Double Trouble in Iowa Page 17

  He made a face. "Let's just say the wedding is off."

  "I'm sorry to hear that." Despite my curiosity about how and when that happened, I couldn't think of a noninvasive way of asking specifics.

  He shook his head. "We were never compatible. Besides, I think my girls are thrilled about it. They never cared for her." When he waved and looked behind me, I turned around and immediately recognized the girls from their picture. "Here they are." They gathered around their dad giving him a hug. "Girls, this is Izzy, that artist I was telling you about."

  "Hi, ladies. I'm glad the whole family came."

  "I'm Abby, and I'd love to see your artwork," one of the girls said. "I've been looking for something for my new apartment in Iowa City."

  "My temporary storefront is over there, but let me grab my friend." I motioned for Jefferson to come over. "This is Jefferson, he's got a studio in Iowa City, but I'm sure he'd love to give you ladies a tour of what we have here."

  "Dad, come on with," the girls said as their father chuckled.

  "I'm right behind you girls. That's code word for 'Dad, do you have any money?' And it works every time, too. I don't know what I'd do without them, especially after my wife died." He got a hint of a tear in his eyes. "Those girls are my life. I'm feeling a little nostalgic with my youngest going off to college in the fall."

  "I'm so sorry about your wife. If I may ask, how did she die?"

  "She had a bad asthma attack. I called 9-1-1, but they couldn't keep her stabilized."

  I re-processed what Trixie had said about what had happened and about how she'd characterized Peter's relationship with his wife. Then again, that was the way of gossip. Every person added their own little slant to the information. But it sure sounded like he'd been at home rather than gambling when his wife had gotten sick. I needed to get the details, so I decided to dig further.

  "You were home at the time?"

  "Of course. I stayed home from work. She was having trouble breathing, and I didn't want to leave her. She was never one to complain, so it was hard to gauge how bad she was."

  "She seems like she might have been the exact opposite of Margaret." When he smiled, I figured I hadn't overstepped my boundaries. "Truth is, you look much happier without her."

  "You've got that right." He laughed as he walked away. I could scratch him off my suspect list for sure.

  Now to mosey around my next victim—I mean suspect. Before I could sniff out Delbert, Zora tracked me down and yanked on my arm. The woman wouldn't leave me alone. And that couldn't be good.

  "I'm getting some really bad mojo here. Where's your gris-gris bag?"

  A guilty flush crept up my face. "I…think…I left it in the studio—"

  "Hurry and get it before it's too late." She then flitted away like I had the plague.

  Her reaction worried me enough that I went back to the storefront and secured the bag from the back table where I'd left it. Feeling a bit paranoid after her scary prediction, I tied it on my belt as a weird looking fashion accessory before I went in search of Delbert.

  The crowd had swelled in my short absence, and the sun started to go lower in the sky. Jeremy had set up multicolor lights around the beer/bingo tent perimeter, bringing much needed illumination to the festivities. The ladies were occupied with Trixie and a red-hot bingo game going on, which put my mind to rest at least a little.

  Jefferson and Mason were charming Peter and his girls, while I went in search of a killer. All signs pointed to Delbert. I had to wonder if the bartender he was flirting with might be his accomplice—not that I believed everything Zora said, but the woman could be spooky accurate at times, so it remained within the realm of possibilities.

  Finally, I spotted Delbert, and he was talking with the trashy bartender from the other night. While I was trying to decide how to approach him, Cindy Begay joined them, and he turned to kiss her on the cheek.

  Apparently, she'd brought along her brother Chaz because he'd walked up right after her. What was he doing here? Granted, he knew about it, but I hadn't expected him to show. Cindy looked evil, even from here, but could she be working with Delbert? They seemed awfully friendly but would definitely be an odd pairing.

  While my hope was to gather all the suspects in one place, I didn't think they'd all show up. Now that they were here, I didn't quite know what to do with them.

