Throw a Monkey Wrench (an Emma Cassidy Mystery Book 1) (22 page)

“I—I wasn’t poking around.” Try as she
might, she couldn’t stop her voice from wavering. Shifting the bag on her
shoulder, she forced a smile to her lips. “Well, um, if Sean’s not here, I’ll
get going, then.”

She took a hesitant step forward, but Larry
blocked her path. “Why’re you so jumpy?”

“I’m not jumpy!” Oh damn, why did her voice
have to squeak whenever she was nervous?

“Yeah, you are.” Under the domed lights,
Larry’s face took on a narrow slant. He looked like a rat, a rat that normally
scuttled away but, if cornered, could give a serious bite.

Edging closer, he glanced about her. His
gaze fell on the bottom drawer of his tool box, and his wiry body instantly
tensed.

“You been poking through my things?” He
hunched over and rifled through the drawer. “You took it! You bitch! Where is
it? Give it back.
Now
.”

The change in him was swift and terrifying.
One moment he was shifty and ratty, and the next he was venomous and deadly.
Veins bulged at his neck, rage suffused his face, his breath came out in short,
sharp blasts.

As he stepped toward her, she faltered back
until her heels hit the bench at the rear of the bay. Keeping her eyes on
Larry, she felt behind her and grabbed the first tool she laid hands on.

“Get away from me!” she yelled, brandishing
a long, thin wrench.

Larry halted, looking ready to pounce. With
the car on one side and a wall on the other, she was trapped. She flailed the
wrench at Larry. “Stand back and let me through.”

Larry shook his head. “You be careful with
that thing.”

She tightened her grip on the hard metal
shaft of the wrench. Larry was stronger than her, and desperate, too. Her only
chance lay in stalling him and maybe, if she caught him off guard, she might be
able to get away.

 “I figured it out, Larry.”

He paused, eyeing her warily. “Figured
what?”

“I know you repaired Tony’s SUV when he
smashed into the liquor store. His car was seriously damaged, but it was
already damaged
before
he drove into that liquor store. You must have
found that bicycle rear light somewhere in his car when you repaired it. Maybe
you didn’t think anything of it. Maybe you were going to throw it away but
never got around to it. But when you heard about the hit-and-run accident that
put Luisa Crespo in hospital, you put two and two together. It was Tony who’d
hit Luisa in the night, and he realized he was in big trouble. He couldn’t
afford a scandal like that, so he tried to hide his tracks. He deliberately
crashed into the liquor store to cover up the damage caused by the hit-and-run
and because he knew the security camera would capture the whole incident.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Larry’s face.
“How did you work that out?” he grudgingly demanded.

“Because he drove into the store at an angle
so the security camera couldn’t see the damage done to the front right of his
car. He said he’d only entered the parking lot to do a U-turn, but if that were
the case he would’ve struck the store from the opposite angle. His story didn’t
add up, so I knew he was hiding something.”

Larry was looking quite intrigued, and for
a moment she felt like Scheherazade, entertaining a despot in order to save her
head.

“But you found the bicycle light, and it
had the initials DC on the back, and you realized it belonged to Daniel Crespo.
His mother was riding his bike when Tony hit her. You used the light to
blackmail Tony. I suppose he paid up initially, but when you pressed for more,
he got angry and threatened you. He thought Sean was in on the blackmail, too,
which was why he refused to pay his bills. When you realized your blackmail gig
was at an end, you tried to make the most of the situation.” Emma paused to
suck in a breath. Her arms were getting tired from holding up the wrench, but
she couldn’t show him any weakness or he’d pounce.

“You planned the whole thing. You overheard
Sean threatening Tony, and as soon as he left here you took his wrench,
carefully preserving his fingerprints. Then you followed him to Tony’s house,
knowing there’d be an argument, and after Sean left you killed Tony and left
the murder weapon for the police to find.”

Larry said nothing, and her heart pounded
louder as she wondered how much longer he’d let her ramble on for. Maybe if she
kept on talking, he wouldn’t make a move. For once he was the focus of
attention. No longer a nondescript side character, he was now center stage.

“You did it, Larry. You killed Tony and
framed Sean for murder.”

His face stiffened, but he said nothing,
admitted nothing. His coldness made her want to goad a reaction out of him.

“Tell me something,” she said
conversationally. “How long have you secretly hated Sean?”

A muddy flush stained Larry’s concave
cheeks. Her barb had found its mark.

“It ain’t personal,” he muttered. “It’s
about survival.”

“No, it’s more than that. I saw the look on
your face yesterday at Sean’s house. You’re jealous of him. You resent the fact
that he has a great home, a good business, a beautiful girlfriend. You think
you should have all that yourself. When your blackmail gig folded, you were
furious. Once again you’d failed, while Sean was about to marry the girl of his
dreams. You hated him even more, didn’t you?”

