Double Trouble in Iowa Page 18

  "I think so, but there's an elephant in this room. If Gus is in jail, he couldn't have done this to the Qs. That means he's not guilty." I kept smugness out of my voice. At least most of it.

  "That doesn't mean he doesn't have a partner. Surely he knows a lot of people who could orchestrate something like this to make him appear not guilty."

  I hated that Nate could potentially be right, especially when I thought about what Zora said, and the idea I'd been wrong all along.

  * * *

  I was sitting at a table playing an impromptu game of checkers with Emily and trying to keep my mind occupied when Nate returned with Chaz and Gabe. They'd brought Mason and Jefferson along as well, while the Qs were shuttled to a bingo table close by. All of them looked somber as they approached me.

  "Emily, why don't you go with Jefferson and Mason for a bit," Nate suggested. Oblivious to the drama, Emily skipped away, grabbing a hand of each of the men.

  Chaz, Gabe, and Nate looked so grim, I held my breath waiting for what they might reveal. I suspected whatever it was, I wouldn't like it.

  "A good friend of Gus's was spotted here tonight," Chaz finally said. "We believe he coordinated efforts with Gus when he went to visit him the other day. He spent time in prison for hacking. One of the officers in Winterset is tracking him down for questioning. At any time, did you ever give Gus your phone?"

  I shook my head, unable to speak. Or maybe I didn't want to.

  The ladies were safe. That's all that mattered. And I shouldn't worry about being right. Something kept nagging at me to persist, but I knew better based on the grim faces surrounding me.

  "You're positive Gus is guilty? And Delbert Cummings had absolutely nothing to do with this?"

  "Weren't you talking to him at the same time the Qs were misled into believing the text came from you?" Nate asked.

  "Couldn't he also have had an accomplice like that bartender woman he came with?"

  "Except we have several witnesses, including my sister Cindy, who saw her puking her guts out in the bathroom around that time. Rumor is she's pregnant."

  None of the men said a word. They didn't have to. I hung my head as Gabe wrapped an arm about my shoulder. "How about we go away for a couple of days. I'd like to take you to Stone City, and maybe we could drive up to Pikes Peak Park and walk the trail. It will be beautiful."

  The dot of tears littered my lashes as I gave in to my defeat.

  * * *

  The sun peeked through the morning sky. Because of the torrential rains last night, Gabe and I hadn't been able to sit on the deck of The General Store Pub and enjoy the view of the Wapsipinicon River. Instead we'd dined on delicious artery clogging food and shared something called a Jackhammer—a hand-breaded Iowa pork tenderloin— apparently an Iowa staple, along with some sweet potato tots. As if that weren't enough, I ordered something called Wapsi Willies, breaded shrimp caught from the river, and a heaping side of waffle fries. Along with that, we had several beers to wash it down with and stayed for the music later that evening. I was going to have to do some serious running once we got to Pikes Peak Park. But right now, I was enjoying the rain-free morning.

  A little of my disappointment in Gus and myself faded, and a niggling sense of doubt had resurfaced. Something tickled at my subconscious but refused to come to the surface. Yes, I hated being wrong, but it was more than that.

  With Gabe still sleeping, I slipped into his flannel to ward off the morning chill and left him a note. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon, and I was anxious to get some sunrise pictures of the river. While most of my artwork was done in the abstract, picturesque scenes frequently brought me inspiration, and I'd been in a bit of a drought lately.

  A group of ladies who reminded me of the Qs were outside on the front porch of the bed and breakfast rocking on rockers, sipping coffee, and sharing sweets and gossip. I smiled and grabbed a large to-go cup of coffee from the bar.

  I walked across the street and set my sights on the river and the emerging sun and clicked off some photos. As I readjusted my footing on the rocks and made my way toward the bridge, my phone rang, and I spotted Viola's number. "Good morning. Miss me already?"

