by Cindy Bell
“Uh oh, look out. Are you going to be bad cop?” Eddy grinned and walked the rest of the length of the road.
“I’m not so sure I could pull that off, but I’d be willing to give it a try.” Walt offered a smile as he followed after him. On the way up to the house the two quietly discussed their plan of action. Before they could reach the door Cory was outside.
“You two, what are you doing here again?” His anger was clear in the tone of his voice and the tension of his balled up fists.
“We need to talk to you about your father, Cory,” Eddy said.
“My father?” Cory glanced over his shoulder at the house. “If Leila sees me…”
“Leila is the least of your worries.” Walt’s tone became quite gruff as he took a step towards Cory.” It was a sight to see the slender, diminutive man face up to the much larger, burly man. “We want to know why your father was on that train!”
Cory stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. “No, that’s impossible. He wasn’t on the train. He was at the store, like he always is. There’s no way that he had anything to do with this.”
“I think you’re wrong.” Walt jabbed a finger towards Cory’s face. “I think you knew he was on that train, in fact, I think you asked him to be on that train. You got him to do your dirty work, didn’t you, Cory? Didn’t you?”
“Okay, easy.” Eddy placed a hand on Walt’s shoulder to calm him. “Look, Cory we’re just trying to figure out what happened here. No one is accusing anyone of anything. If you think that your father wasn’t on the train, then prove it. Where is he now? We’ll go have a conversation with him so that we can find out the truth.”
“Fine. That’s a good idea.” He glowered at Walt. “But I’ll thank you to watch the way you talk to my father. He’s a good man, and I don’t want anyone disrespecting him.”
Walt and Eddy exchanged a brief look, then Walt nodded. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“He should be at his place. I’ll call and check. We can take my car.” As he pulled out his phone to call his father, Walt leaned close to Eddy.
“Do you think it’s a good idea to get in a car with him?”
“We’ll be fine.” Eddy shushed him as Cory hung up the phone.
“He’s at home, let’s go.”
Eddy managed to get a reluctant Walt into the back of Cory’s car. The inside of the car reeked of smoke and stale french fries. It wasn’t the worst car Eddy had ever ridden in, but Walt was clearly uncomfortable. Every time Eddy looked over at him Walt’s mouth was pinched tight, and it did not appear that he was breathing. As soon as the car was parked Walt popped open the door.
“Now, I want the two of you to remember that you are talking to a good man. One word out of line and I’ll knock you both out, got me?” He glared at Walt and Eddy. “I’m not afraid to hit an old man.”
“We’re not that old. I mean, sixty is the new thirty really.” Walt shook his head.
“Not the time, Walt.” Eddy spoke out of the corner of his mouth.
Walt nodded and quietened down. Cory led them both into a small house. They walked down a short corridor to a door.
“This is my father’s office.” He knocked on the door. “Dad, are you in there?”
“Sure, come in.”
Eddy looked over at Walt and nodded. Cory opened the door to reveal a small office with expensive, well-cared-for furniture. The smell of the wood polish greeted Eddy’s nostrils as he stepped inside.
“Hi Cory. Who are these gentleman?” He stood up. “I’m Mick Smith.” Eddy offered his hand, but Mick shook his head slightly and raised his hands to show them to Eddy. “Sorry, skin condition.” Eddy noticed the scabs on his hands as well as a large ring. “Hereditary,” he added as he looked at his son and cringed slightly.
“My name is Eddy, and this is my associate, Walt. We’re here regarding your presence on the train yesterday, the same train where a young man met a tragic death.”
“Oh.” Mick lowered his hands to his sides.
“Dad, just tell them the truth.” Cory shook his head and then looked back at his father. “Tell them where you were yesterday, because I know it wasn’t on the train.”
“Please sit.” Mick sat back down in his chair and gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.
