Mistaken Identity Crisis: Death On The Cable Car (Braxton Campus Mysteries Book 4)

by James J Cudney

  “Maximize it and raise the volume, will you, Violet?” Vincenzo requested with his gun still aimed at Cristiano. He'd never take a shot with his granddaughter in Cristiano's arms.

  “I'm scared, Daddy,” Emma cried and reached for me.

  I'd lost track of where Francesca stood at that point. My heart broke into pieces at what was unfolding before me. Not being able to visualize any details made it even more tragic and haunting. “It's okay, baby, just a few more minutes.”

  Cristiano tried to comfort my daughter. “It's all a fun game, Emma. Just keep your eyes closed, and you'll be back to your daddy soon.”

  My mother must have enlarged the video. Someone began to speak on it, but I wasn't sure of his or her identity. I couldn't see details, given the loss of my glasses and not being close enough. By squinting and straining, I could make out only the bare minimum of actions.

  “Ah, Quint Crawford. You were once a valuable asset to my family. Now, you're nothing but an almost dead man,” a cold and virulent voice from the video cautioned.

  “What are you planning to do, Raquel?” another voice said on the recording.

  “We don't want his last moments to be a struggle. Life shouldn't be this difficult for anyone. Turn that camera off and ensure no one's watching.” It was Raquel's sadistic tone I clearly heard this time.

  “What are you doing to him, boss?” the guy operating the camera questioned. A few moments of silence followed. “You're gonna strangle him?”

  “It was necessary. One more problem solved. As I told my brother, a woman will always save the day,” Raquel replied on the video.

  While my mother gasped across the room, Raquel screeched. “That's impossible. How did—”

  “Perhaps you'd like to strike up a new deal,” Cecilia suggested, then explained that the goon Raquel had following Quint had double-crossed the Vargas family and recorded Raquel while she strangled Quint to death. “It took me a while to track him down, but when I did, he was more than willing to sell me the video in exchange for a small sum of money to start a new life somewhere else.”

  Raquel released me and inched toward Cecilia. “He disappeared this afternoon. Now, I understand why. That arrogant son-of-a—”

  “I'd rather not hear any foul language from you, young lady,” Vincenzo replied, squaring off with her, still at least ten feet away. “You've done enough. About our deal, it's renegotiation time.”

  The next few minutes were a blur, and not just because I couldn't see what was happening. Raquel pushed past me and lunged for Vincenzo. I careened into a desk. After regaining my footing, I scanned the room to locate Cristiano and my daughter, trying to decipher their voices in the cacophony. My mother screamed bloody murder, and a burst of footsteps rushed by me from the front. I heard April yell, “This is the Wharton County Sheriff's Office. Drop your weapons and put your hands up!”

  A few seconds later, several gunshots reverberated in the room, followed by an intense screech from my daughter. I covered my head and dived to the ground toward where I thought she was being held captive. I had no idea who'd been hit and cared little about protecting myself at that moment, only my daughter. “Emma,” I cried out, begging for mercy from anyone who'd listen and promising my own life in return for her absolute safety.

  Chapter 20

  “I'm so sorry, Kellan. I can't imagine how you're feeling,” April comforted me. We sat in my mother's office with the door closed. The gunshots from an hour ago still echoed in my head. I'd seen shoot-outs in the movies and through recreations for my former crime show, but to live through one in person was a whole different situation. To essentially watch someone be shot to death directly in front of you was something I'd never want to experience again.

  “Have you ever killed someone before, April?” My weakened state of mind barely allowed me to respond, but I was beginning to come around.

  “Unfortunately, tonight wasn't my first time. It's only happened on a handful of occasions, but it never gets any easier.” April grabbed both my hands and covered them with hers. “In a situation like that, instincts kick in. I saw her raise the gun, but I didn't know who she was going to shoot.”

  “Raquel is definitely dead?”

