Chapter 15

Fifteen

I ducked and swung my hairdryer.

I hit Bert in the crotch, and he went down with a noise that sounded like a dying werewolf.

King Tut let out a yowl and leapt in from the back room. He took a flying leap onto Bert as Hattie and Lucy charged in from the kitchen, waving a hairdryer and a lamp.

Emmeline dropped the box. "No!" She shouted. "No! They'll hurt Rachel! I have to bring this back!"

It was at that moment that I saw the lip tattoo on the side of her neck. It was the same one that Rachel had.

Matching tattoos.

Holy crap. Rachel and Emmeline were close enough that they had matching tattoos!

Was he using Rachel to make Emmeline steal from Hattie's kitchen? The corkscrew, recipes, and whatever was in the box.

Oh, I didn't like that. Rachel might have been judgy of me, but threatening her to make Emmeline do things was no good.

Hattie and Lucy were already zip-tying Bert, and Beau hopped up, videoing, clearly just fine.

Emmeline went down on her knees. "No," she whispered. "I have to go back. We have to go back. She has Rachel."

"She? Who?"

"Felicia."

"Felicia?" Hattie looked over. "Chef Felicia?" She looked pained. "Dammit."

"Why Chef Felicia?" I asked. "Why would she care about you?"

"She thinks I stole her boyfriend when we were younger. And her job. And her business." Hattie shrugged. "I was always better than her, but I thought she was over that."

Well, there was our motive for tagging Hattie. I knelt in front of Emmeline. "Where is Rachel? Where does Chef Felicia have her?"

"In the trunk of her car at the Ugly Man."

I grinned. "That's easy." I pulled out my phone and called Devlin.

"Where the hell are you?"

"At my marina. We have a couple people here you need to meet, but first, please rescue a girl named Rachel who is locked in the trunk of Chef Felicia's car. The raspberry on Chef Felicia's shirt is probably a match for Beckwith's. I have a witness here who says she killed both of them."

"Bert helped," Emmeline said. "They did it together."

"We apparently have her murder buddy here with us."

Devlin swore under his breath. "I'll call you back."

"Send help. When you have time."

He hung up on me, and I smiled at Emmeline. "She'll be safe in a minute."

Emmeline sank down onto the floor, and tears started tumbling. She hugged her knees to her chest, and Hattie hurried over and sat down next to her, pulling her into her arms.

My throat tightened when I saw Hattie hugging her. Big, tough Hattie who was all sass and recklessness was holding onto Emmeline like the younger woman was still the sixteen-year-old girl who was lost and scared.

Emmeline leaned into her, holding her arm.

Lucy cleared her throat. "Mia. A little help here?"

I turned around, and saw that King Tut was sprawled on Bert's face, suffocating him with his big belly, his claws digging into his head. The growl emanated from King Tut was terrifying. "Don't kill him, sweetie. You'll have to go to kitty prison."

My cat didn't make eye contact with me, but his claws didn't draw blood, so I hoped he was listening.

Bert was still bent over, but Lucy had managed to get his hands zip-tied behind him.

Beau and I helped, and we quickly got him secured and tied to the post in the middle of the café. Once he was secure, I carefully and quietly detached King Tut from his face, and then stepped back.

Bert looked at me. "I saved you from the cops. You owe me a favor."

"I definitely don't."

"Let me go. I'll disappear."

I sat down in front of him, just out of reach. "Why did you kill them?"

"I didn't kill anyone. I grow flowers for homeless kids."

I raised my brows. "No one will believe that."

Bert looked at me. "One favor. You owe me."

I watched Hattie and Emmeline get up and walk outside to sit on the deck. Lucy and Beau stayed with me. "What's the favor?"

"Use your brain."

I looked at him. "What?"

"I know you. I know you put your ex in prison. You're not an idiot. Use your freaking brain."

I stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

He met my gaze. "I didn't kill anyone, Mia Murphy. But who did?"

"You tried to attack me!"

"Did I?"

I thought back to his reflection. I'd seen him move, so I'd reacted. Did I actually know he'd been planning to hurt me? I didn't.

I frowned and looked at Lucy and Beau. Lucy looked as confused as I felt, and Beau was videoing us.

I looked out the front window, but I couldn't see Hattie and Emmeline anymore.

Devlin called, and I answered. "There's no one in the trunk of the car, Mia. Who told you there was?"

Fear began to drip through me. "Emmeline Williams. Did you find Chef Felicia?"

"We're interviewing her now. I can't get anyone over there for a few minutes. You all right?"

"Yes, we're good." I stood up. "I gotta go." I walked to the front window and looked out. Hattie and Emmeline were nowhere in sight. "Bert," I said softly. "Why are you here?"

"Money. Rachel paid me a hundred bucks to come here with Emmeline. I hid in the bottom of the boat so no one would see me."

Well, that explained why we hadn't seen him. "How well do you know Rachel?"

"Just met her tonight before I met you."

His words resonated with truth, and a cold chill settled down on me. "Bert. What does Felicia have to do with this?"

He met my gaze. "I don't know anyone named Felicia."

I frowned. "So, Rachel set this up? What about Emmeline?"

"All I know is that Rachel paid me to come here with Emmeline tonight. That's it. And I sure as hell didn't kill anyone."

If he was telling the truth, then what? "Then who did? Rachel couldn't do it herself." As I said it, I met Lucy's gaze.

"Maybe Charles helped her with Beckwith. Then it would be easy enough for her to push Charles over the railing, especially if he'd had a few drinks. She could do that," Lucy said.

"Rachel might have seen the corkscrew when she was here," I said slowly, "but Emmeline definitely would have. She was the one who was trapped by the Barnes brothers. Hattie talked her out of being friends with Rachel when they were teenagers, but now they're friends again."

"Revenge," Lucy said.

"And money." Dear heavens, it was Emmeline?

I opened the door and stepped outside, listening for Hattie, but the dark night was silent.

Lucy stood next to me, and we listened.

Emmeline's boat was still at the dock, but Hattie and Emmeline weren't in sight.

Fear gripped me, a shocking fear that made my bones turn to ice "Hattie," I whispered, her name burning tears in my throat. "Where did they go?" I clutched my hairdryer, but there was no one to hit with it.

King Tut walked out and stood beside us, his tail flicking.

"It's been only a few minutes," Lucy said. "They couldn't have gotten far."

Beau hurried out to the deck. "Emmeline kidnapped her?"

"Emmeline's going to kill her and make it look like she was guilty." My body was trembling with the need to run after them, but I had no idea which way to go. They could be anywhere!

King Tut suddenly turned his head, looking toward the woods where we'd hidden the boat.

I didn't hesitate. I just started running, swinging the hairdryer by the cord as I ran. "Hattie!"