Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

I had no idea what was going on, what Morgan thought I could do, or why he knew my real name, but I gave him a nod and rushed out of the room behind him with Ida Belle and Gertie right on my heels. He ran for the stairs, and we hoofed it up two floors to the rooftop. When we came out, I could see the friends huddled on the back side of the roof and spotted Nicole standing close to the edge, holding a pistol.

I immediately slowed my pace, not wanting to startle her into shooting someone or jumping. Hostage and suicide negotiation wasn’t at all what I was trained for, and Nicole wasn’t even a friend of mine, so I had my doubts that I could defuse the situation, but I was going to try.

The others looked over as I approached, clearly confused as to why I was there. Morgan shook his head at them, and Amanda gave him a nod before taking Brittany’s hand. Giant tears rolled down Brittany’s face, and Daniel stood on the other side of her, his arm around her. Nicole stared at all of them, looking completely spaced out, and I wondered if she’d taken something.

“Is she on anything?” I asked, my voice low .

“I think she took painkillers from our house,” Daniel said. “Brittany had some from a recent ACL injury. And that’s my pistol.”

“Has she said why she’s doing this?”

They all shook their heads.

“She’s been babbling about a party from high school and a baby,” Amanda said.

“But nothing about Justin’s death?” I asked.

“No,” Morgan said. “You think she did it, don’t you?”

I nodded.

Brittany sucked in a breath, and Daniel looked stunned. Only Amanda and Morgan didn’t show any signs of surprise.

“Nicole,” I said and took a step away from the group. “Can we talk?”

“Don’t come any closer,” she said, her words slurred. “I know how to use this thing. My dad taught me. All us kids learned to shoot, even the girls.”

“It’s a good skill to have,” I said. “I think all women should know how to use a firearm, but I want to make sure you don’t accidentally discharge it and hurt one of your friends. You don’t want to do that, do you?”

She frowned and seemed confused. “Of course not. I love my friends. That’s why I’ve got to do this. Because I can’t let Tyler take the rap for what I did.”

Brittany’s hand flew over her mouth. “Oh my God.”

“But you don’t have to handle it this way,” I said. “You left a lipstick stain on a pillowcase in Justin’s room. Bryce will have no choice but to give that information to the prosecutor. Let Amanda get you an attorney and handle all of this legally. This isn’t the answer.”

“Please listen to Rose,” Brittany begged. “I love you, Nicole. We all love you. Amanda can fix this. She’s the smartest person we know. ”

Nicole shook her head and stumbled a bit more toward the edge of the building. “I’ve spent ten years trying to fix this. I thought with Justin dead… But it didn’t work.”

I’d been inching closer to Nicole as I talked and now, I was only five feet or so away, but she’d realized that, and her gaze locked onto mine. Her eyes widened and her arm flexed. As her finger moved for the trigger, I leaped forward and whirled around, kicking the gun from her hand, praying the entire time that she hadn’t gotten her finger in place.

As soon as my foot made contact, the pistol went sprawling and she lunged for it. But I was faster. I dived for her legs and took her down about six inches away from the gun. Ida Belle, who’d been in ready position, scooped up the pistol. Nicole, flat on the ground underneath me, started sobbing hysterically.

I had my murderer but didn’t feel a single sliver of joy about it.

Nicole’s words came back to me— Maybe it’s best not to revisit the past.

But I had no doubt that’s exactly what had happened. Nicole had been caught up in something that happened with Justin ten years ago, and she’d sought a solution to a problem that had troubled her for a decade.

Then Morgan’s words.

Some acts are so egregious that the suffering and the desire for retribution have no expiration.

Whatever Justin had done fit that description for Nicole, and she’d carried her secret all these years. But now it was all going to come out.

And that was the last thing she’d wanted. She’d have rather died than the others find out.

The paramedics and the local police had shown up right after I tackled Nicole. They didn’t bother sedating her because she was clearly already under the influence, but they strapped her to a gurney. Based on the way she was holding her wrist, I was afraid I’d broken it when I took her down, but that was the least of her problems. However, the injury and the hysteria were a benefit at that time because they got her a trip to the hospital rather than jail. Houma police took statements from all of us individually, which meant I didn’t have to identify myself in front of the others, but since Morgan knew and it appeared he’d already told Amanda, I figured he’d fill them all in eventually.

Brittany had hugged me so hard and long after the paramedics arrived that I thought it was going to take the Jaws of Life to get her off me, but finally, Daniel succeeded in prying her off before he gave me a quick hug and a thank-you. His eyes were filled with tears, and I knew he was just as upset as his wife but was trying to be the strong one.

Amanda, in her calm and controlled way, had simply squeezed my arm and given me a heartfelt thank-you before pulling out her phone to call her attorney friend. Morgan had just given me a grim smile and a nod. When the police were done, we headed back to our room to gather our things. We would still have to go to the Houma PD and give our official statements and sign them, but it didn’t have to be today. It was a short drive over from Sinful, and we were all ready to sleep in our own beds.

