Bun for Your Life (25 page)

I sucked in a stunned breath. Adrenalin pumped through me as if I'd just bungee jumped off a very high bridge. I'd never done that, but if I had, I imagined this is what it would have felt like.

What did he mean? Yes, he knew Enid killed Calista, or yes, he knew Jane saw Enid kill her? I guess it didn't matter; they were essentially the same thing. Or maybe he was just humoring her.

“I suggest you get in your car,” Chase snarled.

I frowned at his tone. “No need to be unpleasant. We're going. Come on, Jane.”

I heard his footsteps as I opened the front door for Jane.

“Jane, get in the back,” he ordered.

We both turned to look at him. “What are you . . . ?” I froze. He had a gun pointed at us. My mouth went dry and my knees turned to water.

I struggled to keep composed. There was still no one in the parking lot. Of course not. They were all inside listening to this lunatic's mother. My purse, with my PHONE in it, was in the library. I gave myself a mental head slap. Why had I left my purse inside?

I opened the rear door, let Jane slide in, then closed it again.

“What are you doing?” I demanded of Chase, certainly with more boldness then I felt. My legs trembled, and sick fear grew in my stomach, branching up into my chest, finally coming to lodge in my throat.

“Get in. Now. The passenger side. Unless you want me to shoot Jane.” He dropped to one knee and ran a hand under my car.

“Are you looking for the tracking device?” I took a gamble it had been him. “It's gone.”

He grunted as he got up. “I thought I told you to get in the car. Or don't you care if I shoot Mrs. Big Mouth?”

I bristled at the way he spoke about Jane. I waffled, despite the glint of his gun. What did they always say? Never leave the first scene of the crime? Your chances of being found alive are slim. Tears clogged my throat. What did he plan on doing with us? I was afraid of the answer. I bit my lip; I refused to cry in front of him.

I thought of all the people I wasn't going to see again, all the things I still wanted to do with my life. I thought of Beau, alone in my apartment, waiting for me to take him out. I was pretty sure this was not going to end well.

I wished with all my being Jane and I were still in the library. How was I going to explain this to Kate and Ian? In the event I lived to discuss it, of course. First I caused Dottie to be harmed; now Jane was in danger. I was clearly a menace to the senior population in this town. Nobody was about to come looking for us in the next few minutes, that's for sure.

By the time anyone figured out Jane and I were missing, it might be too late. It wasn't as if Chase was kidnapping us so we could join him in a lively fireside discussion about the Brontë sisters.

I could try running, zigzagging around, so if Chase shot at me he wouldn't have a clear aim. But I wasn't about to leave Jane alone with him. What if he took off with her?

“You've got one second to get in, then I kill your friend here.”

I slid into the passenger side. I almost laughed as Chase struggled to adjust the seat once he got in the car.

“Give me your keys,” he ordered.

“There's no key. It's a fob. It's in my pocket. You can go ahead and start the car,” I told him, desperation almost suffocating me.

“How do you start this thing?” he grumbled, gazing at the dashboard.

I paused, then told him. He probably would have figured it out eventually anyway; my little hybrid wasn't that hard to start.

I thought about my research in the library. If Enid was indeed Beatrice, and her father committed suicide because of Calista's grandfather stealing his manuscript, was it possible she had come back to kill Calista in retribution? Apparently so.

Then it came to me. What I had been trying to remember all this time. It had been that day outside Bread and Batter, right after Calista's murder. Emily, Olivia, and I had been standing together talking about the murder. Enid had come up to us. “I keep picturing her lifeless body on the kitchen floor,” she had said.

The police had never revealed exactly where in her house Calista was found; the news had only reported that she had been found on the floor. Only the killer would know exactly where Trey had found Calista. Why couldn't I have thought of that before? It had been Enid all along. Not Trey. Now Jane and I were going to die.

Chase left the library parking lot and drove to the deserted parking lot in back of the bakery. He stopped behind the Dumpster. He made us get out, and for a second I thought he was letting us go. Silly me. He could keep my car, I didn't care. But my heart plummeted when he pulled out his gun.

“We're going into the bakery. Both of you get out.”

This was an odd time to want to stop and eat, but he had a gun, so he was in charge. There wasn't much chance of Jane and me overpowering him.

“What for?” Jane piped up.

He ignored her. “You got the key to the bakery on this thing?” He examined my key chain.

“Yes, it's the blue one.”

“You got one to the back door?” he asked.

I nodded. “Same key.”