  Since I didn't want to poke Chaz any more than I had to, instead of approaching Delbert now, I decided to bide my time. I kept a low profile and positioned myself by one of the posts holding up the tent. Gabe strolled inside, didn't spot me, and walked up to both Delbert and Chaz, shaking their hands. Then he gave Cindy and the trashy bartender a hug.

  Their friendliness made me a little paranoid and didn't bode well for what might happen if Delbert was indeed the killer. If I found evidence, would Chaz pursue Delbert? Despite the challenges in getting him charged, I'd figure out some way to work around their potential collusion.

  For now, I observed and tried to pick up on anything I could. If I kept off their radar, I'd be fine. I inched as close as I could in order to overhear their conversation without catching their attention. Luckily, the huge crowd worked in my favor, while at the same time, it worked against me. If I got too close, they'd spot me, but at this distance, I couldn't get the gist of their conversation, only a word here and there. None of that helped me. I needed to get Delbert separated from the others. This time, I wouldn't beat around the bush. Instead, I'd lay out my suspicions and gauge his reaction.

  I glanced toward the Qs to make sure they were okay. They were in the throws of a wild bingo run, but I didn't spot Trixie. No doubt she'd found something more interesting to occupy her time. As I contemplated how to achieve my objective, Delbert broke away from the group and walked my way.

  "Delbert, glad you decided to come." Nothing could have stopped me from jumping into this full steam ahead, especially now that it seemed like everyone was aligned on the opposite side.

  He glanced around like he was looking for some kind of backup. But his trashy bartender must have escaped to the ladies' room. No way would he get away that easily. I had him exactly where I wanted him—trapped in a crowd where he couldn't do anything but listen to my litany of grievances—gloves off.

  "What do you want, Ms. Lewis?" He gave me an intimidating stare with an I'm-so-smart, follow-up eye roll. "I did a little research and found out that everyone knows you like to start trouble."

  His words were meant to wound me, and the old me would have succumbed. "If what you mean by starting trouble is making sure the guilty person is arrested for the crime, I guess that's true. That's exactly what I do."

  "Really? If you think I killed Lori, you're out of your mind. What we had was a fling that ended over a year ago. There was nothing going on between us." His face had morphed from somber to red in the space of twenty seconds, making him look even angrier.

  Was it weird that I had this sense of elation swimming inside me? "What about her threatening to expose your dirty dealings if you didn't marry her?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Don't act so surprised that I know what happened between you two." I both sounded and acted smug. The look on his face only made me bolder—especially when surrounded by a crowd.

  "Lori was delusional. She made up stories all the time."

  "Like you'd be the first cheater to accuse the woman of lying. Do you really expect me to believe that?"

  He moved close in that classic way of intimidation, but I was on to him and didn't back down. "I don't really care what you believe. I'm the county attorney, and I can do pretty much anything I want, including making you disappear."

  "I'm sorry, is that a threat?" I got in his face, mimicking his stance. Before I could give myself a giant high five for my stellar intimidation pose, Jefferson rushed up next to me.

  "Izzy, we have a bit of a problem." He grasped my arm while Delbert took the opportunity to slip away. I was glad to have the reprieve, rega
rdless of what the problem might be, but figured I'd better watch my back.

  "Thanks for the save." I snuggled in close. "Delbert was being such a jerk and threatening—" He stopped my words with pressure on my arm.

  "The Qs are missing," he whispered into my ear as Mason stepped alongside him.

  My breath caught while my fingers trembled. "What do you mean? They're playing bi…" I glanced at the table they'd occupied not ten minutes earlier, but they'd disappeared.

  "Gabe said Viola's not answering her phone and asked me where you were and then where they were. I told him I didn't know, but I'd find you."

  I sucked in a breath and tried to think while I attempted to keep myself from screaming. "Where did you look?"

  "Mason went outside while I checked inside the tent and down the block. Gabe had already checked upstairs at your place and tried to call Viola several times without a response. He's headed to her house now."

