Empty Shell

by Ashley Fontainne

  I reached inside the console and grabbed a few tissues, wiping away the remnants on my chin. I fumbled to get the key into the ignition and glanced up to make sure that Guy or his kinfolk weren’t on their way to my car. My chest tightened when Guy limped out the front door. Thankfully, he never even looked my way as he ambled over to the rust bucket closest to the door and tried to climb in. I felt a surge of pride as I watched him struggle into the front seat and relived the moment my foot stomped on him. It wasn’t until I heard the sound of a door closing that I realized a vehicle had pulled up next to Guy’s truck.

  For a split second, I hoped that what I was about to witness was another beat down of Guy, this time not by the hands of Jack’s widow, but his best friend. The huge grin on my face at seeing Kendal stride over to Guy disappeared as, instead of rendering him to a bloody pulp, Kendal began to talk.

  Guy reached into his truck and produced a manila folder and handed it to Kendal, who palmed an envelope into Guy’s hand, and the exchange was sealed with a handshake. The unthinkable betrayal hit me almost as hard as Jack’s. Suddenly, what had happened to me, Jack, and by extension, my mother, came in to clear view.

  Kendal and Guy had orchestrated the whole thing. They were in cahoots together—it all made sense now. Kendal’s late night confession on how he tried to sabotage mine and Jack’s relationship so many years ago. His slow burn of jealousy over the years, the flame ignited by the run in with Guy back at Christmas, and an unholy alliance started.

  I was beyond livid. Rational thought escaped me. Disconnected from reality, I saw a lightning bolt skitter across the sky and pulled my attention away for a brief second from the scene in front of me. The pull to go home was overwhelming. I ignored the shooting pain in my right hand as I slammed the car into gear and my tires barked, sending plumes of rank black smoke in the air behind me. I had to get to Detective Knowles and tell him what I just witnessed.

  I didn’t bother to look back to see if Guy or Kendal were following me. Hell, I didn’t care. I hoped they were, because if they could keep up with me, then they would end up following me to my house, which is where Roger would be in less than an hour. And Detective Knowles, as soon as I called him.

  Then I remembered Regina could return from shopping at any moment and wind up alone in the house with Kendal, if somehow he beat me home.

  I reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed my cell phone, almost hitting the car coming at me in the opposite direction head on. I swerved and ignored the honk of the irritated driver. After six attempts to connect with Regina and Detective Knowles, I threw my phone on the floorboard and cursed the small, piss ant town of Sheridan for their lack of cell phone towers.

  Once I crossed over into Pulaski County, I knew service would be up and running again. I pushed my foot to the floor and glanced once in my review mirror. I wasn’t surprised to see Kendal’s truck half a mile behind me. I made a hard right and zoomed on to the freeway, the back end of my Camaro fishtailing. Back on the main highway, I turned on my flashers and let the horses run free. I quit looking at the speedometer when it rose past one hundred miles per hour.

  All I could think of was the faster I got home, the faster Kendal and Guy would be arrested and this nightmare my life had become would at last be over.

  Bastards.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO, LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON

  After giving the toothbrush to Lee, Craig opted to wait in the gym for the results. He had a lot of pent up anger that needed to be released. Since he’d ruined the punching bag earlier in the week, he ran laps on the inside track, but collapsed on the floor after the sixth mile.

  He glanced at his watch, noting it had been a little over an hour since Lee left for the lab. The wait was driving him insane. He wanted nothing more than to go and pick up the bastard and have a few private moments alone with the guy before he officially arrested him.

  He jerked when his cell phone rang. The case was all sweaty, and he fumbled to keep it in his hands. His heart sunk when he realized the number wasn’t Lee’s. “Knowles.”

  “You sure are a difficult man to get in touch with, Detective.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “This is Detective Craig Knowles of the Little Rock Police Department, isn’t it?”

  “Who’s asking?”

  “Alex Renfro.”

