As April ascended the narrow flight of stairs, Holly couldn't help but think that there was something very eerie about a mentally disturbed woman living in the attic, even if she was an old friend and the owner of the house was a psychiatrist. Then again, this visit wasn't turning out anything like she had imagined. She liked April and had been looking forward to talking to her. It was the rest of the people she could have done without.
Rachel and Bobbi both intimidated her, though in different ways. Theodore made her contemplate how bleak her future with Philip could be. And Cheryl was a reminder of her past and the way she had withdrawn after her own horrible experience. It made her wonder if she was susceptible to another breakdown someday. She didn't want to believe she was that unstable, but apparently Cheryl hadn't thought of herself that way either.
The only character missing from this macabre play was the evil femme fatale, and she truly hoped Erica wasn't expected to show up. Holly didn't think she could tolerate observing her with Rachel and Bobbi after the things Bobbi had related the other night.
Her reflection ended as April came back down. "I'm sorry. She's just not up to it."
"I understand." Truthfully, she was relieved.
April showed her the room she'd be staying in. Without being asked, she explained, "I know the house seems large for just the two of us, but we usually have one or two needy students boarding with us. With everything else that's going on, I declined this term." After April pointed out the guest bath, she took Holly back downstairs through the kitchen.
In a voice she hoped sounded only mildly curious, Holly asked, "Will Erica be coming today also?"
"No. She's tied up with a business deal. Somewhere in Florida I think her secretary said."
That gave Holly an opening to return to her original question once they returned to the living room and sat down. "Speaking of Florida..."
April smiled and turned to Rachel. "We're all anxious to hear about what happened in Florida."
Rachel straightened in a way that made Holly think she was making a report to her superior officer. "It was a major FUBAR if there ever was one. David Wells, the reporter Holly gave the Frampton information to, obviously managed to make contact with the pornographer, Mick D'Angelo, but got himself in over his head. The Miami Feds let Wells play the bait, hoping to grab themselves a real prize, but somehow the setup went sour. D'Angelo and his bodyguard were killed, and the reporter was shot by D'Angelo.
"The word is they managed to get hold of a briefcase full of pornographic DVDs, one of which was apparently a genuine snuff film. There was a little custody battle over the evidence between our guys and the City of Miami. It was finally decided that the Feds would get everything except the snuff film, since the homicide actually fell under the jurisdiction of the city.
"In the evidence the Feds got was a tape of the conversation Wells had with D'Angelo before the shooting started. On that tape, Wells verbally ID'd Frampton doing a walk-on in the film and D'Angelo confirmed it."
"Good heavens," April murmured. "That's better than we ever could have expected."
"Don't break open the champagne. It goes downhill from here. The Feds arrested Frampton early this morning on pornography charges before Miami could make their move on the accessory to homicide charge, but he was free again almost immediately. He's too prominent a citizen to be denied his rights, and no matter how high the judge set the bail, he could afford it."
"But won't he still have to be tried?" Holly asked.
"Normally, yes, but there's more. Somehow, between the time that the evidence was sorted and the snuff film was to be viewed in the state attorney's office, it was exchanged for a blank one. The physical evidence of the homicide is gone."
April sighed aloud. "I haven't had a chance to hear or read much news lately. Do you think Jerry Frampton was behind switching the film?"
"Certainly possible that he'd have someone in his pocket who could handle a detail like that. Unless someone involved has an attack of conscience, there's no proof. David Wells is now the only person left alive who saw that film. His testimony will be needed to back up the audio. Regardless of that testimony, though, with D'Angelo dead, it won't be too hard for Frampton's attorney to poke holes in it."
Holly noticed how Bobbi's intent gaze followed the conversation, but she was in her meek personality that morning and not offering comments one way or another.
Fear tinged Holly's voice as she made herself ask, "Is David going to make it?"
Rachel raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you care?"
Holly was shocked by her callousness. "It's because of me that he went down there. I had no idea he'd be risking his life when I passed him the lead."
Rachel gave an indifferent shrug. "He took the risk to get a big story. Instead he got himself shot in the head. Sometimes the end justifies the means."
"Rachel, please. The news said he was critically wounded. I need to know how bad it is."
"It doesn't sound promising. He's in intensive care at Jackson Memorial in Miami—probably the best place in the south to be if you have to get yourself shot. The last report was he was still unconscious and under guard."
Holly stiffened. "Under guard? But—Oh my god. They think Frampton might try to make sure he never wakes up. Is that it?"
Rachel nodded and all four lapsed into a dejected silence.
April reached over and patted Holly's knee. "Remember what you just said to me about Cheryl. It was his decision to follow up on the lead you gave him. Nothing you did put him in jeopardy."
"I suppose you're right, but, I don't know, maybe if I had been more honest with him—"
"I told you so," Bobbi/Roberta interrupted in her aggressive voice as she whipped off her glasses. "You're going to have to do something about her, April."
