Authors: Erica Spindler
Tags: #Contemporary Women, #General, #Romance, #Suspense, #Thrillers, #Fiction
Justice for Sara (27 page)
Friday, June 14
5:20
P.M.
Kat stared at Lilith. She realized she was crying and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“I didn’t mean to kill her,” Lilith said. “I didn’t mean to. It just happened.”
Kat shook her head. “Just happened?”
“She refused to understand. To see reason.”
“She wanted to marry Danny.”
“I was so angry. She wanted to take everything away from us.”
Suddenly Kat remembered. Calling Lilith to get Bitsy’s address. Telling Lilith that the neighbor had seen vehicles at the house that night. A woman leaving. “You killed Iris Bell, didn’t you?”
“She was ready to die. She didn’t even fight me.”
“You can’t argue your way out of this, Counselor. You’re a murderer. A cold-blooded killer.”
Lilith frowned. “Sara refused to see reason, just as you refuse to. I’m going to have to shoot you. Right here.”
“In your master bathroom? You won’t get away with it.”
“You were robbing us.”
“No one will believe that.”
She laughed. The sound sent chill bumps up Kat’s spine. “But they will. Just like they believed you killed your own sister. They’ll actually
expect
it.”
“But I didn’t. Luke doesn’t believe it. He won’t. He’ll know what I was looking for. And what I found.”
Hesitation crossed her features. A hint of worry. “He’ll have no proof.”
“I sent him pictures. Right before you showed up.”
“Sure you did.”
“I’ll show you. On my phone.”
“Keep your hands where I can see them!”
Kat could almost see Lilith’s mind working. Weighing her options, separating fact from fiction. Sizing up her own chances.
She was going to die, Kat thought. There was nowhere to go. She took a step back. Toward the closet. If she was fast enough, maybe she could lock herself in. She could charge the other woman, but she’d shoot.
“He’s probably on his way. He’ll find the key. And the journal.”
“No. You’re a liar and a murderer. Everyone knows it.” Lilith cocked the gun. “This will work. It has to.”
Kat threw her arms over her face. The shot resounded. Then another and another. The mirror shattered, spraying glass.
But she wasn’t hit.
Lilith was. The woman lay in a heap on the cool marble, a pool of blood growing around her.
And Jeremy stood in the doorway. Gazing at his wife. The gun slipped from his fingers, landing with a thud. He shifted his gaze to her, his expression devastated.
With a cry, Kat ran to him.
Friday, June 14
5:28
P.M.
Jeremy took her into his arms and held her. Kat held him just as tightly. She wasn’t sure who was shaking more.
“She’s been acting so strangely…”
“She killed Sara. She confessed. I found the bedroom key—”
“My God—”
“Why are you here? How did you—”
“Her friend Carol called. Told me she didn’t show up. I tried her phone … so many times. I thought she’d been kidnapped. Or murdered.”
He started to cry. Kat led him out of the bathroom. He sank onto the bed, dropped his head into his hands. His shoulders shook.
“I dropped her at the airport, but it turns out she never got on the plane.”
He lifted his eyes to hers. “I don’t understand.”
“She thought you were having an affair. She said she meant to catch you in the act. Instead, she caught me looking for evidence of her guilt.”
He drew in a shuddering breath. “I don’t know what happened to her. She’d become someone I didn’t know.”
Apparently, she’d always been someone he didn’t know.
Kat’s heart broke for him.
Kat heard the scream of sirens. So did he. He met her eyes, the expression in his pleading.
“I had no choice, right? She was going to kill you. I couldn’t let her hurt you.”
“You had no choice,” Kat agreed. “She killed Sara. She admitted it to me.”
“Oh my God,” he said again. “I found this. The console of her car.” He dug the crumpled receipt out of his jacket pocket. “I was going to confront her with it. Ask if she was the one who had been sending you those horrible letters…”
Kat took the receipt. From a local sporting goods chain. A receipt for a baseball bat. Dated June 1, two days before she arrived in Liberty.
In the next instant, Luke and the rest of the cavalry arrived.
Wednesday, June 26
10:45
A.M.
Kat arrived at the Lakehouse early. She parked, flipped down her visor to check her appearance in the mirror. Bags under the eyes minimized; sleepless nights masked with bronzer and a little extra blush; lip color to add a bit of life. All good.
Jeremy had called together a small group of his supporters and a few members of the local press to make his announcement official. He was withdrawing his name from the state senate race. For reasons obvious to everyone.
This gathering would be a solemn affair, none of the celebratory goodwill of just a couple weeks ago.
So much had happened since then. The twelve days since Lilith’s confession—Kat preferred to mark it that way—had been nightmarish. The police had interviewed and reinterviewed both her and Jeremy. There were still so many unanswered questions—such as who had set her house on fire and who had been the author of the anonymous letters she had received. Obviously, Lilith hadn’t sent them—she wouldn’t have wanted to challenge her to return to Liberty to seek justice for Sara—even if she had tried to scare her off with the bat, graffiti and vandalism to her car.
