Chocolate-Covered Crime (24 page)

Seemed I’d touched a nerve, and Lewis Anderson moved up a notch on my suspect list. Beneath his calm demeanor lurked a crazy person. No sane man would take naps in a coffin. I rose and headed to the parking lot.

My heart skipped a beat to see Hubert, head down, making his way to the front door of the building. “Mr. Smith!”

The man actually grimaced when he spotted me then stopped and forced a smile to his face. “Do you need a follow-up appointment?”

“No, thank you. My teeth are fine. How are you doing?” People didn’t make dental appointments at funeral homes, did they?

He took a deep breath. “I’m okay. Running errands and. . .making arrangements.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

Hubert sniffed. “The night Edna died, we’d had a fight. I’d dragged her into the woods for a little, um, well, you get the idea. She said it’d be too embarrassing. Too many people around. Someone could catch us. I said the thrill would keep us young. She stormed off in a huff.”

I gnawed the inside of my cheek before answering. “I thought the two of you were playing a game. Hide-and-seek.”

“She hid. I searched. Really Miss Meadows, I’ve business to attend to. And not pleasant business at that.”

“I just spoke with Mr. Anderson, and he said he had no appointments today. He also seemed surprised that you haven’t approached him sooner about making arrangements. Are the two of you friends?”

“Good day, Miss Meadows. I’m here to plan a funeral. Nothing more.” Hubert pushed through the swinging doors and left me standing like a wayward child outside.

Another wasted day of questioning. I glanced at my watch. Aunt Eunice would be furious. I’d been gone longer than planned.

“I’m sorry,” I said rushing into the store. “I’ll stay late tonight and catch up.”

Aunt Eunice inclined her head toward the counter. “Mail came.”

I paused. My heart pounded harder than a rock-and-roll drummer. I proceeded with leaden steps to the basket where we stashed our incoming mail. Aunt Eunice’s tone told me I wouldn’t like what I’d find.

Sticking higher than the other envelopes rose a navy blue one with my name and address in letters cut from a magazine. Like a revelation, I knew where I’d seen enough magazines for someone to have a seemingly unending supply.

“Call Joe. Ask him to come over at once. Tell him I think I know who the killer is.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

“Not a wise idea.” A synthesized sound came from the direction of the door. Aunt Eunice gasped and wrapped her fingers around a wooden spoon. To use as a weapon? I glanced arDound for something of my own.

The wraith from Saturday night floated into the candy store and turned the dead bolt on the door. He seemed to glide. His feet were hidden beneath drapes of fabric. A black-gloved hand pointed a gun in our direction. “Touch the phone, utter another word, even look at each other, and I’ll use this. I prefer a weapon less noisy, but a gun works in a pinch. Miss Meadows, come with me, if you please.”

Thankfully, I stood partially hidden behind a waist-high wall where I could scribble my suspect’s name on a slip of paper before stepping out. I opened my mouth to say something but clamped it shut at another wave from the gun. This time in Aunt Eunice’s direction.

“Leave my aunt here. She isn’t involved in this.”
Please, God, don’t let him shoot her.

“If you don’t tell her your suspicions, she’ll stay uninvolved. I have no desire to harm such a virtuous woman as your aunt.”

My gaze fell on a pan of melted chocolate. Quick as I could, I grabbed the pan and flung the contents where the wraith’s face should’ve been.

He actually had the gall to laugh at me. “I’m wearing a mask, supersleuth. Anything else you want to throw?” He shook his head, sending drops of melted goodness to the floor. “Let’s go.”

With another wave of his weapon, he ushered me out the back door and into the trunk of a dark-colored sedan. “Wait.” I held up my hand. Maybe if I stalled him long enough, someone would see us. It isn’t every day someone draped in black walks down the street. “How’d you get into the store without being seen?”

“Elementary, my dear Watson. We’ll talk later.” He slammed the trunk closed.

Idiot
. He didn’t even tie my hands or gag me. I kicked against the metal above me and screamed as loud as I could.
Wait.
Did his trunk have an inside release? I felt the area around me.

