Deadly Stakes

by Ivy Dawson

  “Makes sense,” Shae nodded slowly. Mark gave her an incredulous look, and she shook her head slightly. His shoulders relaxed and he looked back at Serenity.

  “Why do you say that you think Trinity was pregnant?” Mark asked.

  “My parents wouldn’t have taken them in without a very good reason,” Serenity said, sniffing as more tears fell down her face, “but she lost the baby. I think. I can’t be sure, because no one spoke to me about what happened. I was away at summer camp. I was a counselor that year. We were supposed to be together at camp.”

  “I’m sorry,” Shae said sincerely. “I know this can’t be easy.”

  “It isn’t,” Serenity agreed, “but it’s worth it if you arrest that man. She was never the same. I think she stopped loving him when she lost the baby. She was so young. Only eighteen.”

  “We all did stupid things when we were eighteen,” Mark said, sounding almost like he was trying to comfort Serenity.

  Shae gave him a supportive smile, but he didn’t look at her. She wondered why he worked so hard to hide the best parts of himself.

  “Yeah, well, Trinity’s stupid choices ruined her life,” Serenity said angrily. “No one should have to pay the way she did.”

  Chapter 4

  “There’s one more thing,” Serenity said as she got up to leave, “I found these in his bags. That’s why we were fighting so much today. He caught me going through some of his things.”

  She slid a small bundle of papers toward Shae and Mark. He reached for it first, ignoring Shae as she also reached out. She had to remind herself that she wanted them to get along. At least until all this was over, then she’d go back to hating him. They got more accomplished when they worked together than when they were fighting. Trinity deserved her efforts, even if Mark didn’t.

  “Life insurance,” Mark told her, reading through the documents. “They also cover her in the case of accidental death, like her dying from her peanut allergy.”

  “Now that’s something we can use,” Shae said appreciatively. “How much is it worth?”

  “A hundred thousand dollars,” Mark said, whistling slightly. “You Americans and your life insurance. Do you pay monthly for something like this?”

  “That’s a lot of money,” Shae said, raising her eyebrows and ignoring Mark’s inflammatory comment. He was just trying to rile her up, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting.

  “Enough to pay off all his gambling debts,” Serenity said helpfully. “He really went all out. And this is a recent thing, because she would’ve told me if he took it out earlier. Really, she should’ve been the one to take out life insurance on him.”

  “It sounds like she would’ve found help to get rid of him,” Mark commented, raising his eyebrows at Serenity.

  “She would’ve,” Serenity said resolutely. “I didn’t kill my sister. If anything, I would’ve helped her kill him.”

  “Thanks for your honesty,” Shae said awkwardly, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably.

  “Are you going to call him in now?” Serenity asked eagerly. “Can I be here when you question him?”

  “We wouldn’t get anything done if we let you do that,” Mark grumbled.

  “No, I’m sorry, but that has to be private. We’ll keep you updated, though,” Shae assured her. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

  Serenity nodded despite being obviously disappointed and walked out. Shae sighed and leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms.

  “That was intense,” she said, shaking her head slightly.

  “I don’t think we can trust her,” Mark admitted, looking at the door thoughtfully.

  “I know, she was too quick and eager to pin everything on Tony. I don’t think she’s thinking rationally. Her sister just died, so she must be going through a lot.”

  “Wow, that’s an understatement.”

  Shae was about to snap at him when she realized that he was joking with her. She let out an amused breath and smiled at him. He seemed a little proud of his joke and straightened the life insurance papers.

  “Should we call Tony in?” she asked.

  “I was thinking we should talk to Caleb first,” Mark said. “We can see if his story matches Serenity’s. If Tony is guilty, then we’ll have a lot more evidence when we talk to him.”

  “That’s a good point,” Shae said in surprise.

  “I’m quite clever,” Mark said, insulted by her surprise.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…” but Mark was already walking out of the room. Shae let out an annoyed breath and shook her head at herself. Why did she have to go and ruin all the progress that they made?

