We acquired the material we needed and started the task of finding dirt on the real killer. Within an hour we hit pay dirt!

I made copies of the information and stuffed a stack of pages in my bag. Excitement welled within me and my heart raced at a fair clip. I couldn’t wait to share my news back at the inn. Sueleigh and I were halfway down the courthouse steps when my phone rang.

“Trix, you’ve got to come as quick as possible. Something’s wrong with Nana.” Dee Dee sounded upset.

“What’s wrong? Do I need to call 911?”

Sueleigh sidled up closer to hear the conversation.

“No! I mean, I don’t think so. She, ah just got short-winded walking back to the room and wants you to come as soon as you can. She looks a little pale.”

“I’m leaving now. I should be there in a few minutes.” I punched the cell phone off and frowned.

I was worried about Nana, but something still didn’t add up. Nana was fine this morning, and most of the time she had more energy than me and Dee Dee combined.

“Who’s sick?” Sueleigh asked.

I filled her in.

“I have a friend who’s an EMT. I can call him. It’s the least I can do for you.”

“I think we’ll be okay,” I said, although I wasn’t sure. Something wasn’t right. “Thank you though.”

Her frown indicated she didn’t believe me. I didn’t believe me either, but I wasn’t sure why. I thanked her for her help, and hurried back to the inn.

As I fumbled with the key, I listened for voices, but heard nothing. “Dee Dee? Nana?” I pushed the door open. A hand grabbed my arm and pulled me inside. The door shut behind me with a solid thud.

“Well, lookie who’s here. Little Ms. Butt-in-sky.”

I turned around to see who Leroy was talking about. Then it dawned on me. I was Little Ms. Butt-in-sky.

I heard Dee Dee’s whimpering before I saw her. “I’m so sorry, Trix. He made me do it. He had a gun and said he’d shoot Nana if I didn’t call you.”

“And I take everything back I said about him being a nice, young man,” Nana said, glaring daggers at Leroy. If they had been real, Leroy would have be a dead man. Nana and Dee Dee were sitting on one of the beds, their hands and feet bound by duct tape. Bad enough my best friend was trussed up like this, but an elderly woman?

“Nana, are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay, but if I get my hands on that scallywag, he’ll wish he’d never been born. I—”

Leroy pointed the gun at Nana. “Shut up, old woman. You’re annoying me. I think you’ll be the first to go.”

My anger grew, lessening the affect of my fear. “Leroy, are you sure you want to do this?”

Duh, I guess he did, or he wouldn’t be here, Trixie.

“You’re dang right. It’s your entire fault I had to take it this far.”

“And why would that be?”

Dee Dee rolled her eyes. I knew what she was thinking: Why can’t Trixie ever keep her mouth shut? She could be right. My mouth had gotten me in trouble more times than I wanted to remember.

“Sit!” He didn’t have to tell me more than once. I went over and sat by Nana. I gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.

“Keep your hands to yourself,” Leroy growled.

Nana stuck her tongue out at him.

“Why don’t you just let us go?” I suggested. “It’ll be a lot easier on you if you let us go now.”

“No way. You know too much, and I ain’t goin’ to jail for murder.”

“You?” Dee Dee asked. “You killed John Tatum?” The cat was out of the bag now. We were in deep. The best thing I could hope for was a confession from Leroy. If we got out of this alive, I imagined it would come in handy. If not, then maybe someone would find it. I snuck my hand into my sweater pocket.

“Did you, Leroy?” I spoke a little too loudly, but I didn’t want him to hear me switch on the mini tape recorder.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I don’t guess it’ll hurt to tell you. You won’t have a chance to pass it on.” His sinister laugh sent a chill up my spine. “Yes, I killed him. I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if you hadn’t stuck your big, fat nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Your friend was the perfect scapegoat.” He emitted a spine-chilling laugh as he directed an evil glare in Dee Dee’s direction. “She was dumb enough to pull out the pickaxe and get her fingerprints all over the murder weapon.”

“Takes a dummy to know one,” Nana pointed out.

I heard a deep intake of breath from Dee Dee. I didn’t know if it was indignation from being called stupid or because of Nana’s brassiness.

Leroy continued blabbing, ignoring Nana’s comment. “The sheriff obliged me by making her the main suspect.”

“Then you,” he turned towards me as he continued. “You had to ask questions around town, playing Little Miss Private Investigator.”

I sat a bit taller, though my heart was still pounded.

Leroy was on a roll. “I followed you to find out what you were up to. It paid off yesterday when I saw Sueleigh go into your room. I figured something was going on. When she came out I offered her a shoulder to cry on and us being the good friends we are, she spilled her guts. You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?”

“Well…”

“Shut up.” He shoved me and I fell back, striking my head hard enough against the wall to see stars.

“Hey, who do you think you’re telling to shut up?” Nana put in her two cents worth.

“I’m telling you to shut up old lady.”

Nobody tells Nana to shut up and gets away with it. Well, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten away with it if he wasn’t pointing a gun at her.

“Uh, just a minute, Leroy. What made you think we found out you killed Tatum?” I dared to ask, hoping he’d continue.

“I wasn’t sure until this mornin’. My buddy over at the courthouse called and told me what you were up to. I’d come too far for you to mess up my plan. If you’d left things alone, your friend could’ve been free. Stupid females.”

“What do you think I learned at the courthouse?” I hoped he didn’t know everything. What I had found out could put all of us in danger, but if I were going to get a full confession and motive on tape, I needed to keep him talking.

“Why don’t you tell me, Ms. Know-It-All?”

I figured I might as well. We had nothing to lose—except our lives. Before I could start, a knock at the door interrupted me. Thank God, somebody was going to save us. A rush of relief flowed through me.

“Leroy?”

Joyce! Thank heaven.

“Come on in.” He ordered.

Joyce entered and looked around to take in the situation, but I could tell by the look on her face that she offered no salvation.

“Ms. Montgomery was just going to tell us what she found out at the courthouse this morning,” Leroy sneered.

“Joyce! Why?” I blinked back tears, realizing now that she was just as deep in this as her nephew. “I hoped you weren’t involved. Surely there’s nothing worth taking someone’s life for.” The look she gave me should have turned me to stone.

“What do you know? Who are you to tell me what a life is worth? You think you know the whole story. You don’t.”

“I know your maiden name is Haygood, isn’t it?” I was gambling with our lives by antagonizing her, but it was important to get her to admit her part. Out loud.

“Isn’t that the man Sueleigh was telling us about?” Dee Dee asked. “How’d you figure that out?”

“I remembered seeing a certificate on the wall of Joyce’s office when Leroy took me in to get change. The full name was Joyce Haygood Johnston.” I studied Joyce’s face.

“You’re right Trixie, Haygood is my maiden name. The gold Joshua Tatum found on my grandparent’s land should have been ours. After Grandpa died, Tatum coerced Grandmother into selling him the land and moving into town.”

“That hardly seemed fair.” I touched the recorder and hoped the batteries wouldn’t die before she incriminated herself.