  He felt a bit lightheaded, and not just from his run. He wondered why in the world the lead Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney was calling him. It surely couldn’t be for anything good. He did a quick mental rundown of all his other open cases to confirm none of them were being handled by the man.

  “Sorry, sir. Didn’t recognize your number. Yes, you have the right number. What can I do for you?”

  “Your Captain informed me you were on vacation. You are still in the area, correct?”

  “Yes sir,” Craig said as he stood up and walked back to the locker room. “Why?”

  “Because I need you down here in my office right now. We…have a situation. A very volatile situation.”

  “I’ll be there in five,” Craig said, ignoring his sweat-stained clothes and body. He slipped on his ball cap, grabbed his bag, and raced out to the parking lot.

  The acid in his stomach and the rank taste in his mouth told him things had just went from bad to worse.

  It took him less than three minutes to navigate the one-way streets of downtown Little Rock and pull up in front of the prosecutor’s office. He ignored the No Parking sign, drove onto the sidewalk and threw his Jeep into park. He forced his feet to walk at an acceptable pace as he opened the glass doors and entered the foyer.

  He didn’t even have to walk up to the receptionist. Alex Renfro was waiting in the lobby on one of the gaudy, overstuffed couches and rose to meet him. He didn’t offer his hand or even a smile as he asked, “Detective Knowles?”

  Craig nodded. With a curt nod of his balding head, Alex Renfro turned on his heels and motioned for him to follow. He led Craig down a series of endless halls until they reached Renfro’s private office. Renfro unlocked the door and held it open for Craig, then locked it behind him after they both were inside.

  “Sit, please,” Renfro grunted, his voice taut.

  He sensed the tension in the air. “You said on the phone that you have a volatile situation that you needed my help with?”

  He’d never seen the calm and collected Alex Renfro anywhere close to being rattled. He’d only met him before once, right after Alex was elected, but had seen him numerous times on the local news during the last two years. Always poised and in control, Alex Renfro was impeccably dressed and never showed a hint of stress. Today, as he wiped his hands over his bald head to wipe the sheen of sweat away, he noticed a slight tremble in his hand.

  “Are you still working the Rowland-Dickinson case?”

  Momentarily taken aback, he cleared his throat before responding. “As you mentioned earlier, I’m on vacation.”

  “A vacation suggested by Captain Hogue I assume?”

  He offered a slight nod of agreement.

  “I see. With strict instructions not to work that, or any other case, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “He didn’t seem too interested in talking to me earlier. Actually, he blew me off, which was rather surprising. Not the typical response I’m used to receiving from your department.” Alex Renfro leaned back in his seat and gave a heavy sigh. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before he continued, “I need to ask you some things and I want honest answers. Just between the two of us.”

  “Okay.”

  “Do you believe you made the right choice in arresting Jack Dickinson for the murder of Serena Rowland?”

  He felt his stomach drop to the floor. “No, I don’t.”

  “Would trying to rectify that decision be the reason you are on vacation?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, let me congratulate you, Detective. Your instincts might just be correct.
I have serious doubts now myself that Mr. Dickinson killed that girl. I will admit, your original case file delivered to me seemed to nail Mr. Dickinson’s coffin shut. However, after a new development was brought to my attention today, I’m beginning to think we are on the brink of a disaster, one that will affect both of our careers negatively.” Alex Renfro nodded his head to the manila envelope on his desk.

  He reached across the desk, picked it up and scanned the contents. Several photographs cataloged the relationship between Jack Dickinson and Serena Rowland. He continued to flip through the images, his blood running cold when he realized not all of the pictures were of Jack and Serena. The ones at the end were between her and another man. The same one whose DNA Lee was testing at the lab.

  “Those were brought in earlier today by some lowlife thug named Guy Powell. He came to see LeAnn Balatnick, the deputy P.A. handling his drug case. He wanted to use the pictures as some sort of bargaining chip to get her to drop the charges against him.”

  He stared at the images in front of him, willing his vision to clear. Ms. Gonzales had been one hundred percent on target. “How did he come by these?”

