Stone Haven

by Holly Fox Vellekoop

  Deadly was wearing a blue uniform and his tam. As usual, he was also wearing his keys on a thick brass key ring dangling from his groin. He was, however, without a firearm. He didn't like the policy that all weapons carried by anyone other than state policemen must be surrendered to the trooper at the desk. He scowled when informed that his gun would be confiscated and returned upon his leaving. Deadly was accustomed to taking weapons from others, not yielding his own.

  Dr. Stone arrived in a suit and tie, as did Dr. Burns. Both men wore white shirts. Lesley looked ten years younger than Burns, who appeared highly stressed. Violet eyes flashed behind Burns's round lenses. He kept brushing his long hair back from his face.

  Kylie Burns was outfitted in her usual chic couture. This time it was khaki slacks, white blouse, and a black blazer with black leather flats. Her gold necklace, watch, and earrings were simple but expensive. A diamond pin was perched on her lapel and her mediumlength red hair looked freshly done. She was anxious, which made her look much older than when the policemen had seen her playing happily with her dogs at her home. Today, she looked all of her fifty years and more.

  Sheski was seated behind his desk, with Mike sitting on a chair to his right. Both men were wearing dark suits and ties and had Glocks in shoulder holsters. They appeared calm, but watchful.

  "I hope we can get this over with soon. I have clients scheduled, starting with a six-thirty appointment tonight," grumbled Stone.

  "I can't promise anything," Sheski replied evenly. "We'll have to see what happens here. Is attorney Smithson going to be joining us?" he asked of Dr. Stone.

  "I haven't done anything wrong to warrant his presence," he answered firmly. The others nodded their heads in agreement as a testament of their own innocence.

  At that point, Sheski's telephone rang three times. He noticed the triple ring was an outside call and nodded to Mike to pick it up.

  "Hello, Lieutenant Mike James speaking," he said professionally. When the person on the other end of the line identified himself, Mike looked over at Sheski and nodded his head in recognition of the anticipated call. After a few "okays," and "uh-huhs," Mike finally asked of the caller, "Is that all? Bring it on over." He hung up the phone and whispered something to his partner.

  Sheski made eye contact with their four visitors, one at a time, and then began firmly, "I want to tell all of you that we brought you here to ask some questions, on the record, and to try to clear up some gray areas in our investigation of the murders of Dr. Stone's wife, Rose, and Barry Brown."

  Mike proceeded to give the Miranda rights without a response from anyone. He made sure that they understood him and had no questions. Stone and Deadly betrayed no feelings that they may have been having, but Dr. Burns was fidgeting with his glasses. Mrs. Burns couldn't keep her hand off of her diamond watch, twisting it back and forth as if to assure its comfort on her slender wrist.

  Sheski then took over. "We know that the two crimes are connected and were committed by the same killer. Frankly, we believe we can wrap up more than two murders today in this very room."

  The four suspects looked at each other, unsure of what was to follow. "If you think I killed anyone," Kylie said curtly, "you're badly mistaken."

  It was the opening Sheski was hoping for. "No," he said, "You didn't kill anyone, but you very well could have." With a grim expression, he leaned forward in his chair and began.

  "You know, Kylie, it has always bothered me that Lana's dog wasn't harmed when she was attacked and her house ransacked. Usually during break-ins where there's a family pet involved, it results in the animal's demise; even one as harmless as hers. So I asked myself, why did this trespasser tolerate Bunky, finally just locking him in an upstairs closet instead of bashing his little head in?"

  Kylie's face drained of all color. Her expression turned grave and she grasped her black purse with white knuckles.

  "I'll tell you why," Sheski said. "Because her attacker loves dogs, couldn't hurt one under any circumstances, and certainly not one as cute as Lana's. This intruder probably only locked the dog in a closet when he started to get too pesky. Someone with the initials KB."

