Simple Deceit (The Harmony Series 2) (37 page)

His grin made my stomach turn. He was pleased with the evil he’d done. He was proud of the web of deceit he’d woven throughout Harmony.

“I snuck out after everyone went to bed. Sam said something about the wind knocking over the smudge pots. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had no idea what would happen. I
planned to set quite a few trees on fire. In retrospect, my actions were ill conceived. The fire probably wouldn’t have caused the kind of damage I’d hoped for.”

“And hitting me on the head? What was that for?”

He laughed harshly. “I thought you were on the other side of the orchard, but you surprised me by showing up when I wasn’t expecting you. I couldn’t allow you to find me out there. After you passed out, I took your car keys and your walkie-talkie. I had to stall you long enough for me to get back into the house and act surprised when the fire was discovered.” He shrugged. “I wanted to give Sam a reason to sell his property. If his trees were destroyed, that would have done it.”

“She could have been killed out there,” Mary said. “You said no one would get hurt.” Although she still seemed somewhat disconnected, I could see something smoldering in her eyes. Maybe Eric was losing his partner in crime.

Keep stalling.
The words were so loud in my mind I almost looked around to see who else was in the room.

Eric waved the gun around wildly. “I told you I didn’t
plan
to hurt anyone.” He glared at Mary and swung the gun her way. “I guess things change, don’t they? If the fire had done its job, I’d be sitting pretty right now. With Gracie dead, everything would have fallen into place. I could buy her place and poor, distraught Sam would gladly hand over his property.” He turned his attention back to me, his lips drawn up in a snarl. “I should have finished you off, but I didn’t have enough time to come up with a plan to make it look like an accident. If that nosy sheriff hadn’t shown up when he did, I could have figured out a way to do it without having to count on that stupid fire.” He banged his hand on the table. “Don’t look at me like that,” he yelled at Mary, who stared at him like she’d never seen him before. “I’ve only done what I was forced to do. None of this is my fault.”

“What really happened to Rand?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. Eric was losing it. If he suddenly went completely off the deep end, the results could be tragic. “I knew something was wrong with the story that he’d accidentally wandered outside.”

“What is she talking about?” The timbre of Mary’s voice climbed a couple of notches. “You said Rand’s death was an accident.”

“But it wasn’t, was it?” I asked Eric. “Did he renege on your deal?”

“Little creep figured out something big was up,” Eric sneered. “He thought he could get more money out of me. Threatened to go to the sheriff with what he knew.” He let out a long, slow breath. “He tried to extort more money out of me. What happened to him was his own fault.”

Mary rose partially to her feet. “You…you killed him? You murdered Rand McAllister?”

He laughed harshly. “You’re really stupid, you know it? I killed him on Thursday night after I took Gracie home. Then I brought him back here and stuffed him in one of your empty freezers until I got the chance to pick him up and toss him in the snow. You never even knew it.” He laughed again and looked at me. “Now you know what I was really doing before I ditched my truck and walked back to your house that night.”

Mary’s face turned ashen and she looked ill. Her eyes sought mine. “I didn’t know, Gracie. I swear I didn’t know.”

“Shut up, Mary,” Eric shouted. “Just shut up.” His fierce gaze swung back to me. “I gave you every chance to get out of this alive. If you and your boyfriend had parted ways, I could have bought you out lock, stock, and barrel.”

“But I offered you my property once,” I said.

“No. You offered me part of it. I need all of it.” He chuckled.

“My plan was to get you to willingly hand it over. After disposing of Rand, I arranged that supposed breakdown so your boyfriend would find us in a compromising position and break up with you. I figured you’d leave town after that. Like I said, if I got your place, I knew I could drive Sam and his old-maid aunt out.” He put his head back and giggled crazily. “I even turned on the charm, hoping you’d decide to leave your hick boyfriend behind and go for me. Then I planned to nicely talk you out of your place.”

“Well, it seems that none of your brilliant plans worked. So now what?”

He grinned wildly, his eyes frightening orbs of madness. “Now you have an accident, just like Rand. You know, the roads are slippery. After you leave Mary’s, your little car runs off the road and you’re fatally injured. Or at least that’s what it will look like.”

