Vendetta

by Jennifer Moulton

  He clamped his eyes shut, and just like every other time he tried to close them, he saw his daughter, cold and un-breathing. Her eyes would never open again.

  The feelings and emotions that he had pushed aside over the last 48 hours…began to surface. Tears streamed down his face as he choked back the uncontrollable sobs. He couldn’t suppress it anymore.

  With both hands, Williams gripped Mark’s shoulders again, but this time it wasn’t to restrain his friend, it was to support him. The other officers slowly wandered to another part of the station. No one said anything. They didn‘t quite know what to say or do. They just stared at the floor…and listened, as Mark finally began to grieve.

  ~

  Detective Williams and Captain Haddock spoke quietly to each other at Williams’ desk as they cautiously watched Mark. He came out of the restroom and walked back into the Captains office.

  A distraught Julie was standing next to the desk, her face soaked with tears. Wiping her running nose on her sleeve, she looked up at him.

  “Mark, I‘m so sorry!” she stepped towards him, arms outstretched to embrace him. But he backed away.

  “It’s alright, Julie,” Mark briefly held up his hand.

  “You had no way of knowing that Nick was involved in killing Allie. I realize that, and I’m not upset with you at all,” he sounded very cold.

  “Oh, thank God, because it’s true. If I had any idea something like that was going on, I would’ve gone straight to the cops!” Julie said sincerely. “If I could’ve saved her or protected her in any way… I would have.”

  “Of course you would have,” Mark said nonchalantly. “I just wanted you to know that.”

  Julie stood back, noticing his detached behavior.

  “Oh, okay. Thank you for that,” Julie said quietly.

  She tried to swallow the seemingly large lump in her throat. She looked at him, a bit confused as to why he was so different towards her. But she couldn’t blame him.

  “Sorry to hear about Nick and Lucy, though. That couldn’t have been an easy thing to overhear,” Mark sat down in the seat that he had been sitting in before her arrival.

  “I wonder how long that’s been going on,” Mark said casually.

  She shook her head slightly and looked down at her green scarf…tugging at the frayed edges with her trembling fingers. “I don’t know… I, I have no idea,” she stuttered.

  Julie sat down in the other chair, and suddenly felt … wounded. She turned her head and looked out the window.

  Captain Haddock and Detective Williams came in then and began talking about the next steps of the investigation. The Police Department would continue investigating the possible poisoning of Allie, in which they now suspected Nick Butler. Julie signed her statement, and in doing so, agreed to testify against her estranged husband. She also agreed to wear a wire when she went home that night to retrieve her things. Any evidence to prove the affair between Nick and Lucy would only strengthen the connection in the pending murder charge. That would help the prosecuting attorney to prove some sort of motive. Also, it would be especially compelling evidence, in bringing in Lucy for the conspiracy charge.

  “Nick was obviously carrying out Lucy’s wishes. That was very apparent from the conversation I overheard,” Julie said. She was trying hard to think of any other clue she may have missed.

  Mark glared at her and said, “What, are you the good wife all of the sudden, defending him now?” he said harshly.

  Julie looked at Mark. ”No! Of course not, Mark, I’m just telling you what I heard. Please, don‘t twist it that way,” she stared back; mortified that he would even think that.

  Haddock cleared his throat.

  “I’m wondering who else is behind this. We need to start thinking about whom the other person might be that Lucy mentioned to Nick. You know, “The One” that’s supposed to be arriving tomorrow and squaring up Nick,” Williams contemplated.

  “Yeah, if only there were someone like, OH, say… A CONVICTED MURDERER, that we could point the finger at! That would narrow things down considerably, don’t you think?” Mark said sarcastically. “In fact, it would almost solve the case.”

  Haddock wasn’t impressed. “I understand your suspicions, Mark. And they’re very believable and compelling. But right now, Vanzetti’s still in prison. We still don’t know what will happen at his appeal tomorrow. Until then, we need to be able to consider other possible suspects. There’s only one other person that we know, FOR SURE, that’s coming into town. And that’s Dom Angelo,” Haddock stated.

