Killer Desires

by Becca Collins

  “Brett,” Sherriff Murphy continued, “you’re going to have come with us.”

  “Brett?” Sarah whispered. “Wait, Sheriff,” she added with more volume. “You must have misunderstood.”

  Joey moved in to hold her shoulders as the Sheriff explained.

  “When Shane said Brett’s name this morning, we immediately got a search warrant. We found the truck that ran them off the road in the garage at the cabin. There was still paint transfer on the bumper,” he added solemnly.

  “What?” Sarah demanded. “Brett had nothing to do with Shane’s accident!”

  “Sarah, stop,” Brett said calmly. “They are just doing their job. Let them do it.”

  “But,” she muttered before she finally saw his logic. “Okay. I’ll call Cameron and you’ll be out of there before you know it.”

  His bravado faltered only a moment as the cuffs clinked around his wrists. He fought through his fear and gave her a small smile. “I’ll see you shortly.”

  ****

  “Sarah, what are you doing here?” Jack Layton was surprised to see Sarah standing on his front porch. Sarah had piled the kids back into Brett’s truck and headed to her parents’ house. She had called the hospital to check on Shane and her father had advised her to wait until morning to come. He did explain, though that Shane had woken briefly that morning and, as it happened, the Sheriff had been there at the time to check on Shane.

  When the Sheriff asked Shane if he recalled anything about the accident, all Shane had said was, “Brett Williams, find Brett.” His voice was so low that all were leaning over to hear the mutterings.

  The Sheriff, she learned, had then called a judge and requested a search warrant for Brett’s cabin. They’d gone there just that morning and found Brett’s old Ford in the garage, fresh scrapes of bright red paint smeared like blood across the fender.

  When Sarah had then been unable to reach Cameron Corbin, she left the children with Diana and raced over to see Jack.

  “I’m sorry for just dropping by, but I need your help.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Jack assured her as he ushered her into the house and into the sitting room. “What’s the matter?”

  “Brett Williams has been arrested.”

  “Yes, Sarah, we talked about that a few weeks ago. What does that have to do with me?”

  “No, Jack. He’s been arrested again,” she explained. “He was arrested this afternoon for Kristen’s death.”

  “What? I thought Kristen was killed in a car accident.”

  “She was, but the police are saying that Brett caused the accident.”

  “Oh my,” Jack mumbled as he sat onto the couch beside Sarah. He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Sarah. With all your family has gone through in the last few months, I know this must be very hard on you all. Did the police give any indication of his motive?”

  “Brett didn’t do it, Jack,” she declared. “He couldn’t have.”

  “Sarah,” Jack chastised, “I know that you didn’t believe him capable of murder but…”

  “No,” she interrupted, “that’s not what I mean. I’m not saying that he isn’t capable of doing it, even though he isn’t. I’m saying he didn’t have the opportunity, Jack. Brett was with me when Shane and Kristen were run off the road. We were at my parents’ house waiting for Shane and Kristen to arrive. They were coming over to have dinner with Brett and me. You see, Jack, he couldn’t have done it.”

  “I understand, but it doesn’t explain what you need from me. Have you spoken to his attorney?”

  “I’ve tried to call him several times, but I haven’t been able to reach him.”

  “He may be out of town.” Jack speculated.

  “Do you think he went to that conference in Chicago that Amber…” She was interrupted by his phone ringing.

  “Excuse me a moment, Sarah.”

  While Jack went to the other room to answer the phone, Sarah paced the room. She needed Jack to get Brett out of jail but didn’t know if that was going to be possible. He was already out on bail for another murder. Jack confirmed her fears when he came back into the room.

  “I will make some calls,” he promised, “but I’m really not sure it is going to do any good.”

  “Would it help to tell the police that he was with me at the time?”

  “You need to talk to Samantha before you make any statements to the police,” Jack warned her. “They know you were together when he was arrested but, quite frankly, given what they already think about the two of you, you likely wouldn’t be a very credible witness.”

  ****

  When Sarah pulled Brett’s truck back into her driveway an hour later, she was happy to see Amber hop of out of her Jaguar. She climbed out of the truck as Amber gave her a sideways glance.

  “I lost my phone in Chicago so I didn’t get your messages until I got back in town. You sounded hysterical. What the hell is going on?” Amber asked.

  “What isn’t?” Amber recognized the rhetorical question and followed Sarah into the house.

  “Seriously, Sarah, you sounded a mess on the phone,” Amber continued as they made their way into the kitchen.

  “Shane and Kristen were in a car accident the other day. Kristen died and Shane has been in a coma.”

  “What? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Amber exclaimed as she fell into a chair. “Oh my God!”

  “And then, Brett was arrested again this afternoon.”

  “What for this time?” Amber sneered.

  Sarah ignored her tone and answered. “They’re blaming him for Kristen’s death.”

  “But, you just said Kristen was in a car accident.”

  “Apparently, there was another car involved that didn’t stop. It looks like Shane’s car was forced off the road. Some paint transfer from Shane’s car matches Brett’s old truck so the sheriff picked him up this afternoon for vehicular homicide.”

