Tanya Wojinziky waved the large Colt .45 at Mindy.
“I knew you’d come,” she said. “I knew you’d be here today. Stand over there by the other one. Try to leave and you’re dead.”
“Are you mad?” Mindy said, edging over to where Mia was standing by the counter. “There’s a church full of people twenty yards away.”
“Is that what you’re counting on? Well, you can forget it. I’m not letting you get away again.”
“This isn’t Beth, Mrs. Wojinziky,” Mia said. “Although, there is a vague resemblance.”
“What the hell is going on?” Mindy said, repeatedly fingering her plain gold necklace. She turned to Mia. “She has a gun.”
“I heard him talking to you on the phone, you slut,” Tanya hissed. “I know you want to get your hooks into him.”
“I do not know what you’re talking about,” Mindy said, her eyes wide and focused on the gun pointed at her.
Tanya flicked her eyes to Mia.
“I don’t know you,” she said. “But I know her.” She cocked the gun with her free hand and then steadied her gun hand with it. “And I know I won’t let her get my boy. If I have to die trying—”
“You mean like you prevented Victoria Baskerville from getting him?” Mia said. “Jeff really liked Victoria, didn’t he?”
“She was a whore.”
“What did he do? Finally stand up to you?”
“I told him he couldn’t see her again but she had him blinded by lust. I had to step in. She used her carnal ways on him and he was powerless.” Tanya’s eyes flickered back to Mindy. “Just like this one.”
Mia put a hand on Mindy’s shoulder and softened her voice.
“Okay,” she said. “I agree she’s a raving whore dog, but think about it—if you go to jail for shooting her, there will be literally hundreds of women over at your house on a daily basis,” Mia said. “They’ll be sleeping in your bed, cooking with your pots—”
She swung the gun back to Mia.
“Shut up!”
Mia put her hands up. “Without you there, they’ll be lining up to get their claws into Jeff. One right after another. Maybe two at once.”
Tanya’s eyes were bouncing around in manic imaginings of what that would look like. Unfortunately, she appeared to be worse as a result. Now she seemed intent on shooting every woman of marrying age—starting with Mia and Mindy.
“Mama? You in there? Wedding’s about to start.”
Tanya turned her head in the direction of Jeff’s voice on the other side of the restroom door. Mia saw her moment and lurched forward and grabbed Tanya’s wrist with one hand. She wrapped her fingers around the barrel of the gun with her other hand and pushed it against Tanya’s thumb. Tanya yelped and dropped the weapon.
“Get the gun!” Mia rasped in a low voice to Mindy, as she grappled with Tanya’s wrists. The woman wasn’t young but she was heavy. And she was insane with fury.
Mindy snatched the gun and smashed it against the side of Tanya’s head. The woman crumpled to the bathroom floor.
“Okay, there’s that,” Mia said. She looked from Tanya to Mindy—who was shaking her head, trying to negate what just happened.
“Is everything okay in there?” Jeff’s voice boomed through the door and the doorknob rattled.
“Yes, sir,” Mia said in a fake Southern accent, walking backward to the door, keeping an eye on Tanya. “We are just fine in here as long as no nosy fella comes busting in on us in our altogether.”
Mindy, still holding the gun, stared at the body on the floor. Mia placed her ear against the door for a moment before straightening up.
“He’s gone.” She went to Tanya’s purse on the floor. “Shit, she has another gun in here.”
Mia glanced at Mindy, who was watching Tanya’s slighting twitching body. She looked like she was about to hyperventilate. Mia took the gun from Mindy and placed it on the floor away from her.
“How does she know your mother?” Mindy asked, her voice flat, her eyes transfixed by the body.
“Good question.” Mia opened up Tanya’s wallet and pulled out a newspaper clipping. “Here we go. She saw the announcement in yesterday’s paper.”
She pulled a tattered First Holy Communion card out of the billfold. “Whoa. Check it out. She’s carrying around Jeff’s Holy Communion picture from thirty years ago from this parish.”
Mindy knelt on the floor. Mia guessed it was because her knees were shaking so bad it was either sit down or fall down. She hoped she wouldn’t have to give Mindy mouth-to-mouth.
