“I am going to move my hands. Make a sound and I’ll kill Fynn too.” Her eyes widen but she nods her head, tears streaming down her face. I have to work fast. I lock the door and open their closet. It’s big enough to hide her in, but what if someone comes in here? I’ll have to make sure nobody does. I take a few of Greg’s ties, grab her arm and lead her to the closet.
“Please,” she whimpers. I won’t tell anyone what I saw.”
“Oh please, you prude. You think I care if anyone knows I masturbated on your bed to thoughts of your dead son? He’d have fucking loved that by the way.” I hiss in her ear.
I shove her in, and she stumbles, gripping onto some clothing. I tie her hands tightly together then grab a pair of Greg’s socks which I ball up and stuff into her mouth. I fasten a tie over that and tighten it around her head. I turn her around and sit her down on the closet floor. She is crying and shaking her head as I bind her feet then tie her hands to the closet railing. That should do it. But to make sure I, I hit her with a metal sculpture. Lights out, Lynn.
21
Miranda
Now
Lynn’s been gone a while. I walk outside to her greenhouse calling her name, so she isn’t startled if she’s in there. I walk through the flowers which are in full bloom despite the chilly weather. The sun streams in, giving the space and otherworldly feel. At the back, in a small clearing, Fynn sits on a stone bench, his back to me, head hung low. He looks like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Fynn.” I say softly. He turns an inch toward me then resumes his position. “You okay?”
His eyes are bloodshot. It hurts to see the man I love feeling so helpless. I wish I could offer him some kind of comfort, but I can’t. After I confronted Maury, I realized that the only way to live with this is to sever my ties with both of them. If a person knows the truth yet hides it away, are they not merely the lesser of a greater evil? The thought of not seeing Fynn again is like a dagger to my heart, but I’d rather not be around him while carrying this kind of burden.
I sit beside him, and he places his hand on mine. The small connection is like balm to my aching soul. “Not really.” He whispers. “Will it ever get any better?”
I don’t expect him to be okay, he lost his brother. Trev was a piece of shit for what he did to Fynn, but blood ties are strong. Not impenetrable, but strong. I never understood why Trev would hurt his own brother like that. Love is destructive.
“Time, Fynn. Give your heart some time.”
“It’s not just the fact that he’s gone, May, it’s the fact that he betrayed me. I just never saw that coming. Our whole relationship was based on lies.” He sighs. “Then there’s Mo, God I should have known. How could I have been so blind?”
That cuts deep. “You’re too good, Fynn.” My voice breaks. He looks so devastatingly handsome, despite how bad he must be feeling right now.
“I’m just glad I have you.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and places a kiss on it.” His eyes flutter closed and when he opens them, there is only warmth there. He trusts me, and I am the worst betrayer of them all.
“Fynn, I-” he silences me with a kiss that takes my breath away. It’s like he’s pouring all the hurt and sadness he feels into this connection between us. He pulls me onto his lap, continuing to torture my soul with his affection.
“I need you, May, I need you so much.” His kiss becomes more desperate as he slips his hand under my dress, gripping my ass and grinding me onto his cock. The sensation is too much.
“Please, Finn. I-” My mind is a blur, his fingers find their way into my panties. “We can’t.” My voice is pleading, but his finger is on my clit and that combined with his hardness distracts me from what I need to say. I want this, to get lost and let him lose himself in me, but it’s not right. I have to make this right. I have fucked up enough. I kept a sordid truth from the man who once put his own freedom on the line for me. We never spoke of what he did for me the night Francine died, he never even mentioned it. He devoted his life to repenting for a sin that wasn’t even his own.
“I knew!” Two words, shouted in pure desperation, have his fingers stilling. He withdraws his hand and looks at me square in the eyes. “I knew. About Mo and Trev, I’ve known for years. I knew, and I didn’t tell you.” I choke on the words as they tumble free.
His face contorts. “Why, Miranda.”
“I just -” I don’t have an answer for him, so I climb off him and stand a few feet away. “There is so much more Fynn, so much you don't know, about Trev, about Mo.”
“I trusted you all. I loved you all, and this is how you repay me? By lying to me and creeping around behind my back?” He yells. His voice bounces off the walls, and my shoulders sag.
“I’m sorry, Fynn. I wanted to tell you, so many a time. But I couldn’t.”
“Get the fuck out, get out of my life. I never want to see you or your sister again.” Although I expected and deserve his anger, his words stun me. I intended to leave, but I didn’t think it would come to this.
“Fynn…”
“Get out Miranda. There is nothing you could say that will make me change my mind.” He turns and makes his way out of the greenhouse. Once he’s gone, I fall to the ground in a mess of tears and regrets. I have no excuses, I should have come clean a long time ago.
Forcing myself to stop crying, I head back inside the house. Fynn’s father is sitting at the kitchen island when I walk in. “Is Fynn, okay? He just stormed upstairs. Everybody else is gone.”