  A few minutes later, he stomped into the room, bringing Caleb with him. Shae tried to make eye contact with Mark, but he refused to look her way. She gave up and looked at Caleb instead.

  The man was handsome, with an earnest attitude that probably wreaked havoc in his small-town church. She felt sorry for all the women who were probably in love with him. With a face like that, most of them probably weren’t paying that much attention to his sermons. She wondered if he had any effect on Trinity.

  “When I asked you to look into this, I didn’t think you’d find a reason to lock me up,” he admitted as he sat down.

  “You got what you wanted, didn’t you?” Mark pointed out. “It’s not our fault if our investigation leads us to you. If you have nothing to hide, then this will go quickly. If not, then you might as well confess now.”

  “This will go quickly,” Caleb said with a shrug. “I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “We just spoke to Serenity,” Shae said quickly, wanting to get a word in before Mark started taking over the conversation. “Could you tell us a little more about Trinity? How long did you know her?”

  “Well, I started in Paradise Valley about five years ago. She and her family were always at the church, so we got to know each other pretty well.”

  “What did you think about her?” Shae asked.

  “I thought she was lost,” Caleb admitted heavily, looking sad as he spoke about her. “She was so full of life and energy but didn’t really know what to do with it all. I mean, there’s a lot of work to be done at the church, but there’s only so much, you know?”

  “You’re saying she was very involved in the church’s affairs?” Mark asked.

  “Yeah,” Caleb nodded. “Every fair, every fundraiser, she was there. And then every Sunday. She asked to do more, but there wasn’t much else. He grandmother already does all my paperwork. I’m afraid that Paradise Valley was just too small for someone like Trinity.”

  “It sounds like you’ve thought a lot about her situation,” Mark commented, looking up from his notes. He looked at Caleb suspiciously from under his brow.

  “She’s a part of my congregation,” Caleb said, looking scandalized. “I need to know the needs of each person. It’s my responsibility.”

  “Do you really think that much about everyone else in your church?” Mark asked incredulously.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Caleb said with a frown.

  “I think you were more interested in Trinity than you should’ve been,” Mark said without batting an eye. His words caused Caleb to blush bright red, and Shae elbowed Mark lightly. This didn’t sit well with Mark, and he turned to glare at her. “It’s a reasonable theory. Trinity was an uncommonly beautiful woman.”

  “So is Serenity,” Caleb said coldly, “and she isn’t married. Why aren’t you accusing me of paying too much attention to her?”

  “She’s not very interesting,” Mark pointed out, leaning back in his chair with a self-satisfied smirk. “but Trinity, wow, what a woman. She’s interesting, you’ve got a lot in common. She’s always at the church, and you find yourself looking at her more than you should. You think about her when she’s not around. You know you mustn’t, but you can’t help it. You fall for her. Hard. There’s just one problem, she’s married to gambler.”

  “Trinity was a spe
cial woman,” Caleb said, his voice still icy, “but she was married. In my eyes, divorce is one of the worst sins. It was impossible.”

  “But you thought of it,” Mark said triumphantly, “and you even thought of all the ways that she could possibly be free. What about death? That makes a woman available.”

  “Not a dead woman,” Shae pointed out.

  “Maybe he poisoned the wrong person by accident,” Mark suggested. “Then he hides the poison in Tony’s room. He can’t have Trinity anymore, so he wants to punish the man who got her before he could. Then he makes a big stink so that we go search the room.”

  Shae turned to look at Caleb and was surprised to find that he was smiling. He shook his head in amusement, causing Mark to frown angrily.

  “No,” Caleb said with a chuckle, “no. I didn’t kill Trinity.”

  “You did have feelings for her, though,” Shae said softly, causing Caleb to stop smiling.

  “I don’t see what this has to do with anything,” his voice was distressed, and he sounded deeply ashamed of himself.

