Mirror Image: A Catrina Flaherty Mystery (Catrina Flaherty Mysteries Book 1)

by Pendelton C. Wallace

  She pulled into the driveway of the well-manicured house overlooking Puget Sound at break neck speed and slammed on the breaks. She was out the door before the Explorer's engine had quite finished turning over.

  Mandy met her at the door, dressed neatly in her usual pretty flower covered dress, but she wore no makeup and instead of her usual pumps, she still wore bunny slippers. Her eyes were rimmed in red and her brown hair hung loosely around her tear stained face. Mandy practically dragged Catrina into the house. What neither woman noticed was a dark Ford Crown Victoria parked across the street and two houses down with a man sitting behind the wheel.

  "Do you have your bag packed?"

  "I. . . I couldn't do anything. I'm sorry, Cat. Maybe I'm being too hasty." Mandy dropped onto the white leather sofa and broke down in tears.

  "Mandy. . ." Catrina gently put a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "We may not have much time. Let's get going. Where's your bag. I'll pack it."

  Mandy pointed towards the staircase. "In the bedroom."

  Catrina dashed up the stairs and through the door to the master bedroom. Everything neat and in its place, there was no sign of what happened here last night. Catrina searched through the closet until she found a large duffle bag.

  "I stole these." Mandy stood in the door with a pair of lacy black panties on her finger, her voice barely above a whisper. "I thought we could get a DNA match if we needed it."

  Catrina stood and looked at her client, stunned. This girl has more going on up stairs that I gave her credit for. "Good thinking. How did you ever come up with that?"

  "I'm a policeman's wife. I hear all about the cases his department's working on. I saved semen samples from all of the men he made me screw. They're labeled and dated and hidden in a fruit bar box in the freezer."

  Catrina stood open-jawed. Finally she was able to speak. "And he said you were dumb?" Maybe we can get her out of this bastard's grasp. "You've got the evidence to land him in prison."

  That broke the spell. Mandy went into action helping Catrina pack her duffle bag. They went to the kids' rooms and packed a few clothes and some favorite toys.

  They were in high gear. Catrina dashed down the stairs with Mandy right behind her. Catrina stopped in her tracks when the front door opened. Mandy ran head long into her.

  "Dwayne!" Mandy gasped.

  Standing in the doorway was a uniformed police officer with four stars on each collar. He was at least six foot one. His broad shoulders and slim hips indicated he was in prime shape.

  Catrina quickly calculated her chances. Fight or flight?

  "What's going on here?" Dwayne's eyes blazed with anger. "Who's she?"

  "This is my friend Catrina. She runs the second hand store in town." Mandy didn't hesitate. "She's helping me pack some donations."

  "Bullshit. Let me see those bags."

  Catrina held the kids' bags behind her and backed away. Dwayne grabbed Mandy's bag.

  "You lying slut." He backhanded Mandy and sent her flying to the floor.

  "Stop." Catrina stepped between the police chief and his wife. "Leave her alone."

  "And what have we here? Another one of her slut friends." Dwayne moved close enough that the smell of coffee and sweat overwhelmed Catrina.

  "Just let us pass," Catrina used her command voice. "We walk out of here and no one has to get hurt."

  Dwayne laughed. The deep rumble seemed to come from far, far away.

  "You expect me to let my wife just waltz out of here with some lesbo feminist activist whore? You're lying. You're both lying. I get paid to know when people are telling the truth and this ain't it. What're you hiding?"

  Dwayne reached for Catrina's bags. She turned away to protect the bags.

  "I said give them to me." Dwayne lunged for her.

  Catrina lithely spun away.

  "Well, well. A spunky one." Dwayne stopped and looked Catrina up and down, undressing her with his eyes. "Not bad looking for an old bitch. Maybe a few extra pounds here and there, but altogether, not bad." He reached towards her face.

  Catrina dropped her bags and knocked his hand away. "We've already got you on spousal abuse. Don't add assault or rape to it."

