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  Death Catches a Killer

  A Lizzie Crenshaw Mystery

  By

  Teresa Watson

  Death Catches a Killer

  A Lizzie Crenshaw Mystery

  By Teresa Watson

  Copyright 2013 Teresa L. Watson

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Acknowledgements

  This one did not turn out as long as I wanted to, but longer than the other four books. I’m slowly stretching it out!

  As always, my thanks go out to my support crew:

  My everlasting gratitude to Jamie Livingston-Dierks for designing another awesome cover, her awesome formatting skills, and her never-ending support.

  My son: brainstorming partner, sounding board, whip cracker.

  Kristi Spinks: proofreader, editor, brainstorming partner.

  My proofreaders/editors: Kathy Evans, Corey Damerell, Kim Lynch Frederick, Mom and Dad.

  To my husband, my strong, silent partner, who shakes his head and laughs at the crazy things I make my characters do.

  To all my readers, who have embraced Lizzie and the characters of Brookdale. Thank you for the wonderful comments and emails you send me!

  Dedication

  I dedicate this book to my son, James. I am so blessed to have you in my life. I cannot believe you are going to graduate from high school in a month! I have watched you grow into a wonderful, kind, caring and thoughtful young man. Even though I probably don’t say it enough, I am proud of the man you have become. The world is wide open for you, and the possibilities are endless. Follow your dreams, keep God in your heart always, and follow the Golden Rule.

  You are the light of my life, and I love you very much.

  Love, Mama

  Prologue

  Debra Cosgrove glanced in the rear view mirror as she drove I-44 through Missouri. She had barely managed to escape Kentucky by the skin of her teeth. Someone had been taking pot shots at her for two weeks, and despite all her knowledge and expertise, she had been unable to find the person responsible.

  She had spent nearly two decades as a hired assassin (she was not a serial killer, as the FBI claimed), and she knew how to make herself blend into a crowd in order to carry out a contract: wigs, glasses, padding to make herself appear heavier, Spanx to look thinner, different styles of clothing to appear as ordinary as possible wherever she went.

  Changing lanes to go around a semi, Debra glanced in the mirror again. A dark-colored truck that was a couple of cars back seemed to be tailing her. They were going a bit slower than she was, but staying close enough to keep her in sight. It was time to find out if they were really tailing her or just going in the same general direction.

  After getting around the semi, she moved back into the right lane, maintaining her speed at 72 mph. A couple of minutes later, the truck appeared in the left lane. She slowed down just a little bit, forcing the Nissan Sentra behind her to quickly get in the left lane to avoid hitting Debra from behind. The truck was forced to tap his brakes to keep from hitting the Sentra, and she sped up to 75 mph.

  The truck kept up with her, confirming her suspicions. A green highway sign told her she was close to one of the main Joplin exits. Waiting until the last second, she swerved onto the off-ramp. She checked the mirror. The truck was stuck in the left lane and wouldn’t unable to get over in time to follow her.

  Thank God for technology. Using her iPhone, she got the address and directions for a car rental agency. Thirty minutes later, she was on the road again, this time in a dark blue Chrysler 300. After picking up the car, she had changed her appearance: long, black wig, brown contacts, glasses, white collared shirt with a black vest, blue jeans and black cowboy boots.

  As she crossed the state line into Oklahoma, Debra checked the rear view mirror for the truck, but she didn’t see it. Breathing a sigh of relief, she relaxed in her seat and settled in for the long drive to her next destination.

  She had a bad feeling it might be her final destination.

  Vinnie Amato pounded the steering wheel in frustration. He had wasted two hours trying to pick up Debra’s trail, but had crapped out. Peter Greco, his boss in New York, was not going to be happy about this turn of events. In the parking lot of a Taco Bell, Vinnie pulled out his phone and dialed his boss’ number.

  “Tell me you got her,” Greco said when he answered the phone.

  “Not yet, sir.”

  “Why not?”

  “I lost her.”

  “Where?”

  “Joplin, Missouri.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I think I know where she is headed, sir.”

  “You think?! I’m not paying you to think, Vinnie. I’m paying you to take care of this problem.”

  “Have I ever let you down?”

  “Need I remind you of what just happened?”

  “That wasn’t my fault. If you hadn’t saddled me with that idiot nephew of yours, things would have gone much differently.”

  “How my genius sister ended up with a moron son like that, I’ll never understand,” Peter grumbled.

  “Do you think he is going to talk?” Vinnie said, watching a blonde woman walk out of Taco Bell and get into a 2013 candy apple red Corvette.

  “I sent Larry Wilson down there to deal with Al. He’ll make sure Al doesn’t say anything. He better! I pay him enough money to handle my legal affairs. Now we just have to deal with our other problem.”

  “Like I said, I think I know where she’s going,” Vinnie replied. “I’m familiar with the area.”

