Eyewitness 4: A Gripping Mystery Suspense Thriller

by Marc Timms

  “So, what did you make of that?” Marnie said. “Certainly, you had to see some things, based on what he said.”

  Johanna tried to focus again. “I didn’t really have time. He gave me a soft kiss at the car door, and then the shots started. I had planned to take some time to relax and review everything. Part of my mind was screaming that it knew something, but I hadn’t been able to decipher what it meant.”

  Marnie smiled. “Well, I’m going to blame it on whatever’s in your IV, but let me go through this if I have it right.”

  Johanna rested against the hard bed, her head laying back against multiple pillows. “Sure, why not?”

  “The first thing is that of the heirs—the cousins who could get the inheritance, Thomas is the only one being targeted. Deanna’s kids are fine. Henry is fine. So why pick Thomas? He’s no worse a person than the others, so it’s not a moral reason.”

  “I’d agree with that,” Johanna said, trying not to close her eyes again. She wanted to hear what Marnie had to say and try to determine what had been bugging her.

  “Then what’s the purpose of getting rid of him? Overall, I’d say that Henry would be the better choice to dispose of. She had an in with Jessica, the apparent favorite, who at one point had the entire estate. She would be the one to eliminate, but she’s fine.” Marnie’s eyes are bright, and her tone is animated. Johanna wonders if she’s come up with something that would help solve this case. Some of the medication must be wearing off, if she can discern these traits in her friend.

  “Unless she’s the one who is behind all this,” Johanna adds.

  “So what would you think if there were several people who were all equal, that is, getting equal shares, and only one was being picked on?”

  Johanna didn’t need Marnie to finish her thoughts. She now understood what she was getting at. “You think Thomas isn’t equal to the rest. Somehow, he’s getting more than the rest of the cousins.”

  Marnie laughed and clapped her hands. “A little slow because of the meds, but you’re on the right track. So who would not be equal to a cousin in a will?”

  Johanna’s eyes grew wide. “No!” she exclaimed. “That nice little lady had a child—a child out of wedlock—and that child is Thomas: the Thomas that we know.”

  Marnie nodded. “It makes sense. It explains why the lawyers wouldn’t want Thomas to make a statement yet. If he’s the true heir to the estate, then he would be a target for everything bestowed to him from Jessica.”

  “What about the will? Is that why it was burned?”

  Marnie shrugged. “We don’t know what was in that will, so it’s impossible to say. Henry thought she got everything, but if Thomas had contacted Jessica, there are so many DNA sites and testing these days that he could have found her. She might have left everything to him.”

  “Thomas said the lawyers knew; Arthur knew; and the real Thomas knew.” Johanna wondered if Thomas had wanted her to figure this out. He’d left enough clues to make it possible —especially since Marnie had glommed on to it almost immediately. Perhaps he’d wanted to have the assistance of others in keeping him safe until the matter was cleared, or maybe he just wanted people to know. To some people, genetic identity is essential. Perhaps he was one of them. “Wouldn’t the will override Thomas’s claim as the son?”

  “No, not in all states. In some states, and we’re one of them, the person writing the will has to leave a certain percentage to the spouse and a certain percentage to the children. They can’t just leave a person out of the will. It’s to prevent disinheriting people.”

  “So Thomas could actually have come along afterward, made a claim, and then he would get a piece of the estate?” Johanna felt suddenly sleepy again. The adrenaline from the revelation about Thomas’s true identity faded now that they were discussing legal matters.

  “Thirty percent,” Marnie said.

  Johanna had no idea what the entire estate added up to, but it was a significant amount of money. She’d heard more than one of the heirs refer to it as millions. Thirty percent of that would still be millions. That was a huge motive.

  “Okay, so we know why someone tried to burn the will, why someone wanted the dog since she got a share of the estate, and why someone is trying to eliminate Thomas,” Marnie said, checking off a mental list. “What do we still need to know?”

  “First, we don’t have any idea if the murder of Carolyn was tied to this crime or the killer from the park.”

  Marnie just nodded as her friend spoke.

  “We don’t know who hired Donley or where he is. I mean, he could be the person who shot at us today.”

  Marnie cleared her throat. “We also don’t know who is behind this yet.”

  A rap at the door came. Detective Dempsey was standing in the doorway. “You might want to leave that one to us,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

  Johanna attempted a smile, which didn’t feel quite right again. “Fine, except I was shot. How are you?”

  He gave her a grin. “Better than you. I just need a few details, and then I’ll leave you alone. So you were with the guy who is impersonating Thomas; is that right?”

  She nodded. “Yes, we were leaving the restaurant, and we heard a car squeal around the corner.”

  “Did you get a make or model of the car? I’m assuming that the license plate was not something you noticed?”

  She bit her lip. “ Blue SUV hybrid,” she said. “I don’t recall the make or model, but I recognized the type of car.”

  “So you could probably pick it out of a lineup?” he asked. Johanna could see that he was trying not to grin.

  “You seem very amused for someone who is questioning the victim of a gunshot wound,” she replied, hoping the response came out as frosty as she felt.

