The Trophy Exchange (52 page)

Johns laughed at the universal vagaries of getting what you wanted when you worked for a bureaucratic governmental agency.

Lucinda jerked her head in the direction of Evan Spencer who looked lost as he sat on a chair in the living room beside the baby grand.
“
Do you still need him?
”

“
Nah,
”
Johns said.
“
We
’
ve got his contact information. I imagine his daughters need him a lot more now than we do.
”

Lucinda walked across the room to explain the strong suspicions of Kirk
’
s involvement in his mother
’
s murder and to let him know he was free to go. Before she reached him, a framed photograph on the mantelpiece grabbed her attention. A picture of a woman and a young boy. A daisy pin bloomed on the woman
’
s dress and a pair of daisies graced her ear lobes.

Lucinda plucked the frame off the fireplace and showed it to Evan.
“
Dr Spencer, is this your mother?
”

“
Yes. And that
’
s me beside her. I must have been seven or eight years old.
”

“
This pin, these earrings
. . .”

Evan smile radiated a poignant sadness.
“
Daisies were my mother
’
s favorite flowers. She loved that pin and earring set. For a while she wore it almost all the time.
”

“
Would she still have them?
”

“
I
’
m sure she would. They were a gift from Dad.
”
He cocked his head.
“
Why is this important, Lieutenant?
”

“
We believe a woman wearing a pin just like this one might have been your brother
’
s first victim but we didn
’
t know who owned it.
”

The connection clicked for Evan instantly.
“
Let
’
s go see.
”

Lucinda followed him upstairs and into Lily
’
s walk-in closet. Built in between two columns of shelves were a series of long, narrow drawers. Evan pulled out the top one. Arranged on the felt-lined interior were several jewelry sets, matching pieces side by side. They scanned the contents and moved down to the next drawer.

In the third drawer down, Evan spotted the earrings and pointed to them.
“
The pin should be right here beside them. She always kept her jewelry organized.
”

“
Let
’
s check the rest of the drawers to be sure.
”

The daisy pin was nowhere to be found.
“
Ohmigod,
”
Lucinda said.
“
Full circle.
”

“
What do you mean?
”
Evan asked.

“
Did you see the galloping horse your mom was wearing when you found her?
”

Evan twitched as he recalled the memory of his mother
’
s body in the small bathroom.
“
Yes,
”
he said.
“
I noticed that.
”

“
Your brother took it from my jewelry box. He creeped my apartment the other day and left a dead woman
’
s ring in my cat
’
s dish. And now we find your mother murdered in her own home wearing my pin. I
’
m certain that when we get a DNA profile from the daisy pin recovered in Waverly, it will be a perfect match with your mother
’
s. That connection will explain it all.
”

Evan
’
s eyes scanned Lucinda
’
s face with no sign of comprehension.

“
What I am saying, Doctor, is that all the murders of strangers were dress rehearsals. Kirk was practicing and building his confidence to make the attacks on every woman in your life. He wanted to take them away from you just as his mother had been taken from him.
”

Evan sighed.
“
Before you leave, would you have time to talk to
Charley
? I know she wants to see you.
”

Lucinda nodded her agreement and followed him down the street to the neighbor
’
s house. She found Charley sitting on a wrought
-
iron bench in the garden, staring into a fountain. She slipped on the seat beside her and grasped her little hand and held it tight.

“
The bad man killed my grandma, too, didn
’
t he?
”
Charley asked.

“
Yes, Charley. I
’
m so sorry,
”
Lucinda said giving Charley
’
s hand a soft squeeze.

“
The same bad man that killed my mom and tried to hurt me and Ruby?
”

“
Yes, Charley.
”

“
I don
’
t have a mom. I don
’
t have a gramma.
”

“
No, Charley, you don
’
t. But you have your dad. And you have Ruby.
”

“
I know. But my daddy doesn
’
t have a mom. And worse, Ruby doesn
’
t have a mom. She
’
ll never learn. There
’
s nobody to teach her
.”
H
er tear-filled eyes looked at Lucinda with despair.

