Deadly Relations (9 page)

She closed her eyes to rest for a minute. Julie remembered how proud Fred had been when Catherine was born. He’d walked the hospital floor, carrying a box loaded with Cuban cigars that he passed out to whomever he encountered. They had been so young and happy. Fred had turned out to be a wonderful father, supporting Catherine in everything she did. Julie blinked as tears ran down her cheeks unstopped. Christ, she missed Catherine. Her little girl had grown up to be her best friend. How empty her life had become in such a short time.

Julie’s cell phone tune sounded. She jerked it out of her purse and went into the hall, fearing the noise would wake Fred out of his peaceful slumber. Before answering, she glanced at the display and froze when she saw the name “Catherine Thomas” in black letters on the small screen. Icy fear twisted around her heart, her body trembled, as she lifted the phone to her ear. She struggled to say something but the words wouldn’t come.

“
Bet you thought this call was from Catherine, didn’t you, Mama?” The male voice was deep and absolutely emotionless as he taunted her.

“
Who is this? Where did you get Catherine’s cell phone?”

“
Where do you think? Found your number in her favorites.”

“
You bastard! Why did you hurt her?” She gasped, realizing a shiver of panic.

“
Mama, I just wanted you to know that good girls don’t always go straight to heaven. Sometimes they get to visit hell first. I made sure of that with your Catherine.”

The call disconnected and Julie Thomas leaned back, screaming a piercing cry that bounced off the walls in the quiet hallway, until she lost consciousness.

<><><>

Lane stood with Jennifer and Blake
, watching Nicholas Connor through the one-way glass. Lane had been briefed and observed the man in the other room, who was biting his fingernail and pacing. Finally, Nicholas sat down.

“
Think he’s been in there long enough?” asked Jennifer.

After Lane and Blake nodded, Jennifer entered the interview room while Lane and Blake watched.

Jennifer sat in the chair directly across from Nicholas. She felt his eyes on her, but didn’t look up until she retrieved a small writing pad and pen from her jacket.

“
Hello, Nicholas. Sorry I kept you waiting. You wouldn’t believe all the things I have to take care of with this murder case. You heard about us finding Catherine’s body, right?”

His eyes wide and face flushed, Nicholas nodded.

Jennifer looked down at her pad for a second then asked, “According to my information, you were a no-show at the search organized to find Catherine last weekend? Is that right?”

He nodded again.

“
Now, maybe it’s just me, but I find it odd that a long-time boyfriend wasn’t there to help search for his girlfriend’s body. I mean if I’d been in a relationship with a guy that went missing, I’d be the first one at a search organized to find him.”

“
I had plans I couldn’t get out of.” He was starting to sweat and wiped across his forehead with the back of his hand.

“
What kind of plans?”

“
I’d already committed to chaperoning the high school debate team at a meet in Terre Haute.”

“
How many members of the high school debate team are female, Nicholas?”

“
I don’t know. I guess eleven or so.” He replied sharply, acting as if she were asking a stupid question.

“
I’m asking because I hear you have a thing for high school girls.” Jennifer asked, holding her temper in check.

“
I thought we were here to talk about Catherine?” Nicholas was eager to change the subject.

“
Did Catherine discover that you have a thing for high school girls? Is that why you two argued?” asked Jennifer.

“
Who said we argued? We got along just fine.” Nicholas eyes were blinking at her, then suddenly he looked down. He was lying.

“
That’s not what I hear, Nicholas. I have witnesses who say you and Catherine quarreled a great deal.” She chided.

He just stared at her.

“
Just a second. It seems like there was another question I wanted to make sure I asked you.” Jennifer flipped through her notepad until she found a page. She tapped on it with her fingernail. “So on the night Catherine disappeared, you say you were home alone watching the Pacers vs. Miami Heat game on ESPN?”

“
That’s right.”

“
Hmm, that’s where I get confused, Nicholas, There was no Pacer game on ESPN that night.”