“This is what we're going to do. We're going to go in together, and you're going to get me a T-shirt. Now move it.”

I managed to unlock the back door. How many times had Olivia and I talked about installing an alarm? We never got around to it. I went into my office, where we had a box of T-shirts that had just arrived.

Tears started gathering as I thought of never seeing this place again. I had to get us out of this jam. I glanced at Jane.
She seemed to be faring okay. I hoped she didn't realize the danger we were in. I grabbed a T-shirt, trying to figure out what Chase could possibly want with it. I was about to find out.

He took us back to the car and had me rip the T-shirt in strips. He then forced me to tie Jane's hands together behind her back. “Is this necessary? She's an old woman. She's no threat to you.”

“Do it,” he barked, training his gun on me.

“I'll be fine, doll. Do what he says.”

I managed to tie Jane's hands together as loosely as I could, despite my cold, trembling fingers. Chase then tied my hands together none too gently. He tore more strips and tied them around our eyes.

“Get in the backseat with the old lady,” he ordered me.

“That's not very nice, young man,” Jane admonished. “What do you intend on doing with us?”

“You'll find out soon enough.”

It occurred to me that most of Destiny was sitting in the library, being captivated by a killer. Unless Chase had killed Calista. But I was tending to believe that Jane had seen Enid do it. I don't know how; I'd have to ask for details if I ever got the chance. I had no choice but to think he would kill us now, too. Promising him we wouldn't tell anyone wasn't going to cut it.

Chase drove slowly out of the lot.

“Are you all right?” I asked Jane. “I'm sorry. This is all my fault.”

“No. It's mine. It must have been something I did that made that woman upset. The one that was talking. What could it have been? Where are we going?”

“It's okay. We'll be fine.” I would find a way for us to be fine. I tried keeping track of the turns we were taking, but soon gave up. It felt like we were driving for hours.

I had no concept of what time it was, but prayed Olivia was concerned about my whereabouts by now and had called the police over in Rigby. Or at least called the Addairs to see if I'd dropped Jane off yet. Maybe if I could stall Chase, that would give the cops time to find us.

“I don't like being in the dark, young man. What do you think you're doing?”

“Shut up.”

“There's no reason to talk to her like that,” I retorted.

He didn't respond.

“I hope you intend on having us back before tomorrow. I have an appointment to have my hair done,” Jane continued.

He laughed, and icy fingers of dread tickled their way down my spine. “You've got bigger worries than your hair.”

“Molly, are you there? Please take this thing off my eyes. I can't see. I hate being tied up like this. Where is he taking us?”

“I'm not sure,” I told her.

“Just relax, you'll see,” Chase said.

Jane and I fell silent. I wondered if she'd drifted off to sleep. I had no idea of how long Chase had been driving when he made a sharp turn. I heard gravel crunching under the tires. Wherever we were, the road was uneven, plagued with ruts and holes. I heard branches scraping against the car.

We finally came to a stop. Chase got out, then let Jane and me out. He untied our hands and allowed us to take off our blindfolds. We were parked in front of a two-story stone house surrounded by trees. It looked quite foreboding. I heard water lapping nearby. I assumed we were by the lake somewhere.

“Let's go,” Chase ordered.

“I want to go home,” Jane said in a plaintive cry. “What are we doing here?”

“Jeez Louise. Get in the house,” he ordered.

I took Jane's hand. Chase was right behind us. I turned the doorknob, and the door creaked open. Lights were blazing in the hallway. The place smelled musty.

I jumped when two Dobermans came out of one the rooms shooting off from the hallway.

“Welcome to my temporary home, ladies,” said Chase, his tone suggesting he'd invited us for tea. “Meet Sasha and Buddy. They look harmless, but they kill, so play nice with them.”

I thought of Beau again. Poor guy, waiting for someone to take him out. He would be hungry, too. At least I'd left him with a full dish of food and bowl of water.

“Young man, you owe us an explanation,” Jane said.

Chase inclined his head and waved his arm expansively, indicating we should go into the room on the right, which was obviously the living room. I shed my coat and hat, then helped Jane with hers.

“Can't you let Mrs. Addair go? She's not well.”

“I am perfectly fine. I'm staying,” Jane announced. “What's your explanation?”

Chase laughed. “Let her go? So she can march into the police department and accuse my mother of murder? Yeah, sure.”

“No one is going to believe her,” I said. “She has dementia.” I couldn't fathom I was going to die. I was angry, sad, and scared out of my wits, all rolled into one.

