Spring Break Murder Read online

  We all sat for a moment, letting the story hang in the air between us. Even if Louise didn't actually kill Hilda, Louise's story would probably help exonerate Mandy. I supposed the police could argue that Mandy came after Louise left and finished the job, but by that point Bill and Mandy were together. Once again we were running into the same secretive roadblock.

  "Louise, we have to tell the police," Roger said, firmly taking her by the hands.

  A wave of relief washed over me. I wouldn't have to be the one to bring it up. Louise nodded slowly, taking another tissue that Trevor offered for her. She dabbed her cheeks and then loudly blew her nose.

  "I'm going to take Tessa to the doctor," Trevor said, standing up from the couch. "Roger, I assume you will get Louise to the police station?"

  Roger nodded, looking like a half-deflated balloon. It was obvious he loved Louise enough to see her through this ordeal. I just hoped that it would be enough for the police to release Mandy.

  Trevor started tugging on my elbow, pulling me up to stand next to him. The pain in my hands was getting worse and worse. Hopefully a doctor visit wouldn't take too long so that it could coincide with picking Mandy up from the police station.

  Chapter Twenty

  An hour and a half later, Trevor and I walked out of the emergency room and back into the beautiful Florida day. I had two bandaged hands, a prescription for burn cream and most likely, a hefty bill that would arrive in my mailbox in a few weeks. What I didn't have was an answer to whether Mandy would be released or not.

  Trevor's rental car was sitting all the way at the back of the very full parking lot and I had a brief feeling of gratitude that I wasn't on crutches or otherwise unable to walk the very long walk back there. The one nice bit was that after an overly air-conditioned stint inside the medical bay, the warmth of the sun felt amazing on my skin.

  "Here you go, Tessa," Trevor said, holding the car door open for me.

  I slid into the car, thinking about all of the nice things Trevor had been doing for me today. He walked around the car and got in, slipping a pair of sunglasses on. The car started with a roar and for just a moment I could see the appeal of a sports car.

  "Trevor, can I just say a big thank you for all of your help?" I said. "You were so great helping me with my hands and getting me here to the doctor. Your investigation skills may be a bit sub-par, but your calm demeanor and medical knowledge really saved my day."

  "No problem," Trevor said as he chuckled to himself. "I guess you are right about the investigating thing. I never would have gotten involved if Mandy wasn't the one who was being accused. I'm just glad I have you to do most of the legwork."

  "At least I don't have to do the armwork," I said, refraining from making a rimshot sound effect afterwards.

  Trevor just rolled his eyes at my lame joke and put his seatbelt on, helping me click mine in place. As we drove out of the parking lot, my cell phone started to ring. The little window on the outside of the phone said it was Bill calling but my bandaged hands made it almost impossible for me to open my flip phone so by the time I was actually able to answer it, the call had already been sent to voicemail. I quickly hit the button to redial.

  "Tessa, are you there?" Bill said.

  "Yes, yes, what's going on? Did Mandy get released?"

  "Yes I did!" Mandy's voice came through the phone from somewhere in the background. "Come see me!"

  "We will be right there," I said.

  I shut my phone with a snap and turned towards Trevor. He stopped at a stop sign and turned to give me a puzzled look. I couldn't blame him for being cautious. He had planned everything out for a big surprise and it had all gone to pot.

  "Drive to the police station," I yelled, throwing my bandaged hands in the air and waving them around. I know I looked like a weirdo, but I didn't care because I was so happy. "Cause we are picking up your girlfriend!"

  We hooted and hollered until a car suddenly honked behind us. Apparently they did not share our enthusiasm for Mandy's release and only wanted to get wherever they were headed. Trevor hurriedly looked for traffic before making a turn and I shot a smile and a wave at the people behind us who had honked. Judging by their scowl, they did not forgive our extra-long traffic stop.