“We have records that show you were on the train, Mr. Smith. Did you purchase a ticket?” Eddy settled into the high-back, leather chair that faced the desk. He could feel the man’s eyes as they bore into him.
“Yes actually, I did purchase a ticket. I was on the train yesterday. My intention was to scout out a location to open a new shop.” He shrugged.
“Dad? You never told me about a new shop. Are you really going to open one?” Cory appeared mystified as he stared at his father. Walt’s gaze fixated on the man’s open briefcase on his desk.
“It was a surprise, Cory. I wanted to surprise you with it as a wedding gift. I thought you would be able to manage it yourself, and maybe Leila would work in the shop with you.” He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. As he reached his hand up to rub at his forehead Walt leaned forward in his chair and narrowed his eyes.
“Wow, Dad, that is so generous of you. Thanks.” Cory’s voice was softened by shock.
“I was going to tell you about it on the train,” Mick said. “But the train was so busy that I never even saw you.” Eddy continued to study the man before him.
“Still it seems rather convenient that you were on the same train as your son, that’s a long way away to look for a shop. Did you ever meet Ryan?” Eddy asked.
“Ryan? Oh, that troublesome fellow.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I only know what my son has told me about him. He seems like a terrible man.”
“Did he seem that way when you were having an argument with him in the dining car?” Eddy stood up from the chair and rested his hands on the desk before him.
Mick shifted in his chair. He looked from his son back to Eddy. “So, what if I talked to him? That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Dad? You talked to him?”
“Cory, you have a good thing going with Leila. I knew that Ryan would be the only one that could mess that up for you. I knew that you wouldn’t be able to confront him. You’ve got your mother’s soft heart.”
“Dad…”
“No, now wait, there’s nothing wrong with that, Cory, nothing at all. But I couldn’t just stand by and watch this criminal show up in your lives and turn everything upside down. How is that fair? You two should have been married before he got out, and instead he was let out early. That messed up everything for everyone.” He sighed and reached up to rub his forehead again.
“Is that how you got those scratches?” Eddy tilted his head towards the man’s wrist.
“Huh?” Mick looked at his hand. “Oh, I must have scratched it when I was getting my luggage out of the storage room.”
“Doubtful,” Eddy said. “Those scratches were caused by human fingernails. I can tell by the pattern and shape of the scratch.”
Mick slid his hands under the desk. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Walt was still staring at the briefcase. Eddy followed his gaze to the briefcase. He was staring at paper sticking out of it. It was light green and Eddy could see the watermark, a letter L, sticking out the top of the briefcase. Eddy looked at Walt and nodded his head slightly.
“Okay, then, how about the paper you have there in your briefcase? It has a unique watermark,” Eddy said.
“What about it? Anyone can buy that stationary.” He narrowed his eyes. His features grew tense. Eddy leaned a little closer.
“So, it’s just a coincidence that Ryan used the very same paper to write his suicide note. I wonder if we submitted a sample of your writing for handwriting analysis, would it match the writing on the suicide note, Mick?” Eddy’s voice raised with every word he spoke.
“That’s enough!” Cory moved between Eddy and the desk. “This is crazy. You
can’t really think that my father was involved in Ryan’s death.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter what I think, Cory. What matters is what a jury will think, when it’s proven that your father wrote the suicide note, that his DNA is under Ryan’s fingernails, and that he was on the train with motive at the time of the murder.” Eddy didn’t back down from Cory, but he did allow some room for the father and son to make eye contact. “You did it for your boy, didn’t you, Mick? You did it for the right reasons.”
“Dad, tell them it isn’t true!”
“I did what I had to do.” Mick shook his head. “But it wasn’t the way you think. It was an accident.”
“An accident?” Eddy pressed. “How so?”
“I saw Ryan outside on the viewing platform smoking a cigarette. I just wanted to talk to him again, to make it clear that he had to leave Leila alone. But he got angry when I tried to talk to him. He took a swing at me. I ducked it. He came for me and we scuffled a bit and then I pushed him off me. I never expected that the door in the railing would open.” He grimaced. “When it swung open, Ryan fell out, it all happened so fast, I didn’t even have time to try to catch him.”
