The Age of Inno-Scents, page 11
There was pounding on the door as I dropped down to the ground and rolled away from Tim. “You hear that, you son-of-a-bitch? They’re coming. They’re coming for you. No more getting away with it.” I panted with effort as I got to my knees.
“I’m gonna kill you,” he seethed. He rushed at me, and when he raised his hand to pummel me, I punched out with all my might, and nailed him in his family jewels.
Tim howled as he doubled over and dropped the stone paperweight. I picked it up before he could and smacked him across the temple with it, sending him all the way to the floor. The unconscious bastard landed across my lap. I kicked him off me and crawled to the door. I used the handle to pull myself to a stand, then unlocked the door.
Gilly was the first to rush in. “Nora!” Her horrified, worried expression told me all I needed to know.
I hugged her tightly as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Cripes, you had me so scared,” she said. “We couldn’t get in. That door had to be designed for war.”
“Nora!” Pippa exclaimed as she joined in on the hug.
Jordy rushed past us, grabbed the cord I’d used to save my life, and hog-tied Tim Dean.
“You hurt?” Pippa asked me.
“Nothing but my pride.” I’d really thought Tim had been the injured party in this plot. Turned out, he was a killer, and he’d been prepared to kill again. “Thanks to my heroes,” I told her.
Gilly leaned back and glanced at the knocked-out, tied-up bad guy on the ground. “Babe, you’re your own hero.”
“You found me. That made all the difference. If you hadn’t seen me,” I said, my voice and body shaky now that the adrenaline had worn off. “It could’ve ended differently.”
“But it didn’t.” She gave my back a brisk rub.
“Ezra needs us,” I said. “He has Daffney.”
“I know,” she told me. “That Biff guy found us. He sent Scott down there.”
“An ambulance?”
“Tony Morton called. He said his phone had all the bars, and when we couldn’t find you…” She made a fist and shook it in Tim’s direction. “Is it bad to kick a guy when he’s down?”
I cracked a smile. “He’ll get his due in prison.”
“I’ll go check on Ezra and Scott,” Jordy said. “Are you guys all right here?”
I nodded. “Tell Ezra what happened. Tell him I’m okay.”
“I will,” he said.
Morton came into the office after Jordy departed. “The police and an ambulance are on the way.” His eyes widened as he took in the prone figure of Tim Dean. “He was always such a quiet man.”
“It’s always the quiet ones,” Gilly said solemnly.
Tim groaned and began to stir.
Gilly looked at me. “Are you sure I can’t kick him?”
“It would, like, be, like, a rad move against a really bad dude,” Pippa said.
Gilly snickered. “He’s totally grody to the max.”
My heart filled with love for my two friends who always had my back no matter what. “You guys are totally bitchin’ besties.” I glanced down at Tim then back to Gilly. “Do you want to make a citizen’s arrest? I think Ezra promised you that.”
She grinned. “I absolutely do.” She walked over to Tim, toed him with the end of her shoe, then balled her fists on her hips. “Okay, dirtbag, you have the right to remain silent.” She glanced back at me. “Maybe I should wait until he’s awake.”
I crinkled my nose at her. “However you want to play it. It’s your birthday, after all.”
I’d never been so grateful when the ambulance and the police showed up. The police arrested Tim Dean, and after I gave them my statement, they took Lynn Gleason and Sawyer Johnson in for questioning. I had a feeling Tim was going to give them an earful about his wife and her lover. I hoped all three got their just dues.
The paramedics had gotten Daffney’s bleeding stopped and had hooked her up to an IV. They looked at me, but other than a few bumps and bruises, I was fine. Ezra, however, had needed to be treated for minor burns. Velma had already headed to the hospital in her own car. I stood with Ezra as they loaded Daffney into the ambulance. She refused to look in Ezra’s direction.
“You saved her life,” I said. “Why is she acting like she’ll turn to stone if she captures your eye?”
He chuckled. “She propositioned me.”
