Deadly Deception (SCVC Taskforce) (35 page)

While the pot of coffee finished brewing, she took the stairs two at a time. She’d grab the scrapbook and her stuff, then take Thomas a cup of coffee.

The hall was gloomy and dark. Her feet froze on the top tread just like they’d done the day before. Why? No answer came. It was like she was waiting for Petero Valquis to jump out of the shadows and blindside her again.

Thomas wasn’t with her this time to keep her mind off things, and with the jolt of caffeine in her veins, her nerves were working overtime. She really shouldn’t disturb anything, but she wasn’t leaving without her belongings and that damn scrapbook.

Shut it down.

Forcing her feet to move, she walked down the hall, took a fortifying breath, and opened Adam’s office door.

Just like the previous day, the desk sat empty. The curtains were drawn. Ronni could imagine Adam there, working on his next bible study, or going over the books with Melanie.

Or entering another page in my scrapbook…

Ronni located the drawer, popped it open and removed the book. Just touching it gave her the heebie jeebies, but she tucked it under her arm and quickly exited the room.

In her bedroom in the tower, she deposited the scrapbook in the bottom of her overnight bag. Next went in the measly collection of clothes she’d arrived with. She was on her way to the bathroom to retrieve her hair products and toothbrush when Melanie appeared in the doorway.

“My goodness, what are you doing here?”

“Packing my stuff. What are
you
doing here?”

“It’s my house.”

“And it’s a crime scene. Off limits.”

“Yet, you’re in here.”

Touché. “You sent me on a wild goose chase to the honey house. You knew Paige wasn’t there.”

“Jacob told me to do it.”

“That’s what he said.” At least their stories matched. “He ever act suspicious around you? Like when he met you in town?”

Her eyes darted to Ronni’s open overnight bag. “What do you mean by suspicious?”

Melanie knew what she meant. “Did he tell you he works for the LAPD?”

“What?” Her attention snapped back to Ronni’s face. Melanie gripped the door frame. “Jacob’s a police officer?”

“I know you’re having an affair with him, but he’s not a good guy. He lied to you, and not just because he’s an undercover officer. It’s possible he’s using you and the farm for criminal activities.”

Her shoulder hit the doorframe as her knees went weak. “You can’t be serious.”

Ronni let her absorb the news without saying anything, even though she felt sorry for Melanie. She knew first hand deception was an ugly toxin that seeped through your skin and into your bones.

“Why would he…?” Melanie shook her head, straightened. Her face set, she dropped her hands. “I can’t believe he would deceive me like that. I need to speak to him.”

“We believe he tampered with Adam’s meds. Possibly killed Kristine and made it look like Adam did it. Can you think of any reason why Jacob would do that?”

Horror replaced anger. “Jacob’s not like that. He would never…” She stopped herself, remembered Jacob had deceived her. “Okay, maybe Jacob lied about being a police officer, but he had no arguments or complaints about Kristine. Adam, on the other hand, had many issues with her.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not shifting blame from Adam to Jacob to clear your brother’s name, are you?”

“Adam is still a suspect, but now, Jacob is too. I’m examining both men for means, motive, and opportunity.”

The woman stepped forward, patted her arm. “Just so you know, even though Adam won’t be here, his work—the iChurch and its mission—will carry on. Much of our overhead is covered by donations, but the farm is making enough now to cover the mortgage and most of the other expenses if we manage carefully. We’ll lose a few members initially, but we’ll continue to grow. People are hungry for this kind of community and the type of acceptance they find here.” She smiled. “And we’ll invite leaders of the other iChurch communities around the world to visit us and keep our mission alive.”

A mission without Adam. Melanie had it all planned out.

Ronni ignored the annoyance and suspicion eating away at her. Melanie was a nice, normal person in a crazy world. A business person. Of course she’d be concerned about her family farm and its future. “It’s possible Jacob was running guns or other illegal weapons and using the farm as cover. Ever see him hiding anything here or contacting strangers in town?”

Melanie paled, the look on her face suggesting Ronni had hit on something.

