Suspect Lover

by Stephanie Doyle

  Hernandez stood. “I’m going to go call Steven. Bring him down here for questioning. In the meantime, I’m putting you in a holding cell. You can call a lawyer.”

  “I don’t need a lawyer yet.”

  “Fine. But you’ll sit tight until I hear what Ford has to say about this. That’s the way it’s got to be.”

  Dominic nodded.

  “When your wife finds out I’m not ready to let you go, she’s going to hit me again, isn’t she?”

  For the first time in a long time Dominic felt his lips twitching into a smile. “Yes, she probably is.”

  The detective headed for the door, then stopped. “As far as you know did Denny have a girlfriend?”

  “A girlfriend? No. You have to know Denny. He wasn’t very socially adept.” Dominic stared at his hands and then a memory came to him. “Wait. Caroline said something to me. When we were arguing about something else. She said there was office talk about Denny having a crush on someone. I didn’t believe it. Figured it was just gossip.”

  Hernandez’s eyes drifted off, and Dominic felt as if he were putting something together.

  “I’ll be back.”

  Mark stopped in front of the two women who seemed to be leaning against each other for support.

  “Why don’t you both go home?”

  Caroline stared at him. “I’m not leaving without Dominic.”

  “Look, this is going to take a while. He’s got to stay here until I get a few things sorted out. There’s no point in you sitting up all night.”

  “I’m not-”

  “Leaving,” he finished. “Stubborn and violent. Hey, shortcake, wake up.” Mark bumped Nora’s leg with his foot. She immediately popped her head up.

  “What? I wasn’t sleeping.”

  “Take Mrs. Santos home. It is Mrs. Santos?”

  “It is,” Caroline agreed.

  Mark crouched down. “Listen, I understand you want to be loyal and stick by your man. But you’re not doing him any good by sitting here in a hard chair not getting any sleep. Go back to the house. Take a hot bath, do whatever it is women do. Then you come back tomorrow and you’ll be ready for whatever’s next.”

  “What’s next?” she asked wearily.

  “I don’t know. But I want the truth, Caroline, even if that’s not the easy answer.”

  He hated the doubt he saw in her eyes.

  “Trust me,” Mark urged her.

  “I told you,” Nora interrupted. “He’s not the worst detective in the world. I think we can trust him.”

  Mark stood up and smiled down at his pint-sized partner. “You know, shortcake, you keep talking like that I’m going to think you like me.”

  “I’ll be extra careful, then. Come on, Caroline. Let’s get out of here.”

  Nora got Caroline to her feet and guided her to the station’s doors.

  Abruptly they both stopped. Mark wondered what was up until he saw the station’s newest arrival.

  Steven Ford had just walked through the door.

  “Caroline!” Steven called out rushing up to her. “Is it true? Is Dominic here? Is he okay?”

  “Get away from me,” Caroline told him.

  Mark saw her reach for Nora’s arm and hold on tight.

  “Let’s get out of here. Now.” Caroline moved around him and Nora followed. Together they left arm in arm.

  “Caroline.” Clearly the man was confused. “I don’t understand. Wait.”

  Mark watched the interaction. “Let them go,” he said as he approached Ford.

  “I don’t understand. What’s happening? I want to see Dominic.”

  “First things first. I’ve got a few more questions I would like to ask you.” Mark steered him in the direction of a hallway that led to the interrogation room. He opened the door and allowed him to walk in of his own accord.

  “What is this?” he asked. “Where’s Dominic?”

  “Have a seat Mr. Ford. I have to tell you that if you would like, you may call your lawyer.”

  “I don’t want a damn lawyer. I want to know what this is about.”

  “This is about the death of Denny Haskell and Serena Almonde.”

  “Serena?” Steven whispered. He reached for the chair and dropped into it. “No, that’s not possible.”

  “The police found her in her car a few hours ago, I’m afraid. She was killed sometime early yesterday afternoon.”

