“No, and in fact, she’s never claimed to have any income, ever.”
“She watched the neighbors’ kids for years, but that was all cash. Still, she should have declared something.”
“She didn’t dare to,” Maggie said. “Otherwise it might have exposed the truth.”
“What truth, Maggie?”
The old man’s phone rang in his pocket and he took it out and checked the caller ID.
“It’s Tommy getting back to me.”
The old man listened, asked a couple of questions, and then said goodbye. Afterwards, he spoke to Maggie.
“I think your hunch may be right, but Tommy says it will take time to gather the evidence.”
Maggie sighed and looked over at Anne.
“I was hoping I was wrong, even if it does change everything.”
Anne Willoughby looked back and forth at them.
“What’s going on, Maggie?”
“Anne, I know you told me that you often argued with your mother about her drinking, but is that why you stopped talking to her, or was there something else as well?”
“My parents they... they have a sick relationship. My mother loves my father, and despite everything, I think he loves her too, but, he’s an abuser. It’s why I stopped talking to both of them. I told her I couldn’t stand by anymore and stay silent and that I wouldn’t talk to her again until she sought help, but she never did.”
“There’s no record of spousal abuse,” Maggie said.
“My father, he’s not extremely violent, but I’ve seen him slap her and leave bruises on her arms, and my mother would have lied for him if he ever hurt her badly.”
The old man’s phone rang again.
He spoke for a short time to Tommy Delaney and then handed the phone over to Maggie.
“Tommy said the theory checked out, he also said he sent me pictures, but I’ll be damned if I know how to find them on this thing.”
Maggie laughed.
“That’s just one of the new tricks I’ll teach you, you old dog.”
Maggie was still grinning as she fiddled with the phone, but the smile faded when she came across the photos.
She looked up at Anne.
“I need you to study these photos, and I’m so sorry, but I think they’ll upset you greatly.”
Anne took the phone from Maggie as if it were a poisonous snake, and then gasped as she saw the first photo, the photo of a hand with burn marks.
“That’s my mom, my mom’s hand.”
She scrolled through the photos, as a steady stream of tears fell from her eyes.
“She looks dead; she’s dead, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Maggie said.
Anne wiped at her tears as she handed the old man his phone.
“What the hell is going on?”
***
Hours later, a very sharp Staten Island homicide detective named Mallory had broken Curtis Willoughby down and learned the truth.
In essence, there were two Sarah’s and had been for many years.
Anne’s mother was actually her older sister, whose real name was Mary Carson. The real Sarah had Mary when she was only thirteen, and thanks to help from her parents, she raised the child, and later gave birth to Anne when she was in her late-twenties and on her own.
That’s when fifteen-year-old Mary began seeing twenty-year-old Curtis Willoughby, and soon became pregnant. Mary had the baby, a girl, but it died only weeks after leaving the hospital.
Mary and her mother fought all the time, mostly about Curtis, and about her mother’s drinking.
When her mother fell asleep drunk on the bathroom floor while her baby sister was in the bathtub, Mary decided that she would take the child, runaway with Curtis, and raise her sister as her own child, the one she’d lost.
Curtis Willoughby said that Mary had just turned sixteen when they left, but that Mary looked much older, and with makeup, could pass for her twenty-nine-year-old mother. After stealing her mother’s identity, Mary ran off with Curtis and took her baby sister with her. She then began living as her mother, Sarah Carson, then later, she married Curtis and became Sarah Willoughby.
***
Anne Willoughby was stunned by the revelations, and full of questions. The old man and Maggie spoke to her in a small meeting room inside the police station.
“So, my mother was actually my older sister?”
“Yes,” Maggie said. “You were only about three months older than the baby she lost, the real Anne, and she took you as a replacement, and also to protect you.”
“My name is not really Anne?”
“It is and it isn’t, Anne was the name of the child who died, the name of your niece. Your real name is Lisa Anne Carson, and you’re about three months older than you thought.”
Anne looked up at the ceiling as her mind reeled while absorbing the news. After nearly a minute, she looked at the old man and asked a question.
“How did she get away with this for so many years?”
“She flew under the radar by never having a real job and Curtis Willoughby lied for years to help her keep things a secret. If not for this scheme, this might have never come to light.”
“How did you figure it out?”
“It was the DNA. It proved that the woman in the morgue was your mother, but it also proved that the woman who raised you couldn’t have been your mother. Willoughby couldn’t possibly have just stumbled upon a perfect genetic match, and so that meant that he knew the woman would match you.”
“And what, he went back to Tennessee and kidnapped her for this insurance scam?”
“No, your real mother lived in Connecticut,” Maggie said, “Your father stumbled upon her at a flea market while helping your mother look for antique pottery to sell online. The women never noticed each other, and your father hustled your mother away before they could reconnect. He says he then followed the real Sarah home from her booth at the flea market a week later... and that by then, he had already come up with the insurance fraud.”
“But, how did he kill them?”