“What is it, Melanie? Do you remember something?”

“Jacob, he…he built the stage in the chapel for Adam. For the pulpit to stand on and lift Adam up so it was easier for us to see him. A couple of times, I saw Jacob fiddling around with a secret door in the back. He said it was for the microphone and computer recording equipment. The wires.”

And maybe it was. “What makes you think there’s more under that stage?”

“I don’t know. It’s just that…I’ve seen Jacob carrying large sacks—like army duffel bags—in and out of the chapel on occasion. Could there be guns in those sacks?”

Yes! An adrenaline surge shot down Ronni’s spine. She’d seen Jacob going in and out of the chapel too. Not with bags, but… “Show me the hidden door.”

The women started down the stairs, Ronni following behind Melanie. This was the break she’d been waiting for. She debated telling Thomas, decided he had his hands full with Jacob, and she didn’t want to show her cards to the cop just yet. She wanted to see his face when she had proof he was as dirty as the fields.

Melanie headed for the front door. Ronni stopped her and led her toward the back door. The smell of coffee had spread from the kitchen to the other downstairs rooms. Once again, the place felt homier. A sense of satisfaction spread in Ronni’s chest.

“Ronni?”

The voice came from the front sitting room, stopping her dead in her tracks. Melanie too. Cautiously, they walked back to the door. Ronni eased into the room. The heavy curtains hadn’t been pulled back, and the room was dark. Ronni flipped on the overhead light. “Adam?”

He emerged from the shadows, looking pale and tired. “Oh, thank God.” He nearly fell into Ronni’s arms, hugging her tightly. “You’re okay.”

He wasn’t agitated like he’d been the day before. The frenetic energy had disappeared. He seemed calm, or maybe it was the exhaustion.

“Adam, how did you get here?”

“God provides.” He turned to Melanie. “You didn’t really think I’d let you get away with this, did you?”

Her eyes widened. She took a hesitant step back. “I, uh…” She glanced at Ronni with a
help me
look. “What is he talking about? Why is he here?”

“God visited me in the hospital.” He stepped forward, backing her up. She bumped into a high-backed chair. “He told me what you had done.”

She gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re off your meds, and you’re delusional!”

“At times, yes, my brain chemistry is off kilter, but not now. Not at this moment. I know what you did, and why you did it.”

Her eyes darted around. She gave Ronni another
please help me
look.

Adam wasn’t touching her, wasn’t threatening her. Ronni decided to see what he had to say. “What did she do, Adam?”

“She killed Kristine.”

“Liar!” Melanie lunged forward and slapped him. “I loved her like a sister.”

Adam rubbed his cheek, but he made no move to retaliate. Or back off. “If you wanted me to leave, Melanie, all you had to do was ask. I thought we had a nice life here, you and I, but I guess you didn’t feel the same.”

“You killed Kristine, and now, like your sister, you’re trying to blame someone else.”

Ronni moved to block the door. “How did Melanie kill Kristine, Adam?”

His eyes were clear when he met hers. “The day you were at the salon, she came home mid-afternoon. I was in the chapel, but had stepped outside to get some fresh air. I saw Melanie sneak in the back door, then sneak out a few minutes later. Most everyone was gone that day to the holiday farmer’s markets, and at the time, I didn’t think much about it. But I realized while I was standing there that I heard an odd noise. I didn’t know what it was. In the hospital, when I woke up, it hit me. The sound was a gunshot. Soft, and a little odd sounding. That’s one reason I didn’t recognize it right away. I was too out of it at the time, but in the hospital, in my dreams, it kept playing over and over in my head. Like the horrible nightmares I have of the siege.”

Ronni’s chest tightened. “You have them too?”

He gave her an odd look. “That’s how I knew that sound. The gunshot. I hear it in my nightmares almost every night.”

Her stomach cramped. She had to force air into her lungs.

“You’re lying,” Melanie seethed. “I never came home that day. I was at the salon all afternoon.” She turned to Ronni. “You saw me. You know I was there.”