“Are you okay? You’re breathing funny.”
“This parish?” Mindy said. “The parish we are currently sitting in at this moment?”
“It answers how she knew my mother.”
Tanya moaned and lashed out an arm, connecting solidly with Mindy’s face and knocking her backward against the sink pedestals. Mia dropped the purse and leaned her weight onto the woman’s back but Tanya evaded the pressure point. She got one knee under her and threw Mia off.
“I’ll kill you bitches,” Tanya muttered, but her words were slurred. She shook her head to clear it. Mia grabbed the gun and knocked Tanya solidly on the head again. Tanya blinked once and then her eyes rolled back in her head and slowly closed. She fell backward.
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” Mia said, sending the Colt skidding across the floor away from them. She stood and reached for her purse on the counter. “We need to wrap this up before one of us accidentally kills her.” She started to punch in 911 but Mindy stood, grabbing the sink counter for support, and put her hand on the phone.
“Wait,” she said. She held up a finger to indicate she needed a moment to collect herself. “Don’t call them just yet.”
Mia frowned but didn’t complete the call. Suddenly, the wedding music began. Both Mia and Mindy turned their heads in the direction of the music.
This time the music didn’t stop.
“Come on,” Mindy said. “I have an idea. But we need to hurry.”
*****
“Oh, shit.” Jack saw Mia and Mindy before the rest of them at the front of the altar did, but he could tell—by the building collective gasps—when, row by row, the rest of the guests spotted them. The two women walked, arm in arm, down the aisle toward the front of the church where Jack, Maxwell, and Jess waited with the priest. The music had just ended.
Even from thirty feet, he could see Mindy’s left eye was swollen shut and Mia had a fat, bloody lip. They’d clearly made some attempt to straighten hair that looked like it had been caught in a category five hurricane and clean up the matching bridesmaids’ dresses speckled with blood, dirt and, in Mia’s case, a rip to her thigh.
“I’m going to kill both of them,” Maxwell said under his breath, but Jack saw Jess’s fingers tighten around the chief’s arm.
“They’re here,” she said softly. “And they’re together.”
When they got closer, amazingly, Jack saw that Mia was smiling.
“Time enough later to hear their story,” Jess said, as Mindy and Mia took their places on either side of Maxwell and Jess. Mia reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand and Mindy gave her father the most angelic look Jack had ever witnessed this side of heaven.
Oh, this was going to be good.
It was a beautiful ceremony and went off without a stumble, a fumbled line or missed cue. When Maxwell and Jess turned to face the applause of their guests as Mr. and Mrs. William Maxwell, Mia took Jack’s arm and fell into place beside him for the promenade down the aisle. Ned appeared from the front row and held his arm out to Mindy to escort her.
“What the hell happened?” Jack whispered to Mia as they walked behind the newlyweds.
“Before I get into that, you might want to tell the chief to get somebody here from downtown,” Mia said, nodding and smiling benignly at the wedding guests on either side of the aisle. “Mindy and I caught Victoria Baskerville’s killer in the ladies room.”
Jack nearly stumbled and Mia gripped his arm.
“We’ve got her tied up with choir robe cords in the closet of the bridesmaids’ room.”
“It’s a woman?” Jack choked out.
“Just tell the chief, okay?” Mia said sweetly. “And then let’s put it aside for one day, shall we? I intend to celebrate my mother’s happy day to the hilt.”
They stopped at the end of the church where Jess, the chief, Mindy and Ned were huddled before the church entrance.
Maxwell was frowning at his daughter.
“But I thought you said there was supposed to be a movie before the ceremony?”
“Technical difficulties, Dad. Sorry about that.”
“Well, show it at the reception then. Might be better there anyway.”
“Sure, Dad,” Mindy said. “If I can work out the kinks.”
*****
The VFW hall was bare bones, anchored by a massive American flag at the end of one wall and strung with limp paper streamers. Mia was sure they must have been there since the last Veterans Day party. It didn’t matter. There was a sound system—and it was a good one—hooked up to someone’s music library, a decent kitchen where Jack had overseen the wedding lunch, and plenty of tables and chairs surrounding a good-sized dance floor.
