Treated and Dyed (A Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mystery Book 13) Read online

  “Get down,” Bekki urged Holly. She shielded Holly with her own body. She was trying to stall Jodie enough that she could formulate a plan to protect Holly. Bekki had a black belt but with Jodie holding a gun she didn’t want anyone to get hurt if she made a mistake. If Jodie was drunk enough to shoot Holly, then she was likely drunk enough to get rid of the only witness to her crime as well. Holly reluctantly sank to her knees. She put her hands behind her back.

  “You understand don't you, Bekki?” Holly asked in a whisper. As Bekki tightened the rope on Holly's wrists, she noticed that Holly wasn't even trembling. She was eerily calm.

  “It was worth it,” Holly muttered. “It was worth it.”

  “She offered me one of those candies, Holly. Would you have even cared if someone else died too?” Bekki asked. Holly didn't answer. She only stared at the ground. As Bekki stood up, Jodie lowered the gun. Bekki was surprised and relieved.

  “Good decision, Jodie,” she said.

  “It wasn't loaded,” Jodie said and showed the gun to Bekki. Then she tucked it into the back of her pants. “Even I don't get drunk enough to think that carrying around a loaded weapon is a good idea. So where's Nick?”

  “I'm calling him now,” Bekki said.

  “I thought you said he was on his way,” Jodie said. She looked at Bekki incredulously.

  “I might have fibbed a little,” Bekki admitted. She dialed Nick's number. “I couldn't just let you shoot her.”

  Jodie shook her head.

  “Bekki?” Nick's voice was strained with concern. “Where are you? The memorial is almost over.”

  “I'm at the Get and Go, with Jodie and Holly,” Bekki said. “I think you and Dave need to get over here fast.”

  “We're on our way,” Nick said without questioning. No more than a minute later Nick's car sped into the parking lot. Dave climbed out of the passenger seat while Nick rushed towards Bekki.

  “What's this?” Dave asked. He peered down at Holly who was still tied up on the ground.

  “A citizen’s arrest?” Bekki suggested with a slight shrug. She stood close to Nick. “I think if you check the bags of candy on her backseat that you will see the candy is coated in the same powder that was used to poison Stella.”

  “Is that so?” Dave asked. “Well, I guess we have our murderer then, don't we?”

  “And why are you here, Jodie?” Nick asked as he looked over at her.

  “I stopped by to see why she wasn't at the memorial,” Jodie said. “I walked in on the confession.”

  “She held a gun on me!” Holly cried out. She wriggled her wrists free as Dave untied her. “She's trying to frame me for what she did to her own mother.”

  “That's not true,” Bekki said. “Well uh, the gun part is,” she added. Nick stared hard into her eyes. Then he turned slowly to face Jodie.

  “Do you have a weapon on you, Jodie?” he asked in a calm tone.

  “Yes,” Jodie replied.

  “Put it on the ground,” Nick instructed. Bekki saw his hand come to rest on the butt of his gun. She heard the click of the handcuffs closing around Holly's wrists. Jodie reluctantly reached for the gun. She lowered it slowly to the ground.

  “It's not loaded,” Bekki said.

  Nick did not look in her direction. “Step back from it,” Nick instructed Jodie. Jodie took three large steps back away from the gun. Nick leaned down and picked it up. He checked to make sure it wasn’t loaded.

  “I think we have some things that we need to sort out down at the station,” he said. His eyes met Bekki's and she could tell that he was not the least bit happy with her. Morris' patrol car pulled into the parking lot. While Nick, Dave, and Morris sorted out how to take everyone into the station, Bekki glanced up at the star-filled sky. She knew that she had missed the memorial, but she had a feeling that Stella was glad that she did.

  Chapter Ten

  Once things had been settled at the station, Nick joined Bekki in the waiting area.

  “You don't look happy,” Bekki said as he sat down beside her.

  “I'm not,” he replied. He fiddled with his wedding ring and took a long breath. “Not at all.”

  “I don't understand why,” Bekki frowned. “I did my best to diffuse the situation.”

  “You said you were coming to the memorial,” he pointed out.

  “I was,” Bekki said. “I just thought I'd stop by and check out things at the Get and Go first.”

  “Which you could have told me,” he pointed out and then lifted his eyes to hers. “You should have told me that Jodie had a gun on her.”

  “She showed me it wasn't loaded,” Bekki said. She was feeling a little defensive. “I knew that no one was in danger at that point.”

  “There could have been a bullet in the chamber,” he said quietly. “She could have reloaded when you weren't looking. That should have been the first thing that you told me.”

  “I'm sorry,” Bekki said with a slight shake of her head. “I guess I didn't think about it.”

  “As a detective, safety is the first thing I think about when I walk into a scene,” he explained. “Sometimes I think your safety is the last thing that you think about, Bekki.”

  “I might not have made the best decisions tonight, but nothing bad came of it,” Bekki pointed out.

  “What happened to your pocket?” he asked as he looked down at her torn skirt.

