by PJ Fernor
“Now you’re acting like a martyr for sympathy,” Lizzy said.
“I am looking for sympathy,” he said. “Three people are dead, Detective Cold. One from a long time ago. Two recently. Notes keep showing up. We’re all on edge. I’m supposed to protect this town. Be the face and leader. How can I do that? Of course I’m looking for sympathy. That’s why you’re here. To offer your services. With that said, I appreciate your strong questioning. I’m willing to tell you all that I know. All that I remember. I will say that if you’re looking for corruption here, you are way off base. I became mayor through my own hard work. Not from favors. I don’t owe anyone a thing and that’s what keeps me where I am.”
Lizzy looked around. “This town has a feel to it. You think you’re in a small town, but you’re not. It’s something else.”
“I hope you can figure out what that is,” Mayor Jim said.
“We were just going inside,” I said to Mayor Jim. “We have a lot of work to do.”
“How about a quick picture?” Mayor Jim asked. “Me with Detective Cold. So I can show the people that I’m willing to listen and accept help when needed.”
Mayor Jim stepped up to Lizzy.
She looked up at him and nodded.
That’s when Mayor Jim stuck his hand out, his phone ready to take the picture.
“Get my good side,” Lizzy said.
She turned and walked away.
A bold move that had me fighting the urge to laugh.
I looked at Mayor Jim and shrugged my shoulders.
I ran after Lizzy and we went into the station and up to my office together.
There was a box waiting for us.
“These must be the files,” she said.
“I’m sorry about Mayor Jim,” I said. “He’s a pain in the butt.”
“I can handle him,” Lizzy said. “He’s fake anyway. Nothing real about that guy or what he says.” Lizzy looked into the box. “I don’t feel like doing this here. Anywhere else we can go?” She looked at me. “Maybe to your house?”
“I live with Ben,” I said. “And his father. And my niece. But I have-”
“Good, let’s go,” Lizzy said.
She picked up the box.
I was in no position to argue.
Lizzy carried the box out of the station and to my SUV.
I drove her to the house and we walked inside to find Ben’s father taking a walk through the house.
“Allie,” Ben Sr. said.
“Just getting some work done at home,” I said.
“Catching bad guys?”
“Paperwork,” Lizzy said.
“This is Detective Cold,” I said.
“Ah, another detective,” Ben Sr. said. “Hope everything is okay out there.”
“It will be,” I said.
Ben’s father shuffled his way back into the living room.
I touched Lizzy’s arm. “Follow me.”
I took her to the formal dining room, which was never used.
It had a long table, big enough to spread out the files and get to work.
Lizzy was smart for wanting to come here.
Nobody would bother us here.
Other than Ben’s father and Lo.
But they were completely harmless compared to Mayor Jim.
As Lizzy began to unpack the box, she nodded at me. “Alzheimer’s?”
“What?” I asked.
“That man. Ben’s father. He has Alzheimer’s, right?”
“How do you know that?”
“It has a look,” Lizzy said. She frowned. “It has… a look…”
She shook her head and went back to unpacking the box.
Detective Lizzy Cold was definitely a mystery herself.
Chapter Sixty
The woman killed all those years ago was named Maryse.
There was a faded picture of her that was mostly ruined by a paperclip that had rubbed against her face on the picture.
Lenny’s notes were choppy at best.
Even Mayor Jim had some notes in the box.
Nothing that made any sense to me.
Lizzy though… she was like an artist with a pen and a piece of paper.
“Maryse,” she said. “This is what we have. She was driving alone, broke down, and ended up murdered.”
“The murderer got what he wanted and then vanished. Until now.”
“Or so we think,” Lizzy said.
“That box was untouched.”
“The story wasn’t,” she said. “Small towns tell big stories.”
“Mayor Jim told me there was a rumor about a bear attacking her… plus much more, I’m sure. That’s how it goes around here.”
“Okay, we just need to find the facts,” Lizzy said. “There’s something in here. Could be big or small.”
Lizzy sifted through some papers and then put her finger down. “Her sister…”
“Yeah,” I said. “She lives across the country. Wanted nothing to do with Maryse. Seems like a bad situation there. Why?”
“Here’s our hint,” Lizzy said. She picked up a folded piece of paper. A scribbling on it… “Read this.”
I looked at the paper and took a few seconds to really read it.
Then I looked at Lizzy.
“Her sister was seen in town,” I said.
“There you go,” Lizzy said.
“This makes no sense. Why didn’t Mayor Jim tell me this? Why didn’t Lenny do something about it?”
“I don’t know,” Lizzy said. “Could have been an oversight. Or just laziness. There’s a name. You know what I think?”
“I do,” I said. “We need to call her.”
Lizzy was already at work.
I loved watching her. No fear in the world.
And thanks to modern day technology, she found Maryse’s sister in a few minutes.
“Paige,” Lizzy said. “Different last name than Maryse… due to two marriages. Says she is currently engaged. Oh, look, she owns a hair salon just outside Boston.”
