Peril for Your Thoughts (Mind Reader Mystery) (22 page)

“The hell you say,” Detective Stevens said, looking floored.

“Why?” I asked in complete shock.

“They found the murder weapon in her pastry shop,” Boomer
explained, looking pleased to be the first one in the know.

“So what does that mean?” I asked, unable to process what I
was hearing.

“It means, Jaz is a free woman,” Nik said, “and we just
caught our killer.”

“Maria wants to
speak with me?” I sputtered Friday evening, staring at Detective Matheson in
shock. He’d dropped the bomb that Maria Danza had been arrested for the murder
of Darrin Wilcox aka Scott Parks. They’d found the murder weapon in her pastry
store, Sinfully Delicious, shortly after I was attacked earlier this morning.

“That’s what she said,” Boomer
replied, leaning against his desk in the office that he and Nik shared at the
police station.

“Why me?” Today was turning out to
be one of the worst days of my life.

“Don’t know, she didn’t say, but she
does get one phone call. She didn’t want her lawyer or anyone else. Just you.”

“Then why didn’t she call?” I asked,
feeling light headed.

“She tried,” he answered. “Seems no
one knows your number these days.”

“I
do,” Nik said with a frown, looking from Boomer to me then back to him again.

“My
bad,” Boomer said, smirking, reminding me he still owed me payback for the Boy
Wonder crack. If he told Nik about Baldy and the online dating
misunderstanding, I’d holy smoke his Docker-clad behind.

“You have my number, but most other
people don’t,” I explained. “I recently switched to a new carrier and got on my
own plan.”

“I see.” Only, he didn’t look like
he did. He still looked suspicious, and my glaring at Boomer was probably not
helping.

“What if Maria was the one who
attacked me? Maybe she broke into our house to kill Jaz or kill me because I
was getting too close? She could have stashed the murder weapon in her shop
after she left my house. What if she wants to see me to finish the job?” I
swallowed hard, not too proud to admit I was terrified.

“It’s okay, Kalli. Calm down before
you give yourself a panic attack. I will be right there with you.”

“Negative,” Boomer said. “She wants
to speak with her alone.”

“You don’t have to do this, you
know,” Nik said to me.

“No, it’s okay,” I replied, taking a
deep breath and striving to remain calm. I was the only one who could find out
for sure if she was lying or not. I knew what I had to do, even if every ounce
of my flesh recoiled at the thought. “I need to put this case to rest once and
for all. I need closure. I just want this whole thing to be over, and maybe
after today, it finally will be.”

“Just know we’ll be right outside
the door, and she’ll be in handcuffs. You so much as raise your voice, I’m
coming in.”

“Okay, and thanks.” I smiled at him.
“For everything.”

He nodded, and then Boomer led the
way down the hall to the holding room with me in the middle and Nik bringing up
the rear. Boomer knocked once and then went inside the room with Maria.

Nik
turned to me and rubbed my shoulders before I could object, then dropped his
hands to his hips. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”

“Yes.
I’m ready. I think I actually need this.”

“Okay.
Just remember, it will all be over with very soon. I for one am looking forward
to putting this whole thing behind us and moving on to whatever the future
might have in store.”

There
was that word
future
again. I smiled
with a mixture of hope and anticipation. “Me too.”

The
door opened. “She’s ready for you.” Boomer stepped outside and held the door
for me.

I
took a moment to even my breathing, then held my head high and walked through
the door. A resounding click sounded behind me, and I jolted, much to my
frustration. The room was cold and white and empty except for a table and
chairs. Maria sat at the table with her handcuffed hands in front of her,
looking way more terrified than I felt. Somehow that put me instantly at ease.
Something wasn’t right here. My gut was screaming for me to get to the bottom
of it. She glanced up at me and promptly burst into tears.

