A Rip Roaring Good Time Read online

  I'd thought Alice had been experiencing a great deal of mental instability, and she proved just how unstable she was when she reached into the bag hanging over her shoulder and pulled out a shiny handgun. I'm sure Rip recognized the model immediately. I knew she wouldn't hesitate to use it on us, but I was also afraid it'd misfire if we tried to get the gun away from her. She aimed the weapon at me first, then Mattie, and finally Rip. Alice continued to wave it back and forth between us.

  Alice had a crazed look on her face when she continued speaking. "I lied about not realizing you knew Wendy's family. The night of the party, I saw you chatting with Lexie on several occasions before I killed Trotter. So after you'd asked me those supposedly innocent questions at the diner that day, I had a premonition that made me uneasy. I couldn't get over the feeling that you never really wanted to work at Zen's Diner in the first place, but were just using it as an excuse to question me. I slipped my Glock into my purse before I left to bring Wendy's present over, just in the event something like this confrontation were to take place. And believe me, folks, as you should be aware of by now, I'm not afraid to use this gun."

  I froze, but my cool and collected husband calmly advised her to lower her weapon. He said, "Alice, honey, don't be silly. Put the gun down. You don't want to make this situation even worse for yourself by killing three more people. They might go easy on you for the impassioned killing of Trotter, but adding three more point-blank murders to your list of crimes will get you the death penalty almost without question. And don't fool yourself into thinking you're going to get away with this."

  "Who's going to know I've even been here? You don't actually think I plan to leave any witnesses, do you?"

  "They won't need witnesses, my dear," I said before Rip could reply to the question. "I'm certain the Alexandria Inn's new state-of-the-art security system will have a clear video of your arrival, and will film your departure, as well. There are multiple strategically-placed cameras around the perimeter of the building which are operating 24/7."

  I glanced over at Rip just long enough to see him roll his eyes and shake his head in disbelief before I continued. I thought my detailed description of the high-tech system sounded very credible so I continued to elaborate. "When any of the nine cameras detect a body in motion, a facial recognition program automatically activates. If the individual's face is not on the list of approved visitors, the police department is notified and the video files are instantly transmitted to their computer. I can assure you the cops are already in possession of the evidentiary files and are on their way here, young lady."

  I knew the inn's "state-of-the-art" security system actually consisted of a cheap worthless chain and a regular locking doorknob that Rip could pick in five seconds with a credit card, but I was hoping my B.S. would fool this loony tune who was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs to begin with. I doubted anyone in the county had a system like I'd just described. Now if the White House really had been relocated to downtown Rockdale instead of the new Panera Bread, it might have been a different story.

  I was quite proud of my ingeniously fabricated remarks, so naturally disappointed when Alice responded with a rude laugh and said, "Yeah, right!"

  The crazed nut job was obviously not as dim-witted as I'd given her credit for. She continued to wave the gun back and forth. I'm sure she was considering the ramifications of her actions and mentally going over the pros and cons of shooting us. I didn't think she was a natural born killer, or we'd have already been bleeding out on the floor, almost exactly where her first victim had done the same thing. The thought crossed my mind that the gun might not even be loaded. She could be bluffing, or possibly not even know how to check if there were bullets in the clip or if the safety was off. But there was no safe way to test that theory, so I operated under the assumption that both the gun and Alice were prepared and ready to fire. I figured just the fact she owned a gun was a good sign she was familiar with how to use it.

  One thing was obvious that didn't bode well for Rip, Mattie and me. Alice was in dire straits, and her inherent insanity could cause her to do anything, no matter how drastic, in order to save her own skin. I'd antagonized Alice to the point she was threatening to kill the three of us, so I felt it might be an opportune time to let the seasoned law enforcer in the room take over.

  Alice held us at bay for another five minutes while Rip attempted to calm her down and reason with her, rubbing his right hip as he spoke. She seemed to become more and more irrational and distraught with each moment that passed. My husband might have been able to talk a kitten down from a tall tree, but he wasn't having much luck talking the bats out of Alice's belfry. And I knew if I held my breath any longer I was going to turn the color of the brick fireplace across the room from the four of us.

