He coasted along slowly, hoping to get lucky and see Katie on the sidewalk. His right hand caressed the handle of the hunting knife, holding down a place of honor in the passenger seat. One look at it in his hands, and Katie would be convinced to get in the car.
Jack looked for the truck, too, but never saw it since it was safely tucked behind the General Store.
She’s here somewhere. She thinks she’s safe, which buys me time. Jack drove away, contemplating ways to lure her into the open.
Unbeknownst to Jack, he’d driven past Katie. She’d talked Nick into showing her the retail space next to Tanja’s Antiques. “Please? I want to get a feel for the overall area and whether it’ll work.” It would be a thousand dollars a month, which she couldn’t afford yet. Still, she wandered the large open room, trailing her fingers along the walls, and visualizing bookshelves and comfortable chairs. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and her eyes were far away and dreamy. She inhaled once. “I can practically smell the coffee brewing.” She turned toward him, her face aglow with sunshine and dreams, and Nick fell the rest of the way in love.
On Saturday, the whole town gathered in the square. The decorations were hung, and everyone had come out to see the lighting of the tree. Standing beside the Connellys, Katie was happy. Here among old buildings and narrow streets were genuine people, making a decent living and content with their slower pace and smaller lives. Here she, too, could make a beautiful life.
As Nick reached over to hold Annie’s hand, Maggie looked at the two young lovers and sighed. She and Don shared a secret-- Nick was planning to propose after the lighting ceremony. One part of her was happy, the other scared by Annie’s past. Don, oblivious to the back story, rubbed Nick’s shoulder and grinned from ear to ear.
The Christmas tree came to life with a thunderous round of applause. Candles were distributed, and the townsfolk began to sing “Silent Night.” Nick squeezed her hand, and Katie understood he was a man she could love forever. With the realization came an awful truth, I can’t live this life as Casandra.
As the town’s voices swelled to sing the chorus, Katie’s heart broke. All she’d hoped for and dreamed of shattered because she’d been a coward. She caught her breath on a sob. Bewildered, Nick gathered her in his arms.
Watching Katie’s face change from happy to horrified, Maggie felt her gut clench. Uh-oh. Here we go. She leaned across Nick and patted Annie’s hand. Crying harder, Katie pulled away and ran toward her apartment. Many of her new friends, stopped singing as they watched her leave—their faces a mix of concern and confusion.
Fumbling with her keys outside the General Store, the wind whipped Katie’s hair and dried her tears but couldn’t whisk away the sense of despair.
Nick had followed her and called out, “Annie, what is it?”
“I love you, Nick.”
“I love you too, Annie. What’s wrong?”
“For starters, my name isn’t Annie. I’m not who you think I am.” She left him standing in the alley and locked herself in her apartment.
Nick called multiple times and banged on her door. Maggie and Tanja called. Katie never answered. Curled on her couch, she sat in the dark for the rest of the night. “I have to tell the truth.” She had no idea what the consequences meant where Jack and Nick were concerned. She crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep.
With her mind in a whirl, she plodded through the next day, working her shift and avoiding her friends and any conversation.
Nick tried to catch Katie at Tipsy’s, but she focused on other customers. “Annie, we’ve got to talk. What’s going on?”
Colleen caught Nick’s eye and shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t been able to get anything out of her either. Hang in there, big guy.”
On Monday night, a frustrated Nick banged on her door once more. “Annie, please let me in.”
She opened the door, and Nick noticed the circles under her eyes. “What’s going on?”
Katie paced as she told him the truth in bits and pieces. “I married a selfish, awful man. I’ve got documents showing he may have been taking bribes. I think he’ll harm me or worse. Cassie wanted me to do it, and it made sense at the time.”
“Whoa. Slow down. Who’s Cassie?”
In jerking sobs and a voice sometimes reduced to a whisper, she poured out the entire story, “…and then I met you. I couldn’t keep pretending to be someone else. I love you, Nick, but I’m still married to Jack.”