When we headed out, I spotted Morgan leaning against Ida Belle’s SUV.

“I figured I owed you an explanation,” Morgan said. “After all, you did save my friend.”

“How long have you known who I was?” I asked.

“I thought I recognized you as soon as I saw you at the B and B, but your cover was so good, I decided I must be mistaken. When you tackled Brittany in the dark, I knew I’d gotten it right in the beginning. But you were clearly in role and I didn’t want to interfere with whatever assignment you were on.”

I raised one eyebrow at the word assignment . “For a guy who ‘writes code for a defense contractor,’ you have an interesting vocabulary and an odd knowledge of people who live in bayou towns far from Baton Rouge.”

He smiled. “I suppose I’m okay telling you, of all people, the truth, but I’m asking for your silence because the others don’t—and can’t—know what I really do. I’m an analyst for your area of operation with the CIA. And they relocated me to NOLA six months ago, so technically, I’m more in your neck of the woods now.”

“That explains a lot. So you’ve gathered the data for some of my work.”

“Yes. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think you being there had anything to do with Justin’s death. I just assumed you were on some supersecret mission that I was unaware of.”

“Actually, I was on a personal mission. Petunia and Corndog’s nephew is a friend, and I was trying to help them out of a potentially bad situation.”

He nodded. “Bryce would have railroaded Corndog. I’m sure he’s in cahoots with the guy who wanted to buy their house cheap.”

“You’re the one who sent me the autopsy, aren’t you?”

He smiled. “I’ll only say that my skill on the web is similar to yours in person—no one ever knows I was there. Why did the ME change his conclusion?”

“It’s probably better if you don’t know. So Justin died, you didn’t think it had anything to do with Corndog making a mistake, and when I turned up, you figured you’d give me prompts, hoping I’d figure out what really happened.”

“I’m sorry about doing things that way, but you’re right, I didn’t think it had gone down like Bryce presented. I had no idea why you were there, and I apologize for trying to take advantage of the situation. I figured if I poked at things enough, you might be curious and decide you had to unravel the mystery.”

“Good call,” Ida Belle said. “She can’t stand not having answers.”

“I can’t either, which is why I went fishing on the ME’s server,” he said. “Like everyone else, I had no idea an autopsy had been done. I was just looking for his notes, but that was a real bonus.”

“It definitely changed the scope of things,” I said. “If you hadn’t sent it, Bryce might have caused some good people a lot of trouble.”

He sighed. “I have to admit, when I did those things to get you involved, I didn’t know it was Nicole. I really thought it was Tyler. He has history with Justin—ancient and recent—and I figured he’d taken an opportunity to even the score. It never occurred to me that it was murder. I figured he was just trying to get Justin sick or give him a scare and then panicked when he died.”

I nodded. “I was headed that direction for a bit myself. So out of curiosity, if you’d known it was intentional and that it was Nicole, would you have let her get away with it?”

“Not at Corndog and Petunia’s expense. But if they hadn’t been a factor and I knew her reason why, then maybe. Whatever he did had to be huge to push her over the edge that way. Nicole simply isn’t a killer. Do those sentiments lower my stock?”

“Not with me, but then I’m more inclined to seek justice than the letter of the law, especially if they conflict. You’re a good friend, Morgan. She’s going to need one.”

He nodded. “Then that’s what I’ll be. Thank you, Ms. Redding. I appreciate you diving into all of this.”

“It’s Fortune. And you didn’t leave me much choice, especially after sending me that autopsy.”

“You’re not going to get me back for that, are you? Because I really don’t want to be looking over my shoulder the rest of my life.”

I smiled. “You wouldn’t even know I was there.”

“Right.”

I patted him on the back, laughing at his clearly uneasy expression. “Don’t worry, Morgan. You were trying to help Corndog and Petunia. That’s an honorable thing and something that’s missing from most people.”

He blushed a bit and shuffled, clearly embarrassed by the compliment.

I studied him for a moment, then smiled. “You know, for all your studying human behavior with your shrink friend, you’ve missed the boat on a couple of big ones this week. And I think you’re missing it on another.”

“How’s that?”

“There’s a woman in NOLA—your new hometown—who gets together with a group of women every week for drinks. I know she professes a high level of disdain for men, but I have a feeling she’d set aside some time to have drinks with you.”

His eyes widened. “You think?”

I shrugged. “Or you can waste another ten years wondering.”

I called Corndog and Petunia on the way home. They’d already gotten a call from the state police, who had already stepped in to take over the investigation. So they knew some of what had happened, but were shocked when I filled in the blanks. As much as I could, anyway, because there were still a lot of things unanswered as far as motive was concerned. But their relief was overwhelming and all three of us were sniffing in the car after the call and hearing their sobs of relief.