“He just needs time.” I lie. “Mr Chase, I’m really sorry about Trev. Truly.”
He nods. “Thank you, sweet girl.”
“I should really get going. It’s getting late, and I know you all need to rest.
“There is plenty of room here, why don't you stay the night? You’ve been running around all day.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I need to be on my way. Please say goodnight to Lynn for me.” I leave him in the kitchen, gather my things and call a cab. I decide to wait outside until the cab arrives, to get some air, some distance.
It was time that I did the right thing once and for all.
Mike opens the door a little past ten later that night. “Come in Miranda.” He steps aside to let me in. I look around his messy front room and smile. Toys are littered throughout the homey space.
“Thanks for seeing me so late, Mike.”
“It’s no problem at all.” Mike gives me a warm smile.
His wife Julia comes into the room and holding a glass. “Would you like a drink, Miranda?” She offers.
“Some water would be nice, please.”
She disappears into what must be the kitchen and returns with a glass of water. When she returns, I look at the two of them seated opposite me, and I suddenly feel out of my depth.
“You can trust us, Miranda.” Julia starts. and I believe her. They are both such kind people. and Fynn trusts them.
“I have information. About the killings?”
Mike frowns. “Shouldn’t you go to the police with that, Miranda?”
I nod. “That’s why I’m here. I just don’t have the strength to do what I need to do. And Fynn and I, well, we’re not speaking right now.”
They look at each other, then back at me. Julia reaches for my hand, and I let her take it. “Go on, honey.”
“I killed the woman I thought was my mother when I was eighteen.” I start “It was self-defence. She was abusive, and we were arguing that night. I shoved her, and she hit her head. A friend helped me dispose of her.” I don’t mention Fynn. I will not mess up his life more.
“Francine, the woman I thought was my mother, was actually my grandmother. Maureen’s mother. They hid the truth from me because it was shameful. Turns out Maureen's father raped her, and she got pregnant with me.” I sniff. I’m sure they are shocked by this information, but they don’t look appalled. Instead, Julia has tears in her eyes.
“Whatever that man did to
Maureen, it messed with her head. She killed him, and she’s been taking her revenge out on other men like him ever since, with help, of course. Trev, he’s been her ally for years, her partner in this sick mess she’s gotten herself into.”
“Oh, Miranda.” Mike shakes his head. “You’ve been carrying such a huge burden.”
“I don’t know if I would have ever said anything if she hadn’t done what she did to Trev. I was there when she tampered with his breaks, I stood by and did nothing. I let her kill him.” My voice shakes and I pick at my cuticles. “I don’t know why I said nothing. Maybe I blamed myself for the way she was. She never would have started killing if she’d never been pregnant with me.” I don’t realize I’m crying until Mike passes me a tissue. “I just want this all to go away.”
Julia takes a seat next to me and wraps me in her arms. She smells comforting. Like a mother should.
“Where is Maureen and Fynn, right now?” Mike asks.
“At the Chase’s house.” I tell him. “I came straight here after Fynn asked me to leave.” He nods then he retrieves his cell phone from a side table. He presses in a few numbers then waits.
“Fynn isn’t answering but he could be asleep. He looks at us both.
“She’s not stable, Mike.” He stands and paces, trying to call Fynn again. I give him a landline number and that also rings off the hook.
“Miranda I’m going over there, could you give me the address.” I nod, and give him the details. “I think we should call the cops have them get over to the Chase house. If Maureen is a danger to them, we should act now.” Julia suggests.
“I agree with her.” I tell Mike, and feel a lump in my throat. If I’d acted sooner, this might not have happened.
“Look, I doubt that Maureen would do anything to Fynn. I’m going to go over and wait till the cops arrive.” He stands and kisses Julia on the cheek, then gives my shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”
“I should come with you.” I say.
“Just wait here. I’ll call you when I know something.”
I watch him walk out of the front door and frown. Maureen is a loose cannon. I know what she was capable of and Mike has no idea what he is dealing with.
I wait for Julia to disappear down the hall then I make a run for it. I run until I’m a few blocks away then I call a cab. I stay back from the street in case Julia come out to look for me something I doubt she’ll do since their kids are asleep in the house. When the cab pulls out, I give them the address and I chew on my nails to keep from screaming, anxiety threatening to consume me.
22
Fynn
Now
My wrists hurt. I try to rotate them, to get the blood flowing, but they’re restricted. What the… Before I can panic, I feel a warm mouth on my cock, and I smile. “Miranda,” I moan in ecstasy. I yelp when she bites down hard, my eyes flying open. My heartbeats quicken, sensing danger. The lights are dim in my old room, and when I look down, I see Maureen glaring at me. I recall drinking a little with my father, then staggering in here. Everything after that is blank. I struggle against the restraints that hold my hands above my head.
“Didn’t take you long to replace me.” She smiles sardonically at me, a brow raised.
“Mo. What the hell are you doing?”
