Meat Lovers and Murder Page 7

  “I'm sure it has been terrible to go through so much questioning,” Ellie said. “Russell, can I talk to you?”

  “Sure,” Russell said, giving her a puzzled look.

  She reached for the sliding door to pull it open and was about to step into the kitchen, when she heard a car starting from around the other side of the house. Ellie froze. She had left Angela alone in the house and hadn't considered that the other woman might try to make an escape.

  “Hurry,” she shouted. Grabbing her husband's hand, she dragged him into the house, ignoring his puzzled questioning. She threw open the front door just as a loud crash resounded through the air.

  She and Russell looked outside to see Angela still in her car. In her hurry to back out, she had backed into another vehicle, one that had been parked directly behind her. Looking dazed, Angela pulled the door open and stumbled out of the car.

  “She's the killer,” Ellie said. “She killed our neighbor because she needed to make a sale and couldn't wait until he moved out.”

  “Are you sure?” Russell asked, tensing beside her.

  Ellie nodded. Russell hurried forward. Angela shot him a terrified glance and took off running into the street. Ellie held her breath as Russell followed her. She was terrified that a car would come careening around the corner, but thankfully it was the middle of the day, and there wasn’t any traffic. Russell caught up with Angela and grabbed her by the shoulder. The other woman began to hit him, but she was still too dazed from her unexpected collision with the other vehicle to do much damage. Russell managed to get her under control and secure her hands with one of his before leading her back to the lawn.

  “Ellie, can you run across the yard and get my handcuffs out of the truck?” he asked, his voice calm even though he was panting from the short struggle.

  Ellie nodded and dashed across the grass. It looked like they were going to have to wait to buy the house; their real estate agent was going to jail.

  EPILOGUE

  * * *

  “I can't believe she almost escaped,” Ellie said. She and Russell were sitting in the hospital room, waiting for news from James. It was later the same evening, just hours after Angela had been arrested, but Ellie felt as if everything had changed. The killer had been caught, and her best friend was giving birth.

  “It's not your fault,” Russell said. “You did the right thing by coming to get me and not confronting her yourself.”

  “Still,” Ellie said. “We're lucky that Mr. Brown decided to drive over today. If he hadn't parked his car behind her, she would be long gone.”

  “We would have caught her,” Russell said, sounding more confident than Ellie felt. “If it wasn't for you, she may have gotten away with it. That was smart of you, coming up with that lie about her hair.”

  “I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing,” Ellie admitted. “But I figured if she was innocent, she would probably just be happy that the killer might be caught. If she was guilty, she would probably act afraid.”

  “You were right,” her husband said. “She confessed everything once we got back to the police station. I had just enough time to take her statement before you called about Shannon.”

  “Do you think she'll be all right?” Ellie asked, switching the topic of the conversation from the killer to her sister-in-law. “At first, I thought that it was another false alarm, but then her water broke, and James rushed her right over to the hospital. I can't believe this is actually happening, Russell. The baby is coming.”

  “Shannon is a strong woman,” Russell said. “I'm sure she'll be perfectly fine.”

  “We seem to end up in hospitals a lot,” Ellie said. “This time is different, though. I don't think I've ever been so excited about being in the hospital before.”

  Her husband grinned. “Me either,” he said. “I'm going to be an uncle, and you're going to be an aunt.”

  “This is the start of a whole new adventure for all of us, isn't it?” Ellie asked.

  “It is. I'm looking forward to it. With any luck, this time next year, our little nephew will be coming over to play in our new house.”

  Ellie's grin split her face in half. “Do you mean that? You want to buy it?”

  “I do.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “You're right. The two of us need our own space if we’re really going to start a whole new life together. The house next door to your grandmother’s is perfect for that. Once things settle down, we’ll put in an offer and go from there.”

  Ellie settled back, feeling happier than she had since they had returned from their honeymoon. Life was a constant series of changes, but it was looking like all the changes in her immediate future were going to be very good ones.