Chase's look darkened. “I'm not taking that chance. Someone who heard her in the library could've taken her very seriously.” Then he smiled. “Too bad we didn't get to have our dinner, Molly.” He sighed. “If Jane had kept her mouth shut, you wouldn't be in this little pickle.

“Mother and I would have been gone in a day or two, and no one would have been the wiser. Now, I'll have to get rid of both of you. There's no other way, I'm afraid.”

I swallowed hard. “You really believe you're going to get away with killing us? Listen. Just because your mother killed Calista, why kill us? You didn't kill Calista. Why get your hands dirty, too? You're going to get caught. If Mrs. Addair
announced to everyone in the library tonight that your mother killed Calista, don't you think she's mentioned it to other people, who may have mentioned it to the police? Or that someone there took her accusation seriously?”

He paused. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes for a second. “The police haven't talked to my mother. They aren't even in town. By the time anyone finds you, if they find you, we'll be long gone. No one is going to pin Calista's murder, or your murders, on us.”

“You're really going to kill us?” Jane whispered.

“I have no choice.”

“That's preposterous,” Jane responded, her voice louder. “Who do you think you are? You have no right to kill us.” Jane looked at me. “What are we going to do?”

“We'll think of something, don't worry.”

He laughed. “Think all you want. It won't help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call. Stay!” he ordered the dogs. “Sit down, ladies. Make yourselves comfortable. I'll be right back. One move to leave the room and the dogs will tear out your throats.”

I sighed as Chase left. The dogs looked more interested in napping than in tearing out our throats, but I wasn't going to test them. “You okay?” I asked Jane.

“Considering what's coming down the pike for us, yes.”

“Oh, Jane.” Tears filled my eyes. “I am really so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“Nonsense. I bet we'll be rescued any minute now.”

I didn't dare rain on her optimism. “You really saw Jane kill Calista?”

“Yes, I really did. I have no doubt.”

“Why didn't you call the police, or tell anyone?” I asked.

“I didn't remember until tonight. It was that sweater. She had it on the night she killed Calista.”

“I remember you recognized it at Calista's funeral; she had it on then, too. Before Chase comes back, can you tell me what you saw?”

Jane nodded. “I took a walk that night. Kate and Ian didn't know. I'd been feeling better off and on with this medication I've been on. I admit I still have days when I don't know who Kate and Ian are, or who I am, and my memory is pretty well shot some of the time, but that night, I was fine. It wasn't that far; Calista's property is right next door, so I hadn't walked for miles. Not even one mile.”

“I know her house isn't far from Kate's. What did you see?”

“I got a bad cramp in my calf. I thought if I went to Calista's I could knock on the door and she'd let me come in and rest for a moment. It wasn't late.”

“Go on,” I urged her. I'd almost forgotten about where we were, the predicament we were in, and the dogs.

“I went up to the front door and I saw into the house, right through to the kitchen. Enid handed her a doughnut, and Calista fell to the floor almost immediately. I thought Enid was going to help her, but instead she wrapped a T-shirt around her neck and strangled her.”

The Bread and Batter T-shirt. I shivered. I'd be horrified if I'd seen that.

Jane was continuing. “I hurried home. I was going to tell Kate and Ian to call the police. I was so scared. I couldn't believe what I'd just seen. My thoughts were all jumbled. I thought I'd seen a movie maybe. By the time I got back to Kate's, they were frantic with worry over me. I was upset that I'd upset them by leaving. I blocked the whole thing out.

“The next morning I must've dismissed it as a bad dream; I don't even remember the next day. So much of the last year is a haze for me. Or plain missing. I remembered bits of pieces about Enid every time I saw her, but not everything. Of course, her killing Calista hadn't been a dream at all.”

“When you saw Enid tonight all the bits and pieces came together,” I murmured.

“Yes! Clear as day. That woman killed Calista. What's going to happen to us?”

“According to Chase, we're going to die. We need to convince him not to kill us. Can you be strong for me?”

“I'll try. I'll try hard.”

“Good. Do you still think Enid is really Beatrice Travis?”

“I believe so. Strange, but she doesn't look that different. I don't know why I'd remember that, but not the fact she killed Calista.”

“The mind is so complicated, isn't it? Let's try and stay calm. If we sympathize with Chase, maybe he'll let us go.”

She frowned at me. “You don't believe that.”

“I want to. Just follow my lead.”

“I'll be glad to,” she replied. “What's your lead going to be?”

Tears filled my eyes again. “I have no idea.”

She patted my hand. “We've got to come up with something. We aren't idiots.”