The police didn’t like dangling threads. Nor did she, but she had been there. Had heard the words from Lilith’s very own lips. They could question her a hundred times; her story wasn’t changing.
In the end, the Mandeville police had coordinated with Luke and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Department as well. Lilith’s death had solved another decade-old murder, that of Officer Wally Clark.
Lilith had shot Officer Clark. They’d run ballistics on the gun she had trained on Kat—and had gotten a match.
The media attention had been intense. The local and regional outlets had jumped on the story, the national news had followed. She’d even gotten an interview request from the
Today
show and HLN’s Dr. Drew.
She’d respectfully declined all offers. She wasn’t interested in looking back with them, only in moving forward.
Kat took one last glance at her reflection, then slid out of the car. She intended to stop in, wish Jeremy the best and go. This was his party, not hers.
Besides, Luke hadn’t wanted to let her out of his sight. Kat smiled as she darted across Lakeshore Drive. Truth was, he was still a little pissed that despite him warning her of the danger of her running a private investigation, she’d done it—again—anyway. And almost gotten killed.
Secretly, she liked the way he held her now, as if he couldn’t bear losing her.
Kat entered the restaurant through the bar. Long and narrow, a few tables in front, the bar on the right, a mirror behind it, running the entire length. Entry to the dining room at the far end, on the left.
The bar was empty, not even a bartender, though the door to the stockroom at the far end was open, and someone could be heard moving around inside. Kat started for the dining room entry. As she neared it, she caught a movement in the mirror.
Jeremy, she saw. And Tish. She opened her mouth to call out, then shut it as Jeremy pulled Tish into his arms and kissed her. Not a friendly peck on the cheek—a passionate kiss between lovers.
Kat stared at the reflected image in shock.
Lilith had been right. Jeremy was having an affair.
Feeling like a voyeur, Kat stepped back, then turned and hurried outside. She stepped beyond view of the doorway and sucked in a deep breath. To clear her head. To shake off the ominous feeling in the pit of her gut.
This meant
nothing.
People had affairs. They broke their marriage vows. It happened all the time.
Fixing a smile on her face, she stepped back into the bar. The bartender emerged from the storeroom, arms full of bottles. “Hello,” Kat called out. “Is Jeremy Webber here yet?”
“In the dining room.”
“Thanks.” With a small wave, she went that way.
Jeremy was there, by the front window, studying his notecards. Tish was nowhere to be seen.
He caught sight of her. “Kit-Kat.”
For the first time ever, the pet name from him rankled. “Cousin Jeremy.”
He gave her a quick hug; she caught a whiff of perfume. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“As well as can be expected. Certainly, this isn’t what I’d like to be doing today.”
“I understand.” Kat heard the click of Tish’s heels on the stained concrete floor. She turned to look at her. Lipstick freshly applied. Hair combed.
“Tish,” she said, forcing warmth into her voice. “It’s good to see you.”
“You, too.” She glanced at Jeremy, then back at Kat. “Just here to show my support.”
Kat bit back what she wanted to say and cleared her throat. “I’m not staying, Jeremy. But I wanted to tell you how sorry I am. You would have made a wonderful state senator.”
Or at least she had thought so until today.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, a small frown forming between his eyebrows.
“Nothing. Exhausted, that’s all.”
He searched her gaze. “You’re certain?”
She squeezed his hand. “You worry too much. I’m fine. But if I stay, I’ll have to perform and I’m just not up to that right now.”
He hugged her. “I understand. I’ll call you later.”
Kat had cleared the front door before she glanced back. And found them watching her go, the strangest expressions on their faces.
Kat lifted her hand and they both smiled. Simultaneously. Automatically.
Moments later, as she started up her Fusion, a realization popped into her head: Tish Alexander hadn’t been at Jeremy’s party the night of the fire.
Wednesday, June 26
11:10
A.M.
Kat found Luke in his office. “Do you have a minute?” she asked.
He smiled. “For you, many minutes.”
She didn’t smile and crossed to the chair in front of his desk, sank onto it. “Jeremy is having an affair. With Tish Alexander.”
His eyebrows shot up. “And how did you find that out?”
“I caught them kissing.”
“Maybe it wasn’t—”
“It was, trust me. He was performing exploratory surgery with his tongue.”
Kat sensed Luke digesting the information, thinking it through. “He’s just a man, Kat. Not perfect. It doesn’t change anything.”
“I know. That’s what I told myself, but—”
“Lilith thought he was cheating?” When she agreed, he continued. “It doesn’t change the fact that she killed your sister. Right? She confessed.”
“Yes. And he saved my life. She was going to kill me. I have no doubt.”
Luke agreed. “He didn’t have a choice but to pull the trigger. You said so yourself.”
Then what was bothering her? The fact he pulled the trigger three times? His shock and tears after?
Or that she felt like she couldn’t trust him anymore?
“Okay, Kat.” Luke leaned forward. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
“Do you have that receipt? The one for the bat, that Jeremy found in Lilith’s car?”
He frowned. “It’s in evidence, yes.”
“Can I see it?”