Nick was incredulous. “You’re married?” He stood and glared at Katie. “You lied to me.” Nick strode to the door. “You were right the other night, you’re not who I thought you were at all.” He slammed out of the apartment with Katie’s pleas following him down the stairs.
Nick headed straight to his mother’s kitchen. “God, Mom, what am I going to do? Anne isn’t even her name. It’s Kathryn Werner, and she’s married. I’m a damned fool.”
Maggie sat across from him and let him rant. When he’d exhausted all words, she laid her hand on his. “You’re no fool. Look how hard she's worked to build this new life. You don’t know all the details. She’s still the same person. Her story’s just bigger than we imagined.”
Nick pulled his hand free. “Why didn’t she tell me?” He chewed on the situation for almost a full day. With no clear ideas, he called Blake, hoping he’d have advice.
As friends do, Blake agreed with Nick. “What a fucking mess. It’s not your fault, man. You were upfront and honest. But here’s the thing Nick, she could be in real trouble--with the law and her husband. Want me to talk to her?”
“No.”
“Come on, let me help.”
Nick finally agreed, and Blake went to Annie’s apartment on Wednesday evening, catching her as she came home from work. “Hey, girl. Can I come in?”
She held the door open but remained guarded and quiet.
“I can’t help you until you tell me the story.”
As with Nick, she shared her story. Blake encouraged her to show him the paperwork, the letter from Cassie, the pictures of her bruises and the broken ribs. When Katie was done, she hung her head. “What am I going to do?”
Blake let out a long sigh. “Stealing an identity is a crime, but, as far as I can tell, there’s no new money involved, right? You didn’t take over Cassie’s accounts or use her name to open a credit card. I think the best thing for you to do is to turn yourself in and make a deal of some kind. You need a lawyer.”
“Am I going to jail?”
Blake looked away and mumbled, “Probably.”
Katie nodded. She’d come to the same conclusion. Hearing it, though, made it sound frightfully final. “Can you give me a day? I need to explain myself to a lot of people. I’d rather they hear it from me.”
Blake agreed. “I’d like to do some background work, and maybe drive to Savannah to meet with the officers in charge of the investigation. Maybe we can come up with a plan.”
As Blake headed out, Katie called Aunt Susan.
Susan consoled as much as she was able. “You’re doing the right thing—the hard thing--but it’s the right choice if you want this new life.”
“I do--but jail?” Katie burst into tears.
“We’ll do what we have to do. You’ve already proven you can start over. It’ll be okay. Maybe not today, but it’ll be all right.”
Katie agreed to keep her in the loop and hung up, resigned to her task. She spent the rest of the evening practicing her speech, pacing, and crying in frustration and rage, “Why can’t I just have a normal life?”
Blake used his federal credentials to download and read Katie’s missing person reports and the police findings. Afterward, he called and set up a meeting with the Savannah police detectives Hopkins and Darrow, for the next morning.
Chapter 65
Early Thursday morning, as Blake was headed to Savannah, Katie searched out Maggie and Don first, relieved to find them at home. Katie started and stopped her explanation a dozen times until she’d shar
ed all the details.
Maggie folded Katie into a hug. “Nick told us part of it, but I already knew. I figured it out months ago.”
“You knew? You’re not mad?”
“No. How could I be angry? No one knows what’s in your head, or your heart but you. You were obviously desperate.”
Don sat at the table, rubbing his forehead. “What a mess. You’re gonna need a lawyer, Annie.” He smiled. “Sorry, I can’t get used to Katie yet.”
Katie sniffed. “It’s okay. How about Katie-Anne?”
Don patted both women and headed toward their den. “I’m callin’ Montgomery.”
“Who’s Montgomery?”
“Montgomery is Don’s cousin and just happens to be a semi-retired lawyer.” Maggie mopped at Katie’s face. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I think so. The faster I tell everyone, the better. God knows when Blake will come back to arrest me.” She tried to laugh, but it broke apart on a sob instead.
Maggie rubbed Katie’s shoulders, “You’re doing the right thing, and I’m proud of you. What are you going to do first?”