  "No, but I have some news. Gus is in the hospital with a severe food allergic reaction. More importantly, I found out who JR is from an old friend of mine who's since moved out of town."

  Apparently, I hadn't been the only one unable to let this go. My investigative brain started to engage. "Don't keep me guessing."

  "JR and Junior are the same person. And he's the cook at the diner. I sent a text to Trixie last night to see if she knew if Lori and JR crossed paths somehow. She said she'd be by today to fill us in."

  I nodded while digesting the information. It fit in somewhere. But I didn't know where. "Maybe you're on to something. Let me think through this new nugget, and I'll get back to you. I was taking a walk while Gabe is still sleeping. Let me know what you hear from Trixie."

  I disconnected the call and thought about the possibilities. How did JR connect to everything other than at one time he'd dated Lori? There had to be a something besides the diner, although that might have been where they'd met. I went to my phone and pulled up the pic of the list from the community theater group and found a listing for JR (Junior) Nellis as a prop manager. Wasn't that Trixie's last name? I remember seeing it on her shirt that day at the diner when she hadn't worn her nametag.

  At the midway point of the bridge, I held my injured arm as I jogged while all the pieces coalesced together in my brain. Trixie had enough tech savvy to ghost my phone. At about twenty-plus years younger than the Qs, she was too young to be JR's mother, but could be an aunt or other relative. I immediately called Nate and was relieved when he answered.

  "Aren't you supposed to be doing something a little more interesting with Gabe than calling me?"

  My breath labored from both running and fear for the women I cherished. "Keep an eye on the Qs. I think they might be in trouble." I relayed the rest of what I'd put together, but he remained skeptical based on his tone. "Humor me, okay. Gus is in the hospital with an allergic reaction to something he ate. Junior drops off food at the jail from the diner. Trixie and Junior have the same last name, and Trixie's headed to Viola's. On top of that, Trixie made up a story about Cindy having an altercation with Lori at the diner. And said that Peter was a gambling addict and wasn't around when his wife was dying. Why would she lie about something like that except if she was trying to cast guilt onto somebody else? If I'm wrong, it's all good. But if I'm right—"

  "I'm gone." He hung up seconds later.

  I dialed Viola back, but it rang and rang and rang until it finally went to voicemail. I wanted to kick myself for not asking where Trixie was while they had been locked up at Otis's. She had disappeared from the bingo table before the others had. And I hadn't seen her after that.

  With the population of Stone City at one hundred ninety-two, I didn't expect traffic but spotted a truck coming up fast behind me. Instinct had me pumping my arms, despite the pain, and taking off.

  The narrow road wouldn't be safe, so I went down the rocky path toward the river. He'd have to get out of his truck, and I could probably outrun him, or at least get back to the safety of the bed and breakfast. My arm ached, but I threw off the sling, because it felt too cumbersome, and hit the speed dial on my phone. Gabe didn't answer, and voicemail picked up. "I need help. Hurry toward the bridge."

  Beneath me, the ground had become slippery from the rain, and dirt and clay had turned to a mud-like consistency. The driver stopped the truck and opened the door, getting out to follow me.

  I turned to gauge his proximity and realized he was making steady progress. While my gym shoes helped somewhat, his boots were better on the uneven terrain. There wasn't anywhere to hide, and I'd reached the point under the bridge where the river began to flow more swiftly, especially after the downpour from yesterday.

  "There's no place for you to go," he shouted.

/>   "Same is true for you. The sheriff is heading to Viola's to stop Trixie as we speak. Give up." I could only hope Viola was okay but didn't like that she wasn't answering her phone.

  "My sister is too smart to get caught. She'll tidy up things, and we'll be on our way to Mexico." He warned. "She always has my back no matter what."

  "I guess that includes murder as well."

  I kept running. Sooner or later, he'd catch up with me. I had no weapons outside the camera. No help there. Distraction. But what?