  He tossed the key ring down on the desk for all to see. "The same initials on this gold key ring the intruder lost in Lana's house. The same key ring Bunky found and hid under Lana's couch. KB. Kylie Burns!" Sheski's voice toughened and got louder. He was becoming angry over what Lana had gone through, so he paused a little so as not to lose his focus. "Someone who loves dogs, who spends enormous amounts of time rescuing and caring for unwanted dogs. Someone who owns a Yorkshire Terrier of her own. This is your key ring, isn't it! You were the one who struck the state policeman who was outside guarding Lana's house, and then Lana when she went out onto her patio."

  Richard was looking at his wife in disbelief, waiting for her to deny it. Dr. Stone and John Deadly were giving her warning looks, willing her to keep her mouth shut.

  "You can't prove it was me. That key ring could have been planted," she said angrily.

  "We lifted a fingerprint of yours, Kylie, off the collar the dog was wearing the night you picked him up and placed him in the closet"

  "He wasn't wearing a collar," she stood and shouted. And then, alarmed, Kylie realized that she had given herself away. "You tricked me," she said viciously.

  "Don't say anymore, Kylie," Stone demanded.

  Kylie sent a frightened glance to Stone and Deadly and sat back down in her chair. She was just beginning to realize how dangerous a predicament she was in.

  "No, he doesn't wear a collar," Sheski agreed, his tone moderating, looking her full in the face. "Lana explained to me that Yorkies have a habit of getting themselves in all kinds of tight places, and she doesn't want to worry about her dog accidentally hanging himself. So, her dog doesn't wear a collar whenever he is indoors. So, you're right ... he wasn't wearing a collar," Sheski said slowly. "And you knew that because you were there"

  "What's going on here?" Burns demanded angrily of his wife, looking back and forth between her and Dr. Stone. "What is this about an assault, Kylie! Is it true?"

  His wife didn't answer. Instead, she was looking pleadingly at Lesley, hoping that he would rescue her from the jam she was in. The rescue was not forthcoming.

  "And Kylie," Sheski said, glaring at her, "you were the one following Lana on the bridge, too, weren't you? Wanting her to get jumpy and relinquish the Darling Diamond that you thought she had"

  Seeing the guilty, scared look on his wife's face, Burns shouted at her, "How could you do such a thing?"

  Kylie hung her head, covering her face, which was now streaked with tears.

  Burns went on, "I knew you two were having an affair behind my back, right in our own place of business. But I thought you would come to your senses, Kylie. I thought you really loved me and this was just a passing fling, like all of Stone's other affairs."

  He turned to Lesley and spat, "Can't you see what kind of a man he is, Kylie? He doesn't care about you. All he cares about is money. Ever since I've known him, he's always been about money"

  "It's not like that," Kylie shouted back. "Lesley loves me. That's why I went looking for the diamond ring that night. Because he wanted me to. And we thought that maybe Lana had found it at the murder scene. She was the first one there. Maybe she picked it up. Anyone would have stolen that ring. It's beautiful and worth a fortune. He promised I could have the Darling Diamond when this whole thing about Rose blew over. He said it would be mine. That we would be married. Rose didn't deserve that ring. I did."

  Richard stared at his wife in disbelief and scoffed, "Lesley wouldn't have given you anything unless he was getting something greater in return."

  "What do you have to say to that, Dr. Stone? What could you possibly have gotten in return from Kylie?" Mike directed his remarks to Stone, who was shooting daggers at the Burnses.

  "I'm not saying anything. She's lying. I had no part in what she did. I wasn't even there"

  Kylie had hea
rd enough. She lunged at Lesley, tearing at his face and clothes with her fingernails, screaming, "It was all your idea! You said we'd finally be together and have all the money we wanted. You promised that diamond to me!"

  Lesley fought his lover off the best he could. She was hysterical, cursing and crying.

  After a few seconds, Sheski and Mike stepped in to separate the two. Lesley's impeccable appearance was marred by scratches on his handsome face, his shirt ripped open, exposing his chest. He was breathing heavily and began dabbing at his facial wounds with a handkerchief. The doctor had gotten the worst of the row.

