Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7) (9 page)

While T.J. was bent over, Jake raised his knee and smashed T.J.’s nose. More bone crunching noises followed. Both of them were now bleeding from their noses, and T.J. had a cut over his left eye. He stood up and caught Jake with a leg sweep, and then stomped his ribs. Jake rolled to one side and curled up in a ball as he gasped for air. “Had enough, Mathias?” T.J. said as he stood over him.

The answer he got was an upward leg thrust to the chest. Jake got to his feet while it was T.J.’s turn to gasp for air. Jake followed that with an upper cut to T.J.’s jaw, sending him flying onto the merry-go-round, which caused it to spin a little.

The crowd was starting to get into it, with the exception of Gladys, who stood with her arms crossed, lips drawn in a thin line. She glared at me and shook her head. I just rolled my eyes and looked away.

T.J. slowly got up, and the two of them started circling each other again. They traded punches for a minute, and then T.J. gave Jake a karate kick to his right knee. Jake dropped to the ground, holding his knee and cursing up a storm. “That’s enough!” Owen yelled as he pushed his way through the crowd. “What are you two idiots doing?” He grabbed T.J. and yanked him away from Jake.

“Aw, come on, Owen,” Roscoe said, “things were just starting to get good. Let ‘em fight.”

“You all just get out of here,” Owen growled. “Fight’s over.”

There was plenty of grumbling from the crowd as they slowly dispersed. T.J. sat down on the merry-go-round again, his arms resting on his legs. Jake was still on the ground, holding his knee in obvious pain.

“Now, does someone want to tell me what the heck is going on here?” Jake and T.J. just glared at each other. “Fine. Lizzie, you want to tell me what happened?”

“Battle of the cavemen.”

“About what?”

“A stupid comment by one which was misunderstood by the other one,” I said disgustedly.

“Who started it?” They pointed at each other. “Who made the stupid comment?”

“He did,” T.J. said. “He implied that he slept with Lizzie last night.”

“Well, that would have been a pretty neat trick if he had,” Owen snorted.

“What do you mean?”

“He means,” I said, “that we were in separate interview rooms at the station all night. The only exchanging of DNA samples that happened went from my mouth onto a cotton swab!”

“But…but he…”

“Yes, I know,” I said hotly, “and he did it on purpose just to get under your skin. He was wound up because he was questioned all night and had his phone confiscated. And you fell for it…you idiot.” Jake started laughing until I gave him the stink eye, and his laughter faded away. “You’re both morons, complete and total morons.” I walked past them.

“Wait, where are you going?” Jake called out after me. “I need you to drive me to the emergency room. I’m pretty sure he broke my kneecap.”

“Serves you right,” I said. When I got to the Cooper, I went around to the passenger side, took Jake’s bag out, and closed the door. I walked back them, but stopped and dropped his bag in the middle of the street. “Find your own way to the emergency room.”

T.J. got up and walked toward me, gingerly holding his left side. “Lizzie, I’m sorry, really, I am.”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it.” I got into the car, started it, backed up and drove away. I saw T.J. watching me drive off with a sad puppy dog look on his face, but I didn’t care.

I was through with men.

After staying up all night, I was exhausted by the time I got home. I made scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, and took care of the dogs before I got into the shower. Then I crashed.

When I woke up, it was mid-afternoon. Since I didn’t plan on going into the office, I just left my pajamas on, put on my purple fuzzy slippers, and shuffled into the living room. I let the dogs out, made sure they had some food and water in their dishes, and plopped down on the couch to do some work. Turning on some music, I put on my headphones and jammed out while I worked on a couple of articles.

I was so focused on my work that I didn’t hear someone knocking on the front door. When I saw the front door open, I freaked out and screamed. I yanked the headphones off. “What are you two doing? Trying to give me a heart attack?!”

“I’m sorry,” T.J. replied. “You didn’t hear us knocking, and we could see you sitting there working. So I just used my key.”

“Remind me to take that key away from you. What are you two doing here?”

Both were wearing tape across their noses, and both had bruised knuckles. As Jake came in, I noticed he was favoring his left leg. “We brought you some supper,” he said. “I tried to call you earlier, but I guess you have your phone off.”

“It’s still in my bag. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, for obvious reasons.”

