Death Vetoes The Chairman (Lizzie Crenshaw Mysteries Book 7) Read online

  “Sure, no problem,” I said.

  “Good grief, what a mess the two of you are in,” Steve said when I got called him from home ten minutes later. “How is Jake holding up?”

  “Very annoyed.”

  “I have a feeling he’s more than annoyed. I’m afraid I can’t represent you, Lizzie. But I will call a collegue of mine and have her meet us there. She’s great; very tenacious. DA’s hate her, but the judges love her. Her name is Amanda Cox.”

  I thanked him and hung up. Opening the back door, I whistled for the dogs. Mittens came charging in and jumped in Aaron Bruns’ arms. The young officer laughed and put her back down. Babe came sauntering in, looked at Aaron, huffed, and flopped down on the floor by his feet. “Don’t take it personally,” I told him. “She’s that way with everybody.”

  “I used to volunteer at the shelter when Kathy Lowdermilk was alive,” he said quietly. “She was a real nice lady. Mittens and I are old friends, and I know how much she misses Kathy. It was good of you to adopt her.”

  “She’s a good companion for Babe,” I replied as I grabbed my bag and keys. “You two behave. I’ll be back in a little while.” Babe yawned while Mittens jumped on the couch, where she put her head on a pillow and sighed. At least somebody was going to be comfortable tonight. Oh geez, I was jealous of my dogs. I shook my head and left.

  “You realize that Owen sent me with you so no one can claim he gave you preferential treatment,” Aaron said as we got back in the car. “Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t allow a witness or potential suspect to leave the scene.”

  “I know,” I replied, “but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  I wish I could say that the rest of the night was a barrel of laughs. But it wasn’t. Despite the best efforts of Steve and Amanda, we spent the entire night at the station. Fingerprints, DNA samples, and the same questions over and over. By the time we finally got out of there, it was 7 a.m. “I know Owen is just doing his job,” Jake groused, “but even this seemed over the top.”

  “It’s better for the two of you that he did it that way,” Amanda said. “I don’t think he’ll be bothering you anymore after all that.” She stretched and checked the time. “Well, I’ve got a deposition at ten, so I better get going.” She took a business card out of a side pocket of her bag and handed it to me. “Call me if you need anything else.”

  “I will. And thanks for coming down on such short notice.”

  “That’s why they call it time and a half, sweetie,” she said as she walked toward her luxury sportscar.

  “That’s my cue to leave as well,” Steve said. “You two sure are keeping me busy. Maybe I need to open a branch office down here. I never knew there was so much crime in a small town.”

  “Neither did I,” Jake replied, shaking Steve’s hand. “You’re still coming for the poker game next weekend, right?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  As Steve drove off, Jake and I got into the Cooper. “I’m starving,” I remarked. “Should we stop by the café and get some breakfast?”

  “And risk being seen by the Gossip Queen?”

  “Screw her,” I said. “It’s been a long night, and I want food. If she gives me any grief, she’s going to be wearing more than sweet tea.”

  I drove the few blocks over to the town square. All of the parking places in front of the café were taken, so I made a loop around the block and parked in front of the bakery. As we got out of the car, a county patrol car cruised by us. We crossed the street and started to walk through the park. The patrol car came back and stopped in the middle of the street, and T.J. got out. “What are you two doing up so early in the morning?” he said as he walked over to us.

  Before I could answer, Jake said, “Well, we had a late night session at Lizzie’s place, and it left me famished. So we thought we would get something to eat.”

  T.J.’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed. “Really? Lots of work to do for the paper, I take it?”

  “Oh no, we were exchanging DNA samples all night.”

  I saw T.J. clinch his fist, and then POW! Jake hit the ground, and blood started to trickle down the side of his mouth. “T.J., what are you doing?” I gasped as Jake touched his face and saw the blood on his fingertips. “It’s not what you…”

  “Shut up, Lizzie,” Jake said, getting to his feet. “So this is how you want it, Roosevelt?”

  “Bring it, Mathias.”

  Jake raised his arms and took a fighter’s stance as he and Jake began to circle each other. I looked around, hoping no one would notice what was going on. Wishful thinking. Roscoe Danforth and Roger Tinsdall had been walking toward the café, but stopped when Jake hit the ground. One of them rushed into the café and pointed toward the park as he told them what was going on. People were coming out of the bakery, too. I saw Gladys hurrying over from the cafe. I groaned. I was never going to hear the end of this one.

  Jake threw two quick jabs at T.J.’s face, but he dodged out of the way, and countered with a right cross that connected with Jake’s nose. I swear I heard a crunching sound as he made contact. Jake staggered back for a second, then rushed at T.J., tackling him to the ground. He threw a couple of punches, hitting T.J. in the face before T.J. threw him off to the left. They both scrambled to their feet, hands up in front of their faces. A quick jab with the right had T.J. dodging to the left, and Jake caught him with a left hook right in the jaw. While T.J. was stunned briefly, Jake got in a couple of body shots, causing T.J. to double over as he stumbled backwards.

  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 yesterda
y,” 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.