  "The part about your not being there is true, Dr. Stone," Sheski said. "You made sure that you and Deadly had alibis that night, didn't you. Deadly was being interviewed by Mike and me. And you, Dr. Stone, made sure that Burns and Sarah were witnesses to your whereabouts"

  "That's right," Dr. Burns exclaimed. "You made a big deal about the three of us installing that new computer program that night. Rose's body was barely cold. Neither Sarah nor I wanted to do it then, but you insisted. We gave you your airtight alibi. You used me all the way around."

  "I'm afraid he used more than just you and Kylie, Dr. Burns. He also used Deadly. Stone must have found out somehow that Deadly was Oliver Pratt's and Rebekah Burns's son. When in Vietnam, he also found out exactly how much Deadly had in common with his famous child-killer father."

  "That makes you two half-brothers!" Kylie said incredulously, looking back and forth between Deadly and her husband.

  With that revelation, Richard's face darkened. He covered his mouth with his hand and looked as if he was going to be sick. Deadly stared stonily at her, a sneer on his face.

  Sheski went on. "Lesley may have read the Pratt journal prior to his Vietnam tour, did some checking, and discovered that Deadly's birthdate is November 12, 1937, the same date Pratt documented his son's birth. Stone was convinced of it, just like I was, after seeing Burns's and Deadly's violet eyes. Then there's the matter of the birthmark that Oliver Pratt had and said his infant son inherited. A brown triangle above the right ear. I saw it the night we were at your home, Deadly. On you and also on Oliver Pratt in his self-portrait."

  The lieutenant had moved about the room while talking and was standing behind Deadly. He gave the tam a nudge, dislodging it from his head and onto the floor. Deadly cursed and lunged for the hat, but it was too late. The brown, triangle-shaped birthmark was revealed. Sheski eyed the blotch above the security man's right ear and went on.

  "Stone then began to use his information to manipulate Deadly into doing some dirty work for him."

  Despite the litany being recited, Lesley displayed no emotion. His keen eyes, however, bore into Sheski as he waited for the policeman to get to something he was interested in ... something he needed to know.

  Turning to Deadly once again, Sheski asked, "What could he have promised that would have convinced you to commit murder not once, not twice, not even three times but to be involved in four separate deaths?"

  "Four, what four? There were only two murders," Burns rasped.

  Sheski obliged. "Dr. Stone's mother, his wife, Barry Brown ... and Samuel Stone."

  Stone and Deadly sat still. Unnaturally still. As if the recitation not only did not matter to them, but as if it could not touch them.

  Sheski began to unfold the murderous tale that their investigation had revealed. "The murder of Rose was planned the night she threatened to cut you out of her will, wasn't it, Lesley? And she was going to keep the Darling Diamond." He looked over at the psychiatrist, not expecting a reply.

  "Rose was uneasy when Lana spoke with her on the afternoon she was murdered. Uneasy because she had a visitor she was frightened of. And with good reason!" He shifted his gaze to the security man.

  "After Rose hung up the phone from talking to Lana, you were able to catch her off-guard and repeatedly strike her with the garden tool. Then she was in your grip, and you pulled her tightly to you as she died."

  Kylie interrupted. "But what about Lesley's mother? She wasn't murdered. She died in an accident. Why would he want his own mother dead?"

  "Tell them, Dr. Stone. Tell them how your mother planned on doing some good for her town. She was going to turn her entire fortune, including the sale of the Darling Diamond, into a charitable foundation. Lesley would have inherited only what funds were left from his father's estate. That wasn't enough for you, was it?" he judged, looking back over at the psychiatrist. "So, Lesley wanted his mother dead before she signed over all that money that he thought was rightfully his."

  At this point, Sheski threw down on the desk a copy of the newspaper article recounting the death of Elizabeth Hastings Stone. Her beautiful, smiling face stared up at all of them.

  "At first I couldn't figure out how you pulled this off, Deadly, since you were on active duty. So I did a little checking around. I asked my Army contact about where you were when Dr. Stone's mother had her accident back in July, 1968. He called back and we had a nice long chat. Besides giving us that info, he said he remembered you and some of your underhanded dealings in Vietnam. Said he knew that sooner or later you would be in serious trouble ... again. He was actually pleased to know that a suspected child-killer may finally get his."