  “Then take care of it, Amato, or I’ll be sending someone to take care of you,” Peter said before he hung up.

  Vinnie got out of the car just as the blonde drove away. He’d get some food and gas before heading for the one place he thought that crazy Debra Cosgrove would go.

  Brookdale.

  Chapter 1 - Thursday

  I was sitting in my office at the newspaper, reading over Bruce’s story about a drug bust on the outskirts of town that had taken place two days ago. Two good old boys, Ray Don Willard, 22, and Jimmy Lynch, 21, had been growing some marijuana on some deserted farm land. After testing some of their product, Ray Don had driven into town for some food, hit a parked patrol car in front of the donut shop, and had led Sheriff Owen Greene and two of his officers on a high speed chase…straight back to the farm. Ray Don and Jimmy had been arrested, and their plants confiscated.

  Jimmy wasn’t happy that Ray Don had led police straight to their stash, and tried to deck him before Owen could get the cuffs on him. Unfortunately, he had missed, and hit Owen right in the face. I had seen him shortly after that, and he had a black eye and tape over his broken nose.

  The drug bust had bumped the news of Al Sherman’s arrest to page two. He had been arrested for the murder of Kathy Lowdermilk, owner of the local pet shelter, and the attempted murder of Diana Winston, who had been the intended target. Al had killed Kathy by mistake, because she looked a lot like Diana. Mittens, Kathy’s Maltese, had been in the office when she was killed, and with the hel
p of my bloodhound Babe, had helped catch Al when he showed up at the hospital to kill Diana, who was injured the previous evening by a hit and run driver.

  Bruce stuck his head in my office. “Did you finish reading over my article?”

  “Yes, I did. It’s very good. I would call Owen for a follow up, see if you can find out how many pounds of marijuana they confiscated, street value. Also ask him if he thinks this is becoming a growing problem in our area.”

  “It’s a growing problem everywhere, not just here,” Bruce said, taking the papers from me.

  “Do you know something about it?”

  “Just little things I’ve heard around town, nothing definite.”

  “Would you be interested in doing an article about it?”

  “You bet!”

  “Why don’t you see what else you can find out, and talk to Owen and his deputies for their opinions. Reach out to other police departments in the county. Get back to me with it in two weeks, and we’ll see what you’ve got.”

  “Great!” Bruce said as he left.

  As I made a note on my calendar about it, Ellen knocked on my door. “Lizzie? This package just came for you.”

  “Who’s it from?”

  “Doesn’t say,” she replied, putting it in the center of my desk. “Maybe it’s some notes from Dale about what you’re doing wrong with his newspaper.”

  I snorted. “If it is, I’ll send it back and tell him what he can do with them.”

  She laughed. “Has he said anything about when he is coming back?”

  I shook my head. “No clue. You’d have to ask Jake. He talks to Dale more than I do.”

  “I don’t want you to think that you aren’t doing a good job. You and Jake are doing great. But I kind of miss the old man.”

  Laughing, I reassured her I wasn’t offended. “With everything that has happened to me in the last few months, I wouldn’t mind a vacation,” I said as the phone on my desk started ringing. “Lizzie Crenshaw.”

  “Lizzie!” my mother, Amelia Crenshaw, yelled, causing me to hold the phone away from my ear for a moment. “I have some wonderful news! I got married!”

  I nearly dropped the phone. “You what?!” Ellen looked at me but I waved her out of the office, and she closed the door as she left. “You want to run that by me again? I thought I heard you say you got married.”

  “I did! He is a wonderful man; you’ll like him.”

  I heard a loud whistle in the background. “Where are you?”

  “In Galveston. We’re going on a honeymoon cruise.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “I never kid about anything, Lizzie, you know that,” my mother admonished.

  “Who is this man you married? Where did you meet him? How long have you known him?”

  “I don’t have time to play twenty questions. I just wanted to let you know what was going on, and to ask you to check on the house while I’m gone. I should be back in a month or so.”

  “A month?!” I said, but the dial tone told me I was talking to dead air. Sighing, I hung up the phone. “She’s lost her mind.”

  “Who’s lost her mind?” a male voice said from the office door.

  I looked up. “Dale!”

  Chapter 2

  “Is that what I look like sitting behind that desk?” he said as he came in.

  I jumped out of my chair, went around the desk and gave him a hug. “I can’t believe it’s really you! Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?”

  “I wasn’t for sure myself until a couple of days ago. Besides, where I was staying, there wasn’t a lot of communication equipment.”

  “Where were you?”

  “I’m not telling you,” he laughed. “I’m keeping it a secret so I will have somewhere to run when I need another sanity break.”

  “Does Jake know you’re here?”

  Dale shook his head. “I came here first.”

  “Please, sit down. You want some coffee?”

  “No thanks, I’m good,” he said, sitting down in one of the visitors’ chairs. “So, how are things going?”

