“I remember what happened to Detective Pomar when he took your advice. You’re up to something. What’s this business with the garage? How do you know the gun’s in the garage?”
“Absolutely, certain. Look first in the garage. And Triney, if you have a Juvenile Officer on duty, take her with you. Will you call me when you’re on the way over there?”
“Hotshot, I wouldn’t make a move without you.”
She and Kevin left the building and were walking across the parking lot when she stopped. “The question is why would the murder weapon be hidden in the victim’s house? The answer is just beginning to sink in. If the old slug they took out of Toby’s back, matches an old firearm in Ruth’s house, then I’ve solved another murder.”
“You mean Ruth Towalski used an old gun? She murdered her own son?”
“Stepson, I believe. I’ll be damned. I thought it was Abby who shot him to get him out of the blackmail scheme.”
He said, “So, it was his stepmother. Why on earth would she kill him?”
“You’re right. Doesn’t make sense.”
* * * *
Three hours later, in response to Triney’s phone call, Sandy and Kevin rushed out to Ruth Towalski’s house. Five sheriff’s vehicles with flashing lights were parked at various angles: in the driveway, on the grass, and in the street.
Jamie came out the front door holding hands with a sheriff’s juvenile officer. She saw Sandy, jumped off the porch, and ran to her. After a long hug, Sandy held Jamie out at arm’s length. She was excited but appeared all right.
“Jamie, I’m sorry...I told you to trust me.”
“Aunt Ruth—she kept telling me to call her Aunt Ruth—told me about a woman who was here looking for me. I knew it was you. I knew you’d be back to get me. So I was okay.” She looked about to cry. Sandy held it back.
Jamie caught her breath. “I’m okay.” She spoke rapidly, “I had a neat little bed out there in the garage. I cried only the first night. Aunt Ruth would let me inside sometimes.”
“Did she feed you?”
“Mainly apple pie and I’m sick of it. Do you know about crossword puzzles? They’re really fun.”
Detective Triney came out the front door guiding Ruth Towalski in front of him. She was handcuffed in front. “When I knocked on the door, she knew it was over. She invited me in. She admitted they tried to get money out of Kidde.”
Jamie appeared surprised. “See Sandy, that’s what I told you to start with, I heard Mom and Toby talking about making money off of kids. Oh wow, there’s daddy!” She ran to Kevin.
Sandy called after her, “Not kids, Jamie, Kidde!” She gave Triney a sheepish look. “Geez, that’s my fault. Jamie overheard them saying Kidde. I jumped to the child porn conclusion. I got on the right track for the wrong reason.”
Ruth saw Sandy and said, “I know you’re the one who did me in. Knew you were searching all my bedrooms. Knew you weren’t dumb.”
“All right, if I talk to her, Triney?” Sandy asked.
“I’ve already Mirandized her. She can talk with you at her own risk, but I’m listening, and I’m taking notes.”
“I’m not mad at you,” Ruth said. “It’s okay. Couldn’t go on like that with that poor child in the garage. Sorry about that, but the smart kid would have escaped from any other room in the house I’m glad it’s over. I’m so tired.”
“I must know, at any time was Toby alone with Jamie?”
“Do I look that crazy? Okay, so I do look that crazy, but the answer is no. And I didn’t want him alone with you either. His mind messed up the way it is. Absolutely not.”
“Be certain your attorney brings that up in court. You may have saved Jamie. But you need to face it, what you did was aid and abet a kidnapper.”
“Abet, to support or encourage. But it’s worse than that, Sweetie. It was me all the way. You think Toby could put this scheme together? He came home that night all excited about what he had witnessed on the beach. I told him how to blackmail that congressman and told him to go kidnap Jamie.”
Triney heard. “We’re adding blackmail to the kidnapping and murder charges against you. You still have the right to remain silent.”
“I want to tell her,” Ruth snapped. “Can we sit down on the step over there?”
He nodded. They sat side by side and he stood behind them with his notebook open. “Make it quick. I need to take you over to the sheriff’s office and get a formal statement.”