“
Teach her what, honey?
”

“
Teach her how to be a mommy. I know how. I remember. But Ruby is too little. She
’
ll never know.
”

Lucinda wanted to break down and sob. Memories of her motherless brother and sister stirred up a well of pain s
he
thought she
’d
capped long ago. The reality of the hurting child in front of her doubled the agony. She wrapped her arms around Lucy and hugged her tight. Releasing her she said,
“
You
’
ll teach her, Charley.
”

“
Me? I
’
m not a mom.
”

“
No you
’
re not. But you love Ruby, don
’
t you?
”

“
Yes. Lots.
”

“
I watched over my sister and brother while they grew up and you
’
re going to care for Ruby, aren
’
t you?
”

“
Yes,
”
she said with a nod.
“
I
’
ll do my best.
”

Lucinda smiled.
“
I know you will, Charley. Ruby will learn about loving and caring from you. And your dad will help, too.
”

“
Did your dad help you?
”

“
No, honey, he didn
’
t.
”

“
Did the bad man kill him, too?
”

The thought of her father
’
s suicide scratched across the scar of that old memory but she brushed it away and spoke the only truth she wanted this child to know.
“
Yes, Charley. Yes, he did.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, Lucy,
”
Charley said, patting the back of Lucinda
’
s hand.

“
It
’
s
okay
. It was a long time ago.
”
But never, never that far away.
“
Don
’
t forget, Charley. I
’
m your friend. Any time you are scared, lonely or confused, you can call me. I will always be there for you.
”

Charley
’
s solemn little face turned up to meet Lucinda
’
s.
“
I
’
m always here for you, too.
”

Lucinda planted a kiss on top of the little girl
’
s head.
“
C
’
mon, girlfriend, let
’
s go up to the house and see your dad and Ruby. Then I
’
ve got to get back to work.
”

Seventy-One

When Ted hit the highway for their ride back home, he accelerated over the speed limit in minutes.

“
Hey, Ted,
”
Lucinda said,
“s
uppress those testosteronic urges. We
’
re not in a hurry now
–
drive like a normal person.
”

Ted grinned
.
“
You mean, drive like a woman?
”

“
Yeah. Normal and woman are synonymous. Man and normal are not.
”

“
Are you telling me you think you are normal?
”

“
As a driver, yes. Anything else is debatable.
”

“
I can
’
t argue with that.
”

“
Oh yes, you could.
”
It was a line meant to be delivered with a grin but Lucinda just wasn
’
t up to anything coming close to a smile.

“
You won
’
t catch me stepping into that minefield, Lucinda. Why the long face?
”

“
All those lost lives. All the pain and grief in their wake.
”

“
But it
’
s over now.
”

“
Yeah, but did it have to end that way?
”

“
You mean the shooting?
”

“
Why didn
’
t he drop Charley when I had the gun on him? Why did he force me to shoot him?
”

“
Maybe he was ready to die, Lucinda. Maybe he
’
d accomplished all he needed to do. His refusal to follow your orders with a gun barrel in his face is one of the earmarks of suicide by cop.
”

“
I should have rushed him.
”

“
And if you did, he could have easily snapped Charley
’
s neck and ended her life before you could cross the room. Saving her life was more important than sparing his.
”

Lucinda sighed.

“
And right now, we don
’
t have to worry about some defense attorney convincing a jury that his guilt isn
’
t as obvious as we know it is.
”

“
There is that.
”

“
And with his history of living in a mental institution, the defense would have an easier time than usual convincing the jury to find his client insane. He could have been sent back to the hospital. I know that wouldn
’
t help me sleep easy at night. Stop second
-
guessing yourself, Lucinda. You did the right thing.
”

“
I keep hoping that somehow, Kirk
’
s death won
’
t get in the papers. I know that
’
s foolish and unrealistic. It will probably scream out from the front page tomorrow morning.
”

“
Of course, it will, Lucinda. And when it does you
’
ll be the new town hero.
”

“
Yeah right, Ted. I can see the headline now:
‘
Trigger Happy Cop Strikes Again.
’”
Lucinda sighed and turned to stare out of the side window. She was aware Ted was still talking but she was not listening to a word.