  "You don't know what you're dealing with, do you? I own this town. The DA only brings the cases I tell him to. Do you think he'd take your word over my wife's and mine?" He reached out and ripped Catrina's blue denim work shirt open.

  Catrina grabbed at her shirt to cover up.

  "Nice rack baby." He reached for her breasts. "I'm going to enjoy this."

  Catrina danced back a step and planted a front kick square in Dwayne's chest. He stumbled backwards and fell over the coffee table, smashing it in the process.

  "This just keeps getting better." Dwayne smiled, then jumped to his feed and rushed for Catrina like a charging bull.

  She ducked under his lunge like a matador and her hand came in contact with something round and smooth on the floor.

  He was more agile than she expected. He spun and came back for her. This time, she met him with the table leg. She stepped into his attack and swung the leg like a baseball bat. He noticed too late. The leg made a sickening crunch as it came in contact with his temple. His head snapped back and crashed into the wall. He slithered to the floor.

  "Dwayne!" Mandy screamed and dashed to her husband's side. "Is he. . ." She grabbed him and hugged him.

  "No." Catrina pulled Mandy off of her husband. "He's still breathing. Come on, let's get out of here before he comes to."

  Catrina tied the tail of her tattered shirt to cover herself as best she could. Both women picked up their bags and headed for the door. Dwayne issued a low moan and Catrina turned back to him. She took a few steps until she was standing with one booted foot on each side of his head. "Don't you ever touch me again," she whispered. "So help me, I'll kill you next time."

  Dwayne issued a low groan. Catrina turned and walked away.

  ****

  The upscale school matched the upscale neighborhood. A red brick building with acres of lawn, trimmed trees and spring flowers, this was where Catrina would find Mandy's kids. Mandy sat like a zombie in the passenger seat of Catrina's Explorer, while Catrina pulled into the parking lot. Mandy had not spoken a single word since they left Dwayne in a pool of his own blood.

  Catrina drug Mandy out of the truck and to the school office. The secretary was sympathetic to Mandy's plight and soon her children were climbing into the back seat.

  What’s the safest way to get them to my office? Taking a ferry across the Sound would probably be a clever idea and the kids would love the ride, but the whole idea shouted "trap" to Catrina. They would have to wait at the Bremerton or Vashon ferry landing, giving Dwayne time to muster his resources. Once onboard, there was no way to get off. Dwayne could have a Seattle Police officer, or a whole squad of them, waiting at the Seattle ferry landings.

  Catrina thought hard and finally decided to take a chance and try to beat rush hour traffic across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. If she got stuck in rush hour, she would be a sitting duck.

  Dale Earnhardt Jr. could not have kept up with her as she pushed her Explorer to its limits. Once across the bridge, she could take one of the many back roads and highways to get to Seattle, but the bridge was the danger point.

  After a breakneck dash around the Sound they dropped the kids off with one of Catrina's assistants. Mandy hardly seemed to notice. Jennifer Trask waited for them at Catrina's office.

  "Mandy, I want you to meet Jennifer." Catrina gestured towards the pretty brunette woman in the Armani business suit. "Don't let her civilized exterior fool you. She's a barroom brawler when it comes to protecting her clients."

  "Hi." It was all Mandy could do to whisper a single word. She had not spoken a word on the long drive to Seattle.

  "Mandy, let's get to work." Jennifer motioned for Mandy to sit down. "Cat, can Abeba get us some coffee?" Without waiting for an answer, Jennifer went on. "The first thing we're going to do is to file for a t
emporary restraining order. That'll keep your husband away from you until we can schedule a hearing. Then we'll file for divorce, with you getting full custody of the children. Thank you." Jennifer took the steaming coffee from Abeba's tray.

  "Divorce?" Mandy looked into her coffee cup.

  Catrina, sitting on the edge of her desk, reached down and held Mandy's hand. There were those scarred wrists. "It's the only way. If you go back to that bastard, he'll kill you."

  "I don't know. It sounds so final. The Bible says . . ."

  "Honey, we're not talking about religion here," Cat said. "We're talking about your life. Your kids' lives. What will happen to them if he kills you? Have you thought about that?"