  "I'll check the ladies—" Before I could finish, my phone pinged. I glanced at the readout and spotted a text from Viola. "We're here, but where are you? We're stuck."

  I showed it to both of them as a lump formed in my throat. "Where could they be stuck?" Mason asked.

  I started to text them back, but Jefferson stopped me. "Based on that, I have to think they believe you sent them a message. If your phone has been hijacked, which I suspect it might have been, hers might have been compromised too. Whoever sent them a text will be able to see what you write, so leave it be for now."

  "They wouldn't have gone far." I forced myself to think rationally, even while everything inside me couldn't process anything but overwhelming terror.

  Jefferson slipped his arm around my shoulders. "Let's think logically. They're okay and don't realize what happened, so they've got to be some place where they feel safe."

  "That means someplace we haven't checked that's close by," Mason added.

  "How about Otis's?" Although they had closed up the bar and relocated to the street tent, it was the only place I could think of. "I guess they could have gone home and had Henry drive them, but Gabe is headed there, so he'll find them and let us know."

  We raced together across the street. My heart felt permanently lodged in my throat.

  They have to be there. If they weren't, I couldn't imagine where they might have been sent to. Or maybe I didn't want to think about it.

  I jiggled the front doorknob, but, as expected, it was locked. Then I pounded on the glass as tears began to swim in my eyes. I tried not to think of all the things that could have happened to them.

  "I didn't think they'd…" I couldn't finish the words without breaking into sobs.

  "Did you hear that?" Jefferson put his ear to the glass, and I followed suit. "Isn't that a knocking sound coming from inside?"

  I nodded, afraid to hope too much. "Let's go around the back." I started running before I finished talking. I had to hope Jefferson was onto something. A few cars remained in back, and I spotted an old Chevy Suburban pulling away as I went around the corner of the building. I didn't have time to mess with it right now.

  When we got to the back, there were more noises coming from inside. I was pretty sure I heard the Qs. Based by the incessant chatter, they sounded okay. Before I took a breath, I needed to see them.

  A board had been propped against the back door, keeping the handle from working, and a full can of gas had been placed outside the door. Whether it was meant to be used or simply to scare me, I got the message loud and clear.

  I tossed the board to the ground, grabbed the doorknob, and threw it open. Relief made my knees a little weak.

  "The door was stuck," Alice said looking and sounding annoyed rather than scared. I was never so happy to see their four faces before in my life and hugged them all each in turn.

  "But—" Jefferson stopped me from saying anything more by putting his hand on my arm. "Don't go there," he whispered. "Not yet."

  He had a point. I was already unhinged by what happened. Did I really want them to be unhinged as well? I needed to fill them in, but first, I had to get myself together.

  "Why did you go into Otis's kitchen?" I forced my voice to work.

  "You sent us a text," Viola said as she stared at me.

  Somebody had locked them up for the sole purpose of rattling me. But Gus was in jail, and Delbert was talking to me the whole time. I'd spotted Cindy chatting with Chaz and had already eliminated Peter. But Zora mentioned a partner. Could their partner have orchestrated a ploy to get me off track? But who was their partner?

  Didn't matter.

  No way would I back off now. War had been declared once they started messing with the Qs.

  This was so much scarier than I'd originally thought. Looking puzzled, the Qs glanced at each other and then to me. Tears dotted my lashes.

  What have I done?

  "I didn't send any of you a text." I sucked in my bottom lip to keep myself from crying.

  "Of course you did," Viola said as she showed me her phone.

  Strategy meeting at Otis's kitchen ASAP. The message appeared to come from my number. Jefferson, Mason, and I examined the text and confirmed what the ladies had said. Chills broke along my arms.

  Jefferson's expression remained grim as he looked at the women. "It's possible that Izzy's phone has been compromised."

  "Compromised? What does that mean?" Ramona asked.

