Thin Crust Killers Page 21
“Keep your voice down,” I said. “Do we really want to give anyone that idea?”
She shrugged. “I’m just glad you were smart enough to have a clean-up crew working tonight. You’re going home now, aren’t you?”
“Come on, Maddy, you know better than that. If there’s work to be done, I’m going to help do it. You can leave, though.”
“And let you make me look bad?” she asked with a laugh. “I don’t think so. Come on, let’s start putting chairs away, and we’ll be home by midnight.”
It was just a little past then when I finally pulled up into my driveway. The night had been a roaring success, but I was tired beyond all realms of imagination. All I wanted was a hot shower, and then ten uninterrupted hours of sleep.
What I got was someone attacking me on my own front porch.
Chapter 11
“Get inside,” I was ordered as I started to unlock my front door. A masked man had stepped out of the bushes as I’d turned my back on him, and he was jabbing something that felt like a gun barrel in my ribs.
“I don’t think so,” I said, my hand still on the knob. When he’d attacked me, my first reaction had been to grab my keys and force them between my clenched fingers. It made me look like I had talons on my right hand, and while I knew full well that I didn’t stand a chance against a gun, if I could catch my assailant off guard, I might be able to stab him in the eyes with my keys.
“What do you mean?” he asked gruffly. I’d heard that voice before, but I couldn’t quite place it, since it was pretty clear he was doing his best to disguise it.
“If I go inside with you, I’m dead,” I said, trying to keep my voice even and level. “At least out here there’s a chance someone will see us. You’re going to have to shoot me and drag my body across the threshold to get me inside.”
“I’m not going to hurt you. I promise,” he said, his voice growing more agitated by the second. Where were my neighbors, anyway? So much for our unofficial neighborhood watch. When something happened that I wanted them to miss, they called the police before I could get inside the front door, but now that I was being attacked, they were nowhere to be seen. Everyone was probably fast asleep, since it was pretty late. But there should at least be a passing car or two. If I could stall him long enough until someone saw what was happening, I might live through this after all.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Eleanor, why are you being so stubborn about this?”
I don’t know why, but it surprised me to hear my name spoken by my assailant. “You know who I am. The least you could do is have the courage to tell me who you are.”
“If I do, will you go in?”
“Sure, why not?” I wasn’t sure if I would or not, but he had no way of knowing that, and if I was about to be murdered, at least I’d have the satisfaction of knowing who’d done it.
He ordered, “Turn around.”
I steeled myself for a gunshot as I did, but instead, I found him holding the end of a stick on me. “Now, does it look like I’m going to shoot you?”
“If you’re so harmless, then take off your mask.”
He shook his head. “Who’s giving the orders here, you or me?”
“I think you lost your advantage when you let me see that you were holding a stick on me. You should never have let me turn around. If you want to be invited inside my home, you’re going to have to show me your face.”
“This isn’t going like I planned it at all,” he said plaintively.
“Sorry I didn’t go straight by your script,” I said. “Take off the mask,” I ordered again.
He lifted up one corner of it, and the face I saw shocked me down to my shoes.
“Trent! You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Tell me about it,” he said as he looked all around him. “Can we go inside now? The longer we stay out here, the more danger we’re both going to be in.”
I was too shocked to stand my ground anymore. I quickly unbolted the lock, then I led him inside. Once we were in, I locked the door behind us.
“What happened?” A sudden, sinking feeling hit my chest. “If you’re alive, then who died in the explosion?”
“I’m sorry, Eleanor. It had to be Steve.” His voice choked up as he added, “You have to believe me. I had nothing to do with it.”
I leaned against the wall. “Somehow I knew that he was dead. I got a postcard the week after the fire, but I realized that there was something that wasn’t right about it. Trent, why did you run away?”
“Are you kidding me? Someone obviously wanted me dead, and if I hadn’t left the building for a few minutes, they would have found two bodies in that building, not just one.”
“Where did you go?”
He frowned, and then Trent admitted, “I stepped out to smoke a quick cigarette to calm my nerves, and while I was out back, the front of the building blew off.” He shook his head, as if he was trying to wipe the memory clean. “I figured that there was no way to help Steve, but to be honest with you, I didn’t even try. I panicked and ran.”
“He was wearing your ring,” I said.
Trent shrugged. “I took it off to run my printing press for the special edition. I always do. Steve must have slipped it on just before the explosion.”
“Why would anyone want to kill you?” I asked.
“It’s driving me crazy. You can’t imagine what it’s like having someone try to kill you. Sometimes I’m positive that I was the target, and then there are other times I think they were after Steve,” he said. “He kept hinting that he knew something big, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was until I paid him for the story.”
“And did you? The FBI found money from the robbery in your office.”
Trent screamed in protest, “I’m telling you! I didn’t do it. It had to have been planted.” He paused for a moment, then he added, “Unless Steve had it on him at the time of the explosion.”