My eyes widened as I realized what he said. “She what?”
“After you left the room with Dean, she came around. She asked me how much I cost.”
“I don’t understand.”
He grinned. “She thought I was a prostitute, Nora. She wanted to know how much I charged for my services.”
I couldn’t hide my shock. “No.”
“Yep.” He raised his brows in amusement. “Imagine her surprise when I told her I was a cop.”
“I can imagine.” I turned to face him. “This means…” I put my fingers over my mouth. “Oh, my gawd. She thought I’d hired you to be my date.”
He laughed out loud at that. “Yep.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“I told her that I’d never loved anyone the way I love you, and that I’ve never been loved better by anyone before you.” He took me in his arms. “I’m so happy you didn’t get hurt.”
“Me too,” I said. I kissed him.
“Excuse me,” a man interrupted. “What is going on?”
I looked over my shoulder to see Robert Forester standing behind me. Ezra practically vibrated.
“You,” he said, his voice full of accusation.
I’d nearly forgotten about the vision I’d had when the man had crossed paths with me earlier. I stepped away from Ezra as he quickly moved around me, grabbed Forester and shoved him against the side of the ambulance. “You’re under arrest,” he said.
“For what?” the actor sputtered. “I haven’t done anything.” He’d lost his upper-crust accent, and it had been replaced with something that sounded more like he’d come from the south.
“You killed a man,” I said. “You stabbed him with a knife.”
“I never!” he exclaimed.
“Sonny,” I told him. “Does that ring any bells?”
He coughed. “Sonny. You mean, Sonny Carolla?”
“Maybe,” I admitted. There’d been no last names in my vision.
“Carolla?” Ezra asked.
“What? Have you heard of Sonny Carolla?” I asked Ezra.
“Millions of people have heard of Sonny Carolla,” the actor sputtered.
“Oh my.” I let out a slow breath to still my excitement. Had I just broken some great unsolved case? A zing of thrill zipped through me as I imagined his poster coming down from the FBI’s most wanted billboard.
Ezra looked flummoxed as he eased his hold on the older man. “Uhm, I’m afraid there’s been a mistake.”
“I’ll say.” Forester took a few steps away. “I’ll never get away from Victor Patrone.”
“Victor Patrone?” Was Forester in hiding from another bad guy?
Ezra frowned and shook his head. “I don’t think we need to—"
The actor snarled. “That character ruined my life.” He raised his fist and shook it. “Do you know how many death threats I got daily from disgruntled housewives who wanted to kill me for executing their favorite character?”
“Favorite character? I’m really confused,” I said. I looked to Ezra for answers.
He gave me a half-grimace, half-smile. “As The Globe Burns,” he said. “It was a soap opera in the nineties.” He gave Forester an apologetic shrug. “I’m afraid my mom was one of those angry fans.” He softly laughed. “Damn, I forgot all about that. She punched a wall when you killed off Sonny.”
“Young man,” Forester said, straightening his jacket and adjusting his dignity. “I didn’t kill him off. The writers did. If you want to manhandle someone, I will happily give you their names.”
“Nope. All good.” Ezra tilted his head and gave the man a tight-lipped smile. “Again, I apologize.”
Before Forester could walk away, I asked him, “Why are you wearing that cologne?” Surely, not all the straight guys were sleeping with Lynn.
The older man, still acting wounded and offended, sniffed his displeasure. “It was…available.” Ah, he’d used either Tim’s or Sawyer’s cologne. That made more sense as to why I was getting hits of them off Forester. The actor yanked his collar up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go meditate…again.” I couldn’t blame him for wanting to find his Zen again. He’d been taken to task over an almost thirty-year-old grudge.
I wrapped my arms around Ezra’s waist. “Your mom used to watch, huh?”
He kissed my forehead. “I might’ve caught a few episodes here or there.”
“Only a few?” I grinned and slid my hand up the back of his shirt.
He stiffened at my cold fingers against his skin. “We don’t need to tell the others about this, er, misunderstanding, do we?”