Nicholas glared at her.

“
Another thing, when I talked to kid who delivered your pizza, he said when he arrived you were not alone.”

“
He’s lying.” Nicholas spat.

He was getting rattled, just like she wanted.

“
Is he? If he’s lying, then he had a vivid imagination. He told us he saw a light-haired woman wearing a lot of makeup sitting on your sofa. “Catherine never wore a lot of makeup, did she? I wouldn’t describe her hair color as light, either. “

“
He’s mistaken.” Nicholas said the words but wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“
I’m thinking that you had a date that night. You ordered pizza. Maybe you found a good movie on TV and got cozy with your date on the sofa.”

“
No, you’re wrong. I was alone.”

“
Yeah, I think you were getting cozy with your date and Catherine caught you. She wondered if you were cheating, and now she was sure. Once Catherine arrived, your date left. That’s when you and Catherine had a fight. Maybe it was the worst fight you ever had. Things happen. The fight turns violent and before you know it, Catherine is dead. Is that how it happened, Nicholas?”

He jumped out of his chair. “No! That didn’t happen!”

“
Calm down and sit down,” Jennifer hissed.

“
Okay, I was with someone. But no one can know about it. She’s married. Her husband will kill both of us. He was out-of-town and we spent the night together.”

“
If she’s your alibi, I’ve got to have her name, Nicholas.”

“
You don’t understand. If I tell anyone and he finds out, he’ll kill us both.”

“
Okay, then,” She said as she closed her notepad. “I’ll get a deputy to take you to your cell.”

“
All right, all right. It was Patti Simpson.”

<><><>

A loud knock sounded on the door. With her eyes glued on Nicholas, Jennifer opened the door and stepped into the hall where Blake waited.

“
Why did you stop me? It was going well.”

“
We have to cut him loose.”

He had to be kidding. “What the hell? He’s got guilt written all over his face.”

“
Yeah, he does. But I don’t think it’s about Catherine’s murder.”

Jennifer shook her head with confusion. “What are you talking about, Blake?”

“
The killer just called Julie Thomas with Catherine’s cell phone.”

“
What?!”

Blake pulled Jennifer out of the hallway and into the small room with the one-way glass. “We tracked the cell phone’s ping at a tower near the Thomas house when he called. He’s either turned off the phone or removed the battery. We’ve gotten nothing since.”

“
So you think he was at their house when he called?”

“
It looks that way. He must not have known the Thomases are at Memorial Hospital.”

“
Why would the killer call Catherine’s mother?” Jennifer was incredulous. She’d never heard of a case where the killer phoned the victim’s mother. It was the definition of cruelty.

“
It sounds like the prick called to taunt her. He said something about good girls don’t always go straight to heaven and that he made sure Catherine got to visit hell first.”

A quick and disturbing thought flicked through her brain. “At the crime scene, remember how the killer posed Catherine’s body with her hands folded together, as if she were praying?”

“
Yes.”

“
Is he communicating that just Catherine needed to visit hell before going to heaven? Or is he saying that all women should?”

“
Somehow, I don’t think he’s just referring to Catherine, which makes it that much more critical to catch this sick freak before he kills again.”

Lane entered the room and touched Jennifer’s arm. “Hey, have you heard from Dick today?”

“
No, I called him earlier but got no answer. Why?”

“
Dispatch just sent an ambulance out to his place.”

“
Oh my God. Why?” asked Jennifer, her heart racing.

Lane shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know why. His neighbor called it in.”

Jennifer nodded and raced out of the building to the parking lot; Blake was close behind. Outside, he grabbed her arm and led her to his SUV. “I’ll drive.”

Blake flew his SUV out of the parking lot, flicking on the lights and siren. Jennifer shivered, as a wave of apprehension swept through her.

“
Was Dick out sick today?” asked Blake

“
I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him. That’s why I think something must be wrong. Dick always calls me,” Jennifer began. “I should have checked on him earlier. I don’t think he’s missed a day of work in twenty years. My intuition told me something was wrong, but I ignored it.”

