Whiskey, You're The Devil: An Addison Holmes Mystery (Addison Holmes Mysteries Book 4) (11 page)

“Let me do some digging around tonight. I’ll pick you up at the office in the morning and fill you in.”

I felt like something had shifted during our time in the car together, but I wasn’t sure what or how it would affect us in the future. I gave my sundae a sad glance and wished I’d thought to get a second, and then I hefted my bag and got out of the truck.

Savage waited until I got in my car before he drove away, and I started it up and put it in reverse. My phone rang and I put the car back in park, wondering what else could possibly happen today. I wasn’t sure how much more I could fit in before I decided to go back to Phoebe’s and ask for more drugs.

One day I’m going to learn to stop asking what else can happen. I didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID, but it was a local area code so I answered.

“Hello?”

I could barely hear the person on the other end of the line and I had to ask them to repeat themselves.

“Addison, it’s me. Rosemarie.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because I don’t want Detective Jacoby to overhear our conversation. He took my emergency pack of M&Ms out of my purse. Can you believe the gall of that man? Just snatched em’ right out and now he’s eating them out in the hallway. I was saving them for the zombie apocalypse. I saw the tip on Doomsday Preppers. It’s always important to keep a snack on you at all times in case the zombies invade and you’re nowhere near your go pack. It’ll sustain you until you make it to your stash.”

“Rosemarie, I’m confused. Is Savannah being invaded by zombies?” My head was starting to pound and I rubbed the spot between my eyes.

“Not that I’ve heard, but they don’t have a T.V. at the jail, so I’m not up on my current events.”

My stomach flipped and I banged my head against the steering wheel once before resting it there. Nick’s words came back to me from that morning, and I wondered how I could be such a selfish friend. All I’d been worrying about all day was my P.I. exams, my sister’s bad judgment, cramps, and Savage’s irresistible pull. I’d forgotten all about Rosemarie.

“Addison—” her voice was weak and tear-filled. “I’m a convict! They put me in handcuffs right in front of my neighbors and everyone.” Her voice hitched. “I’ll never be able to show my face in Whiskey Bayou again. You know how it is. I’ll lose my job. I’m like the second reincarnation of you. I’ll be an outcast.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad. You’ll still be able to show your face in Whiskey Bayou. You’ll just have to get used to everyone whispering about you once you decide to show it.”

“Who’s going to take care of my dogs while I’m in the hoosegow? They’ll become a ward of the state.”

“I will take care of your dogs. Don’t worry about that. What we need to worry about is getting you out of jail as quickly as possible. Have they set bail?”

“There’s supposed to be a hearing in the morning. I don’t think I’m cut out for this.” Hysteria was starting to tinge her voice and I couldn’t say I blamed her one bit. I’m not sure what I would’ve done in a similar situation. “The sheets on the bed hurt my skin. I’m delicate. I break out in hives if the wrong kind of fabric touches my skin. And there’s only one toilet. And it’s right there in front of everyone. What kind of respectable southern lady does her business right there for everyone to see?”

“I can’t think of one,” I said automatically and then wished I’d kept my mouth shut. But really, people in the south didn’t even talk about going to the bathroom in polite company, much less consider letting anyone watch them doing it. Nick and I had been involved, off and on, for months, but our bathroom business was private.

“What am I gonna do?” she wailed.

“I want you to call Maxwell Gunter as soon as you hang up. He’ll be able to tell you exactly what needs to happen. Mom said he’s a great attorney.”

“And he’s single too,” she said.

“Also a very important piece of information to have as far as him keeping you out of prison.”

“Would you mind calling him for me? I used my one phone call to call you. I knew you’d know just what to do.”

“Thank you, Rosemarie. I’m touched.” And I was. I’d never been anyone’s first choice to be their one phone call from jail before. “What did Jacoby say when he arrested you? What were the charges?”

“Second degree murder, and he said if I confessed they’d reduce the charges to manslaughter. He said they had me red handed and a jury would lock me up and throw away the key.”