“It’ll be our little secret,” I told him. “How about we get the gang and pack it in? I think this murder mystery weekend is a bust, and I’m ready to go home and get in my own bed…” I kissed him again. “With you.”
“That sounds like an event I can get into.” He nipped my lower lip. “Admission free.”
“You’re so bad.”
He reached down and cupped my butt with both hands. “I’m ready to show you just how bad I can be.”
“Excuse me,” Gilly said. She was standing with Scott, Pippa, and Jordy. “I figured out who the killer is. You know, the one who killed Biff the jock.” She arched her brow and with her best detective voice, she said, “The murderer is Leah Standish.”
“Ironic,” Pippa said. “You know, since she orchestrated the death of one husband and was trying to off another.”
Gilly gave her a don’t-ruin-my-moment stare. With a lot of enthusiasm, she said, “From the clues, I deduced that Leah was in love with Mr. Moore, who had stopped seeing her when Biff blackmailed him. Moore broke up with Leah, so she caused trouble between Mary Jane Masterson, Brian Bender, and Biff. It was her way of throwing suspicion away from herself. She hit him with a trophy that was hidden in one of the rooms and strangled him with a rope covered in chemical powder to get revenge on the teacher who dumped her to save his job!” She smacked the bottom of her fist against her palm. “Boom! Birthday girl gets bragging rights.”
“Okay,” I said. “Congratulations. I mean, I solved a real crime, but sure, I’ll give you this one.”
Pippa rolled her eyes. “Is it really fair to say Gilly solved the fake case if Tony Morton told her the solution.”
Gilly backhanded Pippa’s arm. “Spoilsport.” Gilly looked around. “I hope Tony and Tina, who I found out are total BFFs since college and partners in School’s Out for Murder, keep the event going. They said they had full bookings clear through to the fall. They’ll just need to find a couple of actors…” She turned her eager stare at me.
“Have fun with that,” I snorted.
“I’m tempted,” Gilly said. “Especially with the twins off to college. But I probably won’t. I need another full-time job like I need another hole in my head.” She sighed. “Ah well, let’s get our crap and get the heck out of here. We can eat birthday cake at my house tomorrow.”
Scott put his arm around her from behind. “Cake is always a reason to celebrate.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. I glanced around at my circle of friends, feeling damn lucky to have them in my life. My besties had fought to try and save me, the same as I would do for them. I nodded to Gilly. “And as far as I’m concerned, you get total bragging rights.”
“Good,” she said. She took a large metal button from her pocket and put it on her coat. “Because I have the super sleuth badge, and I plan to wear it with pride.”
“As you should.” I laughed. “Happy birthday, super sleuth.”
Chapter
Fifteen
A few weeks later…
We’d had a super slow day at Scents & Scentsability and decided to close early. Ezra had called earlier in the day and told me he had some news he said he wanted to tell me in person. So, closing early worked for me. It would give me time to shave my legs and chill a bottle of wine before Ezra got to my place.
Halfway through our final clean up and front of house inventory, Gilly had gotten a call. She’d taken her phone back to her massage room and closed the door. The pitch of her voice, even though we couldn’t make out the words, ranged from surprised to excited.
“Who is she talking to?” I asked Pippa.
Pippa shrugged. “Maybe Scott.” A blond lock of hair escaped her ponytail, and she tucked it behind her ear.
“The two of them are really great together,” I said.
Pippa smiled. “They’re so adorable.”
Scott had confessed his love to Gilly at the Murder High, and she’d been walking on cloud nine since. I was ecstatic she finally found a guy who treated her with kindness and respect, and the sizzling chemistry between them was undeniable. “Maybe they’re having phone sex,” I teased.
Pippa appeared satisfyingly scandalized. “No,” she said. “She wouldn’t….”
I shrugged. “Wouldn’t she?” I grabbed a box of lavender and bergamot pillow spray. Lavender was great for sleep and headaches, and the bergamot added a warm note of citrus that aided in relaxation. I had several customers who tended to buy out my supplies monthly.