“Dad, don’t lie. You didn’t do this, I know that you didn’t do this.” Cory’s eyes were wide and filled with tears as he stared at his father. “It’s not possible.”
“It was an accident.” Mick stared at his own hands. They trembled as he held them out before him. “I just wanted him to listen. He was going to take everything from you. He was going to take Leila or hurt her. I couldn’t let him do that. I just wanted him to understand that. I had no idea when I shoved him that the door would open. I was in shock.”
“But not so much shock that you couldn’t fabricate a suicide note, right?” Eddy tipped his hat. “That was some very quick thinking on your part.”
“All right, I was scared. It all seemed to happen on autopilot. I wasn’t even supposed to be on the train. So yes, I faked a suicide note. I’m not proud of what I did, but let’s be honest, it wasn’t a great loss, was it?”
“Yes.” Eddy stared at the man across the desk. “Any loss of life is a great loss. Ryan was a person, he deserved to have the chance to live his life. All you had to do was get a restraining order, Leila could have gotten one. Then the moment he came near her, he would have been back in jail. Instead you killed him, not because you wanted to protect your son, or Leila, but because he made you angry, so angry that you shoved him. You wanted to get rid of him, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t.” Mick clenched his jaw shut tight. “Not like that.”
“Dad, we need to get you a lawyer, don’t say anything else.” Cory moved to his father’s side.
“I think we’ve heard plenty.” Eddy turned towards the door. “We’ll be on our way.”
Before Eddy could reach the door, Cory stepped out in front of him.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I can’t let you leave.” He couldn’t quite meet Eddy’s eyes, but his massive frame did an effective job of blocking the doorway.
“Step aside, Cory, we are leaving.” Eddy started to brush past him. Cory placed his hand on the door to prevent it from being opened.
“No. You’re not.” He reached into his father’s desk drawer and pulled out a gun.
“Cory, what are you doing?” Mick stood up behind his desk.
“I can’t let this happen, Dad. I can’t let you go to prison for doing something that I should have done.” Cory continued to block the door. Eddy shot a glance at Walt whose face had grown pale. The two men were not free to leave, in fact, Eddy suspected that Cory might never let them leave at all.
Chapter Sixteen
Samantha checked her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. She sighed. Jo looked up from her phone. She was looking through the pictures she took at the flower show.
“Samantha, what’s wrong?”
“I am really worried. Eddy isn’t picking up. It’s been too long for them to just be talking to Cory. What do you think we should do?”
“Is there a way we can track their phones?” Jo frowned.
“I’m not sure. It would take a while for me to arrange that and it might be too late by then.”
“We can go to Leila’s house and see if Cory is there.” Jo stood up. “Let’s not wait another minute. Our train leaves in two hours. If Walt and Eddy aren’t answering the phone we need to figure out where they are.”
“All right, let’s give it a shot. But after the way she talked to me today I doubt that she will be very welcoming.”
Jo cracked her knuckles. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan on being welcoming either.”
Samantha hailed a cab and the two women hopped in. As the driver headed for Leila’s address, Samantha couldn’t ignore the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She tried Eddy’s number again. Yet again there was no answer.
“Can you go any faster?” Samantha leaned forward.
“All right, but you’re paying my speeding tickets.” The driver stepped on the gas. As the cab tore down the road Samantha clenched her hands into fists.
“If that big meathead did anything to hurt either of them, I will make him pay.”
Jo raised an eyebrow. “Feeling quite protective are we?”
“Someone has to protect them. They’re always getting themselves into trouble.”
“Good point.” Jo nodded.
The cab pulled to a stop outside of Leila’s house and Samantha paid the driver. “Can you wait, please?” Samantha stepped out of the cab. As soon as the two women were a few steps away from the cab the driver pulled off. “Wow, some driver.” Samantha shook her head.