  “Every little thing matters in a case like this,” Shae told him apologetically. “Feelings turn into motive. Coincidence becomes a clue, and sometimes it’s the strangest things that break the whole case wide open.”

  She could hear her father telling her this. He’d always come up with strange little sayings to tell her. When she was young, she thought it because he had a lyrical way of speaking. As she got older, she realized it was because he spent so much time alone.

  “I’d do anything to help you solve this,” Caleb admitted. “So, yes. I had feelings for her. I tried to ignore them, but it just made things worse. Look, I believe what I said earlier. Divorce is a sin. It’s one of the worst sins imaginable. Besides, imagine what would happen if I married a divorcee? I liked her, but I couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “Do you know how she felt about you?” Shae asked.

  “I think she liked me too,” Caleb said, sounding slightly proud of the fact, “but she knew how I felt. I have to admire her for that. She never put me in an awkward position. I appreciated that. Sometimes, people let their feelings get the better of them and then I end up in trouble. It’s always a mess.”

  “Excuse me,” Mark said, sounding offended. “Why are we just dismissing my theory?”

  “He wouldn’t ask her to divorce her husband because it’s a sin,” Shae said with a deadpan tone. “Now you’re suggesting that he killed someone. I mean, isn’t murder worse?”

  “It is,” Caleb nodded solemnly.

  “Oh, shut up,” Mark snapped, leaning back in his chair. Shae shook her head at his behavior and turned back to Caleb.

  “What about Tony?” Shae asked. “What was your impression of their relationship?”

  “I think Tony loved her more than she loved him,” Caleb said. “This isn’t just my own feelings talking. You should’ve seen the way they acted. He was always affectionate, but she was always pushing him away. I think she was disappointed in him.”

  “Do you think she was disappointed because of the gambling?” Shae asked, frowning slightly. “I know someone thought that he might’ve been abusive too.”

  “Did Serenity say that?” Caleb asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “No. I don’t think he hit her. Like I said, he adored her. I don’t know if it was the gambling. I know it could’ve been part of the reason, but I think it was more than that.”

  “What do you mean?” Mark asked, still sulking petulantly. He had the habit of pretending like he wasn’t interested, but then asking questions when he couldn’t pretend anymore.

  “I think that they got married too young,” Caleb admitted. “Tony is a little older than her, so he knew what he wanted. But Trinity was just a kid. I don’t think she was happy with her choices anymore. He wasn’t what she wanted anymore. I think she wanted a stable life, with a bunch of kids and a white-picket fence. She wanted more than he could give her.”

  “Why didn’t she just leave him?” Shae asked. “Sorry, I know you don’t approve of divorce.”

  “I don’t,” Caleb said firmly. “I think it’s sad that she made the decision, but she had to live with the consequences. Tony isn’t perfect, but I think she should’ve worked harder to make it work. He was trying, and she didn’t want to anymore. She might not have divorced him, but she left that marriage behind a long time ago.”

  “That’s what we mean,” Shae said, “if she already left mentally, why didn’t she leave physically? She wasn’t willing to work it out, so why did she stay?”

  “I don’t think she had anywhere to go,” Caleb said, shrugging. “She’s lived in Paradise Valley her whole life. She never left, except for that time she ran away. It’s the only life she ever knew, and I think she was too scared to leave it all behind.”

  Chapter 5

  “This is the best time to look through their rooms,” Mark said, opening the door and leaving it open behind him. He struggled with his plastic surgical gloves as he walked, while Shae slid them on without a problem. She quickly walked through the door before he slammed it in her face.

  Tony had been furious when they tried to talk to him. He was yelling and pacing in his cell, so they decided to deal with him when he’d calmed down a bit. Shae wasn’t sure if he’d ever calm down, but she didn’t have the patience to handle him at that moment. The general consensus was that he’d killed his wife, and the way he was acting wasn’t helping his case.

