Deadly Holiday (Georgia Rae Winston Mysteries Book 2) Page 9

  Mom had been organizing the church library, which used to be in the basement. I’d been playing in the main room when a mouse had skittered out from behind a trashcan. I’d shrieked and jumped up on a piano bench. Mom had joined me until Pastor Mark had come to our rescue and assured us the coast was clear.

  Maybe it was time to tear down the old church after all.

  When my breathing and heartrate slowed, I straightened up, marched to the maintenance room, and looked around. “Doug?”

  “Right behind you.” He trudged through the doorway.

  “There are mice in the basement.” I held up the angel costume. “I was searching for this when I heard scratching.”

  “Yeah. We’ve had trouble with that. I’ll set some traps.” He took a Mountain Dew can off his desk and tossed it in the trash.

  “Thanks.” I blew out a breath. “I hate mice. It’s the main reason I keep barn cats.”

  “No problem.” His eyes had lost the spark of joy that’d been there earlier.

  What had Cal said to him? “Are you okay?”

  Doug pressed his lips together. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” He couldn’t meet my gaze as he fiddled with the strap of his overalls.

  Stupid mouse. If it hadn’t been for him, I’d have been able to avoid Doug. Now, here he was in front of me. Clearly upset. Besides, if Cal was already assuming the worst of me, I might as well live up to it.

  “Does Detective Perkins think you had something to do with Zach’s death?”

  Doug sighed. “I’m not sure. I’ve told him everything I know, which isn’t much. Still, it freaks me out that he came back with follow-up questions.”

  I wasn’t going to pry about Doug’s gambling problem because it was none of my business, but that wouldn’t stop me from taking a different approach. “Did Zach ever say anything to you about anchor? It was one of his last words.”

  Doug shoved his hands into his overall pockets and swayed back and forth. “Well, there’s an Anchor Recovery Center in Richardville, which is what I told Detective Perkins.” He ducked his head. “I’ve been going to group sessions—since I got in over my head gambling at Hoosier Park—and Zach knew about it, because we were prayer partners.”

  I had to give him honesty points. “I won’t say anything to anybody.”

  “Thanks.”

  “For all we know, Zach could’ve been hallucinating when he said anchor. Was anything strange going on with him before he died?”

  Doug glanced over his shoulder and then pushed the door shut. “He and Mark kept butting heads,” he said quietly. “In fact, the Tuesday before Zach died, he submitted his resignation effective at the end of December, but they were going to wait another week or so to announce it.”

  My eyes widened. “Who else knew?”

  He shook his head. “His family? Olivia since they were dating?”

  I remembered what Mona had told me about Pastor Mark wanting his son-in-law to be the youth pastor. “Did Pastor Mark already have a replacement in mind?”

  “Yeah. His son-in-law.” Doug grimaced. “Thanksgiving Day, I got a notification on my phone about a problem with the church’s furnace, so I stopped by to check it around five or so. Mark was in here showing Dax around like it was a given he’d be hired for Zach’s job.”

  “Did they see you?”

  “Naw.”

  I thought of the phone call Carsyn had overheard at Solid Rock. “Did you call Zach and tell him?”

  Doug lifted his chin. “Sure did. It ticked him off, but he showed up for work the next day like nothing had happened.” He gazed down at his boots. “I still feel terrible that I left to buy that extension cord for the nativity scene. If I’d been there, we could’ve gotten him to the hospital sooner, and he wouldn’t have…”

  I rested my hand on Doug’s shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up. There’s no way you could’ve known.”

  He nodded, and tears filled his eyes.

  At least I hoped there was no way he’d known.

  That night, I stopped at Pizza Heaven for the Wednesday Night Wings special—something I did on an embarrassingly regular basis. Driving out of downtown Wildcat Springs on my way to Silver’s Bike Emporium, I fought an aching throat as I thought about Cal. Why hadn’t I told him what he wanted to know about Doug? Why had I felt the need to cause an argument?

