Lorna Barrett - Bookplate Special

Eugenia shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “But Dad, you and Mom have been married almost twenty-five years. I’m twenty-one… that means…”

Joe bit his lip, and looked like he was about to cry as well.

“I never meant to hurt your mother. It just happened. And the thing was… I got you in the bargain. We both got you, and it kept us together. We loved you as you were-we loved you through all the surgeries. We will always love you.”

They fell into each other’s arms, tears streaking their cheeks. Tricia hardened her heart. This was all very nice, but it didn’t answer who killed Pammy Fredericks.

The door opened, the little bell below the transom tinkling cheerfully.

Ginny whirled. “Brian! What are you doing here?”

He nodded toward Eugenia. “I followed her.”

“Why aren’t you at work?” Ginny asked, suspiciously.

“I’ve got some things to tell you, Ginny. I… kind of lost my evening job.”

“You what?”

“Two weeks ago,” he admitted.

Her eyes narrowed. “And just what have you been doing every work night for the last two weeks?”

“Looking for a new job,” he said, his voice harsh.

“And what else?” Ginny asked, and turned her gaze on Eugenia.

“Okay, so I hung out a few nights with Gina.”

“Gina?” Ginny asked, the color rising in her face. “Is that your pet name for her?”

Joe looked confused. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Daddy,” Eugenia said.

“Apparently there’s a lot more going on than I thought,” Tricia said.

“Me, too,” Ginny agreed. She turned back to Brian. “And I’d like an explanation.”

Brian walked back to the shop door, flipped the sign to CLOSED, and pulled down the door shade. “It might be better if we weren’t disturbed.”

Fear crept up Tricia’s spine. Nothing good would come of this conversation. They might learn the facts of what had happened when Pammy died, but she sensed lives were about to be changed-and not for the better.

Tricia swallowed before she asked her next question. “Who dumped Pammy into the garbage cart?”

“That was me,” Brian admitted, turning to face them once again. “I told her to leave Eugenia alone. I only meant to scare her when I tossed her into the garbage.”

“Did you know about this, Eugenia?” Joe demanded, his voice hard with anger.

“Not at first,” she admitted, and turned her gaze to take in Brian. “I didn’t want him to get in trouble.”

“Who kept calling me, demanding the diary?” Tricia asked.

“I did it,” Eugenia said. “I knew you had to have it. That stinking, evil witch stayed with you for two weeks. I figured since it wasn’t in her car-”

“You broke into her car?” Ginny asked.

“We didn’t have to. Brian took her keys. We drove the car over to Hanson Lane and looked through the trunk, but we didn’t find anything, so we left it there. We figured Pammy would eventually find it. And then she turned up dead, and we were scared.”

“What about the calls?” Tricia reminded her.

“Like I said,” Eugenia continued, “we figured you had to have it, so we drove to Nashua and got one of those voice-altering things for the phone. We figured I wouldn’t get in trouble if I didn’t make any specific threat-and I didn’t.”

“It’s up to the sheriff to decide if you’ve broken any laws.” Tricia turned her attention to Brian. “And it’s up to a grand jury to decide whether Pammy’s death is murder or manslaughter,” she said. “But either way, you’re both in pretty deep trouble.”

“I’m not going to jail,” Brian said, his voice rising. “I’ve always liked you, Tricia, but I’m not about to let you ruin my life.”

“What about my life?” Ginny demanded.

Tricia ignored her. “Brian, your life was ruined the moment you decided to scare Pammy Fredericks. I know you didn’t mean to hurt her-but it’s your fault she’s dead!”

“She was a scumbag. She wanted to ruin people I care about.”

“That may be true, but she didn’t deserve to die.”

“What about me ?” Ginny insisted, her eyes filled with tears. “Brian, we own a house together. We’re going to get married.”

He turned his anguished gaze toward Ginny. “Babe, I’m sorry. I never thought I’d care for Eugenia the way I do. I mean, we’ve known each other almost our whole lives. It just… happened.”

Just like it had happened between Joe and M.J., only Libby had never found out.

“And were you going to leave me for Eugenia?” Ginny demanded.

Brian turned away so he didn’t have to look her in the eye. “I… thought about it.” He shrugged. “Yeah, I think so.”

Ginny took a few choking breaths-sounding like a fish out of water. “And what happens now that Tricia and I know you’re a murderer?”

The door opened. A breathless Angelica burst in, still dressed in her fifties waitress costume, her feet encased in running shoes. Her eyes were wild with fear. “Are you okay, Trish?”

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Brian said coldly.

“Run!” Tricia shouted.

But Angelica just stood in the doorway, in shock.

Brian moved fast. In seconds he’d grabbed Angelica’s arm and hauled her farther into the store, slamming the door before shoving her against Tricia.

“What are you doing here?” Tricia grated.

“I saw Joe shut the blinds, and I knew Captain Baker told you not to talk to him.”

“So why didn’t you just call nine-one-one?”

“You two shut up and let me think!” Brian ordered.

“Now what are you going to do?” Ginny demanded. “Throw all three of us into the Dumpster?”

“What’s going on?” Angelica demanded.

Brian thrust his hand into his jacket and came out with a handgun, aiming it at Tricia and Angelica.

Ginny gasped. “Where on God’s Earth did you get that?”

“Brian, think about what you’re doing,” Tricia warned. “What happened with Pammy was an accident. If you fire that gun-”

Joe stepped forward. “Nobody’s firing any guns. Hand it over, kid.”

Brian shook his head. “I don’t want to go to jail.”

“Tricia’s right. You fire that gun, and that’s the end of life as you know it.”

“You’re one to talk. Eugenia told me you shot at Tricia’s windows. You shot Stuart Paige,” Brian said.

Joe’s head snapped as he turned toward his daughter. “That’s not true! Please tell me you didn’t do it.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Eugenia cried. “I only meant to scare Tricia. If Paige hadn’t moved, he never would’ve been shot.”

“You lied to me,” Brian said to her, angry.

“I didn’t want you to think badly of me.”

Joe’s face flushed, and he pursed his lips. He looked past his daughter and spoke to Brian. “You’re both already in enough trouble. Enough mistakes have already been made. Don’t make any more, kid.”

Brian stared at the people surrounding him. The gun in his hand wavered.

“How long are we going to stand around like this?” Angelica groused. “Are you going to kill all of us? What will you do with our bodies?”

“Forensics will always nail a killer, Brian,” a grim-faced Ginny piped up. “I learned that reading mysteries and thrillers.”

“Shut up, Ginny! Just shut up!” Brian hollered.

Another tear slid down Ginny’s cheek. “And to think I almost married you.”

“We can’t just stand here all night,” Joe said reasonably.

Tricia swallowed. Sure they could! The best way to defuse the situation was to talk it out, not egg Brian on. But Joe took another step forward. The gun swung in his direction.