Rooted in Lies

by Kasia Chojecki

  She couldn't say the same thing about Elizabeth Northam. She had a broken nose, a couple of fractured ribs and a piss poor attitude. Ava didn't feel bad about putting her in a hospital after their little chat. When the police hauled her away, she threatened to have them fired and spewed very creative insults at anyone within earshot.

  She looked beside her. Nick was slumped in a chair, his eyes were closed, and he looked asleep. He still had on the suit she saw him wearing in what seemed like a different lifetime.

  "Am I dead?" she asked.

  His eyes flew open, taking a moment to register what was happening.

  "Hey," he said, surprised. "Why would you think you're dead?"

  "Well, you're wearing a suit," she said and laughed. "I used the panic button you gave me."

  "Yes," he smiled. "You did. You did good."

  "I wasn't sure it worked," she told him. "He gave me something."

  "It's okay," he said. "You don't have to talk."

  "I want to," she said. "I'm here because you gave me that stupid button. I threw up. He must have put it in my drink, and it made me sick, so I threw up. He put me in the trunk, and I couldn't see. That's why I wasn't sure the button worked."

  Nick felt something twist inside him. Her face was bruised and swollen. He saw the rope burns on her skin and the bruised knuckles before they treated her, so he knew what was under the bandages. Thinking of what she went through still made his blood boil with rage, but this wasn't the time for that.

  "He clearly didn't know who he was dealing with," he smiled.

  "Too bad for him," she giggled.

  "Geez, what did they give you?" he smiled. "Those are some heavy-ass pain killers."

  "You know," she said. "I think I'm done with Sharon now. After I finish the season about her case, I'm ready to let her go."

  "That's good," he said. "Does that mean I still have a job?"

  She reached out and touched his face. The drugs were making her very sleepy.

  "You're so pretty," she mumbled.

  "See? I knew you were getting sweet on me," he laughed. If she was making jokes, she was okay.

  "You wish," she smiled. "But you can still work for me if you want. It's so hard to get good help, you know."

  As she fell back asleep, Nick got up and went to find her parents. He ran into them in the hallway as they were coming back with coffee.

  "She woke up," he told them. "She's loopy but seems coherent."

  "Thank you again," Michael said as he handed him a cup. "For everything."

  "It was nothing."

  "You know it wasn't," Joan said. "Don't take it the wrong way, Nick, but you should go home and get some sleep."

  "I am," he said. "My cousin is coming to get me."

  Nick went home and crashed.

  ***

  Several days later, they all gathered in Stan's living room. Joan made tea and coffee for everyone and kept fussing with everything to ensure everyone had enough refreshments. Keeping busy was her way of dealing with everything that happened and making sure she didn't fall apart. As long as her hands were busy, she held steady.

  She glanced over at Michael, who was still on edge. They were coping together as best as they could with Ava's kidnapping and the truth about Sharon. Joan didn't doubt even for a minute that they would be okay. It would take time, she thought, and they had plenty of it to deal with processing it all.

  She looked over at Ava. She was a lot stronger than any of them would have expected, and Joan was so very proud of her. It made her heart complete with love to see her daughter because that's how she always felt about Ava, finally letting go of the past. She was always too restless. Maybe this closure would help her find calm.

  Joan sat down beside her husband and grasped his hand as it reached for her. They both looked over at the two detectives that came to give them an update.

  "Please tell me that woman will pay for Sharon's death," Stan said. "She deserves to be behind bars for the rest of her life."

  "We do have a solid case against her," Tyler told him. "Between Sharon's notes, the documents we found in Palmer's safety deposit box and the evidence we have from her house and office, it will be hard for her to deny it all."

  "We also have Ava's recording and her testimony against Elizabeth Northam," Jones added. "She might deny her involvement in Sharon's death and the money laundering, but she can't get out of killing her own son."

  "I still can't believe she just shot him," Ava shrugged, the image of Kevin's body dropping in front of her still fresh in her mind. "I don't even think she thought twice about that."

  "She's a killer, Ava," Tyler told her. "She's killed many people in her life when they became inconvenient. Based on what we found, DiPalma was her accomplice for a while, but she didn't hesitate to do the dirty work herself, and she did. He cleaned up after her a lot, but he seemed to have had a change of heart after their son was born. That's probably why he got a safety deposit box in a different province. He was the one with the proof of her crimes."

  "Do you think he took that evidence from Sharon, or did he have it all along?" Ava asked.

  "We won't know for sure. Sharon had copies. These were detailed, but what he had is more damning. That's what Elizabeth was looking for. Whether Sharon had it or not didn't matter. She knew too much, and that made her a threat."

