Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(37)

This was more than a coincidence.

First, Lizzy Gardner had shown up at Melony Reed’s house, and now she was talking to Dean Newman’s girlfriend. The first time she’d seen Lizzy at Melony’s place, she hadn’t known who she was, so she’d followed her to her office downtown. As soon as she saw where the woman worked, it all made sense. Melony had always been the leader of the Ambassador Club. Of course Melony would be the one to notice that her friends were dying off.

It didn’t take Jenny long to conclude that Melony must have hired Lizzy Gardner to investigate the series of recent deaths. The mistake Jenny made was in thinking that killing Melony would put an end to any possible investigation. Not so. Apparently Lizzy Gardner felt compelled to help her clients even after they were dead and buried.

Thanks to Ms. Gardner, she’d had no choice but to make quick work of doing away with Melony Reed. After Melony was asleep, Jenny opened the dishwasher, made sure multiple knives were sticking straight up, and then poured dishwasher soap on the floor. She also removed the lightbulb above the kitchen sink. Then she opened the refrigerator and unscrewed the bulb, leaving the place dark. The appliance would set off an annoying beeping alarm after being left open for too long. Melony would come out and flip on the lights to no avail. She’d then have to take the quickest route to shut the timer off and the rest was history.

At the time, Jenny hadn’t been sure her plan would work, but it all fell together beautifully. Melony had tripped and impaled herself upon a variety of knives. Jenny had been watching and waiting. She beat the ambulance to the hospital and then listened to the nurses talk about the woman who came in with a fillet knife stuck in her neck and a carving knife that had pierced all the way through the woman’s middle.

Every kill had gotten easier. Taking matters into her own hands, making these horrible people pay for what they did to her, left Jenny feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride.

After Lizzy drove away from Dean Newman’s house, Jenny was tempted to knock on the door and ask Dean’s girlfriend what the purpose of Lizzy’s visit was, but there was no need. She knew exactly what Lizzy was doing. There was no other explanation.

Lizzy Gardner could ruin everything. Kill her.

Don’t be silly. I’m going to stick to the people on my list—the ones who deserve to die. Besides, the Gardner woman intrigues me.

Jenny checked the time. She had an appointment with Ron Jennings at AutoNation in Roseville. It was time to park her car at home and take the bus to the Auto Mall.




Jenny chose the car farthest from the main building and then used one of her disposable phones to call Ron Jennings and let him know she was out in his lot and had found a car she was interested in taking for a test drive.

It didn’t take the man long at all to find her by the SUV. It was definitely the same Ron from high school. He’d gained a few pounds and he now walked with a labored, irregular movement, but the round bowling ball head pierced with two squinty eyes hadn’t changed a bit.

She greeted Jennings with a smile. Today she had gone for the edgy platinum-blonde wig that gave her a flirty look. “My good friend told me you were the best salesman in the area, so I thought I would come see for myself.”

“What’s your friend’s name? I could give her a call and thank her for recommending me.”

“Oh, no,” Jenny said. “It’s been too many years. She wouldn’t remember.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Very well. Let’s find you a car. You told me over the phone that you needed something with power and lots of room.”

“That’s right.”

“I have a beautiful red stunner, a Cadillac Escalade, right over here.”

Jenny didn’t budge from her chosen SUV. “I like this one.”

“OK, this one it is!” He opened the door for her, and she climbed in. She clutched the steering wheel with both hands. Being that it was the end of January and the air was still nippy, she knew he wouldn’t question her gloved hands. She poked a few buttons. “Oh, this one won’t do. I don’t see the On–Off switch to deactivate the air bag in the passenger seat.”

“No worries,” he assured her, then hustled around to the passenger side. With the cab briefly to herself, she pulled from her purse the pair of glasses and tube of lipstick she’d found inside his ex-wife’s car and dropped them between the seat and the console.

Jennings opened the passenger door and pointed. “It’s right here beneath the glove box. It’s on the Off position. You just insert the key and turn it on whenever you want to activate it.”

“That only deactivates the passenger side air bag, is that right? I have small children I’m worried about.”

“That’s right. The driver’s air bag will remain on at all times. That’s exactly why the manufacturers started making these switches—for busy mothers like you.”

“Great.”

“So, do you have a large family? Do you travel a lot? Will you need lots of space in the back for family outings? Well, you’ve come to the right place. This baby can do it all.”

For the next five minutes straight, she listened to his high-pressure tactics. Ron Jennings was still a salesman. He used to be on the debate team in high school and would mock his opponents to throw them off their game. Ron hadn’t raped her or held her down for his friends like Dean Newman had, but he used to pinch her when nobody was looking. Sometimes he yanked on her hair or poked her with a sharpened pencil.