Sunlight blinded me when he opened the trunk. “Almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me.” He clunked me in the head with the butt of his pistol. My last thought before the lights went out was that I’d correctly identified Mae Belle’s murderer.

I woke in a dark place that smelled of wet earth. My head ached, my stomach roiled, I was cold, and I needed to use the restroom. “Great. Wonderful. Once again, I’m thrust down a hole.”

“Who’s there? Is that Summer Meadows?”

“Sherry?” I crawled toward the voice. “Where are we?”

“I think it’s a root cellar. Wherever we are, the place has dirt walls.”

Without being invited, I sat close enough to her for our shoulders to touch. She might not be one of my closest friends, but she
was
company in a very dark, scary place. And I had no qualms about sharing her body warmth. Even if it became apparent she really did hunt bats. I still wanted to know what kind of tools she kept in her bag. “But where are we?”

“Somewhere on Larry’s farm, I think. I’m not sure. He bonked me in the head, and I woke up here.”

“Sounds familiar. You’re Lola, aren’t you?” I felt her turn toward me. “Yes.”

“I figured that out and that Larry is the one murdering people, but what I can’t get is why.” I scoffed. “Actually, there’s a lot of why. Why the computer scam? Why is Larry killing people? I call him the Conscience of Mountain Shadows. Why is he picking on me?”

“I can answer some of your questions. The others you’ll have to ask him when he comes for his visit. The man’s completely nuts.” She shifted. “The scam is exactly that. A way to get money. Mae Belle didn’t pay enough to get me out of my Internet gambling debts, so I sold love over the Internet.”

I remembered the letters I’d found in her apartment. “Which is really gross, by the way.”

She laughed. “But it pays well. Mae Belle found out, went to warn Larry, and he got mad. Snapped, from the looks of it. Said she ruined his life and should have left well enough alone. That it wasn’t a scam, but true love. Then he went on to say he was going to cleanse Mountain Shadows of immoral people, starting with the women. At least that’s what he told me. I tried to run away by using the twister as cover but wrecked instead. Sorry about your car. Larry grabbed me, and here I am. I think my arm’s broken from when I ran the car into the building, but he won’t call a doctor, the big jerk.”

“Are you talking about me, my love?”

A flashlight clicked on and shone from above us. Larry moved the beam from Sherry’s face to mine. “Ah, you’re awake.” He lit an oil lamp, lowered a ladder, and joined us to place the light at his feet.

“Always.” Sherry’s voice softened, taking on a husky tone. If I hadn’t seen her in person, I’d never have known it was her. “Did you bring dinner?”

“Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits.” Larry smoothed an old quilt on the dirt-packed floor. “Join me, sweetheart.”

I made a move forward. Larry whipped a pistol from the pocket of his sweats fast enough to put Marshal Dillon to shame and pointed it in my direction. “I don’t even want to know you’re here.”

“I need to use the restroom.”

“There’s a bucket in the corner.”

“You have got to be kidding!” Gross.

His glare silenced me. He turned back to Sherry. “I’m sorry to keep you down here, Lola, but until you see the error of your ways, I must.”

“I have, Larry. I promise. I’m a new woman. If you let me out, I can prove it to you.”

He shook his head and took a bite out of a chicken leg. My stomach growled. The icy look from Larry made me press against the wall and hug my knees. If I could get Sherry to join with me, the two of us could take him, even with her injured arm. I’d taken at least five self-defense classes. I’d read books.

“What are you going to do with me?” I asked.

Larry sighed and laid the chicken bone on a napkin. “I can see that you won’t allow me to eat my dinner in peace. I haven’t decided what to do with you, actually. You weren’t on my list of immoral people. I tried to warn you away from snooping, but you obviously can’t take a hint. Now I find myself in quite a predicament. If I kill you, how will I ever look Ethan in the face?” He shook his head. “How did you find out it was me?”

“That labyrinth made from stacks of magazines in your house.”