On the ride down, she hadn
’
t paid a bit of attention to the passing scenery. Now she was surprised to see that all of the deciduous trees had lost their leaves. Their naked, gray branches stretched into a steel gray sky. She couldn
’
t remember this year
’
s glorious burst of color when the leaves turned red and gold. Now they were gone. Discarded, desiccated and brown. A lot like I feel, she thought.

She knew she should feel exhilarated from closing these cases yet she felt bereft
–
robbed of any sense of celebration by the dark shadow of that brief moment when she pulled the trigger and of the knowledge that deep in the primal recesses of her mind, she was glad she did it
. I
n fact, she
’d
enjoyed it too much. It was a truth she hated to acknowledge.

Lucinda turned back to Ted just as he said,
“
So what do you think?
”

“
About what?
”
she asked.

“
About you and me.
”

“
You and I?
”

“
Yes. Us. What do you think about us?
”

“
Us?
”

“
Haven
’
t you been listening to a word I
’
ve said? I
’
ve been pouring my heart out here.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, Ted. I was lost in my own thoughts. Could you run it all past me again?
”

“
It was hard to spit it out the first time. But here
’
s the abbreviated version: I think we
’
d be great together.
”

“
Working together?
”

“
No, dammit. You. Me. Us. A couple. Riding into the sunset hand in hand.
”

“
Us?
”

“
Yes, I think we were made to be together and just derailed after high school.
”

“
Ted, you
’
re married.
”

“
Well, like I said when you weren
’
t paying attention, that will take a little time to resolve but we have the whole future ahead of us.
”

“
Resolve your marriage?
”

“
Yeah. Sort of. Resolve my divorce would probably be a more accurate way to put it.
”

“
Is this why you don
’
t want to go to marriage counseling?
”

“
Why waste time beating a dead horse?
”

“
Because you and Ellen had two children together. And you lost a child together.
”

“
Are you saying I should stay in a miserable marriage for the sake of the kids?
”
Ted said turning to face her.

“
Keep your eyes on the road, Ted. No. I
’
m not saying that. I
’
m saying you owe it to the kids to make an attempt to repair your broken bond with Ellen. But most of all, you owe it to Ellen.
”

“
Ellen? I can
’
t remember the last happy moment
–
or even a pleasant moment I
’
ve had with her. For some time now, you
’
ve been the only woman to quicken my heart.
”

“
But you did have good times, Ted. You were happily married for years.
”

“
We were once upon a time,
”
he admitted.

“
And when did that end, Ted?
”

“
When the baby died, I guess.
”

“
Exactly.
”

“
Exactly, what?
”

“
That
’
s exactly why you owe Ellen. You can
’
t walk out on her while she
’
s still reeling in grief. Particularly not now that she
’
s finally willing to get professional help. You have to help her get back on her feet. You owe her that much. And if you won
’
t honor that debt, I don
’
t think I know you, Ted. I don
’
t know if I can even consider you as a friend.
”

Ted
’
s shoulders slumped and his defensiveness fled. He hung his head lost in thought for a mile or two.
“Okay
, I can accept that. But all this time you and I have spent together on this case stirred up the feelings I had for you before
–
before I met Ellen. The worst mistake of my life was letting go of you in the first place. If I hadn
’
t been such a horny toad when I was
eighteen
, I could have done my part to keep our relationship alive even from a long distance. Or I could have transferred to your school. I should
’
ve done anything I could do to hang on to you for dear life.
”

“
Should
’
ves and could
’
ves will drive you crazy, Ted.
”

“
You
’
re a fine one to talk, Lucinda. A few miles ago, you were drowning in should
’
ves and could
’
ves over the shooting.
”