  "It's called ID spoofing and can be done in various ways, mostly by getting cloud access," Mason said.

  Dolly chuckled. "This sounds a little like one of those Tom Cruise movies or something."

  "This means we have to be more careful," Viola added.

  "Viola, Gabe called you, and you didn't answer. Check for any missed calls," Mason said.

  She glanced at her phone and checked the readout. "Nothing."

  "Did your phone go missing at any time that you can remember?" Jefferson asked while I chewed on my lip until I broke through the skin.

  "Now that you mention it, our purses did get shuffled around a bit while we were playing bingo. Mine ended up under the table near the end of the row closer to where Dolly was sitting. I didn't think much about it at the time."

  Alice shook her head. "We're getting too close for comfort. There's no other reason for these kinds of hijinks."

  "Exactly." I held up my hands to stop what would surely be a litany of strategies to counteract what had just happened. "We need to back off before one of us gets hurt. Since this happened today, it's clear Gus isn't the murderer, but we need to let Chaz and Nate figure this out."

  Ramona placed her hands on her hips. "I've never been one to buckle to intimidation, and I'm not about to start now."

  "It could be that they thought little old ladies would be easily intimidated," Dolly added.

  "They were wrong about that," Viola said.

  I had a full-on revolt on my hands. Short of tying them up, I wouldn't be able to stop them. Once again, I was charged with mitigating any potential harm.

  "Let's go back to the party and see if any of our suspects are missing. That might give us a clue as to what we're dealing with," I said. "And until I can untangle my phone spoofing issue, we need to have someone check out our phones and then communicate by voice, not by text."

  "Agreed," they said in unison. Should it have scared me just a tiny bit that they all had broad smiles on their faces?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  After that scare, not only did I not let them out of my sight, but when I spotted Nate, I enlisted his help. While his daughter Emily was occupied in the face-painting booth, I pulled on his sleeve. "Someone sent a text to the Qs that looked like it came from me, but it didn't."

  He glanced at me, and his facial expression turned grim. "There's more than that."

  "It said to meet them at Otis's, and then they were locked inside." My breath hiccupped. "And there was a gas can outside the door." I couldn't contemplate what might have happened from there or it would have made me crazy.


  "Somebody locked them in but didn't hurt them?" he asked the words slowly, as if digesting them one by one.

  I nodded. "The Qs didn't realize the gravity of the situation because I didn't tell them about the gas can. They thought that something had jammed the door. They probably weren't in there but a few minutes and texted me We're here, but where are you? We're stuck." I showed him my phone as proof. "Somebody hijacked my phone." The idea made me shake so badly, he grabbed my arm to steady it. "And it gets worse. Gabe called Viola, but she never got the call. There wasn't a record of it on her recent calls list. She had her phone with her the whole time while she was playing bingo, but it was under the table. She did say it got displaced for a bit and ended up by Dolly which sounds a little suspicious to me."

  "First off, where's Gabe?"

  "I already called him and told him Viola was alright and said to come back and I'd explain what happened."

  He nodded as his cop face surfaced. "Somebody could have snatched Viola's phone from under the table fairly easily if the ladies were distracted playing bingo. I can have somebody check it out to see if her phone was spoofed as well or if somebody just deleted the record. Where was your phone while you were being held in Winterset? That seems like the most likely time somebody could access it in order to spoof it."

  I hadn't thought about that, although I had to admit it was a little less creepy than thinking somebody had been able to do it while in my possession. "Chaz took it, but I'm not sure where he put it. You'll have to ask him. A lot of locals I didn't know filtered in and out while I was there. His sister came in, Trixie from the diner came in to drop off some extra pies, Delbert stopped by with some attorney business, but otherwise, a lot of people I didn't know wandered in and out."

  "To be able to ghost your phone, they had to have some technical expertise, so we can probably eliminate a lot of people. I need to get with Chaz about this situation. Do you know if he's still around?"