  “You mean with the paper or with life in general?”

  “Let’s start with the paper and work our way up, shall we?” he laughed. “I’m not sure I can handle hearing more about your crazy life.”

  “I’m sure Jake has kept you updated, hasn’t he?”

  Dale nodded. “Pretty much. You two have done a great job with the paper, and you’ve certainly raised the readership levels.”

  “Too many dead bodies around here lately.”

  “I agree with you. Have you become a death magnet or something?”

  “I don’t think it’s my fault. I’m not going around killing people.”

  “No, it’s that crazy aunt of yours. Have you heard from her lately?”

  I bit my lip, debating what to tell him. I hadn’t told anyone about the phone call I had received from her, or about the gunshots I had heard right after she said someone was trying to kill her. It was at that moment that I remembered she had mentioned a package, and my focus shifted to the box that Ellen had left on my desk. “No, not lately,” I lied.

  “Maybe she’s finally gone for good.”

  “With her, you just never know.”

  “How’s your mother?”

  “She called just before you walked in. She got married!”

  “You’re kidding!”

  I shook my head. “Nope. She said he was a wonderful man, and she was sure that I would like him. They are leaving from Galveston on a honeymoon cruise.” I grabbed my purse from the bottom drawer and stood up. “Which reminds me, I need to run by her house and make sure everything is locked up.” I picked up the box and moved toward the door. “There’s an article on my desk that Bruce wrote. Could you finish editing it and get it back to him? I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  “Um, sure, I guess.”

  “Thanks, Dale. It’s great to have you back!”

  Ten minutes later, I was sitting in a corner booth at the Eat it or Starve café, a glass of sweet tea to my right, and the package, still unopened, sitting in front of me. Everyone has a natural curiosity about unknown things, and I was no exception. But as I continued to stare at that box, I strongly considered burning it.

  When a person believes they are in danger, a strong survival instinct kicks in. Every time I get involved with Debra Cosgrove, my half-aunt, self-confessed murderer of her father (and my grandfather), Amos Gardner, I end up in a life or death situation. The last time she was in town, she blew up a FBI agent’s truck, nearly killing the agent and me. Then I accidentally got shot when I stopped her from killing an undercover FBI agent, whom I believed at the time was just one of Owen’s deputies. Ignore the fact that I had been dating him; he had just been using me just to get information. I really don’t want to go through all that again.

  After I heard the gunshots when I was talking to her, the phone had gone dead. I hadn’t told anyone about the call, mainly because I wasn’t sure what to believe. We’re talking about a woman who killed people for a living – a hired killer. Lying is a way of life for her. I had no idea if what she was telling me was true or not, and while I had done nothing to assist the FBI in apprehending her, that didn’t mean I wanted to see her killed. Yes, I realize I didn’t know that much about her, but there was a part of me that felt sorry for her.

  “That box isn’t going to open itself,” Jake Mathias said. I looked up to seeing him standing by my table. “I’ve been watching you from across the room for five minutes. Are you afraid something is going to jump out and bite you when you open it?”

  “Of course not,” I said, moving the box next to me in the seat. “Dale’s back. Have you talked to him?”

  “Not yet. I thought I would get something to eat first before I went to the office. He did call me as I pulled up to the café. He said you rushed out of there like you were upset about something. After watching you staring at that box, I’m inclined to agree with hi
m.”

  “My mother called me this morning,” I said, changing the subject again. “You aren’t going to believe what she did.”

  “She ran over Gladys Norwell?”

  “Everyone’s favorite dream come true, but alas, no. She is about to board a cruise ship on her honeymoon.”

  “Her honeymoon? You mean she got married?!”

  I nodded. “She said I would like him, and asked me to check on her house while she is gone.”

  “Wow. I knew your mother liked to do things on the spur of the moment, but marriage? How long has she known the guy? What’s his name?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” I said as Maddie came over to take our order.

  After she took our order, she said, “Is it true that Dale Gordon is back in town, Lizzie?”

  “Just got back into town this morning.”

  “How is he?”

  “Fine, I guess. He looked well-rested.”

  “Dang well should after being gone for almost five months. You tell him to come see me the first chance he gets. I’ll cook his favorite meal for him.”

  “Yes ma’am, I sure will,” I assured her as she walked off.

  “Ok, we’ve managed to avoid the elephant at the table for five minutes,” Jake said. “Now, what’s in the box?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Who sent it?” I bit my lip. “No answer means you know but don’t want to tell me, or you don’t know and are afraid to find out.”

  “It’s…complicated.”

  “Define complicated.”

  “Debra Cosgrove.”

  “That’s definitely complicated.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you would force me to tell Owen.”

  “Of course I would! I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “I’m not going to get hurt.”

  Jake pulled out his phone. “Then let’s avoid all the middle stuff and call him now.”

  Chapter 3