  “Sorry, but I’d hoped for something a bit more specific. Dempsey had a notebook out and was taking notes about what she was telling them. So the car squealed around the corner, and then what?”

  “It started shooting at us. Thomas pushed me—hard—and I fell. My ankle started hurting, badly, and I scrunched up to look at it, then a bullet ricocheted off the wall and hit me in the leg.” She thrust out her bandage-draped leg to prove her point.

  “Just in time too.” Dempsey looked up, after finishing the sentence on his paper.

  “What do you mean?”

  “If Thomas hadn’t shoved you, then you’d be dead. The place on the wall where the bullet hit and bounced off was just about at the height to have shot you in the chest. Thomas saved your life.” Detective Dempsey raised an eyebrow, as if he was encouraging her to like Thomas.

  Johanna didn’t speak for a moment. She needed time to process what she'd learned between in the past few hours and this new information. Thomas was the son of the deceased woman, not the cousin. He had saved her life more than once now. Yet, she still suspected him of the crimes that had occurred. He had the most likely motive to have killed Carolyn; he would have been identified as not the real Thomas if they had come face-to-face.

  “So where he is then?” Marnie asked. “It just seems odd that he was whisked away like that.”

  Dempsey laughed. “He’s been the victim of multiple cars trying to run him over. The failed attempt when he was with Johanna, the time that he had to go to the hospital, and then a car shooting at him tonight. Three different cars and three different attempts. We put him somewhere safe for the moment. In the meantime, we’re questioning him to see what he knows and how that can help in the investigation.”

  “I had a great idea about the case,” Marnie said. Johanna wasn’t keen on having Dempsey know that they’d been discussing theories, but at the same time, she needed to think about what was going on. How had the driver of the car known where they would be tonight? She hadn’t told a soul; Johanna was leery of the relationship because of the dealings with Arthur and the attempts on his life. She assumed that he was involved with some dangerous men.

  She explained in detail what she had Johanna
had discussed before Dempsey’s entrance into the room. “What do you think?”

  Dempsey shrugged, a very mild shift of his shoulders. “Could be, I guess? Do you think that explains everything? Your suspect list, then, is limited to those who are in the current will.”

  “The will that was burned?” Marnie asked.

  “The lawyer would know what was in it,” Johanna added. They’d had no luck learning much more before due to confidentiality, but the police might be another matter. Perhaps they could learn more about the will.

  “It’s pretty much what you’ve heard. The dog gets a sum to take care of her for life, and then the rest is split between the younger cousins. Their parents get nothing at all.”

  “Bad blood between them?” Marnie asked.

  “More like that the older generation had been to the well one too many times. For some, I think that the kid will share it with their parents. Thomas would, even though he’s not the real cousin. Deanna’s kids would help her as well. That group is thick as thieves. Henry has no living parents, so she’d have no one asking her for handouts.”

  “What happened with her that she didn’t get the entire estate? Carolyn told me that she used to be the golden child, but she’d fallen out of favor. What happened? Could that be behind this?”

  “No one is talking about that. We need a person to come forward and tell us what happened. Every last one of those cousins has clammed up and refused to say a word. It’s frustrating. Especially when you think that might be related to the killing.”

  “Any ideas?” Marnie asked. “I’m guessing that Henry wanted to start spending the estate before it was hers. She seems like the kind of person who would do that.”

  “That’s definitely a theory. You’re right. In talking to Henry, she was rather forceful that the others had committed the crimes to get her money, emphasis on her.”

  Johanna looked at her friend. “I think another visit with the heiress is in order.”

  Chapter 4

  Johanna and Marnie stood outside of Henry’s house. The one-time heiress had purchased a Victorian home in an area of town that neither of the two visitors could afford—even with combined incomes.

  With some trepidation, they rang the bell. Johanna felt nervous as she strongly suspected that Henry had something to do with the crimes. She was too sure of herself and too greedy to let the current will stand.

  Henry came to the front door after what seemed like a few minutes. Johanna was sure that she’d been close by but had intentionally made the pair wait for her response.

  “What do you want?” she asked. “I’ve already heard about the shooting. You certainly seem to be at the center of all this chaos. Perhaps you should leave our family alone.”

  She started to shut the door, but Marnie asked, “Where were you last night?”

  “That’s not your business, is it? You’re not the police, and you’re not here in any official capacity.”

  “Everyone else has an alibi for last night—except for you,” Johanna lied. Arthur, of course, was out of the question, but Deanna’s family and the real Thomas were both unaccounted for. They might have been anywhere.

  “Do you think I care what that bunch was doing? They’d be the type to have an alibi because they’d set something up to look innocent. If you must know, I was here last night.”

  “Was anyone with you to give you an alibi?” Johanna asked. She thought that she knew the answer already. Henry did not have the personality to have friends stop by unannounced.

  “I was by myself last night,” she said.

  Marnie opened her mouth to ask a question, but she closed it again. Johanna was confused about what the question would have been and why Marnie had stopped herself from asking it.