“And why shouldn’t I?” Larry burst out.
“Him and me, we started out the same, two punk kids with nothing going for us.
But just because he’s flashy and smarmy, he wins everything while all I get is
the crumbs off his damn table. He thinks he’s so great!” Bile darkened his
voice. “Well, he’s not so great now, is he? His girl cheated on him, he has to
hand his business over to me, and he’s facing life in prison.”

The gloating in Larry’s face turned Emma’s
stomach. “You won’t get away with this. You’ll be the one doing life in
prison.”

He puckered up his mouth and spat in her
direction. “I should’ve finished you off when I had the chance.”

When he had the chance? Bits of memory
floated back to her, of Sean telling her how Larry had been caught using
clients’ vehicles to run chores. “Of course. It was you stalking me the other
day.
You
ran me off the road. You were trying to scare me off.” She
recalled the time when she had discussed Tony’s car with Sean and the feeling
she’d had that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation. It had been
Larry. He’d heard her, and, fearing she’d cotton on to him soon, had decided
drastic action was necessary.

Resentment filled Larry’s face. “You didn’t
learn your lesson, did you? Well, it’s too late now. I have to get rid of you,
and believe me, I’ll do a much better job than that jackass Kyle Barnet. I know
the mountains around here like the back of my hand. No one is ever going to
find your body, and if they do, you’ll be nothing but a pile of bones.”

“You’re sick,” Emma gasped. “You’re nothing
but a sad, perverted joke.”

He lunged at her, his teeth bared, and with
an earsplitting scream, she swung wildly at him with the wrench. The metal
slammed into Larry’s arm, the impact jarring the wrench out of her grip. Larry
groaned and made a grab for her, his face contorted with menace. She held up
her arms, bracing herself for his attack.

“Police! Don’t move!” The command rang out,
causing both Emma and Larry to freeze.

Officer Ackerman stood behind Larry, her
gun drawn. “Show me see your hands, Larry,” she ordered. Larry took one look at
her before collapsing to his knees, his arms raised in defeat.

Sherilee spared a glance at Emma. “You
okay?”

Emma nodded, then her legs gave way, and
she slid to the ground, uncaring of the grease and dirt. In a daze she watched
Sherilee push Larry to the ground, then handcuff his hands behind his back.
Limp as a rag doll, Larry made no protest, all the fight gone out of him.
Sherilee spoke to her dispatcher before making her way to Emma.

“Backup’s on their way,” Sherilee said as
she helped Emma to her feet.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Sheer luck. I stopped by the liquor store
and Scott remarked how excited you were over something to do with Tony’s car
accident. You mentioned Sean’s auto repair shop, and, well, I was kind of
worried you might go off half-cocked, so I thought I’d swing by.”

“It was Larry,” Emma mumbled, her lips
feeling numb. “He killed Tony and tried to frame Sean for it.”

“Yes. I heard all of it.”

Sirens wailed outside, and seconds later
the workshop exploded with lights and noise as police officers rushed in.

Emma turned to Sherilee. “You saved my
life. Thank you.”

Sherilee beamed at her. “Hey, it’s a
pleasure.”

And then Emma did the only thing possible.
Resting her head against Officer Ackerman’s shoulder, she burst into tears.

On the night of
Luisa Crespo’s accident, Tony Barnet had had another argument with his son over
Kyle’s unpaid debts. Furious, Tony had sped home, barely paying attention to
the road, which was why he’d taken a corner too fast, skidded toward the verge,
and knocked poor Luisa clean off her bicycle. A reckless driving charge and the
negative publicity would have killed off any hope of him winning the next
council election, so instead of helping his injured housekeeper, he had driven
off and concocted a plan to conceal his crime.

He’d waited until the small hours of the
morning and then driven to the liquor store, where he knew there was a security
camera. But he couldn’t risk the camera picking up the existing damage to the
front right of his SUV, so he’d approached the store from the opposite angle. He’d
crashed his car, then had it taken to Sean’s for repairs. The police didn’t
seem to find anything suspicious about his accident. Everything appeared to be
going to plan.

But Larry had found something strange in
Tony’s car. Wedged under the mangled bumper bar, was a cracked bicycle rear
light with the initials DC scratched into the back. Seeing nothing suspicious
about it, Larry had put the light aside and might even have thrown it away if
not for his innate laziness. He hadn’t thought anymore about it until he heard
about the hit-and-run and realized the implications of that broken bicycle light.
Larry had squeezed six thousand dollars out of Tony before his victim,
belligerent as ever, had refused to pay any more. And that was when Larry
decided to go for the man he’d secretly hated for years, his resentment
building with each of Sean’s achievements.

***

There was no place
for resentment or hatred today, the day Emma had once thought would never
arrive, Sean and Madison’s wedding day. It was a small, casual affair, quite
unlike the extravaganza that Emma had originally planned with Madison. About
twenty guests gathered in the gardens of the Whites’ mansion overlooking
Shamrock Lake. There were no doves, no ice sculptures, no string quartet, but frills
weren’t needed because Emma doubted that the bride and groom had eyes for
anything else besides each other.

