“Your brakes went out,” Del said, “and I want to know why. Jason swears those brakes were in great shape when he tuned your car a month ago.”
“Can’t brakes simply give out?”
Del snorted. “Your brother is a first-rate mechanic, not to mention a perfectionist. If there’s a mechanical explanation for those brakes croaking, he’ll find it.”
“What other explanation would there be?”
“I want you to stay here in the hospital for a while,” Del said. “Now don’t argue. It’s only for a few hours. Cody will be here until we can locate Ellie and Allan to come get you.”
“That I do remember. Allan is out of town on business until Monday evening, and Mom is in Clarksville at a kung fu competition. She would have left right after her book group and probably forgot to turn her phone back on.”
“Well, Maddie, then. She was trying to rush down here when I told her what happened, but I asked her to wait so I could talk to you. She can come after the store closes.”
“Lay off, will you? I’m a big girl, and I feel fine. I’ve had all the X-rays; nothing is broken or lacerated. I’m a little bruised, that’s all.”
Del frowned at the floor, a worry wrinkle between his eyebrows.
Olivia tried to push to a sitting position and winced at the pain that seared through her shoulder. “Del, do you suspect my accident wasn’t really an accident? Is that why you’re so eager to hear what Jason finds, you think someone tampered with my brakes?”
Del shrugged into his uniform jacket. “I’ll tell you what. If Jason says it was an accident, I’ll let Cody drive you home. Otherwise, I want you here overnight, under guard. So stay put for now.”
When Olivia’s cell phone rang, she was dressed, sitting up in her hospital bed, and losing her seventh game of hearts to Deputy Cody. She stretched toward her cell, blessing the medication the doctor had given her. She was aware of the pain, she just didn’t care.
“You okay?” Cody asked.
“Fine.” She clicked on her phone. “Jason? Speak to me.”
“I live to obey you.”
Cody signaled to Olivia that he was stepping out of the room for a moment. She nodded as Jason said, “Del’s on his way, and I wanted to give you a heads-up. Your car had no brake fluid; that’s why the pedal went to the floor without resistance. I found a nice, clean hole, enough to cause a slow leak. No scratching or anything, so it wasn’t done with gravel or rocks.”
“So you’re saying . . .”
“Someone tampered with your brakes, Liv. This is serious.”
“I see. Listen, did you find a bag of cookie cutters on my front seat?”
“Yeah, miraculously unhurt. I swung by the store and left them with Maddie.”
“Good.” Olivia hung up before Jason could resume his lecture. She swung her legs off the bed. Wobbly, but serviceable. She grabbed her jacket and headed for the hospital room door.
No one was in the hallway. Olivia hurried to the stairwell, went down the one flight, and exited through a delivery door at the back of the hospital. Bless those summer weeks she’d spent as a teenage volunteer at Chatterley Heights’s small hospital.
A young orderly stood on the delivery platform, lighting a cigarette. He glanced at Olivia, but his eyes didn’t linger. Her bruises were hidden by clothing, and at thirty-one, she was beyond his interest.
The hospital was four blocks north of The Gingerbread House. Olivia zipped up her jacket and tried to look as if she were out for a spring walk. Two teenage girls, deep in conversation, passed without glancing at her. Once she was alone on the sidewalk, Olivia pulled her cell from her jacket pocket and speed-dialed Maddie’s number. The call went to voice mail. Olivia tried the store number next.
“Gingerbread House, how may I help you?” Maddie sounded less perky than usual.
“It’s me.”
“Livie! What’s going on? I’ve been so worried that—”
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Are any customers in the store?”
“One woman looking at cookbooks, but she keeps checking her watch. I think she’s waiting for someone.”
Olivia shot her wrist out of her jacket sleeve and checked her own watch. “It’s almost five. See if you can shove her out the door, gently of course, then lock up. I’ll come in from the alley and stay in the kitchen until you’ve cleared the store.”
“Ooh, mysterious.” Maddie sounded more like herself.
“And one more thing. Del will be heading our way. I have a head start, but to be on the safe side, get the store closed fast.”
“Won’t he come to the back door?”
“I want to slow him down so you and I can get to the same page. Look, I’m a block away. We’ll talk soon.”
Maddie was waiting in the kitchen and rushed toward Olivia when she arrived. “Are you sure you should be here? Are you really okay? Is anything broken?” Maddie asked, watching as Olivia shook two pills from a bottle of ibuprofen and washed them down with coffee.
“I’m fine, really. These things are great for a simple headache,” Olivia said, clutching the pill bottle in her hand.” I’m not sure how much help they’ll be right now, but it’s worth a shot.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a prescription bottle of Vicadon. “The doctor gave me these for pain. They’re great, but they prevent coherent thought.” Her shock had worn off, to be replaced by aching ribs, a painful shoulder, and a headache. Neck pain would probably follow, according to the doctor who had examined her at the hospital.
“Let me get this straight.” Maddie hoisted herself onto the worktable and swung her legs. “You were just banged up in a car crash and snuck out of the hospital. Del is about to arrive here via the warpath, ready to order thee to a nunnery, or at least a safe house for the duration. But you and I will co-opt him into helping us flush out whoever killed Clarisse and attacked you and Sam. Have I got that right?”
“Basically.” Olivia opened a drawer next to the sink and deposited the prescription bottle. If Del saw it, he’d use it as ammunition to keep her out of the action.
“Not to cast doubt on your master planning skills, but how are we supposed to accomplish all that?” Maddie asked.
A sharp, imperious rap on the alley door ended their discussion. “Show time,” Olivia said. “Follow my lead.” She held open the door as Del barged into the kitchen.
Del glared at Maddie, then zeroed in on Olivia. “I should have told the nurse to lock up your clothes.”
“It’s good to see you, too.”
Maddie slid off the table and took a clean mug from the sink strainer. “We made a fresh pot of coffee,” she said.
“I don’t want coffee.” Del crossed his arms over his chest.
Maddie offered him a filled cup. “Let me take that jacket. It looks snug across the shoulders. Been working out, have you?” Del ignored her. Maddie opened the freezer door, extracted a decorated cookie in the shape of a cardinal, put it on a small plate. She placed the coffee and cookie on the counter next to Del. “Frozen cookies are great for dunking. Sure I can’t take that coat?”
“Stop talking and leave. I need to talk to Livie alone.”
Maddie resumed her seat on the table. “I don’t think so. Over to you, Livie.”
“We have a couple items to show you,” Olivia said, “and some information we think you’ll want to hear. So sit down, dunk that cookie, and unclench those jaw muscles while I get organized.” When Del didn’t budge, she picked up the cup and plate and plunked them on the table. Pulling out a chair, she said, “Sit. I’ll be right back.”
Spunky met her at the door with frantic yapping and whining. She’d forgotten all about him, poor little guy. She noticed he’d had an accident of his own, though he had used a puppy pad.
From the small safe in her office, Olivia removed the bag of Clarisse’s cookie cutters Maddie had stowed away after Jason had delivered them. Olivia also retrieved Clarisse’s letter, dated shortly before her death, and the letter from Faith she had found in the store’s antiques cabinet. She gathered up all the other information she and Maddie had printed off the Internet, including the article about a black-haired dead woman. After dropping all the items into a bag with handles, she picked up her desperate pet and returned to The Gingerbread House.