  “Oh, quite an interesting story he shared with LeAnn. You see, he hated Jack Dickinson so much that he decided to have him followed—to see what kind of dirt he could dig up on him to use to ruin his life. He hit the jackpot when the private investigator discovered the affair. Said he sent the first round of pictures of Jack and Serena to Jack’s house, then a week later to Jack’s office, and finally, Mrs. Dickinson’s office. His little plan of revenge was interrupted when he was arrested on drug charges. Said he was surprised to find some new pictures from the private investigator in his mailbox when he was released yesterday. Knew right away he had a gold mine when he recognized Serena’s other lover. Thought that he might have stumbled upon some sort of conspiracy to frame his arch enemy. LeAnn said the little bastard was actually giddy.”

  He let out a long sigh. “Oh, it’s a goldmine all right, but it doesn’t even begin to trump mine.”

  For the first time during their hushed conversation, Alex Renfro’s eyes showed a spark of hope. “Which is?”

  For the next twenty minutes, Craig went over all the information he’d obtained during the last three days, including his conversation with Bill Witham and his suspicions about Bill and Guy’s involvement in the death of Jack Dickinson. He almost laughed at the expression on the D.A.’s face when he got to the part about Thurman Turner, the possible conversation with Philip Rowland, and the fake reports and testing at the State Crime Lab. When he finished his story about the earlier meeting with Ms. Gonzales and the fact that he was waiting for the DNA results to be confirmed, the color began to appear in Alex’s cheeks again.

  “You realize that if that test result comes back positive…”

  “All hell will break lose? Oh, you bet I do. The only good thing about this latest twist is that Mrs. Dickinson will finally be able to say her husband’s name is cleared.”

  “When the press gets wind of this, the shit-storm will cover us all. It’s going to be an uphill climb to prove to the public that we weren’t involved or trying to keep this covered up.”

  “True. But to be honest with you, I don’t give a shit anymore what the public thinks. Or my Captain, or even you for that matter. What I do care about is making this right, for all the parties involved. If the corruption extends so far that I have to arrest the Governor himself, I will. Whatever it takes to right the wrong.”

  Before Renfro could respond, Craig’s cell phone rang. They exchanged glances, each realizing that the call would confirm their worst fears and probably end both of their careers in the matter of a few seconds. He put the phone on the desk and clicked the speaker button. “Knowles.”

  “Uh, am I on speaker?” Lee asked with a hint of concern.

  “Yes. I’m at Alex Renfro’s office. He brought me here to show me some more evidence in this case.”

  “So, well, um, yeah, Mr. Renfro? You aren’t going…”

  “It’s okay, son. I’m on your side, though God knows I don’t want to be. What’s the verdict?”

  “We have ourselves a winner, gentlemen.”

  “Thanks, Lee. We’ll be in touch.”

  “Never had a doubt that you would. Just one favor?”

  “Of course,” Craig replied, his focus elsewhere as he wondered how in the hell he was going to tell Melody. The truth was going to crush what little spirit she had left.

  “When you come to arrest Thurman, give me a heads up so I can have my camera ready. That’s a photo op I don’t want to miss.”

  They wrapped up their conversation and Craig ended the call, feeling his pulse quicken. He could barely contain the raging anger swirling through him. He waited to hear the words from Alex.

  “I’ll handle the medical examiner and your boss. You go find the daddy and tell him the happy news. After you cuff him and Mirandize him, of course.”

  He didn’t wait for another word to fall. He burst out of the D.A.’s office and sprinted down the hall and stairs. Once inside his truck, he tried calling Melody as he pulled into the afternoon traffic. He needed to warn her, and swore like a sailor when she didn’t answer. He left a voicemail instructing her to call him as soon as she got the message.

  At a red light he made one more phone call before pulling into the gas station less than three blocks from his next stop, planning to change into his street clothes and vest before he made the arrest. His heart pounded as he waited for the phone to be answered, anger causing it to soar into the stratosphere when the receptionist informed him her boss had left for the day and she didn’t know where he was.

