by Kay Bigelow
“Yes, ma’am?”
“We need to interview Martin before we can leave. Take the lead. You’re good at this.”
“Thanks,” Peony said with a grin.
They headed to the interview room, and Leah was glad Peony was taking the lead. She was exhausted, physically and mentally, and she just wanted this to be over. Before entering the interview room, Leah said, “Recording on. Lieutenant Leah Samuels and Detective Peony Fong conducting the interview of Frank Martin, who has been read his rights and declined representation at this time.”
“It’s about fuckin’ time you got here,” Martin said belligerently as he stood up.
“Sit down,” Leah said firmly.
When Martin remained standing, Leah took a step toward him. He quickly retook his seat.
“I’m Lieutenant Samuels and this is Detective Fong. We’ve got a few questions to ask you. Before you say anything, let me tell you Preata has told us that killing the girls and the bishop was all your idea.” Leah hoped that by jumping to the meat of the matter, they’d forestall his request for an attorney.
She was rewarded when he said, “He’s a lying sack of Drularian dog shit.”
Peony sat in the chair across the table from Martin.
“What do you mean?” Peony asked.
For the next half hour, Martin implicated not only Preata but himself as well. Peony remained calm and exuded innocence and sweetness throughout the gruesome testimony. He confirmed Preata had killed the bishop when he said he couldn’t do it because he was a “man of God.”
“Mr. Martin, how did you kill those women?” Leah asked when Peony didn’t.
“I told you. I put them into the chipper,” he said wearily.
“They were still alive when you fed them into the chipper?”
“What do you think I am? Some kind of monster?” He looked at her incredulously.
Leah raised an eyebrow and returned the look. “Let’s see. You killed thirteen young women and you wonder why we might think you’re a monster?”
“I’m not a monster. I was only saving my daughter from spending eternity in hell.”
“So you fed them into the chipper to save them?” Peony’s voice was soft, her tactic of innocence working well.
He nodded emphatically. “Not the others, only my daughter.”
“Why kill the others?” Leah asked, and received Martin’s glare.
“They were corrupting my daughter,” Martin said as if Leah were incredibly stupid. “I couldn’t leave them alive to corrupt other women.”
“Okay. You were saving your daughter. How’d you kill them?” Leah asked. Hurry up, you crazy bastard. I want to go home.
“It was easy. They were so stupid. What else could you expect? They were only bitches.”
“Tell me how you did it, Martin,” Leah told him as she tried to maintain a hold on her temper.
“I watched them all arrive. When they started that chanting shit, I went into the field and called them over to me.”
“They went to you willingly?” Leah asked.
“Like sheep to the slaughter.”
“Why?”
“I had hot chocolate with me.”
“And?”
“And by the time I poured the last cup of hot chocolate, the first woman in line was dead. They fell like those black tiles people set up. When the first one falls over, the others fall in order. That’s what those bitches did. But by the time they noticed the early ones falling, it was too late for the rest.”
“What did you put in the hot chocolate?” Leah asked.
“Treebegone. The city gives me gallons of it. I keep the stuff in my truck and on the chipper.”
“What is Treebegone?”
“It’s stump poison,” Martin told her like she was an idiot for not knowing.
“You fed tree stump poison to thirteen young women?” Peony asked incredulously.
“Yeah. Pretty clever, wasn’t it? After that, it was easy. I fed those bitches into the chipper.”
“How did the bishop get into the chipper?”
“After Preata killed him, he told me to put him into the chipper with the women. Then I sprayed their bits and pieces all over the field they were doing their devil worshipping in. That’ll teach others not to turn away from God, and show women their places.” He leaned back, looking proud, smug, and satisfied.
Leah had heard enough. She left the interrogation room followed by Peony, who looked far less enthusiastic than when they’d entered the room.
Nikki met them outside the interview room. “He’s a real shit. By the way, the media’s been alerted, probably by the archdiocese’s attorney or one of the uniforms I sent to assist you. He’ll be directing traffic at midnight in Dinali Square if I find out who he is.”
“I was followed a lot during this case. I don’t know if it was Grandini’s people or cops. If there’s a difference. Also, I’d have a good look at the commissioner. I don’t know if she’s in this, but something was definitely up with that. I doubt you’ll find anything you can pin on her, but it’s worth keeping an eye on her.” Leah’s phone rang. “Yeah.”
“Leah, it’s Scotty. I’ve got some good news for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Remember that piece of skull I told you I found?”
“Yeah.”
“It definitely belonged to the bishop. I’ve confirmed the hole in the skull is definitely a bullet hole. Or to be precise, half a bullet hole.”
“Thanks, Scotty. I think we have the gun that inflicted the hole. I’ll have it sent over to ballistics for a match.”
Leah turned back to Nikki.
“Scotty’s found a piece of skull with a partial bullet hole in it. I told Scotty we’d send Preata’s gun over to ballistics to make sure. And since Preata confessed to Quinn’s murder, too, I bet the gun matches the bullet…” Leah couldn’t force out the word skull. “From her case, too.”