  April nodded. “They've loaded Vincenzo Castigliano into the ambulance. Raquel was able to get two shots in before Old Betsy took her down. He was hit in the chest. I'm not sure how it'll turn out.” She brushed my hair out of my eyes and placed a pair of glasses on my face for the second time that day. “It's a good thing I kept your original ones from our breakfast this morning.”

  It felt good to be able to see again. “Thank you,” I said, staring directly at the woman who'd just saved my entire family's life. My vision of April was now undeniably clear. “Where is everyone else?”

  Once the earlier shots had been fired and April assumed control over Admissions Hall, I'd run to my daughter and grabbed her from Cristiano's arms. I'd lost all sense of what was happening in the room around me. I'd carried her to the closest office, shut and locked the door, only opening it again when my mother finished speaking to the cops and beseeched me to see her granddaughter. We'd comforted Emma for fifteen minutes before Connor let us know that it was safe to come out again.

  “I'm allowing Cecilia and Francesca to go to the hospital with Vincenzo. They're both in handcuffs, and we'll deal with booking them later. If there's any chance Vincenzo won't make it, I wouldn't want to deprive his family of a last goodbye. There are several police officers with them, and both will be under scrutiny for the time being.” April handed me a cup of water and urged me to drink some slowly.

  “Emma is still with my mother?” I hadn't wanted to leave them alone but needed a few minutes by myself to process everything that had happened. I was ready to see them both again.

  “Yes, she's asleep in your mother's arms. She'll be okay, you know. Kids are more resilient than we think,” April assured with a knowing glance. “Let's talk for a few minutes about how this all happened. I want to be sure I understand everything while it's still fresh in your mind. I promise, just a brief summary, and then tomorrow or the next day, we can go through the details.”

  I stood and crossed to the other side of the office and updated April with everything that had happened after I'd returned home from class. “I hung up with Cristiano and heard Krissy's voice once I'd stepped outside again.” When I said her name, I remembered that she'd been tied up in the Stanton house. “Oh, Krissy, she's—”

  “Krissy's fine. At some point after you and Raquel had left, Marcus returned home early and found his daughter. She'd only passed out, and the head injury was minor. Krissy helped us track you down,” April explained. Before losing consciousness, Krissy had heard me repeat the location of where Raquel planned to take me. “Marcus called the police. Connor heard the call details on dispatch, and he rushed over to the house. Krissy was worried about you, Kellan. She felt awful about everything that had happened, especially what her father had tried to pin on Gabriel. We also matched Krissy's fingerprints to the ones found on the electric supply box under the cable car platform. She claims she just wanted to hurt him, and knowing she hadn't wiped her prints from it, that's probably the truth. She's a smart girl. I doubt she'd intentionally attempt to kill him and purposely leave evidence behind.”

  “You're right. Did Marcus admit he lied about the stolen jewelry from his safe?”

  “Not exactly. Krissy was the one who'd planned to flee with it. She broke the window to make it look like a regular burglary, assuming everyone would think it was the fifth robbery aligning with the previous string of jewelry thefts. When Marcus reported it to us a day after he spoke to you, he genuinely believed your brother was responsible.” April explained that Marcus had confronted Krissy sometime after reporting it, and she confessed that she'd stolen the jewelry and cash, hidden it at the bank, and planned to leave Braxton. Her father had cut her off financially after losing the election because she'd been involved with Quint, the guy whom
Marcus believed had cost him the win. Krissy and her father had fought for an hour earlier that afternoon after she arrived from the bank and began packing the car to leave. Marcus disappeared to find a way to stop her, but when he returned home, he'd found his daughter tied up in the living room.

  “They're down at the sheriff's office with Connor sorting out that situation. As soon as Connor knew what had happened to you, he called me, and that's how I was able to track you guys down to Admissions Hall.” April had proved tonight why she was the best person for the sheriff's role in Wharton County. Not only did her staff respect and trust her, but she was able to catch the criminal in the end.

  “What about Cristiano? What will happen to him?” Through everything, as ruthless as his family had been, he kept promising that he never wanted to harm Emma. I'd believed him, but he was still partially responsible for everything that had transpired this evening.

