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His features harden.
Lou is tall and lanky, sinewy, with just the right amount of muscle. He’s strong, and I bet he could hurt me if he wanted to.
“And then the day I saw you at Mangias”—I go on—“you made a point to share sensitive information about Crane Mitchel with me. The fact she had an arson charge under her belt.”
“And I never should have done that. It’s something I deeply regret. I felt too comfortable with you. Forgive me.”
“Don’t do it, Lottie.” Teeny Weenie barks. “Bella used to say some men are unforgivable. I have a feeling he’s one of them.”
I sigh at the thought because, in this instance, she might just be spot-on.
“Lou, that afternoon you weren’t in your turnout gear.”
“That’s right.” His voice grows stern. “I can’t recall if I mentioned it at the time, but it was my day off.”
“Yes, you did. And that means you showed up in your own car—you could come and go as you wanted. And you certainly wanted to go somewhere once you saw Marlena leave my bakery. Didn’t you?”
His eyes enlarge.
“Marlena knew all of Bella’s secrets,” I say. “She made it a point to tell everyone who was standing there that afternoon those very words. That’s why you followed her home.”
His chest broadens. “Why would I do that?”
“Because she knew you killed Bella and why.”
“What?” He feigns a laugh. “Lottie, you’ve been baking a few too many cookies. I wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“But you did. You killed Bella. You switched the barrel of your gun to make it look as if Crane did the deed. Did you really pin all of your hopes on the fact she had fired her gun recently?” I shake my head in disbelief. “You shot Bella in cold blood that night in the alley, and then you rigged that timer to go off at the abandoned warehouse down the street so you wouldn’t be left at the scene.”
“Crane did this,” he hisses.
“You did this,” I hiss back. “And you set those fires in an effort to send the sheriff’s station sniffing in her direction. You’re the arsonist around here.” I shake my head. “That’s why you set that fire at the warehouse. You weren’t planning on sticking around at the scene that night, but you sure planned on killing Bella Hall. You knew her every move, didn’t you?” His lips curl as if to affirm this. “You and the rest of your crew were taking the captain out to dinner that night. My sister Lainey was there and mentioned that one of the guys from the fire department insisted on Rizzo’s. That was you.” He stiffens when I say it. “Your motive for this madness had to do with your sister. She’s serving time for a drug charge.”
The whites of his eyes glow in the night. It’s all you can see of him in this pressing darkness.
“You’ve got him good and mad now, Lottie.” Weenie barks. “I say we make a run for it before we both end up in paradise without enjoying a slice of that pineapple upside-down cake.”
He might be right, but I can’t leave. My feet are as good as screwed into the floorboards.
“Lou, is that why you did it? To avenge your sister?”
His nostrils flare as he takes his next breath. “That’s why I had to do it, Lottie. We hired Bella Hall because she was the best. Hadn’t lost a case yet. And what did that witch do? She turned over private emails to the prosecuting attorney that made my sister look guilty—claiming it was accidental on her part. Dedra didn’t push drugs. She got caught up with a bad crowd, no thanks to that lowlife she was seeing at the time. She was nothing but a scapegoat.” A roar escapes him, and I take a step back. “Bella turned on her, and we have no idea why.”
“I do,” I say, and the man grows still as a rock.
“Bella lost a brother to addiction,” I say low enough for him to hear in an effort to calm him down. “She hated drugs. Maybe that was her bias?”
He nods, his eyes still wild from the revelation.
“That must be it.” His voice softens. “Now you see why I had to kill her. She ruined my sister’s life because of the fact her brother was a rotten junkie.”
“And what about Marlena?” I ask.
His jaw tightens.
“I don’t like that look on his face, Lottie.” Weenie floats away from the man until he’s peering at him from over my shoulder. “I think we’re both in danger.”
I take a moment to frown at the petrified poltergeist.
