Reading Between the Crimes

by Kate Young

  “Hold out your hands, please.” And now he would blackmail me so that I could never leave. And if that were possible, that would mean he didn’t plan to leave any other witnesses alive.

  I did as he commanded. My mind raced with how I was going to get us all out of this mess. When LJ put the heavy object into my hands, hot tears ran down my cheeks. “‘Strike the shepherd.’ You were referencing the past—when my grandmother alerted the authorities to the group and the house was raided.”

  He wiped the tears away with his thumb. “Grip the candlestick, please.”

  I did. “You had me attacked.” I tried to look hurt. It was difficult to behave this way with an audience, but for some reason Charles wanted them to see us interact. He made it a point to not even acknowledge that they were there, which to me screamed of his need to punish my mother and uncle.

  He had LJ take the candlestick from my hand and took both my hands in his. I had to fight to remain still.

  “That went horribly wrong.” He glared over at LJ and frowned. “He wasn’t supposed to attack you. Just someone near you. We had to improvise afterward.” By telling the police I’d been the one to hire Spider to attack me.

  “Hey, man, I told you that guy couldn’t be trusted to follow directions.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Gangbangers, whatcha gonna do.”

  I blinked, trying to maintain composure. “But LJ is responsible. Bea told me that she overhead LJ describing me to someone on the phone.” I glared at LJ and did a little improvising myself. “And told them to go at me hard.”

  “Bea lies!” LJ’s face paled.

  I allowed my gaze to flitter toward Calvin in my natural turn back to Charles. Calvin’s head bobbed an infinitesimal amount. He was encouraging me. I was doing well.

  Charles’s glare promised LJ pain. He turned back to me. “Spider was supposed to tase someone else. Anyone else but you. And when you ran, I was going to be there for you. It was supposed to connect us and open the door. You’d want to know what ‘Strike the shepherd’ referred to, and I planned to enlighten you.”

  He released his hold on my hands when he pointed at my mother. “You’re right. Frances and Calvin’s evil beast of a mother took a strike at the shepherd when she reported the movement to the police and spread all those vile lies. We all scattered like sheep, and your grandfather went away to prison. Father Bingham died there.” He turned to glare at my mother and Calvin. “Did you know that?”

  Mother and Calvin both had the same air of defiance. Although I respected it, I wished they wouldn’t goad him. I let out a little sigh of relief when he turned back to me. “What your uncle and mother didn’t understand was how powerful the teachings are. That when you’re destined for greatness, it happens no matter what. Despite all the evildoers’ efforts to stomp us out.” He smiled. “Here we are, you and I, together as we should be. I searched and searched for you once I came of age. My mother never let me forget my purpose. She helped me search, and on her death bed I swore I’d find you.”

  “And Leonard? You had to kill him?”

  “Yes. When I saw he couldn’t be depended on, I corrected his will first, and he signed the will in front of his lawyer. It’s binding. All the money will go to us.” He meant himself. There was no us. If he managed to get me away—and I’d rather die—he’d be determined to control me.

  “Where’d the meds come from?” I bet they were his.

  “Mine. All it took was a little google search to convince the stupid doctor that I needed them.”

  I’m sure it didn’t take much convincing. This guy was a lunatic.

  “I’d been on something similar in my early twenties. They wanted to alter my natural thought processes. That’s around the time I found a message board and found Leonard. When he proved to be problematic, I had Harper dose him. Just a little here and there to build it up in his system. Then on the night of the event, she gave him the killing dose.”

  Oh. My. God. I stared at Harper.

  “Don’t give me that Goody-two-shoes look,” Harper swore. “You hated him along with me when I told you how my life was. LJ and I needed his money. You heard Charles—Leonard was losing his mind. And Charles is the one who brained him, not me.”

  “Don’t worry.” Charles stroked my arm in what I think he believed was a soothing manner, when, in fact, it was creepy and made me feel ill. “You’re not going to witness anything awful again.”

  I’m not going to witness. Meaning it’s going to happen when I’m gone?

  “Our enforcer needs to take the fall for the tragedy that will occur here tonight. He knows the rules for abandoning the cause.” Charles shook his head. “You’ll learn the ways. You’ll be perfect.” He stroked my hair, and I fought not to flinch. “I’m telling you all of this so you know that I will never lie to you again. We’ll start over fresh.”

  Harper laughed. “Oh, Charles are you in for it.” She stood up and stretched. “That one is not the humble little housewife and baby factory you thinks she is. You might as well give up like I told you in the beginning, when you came up with this plan.”

  Harper moved closer to me, and Charles did nothing to discourage her. Harper ran her finger along my shoulder. “I mean, my part was brilliant. I befriend Lyla and her book club while behaving pitifully, making everyone think that stupid old man controlled me. Then I reach out to the damaged matriarch of Lyla’s family.” She moved to dance around Mother, and my gun itched to be used. “Get her to offer help, and then the family will take the fall. And I go free.”

