by Michael Beck
"Me?"
"Yes. Your guilt, your anger, your hate. That was what was burning you up inside. That's why you couldn't move on or have a normal life. You needed to catch him in order to forgive yourself."
"I would have killed him if Bear hadn't stopped me."
"I know."
"Now, I don't think it matters. So long as he's caught."
I turned. "Why are you crying?"
Her hand touched my cheek. "Because it's finally over. You can have a life now."
I don't know who initiated it, but we were kissing. And it was like we were seventeen again, unbelievably sweet and her taste and smell was all I could think about. And for a time, all the bad things were forgotten. For a time.
* * * *
My parents couldn't hear me but there was one person who could.
Jade.
Angie, opened the door. "Tan!" She hugged me hard.
She barely came up to my chest and I cupped her head. She released me and stepped back. Angie was small, pretty and blonde. Everything Bear wasn't.
"Are you okay?" she said.
"I'm fine."
"It's great news. I can't believe you did it. You caught him."
"I guess so."
"You know a lot of people thought it was a wild goose chase. That you would never find him. Fourteen years. People thought you were obsessed."
"But not you?"
"Oh, no. I did too. But I should have known, shouldn't I? You're the most bloody-minded, stubborn person I've ever met. You've never given up on anything, have you?" She ran her hand down my cheek. "I should know that most of all, shouldn't I? No one else would have gone back for Bear. But you did. They shot you twice but you still kept going."
"I had to. He had my car keys. Is Jade upstairs?"
"Yes. Jessica is listening to music with her."
Angie saw what I was holding. "Is that a good idea, Tan?"
"She has to know."
"It might make it worse. It might bring it all back."
"No. She needs to know that he is caught. That she has nothing to fear. It might--"
"Might what?"
My voice became husky. "It might be what she's waiting for. She's been hiding for years. But she doesn't have to any longer. She's safe. She needs to know she's safe."
"Don't get your hopes up, Tan. You know what the doctors have said."
"Yeah, well if I listened to doctors, I would have died back in Afghanistan."
I went upstairs and paused in Jessica's bedroom doorway. Jessica and Jade were sitting on the bed. They both had headphones on and Jessica was singing, not well but happily. Jade, wearing jeans and a pink t-shirt, sat as she always did, unmoving and unseeing.
Jessica was oblivious to me until I stood next to her.
"Uncle Mark!" She threw her head-phones down, jumped off the bed and hugged me. "I didn't hear you. You weren't listening, were you?"
"You sound great. I think you could be a singer when you grow up."
"You are such a liar, Uncle Mark. I sound terrible."
"That doesn't mean anything. Voices change all the time. Did you know Beyoncé sounded like a sick cat when she was a kid?"
"That's not true. Is it?"
"Of course it is. Now, give me five minutes with Jade, will you?"
"Sure. I was going to get us something to eat anyway."
Jessica left and I sat on the bed next to Jade and slipped her head phones off. Taylor Swift was playing. I held her chin and gently turned her face towards me. Every time I looked at her I ached. She was the spitting image of pictures I'd seen of Mom as a young girl.
"Jade, can you hear me? You need to listen. Listen hard." Jade's eyes continued to look a thousand yards beyond me. "Jade, I caught him. The man who hurt Mom and Dad. I caught him. The man who hit you, Jade. Do you remember him? Well, I caught him. He's in jail and he won't be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again. Do you hear me, Jade? He can't hurt you anymore. You're safe, Jade. You're safe."
I picked up the photo that Angie had seen me carrying. Father Bailey. Cupid. I held it up right in front of her, ten inches from her face.
"See, Jade? Here he is. I've caught him. See, Jade?"
Jade's head turned in slow motion. I felt as if time had slowed. Her eyes met mine. But this time she wasn't looking through me, she was seeing me. Actually seeing me.
"It's not him," she said. "That's not him."