  Marnie turned to leave, and she jerked her head to indicate that Johanna should do the same. As soon as Johanna turned around, she understood what had troubled her friend. A blue SUV hybrid was parked on the street. Johanna wasn’t sure if she’d missed it when they approached the house, or if the car had parked after they were asking Henry questions. In either case, it matched the rather vague description that Johanna had given the police.

  Johanna flashed back to the night of the shooting, when she’d been shoved to the ground by the now-missing-again Thomas. The images were clearer in her mind than they had been. Perhaps it was because she had weaned herself off the painkillers, or maybe her sense of self-protection had kicked in, facing a car like the one she’d seen that night.

  This car was similar to the one Johanna had witnessed, but not quite the same. She didn’t know enough about cars to articulate what was different. Still, given this car, the police might be able to identify the actual make and model of the vehicle.

  The images remained in her head, playing and replaying, like one of those YouTube videos on an endless cycle. She saw two people in the car, the driver who was in the shadows. She couldn’t say anything about the driver, not even her hair color or gender. Johanna wondered if the dark inside of the car and the lack of visibility had been planned.

  The other figure, the shooter, was more visible since he had leaned out of the window slightly. She recognized Ryan Donley, the shooter who had taken shots at her and Marnie when they retrieved Penny from her abduction. The same man.

  Johanna still had questions about the other incidents and how they fit together with these events. At least now, she knew that the two incidents were tied together. Still, the person who had taken Penny had also wanted Thomas dead—and perhaps her as well. That thought made shivers run down her back, even though the day was warm.

  She looked at Marnie and said, “We need to leave now.”

  Marnie nodded and unlocked the car. They drove home in silence.

  As soon as Johanna felt more like herself, she went back to the police station. In part, she wanted to go there again, in hopes of seeing Arthur. Since she and Marnie had deduced that Thomas was, in actuality, the son of Jessica and not her nephew, she wanted to ask Arthur about their suspicion.

  It would be easier to call the police station, but then, they’d need to send out someone to help identify the actual make and model of the car. This would speed up the process and perhaps answer the dognapping mystery and the threats against Thomas’s life.

  She dressed in a sensible outfit, not wanting to seem as if she was flirting with Dempsey, and something that would allow her to sit in one place for an extended time. Johanna had no idea how long the automobile identification would take.

  When she arrived, Detective Dempsey nodded as she told him how she’d seen Henry’s car and how it nearly resembled the car that had carried the shooter and the unknown driver that night.

  He made two phone calls and then took her to the interview room where she’d talked to Arthur last time, and where she’d been parked three hours on another occasion. She checked her phone while she waited for the officer with the photos.

  No word from Thomas. Johanna couldn’t understand why he had gone into hiding without at least telling her where he would be. The rushed departure almost made it feel like he didn’t trust her either.

  She heard a disruption from the hallway and went to the door to check. Sure enough, Arthur Tremblay was cursing at two officers who were trying to get him back toward the holding cells. He saw Johanna and stopped. “You again. Why are you here? Are you here to see the detective since my boy’s out of reach?” he laughed. “One is much like the other,” he cackled.

  Johanna wondered if the time in prison had made him unstable. She had no idea what he was talking about.

  Arthur looked to the two men accompanying him and said, “I’ll go without a fuss if I can talk to this woman in that room without interruption.”

  The officers looked at each other and nodded. “We’ll be watching,” the one said to Arthur. “Don’t try anything funny.”

  This time, as Arthur walked with her into the room, Johanna was more anxious than she’d been before. Today Arthur was less stable, antsier
. Was the stress of watching this case being solved while he stayed in jail too much for him? It would be tough to see a plan fall apart while he could do nothing to stop it.

  “Do you know where Thomas is?” Johanna asked, as soon as they sat down. “I haven’t heard from him since the shooting.”

  “Not surprised,” he said, not looking at her.

  “I know who he is,” Johanna said, deciding it was time to provoke a reaction.

  “Do you now?” he said, meeting her eyes. “I don’t think you do.” His eyes were dark and lifeless. He didn’t show any reaction to her words, and his voice was without expression. She felt panic, knowing what it was like to be trapped with someone who didn’t care what happened.

  “The Thomas who is here now is Jessica’s son. That’s why people are trying to kill him.”

  The sentence made him jerk to life. “Who told you that? Was it Dempsey?”

  “Wait, Dempsey knows about this?” she asked. Why would he have kept this to himself? She wondered. He could have eased her mind about the reasons why Thomas had been run over and shot at. In both cases, Johanna had worried that these people might be after her. Now her suspicions were false, and she’d only been collateral damage in killing Thomas.

  “Sure, he would. It’s not a big jump to figure out, is it?” He laughed as he spoke.

  Johanna had no idea what was so funny, but she tried to play along. “Well, that makes sense. Thank you.”

  Even Arthur in his current state could recognize that she was done with him, and in a few seconds, one of the officers had entered the room and removed him.

  Within a few minutes, the officer with the selection of cars came in, and he began going through all the possible makes and models that matched a blue SUV hybrid. She was appreciative that he had actually brought in photos where the cars were blue, so she didn’t have to try to imagine the car in a blue hue.