Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
A my was on a stretcher awake by the time Beau and Ian arrived ready to be transported to the hospital for tests to make sure she was all right. Beau was by her side in an instant, his eyes turning wide with worry when he spotted the large bump on her forehead.
“I’m fine,” she assured him, latching onto his hand when he reached for her. “It was my own fault. I panicked.” She shuddered. “Blood.” She shuddered again. “Rats.”
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” the ambulance attendant said, taking hold of the stretcher to wheel her to one of the two ambulances there.
“What about the man in the basement? He’s far worse than I am,” Amy said.
Leave it to Amy to find out what was going on with the guy since they hadn’t heard a word about him since Josh carried Amy out of the basement and ordered me to follow him.
“They’re working on him, but he’s lost a lot of blood,” the attendant said.
“I’m going with her,” Beau said with a force that threatened anyone to deny him.
“I want him with me,” Amy said, reinforcing Beau’s demand.
“Ian and I will be there as soon as I find out what’s going on,” I said as Amy’s stretcher slid into the ambulance and Beau hurried in beside her.
“I’m good,” I said, turning to Ian, knowing he would ask how I was.
“I am relieved to hear that being your shirt is covered with blood,” he said and went to take me in his arms to hug me.
I stopped him, not that I wanted to. I loved his strong, intimate hugs that let me know he never intended to stop loving me. “You’ll get blood on you.” I grinned. “Though I reserve the right to receive that hug later.”
“And much more,” he said and kissed me lightly.
I reached out for his hand, and he closed his around mine and gave it a loving squeeze. “I recognized the guy’s voice. It was one of the guys in the bookstore and he could be a biker or dressed like one.”
Ian looked puzzled. “What could he be doing here at the museum?”
“That’s what I’ve been wondering and what was he doing in the basement? And whoever did this to him not realize he wasn’t dead? Or did he intend to leave him to die and come back and get rid of the body?”
“That would mean the person has a key to the museum.”
“It would seem likely since the door was locked when I got here,” I confirmed and spotted one of the EMS workers approach my dad who was talking to a crime scene tech and shaking his head.
Ian had the same idea as me, moving closer to see what we could hear.
“Sorry, Sheriff, we did everything we could. He lost too much blood.”
“You guys always go beyond, Flynn. I appreciate it,” my dad said. “He didn’t regain consciousness by any chance, did he?”
Flynn shook his head. “No. He never spoke a word to us. He didn’t have a chance with that many stab wounds.”
“Thanks again, Flynn,” my dad said.
My dad and Flynn stepped aside as the man was rolled out on a stretcher, his body was covered with a sheet. I watched as the stretcher passed by Ian and me and noticed the man’s hand had fallen out from under the sheet to dangle off the stretcher.
I spotted something and yelled, “Stop!” I yanked Ian along with me as I hurried to the stretcher that had halted abruptly at my shout.
“Pepper, what is?—”
I turned to my dad who came up behind me. “His hand. Look at his hand.”
Flynn stepped around the stretcher to look at the guy’s hand. “It looks like a dog bite, several days or possibly a week old. The coroner can tell you more.”
“I bet he’s the man who stole Mom’s purse,” I said as soon as Flynn was out of earshot. “And he’s also one of the men I heard talking in the bookstore. I recognized his voice.”
“The dead guy spoke to you?” my dad asked.
“Only two words. ‘Help me.’ But he has such a distinct gravelly voice that it was impossible not to recognize it,” I explained. “He looks like he could be a biker. You might ask Stone if one of his crew is missing—” I shut up when his face got that Dad look. Even at my age you did not ignore a Dad look and, of course you apologize even if you don’t know why you’re apologizing. “Sorry, Dad. You don’t need me telling you how to do your job.”
“No, I don’t, but I do appreciate your keen eye, especially since you got it from me,” he said with a bit of a smile.
“I take it that the museum is going to be closed off until the crime scene people finish their investigation,” I said.
“You’d be right about that,” my dad said. “Do you know who has keys to this place?”
“I assume certain members of the historical society. Mom could be more specific. Though, I wonder if a key was given to Professor Anderson when he was doing research on the history of Willow Lake for the book he wrote. Maybe he never gave it back,” I suggested.
“Professor Anderson, huh. I’ll need to have an official talk with him,” my dad said, his chest suddenly expanding.
I smiled and so did Ian. This was my dad’s chance to get a little payback for the professor attempting to kiss his wife and the fountain incident.
“I sent Josh to the hospital to get an official statement from Amy. I expect that’s where you plan to go now, so give Josh your official statement as well.” My dad’s phone rang, and he answered it. “Calm down, Sally, everyone is fine. No one got hurt. Yes, she found another body.” He shook his head and waved us off and I heard him say as Ian and I turned away, “No, Sally, I don’t think she’s cursed, she’s just too curious for her own good.”
Everything had gone well with Amy at the hospital. By the time I left, she and Beau were waiting for her discharge papers, and all seemed in order. Josh, as expected, had been his usual annoying self, joking that I was turning Willow Lake into a battlefield littered with dead and unconscious bodies. I ignored him.