  He forced his voice to remain steady when he replied, “Patch me through to his cell phone, please.”

  “Oh, I don’t know sir. I’m not supposed to…”

  “Tell him it’s Detective Knowles and it’s an emergency.”

  “Yes sir, right away sir.”

  His heart rate sped up when, a few seconds later, the call was connected but went to voicemail. “Listen, we’ve got a big problem. Melody is in real danger. I need you to go to her house and stay with her. Do not let anyone else inside. Call me back as soon as you get this message.”

  To save time, he decided to just change clothes inside his Jeep. Securing his Kevlar and zipping up his jeans, he wondered if this arrest would be the last one he ever made.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - WEDNESDAY EARLY EVENING

  The storm I had been running from caught up with me about ten miles from my house. The only good thing about the pouring rain, intense lightning and black clouds was that I shook Kendal from my tail. Once I hit the gas pedal with my lead foot, I put enough distance between the two of us that he’d never catch up. I took the next exit and drove the back roads home.

  I had to slow down when the rains came. I’d tried my phone two more times earlier and the call still hadn’t connected. Now that I had crossed over into Pulaski County, I prayed it would work. The battery blinked red but I had two bars of service. Hallelujah!

  I hit redial and tried Detective Knowles one more time. My heart jumped in my throat when he answered. “Oh, thank God! Hey, it’s Melody. Listen, I need you to meet me at my house. Kendal and Guy are behind all of this. Kendal was following me but I lost him. He will probably beat me home.”

  “Mel is that you where you danger Kendal stay put my way…”

  The garbled noise in my ear ended when my phone died. I was screwed; I had no car charger with me. In a fit of anger, I threw the useless thing to the floorboard of my car and refocused my concentration on the road. The wind was picking up and the pine trees lining the highway were bending to the will of the storm. It was three in the afternoon and dark outside. The ominous tint of dark green that permeated the entire area was a sure sign of approaching severe weather.

  Though I didn’t have many more miles to go, I thought about what little I could understand from my short
conversation with the detective. He mentioned danger and Kendal and to stay put—he was on his way. I wanted to give the car some more gas to get home sooner, but the rain was coming down so hard I could barely see thirty feet in front of me. My hope was that during his investigation, Detective Knowles had figured out that Kendal was involved. And it sounded like he was on his way to my house, so that was a good thing.

  Because if Kendal was there and the detective wasn’t, I was afraid of what I might do left alone with Kendal. Never, in my entire life, had I been so angry—and so ready to inflict physical damage to another human being. The last tendril of sanity that kept my mind grounded had been cut off. I had let the flood of fury wash over me when I tore out of the parking lot. Kendal’s betrayal burned through me and seared away everything else. How could he? After all the years he’d been friends with Jack? I fumed when I thought about the amazing job of acting he’d done all these years as the doting best friend. How could he have destroyed the lives of people he claimed to love? I had wanted to hurt Guy, and did to a point. But Kendal? Kendal I wanted to destroy. No jail time for him. He needed to be dispatched immediately—and I was just the gal to pull the trigger.

  My entire body was one giant knot by the time I pulled up in my driveway. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized neither Kendal nor Regina were there, but Roger’s car was, parked next to the mailbox. He got out and opened his umbrella as I pulled up. Thank goodness! At least Roger could keep me from ripping Kendal apart until the detective arrived and arrested his sorry ass.

  I retrieved my cell and shoved it deep inside my purse, then opened the door. Thoughts of my painful limbs were wiped away as I stepped out of my car and was drenched in seconds. I winced as I used my swollen right hand to shut the car door. The thunder was so loud my car shook from the concussion. I felt awful for leaving Simba outside, and motioned for Roger to follow as I took off for the front door. Inside I ran upstairs and straight to the sliding glass doors. Simba was cowering under the swing on the deck. She whimpered as a crack of lightning slammed so close that I felt the electrical surge.