  LJ grinned at her and she beamed back, and I wanted to wipe those smiles right off their wicked faces. “How did your aunt factor in?”

  Calvin swallowed. Dangerous ground, I read from him.

  Harper froze and then frowned. “She didn’t.”

  LJ’s expression turned serious. “Okay. Look. If Harper and I are going to go underground for a while, we need to get out of here before daylight. And we won’t have long after I cut the ankle monitor off her. We have a schedule to keep, Charles.”

  Harper turned to Charles, and her breath sped up. “Did you kill my aunt?”

  Charles raised both his hands and smiled. “Not me.”

  Harper whirled on LJ and frowned. “Was it you?”

  “Baby, what did we say?” He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. She shoved him away.

  “Naughty, naughty.” Charles shook his finger in my face. He could tell what I was doing. “There’s no way to save your family. Like LJ said, the past must stay there.”

  I forced my lips up in a hesitant smile. “This is all so new to me. I’m going to need time.”

  He studied me, not buying my innocent act. I had to work fast.

  I blew out a breath. “Look. I’ll be honest. I’m angry that Harper took advantage of me. I tried to be a loving and kind friend to her. How can I trust anyone when those who were closest to me betrayed me? You recruited two people to hurt me.”

  He opened his mouth.

  I held up a hand. “You say your intentions were different, but that’s what happened.” I put my hand to my chest and forced all the emotion I was feeling for my family into this one moment. Tears welled in my eyes, and I let them fall as my voice broke. “How can I trust you when you are planning to hurt those I love? They’re my family. Let them go and I’ll come willingly.”

  His brows drew together, and he seemed to be considering my words. “That makes sense to me. You have no way of knowing that I’m completely on your side and you can trust me with everything.” He took my face in his hands. “I can fix this. I can prove myself.”

  Hope bloomed within me. Maybe we could get out of this without bloodshed. I could keep this up.

  He stood and faced the group. “Change of plans.” In a blur, he whipped a gun from the back of his pants and shot Harper.

  I screamed as Harper fell against the wall, sliding down. He turned to LJ, who bellowed Harper’s name, and Calvin, still tied to the chair,
lunged.

  Another shot went off, and Daddy fell to his side. He struggled, working to get free. I didn’t dare look at Mother or Gran, or I would lose my nerve. Calvin’s chair broke, but his hands were still cuffed and blood pooled around him.

  I ripped my gun from under my shirt, tearing skin. I couldn’t have cared less.

  “You’re dead, Charles!” LJ pulled his gun, but Charles lunged and knocked it free. Both men fought for purchase of the weapon, the blood causing a slippery struggle.

  While they fought, I scanned the area, vacillating momentarily. I didn’t have time to call for help. I spied the knife on the floor, the knife they’d used to cut the rope, and went for it. I used it to cut Harper’s ankle monitor, which took a little doing. She was unconscious, and Charles and LJ were still grappling. I checked her neck and she still had a pulse. The bullet had struck her in the chest, but high up near the shoulder. She’d need an ambulance, but I thought she’d live. The cops should be here in minutes now. I knew how that worked: her severed monitor would be setting off alarm bells, and the police were not going to let a murderer get away. I glanced over at the most important women in my life and mouthed, “It’s going to be okay,” before I went into autopilot, acting on one impulse to the next.

  The gun Charles had used was next to Calvin, and not sure if Calvin was conscious, I kicked it away. I didn’t want either Charles or LJ lunging for it.

  I fired two shots over their heads. “Stop!”

  Both men froze. One head lifted and then the other as they got to their knees to face me. Hands raised. LJ looked murderously at me. “Bitch,” he spat.

  “Throw those cuff keys over here.”

  I thought I would have to do more threatening, but LJ dug them out of his pocked and threw them, hitting me square in the chest. Never taking my eyes off them, I kicked them over to my father, who jerked his hands free from the ropes as he lay on the floor.

  Charles appeared shocked. “I wanted to show you that you could count on me. I wanted to erase the damage by getting rid of those who did you harm. I can still fix it.” He started to rise.

  “Don’t.” I warned, and he didn’t.

  “You’re so magnificent. We have a destiny; can’t you see that? You read my notes. Our life will be holy and amazing. We’ll change the world.”

  “She doesn’t love you. Look at her. She’s just like her mother. The one you hate so much.” LJ snatched the gun from between them, and I fired, winging him.

  “Thank you.” I moved toward Mother and Charles’s lips curled. “We’re tough as nails,” I whispered, and to my surprise, she smiled, tears streaming down her cheek.

  “Calvin, you better be alive.” I kept my gun on the two men as I nudged his side gently with my foot, while my father released him from his cuffs.

  Calvin came to and rolled onto his back with a groan. He wiped the blood from his face and surveyed his body. “Fine. Just a shot in the leg.”

