“Ah, the future.” Fanny reached over, and Quinn grabbed her hand.

  That was when Greg saw the ring. It caught the light and bounced around the car in a cascading rainbow of color. Maggie reached up and grabbed her hand.

  “You proposed!”

  Quinn smiled and pulled Fanny’s hand to his mouth and kissed the back. “Yup, we’re going to tie the knot. We haven’t picked a date yet. Maybe next fall.”

  “Or next summer.”

  “Uh-uh.”

  Greg kept looking back and forth between the two couples. He couldn’t believe that Quinn had proposed so quickly to a woman he’d just met. They hadn’t even known each other for a year. Of course, if they were engaged until next year they would, but still.

  “What about you two? If you’re looking at houses, what are you waiting for?”

  “Oh, I already proposed. Maggie has the ring, but keeps it locked away for fear that she’ll lose it while working.”

  “What! Why didn’t you tell us?” Fanny rotated completely in her seat. The two women started talking venues and flowers and entourages.

  Suddenly, Greg realized he was in trouble. At the moment he had no intention of proposing. Maybe in the future, but now definitely wasn’t the time. He wasn’t even sure they would be dating once they met up again. Especially since he hadn’t even told his mother they were dating. That could have caused some hurt feelings.

  He could have squealed with relief and delight when they parked outside the B&B. That was until he noticed that his car wasn’t outside.

  “We need to drop Tristan and Fanny and drive to the office.”

  The two being dropped groaned, but they stepped from the car. Quinn only hesitated a moment before putting the car back in gear and driving to the office.

  He opened his mouth to ask Maggie to call Ericka, but she said, “Already doing it.”

  Greg waited, but he didn’t hear the click of an answered call. What he heard was voice mail?

  His heart hammered in his chest. She hadn’t told any of them where she was going or what she was doing just that she had a lead. He should never have let her leave alone.

  Nikki Post strikes again…

  ****

  Heather waited in the bushes outside her stepfather’s office. The funeral home had arrived. They had the paperwork she’d forged saying that Ann Marie was to be immediately cremated. She’d seen her scrawl through the binoculars she’d pulled from her car.

  Worry gnawed at her gut. The funeral home dudes had been in the office a long time and not come out.

  Then another car arrived.

  It was that snooping detective!

  Heather fell onto the ground and chewed on her fingernail. Once she reached raw flesh she went to the next one.

  She needed help. Someone who would do anything she wanted or needed.

  She lifted her phone to her ear.

  “Hey, whattcha doin’?”

  “Nothing much. Whattcha doin’?”

  “Oh, I’m at Dad’s office, and that detective chick is messing up things for me. I was wondering if you would mind helping a girl out.” She made her voice low, deep, what she hoped was sexy.

  “And what do I get in return?”

  “Why, anything you want.” She’d promised that on a few occasions. So far no one had collected. She didn’t mind if he did though.

  “Anything, uh?”

  “Yup.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  She explained in great detail what she wanted. He listened without interruption. The two boys shared a phone. She was glad the less intelligent one had answered, or it might have been a serious problem.

  “I can do that.”

  “I’ll forever be in your debt.”

  “Oh, I know.”

  The sound of an engine revving and topping the hill surprised her. Apparently, Horace had been closer than she thought. He practically jumped the road as he appeared over the hill. The car was headed straight toward the detective’s car and the building.

  It was going much better than she ever thought possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Ericka turned in time to see the car jump the hill and head straight for them. Her car was hit first and sent straight into the front glass of the ME’s office. She jumped over the counter and slid into the back room in one smooth movie like motion.

  When she settled, she was twisted like a bad pretzel. She wasn’t the only one in trouble. Dr. Rose wasn’t in good shape. A piece of glass had pierced his side, and he grabbed it and tried to pull it out.

  Ericka scooted toward him. “Dr. Rose, Dr. Rose! Look at me! Leave it.”

  He finally quit once she grabbed his hands and said the words directly in his face.

  With one hand she held him, and with the other she dragged her phone from her pocket and dialed 9-1-1. The sound of sirens came quickly as if they’d been nearby waiting for the call. In slow motion, people entered the broken window, crunched through the opening, and appeared behind the counter. Dr. Rose was taken first. She pushed the EMTs away.

  “I’m fine. Just check on him.”

  “I disagree. She needs to be checked out.”

  Greg. He was there with his arms crossed over his massive chest. Where had he even come from?

  “What have you got yourself into now?”

  She lifted her brows and pointed to herself.

  “Yes, you. I can’t leave you alone for one minute or you’re getting into an accident.”

  He helped her out of the debris field and outside to a waiting ambulance. He wasn’t going to let her get out of being checked, so she gave in. It would be over soon. At least this was one time she wouldn’t need to go to the hospital.

  Horace Tremell was being cuffed and carted away to a waiting police car. “Wait! You can’t arrest me. I was doing what Heather asked! She said that her father was being held hostage and this was the only way. You have to believe me!”

  “I believe him. Officer, stop.” Ericka rose to her feet and hobbled toward the officer. Maybe she’d twisted her ankle with that amazing move. “Horace did you just say that Heather put you up to this?”

