Blood Ties

by Josephine Barly

  “I…I…” I stammered stupidly, looking at the door, hoping someone would show up.

  Max opened the door and stood under the threshold; he looked outside.

  “She’s onto us, come in,” he said, and he walked back inside, followed by Maggie.

  I stared dumbfounded.

  Maggie and Max together? Kelly’s book…the content, it must be the truth. Max must have relationships with all the dire men, and…what?

  “What’s going on Max? Are you in a relationship with Maggie? That’s totally fine by me…” I said faking innocence.

  “You’re not the greatest liar Sammy,” Max said, sounding disappointed. “And I know you’ve read Kelly’s text, so don’t pretend otherwise.”

  “But it’s all fiction Max, there’s nothing true in it. And as I told you, I’m not considering it for publication, so you don’t have to worry about your image.”

  “You think it’s my image what concerns me?” Max asked, spite in his eyes and voice.

  “I told you, you’ve given her too much credit,” Maggie told Max without removing her eyes from mine.

  “I guess. One always wants to see the best in people, most of all in family. Anyway, my image is fine. What I cannot have are policemen tapping my phones, tracking my every move, investigating my work deals…It would mean a severe deterioration of some very good ties I have, and I can’t allow that.”

  “No one needs to know,” I said quickly. “We’ll destroy the copy I’ve read, and I’ll talk Kelly out of taking the manuscript to other publishing houses and that’ll be it.”

  “Sure, we’ll even call a cab for you to drive you to your house, will that do?” Maggie asked, sarcastic as I’d ever seen her.

  I hated the bitch.

  “What will you do? Kill me?” I asked doing my best to stay calm.

  “Yes, I’m sorry Sammy, but right now you represent a threat in the stability that is my life. On the upside, I promise it’ll be quick,” Max said as he pulled out a gun from the back of his pants.

  “How will you sell it?” I asked, stalling.

  “A break in. I’m sorry to say, a thief broke in and you were the only one here,” Max explained.

  “Okay. Seeing as how you’re about to kill me, do you think it’s possible for you to tell me if you had anything to do with what’s going on with Kelly and Noel?”

  “I don’t see why not, Sammy.”

  “Max, she’s only keeping you busy. I’m sure she’s called the police or something!” Maggie cried out, exasperated. “Let her find out in hell.”

  “Thanks Maggie,” I said dryly, looking at Max with hope and despair, trying to be as much of a victim as I could. He’d liked that in Kelly. “Wait,” I stated, my mind clearing up; “it was you who tried to run me over. Kelly wasn’t wearing a wig, you were, Maggie,” I said, looking at her. “You killed Sandy, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did,” Maggie replied without hesitating. “And it would have been great if I could have gotten rid of you right then and there, our plans would have worked out much more efficiently,” her bitter voice reprimanded me, as if it had been my fault Jared had saved me.

  “You would have pinned both murders on Kelly?” I half-asked, half-stated.

  “Wow, she thinks,” Maggie replied.

  “But Sandy was your friend and you were devastated. You even reached out to Kelly…Oh, you left the evidence then,” I said to myself.

  “It wasn’t easy, killing Sandy, but it had to be done. And your sister…I don’t know what was easier; planting evidence at Kelly’s or convincing her that I actually liked her. I mean, come on! There’s gullible people and then there’s Kelly. I made three comments about her house, her book and her looks and she thinks I’m her best friend. Honestly Max, I can’t believe you were married to her.”

  “She’s sweet and funny, and her skills in bed make up for whatever comes out of her mouth,” Max explained, and I felt very overprotective of my sister.

  “If you say so,” Maggie proceeded. “Anyway, Kelly was framed and she’s unable to deny the evidence that links her to the murders, so she’s screwed.”

  “But what about Noel?” I asked hesitantly, trying to figure out just how deep this scam ran.

  “He’s a scoundrel Sammy,” Max said. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but as soon as I told Noel how much money and drugs I could get him, he was overly-eager to sell out his sister.”

  “He murdered Susie” I asked in disbelief. “But they’d been like siblings. I mean, she basically grew up in our house…”

  “No, no, Sammy, forgive me,” Max interrupted me. “I killed Susan.”

  “Why?” I cried.

  “We’d been lovers for a few months. After she represented Kelly against me, we met a couple of times and the chemistry between us couldn’t be ignored.”

  “So the cell phone was yours…But why would you kill her if you were together? And why wouldn’t Susie tell me about you?”

  “She was ashamed of screwing her best friend’s sister’s ex,” Max said bitterly.

  “You cared about her, didn’t you?” I asked, trying to piece everything together.

