Take Stock in Murder

by Millie Mack

  hen Carrie opened her eyes, she saw flashing lights and heard the sound of more sirens in the distance. She sat on an incline in the center section of the driveway. She watched several members from the Club help the paramedics and the police. She watched as Jennifer was extracted from the car. They slid her out onto a stretcher and placed her immediately into an ambulance. Carrie could see the paramedics start to administer first aid. She wondered where Brad was. A uniformed officer and Detective Jenco walked right in front of her, and she heard him say, “He didn’t have a seat belt on, and even with the air bag, the force of the crash crushed him between the metal of the door and the tree. He didn’t have a chance.”

  She wondered why Jenco didn’t stop to talk to her. She tried to call his name, but nothing came from her throat. She tried to get up but was unable to move. She fell backward and was aware of how soft and thick the grass felt against her hands and neck.

  “Carrie, Carrie. Oh, darling, please talk to me.” She sat up and followed the sound. It was Charles, and he was calling to someone through the broken window of the overturned car. Suddenly he leaned back and cupped his face in his hands. “Oh, Carrie, I love you so much.” As he fell backward, she saw it was her body he was leaning over.

  It can’t be me. If that’s me, she thought, I must be…She lay back and closed her eyes. I wonder what happens now. Wait, I can’t be dead. I can feel the grass. It’s soft and moist…I wouldn’t be able to feel the grass if…Listen to me. I can feel the grass.

  “Carrie, darling, wake up.” She felt a gentle tug on her arm.

  Carrie opened one eye and saw Charles leaning over her. She reached out and touched his face. “You’re real.”

  “I hope I’m real.” He smiled back at her. “You seem to be in a touchy-feely frame of mind. You were just talking about the feel of the grass.”

  “The grass felt so soft and moist.”

  “I’m glad you’re dreaming about grass and not the crash. I hope this is a good sign.”

  She looked confused. “Where am I?”

  “You’re in your own bed in your own home with a husband who is madly in love with you. Do you remember what happened?”

  “I remember the crash, but after that, everything seems to be part of a dream. I’m having trouble telling the dream from reality…What day is it?” She started to sit up, but now, for the first time, she felt stiff, with a slight pain in her head.

  “Easy. Take it easy. You’re one big bruise. It’s Sunday. Sunday afternoon. Yesterday was Saturday, and that’s when the accident occurred.”

  “I feel so groggy. What happened?”

  “You were transported to the hospital. The ER staff found you were badly bruised, and you also hit your head. They determined you didn’t have a concussion, but the hospital staff wanted to keep you overnight for observation. However, you, my darling, are stubborn. You insisted on coming home.”

  “Charles, I just wanted to be with you,” Carrie said.

  “When I got you home, I called Dr. Henry. He came over and checked you out and agreed with the hospital diagnosis. He gave you some painkillers and a very strong sleeping pill, which probably explains why you are feeling groggy. You have been sleeping soundly for nearly twelve hours.”

  “You said I’m fine. What about Jennifer and Brad?”

  “Jennifer is in the hospital and suffering from a concussion. Apparently, she was knocked out prior to the car crashing. Being unconscious probably saved her from more serious injuries, since she wasn’t wearing a seat belt. She just rolled with the car. She should recover fully.” Charles stopped and added nothing more.

  “She was out cold. Brad drugged her. Brad—what about Brad? He’s dead, isn’t he?”

  “No, but he’s listed in critical condition.” Charles took her hand and spoke very softly. “The impact of the crash was very great.”

  “Charles, in my dream Brad was dead. In the dream I was sitting outside the car on the incline—you know, the one in the center of the driveway circle.” Charles nodded that he understood. “Anyway, I saw them extract Jennifer. I could see her move, so I knew she was alive. Then Jenco and a policeman walked right by me, and they were talking about Brad. Oh, Charles, in the dream both Brad and I were dead.”

  “But you said you were sitting on the incline, watching everyone else. You couldn’t have been de…dead.” Charles struggled even saying the word.