  I stopped at the town’s single traffic light at Main and Pearl Streets and drummed my fingers against the steering wheel.

  Why couldn’t he trust me? Not with the case. I understood he couldn’t talk about it. No, he was holding something back in his personal life.

  The light blinked green, and I drove through the intersection and followed the highway to Richardville. I wasn’t good at this whole relationship thing. God had probably been doing me a favor by leaving me single for all these years.

  I pressed play on the navigation screen and sang along to Chanticleer’s version of “Ave Maria.”

  When I was about halfway to Richardville, blinding headlights drew my attention to my rearview mirror, and I scowled. The white SUV that had been following me since I pulled out of the public parking lot in downtown Wildcat Springs zoomed closer.

  I stifled a few choice words. “You are not going to drive my truck, jerk!” I glared in the mirror, even though darkness concealed me.

  When Daddy taught me to drive, he’d been fond of telling me to never let the person behind me manipulate me into exceeding the speed limit.

  I let off the accelerator and hoped the driver would pass. Instead, the SUV slowed to match my speed—and took the tailgating to a whole new level. Since I was about five minutes from the bike shop, which was in downtown Richardville, I made a quick right into a subdivision to take the back way.

  The SUV followed through the winding streets.

  As I exited the subdivision, I blew through a yellow light, but the vehicle kept pace. I took another left past a gas station and Solid Rock Mission. I hung a right next to the public library, but the SUV remained inches from my bumper.

  Now there was no question this was deliberate.

  Tightening my grip, I pressed the voice command button on my steering wheel. “Call Preston cell.”

  “Calling Preston on cell,” the navigation system’s female voice said.

  The phone rang twice. “Babe! Don’t tell me you’re running late.”

  “Are you at the bike shop?”

  “Yes.”

  “We aren’t getting any younger, sissy,” Austin chimed in.

  “Shut up. This is important.” I gritted my teeth. “I’m driving south on Webster Street approaching the shop. A white SUV’s been tailing me for miles, and I can’t lose it. When I pull in, I need you to take a picture of the SUV’s license plate as it passes and send it to me.”

  Preston and Austin both emitted low chuckles. “You need us as sidekicks,” they said in unison. I pictured the two of them gleefully bumping chests.

  Life Lesson #41: God has a sense of humor, and he knows how to use it.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes. I need you.” I glanced in the rearview mirror and tightened my grip on the wheel. Still there. “I’m not joking. Please come through for me.”

  “We’ve got your back, babe.” Preston disconnected.

  I blew out a breath. The bike shop was coming up on the left, so I slowed the truck’s speed. Austin and Preston stood on the sidewalk under a streetlight, with their phones outstretched.

  At the last second, I turned into the half-empty parking lot. The SUV swerved around me, and the tires squealed as it roared away. I parked next to Preston’s Mustang—his baby—and, clutching my purse, I hopped out of my truck. “Did you get it?”

  They jogged over. “Sure did, sissy.” Austin held up his phone.

  Sissy. So, that means Austin’s the one in the gray overcoat. My phone vibrated, so I took it out of my purse and studied the picture. The plate number was completely clear. “Good work.”

  Austin staggered backward. “It�
�s a miracle. An actual, real-life compliment from Georgia Winston.”

  I snorted. “An actual, real-life situation where you deserved a compliment from Georgia Winston.”

  Preston grinned. “One more coming your way.”

  I opened the picture. Preston had managed to get a shot of the driver—who was wearing a black ski mask. “Way to go above and beyond.”

  “You’re welcome. Now maybe you’ll see how valuable Austin and I are.”

  That was a big maybe, but I didn’t feel like contradicting him at the moment. With shaking fingers, I texted Cal the pictures.

  Not investigating. Minding own business when white SUV tailgated me from Wildcat Springs to bike shop in Richardville. Stepbrothers took pic of plate number and driver.

  I sent the message, shut my phone down, and dropped it in my purse since I couldn’t deal with a reprimand from Cal right now.