Tell everyone, Katie answered as she ticked off names, “Tanja, Skinny Tom, the retirees, Colleen and Colin in that order.”
Darrow and Hopkins were waiting when Blake arrived. They all grabbed a coffee and headed to the conference room.
“The whole disappearance was a frickin’ mess from day one,” Darrow announced.
“We’d already concluded she faked the disappearance and skipped town. You’re telling us she wants to turn herself in? Why?” Hopkins asked.
“She’s tired of looking over her shoulder and worrying about Jack. The lies don’t sit well with her, either. She’s made a place for herself in Bluff Creek, and I don’t mind telling you, the town loves her. I do, too.”
Hopkins and Darrow frowned at Blake.
“No, not like that. Katie’s special. You’ll see.”
“The husband was the principal suspect. We’ve kept an eye on him but could never put the pieces together.” Darrow kept his comments respectful.
Hopkins had no such reservations. “My opinion? Husband is a real piece of shit. All the signs of an abusive marriage were there. Isolated her. Scrutinized her every move. We’ve got reasons to suspect there was some violent behavior.”
“Katie shared some stories with me. She has pictures of bruises and busted ribs to back up her claim. She also has some possibly incriminating evidence which may show Jack’s been taking bribes, too, but it’ll be hard to prove.”
Darrow let out a long sigh. “Jack Werner’s not going to handle any of this well. Not Katie coming back into town, and, sure as hell, not any information that makes him look bad.”
“He could be a real problem,” Hopkins picked up the conversation. “He’s been trying to find Katie all along. He showed up at the Morrisons a week ago, screaming about Katie using their daughter's name for a fake I.D.”
“She’s not safe,” Darrow said, voicing what they were all thinking.
Blake waited for them to come to the same conclusion he had. It didn’t take long.
“Well, identity theft is a crime.” Hopkins looked at Darrow, who nodded once.
“If she’s in jail for the weekend, Jack can’t cause any problems,” Darrow added, and Blake tilted his head, acknowledging the statement.
“If you bring her in later tomorrow, she can’t be arraigned until Monday,” Hopkins concluded. The three officers agreed.
As they were shaking hands, Darrow made one last observation. “The press followed this story pretty heavily.” He let the statement hang in the air, and Hopkins nodded, impressed.
“You’re right. They did.” Blake said and didn’t commit further.
Tanja took one look at Katie's ravaged face and turned the store sign to “closed.” She pulled Katie toward the back room and sat her on a colonial revival couch. “Talk.” By the time Katie was done, Tanja was crying too. “Why didn’t you say anything? Don’t you trust me?”
“It’s not about trusting you. It’s not knowing what to do about the truth. What was I supposed to do? Walk-in here and announce, ‘Oh, hey, by the way, my name is Katie, not Annie. I’m running in fear for my life, my husband is trying to find me and may or may not kill me. Let’s have lunch.’” Katie’s voice hitched. “I swear I just didn’t know how to fix it. And, I thought you’d hate me.”
“Hate you? You’re one of the bravest women I know. Whoever you are!” Tanja swept her hair away from her face and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Tanja.”
Katie gripped her hand and laughed. “Hi. I’m Katie. Glad to meet you.”
Tanja shoved chocolate into Katie’s hand. “You’re going to need this for fortification. Now, keep going until you’ve told everyone.”
Katie headed toward the General Store and told her story. When she got to the end, Jarrod shook his head, “Hell of a secret to keep, Annie.” The rest of the retirees nodded.
“I’m sorry. I was so scared. Scared word would get back to my husband. Scared this new life would fall apart."
Skinny Tom flipped his towel back and forth. "Hell, I already knew."
Katie couldn't believe it. "You did?" Two people had known her story from the start? First Maggie and now Tom.
"I got years of watching faces come in and out of this store," Skinny Tom explained. "I pay attention, and you seemed familiar. You were so skittish, I got to wondering why, and then it clicked. The woman from Savannah."