  “How?”

  “Car ran her off the road into a tree.”

  The man winced at the news.

  “Where were you around noon yesterday, Mr. Ford?”

  Steven gulped a few times and blinked his eyes, as if he couldn’t stop himself.

  “I was at the office,” he finally said.

  “Can you think of any reason why someone would want to kill Serena?”

  “I still can’t think of a reason why someone would want to kill Denny!” he shouted back. “None of this makes sense.”

  Just then, a discreet knock sounded at the door. Mark got up as a uniform officer slipped him a piece of paper, then quickly retreated.

  Mark read the paper then looked at Steven and decided to play a hunch. “You can’t think of any reason why someone might want to kill Denny?”

  “No.”

  “Mr. Ford, did you know your wife was having an affair with him?”

  Dominic sat in a corner of the large holding cell. He tried to tell himself that it wasn’t the same as a real cell, but it didn’t work. The bars were just as solid, the loss of freedom equally powerful. Whoever had created the cell knew what they were doing when it came to psychological torture. A man inside lost his dignity, his liberty and his ego. A man inside a cell was never the same as the man outside.

  To take his mind off of his location, Dominic closed his eyes and tried to think. Serena was dead. Murdered. What had motivated her to get involved in all of this? He had to assume it was money. What had Caroline told him, something about some family she was trying to get into the States? At least he could pretend her motivation stemmed from desperation.

  Steven’s motive was less clear.

  Dominic mapped out the events in his mind. Steven must have learned about the program that Denny had created, saw its potential and decided that he wanted it all for himself. So he altered the books, had Serena make the switch, killed Denny and then just waited for everything else to play out.

  Only the money was still in the company’s account. So if it was a setup, it was a poor one. If Dominic didn’t have the kind of past he did, he might not have run. Then it would have been his word against Steven’s as to how the books got altered. Not exactly a sure thing.

  Was it possible Denny told him about their shared criminal past? Dominic couldn’t see Denny revealing himself like that to Steven. The two men weren’t close at all, barely spoke to one another.

  It was odd, Dominic mused. Steven had plenty of money from his share of the company’s profits despite repaying his loan to Russell. Of the three of them, he was really the least ambitious. If it wasn’t for his father-in-law’s influence, he might have never thought of becoming a partner. So what the hell was he planning to do with the program once he got it?

  “Denny?”

  Mark watched the man’s reaction. He saw shock and disbelief. But that didn’t mean a whole lot to him. Most criminals could fake shock and disbelief pretty easily.

  “It’s not possible.”

  “Denny had your number in his cell phone.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Phone records indicate he called your house the night he was killed. My guess is he spoke to your wife. Is that what set you off? Did you hear her on the phone with him and crack?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous! It’s not possible. Anne hated Denny. He disgusted her.”

  “Disgust. That’s a pretty powerful word. If it’s true, then it’s odd that we found a magazine with her fingerprints in his office. Remember we printed everyone connected to this case to elimi
nate familiar prints. Strange place to find your wife’s, though. Can you think of any reason she would spend time in his office?”

  Steven opened, then closed his mouth.

  Mark pulled the empty chair close to him so he could look the man in the face. “Let me ask you something, Steven. As far as you know has your wife ever strayed before?”

  For a split second, Steven’s eyes sharpened into angry slits. It was all the answer Mark needed. “I’m sorry. I truly am. Who was he?”

  “Dominic Santos,” Steven muttered thickly.

  “Can I just say you were completely off base.”

  Dominic immediately jumped to his feet as he heard the detective make his way down the row of cells.

  “This wasn’t about your fancy computer program at all,” Hernandez said, even as he reached down to unlock the door. “This was about the second-greatest motive for murder. Revenge. Plain and simple.”

  “What are you saying?” Dominic struggled to catch up. “Steven wanted revenge? Against me?”

  “You and Denny. But not for the reason you might think. Let me ask you something, Santos. You ever have an affair with Anne Ford?”

