Molly Dox - Annie Addison 01 - Color Me Crazy (4 page)

Annie was terrified of walking into the police station. She was afraid if she went in, she’d never come out. She’d contact Alex’s partner tomorrow morning, but tonight she needed to speak with someone about possible evidence.

Annie cleared her throat, standing at the counter where a woman had her back turned. She was hunched over a cell phone texting something. “Right,” she said as she finally spun around. “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Officer Rossi.” Annie choked on the words, barely able to speak.

“He’s not here. His shift ended earlier. Do you want to leave a message for him?” She snickered, “And what lady doesn’t want to leave a message for him?”

“It’s not like that. Do you know if he’s working tomorrow? I’ll try then. No message.” Annie was afraid to leave her name behind and draw more attention to herself.

The woman asked one more time. “Yeah, he’s working the early shift. You sure you don’t want to leave your name?”

“No, but thank
s.” Annie headed back out to the car. Charlotte was waiting for her. “He’s not working tonight; he already left, but he’ll be back tomorrow morning. I’ll talk to him then.”

“Okay. Are you going to be alright tonight? Do you want me to stay?” She was concerned for her friend.

“I’m okay, but thanks for the offer. I’ve got Pip there. She’s good company.” Annie was exasperated. Her entire life was on hold, her world was crumbling, and she had no idea what to do.

After Charlotte dropped her off at home, Annie curled up on the sofa with her pup after feeding her dinner. “Sorry supper is late,” she said, petting her dog’s soft ear.

Pip rested her chin on Annie’s leg, as if to console her.

“You really are the best friend a girl could ask for.” Annie’s brain whizzed this way and that, realizing that if the officer didn’t go get the glove, or at least look for it, her entire life could end up flushed down the toilet.

After tossing it around, she finally knew what she had to do. It wouldn’t be easy, the right thing to do, or even legal, but if she couldn’t count on herself, who else would have her back?

It was now or never. She balled up her courage and grabbed her keys. “I’m sorry Pip, I need to go out again.”

The small dog jumped down and wagged her tail, ready for a ride.

“Oh. I’m sorry. Not this time.” She gave a small pout and then pet her head. Pip’s tail wagged furiously.

“Fine, but only if you promise to be silent. No barking. This is too important, and you’ll have to wait in the car.” Annie sighed and opened the door.

Driving to the beauty shop, she had second, third, and fourth thoughts. This was a mistake. She’s going to end up getting into trouble. And yet, if she didn’t at least try her freedom might be taken away. Patsy might have been murdered, but Annie certainly didn’t do it. She was determined to save herself.

She killed her lights before parking. Annie pulled into the lot behind the shops. She knew the front door locks were changed and she guessed the back locks were too, but there was a window she kept unlocked. It made for easy venting when they mixed up ingredients for color. The smell could be strong, so she’d pop the window open a bit. It wasn’t large, but she was pretty sure she could fit through it…if she could reach it. Thank goodness she’d lost that weight. There was no way she’d have been able to squeeze through it otherwise. It was still weird at times to look in the mirror and see the newer slender version of herself after losing the weight. Her brain still saw the full-figure of her past sometimes.

Annie looked around. Everything was quiet. “You have to stay here,” she cautioned Pip. “I’ll be back soon. Curl up and take a nap.” She looked around one last time, afraid the entire neighborhood would spot her. Nobody was around. It was off
-season; half of the homes in the area were empty, normally rented out for summer vacations. Only a few remained behind year round. The smell of the salt air filled the night.

Annie slipped down the back alley behind the row of shops at Starfish Square. Getting to her shop, she realized the window was a little higher than she
’d thought. She’d need to climb on something. After scouring the back alleyway, she found an old bucket. It would have to work as a step for now. She hesitantly picked up the grungy bucket and flipped it over in front of the slice of window. Desperately wanting to wash her hands, she pushed the thought aside.

She quickly glanced over her shoulder.
There was still no sound, nobody any wiser that she was about to break into her shop. It felt odd, that going into her shop was now illegal. Illegal. The word stuck with her. This was a big deal. If she got caught… She took a deep breath, climbed onto the bucket, and slid her fingers at the crevice of the windowsill, trying to pry it open. From inside, she simply pushed it out with the handle. From outside, it was tight against the sill without a handle.