  “I think it was a sort of out-of-body experience.”

  “I think it was just a dream brought on by the painkillers you were given,” assured Charles.

  Charles pulled her to him and hugged her as tightly as he could in her bruised condition. “It’s interesting what you said. When I first arrived at the car, you were unconscious. I thought for a minute—”

  “You thought I was dead?”

  “Yes, and for a split second, I died right there. I couldn’t go on without you.” Charles’s words caught in his throat for a moment, and then he recovered. “But I called your name, and you came back. You opened your eyes and smiled at me.”

  “Charles, that’s exactly what I saw happen in the dream.”

  “But it did happen. You were probably reliving what your subconscious had stored.”

  “Oh, Charles, it seemed so very real. It reminded me of when I was watching life from the outside.” She paused for a moment. “It reminded me of how much…how very much I love you.”

  They were still in each other’s arms when the doorbell rang. Carrie jumped.

  “Carrie, darling, I think it may be the police. They allowed you to go home last night instead of to the police station, with the understanding that they needed to speak with you today.”

  “Won’t Detective Jenco ever leave us alone?”

  “I can tell him you’re still asleep from the drugs.”

  “I can hear the ‘or’ in your voice.”

  “Or you can talk to them now, answer their questions, and they’ll leave us alone.”

  “Actually, I do have some questions of my own. OK, give Jenco some coffee and help McCall find a comfortable corner where he can stand. I need a few minutes to pull myself together.” She kissed him on the cheek and sent Charles downstairs just as the doorbell was pushed for a long ring.

  arrie did her best to pull herself together. She brushed her hair, wrapped herself in a robe, and applied sufficient makeup to hide the color of the accident from her face.

  As she took the steps one at a time and limped into the hallway outside the study, she heard the men talking about today’s scheduled football game and about whether the detectives would get time to watch it. What a complete turnaround from a few weeks ago. The men who’d arrested Carrie were certainly not family friends, but there they were—sitting in the study, drinking coffee, and having a pleasant conversation with Charles about sports.

  When she entered the room, Charles came over and took her arm. “You look mighty fine, little doggie.” He helped her to the sofa and went to get her a cup of coffee. Charles’s Western dialect surprised Carrie, but she loved the compliment. She saw her evening bag, which was police evidence, sitting on the coffee table.

  Charles returned with the coffee and said, “Gentlemen, I must caution you that my wife had a very difficult night. She was heavily sedated and given painkillers. Anything you can do to keep this interview short, to end this entire—”

  “We fully understand, Mr. Faraday,” Detective Jenco said. “Believe me, our only reason for being here today is to tie up the ‘loose ends,’ as they say in the books. This way we can get on with other duties, and you folks can get on with your lives.” He then turned to face Carrie. “Now, Mrs. Faraday, if you would be kind enough to answer a couple of questions.”

  “Detective Jenco, you have been in charge of this investigation for the last few weeks. You have also been in charge of my life during this same period of time.” Carrie set her coffee cup down and spoke directly to the detective. “So, Detective Jenco and Detective McCall, now you’ll
wait until I ask my questions.”

  Detective Jenco sat back on the sofa. Detective McCall, who was actually seated next to Jenco, had a slight grin on his face.

  “First, what is the condition of Jennifer Foster?”

  Carrie was surprised when McCall pulled out his notebook and actually spoke. “As of this morning, Ms. Foster’s condition was upgraded, but she continues to slip in and out of consciousness. She has severe bruising on her face, unrelated to the accident, but no long-term ill effects are expected.” He looked up from his notebook.

  “However,” Jenco added, “we haven’t been able to question her to get additional details about what happened to her.” He disguised his question as a statement, but it had the right effect, as Carrie responded.

  “When Jennifer wanted nothing to do with Brad’s plot to murder me, he turned against her and hit her with his gun. As we were getting into the car, he drugged her and placed her in the backseat. He was planning on both of us being killed in a car crash.”