“Good. I’d love to see that arrogant asshole go all the way down,” Nikki said. “You know the media outside is only the beginning of the media frenzy over this, don’t you?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m going to slip out the back door.” Leah didn’t know where she was going to go, but she wanted to get away for a while.
“No fair. It’s not nice to leave me alone with them,” Nikki teased her gently.
“I’m tired and hungry, and my face is oozing. I’m leaving.”
“Me, too.” Peony stretched. “I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed.”
“All right. Leah, my offer still stands.”
“I’ll think about it.” She had a lot to think about, but she needed space to do it.
“That’s all I’m asking.”
“She offered you a job here?” Peony asked.
“Yeah. You, too, if you want it.”
“What’d you tell her?”
“I told her I’d think about it. This would be a good place for you to work. It’s an honest shop.”
“I’ll think about it,” Peony said with a smile.
“Call Cots and tell him to come get us,” Leah said.
“He’s waiting for us in the rear parking lot,” Peony said. When Leah gave her a questioning look, Peony shrugged. “He said he didn’t want us to have to wait around.”
“I’m starved. What shall we have for dinner?” Leah asked, not wanting to talk about the case or her career or the future yet. And she didn’t want to think about Quinn because her heart was breaking and her emotions were sitting close to the edge of the chasm, and she didn’t want to cry until she was alone. They stopped at a diner, and it felt strange to not be looking over her shoulder or worried about being seen. Peony filled Cots in about the interviews, and he listened gravely. When she told him about Quinn’s murder he looked at Leah, who shook her head to say she didn’t know what it meant.
After dinner, Cots dropped Leah off at her apartment. When she walked in, the silence was overwhelming. She felt the emptiness pressing i
n on her. She’d been alone in the apartment when Quinn traveled on business, but then she knew Quinn would return. Now, though, she wouldn’t be returning—ever. That knowledge was devastating.
She couldn’t stay in the apartment where she and Quinn had lived for the five years they’d been married. She packed a bag and returned to the condo. While it, too, felt empty, it wasn’t oppressive.
She took a shower and went to bed. She hoped she would get some sleep so she wouldn’t have to think about what she was going to do next. Or about Quinn.
Chapter Twenty
The next morning, after another restless and mostly sleepless night for Leah, her team gathered in the kitchen once more. She wasn’t surprised they’d come back to the condo, too. So much had happened, and she wondered if Cots felt as lost as she did. Cots fixed breakfast. As they ate, they talked about the weather.
After the breakfast dishes were put into the cleaner, they moved into the living room. “I need to tell you something. I’ve decided to resign from the police force,” Leah said.
Cots and Peony said nothing. It was as if they couldn’t decide whether they’d really heard her say she was resigning. Leah waited for them to recover their wits.
“But why, Boss?” Peony asked.
“I’ve put my twenty years in, for one thing. For another, it will come out that Quinn and I were married. While I’ve found out several more people knew about my marriage, and I didn’t know they knew, they’re all cops. When the public finds out about the marriage and Quinn’s ties to the Grandini family, there will be a hue and cry for my head. To be honest, I don’t want to face that. I just want to be left alone to deal with my grief and feelings of betrayal. I don’t want to be the center of a media feeding frenzy.”
“Will you regret resigning in a week?” Cots asked.
Leah smiled. “No. I’ve given it a lot of thought. I’m comfortable with the decision and am even relieved to be doing it.”
“Do you know what you’ll be doing next?” Peony asked.
“No. I need some serious downtime to figure that out.”
“When are you going to hand in your resignation?”
“Now. I’m going to deliver it to the captain’s office this morning.”
“Can I come with you?” Cots asked.
“Me, too,” Peony said.
“You don’t have to come with me. I can handle this,” Leah said, incredibly touched by their show of support.
“Yeah, we know. But it would be nice to get out into the sunshine even for a little while,” Peony said.
“Okay. We’ll make one last field trip.”
Once in the van, Cots asked, “Where do we go?”
“Good question,” Leah said, not having gotten that far in her thinking. Her old captain had been killed in the bombing of the Forty-fourth and she hadn’t officially been assigned a new captain. “Let’s go to Nikki’s precinct. I’m thinking any captain will do under the circumstances.”
After she left the envelope with her resignation in it with the desk sergeant, she returned to the van feeling much lighter than when she’d entered the building. On their way back to the condo, she decided she felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. That realization flooded her with relief. She was sure she’d made the right decision.
At the condo, they sat in the living room like they had dozens of times before. Cots looked like he had something to say but no idea how to say it.
“Just say it, Cots,” Leah said.
“Quinn was working with the Grandini family. She’d been their business front for maybe six years. She didn’t make any brilliant business decisions to get where she was. I mean, as it turns out, she was good at what she did, but she really got started when Stephan Grandini approached her to give the Grandini family a front person for buying property all over the city. She didn’t have any qualms about working with Stephan. She bought the real estate in her own name and eventually moved it into the Grandini-owned business months later. While she was helping out the Grandini family, she was also getting wealthy herself. With Stephan’s consent, of course.”