  Slowly, Dominic sank back down on the holding cell bench.

  “It wasn’t an affair,” Dominic mumbled. “It was a pass. That was it. Nothing happened.”

  “She made a play for you, though. Not something you would be thrilled to know about your wife. Then she does the other partner and…”

  “Anne and Denny? That’s not possible.”

  “So everyone tells me. But I found a magazine in Denny’s office with her prints all over it. There was Ford’s home number in Denny’s cell. A call made to his house from said phone. And right now, the jilted husband is in the interrogation room crying like a baby.”

  “He confessed?”

  “No, but I think it’s just a matter of time,” Mark figured. “The pieces fit. He wanted to get back at Denny for shacking up with his wife. He wanted to get back at you for being someone his wife hit on. Denny’s dead. You’re in jail. He keeps the company for himself and probably ditches the wife.”

  Dominic considered the theory, but it was hard to swallow. “You have to know Anne. It just doesn’t seem like her to have an affair with someone like Denny.”

  “Yeah, Ford thought he disgusted her, but you never know what goes on in a woman’s mind. Take Nora, for instance. What type of guy do you think she would be attracted to? Not that I care. I’m just trying to make a point here.”

  But Dominic ignored the question. Anne and Denny. Anne hated his scruffiness. She hated the way he endlessly talked about his programs. She hated Denny. So what made her get in bed with him? Was she trying to get back at Steven for something?

  No.

  A stillness crept over Dominic and he suddenly he could hear his heart beat, hear the sound of his breath entering and leaving his body. “You were right,” he told the detective who was still rambling on about Nora’s taste in men.

  He stopped when Dominic spoke. “Right about what?”

  “This wasn’t about the program.”

  “I told you that.”

  “This was about revenge.”

  “Yeah, I know. Keep up. Ford took revenge against the men who his wife obviously wanted more than him.”

  “No,” Dominic said bursting out of the cell as soon as the door swung open. “This is about revenge. But not Steven’s.”

  Chapter 18

  “An indoor pool. A house on the beach. A bestselling sister-in-law. I’m really going to have to start visiting more.”

  Caroline smiled at Nora, who immediately made herself comfortable on the couch.

  It did feel good to be home. And this was home. She knew it. It was the difference between the dread she’d felt standing inside the foyer of her house in Leesburg and the hope she felt now. Steven was in police custody, the truth would come out and it would be over.

  As soon as Dominic walked through the door, she was going to propose to him.

  She thought of their first wedding in Vegas. Quick. Efficient. She hadn’t wanted anything else. Plus, she didn’t think he would have gone for it if she had.

  Things were different now. There was honesty. Openness. She wasn’t going to be polite about what she wanted out of their marriage anymore. Her days of walking on eggshells were over. The coward inside her was officially dead.

  She thought about how Dominic admired her serenity. She wondered how he would feel about her fire.

  “You ever been a bridesmaid, Nora?”

  Nora’s brow lifted in an exact imitation of Dominic’s. “You thinking of putting a big pink bow on my ass?”

  Caroline laughed. “Maybe not pink.”

  “I’m in. Anything that makes him happy. I’m in.”

  “Because you think you owe him,” Caroline said. “You know he probably wouldn’t like that.”

  “Can’t help it. I do. He gave me my life back.”

  “You know he came to see you. When you graduated from the academy, he was there. And one of the reasons he wanted to win this government contract was so that he would have a chance to visit you more often. He was going to try.”

  Nora’s surprise was evident, and her slow smile told its own story. “Thanks. For letting me know. If I start calling him bro, do you think it will freak him out?”

  “I do,” Caroline replied. “And I think you absolutely should. I’m going to go for a swim to try and work off all this extra adrenaline. You want to join me?”

  “As in exercise? Tonight? I already had to run to chase you down a flight of stairs. That’s enough physical activity for me for a week.” Nora found the remote and began flicking through the channels on the flat-screen.