  “Yeah, to save her father. She promised me anything I wanted.”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything.” His grin broadened.

  Ericka bit her bottom lip. Heather had to be close by to have known she was there. She’d threatened Joey and his family because she knew she was about to get caught for murder. Now she’d tried to kill Ericka so she wouldn’t get caught.

  This girl wasn’t that smart.

  “Officers, spread out and find Heather Worley. She’s wanted in the death of Ann Marie Hudson and the attempted murder of Dr. Rose and a police officer.”

  The officers only shot her a fleeting glance as they moved to spread out over the area and start the search.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Greg tapped his foot on the pavement. The trembling of his hands was the only indication that he’d actually been worried.

  Ericka chose to ignore his concern.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m going to tell you. First, we need to secure Horace in a cop car then we need to find Heather. I know she’s here.” Ericka could feel the girl’s eyes on her.

  In the next moment, Heather was dragged by a uniformed officer from the bushes. She was kicking and yelling the entire time. “Let me go! I didn’t do anything.”

  Ericka directed the officer to put her in the back of a cop car.

  “Let’s go to our office. We have a lot to discuss. And that one needs to be under lock and key.”

  Ericka didn’t wait for an answer. Briefly, she looked at the car she’d arrived in. It wasn’t going anywhere. The engine block was crushed, and fluids leaked all over the pavement.

  “I guess you’ll have to ride with me. Think you can stomach it?”

  “I’ll give it my best shot.”

  Ericka climbed into the seat, and he closed the door behind her. She knew they had a lot to talk about. From Joey Malone being nearby, to him not telling his mother about them. But part of her wasn’t ready. The relationship they’d been trying to build seemed more fragile than ever. How did anyone make it?

  ****

  Greg had left the others at the scene. He took the car and drove him and Ericka back toward their own office. He had to get her away from the chaos.

  As he navigated the roads, he opened his mouth and shut it more times than he could count. What could he say to get the ball rolling?

  Sorry?

  What have you been doing?

  Did you know that the other couples are engaged?

  None of those words seemed to pan out in his mind the way he hoped. Now he was having conversations with himself. Seemed about right.

  “Sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going. Everything happened so sudden. Joey handed me the evidence, said he suspected Heather, told me she was related to the ME, and I just went.”

  “Joey?” He couldn’t have heard that right.

  “I tried to tell you when we arrived at your parents’ home, but we were, um, interrupted.”

  He’d vaguely remembered her trying to tell him something. That was before his nieces and nephew had surrounded him and escorted him into the house.

  “Joey Malone and his family were stationed here as part of witness protection.”

  “No way.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  She nodded. “They run the dry cleaners.”

  “The dry cleaners that’s supposed to be selling drugs? And run by mobsters?”

  “Yeah, I think that was Frankie’s doing. He told Russ Thomas that they were in witness protection, and he might have mentioned the mob connection and maybe even drugs, so they could be moved again.” She shrugged. “His new name was Doyle Mahon. Not sure if I can blame him much.”

  “I see.” He paused. “You know someone made a major mistake by sending us here. We could have given them away without even thinking about it.”

  “That’s what I was thinking. But that is a mystery for another day. Today’s curveball, you see what I did there…”

  “I see, baseball reference. Odd how this entire case seems to be centered around that sport.”

  “I can’t believe it either. I think Heather found out about Ann Marie’s pregnancy and it was going to ruin her plans of marrying one of the players, so she killed her.”

  “That’s what you think?”

  “That’s what I think.”

  “Why do you think that she sent someone into the medical examiner’s office with a car? I mean, how does that help her?”

  “Maybe it contaminated the samples?”

  That was a great guess. It was probably one thing that happened.

  “Did you see the hearse?”

  “Hearse? There wasn’t one when I got there.”

  Ericka drummed her fingertips on her thigh. “What was the name of that funeral home? Think, Ericka, think.” She paused. “Smith! That was it.”

  “We need to call and see why they were there.”

  “I’ll do it.” Ericka dialed it on the car so they could both hear.

  “Smith Funeral Home.”

  “Yes, this is Detective Ericka Stone. I was just at the medical examiner’s office, and you had a hearse there earlier. Would it happen to have anything to do with Ann Marie Hudson?”

  “Why yes it does. We just received the order for her to be cremated. Oh, lookie there. The body just arrived.”

  Ericka’s eyes widened. Greg started talking. “Belay that order.”

  “We can’t. It’s from the family.”

  “If you cremate that body before this case is over, I will personally throw you under the jail.”

  “You’ll have to talk to the family.” The phone line when silent.

  Ericka was already dialing who Greg hoped was Ann Marie’s stepmother on the car phone. Then she dialed her own phone.

  “I’m calling a judge.”

  They needed to stay that order, or all the evidence would go up in smoke.

  ****

  Heather rubbed her raw wrists. She had been across from Horace in the lobby. His stares hadn’t been as pleasant as she’d hoped. Apparently, he’d realized that she’d tricked him.

  Oh well, they might soon be sharing a cell together. Or at least sharing an address with the same prison name.