I almost smiled. Chase returned a few minutes later. “Can I get you anything?”

“I don't think so,” I replied. He sounded curiously polite for someone about to commit a double murder. I wondered how long he was going to drag this out. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like now he had us there, he didn't know how to go about killing us. I wasn't about to give him any help, or encouragement.

“Jane?” he asked. “What about you?”

“I don't want anything that you have. You're despicable.”

Maybe if I could get Chase talking, I could reason with him. “Is your father Max Danforth?”

He blinked and stared at me, confusion evident in the way his eyebrows rose a fraction and his mouth fell open. “How did you know that?”

“Research.”

He frowned. “No research is going to turn that up.”

“I told her,” Jane broke in. “I remember your mother. She denies it, but she's really Beatrice Travis. She grew up in Destiny. She's older, naturally, but I recognized her. There was a rumor that Max was your father.”

Chase paced the room. “Max Danforth was a worthless piece of sh . . . dirt. Not a nice sentiment to have about your own father, but he wasn't what a father should be. My mother told me he got her pregnant, then wanted nothing to do with her. Or me. My grandfather would have been famous if Max hadn't stolen his novel. The guy was a user. He destroyed my grandfather and almost destroyed my mother.”

Jane and I both let him talk on.

“My mother never got over what Max did to her. Every day she told me what a bastard he was. She never got over her father's death, either. She always vowed she'd get even with the Danforths. Max used her like he used my grandfather. I wouldn't be surprised if he took advantage of her. She is a wonderful mother. I couldn't have asked for better.”

The thought occurred to me that Chase was Enid's puppet. If he was going to kill us, he would have done so, don't you think? It seemed he was at a loss at what to do next. We had to keep him talking. “Really? She killed a woman. Now she's asking you to kill us. How does that make her a wonderful mother? Chase, you don't need to do this. Let us go. Please.”

Uncertainty flickered in his eyes again. I felt a gleam of hope, but then they hardened again. “No way. Now shut up. There's no way the police are going to find us.”

The slice of optimism I had felt disappeared as fast as I'd felt it. Enid! Surely she would show up soon. If she had no compunction about taking Calista's life, she wouldn't care about taking ours. Chase would never stand up against his mother.

The front door flew open. I went cold as Enid rushed into the room. “I thought you would have gotten rid of these two by now.”

“Mother. You're here. I . . . I was about to,” replied Chase, clearly flustered by his mother's appearance. “I didn't think you'd be back so soon.”

“We can't waste time. Take them to the boathouse.”

“Nobody followed you here, did they?”

Enid laughed. “Don't be silly. No one believed her”—she tossed her head at Jane—“demented ramblings. This town adores me. By now they've forgotten about her outburst. Besides, no one knows you're renting this house. But I still don't want to waste time.” She clapped her hands together twice. “Go! Take care of them. Now. Then we get out of this nothing town.”

“Can I use the bathroom? Please?” pleaded Jane.

Enid frowned at her. “I suppose,” she huffed. “But don't expect a last supper. Show her where it is, Chase. Stand outside the door and wait for her.”

Jane grabbed her purse and trailed after Chase.

I turned toward Enid. “Since you're going to kill us anyway, can I ask you a few questions?”

She sank down to the couch and rubbed her temples. “What is it? I suppose it doesn't matter what you know since you aren't going to be around much longer. You already know I killed the Danforth woman. I'm just glad the police aren't around to take Jane's accusations seriously. Not that they would—the woman is crazy. For once, the gods are on my side. What else do you think you must know?”

“Why did you have to kill Calista? She had nothing to do with what happened to your father, Peter Travis.”

She stared at me. “I underestimated you. The notes Chase left on your car didn't scare you?”

I sucked in a breath. “He hit Dottie on the head?”

She shrugged and studied her fingernails. “Couldn't be helped. I thought the notes would scare you away. I wanted you to think they were from Trey.”

“I did. But you are Beatrice Travis, aren't you? Why did you change your name?”

Two spots of mottled pink popped up on Enid's cheeks. “Yes, I'm Beatrice. I wanted a new name, a new identity as a
writer. I didn't want to be connected to Beatrice.” Her eyes closed for a moment then flew open. “But it wasn't enough, I couldn't forget. Calista had to die. She was a Danforth. One of them was going to pay for what Max did to me, and to my father. Calista's parents died long ago, but she was still alive, so I came after her.”

“It was so long ago. How could you hate for so long, and keep a grudge all this time?”