  “I’ll take the living room and bathroom,” he said, not leaving any room for argument. She didn’t say anything and walked into the bedroom. Her phone vibrated, and she smiled when she saw it was a message from Jax. She told him what they were doing, then put her phone away and looked at the room.

  It was a mess. The blinds weren’t drawn yet, so a little light filtered into the dirty room, making it look eerie and sad. She carefully stepped over a pile of clothes, not wanting to disturb anything. The cupboard was open and overflowing with clothes, even though the couple couldn’t have been there for more than a week.

  A heavy smell hung over the room. It was so thick she could taste it. It was a mix of sweat, musty clothes and a sweet perfume. The smell made her eyes water, and she had to cover her nose and mouth with her sleeve. Mark wouldn’t see the smell as a good enough excuse to leave the room.

  She noticed that the clothes all belonged to Tony. Trinity’s bag was propped open, but all the clothes were packed neatly. Tony’s side of the bed, she could see his slippers from where he’d left them, was messy and wrinkled, while Trinity’s side was made impeccably. The differences in their personality were evident in the way they lived.

  Shae walked over to Trinity’s side and noticed there was a gold locket on her bedside table. She picked it up and opened it. Inside, a younger Tony and Trinity were laughing. Tony looked down lovingly at his wife while she laughed at something. The way Tony was looking at her would’ve made any woman fall in love. He was also very handsome. The years hadn’t been kind to him. Only a shadow of his former looks remained.

  A pang of sadness went through her. The faces in the locket looked so carefree, they didn’t know what their lives would end up like.

  “Did you find anything in there?” Mark called, snapping her out of her melancholy thoughts.

  “Not yet,” she said, rolling her eyes at him just because she could. She walked over to Tony’s side, picking up articles of clothing and shaking them out to see if anything came out. When she got to his suitcase, she noticed that it was old and falling apart.

  Anything could’ve been hidden in the various tears in the material. Shae grimaced but started feeling around to see if she could find anything. Her hand closed around a box, and she struggled to pull it out of the torn material.

  Finally, she wrestled it free and looked down at the small wooden box. She opened the lid and shook her head in confusion. It was only after she took out each article in the box that she understood what she’d found.

  �
�Mark,” she called hesitantly, taking each piece out again just to make sure she wasn’t overreacting. “I think I found something.”

  “You think?” he asked, his voice muffled. “Why aren’t you sure?”

  “Get in here,” she barked, finally losing patience with him. He sighed loudly, and took his time getting to the room.

  “What is it?” he asked in annoyance.

  “Look, I found this in his bag.”

  He held out his hand and snapped his fingers at her. The action didn’t endear him to her, and she struggled not to throw the box at his face. It wouldn’t help matters, but she smiled happily as she imagined the box smacking him in the face, and the reaction afterwards.

  He opened it and frowned. He took out a tube, then the needle. His eyes widened as he looked at the plunger. His eyes gleamed victoriously when he saw the bottle of sugary flavoring.

  “He’s an idiot,” Mark said happily. “Our job is finished, come on. Let’s go catch him in his lies.”

  “Do you think it will be enough to get him to talk?” Shae asked hesitantly, getting up to follow after him.

  “It’s a poison kit,” he said, holding the box close to his chest as if he expected someone to run past and snatch it away. “We’ve got proof that he killed his wife now.”

  “This whole time we thought it was something she ate,” Shae said thoughtfully. “He must’ve used the syringe and flavoring to put the poison into her drink. I wonder what she drank at the bar. Maybe we should ask Dr. Zooberg to test if there’s any poison residue left?”

  “Yes,” he nodded and snapped his fingers again. It was an annoying habit and Shae wished that he’d stop doing it. “That’s smart. Go leave the box with him, and I’ll go tell the captain what’s happening. We can meet at the jail in about two hours.”

  “I don’t think it’s going to take that long,” Shae said incredulously.