  Mark hadn’t even thought about him. It was hard to suspect Dom of being capable of such betrayal. Something like this wouldn’t be happening without him knowing about it, though. “Could it be?” Mark thought.

  “I know that he’s out of town right now, taking care of his sister, Anita,” Mark said. “And he IS supposed to be here tomorrow for Allies autopsy…” Mark trailed off.

  “But, according to Julie,” Mark said rudely, “Lucy clearly said, ‘Just wait one more day…HE would be there…and Nick would be rewarded,’ ” Mark quoted.

  “Right, we’re going to assume that that means a payment of some kind. Maybe it’s a cash exchange, a payment for a job well done. That would be something Dom might likely handle, since Nick DOES work for him already,” Captain Haddock added.

  Julie shook her head in disagreement.

  “I don‘t know, something doesn’t make sense about Dom…I don’t really think he’d be okay with Nick and Lucy…carrying on, unless, he just doesn’t know about that part yet,” Julie shuddered. The very thought of Nick and Lucy being together made her skin crawl.

  “Who knows if Dom is really a part of this? At this point, I just assume everyone is involved now. If you don’t get Nick and Lucy to spill the beans on each other about who, where, when, why and how.... there’s going to be a blood feud tomorrow,” Mark said frankly.

  This revelation shocked Williams. Julie sat stunned, staring at Mark.

  “Are you implying that you, yourself are going to handle this in your own way, if we don’t produce the results you want, when you want them, Mr. Anderson?” Haddock asked seriously. “Are you threatening with bloodshed?”

  Detective Williams and Julie silently watched and waited for Mark to answer.

  “No. I am not implying that at all Captain Haddock. We’re just dealing with a cold blooded killer here, whether you acknowledge it or not. Criminals, that might be looking to get rid of people who have become a liability. Why pay a scumbag you hired to do your dirty work, when you can just get rid of them afterwards. It‘s a money saver in the least,” Mark said bluntly.

  “I must have misunderstood you then, Mr. Anderson. I apologize for the confusion,” Captain Haddock said awkwardly. “I see your logic. That’s a very good point,” he nodded.

  “Well, I think we have a good idea of what’s happening in the next 24 hours. Right now, let’s just focus on tonight and hope we can get some good evidence from the wire,” Williams said.

  “Well, thank God we have a plan,” Mark said sarcastically.

  Julie felt that Mark was acting arrogant and was simply mocking the investigation. But she felt that she didn’t have the right to judge him on how he should or shouldn’t be acting. Despite her own feelings about it, she knew she shouldn’t blame him for his temperament.

  Detective Williams glanced at Julie, somehow knowing that she was thinking the same thing he was.

  Mark had always had a good moral compass, one that clearly defined that fine line between right and wrong, good and evil. It was getting harder to distinguish that faint line under the dim lights of his now harsh circumstances. Julie now understood that as a friend and someone who cared a great deal about what happened to him, she would now have to keep a close eye on Mark, just in case he was in need of someone to switch on a light for him when he could no longer see in the dark.

  “We thank you again, Mrs. Butler, for your willingness to wear this wire tonight
. It will be extremely helpful. If you don’t mind going into the ladies room now with Detective Chavez, she’ll be the one to get you all set up with that, okay, Mrs. Butler?” Captain Haddock said respectively.

  “It‘s my pleasure, Captain Haddock. After tonight, sir, if you’ll kindly refer to me as, “Ms. Allen,” Julie almost smiled as she thought of how nice that sounded. She took one last glance at Mark, before she walked out of the room.

  Mark sat motionless and stared blankly at the floor, pretending not to hear what Julie had just said. He didn’t have time to care about her and Nick’s marital issues, let alone her name status. He just wanted to get in that stake out van, and hear Nick’s confession on that wire.

