by David Horne
Connor frowned, the mask of defense against saying anything negative about the elderly woman who’d shared his home and he knew much longer than Alex.
“I felt like an intruder in your house the moment I got here. And I don’t want to draft conspiracies about Jeanette. Whatever the relationship you have with her, that’s for you and her, and not me, I know it has nothing to do with me directly. I would never impose on you. But this little bit of information suggests she had some contact with Rivers that doesn’t have anything to do with landscaping.”
Connor nodded in agreement. “I can’t deny the evidence. Maybe it’s time we have a conversation with Jeanette.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” But Alex didn’t have an alternative. “If we confront her, she’ll likely deny it. But what else can we do? And the real question is if Jeanette had something to do with giving Shawn Rivers your personal information, providing him access to your house, what’s the motive? Why would she do it?”
Connor shook his head. “Maybe it’s best if we ask her directly.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Connor would have nothing short of the best for Jeanette. While he’d evicted her from the main house, her new residence was layers of luxury where Jeanette, accustomed to living a particular lifestyle, would never have to want or need again.
The senior living apartments were a sprawling community off Salem Church Road in Fredericksburg. Jeanette’s family lived in the city since the Civil War, and Connor made sure she’d have everything to live out the rest of her days in a place she’d forever call home.
He’d texted Jeanette they were coming to visit. He left out Alex coming with him, but when she didn’t respond to the text earlier that day, he contacted Alma to see if she’d heard from Jeanette. Alma gladly incorporated her contract to include Jeanette’s housing arrangement. She had a close-knit group of people who came to the house for housekeeping. Jeanette didn’t have to worry about laundry or dusting, vacuuming or dishes because Connor included all the amenities for Jeanette. But Alma hadn’t heard from Jeanette in a few days. It was due for her weekly housekeeping at Jeanette’s apartment, and she agreed to meet Connor and Alex.
They went through security together, and the three of them went into the building after Alma entered the passcode for the front door. Inside the lush building, several elderly guests greeted them with smiles and short conversations. They went to the elevator and up to the sixth floor. Alma had a key on her enormous key ring that included a new one for Jeanette’s apartment.
Alma knocked on the steel door, calling Jeanette’s name before using the key to gain entry. That was when the smell hit them like a solid wall that barred further entry in the apartment.
***
Captain McBride was out of her jurisdiction when she met with Connor and Alex in the communal lounge at the senior apartments. While ambulances were a common sight at a place where people went to live before they eventually died. The added presence of Fredericksburg city police officers and the uneasy presence of the crime scene investigators were troubling to all the guests at the closed community.
She arrived an hour after the police responded to the call. What started out as a discovery of a dead body in the apartment, escalated quickly to a crime scene. Alex did a preliminary walkthrough and realized Jeanette hadn’t just expired in the apartment alone. The Fredericksburg detectives invited McBride to share her ongoing findings with them when Connor mentioned the trouble he’d had.
“So, this is difficult for you,” she said. “I understand if you want to wait to talk to us, but I think it’s a good idea to see if there’s anything you might know that extends to your former housekeeper.” Alex watched McBride’s eyes scan Connor. She stared at the two of them holding hands while Alex’s arm held Connor’s shoulders, consoling him.
“I think there’s a man that should be on the top of your list,” Alex said. And he gave details of Rivers that included a home address and car that he drove.
“Should I know how you got some of this information, or why he’s your idea of a suspect?” McBride spoke as the Fredericksburg homicide detectives stood behind her staring at them.
It was impossible not to incriminate himself in the details of River’s life. But what started innocuous provided the police with more information than they thought possible when they arrived at the homicide. Jeanette died alone, fighting for her life with unkind hands at her throat and eventually bled out after she’d sustained stab wounds to her torso.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Connor and Alex sat in his attorney’s office the week following Jeanette’s murder. They’d organized Jeanette’s funeral and aside from Alma, them, and Larry, Jeanette didn’t have anyone else. Alex knew it was difficult for Connor to attend the funeral. After what they learned in the days following her death, healing had to start somewhere, and the end of the woman’s life was the only beginning Alex could think to have Connor focus on.
“You need to think on this and just understand that it’s over.” Larry had a mind for money and Connor’s wellbeing. His salary depended on Connor’s continued prosperity and livelihood. “Jeanette considered you her son.”
“No,” Connor said immediately shaking his head. “I don’t believe that now.”
“Well, you know as much as I do when it comes to Shawn River’s confession.”
Richmond police arrested Shawn off Interstate 95 when he sped by a state trooper. He had very little in his pockets. Once returned for interviews by Fredericksburg homicide detectives, Shawn spun a tale that included Jeanette.
“The real question is why this happened?” Larry stated rhetorically. “I think when someone gets to a point in their lives, they have an expectation. Jeanette expected to be your sole beneficiary. Now I know this started before you,” Larry said looking directly at Alex. “But things escalated after you and Connor became an item. She knew you weren’t just going away. She felt more than threatened by you.” He dug out paperwork and slid it over the desk toward Connor and Alex. Jeanette’s financial statement had weekly amounts withdrawn that went to a Western Union account. The second set of papers was receipts of the accepting account with River’s identification attached to it. “It wasn’t just River’s confession you need to accept. It’s the fact that she’d planned this and he was the instrument that she wanted to use to make it happen.”
“All this because of my fucking money,” Connor mumbled into his hands. Alex rubbed the man’s shoulder.
“Money does a lot of things to people.” Larry made eye contact with Alex. “I guess when you found Alex she thought she’d get cut out of your will. And the older she got, the more she thought what was yours, was actually hers.”