  Mattie, Rip, and I were standing to one side of the piano, and Alice was standing on the other. Finally Rip told her, "Honey, if you want to kill me, then kill me. But in the meantime I'm going to have to sit down. My hip hurts so badly right now that I won't be able to hold myself up much longer." Without even waiting for Alice's response, Rip walked slowly toward the piano bench, steadying himself with his cane. He must have known instinctively she wouldn't shoot him if he walked toward her in a non-threatening fashion. She kept the Glock pointed directly at him, and he made a point of showing no intention of trying to take her down.

  Rip had moved so sluggishly toward the bench that I was as surprised as Alice when he suddenly grasped his end of the bench and thrust it as forcefully as he could in her direction, which was approximately five feet from the other end of the bench. In reaction to his sudden movement, Alice turned away at the last instant, just before the bench hit her squarely in the knees and caused her to topple forward. I could hear the crunch of the wooden bench against the bone of Alice's kneecaps. As she'd tried to retain her balance, the gun had flown out of her hand and hit the face of the piano so hard it had discharged upon impact.

  I saw Mattie dive under the piano and heard Rip and Alice gasp in pain almost simultaneously. I knew the bullet had struck my husband, but I didn't know where, or how seriously he'd been hurt. But I had no time to check it out right then. Alice was reaching for the gun again, which was several feet closer to her than it was to Rip or me. Despite his gunshot wound, Rip stretched his left arm out with his cane and whisked the gun out of her reach just as her fingers made contact with the barrel. It flew off the piano keys in my direction, and bounced after it hit the hardwood floor. Out of self-preservation and pure instinct, I dove on the loaded weapon.

  It crossed my mind briefly that all those snickering, spandex-clad, pole-dancing floozies would have been amazed and impressed at the agility I'd just exhibited. With the massive amount of adrenalin coursing through my body, I could have performed the upside-down "grasshopper" flawlessly, or even lifted a burning concrete truck off of Dolly. Considering her ever-increasing weight, perhaps I should say lift Dolly off a burning concrete truck.

  I watched Alice struggle to pull herself up to her feet using the piano bench as support. A few seconds later, Alice lunged unsteadily in my direction in a desperate attempt to wrestle the weapon away from me. Using all the force I could muster, I cracked her in an already wounded kneecap with the butt of the gun, all-the-while hoping it didn't accidentally discharge again and blow my nose off in the process. I heard a shattering of glass along with the thud of the gun against Alice's knee. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lori Piney standing in the doorway with her hands over her mouth and the blue Anchor Hocking bowl in pieces at her feet. She had walked into the room unaware of the mayhem taking place in the parlor.

  As Alice Runcan fell to the floor, I heard her scream, Rip moan, Mattie shout out, Lori gasp, and Wyatt holler, "Freeze! Police!" at the exact same moment. Unbeknownst to all five of us, the detective had rushed in through the parlor door in reaction to the sound of the gunshot he'd heard as he was walking up the front steps into the inn. Wyatt could not have had any idea what he was going to walk int
o when he entered the house, but after sixteen years on the force, his extensive training had taken over.

  I was surprised but greatly relieved to see the detective. Lexie told me later she'd begun to worry at the restaurant about the plan we'd set into motion. When Wendy had excused herself to use the restroom, she'd taken the opportunity to tell the rest of the party briefly what had happened and the real reason Rip and I had not joined them for supper.

  Lexie related to us that when Wendy had returned to the table, Wyatt had made a show of putting his phone in his pocket, said, "Sorry folks, but duty calls" and left the restaurant just as the waitress was handing out their drink orders. Wyatt made arrangements for Veronica to ride back to the inn with Lexie and told her he'd stop by to pick her up later.

