Authors: Andrew Hess
Claire remained silent, but glanced at her attorney. Something in the way they looked at each other told me that Ms. Rebecca Reynolds knew exactly why her client was arrested. I jumped immediately into my line of questioning hoping to get something out them before calling it a night.
“Tell me, how did you know Blake Ambrose?”
Claire leaned in towards her attorney and whispered something to her. “I have never met Mr. Ambrose before.”
“Then why were you speaking with him and the woman he was with at the bar Whiskey J’s on the night of June thirteenth?”
Claire and Ms. Reynolds turned to each other again before responding to the question. “I was there, but did not interact with Mr. Ambrose. I merely saw a purse that I adored and wanted to know where the woman got it from.”
“And then what happened,” I asked.
“And then nothing. She informed me she received it as a gift. I walked away a minute later and finished my drink.”
“And then?”
“And then I went home. I was only there to meet up with some friends. They previously informed me they couldn’t make it, but convinced me to go anyway.” Claire gave a side eyed glare at her lawyer. “So I went for a little while. I have never been a fan of going to a bar or a club alone and refuse to pick up a guy at one. So I decided to go home for the night.”
I knew it would be hard to pin Ambrose’s murder on her. There was no real proof linking her to the crime other than her ID being registered at the bar and a video that only showed the back of her head. So I decided to change the direction of my questions and focus on the second murder.
“Doctor Cain, how do you know Tyson Lee?”
The duo huddled together again. It was starting to get on my nerves. I wanted to scream; “just answer the damn question already.” Unfortunately, that’s not something I could say, especially with a lawyer present.
“I believe he was a trainer at the gym I work out in.” Claire was playing dumb and I knew it. I nodded to Rodney and planned on nailing her to the wall with this one.
“Have you ever run into him before, worked out with him or conversed with him while at the gym?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Really? We have you on camera interacting with him the night he died. We have a log from six months ago stating you signed up for training sessions three times a week. I would think a doctor would have a better memory than that.”
“Is there a question in there or are you just going to berate my client because she simply forgot about some personal trainer,” Ms. Reynolds asked.
“Just one more,” I replied. “Who was the man in the pictures and video tape we found at your house?”
Claire’s eyes grew wide with fear. Her face turned pale white. Her attorney just looked confused. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do.” I turned to Rodney. “Come on partner; I think the good doctor needs a moment to talk things over with her attorney.”
We exited the room and gave Dr. Cain and Ms. Reynolds their privacy. As we exited into the hall, James stood waiting for us. “What do you guys think?”
“I think she’s full of shit,” Rodney replied. “She flat out lied about knowing Tyson Lee, she seemed disinterested in talking about Ambrose and her jaw nearly dropped when you mentioned that video.”
“That’s all fine and everything, but we need to find a way to make this stick.” I walked over to the one way mirror and spied on our suspect. She was frantically talking to her attorney, no doubt explaining her side of things.
“You wanna go back in there and question her some more,” Rodney asked. I could see he was exhausted, and I was ready to call it a day as well.
“We’ll let the D.A. deal with her in the morning.” I walked back into the room with Rodney in tow. “Last chance for tonight.” Neither of them uttered a word in protest. “Okay, Detective Johnson, kindly escort Doctor Cain to holding.”
Tears streamed down Claire’s face as Rodney pulled her to her feet. It almost seemed like she would crack the moment we showed her what she had to look forward to by sitting in the holding cell. Lucky for her it was a slow night and there were only a few people in there.
I smiled knowing another arrest had been made and that we managed to get another killer off the street. I should’ve been happier, but I wasn’t, not until my phone rang.
I looked at the caller ID and saw Matthew’s name plastered across the screen. Damn, I felt like a school girl getting a call from her crush. I picked it up by the second ring. “Hey you,” I said with slightly higher pitched voice. “Thank you for the flowers.”
“That’s why I’m calling.” Matthew didn’t seem like himself. His voice seemed standoffish or that he was being forced to call me. “I never sent you any flowers.”
“What are you talking about?” The happy sounding school girl was now the confused school girl that felt like someone was playing a nasty little trick on her. “It was sitting in my backseat. You and my sister are the only ones with access to those keys.”
“I don’t know what to tell you Ali. It wasn’t me, maybe it was Amanda.”
“No, I texted her a little while ago. We were both under the impression it was you.” There was nothing but silence on the other end. “If it wasn’t you, then who was it.”
I went through the list of possibilities in my head.
Maybe it was James, maybe it was Amanda trying to put me back with Matthew, maybe it was…
All thoughts vacated my head as I saw another bouquet sitting on my desk.
“Matthew, tell me the ones sitting on my desk are from you.”
“It’s not me Ali.” I could tell the idea of another guy sending me flowers was getting under his skin. “Wait, someone sent you another bouquet? Who the fuck sent them?”
I reached for the card. It was attached to one black rose that sat in the middle of the arrangement. My heart was beating faster with every second.
