by PJ Fernor
“Did you?”
“No,” David said. “I would never do that. That’s not who I am.”
“Sorry for asking that.”
“I get it,” David said. “You have to ask that. I’ve watched enough crime shows with Claire to know how it goes. I did not sleep with Candice that night.”
“Okay.”
“They went for a walk together,” David said. “Obviously. That night…”
“Did they do that often?”
“Sometimes,” David said. “Usually it was Candice calling Claire. Some drama with a man.”
“Drew or Greg?”
“There were others,” David said. “Flings and whatnot. Nothing serious. I don’t even know all the names to be honest. Drew was the forever guy until he wasn’t. Then came Greg. Both of them have histories. I’m not going to sit here and tell you what you can look up for yourself. I hate both of them. I hated when Claire would have to get in the middle.”
“Get in the middle?”
David nodded. “When Candice would call. Crying. Greg did something stupid and they were going to break up. Claire would rush out of the house to be with Candice.”
“Did you ever go with her?”
“A few times.”
“Anything happen?”
“There were a couple times when Greg and I faced off. I just wanted to make sure everyone was safe.”
“You didn’t feel safe near Greg?”
“My wife is dead,” David said. “And of all things, it was her fault they were on that walk.”
“David, I have to ask this… were you and Claire having issues?”
“Why ask that?”
“It seems that they walked when there were issues, right?”
David sighed. “Claire was distant.”
“Why?”
“We were trying to have a baby. It wasn’t happening. We tried IVF too. That failed. She was ready to have a family and couldn’t. She felt like she was failing me. I told her she wasn’t. She thought I was just being nice.”
“I’m sorry, David.”
“Me too. I meant it. There were options. Adoption and whatnot. Or just not have kids. Have a whole other kind of life. Claire took it to heart though. She was just… so distant. Pulling away from me. I think she was trying to push me away. Hoping I’d leave or cheat or something. I don’t know. I figured she’d come out of it. I’d wait forever for her. Honestly. She finally decided to go for a walk with Candice. I thought it was a good idea. How about that? I supported something to do with Candice for once. And look what happened.”
I nodded. My heart ached for David.
He picked up the coffee and smelled it.
His eyes filled with tears.
“They didn’t come home. I got nervous. I called. Texted. Nothing. I thought maybe Candice took her out. You know? They skipped the walk and went to a bar. Even that was okay. Maybe Claire needed to get drunk and let it all out. She didn’t come home. That feeling…”
“I’m going to figure this out.”
“Why does it even matter? It’s not going to bring her back. I’m sure it’s tied to Candice.”
“You sure?”
“Look at those two out there,” David said. “Candice played them against each other all the time. Drew never got over her. Greg was obsessive. They were both mean. Violent. If Greg and Candice got into an argument, she’d pull Claire into it. She’d call up Drew and cry to him too. He’d show up, wanting to fight Greg. Then I’m stuck in the middle of it too. Trying to get Claire out of it. I just…”
“Okay,” I said. “That’s all good information, David. I’m going to let you take a minute to yourself.”
I stood up and walked out of my office.
Ben and Johnny waited for me.
They had Drew and Greg standing with their backs touching. Like they were kids in elementary school getting punished.
They were chirping at each other, blaming each other for Candice’s death.
“That guy in there is crushed,” I said to Ben.
“I bet.”
“And these two morons are cold,” Johnny said.
“We need to separate them and then-”
“You’re both dead!” a voice roared from behind me.
I started to turn but it was too late.
There was David, running out of my office.
Toward Drew and Greg.
Drew and Greg turned to face David.
David put his head down, puffed his shoulders out.
And he attacked both men.
Chapter Twenty
David took both Drew and Greg to the floor.
Muldavey jumped into action faster than Ben and Johnny did.
Then again, Johnny moved like a slug.
He trotted forward, hands in his pockets.
Ben grabbed at David and pulled him up.
“I’ll kill you both!” David yelled. “You killed her! You killed my wife!”
“I didn’t touch anyone!” Greg roared back at David.
Muldavey had Greg’s hands behind his back.
“I haven’t seen Candice in months,” Drew said.
He put his hands to the floor and pushed.
Johnny put his foot on Drew’s back. “Stay down there. You look better.”
“Get off me, man,” Drew said.
“If I have to take my hands out of my pockets, you’re going to regret it,” Johnny warned. “I’ll have you shipped off and locked away. I’ll make it so you don’t see a lawyer for a week. Is that what you want?”
Drew put his hands to the floor and sighed.
“You got her killed,” David said. Ben kept his forearm to David’s chest to push him back. “Even if you two didn’t do it… you did. All you ever did was mess with Candice’s heart. And she called my wife all the time… and…”
David looked at me.
His face dropped and he lowered his head.
“It’s my fault,” he whispered.
He stumbled back and found a chair and collapsed.
“I killed her!” David cried.