“We also came over to apologize,” T.J. said. “We both acted like complete jerks this morning.”

“No argument from me.”

“Well, we’re here to make it up to you,” he said. He held up a paper bag with handles. “Leon’s BBQ.”

“You are trying to kiss up,” I said, putting the computer on the coffee table. “Let’s eat while it’s hot.”

Ten minutes later, we were sitting at the kitchen table, chowing down. “So, who’s got the most broken bones?”

“Pretty even,” Jake said, taking a drink of water. “Each of us has a broken nose, and two bruised ribs. I got lucky with the knee, although they’re going to check it again once the swelling has gone down.”

“Have you two kissed and made up yet?”

“For the most part,” T.J. said.

“You do something this stupid again, and I’m done with both of you.” They nodded. “Has Owen made any progress on the case?”

“Can’t discuss it with you,” T.J. replied. “Besides, I haven’t been at the station since this morning. I went home and went to bed as soon as I got done at the hospital.”

“I stayed with him,” Jake said, “so I can verify that he didn’t receive any phone calls.”

“It sucks being left out,” I sighed. T.J.’s phone rang, and he went into the living room to answer the call. “Why did you goad him this morning?”

He shrugged, which made him wince. “I was punchy, I guess.”

“In more ways than one,” I said sarcastically.

T.J. came back into the kitchen. “Did you say something about wanting Ethan dead yesterday, Jake?”

“Who, me? No! Why?”

“Word has gotten out about our dead man, and a witness came forward this afternoon. She claims that you said the only way Ethan was going to leave Lizzie alone was if he was dead.”

“The nurse at Dr. Adams’ office,” I said. “She’s the only one who heard that.”

“Yeah, I said that, but I didn’t say
I
wanted to kill him.”

“Well, I hate to have to do this, but I’ve got my orders. I’m afraid I’m going to have to place you under arrest, Jake.”

“What!”

“That’s crazy,” Jake said, shaking his head.

“I don’t have a choice. Owen made it clear that I have to bring you in. I don’t have my cuffs with me, so I’m going to trust that you’re going to cooperate.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

I put my left hand on his arm. “Just go with him, Jake. I’ll call Steve, and have him meet you down at the station again. Don’t say anything until he gets there.”

He started to protest, but closed his mouth and stood up. He limped toward the front door, with T.J. right behind him, reciting his Miranda rights. T.J. turned back to look at me. “I’ll be back in a little while, Lizzie. Lock up after we leave. I’ll stay with him until Steve gets there.”

I nodded, and watched them walk out the door. T.J. was in his personal car, so he let Jake ride in the front seat with him. I waited until they had disappeared from view, then closed and locked the door. Grabbing my cell phone, I dialed an all too familiar number. “Hello, Steve? It’s Lizzie. We’ve got a problem.”

Chapter 13

T.J. never came back to the house, and I didn’t sleep well, wondering what was going on. With Jake in jail, I needed to be at the paper today. I just didn’t know how I was going to be able to handle being in my office.

At six-thirty, I parked in front of the café. I came early because I knew Gladys never showed up before eight. Boy, what a day to be wrong. She was already there, with Iris and Charlene, sitting at their usual table. If looks could kill, I would have been dead the minute she laid eyes on me.

Maddie came out of the kitchen carrying three plates. “My goodness! This is my morning for unusually early risers. Sit yourself down, Lizzie. I’ll be right with you.”

I sat in my usual booth and pulled out a folder with some research notes. When Maddie came over, I said, “I didn’t know she was going to be here this early.”

“I’m sure she’s thinking the same thing about you,” she laughed. “What are you doing here? I’m not used to seeing you before eight.”

“Busy day at work.”

“Hm, really? I thought maybe it had something to do with Jake being arrested last night.”

“Word is already out, huh?”

“A little bird may have whispered something into my ear about it.”

“Does she know yet?” I said, jerking my head in Gladys’ direction.

“Wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Maybellene Carruthers was on duty last night at the sheriff’s office. She’s a junior gossip queen. I’m sure she was on the phone with Gladys the minute they took Jake past her desk.”

“Maybe I’ll get lucky, and she’ll just ignore me.”

“And maybe world peace will happen all at once,” Maddie said sarcastically. “So, what would you like to eat?”