  “You just pulled up in his truck. You were with him when he was arrested?” Amber asked and saw Sarah’s eyes well with tears as she nodded.

  “Here, drink this,” Amber ordered, shoving a shot glass to her face.

  The smell assaulted Sarah and she turned her head in disgust.

  “Seriously,” Amber continued, “I’ve never met a problem ole Jose Cuervo couldn’t help fix. Now drink it.”

  Sarah looked at her friend through leaking eyes and grabbed the glass. She grimaced as the tawny liquid seared its way to her stomach.

  Amber followed up with a cold beer and she gratefully took a swallow as she fell back against the couch cushions.

  “Well, at least now you know,” Amber said as she grabbed a beer of own and took a chair opposite Sarah.

  “Know what?” Sarah questioned.

  “Exactly who that murdering bastard really is!” Amber exclaimed.

  “Amber,” Sarah closed her eyes, put her hands to her face. She had no idea how to explain the last few weeks to her friend.

  “Oh fuck!” Amber roared. “Are you going to try to tell me he didn’t do this either? What do you need, Sarah, a handwritten confession?”

  “I was with him,” she confessed.

  “What do you mean? You mean you slept with him? Oh Jesus, Sarah!”

  “Yes. No. I mean I was with him when Kristen was killed. We were at my parents’ house. He couldn’t have done it.”

  “What?” Sarah’s revelation took some of the wind from Amber’s sails and she sat back down. “What are you talking about?”

  “Shane and Kristen were coming over to have dinner with Brett and me. He was at the house all afternoon.”

  “You’re sure? Sarah they found paint transfer. Think about what you are saying. Did he leave? Did he run to the store? Are you absolutely certain that he was there the whole time?”

  The memory of Brett going home to shower assaulted her, but Sarah kept her face still.

  “I’m sure, Amber. He couldn’t have been in two places at once. He was at
the house with me.”

  ****

  With a promise from Sarah that she was going straight to bed, Amber finally left around midnight. Sarah tried to keep the promise, but stayed up for several more hours pacing through her house. Her mind played through the evening Kristen was killed like a movie stuck on repeat. Brett had been gone a little over an hour. It was plenty of time. She was wrong when she told Jack he didn’t have the opportunity.

  She couldn’t stop wondering if he had used her all over again.

  It just doesn’t make any sense! Why in the world would he have done all of this?

  She struggled all night with her conflicting feelings. She had realized in the last few weeks that she had never gotten over him, had never really stopped loving him. She wanted more than anything to believe in his innocence. But in the face of all of the evidence to the contrary, was she just being naïve? She finally gave up on sleep when she saw the first rays of sunlight through the bedroom curtains.

  She called her father’s cell phone, knowing he’d also be up. They talked for quite a while though their conversation really didn’t amount to much. She told him of Brett’s arrest and her contradictory feelings about his guilt. For once in his life, Jim McGuire didn’t have an opinion. He was too tired to form one. Cathleen had insisted on staying overnight at the hospital with Shane on the off chance that he was going to wake up again. Jim had finally checked into a hotel room at 4:00 a.m. and had only slept for a couple of hours. He was getting ready to head back to the hospital and promised to call her with an update as soon as he spoke with the doctors.

  Sarah felt no better when she hung up the phone.

  She spent the next few hours doing light housework and catching up on emails. She thought about going in to the office but it was Saturday and she didn’t want to be alone there anymore than she wanted to be alone here. She thought of calling Diana and picking up the kids early but knew that given her state of mind they were better off where they were. She tried to keep herself occupied with the mundane tasks. It wasn’t working. She constantly found herself questioning her sanity for trusting Brett and then turning right around and worrying about what he was going through in county lockup.

  Going through the stack of mail she’d piled up on her desk, she found the statement from Lindsey’s pediatrician’s office. She put a call into the office, leaving a message to ask for clarification on the charges on her most recent bill. Lindsey had only been to the doctor one time in the past month as a follow up for her tonsillectomy. The charges seemed higher than usual for a basic office visit.

  When the doorbell rang, she froze. She stood in the kitchen and listened to the tones echoing through the house. Who in the hell is at the door? She finally decided that it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to see anyone. She fell into a chair as she heard rapping on the French doors behind her. Her relief was visible when she spotted Amber on the other side of the glass.

  “You look like hell,” Amber said as Sarah pulled the door open.

  “I didn’t get much sleep,” she replied.

  “I didn’t think you would,” Amber muttered as she handed her a Starbucks cup.

  “Thanks,” she said sincerely and fell back into her chair.

  “Has he tried to call you yet?” Amber questioned and Sarah didn’t need to ask who she was talking about.

  “No, but he’s probably still in lockup.”

  “Hopefully, this judge won’t grant bail,” Amber declared and Sarah looked up at her in surprise. She hadn’t considered that possibility. Seeing the look on her best friend’s face, Amber groaned. “Please don’t tell me you still believe him.”

  Sarah didn’t answer. She knew there was no point. She’d tossed and turned all night considering every angle. None of this makes any sense!

  “Sarah,” Amber said softly, “you have to at least consider the possibility that he’s guilty.”

  Why? She thought but said nothing.