“That’s not across the country,” I said. “Mayor Jim said she lived across the country.”
“She obviously didn’t,” Lizzy said.
“Well this just got interesting,” I said.
I wanted to call up Mayor Jim and curse him out for not telling me about this case earlier.
“Before you call,” I said. “Let’s work out what we’ll say.”
“I just go right into it,” Lizzy said. “Catch them off guard. See what they say.”
“She lost her sister years ago. I’m sure she hasn’t forgotten a thing.”
“Well, let’s see… she was near this town the night her sister was murdered. It’s in the notes right here. So she’s in town… her sister is passing through.”
“Maybe they were together.”
“That’s where the fun in this job is,” Lizzy said. “Look into the family then and see what it is. Why were they so close yet so far from whatever version of home they had? Think about it. Maybe there were family issues. Family money. They agree to meet somewhere and talk. Things get heated. Maryse wants money. Paige won’t give it up. They argue and fight.”
“Or maybe Paige wanted the money and Maryse wouldn’t budge,” I said.
“Exactly. Just paint every scene possible and then push them off the table as they don’t work out.”
“So Maryse is driving and her car breaks down. That’s the part that gets me… I was told there was nothing funny about the car. It wasn’t tampered with. It really did break down.”
“Bad timing,” Lizzy said. “Or… here’s one for you. Maybe Paige paid someone to mess with her sister’s car.”
“Before we call Paige, let’s go through some more of these notes,” I said.
Lizzy sighed. “If that’s what you want to do.”
I opened a folder and there were pictures of the car.
The car was towed… and that was it. There was no other record of the car. I wasn’t sure if someone went through
it or not.
It made me grit my teeth as that was not protocol now.
I tried to put myself back in Lenny’s shoes back then. I was younger. Much younger. At that time, I was probably first realizing I had fallen in love with Tommy. It was probably right around the time that Tommy had become friends with all the local cops. And not in a good way.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head.
It was a wonder they didn’t bring Tommy in for questioning about the murder.
Maybe that’s just how much Lenny wanted it to go away.
He didn’t want a woman’s murder to be gossip and headline news in town.
“So they just towed the car and that was it,” I said. “It was like… Maryse just vanished. They just didn’t care.”
“That’s how these go sometimes, Allie,” Lizzy said. “You can’t comprehend it. How a family just doesn’t care. Here’s another note… they definitely did talk to Paige right after Maryse’s identity was figured out. It says it right here. They called the sister and she showed no care.”
“Mayor Jim was right,” I said.
“Parts of it he was right about.”
“I really think Lenny just wanted it to go away.”
“Good for Lenny,” Lizzy said. “He should have done his job better.”
“His wife had been diagnosed with cancer.”
Lizzy nodded. “That’s sad to hear. But think about this. This was left to just sit and now more people have died.”
I sifted through a few more pages and notes and then glanced at Lizzy’s phone.
“Okay, let’s make the call,” I said. “Just try not to be too abrasive.”
“I won’t change who I am or how I do this, Allie.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
Lizzy dialed the number she found and we waited.
After the fourth ring, I felt my hope waning.
Then a voice picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hello,” Lizzy said. “Is this Paige?”
“Yes, this is Paige.”
I made a fist and pumped it into the air with excitement.
“Paige, this is Detective Lizzy Cold. I’m calling about your sister…”
Lizzy paused.
I stared at the phone.
Paige had hung up on Lizzy.
Chapter Sixty-One
I reached for Lizzy’s phone.
I was ticked off.
She swatted my hand away. “Hold on.”
“No,” I said.
“I’ve got this, Allie,” Lizzy said.
She picked up the phone and called Paige right back.
It surprised me when Paige answered a second time.
“Hello?” Paige’s voice crackled.
“If you hang up again, we will be forced to arrest you,” Lizzy said. “It’s illegal to hang up on me.”
I lifted an eyebrow at Lizzy.
She shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” Paige said.
“Let’s move forward,” Lizzy said. “I’m Detective Lizzy Cold. Next to me is-”
“Allie Down,” I said. “I’m a detective, but I also run the department in the town of Sandemor. I’m sure that name rings a bell for you, correct?”
“Yes,” Paige said.
“Paige, we have been skimming the files of your sister’s murder…”
“Can I ask why?” Paige asked.
“Sure,” Lizzy said.
She nodded to me, wanting to know how much I was willing to tell Paige.
“Paige, where are you located right now?” I asked.
“I live just outside of Boston,” she said. “Same as always.”
“We need to know everything about Maryse,” I said. “What happened before she was murdered. And that night.”
“Why would I know anything about the night she was murdered?” Paige asked. “I was told she broke down, tried to walk into town and was killed.”
“We have notes that perhaps conflict with that,” Lizzy said. “We may have to ask you about your whereabouts more recently.”