  CHAPTER 11

  WIRED

  The Captain’s instructions echoed in Julie’s mind as she drove home that evening. She hoped she would remember everything. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and focused on the road ahead of her.

  “Don’t instigate a fight or argue with him, just stick to the facts. You believe he has been cheating on you with Lucy, you need some time to think, and you’re going to a hotel for a couple of days. Okay? Everything he says to you will be picked up by the wire. Detective Williams’ will be listening in a nearby van that will be parked right around the corner. Other police officers and I are close by just in case. If anything should happen, we’ll be there in ten seconds,” Haddock said.

  Julie took comfort in that last part. Her colleague at work said Nick hadn’t been by, or called for her…so that meant she could pretend she was at work all day. Business as usual, it was time to go home. He might not even be there, she thought. He usually wasn’t.

  Julie pulled into the driveway and saw Nick’s truck. Damn it.

  She took a few deep breaths before getting out of the car and heading up to the house. Julie saw a faint glow of light on in the upstairs window. She paused for a moment and looked around at the outside of the house. For the first time in the seven years that they had lived there, she was frightened to go in. Everything looked completely normal and unchanged, yet everything felt so different. She had no idea what to expect and had even thought about just getting back in her car and driving away. But, instead, she gathered her strength and went inside. “We need answers for Allie,” she told herself.

  The houses warmth and the smell of vanilla candles comforted her. She had been burning those candles for Allie. She decided to just act as normal as possible and stick to her routine. Julie sauntered into the kitchen and tossed her purse on the counter.

  Glancing in the sink, she absent mindedly looked for dirty dishes. It was one of the ways she could tell if Nick had eaten anything that day. Julie now realized just how pathetic this habit was. Hindsight could be so obviously cruel. Julie felt stupid, not acknowledging his drug use before. All the little signs now seemed like billboards framed in bright, Hollywood style, movie theater bulbs.

  She heard Nick upstairs, blowing his nose in the bedroom. She decided it was time to get this over with. Julie slowly walked up the stairs and crept into the hallway.

  She could see him standing next to the bed, looking out the window as she peeked in through the crack in the door. She carefully and slowly pushed the door open.

  Julie stepped into the room with her game face on. She looked annoyed, with her eyebrows slightly raised. It was almost a chore just to look at him. Nick turned and looked at her, he had obviously been crying.

  “I know why you’re here, and I know what your plan is,” he said, staring at her. He jammed his hands in his pockets.

  “You do?” Julie thought her heart might have just gone up into her throat. She thought for a second he might really know.

  He looked away from her and squinted, like it physically hurt him, to look into her eyes.

  “Before you go, just let me say a few things to you, please? Let me try to explain and then you never have to see me again!” Nick pleaded. He paced back and forth in front of the bed.

  “Okay. Go ahead and say what you need to, Nick,” Julie watched him cautiously.

  “I know you’re leaving me this time, and you’re probably going to ask me to sign the damn papers, once and for all. That’s fine. I don’t blame you! I just want to say, that I’m sorry for the way this is ending. It’s my fault… everything’s my fault, entirely!”

  He was weeping now. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

  “Holy hell, Jule’s, you have NO idea. No idea at all!” He yelled.

  Julie stood silently and listened to him. Trying to keep her heart from slamming outside her chest… she took long slow breathes to calm herself.

  “Enlighten me. Give me an idea, so I know what’s going on with you. I mean, I think you might owe me that much,” she said cynically.

  “I do owe you that,” Nick acknowledged. “But you’re not going to like what I have to say. I’m not the man that you thought you married. I never have been. I have always thought that I didn’t deserve you, and now I know it’s true. You’re too good for me, Jules, and you always have been!” He snickered a little in between his sniveling. Julie stayed in front of the open door.

  She cleared her throat. “So it’s definitely true then, you and Lucy have been sleeping together? “ Julie asked quietly.

  “Yeah, it‘s true. What the heck,” he looked down at the floor. “I might as well get it ALL out, right?” He smiled.

