Chapter 14
"Are you sure about this?" Jesse hissed at me as we sat outside the station later that night.
I had, like in my dream, told Andy and my Mom that Jesse, CeeCee and Adam and I were watching the fireworks at the beach. Also like my dream, they believed me.
"Yes. Why?" I asked him. Was macho man Jesse getting scared?
"Well…What if there are people in the building." He asked shifting his weight in the driver's seat of Margarita in an attempt to get more comfortable.
"I told you. Everyone got the evening off to spend with their family. Carmel's news station is a small local one. Therefore, if they decide to not go on air they run an episode of That 70's Show or something. Their viewers get the news on another station." I turned from my seat and faced Jesse. He looked like I had just spoken Polish to him.
"Never mind. No ones in there. Except Larry. Somewhere." I answered.
I suppose that when he was a ghost he would never have to worry about being caught breaking and entering because, well, who would see him? But now the circumstances had changed. He was human again, capable of getting injured and caught, something that was clear to him and me.
"If you're sure…" He still looked unconvinced. His eyebrows where scrunched together, and the scar on one of them became more visible, in a very sexy way.
"Lets do this De Silva." I said in a macho voice and climbed out of the car.
Jesse sighed and muttered, "Nombre de dios". He stayed in the car, per our plan.
.OOOOOOOOOO.
I entered through the side building with my camera in hand and pepper spray in the pocket of my jeans for easy access. A girl always needed to be prepared.
"Hello?" I hollered as I stepped into the station. It was empty, as I had suspected and only half the lights where on. The place was completely bare, giving off a calm vibe.
"Anybody here?" I hollered again. As I expected, I got no answer in return.
I strolled over to Larry's desk for what felt like the thousandth time today.
I took a picture of it before opening the bottom drawer. After snapping off the picture, I the drawer and moved the journal, finding exactly what I was looking for.
Larry had placed the foxglove in his desk drawer. He must have put it there after everyone left before moving it to a safer place.
Now personally, if I had poisoned someone with a flower, I'd burn the evidence as soon as I could but apparently Larry didn't think this way.
I closed the drawer and stuffed the camera into my purse and went to turn on the computer like I had envisioned earlier. I pulled out my paper spray and sat my purse on the desk.
I watched the screen, waiting for it to turn the pretty shade of sky blue as it booted up. As I looked into the monitor I saw a figure standing behind me.
I spun around; saw a startled Larry holding a baseball bat in midair, ready to bring it down onto my head. No wonder I had had a concussion in my dream. The psycho had hit me with a baseball bat.
I blasted Larry with my pepper spray right into his eyes.
"That's for Eric!" I said triumphantly.
Almost immediately he dropped the bat and started to rub his eyes while cussing me out, making it worse. His eyes where starting to swell shut and turn bright red. He stopped rubbing them and attempted to look at me. As I suspected, the swelling made it so he couldn't see much but that didn't stop him. He took a big step forward towards me, which boxed me in a corner.
Before I had a chance to kick him in the shins (he was blind after all) Jesse came up from behind him and tripped him, causing Larry to fall backwards on to the floor. Larry let out another string of colorful curse words.
"Why I must say, I kind of expected more fight out of him." Jesse said looking at Larry curled up in a ball. We took a brief moment to stare.
"We have to get a confession before calling Carmel's finest." I said pulling out a tape recorder and turned it on and stuck it in my pocket. I was feeling very calm about this situation, which my therapist back in New York would most likely deem unhealthy. I mean, being calm about catching a murderer as if it was an everyday occurrence could not be a normal thing.
"How? Beat it out of him?" His eyes sparkled with amusement as he answered my question.
"I don't know. I'm not used to beating up people who are alive. I deal with the dead remember? If they're dead, it doesn't really matter if you pound on them." I replied tersely.
"Eric." Jesse stated after a moment.
"What about him?"
"Get him to get the confession out of him."
I looked at him mortified. Jesse was going to let Eric beat Larry to a bloody pulp just so he didn't have to?
"No! He may be a murderer-"
"I meant scare it out of him. Make him somehow show his ghostly form. Not hurt him. Physically anyways." Jesse replied with a smirk.
I sighed at him and shook my head, ready to argue. But then something in the corner of my eye caught my attention.
"Look out!" I yelped. While the two of us had been bickering Larry had regained his momentum (and some eye sight) and had grabbed the bat and went swinging towards Jesse.
Acting on instinct, I kicked towards Larry's direction and heard a satisfying crunch. I had obviously broken, or at the very least bruised, something.
Sadly, I didn't get a chance to see what I had done because next thing I knew, Jesse grabbed my hand and the two of us where running.
"Ok. I changed my mind. Call the cops. Screw the confession." I said as the two of us ran down the hall.