  “At the Club?” This time Jenco didn’t attempt to disguise the question format.

  Carrie ignored his request. “What is the condition of Brad Barrington?”

  Jenco turned to McCall for the response. This time there was no need to consult the notebook. “Mr. Barrington remained in critical condition throughout the night and succumbed to his injuries at six this morning.”

  “Oh, Charles, I never wanted him to die.” She reached out and took his hand.

  “You had no choice but to head for the tree. After all, your life was endangered,” Charles said.

  “I was wondering why you hit the tree with such force, Mrs. Faraday,” Jenco said.

  This time Carrie didn’t even think about the question-and-answer game they were playing. “That’s the strange part. I had no intention of hitting the tree. I only wanted to stop the car by running up on the grass embankment, but Brad grabbed the wheel.”

  “You’re saying Brad Barrington aimed for the tree?” Jenco’s voice didn’t hide his disbelief. “Did he say anything?”

  All heads turned to Carrie. “He said, ‘Damn!’ and something about not liking plan B. Then he grabbed the wheel and headed toward the tree.”

  “Do you want us to believe it was suicide?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been replaying the event in my mind. I was heading for the embankment when we heard the police cars entering the driveway. Suddenly, Brad grabbed the wheel. I think in that split second, he realized there was no escape, and he thought it would be better if we were all dead…Well, you know, dead men and women don’t say much, do they?”

  “Why did he want to kill you and Jennifer?” Charles had joined the question game.

  “He was setting the stage so it would look like Jennifer was blackmailing me because she had evidence that I killed Todd. I would kill her and then commit suicide by driving the car over the cliff.” Carrie looked up at Jenco.

  “Cliff?” asked Jenco.

  “He was planning on staging an accident at Parker’s Apple Barn on Mill Road.”

  Charles looked surprised but said nothing. He knew Carrie wasn’t aware of his scheduled rendezvous at the same place.

  “My question is, how did all of you manage to arrive at the Club at the same moment? I know Brad said he sent you off on a wild-goose chase,” she said, looking at Charles as she took his hand.

  “I received an anonymous call at Perkins Tavern indicating I would be given evidence to clear Carrie if I’d drive out to the old Apple Barn on Mill Road.”

  “But Mr. Faraday,” Jenco said, directing his question at Charles, “why didn’t you go to the Apple Barn?”

  “The caller tried to send me off looking for geese, but this old hunter wasn’t fooled. I suspected it was a setup. First of all, the caller told the bartender where I was sitting. That meant the caller or someone he knew had been in the bar and was able to identify me. Second, the caller asked for twenty-five thousand dollars. When I told him that I could only get one thousand dollars from the ATM, he said that was fine and that he would give me a PO box to mail the rest. What criminal is willing to have you mail the money?”

  “I’m sure it was Jennifer, who was at Perkins Tavern,” Carrie verified. “When she called me here, I could hear noises in the background. I couldn’t place them at the time, but now I realize she was following Linda.”

  “Mr. Faraday, if you thought it was a setup, how could you be sure they weren’t watching to make sure you drove to the Apple Barn?” asked Jenco.

  “I went to my car and headed off in the direction of Barn Road. When I was sure I wasn’t being followed, I took a side road that headed back to the house. When I tried calling you, darling, and got no answer, I increased my speed to get home.”

  “You saw the note I left on the computer that I went to the Club?”

  “Yes, and I immediately left for the Club. I told the policeman watching the house where I was going and why.” Charles looked across at Jenco. “Do you want to take it from here?”

  For the first time, Jenco looked a little embarrassed. “Actually, one of my men spotted you in town, when you went shoe shopping. We knew there had to be another exit from the house. We found it and had it watched. The surveillance paid off last night.

  “An officer followed you, Mrs. Faraday, and reported that you were at a building on the Club grounds. By looking in the window, our officer could see there were two other people inside and that you were being held at gunpoint. Detective McCall and I were on our way to the Club when we got a call from our officer here at the house that he and Mr. Faraday were coming to the Club.