The frown deepened. “Why?” He reached across the table and caught her hands. “Kat, it’s over.”
“I know, but I … never really looked at it. Please?”
He studied her a moment, then nodded. “I’ll have Trix get it for you while we’re at lunch.”
They stopped at her desk on the way past. Luke made his request, Trix nodded and held out a FedEx envelope. “This came for you. Just a moment ago.”
“Toss it on my desk. I’ll see to it when I get back.”
*
Trixie had gone one step further—she made a copy of the receipt for Kat. Luke had handed it over with a deep frown and a warning not to do anything stupid.
What could she do? she’d countered. As he said, it was over.
But it wasn’t, Kat thought. Not for her. Not since she had seen that kiss.
Kat told herself she was simply putting her doubts to rest. Considering the circumstances, that was fair. She wasn’t being disloyal to Jeremy. She was being honest to her feelings.
She pulled into the shopping center parking lot and drove around the perimeter to the sporting goods store. She’d studied the receipt. Lilith had purchased the bat on June 1, two days before she’d arrived back in Liberty. She’d paid cash. The store number. The employee number. As far as she could see, that was it.
Kat hurried from the car to the store. She went to the counter, smiling brightly at the man behind it. “I hope you can help me.”
He returned her smile. His name tag proclaimed:
Scott Meyers
,
Manager.
“I’ll try.”
She held out the copy of the receipt. “Do you have any idea who might have purchased this item?”
He looked at the receipt, then at her, expression incredulous. “Ma’am, do you have any idea how many bats we sell this time of year?”
“A lot?”
“A ton.”
She pointed. “Is this the employee number?”
“It is.”
“Is that employee here? Could I speak to him?”
Meyers’s expression turned wary. “May I ask why?”
“It’s complicated. It’s … something that’s come up in my divorce. Please, it’ll only take a minute.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “That’s Elliot. He just punched in. I’ll get him.”
A moment later, he returned with a gangly teenager. She had to tip her head back to meet his eyes. “Hi, Elliot. According to the number on this receipt, you sold this baseball bat.”
He glanced at it. “Yup.”
“By any chance do you remember who bought it?”
He laughed, then apologized. “Sorry, ma’am. But that’s just a bat.”
“I know. But it’s really, really important.” She retrieved the photo of Jeremy and Lilith that she’d brought with her. “Do you recognize either of these people?”
He studied them, then nodded. “They look familiar. Especially her.”
Kat’s heart skipped a beat. This was the answer she’d hoped for. “Take all the time you need. Is it possible you remember her because she was in the store?”
He squinted at the photo, then grinned. “No, I recognize them from being in the news.”
“But she could have been a customer?”
“Could have been. But I don’t remember. Sorry.”
He handed the photo back. It’d been a long shot, but she’d been hopeful anyway. “Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate—”
She bit the last back. “Could I show you one more picture?”
“Sure, I’m on the clock.”
Kat pulled out her Smartphone. With a few clicks, she was at the Front Door Realty site, had pulled up a photo of Tish Alexander.
“How about her?”
The young man smiled. “Oh, yeah. I remember her. She’s the kind of customer I don’t forget.”
Flashy. Blond. Stacked.
“Did she buy this bat?”
“She could have. But to say with certainty?” He shook his head. “Sorry.”
He didn’t need to say with certainty. Because Kat was certain herself. She felt it in her gut.
“Is she in a lot? A regular customer?”
“I wish.” He glanced at his manager, then back at her, grinning sheepishly. “We get mostly kids and parents in. Not … you know.”
Women who looked like Tish.
“Thanks, Elliot. You’ve been a lot of help.”
Kat made her way out of the store, hands shaking. Tish hadn’t been at Jeremy’s party. But she had been in that sporting goods store. She and Jeremy were having an affair. Had been having one for some time.
Coincidence. All circumstantial. Just like what she’d been charged and tried on.
Was this the way Luke’s dad had felt ten years ago? This grinding in the pit of his gut? This undeniable certainty that he
knew
the truth?
What if she was wrong?
But what if she was right?
What would be Tish’s motivation for setting her house on fire? Or for terrorizing her with a baseball bat?
To be with Jeremy. To get rid of Lilith.
Kat started the car. Turned the air conditioner on high, directing the vents at her face. She felt faint. Light-headed from the truth. Tish hadn’t acted alone in this. She and Jeremy had done it together. He had a key to the cottage. He’d had the receipt, claimed he’d found it in Lilith’s car. He’d had his girlfriend set the fire. But why?
Kat tightened her fingers around the steering wheel. So she would move in with him and Lilith. So he could manipulate her, set things up.
He’d sent those last few anonymous letters. The ones challenging her to return to Liberty.
He’d been the puppet master in all this.
Pulling Tish’s strings. Pulling hers.
Betrayal choked her. Kat rested her forehead on the wheel. That wasn’t the worst, she realized. More horrendous yet, he’d known about Lilith. That she’d killed Sara. He’d known and no doubt helped her cover it up.
She lifted her head, wiped away tears. The bastard wasn’t getting away with it.
Justice for Sara. Just like he’d written.