Chapter Twelve
July 8th. 2009© 2009 Kimberly J. Fish
Chapter Twelve
Lacy huddled in her car wishing she’d worn something more substantial for a stake-out.
“Boy, has the temperature dropped.” Theresa O’Banshee nibbled on the corner of her day-old hamburger. “I bet we’re this side of one of those Blue Northers my mom is always talking about.”
Lacy shivered, as much from watching goopy ketchup mar Theresa’s pink lip gloss as from the nose-diving degrees tracking with the heavy cloud coverage. She should have grabbed a jacket before she left the store, but she was too fired up from the girl power her friends had generated at their “Free Henry” meeting. Seven women had concocted a plan involving subterfuge, red herrings and a possible heist, but since Lacy was the one sitting outside Inga’s limestone house she got to make the call on whether or not they actually stole Inga’s belongings.
Theresa wiped her fingers around the perimeter of her lips. “I’ve got this whole thing figured out. Inga wants Henry for herself. She’s lonely and he’s fresh meat. That’s what this comes down to. Crime is always either about money or sex.”
Theresa got stuck on Lacy’s team because she’d come to the meeting wearing her push up bra and Deputy Michael was sharp enough he’d have seen right through that ploy.
“Or power,” Kali said from the back seat. She leaned between the headrests of Lacy’s late model BMW and smiled. “It’s always about power of some kind.”
Lacy turned her cheek so she could see the gleam in her sister’s eye. “And who benefits from the power in this scenario, Sherlock.”
“Inga, of course. She’s the spurned wife.”
“So she’s orchestrated this elaborate plot involving an art dealer she met four days ago?”
Kali sighed. “Has it only been a few days? Wow, she works fast.”
Theresa pulled down the lighted mirror on the visor to repair her lip gloss. “I think Inga wanted to pin this all on someone else, Henry was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Poor, unfortunate Henry-baby.”
Lacy reached over and flipped the lighted mirror closed. “Inga will see the light and know we’re hiding out here.”
“Inga’s not home, its pitch black in the house.”
Lacy knew Theresa was probably right, but still. “No one needs to put on lip gloss during a stake-out.”
“And how would you know?” Theresa pointed a long-red tipped fingernail at Lacy. “Hang out a lot with criminals, do you?”
“Girls,” Kali cautioned. “I see a car pulling in. I think its Inga’s.”
Lacy had parked near the tree line overlooking Inga’s house. The earth was still a bit soupy from last week’s rain, but this high up she shouldn’t get stuck. Or so she’d prayed when she took to off-roading a few minutes ago. Inga had been spotted at the bingo hall so, law of averages indicated she’d be home by eight, and here she was, right on time.
”She’s parking near the door.” Lacy squinted. “She’s hurrying inside. And, the lamps go on.”
“We’re not blind,” Theresa said.
“I kind of like Lacy’s play-by-play.” Kali chuckled. “I feel like I’m watching little league.”
“We are out of our league, it that’s what you mean.”
Kali patted Lacy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry so much. All you have to do is go in and spin your sad story for Inga. Theresa and I will search the house for the letters.”
“If she hadn’t burned them.” Lacy checked her cell phone. “I wonder if any of the others have accomplished their missions?”
Kali checked her phone too. “I’ve got a text that Inga’s nephew has been spotted in Medina. Apparently, he’s hiding out at his cousins’ until this blows over.”
Lacy turned to face Kali. “That’s huge. Make sure someone tells Michael.”
“Got it, boss.”
“I sure hope the dead girl is with him.” Theresa turned in her seat to see Kali. “Does it say anything about the dead school teacher?”
Kali stared at Theresa. “She’s not dead. They faked the kidnapping to get out of paying credit card debt.”
“Are you sure? I’d need to see some proof. Like CSI. ”
Kali looked at Lacy. “She should have been left at the store for guard duty.”
Lacy drove down the hill, parking behind Inga’s SUV. “I tried to tell you, but no, you’re the one who said it was better to keep your enemies close or some such thing.”
”We’re not enemies.” Theresa pouted. “We just date the same men. Sometimes at the same time.”
Lacy was not going to argue about hers and Theresa’s inter-woven love lives. Some things were just old history.
Once she had Henry busted out of jail, she was going to be careful not to do anything that might jeopardize their future. She could admit, now that danger choked the air she breathed, she did really like Henry. He brought energy into her dull life. He was happiness and light on days she felt dark. He was the yin to her yang. He was. . . he was the best thing to ever walk into her life. And if God went to all this much trouble to bring them together, she wasn’t going to be the one to ruin it.