“So she didn’t sever her ties with the Grandinis when we met?” Leah asked. Deep down, she’d known as soon as Quinn had admitted Stephanie had a key to the apartment, but she hadn’t wanted to face it.
“No. In fact, it was the old man’s idea she marry you. And she continued to see Stephanie,” Cots said miserably. “I’m sorry, Leah. My first obligation was to Quinn, and even after I got to know you and wanted to tell you, I couldn’t. I told you as much as I could, and I felt guilty about it. But I thought you should know.”
“Why are you telling her this now?” Peony asked, looking perturbed.
“She deserves to know who she was really married to, number one. The real reason Quinn wanted to keep the marriage a secret was she’d be getting information she could pass on to first Stephan, and then when he died, to Stephanie, and there would be no suspicion it was coming from Quinn. Or from you, for that matter.” Cots turned his cup around and around in his hands, giving himself something to do other than look at Leah. “I think that note slipped under the door, pointing us to Grandini, was a power play. She wanted to see you face-to-face and know who her competition was, if she considered you that. She and Quinn were always playing childish games with each other.” He wiped tears away with the back of his hand. “Her decision to play games in the shadows cost Quinn her life.”
Leah felt hollow inside. None of it had been real. “Preata said Quinn was refusing to do what she was told. I wonder if she was trying to get out.”
Cots continued turning his cup around in his hands. “I don’t think we’ll ever know.” He looked up at Leah. “Just don’t ever blame yourself. Quinn knew what she was doing, and with whom. If they ever catch Grandini, maybe you can get more answers. But if you don’t, you should know I believe she did love you, in her own way.”
Leah nodded but wasn’t sure she agreed.
“And number two?” Peony asked. “You said number one. What’s reason number two?”
He looked up. “Number two is I really enjoyed working with you both. I’d like to continue to work with you if I can. And I want to continue to see Peony.”
Leah noticed Peony blushed a charming shade of pink.
“Cots, how do you know all this about Quinn?” Leah asked.
“I’ve known Quinn all my life. She was my sister.”
“Your sister?” Peony exclaimed.
“Yeah. When Quinn decided to immigrate here, my parents were elderly. They asked her to bring me here, too, and to keep an eye on me. As usual, they got it wrong. It was me who needed to keep an eye on Quinn,” Cots said. “But we never told anyone about our relationship, so it couldn’t be used against us. As far as anyone knew,” he smiled a little at Leah, “even you, I was just an old friend and bodyguard.”
“Thanks for telling me, Cots. I thought I was only being paranoid about Quinn,” Leah said.
“No. Everything you thought about her was true—the good and the bad.”
Leah wasn’t surprised at Cots’s confession. Her gut had already told her she was right about Quinn. She’d been beating herself up about not seeing it sooner. She still couldn’t believe she’d been so naïve as to believe Quinn had loved her. She reached across and touched Cots’s leg. “I’m sorry you lost your sister.” Their relationships with Quinn had been complicated, but that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt over her being gone.
“Just answer one more question for me,” Leah said.
“Sure. Ask away.”
“Why did you choose the name Cotsworthy when you came here?”
Peony snorted tea up her nose, and Cots looked decidedly uncomfortable.
“I didn’t know a lot of English. So when we were told we’d have to choose English names, I couldn’t find anything I liked. So when push came to shove I told the authorities I wanted to be called Cotsworthy because to me it sounded very British. I thought the Brits wer
e supposed to be classier humans.”
While Leah hadn’t really given his name a lot of thought, she was surprised by how he had chosen it and amused no end because she’d always assumed he’d taken his time to find just the right name for himself. She sensed he wouldn’t want to be teased by his lack of knowledge of his new country or laughed at, so she kept her amusement to herself.
While Cots began dismantling the murder board, Leah went to stand in front of the window. As she looked out over their street, it began snowing again. She knew her ability to trust had been severely trampled on. Only the two people in the room with her had her trust now. She squared her shoulders and turned to face them.
“Our part of the case is at an end. It’s up to the attorneys now. We’ll probably be called to testify, but we’re officially off duty.”
“What will you be doing now with all your leisure time?” Cots asked.
“Since I found out about Quinn, I don’t, and won’t, know who to trust. For instance, I’ve known Nikki since we were kids and have never questioned that she had my back, but I found myself questioning her motives yesterday. I don’t want to live like that.” Leah felt like her world was in free fall, a gray mass of confusion.
“I’m really sorry Quinn is responsible for your doubts and destroying your ability to trust. But I understand how it could happen,” Cots said. “She was like that.”
“I’m not sure I want to give Quinn that kind of credit. This has been coming for a long time. Quinn may have been a catalyst, nothing more.” Though Quinn’s betrayal hurt, Leah knew what she said was true.
“Sounds like you need to take some serious time off to figure out what you want,” Cots said.
“I also need to deal with my feelings about Quinn. I feel like my world has been turned upside down, and I need to get it righted again before I decide what to do with the rest of my life.”
“Look, I’ve got an idea,” Peony said. “Don’t laugh until you’ve heard me out, okay?”
Cots and Leah nodded.
“Have either of you ever been to Xing?”