  A few wrong turns later, we were pulling into the parking lot of a nondescript building that had the words POLICE DEPARTMENT above the front entrance. I could see Mandy and Bill sitting on a bench in front of the front doors with a man in a suit who, I deduced using my best investigative skills, must be the lawyer that Bill had called in.

  "Hey, let's surprise her," I said before Trevor could actually park. "She still doesn't know you are here. Drop me off towards the back of the parking lot and then circle around to pick her up."

  "That's a great idea," Trevor said, his dark eyes glinting. "Get out here and I'll slowly circle until I see you are up there with them."

  As soon as the car stopped at the back of one of the lanes of the parking lot, I practically fell out of the door because I was so excited to see Mandy. I ran down the middle of the parked cars waving aggressively towards Mandy as I yelled her name.

  Mandy turned and smiled broadly at me, waving her hand just as excitedly as I was. A confused expression flew across her face as I remembered that my hands were heavily bandaged. After what seemed like way too much running, I was finally near the bench.

  "I'm so excited you are out," I said. "So Louise's story must have worked, huh?"

  "It sure did!" she exclaimed. "But what's with the mummy look? What in the world happened?"

  I didn't think I should retell everything, so I gave an abridged version of the meeting at Louise's house and added in the clue that had brought us there along with Louise's story. By the end, Mandy was giggling and Bill had a wide smile on his face that I'm sure would be plastered there for a while. Only the strange man in the suit wasn't smiling.

  "As admirable as your sense of duty and friendship are," the man said, "I'd appreciate for my client's sake if you would refrain from doing any more of this investigating that you think is helping. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear about a potential clue that you gave back to a murder suspect."

  I frowned at the sourpuss and hoped he was a super smart lawyer because his bedside manner could obviously use some work. But I trusted Bill's judgment. He must have seen something in this man to hire him.

  "This is Mr. French," Mandy explained. "He's my lawyer. And the police did release me, but they told me I couldn't leave the area until they give me the go-ahead."

  I stuck my hand out towards Mr. French, who gave a slight sneer before he reached out and grasped it. I gave it a vigorous shake. I wanted him on my side in case the police got upset at my investigation. Back in Shady Lake, I could count on Max to keep me out of jail as much as possible, but down here I didn't know any of the police officers.

  "Hello Mr. French," I said. "My name is Tessa Schmidt and I am the reason your client was just released from police detention."

  Mandy shot me a look that told me to cut the sass, but the twinkle in Bill's eye told me to keep it up. Before Mr. French could respond, I heard a car pull up and park behind me.

  "Anybody need a ride?" Trevor said as he took off his sunglasses and got out of the car.

  I looked straight at Mandy. Her eyebrows were so high that they had almost become a part of her bangs and her mouth was wide open. She was so shocked she was completely frozen. Trevor came around the front of the car and waved at her at which point she finally moved, running to him and jumping into his open arms.

  A glance at the large smile on Bill's face and I knew I was also grinning like an idiot. I tried to ignore Mr. French who was sitting on the bench watching us but seemingly unmoved by the entire situation. I wondered if this was his professional demeanor or if he was always a bundle of fun like this.

  "That was great timing," Bill said, elbowing my arm. "You're such a great friend to Mandy. Thank you for everything you've done today."

  We
both turned and watched the happy couple, wrapped up in each other's arms and murmuring to each other. Mr. French finally stood up and with a promise from Bill to call if anything else happened, he returned to his fancy sports car and drove off.

  Trevor opened the passenger door of the convertible and helped Mandy into the car before running around and hopping into the driver's seat. He revved the engine and with a small wave from both of them, they drove off into the sunset.

  I leaned over to Bill as we watched the happy couple drive away.

  "You can give me a ride back to the RV park, right?" I asked.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  That night, I sat down to another dinner on the deck with Bill and Sally. I joyfully regaled them with every detail of my visit with Louise while they asked questions and laughed at all the funny parts. I also struggled to hold my fork with my hands all wrapped up, so I resorted to putting my grilled chicken on a bun and eating it as a sandwich instead.