“Never mind that, look who is standing in the front yard.”
“Leila.” Samantha looked towards the woman. “I wonder how she is going to react.”
“You!” Leila began to run towards both of them.
“Let me handle this, Samantha.” Jo stepped in front of her.
Leila slowed and then stopped in front of Jo. “Where is he?”
“Where is who?” Jo fixed her with a glare.
“Where’s Cory? I know that it has something to do with all of you.”
“Yes, you might be right.” Samantha stepped out from behind Jo. “And we want to know where our friends Walt and Eddy are. I’m guessing they’re with Cory.”
“But where are they?” Leila’s hard stare softened with tears. “I haven’t seen Cory all afternoon. I just know he went off somewhere with your friends. Where would he go? Did they arrest him? Are they going to hurt him?”
“No, to both.” Samantha shook her head. “Eddy and Walt would not do anything to hurt Cory, and neither have the authority to arrest anyone. From what I understand they came here to ask about Mick. Do you know where Mick is?”
“Mick?” Leila’s eyes drifted between the two women. “What do you mean? Why would they be asking about Mick?”
“Because Mick was on the train, too, Leila. He wasn’t at work yesterday, because he was on the train.” Samantha locked eyes with her to gauge her reaction. Leila’s expression was blank until she began to put two and two together.
“He went on the train to protect Cory?”
“Or to back Cory up,” Jo suggested. “Either way, it’s very likely that’s where Cory, Eddy, and Walt are. So, do you want to tell us where he might be?”
“He’s probably at home.” Leila rubbed at the curve of her cheek. “That must be where Cory is.”
“Can you take us there?” Jo tried to gain the woman’s attention. “It’s very important, Leila. Our friends are missing, and your fiancé was the last person known to be with them.”
“Why should I take you to them?” Leila glared at them. “You’re trying to prove that one or both of them are murderers. So, why should I help you?”
“Because, Leila, if you don’t take us to them and fast they might do something that they can’t come back from. How far would Cory go to protect his father?” Samantha held the woman’s ga
ze despite her dark stare.
“You’re right.” Leila shook her head. “He would do anything to protect his father. We need to get to them fast. Let’s go.” She walked towards her car. Jo grabbed Samantha’s hand before she could follow after.
“What if she’s working with them, Samantha? What if we walk right into a trap?”
“Do we have another choice? They have Walt and Eddy, we have no idea where or what they might have done with them. If we don’t go with Leila we might never find them. Is that a risk we can take?”
“No. You’re right.” Jo sighed and released her hand. Once in the car the two braced themselves for whatever might come next.
Chapter Seventeen
When Leila pulled the car into the driveway of Mick’s home, Samantha caught something out of the corner of her eye. It was another car that had pulled in a few driveways away. It was a populated street and so it shouldn’t have struck her as unusual, but it did. Something about it held her attention until Leila opened the door.
“Mick’s office is right down the corridor. I’m sure he can straighten all of this out,” she said as she opened the office door.
“Cory no! Put that gun down!” Leila gasped as she rushed through the door. Jo and Samantha followed right on her heels.
“Close the door!” Cory snapped. “Or I take out this one.” He pointed the gun at Walt.
“No!” Samantha growled. “Put that gun away!”
“Cory, this is crazy, you have to stop this.” Mick started to stand up from his chair.
“Sit down, Dad! No way are you going to prison. For what? For that piece of garbage? No! You did the world a favor!”
Mick sank back down in his chair.
“Cory, calm down.” Leila reached out to touch his arm. Cory jerked his arm back from her touch.
“I said, close the door, Leila!”
Leila jumped back and closed the door. Samantha and Jo stood close to each other as Eddy studied them both.
“This is getting out of hand, Cory, you need to let these women out of here.” Eddy turned to look at the man with the gun.