"I don't have my cell phone!" He hissed.
Go figure. The one time we actually need it.
"Stop!" I hollered. We stopped in front of the producer's office. I tried the doorknob and lucky me, it was unlocked. I shoved him into the dark, yet pristine office. The glow of the computer screen that had been failed to turn off was the only light in the room. It was enough light though, to show the phone sitting on the glass desk.
"Use the phone to call the police. I'll distract Larry." I told Jesse. Before he got a chance to argue, I darted out of the room and shut the door as quietly as I could.
Ok. I'd like to take a moment to state that I really did not have a plan at all. I had no clue what to do. I was acting on pure instinct and adrenaline.
I tiptoed down the hall towards the makeshift kitchen that the station had. I figured maybe I could make some noise and distract Larry long enough to get the police at the station.
"Susannah? Where are you?"
I shivered. It was Larry calling out to me. I was in the dark kitchen crouched behind the table waiting. I had picked up an apple that had been left on the table earlier and was currently clutching it in my hand.
I waited until Larry's footsteps got closer.
"Susannah!" He called out again.
I took this as my cue and threw the apple into the hall where it hit a wall with a bang.
I held my breath as Larry ran past the kitchen and to the area where the noise came from.
I heard him muttering.
"Susannah. That was a nice trick. Now where are you?" He hollered again.
"Does London know you killed her husband?" I hollered out to him. I was stalling,
waiting to hear the police sirens, which would be here any moment. I knew that by talking to him, I ran the risk of him finding me.
"Yes. I confessed to her. She knows, yet surprising she hasn't turned me in yet. I bet she realizes that I killed Eric so we could be together." I could hear the smirk in his voice. He was getting cocky.
I looked around in the dark area that surrounded me. The only source of light I had was the bright clock light on the coffee pot. I stood up thinking maybe I should make a break for it and go find Jesse.
That's when I heard the sirens. Jesse had contacted the police.
I tiptoed towards the doors of the kitchen where only moments ago, I threw the apple. I peaked around the door only to come face to face with Larry.
I shrieked, and was frozen in fear as Larry shoved me backwards causing me to hit my head on the doorframe. Then everything turned black….
.OOOOOOOOO.
The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to a concerned looking Jesse.
"Hi." I croaked and attempted to sit up.
"Nombre de dios. You're ok." He snatched me up in an embrace and kissed my cheek. I looked over his shoulder and saw an officer hand cuffing Larry.
"Ow. Owww." I muttered and Jesse released me.
"What? What is it? Is it your head? I can call an ambulance. They can be here in a minute." He said.
"I don't need an ambulance. My head does hurt but something in my pocket's poking me in the side." I reached in and pulled out the tape recorder. It was still on. It had Larry confessing to killing Eric!
"Wait! Jesse give this to the police!" I said and handed it to him.
He hesitated, clearly not wanting to leave me, but got up anyway and handed an officer the tape. He muttered some other things to the officer who nodded in response.
"What did you say to him?" I asked.
"Where to find the foxglove and Anna's note. I think we should let them take over now.
Don't you agree?" He asked helping me stand up.
"Yes. I do." I leaned on him and we made our way to the front.
"We should get your head checked out." Jesse said.
"Can't we do it in the morning?" I asked.
"No. Now. And the police would like your official statement but I asked them if we could
do that tomorrow and they agreed." Jesse replied.
"Thanks…" I muttered.
"Oh and one more thing that I think you should know-"
I turned to look at him. Was he going to say I love you or something equally as romantic and cheesy?
"Susannah! Oh honey are you ok?"
I turned my gaze from Jesse and saw, of all people, my mother rushing over to us.
"You called my mother?!" I hissed at him.
"Yes I did." He said defensively. "I thought she should know that her daughter was hurt."
"Yeah ok but how am I going to explain all of this?" I hissed to him as she approached.
"We can figure it out together." He replied.
Before I had a chance to complain my mother reached us and gave me a big hug.
"Honey what happened? Are you alright? Jesse called me and I was so worried…"
"I'm ok. I solved a murder." I told her with a bright smile hopping to take the look of concern off her face.
"Again?" she asked. I bet she was referring to when I stopped Michael Meducci from getting away from murdering 4 people.
"Yeah…I did. And I'll tell you all about it on the car ride to the hospital. Jesse will you drive us?" I asked.
He nodded.
"The hospital? What happened? Jesse didn't tell me."
"Larry pushed me causing me to fall backwards and hit my head and I think I may have a concussion." I stated.
My mother looked ready to pass out.
"Larry? Larry did this?" She asked turning pale.
"Come on Mom…I'll tell you about it in the car."
.000000000000.
AN: Not the end yet guys. One chapter left. I would LOVE feed back. So please review.