Eyes rimmed red from tears, Connor looked at Larry.
“You’re not going to change what happened. You’re sitting there right now thinking you want to get rid of all your wealth because of what it did to Jeanette. But I think you’re better off just going home and start healing.”
***
Alex drove Connor home. There were few words between them on the ride. The detectives supplied evidence from River’s testimony that made it impossible to refute Jeanette’s link to the would-be assassin. He’d signed a confession in lieu of a trial. The state prosecutors promised him life in prison instead of a seat on death row.
All the conversations he had in his head didn’t end well for Alex when he wanted to talk to his lover. Instead, he led Connor into the house. They settled in the drawing room, and Alex fixed him a straight whiskey with no ice.
Connor sipped at the whiskey. After a long silence between them, Connor looked up. “How am I supposed to react?”
“I can’t answer that,” Alex confessed. “There’s nothing in the world I can think of that will change what you’re going through right now. I know I’d feel betrayed. I’d lose trust in humanity. That’s just on the surface.”
“You’d never betray me.”
“I know I’d lay
down my life for you. But I don’t know if me standing here telling you this from my heart will make you feel better.”
“You can keep trying,” Connor whispered.
Alex knelt in front of Connor sitting in the leather armchair. They were alone in the house — a sensation that felt balanced on edge between uncomfortable and absolutely right.
“I love you.” He shook his head. It was what he wanted to say but didn’t know if it mattered anymore. In her own way, Jeanette loved Connor. But he had more feelings for Connor than he thought possible. “I loved someone before you. I know how hard it is to get over someone who’s touched your heart. But you helped me overcome something that I didn’t realize I held inside. I met you, and I realized that I’d been missing out on life. I wanted someone to share things with. I existed, but I hadn’t lived before I found you.
“I’ll be here for as long as you want me. I’ll protect you to my dying breath. And I hope that what we have is something that is important to you. But other than my love, I don’t have anything to offer you. I’m just a guy who has a mortgage and is at the moment between jobs. That’s not something someone should consider lightly if you’re thinking of a future with someone.”
“So we have a future?” Connor whispered. “You’re not going to kill me for my money?”
“I don’t have a use for your money. I’ve been living without it for so long, that your money doesn’t impress me. What impresses me is your ability to see through people to their potentials they are unaware of. After you meet with these investors, even your interaction with a gardener, you’ve convinced him that he has something to offer the world. And that’s just in a single meeting. I’ve known you for a few months. If you lost everything you had, I’d still love you because I know, you’re more than money, you’re a gift for my soul and I can’t imagine not being with you.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The new solar facility in Spotsylvania County opened to a considerable group of public supporters. Alex and Connor stood together on the platform ushering in a new era of renewable energy. Connor gave a speech, Alex watched the crowds. As the head of a newly formed private security firm, he was one of six members at the event. It wasn’t that they expected trouble since Connor invested in the company; Alex only had a few clients. The business needed advertising and growth through word-of-mouth was better than any media commercials.
One of Alex’s first hires was a young man Marjorie knew and recommended. Beyond the standard background checks, Alex had the members of his team initiated in a firearms training program, tactical training, and hand to hand combat. There was never a shortage of politicians who thought their constituents needed them as their spokespersons but also had it out for them. Alex never fed their paranoia, and he was quick to know it was more important to have a security presence than look heavy-handed. He taught his team respect and protected the client at all costs.
It had been a year since Jeanette’s death, and Alex felt Connor was stronger for the experience. He listened intently. He wasn’t judgmental when it came to people wanting something from him. People who had money knew those who didn’t were always a little envious. It was when they got jealous that mattered. And so far, Connor didn’t surround himself with people who were jealous of his wealth.
It was another six months living together when Connor told Alex he should consider selling his house. He went back to the property from time to time to check on the plumbing and heating. But Joshua’s landscaping service took care of the exterior of the residence.
What Connor suggested one night gave Alex the courage to commit completely. “You don’t mind that Marjorie is engaged to one of your security team?”
The gentleman she’d recommended was Alex’s second in charge. Marjorie had great judgment in people, and it wasn’t just potential that she saw in him. Max was an immediate asset to the company.
“She promised me that he gets an office job as soon as they’re married.”
“I bet Max doesn’t agree with that.”
“Not at all,” Alex said. He turned off the bedside light, and Connor snuggled close to him.
“You know what would be a great gift for them?” Connor asked. “We should buy them a house.”
“Only a rich guy would say something like that.”
“Well, I get it.” He paused. In the dark Connor wrapped his arms around Alex and squeezed him.
“You know I don’t like talking about money with you.” They’d learned to skirt the subject on several occasions following the problems it caused in their lives. Alex received a loan from the bank for the majority of his business. But he wasn’t a fool. He knew Larry had a lot to do with the applications. And it helped that Connor was a silent partner. But he had a small business loan that he paid back completely. Now the company had employees and operated in the black. “I think it’s a good idea.”
“So you think we should get them a house?”
“Well, I have a house.”
And with the comment, Connor squeezed tighter. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“It’s a perfect start for them.”
“It is.”
“But that means I’ll be homeless if you ever get sick of me.”
“True, but if we’re married, you will always have something.”
Alex waited a long moment. He didn’t speak. They’d talked about it before. There was friendly banter that came in waves. Marjorie commented about them every time she and Max came for dinner. There was nothing Alex could think of that made him feel it wasn’t a good idea.
“So, should we wait until after Marjorie and Max get married?”
“That’s up to you. If it were up to me, I’d have married you the first time we met, and you winked at me.”