  “Charles, take off your shirt and toss it to my uncle.”

  Charles did as I asked, looking defeated and pretty darn pissed off.

  My father stooped down and helped Calvin tie the shirt around his leg.

  When he rose to his full height, he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Give that gun to me now, honey.”

  Sirens blared and I smiled. “I got this. You untie Mother and Gran.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The Jane Doe Book Club meeting was in full swing when I slipped onto one of the padded folding chairs in the back of the library conference room. The chatter and laughter brought a smile to my face. Melanie stood at the front of the room and wildly gesticulated while discussing her thoughts about A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena.

  Amelia slid down the row next to me and put an arm across my shoulder, hugging me. “How’d the therapy session go?”

  I smiled. “Tell you about it after.”

  “I’ll get you a cup of coffee. I’ve got a couple of offers to present to your parents after this meeting.”

  “Oh, that’s terrific!” I whispered.

  Amelia smiled and hopped up, heading for the refreshment table.

  After the police showed up at my parents’ house that awful night and arrested Charles, Harper, and LJ, we all went to a hotel and just processed for a few nights. Amelia listed my childhood home a week later. Now my parents were living in an excellent rental while their new home was under construction. It would be a fresh start for everyone. There was no hiding the past any longer. Charles, who hadn’t been technically insane, still touted the destiny he believed we shared. He told anyone and everyone who would listen. And last I heard, he was writing his novel from his jail cell, where he’d spend the rest of his life.

  Harper and LJ were also serving similar sentences. Harper rolled on LJ and Charles for a lighter sentence. She’d probably be out on parole by the time she was forty. The paper ran front-page stories about my mother and uncle’s past and how it was linked to the Richardson murder for weeks. Piper got the first headline, and now she’d been offered several jobs at much larger papers, plus local television had expressed interest. She’d earned the promotion, for sure.

  All of us, including Mother, participated in weekly therapy sessions, and it was helping the family get over past hurts and move into the future stronger. Well, everyone but Uncle Calvin. He said it wasn’t for him. He seemed to be managing, and we all respected his decision. It would be a long, arduous journey to healing, but we’d get there. I no longer harbored hard feelings toward my mother or uncle for keeping me in the dark. I had no idea how I would have reacted in their situation.

  Things were improving, and that’s all that mattered to me. Mother and I started a new charity explicitly funded to help those trapped in horrific relationships or lifestyles. We joined with another group who helped those in imminent life-threatening situations disappear for a while. It was one of the most rewarding ventures of my life. Like the Jane Doe cases I worked on, the women deserved to have their identities restored and to live meaningful lives; these people deserved a chance to live and be safe.

  Amelia handed me my cup of coffee, and my Gran came hurrying into the room. Out of all of us, she was doing the best. Gran could shift gears swiftly and was always living her best life. “Hey, my fellow Jane Does!” She waved as if everyone had been waiting for her to arrive.

  “Daisy! Glad you made it!” some of the women called out, and several hopped up to hug her.

  I laughed to myself. Maybe the Jane Does had been waiting for her. She took a seat next to me.

  She took my coffee from me. “Thank you for this. I was craving a good cup of hot coffee.”

  “Sure.” I shook my head. Her hair was all wild about her head. “What happened to your hair?”

  “Helmet hair. My new honey drives a three-wheeler motorcycle. He gave me a ride.”

  Amelia let out a giggle, and the book conversation halted. Everyone was turning around, staring at Gran. She began to give them all the juicy gossip about the new love of her life—a man she’d picked up from the senior center.

  My phone pinged, and I dug it from my bag. Brad had texted me.

  Gran texted me. We’re going on a double date with her and her new fella tonight?

  “Gran?” I tapped her on the shoulder to draw her attention away from her adoring fans.

  She leaned over and I showed her the message. “Oh yeah, I set it all up. I’ll show you how to reel that man in.” Gran winked at me, and the whole group roared into laughter.

  I shook my head, marveling, at how life just goes on. And with Gran around, it was a hoot. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Also available by Kate Young

  The Jane Doe Book Club Mysteries

  On Borrowed Crime

  The Margene Brown Mysteries

  Southern Sass and a Battered Bride

  Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse

  Southern Sass and Killer Cravings

  Author Biography

&nbs
p; Kate Young is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppy Chapter. She is married and the mother of three. She lives in a small town in Georgia, and when she is not writing her own books, she’s reading or cooking.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Kate Young

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Crooked Lane Books, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.

  Crooked Lane Books and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.

  Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.

  ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-64385-742-8

  ISBN (ebook): 978-1-64385-743-5

  Cover illustration by Mary Ann Lasher

  Printed in the United States.

  www.crookedlanebooks.com

  Crooked Lane Books

  34 West 27th St., 10th Floor

  New York, NY 10001

  First Edition: September 2021

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