Detective Ryan,
I hope you enjoyed the flowers I left in your car and this arrangement as well. I loved getting to know you this last year, although I have admired you from afar for quite some time. But now I think it’s time I spend some more time getting to know your sister. We might’ve shared a few hours together several months ago before you sent the cavalry in to find her, but I rather enjoy playing with both of you. I can’t wait to see you again.
P.S. You have a lovely home. I love what you’ve done with the place since leaving Highland.
“Fuck, he’s going after Amanda,” the words escaped me before realizing I was still at work and that I had Matthew on the line.
“Who’s going after Amanda,” Matthew shouted. “What the hell’s going on over there?”
“I-I gotta go. I think Amanda’s in trouble.” I hung up on Matthew and frantically ripped my keys from my desk.
Rodney reappeared from the holding cell joking around with James. He saw the panicked look on my face. “Whoa, what’s gotten you all twisted?”
I showed him the card. “It’s him. It’s the bastard that took Amanda hostage. Maybe it’s the same guy that attacked me.”
“Ali, we already got the guy responsible for that; remember? Nick DeFalco was the Campus Killer. He was the guy that attacked you and Amanda.”
Rodney’s logic made sense, but not when some sadistic person continued to play mind games with me. “What if it wasn’t? What if DeFalco only killed those people in New Paltz?”
“Ali, you’re talking crazy. We know it was him. He was staying in an apartment around the corner from his old house. The place had his prints there.”
“What if it was staged to look like that, or maybe he wasn’t working alone?” I knew the words and conspiracy theories were spewing from my mouth were nothing more than deranged thoughts coming to life. “Rodney, DeFalco said he didn’t do it before I shot him.”
“What?”
“I thought it was him trying to plant the seeds for an insanity defense. Then Matthew got the jump on him and DeFalco stabbed him. I had no choice but to fire. He was dead before I could make sense of what he was saying.”
Rodney and James pulled me into their arms with a loving embrace. James broke away first. “Where’s your sister now?”
“I-I don’t know.” I grabbed my cell and dialed Amanda’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. “No answer.”
“Okay, look let’s not get too worked up over this just yet.” He looked over the station and saw a few officers sitting at their desks. “Rodney, I’m going to call in a favor and get us some backup. Meet me at Ali’s house.”
The boys ran out the door leaving me behind. I ran out after them and stopped James before he entered his car. “Wait for me,” I shouted.
“Ali, you should stay here. We’ll call you if anything happens.”
“Fuck that; I’m coming too. This is my sister we’re dealing with. The last time I trusted her with someone else, she ended up in the hands of a psychopath.” There was no way I was letting them go without me. I’d drive myself if need be.
“Okay, fine,” James said with a sigh. He only known me for about a month, but Detective Thornton already understood, arguing with me was futile.
I scanned the parking lot. “Where’d Rodney go?”
“He left as you came barreling out here.”
A thought rang through my head. Rodney was very hard on himself when Amanda went missing when I was in the hospital. He was supposed to watch her but was called away and left another officer to watch over her and her boyfriend Shawn.
“We need to go now.” The urgency in my voice was more drastic than it was when I learned that a psychopath was going after Amanda. James looked at me like I was about to break into hysterics. “I’m driving.”
“Like hell you are.”
“You don’t understand. Rodney will go in without the backup.”
“Fuck Ali, get in.” He tossed me the keys knowing I could drive faster than he would and knew the shortcuts to get there sooner. “Just don’t crash my baby.”
**************************************************************
The wheels came to a screeching halt in front of my house. There were a few cars parked across the street, one of which belonged to Rodney. My attention turned to the front door. It was already opened and the lights were off.
James slammed the passenger side door. “Don’t tell me that dumbass was crazy enough to go in there.”
I removed my gun from its holster and cautiously headed up the path to the house with James trailing behind me. “He blames himself for taking his eye off Amanda last year when there was a threat against her life.”
“So he thinks saving her is his way of making up for it.”
I nodded the confirmation as we breached the doorway. We moved slowly, darkness surrounded us. I felt the wall for a light switch. I flicked it on, but nothing happened. I tried it multiple times, but it seemed like the power was off.
“This is the shit that happens in bad horror movies,” James whispered. “The cops barge in, thinking they’re going to save the day, and then the killer takes them out.”
“That makes me feel so much better right now.” We both knew it was his way of breaking the tension, but laughing at his dumb jokes was not an option, not with so much on the line. There was no telling who was in the house and if they were a friend or foe. “Hey, you got that flashlight Mr. Happy Pants?”
“I can’t help it if I’m always happy to see you.”
“You got it or what?”
“Yeah, one second.” He dug into his pockets and retrieved the small flashlight. The beam of light illuminated my living room. There was nothing out of sorts and no sign of struggle.
I circled the living room, trying to turn on more lights and the TV, but nothing was on.
Were we having a blackout
? I peered out the blinds and saw the street lights were on. The house across the street still had their lights on outside their house.
“James, I think someone cut the power on my house.”
“What? How do you…” I motioned for him to meet me at the window. He knew the same thing I did. We were walking into a trap. “Ali, get the fuck outta here.”
“Not until we find Amanda and Rodney.”
James braced his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t know what we’re walking into. I’m not going to risk losing you.”