  "That brings up another good point," Jennifer interrupted. "Do you have a will? We need to make a new one. God forbid anything should ever happen to you, but if it does, we need to know how you want to take care of your kids. The last thing you want is for Dwayne or his family to get custody of your children."

  ****

  Jennifer went by the book. Mandy and the kids stayed at a women’s shelter while Jenn filed for a restraining order, had a preliminary hearing and the court established the rules for Mandy and her children’s welfare.

  Against the shelter’s directors protest, Mandy and her children were ensconced in Mandy's mother's house with around the clock police protection. The shelter director wanted Mandy to go underground and just disappear.

  Then the dam burst.

  "Jeff, have you seen the P-I yet?" Catrina shouted out of her office door.

  Her tall, lanky partner came to the door. "No. What's up?"

  She turned the front page to face Jeff. "Top Cop Charged with Abuse," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer headline screamed.

  "Shit, Cat. That's going to stir up a hornet's nest."

  ****

  "Dwayne, this is serious." Ray Chenoweth, the city manager, turned the headline to face his police chief. He sat behind a highly polished mahogany desk, roughly the size of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

  "Damn. I thought we had this all bottled up." Dwayne replied.

  "We know that the News-Tribune has been investigating this story," Ray turned in his big executive swivel chair and looked out over Commencement Bay. The waterfront below him was alive with shipping. Pleasure craft docked at the marinas, sails dotted the bay and the Sound. "How did the P-I get to it first?" To Ray's left a trophy wall displayed pictures of the short, round, bald man with everyone from President Bush to Congressman Reichart and a local celebrity or two.

  "The Trib's a local paper." Dwayne paced Ray's office and flicked an imaginary speck of dust off of his uniform shoulder. "This is my town. They know that if they published libel like this, I'd make their lives a living hell."

  "Well, now your life's going to be a living hell." Ray put down the paper and polished his wire-rim glasses. "The City Council held an emergency meeting last night. They want your badge and gun."

  Dwayne spun back to Ray."They want what?" His face turned red. "Who are these guys? The morality police? I'll be damned if I give up my badge."

  "Take it easy, Dwayne." Ray raised both hands, palms out. "I've got your back. I vetoed their resolution. No one is going to take your badge." He leaned back in his chair and locked both hands behind his head. "But we've still got a lot of damage control to handle. You've got to get your side of the story out."

  Dwayne calmed down a little. His breathing came back under control and the wheels in his head began to spin. "I'm the victim here. She's the one who abuses me. Hell, Ray, I even filed a police report in Gig Harbor. The investigating officer took pictures of my bruises. The damn chief there refused to investigate. He told me that the courts almost always side with the woman in these cases."

  Ray got up from his desk and moved towards the door. "I've called a press conference for this afternoon. I'm going to tell the media that this is a personal manner and in no way affects your ability to do your job." He held out his hand to Dwayne. "We have every confidence in your ability to handle your personal life and still do an outstanding job for the city."

  "Thanks, Ray." Dwayne shook Ray's hand as he passed through the door. "I owe you big for this."

  ****

  Catrina picked up her phone on the first ring.

  "Cat, have you seen the papers?" Mandy said. "The latest story about Dwayne?"

  "I've already seen the article Mandy." The third two-page story in three days lay on Catrina's desk. The huge headline read: "Chief's Bizarre Sexual Practices." "I can't believe the detail they went into."

  "Cat, I'm so embarrassed. I can't go out in public," Mandy whispered. "What should we do?"

  "Mandy, you have to be strong." Catrina wished she could be there to comfort Mandy. "This doesn't change anything. In fact, it's better for you. The P-I is making your case for you. The more his attention is distracted by the media, the better for you. Maybe he won't have time to harass you anymore."

  "He's still having his patrol cars cruise by Mom's house four or five times a day. I feel like I'm living in a fish bowl."

  "Do we need to get you out of there?" Catrina clasped the arms of her chair. "To a safer place?"

  "This just keeps getting worse." Mandy's voice took on that little-girl quality again. "I tested positive for gonorrhea again. For the third time."