At that moment several things happened at once. Mary shouted, “No!” and stood to her feet. Eric pointed his gun at her, and I heard a gunshot. But instead of seeing Mary take a bullet, I watched a slow stain of blood spread across Eric’s chest as he fell to the ground.

S
am reached for another hot muffin. “I feel like a fool,” he said. “I should have realized Eric was up to no good.” He put the hot muffin on his plate next to the sausage and cheese omelet Jessica had just delivered to the table. “I thought the only thing he had his eye on was you.”

I shook my head. “I guess I’m not as irresistible as you thought. Turns out my land was my best asset in Eric’s eyes.”

“This whole thing is my fault,” Grant said. “I should have realized something was wrong with that guy. When Eric first came to me, he said I’d been recommended to him, but he didn’t seem to know any of our clients. I should have pressed him, but I didn’t. I realize now he only looked me up so he could get to you.”

“Mary told him about you, Grant. You had no way of knowing what Eric was up to. And you have nothing to feel bad about. Eric fooled everyone. He and Mary are the only people at fault. They’re the ones who chose a path of deceit.”

“Well, Eric will have a long time to think about his choices in prison.” Sheriff Taylor stuck a mouthful of Hector’s banana pancakes in his mouth.

“I sure was wrong about you,” Sweetie said to the sheriff. “Here I thought you were a meddlin’ busybody, and it turns out you was keepin’ an eye on those two rattlesnakes all the time.” She cut off a piece of sausage and held it up to her mouth. “But how’d you know they was up to no good?”

Pat swallowed his food and wiped his mouth. “I heard rumors about Eric Beck from several sources—that he was working with a group of very questionable people and that he had his sights set on this area. I didn’t know Harmony was the target at first, but after following him around some, his motives became pretty clear. I did some research on him and found his high school records. I saw that Mary Whittenbauer had gone to the same school. I started hanging around here, keeping an eye on both of them. When I heard her act like she’d never met him before, I knew they were in on it together.”

“That’s why you was near the orchards the night of the fire. You was watchin’ Eric,” Sweetie said. “You mighta saved Gracie’s life.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what he was going to do at the time. I figured he wouldn’t risk another murder. I was sure wrong about that.” He scooped up a big forkful of scrambled eggs. “I did try to protect Sam and Gracie by telling that Mennonite pastor I was watching Sam’s place after the fire so Mary would hear me and carry the information back to her partner. I just didn’t count on Eric confronting Gracie here. Good thing Sam told me you were having dinner with Mary Monday night,” he said to me. “I followed you and snuck into the back.” He shook his head. “No one locks their doors in this town. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Glad the back door was open that night, though. I almost waited too long.”

“Yeah. Thanks for delaying until the very last second to waltz in and shoot Eric,” I said. “Made everything much more exciting.”

The sheriff grunted and stuck the eggs in his mouth.

“And by the way, just what were you doing behind my house with a flashlight?” I asked.

He chased the eggs down with a mouthful of coffee. “Just following Eric. He’d been out there earlier in the day. I think he was just sizing up your property, trying to figure out how many trees they’d need to clear out for their resort.”

“That explains why he knew just where my driveway was even though it was covered with snow. And he was aware that I own thirty acres. I’d never told him that. Wish I would have put two and two together a little sooner.”

“None of those comments caught your attention because you never suspected Eric was up to anything,” Sam said. “I was suspicious of him, but not for the right reasons. I was too busy being jealous to realize what was really going on.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said. “But now I can see all the clues I missed. Mary’s mention of fishing and swimming and Eric’s comment about Rand making money ‘free and clear’ from the sale of his property. Eric would have known there was a mortgage on that land if he was really going to buy it.” I shook my head. “And that stupid story about his supposed ex-girlfriend. He concocted that to make me unsure of our relationship. To make me doubt you.” I reached over and took Sam’s hand. “I’ll never allow anyone to come between us like that again.” I laughed lightly. “Of course, the biggest clue I missed wasn’t anything natural. It was spiritual.”

“What do you mean?” Grant asked.