A peel of laughter from the spa area made us both raise our brows.
“I’ve never laughed that hard when it comes to sex,” I commented
“Yeah,” Pippa agreed. “That kind of laughing is usually a boner killer.”
I choked. “Talking from experience, huh?”
She grinned and shook her head. “Not recent experience.”
I finished restocking sprays. “I’m sure Jordy’s glad to hear that.”
“Har har,” Pippa countered.
“I’m so glad you called,” Gilly said as she came around the corner from the massage. She had a grin on her face that brightened her brown eyes. “I’m looking forward to Monday.” She gave Pippa and me a quick nod. “All right,” she finished up. “I’ll see you soon.” She took the phone away from her ear and tapped the screen. After a brief pause, she turned to us and squealed. “I’m going to be an actor!”
“What in the world?” Pippa asked.
“School’s Out For Murder, Incorporated,” she said as an explanation. “That was Tony Morton. We’ve been texting since that weekend. He and Tina are going to continue the business.”
“That’s great,” I said. “I’m glad they aren’t giving up on their dream.”
Ezra had been tracking the progress on the investigation. He’d told me a few days ago that Tim Dean confessed to killing Leah’s first husband when he was her student, and he’s willing to testify that she coerced him. Apparently, she was pulling the same game on Sawyer that she had Tim. I shivered just thinking about Leah’s twisted mind. Both men in her life had been vulnerable, and she’d taken advantage of her position over them. Her relationships with both of them were more about power than anything close to love.
“And they want you to be one of the actors?” Pippa asked.
Gilly’s shoulders practically raised to her ears as she nodded. “Tony asked me if I wanted a part.”
“And you said yes?” Pippa frowned, and I could see the worry on her face. “What about your clients?”
“It’s only a trial run,” Gilly said. “And I only have to go over to Button Falls a couple of times a week, and then on weekends.”
Gilly sounded enthusiastic about the prospect of acting. Maybe it was the idea of doing something new with her life, and why shouldn’t she? After all, I’d started over, and that hadn’t turned out bad at all.
“Cool,” I said to her. “It sounds like a lot of fun.”
“What about Scott?” Pippa asked. “It’s going to cut down on the time you get to spend with him.”
Ezra had been gone undercover for a few weeks, and I’d missed him to the extreme. Even so, I’d have never stood in his way.
Gilly put her hand on Pippa’s and gave it a squeeze. “I’m not going to live my life trying to please someone else, especially if it means I have to give up a little of my own happiness.” She smiled. “Not anymore. I love him, and I don’t want to lose him,” she said. “But I’m not going to make decisions out of fear.”
I studied my BFF for a moment, amazed at her strength and conviction. She was choosing herself for the first time ever, and I was completely on board for it. “I see a lot of trips to Button Falls in the good doctor’s future.”
She gave me a hopeful smile. “I’ll have my own private room.”
“I guess there’s only one thing to say.” Pippa glanced at me, and I caught her meaning.
In unison, we both said, “Break a leg.”
Gilly’s lower lip jutted in a cute pout. “You guuuys.” She held out her arms. “Group hug.”
She didn’t have to ask us twice as we all huddled in.
Later that evening…
After the buzzing stopped, the resulting silence only increased my anticipation. “Come on,” I whined. My impatience was getting the better of me. “I want to see.”
I heard a chuckle from the bathroom, and a tremor of excitement ran through me.
Ezra, without fanfare, walked into the bedroom, patting his face with a towel. When he took the towel away, his clean-shaven appearance stole my breath.
I gave a slow whistle and he rewarded me with a smile. It was the first time since his return home that I’d seen his cute dimples. He rubbed his angular, kissable jaw with the back of his fingers, and asked, “Better?”
“God, I’ve missed that face,” I replied. The news was that he’d finally been given the greenlight from the taskforce commander that he could ditch the face-fur. I’d insisted on making it an event.