“That means you killed Candice too,” Greg said.
Greg broke from Muldavey and ran after David.
Drew tried to sweep Johnny’s leg but Johnny was too smart and too strong.
He pressed the tip of his fancy shoe to the back of Drew’s neck and Drew froze and yelled in pain.
I jumped in front of Greg to stop him from hitting David.
“Muldavey, get him out of here,” I yelled.
Greg was pulled away and Muldavey had to put cuffs on him.
What I knew for sure was that there existed a lot of emotion and anger between these three men.
“That was easy,” Johnny said to me. “David just confessed.”
“No, he didn’t,” I said. I pointed at Johnny. “He feels guilty. Claire was the one who wanted to take a walk. They’ve been trying to have a baby and it hasn’t worked. IVF failed. They were having issues and she went for a walk to clear her head.”
Ben stayed with David.
Johnny kept his foot on Drew’s neck.
“You’re buying that story?” Johnny asked.
“I’m putting it out there. Before we jump to conclusions. These other two guys have been bouncing around between Candice for a while.”
“So, what are we going to do here? Play the romance game?”
“There’s motive everywhere I look, Johnny.”
“I see motive on the guy who just said he killed his wife.”
“He said he got her killed. Don’t do that. Don’t twist things and mess this up.”
“What do you think, Drew?” Johnny asked, digging his foot into Drew’s neck. “Do you think you can give me an answer or two?”
“That hurts!” Drew yelled.
Johnny took his foot away and crouched down. “Look at me, Drew.”
Drew turned his head. “What?”
“Two women are dead. One is your ex. The other is your ex’s best f
riend. You have a bad relationship, huh?”
“It wasn’t all bad.”
“You’ve got a record.”
“I didn’t do anything. I would never hurt Candice. And I would never hurt Claire.” Drew turned his head. “You hear that, David? I would never hurt Claire! Ever!”
“You threatened her before,” David yelled back.
“You threatened Claire?” I asked.
“That was years ago,” Drew said. “I was drunk. Candice and I got into an argument. She called Claire to come over. I was heated. I said some stuff.”
“What did you say to her?” I asked.
“He told them both he was going to cut their throats,” David said.
David tried to stand and Ben sat him right back down.
“I didn’t mean it,” Drew said. “And like I said, that was years ago.”
“Okay then,” Johnny said. “When was the last time you were with Candice?”
“Why?”
“Allie, step on his neck…”
“No,” Drew said. “Okay, fine. I saw her two weeks ago.”
“Did you just see her or did you… have a little fun?” Johnny asked.
Drew looked back and up at me.
“Answer him,” I said.
“Yeah, we had fun,” Drew said. “She said she was missing me. She and Greg were fighting a lot. She needed comfort.”
“Wow,” Johnny said. “Did Greg know?”
“Not sure,” Drew said.
“Does it hurt you that she went from you to him, back and forth?” I asked.
“I don’t care,” Drew said. “We were going to end up together anyway. She was just waiting for Greg to go away. She was afraid of him.”
“And you weren’t man enough to save her?” Johnny asked.
“You don’t get it,” Drew said. “One more thing on me and I’m gone for a while. I had to pull back. I had to let it play out.”
“I’ve heard enough for now,” I said. “Put him in another room.” I looked at Ben. “Do the same for David. Please.”
Johnny ordered Drew to stand up. Then he followed Ben, who kept David close.
I was finally alone for a second.
Two women were dead.
Two women went for a walk and never came home.
Both women were attacked. Their throats slit. Wrists slit.
Claire’s left foot severed and placed into a pumpkin.
That was the one thing that stuck out.
As I said to Johnny, there was enough motive from all three of them, David, Drew, and Greg, to keep them for a lot of questioning.
Which I planned on doing.
I wanted to know every detail of their lives.
I needed to know every detail of Claire and Candice’s lives too.
Candice was promiscuous. She enjoyed herself and enjoyed men. There was no shame in that at all. But if she was sleeping around on Greg - besides Drew - I needed names.
As far as Claire went, sometimes the most stable people were the ones with dark secrets that came back to haunt them.
In other words - this case was far from being solved.
Chapter Twenty-One
The last person I wanted to deal with right then was Mayor Jim.
When I saw his lumbering frame working through the station, stopping at everyone to shake their hands (whether they wanted to or not) I shook my head and wanted to scream.
There was no escaping him.
I was in charge now. That meant I had to deal with Mayor Jim all the time.
Even still, I tried my best to get rid of him.
“Not a good time, Jim,” I said.
“Never is, Allie,” he said. “We need to talk.”
“You don’t understand that-”
“Please,” he said.
Mayor Jim was like one of those lizards that had a tail that looked like a head. So when a predator would attack, the lizard hoped it would get its tail bit off since that would grow back.
Meaning when I looked at Mayor Jim I never knew what I was looking at.
