Trespass (29 page)

Epilogue

One month later:

Waukesha

W
hen TJ came forward to toss her bouquet, there were a handful of women lined up to snatch it. I had no intention of participating, but found it hard to say no when Jazz, TJ’s sister Janeen’s nine-year-old daughter, grabbed my hand and pulled me with her to a spot in front of the bridal party.

“C’mon, Gemma. All us girls have to try to catch it.” The girl’s excitement was irresistible. I joined Lisa, Janeen, and a few other women, all with arms outstretched to grab the bridal bouquet of bright autumn flowers. I hadn’t expected to be invited to this affair, but when Jon Engel called and asked me to go with him as his guest, I couldn’t say no. TJ and Lisa had done so much for me.

TJ’s wedding was being held on the grounds of Eric Schindler’s estate. Eric, whose lovely country home provided a perfect backdrop for a small wedding, was Lisa’s significant other. Attending seemed like a small way to express my gratitude.

Taylor and Carter had taken their places in the background of my life story once again and my new business kept me occupied. With Lisa’s help, I’ve been able to put my past in perspective. I’m even sleeping well too. The paralysis only bothers me on nights when I’m stressed, and there have been no “night visitors” or OBEs for weeks now.

Although I’m not ready for a committed relationship, I’ve enjoyed a few golf outings and dinners with Jon. His invitation today probably made a statement about where we were headed, although neither of us is ready to rush into anything.

The soft thud of TJ’s flowers hitting my chest startled me back to awareness when the music stopped. I clutched them to me while Jazz, still at my side, jumped up and down, clapping her hands and chanting, “You’re gonna be the next bride.”

Long after the guests had gone home, TJ and Lisa sat in front of the fireplace in Eric’s mammoth living room. Eric and Richard had taken one of Eric’s classic cars, a Jaguar from the sixties, out for a spin. TJ and Richard were leaving for their honeymoon in the morning, a relaxing four-day stay at an all-inclusive resort on an island off Florida’s southern coast. Not the most typical honeymoon, they were taking JR with them. It seemed like the right way to start their life together as a family.

“I’m glad Gemma was here today,” Lisa said.

“Wasn’t too sure about her and Jon hookin’ up.”

“Well, I hear they’re taking it slow. That’s always a good thing.”

TJ sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”

“It sounds like something is troubling you. This should be your happy day.”

“I am happy. It’s just—the case is still botherin’ me.”

“Why? I thought all the bad guys were dead or in jail.”

“Well, yeah. The forensics showed who did the killings. They found fingerprints and DNA evidence from all of them, Lucian, Drucilla, and Tabitha at all the crime scenes, even at Gemma’s place. Victoria Braun’s body was too decomposed by the time they found it floating in Island Lake. We’ll never know for sure who did her. I still think there was a ringleader.”

“I thought I heard Richard say it was Martin Krause. That seemed to make sense with his and Drucilla’s deaths, didn’t it? They turned on each other at the end. Or Drucilla turned on him and they fought.”

“Possible, I guess,” TJ said. “At least Tabitha finally coughed up that they were doin’ the trespasses first, then when Martin found Lilly’s diary, he convinced them that they wanted to make the swingers pay for what they done. If it weren’t for the swingers, Martin’s father and their Aunt Lilly would still be alive. Supposedly Martin found the diary when he was clearing out the garage before the construction crew started the new one.”

Lisa said, “It sounds to me like it all fits. And you got what you needed. You found Norman’s killer and put Gemma’s mind at rest. What are you still bothered about?”

TJ sighed. “JR and me went for a walk down to the village in Tosa the other day. That music store is empty. Kane Diermeyer left town.” She didn’t admit to Lisa she was the one who had his mother’s diary and had finally decided to give it to him.

Lisa frowned. “He’s the man who seduced Gemma, right?”

“He didn’t seduce her, he drugged her. She never would have gone with him otherwise.”

“I thought the drug tests were inconclusive.”

“Not to me they weren’t”

“Think about it, TJ,” Lisa said. “Even if the man were truly innocent of any wrongdoing, he would still have every reason to want to leave. Two of his close relatives are dead and two are in jail; you can’t blame him for wanting to get away.”

TJ smirked. “That long-haired freak’s lucky. I woulda’ kept lookin’ at him.”

Houston, Texas

The crowd that showed up at the mammoth convention center to try out for the singing competition numbered in the tens of thousands. The Houston weather was unseasonably warm and the air-conditioning in the huge room couldn’t keep up.

Cara Pankow clutched her bag against her damp body. She risked being trampled as she pushed her way to an exit to have a cigarette and wondered if the few bucks they paid her to be a screener was worth it. Weary of being in the center of the restless crowd, she thanked God the day was nearly over.