CHAPTER 56
Kyle King's father, Dedrick, lived in Nassau, Long Island. I parked in front of the high metal gates and pressed the intercom button. There was a long delay before someone spoke.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Dedrick King. My name is Mark Tanner."
"I'm sorry. Mr. King doesn't see anyone without an appointment."
"Tell him it's concerning Ashley Hunter."
There was a pause before the voice came back.
"Mr. King has no comment to make regarding Ashley Hunter."
"What about the Fantastic Five and some missing panties?"
After several seconds there was a click and the gates began to open. I drove down a long driveway, surrounded on both sides by beautifully maintained gardens. A pretty girl on horseback suddenly appeared next to my window. She was about twenty, with long, dark hair that bounced up and down as she cantered along the lawn beside me.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," I called back through the open window of my Beetle. "That looks fun."
She laughed. "It is."
"I love horseback riding."
"Do you?"
"Yeah. Apart from the falling off, the teeth, the hooves and the flies, it's great."
"You sound like a real thrill-seeker. Who are you here to see?"
"Dedrick King."
"Oh, Dad."
"You're Dedrick's daughter?"
"Ah huh. I don't think Dad's at the house. You're not selling anything are you?"
"Do you have many salesmen up this way driving Beetles?"
She grinned at me. "Only the bad ones. Don't say I didn't warn you. Follow me."
King's house came into view. Calling it a house gives the wrong impression, like calling the Queen Mary a boat. Three stories high, its roof was supported by tall white columns. Huge glass windows gave panoramic views of the sea.
The girl turned onto a gravel path that went behind the mansion and led to a stable. She rode past the stable towards a lake with a pontoon floating in the middle. A helicopter sat on the pontoon, which was joined to the land by a wooden bridge. As we came up to a small brick building, I heard gunshots. A man with dark hair, turning silver at the sides, stood in front of the building holding a shotgun.
Two clay discs flew across the sky. The man's shotgun came smoothly to his cheek and he fired twice, the shots sounding almost as one. The discs shattered and sprinkled into the lake.
"You're sure you're not a salesmen?" The girl had dismounted and was smiling at me mischievously.
"That's your dad?"
"Kara, did you have a good ride?" Dedrick King had lowered his shotgun, and was walking towards us.
"Fantastic, thanks. Dad, this is... Well, I don't know who you are."
"Mr. Tanner, I believe?" King shook my hand.
King was slightly taller than his son. Like Robert Redford's, his handsome face was now criss-crossed with deep lines. He had the same charismatic presence as Kyle's, but there was a seriousness and gravitas surrounding him that was not present in Kyle.
"Thanks for seeing me," I said.
"And would you have gone away if I had said no?"
I didn't answer and he nodded. "That's what I thought."
"I'm going to take Thunder back to the stables," said Kara. "I'll see you later, Dad. Nice to meet you, Mr. Tanner."
King, his arm over Kara's shoulder, walked her back to her horse. He gave her a boost into the saddle and stood watching as she rode off.
"She seems a great kid. How old is she?" I said, as King returned
and picked up his shotgun.
"Kara's twenty-one and it is a constant source of surprise to me that she is mine."
"Why is that?"
"I'm a businessman, Mr. Tanner. And a very successful one. Calculating, hard-nosed, stubborn, driven have been some of the words my competitors have used to describe me. Nowhere in there is generous, kind, innocent and warm-hearted. And that's what Kara is. Parenthood is quite amazing and surprises me every day, more than any business I have owned."
"So, who does Kyle take after," I asked. "You or your daughter?"
"Have you met Kyle?"
"Yes."
"Then I don't have to answer, do I?" Dedrick gazed pensively out at the lake where, now that the shooting had stopped, ducks had begun to settle. "Time and life changes everyone I'm afraid, Mr. Tanner. There's not much of the young left in me." He regarded me with the same piercing blue eyes as his son's. What surprised me was the sense of sadness I sensed behind them. "On the other hand, Kyle is very much the same as I was. He's not a man to trifle with."