“Eggs, bacon and pancakes, please.”

“Hungry this morning, are we?”

“Long night.”

“I’ll bet, having your boyfriend arresting the ex-boyfriend.” I just looked at her. “Right, we’re not talking about it. I’ll go place your order.”

A few more people came in, and the noise level increased because of all the chatter about herds, crops, and football. Gladys continued to ignore me, for which I was very grateful. Maddie brought my food out, and I ate while I went over my notes.

“I wonder if we’re going to have another floor show like we had yesterday,” Roscoe said from his corner table. I rolled my eyes and kept eating. “So what’s it like having two men fighting over you, Lizzie?”

“Like winning the lottery, Roscoe.”

He laughed, as did a few other people. “Don’t know what I’d do if two women fought over me.”

“What woman would have you?” Roger replied.

“Hey, I’m a good catch. I own my own farm, and I got my own John Deere tractor. What more does a woman need?”

“The good sense to run in the other direction,” Roger snorted.

It took Gladys ten minutes after that exchange before she started to be annoying. “I got a call from Maybellene last night,” she said, trying her best not to glance in my direction, “and you won’t believe what she told me.”

“Must have been pretty good to call at night,” Charlene replied. “I know she was working down at the sheriff’s office last night.”

“Oh, she was,” Gladys confirmed, “and they had a hot call. There’s been another murder in town.”

Iris gasped. “Oh my Lord, I hope it wasn’t anyone we know.”

Gladys shook her head. “We’ve never met him, although we’ve heard plenty about him lately, thanks to
certain
people.” She didn’t look at me, but Charlene and Iris did. They looked away quickly when they saw me staring back.

“Well, don’t keep it a secret, woman,” Roscoe said from his table. “You’re just burstin’ at the seams to tell somebody, so spit it out.”

“It seems that
somebody
…” everyone looked at me this time, “found Ethan Winthrop dead on Dale Gordon’s front porch night before last.”

Several people gasped. “But I thought Dale sold his house,” Charlene said. “I heard he’s leaving town for good. Sold the newspaper, too.”

“I don’t believe it,” Roscoe declared. “That man belongs here, like the rest of us.”

“I only know what I was told, Roscoe,” Charlene replied. “My sources are rarely wrong.”

A snort was heard after that comment, and when I looked over, I realized I was the one who snorted. I shrugged, and turned my attention back to my work.

“Anyway,” Gladys said, taking control of the conversation again, “Maybellene said that someone had dressed Mr. Winthrop up as a scarecrow, and propped his body up on the front porch. The crime scene was also contaminated because someone threw up after they found his body.”

“Do they have any idea how he died?” Roscoe wanted the gory details.

“Gun shots.”

“In the heart?” he said. “Come on, woman, don’t hold back.”

“Well, Maybellene heard that poor Mr. Winthrop was shot several times. They aren’t sure yet which one was the fatal wound.”

Roscoe whistled. “Someone didn’t like that man.”

They all looked at me again.

“That isn’t all,” Gladys said. “They’ve got the killer on video.”

“No!” Iris said.

Gladys nodded. “The video shows the scarecrow in the back of the truck, plain as day. The heartless killer stopped to gas up his truck after killing the poor man.”

“But do they know who the killer is?” Roscoe asked.

“Oh yes, they know. He’s sitting in jail right now.”

“Ol’ Owen’s really on the ball with this one,” he said. “Glad to hear he got a crazy killer off the streets. So, who is it?”

“They arrested Jake Mathias. I always knew that man was no good,” Gladys said smugly, proud that her prediction had come true.

“Gladys Norwell, you are full of crap,” Maddie said. She was standing behind Gladys holding a pitcher of ice water.

I thought Gladys was going to fall out of her chair. “I didn’t know you were standing there, Madelyn,” she replied. I had never heard anyone use Maddie’s Christian name before. “And I’m not lying. If you don’t believe me, ask her.” She pointed at me, and once again, everyone turned my way.

“Well, Lizzie, is what she says true?” Maddie demanded. “Did Jake kill that man?”

“I’m afraid he has been arrested,” I confirmed. Everyone started talking at once.

“I still don’t believe it,” Maddie said stubbornly. “That man is as gentle as a lamb. He wouldn’t hurt, much less kill, anyone.”