  “Seriously. Why was creepy ski-mask guy following you?” Preston crossed his arms. For once, my stepbrother’s voice held no mockery—only sincerity.

  I blew out a breath. “Last Friday I found one of my church’s pastors after he’d been poisoned, and he might’ve been trying to tell me something important before he died.”

  “Whoa. Two dead bodies,” Austin said. “We should stay away from her.” He glanced at his brother.

  “Thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “And technically, it’s one dead body. Zach died at the hospital.”

  “What’d he say before he died?” Preston asked.

  “Anchor.”

  Austin raised his eyebrows. “That’s it?”

  “Yep. He might’ve been hallucinating.”

  Preston looked over his shoulder in the direction that the SUV had fled. “The person who killed him doesn’t know that.”

  “Right.” They weren’t half bad at this sidekick gig.

  “Which could be why they’re coming after you.” Austin’s eyes widened, and he elbowed his brother. “Dude, it’s like a movie.”

  “Why tailgate me?” I gnawed my lip as I looked back and forth at them. “There are more explicit ways to warn someone to back off.”

  I’d experienced one or two in my time.

  “Unless the perp planned to run you off the road.” Preston looked at his brother, and understanding dawned in their wide-eyed expressions.

  “To make it look like an accident,” they said in unison.

  It didn’t seem that farfetched. After all, half of Wildcat Springs knew I went to Pizza Heaven for wings most Wednesday nights. I needed to do a better job of shaking up my routine.

  Austin bristled. “Don’t worry. We’ll protect you.”

  “Like we would Mak.” Preston threw his arm over my shoulder. “We’re family—whether you like it or not.”

  “Thanks.” I shivered, shoved my hands into my coat pockets, and glanced toward the bike shop. “Let’s get inside.”

  We hustled toward the brick building. In the window, a bike covered in multi-colored Christmas lights gave off a friendly glow. A woman with waist-length hair greeted us and led us to the tandem bikes in the back of the store, where she left us to weigh our options.

  I didn’t know about my stepbrothers, but I was having trouble concentrating. The three choices of tandem bikes seemed the same to me except for differences in color.

  After a couple of minutes of studying the signs, Preston sighed. “These are nice, but I don’t think Dad’ll go for any of them.”

  “I vote we keep shopping,” Austin said. “Georgia?”

  “Fine. Whatever you think.” My voice sounded far away. If I hadn’t taken a shortcut through the subdivision, how far would the driver have taken things?

  In a daze, I followed Preston and Austin out of the shop and out to our vehicles.

  “Have you heard back from your boyfriend about those pictures?” Austin stopped next to the Mustang’s trunk.

  “No. I shut my phone off. I don’t need him chewing me out.” As soon as the words slipped out, I wanted to shove them back in my mouth.

  “Why would he do that?” There was no mistaking the protective edge in Austin’s voice.

  Smooth, Georgia Rae. I sighed and explained about Cal misunderstanding my conversation with Doug Brockwell earlier in the day.

  My stepbrothers exchanged glances. “If he blows it with you, he’s an idiot,” Preston said.

  I studied Preston’s expression. Again—not even a hint of mockery. “That’s officially the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

  “Yep. I’m just that kind of guy.”

  Austin narrowed his eyes. “I’ll take him on if you want.” In spite of his pretty boy looks, he’d been an offensive lineman on Richardville High School’s football team, and Preston had played defense.

  “Thanks.” I smothered a giggle as I unlocked my truck and opened the door. “Cal and I will figure things out.”

  “Okay.” There was no mistaking the flicker of disappointment in Austin’s expression. “We’ll look for other bike options and let you know.”

  “Great.” I climbed in the truck.

  “We’re following you home.” Preston shut my door before I could protest.

  I waved and started the engine. As much as it pained me to admit it, my stepbrothers weren’t so bad after all.