  “Yes, but I was nothing more to her than a great fuck, as she put it. And Susan was planning on moving in with that idiot Raymond, so we’d be done. That Saturday night we met for a last screw, and unfortunately, I got possessed by anger. It was an accident; I didn’t mean to kill her. It’s just that I couldn’t stand the idea of us not being together any longer, especially considering Raymond is beneath her.”

  “So it was a matter of if you can’t have her, no one will. Why do you stick around with him, Maggie? He’s clearly not in love with you.”

  “Money, Samantha. I don’t want to be anyone’s assistant. I want to travel and be carefree. I want the luxury I wouldn’t otherwise have. When Olivia first handed me Kelly’s text, I knew Max would be in trouble if the book got published, so I offered him my collaboration for a number that benefits us both.”

  “Is that why you killed Olivia?”

  “Yes,” Max replied steadily, “I couldn’t have her talking about what she’d read.”

  “For how long have you been planning this?” I enquired, confused.

  Maggie looked at Max pissed off. I guess she was in a hurry to kill me. Lucky for me, Max had been fond of me and he didn’t seem at all bothered by the idea of taking his time and explaining the situation.

  “Susan’s murder was an accident. I was just going to leave it like that and it would become a cold case. Maggie called me on Monday morning and let me know about the book. That was when I made up my mind; I wanted your sister to pay for trying to screw up my life. She’s so self-centered and a reckless fame-whore who’d be willing to make my life a living hell just so that she can have her fifteen minutes on TV: I had to get rid of Olivia because she’d read the book. Sandy was targeted once she let slip the fact that she knew about my questionable transactions through Kelly, as well as the knowledge of my relationship with Susan.”

  “Noel murdered Olivia for you?” I asked, still doubtful.

  “No, I followed him to the bar,” Maggie said. “I called Olivia and told her Noel was great in the sack and, needy as she was, she joined him and flirted with him. I drugged his drink when she went to the bathroom and then followed them back to his place. Once he fell asleep, Olivia got ready to leave but I stopped her. What no one knew about her was that she was bisexual, so I talked her into giving Noel another try, with me joining them. Then I murdered her and he didn’t even stir, asleep as he was.”

  “And the other victim?”

  “I needed evidence to link Kelly to Noel so that her house would be searched again and Maggie could have the opportunity of framing her a bit more,” Max explained.

  “So you also framed Noel?”

  “With the murders, yes. With the drugs, no. Plus, he lied to the police and he accepted a bribe from me,” Max replied.

  “But why would he do it? He’s in jail
now, so he can’t use your money…” I said, trying to figure my brother’s involvement out.

  “I’ve promised him an exit opportunity from prison. I’ve got connections and I can have him either escaping in a few hours, or with a mistrial caused by anything that the judge will grant me. But for covers’ sake, he’ll be in for a few months. Then it will be him, his conscience and two million dollars, plus fake ID’s. Are all your questions answered now, Sammy? Or do you have any further doubts that I may clear?”

  I frowned as I thought about it. I didn’t really have any more questions, but I wasn’t looking forward to being killed either, so I stammered as I tried to come up with a question or two. But I couldn’t.

  “So all of this was done for the sole purpose of screwing Kelly?” I asked, desperate for time.

  As I thought about it, time wouldn’t be that great. I mean, the cleaning service wouldn’t be in for another hour, and I couldn’t stall that long; Jared hadn’t called me back, so his dropping by the office was not going to happen; and I wasn’t about to develop super fighting skills. So, I was as good as dead.

  “Yes,” Maggie replied, sighing to make her impatience evident. “Let’s get this over with, Max.”

  “Okay.”

  “Wait!” I said, all hope gone. “Just…Let me close my eyes, okay? And then give me a couple of seconds so that I can think of something pleasant. If I’m going to die, I want to go at ease. Is that alright?” I asked glum.

  I know it doesn’t make much sense, but in my mind, it does. I don’t want my last thoughts to be filled with fear or contempt. I want to have happy thoughts.

  “Of course I can do that,” Max said, nodding at me.

  “Thank you,” I replied.

  I took a very deep breath, closed my eyes and pictured my mom, Rod, Kelly, Jared, Susie…I heard two bangs. I exhaled and waited for the pain. But the expected burning of blood, aching of skin, loss of oxygen or whatever else it is I was supposed to feel didn’t happen.

  “It’s okay Sam,” Jared’s reassuring voice said, and I cracked an eye open.

  Maggie and Max were lying on the ground, Jared stood under the threshold with Aidan by his side. I run towards them and jumped into Jared’s arms.

  “How did you know?” I asked, shocked.

  “I heard your message and did some research,” Jared replied as he moved me out of my office; I could hear Aidan using his cell phone.

