Teresa Watson Read online

  I shook my head. “No way. She is already unbearable. If you give her that kind of power, she could do a lot of damage, intentionally and unintentionally.”

  “This is a small town. How many skeletons can there be around here?”

  Given my family tree, I didn’t answer that question. Thankfully, Maddie brought our food. “Here you go. A cheeseburger and fries for Lizzie, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn for you.”

  “This looks great, Maddie,” Jake smiled. “I have a feeling I’m going to have to start working out again, or I’m going to gain a lot of weight from eating your cooking.”

  This time, she definitely blushed as she walked away. We ate in silence for a few minutes. The lunch crowd started to filter in, and I saw several curious glances in our direction. I hoped no one would come over to talk to us. And then Gladys walked in.

  So much for hoping.

  She made a beeline for our table. “You have a lot of nerve, Elizabeth Crenshaw, coming back in here after the spectacle you made of yourself this morning.”

  “I was only speaking the truth, Gladys, and I meant every word of it.”

  She looked at Jake. “And who is this?”

  “Jacob Mathias, ma’am,” he said, standing up and shaking her hand. “Dale hired me to help Lizzie at the newspaper.”

  “She doesn’t need help, young man,” she retorted. “She needs to be at home, taking care of her boyfriend and her dog, not working day and night for a business that isn’t even hers.”

  “From what I’ve been told, she has been a great source of strength for her co-workers, considering their editor has left for an undetermined reason.”

  “Ha, I’ll give you a reason,” she said, pointing at me. “It’s her crazy aunt.”

  “That’s enough, Gladys,” I hissed. “We are having a business meeting here.”

  Jake ignored me. “Her crazy aunt?”

  “You mean you haven’t heard? Her aunt is a murderer.”

  Lord help me, I did the only thing I could think to do: I picked up both glasses of tea, poured them on Gladys’ head, grabbed my purse, and left.

  Chapter Seven

  I went to the store after that. I figured I was going to be hiding out at home for a while in order to avoid all the looks and questions I was going to get, so I stocked up, loaded the groceries in the car, and headed home. Normally, I would be driving my mini Cooper, but Mother had borrowed it a few weeks ago and had yet to return it. I was starting to wonder if I was ever going to get it back.

  My house was on a street near the outskirts of town. There weren’t a lot of houses out there, but plenty of trees. A couple of blocks from my house, I noticed a black Dodge Ram truck parked next to the curb. As I got closer, I saw someone tied to a tree not far from the truck. I parked behind the truck and ran over to the person. It was Hopkins. He had a gag in his mouth, and he was furiously shaking his head. I pulled the gag out of his mouth, and he coughed a few times. “Get…out…of here,” he finally gasped.

  “I’m not about to leave you tied to a tree, Hopkins,” I said, scooting around to the other side of the tree trunk.

  “I’m ordering you to leave, Crenshaw,” he said.

  “Who died and made you my boss?” I retorted as I began working on the knots.

  “You don’t understand. I’m trying to save your…”

  His sentence was cut off by a loud explosion that sent me flying backwards. I bounced off a couple of tree trunks before landing on the ground. My back and head hurt, and my right arm was hanging funny.

  Rolling over to my left side, I ignored the wave of nausea and used my good arm to push myself to my knees. I crawled over to Hopkins, who was unconscious. He had a deep cut on his forehead, and there was a piece of metal sticking out of his arm. I looked over at the truck, which was a burning, twisted hunk of junk now. Glancing to my left, I saw Mother’s car was also toast.

  My phone was in my car, so I checked Hopkins’ pockets, found his, and called Owen. “Hey, Hopkins, can I call you back? I’ve just received a report about an explosion I need to check out,” he said when he answered.

  “Well, Hopkins is unconscious at the moment, and I’m not feeling too great myself. That explosion happened about two blocks from my house. We could use an ambulance and the fire department, too.”

  “Lizzie? What the…?”