  Chapter Ten

  When I arrived home, Cal was waiting in the driveway. Before I could even pull into the garage, Preston and Austin had hopped out of the Mustang and were hulking toward him. He’d been leaning against his car and whistling but straightened up when he realized the twins meant business.

  I jumped out of my truck and waved my arms. “Guys, that’s Cal.”

  They didn’t slow down. I raced over as Preston extended his hand. “Preston Farthing. This is Austin. We’re here to make sure Georgia’s okay.” He squared his shoulders as he and Cal shook.

  “Got to look out for family.” Austin crossed his arms and gave Cal the once-over.

  Cal looked back and forth between them. “Sounds like she needs it.”

  Thanks a lot. But after tonight, how could I disagree?

  Cal cleared his throat. “I ran the plate number you sent me.”

  “And?” I asked.

  My orange cat trotted over from his home in the barn to investigate and rub his head against my legs.

  “The SUV belongs to a seventy-six-year-old woman who’s been in the rehab hospital recovering from a broken hip for the past three weeks. Didn’t even know her vehicle was missing. Neither did her kids.” He surveyed Austin and Preston. “Good work on the pictures.”

  They puffed out their chests. “Thanks.”

  I pointed to the door. “You’re all welcome to come in.”

  “Thanks, but we’d better get home,” Preston said. “Take care.”

  “Yeah, we’ll leave you alone to make up.” Austin made a kissing noise before sauntering to Preston’s car.

  I longed for a crater to open up in my driveway, so I could disappear into oblivion. Instead, I bent down and petted the cat’s head.

  Cal chuckled as they zoomed away. “You told them we had a fight?”

  I stood and crossed my arms. “I may’ve let it slip that we had a disagreement. That’s why they were ready to jump you. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m glad they were looking out for you.” His eyes twinkled.

  “Now they think they’re my sidekicks for life.”

  “If you don’t investigate, you won’t need sidekicks.” He smirked.

  I opened my mouth to protest but snapped it shut. “Do you want to come in?”

  “I need to make sure everything’s okay,” he said.

  “I have a security system.”

  “Humor me.”

  “Okay.”

  We headed inside, where I disabled the system, and Cal checked every room in my house while I tended to Gus.

  When he finished, he came into the kitchen. “Everything’s fine. Sorry I was hard on you earlier today. Doug told me you were asking him
about using a doll for baby Jesus. I should’ve trusted you.” Cal met my eyes, and sincerity shone from his gaze.

  “Thank you. I accept your apology, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you why I was talking to him in the first place.” I ducked my head. “But I have a confession.”

  “What?” A slight edge returned to his tone.

  “I didn’t ask Doug anything about the case when you saw me, but later, I had to find him after I heard a mouse in the church basement. He looked upset, so since you were already mad at me, I asked him about Zach—and the word anchor.” I held up both hands. “I didn’t confront him about gambling, but he told me about Anchor Recovery Center anyway.”

  “You’ve known him for years. If he wanted to tell you, that’s his business.” He didn’t sound thrilled, but he clearly wasn’t as upset as he’d been earlier.

  “He wouldn’t have had to admit it. We talked about Zach resigning because he didn’t get along with Pastor Mark.”

  “You’d have heard about that sooner or later.” He laced his fingers through mine and pulled me closer. “I thought about the stuff you said—about me holding back.”

  “And?” I rested my hand on his chest.

  “I’ll cook dinner at my place if you’re free tomorrow night at seven. Does that work?”

  I met his eyes. “That’s perfect.” Finally. I’d get to see his apartment.

  He lowered his head.

  Buzzz. Buzzz.

  Cal stepped back. “Sorry.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. “My sister. She got LEGO sets for her kids.” He turned it toward me so I could see the pictures.

  “Those are cute.” Seriously? Was she in cahoots with Gus?

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket and then gave me a pleading, little-boy look. “Don’t forget I could use some help with Christmas decorating.”

  Cal lived in an apartment above an older gentleman’s garage on Park Street. A barren tree stretched its branches downward over the roof as if it were keeping a protective hand over the building.