Ian, unfortunately, didn’t get to stick around for long. He had to jump back into work, covering Beau’s business meetings and overseeing a couple of problematic photo shoots. The demands of his schedule left me with some alone time, and I wasn’t about to waste it.
My plan after getting out of my bloody shirt? A soothing cup of tea and the chance to compile a list detailing everything that happened at the museum. Any mystery was best solved by keeping a meticulously organized file, and I wasn’t about to let any detail of the vanishing body mystery slip through the cracks.
For preppers, lists aren’t just helpful—they’re lifelines. They ensure nothing is forgotten and every angle is considered. They bring clarity to chaos, focus to frenzy, and security to uncertainty. Whether it’s groceries, gear, or museum shenanigans, lists are the backbone of preparedness. And trust me, being prepared is never overrated.
Mo enjoyed the treat I gave him and returned to watch the men working on the deck. Roxie retreated to the library once she finished her snack to sleep, and I settled on the couch with my laptop to compile my list.
I was so intent on the list that the noise of the numerous power tools didn’t disturb me at all, but Mo’s sudden growl did. I’d been so lost in my task that I hadn’t seen Mo go to the front door. He sat in front of it growling. Then I heard it. A vehicle coming up the driveway.
I opened the door to see a black truck. Mo’s growl grew louder, and I didn’t need to see the driver to know who it was.
Stone.
I stepped outside with Mo and ordered, “Sit. And behave unless I say otherwise.”
Mo sat, his chest out and his chin up.
Stone stuck his head out the window. “He’s not going to attack me, is he?”
“Not unless you give him cause.”
Stone got out of the truck and raised his hands as if in surrender. “I mean no harm, gorgeous.”
Mo snarled showing his impressive sharp teeth.
“He doesn’t like you calling me gorgeous. That’s for Ian alone.”
“Sweetheart—”
Mo’s snarl grew.
“Pepper works best,” I advised.
“A name that fits you since you’re hot and spicy,” Stone said. “Hey, he didn’t growl. Hot and spicy, it is. Let’s shorten that to Spicy. It suits you perfectly.”
I didn’t want to waste time arguing with him, so I let it go. “What do you want, Stone?”
“To let you know that wasn’t one of my crew you found in the basement of that museum. Your dad brought me in again—I’m really getting familiar with that police station—to see if the dead guy was one of mine. I didn’t recognize him. There are plenty of guys that want to look tough, like they belong to a motorcycle club, but don’t. He could be hired muscle.”
“Working for someone,” I said, the scene in the bookstore returning and hearing “Do what you were hired—” before Vera had interfered. Had the guy been ordering the now-dead guy to finish off the guy in the hospital? Had he hired him to steal my mom’s purse? Could Stone be lying and the dead guy was actually one of his crew?
He was at Treetop that night but so was Professors Anderson and Swatcher. It could have been any one of the three.
“You don’t trust me, Spicy, do you?”
“You got that right,” I confirmed. “I’m surprised that with you claiming to be a Willow that you haven’t been to the Willow Mansion.”
“You don’t know if I have, though I haven’t been there.” He shook his head. “You’re good, Spicy, you got the answer without asking the question. It would be a waste of my time. If the jewels were there they would have been found by now. The Willow guy had them buried with his daughter as stupid as that was, and they will eventually be mine.”
“Professor Anderson?—”
“Is an idiot when he told me that the jewels weren’t mine to claim. Not so. The mausoleum doesn’t belong to the historical society. The church oversees it for the Willow family. So, when I prove I am a direct descendent of Ignatius Willow, I’ll have Verbena’s tomb opened and the jewels will be rightfully mine.”
“And what proof is that?” I asked, upset hearing his plans to disturb Verbena’s resting place.
He grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I’m on to you, Spicy. You can’t get me to divulge secrets that easily.” His grin turned wickedly seductive. “Though there are ways that might work.”
“In your dreams,” I said.
He laughed. “That you are, Spicy, and constantly, though I can’t wait until it’s not a dream.”
“I’m not inclined to suffer a nightmare.”
His laugh turned hardy. “You are entertaining. So, tell me, did you find the secret passageway to the mausoleum yet? And don’t bother to deny that you’re searching for one. I know for a fact you are.”
“How do you know?”
“I did some digging and discovered that most of the older vaults have escape hatches just in case someone accidentally gets locked in. After learning about your story of the vanishing body, which people were only too glad to share with me, I figured it was the only way the guy got out without being seen. I bet I can find it before you,” he challenged with a smile.
“I doubt it, but have at it,” I said confidently. “Where’s your crew? I haven’t seen them since you showed up at the cemetery.”
“They’re scouting the area for a possible move here. I’ve got the urge to return to my roots. You know, maybe I should go check out the Willow Mansion. Maybe I’ll spot some clues there that will help me find the secret passageway. How about you give me a tour one day?”
“They give perfectly good tours there that I am sure you will enjoy,” I said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Afraid to be alone with me and discover that you like me more than you expected?”
I erupted into a fit of laughter, not a smart move with the way he reacted the last time I laughed at him.
But to my relief, he simply shook his head and walked away calling out, “One day, Spicy, one day.”