“Are you saying Steve was the one who robbed the bank and killed Hank Webber?”
“No, of course not. That doesn’t make any sense, either. The money had to have been part of the setup.” Trent paused a second, then said, “But I think your brother-in-law knew who did it. That’s why someone wanted to kill us both. They had to assume that Steve had already told me what he knew, and that I was going to print it.” Trent shrugged, then added, “Which is exactly what I would have done, if I’d known the truth. Now someone’s trying to kill me, and I don’t even know who it is.” His face tightened as he added, “They’ll come after you next.”
“But I don’t know anything,” I protested.
“Maybe you do and you just don’t realize it. Did Steve say anything unusual the last time you talked to him? Was there anything odd about his behavior?”
“Like I said, he wanted me to hold a shoe box for him,” I said.
“That’s right, I’d nearly forgotten about that. Is there any chance you know where it is? That box could be the key to everything.”
“I told you before, I wouldn’t take it,” I said. “I don’t have a clue where it might be.”
Trent thought about that a few seconds, and then he said, “If you don’t have it, where could it be? Did you check his car?”
“I don’t even know where it is. Everybody just assumed that he had it when he left town. Nobody’s reported finding it since then, or I’m sure that Kevin Hurley would have let me know he found it. That would have changed everything.”
Trent shook his head. “We know Steve didn’t just drive away. After all, they found one body after the explosion. Where could it be?”
“He didn’t have it when he went to see you?”
The newspaperman shook his head. “No, I didn’t see it outside, and that’s where I ran into him. He was on foot.”
“Maybe it’s parked someplace safe,” I said.
“I can’t imagine where, though. We’re probably too late, but there’s a chance the killer hasn’t found it, either.”
Trent frowned at me. “Are you sure the chief of police would tell you if he had?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. It’s got to be somewhere close, though.” I stifled a yawn, then I said, “Listen, I’m too tired to think straight right now. I’ll look for it in the morning.”
Trent grabbed my arm. “Eleanor, we can’t afford to wait another minute. Can’t you see that?”
I pulled my arm away. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t think it’s going to look suspicious if you and I are driving around the streets in the middle of the night looking for Steve’s car? We’ve got a better chance of being busted now than if we wait until morning. Besides, it’s been a long day, and I’ve got to get some sleep or I’m going to collapse. Where have you been staying? You don’t look like you’ve missed any sleep, or any meals, either.”
He started to tell me, but then he clearly thought better of it. “Maybe I’ll keep that to myself for now.”
“That’s what I like about you, Trent. You’re such a trusting soul.”
“It’s not that,” he said. “But you can’t tell someone something you don’t know if I don’t tell you, now can you?”
“Do you really think I’m in danger, too?”
“If whoever killed Steve saw me coming here tonight, it could be bad. I’m so sorry, Eleanor. I’ve put your life in jeopardy. I didn’t think it through.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” I said.
He headed for the front door, and then paused as he had his hand on the knob. “On second thought, that might be a little too public. Do you mind if I slip out the back way?”
“Aren’t you being just a little bit paranoid?”
“Being paranoid right now isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given the circumstances. I’m still alive, aren’t I?” he said.
“That’s a good point.” I led him through the kitchen to my back door, but he wouldn’t follow me.
“What’s wrong now?”
“Would you mind turning off the light? I don’t want someone looking in and seeing me here. It’s as much for your safety as it is for mine.”
I suspected it was a little more for his, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, I did as he asked, and as soon as the light was out, he slipped into the room.
“See you in the morning,” he said as he left the house.
“Just don’t make it too early,” I said, but by then, he was already gone.
I’d fully intended to take a hot shower and crash on top of my comforter, but too much had happened tonight. While my body was more than willing to sleep, my mind wasn’t anywhere close to letting it relax. Steve was dead, something I’d suspected the second I’d heard the explosion, but I still had a hard time wrapping my head around it. We hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye—hardly ever, in fact—but that tie to Joe was gone now, and it was a big one. As I showered, I wondered who had killed him, and if he’d been telling me the truth about where he’d gotten that money he gave me. And what about the box he’d wanted me to keep for him? Why had I been so stubborn about it? If I’d just agreed to his simple request to keep it for him, I wouldn’t be guessing now.
After I dried off, I slipped into my nightgown and crawled under the covers, trying to drive images of Steve from my mind. He’d been dead for several days, but for me, it was as fresh as if it had just happened.
I cried a little for him, then I drifted off to a fitful night that seemed to go on forever.
By the time I got out of bed the next morning, I realized that I probably would have been better off going with Trent on the car hunt the night before. What little sleep I’d gotten had been filled with tossing and turning, and I woke up without feeling the least bit refreshed for my trouble. After drinking some much-needed coffee, I picked up the telephone and called my sister. I knew I should have called her the night before, but if I had, she would have wanted to come straight over, and I wouldn’t even have managed the little sleep I’d gotten. Besides, was it fair to involve her in this? It could easily be putting her life in danger as well. But ultimately, I knew I had to tell her what had happened. There was no way I was keeping anything from her.
