by PJ Fernor
“Like I said, I covered it all up. I sent the notes. I convinced Lenny to listen. I was in his ear and head and got him to let it all go. Especially when I wrote the last one. I thought it was scary enough to be serious but it would give me a chance to let it calm down. To let the case go cold. And it did. It worked.”
“It didn’t work, Jim,” I said.
“Not for long,” he said. “There were others. I can tell you and show you everything, Allie. But I wanted my parade first. I want to do this my way.”
“What gives you the right to make demands?” Ben asked.
Mayor Jim looked at him and had a slight smirk. A cocky smirk. “I know where my brother is. You don’t. If you don’t listen to me, then he’ll just do whatever he wants. You have no idea what my brother is really capable of.”
Chills worked down my spine.
I glanced at Lizzy.
She looked at me.
The tension in the SUV grew tenfold.
Mayor Jim turned to face me again. “I’m so sorry for the notes this time, Allie. I had no choice.”
“You killed them…”
“I helped,” Mayor Jim said. “My brother snapped. He made a quick decision and it was too late. By the time I got there, he was…” Mayor Jim swallowed hard. “Candice had walked off to take a phone call. It was probably her psycho boyfriend checking up on her. My brother didn’t realize there were two women. He attacked Claire. She called for help. Candice came running back and I had to do something.”
“Like I said, murderer,” Ben said.
“Once it all happened, I knew I had to fix it,” Mayor Jim said. “Like before. So I did the same thing. With the notes. And I’m really sorry I scared Lo.”
“You…”
“Wait,” Ben said. “My father saw you. He was mad. He was confused. He…”
I saw Ben wind up, ready to hit Mayor Jim.
I touched Ben’s shoulder. “Don’t do it, Ben.”
“I’m sorry,” Mayor Jim said. “I had no choice. I had to see if it would work again this time.”
“What would work?” Lizzy asked.
“If the case would end up going cold again,” Mayor Jim said. “I had to be there for everything. I had to see it all. I had to try my hardest.”
“You broke into Mrs. Mickels’ house,” I said.
“I didn’t hurt her,” Mayor Jim said. “I just wanted to scare her.”
“You did,” Ben said. “But that wasn’t going to make her stop.”
“She’s stubborn, huh?” Mayor Jim asked with a smile.
“Not a time to smile, Jim,” Ben said.
“What else did you do?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Mayor Jim said. “Well, that’s not true. I made sure my brother is hidden. He cannot hurt anyone right now. But it can’t last forever. That’s why you need me. And I need this parade.”
“I can’t believe all of this for a parade,” Lizzy said.
“Lizzy, can you keep Mayor Jim here?” I asked. “Ben and I need to talk alone for a second.”
“Give me the gun,” Lizzy said. “Trust me… he won’t make a move.”
“I promise I won’t move,” Mayor Jim said.
“I’ll make sure of it,” Ben said.
Ben then proceeded to handcuff Mayor Jim to the passenger door.
Then he and I exited the SUV to talk.
“He should get the parade,” I said.
“What?” Ben asked.
“Just listen for a second,” I said. “This is a bombshell of a story. Everything for this parade is already planned. It’s tomorrow night, Ben. What’s going to happen to this town if we bring Mayor Jim in right now? It’s going to be chaos. And if he doesn’t tell us where his brother is…”
“How do we know there even is a brother?” Ben asked. “The man is crazy. He might be making it up.”
“Maybe so,” I said. “But we’ve got him, Ben. He can’t do a thing now. He’s not going to run. He’s not going to do a thing. He’s lost. He’s not allowed to be alone at all. That’s for starters. We keep him close and we keep him talking. Then tomorrow night, we have the parade. He gets his moment and the town gets their parade.”
“This is insane, Allie Down.”
“Trust me, I know. Look at what we’ve been through in this town. We’re going to have to find a way to transition this town from a corrupt, murdering mayor. And we need to find his brother and get the whole story.”
Ben turned his head. “I don’t like any of this at all.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “If you have another option, Ben, tell me.”
I opened the door to the SUV and Lizzy sat there with the gun pointed at Mayor Jim.
She looked at me. “If you have this parade, I’m staying.”
“Are you sure?” I asked her.
“Oh, yeah…” Lizzy curled her lip. “I really want to see how this thing ends.”
Chapter Eighty-Three
I stood outside the station and breathed in the chilly air.
Johnny Barby arrived a few seconds later.
He was dressed in a little bit more casual look. He looked big and mean. Meaner than normal. Not his usual cocky attitude but rather ready to fight someone.
“Hey,” I said to him.
“So this is really happening?”
“I know you think we’re crazy.”
“You’ve all passed the point of crazy,” Johnny said. “This is…”
“Did you come prepared?”
“I’m carrying,” he said. “Trust me, this guy makes one move and I’m taking him down. I’m not messing around, Allie.”
“Good,” I said. “So far he’s kept to his word. As soon as this parade is over, we are going to find Jim’s brother and then it’s all over.”
“I trust you then,” Johnny said. “If this is your decision, then I’m in. I just never liked that guy. I always felt something about him. I figured it was just the aura of being a politician.”