The look on his face seemed so sincere.
Was that real or just a ploy?
I turned and led the way back to my old office.
I pointed behind the desk and sent Mayor Jim right where David had been sitting not that long ago.
“I need an update,” he said.
“That’s what this is? I’m trying to work here. I’ve got three-”
“Mrs. Mickels already started calling me.”
“Calling you?”
“Directly,” he said. “She’s driving me crazy.”
“Now you know how I feel.”
“This is not a time to be funny,” he said.
“I’m not being funny. There were two women killed in our town. I need to find out who did it.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Mayor Jim said. He threw his arms out. “I want this to be done with as much as the next person. But I can’t have her driving me crazy like this. She’s calling, looking for updates and offering theories. Now she’s afraid.”
“Of?”
“That whoever did this might have seen her. That they might come back for her next.”
I nodded. “Well, that’s a rational fear to have, Jim. She’s been looking for something like this for years and now it’s happened. She’s scared.”
“So you think there’s a chance she did this?”
“I doubt it,” I said. “But I’m not sure. What I can do is send Muldavey over there. And I’ll have someone park outside her house. To settle her down.”
“Thank you,” Mayor Jim said. “You know, forgive me for saying this, but I was hoping she did it. Some kind of spite thing over the parade. You know?”
“You know what I wished would have happened?”
“What’s that?”
“That Claire and Candice didn’t go for that walk.”
Mayor Jim frowned. “It makes it feel different when you know the names, huh?”
“Very.”
“I can’t stop seeing it, Allie. When I shut my eyes I see that woman…”
“I warned you,” I said. “So did Ben.”
“Yeah, you both did.” Mayor Jim took a breath and his face went back to his cheery, political old self. He clapped his hands together. “So where’s the case at?”
“I have three men being questioned,” I said. “There’s a lot of history and a lot of messes with this one. A part of me feels this could be logical and quick. Another part-”
“Logical and quick,” Mayor Jim cut in. “That’s what I like to hear. Some heartbroken lover situation then, right? Get the confession and get this over with. Get it off the radar and out of people’s minds. I like it.”
“It’s not that simple, Jim.”
“You just said it might be.”
“And you didn’t let me finish my thought.”
Mayor Jim moved around the desk toward me, touching his tie. “Look, Allie, this needs to be either solved or kept quiet.”
“Kept quiet? So just let whoever did this walk around like nothing happened?”
“Well, we don’t want to scare anyone, right?”
“It’s not about scaring. It’s about safety.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said. “See? We’re on the same page here, Allie.”
“Maybe the same page, Jim. But very different books.”
He laughed. “You’re so stubborn. I like that about you. I can handle stubborn. What I can’t handle is having to tell the people of this town that they are in danger. Well, you’ll have to tell them. Not me. But I’ll be lumped in as always. The perils of being the mayor.”
“Right.”
“I need this parade, Allie. This parade will happen. There’s no stopping it. If we have to call for help, we will.”
“Can you just give me a chance to do my job?” I asked.
“You’re doing a great job. Three suspects already. I like it. Nail it down. Make it happen.”
“T
his isn’t some TV show, Jim. There’s no commercial break and then the killer magically confesses. This is real life. These are real people. I’ve got a husband in a room, grieving the loss of his wife. In another room I have a boyfriend grieving the loss of his girlfriend. Then in another room there’s an ex who is also grieving.”
“That sounds messy,” Jim said. “Put them all against each other and see who comes out on top.”
“By all means, go do my job,” I said. “I’ll trade you. You go figure out who murdered those two women and I’ll go shake hands with everyone and smile.”
Mayor Jim’s jaw tightened. “Remember what I said, Allie. The parade needs to happen. There’s no questioning it. Do whatever you need to do to make that happen.”
“I won’t compromise my integrity or the safety of this town.”
“Good. Once again, we’re on the same page.”
“Once again, we’re not.”
Mayor Jim walked to the door. He paused. “Let’s get this over with.”
“What’s the big deal here? Huh? A Halloween parade can’t mean that much to you.”
Mayor Jim looked back at me. “It can if I was going into an election year.”
He opened the door and walked out of the office.
He snapped his fingers, pointed at people, and yelled hey and hello to anyone and everyone.
I walked to the doorway and froze.
That’s what this was.
He was going into an election year and nothing else mattered than that to him.
That just meant everything was going to be even extra stressful for me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I got home and threw together a meatloaf, desperate for something that resembled a normal life. I wanted Lo to be able to sit down at the dinner table, eat a decent meal, and know that things would be okay.
Although nothing about my life would ever be normal.
In the living room, I listened to Ben talk to his father.
Ben Sr. went in and out of reality. Some days were worse than others.
But… it was definitely worse than before.
Ben knew that though. He didn’t deny it or try to hide it. I gave him credit for having the strength he had. He knew where this would end yet he stood strong and tall, always taking care of his father.