He held my eyes for a moment longer then began to reload his shotgun. I wasn't sure if I had just received a veiled threat or warning.
"Do you shoot, Mr. Tanner?"
"Lately, it's more me getting shot at."
"That's inconvenient for you. Here, I think you'll like it. It's a Perrazi. The Italians can't fight worth a damn, but making guns, that's another matter."
He handed me his shotgun and picked up a second that was lying on the table to his side. I snapped the breach closed.
"Here we go," he said and tapped a remote control under the table with his foot. Two clay pigeons flew across the sky. I shot and my pigeon disintegrated just as Dedrick obliterated the second. The ducks took off, protesting wildly at our temerity.
"You've shot before," he observed.
"Not with a shotgun and not at targets."
"Army?"
"Laser-tag."
"Ah huh."
"Was Kyle at the cabin that Thanksgiving weekend when Ashley Hunter died, Mr. King?"
Dedrick opened the breach and the empty shells joined the pile on the wet grass. "You don't beat around the bush do you?"
"Would that help?"
"No. You would still get the same answer. Read the police report."
"What about if I said I had a photo that put him up there that weekend?"
"Then I would say you should be very careful about who you tell that to. Don't you agree?"
"Is that a threat?"
Two more clay pigeons flew across the sky. We both lifted, shot and reloaded.
"No. Just advice. It's not me you should be scared of."
"You're saying I should be scared of your son?"
"Mr. Tanner, you look like a good man. You will achieve nothing by following this path. Save yourself the heartache and forget about that weekend."
"Is that what you did? Did you just forget about Ashley Hunter?"
He turned to me and said with absolute conviction, "Mr. Tanner, there's never been a day go by that I haven't thought of Ashley Hunter."
I paused, surprised. I sensed real regret and sadness in his voice.
"I understand Kyle and Ashley went on a date two weeks before her death. Did something happen on that date that caused friction between Kyle and Ashley? Was Kyle angry at Ashley?"
"You couldn't be further from the truth, Mr. Tanner. When I heard Kyle had gone on a date with Ashley I stepped in. I had strong political ambitions for Kyle and, to be successful in politics, you need the right woman by your side. Ashley was a fantastic girl, but she came from the wrong kind of background to help Kyle. So Kyle wasn't angry at Ashley at all. If anything, he was angry at me for breaking them up."
"Didn't your parents do the same to you and Tammy Hunter?"
Dedrick looked at me, surprised. "You get around."
"Were you angry when they told you not to see Tammy Hunter?"
"That was a long time ago, Mr. Tanner. I suppose I was. The young feel everything very strongly, don't they?"
"You must have been very jealous when Tammy married Henry? Did you still love her?"
Dedrick ignored me and fired at two more clay pigeons. He missed both. He gazed across the lake and sighed. "Do you remember your first love, Mr. Tanner?"
How could I not? Liz.
"I can see you do. Well then, you know it's not something you ever really get over. It's always with you. Even though you move on and fall in love and have a family and a career, it is always there. But it's not something you can ever go back to or have over again. It's like your childhood. You might have idyllic memories of it but you know you can never relive it."
"Did Kyle love Ashley?"
"God, I hope not."
"Why's that?"
"To lose someone the way Ashley died would be shattering if you loved her, wouldn't it?"
I nodded agreement but felt unsure, like I'd missed something important.
"Then, why don't you want the truth to come out?"
"Mr. Tanner, truth is over-rated. It often hurts more people than it helps."
"What is the truth? Was Kyle in the cabin? Did the boys do something to Ashley Hunter? Did you fly up and steal Kyle away in your helicopter? What is the damn truth?"
Dedrick laid his gun gently down on the table.
"Mr. Tanner, you were in the Army. I can tell by just looking at you that you have seen combat. Did you come home and tell your family the truth? Truth can be a monster, best not spoken about, brutal, ugly, and dangerous. I am sure there are truths you would rather keep hidden. There are some that should always be kept hidden."