  “Maybe we could talk about that later,” Bekki said as she felt heat rush to her cheeks once more. The last thing she wanted to do was explain how she had gotten herself trapped. “I'm supposed to be meeting with McAllister Dane. It turns out Stella left me something in her will.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  “I was surprised, too,” Bekki said. She tilted her head towards Jodie who was making her way towards the door. “Maybe we should offer her a ride?”

  Nick considered it for a moment. “She doesn't look sober enough to drive yet,” he nodded.

  “Jodie, we'll give you a ride to the reading of the will,” Bekki offered as Jodie walked past her.

  “All right,” Jodie nodded. “I guess I might as well be there when McAllister tells me she left me nothing.”

  Bekki frowned. She hoped that would not be the case.

  ***

  Nick drove in silence towards the bakery. Bekki knew that he was still a little annoyed with her, but she also knew that it would pass.

  “Are you doing okay?” Bekki asked Jodie. She was sprawled out in the backseat of Nick's car.

  “I guess,” Jodie said quietly. “To be honest I thought that Holly being arrested would change how I feel. But it hasn't.”

  “No matter what happens to Holly, it won't bring your mother back,” Bekki said. “It's going to take some time to heal.”

  “I didn't think I'd miss her,” Jodie admitted quietly.

  Nick parked at the bakery. As they walked up to the bakery, Bekki could see that everyone had already left from the memorial. Angela was inside tidying up. McAllister was sitting at one of the tables, waiting for them.

  “I was just about to give up,” McAllister said as he looked up at the three.

  “Sorry for the delay,” Bekki said.

  “Isn't anyone else coming?” Jodie asked as she sat down at the table. Angela brought her a complimentary cup of coffee, as it was fairly clear that Jodie was still intoxicated.

  “Stella only named two people in the will,” McAllister said. “You, and Bekki.”

  Jodie glanced over at Bekki with disbelief. Bekki shook her head. She had no idea what Stella might have left her. Nick wound his hand around hers and gave it a little squeeze.

  “That should make this short then,” Jodie said. “Get on with it, McAllister.”

  As McAllister read the will Bekki watched Jodie's expression. She could see that it was finally hitting Jodie that her mother was gone.

  “To my daughter, Jodie, who has learned to be as tough as I am, I leave my experiences, my knowledge, and my wisdom.”
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  Bekki braced herself as she wondered how Jodie would react if that was all she was left in the will.

  “To Bekki, who was the only person who was ever kind to me without expecting anything in return, I leave twenty thousand dollars, to cover all of the tips I stiffed her on over all these years. It takes a kind person to continue to welcome me into her place of business, despite my stingy ways.”

  Bekki's eyes widened at the amount of money she was left. Nick smiled at her a little.

  McAllister continued to read.

  “I leave everything else, the entirety of my estate, to my daughter, Jodie. Use it wisely, and live a good life.”

  Jodie looked more shocked than anyone else in the room.

  “Are you sure that she left it all to me?” Jodie asked.

  “I'm sure, Jodie,” McAllister said. “She made sure that her will was kept up to date. She confided to me once that she hoped that after she was gone, the fortune she left you would help to heal the wounds between you in some small way. She only knew one kind of love, tough, but that didn't mean that she didn't love you.”

  “I can't believe it,” Jodie said quietly. Her eyes misted as she listened to the words that her mother had spoken.

  “Your mother loved you, Jodie,” Bekki said softly and touched the back of her hand. “Even if it wasn't in the way that you needed her to. You loved her, too, that's why you went after Holly the way you did. Maybe you'll never get the relationship that you longed for, but at least you know now how she felt.”

  “Yes,” Jodie said with a faint sniffle. “Maybe that's the most valuable thing she could have left me.”

  Bekki and Jodie spent the rest of the evening talking about their memories of Stella. Despite the fact that they had both missed the memorial, they still managed to hold one of their own.

  The End

  From the Author

  Thank you very much for reading, Treated and Dyed, the thirteenth book in the Bekki the Beautician Cozy Mystery Series. If you enjoyed the book and would like to be updated when I release a new book you can sign up for email updates at http://www.cindybellbooks.com/newsletter. I will never share your email and you will only receive emails from me when I have released a new book, am offering a discount or when I have giveaways.

  If you did enjoy the book and would like to leave a review at Amazon I would appreciate it. Reviews help other readers who might be interested in the book.

  You can connect with me at my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/cindybellauthor.

  About the Author

  Cindy Bell is the author of the cozy mystery series Bekki the Beautician, Dune House, Heavenly Highland Inn and Wendy the Wedding Planner.

  Cindy has always loved reading, but it is only recently that she has discovered her passion for writing romantic cozy mysteries. She loves walking along the beach thinking of the next adventure her characters can embark on.

  You can sign up for her newsletter so you are notified of her latest releases at http://www.cindybellbooks.com/newsletter.

  More Books by Cindy Bell

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