“No, I want to tell her. Here’s how it went. Toby told me he was driving back from hog hunting when he first saw Kidde and that woman at a truck stop up near Jacksonville. Said some truckers up there were falling all over each other to get close to her cause she was hot, or maybe he said wicked hot. Also called her Miss Universe. Oh please. So he followed them. Why’d he follow them? Because he’s a man. Just looking for a new way to make an ass out of himself over some woman. Too bad she wasn’t headed north then they’d all be in Canada by now and everyone’s problem would be solved.
“Anyway, he followed them down to that Florida beach. He saw the woman choke. He talked with the man and then the man left. Toby said he ‘checked out’ the body for a few minutes and then he left. Said he never touched her. Can’t you just picture him not touching a defenseless Miss Universe?
“The man had U.S. Congress plates on his car and Toby recognized him from TV. I told him how to find the man and told him what to say. Toby meets him and comes back smiling. The man gives him twenty grand cash. We sat on the floor counting it and laughing our fool heads off.”
“So Kidde comes up with twenty thousand,” Sandy said. “The man has millions. Why settle for a mere twenty thousand? That’s pocket change for him.”
“Twenty a month, sweetie! Twenty a month. I figured it could go on for years. My ship had come in. Toby’s also thinking the money is infinite, meaning endless or unlimited. So brainchild not only gives Abby ten, he blabs out the whole story. How many times have I told him not to lose his head over a little piece of tail? I told the moron to go beat her up, or whatever, and get the money back. Abby tried to shoot him, but ended up shooting some other horny nut. You know about that.”
“So you were behind the kidnapping.”
“Yeah, I told him to grab Jamie to get the ten grand back from Abby. Abby told Toby she wasn’t about to give back the money. Said she had another plan. Said she’d worry about Jamie later. Can you beat that?”
“Abby didn’t report the kidnapping because she knew you had Jamie.”
“I misjudged her. I assumed she would bargain immediately to get her daughter back. But instead, I was left holding the kid. She couldn’t have cared less. Didn’t know me from Adam. I could have been some neurotic weirdo instead of the normal well-adjusted homemaker you see before you. She didn’t even know if I was keeping Toby away from her little daughter. Didn’t even care. Scratch her for mother of the year.”
“I’m glad Jamie was with you under the circumstances. He mentioned to me a girlfriend named Crystal. Who’s she?”
“Hey, many children have imaginary playmates. Toby made his a nympho. Then amazingly, he’s got flesh and blood women in his life, Abby, the beach babe, and then you. He couldn’t handle it.”
“Please don’t refer to that unfortunate woman as the beach babe.”
“Sorry. Of the three, the only woman he could relate to was the dead one. Toby wouldn’t stop talking about the body on the beach, how great she was. I didn’t get it right away. Then he started talking about you, said he’d like to see you when you were nice and quiet. Said you’d make a good Miss Universe. I found out he was stalking you. Then I got it. I realized what he had done to that body on the beach. It still gives me the shivers.”
“Did he admit he actually raped the body?”
“Not at first. He insisted he hadn’t done anything and didn’t know what I was getting all upset about. I had to get out that broken golf club to make him confess. I gave him a whack with that club and h
e still said I had it wrong, he hadn’t touched her. Then I gave him four really good ones and he started talking. He admitted he did it. He said he was sorry. He was crying when he told me. The little freak. He disgraced the family and me. We don’t have much, but we’re not ghouls. He had to be punished and who else was going to do it? You told me to change what I could in my life, well I did, I shot him.”
“Ruth, I’m not convinced Toby did anything to that body accept in his mind. He has a dangerous edge to him, but he might not have harmed me either when it got right down to it.”
“Don’t you get what I’m saying? That boy has always lived in his own confused and unstable world. You were already in his fantasy. It would have been a small step for him to cross from a dream into reality. You would have been in for the entire terrible ordeal. He was looking for you and I knew why. He’d done it once and the second time would be easier. I had to do something. I followed him. I saw you guys in that house through the window. Couldn’t hear what you were saying. I had to save you. I had to punish him. I had to shoot the little moron.”