  “You just don’t want to see it. For the rest of us, it’s perfectly clear. Chad was killed by Brett’s grandfather’s gun.

  “Plenty of other people had access to that gun.”

  “Oh, Jesus!” Amber groaned.

  “No, just hear me out. Brett’s house had been rented out while he was overseas. A lot of people had access to that house and some of them had reason to hate Chad.”

  “Like who?” Amber asked in a tone that told Sarah she was only humoring her.

  “Cole Johnson, for one. He was the realtor that handled the rentals and he and Chad had some real estate deal that fell through earlier this year. It cost Cole a lot of money.”

  “Is that why you were asking me about Cole the other day? Because there is no way Cole killed Chad. He doesn’t have the balls.”

  “Well, there are others. Chad’s cousin had just lost a lawsuit with him where a lot of money was stake. With Chad dead, she can access that money more easily. She rented the house. Maybe, she found the gun and just got lucky with Brett.”

  Amber still looked incredulous so Sarah continued. “And then there’s Lauren, Chad’s assistant. They were working really long hours together and she started being weird to me a few months before Chad died. I think they were having an affair. Maybe she killed him out of jealousy or something.”

  “Do you hear yourself right now? You’re throwing out accusations about every single person you can think of except the one who’s the most obvious. His truck has red paint on the bumper that matches the paint on Shane’s car. Look at it from an outside perspective. Brett came back to town, maybe it wasn’t because of any long held hatred. Maybe he just wanted you back. He found out you were married. The only way to get you back was to get rid of your husband. He was an Army Ranger, no stranger to killing people and maybe desensitized from it after being overseas so long.”

  “And what? He makes sure that all of the evidence points to him? He was a Ranger. He’s a cop. Why would he use his own gun?”

  “You said it yourself, a member of law enforcement would know best how to work the system. Maybe he was hoping everyone would assume he wouldn’t be that stupid. What better way to get you on his side than by making it look like someone was framing you both. You’d be forced to work with him. It gives him the perfect opportunity to get back into your life.”

  “What about the fact that he came here to look for his father?”

  “What about it? Maybe he thought he’d get more information on the state of your marriage by befriending your sister-in-law. Maybe Kristen finally caught on, and that’s why he ran their car off the road. Didn’t you say you were supposed to meet Kristen alone earlier in the day?”

  “Yes, but she didn’t request that I be alone when I came to the library and she had agreed to dinner with both of us. She wouldn’t have done that if she was afraid of him.”

  “Maybe Brett just didn’t want you to find out what she’d learned about him in her research. Listen,” Amber reached across the table and grabbed Sarah’s hand. Sarah felt the tears welling in her eyes and blinked them away. “Brett knew how you felt about him in high school. He played you then and he knew he could play you now. And look how well it’s worked. You’ve been pulling out all the stops to defend the man who killed your husband.”

  “But…” Sarah stood from her chair and started to pace the kitchen. Amber interrupted her.

  “What about the video of him being at the hotel on three different occasions when you were there? Did you ask him about that?”

  “No.”

  “And the parking ticket he got the night Chad was murdered or the waitress who saw him in the bar next door. Did you ask him how he just happened to be there? Is that just another coincidence? Did this mystery man that is framing him just get lucky? Come on, Sarah. Use your head.”

  “I hear what you’re saying, Amber,” Sarah cried. “I really do, but I just don’t believe he did this. He would have to be a monster.”

  “Maybe you’re right to believe him, Sarah, but what if I’m righ
t?” Sarah stopped and looked at her. “There has to be some part of you that can look at this logically and contemplate the possibility that I’m right and you’re wrong. Should you have this man in your house? Should you allow him to spend time with your daughter? Your nephew? All I’m saying is that I think you need some distance from him. Hopefully, while he’s back in jail you can get some perspective.”

  ****

  Sarah finished tucking the kids into bed and headed back toward the kitchen. She had let them stay up late, grateful for the distraction they provided. After Amber had finally left, Sarah had picked them up from Diana and taken them to play at the park before she loaded them into the car and headed for the grocery store. She’d gotten what she needed for dinner and then driven them home for the night.

  She grabbed a diet Pepsi from the refrigerator and went into the living room to watch some television. She didn’t want to replay her conversation with Amber over in her mind again. It was all she thought about all day. What if Amber was right?

  When she heard the knock on the front door, she looked at the clock and quickly realized that there was only one person who would come by this late. Her legs felt like lead as she walked toward the door. She stood there, with her hand on the knob, for several moments before the need for answers forced her to turn the handle.

  She didn’t say a word as she opened the door and then walked back into the living room. Unsure how to act, Brett closed the door behind him and followed her in silence. He watched her fall on the sofa, saw the tears well up her eyes, noticed that she hadn’t looked at him.

  “Sarah, listen to me.” He implored as he knelt down in front of her. “I didn’t hit that car! I didn’t kill Kristen!”

  “They found the paint on your old truck, Brett.” Her voice was empty.

  “I haven’t driven that truck in years, Sarah.” When she looked down at her hands twisting in her lap, he curled a finger under her chin and raised her face. “Look at me.” He met her eyes and continued, “I swear to you, I didn’t do this.”