  "Tessa, I'm not sure we will ever be able to thank you for helping Mandy out so much," Sally said. "She would still be sitting in that police station if it weren't for you and Trevor. She may not be out of the woods yet, but it doesn't seem like she is the main suspect anymore."

  I took another bite of my sandwich to make sure I didn't point out Trevor's very obvious lack of investigative skills. He still annoyed me a little bit but I had to admit that after spending time with him today he was growing on me, just a little.

  With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the thanks. As a born and bred Minnesotan, I am always uncomfortable accepting thanks and with no one to deflect it to, I resorted to waving it into oblivion. In my mind, I had done what anyone would have done for their best friend.

  "Speaking of Trevor, what do you think of him?" Sally said. I looked at her and her blue eyes were locked on my face. She was searching for any emotion that my face dared to let slip.

  "Oh he's good," I said, sipping from my wine glass. "Trevor's good."

  "Out with it," Sally said. "Mandy has been very clear about the fact that you do not like Trevor. I have to say that as much as I know about him, I like him. But if he's here to propose, I'd like to hear from you exactly what you think of him so I know what to expect from my possible son-in-law. I want to know the good, bad, and the ugly."

  The bite of sandwich in my mouth suddenly felt like I would need to chew it for an hour before I could swallow it. How should I answer that? My own feelings on Trevor were conflicted. Once upon a time, I had been convinced he was sort of a dirtbag who took advantage of Mandy. But since moving back to Shady Lake and actually spending a little time with him, I was seeing things I never would have thought would be there.

  I kept chewing even though the bite had practically disintegrated in my mouth. After I swallowed, I picked up my wineglass and took a sip. Over the bubbly white wine, I could see Sally's eyes trained on me. She was not going to let me off easy with this one. Bill was more focused on his dinner and on the fact that he had a poker game to attend in about five minutes. I decided to go for the compliment sandwich, which I had once learned about as a nice way to critique someone. While telling someone about something negative, it helps to make sure it is surrounded by positive things.

  "Well, it is obvious that Trevor loves Mandy a lot," I said, using the obvious as a jumping off point before moving on to the not so nice point. "I do think he could work a little bit on his lackadaisical attitude towards life in general."

  "Mmm hmm," Sally said. Her elbows were on the table and her hands were folded together with her chin propped on top of them. I got the feeling that Sally would have made it very far up the corporate ladder if she hadn't been so busy running a donut shop.

  "But I think he is working on being a bit more mature than he has been," I said, ending with another statement that was about as much of a compliment as I could get for Trevor.

  Bill stood up, seemingly oblivious to our conversation but sat back down when Sally gave a wave of her hand.

  "I'm going to put you on the spot here Tessa," she said. "After Bill and I, you are the person who is the most concerned with Mandy's well-being. Would you want her to marry Trevor?"

  "Yes," I said immediately. "Yes she should marry Trevor."

  For once, I shot off my big mouth and used it for good instead of just using it to get in trouble. Actually, the answer just tumbled right out of my mouth and surprised everyone, most of all me. Sally gave a little smile before nodding at Bill. He took that as a sign that he could now leave for his card game and he took the out, practically skipping down the stairs and out of sight down the street.

  "Here I thought you would say no," Sally said. She sat back in her chair, casually holding her wine glass in one hand. "I don't want to throw Mandy under the bus, but she has frequently complained to me that you didn't like Trevor and she wasn't sure how to balance both of you."

  I let out a big exhale. Man, sometimes I was a lousy friend. A few tears started to sting my eyes and I blinked a few times, hoping to push them back. This trip was bringing up all sorts of emotions.

  "I'm not sure what to say," I said.

  I picked up my wine glass and glanced away, taking a small sip and hoping that Sally wouldn't see me cry. A tear spilled over and I felt it run down my cheek. A brief vision of Louise's mascara streaked face flashed in my mind and I wondered how she was doing. Was she telling the truth when she said she hadn't actually killed Hilda, just pushed her down? If anyone could get the answers, I suppose the police could.