“You failed me, Fynn. You made promises. You said you’d never leave me.” There’s a manic expression on her face, and I know that she is not kidding around. “You were supposed to love me, Fynn.”
“I haven’t left you, Mo, I’m right here. Untie me, so I can show you how much I still love you.”
Her laughter fills the air. “You’re such a good liar, Fynn. When were you going to tell me you and Miranda killed my mother?”
My eyes widen. How could she know that?
“Miranda confessed, left you out of it of course, but I know. Nobody but you would be dumb enough to sacrifice their freedom for her. What is it about her anyway?”
“Mo, come on, let’s talk about this. Untied.” I try to sound light hearted, but her blood shot eyes scare the shit out of me. A muffled sound near the corner of the room has me fighting against my restraints. My mother is tied to a chair and gagged. “Mom? Miranda, what the fuck?”
“Pastors aren’t supposed to use such foul language.” She places a finger to my lips. “But then again, they aren’t supposed to lie to and cheat on their wives either.”
“Miranda, leave my mother out of this. Where’s my father?”
“Mommy dearest interrupted something very important. So, she brought herself into this. Daddy is fast asleep. I popped some pills in his whiskey, so he won’t be any trouble. But I doubt I’ll let him live.” She looks at the ceiling, as if she’s really debating this.
“What the hell’s gotten into you?” I shout. She cannot seriously be thinking about killing.
“It’s always been in me, Fynn. Trev knew that, you know?” I frown. “He got me, the real me. But he got greedy, too, wanted more than I could give him.”
“Mo, what are you talking about? You’re making no sense.” This isn’t like Maureen. Yes, she always had a bad side, she’d told me she’d been raped and abused by her father. I knew she carried the burden a victim does. I knew all that. But I have never seen her like this. This unstable.
“I killed Trev, Fynn. I tampered with his brakes.”
I gasp. “No. You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie? Trev and I had a good run, and I’m not just referring to the sex. With his help, I took the lives of over twenty scumbags. Rapists, pedophiles, monsters that prey on the innocent. We had a good thing going until he tried to out me.”
I can’t believe my ears. She just confessed to murder. More than twenty of them. “You were behind those murders in Queens?”
She laughs and shrugs. “Guilty as charged.”
“How-Mo. How could you do that?” A chill runs across my skin. If she’s capable of such gruesome acts, she’s certainly capable of hurting me and my parents.
“So, you’re just going to kill me, my parents?”
“That’s the plan. I see no other way out.”
“Mo, you need help. I can get you that help.”
“And what, you and Miranda live happily ever after? You think she’s so perfect, don’t you? Little Mayflower, sweet little virgin Miranda .” I shut my eyes. I must be in a nightmare. Nothing else makes any sense. Not the fact that my wife is now acting like a deranged serial killer or the sight of my mother tied and gagged in the closet. For all I know, Miranda is also tied up somewhere. Hurt or worse. “What have you done to her?” I say through gritted teeth. She couldn’t hurt her sister. Not after everything.
“Relax, lover-boy. She’s safe. For now. And she will be as long as she keeps her mouth shut.”
“This is crazy. You can’t get away with this forever.”
“Oh yeah?” She cocks a brow. “I’ve been doing pretty well for myself.”
I struggle against the cuffs, but it’s no use. My mother is slumped against the closet wall. Her groans stab at my heart yet also give me comfort since they mean she’s still alive.
The doorbell rings, cutting through the silence, and Maureen places a finger on her lips. “Let me see who that is. You be quiet now.” She picks up a pistol, pushes it into the back of the tight pants she’s wearing, and turns to leave the room. Where the hell did she get a gun? Did I ever know this woman?
I have no idea who is downstairs. If I shout, they may not even hear me, but I have to try. Luckily, Mo made the mistake of leaving the door ajar, giving me an advantage. Trev’s bedroom is the closest to the staircase leading downstairs too. The bell rings again, then I hear the faint click of the door opening. As soon as muffled voices travel up to me, I shout as loud as I can. “Help! Help!”
I hear a shout then something hitting the ground. “Oh God, what have I done?”
I say all the prayers I can, hoping I did not just cost someone their life by trying to save mine.
; 23
Miranda
Now
I ask the cab driver to drops me a block away from Chase house and I walk the rest of the way. It’s late, so it’s no surprise that all the lights in the house appear to be off. As expected, Julia told Mike I left, so he’s tried to call me a few times. I ignore the calls. I cannot let someone else get hurt by standing by and doing nothing. It’s just before eleven when I slip off my shoes and cross the Chase’s expansive of lawn. I keep to the hedges as I make my way to the side of the house which is illuminous white when the moon shines down on it. I don’t have a plan, but I know the front door will be locked. Mike was on his way here, meaning lights should be on, but he is nowhere to be seen, and that scares me. I hear shuffling as I pass a window. I try to peek inside, but I can’t see anything.
Leave Me Breathless: The Black Rose Collection Page 69