The retirees grumbled at Tom, "Why didn't you tell us?"
Skinny Tom scoffed, "It wasn't any of your business. Besides, none of ya'll can keep a secret."
Katie looked at the old men who'd been watching out for her. "I love this town. I love you guys.” Tears trickled down her face.
Craig stood up and took her hands. “You know you’ve committed a crime?”
Katie nodded.
“You may have to go to jail.”
Katie nodded again, and Jarrod nearly fell out of his chair.
“You know we’ll help you in any way we can?”
Katie laid her head on Craig’s wide shoulder and sobbed.
The others gathered around, patting her on the back.
Katie hiccupped and asked, “Can I come back here, when this is over?”
“Well, you’d better.” Skinny Tom was the first to answer. “You can keep all your stuff in my storage area."
Katie kissed him on the cheek, and he blushed as he’d been doing for the last three and a half months.
Thaddeus tapped her on the shoulder. “News travels fast in small towns. If there’s anybody else you’re fixin’ to tell, you’d best hurry.”
That Thad had uttered two full sentences was noteworthy. Katie ran towards Tipsy’s.
Colleen was pissed. "I knew something was wrong, the way you were always watching the door..." It turned into a royal ass-kicking speech about honesty and loyalty and ‘we’re friends for God’s sake!’
Katie hung her head. "I know."
Katie's backstory was spreading like wildfire. After three phone calls from townpeople wanting to know more information, Don called Nick. “Son, things are ramping up fast. Katie needs you.”
“She should have told me,” Nick repeated for the hundredth time.
“Well, it seems to me she did. You’ve got to see it from her side, too. When things got serious between you two, she didn’t run. She told the truth as hard as it was. Why do you think she did that?”
Sometimes his dad was a lot smarter than Nick gave him credit for being.
Blake called Nick on the way back to Bluff Creek. “I met with the Savannah police force. Katie’s husband does have a violent streak, and he knows she’s using Cassie’s name. I know you’re hurting, but we need to get her safe. Fast. I need your help.”
Nick wasn’t sure what Blake meant, but he agreed to be at Katie’s apartment the next day.
“Call her,” Blake begged. “You're being an ass.”
&nb
sp; Nick started to defend himself, but Blake had already hung up the phone. Nick was sitting on the bottom step to Katie’s apartment when she opened the storeroom door. Her heavy heart lifted, but she paused, waiting for him to make the first move.
He stood and opened his arms to her, and relief flooded her.
On Friday, December 6th, Nick and Blake showed up at Katie’s apartment early. Blake wore a suit and laid out the plan. “I’m gonna take you back to Savannah, and you’ll be in jail. I’m sorry, but it turns out Jack’s been looking for you all along.”
All color drained from Katie’s face.
“The best place for you is in jail. Jack can’t get to you, and we can sort out the legal end of things.” Blake regarded Nick, then Katie, and released a long breath through puffed out lips. Pushing himself up out of the chair as if he’d aged twenty years, he withdrew handcuffs from his belt. “I’m sorry, Katie, but it’s time to go.”
Katie stared at the cuffs.
“Handcuffs? You’re not serious?” Nick's hands curled into fists, ready to take on a fight. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Katie turned sad eyes to Nick. “That’s not true. I used my friend’s identity.”
“But it’s wasn’t a vicious crime. Cassie told you to use her name.”
“Look, Nick, if it were up to me, I’d just drive her to Savannah. We’ve got to make this look good. If Jack’s watching, he needs to see Katie in cuffs and in jail.”
Katie blinked two slow blinks and offered her hands.
Blake fiddled with his phone. “We need video showing Katie’s been taken into custody.”
“Why?” Katie and Nick asked in unison.
“We need the media. They’re gonna be crazy for this story since they covered it back in September. They’ll keep Katie safer than anybody. The entire state of Georgia will be watching her and Jack.”
Nick looked at Katie. “You’re gonna divorce his sorry ass, right?”
There Was a Crooked Man: A Psychological Thriller Page 32