He made a sound deep in his throat. “You shouldn’t have been in my house.”

“I have to admit, you’re good. It took me awhile.” At least I’d figured it out before he put the gun to my head. Usually, that’s when everything became clear. “I’d like to know why, though. As long as I’m here.”

He sighed again. “I’m a broken man. My heart is shattered, and I’m struggling to repair it. Lola is going to help. She’s made me many wonderful promises. I’m confident I can turn her from the error of her ways. The others were better disposed of. Rubbish. All of them.”

Guess the man hadn’t learned the truth about everyone made in God’s image. Worthy of life and love, no matter their mistakes. And I thought I could be judgmental. “How did you know I’d find out it was you?” I crossed my legs.

“Mae Belle started acting suspicious. I thought she might leave clues with someone close to her. I tried to get rid of her before she had time, but then you hired her to plan your wedding. After your solving those other cases, I knew it was a matter of time. Unless I could turn you away. You don’t scare very easy. An admirable trait.”

He took another bite of chicken. “You do realize the woman wasn’t very good at parties, don’t you? You would’ve wasted your money.”

The casualness of the conversation made my blood run cold. My bladder ached. I squeezed my legs together. “Why didn’t you kill me along with the rest? And why the women? Were you going to start on the men?”

“You ask too many questions.” He rose. “I’ve lost my appetite. The two of you can finish the chicken.” Keeping his gun trained on us, Larry climbed the ladder and pulled it up after himself.

“You must have a death wish,” Sherry said as I returned from using the bucket. She dug into the potatoes with a plastic fork. “Larry doesn’t like questions, and you have a lot of them.”

I joined her on the quilt. “If I’m going to be stuck in this dirt hole, I’d like some answers.” I plucked a chicken breast from the basket. “Besides, he wants to do away with immorality, but he’s content to keep ‘Lola’ locked in a root cellar? I’m not buying it.”

“He loves me. What can I say?” Sherry shrugged then winced. Most likely from the pain in her arm. “Larry admires Ethan. His faith, his work ethic. Since you’re engaged to marry Ethan, Larry obviously wanted to avoid killing you. I told you the guy’s nuts. He’s been scorned too many times and
really
dislikes women. He told me once during our e-mail chats that the world was full of loose women leading foolish men astray. Except me. For some reason he thinks I’m worth saving. The crazy man actually believes all the lies I’ve told him.”

“You don’t think so?”

“Think what?”

“That you’re worth saving?”

She shrugged and lifted a chicken leg from the basket. “I’ve not been the best of people, Summer. If I see an opportunity, I take it. Regardless of who may get hurt in the process.”

“Like taking my car.”

“Exactly. But the wreck wasn’t my fault.” She waved the chicken bone in my direction. “Remember that. Mother Nature had a hand in it.”

“There’s a way for you to be made new.”

This was the best chicken I’d ever tasted. Maybe because I was starving, but I dug into the food like it was my last meal. Which possibly, it could be.

“If you’re talking about God, forget it. I’ve heard the stories. Besides, what would a squeaky-clean girl like you know about anything?”

Sherry tossed the bone into the corner of the cellar. “If you do get out of here, you’d better grab ahold of that man of yours and never let go. It’s his reputation that’s kept Larry from killing you.”

“I’m not squeaky clean. I’ve got issues.”

Sherry laughed. “Like what? How you’re going to get chocolate out of your designer pants? Or what shade of lipstick to wear?”

Did people really think I was that shallow? That self-absorbed? I’d tried hard over the last few months to dispel the thoughts that I was an empty-headed, spoiled little girl. I sighed and dropped my half-eaten chicken back into the empty basket.

“I’ve spent my life judging people by their outside, instead of their heart. If I didn’t get my way, I’d stomp my feet and pout. I blamed myself for my parents’ death.” I lifted my chin and peered at Sherry’s face. “Despite my faith in God’s ability to handle any situation I found myself in, I’ve wanted to retain control. Except lately. I’ve been doing better.”