Two broken nails and a few sore fingers
later, she finally pried it open enough to get her hand in. She could pull it open just about a foot. It was too tight. There was no way she’d be able to wiggle through there. Her hips would be wedged tight if she tried. She was sure she could do it driving over, but now that reality was here, seeing how slender the tight space really was, she realized it wasn’t going to happen.

“Annie?”

Annie jumped. She knew the voice immediately, but in the dark it was hard to see. “Mrs. Bushmiller?”

“I thought that was your car,” she said. “I saw you pull up. What are you doing?”

“I need to get something important.” She shook her head and started to sob. “I didn’t do it. They think I killed her. I didn’t do it.”

Mrs. Bushmiller was on her cell phone, dialing. “You shouldn’t be here,” was all she said to Annie. “I’d like to report a break-in,” she said, standing in front of Annie
and speaking into her phone.

Horrified, Annie realized what was happening.

“The police are on the way. You’re a scary woman. Wanted for murder, and now trying to tamper with evidence. I misjudged you,” Mrs. Bushmiller snapped at her.

“I didn’t do it.” Annie was crying
. She couldn’t stop herself. “I don’t know who killed Patsy, but I didn’t do it.”

When the blue and red lights cut through the night air, Annie knew her time was running thin.

“Alex, I know you don’t want to work with me, but please, please help me. I didn’t do this. I’m desperate.” Annie had one call. She never dreamed she’d use it to call her ex-husband, but desperate times called for desperate measures and he was the best lawyer on the island. “I don’t know what else to do.”

He groaned. “I’ll be at the police station shortly.” The last thing he wanted to do was get tangled up with his ex-wife
. They weren’t exactly on great terms, but he didn’t want her going down for a crime she didn’t commit either. Whatever was going on, they’d have to figure it out.

By the time he
’d arrived, Annie’s eyes were red and bloodshot from crying.

“Oh, man, not the waterworks.” Alex balked on seeing her tear-stained eyes.

“I need to call my friend, Charlotte. Pip has been stuck here all night. She’ll take care of her.” She knew she should have left her at home.

“No need, you’ll be out of here lickety-split
. I just have to file some paperwork. Sit tight and we’ll get you out of here. Don’t say anything until I finish.” He shook his head. If he was going to take her case, he’d do it the right way.

Once she was released, Annie thanked Alex. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this. I didn’t do anything.” Thrilled to have Pip back by her side, she asked Alex for a ride to her car.

“Please let them handle things. Do you see what happens when you get involved?” Alex warned her.

“I am involved. They think I did it.” She looked down, frustrated and weary. “I’m not the one who gets into trouble. I don’t know what happened
. How did this spin around and end up pointing to me?”

“Who else has access to the shop?” He’d need to get a list of names.

“Only me and Trish during the off-season. It’s too quiet to keep a full staff. I think somebody broke in. I found a glove by one of the bushes the other day. Maybe it’s a clue.” She’d hold onto any little hope she could.

“What about Trish? What’s the likelihood she offed the old lady?” He hated to ask, but he needed to know.

“I don’t think she’d do something like that, but who knows at this point? There are only so many people on the island, and nobody comes into the shop until I’m there. I’m the only one with a key.” If only she could figure it out.

“What’s this glove you’re talking about? How does it fit in? Did she use it?” He’d take whatever information she could offer.

“No, not like that. The other day I was going into the shop, and I noticed sort of a latex type of glove behind a potted bush by the door. I don’t know if it was an oversight or what, but there was only one. I picked it up and threw it away.” She was only trying to clean up litter. She didn’t think anything of it at first.

“Is it the kind of glove you use at the shop?” Alex quizzed.

“No. We use vinyl ones in case our customers have latex allergies.” Annie clutched her belly, interlocking her fingers together. Her nerves were out of control.

“Okay, let me think on things. Where is this glove?” If they could find it, maybe it would lead to more information.

“It should be in a trash bag in the small back room where we keep our supplies. I didn’t get a chance to take the trash out yet.” She blushed. “That’s what I was doing; trying to break into the building to secure the glove. Maybe there are prints on it.”

“Let me see what I can do. Do me a favor and stay out of trouble,” he said while pulling up alongside her vehicle.

