“No, she didn’t want to go.”
Maggie crouched down and smoothed the rough fur on Daisy’s head. “Come on Daisy, let’s go outside.” The dog struggled to get up and then shook. Her long nails clattered across the floor as they went outside, and each step appeared full of effort. Her tail hung straight down. “Come on, it’s okay, girl.” Maggie encouraged her down the steps and then watched her dog as she walked around and then lifted her head to sniff the air. Maggie walked a little farther on the grass encouraging Daisy to follow. She told herself Daisy was old. She’d perk up. Maybe she needed to change her food. Finally, Daisy found a spot and squatted, but it was so brief Maggie wondered if it was for her benefit as Daisy wandered slowly up the stairs and waited at the door. Maybe it was a virus. “Do you want to go back and lie down?” Daisy gazed at the door waiting for it to magically open. But then she looked up and gave Maggie a pitiful wag of her tail. That was encouraging.
Maggie followed Daisy in the house and watched her dog slump back to bed.
“She’s an old dog, Maggie. She’ll be okay. Just let her be for now.” Richard poured her a cup of coffee. “We ate already, and Ryley’s already gone to school. Do you want some eggs?”
“I’ll do it.”
Richard lingered for a moment until she looked up at him. She forced a tight smile. He was so strong and together. Why couldn’t she be more like him? The depression and blue days snuck up on her. She didn’t see them coming. Maybe it was waking up with all this uncertainty, and she still carried Lily’s aura, her tiny little being with her. She could see her face as clear as day. She swallowed and tried to push away the giant ache that shredded her heart in two.
Richard squeezed her shoulders in his way of letting her know he knew what she was thinking. “One day at a time Maggie. Eat and then join us. Harper got the 911 tape. We need to listen and figure out who made the call.”
He was good at distracting her. But for some reason, the pain was a giant hole right in her center, and today—this morning—it felt as wide as a crater.
She blinked hard to stop the tears that burned her eyes, and she cracked an egg in the frying pan, and then popped two slices of bread into the toaster. Richard rubbed her back, then traipsed into the living room where Sam was hooking up computer equipment. Maggie leaned against the counter and listened to the low chatter, rustling papers, and eagerness of this amazing group of friends, here to build a strong case, brick by brick, to save her husband.
Maggie dumped her plate in the dishwasher after she choked down breakfast and wandered into the room just as the 911 tape played. The operator came on, “What’s your emergency?”
A young woman’s hysterical voice trembled on the other end. “Help, I think he’s going to kill him.”
“Who, ma’am? And what’s your address.”
“Richard’s shouting at Dan. They’re arguing please come quick. Richard’s going to kill him. Oh my God, he just pulled out a gun. He shot Dan!” The young lady screamed.
The operator came on again. “Ma’am, are you safe? Is this Richard still there, and did you say he has a gun?”
“He can’t see me. But he’s still there. I’m hiding, but I need to get out of here before he sees me.”
“Ma’am, what is your name? What’s your location?”
Maggie gazed at her husband who frowned and held up his hand when she started to speak.
Marcie stared at Sam and said not a word as they listened to the woman rattle off the address before hanging up.
“Well, that was interesting. Anyone recognize the voice?” Diane slipped off her jean jacket and tossed it over the back of the sofa.
Kyla cooed, waved her chubby little arms, and kicked her legs in her pink terry sleeper. She was wrapped in a purple and white crochet blanket and rested on her mother’s hip. Marcie swayed the way a mother does to keep her baby content.
“Marcie?” Something passed between Sam and Marcie before she shrugged, frowned, and patted Kyla’s back.
“I don’t know. It’s familiar but…”
“There was a lot of noise in the background, kind of hard to hear, to make out who it is.” Richard sounded irritated.
“That’s traffic you’re hearing, Richard. A lot of traffic.” Diane never turned around while she adjusted something on the computer.
“Traffic? Traffic, how? The property’s off the highway, it’s isolated. No way you can hear that kind of noise. Play it again, Diane.” Richard hovered closer to the computer.
They played the recording about a dozen times. As Maggie listened she hoped there was something about the voice that was familiar, but there wasn’t. Marcie watched her and said nothing.
“There’s no way that call was made from the Gardiner property. It’s off the highway and still too isolated for that kind of traffic. And we know the number came from a disposable cell. We need to find the young woman who made that call.” Sam appeared to be strategizing something as he eyed both Diane and Richard.
