something. That Lisa and I should bare all, so to speak. I was tired of lugging this stuff around, and besides it was getting a little scary, especially since the incident with my ladder out in the orchard, which, as of that moment, I hadn’t told Lisa.
Wait! Could Liz Harrington have sliced my ladder? Would she be that vindictive? She did seem awfully bitter that day at the bank and she had access while I was eating lunch at Maya’s after I retrieved those papers. Maybe Liz really was Dickey’s murderer and I’ve been thinking it was someone in the family.
Perhaps that Tundra out in the parking lot belonged to Liz Harrington. I flashed on her cowboy boots that day in the bank.
I needed to talk to Lisa alone about this new theory, before we got to the car, before we got to the Tundra.
“I’m over there,” I said, pointing the way, grabbing hold of Lisa’s arm, figuring Nick and Leo would have parked in the blacktop lot and I could get her alone for a little while.
“We are, too,” Leo said. “Nick drove. Did you drive your mom’s new Mercedes?”
I nodded.
“I thought so. We parked two rows over.”
So much for getting Lisa alone.
“Not to belabor the subject,” Nick said, “but did your mom happen to mention if Dickey and Liz had any correspondence while he was in prison?”
Leo started to answer his question, but then stopped, probably weighing out his chances for sex if he kept volunteering information to Nick.
A wise man.
I decided to tell Nick what I knew. Couldn’t hurt to have him on Liz’s trail. “As a matter of fact, they did. But maybe you should be asking these questions to Liz. I’m sure she’d love to spill her guts.”
“Unlike the Spia clan,” Nick mumbled.
My mom’s car was one row up.
The Tundra was still parked next to it. “Look what we have here. Could it be the same truck that tried to run us off the road?”
Nick shook his head and smirked, then he pulled out a small flashlight and checked inside. “There’s plates on the back seat. I’ll call it in. Looks like we’re going to be here for awhile.”
Lisa smiled and gave me a nod while Nick called someone and gave that person all the information. He stayed on the line and waited for a response while he leaned on my mom’s car.
We all waited for the response, but I knew who that Tundra belonged to.
A few minutes later, he said, “Thanks,” and snapped his phone shut.
“The plates are registered to Elizabeth Harrington.”
“Damn,” Leo grumbled.
“I knew it,” I said, satisfied with my theory.
“Then, why didn’t you tell me?” Nick asked.
“I wasn’t sure.”
“What else aren’t you sure about?”
I avoided the question, and instead I said, “Aren’t you going to go back inside and cuff her or something? My mom would be thrilled to see it.”
“As much as I would like to please your mom, I’ll wait for backup. No telling how that woman will react. I’ve heard stories about her temper. Besides, she’s only a suspect at this point. All I want to do now is take her in and ask her some questions. We don’t know for sure this is the vehicle that ran you ladies off the road.”
“There’s red paint on the bumper,” Lisa said.
“And you guys didn’t call me?”
“We weren’t sure,” Lisa said.
Totally frustrated, Nick leaned in harder on the trunk of my mom’s car. Then he pulled out his flashlight again, swung around and peered at my mom’s tires.
“Your mom has a flat.”
“I hate it when my mom is right,” I groaned.
“She tell you not to park here?” Lisa asked.
“Yeah. How’d you know that?”
She grinned.
“Don’t tell me,” I said. “It’s in one of your books. Something about parking in a dark area or is it about parking on dirt?”
“Actually, I wrote an entire chapter about parking in dirt, sand or construction sites. Also about parking in dark lots, but I think the construction site is more applicable in this situation.”
“Did I happen to mention that I’m beginning to hate your books? Is there anything you’re not an expert in?”
“Yeah. I can’t change a tire to save my ass.”
It was reassuring to finally hear something she couldn’t do.
“It’s easy,” Nick said. “You just need to know where to put the jack. I’ll give you a crash course while we’re waiting for backup.”
Lisa gazed at him with doe eyes. Complete adoration drenched her face. It was almost too disturbing to watch. My best friend