  “How long have you been seeing each other?” Julie said louder. Trying not to raise her voice too much, but wanted it to be clear on the wire recording.

  “Awhile, maybe a year or so, but you weren‘t supposed to find out. Definitely not like this anyway,” he looked a little ashamed.

  “Dom has been gone a lot taking care of his stupid sister and he’s always busy with his ‘Golden Boy’ Mark… teaching him new shit! You were always at work or hanging out with ‘Princess Allie’, so what was I supposed to do, you know?” he laughed.

  “Lucy gave me attention and made me feel like a man. I’ll tell you what I ended up doing, though. I got myself mixed up in the wrong shit. That’s what!” He sat down on the bed and put his head down into his hands.

  “What do you mean? What kind of stuff did you get yourself mixed up in?” Julie tried not to sound too obvious, like she was coaxing him to say more.

  “I’ve noticed you haven’t been yourself …for quite some time. I knew we were drifting apart, but not like this,” she said truthfully.

  “We want different things in our lives, Jules. You want kids and a family life…with a picket fence and …I want to have fun! I want excitement in my life, to explore other… options.”

  He stood up and looked at Julie through red, watery eyes.

  “I just don’t want what you want. I never have. I just went along with it and it got to be too much to handle. So I got a little crazy, and a little ahead of myself. Now I don’t know what I want or what the hell I’m doing anymore,” Nick was swinging his arms, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.

  “Are you on drugs?” Julie asked point blank.

  “Why? What difference does that make? We’re not going to be together anymore…what difference does it make, Fuck! There you go again! What are you, my fucking MOTHER?” Nick suddenly became very defensive. She knew she had pushed a button.

  “I’m sorry… you’re right it doesn’t matter. Not anymore, so… I’m going to get a few things and I’ll be out of here. I’m going to stay in a hotel for a couple nights, and clear my head,” Julie reached for the closet door, when Nick suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her by the wrist.

  “Just let me finish saying what I have to say! Then you can pack your shit up. But right now, I’m trying to tell you something, Julie!! I’m trying to fucking talk to you!” Nick shouted in her face. She turned her head to the left.

  “Let go of my wrist, Nick!” Julie yanked herself out of his grasp, and turned to face him.

  “Don‘t you touch me, ever again,” Julie’s icy glare backed him off.

&
nbsp; Julie wondered if the cops were on their way. Was Mark listening too? He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, right?

  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry…I just need to get this out…and then you can go! You don’t ever have to see me again,” Nick pleaded.

  “Okay, then, finish!” Julie yelled back at him.

  Nick walked back to the bed and sat down in the same spot where he had been sitting before.

  “I did something bad, Jules. Something I thought was a good idea at the time,” he shook his head back and forth.

  Julie didn’t say a word, she just kept listening. As Nick began to talk, he grabbed at the comforter he sat on, knotting it up in his hands.

  “Lucy told me if I did this little favor for her, I could get all the dope I wanted and an easy... $500,000 cash. It sounded pretty good to me. I could take my money, my dope and Lucy…and move away from all this crap. Start a new life for ourselves,” Nick daydreamed.

  He was waving his hands above his head and looking up at them, like his future was on some magical map, and he was spreading it out on the ceiling.

  “But it’s not like that anymore! Shit’s all messed up now!” He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be her! It wasn’t supposed to be her, Jule’s! I swear!” Nick began hitting himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand, out of frustration.

  “What are trying to say, Nick? It wasn‘t supposed to be who? Lucy?” Julie was shaking and felt sick to her stomach. The hair stood up on her arms as she anticipated his next words.

  “NO! Not Lucy, Allie!” He blurted out.

  “I’m the one who poisoned her. I killed her!” Nick was screaming it out now. His struggling conscience was being set free with every word he spoke.

  “It was meant for Mark! The icing on his piece of cake that was served to him must have gotten mixed up, and put on Allies plate instead! Lucy hired a bunch of temporary workers from a place up town, so they wouldn’t be suspicious or question anything.”