CHRISTMAS PIZZA MURDER Read online

  Without wasting a moment, she grabbed her phone and hurried back to the front door, pausing just long enough to grab her keys. She got in her car, started the engine, and took off down the road in the same direction the man had gone. While she drove, she called Russell.

  “That private investigator just stopped by,” she said. “You’ll never guess what I saw in his car and briefcase…” She told him about everything that she had seen.

  “You think he’s trying to record her fingerprints?”

  “Not only that, I think he’s trying to plant them somewhere. He had wood glue and overhead screen protectors, which I read online are involved in one of the methods to make fake fingerprints. I think he’s trying to take her fingerprints and make some sort of mold out of them, so he can plant them on a gun and frame her for her husband’s murder.”

  Russell fell silent. “Ellie… that’s a little bit of a reach.”

  “Why else would he have all that?” she asked. “Who is this guy, anyway? What do we really know about him?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Not much. His license is legitimate, though. Where are you now?”

  “I’m following him,” Ellie said. “At least, I think it’s him. His car is pretty far away, but I’m catching up.”

  “Ellie…” Russell sighed. “Don’t approach him, okay? Promise me that.”

  “I won’t go near him. I just want to see where he’s staying. That way if anything does happen, you will be able to find him.”

  She tailed him for a while longer. Eventually, he turned off the main road and onto a less busy side road. After a couple of miles, he turned into the parking lot of a rundown motel. She followed him and parked a few spaces away. Picking up the phone again, she called Russell’s number.

  “I found out where he is,” she said. “He’s staying at the Great Elk Motel and Lodge.”

  “I know where that is,” Russell said. “I’ll meet you there, okay? I might as well ask him some questions.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll wait in the car.” She hung up the phone, then glanced up and jumped in her seat. Glenn was standing right by her window. He raised his fist and rapped on the glass. She rolled down the window part way.

  “Hi,” he said, peering into her car. “Why did you follow me here?”

  Ellie blinked. She had no answer. She hadn’t been planning on confronting him, but realized now that he must have recognized her vehicle. She hadn’t exactly been subtle about following him.

  “I guess we are even now,” he said when she remained silent. “I bother you, you bother me.”

  “I just wanted to see where you’re staying, so if you continue to bother me, I will be able to call the police,” she said, said struck by inspiration. “I want you to stay away from me and my family.”

  “Well, I wanted your family to stay away from mine, but that didn’t happen,” he said. “I’m going to get what I need before I leave.”

  “What do you mean? I’ve never seen you before in my life. What has my family ever done to you?”

  “Never mind. Just get out of here.”

  She rolled up her window and pulled out of the parking spot. Turning onto the main road, she hesitated. Something about what he had said struck her as odd. Pulling over to the side of the road, she left her car idling and dialed her cousin’s number, praying that she would answer.

  “Darlene?” she said. “I need you to tell me something. Don’t ask why, just do it. What was the name of the woman your husband was having the affair with?”

  “Elizabeth Farbanks,” her cousin said. “Ellie, what’s going on?”

  “Thanks,” Ellie muttered. She hung up and put her phone down. The woman that Paul had been sleeping with had the same last name as Glenn. Was she his wife? His sister?

  Suddenly, it all made sense. Glenn must have found out about the affair. He had shot Paul out of anger, and later had decided to frame the death on Darlene, but Darlene had already left town. His plan must’ve been to plant her fingerprints on the gun, but with her gone, there was no way to get her prints. He couldn’t pick random fingerprints from around their house, because there would be no way to tell whether they were hers or her husband’s.

  So he had come here, using his private investigator’s license to get people talking as he tried to track down Darlene. He hadn’t known that she was out of state, thank goodness. Once he had her fingerprints, Ellie had no doubt that he would return to his hometown and frame her for the crime. If that worked, he would get away with murder, and she would be sent to prison.

  She did a U-turn in the middle-of-the-road and pulled into her spot. Glenn, who had been busy unlocking his motel room door, turned around and frowned at her.

  “I think we need to talk,” she said, leaning out the window. “Tell me more about Darlene, and I’ll tell you where she is. You’re right. I shouldn’t protect her just because she’s family. If she really did kill him, then she deserves justice.” If she could get him talking, then maybe she could get him to confess. Russell would be there soon. She wasn’t in any real danger.

  Glenn hesitated for a moment, said, “Okay, come on in.”

  He unlocked the motel room for her, and she went inside, already through the door before she realized that he wasn’t right behind her. She turned around and saw him getting something out of his trunk. He straightened up with both the briefcase and the gun case, slamming the trunk shot before he strode inside.

  “Take a seat,” he said. “I would offer you refreshments, but I don’t have any.”

  She sat down, looking around the motel room. He had obviously been staying there for quite a while. It was a mess, and it looked as if housekeeping hadn’t stopped in at all.

  She heard a chilling metallic click, and turned to see him breaking the shotgun in half. As she watched, he grabbed a slug and loaded it in.

  “What… what are you doing?” she asked, hating the quiver in her voice.

  “You can stop with the act now, Ellie,” he said. “Do you think I didn’t know you looked in my briefcase? I saw a smudge of graphite on the leather. I was hoping you wouldn’t put two and two together when you saw the gun, but then you followed me. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to tell me where Darlene is, then you’re going to give me your cell phone and your keys and your wallet, and I’m going to drive you far away and drop you off somewhere. By the time you find someone to help you, I will be long gone.” He snapped the break action shotgun back together with one smooth motion. “If you don’t help me, I’m going to shoot you and run. They’ll find out who killed Paul soon enough if I don’t lead them to Darlene first. I’m going to be on the run anyway, and killing some nosy woman like you won’t bother me. I should have enough time to make it to Canada before they figure it out. From there, I can probably catch a flight somewhere else.”