“When an old Mennonite woman told me she had ‘a stirring inside my spirit that tells me something is wrong,’ I should have listened. Ida was right all along. Next time something stirs inside her, I will be the first person in line to pay attention.”

“Pat, when did you suspect Eric had killed Rand?” Sam asked.

“Right away. I wish I’d seen that comin’. I’d like to have prevented it. In the end, all I could do was get the body to the coroner as quickly as possible so he could back up my suspicions. After he got a chance to look closely at him, he discovered that Rand had been asphyxiated before he was dumped in the snow. I knew Eric was responsible, but I still had no direct evidence.” He shook his head. “I’m just sorry things got so serious before I was able to prove his guilt.”

I grunted. “No one’s as sorry as I am. I think I lost about ten years of my life that night in the restaurant. Thank God you came in when you did. I thought Eric was going to shoot Mary—or me.”

“Unfortunately, he almost did.”

“So he’ll recover completely?” Sam asked.

Pat chuckled. “Yes, but I doubt he’ll be able to use that right arm to hold a gun for a long, long time.”

“And what about Mary?” Sweetie asked. “Is she goin’ to jail?”

“I think she’ll get a deal from the prosecutor for turning state’s evidence. Whether or not she gets jail time or probation… I just don’t know. But I don’t think she’ll be back here anytime soon—if ever. Turning the restaurant over to Hector seems pretty final.”

I agreed with him that we’d probably seen the last of Mary, but in an odd way, I felt some pity for her. She’d been stupid and careless, but she almost died in an attempt to save my life. The notion that all this time she’d hated me because of Sam made me sad. Shows what unforgiveness and deception can do. Mary’s life would never be the same. Learning a lesson from the tragic results of the last few days forced me to forgive her—and Eric—as quickly as I could. I didn’t want the same kind of poison festering inside my soul.

“More coffee?” Jessica’s smile was evidence that her life was improving. Her daughter, Trinity, was at home with her grandmother. She’d taken a job working at the restaurant after deciding
she didn’t want to go back to school. I wasn’t certain it was the best decision, but Jessica didn’t want to face the boy who had taken advantage of her insecurity and then pushed her away when she became pregnant. At least for now, she had a place to work and a loving environment at home.

Sweetie held up her cup. “I’ll take some more. Hector makes a good cup of coffee. Not as good as mine, but it comes pretty close.”

“I’m glad you like it,” she said. She filled Sweetie’s cup and warmed up everyone else’s.

“Thank you, Jessica,” I said with a smile.

“Actually, it’s Jessie,” she responded. “I—I decided I want to be called Jessie from now on.”

“I like it,” I said. “Jessie it is.”

She twirled around and headed toward another table. A new name for a new person. It was a good sign.

I gazed around the room. The restaurant was full. Mary’s Kitchen would continue but with Hector at the helm. Running the restaurant was the answer to his prayers. Several of the town’s women were helping Carmen stay in bed by doing her housework and caring for her children, and now the Ramirezes wouldn’t have to worry about paying the bills.

“I’m still worried about that casino,” Sweetie said, her mouth full of scrambled eggs. “What’s gonna happen with that?”

Pat chuckled. “Let’s just say that our county government is going through a thorough housecleaning. Everyone involved with Eric’s shady group is being shoved out of office. Several will be prosecuted for taking bribes. I don’t think anyone will be talking about a casino in this area for a long, long time.”

“Well then, everything turned out all right, didn’t it?” She stabbed another sausage and happily stuffed it in her mouth.

“I guess it did,” he replied.

The sheriff finished his breakfast and stood to his feet. “Thanks for askin’ me to eat with you folks. I enjoyed it. But it’s time for me to head back to the office. I’ve neglected it way too long chasin’ after this case.”

Sam stood up and held out his hand. “Thanks for everything, Sheriff. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Happy to help. Y’all take care now.”

I grabbed my coat. “Wait a minute, Sheriff. I’ll walk out with you.”

Sam gave me an odd look, but I smiled and motioned for him to sit down. I had something to talk to Pat about that couldn’t wait. He held the door open for me, and I stepped out into a cold but sunny day. The roads had improved greatly, although snow still covered everything else. When we got to his car, the sheriff turned to me.