The air outside the complex, even worse than that inside, hit her in the face like a wet washrag. She hugged the building, staying in the little shade it provided, and lit up. A few inhalations pumped her up enough to give her the energy to make it through the rest of the afternoon. This whole thing was a farce. Cara knew the show had full-time talent screeners who traveled to individual states long before this cattle call and gave out seeded numbers. The people they hired to work these massive crowds had to stay on their feet while giving out the paltry number of remaining slots to the few lucky enough to get in to sing in front of the judges.

Cara dropped the stub of her cigarette on the asphalt and rubbed it out with her sandal. She noticed a small gathering off to the left. A grouping of about twenty-five women and girls were clustered around a singer, the whole lot of them probably rejects already. The guy they were fixated on played a guitar as he sang, sitting on a low wall at the back corner of the parking lot under an old pecan tree. Curious, Cara walked over to see what was going on.

In a husky voice, the guy was singing a song she remembered her mother playing when she was a kid,
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
It was from the sixties, one of many folk songs written and sung to protest the Vietnam War. A young girl in the front of the singer openly sobbed as he sang, while the women around her comforted her. Cara noticed there wasn’t a dry eye among them.

She stood at the rear and took him in. The singer had long, gorgeous dark hair, tied back behind his neck with a strip of leather. Wavy tendrils escaped the knot, framing his handsome face. The girl who had been crying quit her sobbing, but tears streamed down her face. A woman turned to Cara and explained, “She asked him to sing that song for her grandfather. He died in Vietnam.”

He followed the song with another that was more recent, “Creep,” by Radiohead, an odd selection, but it was a favorite of Cara’s. At least a dozen more had joined his audience. All female.

Cara was no expert, but she knew what she liked. This guy not only had potential as a singer, he was ultrahot. The minute he finished the song, she pushed through the onlookers and handed him a number, the kind she wasn’t supposed to give out without approval. It guaranteed him an audience in front of the celebrity judges.

The women cheered.

His gaze met hers as he accepted the honor, his eyes as enticing as his singing, dark, brilliant, captivating. With a wide smile that exposed a set of perfect white teeth, he held out his hand to her.

“Kane.”

+ + + + +

Character List

Gemma Rosenthal

Advertising executive, divorcee, 37 years old. Lives in Wauwatosa, WI, across the street from Norman Teschler who is killed when his house mysteriously explodes. Gemma suffers from sleep paralysis since her divorce from Carter Rouche and has never gotten over her affair with Taylor Harcourt.

TJ Peacock

Private investigator with a one-year-old child, JR. She lives in and owns a duplex in Wauwatosa, WI and uses the first floor for her business. Her son’s father, Jeffrey Denison, was murdered by a serial killer and his death made to look like he committed suicide.

Janeen

TJ’s sister who does home day care and takes care of Tasha’s new baby.

Norman Teschler

Founder and owner of Cityscapes Inc. and is Gemma’s boss and friend.

Lisa Rayburn

Clinical psychologist, friend of TJ who sees Gemma as a patient after Norman Teschler’s house explosion.

Richard Conlin

Milwaukee detective, boyfriend of TJ.

Jon Engels

Insurance agent and claim representative, friend of TJ and was best friend of Jeffrey Denison.

Taylor Harcourt

Gemma’s first love who she met when she was working as an escort. He is an attorney, married, and has never forgotten Gemma.

Detective Brian Haymaker

Works for the Wauwatosa Police Department. Is assigned to cover the home explosion and the murders that follow.

Detective Tasha Wade

Haymaker’s partner. Married, with three children, her baby is taken care of by Janeen, TJ’s sister who is a daycare provider.

Carter Rouche

Gemma’s ex-husband and executive at Cityscapes Inc..

Leong Tuan

Norman’s ex-wife.

Krause family

Anna
, the mother,
Lucian and Drucilla
, her children. Frank Krause, Anna’s husband killed in a single-car accident.

Martin Krause

Son of Barbara and Arthur Krause. Arthur Krause is Frank Krause’s brother. Martin is a cousin of Lucian and Drucilla.

Kane Diermeyer

Son of Lilly and Sam Diermeyer, cousin of Drucilla and Kane.

Lilly Diermeyer

Married to Sam. She and Sam were members of the swingers. Lilly is Anna Krause’s sister.

Victoria and Donald Braun

Live next to Norman and were members of the swingers.

Sondra and Craig Jackson

Members of the original swingers’ group. Sondra is killed by an intruder in Keith Fink’s house. Keith is stabbed while in his home.

Rosemary Haynes

Next-door neighbor of Norman Teschler.

Note: This list is of the characters who appear throughout the book and does not attempt to list every character mentioned.

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