  That detective lady had surprised her, and that didn’t happen often.

  The door to the holding room opened and her lawyer walked in. She’d had him on speed dial since she could remember, but she’d never called him.

  “Hello, you called me saying you needed a lawyer?”

  “Yes, I believe I do.”

  “What have you done?”

  “Nothing, sir, not a thing.” She batted her lashes at him.

  He chuckled. “I see. Innocent. Aren’t they all? Well, here is the deal. You want help, you tell me the truth and the entire truth. Then we’ll go from there. Anything you tell me will be kept secret. That’s the law.”

  “Good to know.”

  She started to spill her story. She told all the details. The lawyer took a few notes, but didn’t comment.

  When she finished, she leaned back. “So, what do you think? Have I got a chance of getting off?”

  “Hmm, good question. I’m a good lawyer, but it will depend on the evidence.”

  She squirmed.

  “Do they have evidence?”

  “Maybe.”

  He made a note, but didn’t comment.

  The door opened, and a male detective walked in. He settled in the chair on the opposite side of the table. He twisted his head as he looked at her, then he shot a glance at the lawyer before standing and walking out.

  That didn’t seem like a good sign in her favor.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Ericka and the Team had returned to Bagger’s office. Now she handed over the zip drive. Quinn cocked his brow.

  “I’ll explain where I got it later, right now just pull it up and find the place where Ann Marie starts getting visitors on the hill.”

  Quinn tilted his head and did what she asked without question.

  It didn’t take him long to find the part that she’d meant. Different camera angles flashed on the screen. One showed the kids gyrating in the barn. Then the next showed the empty front porch. Then another shot was of the yellow daisy-filled hillside.

  “There she is.” Quinn squinted at the screen and tried to enlarge the image. “Who is that coming to talk to her?”

  Ericka’s mouth thinned into a narrow line. “That’s Horace Tremell.”

  She recognized him from the car that had almost squashed her just an hour before.

  “What is he doing?”

  Ericka leaned in. He sat beside Ann Marie and placed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She slapped him away. He jumped to his feet and moved toward the woods. They could only see his back after that, but he didn’t seem to be returning.

  The screen flipped back to the barn. If they didn’t have a clear view of Heather performing the act, she might walk. She’d hired the shadiest lawyer in town to represent her, at least according to Officer Emmett Bagger.

  After the empty porch, the camera returned to Ann Marie. Several males from the baseball team came to sit next to her. It took several run throughs, but one sat next to her that she faced, said something, and he jumped angrily to his feet. It seemed like he was yelling.

  “Is that Michal Lewis?”

  “Oh, yes, it is.”

  “Isn’t he dating Heather now?”

  “I think he is.”

  “There’s the motive. The baby was his, and Heather didn’t want him getting any ideas about leaving her for Ann Marie.”

  “Doesn’t look like he planned to do that. He looks furious.” Ericka noted his fisted hands at his side. Sweat beaded on his brow glistened in the waning light as he stomped back toward the barn.

  One camera angle caught him entering the barn and motioning at Heather. He wrapped his arms around her and started dancing while leaning in close to her ear.

  “He told her!” Quinn gasped.

  Ericka agreed with that sentiment. Why would he tell her something like that? He knew that it would upset her. Unless…

  The empty porch.

  Then the hill again. Ann Marie was there pulling petals off a flower. Next thing her eyes widened, and she fell over.

  “Wait, what just happened?”

  “Look…” Quinn pointed to the corner of the screen.

  A hand had flung a knife, and it struck Ann Marie in the side.

  “Zoom in on the hand.”

  Quinn complied.

  “You see that?”

  “I sure do. What is it?”

  Ericka smiled. “It’s a class ring. Look at the initials.”

  “H.W.” Quinn leaned back in the chair. “We’ve got her.”

  ****

  Greg entered the computer room as Quinn and Ericka made their discovery. “So, we do have something?”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Might want to check all the other girls at the school with that ring and those initials.”

  Quinn punched keys on the computer. “I’ll get right on it.”

  Ericka gave him a smile. “Ann Marie will get the justice she deserves.”

  “Did we get the judge to stop the cremation so we can make sure we have enough proof?”

  “Yes. Maggie just called. She was leaving the courthouse and headed to the funeral home.”

  “I hope it’s not too late.”

  “I have an idea. Will you follow my lead?”

  “Always.” Greg knew it sounded corny, but he’d said it anyway and he meant it.

  They moved together down the narrow hallway and entered the interrogation room. The lawyer had told her not to talk, Greg was sure of it. But maybe they could offer her a deal. One where she didn’t spend as much time in jail.

  Greg sat down and held his hands tightly on the desk. He was giving Ericka the lead and he was supposed to follow. He just hoped he could keep up.

  “Hello, Heather.”

  “Detective.”

  She looked so smug. Greg hoped that Ericka wiped the floor with her.

  Ericka opened a folder. It had a picture of Ann Marie clipped to the top. Nice touch. Her hair was teased, and she looked like she was ready to go out. Beneath that picture was one of her on the metal slab. Heather didn’t even flinch.