Annie bit her tongue, keeping her usual snarky comment at bay. She hated to admit it, but she needed Alex’s help, whether she wanted it or not. “Thank you.” It was the only proper response. Letting Pip relieve herself, she waited for her pup and then headed home.

Alex rang. “I’ve got good news. We’re going into the shop to try to retrieve the glove you keep insisting is there. You can’t come with us, but I’ll be there to witness. I’m going to meet Frisco and Nick at the shop.”

“Can I wait outside? It’s a public area,” Annie quizzed. She was thrilled he was able to get somewhere with this. It may prove to be nothing, but what if it added another suspect? It could take her name off the list.

“I’d advise you to stay far away, but I know how well you listen,” he said sarcastically.

Bite your tongue, don’t say it
. “What time?”

“Eleven. I can’t get there until then. I have an appointment and I’m due in court later this afternoon.” Alex gloated that he’d pulled it off so quickly. He was good at his job, even if he wasn’t a great husband in the past.

“Alex, please make sure they find it.” Annie paced, the phone in her hand. “I’m going to sniff around Trish a bit too and see if I can find anything out. She’s the only other one that had access to the beauty shop.”

“Be careful. Don’t end up in more trouble.” Telling Annie not to do something never went over well. It just encouraged her to do it anyway. She had a mind of her own, and rarely listened to his advice. How ironic she was asking for it now.

Annie showed up just before eleven. She saw the cop car parked in front of the strip of stores. Starfish Square never saw so much action. Mrs. Bushmiller poked her head out to see what was going on. Annie glared at her and then turned away. She had nothing left to say to the traitor.

When Alex pulled up, Frisco and Nick got out of their car. “Let’s make this snappy,” Frisco said, leading the way.

“No investigators?” Alex asked. Were they really going to rely on two bumbling cops?

“It’s off-season, Alex. Don’t get smart with me. You know we run on a skeleton crew off-season.” Frisco couldn’t be bothered to answer the hot-shot lawyer’s questions. He was in charge here.

Alex shrugged, making a note of the fact that no investigators were brought in, just in case this ended up in court. They could have called somebody in from the county. The fact that they were slacking this poorly the investigation led him to wonder how well they handled it when they originally searched the beauty shop. How many corners did they cut?

Annie’s stomach buckled. She prayed the glove was still there.
She didn’t know if it held any evidence, but she held onto the hope that it did. If they didn’t find answers soon, she’d be tried for the murder of one of her clients, a murder she didn’t participate in. Her life was on the line.

Annie held her breath, waiting. After a few minutes, the men exited the building with a large blue latex glove in a bag. Annie laughed, relieved, her anxiety over the top and chewing at her
insides.

“Is this the glove you were speaking of?” Nick held it up for Annie to see.

“Yes!” She jumped to her feet, excited they found it. “We don’t use that kind. We use yellow vinyl gloves in case our customers have latex allergies. They look different. You can see them with our supplies and by the wash area.” Would this be the piece of evidence that helped clear her name?

“It’s kind of a big glove for a small girl like yourself,” he commented, not even thinking about it too much. He was busy looking at the woman before him, vulnerable and hoping he’d make things better. She looked like a frightened child, even though she was all woman.

Annie’s lip trembled. “Please help me. That may lead us to the real killer.” She tried to hold her shakiness in, but it echoed in her voice.

“We’ll do what we can,” he said. He couldn’t make any promises, and while he wanted to believe she had nothing to do with the murder, for now she was still a suspect. They did find the poison in her shop. That little vial ended up being bad news for the girl.

Alex smiled smugly at Annie. “You’re welcome. And I noticed how you were looking at the one guy. Don’t think I didn’t see that.” That he’d even paid attention was odd.

“What are you talking about? You’re plum crazy. I’m terrified of being accused of a crime I didn’t commit. And thank you.” She shook her head. “And not that it’s any of your business
…” She started to feel a snarky tone build up and reeled it back in. She sighed and thanked him for his help. While he used to be her husband, right now she needed him to be her lawyer. Annoying him wouldn’t do her any favors.

“Anyway, hope it gives us some information. It doesn’t prove anything. You’re not off the hook yet. You found it outside and your prints will be on it too, from picking it up.” Alex warned her of this small fact she overlooked.

Annie gulped. She hadn’t thought of that. She may have just given them another piece of evidence against her.