  Wendy hadn't seemed to question Wyatt's excuse to leave the restaurant, which was basically the truth anyway. With a sense of urgency Wyatt had driven to the inn as fast as he safely could. The detective felt he should be there if the confrontation took a bad turn. And the seasoned cop's instincts were correct. The confrontation had taken a very bad turn, indeed.

  Chapter 20

  Lexie explained to me later what had transpired to bring Detective Johnston to the scene at that precise moment. As soon as Wyatt had left the restaurant, Wendy had turned to her mother, and said, "Okay, spill the beans, Mom. I want to know what's going on. I know you well enough to know you're so uptight right now, you won't be able to eat one bite of your food. If there's something going on that's pertinent to the murder case, I think I deserve to know about it."

  Lexie had then reached down into her purse and activated the voice recorder on her phone purely on a whim. She played the recording for Rip and me the following morning. We'd listened as Lexie told Wendy about our suspicions that her best friend, Mattie, could have been responsible for Trotter's death. Lexie had felt her daughter really did deserve to know the truth, considering the impact it would have on her. Of course, at the time, Lexie was still under the impression Rip and I were at the inn questioning Mattie about any involvement she might have had in the crime. Lexie knew nothing about what had taken place with Alice Runcan in the interim.

  Listening to the recording, we'd heard Wendy say, "Although I don't want to believe it's even possible, it could account for why Mattie's been acting so strangely this week. She told me that she had warned Trotter at the party he'd better leave before I arrived or she'd tell Andy what he did to me, and Andy would make mince-meat of him. Then, when he didn't leave, she sent him a text a few minutes later to remind him of her threat. Naturally, Mattie joked about it, saying she would have never had the guts to do it, knowing I didn't really want Andy to know about the assault. But maybe she'd actually given Trotter a more menacing threat, and couldn't resist his daring her to do it."

  We then heard Lexie's voice ask, "Why didn't you tell us about that exchange of texts between Mattie and Trotter?"

  To which Wendy replied, "I guess, in retrospect, I should have mentioned it to you all earlier, but I couldn't imagine that my friend, who I thought I knew as well as I knew myself, could ever do something so vicious."

  Lexie had then suggested they leave before they placed their meal order, and get back to the inn quickly. She'd told them we still had the barbecue stuff we'd picked up earlier, which we could all eat later as a late supper.

  With an apology to the waitress and a ten-dollar tip for her trouble, the remaining five in the party had rushed out to their vehicles and arrived at the inn just a minute or two behind Wyatt. Earlier, they had carpooled to the restaurant in Lexie and Stone's vehicles and Wyatt had met them there in his patrol car. That decision had turned out to be a good one.

  With Veronica in the passenger seat, Lexie told me she hadn't even bothered to check her speed as she rushed back to the inn. Her little VW Bug sped through downtown Rockdale, just a yellow streak racing down Main Street, with Stone's truck nearly glued to her bumper.

  When I had turned in surprise at Wyatt's voice shouting, "Freeze," it seemed like mere seconds before the rest of the dinner party had flooded into the room. The look on Lexie's face will forever be imprinted in my memory. The scene when they entered the room was that of Rip lying across the piano bench with blood streaming down the right leg of his pants, Mattie on the floor, still hiding under the grand piano, Lori dabbing at a speck of blood on her ankle where a shard of glass from the shattered bowl had cut her, and Alice wailing as she clutched her left knee. To top it off, I was standing in the center of the room like one of Charlie's Angels with the Glock pointed at the helpless restaurant owner on the floor. I'm not sure what had been going through my mind at that moment. But for the record, I was ready to defend my husband, Mattie Hill, Lori Piney, and myself if the sobbing, wounded lady suddenly jumped to her feet and brandished a second revolver she'd had hidden in her no doubt lacy and revealing brassiere.

  Wyatt had immediately taken control of the situation. He called the police station for assistance, requesting EMTs and a couple of ambulances. Then he began to apply pressure to the gaping hole in Rip's hip from the close-range shot, to stop the profuse bleeding. He looked over at me and said, "He's going to be all right, Rapella."

