Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(43)

Kitally plunked her bag on the dining room table. “Mr. Chalkor is onto me. He called me out the other day when I followed him to a park, and now he hasn’t come out of his house in days. I’ve been parking in new spots every day, but I think maybe I’ll have to drive a different car.”

“If you don’t get pictures by the end of the week, we might need to change tactics.”

“Who made these cookies?” Kitally asked from the kitchen.

“Your neighbor brought those about an hour ago,” Hayley said. “She told me that she hadn’t brought you cookies in a very long time.”

“Really?” Kitally asked. “What neighbor?”

“A perky brunette with a seventies hairdo and vintage eyeglasses. I thought she seemed a bit off, but who am I to judge fashion?”

“True that,” Kitally said. “But that’s really strange, though. I don’t remember anyone ever bringing me cookies before.” Kitally went to the cupboard to get a glass.

An uneasy tingling rippled through Lizzy as she mulled over each of the victims’ causes of death once again. Three of the deaths were being attributed to heart attacks. Were these people being poisoned in some way? If so, the killer might know more than a little about toxic chemicals and/or poisons. Lizzy suddenly recalled the woman who had called her today at the office. God, how had she forgotten about her? She’d sounded annoyed when she thought Lizzy wasn’t taking her seriously enough. She’d wanted to proposition Lizzy—said they were on the same team.

Lizzy jumped from her chair and ran to the kitchen, bumping into a table on her way.

Kitally had poured herself a glass of milk. A cookie was inches from her lips.

Lizzy slapped the cookie out of Kitally’s hand, sending it flying across the room. The cookie hit the pantry door and broke into pieces.

“What are you doing?” Kitally asked.

“Don’t touch those cookies.”

“Lizzy,” Hayley said. “What’s going on?”

“Somebody is trying to kill us,” Lizzy announced. “All of us.”

“Who?”

“A woman—a crazy bitch.”

Lizzy took the plate of cookies and tossed them into the garbage. She was about to hit the trash compactor button but stopped herself. “Don’t be a dumbass, Lizzy!”

Kitally looked at Hayley, eyes wide.

Lizzy started opening drawers and pulled out a pair of metal tongs that she then used to reach into the trash and pull out more than one cookie. She slid them into a plastic Ziploc bag. “I really do need to get my act together.”

Hayley exhaled. “Lizzy, you’re talking to yourself.”

Lizzy shrugged. “Got a problem with that?”

“Yeah, I sort of do. Why don’t you tell us what’s going on. You’re talking crazy talk.”

Lizzy held up the bag. “I’m going to have these tested. Is that all right with you?”

Nobody said a word.

“Wash your hands,” Lizzy told Kitally. “Scrub them good.” She turned to Hayley. “I’m taking these to the lab first thing in the morning.”

“Could you stop for one moment and tell us exactly what’s going on?”

“I thought I just did.”

“You’re mumbling—talking to yourself. You need to slow down and take a minute to gather your thoughts.”

Lizzy knew Hayley was right. She took a steadying breath. She needed to settle down. “Let’s have a seat in the living room,” she said, “and I’ll answer all of your questions.”

Lizzy started from the beginning. She told them all about her meeting with Melony Reed and how days later the woman was dead, a freak accident in her kitchen. Next, she showed them the lists of names Melony had given her: the list of Ambassador Club members who were dropping like flies, and the list of all the people Melony thought had gotten the worst of the Ambassador Club’s abuse, the ones she thought might be capable of revenge. Lizzy also recounted her visit with Dean Newman’s girlfriend.

“How many members of the Ambassador Club are still alive?” Hayley asked.

“According to Melony, there were a total of thirteen members. Two live out of the country, Louise Penderfor and Claire Moss, so I crossed them off the list. That leaves four, not including Dean Newman, who could still be alive.”

“How long has this Newman dude been missing?”

“Three or four days, I believe.”

Hayley looked over the list. “So you believe the same woman who killed these people is also trying to kill us?”

“Yes.”

“Why would she want to kill us?” Kitally cut in. “We didn’t bully her.”

“When I was at the office today,” Lizzy said, “a woman called—said she wanted to make some sort of deal. She knew I had paid Melony Reed and Dean Newman’s girlfriend a visit. At first I thought it was just another prank caller. I asked her—or maybe I accused her, I can’t remember—of being just another crazy out there who wanted some attention.”

“Then what?” Kitally asked.

“As I waited for her to make her case, I glanced out the window, saw the same man who we all saw in this very yard standing outside the coffee shop across the street. I ran after him.”