I was hating Detective Jacoby more and more with each passing day, and not only because he’d been the one to coin me the girlfriend of death. I’d never met the man and couldn’t have picked him out in a lineup, but he seemed like a real asshole. I was fine with making judgments like this with no basis in fact. I was a pretty good asshole detector.

“What evidence do they have?” I knew they’d found her prints on the murder weapon from what Nick had told me, but Rosemarie might have had more information.

“He said my prints were all over the fire extinguisher that bashed her face in.”

“Why would your fingerprints be on the fire extinguisher?”

“Because she dropped her cigarette ash into the trashcan and the whole thing burst into flames. Apparently a bottle of lube had broken open and she’d tossed it into the trash. It makes you wonder what’s in that lube to make it catch fire like that. You’d think it’d peel the skin right of your lady parts with that kind of fire starting power.”

I pounded my head against the steering wheel for good measure at the image that thought provoked.

“Okay,” I finally said. “That’s kind of bad luck. Were there anyone else’s prints besides yours?”

“I don’t know. They’re not real forthcoming with information. If Jacoby wasn’t such a dickwad he’d be kind of cute. He reminds me of Eric Estrada. Except white and balding. But otherwise he’s the spitting image.”

“Huh—” I said.

“Listen, I’ve got to go. Jacoby is pointing at his watch. Lord I really want to do that man bodily harm. Next time he steals my M&Ms he’d best watch out. I’m not above a little police brutality. It’s not like I’ve got anything left to lose.”

“Before you decide to go Full Metal Jacket on anyone lets just take a moment to step back and take a deep breath. I’m going to call Maxwell for you, and then I’ll go by your house and make sure Baby and Johnny Castle are all taken care of,” I said, referring to her Great Danes.

“You’ll need to give Johnny Castle his meds. They’re in the refrigerator. Thanks again for taking care of everything. You’re the best. And I have confidence that you’ll get this all figured out so I can be set free.”

I was still stuck on the fact that I was going to have to give medicine to a hundred and sixty pound dog, so I didn’t really clue in on the fact that she was putting her faith in me to figure out who really killed Priscilla Loveshack. All of a sudden the phone disconnected and I was left with a whole new set of problems.

*

I
T DIDN’T TAKE
long to contact Maxwell and fill him in on everything that was going on, though quite honestly I was surprised he took my phone call at all after dinner the night before. He must’ve been made of stronger stuff than I’d originally thought.

I was also thinking he didn’t have much of a sense of self-preservation considering he ended the call by asking me out to dinner. I told him he’d be better off asking out Phoebe, considering she was the one who wasn’t currently living with another man, but Max said that Phoebe scared him a little. I could understand how she’d have that impression on a man, so I didn’t press the issue.

I passed the exit for Nick’s house and groaned a little in defeat. I was sweaty, dirty, and wanted to sink into the jetted tub and possibly sleep there for a full twelve hours. Instead I was driving into Whiskey Bayou so I could get eaten by two dogs that were the size of small horses. Baby and Johnny Castle were nobody to mess with, and I hoped to God they remembered me.

Rosemarie lived not too far away from my mom’s house in one of the newer subdivisions. All the houses were one-story and small, lined up side by side like Legos, with small porches, bricked mailboxes, and a single tree planted in the front that wouldn’t get big for another thirty years. The blue house smack in the middle of the street belonged to Rosemarie.

I parked in the driveway and left the car running so I wouldn’t have to warm it up again, and I checked my appearance once in the rearview mirror before I got out. I looked like I’d been through the wringer. Dark circles under the eyes. My complexion pale and a little clammy. And I was pretty sure I was getting a zit on my forehead. Stupid hormones.

Dusk had already come and gone and it was pitch black as I got out of the car. None of the neighbors were out in this kind of weather, which was nice considering I didn’t particularly want to have to talk to anyone looking like I did.

I trudged around to the back yard and released the latch on the gate, slipping in as quietly as possible. All I needed was for one of the neighbors to be looking out the window and report suspicious activity.

It was a postage stamp sized back yard and the dogs had pretty much destroyed any chance of grass growing. Rosemarie kept and extra key under an empty flower pot and I let myself in the back door, flicking on the lights as soon as I walked in.