Lacy pushed open the car door and stood. The cold air snapped at her skin. She rubbed her arms to get feeling back, but it was futile. “Girls, we need to make a run for it before we freeze.”
“Maybe Inga will make us hot cocoa.” Theresa hitched her big red purse over her shoulder. “Like a toddy.”
“This isn’t supposed to be a social call.” Lacy climbed the porch. “You’re here to work.”
”I know,” Theresa sighed. “Search for anything to indicate Inga forged the letter found in the storage unit.”
Lacy nailed her with a gaze. “And be subtle. I’m the one doing the talking. You’re the one who says she needs to go to the bathroom.”
Theresa saluted. “I probably need to fix my lip gloss.”
Kali clutched her stomach. “I really need to use the restroom. My morning sickness has changed time zones.”
“Sorry.” Theresa grimaced. “I can’t promise those hamburgers were fresh.”
Kali started hacking.
The door opened before Lacy could offer sympathy to Kali. “Inga,” she said with false brightness. “We got here as soon as we could. We knew you’d want to know all the scoop with Henry.”
Inga stepped back so the threesome could enter her living room. “You betcha. That cutie has no right bein’ in jail. Somebody at that sheriff’s office is loco.”
In a flash, Lacy saw the puffy wart between the sheriff’s eye brows. Fighting to get that image out of her head, she closed the door behind Kali. “Poor, poor Henry. I don’t think they’re even feeding him. He’s going to starve before they figure out what’s happened.” She hoped Inga was still as motivated by food as she was in the past.
Inga showed Lacy toward the sofa. “Don’t you girls want to sit down too?”
Kali and Theresa both said, “I need to use the restroom.”
Inga grinned. “Both of you?”
Kali grimaced. “I’m not feeling well.”
”And I’m going to go help her. With a wet wash cloth.”
Inga raised her hand. “I don’t want to know about you girls today. Just go, both of you.”
Kali and Theresa disappeared down a hallway.
Lacy prayed they’d find some sort of evidence to at least get the sheriff to consider something other than Henry as the thief of Inga’s antiques. She glanced around the room noticing the hodge-podge of recliners, Hummel figurines and Dallas Cowboys’ souvenir paraphernalia. Lacy knew Inga had valuable furniture, but it didn’t translate into the décor. If Inga had gotten paid for the furniture she allowed to be ‘stolen’ she was not showing evidence of the profits in this room. “So, Inga. Kali told me you’d called earlier and wanted to help with my little investigation. What can you tell me about the situation?”
Inga leaned back in the corduroy recliner causing it to groan. She propped her feet up.
Lacy avoided looking directly at the bunions. “Do you have anything to prove Henry was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
Inga pursed her lips. “That boy. He was just to smart for his britches. I never dreamed he’d steal from me.”
“Henry didn’t steal anything, Inga. I can testify I’ve been in his company for several days. Today was the first time he’d ever been near your storage unit. The lock was so jammed we almost couldn’t get in.”
“But you did, didn’t you. And that’s where this thing gets messy.”
Lacy narrowed her gaze to Inga’s rheumy eyes. “Are you saying he wasn’t supposed to get in to the storage unit?”
”I’m not sayin’ nothing.’ Henry outfoxed us both. Neither of us saw it, but he’s a con artist and a thief. He was out here sniffin’ around my property like maybe I’d fall for his pretty blue eyes and sell him my house dirt cheap.”
“Though I have no doubt Henry enjoys a bargain and a treasure hunt, I don’t think Henry was out here to get anything from you except your time.”
”Well, I have plenty of that to give.”
Lacy lost her gaze staring at Inga’s fat face. Like a marquee bulb flashing over a sign, she saw what she should have seen from the first afternoon. Henry had little intention to do any business with Inga. He was going through these motions as a ploy to keep him and Lacy in some sort of professional conflict so they’d have a reason to haggle, and spend time together. He’d practically confessed that on the very first day, but she’d been too disbelieving. But now she saw the extreme lengths he’d gone to for her, and she was humbled.
No one had ever pursued her.
“I think I love him,” she murmured. “Henry did all this for me.”
The recliner’s coils rang as Inga popped forward. “Then we’d better do something to get that boy out of jail. And I have just the thing.”