  “Mrs. Faraday, may I ask one very important question?” Carrie nodded agreement. “Did Mr. Barrington and Ms. Foster admit to killing Todd Barrington?”

  “I can state with great certainty that Jennifer had nothing to do with the murder. She was truly surprised when I accused Brad of killing his brother. I’m sure she thought she was just helping him keep an eye on the people the family thought had committed the crime. No, I’m sure her involvement was limited to her desire to be the next Mrs. Barrington.”

  Charles looked startled at Carrie’s comment. She knew what he was thinking. Who was the second person who had helped move the body between the two rooms at the Club? Obviously, she had just eliminated Jennifer Foster.

  “Yes, Brad admitted killing his brother when I presented my evidence,” she said.

  “And what evidence do you have?” Jenco restrained a subtle annoyance that Carrie had solved the case.

  “I wrote down the various motives for Todd’s murder, like the flirtations and the Investment Club, and then I wrote down who would benefit from his death. The answer was obvious—the family.” Carrie took a sip from the water glass Charles had placed on the table for her. “Charles, could you go to the safe and get the paper that’s right on top?”

  Charles went to the safe and handed the paper to Carrie, who passed it to Jenco. He read the paper with a raised eyebrow and passed it along to McCall.

  “You went to the Club knowing Brad was the murderer?” All eyes turned and looked at the usually silent McCall after he asked the question.

  “When Jennifer called and asked me to meet her at the cottage,” Carrie said, “I didn’t know Brad was with her.”

  Then Carrie gave the policemen and Charles a complete review of what had transpired at the cottage, including Edward Barrington’s role in the cover-up.

  “I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Todd’s killing was accidental. Probably nothing would have happened to Brad if it wasn’t for the cover-up. The sad thing is that Brad was ready to commit additional murders to cover up the first one. He said he would always protect the family name from scandal,” Carrie related.

  “Well, it seems clear that Brad Barrington was responsible for the death of his brother and that the elder Mr. Barrington went along with the cover-up. What a shame, though. I agree with you that had they admitted the accident, I’m sure neither of them woul
d have been prosecuted for the murder. The real crime was all this cover-up just to protect the family name. Well, thank you, Mrs. Faraday. I think that takes care of everything.” Jenco stated.

  “Does that mean that at last you believe I had nothing to do with Todd’s death?”

  “There seems to be no other conclusion. I’ll file the necessary paperwork to have the charges dropped against you when I return to the office,” Jenco said.

  “Will there be any charges against the senior Mr. Barrington?” asked Charles.

  The detectives exchanged glances, and then McCall spoke. “Mr. Edward Barrington suffered a stroke last night while visiting his son and is in very poor condition.”

  “Do you think the stroke was brought on because of Brad’s death?” asked Carrie.

  “No, he suffered the attack prior to Brad’s death. Perhaps it was the guilt over Todd’s murder, or perhaps it was the pressure of the cover-up that got to him.” Jenco shook his head sadly.

  Both detectives stood, nodded to Carrie, and shook hands with Charles as they made their way to the door. Carrie and Charles stood arm in arm and watched the detectives’ car slowly wind down the driveway for the last time. Baxter, who had sat watching with them, now left car watching to Carrie and Charles. He slid across the wooden floor and pounced on one of his new toys.

  everal Sundays later, Charles and Carrie were sitting in their study, enjoying coffee and lingering over the Sunday papers. However, this Sunday, there was a new guest to interrupt their reading: Baxter. Every time Carrie tried to read, Baxter would punch the paper with his paw until Carrie gave him her full attention. She was scratching his ears when she turned to Charles. “Do you think Edward Barrington knew what his son was planning the night he had the stroke?”

  “I don’t know, and I’m not sure we’ll ever know. However, I agree with the detectives that the pressure of the entire affair probably caused the stroke.”

  “Will anything happen to the senior Mr. Barrington?”