“Me too, Johnny,” I said. “He was right there next to me the entire time. I feel like I failed.”
“Hey, look at me, Allie,” Johnny said. “You didn’t fail. Nobody else was killed. I’m sorry for what happened to Claire and Candice. But the second you took on the case, nobody else got killed. Think about it. You had him in a corner from day one and just didn’t know it. You did your job. Now you get to finish this one.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said.
I heard a door close and I turned my head to see Lizzy coming out of the station.
“Is that…?” Johnny asked.
“First off, no,” I said to him.
“What?” Johnny asked.
“I know that tone and look,” I said. “Detective Lizzy Cold is only here for a little bit longer. She helped with this case and that’s it.”
Lizzy approached and a smile crept across her face when she saw Johnny.
I spun around and pointed at her. “No way.”
“What?”
“The look on your face now.”
“What?” Lizzy asked. “Can’t I smile at an incredibly handsome man?”
“She must be talking about me,” Johnny said.
“You know that I am,” Lizzy said in a flirty voice.
I groaned. “Can we just get through this parade?”
“Of course we can,” Johnny said. “Hey, Detective Cold, if you get nervous at all, you just let me know. I’ll be right by your side.”
“I sure hope so,” Lizzy said.
Right on cue, Muldavey showed up with a hot chocolate for Lizzy.
I felt bad for him.
I glanced at Lizzy and she cringed.
She got closer to me. “I told him I’m not interested. He just won’t let up. He thinks he can convince me to like him. I don’t even live here.”
“You didn’t have to take the hot chocolate.”
“But I wanted one.”
“So you’re going to take a hot chocolate from Muldavey and flirt with J
ohnny?” I asked.
“You have a murdering mayor inside the station and you’re worried about my love life?” Lizzy asked without missing a second.
“Good point,” I said.
Speaking of the murdering mayor, he exited the police station with Ben next to him.
Mayor Jim wore jeans and a light jacket with the town’s logo on it. Giving him that small town regular guy kind of feel.
The same big smile on his face as he approached us.
“I can’t wait to see that smile fade for good,” Johnny said to him.
“Johnny, not now,” I said.
“Hey, how about we get this thing going?” Mayor Jim asked as he clapped his hands together. “We have a busy night.”
“Let’s get moving then,” I said.
Everything about him creeped me out now. I didn’t trust him at all. I had no idea what was really going to happen. We made it very clear to him that if he tried anything, he would be taken down in front of everyone in town. This was his chance to smile, wave, and soak it all in.
Once we got to his brother and closed both cases, then it would be up to the legal system to decide what to do.
Mayor Jim sat in the back seat of my SUV between Ben and Johnny Barby.
To anyone who saw it, it looked like we were just protecting our mayor and ushering him toward the first float in the parade.
The plan was to have Muldavey on the float with him.
The rest of us would simply just walk the parade route, smiles on our faces, looking like nothing more than just some police presence.
When we arrived at the parade, I caught up with Lo.
Seeing her standing on the sidewalk, holding hands with Trevor made me shake my head. All I could think about was Tommy. That first love feeling. With Lo and Trevor, it was different. They had been through a lot. Real life stuff. She was going to follow Trevor wherever he went. Truthfully, as long as her dreams lined up with his, then there wasn’t much I could or should do about it.
Lo didn’t know what was happening other than the fact I told her that she and Trevor were to stay right there at the beginning of the parade near Mrs. Mickels’ porch. They were going to help out by making sure Mrs. Mickels stayed calm and sane.
As far as Mrs. Mickels went, she understood a little of the truth. I had to tell her that Mayor Jim was in hot water, which made her finally give up the fight about the parade route being near her house.
I also told her I would take it as a personal favor if she would keep an eye on Lo and Trevor. I figured that way she would have a distraction because no matter what, the whole parade thing was going to stress her out.
There were a lot of moving pieces at once.
All I could hope now was everything went as planned.
Most of the town was lined up on the sidewalks, ready for the parade.
Kids were dressed up in their Halloween costumes, holding open pillowcases and plastic shopping bags, eager for their chance at some candy.
The first wail of a firetruck siren signaled the parade was ready to start.
I looked at Johnny and nodded.
Then I looked at Ben.
He put his hand out and I walked to him. Once close enough, he took my hand and squeezed it tight.
The flashing of the firetruck lights hit his face.
Tonight was going to be a night we’d never forget.
Chapter Eighty-Four
The parade came to an end.
Mayor Jim walked through a small crowd, shaking hands with everyone willing to do so. Taking pictures. Smiling ear to ear. Grabbing shoulders, telling jokes, making small talk.
I had to admire him.
He acted as though nothing was wrong and nothing would be wrong.
That really made me not trust him.
At least I knew I wasn’t alone in this.
It wasn’t me and Mayor Jim driving to some secluded place.
It was all of us.
Myself, Ben, Johnny Barby, and Detective Lizzy Cold.
I gave Mayor Jim his five minutes of fame and then it was time to get into the SUV and get moving.
We all kept our composure until we were a long enough distance away.