“He said he used poisonous mushrooms. The death isn’t a pleasant one, and the toxins destroy the liver, but since both mother and daughter were heavy drinkers, the liver damage was blamed on alcohol during the autopsy.
Anne wiped at tears.
“And to make it work, he had to kill both women, my real mother, and my mother?”
“Yes, he then switched the bodies and waited for someone like me to come along and order a DNA test. It was ingenious, ruthless, but ingenious.”
“But didn’t anyone connected to my real mother notice that she wasn’t the same woman?”
“As mother and daughter, the two women resembled each other greatly, and your real mother had no one close in her life. Her elderly husband died years before, and all she had was her hobby, buying and selling things at flea markets, but she did stop drinking, there was a pin on her dress, the one the body was found wearing, and it marked her as being sober for forty years. Your father had to plant liquor bottles around her home to make her look like a lapsed alcoholic, but she had been sober for decades.”
“She stopped drinking when she lost me, when I was stolen away?”
“Yes, and she looked for you and your sister over the years, but, I guess she never thought to search for someone with her own name.”
“My father almost got away with this, didn’t he?”
The old man nodded.
“He was counting on DNA to make his case, and instead, it’s what sunk him. Once he realized that the authorities knew to look for a second body, he knew he was done. When the DNA case comes back on your mother, it’ll prove that she was really your sister, but if not for that burn mark on her hand, I think he might have pulled it off.”
“But... he’s not really my father, is he?”
“No,” Maggie said. “And Curtis Willoughby says that the real Sarah wasn’t sure who your father was, apparently, she was promiscuous in the days whe
n she drank.”
“So what do I do now, change my name to Lisa Carson?”
Maggie reached across the table and took her hand.
“I’ll help you in any way I can, and call me if you ever just need to talk.”
Anne smiled. “You’re a very kind woman, Maggie, and if you hadn’t believed me, I don’t know what would have happened, thank you.”
***
Once they were back in the Cadillac, Maggie gave the old man a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you for not letting me quit on this.”
“You’re welcome, but my grandfather, the original Jake Caliber, he gave the detective agency a motto, We Never Give Up, and we never do, not when we know we’re right.”
“I think I was just feeling sorry for myself, after all, I replaced a woman less than half my age, and then it looked like I was going to fail on my first major case.”
“Don’t let age stop you Maggie, just keep doing the best you can.”
“That’s what you do, isn’t it?”
“You’re damn right, and I have no plans to retire.”
Maggie leaned across the seat and kissed him.
“I like you, Jake Caliber, and I don’t give a damn how old you are.”
The old man caressed her cheek.
“You make me feel young again, do you know that?”
Maggie laughed.
“The strange thing is, you do the same to me.”
CHAPTER 19
Rayne came up empty on trying to find another boat to help her catch up to Hollie, and so she took the kid up on his offer and waited until he got off at four.
She had checked in with Velma again and let her know that Hollie was likely heading their way and that she would do her best to follow him on the water.
Rayne still assumed that Hollie planned to dock the boat somewhere close by to the casino and then make his way in on foot. She wanted to stay on his trail in case he had discovered a way to get past the security measures, but in all probability, Carter Hollie would be stopped the second he walked inside the building.
While waiting for the boy, Rayne had caught up on her sleep and eaten lunch, but as four o’clock neared, she paced along the dock in front of the boy’s boat.
He grinned when he saw her anxious face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you there, and say, what’s your name?”
“I’m Rayne.”
“That’s a pretty name, and I’m Joe.”
A short time later, they were under way. Rayne stood beside the boy as he piloted the boat, while enjoying the rush of wind in her hair.
“This is fun. How fast are we going?”
“About thirty knots,”
Rayne smiled. “Go faster.”
The boy increased their speed, causing the boat to jounce a bit, and Rayne howled with delight.
***
Gail returned home from work, happier than she had been in years, after learning of Jake and Kelli’s engagement.
She entered through the kitchen door and heard voices coming from the living room. One of the voices was Tate’s, but the other was female, and when she walked into the room, she saw that Tate had brought his daughter over.
“Gail, hi, let me introduce you to my daughter, Becca.”
Rebecca Tate had an air of innocence about her that Gail felt immediately, and to her surprise, the young woman greeted her with a hug.
“You were right, Daddy, she’s beautiful.”
Becca was blond and stood a little taller than Gail. Gail knew that the girl was developmentally challenged, and had expected to meet someone less capable than most, but she had not expected to feel the sense of loving acceptance that the girl radiated towards her. Tate had told her that Gail was his friend, and to Becca Tate, that meant that she was as good as family.
Gail hugged Becca back, while smiling at Tate.
“She’s adorable, and Becca, you’re very beautiful too.”
Becca released her and grinned.
“I’m so glad that Daddy has a friend. He’s been very sad since Mommy died.”
“Your daddy has cheered me up too, sweetie, and so have you; it’s so nice to meet you.”
“Are you hungry, Gail, I cooked,” Tate said.
“I’m famished, and I skipped lunch, plus I have news, my oldest son has gotten engaged.”