Holly glanced from one to the other, and her stomach released a bit more acid as she realized Bobbi was referring to her. "I have to go," Holly announced abruptly and stood up. Even Bobbi reacted with surprise. "I can't sit here, wondering, waiting for a third party to let me know how he is. I have to go down there."
April rose and took Holly's hands in hers. "This is more than just a guilty conscience, isn't it?"
Holly's resigned sigh was her answer.
"You truly care about him, don't you? You let down the walls and discovered you could feel again. Don't you see what a milestone that is?"
Holly lowered her gaze, but left her hands in April's. "I didn't want to ever be this vulnerable to a man again."
"Love isn't a weakness, Holly. Emotion—any emotion—is a strength. You just have to learn how to channel it. Let it work for you instead of against you. When you allow yourself to feel, you can be anything, do anything you wish. Tell me, just now, weren't you thinking that if you went to his side, somehow you could make him better?"
"I don't know what I was thinking. I just feel so helpless."
"Then go to him, give him your new strength, bring him back to testify against the man who hurt you."
Holly blinked. She hadn't been thinking of her revenge at all, but apparently it hadn't left April's mind.
"However, before you go," April said, releasing Holly's hands, "let's have the talk you came up here for." She waited for Holly to be seated again. "I can understand how you must be concerned over what's happened. You didn't know any of us until a month ago and, realistically, you still don't know any of us well enough to trust us. But I'm going to ask for that trust anyway. None of us is a murderess, Holly. You must believe that."
Holly felt Roberta's narrow-eyed stare before she saw it. The woman had slipped out of her mousy shell again and her thoughts were easy to read. Except for Erica.
Rachel drew Holly's attention. "Bobbi said you were with a friend the night O'Day was killed. Who was that?"
"David and I spent the weekend at a mountain lodge in Maryland."
Rachel smirked. "Of course, he's not in any condition to confirm or refute that alibi at the moment, is he?"
/> "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what happens to your alibi if he doesn't wake up?"
"I don't need an alibi," Holly protested. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"Hmmph," Rachel snorted. "Did anyone else see you that night? Desk clerk? Waitress? Bartender?"
Holly paused and made herself review the Saturday night in question. Rather than get dressed to go out, they had ordered room service and when it was delivered, she had shyly retired to the bathroom. It wasn't much better than the night Ziegler was murdered, when she had been home alone. But surely Philip would be willing to say they were together. Good Lord. She was thinking of lying to defend herself from something she hadn't done to begin with.
When she didn't answer, Rachel went on. "It seems to me that we're the ones who should be concerned about you. In all the years the Little Sister Society has been operating, we've never had a single violent incident. The trouble didn't start until you came into the picture. I can account for every one of our member's whereabouts during both murders—except yours."
"April and Cheryl were here together. Not only can they vouch for each other, but Professor MacLeash will corroborate their story. Bobbi, Erica, and I were having a girls' night out when Ziegler was killed. There are a number of people who could easily be encouraged to verify they saw us. Last Saturday night, Erica was at home in California, and Bobbi and I were out together again."
Holly could not imagine Bobbi hanging out at bars, least of all with Erica, but she could hardly call Rachel's bluff when she couldn't prove her own story.
As usual, April tried to ease the tension. "Rachel's not accusing you of anything, Holly. She's just showing you that we can't afford to start being suspicious of each other. At any rate, didn't you say there were some suspects already, Rachel?"
"Actually, the computer has picked quite a few," Rachel replied with a nod. "The use of drugs to subdue the men implies the killer isn't big or strong enough to overcome them with force, which could suggest a woman. Ziegler and O'Day opened their hotel room doors to the murderer, which suggests that he or she was either recognized or expected. If it was a stranger, it is more likely the men would have invited a woman into the room than a man. And third, the weapon used suggests a woman as well. The mutilation is sexual to begin with, as was the message, and it was done by two serrated blades sawing smoothly back and forth—in other words, the guess is it was an electric carving knife—something found in most modern kitchens."
Holly made a face at the picture Rachel created, then noticed that she was the only one bothered by it. She supposed Rachel was used to this sort of thing, but April and Bobbi looked as though they'd heard it all before. Had this entire "get-together" been staged for her benefit?
"Since both murders occurred in the same part of the country," Rachel continued, "the investigative team began searching for women in that region who have criminal histories of violence against men. Once we've narrowed down the field of possibles and start questioning the suspects, we'll know better whether we're on the right track."
"It's not known yet why Ziegler and O'Day were chosen as victims. If one of the female suspects saw the list of names Cheryl gave to the Senate committee, we haven't figured out how it got into her hands, but anything is possible."
"At the moment, we're trying to keep a lid on what the possible connection between Ziegler and O'Day could be, but agents may soon be assigned to guard the other eight men on the list until the killer is found. The problem with that is, once they all start talking, someone is liable to remember the names of other women besides Cheryl who were victimized."
"Well, then," April said, "let's hope this whole thing is solved in a few days and we can all stop worrying."
Holly wanted to be relieved of that worry desperately enough so that she told herself that she believed April and that none of the Little Sisters was a murderess. But she couldn't ignore the feeling that they weren't completely innocent either.