  “Owen, for once, just shut up and do what I ask you to do,” I said. “I’m not in any shape to answer your questions right now.” I hung up.

  I crawled behind Hopkins and tried to undo the knots again, but working with one arm was not easy. There was no way I could do it. I turned around, leaned against the trunk, and closed my eyes.

  Next thing I knew, someone was gently shaking my shoulder and calling my name. I opened my eyes to find Owen and T.J. staring at me. “Hey, sweetheart,” T.J. said, “how are you doing?”

  “I’ve had better days.”

  “I will admit, you’ve looked better,” he replied, picking a piece of lettuce out of my hair.

  “Gee, thanks. How’s Hopkins?”

  “Still unconscious,” Owen said. “We cut the ropes, and the paramedics are looking at him right now.” He leaned back and waved. “We’ve got another ambulance crew here. They just pulled up. They’re going to take a look at you.”

  “You have little cuts all over your face, Lizzie,” T.J. told me, “and your right arm doesn’t look very good. Just let them take care of you, ok?” I nodded.

  As the paramedics moved in, Owen said, “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I found Hopkins tied to this tree, and before I could get him loose, there was an explosion. Mother’s car…”

  “Not drivable, I’m afraid,” Owen said.

  A wave of pain washed over me as one of the paramedics moved my arm. “I don’t know anything else, Owen. Hopkins is the one you need to talk to. Is he going to be alright?”

  “No clue.”

  “She’s ready to go,” the paramedic told Owen. “Do you think you can walk over to the ambulance, ma’am?”

  I nodded and stood up. I felt a bit lightheaded, and leaned against T.J. He scooped me up and carried me to the ambulance while my paramedics stopped near the other crew to see if there was anything they could do to help. “Just sit there,” T.J. said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Where did he think I was going to go? Granted, my house was only two blocks away, but if I couldn’t make it a few hundred yards to an ambulance, there was no way I was going to make it home.

  “What in the world happened to you?”

  Seriously? This day had just officially gone to…well, you know where. I looked up to see Jake standing in front of me. “I tripped and fell.”

  “Well, if you fell down, what did your car do? Roll down a hill or something?”

  “Self-combustion.”

  He sat down next to me. “Your sense of humor is still intact. Are you going to be ok?” he said, reaching up to brush a strand of red hair out of my eyes. “Your poor face. Does it hurt much?”

  “Only when I smile.”

  He looked down at my arm. “Broken?”

  “They didn’t say, just put it in a splint. I guess I’ll find out when I get to the hospital, but considering how it looked before, I’d say it was broken, yeah.”

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I’m sorry, the witness is not allowed to comment on an active investigation,” T.J. said as he walked up. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir.”

  Oh Lord, just shoot me now. Please.

  Chapter Eight

  “Actually, Officer, I’m a member of the press, so I have every right to be here,” Jake said as he stood up.

  “She’s still a witness, and not available for interviews at this time,” T.J. replied. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. She’s also an old friend of mine.”

  “Well, if you want to get technical here, she’s my girlf
riend, so back off.”

  “Both of you, knock it off!” I said. “I’m not in the mood to see two men preening like a couple of dogs in heat. Jake Mathias, this is Deputy T.J. Reynolds. Jake is the person Dale hired to help me run the newspaper.”

  The two men shook hands, eyeing each other suspiciously. “I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Jake said. “At a press conference a couple of years ago in D.C., wasn’t it?”

  “I’ve never been to D.C.,” T.J. said.

  “Oh really?My mistake. But I never forget a face.”

  “Maybe you need to buy some glasses,” T.J. replied.

  “So you’re dating Lizzie? I almost married her once.”

  “Really?” T.J. said, looking at me.

  “Well, actually, the day I planned to propose, she skipped town.” Owen, thankfully, called for T.J. at that moment, and he walked away. “I’d swear I’ve seen him somewhere before. I just can’t remember where.”

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” I said wearily.