  He leaped toward me to bring me to the ground. Instead, I fell butt first into the near-frigid waters. I surfaced but wouldn't last long. The water wasn't as shallow as I'd expected, and the current started bringing me down river. Between my less than stellar swimming skills and the cold, I was fading fast, but he was trailing along the shore like some kind of twisted deathwatch, so I didn't attempt to get out of water that way.

  "She said she'd marry me, but I wasn't good enough for her once Delbert came back around. I did everything for her. I made sure she always got the best parts at the theater, but she still wasn't happy. Each time she wanted more and more. Me being a cook was never good enough for her."

  "But why did you kill her?" Despite my predicament, I needed answers. Besides, for every minute I stalled him, there was a chance Gabe or someone else would pass by.

  He shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I didn't mean to. I wanted to scare her into realizing the mistake she was making. I was helping her rehearse, and things got out of control when I brought up Delbert. I pointed the gun, and it went off accidentally. I loved her so much."

  In my head, I kept thinking that had to be involuntary manslaughter, but I couldn't get my mouth to move. While I wanted to respond, my teeth were chattering so bad it was impossible. Slipping into hypothermia was a definite possibility. I needed to get to the shore and out of the water.

  I heard my name and spotted Gabe running, but he was so far away, he wouldn't make it in time. JR didn't seem to care. He kept shouting at me, but I could no longer hear—or maybe I just didn't care. Letting the current move me was the path of least resistance. In some ways, peaceful.

  My body hit a rock, but I barely registered the impact. Instead, I gave up the struggle. Just too tired to fight. My head went under while my hands floundered beneath me when I hit a shallow area and resurfaced.

  So cold.

  A large boulder was ahead. If I could wrap my arms around it, I'd stop, but did I have any strength left? I wasn't too sure.

  "Stick with me, Izzy," Gabe shouted, and I glanced in his direction. "Grab the rock."

  Grab the rock. Grab the rock. The words circled my brain until I could make sense of it. Gabe's shirt snagged on a twig sticking out of the water, giving me the time and the presence of mind to stop my momentum.

  JR started throwing rocks at me now that my movement had slowed. Some missed, or I clumsily ducked out of the way, but one grazed me in the forehead, making me dizzy on top of everything else. I managed to drag myself out of the water, promptly falling onto the rocks.

  "Will you just die already?" As he said the words, I grasped a jagged rock in my hand and propelled it at him as hard as I could. Considering the extra water weight of the flannel and my exhaustion, by some miracle I managed to hit him. Shocked, he grabbed his forehead.

  Gabe was getting closer, but we'd traveled quite a ways down the river, and despite my lethargy from hypothermia setting in, I figured he wouldn't make it in time. My whole body shivered as I thought through my options, but then fate intervened when JR's phone rang, and I ran straight at him, catching him off guard. He pinwheeled back, crashing to the ground, and I ended up on top of him. Stunned, I had another slice of opportunity and recreated Gabe's fabulous uppercut to Joseph and landed one right on JR.

  I heard the thunder of Gabe's footsteps right before I passed out.

  * * *

  Needless to say, Gabe and I headed back in the truck to Inez after the authorities came to pick up JR and bring him to Winterset. Nate had intervened and stopped Trixie when she'd pulled in front of Viola's. The Qs were in a flutter for a couple of hours, and I talked to them incessantly on the phone on the way back to town. Finally, they'd taken a breather and had hung up, knowing we'd be there within a half hour or so. Nate called before I had a chance to catch my breath.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "I know this is crazy after everything I've been through, but I feel kind of sorry for JR. From what he said, it seemed like it might have been accidental."

  "Doesn't make Lori any less dead."

  I nodded as if he could see me. "Did Trixie say how the body ended up in the moving truck?"

  "The box with her body had been in the back of JR's truck. By the time he talked to Trixie, he hadn't slept and had completely lost it. They spotted the truck at the dock and figured it would buy them some time until they could figure out what to do."