Someone pounded on the backdoor.
“I’ll get it.” Sam hurried to the back door, and a minute later, reappeared with a good-looking trendy guy oozing so much confidence that Maggie had to take a step back.
“Maggie, Richard, this is Frank, my techy FBI guy.”
Frank reached for Maggie’s hand and grinned. “Charmed.”
Maggie yanked it away, and Richard stiffened beside her.
“Hey Diane, heard you need some help.” Frank fairly swatted Diane away from the computer, and took over the tape. Whatever he was doing on the computer, his fingers were flying over the keyboard. Diane stood behind him and frowned the way a big sister does at her irritating younger brother.
“Frank, can you filter out the background noise so we can hear the woman’s voice clearly?” Harper leaned against the table and looked down at the computer.
“No problem, why don’t you all take a break and give me a minute to clean it up.”
“Marcie, we’re going to rely a lot on you here. You knew Dan’s friends, the ones he hung around with, some from his past. Do you remember an Alison Johnson from high school? She was Sandra’s friend and apparently dated Dan back then.”
Maggie saw Marcie glance at Sam, and sensed something odd pass between them. One thing Maggie had noticed recently was how unusually quiet and distant Marcie had become. Kyla started fussing as she rubbed her eyes.
“I’ll take her and put her down for a nap,” Sam said. He touched Marcie’s cheek, hesitating only a second before taking his daughter.
“Maggie, is that playpen still set up in Richard’s office?”
“Yeah, Sam. No sense moving it.”
Sam hurried away as Kyla started to fuss.
Marcie wandered into the kitchen.
Maggie followed. “Is this coming between you and Sam?” How would she even begin to make up for all the hurtful things she’d said to Marcie? She wanted to say she was sorry, to take everything back but didn’t know how.
“No. This is hard, though. No matter where Sam and I are, talking about Dan and his friends still hurts him. It hurts me to talk about when we were together. It’s a part of my life that’s over. Sam’s determined to bring him down. I guess that’s his right. I’ve passed it over and off me.” She raised her hand up. “You ever heard that phrase, let go and let God? Well that’s where I am. At some point after you’ve done all you can, you have to step back, and that’s where I am with bringing Dan down. I mean for God’s sake, the man’s dead.”
Marcie walked over to the sink with such an odd look on her face.
“Marcie, I never apologized for what I said to you that awful day we buried Lily… I never meant one of those hateful words or—”
Marcie touched her arm so kindly. “I know, Maggie. I never believed you did. It’s okay.” Marcie leaned against the sink and looked away. “Alison Johnson was Dan’s high school girlfriend. I didn’t know her. She was a friend of Sandra’s. Dan’s type back then—big boobs, hour glass
figure, a body I would have given my right arm for at the time. Sandra introduced her and Dan. They dated for a few years, I think. Why would you want to know about her?”
“She works at Ryley’s school,” Richard interjected. “Wow, she’s really changed. Overweight troublemaker now. She’s been questioning Ryley for some time about Maggie.” Richard rested his hands on Maggie’s shoulders.
“She’s related to Fred White,” he continued. “White’s daughter painted a really ugly picture to Ryley of me and Maggie. Alison’s affidavit in court, and the fact she was friends with Sandra, and Sandra still has a contract for respite care. Doesn’t all of this sound too coincidental? Like someone put together a plan to nail me. Maybe get back at me and Maggie.”
Marcie leaned against the sink and narrowed her eyes. “Yes, it does, Richard, but let me ask you this. Why has the focus been put on just you and Maggie? I’m the one who betrayed Dan and Sandra. And yet they’ve done nothing to me.”
“That’s because, my sweet thing, they’re smart enough to know right now you’re untouchable,” Sam interrupted, as he handed Kyla to Marcie. “She’s hungry, and I can’t help her in that department.” Sam kissed Marcie, and she wandered off to Maggie’s sunroom with her daughter to nurse.
“What do you mean she’s untouchable?” Maggie asked.
It was Sam who answered. “Haven’t you watched her? It’s as if she’s walking in and creating miracles around her. I mean that higher power stuff she’s always talking about. Surrounding herself in light, her angels. I see the miracles every day just being around her. Nothing bad touches her. She sends out love around her to everyone. And when she does something, it’s out of love. Don’t create bad karma, that’s what she says all the time. And it’s as if she’s doing her part to clean up all the bad and darkness that’s been created here. Whether you believe or not. Nothing can touch her.”