  Deadly was starting to pay closer attention.

  At the words "suspected child killer," the Burnses' mouths dropped open.

  Sheski went on. "My Army friend tells me that you were on leave twice during your 'Nam tour. Once, at the time of Elizabeth Stone's auto accident, and the other when Sam Stone went into the river. Those are two big coincidences, Deadly. The way I see it, you intercepted Stone's mother, at Dr. Stone's direction, on her way to Catawissa. You put something in the road causing her to swerve, which resulted in her Rolls Royce crashing down onto the railroad tracks."

  "You can't prove any of this," Deadly sneered.

  "Oh, yes, I can. I can put you at the scene of each murder. There are some distinct similarities between the murders of all four victims, Deadly. Each of the four people you murdered had a similar bruise somewhere on their posterior. A large bruise on their back or shoulder blades, just about the size of a bunch of keys-like those you have on now, which you don't go anywhere without. Funny how you wear them, too. Most men wear them to the side or the back so that they don't interfere with whatever it is that they are doing. You wear yours on the front. Where they do get in the way."

  Deadly looked self-consciously at the loaded key ring at the front of his belt, just inches from the buckle.

  Sheski had gotten out of his chair and was leaning into Deadly's face. Eyes locked, he laid it on the line.

  "Each victim had the same bruise. I know you're strong, black belt in karate, weight lifter. You're powerful enough to put your arms around each victim, pulling them close to you. There was a reason you pulled them tightly to you, wasn't there? What was it, Deadly?" He waited, but his prey said nothing.

  "You see, it wasn't enough that you sent Stone's mother over the cliff. The police report noted that her body had been dragged out of the wreckage. They thought someone had witnessed the accident, tried to help her and then got spooked. But that's not true. You went down to the wreckage for another reason, didn't you? You got your arms around her from the back, pulled the dying woman close to you, and then what?"

  Deadly began to sweat. Droplets rolled down his temples, over the birthmark and onto his collar. He wanted to tell them why he did that but knew he shouldn't. The others couldn't take their eyes off of him.

  "What about Samuel? What part did he play in this?" Burns asked.

  Sheski turned to Burns, then back to Deadly.

  "I can piece most of that together from the police report and town gossip. Lesley probably tolerated Samuel's craziness right up until, in the manic phase of his bipolar disorder, his brother started squandering large sums of the family's money. Lesley had to find some way of stopping him. He didn't want to lose any of his precious wealth. Remember, Deadly is the only e
yewitness to Samuel's death. And I don't think it happened the way he said it did. I believe that Samuel was lured to the river that evening and, mentally unbalanced, willingly went into the water. Samuel telephoned his brother that night and told him he was going to join his mother. Probably, Stone and Deadly had him believing he could reach her by plunging into the Susquehanna river."

  Deadly and Stone looked at each other as if they were trapped. Stone was still preoccupied with something else.

  He finally blurted out what was bothering him. "You think you're so smart, Sheski. If you're so almighty intelligent, where's my diamond? Who has the Darling Diamond?" he screamed, looking first at Sheski, then Deadly, then at Kylie. "It's mine, and I want it back" He then turned to Deadly and said viciously, "You have it, don't you. You're not only a killer, but worseyou're a thief. And I covered for you in 'Nam. All those missing children. Their families damn near beat the truth out of you. You're just like your father."

  At this point, Stone got out of his chair and started toward the security man, who was ready to take him on.

  Mike James, true to his reputation, was between the two before they knew what happened. He pulled Stone into a chair next to him, with the doctor trying to fight his way out of a wrestling hold. A split second behind him was Sheski, in turn restraining Deadly. The two men were placed in chairs at opposite ends of the desk and warned not to try it again.

  "If you want to know where your precious diamond is, Dr. Stone, you will restrain yourself from now on, or I will do it for you."

  Stone, breathing heavily from the altercation, nodded his head in agreement. "Where the hell is it?" he demanded again.

  Sheski picked up the phone and rang an inside line. "Is it here?" he asked. After getting an affirmative, he said, "Bring it in."