“It’s a weird situation, but I guess I should thank you for that.” Sandy didn’t want to leave it that way. She wanted the episode to be resolved with certainty and closure. She thought Ruth had it wrong, but it wasn’t the proper time to discuss it.
“Ruth, look at me, this is important. Ask the police for a free attorney. They must provide you with one. Don’t say anything more unless your attorney is with you.”
Ruth looked over at Triney who was putting his notebook away. “Is the government gonna take care of me? You have TV, crosswords, and intelligent women to talk to over there at that prison of yours?”
“You’ll have everything you need, Ma’am, except freedom.”
“Yeah, like I’m free now? Not all prisons have bars, buddy.” Then to Sandy, “Isn’t he nice? He’s looking out for me. He’s afraid I’ll lose my shape and turn ugly in prison. Hey, I get my wish, Sandy. Tomorrow I’m having lunch with the girls. I wonder if they use teacups over there.”
The detective helped her into the back of his vehicle and then came back to Sandy. “By the way, Hotshot, the antique revolver wasn’t in the garage like you told me, we found it in a drawer in her bedroom. But thanks for the tip. I got a nice arrest out of this.”
Chapter Thirty-two
It was mid-February—six weeks after that first phone call from Abby had entangled Sandy. At last, the turmoil had quieted. The remaining pieces of the drama that had once endangered her were now in place. Jamie was safely in Georgia with her father. Moran held nothing over her and was off her mind. The legal system would slowly take care of the rest.
They were in Chip’s house and had slept late on a Saturday morning. They had the entire weekend to waste. Their morning began lying closely and still enjoying the afterglow of the night before. Now they leaned back on the living room futon with their bare feet on the coffee table. He had a short knit robe over his boxers; she wore pale-green cotton pajamas. He had just gotten his second coffee and she had switched to a Bloody Mary.
“Freddy Kidde got me started drinking these. My favorite now.”
“A strange sort of man and a strange sort of drink.” He screwed up his face. “Vegetables soaked in vodka. Why don’t you toss in a pork chop and some gravy? The last thing I want is hot sauce and celery stuck in my drink.”
“Hot sauce suits my personality.”
“Now back to the law books for you.”
“Moran had no choice but to drop the charges against me. He couldn’t risk my going public and jeopardizing a conviction against Abby for felony murder.”
“He has a good case of blackmail against her as well.”
“Her trial isn’t for a few months. Moran is going to use the testimony of Freddy Kidde to establish that Abby and Toby were together in the blackmail. Once blackmail is established then Abby’s motivation for the attempted murder of Toby is obvious. That’s all Moran needs to convict her of the felony murder of Bruce Banks. Once they find her guilty of murdering Bruce Banks, Nita Banks can proceed with her wrongful death civil case against Abby and get a judgment against her assets.”
“Aiming for her fancy condo in West Palm, huh. So if Nita can hold on, she’ll come away with a couple million dollars, mas o menos.”
“Thanks to the cooperation of Freddy Kidde,” she said. “The suspicion of abusing Betty Jo’s body ruined him, so he has nothing to lose by testifying against Abby. In fact, he’s eager to do it given that the blackmail scheme led to his downfall. You know he’s fighting to keep his seat in Congress.”
“Not unusual for politicians to get caught with their strippers, mistresses, and hookers,” he said. “They pay a heavy price for a roll in the hay. They’re better at screwing the taxpayers.”
“One more sacrifice on the altar of sexual obsession. Passion rules us all and we obey.”
“He was a fool. How’d you make out in Fort Lauderdale with Betty Jo’s mother?”
“Nice lady. Seems they kept somewhat in touch, although she didn’t know her daughter was missing. I told her Betty Jo had died a natural death—from accidental choking. Doesn’t that sound innocent? At least that much was the truth. I said there was some talk of her body being mishandled before the doctor got there. Fortunately, she didn’t question me further about the nature of the mishandling. She asked about the burial and I told her it was dignified. I told her the authorities wanted to reach her, but didn’t know her address.”