Ben turned and looked at Mayor Jim. “Where am I going?”
“Give me a minute,” Mayor Jim said.
“Wrong answer,” Johnny said from the very back.
I made him sit alone in the third row.
Lizzy and I were in the second seat.
Ben drove while Mayor Jim sat in the passenger seat.
“I need a second to process this,” Mayor Jim said. “My poor brother…”
“Murderer,” Lizzy said. “Your brother is a murderer. Just like you.”
“I was helping him,” Mayor Jim said. “You don’t really think I’ll get in trouble, do you?”
“That’s not for us to decide,” I said. “You made a promise to us, Jim.”
“Let me just take this guy out now,” Johnny offered.
“I’m good with that,” Ben said.
“No,” I said. “We’re finishing this entire thing right now.”
Mayor Jim took a deep breath. “His name is Nathaniel. Nate. I need you to know that. He’s different. He’s special. He’s got problems like we all do.”
“He’s a serial killer,” Ben said.
“We will tell you everything together,” Mayor Jim said. “I want you to know I did the right thing. I tried to keep doing the right thing too.”
“How do you figure that?” Lizzy asked.
“I saw where it was going,” Mayor Jim said. “He got… excited. Too excited. So I had to settle him down.”
“Did you kill your brother?” I asked.
“No,” Mayor Jim said. “I just put him somewhere. He won’t hurt anyone.”
“Where is he, Jim?” Ben asked.
“My father bought a small cabin on the other side of town. He always envisioned himself as a hunter and fisherman kind of guy. He never really did that though. The cabin was never used. It became my job to take care of it. So I did. I would take Nate there with me. Him in the woods, nearby, it gave him a chance to stay away from people. And to take care of things…”
“He killed animals,” Lizzy said.
“Sicko,” Johnny said.
I looked back at Johnny and widened my eyes.
Johnny covered his mouth.
“I thought it was good for him,” Mayor Jim said. “Let him take it out there. But it was never enough.”
“Where is he in this cabin, Jim?” I asked.
“There’s a second bedroom. Nothing in it. Just a hard floor and an area rug. He’s chained up. No way to get out either. I’ve been checking on him. Talking to him. Feeding him. He understands why it has to be this way. He thinks I’m keeping him there until the case goes cold. He doesn’t know I’m about to turn him in.”
Mayor Jim looked at me.
Sadness filled his eyes.
I almost felt bad for him.
But I couldn’t feel bad for him.
He killed someone.
He was just as bad as his brother.
“I need directions, Jim,” Ben said.
“I know you do,” Mayor Jim said. “I know you do, Ben.”
Mayor Jim hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
He then cleared his throat and began to give directions.
I realized two things as the night carried on.
We were going to the spot where I had seen Lizzy’s phone. When I was chasing down the phone, this was where Mayor Jim had been. Checking on his brother. Then darting across town to go back to his office.
The second thing that hit me hard was we weren’t all that far from the location where my first case back in Sandemor came to an end. That steep drop-off and the secret cabin hidden in the woods.
It made my stomach churn.
Ben parked the SUV and Mayor Jim led the way into the woods.
The cabin wasn’t all that hidden.
It actually was a well-kept cabin.
There was a small front porch with several sets of colorful mums hanging from chains. There was a single dormer window sticking out of the roof with an electric candle glimmering.
“I always liked this place,” Mayor Jim said. “It was a good place to hide. Clear my head.”
We approached the cabin and when we got to the porch, Johnny let out a whistle.
“Can we be logical for a second?” Johnny asked. “How do we know this isn’t some setup? What if this place blows up?”
“Then my brother dies,” Mayor Jim said.
“There’s no proof his brother is in there,” Johnny said.
“What do you want us to do?” Ben asked.
“How about you go in, Ben?” Johnny asked.
“I’ll go in,” I said. “This is my case.”
“Mine too,” Lizzy said.
“I am not letting you two go in there alone,” Ben said.
“Yes, you are,” I said. I touched Ben’s hand. “Listen to me. You and Johnny circle the outside. Make sure nothing is happening. We’re going inside to see his brother. Then you can come in and this ends.”
“There is nothing funny waiting,” Mayor Jim. “I swear to you all. Nate is in the second bedroom. It’s the door all the way in the back.”
“Let’s go,” Lizzy said.
We walked to the door and Mayor Jim took out a key.
He unlocked the door and we entered the cabin.
The comforting smell of pumpkin spice with apple and cinnamon hit my nose.
The place was immaculately clean.
Even in the fireplace, there was a stack of fresh cut wood piled up, ready for a warm fire on a cold night.
“That door there?” Lizzy asked, breaking up my thoughts.
“Yes,” Mayor Jim said.
They walked to the door and I was at Lizzy’s side.
Both of us readied ourselves with our weapons.
“Please,” Mayor Jim said. “He’s chained up. He can’t hurt you.”
“We have to be safe, Jim,” I said. “Now open the door.”
Mayor Jim twisted the doorknob. “Hey, Nate, it’s me. Listen, I have some friends here to talk to you. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to be by your side the entire time.”
Mayor Jim opened the door and turned on the light.