I sent Carter a text after that, letting him know that the case was solved, Corndog and Petunia were in the clear, and the killer exposed. He greeted us in my driveway when we pulled up. He was on his way out on a call and recognized my expression well enough to hold off on questions, so he just gave me a brief kiss and left.

After the call to Corndog and Petunia, we’d all been quiet on the drive home. I knew we were satisfied that we’d done our job saving Corndog and Petunia from eviction, but bothered by the ultimate outcome. And if I was being honest, I still wanted to know why she’d done it, even though it wasn’t relevant to my end of things.

When I entered the house, Merlin gave me a dirty look and stomped off, his flicking tail signaling his opinion on my absence. Feeling restless, I grabbed another beer and headed out for my lawn chairs near the bayou. I’d barely gotten seated when my cell phone rang. It was Shadow Chaser.

“Oh my God, you’re brilliant!” he said when I answered. “Brilliant and scary and somehow still gorgeous, although if you ever tell your sheriff I said that I’ll deny it. And please don’t tell my scary boss either. He’s already accused me of proposing to you and I don’t need that grief in my life. But thank you! Thank you a million times and more! I don’t even know how I can pay you back. I can offer free hotel rooms...”

“Hard pass on that one. ”

“Good call. But seriously, I have to offer up something for saving my family.”

“Given the business I’m in, I’m sure I’ll need you to ‘unsee’ some things in the future. We’ll just call it even.”

“Deal. You have my undying blindness for all eternity. Even if I have to unsee naked people.”

We disconnected and I took another swig of beer and looked out across the bayou. The sun was just starting to set when Ida Belle strolled up.

“Was too restless to rest so I ground up some deer meat and made those jalape?o sausages you like,” she said. “I put a package in your refrigerator and another two in your freezer.”

“That’s awesome and solves my problem about what to have for dinner. Thanks.”

She gave me a critical look. “I have a feeling you’re not sitting out here because of our case.”

I raised one eyebrow.

“Okay,” she corrected. “You’re not only sitting out here staring at slow-moving water because of our case.”

I remained silent because I still hadn’t quite worked out my thoughts.

“Don’t wait as long as I did,” she said quietly.

I sighed. “How did you know?”

She shrugged. “Everything that went down in Iran, Maya and Blanchet moving here all cozied up, Harrison and Cassidy before that, and then this case with two long-term instances of unrequited love and far too many secrets for people who were supposed to care about each other… I figure it just added weight to the things that were already on your mind. And I have a pretty good idea just how that mind works.”

“Do you have regrets?”

“No. I lived my life on my terms and that’s never something that should cause regret. But times are different now— for women, especially. Old notions of what’s right and proper are gone except for the idiots among us. And Walter and Carter are not the same kind of man.”

“Walter’s a good man. The best.”

“Oh, without a doubt. I never once questioned that. But people like you and me, Carter, Harrison, Mannie, and Lord help us all, even Gertie, we’re different. Walter should have settled down with someone sweet like Ally, or even a strong, kind woman with a bit of an acerbic tongue, like his sister Emmaline. But he’s always loved me, and that’s something I didn’t give the respect it deserved.”

“I get not having regrets, but do you ever wish you would have married him sooner?”

She stared out at the bayou for a bit, then finally shook her head. “I went back several times…after Vietnam.”

“To the military?”

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

She raised one eyebrow.

“Right, classified. Does Gertie know?”

“I’m sure she does. When it comes down to it, I’m sure Walter knew I wasn’t off for months at a time looking at potential investments or caring for a cousin he’d never heard of. But suspecting and knowing are two different things. You saw how he was when Carter was MIA. I couldn’t do that to him. Better for him to think I was safe somewhere in the US than be worrying day and night not knowing.”

“But that was still a long time ago, right? Why not have a relationship when you were sure you were done?”

“Once you’re in the business of danger, are you ever really done? Do you have a day in mind when you plan on changing your entire personality and stop taking risks? ”

“That’s fair enough. So you think Walter would have wanted you to change?”

“Yes. But he never would have asked. The reality is his heart couldn’t have taken being my partner during my younger years. It taxes him now even though I don’t tell him 10 percent of what we get up to and he’s older and wise enough not to ask.”

“But you finally said yes.”

“Because I finally realized I wasn’t being fair to either of us. Walter was never going to love anyone but me and I was the same. We’d both remained untethered to anyone else the bulk of our lives because neither of us could stomach the thought of someone else trying to fill that slot that was only meant for one person. It was time now. It wasn’t time before. The circumstances were all wrong for it.”

I nodded. “That makes sense.”

“It makes sense for Walter and me, but your situation is very different, and you keep that thought in the front of your mind. Carter knows what you’re capable of. He admires and respects your ability. Of course he worries. Hell, I worry. But he can handle living with it a heck of a lot easier than he can living without you.”

I nodded. She’d given me a lot to think about.