All in all, very satisfactory Mia thought as she surveyed the scene from the kitchen entrance. Most people were either on the dance floor or eating cake. Mindy stood next to Mia sipping a glass of champagne.
“Too bad you couldn’t get the video to work,” Mia said dryly. “I’m sure our parents would’ve enjoyed it.”
“Yeah, well,” Mindy said, “you know technology. You can never trust it.”
“Is that your husband over there waving to you?”
Mindy looked in the direction of a handsome man with a small girl in his arms.
“Bethany’s probably whining,” Mindy said, finishing off her drink.
“I know how she feels,” Mia said. “My feet are killing me.”
Mindy gave her a sidelong look. “You made me a kind of hero in my old man’s eyes today. That’s a new feeling for me.”
“You were a kind of hero today. Knocking old ladies out with gun butts then realizing that calling the cops before the wedding would seriously ruin the chief and Jess’s day.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“No, really,” Mia said. “That was good thinking.”
Mindy picked up her clutch purse and brushed what looked like crumbs off her dress. It was blood spatter.
“By the way,” she said, “that job offer you made to me at the coffee shop a couple days ago?”
“What about it?”
“I accept.”
Mia looked at Mindy and they both smiled.
“I kind of thought you might.”
Mindy walked across the room of wedding guests to meet her husband. He flashed Mia a grin and then wrapped his free arm around Mindy to shepherd her out of the reception hall. He looks like a nice guy. That’s good. I’m glad she’s got somebody like that.
“Leave it to you to turn your mother’s wedding into a crime scene,” Jack said as he came up from behind Mia and kissed her on the neck. He’d loosened his tie and his face was relaxed and cheerful.
“Hi, handsome. You look happy.”
“Murray just called.”
“The civil suit?”
He nodded. “They dropped it.”
“Oh, Jack!”
“I know. Great news.”
Mia turned her gaze back to the dance floor, her heart swelling. Maxwell and Jess were still dancing in the crowded hall. Jess’s gown was beautiful as it dusted the floor with her languid movements. Even with the last-minute booking of the reception hall at the VFW, it was hard to see how Jess could look any happier than she did at this moment.
Could the day be any more perfect?
“Is the chief speaking to me yet?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about him,” Jack said. “You solved the case of the Internet Hussy, after all. Pretty nice wedding gift in my mind. And you brought his daughter back into the fold. Although I’m not sure Maxwell is thrilled with how all that went down.”
“I can’t believe I was wrong about Jeff,” Mia said, turning back to Jack. “I got my wires crossed somehow. And I was so sure.”
“Where did he go by the way? I didn’t see him.”
“He sat through the whole service with an empty seat next to him. When the cops showed up, I didn’t see him again. Probably went to go call Beth now that Crazy Mama is out of the picture.”
“Had you even met his mother before today?”
“No. I’d heard her voice, and we both saw her at Tracy’s funeral, but I didn’t know it was her.”
“Why was she at the funeral?”
“Because of the connection to Victoria. She wasn’t absolutely sure Jeffy-boy wasn’t somehow involved with the twins. Fact is, if Derek hadn’t killed Tracy, Tanya Wojinziky probably would have.”
“Nut case.”
“Totally.”
“You ready to finally close this case, partner?”
Mia put her hand on his arm. Her eyes were soft and glowing. “You have been so supportive during all this, Jack. No matter what I asked of you, you were right there for me—even when I was being stuffed in trunks and strange men were throwing punches at you. Thank you.”
“It’s in the manual,” he said, shrugging. “Chapter One: What Men Must Do for the Women They Love.”
“I like that manual.” She slipped her arm in his and laid her head on his shoulder. “Take me home, Jack. We need to add a new chapter to it.”
“I hope it’s steamy.”
“Oh, trust me. It is.”
##
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Susan Kiernan-Lewis lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida and writes mysteries and romantic suspense. Like many authors, Susan depends on the reviews and word of mouth referrals of her readers. If you enjoyed Heartless, please consider leaving a review saying so on Goodreads.com or your favorite ebook retailer.
Check out Susan’s website at susankiernanlewis.com and feel free to contact her at sanmarcopress@me.com.
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