Sweet and beautiful in white satin, Madison
radiated with happiness as she exchanged vows with Sean, the proud and handsome
groom in a dove-gray morning suit. As the newly wedded couple kissed each other
to great applause, Emma was surprised to find tears welling up in her own eyes.
After organizing so many weddings, who would’ve thought she’d still tear up?
Maybe she wasn’t as jaded about marriage after all.

Owen drifted into her thoughts, though why
was a mystery. He’d turned up at the auto shop after Larry had been arrested
and showed his alarm at her close shave with a killer. After her brief
interview at the police station, he had insisted on driving her home. His
concern had touched her, until he began lamenting her meddling.

“If you’d told the local cops or me about
your suspicions, you wouldn’t have put yourself in danger.”

She hadn’t been in the mood for another
argument, so she’d told him to leave, and unfortunately he had.

Across the lake, Jordan’s house gleamed in
the sunshine. Someone was mowing the lawn near the water’s edge. Though he was
too far away to make out, she knew it was Mateo. The surly gardener had
confessed his theft of Tony’s cigars to Jordan. After learning about Tony’s
involvement in Luisa’s accident, Jordan had quickly moved to make amends. Luisa
was now receiving top quality rehabilitation care, her medical bills were
settled, and Jordan had offered to pay for Daniel’s tuition if he made it to
college.

For Emma, the worst part about unmasking
Tony’s killer was Jordan finding out about her dead lover’s attempts to cover
up a hit-and-run accident. It can’t have been easy for her, but to her credit
she hadn’t fled from Greenville. She was still here, trying to do the right
thing. At least she wouldn’t have to fight to keep her inheritance, Kyle being
too preoccupied with his court trial to contest his father’s will, and even
Howard White had dropped his plans to sue Tony’s estate over the failed
business deal.

Madison rushed up to Emma and threw her
arms around her. “We’re so happy!” she murmured with a passionate hug. “Thank
you for everything!”

Laughing, Emma patted her and swiped the
moisture from her eyes.

“Yes, thank you for all you’ve done,” Sean
said, right behind his brand-new wife. “You never gave up on me. I won’t forget
that.”

Emma smiled. “I’m glad everything’s worked
out.”

Sean nodded as he put his arm around
Madison and drew her to his side. He looked different, Emma mused. More mature
and determined, more sure of himself. The stress of the past few weeks had
marked him, but he’d emerged stronger, and she had no doubt that he’d go from
strength to strength. Madison, too, had been tested and found her own strength
of character.

Leaving the happy couple to mingle with
their guests, Emma made her usual rounds, checking on the supply of finger food
and drink. She hardly needed to bother seeing the party was so small, but she
did it anyway. Madison had insisted on hiring her and had paid her an extra
bonus, and Emma had accepted, since her bank balance was perilously low.

“Ah, Emma, just the person I wanted to
see.” Cynthia White glided over the lawn, resplendent in lavender chiffon that
floated over her reed-thin figure.

“Yes, Mrs. White?” Emma braced herself for
some nitpicking complaint.

But Cynthia surprised her. “I’m hosting a
charity lunch here next month, and I want you to organize it.”

“You…you do?”

“Yes. Can you come by on Monday morning to
discuss it?”

“Uh, yes, of course,” Emma scrambled to get
her mouth to work.

“Good.” Cocking her head, Cynthia gave her
a small smile. “You seem surprised.”

“Well, I assumed…under the circumstances…I
got the impression that you haven’t always approved of me.”

The cool, elegant woman appraised her
silently for a few moments. “I might not always approve of you, Emma, but I
admire your loyalty to my daughter.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“Plus, your business must be struggling, so
I know you’ll work extra hard for me without complaining. Be here at ten on
Monday morning.”

Cynthia sauntered off, leaving behind an
expensive cloud of Chanel No. 5. Emma wondered what Howard White would say when
he learned of his wife’s plans. Oh well, Cynthia was more than capable of
handling her husband. Emma wouldn’t let him bother her. She needed every job
offered to her. And if she did well, other offers would roll in. She could do
this. After all, she’d cleared Sean’s name and unmasked a killer; Cynthia’s
charity lunch would be a doddle.

Lifting her head, she breathed in the warm,
summer air and counted her blessings.

~ THE END ~

Dear Reader

Thank you for
reading
Throw a Monkey Wrench
. If you enjoyed it, please consider
leaving a review. I’d really appreciate it.

For a preview of
the second book in the Emma Cassidy Mystery series,
Pushed to the Limit
,
please turn to the next page.

The third book in
the series,
Murder Most Likely
, will be available later in 2016.

If you would like
to receive notifications of new releases, please sign up for my newsletter at
my website
www.karenchester.wordpress.com
.

Thank you!

Karen Chester