“Jefferson Pike.”
“I think you better start from the beginning. Wait. Better yet, let’s get you to a hospital. You can tell me the story in the car.”
Like a typical man, Will blows off his injury. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“No one’s asking you. You’re getting that lump checked out and that’s that.”
After all our years together, he knows better than to argue with me. We leave Paco back at his place. If Will had a TV, I’d put on Animal Planet (Paco’s favorite channel), but Will doesn’t own a set, so Paco will have to make do with a bowl of water and a blanket for company.
It’s a forty-five-minute drive to the nearest hospital, which gives me more than plenty of time to hear this story. Since Will is in no condition to drive, we take my car.
“Ever since you told me about the publishing scam, I haven’t been able to think straight,” says Will. “I decided I didn’t want to wait until the book club meeting to tell everyone the truth. My plan was to go directly to the cops.”
“Good idea. What stopped you?”
“Too-stupid-to-live syndrome. I figured that once I went to the cops and they arrested Pike, he’d probably clam up and I wouldn’t get the answers I needed, so I decided to confront him first.”
“You went to confront a potentially dangerous con man? All by yourself? You’re right. You are too stupid to live,” I say, feeling a fresh spurt of anger come on. “He could have killed you.”
“I told you, I wasn’t thinking straight. All I could think of was that this guy was using my name and my reputation as an author to dupe innocent people out of their hard-earned money. And then when Brittany told me how the chamber of commerce was comping a beach house for Pike and his accomplices—”
“Archie Clements and Anita. Travis told me they’re both in custody and that Archie is claiming that you killed Jefferson Pike.”
“Me? I’ve been tied up in a closet for the past four hours. I haven’t had time to kill anyone. Although I admit, I would have enjoyed wringing that bastard’s neck.”
“You better not let anyone hear you say that. Besides, someone with a penchant for knives beat you to it.”
“Was the crime scene gruesome?”
Will knows that my least favorite episodes of America’s Most Vicious Criminals are the ones that involve stabbings. “Strangely enough, it wasn’t too bad. Whoever did it aimed right for the heart. It looks like they used a knife from Betty Jean’s kitchen, wiped it clean of prints, then left it behind on the coffee table.”
“Definitely a crime of passion.”
“My money is on Archie. He’s the partner. I bet Jefferson was planning to double-cross him by stealing the money and running off to South America.” Out of the corner of my eye, I
see Will sporting a grin. “Hey. It happens on TV all the time.”
Will gets serious. “Yeah, but I can’t imagine that they’d make that much money off this scam. They were only going to be in town, what? A couple of days? Let’s say they managed to get ten victims at a few thousand bucks each. That kind of money is hardly worth the effort.”
“To you it’s not, Mr. Fancy Rich Author, but ten or twenty thousand dollars to someone like me? That’s a lot of money.” My cell phone pings. I glance at my screen. It’s Betty Jean. “What does she want?” I mutter.
Will follows my gaze. “Why is Betty Jean Collins calling you at ten o’clock at night?”
I put the phone on speaker. “Hey, Betty Jean. Everything all right?”
“Where are you? I’m bored. I’ve already searched through all your drawers and closets.”
I can’t very well tell Betty Jean that I’m taking Will to the hospital because then she’d ask a lot of questions, and I’d either have to lie to her or drag her into our mess. Besides, I have a feeling that when it comes to Jefferson Pike, she might have her own bit of a mess to worry about.
“I’m … at Will’s. We’re working on a crossword puzzle together. Lots of intricate pieces, and we can’t stop until we finish. So don’t wait up. This could take a while. And please stop going through my things, okay?”
Betty Jean chuckles. “Crossword puzzle, huh? Is that what your generation calls it? Oh well. You said to knock myself out. Does that include the mac and cheese in your fridge?”
“You can have anything you want,” I say, desperate to end this conversation.
“Okey-doke. Say hi to Will for me. Good luck with those puzzle pieces,” she says before hanging up.
Will raises an amused brow. “Crossword puzzle?”