  “I’m not going to tell you where my cousin is,” Ellie said, her heart hammering. He pulled back the hammer on the shotgun. He wasn’t aiming it at her yet, but she knew that at this distance, it wouldn’t take long for him to get her in his sights.

  “Then you’re going to die,” he said simply. “I’m not going to hurt her. She’s going to go to prison, but that’s it. Is her freedom really worth more than your life?”

  Ellie hesitated. She knew that even if she told him the truth, he would still kill her. He was doing all of this so he could be free. If he left her behind, after threatening to kill her, that would completely defeat the purpose of him stealing Darlene’s fingerprints.

  She just had to come up with a way to give herself more time. Russell was on his way over. If only she could stall until he got there.

  “I know where Darlene is. I’ll tell you after you drop me off somewhere. Is that fair? I just want to know that I’m going to get out of this alive. You can drop me off on the side of the road and hold the gun on me. I’ll tell you, and if I don’t, then you’ll be able to shoot me. But I’m not going to tell you in this little hotel room w
here anything could happen.”

  He hesitated, then nodded. “Okay. Put your purse on the table and hand me your keys. Take your cell phone out of your pocket.”

  She did as he told her to. He pocketed her keys, and tossed her phone on to the bed, then gestured for her to go out the door ahead of him.

  “Go to my car. Stand by the passenger side door with your hands behind your back.”

  She obeyed, then got into his car when he opened the door. What choice do I have? she thought. He had a gun, and she had nothing.

  While he walked around to the other side, she let her eyes roam the car, looking for something, anything, that she might be able to use to defend herself. Her gaze passed over a water bottle in the cup holder twice before she realized that it was frozen through. He must have left it in the car overnight, and now it was a solid cylinder of ice.

  Her breath caught as he yanked open the door and got into the car, setting the gun awkwardly between his legs as he reached for the handle to pull the car door shut. Now or never, she thought. Grabbing the frozen water bottle, she swung it as hard as she could at the bandage on the back of his head from when he had hit it earlier that day.

  He swore loudly, grasping his head and trying to twist around. The gun slid to the side, completely out of his grasp. He was bleeding again, and as he felt his head to see with the extent of the damage was, she grabbed the gun and pushed the side door open. She got out, running down the sidewalk with the gun in her hands. Seconds later, she heard his footsteps behind her. Bracing herself, she turned around, pointing the gun at him. She had never pointed a gun at a human before, but this was a life or death situation.

  He skidded to a halt, almost losing his balance and falling for the second time that day.

  “Easy,” he said. “I know you don’t want to shoot me. Put the gun down, and we can each go our separate ways.”

  “Stay where you are,” she said. “Better yet, sit down. Against the wall, right there. Don’t move.”

  He looked at her, hesitating as he gauged how serious she was. Something in her eyes must have made him realize that listening to her was the smartest thing to do just then. He turned and walked over to the wall, sitting down and leaning against it.

  “What now?”

  “Now,” Ellie said grimly, “We wait for my fiancé to get here.”

  Epilogue

  * * *

  “Merry Christmas, everyone,” Shannon said as she walked into the dining room, carrying a platter of roasted duck. “I hope you’re all hungry. It’s finally time to eat.”

  “I’m starving,” Ellie said with feeling. “This looks amazing, Shannon.”

  “Oh, I’m sure it will be tasty enough,” Shannon said. “What I’m really looking forward to is hearing why you two were late. Russell told me it was an interesting story.”

  Ellie shot a glance toward her fiancé, a small smile playing at her lips. “An interesting story… well, it certainly is that.” She took a deep breath and launched into the tale as James carved into the duck. When she was done, both Shannon and James were staring at her, James with the knife drooping in his hand.

  “How did you manage to get yourself into that one?” Shannon said. “I’m surprised you made it to dinner at all. Wow. I’m glad that you’re okay, Ellie.”

  “So am I,” Russell said with feeling. He reached over and gave Ellie’s hand a squeeze.

  “So, you found a killer,” James said. “Congratulations. I think that deserves a toast.”

  They all clinked their glasses – which were filled with alcohol free sparkling grape juice, since Shannon couldn’t drink – and drank to Ellie’s luck.

  “Thanks, guys, but it really doesn’t feel like I did anything. It isn’t like I planned any of that. I just panicked. I had no idea what I was going to do when I got into the car with him, but I saw the bandage on his head and I thought I might as well fight for my life, instead of going quietly.”

  “Will he be convicted of both crimes, do you think?” James asked Russell.

  “I hope so,” Russell said. “He committed the crimes in two different states, so that will complicate matters for everyone. I’ll be working with the police down there while he goes to trial. He’s going to be transported after Christmas, since he committed the more serious crime in their state.”

  “Have you told your grandmother about this?” Shannon asked.

  “She’s the first person I called after Russell picked me up,” Ellie said. “I wanted to put her heart at ease. I’m so glad that she can enjoy Christmas with Darlene now, without worrying about everything else.”

  “I’m just glad that you’re okay,” Shannon said. “It was a close call, by the sound of it. I can’t believe anyone would go to such lengths to frame someone else for a crime.”

  “Freedom is a good motivator,” Russell said. “I’ve got to admit, Glenn was a lot more resourceful than most criminals. I don’t think that he ever planned on being a murderer, but when he acted in the heat of the moment, it certainly didn’t seem to affect him too much. I’ll rest easier with him behind bars.”

  “Me too,” Ellie said. “Now, let’s talk about something happier. It’s Christmas. This is a time to celebrate. I love all of you, and I’m looking forward to this next year together – with all of the surprises that it will bring.”

  “Me too,” Shannon said, cradling her stomach with one hand. “Merry Christmas. Ellie is right. This is a day for celebrations and good food. Let’s dig in.”