  “You’re actually dating Deputy Dawg?”

  “It’s none of your business if I am or not, Jake.”

  “You’re right, it’s not,” he conceded. “I don’t want to get into an argument with you right now, Lizzie. But at some point, we are going to have to talk about things.”

  “Ok ma’am,” one of the paramedics said, “let’s get you to the hospital.”

  Jake moved out of the way as I climbed inside the ambulance. “Let me know if you need anything, Lizzie.”

  “See if you can salvage anything out of my car,” I said as the doors closed.

  It was a short ride to the hospital, but I felt every single bump along the way. Maybe I should tell the city council to fix their crappy roads instead of going out of town on retreats.

  Unfortunately, my torture did not end at the ambulance bay. As they wheeled me in, I could hear my mother’s voice coming from the waiting room. There was no way I could deal with her right now. When Ginger Rodgers, the nurse, came into the room, I begged her to keep my mother out of my room. “She’s going to be pretty upset if I do,” Ginger said.

  “I don’t care,” I replied. “Tell her you’re busy running tests on me, drawing blood, whatever. I just don’t want to see her right now.”

  “What about Trixie? She’s out there, too.”

  I groaned. If they let Trixie in, but not my mother, I would never hear the end of it. “Fine, let them both in here together.”

  Two minutes later, my mother came rushing into the room, with Trixie close behind. “Have you been sticking your nose into another police investigation, Elizabeth?”

  “No, Mother, I have not,” I said. “I was trying to help someone who was in trouble, and their truck blew up.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” she scoffed. “A truck doesn’t just blow up. I think you must have hit your head on something. You’re talking nonsense.”

  “You’re right, Mother. I tied Agent Hopkins to a tree, then hit myself in the arm and head because I was bored.”

  “Now you’re just being sarcastic,” she said.

  “And you’re being a bit annoying,” I told her.

  “Is that any way to talk to your mother? It’s one thing to talk to Gladys Norwell that way, but don’t you dare do that to me, young lady! And I know about you pouring tea on her, too. What has gotten into you?”

  “Actually, Mrs. Crenshaw,” Trixie interrupted, “Owen said that there was an explosion. Lizzie was trying to save someone else, a federal agent to be exact, and that’s how she got hurt. I think she’s just a little irritated because she’s in pain. Perhaps we should just be supportive and not critical right now.”

  “You’re right, Trixie,” Mother said, patting her on the arm. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I just hate seeing you like this. I shouldn’t have come in here acting that way. What can I do for you?”

  “Nothing really, Mother. They’ll take me back to x-ray soon. Why don’t you go get some coffee in the cafeteria? I’m going to be here a while.”

  “Are you sure?” I nodded. “Alright, but you have them page me as soon as you are done in x-ray.”

  “Yes ma’am, I will.”

  “How are you doing really?” Trixie said after Mother left.

  “If there was a reset button for my life, I would hit it and start this whole day over.”

  “Can’t blame you there,” she said, pulling a chair closer to the bed.

  “I don’t know how I’m going to tell her there’s nothing left of her car.”

  “Ouch. Kiss your Mini Cooper goodbye.”

  “Jake and T.J. have met each other.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  I shook my head. “Jake showed up at the scene. The two of them acted like a couple of kids fighting over a toy on the playground. I’m sure T.J. is going to have a lot of questions for me.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s take care of you right now. Do you want me to go to your house and get you some clean clothes?”

  I looked down at what I had on. “I think I’ll be ok. How did you find out?”

  “Like I told your mother, Owen called. He thought you might need a friend right now.”

  “Very unusual for him, but he is right. Thanks for coming down here.”

  There was a knock at the door, and Dr. T stuck his head into the room. “Good afternoon, ladies. I understand you’ve had a little accident, Lizzie.”

  “If you call an exploding truck a little accident, Doc, I would hate to see what you call a major one,” Trixie laughed.

