stories. She’s currently at work on her next book.

Temple loves to talk to her readers and can be found at TempleHogan.blogspot.com.

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