The house was in disarray from where I assumed the cops had gone through her house looking for anything that would help them gather evidence—bloody clothes or shoes that matched the prints taken from the scene. But even for the cops it seemed more disorganized that usual. And the closer I looked, I realized they most definitely wouldn’t have cut open all the couch cushions and dumped the stuffing or upended all the drawers.

I made a quick call to Nick, but it went straight to his voicemail so I had to leave a message for him to send an officer to check things out as soon as he could to have a look around. I was almost positive Savannah PD wasn’t responsible for this level of invasiveness.

I heard a noise from somewhere toward the other end of the house and had a moment of panic when I realized whoever had caused the destruction might still be in the house. But then I heard whimpers and scratching against the door and I wiped my damp palms on my yoga pants.

“It’s just the dogs. Not an axe murderer. Buck up, Addison. Though the axe murderer my be more merciful when he kills you, so I guess it’s the lesser of two evils.”

It was now or never. Hopefully they’d kill me quickly if they were going to do it instead of letting me linger for several days while snacking on my corpse. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the most positive of images to have flitting through my brain, but those dogs terrified me.

Rosemarie treated them like overgrown babies. I’d once seen her full out kiss Johnny Castle right on the lips, and she had no problem with the tongue or the slobber that was generated by that beast. It wasn’t natural, but Rosemarie didn’t have any living relatives in the area anymore so I wasn’t going to pass judgment.

I looked in the refrigerator and found the medication and then made my way down the hallway to the last room where the sounds of whimpering and clawing at the door came from.

“Poor puppies,” I said through the door. “It’s gonna be okay. Mama had to go to jail for a little while, but Auntie Addison is going to take good care of you.”

I put my hand on the knob, but my hands were sweating so badly that I had trouble turning it.

“Please don’t eat me,” I said and pushed the door open.

Baby and Johnny Castle both sat a few feet away, their tails wagging furiously and curious expressions on their faces. When Baby had been hit by a car a couple of months back I’d helped Rosemarie take care of her and get her to the vet. I was hoping she remembered that I helped save her life.

I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I knew they couldn’t stay here alone. If whoever broke in came back they could be in danger. And I’d never forgive myself if I let anything happen to Rosemarie’s children. She’d never forgive me either.

Not to mention, if I didn’t get them out of here they were libel to eat the whole house. Already they’d chewed up all the bed pillows and feathers drifted lazily around the room. And I was pretty sure the bed wasn’t supposed to tilt like that.

“Hello there,” I said tentatively. “Do you remember me? I’ve got some tasty food and medicine to give you. It’s delicious. Much better than human meat.”

Both dogs tilted their heads to the side and then they got up as if I hadn’t spoken, passing right by me and into the hallway. I held my breath as their tails whipped at my thighs and then followed them with my gaze until they got to the end of the hallway. They turned back and looked at me expectantly and I let out a whoosh of breath.

“Good doggies,” I said, feeling a little more confident now that it seemed unlikely I was going to die. Sometimes things just worked out how they were supposed to. It wasn’t a normal occurrence in my life, so I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it was nice all the same.

Chapter Ten

Wednesday…Kind of

T
HE OTHER SHOE
dropped about 5am when I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of growls and glass breaking.

“Oh, shit. Ohmigod. Don’t kill him.”

I’d ended up bringing the dogs home with me. They’d looked so sad when I’d opened the door to leave, and Johnny Castle was holding his leash in his mouth, looking at me expectantly. I couldn’t stand up under their scrutiny, so I’d gathered up all their supplies and put them in the back of the BMW. I wasn’t going to mention to Nick what happened to the headrest in the backseat. Apparently Johnny Castle’s medicine has some unfortunate side affects—like him wanting to eat everything in sight.

I hauled ass downstairs in one of Nick’s t-shirts and my panties, and I tripped on the bottom stair and went down hard, bashing my knee against the hardwood floor. It was pitch black except for the nightlight in the kitchen.

“Johnny Castle! Baby! No!”

I heard Nick’s swears and the click-clack of claws against the floors and then a yelp as they skidded to a stop. My knee throbbed and I reached up to turn on a light before carefully getting to my feet and putting my weight on my leg.