  “If you get tired there’s a guest room upstairs.”

  “I’m cool. My bet is Hernandez will either call or stop by once he has news.”

  After changing into her suit, Caroline made her way to the pool, switching on the underwater lights but opting to leave the rest of the room in the dark. She’d found that way she could see the stars more clearly. The rain clouds were finally passing and the stars in the night sky twinkled.

  She took pleasure in diving into the water in one clean leap. Hands piercing the surface. Body plunging afterward. No thought. No hesitation.

  The water greeted her like a warm massage. She wondered how long she could stay under water. How long could she escape from the noise. How long could she continue to fly. Not too long.

  Halfway to the other end of the pool, she kicked off the bottom and found air. Sucking it into her lungs, she dove under once more, determined to swim the rest of the length of the pool. She focused on the light shining from the center of the stairs underneath the water.

  Suddenly the lamp went out and she poked her head up. Her first assumption was that the bulb had gone.

  That assumption was wrong.

  “Hello, Caroline.”

  “Anne.” She huffed, trying to recover the air she’d denied her lungs. “What are you doing here?” Caroline didn’t hesitate and climbed the stairs out of the pool.

  Anne held a towel out for her. Carefully Caroline took it as ideas ran through her head. She must know about Steven. Maybe he’d already been charged with murder. It was certainly enough to make a wife angry. Desperate. Caroline knew.

  Feeling vulnerable and slightly exposed in the bathing suit, she wrapped the towel around her breasts and slicked the wet hair off her face. “What are you doing here?” Caroline asked again.

  Anne simply smiled. “I hear Dominic’s back. You must be thrilled.”

  “I am.” She didn’t have to wonder what the strange sensation swirling throughout her body was. It consumed her and turned her knees to mush. It was her old friend, fear. “Did Nora let you in?”

  Cautiously, Caroline turned her head, but she couldn’t see up to where the couch was on the second level.

  “Yes, she’s upstairs watching TV. She told me you were down here.”
>
  The feeling rolling through her gut increased, accompanied by a roaring in her ears. Nora wouldn’t have sent this woman downstairs. She would have wanted to know what the hell she was doing here in the first place and why she wasn’t down at police headquarters supporting her husband.

  Anne had done something to Nora. It was the only explanation. And it explained everything else.

  “You and Steven are in this together.”

  “Wrong!” Anne shouted and then chortled arrogantly. “Come on, Caroline. You’re a mystery writer. Surely, you can do better than that. Steven? You think he was behind this? Please. Steven couldn’t find his way to the executive washroom if I didn’t lead him there.”

  Caroline took a step back. “I’m not in the mood to play games, Anne.”

  “But aren’t you curious? I mean you’re going to die, Caroline. Don’t you want to know why?”

  It wasn’t until she actually said the word die that Caroline saw the gun in the woman’s hand bumping against her hip. Focusing on the glint of steel, she couldn’t look away.

  “Ask me,” Anne insisted.

  “Why?” It was barely a whisper because there was no saliva left in her mouth.

  “Well, there’s Denny’s program. It’s going to be very useful to me when I take over the company. Daddy says we’re going to make more money than we have ever dreamed of.”

  “Russell’s involved, too.”

  “He knows about the program. He just doesn’t know everything I had to do to get it. And I did have to do a lot. The money I’m going to make will be my reward. In fact, I don’t know that all of this would have been worth it otherwise.” Then Anne seemed to reconsider that statement. “Or maybe it would have been. I’m not sure. Actually this has all been rather exciting for me. I had always heard that revenge could be sweet, but I didn’t know it could be fun, too.”

  “Revenge against me for what?” Caroline asked. “I barely know you.”

  “Not against you. Dominic, silly. Maybe you weren’t aware of this, but your husband did something no one else has ever done.”

  “Rejection hurts,” Caroline said remembering what Anne had said about never being denied.