  “Oh, a paper cut is a major accident, didn’t you know that?” he replied. Taking the splint off, he winced. “Lizzie, you definitely have a broken arm. I’ll arrange to get you down to x-ray right away. After I take a look at them, we’ll set it. The nurse will be in later to clean up those cuts. I have to warn you, it’s going to sting a bit when she does.”

  “Thanks for the warning. How is Agent Hopkins?”

  “They’re prepping him for surgery,” Dr. T replied. “The metal piece in his arm nicked some muscle and a vein. The surgeon should be able to repair the damage. Hopefully, he won’t lose any function in the arm, but we’ll just have to wait and see how extensive the damage is.”

  A few minutes later, they wheeled me down to x-ray. I’ll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say, there was plenty of screaming and cursing involved. More of the same behavior followed when the nurse cleaned my cuts, and when Dr. T set my arm. Thank God for the painkillers they finally gave me.

  Trixie had somehow convinced my mother to go home, assuring her that I would get home in one piece. I was waiting for someone to bring me the discharge papers, when I heard the door open and close. I opened my eyes to see Debra standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?”

  “Don’t worry, I’m just here to make sure you’re ok,” she said. “I didn’t think it was going to be you that found Hopkins.”

  “Who did you think was going to find him, the Easter Bunny?”

  “Owen…or your boyfriend.”

  “T.J.? I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t have time to explain right now. Don’t trust them, Lizzie.” She left before I could say anything.

  I felt like my life was being been ripped apart.

  I wanted to disappear.

  Tahiti, anyone?

  Chapter Nine

  The orderly finally wheeled me to the entrance, but instead of seeing Trixie, I saw Jake standing by a Porsche Cayenne. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m your ride home.”

  “No, seriously. Where’s Trixie?”

  “I told her I would be happy to drive you home, and she agreed. She muttered something about being out of your mind to walk away from that. I take it you’ve told her about our history?”

  “She’s my best friend. Of course she knows.”

  “I see.”

  “Fancy wheels for a newspaper man.”

  “Well, if you’ve got the money to
spend, might as well spend it on something nice.”

  “Nice to see your family’s money is being put to good use.”

  He opened the door and helped me in. “I’m afraid your car is a total loss,” he said as we left the hospital. “I found your purse, but I’m not sure there is much left to salvage. Your phone is toast.”

  “Two cars in one day,” I groaned.

  “Excuse me?”

  “It wasn’t my car, it was my mother’s. She’s been driving my car around and won’t give it back. After this, I’ll never see it again.”

  “I see. The sheriff said he was going to have your car towed to Hank’s Garage. He said you knew where that was.”

  “Unfortunately, I do.” I leaned back and closed my eyes.

  “Your friend said she would bring you something to eat later. The doctor sent home some painkillers that should get you through the day, and a prescription that needs to be filled. Do you want me to take care of that now or take you home first?”

  “Home,” I said. “I don’t even know what time it is.”

  “It’s almost four p.m.”

  We drove by the crime scene in silence. The truck and my car were still there, but I didn’t see T.J. anywhere. “How do you know where I live, anyway?”

  “A little slow on the uptake, aren’t you?” Jake chuckled. “I wondered how long it was going to take you to ask me that. I drove around town this morning before I came to the office. I wanted to see where you lived.”

  “Sounds a bit stalkerish, Jake,” I pointed out as he pulled in behind the truck.

  “Yeah, maybe a little, but I look at it as a smart business move. If I need to discuss something with you, I can just come by.”

  “Or you can call me on the phone.”

  “Good point, but I prefer to do business face to face,” he said, helping me out of the car. “Why do you have a truck that looks like a thirty-one flavors reject parked in your driveway?”

  “It belonged to my grandfather and I had nothing to do with the color. I tried to get the local mechanic to paint it purple, but it came back the same color.”

  “That is just wrong in so many ways,” he said, shaking his head. “It would be more merciful to take it to the dump and shoot it.”