  "Tessa, I didn't mean to upset you," Sally said quietly. "But I value your opinion of Trevor because after Bill and I, you know Mandy the best and you are watching out for her. Trevor has his downsides, but we only get the positives from Mandy. I wanted to know what you honestly thought so I had a good idea what Mandy was getting herself into. They've been together a long time, but that doesn't always mean people should get married."

  "I don't think I'm crying because of what you said. I'm crying more because I'm realizing that Mandy deserves a much better friend than me. She's been with Trevor for a decade and I can't even be supportive and happy for her? But spending a little time with Trevor has changed that, especially since he has started to try and mature a bit lately."

  Sally stood up and walked over to my chair. She knelt down beside me and put her thin, cool hand on my cheek. As more tears dripped down, she used her thumb to wipe them away. It was the kind of gesture that was so intimate that I instantly felt closer to Sally. All of my guilt melted away as I felt the love between us. Sally used to be like my second mother and even though I had been a bit of a prodigal son, she was still willing to love me.

  I turned and gave Sally a hug, who hugged me back. She scooted herself back into her chair and smiled at me. A sense of calm slid over me and for the first time during this entire vacation, I felt comfortable around Sally. I finally felt the acceptance I knew she had been offering the entire time.

  Sally stood up and flitted into the sun room, emerging with a tray of cookies. I picked one up and started to take a bite, but before I could enjoy my dessert after a hard day's work, a voice broke through the evening air.

  "So, you really want Louise to be put away for murder, huh?"

  I froze as the guilt seemed to rain down and I turned to face my accuser.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Susie was parking her sleek and shiny racing bike next to the truck in the driveway. She kicked out the kickstand and took extra care to balance the bicycle in the gravel driveway, making sure it didn't wobble at all before she came up the stairs towards us. It was quite the contrast to Cindy pushing over her nice bike into a heap this morning.

  "Roger just got a hold of me and told me that you practically forced Louise to go into the police station to tell them about the accident," Susie said.

  She took off her helmet and ran her fingers through her short gray hair. It stuck up in all directions but instead of looking crazy, somehow it matched her sporty style. As I struggled
to come up with something to say, Susie continued on.

  "I just think it was a crazy accident," Susie said with a shrug. "If Mandy didn't do it and Louise says Hilda was fine when she left the pool area, I think everyone should just leave well enough alone. Let's not ruin everyone's lives over a puzzle like this. Hilda should be remembered for who she was, not for how she died."

  "I agree with you on that," Sally said. "But I think if the police are still suspecting murder, it should be investigated and someone should be held accountable."

  "Someone should be held accountable," Susie said. "And it's that horrible Cindy for getting us all in this mess."

  "I'm not sure that's the right way to think," Sally said as she pointed to one of the open chairs on the deck.

  Susie hesitated for a moment before she strode over and decisively sat down, her back ramrod straight. She may be willing to sit down, but she was not going to relax for one second. There was an energy coming from her that I couldn't quite figure out. She seemed upset about Louise, but there was something else there that was complicating everything.

  "Susie, you were the one who pointed us towards Louise," I said, pushing the tray of cookies her way. I thought that if I could get her to eat a cookie, maybe she would relax a little bit. "When we bumped into you at the pool, you suggested we pay her a visit."

  "You're right," she admitted. "But apparently I shouldn't have done that. I thought she was innocent and I figured she would tell you what she had been up to the night of Hilda's murder. When I walked her home that night, she was very upset. She wouldn't tell me why but I just figured that her feelings had been hurt."

  "Why would her feelings have been hurt?" Sally asked, tipping her head to one side.

  She was cool as a cucumber and I could see why she was the Queen Bee of the Dolls. As always, Sally was impeccably dressed in a sundress with sandals that laced up her legs. She somehow managed to balance style with dressing for her age in a way that I marveled at and thought maybe I should take notes on to remember once I was older.