  Seconds later, Lexie approached me with a questioning expression. I nodded and said, "It's over, Lexie. And Rip's got all the proof we'll need recorded on his phone."

  With a smile that spoke of mixed emotions, Lexie said, "I'm glad you've had your wits about you better than I have this week. Let's keep our earlier suspicions about Mattie just between the six of us. I wouldn't want Mattie to find out we ever doubted her honesty and integrity."

  "Absolutely!" I agreed. I put my arm around Lexie as the ramifications of the situation had caused Lexie's eyes to pool. Through her tears she thanked me for all Rip and I had done on her behalf.

  "I'd do it all again, and I know Rip would too. At least the old bull-headed turd will have to have his hip fixed now, whether he likes it or not."

  She smiled at my remark and I heard my husband mumble something that's not fit to repeat. I gave Lexie a tender pat on her back and said, "I hope you aren't terribly upset, but for a short spell you had your great-grandma's bowl back, only to have it shattered to pieces in the ensuing chaos."

  "Oh, well. I thought it was gone forever anyway, and had already come to terms with losing it. Not to mention, family heirloom or not, I'd trade it for my freedom and Mattie's innocence any day. So, my friend, considering the ramifications of all that's gone on this week, that old bowl is, as Rip would say, no big rip! But it breaks my heart to think of Alice Runcan's future. She must have been tormented for years by whatever mental illness has taken control of her mind."

  "I had a feeling you'd see it that way, my friend. I hate to use a cliché ─ "

  "Of course you do."

  "But the poor girl's madder than a wet hen, and maybe that will turn out to be another stroke of good fortune for Alice, regarding her future."

  Wyatt tended to the injured with Mattie, a registered nurse, instructing him on how to best assist my husband. In between directions to the detective, she did her best to care for the bloody laceration to Lori's leg. She applied an antibiotic cream and gauze to the wound, items Lexie had brought her from the medicine cabinet in her bathroom. After Lori's inquiry, Mattie assured the young lady that no stitches would be necessary to close the gash which was not as deep or severe as it appeared.

  When the room became still as the gravity of the situation sank in, I broke the eerie silence by saying, "Well, Wendy, Rip, and I wanted to attend your birthday party to watch you be surprised by your family and friends. And if everything that happened this past week didn't surprise you, nothing will!"

  "Speaking of which," Andy said. "I know this is not the most appropriate time to do this, but it might be the last time we're all in one room at the same time. And it's only a matter of minutes before the room fills up with cops and medical personnel. Wendy, my love, I want to take care of something I'd intended to do at you
r surprise party and never got the opportunity."

  He approached his girlfriend and took her hand. Andy then dropped down on one knee before he spoke again.

  "Wendy, you have made me the happiest man in the world. I love you with all my heart, and I'd like nothing better than to spend the rest of my life with you. With your mother's, and my Uncle Stone's blessing, Wendy Marie Starr, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward?"

  Through glistening eyes, Wendy also used words from the traditional wedding vows to reply, "I'd love nothing better than to be married to my best friend, in good times and in bad, in richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do we part. Just promise me, sweetheart, that you won't be in any hurry to have to honor that last one."

  The room erupted into laughter, mixed with applause and delighted congratulations. Even Alice clapped and cheered as she watched Wendy get engaged to the love of her life.

  An odd sensation swept through the room at that moment. Two life-altering events had just occurred within minutes of each other and the two emotions the events invoked were polar opposites of each other.

  We'd all just learned an emotionally and mentally disturbed young woman was going to be held responsible for a ghastly murder, and also that Wendy would soon marry the man of her dreams, Andy Van Patten. Nearly everyone in the room smiled through their tears. The tears in everyone's eyes were from overwhelming sorrow and overwhelming happiness, and in Rip's case, quite a bit of pain, as well, all mixed into one bittersweet moment.