Maggie and Richard stared at each other. This mystical new-age weirdness was something neither expected from Sam.
Before anyone could say anything further, Frank hollered from the living room. “Break’s over, let’s rock and roll! I’ve reworked this tape, and cleared off enough of the background noise to get a better listen to who this chick is.”
Diane and Harper wandered away from the dining room table where they’d hunkered down organizing and prioritizing a list, shuffling papers, and devising some strategy to poke holes in the state’s case against Richard. They were detail people. And good at it. But it was Diane who added, “I spoke with forensics, apparently that video tape at the crime scene was one pulled right from the security camera.”
“Someone’s sure doing a bang-up job trying to frame me, Diane, and they’ve gone to a lot of trouble.”
Everyone stood around the computer when the clear voice played on the 911 call again. And it was clearer. Easy now to pick-up the slight twang in the way she lingered on Richard and Dan’s name. But even then, Maggie couldn’t place the voice. Richard shook his head, and Maggie knew he was frustrated to near a snapping point.
Sam must have realized the stress this put on Richard, as he slapped his shoulder. “Don’t push too hard. We’ll figure it out.”
Harper crossed his arms. He’d been pretty quiet while they listened to the tape. “We have very little time left, and since no one recognizes that voice, let’s pack it in. Sam and Diane, we need to sit down with Richard and go through the other evidence the state’s prepared.”
“Her name is Jane. She’s Sandra’s little sister.” Marcie spoke over Harper as she carried Kyla and walked straight into the circle. “I’d know her voice anywhere. She’s your 911 caller.”
“Well, hello.” Frank grinned from his seat on the sidelines. “So, Harper. Guess you got a place to start, now.”
Chapter Fifty-three
“Marcie, are you sure the voice you hear on the tape is this woman Jane?” Harper stepped in front of Marcie.
“Yes I am.”
“Would you testify in court?”
Sam stepped in front of Marcie. “No, she won’t.”
Maggie knew why Sam said it. So did Richard. Harper had no knowledge of Marcie’s past with Dan. The last thing Sam wanted was the DA poking around in Marcie’s past relationship with Dan, and the marijuana plants she helped cultivate with him. In the end, it could backfire and hurt Richard even more.
“Let’s talk to Jane. Sam, you and me. We’ll take the tape to get her to confess. Marcie’s name doesn’t need to come into this,” Diane suggested. She was on her feet, but Harper’s eyes remained glued on Marcie.
“Harper,” added Richard, “you’re the expert here. Wouldn’t it be better to confront Jane, to let Sam and Diane lean on her?” “Frank,” Sam chimed in, “any chance you can figure out from the background noise where she’s calling from?” “If anyone can,” Frank said with a grin.
But Maggie knew she missed something. “What is it? Is there something about the background noise that’s important?”
Sam answered: “As Richard said earlier, all the traffic noise can’t be around their property—the property where Dan was killed. That property’s isolated off the highway, it’s quiet. That was city noise.”
Excitement filled every part of Maggie. She wanted to jump up and down in victory. “This will clear Richard, won’t it? The DA will have to drop the charges.” The way everyone looked at her made her realize there must be a problem. “Won’t they?”
“I can isolate the background noise. Maybe, I might be able to pick something that stands out. But that’s slim.” Frank wasn’t smiling now; he was all business.
“Everyone come over here.” Sam hurried to the dining room table where notes and papers were spread out. He grabbed a pen, blank paper, and scribbled notes on several sheets, lining up each page side by side in some kind of order.
Everyone crowded around him. “Let’s deal with what we know and believe to be true. Richard and Dan are partners. They bought land together for a development project three years ago. They start building houses. Dan sweet talks some woman at the county into helping him rezone the land, so he can sell the houses legally as mobile homes and have a steady revenue from pad rent year after year. A really gray area… possible fraud. Over here.” Sam tapped the next sheet of paper with marijuana written at the top. “Last year, Dan coerces Maggie and Marcie to bring in and deliver his marijuana. Maggie delivers to Sandra, the middle man who handles the distribution of illegal narcotics. Sandra Carter has care of several severely disabled kids while in possession of illegal narcotics and one kid dies on her watch. Marcie and I work with the DEA and attempt to catch Dan with the marijuana and suspected cocaine exchange. Richard did help in background. We also know—”
“Take a breath, Sam,” said Harper. “I like to think I’m brighter than the average bulb, but this is a lot to chew on at once. Sandra is this Jane’s older sister, and she—Sandra—was in with Dan McKenzie’s drug dealings?”