  Catrina let out a slow breath. "Mandy, we've got to get you out of there. Can you come up here today?"

  "No." There was no hesitation in Mandy's voice. "Dwayne has the kids today. I don't want to be too far away in case something happens."

  "Okay." Catrina's mind whirled. She looked at her calendar, she had a conference call with a prospective client in five minutes.

  Then she had to slip the gumshoes that were constantly tailing her. Since rescuing Mandy, Cat had noticed that she was under twenty-four hour surveillance.

  “I’ll meet you at your mother’s house,” Cat said.

  “No, the police are always here.”

  “They’re there to protect you.”

  “Cat, they scare me. I know they’ll tell Dwayne that I left.”

  "Okay, where can I meet you?"

  "How about at the Target parking lot?"

  Catrina had to at least explain why she couldn't participate in the conference call. That might take ten minutes. "I'll be there in an hour."

  ****

  Sixty minutes later, Mandy pulled her black Toyota Camry into an empty corner of the parking lot, turned off the ignition, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  This was it; she was finally going to get free of Dwayne. Cat would relocate her in a new place. Somewhere far away, where Dwayne couldn't find her.

  He was an idiot, telling her she couldn't make it on her own, that she wouldn't get out of their marriage alive. Cat showed her that a single woman could raise her children in peace and safety. All she needed to do was trust Cat.

  The passenger side door of her Toyota opened. "Getting a little sloppy, aren't you Mandy?" Dwayne, wearing a brown corduroy jacket over a golf shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, slid into the passenger seat.

  "Dwayne?" Mandy gasped. "What are you doing here?"

  "I brought the kids down to buy some water toys." Dwayne gestured to the Burgundy Camry parked next to Mandy. "We're getting close to summer."

  "Get out of my car. Leave me alone."

  "That's not very friendly of you." Dwayne reached out and grabbed her arm. "What'll your kids think, treating their father that way?"

  Mandy struggled free of his grasp. "They've already seen worse. All the times that you beat me in front of them. How do you think that's going to affect them?"

  "How do you think having a milk-toast mother who's too stupid to tie her own shoes is going to affect them?"

  Mandy reached out and slapped Dwayne in the face. "Get out of my car. I have a restraining order against you. I could have you arrested."

  "Who you gonna get to arrest me?" Dwayne smirked.

  "I don't believe your lies a
nymore."

  "You little whore." Dwayne reached under his jacket and produced his service revolver. "I told you, you wouldn't get out of this alive." He pressed the pistol to her head.

  "Dwayne, no." Mandy's breath came in little gasps. "The kids. They're watching, they're in the next car."

  "You better say goodbye to them. You have about five seconds."

  "No, you won't really do this." Mandy turned and looked at her children in Dwayne's car. She raised her hand to them.

  They were both screaming, tears flowing. Daniel put his hands on the window.

  "Dwayne, honey. It's not too late. We could get back together. . ."

  Dwayne laughed. "You really expect me to believe that? You've ruined my life. Turned my kids against me. Destroyed my career. You've been a very bad girl and now it's time to pay." He clicked back the hammer on the pistol.

  "No," Mandy screamed. "We could go away somewhere. If you like you could bring your friends over. All of them, I could do all of them at the same time." She felt the cold metal against her skin. Her heart beat a thousand miles a hour. She couldn't catch her breath.

  Then she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. A big burgundy Explorer was exploding across the parking lot, tires screaming, coming at them like a freight train.

  "Cat!" Mandy yelled in triumph. "You can't hurt me now."

  ****

  Catrina pulled into the parking lot and searched for Mandy's Camry. She finally spotted it in a far corner, its burgundy twin parked in the next stall.

  Her heart raced. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911.

  "911, what is your emergency."

  "My client has a restraining order against her husband. I'm in the Target parking lot. His car is parked right next to hers."

  As Catrina talked, she gunned her Explorer and roared across the parking lot. "Their kids are in his car."

  She watched in disbelief as the Toyota rocked, a cloud of pink mist covered the windshield.