“Did she know her daughter was a stripper?”
“Didn’t seem to mind. Said she was pleased her daughter was successful and happy even though she had yet to marry. When they last spoke, she told Betty Jo the bank was foreclosing on her house. She needed eight thousand. Betty Jo told her not to worry, she’d get the money to her. According to the mother, last month some man in a suit and big car showed up with money in a bank bag. He was very polite and said he was a friend of Betty Jo’s. Fifty thousand dollars in cash. Told her not to worry, all perfectly legal. The taxes had been paid. He said Betty Jo saved her money and was a smart investor. That she was sorry she couldn’t make it down, but to tell her mother she loves her. Far more than the mother needed to save the house and enough to make a big difference in her life from then on.”
“I don’t get it. Fifty thousand from where?”
“Freddy told me Betty Jo was carrying eight thousand in her shoulder bag. He must have kicked in with the other forty-two. Her mother seemed okay, but I think she broke down after I left. The entire visit was so sad. I hope I did the right thing.”
“You did fine,” Chip said. “And what about the crazy lady?”
“Ruth Towalski? Not crazy but needs psychiatric help. You think she’ll spend the rest of her life in prison?”
“I think she wants to,” he suggested. “If her life had gone in a different direction, she could have been a constructive citizen and a positive help to someone somewhere. She was no help to Toby, however. A different sort of mother might have made a big difference in his life.”
“The DNA paternity test came back positive for Kevin,” Sandy said. “He’s definitely Jamie’s father. He’s a much more cheerful man now. He gets full custody of her, which is what they both wanted all along. That smart kid will knock ‘em dead in Georgia. Jamie will be in every front row for the rest of her life.”
“For a while, she must have hoped you’d be her new stepmother. Did he make a play for you?”
“Make a play. Is that guy talk?” She knew what he meant and where this was going. She had expected the question eventually.
“Guy talk would be, did he try to nail you?”
She hesitated and then nodded her head. “Yes, he tried to nail me.” That was misleading. She should get it all out and done with.
“Did he succeed? I’ve no right to ask.”
“Would it make a difference?”
“Of course it would make a difference. You think I’m made of stone?”
He thought a minute. “No turning point...I guess. Serious, but not like turning-point serious.”
“I think this is a good time for me to have another Bloody Mary.” She could scarcely breathe. She had to get out of the room.
He frowned and stared straight ahead. “Make that two.”
She left the room without saying anything further. She noticed her hand quivering slightly as she made the drinks. She sat down to let her nerves quiet. Why had she risked it? She felt perfectly satisfied with Chip. Was it an experiment with Kevin? Was she feeling so serious about Chip that she wanted to test him against Kevin, put them up against each other for a comparison? Kevin was definitely more unrestrained, more passionate. He had let himself go completely in bed. Like a teenager, only with one big difference—he knew what he was doing. She had surprised herself how she had responded, attempting to equal his passion. Where did all that come from? It must have been in her, waiting. However, one sweaty night does not a romance make.
So now what? She and Chip had gone together merely four months and she’d no idea if he had expected exclusivity with her. He was no kid. He’d had at least two hot lengthy affairs that she knew of. The last one was with a legal secretary at the courthouse who lived with him in this house for nearly two years. Meaning they made love in his bed right here and he put all those great moves on her right here.
She gave the drinks a final stir and returned to the living room. He just stood looking expectantly. She handed him his drink. “The answer is yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes, he succeeded. I cooperated fully. We got to know each other somewhat trying to investigate all of this. I know that’s not an excuse. For some reason I was attracted to him and I wanted it to happen. It was just sex. A one time, after dinner thing. I’ve no further interest in him. It was an adventure. Just sex, no love, just fantasy. But I’m guilty. The deed is done. I realize once is all it takes to ruin our relationship. Whatever it does to us, I’ll have to live with.”
The Price of Candy Page 25