Sam nodded. “Uh huh. And someone from the team was tipping Dan off. We also know Marcie’s granny’s cabin was bugged, so we’re pretty sure Dan knew Richard and Maggie were helping us to nail Dan on narcotics charges. This would be an absolute betrayal in Dan’s eyes from you, Richard. And Sandra, well, she knows Marcie and Maggie talked about the marijuana and broke the cardinal rules in the dark underworld: keep your head down and mouth shut. Let’s just say with Sandra’s apparent connections pretty high up in the drug scene, she’s pissed and looking for payback. And with Dan’s connection to Lance Silver, it’s possible that hit and run driver may have had another agenda, but hitting Lily, she may have been an unplanned casualty.”
Sam stopped and glanced at the puzzled expression on Harper’s face. “How much of this do you really want to know?”
Harper shook his head as he shut his eyes. “Just answer one question. Is anyone in this room involved in illegal activities now, such as growing, cultivating and/or transporting marijuana or drugs?”
“No.” Sam spoke for everyone.
“At this point, I don’t need to know anymore. Sam, we’ll talk later.” Harper let out a heavy sigh.
“Let’s go over here to the next one.” Sam scribbled notes on a third page and wrote ‘Lily’ at the top. He didn’t face Maggie when he continued, but she could feel a powerful ache, like none she’d experienced, building inside. “We need to talk about this. I’m sorry if it hurts Maggie, Richard. I know it does. But when Lily was killed, the car that hit her was never found. We can chalk it up to coincidence. But something about it never sat right with me.”
Maggie’s ears were ringing, and she wondered if the room swayed.
“Sam? Are you telling me Dan and Sandra… you think they were behind the killing of my daughter, and it wasn’t some random hit and run?!” The profane venom that spewed from Richard rattled Maggie even further. She didn’t even realize she’d cried out until Diane wrapped her arm around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Maggie,” Diane said, “but Sam and I always wondered. We have no proof, we checked. It’s an angle we’ve never looked at or talked about.”
Richard paced. He wouldn’t come near Maggie. She recognized his self-preservation—the evasiveness when he pulled into himself. He did that how many times after Lily died? She hated that guy and never wanted to see that part of Richard again.
Sam ripped off another sheet of paper and began scribbling. Richard leaned over Sam’s shoulder reading every word. “Richard and Maggie, your life fell apart. You split up and spent over a year pulling it together, but during that time, Dan disappeared. He left you holding the bag. Payments were due on the houses, you kept building to sell each house, to get your money, so you could pay off the mortgage on this property. You physically buried yourself in building those houses as a way to cope. You weren’t searching out consequences for your actions. The lawyer who handled the sale of each house, divided the amount equally, your half in one account, the other half in an account for Dan. But yet, you ended up having to pay for all the subcontractors and materials because Dan couldn’t be found. You didn’t have the money to hire another lawyer to find and sue him. So you were buried deeper in a financial nightmare while Dan’s building his empire from some hideaway. Then a month ago, he suddenly reappears. Offers you his truck, help him make it disappear, and he’ll give you the $30,000 insurance money. If you don’t, he won’t pay you. You have the bank pounding on the back door. Loans are due. You can’t wait to drag him through court, you’ll be bankrupt and will have lost this house by then, so you agree. But Dan being Dan, screws you. You help him dump the truck into the lake. He files a stolen vehicle report with Seattle PD, saying it was stolen on the mainland, but the insurance company won’t pay out for ninety days in case it’s recovered. Then, as luck would have it, Search and Rescue discovers the truck when they fly over. Divers go down and get the serial number and match it up to the stolen truck. Dan suddenly signs over the truck registration and gives it to you, and Dan changes his story to the sheriff. But then you, Richard, help Dan drag the truck deeper into the lake where the depth will safely hide the truck. The divers can’t find it now.”
From the Heart: Romance, Mystery and Suspense a collection for everyone Page 42