“Recently?” Paige asked. “I haven’t left the state in two years. I run my own business. We just opened two other salons. I haven’t had a vacation in a long time. Feel free to ask anyone. What is this about? I don’t want to think or talk about my sister. Ever.”
“Paige, you were in town the night your sister was murdered,” I said.
The call suddenly went very quiet.
“Paige?” Lizzy asked.
Still nothing.
“Paige, don’t make us drive or fly up there,” I said. “Please. There’s something happening in this town. In my town. I grew up here. I run the department. I have family here. This is a safe town. And your information might help.”
“That means other people have been murdered?” Paige asked.
“Something like that,” I said.
“Paige, we have the notes here. You were near your sister the night she was murdered.”
“I can’t…”
“You have to,” I said.
“Or else,” Lizzy added.
Paige sniffled. “Right. Okay. Maryse and I never got along, okay? She was the bad one and I was the good one. That was our entire lives. I heard she was having a hard time. Strung out. Trying to get clean from drinking. She wanted to drive coast to coast. Ocean to ocean. That was her plan. There was… a guy. A friend of hers. I had been in contact with him trying to keep track of Maryse. Just knowing she was safe made me feel okay about things. I was actually planning on meeting her on the east coast. Somewhere in Jersey. Wherever she decided to drive to. I was near your town that night… because…”
“Stop wasting our time,” Lizzy said.
“I cheated on my husband!” Paige said.
I stepped back. “What?”
“Maryse’s friend. Ace. We had been talking a lot. Things at home with Michael weren’t that great at the time. I messed up, okay? Ace gave me the name of the hotel he was staying at. I told my husband I needed to get away. So I left. I met up with Ace and…”
“Did you see your sister the night she was killed?” Lizzy said.
“No. I swear. I had no idea where she was. Neither did Ace. He would call her each day and play it cool. We knew she was in Pennsylvania, just not sure where. We weren’t even thinking about it.”
“You slept with Ace,” I said.
“Please… don’t do this…”
“Don’t do what?” Lizzy asked.
“My husband doesn’t know,” Paige said. “Okay? After we were… done… I left. I got out of there and drove home. It was a long drive home. Then I got the call about Maryse. I snapped. I blamed her for everything. My worries and fears. Michael hated that I cared about her so much. I hated that he didn’t understand my love for my sister. But then I hated her too. Because of Michael and I arguing all the time, I did something so stupid. I gave myself to another man. I went home and that was it. When I got the call about Maryse, I felt relieved. No more chasing her down. No more worrying. Since then, my marriage has been better.”
“Except this backbreaking lie,” Lizzy said.
“That has nothing to do with my sister’s murder,” Paige said. “I can give you the name of the place. The date. The time. Everything.”
There was definitely pain and regret in Paige’s voice.
I looked at Lizzy and nodded. I waved my hands at her, signaling to wrap the call up.
This wasn’t going to end up anywhere other than Paige turning into a blubbering mess of confessions like David had done. Sure, they both had their sins and regrets, but neither killed Maryse or Claire or Candice.
“Please don’t tell my husband,” Paige begged.
“My advice, Paige, is to answer if we call again,” Lizzy said. “Do not make us leave a message that you wouldn’t want your husband to hear. Also, send me dates, times, places, names. Everything. Thank you.”
Lizzy ended the call and pushed her phone away.
&nbs
p; “She was telling the truth,” Lizzy said.
“I know. I heard it in her voice.”
“She was just keeping tabs on her sister. Then decided to mess up her own life.”
“So we’re back to where we started,” I said.
“No, we’re not,” Lizzy said. “This is what cold cases are. Look at what we have though. The notes panned out. There was information that we didn’t have. Now we push this to the side and move on. But we have a name and a situation to fall back on. Just in case.”
I nodded. “That’s a good way to put it.”
“This one is interesting because it’s cold yet active.”
“Right.”
Lizzy looked at me. “That means we need to solve this before someone else gets murdered.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
He stands at the basement door.
It’s an old, heavy door. It matches the rest of the old house.
There’s an appearance to the house that’s cozy and fits every single season.
That’s one part of the house.
Call it an old Christmas house. Call it a spring, farm-like house. Call it a summer oasis. Call it a rustic autumn house.
He loves the house.
Everything inside and outside the house.
He puts his hand to the doorknob and sighs.
“This is what we’ve come to,” he says. “All the work. The planning. The waiting. I thought it would get better, but it hasn’t. It won’t get better either. It’s too much. Too far. This has to stop now. This really has to stop now.”
He opens the basement door.
You know this can’t stop. This is just the way it is. You’ve had the taste. You want more. Nothing is going to satisfy that taste either. It’s like being in the mood for a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie. But you eat a carrot instead. Stop eating carrots! Go eat the cookie!
He shuts the basement door and spins on his heels.
The kitchen is just a few steps away.
There he finds a glass and a bottle of scotch.
It’s very old scotch. Very expensive scotch.
He pours himself a glass.
One sip tastes good.