  “That's going to be tough. You knew I was investigating the Vargas and Castigliano families. Cristiano has managed to keep himself squeaky clean. Until I speak with your wife, I do not know what happened. He's outside with his sister.” April opened the door to the office and let me peer into the main part of the room. Cristiano sat on the floor, cupping Raquel's hand.

  “Can I speak to him?”

  “I don't think that's a good idea, Kellan.”

  “Just for a minute. I want to thank him for something.”

  April agreed and walked over to them with me.

  Cristiano looked at me, his expression unreadable. I could sense the devastation that surrounded him. He peered at Raquel, who lay peacefully at his side, and closed her eyelids. With a lengthy sigh, he rose. “Is Emma okay?”

  I nodded. “I'm sure we'll have more to say to one another in the coming days, but there are two things I feel compelled to tell you before leaving.”

  “Yes?” He breathed deeply, likely waiting for me to rip him apart.

  “Thank you for protecting Emma, and I'm truly sorry about what happened to your sister. I have little idea who she was outside of this event, but the woman I grew to know in class always felt like someone she'd wanted to be on the inside.” I turned and began to step away.

  Cristiano grabbed my arm. “Raquel was once a good person. As a child, she had a passion for the changing the world for the better. Our father is a tyrant, and he insisted she be part of the family business. It is his fault that she died tonight, not yours or anyone else's.”

  “Does that mean you won't seek revenge against the Castigliano family?” I asked, hoping the war would end so that we could all move on with our lives.

  “Your friend, the sheriff here, will do her best to convict me of several crimes. None of them will stick. I've done many wrong things in my lifetime, Kellan, but after tonight, I'm a changed man.” Cristiano released my arm and let an officer place a pair of handcuffs on him. “I didn't kidnap Francesca, and I'm confident she will tell you the truth soon.”

  Stunned by his response, I could barely move. As Officer Flatman led him away, I called out and asked them to stop. “Wait! If you didn't kidnap her, who did?”

  “No one. Francesca came of her own volition. She knew the only way to end this war was to turn in her family. She blamed them for losing you and her daughter for all these years. Francesca insisted on working the negotiations through you, so that she wouldn't have to deal directly with her parents. Neither you nor Emma were ever at risk until Vincenzo and Cecilia showed up here tonight. They should've listened to us, and none of this would've occurred.” Cristiano closed his eyes and mumbled a silent prayer. When he opened them, much of the pain that had been plastered across his face had disappeared. “I'm in love with your wife, Kellan. I believe she is in love with me too. I hope that's going to be okay because I plan to fight for her. No hard feelings, mi amigo?”

  “Take him away, Officer Flatman,” April demanded, gripping my shoulder and dragging me in the opposite direction. “There is another time and a place for you to address all that nonsense. Let's bring you back to Emma and your mother.”

  I watched Cristiano's snarky grin as he was led away. What he'd said hadn't bothered me at all. Too much had transpired since the last time Francesca and I had been happy together, perhaps we'd all find a win at the end of this conflict.

  When the door to Admissions Hall opened, I saw my wife standing outside near the ambulance before it drove away. She and her mother were directed into the backseat of a squad car headed to the hospital to check on Vincenzo. “May I have one more favor, April? I need to speak with her.”

  “Yes, of course,” she said as we walked to the car. “Keep it brief for now. Let her focus on her father, then you can deal with explaining her return to Emma.”

  April stayed behind while I approached Francesca. Cecilia was already in the squad car.

  “Did you really let me think you'd been kidnapped this entire time?” I asked.

  Francesca's face was red and blotchy. She wiped a few tears against her shoulder and sniffled. “I did what was necessary to protect Emma's future. When I left Braxton, I went to Vancouver to be somewhere that reminded me of you and our past together. You hurt me, Kellan, when you told me I couldn't see Emma anymore.”

  “That doesn't answer my question.” I firmly held my ground.