Her anxiety over David's condition took precedence over all else, however, and as soon as Rachel finished her update, Holly intended to leave.
Bobbi spoke before she could do so. "As long as we're together, I have some positive news. Adam Frankowicz is back in New York. It may take a little while to do any damage, but I've initiated action against him for tax evasion. I guarantee you he'll be a lot poorer by this time next year."
Finally, Holly simply excused herself to make a call. A few minutes later she had reservations on a flight to Miami out of Washington, D.C.'s, National Airport that afternoon. She could make it if she hurried.
Retrieving her bag from the upstairs bedroom, she couldn't help but think about the woman secluding herself up in the attic. Part of Holly wanted to go up and try to talk to Cheryl, tell her she understood firsthand how she felt. The more logical side of her brain argued that she couldn't spare the time, and besides, April was much more qualified than she. Her interference might do more harm than good.
Holly had been looking forward to spending more time with April, but now all she could think of was how fast she could get away.
She made the proper apologies and promised to come back another weekend, inching her way toward the front door with each word. Just as it looked like she would be free to depart, Rachel offered to "see her to her car."
"I just wanted to make sure you didn't get the wrong impression in there," Rachel said as Holly unlocked her car door and placed her bag in the back seat.
Holly assumed she was trying to apologize for suggesting she could be the killer. Her assumption was wrong.
"I didn't want to bring you into the Society. And I don't trust you. Whether your joining us right before Ziegler was murdered is relevant or not, I think you're trouble. As long as you keep your mouth shut, I'll leave you alone, but if you say anything to anybody about us, I promise you, I'll turn this case around on you so fast you won't have time to take a piss. And just so you understand that I'm perfectly capable of proving you're the killer, no matter how innocent you are, I'm going to let you in on another secret."
Holly tucked her hands beneath her arms in a defensive manner that hid how badly she was trembling. She wanted to drive as far and fast as possible, but she also wanted to hear the secret.
Rachel moved close enough for Holly to smell alcohol on her breath. "April needs to believe that all of us have obeyed the rules she set down for going after the fifteen men, and we let her have that consolation. But the truth is, there have been times when one or two of us have had to bend the rules to break the man."
Holly sifted through the implied confession until she began to understand.
"Think about it," Rachel said and walked back to the house.
Holly thought about it all the way to Washington, but it only took the first few seconds to figure out what Rachel meant. If Rachel wanted to, she could fabricate proof of someone's guilt or destroy evidence of a person's innocence, in the same way the snuff film had been eliminated. Bobbi could do the same through the IRS. And surely, with the computer wizard's help, Erica could play havoc with a company's market value and create any number of difficulties for its owner.
That was the secret they were hoarding so carefully. She recalled Bobbi mentioning that she could lose her job. It would be a wonder if she didn't end up in jail if she had done something unethical regarding any of the men's tax returns.
Rachel could be planning to ensure that one of the women suspects was arrested, or she could just as easily make it look like Holly was the guilty party. Of course, there was the possibility that one of the suspects was the killer, but Holly wasn't at all certain. In her mind, Rachel was still the likeliest candidate. She had the motive, means and personality, and if she didn't commit the crimes, she could very likely be protecting the real murderess—particularly if it was Erica.
Just because Rachel said Erica was in California when O'Day was killed didn't mean it was any more the truth than her claim that the two of them and Bobbi had been together when Ziegler w
as killed. But would Bobbi agree to a lie that would protect Erica?
Yes, Holly thought instantly, Bobbi would lie if it meant creating an alibi for herself at the same time. Hadn't she briefly considered lying to protect herself just a short time ago?
Bobbi's visit to her apartment replayed in Holly's memory. Wasn't it possible that she was pretending to hate Erica? She was certainly capable of projecting extremely different personalities in the blink of an eye. Couldn't Bobbi have been hiding her own guilt by pointing a finger at Erica?
As Holly contemplated one scenario after another, she realized all three were perfectly capable of performing the mutilation that had been done to the two men.
Then again, perhaps they could provide each other with an alibi for the night Ziegler was killed because they were together... in his hotel room.
So far, Bobbi and Rachel had both threatened her. Would Erica be next?
She should go to the police. Yet, what proof did she have? She had no doubt that Rachel would find a way for her story to backfire. It was doubtful that anyone at the lodge in Maryland would swear to seeing her the night O'Day was killed, so without David, she had no solid alibi for that time.
Even Philip had advised her to do nothing, and that was clearly the safest path to take. But suddenly she was sick to death of the safe path. She was tired of being afraid of everything, including her own feelings.
She had been a victim once, and she had allowed it to haunt her for twenty-one years.
No one was going to force her to be a victim again!
Holly's foot pressed harder on the accelerator. She had to get to David. He had to regain consciousness.
He was the only one she could think of who could expose the whole ugly truth and find out who the killer was before she found herself hopelessly entrapped.
It occurred to her that she would have to confess to telling David a few lies in the past, but surely he would understand.
Carnal Vengeance Page 26