  “I managed to get a phone call through to Kelly and after checking with some detectives and undercover cops who are working in narcotics and the mob, I found out that Max has a shitload of connections. I called your cell phone but didn’t get an answer, so we went to your home, which was empty. I decided to come over and Aidan was driving, so he came as well.”

  “Amazing timing,” I muttered.

  Jared laughed and hugged me tightly.

  “Kelly’s innocent,” I whispered. “Max and Maggie framed her, there’s a lot of explaining to do.”

  “It’s okay Sam,” Jared said, soothing me as he caressed my back, “we’ll talk about that later. Right now you have to calm down, alright?”

  I nodded and sat on the floor. I closed my eyes and breathed evenly. Jared knelt beside me, whispering for me to inhale and exhale. I could hear people arrive and walk around me, but I refused to open my eyes; by ignoring everyone and focusing on my breathing, I was calm.

  After a few minutes—or maybe many, I have no idea—I cracked my eyes open and found myself staring straight into Jared’s concerned eyes. I offered him a weak smile; he grinned as he realized I was just fine.

  Jared helped me to my feet. He told Aidan, who was talking with Samaire, that we’d be going down to the station so that I could give my statement to Captain Nicholson.

  Mom and Rod were already at Tillman Station by the time we got there. Jared had called them before we’d left Orchid Books.

  “Oh Sammy, I can’t believe it! Are you okay? Jared said Maxwell tried to kill you. What’s going on? Would you like me to…I don’t know…” my mom’s trembling voice trailed off as she hugged me and cried.

  A few tears strolled down my cheeks as I stroked the back of her head and reassured her I was fine.

  “It was a setup, mom. Maxwell and Maggie, my assistant, do you remember her, mom? Well, they had framed Kelly as vengeance because the book she’d written vented out some of his illegal connections to mob bosses and hit-men and other stuff.”

  “What?” Rod thundered, and my mom became still with shock.

  “So Noel’s innocent too? That’s great,” my mom said, still trying to fully grasp what I’d told her.

  “Not really. I mean, he didn’t murder Olivia, but he was bribed by Max into blaming Kelly and claiming to be her accomplice. So he’s an asshole, I’m sorry mom, but remember, it’s not your fault,” I finished calmly, hoping that the tone with which I spoke with would keep her at ease.

  “Oh God,” my mom whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.

  Rod hugged her and Jared joined us. He looked at my mom with serious but kind eyes; she breathed and nodded, putting on a brave face.

  “Captain Nicholson is ready for your statement, Sam. I expect Violet will be dropping by the judge’s chambers and Kelly will be released tonight. Noel, on the other hand, will serve less time, but he’ll remain imprisoned.”

  Mom, Rod and I nodded; I felt Jared’s hand against my back and I let my body be guided by him up to the room where Captain Nicholson waited.

  I sat behind the desk perfectly aware that Jared and probably a couple of detectives or officers were watching behind the window/mirror.

  Captain Nicholson sat across me with kind and pleased eyes. He was content that the cases were finally solved.

  After placing a recorder on the table, he pressed the recording button and, once he stated the date, time and case, he instructed for me to narrate the events of the evening. I did.

  Epilogue

  A month went by.

  I was watching Law & Order when the phone rang. I decided to ignore the call; the detectives were going through a suspect’s apartment.

  “Won’t you get that?” Jared asked, annoyed by the ringing.

  “Whoever it is should know better,” I replied, focused on the TV; the ringing stopped.

  When the show cut to commercials, the phone rang again, and I picked the receiver, stretching my arms across Jared. I lost balance, fell on him and he embraced me.

  “I told mom you’d be watching Law & Order but she insisted for me to call you all the same.”

  “Hi Kelly, what’s up?” I asked, giggling as Jared spray fleeting kisses over my neck and collar bone.

  “Mom wants to know if Jared and you are available for dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Let me ask,” I replied as I separated the phone from my ear and asked Jared; he nodded. “Sure thing. Shall we meet you at mom’s or at your place?”

  “Mom’s; they’re over at my place right now and I can’t have two special dinners in a row, I’m too lazy.”

  “Of course you are. Law & Order’s back, talk to you tomorrow?”

  “Yes, send my love to your detective! Bye!”

  “Good night.”

  We continued watching the show, glad things were getting back to normal, growing used to the changes of the past month and learning how to move on.

  Ray had met me and we’d scattered Susie’s ashes along the Mississippi River. It had given both of us closure and I’d found comfort in Jared’s arms shortly thereafter.

  Now time was moving on and we were all adjusting. Kelly by getting a book deal, Noel in jail, mom and Rod making small trips together, everyone growing used to the idea that Jared was a cop who’d asked to transfer to Memphis once the case had closed, and me, blissfully getting to know him.

  And so far, everything felt just fine.

 

 

&n
bsp;