  “When Cristiano found me, I had no intention of doing anything harmful. We spent a few days together talking about our families. Although we'd known who each other was, even met as kids a few times, he was different than I expected. Cristiano understood what it was like to grow up in a house where people's lives were carelessly played with as if they were meaningless.” She sighed and lifted her handcuffed hands to her heart. “Our life together was different. You helped me escape from that type of crazy, and I never wanted to go back to it. My parents forced me to live in hiding, and when Cristiano presented an opportunity to escape, I went for it.”

  “So, that's a yes. You knowingly let me worry a second time. First, I think you're killed in a drunk driving car accident. Then, I think you're kidnapped by a rival family. What's next?” I said, feeling only contempt for my wife at that moment.

  “What's next is that I'm going to visit my father at the hospital and pray that he survives his injuries.” She shook her head at me, and for the first time, I saw an entirely different side of the woman I'd once been deeply in love with. “And then, I'm going to work with Cristiano to ensure neither of us goes to prison over what has happened. We started out only wanting to end the war between our families, but we ended up falling in love.”

  “Does that mean we're over?” I asked, knowing in my heart it was true but needing to hear the words from Francesca. “What about Emma?”

  “I think we've been through too much to fix anything between you and me. I'd like to be friends, but it depends on what you do next.” Francesca nodded at the officer to open the door to the squad car.

  “What does that mean?” My heart began to race again.

  “Emma needs to know I'm alive, that I love her. Are you going to keep me from my daughter?”

  I hadn't formulated a plan. All I knew was that I had to be honest with Emma. “I won't keep you from her, but I'll do anything necessary to protect her from something like this ever happening again.”

  “As I said, maybe you and I can be friends. Once Cristiano's lawyers ensure he and I are released from custody, I intend to find a compromise. I know you won't let me have custody of Emma, and no court in the world would grant it to me after today.”

  “I'm angry with you right now. Let's have that discussion when we have a better sense of the future.” I needed time to think. Hopefully, Emma didn't ask too many questions when she woke up. I was certain she'd seen Francesca for at least a minute inside the building. “I'm sorry about your father.”

  “You'll hear from me soon.” After Francesca stepped inside the car, the officer shut the door and jumped in the front passenger seat.

  As they took off, April sidled up. “You ok
ay?”

  “Not right now, but I will be.”

  “What can I do to help you?”

  When April stopped speaking, I turned toward her, smiling for the first time that evening. Despite the darkness surrounding us in the sky, there was a floodlight shining from behind her that gave her an unusual glow. I saw the softened lime-green eyes of a woman who genuinely worried about me. I felt the consuming energy radiating from a huge heart that comforted me. “I have a wedding to attend on Friday. It's for my aunt and her fiancé, but it's a double wedding because two other people we know are getting married. After everything we've been through these last few months, I feel like I owe you something fun in return. How would you like to attend it with me?”

  “Little Ayrwick,” she teased with a curious voice. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  “That all depends,” I replied, shoving my hands in my pockets and lifting my chest. “Didn't you agree to stop calling me that awful, mean, absurd, rude name?”

  “I suppose I did.”

  “Then I suppose I did too.” I looked toward the sky and watched a few stars blazing down on us. “I'll call you tomorrow with all the details. For now, I need to take my daughter home.”

  April smiled merrily before slowly wandering away in search of an officer.

  I felt a sudden change in the atmosphere and knew things were finally starting to move in a positive direction. As I stepped forward, I felt a pain shoot up my foot. “April, hold up,” I called, jogging awkwardly to catch her. “I have a gift for you.” I removed a shoe to retrieve the storage device containing the evidence the Castiglianos had originally provided.

  Tilting her head, April looked at me with a peculiar expression. “Did you seriously just pull that out of your sweaty shoe and try to hand it to me as if it were a gift?”

  “I don't know to give someone on a first date anymore. It's been a long time since I went on one of those. Besides, I showered three hours ago.” I shrugged and rolled my eyes. “Should I just shut up?”