At the very least, I figured with two of us, we’d be twice as hard to kill.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I said when she picked up on the seventh ring. “Did I wake you?”
“No, I’m answering this in my sleep. Call me back in about four hours and we can talk then. Or leave a message at the beep and I’ll get back to you. Beep.”
“Trent Caldwell is alive,” I said.
“What?” It was clear that the declaration had the anticipated effect. “Are you sure? I thought the FBI was certain he died in the explosion.”
“The last I heard, they were still trying to find dental records for Steve. I’m sure Trent is all right, though. He was standing in my living room seven hours ago.”
“Then it had to have been Steve who died in the explosion,” she said, more as a statement than a question.
“That’s right,” I said. “He’s gone.”
“Sis, I’m so sorry.”
I bit my lip to keep from crying again, not as much for Steve, but for the loss of someone so important to Joe. “Trent thinks whoever set the explosion off was trying for both of them.”
“How did he manage to escape?”
“He told me that he was in the back alley smoking a cigarette, if you can believe that. And they say smoking is what can kill you.”
“And they’re right,” Maddy said. “It just takes longer than dynamite. What are you going to do? You called Kevin Hurley, didn’t you?”
“No,” I admitted. “The thought crossed my mind, but I really wasn’t sure what to do. Do you really think I should have?”
Maddy whistled softly under her breath. “I can’t believe you’re even asking me that. This goes way beyond snooping around a case behind his back. You’ve got to call him and tell him what’s going on. Even I know that much. Call him now, Eleanor.”
“And tell him what, that I was too sleepy last night when Trent was here to turn him in? Kevin’s going to just love that.”
She paused a few seconds, then Maddy asked, “What if you tell him Trent just left? That would cover you for last night.”
“Maddy, what if he’s dead, too? If something happened to him after he left here last night, it’s going to look like I had something to do with it, and that I’m telling the police to establish some kind of alibi.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You’re pretty much out of luck.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “In the light of day, I can see that you’re right. I should have called Kevin the second Trent left here. I just couldn’t bear the thought of turning him in.”
I heard Maddy take a deep breath, and then she asked, “Hang on a second. Let’s think about this. What’s he done, really? He left the scene of the accident, but who’s to say he wasn’t gone before the building blew up? If you ever see Trent again, you’ve got to convince him to go to the chief before things get worse.”
There was a long pause, and then I finally admitted, “Maddy, he’s not going to contact Kevin, or anyone else in a position of authority. He’s convinced someone’s trying to kill him, so he’s not about to show his face around town, especially if the FBI and the police chief think he’s a murderer.”
“Eleanor, there’s something else you’re not telling me,” Maddy said. “Come on, spit it out. I don’t want to have to drag it out of you this early in the morning.”
“I’m meeting him this morning,” I said. “We’re going to look for Steve’s car. That blasted shoe box is probably holding the key to all of this, and I let it slip through my fingers once already. I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.”
“No, you’re going to make an entirely new one. You can’t go with him. You know that, don’t you?”<
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“Why shouldn’t I? Like you said, he’s done nothing illegal.”
“Nothing you know about,” Maddy said.
“I believe him, as crazy as his story sounds.”
“Okay, I agree that it’s just insane enough to be true,” she said. “Can you stall him twenty minutes?”
“I’m not calling Kevin Hurley,” I said.
“I’m not suggesting you do. But I need time to get dressed and slap on at least a little makeup.”
“It’s too dangerous for you to go with us,” I said, suddenly getting cold feet about the idea of my sister accompanying us as we looked for Steve’s car.
“Sorry, but you’re not the boss of me. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. And Eleanor? One more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Don’t get any ideas about leaving your house before I get there. I would be extremely unhappy with you if you did that, no matter how pure your motivation might be.”
I knew there was no sense in trying to argue with her, and a part of me was glad she was being so insistent on joining us. “Fine, I’ll wait for you here, and you can even go with us, but if something happens to you, don’t blame me.”
“If something happens to me, most likely I won’t be able to blame anyone, now will I?” she said with a laugh.
“Maddy, this is serious business. Two men have already died.”
“I know,” she said, the lightness gone from her voice. “I’m coming with you to make sure no women are added to the list.”
As I waited for my sister, I kept peeking out my windows, trying to spot Trent, or worse yet, a killer lurking in the bushes watching my house. In reality, all I saw were some late hummingbirds at my feeder on the deck, and Mrs. Thatcher hanging out her laundry in her backyard.
I ducked back inside before she spotted me. The last thing I wanted was the nosy old woman knocking on my door wanting to talk about what had happened at the auction last night. If Mrs. Thatcher had ever had a first name, I’d never heard it, which was odd for a woman who loved to talk so much about anything and everything.