She glowered. “I don't care how long ago it was. I'll never forget. Never!”

“What about Max?” I was pushing my luck, but Enid was giving a performance, and I wanted it to continue.

Enid's eyes clouded over. She rose and went to the window. Looking out into the darkness, she traced a finger down the windowpane. “I was deeply in love with Max Danforth. When he stole my father's manuscript, I was three months pregnant with Chase.”

“Wasn't Max married?”

She leaned her forehead against the glass and didn't answer.

“What happened when you told him about the baby?” I pressed.

She gave a bitter half laugh. “He told me I could be his mistress, but he wouldn't divorce his wife, nor would he acknowledge Chase at all.”

“That must have hurt you.”

She wheeled around, her hands balled into fists. She looked past me, as if she'd forgotten I was there. “It went beyond hurt. I was furious. My father killed himself after Max stole his novel. But I could have forgiven him for what he did to my father, if only he'd loved Chase and me. I adored Max. He was the love of my life. But we were nothing to him. I wanted to kill him then. For what he did to my father, and for abandoning Chase and me.”

“But you couldn't because you loved him too much,” I whispered.

“Yes, I did, then. I moved away, to get over Max. I had my own life and career to think of. And Chase. But when I saw that Calista had become rich and successful as the face of Danforth Orchards, my fury at Max all came back.
Broken Delilah
still sells. I'm sure the money all went to her when Max died. It belongs to me! But it was too late to kill him. He and his wife were already dead. Killing Calista was a pleasure.”

I shivered. What a horrible woman. She sounded like a lunatic. I couldn't imagine someone nursing a grudge for years as she had. I didn't want to hear any more. I was glad when Chase reappeared with Jane, even though I knew what that meant for the two of us.

“Ah,” said Enid, her demeanor doing a complete one eighty. “You two are back. I've had a long night. Chase, the boathouse, then get packing. I'm taking a long, hot shower.” She swept out of the room.

Chase pulled out his gun. “Get your coats on.”

My heart galloped as panic and pure fright welled up in my chest. This was it. If Enid hadn't arrived we might have had a chance. But Chase wasn't going to disappoint his mother. I glanced at the clock above the mantel. In a few minutes Jane and I would no longer exist.

“Look at this. My sleeve is all inside out,” cried Jane. “Molly, can you help?”

I reached over and fixed her coat sleeve. She made it worse by twisting around. “Hold still, Jane. I can work better if you're still.”

“Let's go,” Chase growled.

“You know, I don't think I washed my hands in the bathroom,” Jane said.

“Really, Jane, I don't think it matters now,” I whispered.

“I heard the water running. You washed your hands,” Chase spat out. “Move it. Out the door.”

“I've lost my glove. I can't find my glove,” Jane cried.

“For God's sake. Forget the damn glove. You won't need a glove when you're dead,” Chase barked.

“Young man,” Jane scolded. “Those gloves were given to me by my grandson. I will not go to my death without them.”

Chase blew out a sigh. “I can't believe this. Fine. Find your stupid glove. You have five seconds.”

Jane searched around the couch and picked up the cushions. I looked under the couch, but saw no glove.

“Oh, here it is. In my pocket,” Jane said, laughing.

I was torn between wanting to get our imminent deaths over with and being amused at Jane.

“Everyone finally ready?” Chase ground out. “Let's go.”

He made it sound like we were late to a party. Chase followed behind as he herded us out the front door into the cold. I was shivering so hard I could hardly walk. It had nothing to do with the cold.

Jane and I were holding hands as Chase poked us in our backs with his gun, guiding us down a dirt trail in the midst of a thick bramble of overgrown, bare bushes. The only light was the flashlight he carried in his other hand.

This was ridiculous. I could not let him kill us. I stopped and turned around. “Don't you want to reconsider? Right now, you've got zero murders on your hands. Your mother has one. You kill us and you'll have two. Automatic death penalty in this state.” I had no idea if it was true, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

He laughed. “It's not like they're going to pin it on me. Or my mother. The cops don't even know I rented this place. No one knows. I'm sure everyone assumes I'm staying with my mother. No one is going to suspect the great Enid Middlebrook of committing murder, anyway. Jane was the only one who knew she was Beatrice Travis, and she won't be talking.

He laughed, the sound causing goose bumps to rise on my goose bumps. “They'll never find your bodies. Enough stalling, ladies. I am finished explaining. Let's hustle.”

“Ow!” Jane yelped a second later. “I've twisted my ankle. I can't walk.” She hopped on one foot.