Something
deep within pushed me forward and made me sit down across from her. “Maria,
what’s wrong?” I asked, my heart melting for the very real and sincere distress
written across her plump rosy cheeks. Yes, I wanted this case to be over with.
And yes, I wanted Jaz’s name cleared. But not at the expense of another
innocent victim taking the fall in her place. And every ounce of my being
screamed this woman was innocent.

“Everything!”
she wailed. “No one believes me. I admit I don’t like Jaz, but come on. I’m a
pissed-off jilted ex, not a murderer. And I think I’m even angrier at Johnny
than I am at Jaz. I have no clue how that stupid gun wound up in my shop. I was
just as surprised as the cops were when they got an anonymous tip. And of
course I don’t have an alibi for early this morning when you were attacked,
which I am so sorry about, by the way. No one deserves that.”

“What
happened?”

“The
truth of the matter is I live alone. I get up at the crack of dawn to bake, not
attack people. Do they really think I am capable of that? The real attacker
must have slipped the gun in my shop before I started baking this morning’s
pastries. Can I prove it? No. What do I have to do, install security cameras
too? I really didn’t think I needed them, but apparently every business is
vulnerable in this town.”

“Why
did you ask to talk with me?”

“I
don’t know. Something I saw in your eyes the day we talked in my shop, I guess.
You just seemed like you really wanted to get to the bottom of this case and
find the truth. Jaz wants her freedom—which trust me, after today, I can’t
blame her—and the police want this case closed, but you seem like the only
person who really cares about seeking justice. Oh, my God, what if justice
never happens? What if I go to prison for the rest of my life? I’ll die in there.”

She
started sobbing uncontrollably, so I did the unthinkable. I grabbed her hands
and held on tight.
Oh, please, God in
heaven, let someone believe me. I’m innocent. I’ve lost my boyfriend, now I’m
going to lose my freedom, and then I’ll lose my business. What did I do that
was so wrong to deserve this? I’m a good person. Why don’t I deserve happiness?
It’s not fair. None of this is fair.

I
felt her sincerity with every fiber of my being. I shuddered, then let go and
stared at her with sheer determination. “It’s going to be okay, Maria.”

“I-It
is?” She hiccupped.

“Yes.
Because I believe you.”

“B-But
Jaz is your best friend.”

“Yes,
she is. But she too is innocent, and if I know Jaz, she would never stand for
anyone being accused of something they didn’t do.”

“I
misjudged her.” Maria looked down, her face crumbling with shame. “Why is love
so hard? I let a stupid guy cloud my judgment.” She sniffed and looked up at
me, holding her chin high. “Never again, I tell you. “If I get out of this mess
in one piece, I will never again allow a man, of all things, to get in the way
of the sisterhood and my common sense.”

“Well
said,” I replied with a squeeze to her hands before I let go. “And trust me
when I say Jaz shares your sentiments. You two are more alike than either of
you realize. Something tells me when this is all over with, you’re going to
become fast friends.”

She
blinked, showing the first signs of hope. “You really think so? For some
strange reason, you might be right.”

“Yes,
I do think so, and I know I’m right. This too shall pass, and we
will
prevail.”

“What
makes you so sure?”

I
stared hard in her eyes, trying to give her enough hope to hang onto. “Because
I won’t stop until I find the real killer. I can promise you that.”

She
wiped her tears away and nodded, sitting a little straighter and looking a
whole lot stronger. We said our goodbyes and I left the holding room. Nik went
in to talk to Maria briefly and then rejoined me.

He
smiled, studying me closely. “You look good. Your talk must have gone well. So,
are we done now? Can we finally get on with our lives? You know, focus on the
future
?” His gaze held a sparkle that
spoke volumes.

“Absolutely,”
I replied. “My talk went very well, and I am definitely ready to focus on the
future, but we are so not done.”

He
blinked, and a look of wariness clouded his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“Maria
Danza might be a lot of things, but guilty of murder she is not. She didn’t do
it, which means, dear detective … we still have a murderer in our midst.”