  "She told me that she offered Sharon a deal," Ava said. Stan's arm automatically wrapped around her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. "Elizabeth tried to turn Sharon, and when that didn't work, she tried to bribe her."

  "I told you that she wasn't like that," Stan said proudly. "My daughter wasn't a criminal. She was trying to do the right thing."

  "She definitely was, Mr. Novak," Tyler agreed.

  "What happens now?" Michael asked.

  "We're still gathering evidence and piecing it all together," Jones said. "Then it goes to the courts. We'll be working closely with the Crown Attorney Office on putting together the strongest case we can. They will be taking the case against Elizabeth to court. Until then, she remains in custody."

  "What about Kevin?" Ava asked. "Did he really kill his uncle?"

  "We have every reason to believe that he did," Tayler and Jones exchanged a look. "The evidence recovered from his apartment leaves us little doubt. He was also the person responsible for the dry-ice bomb that blew up outside your house."

  "We also found evidence that conclusively ties him to the break-in here," Jones added. "He was driving the dark sedan and the pickup truck. We are also looking at his involvement with the death of Frank Mitchell."

  "That man was not interested in solving Sharon's case," Stan muttered. "I can't say I'm sorry he's dead."

  "Grandpa," Ava said.

  "Well, it's true," Stan crossed his arms in defiance. "He was involved in this scheme from the start."

  "There is an ongoing investigation into many other individuals as well," Tyler said. "The case brought to light many people who benefited from looking the other way or took bribes. The Northams had deep pockets and used their power effectively to get what they wanted. Sharon was going to expose that."

  "I'm just glad this thing is over," Ava said. "I think I need a vacation."

  ***

  Sharon's case made headlines across the country as more details became known to the public. Ava avoided talking to the media as long as she could. While she recovered, Elizabeth Northam was stewing behind bars. There was nothing her fancy lawyers could do to get the charges against her dropped, no matter how much she berated them. It gave Ava a little sense of satisfaction to know that she wouldn't be getting her way anytime soon.

  Ava finally agreed to do the press conference as her last tribute to Sharon. She would be back later to testify in court, but she was going to focus on her life until that time came. She started that with a makeover. She was tired of looking like a dead woman all the time.

  Ava had cut her into a sleek, long bob. She added caramel highlights and chestnut hues and
decided to let her bangs grow out. Dressed in a black pantsuit, she looked and felt like a new woman.

  Ava walked up to the podium and glanced at her parents as they stood with Stan on the side. They would get their turn to speak too. In the crowd, familiar faces looked on encouragingly behind the cameras and reporters. Lori, Odessa and Steve stood with Nick as he smiled at her. Ava admitted that she liked the dressed-up-in-a-suit Nick just as much as she did the jeans-and-t-shirt Nick. He was, after all, an excellent assistant no matter how he looked.

  She cleared her throat and adjusted the mic. A hush fell over the crowd.

  "Sharon Novak was a beloved daughter and a devoted mother," she began. "She was also a staunch believer in truth and doing the right thing.

  "For the last twenty-five years, her memory had been besmirched by those that ruthlessly killed her to protect their own greed. Sharon did not steal any money. She did not abandon her daughter, and she didn't run off. She died because someone else decided that she was inconvenient and knew too much."

  Ava paused as she looked over the crowd and continued.

  "The people who killed Sharon didn't just take away my mother. They robbed both of us of the experience only a mother and daughter can share. She will never see me grow up, get married or have kids. I will never know what she was like other than what I'm told by those that knew her."

  Ava could see her grandfather wiping away tears and her father's comforting grip on his shoulder. Sharon wasn't here in person, but she was always here in spirit.

  "My own memories of her have slipped away with time," she said in a steady voice. "And while today I don't even know the woman that was my mother, I see her every time I look in the mirror. That's my special connection to Sharon that nobody can take away from me. It is through me that she lives on."

  Ava thanked Detective Burnett for his unwavering commitment to solving her mother's case and those that worked tirelessly to find her.

  Later, when it was all done, she decided it was time for a new chapter in her life. She looked up as Nick, Lori, Odessa, and Lori came up to her. They were her friends, and that made her happy.

  "Ready to go?" Nick asked.

  "Yeah," she said. "Let's get out of here."

  The end

  About author

  Kasia Chojecki is an author, blogger and freelance writer based in Toronto, Canada.

  Before becoming a writer, Kasia had worked for over ten years in economic development where she worked with start-ups and existing businesses in Canada and abroad. She assisted many of them with business development, funding and business planning.

  When she’s not travelling, Kasia brings to life many of the stores that live in her imagination. She also loves to travel, discover new places and write about them. As an avid reader, Kasia loved a good mystery with a dash of adventure.

  https://kasiawrites.com

  https://amongstromans.com