  "Why did they lock up the Qs and poison Gus?"

  "Poisoning Gus was unintended. Somebody at the diner used a spoon that had sesame oil on it for the salad dressing, not realizing his lethal allergy. She said locking up the Qs was something Trixie came up with to drive home Gus's involvement seeing that his friend was at the Spring Fling."

  "It seems kind of convoluted."

  "What can I say? I think they both were desperate to put an end to things." Nate sighed.

  "The Qs still bouncing off the walls?"

  "Yep, pretty much. Glad you're okay," he said just before hanging up.

  Gabe glanced at me and smiled. "How are the Qs doing?" He grasped my hand between the seats.

  "Exuberant. You know how those ladies love excitement. To them, this completely topped their previous thrills, especially with Trixie actually coming to Viola's. This will give them something to talk about for the next six months."

  He dimple-smiled. "You warm yet?"

  I'd stopped shivering about an hour ago, but every time I thought about that cold river, I could swear I was still in it and trembled involuntarily. "Doing better."

  Gabe turned up the heat again, although I could see beads of sweat on his eyebrows. "You'll be thrust back in the limelight again, at least for a little while."

  I nodded. "After the smoke clears, maybe you and I could sneak away to my dad's cabin for a bit before we head back to Pikes Peak Park."

  "Sounds like a great idea." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. "And I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Gus. You were right."

  Ah…the three little words every woman wants to hear from her man.

  * * * * *

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  * * * * *

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Wendy is a USA TODAY bestselling author who lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband. She loves to take long walks and think about plot twists and turns. Most days you can find her pounding away at her laptop, spinning tales and inflicting mayhem on her hero and heroine until they beg for mercy. She writes everything from cozy mysteries to romantic suspense all infused with a touch of humor and, of course, the happily ever after.

  To learn more about Wendy, visit her online at: https:/www.wendybyrne.net

  * * * * *

  BOOKS BY WENDY BYRNE

  Izzy Lewis Mysteries:

  Nearly Dead in Iowa

  Double Trouble in Iowa

  Hard Targets novels:

  Hard to Kill

  Hard to Trust

  Hard to Stop

  Hard to Control (short story in the Killer Beach Reads collection)

  Other works:

  Bad to the Bone

  Accused

  The Millionaire's Revenge

  The Millionaire's Deception

  * * * * *

  SNEAK PEEK

  If you enjoyed this book, chec
k out this sneak peek of the first Hard Targets romantic suspense novel:

  HARD TO KILL

  by

  WENDY BYRNE

  PROLOGUE

  "Get the hell out of there. Now." Jennings' voice crackled to life in Sabrina's earpiece.

  She ignored his command even while her skin itched, foretelling her sixth sense kicking in. Yep, she was close.

  "Now, Shaw. His friends are heading your way. You—"

  She clicked off the receiver to stop the tirade that no doubt would follow. A few minutes. That was all she needed.

  Tiptoeing up the metal staircase in her black combat-style boots, she inched her way to apartment 203. Eddie Ramer might be able to fool the cops but not her. The bottom feeder had been enticing Caitlyn for weeks with his promise of high-paying modeling gigs. And then she'd disappeared.

  Coincidence? Yeah, right.

  A heavy smell of weed permeated the air, despite the open balconies outside the apartment doors. The metal railing and no-tell-motel appearance of the building didn't shock her. In fact it worked in her favor. The thin walls made her privy to the conversations along the journey to her prize.

  201. 202. Finally, 203.

  Peeking inside was made impossible by the closed drapes. Instead, she crawled under the window then slid along the wall, stopping outside the apartment door. A cacophony of motorcycle engines in the distance signaled Eddie's friends were getting closer.

  Her heart beat heavily while her fingers tingled. Everything inside her longed to grab the gun strapped to her thigh, but she resisted the urge. Only if necessary. She held her breath, keying into the conversation on the other side of the door.