“That’s fantastic, and you’ve told me how much you like his girlfriend.”
“I’ve known her since she was a child and she’s a sweetheart. I couldn’t be happier.”
They sat down for dinner, and as Gail looked around her table, she smiled, while wondering if her days of eating alone were over for good.
***
Kelli arrived back at her apartment to find her mother sitting on the sofa with her bag packed.
Claire sent her a sheepish smile, and Kelli frowned.
“I can’t believe what you tried to do; don’t you know how devastated I’d be right now if your plan had succeeded?”
“Devastated, yes, but wiser.”
Kelli walked into the kitchen, sat her purse atop the table, and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Jake passed your little test, Mom, and he also gave me this.”
Kelli extended her hand and Claire’s eyes boggled at the engagement ring, and then she rushed back into the living room, as tears fell from her eyes.
***
Shea O’Reilly took a seat in front of Delaney’s desk. She was dressed casually, because she was still on medical leave.
Delaney pointed to the motorcycle helmet she carried.
“You bought a bike?”
“Nah, but Hector has one, and he gave me a ride here.”
“I like that Hector, Shea, and he cried like a baby when he first saw you in the ER.”
“Hector’s my big teddy bear,” Shea said, and then she pointed at Delaney’s cluttered desk. “What’s all this stuff, part of a case?”
“Yeah, the B-Girl case. I’m still looking through things. I know the captain likes the homeless guy, John Byrd, for the perp, but I’m not convinced. This stuff belongs to the first victim, Selina Clayton.”
“So, hey, your boy Caliber finally pulled the trigger, huh?”
“Yeah, I was actually with him yesterday when he picked out the ring. Get this, the two of us walk in together and when Jake asked to see engagement rings, the girl behind the counter smiled at us and said that we made a cute couple.”
O’Reilly laughed.
“What did Caliber say?”
“He told the girl that our fling ended years ago, and that now we were just friends.”
“That Kelli is a lucky girl.”
“Jake’s the lucky one, Kelli’s an angel, but tell me, why are you here?”
“I want to join homicide.”
“Really? I thought Brooklyn Narcotics wanted you?”
“They do, and I know my chances for advancement are better there, but I liked it here as a uniform, and I want to stay here as a detective.”
Delaney grinned.
“That’s great, I would have missed you. I think you’ll close a lot of cases, you’re one sharp cookie, O’Reilly, but wait here a second, I’ve got to grab the paperwork and get the ball rolling.”
While Delaney was gone, Shea looked at the desk and spotted Selina Clayton’s high school yearbook. She glanced through it, while laughing at some of the captions beneath the photos. As she turned the pages, she came across photos of both women that had been slain by the killer, and also saw photos of Kelli as a teenager.
Towards the back of the book, she turned a page, and froze, as a photograph birthed an epiphany in her mind.
The photo was of six girls in cheerleader uniforms. From left to right, the girls were Selina Clayton, Shannon McKeown, Kelli Ross, and three others. All six girls were smiling, all six girls held pom poms, and all six girls were wearing tops with the capital letter B prominent on their front.
Beneath the picture was a
caption.
The Bobcats’ cheerleaders are always ready to lead the cheers.
They were B-Girls, but the B stood for Bobcats, the name of the high school’s football team.
“Shit!”
Shea was sticking her hand in her purse to grab her phone when Delaney walked back into the office.
“Lieutenant, take a look at this.”
Delaney studied the photo, looked at Shea, and then back at the photo.
“Nah, it couldn’t... I mean it’s got nothing to do with... oh hell.”
Delaney snatched his phone off his belt, found Kelli’s number, and dialed.
There was no answer, just voicemail.
“I’ll call Jake and see if Kelli is with him. I hope to God she is, because I’m beginning to get a very bad feeling.”
***
At that moment, Jake was actually outside the building talking to Hector about his motorcycle, a Ducati Monster, whose top speed was well over a hundred miles per hour.
After answering his phone and hearing Delaney explain about the photograph and their failure to contact Kelli, Jake grabbed Hector by his collar.
“Give me the keys to your bike!”
“What?”
“My girl could be in trouble and I’ve got to get to her. Give me the keys!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Hector said, and fumbled the keys from his pocket. Seconds later, Jake rocketed away, as Hector watched in wonder.
***
Claire looked up at her daughter with red eyes.
I never believed that Jake would marry you. I thought that he was only using you, but even so, I still don’t trust him.”
Kelli sat down beside her, and then heard the faint ring of her phone from where it sat inside her purse on the kitchen table. The sound was muffled, and she ignored it and let it go to voicemail.
“Isn’t it enough that I trust him, Mom? After all, it’s my life.”
“You really love him, don’t you?”
“You know I do, and even when I was a girl I had a crush on him.”
Claire wiped at her eyes.
“I actually thought that you might wind up with his brother, Chris. You two seemed very close when you were younger, and I still think that if he hadn’t moved away that something would have developed there.”
“Chris and I were always just friends, but I think I loved Jake from the moment I saw him.”
Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 2 Page 14