“She just confirmed he’s been arrested,” Gladys said, clearly exasperated with Maddie’s defense of Jake. “How much more proof do you need? Especially after that display he put on in the park yesterday morning. It’s obvious the man has a violent nature.”

“Did anyone see him do it?” Maddie replied, her grip on the pitcher of water tightening.

“Of course not,” Gladys scoffed. “Did you expect him to do it in the town square so everyone could see him do it? Really, Madelyn, you aren’t thinking very clearly. I realize you are fond of the man, but…”

She was cut off by water being thrown in her face by Maddie herself this time. “Get out of my café, Gladys, and don’t come back until you can keep a civil tongue in your head.”

“How dare you!” Gladys sputtered as she stood up. Ice cubes fell to the floor, and she grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser. “I wouldn’t come back in here if you paid me. You’re defending a killer, for crying out loud! He shot a man several times, front and back. Obviously, Mr. Winthrop tried to get away, but Jake kept after him. And why did he do it?” She stomped over to my table. “Because of her! Any woman who carries on with two men at the same time can’t be trusted. She can make a man do anything she wants them to. Did you see the look on her face as they tried to beat each other to death yesterday? I’ve never seen such a disgusting display of animalistic behavior in my life. And for what? What’s so special about her? Who would want her? I mean, look at her family tree. A cold, heartless man like Amos Gardner for a grandfather, and a crazy serial killer for an aunt.” She pointed her finger at me. “In fact, how do we know
she
didn’t kill Ethan Winthrop? She killed her aunt, didn’t she? I’d say that makes her a very viable suspect. In fact, I’d say that would make her the
only
suspect!”

I slid out of the booth and stood in front of her. I never realized that I was a few inches taller than she was until this moment. “Gladys, you…are…an…idiot,” I said, deliberately saying each word slowly. “First of all, I killed Debra in self-defense. If I hadn’t killed her, she would have killed three innocent people. She shot me that night, or have you forgotten that?” She snorted. “And as for that fight yesterday morning, I didn’t make them do anything, nor did I enjoy it one bit, unlike the rest of you bloodthirsty lot in here. I have spent months not dating anyone. Jake and I dated in college, but right now, we’re just friends. He may be a royal pain in my butt, but I would rather have him in my corner than
you
any day of the week. He’s not a fair weather friend, and he’s there through the good and the bad. And you know why I broke up with T.J. For the last three weeks, I have walked around here on eggshells, because I was trying to deal with something that is very personal. And you have done your best to make me feel like some cheap floozy with your lies and innuendos about what is going on, instead of coming to me and asking for the truth.” I turned and scanned all the faces in the café. “Maybe it’s time you knew the truth.”

Maddie came over to stand beside me. “Don’t do it, Lizzie. It’s none of their business,” she said, placing a gnarled hand on my arm.

I smiled and patted her hand. “It’s okay, Maddie, really.” I took a deep breath. “At that fundraiser that Gladys mentioned a few days ago, the one where she said I made a fool of myself. I’m sure some of you heard what I said about that, especially if you were in here the last time we had this discussion. I was assaulted by Ethan Winthrop.” The front door opened, and there stood T.J., and behind him was Jake. “When Jake found out, he came to my defense and punched him. A week later, Ethan showed up in my office, and he assaulted me again.” I took off my jacket and pushed up my sleeves. “Remember these? Ethan did this to me. T.J. threatened to arrest him if he didn’t leave me alone. I’ve been hiding in my house because I can’t stand to be in my office, because I see him there, and I keep reliving what he tried to do to me.  I don’t believe for a minute that Jake killed him, but if he did, I’d say he was justified.” I looked at Gladys. “This is something that no woman wants to make public, but you didn't leave me much of a choice, did you, Gladys? Now, does that satisfy your need to know every damn thing that goes on in this town? Or do you need more, you nasty old goat?”

You could have heard a pin drop in the café as I stuffed my things into my bag, put my jacket back on, paid for my breakfast, and left with T.J. and Jake. “Feel better?” T.J. said, taking my bag from me.

“It was a little therapeutic, but there is one other thing I wish I had done.”

“What’s that?” Jake said.

“Punched her in the face.”