“
Stop blaming yourself, Jennifer. We don’t even know what’s wrong.” He held her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

Blake raced through town, hitting all the green lights. He didn’t slow down until he hit County Road 47, a gravel road that ran through farm fields that would soon be filled corn and bean plants. Once they passed the Maffett farm, they could see the swirling lights of emergency vehicles lining the sides of the road. Blake hadn’t even brought the SUV to a stop, when Jennifer jumped out of the car. She rushed ahead, flashing her badge at a deputy who tried to stop her. She needed to find Dick. He had to be okay.

“
Jennifer, stop,” called Blake as he raced after her.

She ran down Dick’s long driveway panting so hard she thought her lungs would burst. Jennifer had to reach Dick and see that he was okay.

She grabbed the arm of the first EMT she saw. “Dick Mason lives here. Where is he?”

The EMT only shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

An older man, face crinkled from working years in the sun, stepped forward. “Are you Jennifer?”

“
Yes.” Jennifer was numb. Dick couldn’t be dead. She wiped at the tears blinding her vision.

The man took her hand in his, and said, “I’m Carl Freeman. I own the farm up the road.” He paused as a deputy ran past them. “Dick’s told me all about you. Dick and me usually shared a beer in the evenin’ on my porch. He’d tell me about his day, and I’d share mine. Hell, I think we’ve been doing that for more than ten years. Kind of our ritual. He was mighty proud of you, Jennifer. He said you were a good detective.”

She bit her lip and asked, “Do you know what happened?”

“
Just what I saw. Dick hadn’t been over to see me in two days. This was unusual so on my way to town this morning; I stopped in to check on him. As soon as I got close enough to the house, I noticed exhaust smoke seeping out from under his garage door. I jumped out of my truck, lifted the garage door and turned off his car. Dick wasn’t in the garage so I went through the open kitchen door and walked through the house calling his name. The air was so thick with exhaust I had trouble breathing so I opened up the front door and living room windows. I found Dick on his bed. He was already gone. There was a cup of coffee and a prescription bottle on his bedside table. Little pills were strewn everywhere, on his bed, on the table, on the floor. Found out from the EMT, the pills were Valium. Don’t know how many Dick took.”

“
Are you saying Dick committed suicide? No! He wouldn’t do that.”

“
Jennifer, I wouldn’t have believed it either, but I saw it with my own eyes.”

“
Was there a note?” asked Jennifer.

“
Yes, it was on the kitchen table. It said, ‘I’m not the man people think I am.’“

Blake reached Jennifer and gathered her into his arms, holding her snugly against him. He stroked her hair and said, “Jennifer, it’s going to be okay.”

Sobbing, she pushed at his chest. “No, it’s not going to be okay. Dick was my partner. I’m supposed to be his backup and protect him when he needs me. But I wasn’t here to protect him. I sensed something was wrong and did nothing. I should have found a way to make him talk to me.”

<><><>

Dick Mason was to be buried in the same cemetery as her baby, Timmy, his headstone overlooking the Wabash River. It was a gray, misty morning, the weather almost as depressing as the occasion. The entire sheriff’s department was in attendance in dress uniform, each wearing a black band around his or her badge to signify the loss of a fellow law enforcement officer. Standing next to Frankie and Lane, Jennifer listened as a man played “Danny Boy” on his bagpipes next to Dick’s coffin, which was covered with the American flag.

Jennifer hated funerals. She’d always been a private person, and the public good-bye ceremony was too much for her emotions. It brought back memories of the day she buried her baby boy. Jennifer quickly wiped a tear away with the back of her suit sleeve and felt Blake squeeze her hand. She glanced at him and wished she were wrapped tight in his arms, pressed against the warmth of his hard body. Jennifer couldn’t forget how Blake had held her at Catherine’s crime scene, and how right it’d felt to be in his arms. And she’d tried.