Copycat Killing

36

Marcus drove me over to Eric’s Place where Maggie was waiting. “Is your throat all right?” he asked.

I pulled down the visor and looked in the little mirror on the backside. There was a wide red mark on my neck, even though Peter had had hold of me for only a few seconds.

My throat felt a little raw, as if I’d been talking too much. “I’m okay,” I said. “It’s nothing that a cup of Eric’s coffee won’t fix.”

“I can’t believe I agreed to that,” Marcus said as we pulled up to the café.

“Neither can I,” I said, unfastening my seat belt.

“I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

“Do you think I broke Peter’s nose?” I asked. It had been bleeding heavily onto an old but clean towel I’d found in the staff room.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t think you did.” He gave me a knowing look. “Unless, you wanted to.”

“No comment.”

He laughed. “You’re a pretty good actor.”

“I liked working with you,” I said, smiling up at him.

“So did I,” he said.

We stood there on the sidewalk, having a little moment. I don’t know how long it would have lasted except I started to cough. My throat was dry, probably more from fear and all the talking I’d been doing than from anything Peter had done to me.

“You need to sit down and have something hot to drink,” Marcus said.

He led the way inside. Maggie was at the counter talking to Eric. She came right over to us.

“You all right?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Go sit down,” Marcus said. “I’ll get you some coffee.”

Maggie led the way to a table by the end wall where her tea was waiting. “What happened to your neck?” she asked, squinting at me across the table.

I touched my throat. “Peter grabbed me,” I said. “I bloodied his nose.”

“Is it broken?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Marcus doesn’t think so. Am I a bad person because part of me hopes it is?”

“After what he did and what he tried to do? No.”

Marcus came over to the table then with a mug for me, and a take-out cup for himself. “I have to get to the station. I’ll call you later.”

“All right,” I said, taking the cup from him and wrapping my hands around it. “Is it all right to go back to the library?”

He shook his head. “No. Not tonight. Have your coffee. Go home.” He looked at Maggie. “Keep her out of trouble,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. “Of course,” she said. “That always goes so well.”

He laid a hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” I said. I watched him walk out and cross the sidewalk to his SUV.

When I looked at Maggie her head was tipped to one side and she had an aw-shucks grin on her face. “You two are just so cute,” she said.

I set my cup on the table and reached for the sugar. “I’m ignoring you,” I said.

She laughed and leaned back in her chair. Then her face turned serious. “I can’t believe Peter killed Jaeger.”

“I’m not defending him. But I think he acted in the heat of the moment.”

“Peter never struck me as someone who did anything in the heat of the moment,” Maggie said.

“Getting Jaeger to forge that will was stupid,” I said, adding cream and stirring my coffee.

“So why did he do it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he got tired of being the good guy and getting nothing for it, kind of like Ray.” I leaned my forearms on the table. “Peter took care of that great-uncle for years, but the only other will Marcus could track down left everything to some distant cousin’s kids. Peter was only related by marriage and for some people ‘blood’ is everything.”

“So you don’t think he planned to kill Jaeger?” Maggie lifted the lid of her little teapot and then looked around for Claire who nodded and held up one finger.

“No. But it’s clear Jaeger didn’t trust him. I think that’s why he put his things in your box.”

“Just in case.”

Claire came over with the hot water and refilled Maggie’s tea. “Could I get you anything else?” she asked. “Eric has a great beef stew.”

“Yes!” Maggie and I answered at the same time.

Claire smiled. “Just give me a couple of minutes.”

Maggie poked the tea bag with her spoon and then poured another cup. “So you figured you asking Peter to meet you at the library was going to raise his suspicions?”

I took a sip of my coffee and nodded. “I did. Plus Marcus didn’t think my getting forced off the road was an accident. If Peter was Jaeger’s killer, then it made sense he might be trying to scare me, considering I was asking questions about Jaeger and what he’d been doing.”

I took another drink. “Marcus made sure I was fitted with the wireless transmitter well in advance. Then he played along when Peter asked to meet him at the co-op before Peter was supposed to meet me at the library.” I ran my fingers over the side of my neck. “I don’t know if Peter underestimated Marcus, or if he’d gotten arrogant and careless because he’d already gotten away with so much. Anyway, Derek Craig hid in the storage closet. Peter did something to the pump. Then he locked Marcus in the basement. As soon as he left, Derek let Marcus out.”

“I told you Peter was a mechanic before he went to law school.” Maggie leaned forward. “Your neck looks better.”

“He probably had me for less than a minute. As soon as he grabbed me, Marcus stepped out and it was over.”

“How did you get Marcus to agree to this whole thing?”

I set my mug on the table. “I don’t exactly know.”

Maggie looked at me and a huge smile spread over her face. “He likes you,” she said in a singsong voice.

I made a face at her, stuck a finger in each ear, and started to hum softly. That didn’t stop Mags. She just leaned in a little closer and repeated the words.

I pretended I couldn’t hear her, but I could, and it didn’t really sound so awful.