“This has been
the day from hell. I can’t believe he did it to me again,” I said to Jaz later
that night while sitting out back on our deck, looking across the yard and over
the new fence Nik had paid to have replaced. The sun was setting, but not as
quickly these days, and the temperatures were growing warmer.

“Let
me guess,” Jaz said as she joined me with a glass of wine for each of us, “you
must be referring to Detective Dreamy. What did he do this time?”

Nik’s
sliding door opened. He let Wolfgang out, who whined when he saw us, causing
Prissy to hiss loudly and drawing Nik’s gaze to our side of the yard. He smiled
and waved. Jaz waved back, but I turned away, staring straight into our side of
the yard. I heard his grunt, then I heard the door close.

“He
insulted me again.”

“I’m
sure he didn’t mean to. I do know from my conversations with Boomer that the
chief wants this case wrapped up quickly. They are under a tremendous amount of
pressure. Even if they have any nagging doubts or want to believe Maria didn’t
do it, they are being pushed into wrapping up this case.”

“By
putting an innocent person behind bars? Maria didn’t kill anyone, and she’s not
the one who broke into our apartment.”

“How
did my gun get in her shop?”

“The
real culprit must be trying to set her up. I’m thinking my attacker is probably
the same person who broke into your car and the house the first time, and most
likely, the same person who killed Scott. I’m telling you, I held Maria’s hands
and heard her thoughts. She really was home at the time, but no one will
believe her. I know how she feels. No one wants to believe me either.”

“Come
on, Kalli, you know I believe you.”

“Yeah,
because you know about my gift. Detective Drive-Me-Crazy doesn’t. Is it too
much for him to go on blind faith? To trust my gut? He didn’t say the words
exactly, but it was pretty clear he would trust his own instincts and even
Boomer’s but not mine because I’m not a
real
cop. And he can’t understand why I’m not dropping this and jeopardizing your
freedom.”

“Hey,
don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. The last
thing I want is for anyone, even Maria, to fall on a sword for me. The truth
always comes out. In the meantime, you keep digging. If anyone can figure this
thing out, you can, from your sheer stubborn determination to prove Dreamy
wrong.” She held up her glass.

“Thanks,
I think.” I laughed, clinking my glass to hers.

“So,
I take it your date night is off?”

“Um,
yeah. You could say so. I’m keeping my head in the present, living for today,
so to speak. I’m beginning to think the future is highly overrated.” I took a
sip of wine. “Let’s back up a step. Tell me more about these conversations with
Boomer that you’ve had lately. Dare I ask if you engaged in pillow talk?”

“Trust
me when I say the past is anything but overrated, yet far too dangerous to
relive. Let’s just say based on experience if we were on the same pillow, we
wouldn’t be talking.” She sighed wistfully. “Nope, these days our conversations
are more of a factual nature.”

“Really?
And what facts did you discuss?”

“Turns
out Scott wasn’t the only twin with an addiction. Bobby was addicted to drugs.
I guess his allowance from his grandfather wasn’t enough to supply his habit,
so he started dealing. After some kid overdosed on drugs he got from Bobby,
their grandfather covered it up and sent Bobby away to rehab. By the time he
got out, his grandfather had died, leaving all his money to Scott,” Jaz said,
looking pensive. “I think you might be right. Baldy could very well be after
Bobby instead of Scott and have mistaken him when he killed him since they look
so much alike. They both had enemies and people who might want revenge.”

“I
just thought of something else. The attack on me didn’t start until the
investigation turned toward outsiders. Baldy could have broken in, trying to
discover what I’d found out, and then attacked me to try to stop me.”

“What
are you going to do?”

“Turn
the tables and stop him first.”

“You
should tell Detective Stevens.”

“I
don’t have proof. He won’t believe me any more than he believed Maria.”

A
rumble of thunder sounded and it started to sprinkle. We gathered our drinks
and Prissy, then headed inside. The phone rang, and Jaz checked the caller ID.
“Speak of the devil …”

“Great.
My day just keeps getting better and better,” I said, taking the phone from
her.