Dedrick turned his back on me and started to walk towards the gravel path. "Go home, Mr. Tanner. Spend time with your loved ones. Enjoy your life. That's what's important, not the past."
"Is that what Ashley's mother, Tammy, would think?" I called out. "You went out with her in college, didn't you? Did you love her? Don't you think you owe her the truth? Don't you think she wants the truth to come out?"
Dedrick stopped in his tracks, facing away from me. He stood still for a long time and never turned around, even when he spoke.
"Tammy wants the truth to come out even less than I do," he said, and continues along the path.
CHAPTER 57
"He confessed," said Fulton.
Bear and I were sitting in Fulton's office the next morning. The walls were covered with many of the same crime scene photos that adorned my Winnebago.
"He admitted to all the killings?" Bear said.
"He didn't have much choice after what you found in his house, did he? It was as good as catching him standing over a body with a bloody scalpel still in his hand. Bensen almost wet himself when he saw what was in there. I think he saw a ticker tape parade leading right to the governor's mansion."
I didn't care about that. All I cared about was Cupid. "What did he say?"
"Have a look yourself." Fulton turned his computer console around and clicked on a video file. We were looking at Father Bailey sitting at a table across from Bensen and Graves.
"Where's his lawyer?" said Bear.
"He didn't want one." Fulton shrugged. "Perry Mason couldn't help him with the evidence we've got. Here, listen."
"Father Bailey, can you tell me what is buried in your basement?" Bensen was saying.
"Angels...angels," the priest whispered.
"By angels do you mean children?"
"I didn't mean to. I couldn't help it."
Bailey leaned on the table, continually clasping and unclasping his hands.
"Couldn't help what? Killing them?"
"They all died. I know it was wrong."
"So you admit you killed them?"
"Yes, I killed my angel." He swayed from side to side and dug his fingernails into the back of his hand. "There was blood everywhere. I was covered in blood. I don't know why I did it. It was the devil inside me. That's what it was, the devil."
"Yeah, sure. The devil. And how many angel
s...children did you bury in the basement?"
"Too many. Too many. I had to bury them. They were hurt."
"How many?"
"I don't know. My book, my book, I want my book."
"Your Bible is now evidence, Father, so you can't have it. Did you circle a passage in your Bible before you killed each girl?"
"The Bible says thou shall not kill."
"Yeah, well how's that working out for you?" Graves' his voice was thick with anger.
Bensen put a hand on Graves' arm. "What were the girl's names, Father?" he said. "Surely you would want their parents to know? It would be a real kindness to tell them, don't you think?"
Father Bailey slowly raised his head. "Yes. They should know. They could pray for their souls."
"I'm glad you think so, Father. Tell me their names."
Bailey's eyes flickered.
"Anna was at Christmas." He looked at Bensen proudly. "I remember because it was so cold. The ground was hard."
"What was her last name, Father?"
Bailey shook his head. "Mary. There was a Mary. Oh, and one was Lisa or Leah or something like that. I don't remember as well as I used to. They're all in the book. Look at the book."
"Yeah, we checked your Bible and there are eight passages circled," said Graves. "Eight kids and you can't remember even one of their full names?"
"Jesus Fernandez." He glanced up, smiling proudly. "See, I can remember."
Graves sat back disgustedly. "That's fucking fantastic. Well done."
"Graves," Bensen warned. "Well done, Father. That's great. That's a real help."
"We found your clerical clothes, Father. All eight of them," said Graves.
"I had to buy new ones. They're very expensive you know. How could I forget?"
Graves closed his eyes for a moment. "You wore different clothing each time you killed, didn't you?"
"Priests are God's messengers. Did you know that?"
"And what's the message you were delivering? Thou shall kill?"
"I didn't mean to."
"Why did you place the girls' hearts in the men's bodies, Father?" said Bensen. "Why did you kill all those men?"
Father Bailey put his head in his hands. His body shook. "What? I don't know. I don't know."