There were hours when Ronni
hadn’t
seen her. When Melanie had disappeared into her office. “Why would she kill Kristine, Adam, and stash the gun in your nightstand?”

“She wanted to be rid of me. To have complete control of the farm again.”

That jived with Melanie’s previous comments. She echoed Adam’s earlier question. “Why not just ask Adam to leave, Melanie?”

Adam raised a palm, inviting her to answer. She looked away and turned up her nose.

He chuckled. “If she asked me to leave without good reason, my followers would rebel.”

Ah. True. “But if you were a murderer,” Ronni said, “no one would want you back. Is that it?”

“Exactly.”

“This is all nonsense.” Melanie headed for the door. “Let’s go see those guns.”

Ronni stayed rooted, blocking the door. “Not yet. I want to hear what else Adam has to say.”

“He’s a murderer.” Melanie tucked her sweater around her body. “Why, right now, our lives are in danger just standing here talking to him. I’m calling the police.”

She tried again to get out the door. Ronni raised her hands to stop her, running through the timeline in her head. It
was
possible. “The police are already on the way for Jacob. I think they’ll want to talk to you too.”

“Whatever for? Your brother is unwell and making false accusations. I never touched Kristine.” She pointed a finger at Adam’s face. “He’s a crazy psycho!”

“That’s what you want everyone to believe,” Adam said, “but I’m not a violent person, even when I’m off my meds. I lose control of some of my thoughts, it’s true, and I say things—horrible things—but I’ve never hurt anyone.”

He cast a distressed glance at Ronni. “I’m so sorry for burning your picture and calling you those names. When I’m off the meds, my brain flips everything backward. What’s good is bad and what’s bad is good. But that’s why I never go off the meds. Ever.”

“Melanie said you still have episodes, even when on the meds.”

“I never did until I came here. Dr. Elgin and I tried different pills, but I still have episodes once in a while. I never understood it. I’ve been on the same medication since grade school and never had a problem until I moved here.”

Ronni zeroed in on Melanie, who’d moved to the fireplace and appeared to be ignoring them. “Maybe because Melly, here, was screwing with your pills.”

At the fireplace, Melanie braced a hand on the mantel and sighed dramatically. “You two really are a lot alike. Your imaginations are fascinating. Scary, but fascinating.”

Adam frowned at Ronni. “What do you mean, she screwed with my pills?”

“Someone replaced your lithium with sugar pills. We thought it was Jacob. Now I’m not so sure.” She moved toward Melanie. “Jacob taught you to shoot, didn’t he? That’s how you knew how to handle the .22 and kill Kristine without making too much noise.”

“You’re all looney!” Melanie snatched up the poker from the fireplace and brandished it at Ronni. “And you’re leaving my home. Now.”

“Swing that poker iron, and you’d better plan to kill me, because I’m going to charge your ass with every felony in the book.”

The poker iron quavered. The hand holding it trembled. “Think you’re smart, don’t you?”

Adam stepped between them. “I won’t let you hurt my sister.”

“Oh, I’m going to hurt her and tell everyone you did it.”

“They won’t believe you.”

Melanie laughed, but this time it was menacing. “A hundred witnesses on this farm know me as the kind, loving, mother figure they’ve always longed for, and each and every one of them thinks you’re a killer, Adam. I’m good at what I do, they
love
me, and even a crazy idiot like you knows I could tell them that unicorns exist and they’d believe every word.”

Ronni snapped. “The only crazy idiot in this room is you, Melanie. And even though you sucked me in with your kindness, I see now how driven you really are. A business woman through and through. You’ve contrived quite a plan here. Are there actual guns in the chapel? Did you need Jacob out of the way too?”

Melanie rolled her eyes. “Another needy boy desperate for a mother figure. He thinks he can live here indefinitely. It’s paradise to him. But let me tell you, paradise takes a damn lot of work to keep it running and making a profit. Jacob doesn’t have it in him. He was useful with the website and social media stuff, but it’s time for him to move on.”