Fudge Brownies & Murder - Culinary Competition Mystery #4

Chapter 24

(Amy)

Amy peeled the top off of another tiny container of Irish cream-flavored creamer and added it to the end of the line of the other five she had already opened. She dumped them two at a time into the foam cup filled with steaming, black coffee. The white liquid sunk, leaving behind only a wisp of lightness on the dark surface. The hospital didn't mess around with weak coffee, at least not during the night. The cafeteria workers must figure anybody looking for coffee at 3:00 a.m. needed it strong. The first sip she had taken of the beverage to judge how much sugar she would need to add nearly rolled her eyes back in her head. It was the sledgehammer of coffee meant to keep tired visitors and staff awake. A brisk stir with a plastic spoon lightened the hue of the black-as-night coffee a bit as the faux cream mixed in. After stirring in a couple of packets of sugar, she snapped a lid on the cup.

She had no idea that having a baby could be like driving a car. Carla's labor had stalled an hour earlier. After struggling through three hours of intense contractions, the labor just stopped. The doctor's said it wasn't a big deal and suggested they all take a break during the lull. So she, Shepler, and Geri were taking turns visiting the cafeteria for food and caffeine while Carla napped.

Since Shepler and Geri had already been on their breaks, Amy had a few more minutes to try to glue herself together. Some bracing, cold air would help snap some clarity into her tired, overwhelmed brain. The only exciting thing she had planned for the day was the baby shower. Unwittingly uncovering the murderer was not on her to-do list. Neither was becoming an honorary auntie. The police had searched LeighAnne's house, but somehow she had disappeared between the time Amy ran from the dining room and the police officer busted into the kitchen. The officers had even moved the china cabinet and a couple of bookshelves in the living room at Amy's suggestion, in case they were covering entrances to secret passageways. They weren't.

Shepler had gotten Amy excused to leave the scene. After arriving at the hospital, he let her know that tracking dogs had been called in, but LeighAnne's trail went cold when it reached the road that cut through the woods a half-mile behind her house. That indicated that someone had picked her up. There was no way to know if the driver knew they were transporting a murder fugitive or not.

Alex came to the hospital for a while to check on Amy. But watching Carla in excruciating pain was more than he could handle, so he excused himself. "Carla and Shepler are our friends, but I don't think it's appropriate for me to be here."

After exiting the cafeteria, Amy followed the yellow line on the floor that led to the main entrance of the hospital. She shrugged on her coat as her footsteps echoed through the empty lobby. Outside, the weather was on the downright cold side of brisk. At least there wasn't any wind. A slender twist of steam rose from the opening on her coffee cup as she set out to make a lap around the small parking area nearest the entrance. The hospital complex was made up of a crazy quilt of building wings and parking lots, but she didn't want to get too far away from the lobby elevators that led to Carla's sixth-floor room. Or get too cold.

Her phone binged in her coat pocket, indicating she had a new text, as she rounded the corner formed by the main hospital and an attached parking garage. She pulled it out and saw it was from Shepler. Amy inhaled a huge puff of cold air which in turn made her throat spasm. Tears percolated in her eyes as she tried to cough up a lung. The blurry text message read: Labor started again. Need your help. Come back.

Amy spun on the toe of her boot. A bony arm snapped around her neck, instantly choking off her coughing fit. The phone was slapped out of her grasp. It clattered onto the sidewalk. Shards of plastic from its shattered case tinkled over the cement. Time seemed to slow as she struggled to pull air into her oxygen-deprived lungs. The warmth of coffee, spilled from the opening in the lid of the cup, oozed through her glove then instantly turned cold. She was jerked backward toward the dark parking structure. The coffee cup joined the lineup of dropped things on the sidewalk.

"What a surprise finding you here," Buck whispered into her ear as his bloated potbelly pressed into her back. "You've caused me a lot of trouble."

She dug her heels into the sidewalk, but the rubber-soled boots couldn't combat the power of a pissed off man on a mission. "What are you doing?" she rasped as his forearm pressed harder into her neck. "LeighAnne is the killer. Why are you hurting me when I didn't do anything to you?"

"I greatly appreciate LeighAnne getting rid of my old bag. I owe her. I was so tired of Esther Mae bossing me around every second of every day. So now you are going to pay for sending the police after LeighAnne. Not to mention, I just had to take her to the emergency room since you hurt her so much."

On the sidewalk, Amy's phone screen glowed white. It was still working and another text message had arrived. Her purse, and the pepper spray she always carried in it, were in Carla's room since she had opted to just carry money in her coat pocket when she went to the cafeteria. She would just have to fight back the old-fashioned way.

Amy reached behind her back, grabbed Buck's crotch, and squeezed as hard as she could, pretending his private parts were a lemon that didn't want to give up its juice. His cry of pain echoed through the parking structure. The chokehold he had on her loosened. She used her free hand to claw at his arm wrapped around her neck while simultaneously stomping on his foot over and over. He howled again when she wriggled free. She took two steps and screamed in frustration when he grabbed the back of her coat. Buck was tenacious. She wasn't free of him yet. He yanked her toward him. Go for the neck. The voice of her self-defense instructor echoed through her mind. Amy used the momentum of being pulled toward Buck to help deliver a solid punch to his Adam's apple.

He dropped to the pavement, choking and gasping for air. The darkness in the middle of the lower level of the parking garage lit up with flashes of orange light. A security vehicle squealed to a stop in front of her. Two men in dark-blue uniforms emerged from the vehicle and pointed Tasers at Buck, who was still writhing on the floor. One of the security guards said, "The police are on the way. We won't let this guy get away. Go help your friend have her baby."

Amy froze for a few seconds in reaction to his last statement. How did he know she was there to help with Carla's labor? Whatever. She didn't have any more time to ponder the weirdness. Carla needed her.

Carla's legs were in stirrups when Amy rushed back into the room. Sweat streamed down her friend's face as she grabbed the back of her thighs and leaned forward to push. Shepler glanced at Amy as he swiped a wet washcloth over his wife's forehead. "I'm glad I looked out the window when I did."

Mystery solved. Buck had tried to abduct her right below Carla's room. "Thank you," she said as she moved beside the bed to stand next to Geri. "Do you know that LeighAnne is in the emergency room right now?"

He nodded as he stroked Carla's hair and said, "You're doing great. Almost there, honey."

"I love you," Geri said as she touched her daughter's shoulder. She looked at Amy and they both backed away from the bed. Carla was completely focused on her husband, and he was doing a fantastic job coaching her through the last stage of labor. They were working together as a team like only a husband and wife who truly love each other could.

Amy squeezed Geri's hand as they stood in front of the window and whispered, "You're going to be a terrific grandma."

Five minutes later, Macy Geraldine Shepler was born.