Vengeance (4 page)

Judy wondered
again whether the hateful Juanita was alive or dead. Perhaps there
had been an article about it during the time she’d been nursing the
flu. Well there was only one way to find out. She’d take a trip
over to the public library and go through the previous week’s
newspapers. But careful though she was not to miss anything, she
had to eventually conclude that nothing new had been published
about the injured woman. Should she call the hospital? Judy shook
her head. That probably wasn’t such a brilliant idea. Every phone
call you made these days was recorded. She’d hate to have her voice
captured for eternity on a tape like that.

* * * * *

The Mimosa
Restaurant revolved on the top floor of a high-rise hotel. Judy
gazed out at the breathtaking view. She could see all the way to
Burrard Inlet in the south, and as it slowly spun around, the
mountains to the north. High up above the clouds, she mused, far
from the Madding Crowd.

Larry looked
irresistibly handsome in a smart navy blue blazer and striped
university tie. He told her that he’d been a financial adviser
until alcoholism had wrecked his career and his marriage. He’d
since recovered his health and sanity thanks to Alcoholics
Anonymous.

“Good old AA,”
Judy replied. She’d had a couple of bouts with the demon drink
herself. Now, although she was not completely tea total, she was
extremely careful not to overdo it. She had the occasional glass of
wine over dinner, like she was sipping on now, and a whiskey toddy
when she was sick. That was about the sum total of her consumption
these days.

Afterwards
they went for a walk through the downtown. She hadn’t been there
for a while and was astonished at all the changes. There were
high-rise apartment towers springing up everywhere. “How on earth
will the archaic road system deal with all the extra traffic?” She
pondered aloud.

“Good
question.” Larry laughed. “On the bright side, total
around-the-clock gridlock, might finally persuade residents to take
public transit.”

“You wish.”
Judy looked sceptical. “You have to remember that the good old
polluting automobile is much more than mere transportation. It’s a
status symbol that’s like an extension of the owner, and represents
an entire way of life.”

He nodded.

“They’d rather
sit there idling in gridlock for hours than venture out without
their chariot around them,” she added. “They’d lose their identity
and status without it.”

“Well said,
Dr. Freud.” He laughed.

Judy joined in
the revelry. It had been a long time since she’d enjoyed herself so
much.

Back at the
Palace, which was owned by Larry’s brother-in-law, they played
cards in the back office. Gosh, but it was good to enjoy some
companionship for a change, instead of living inside her own head.
She’d have to do this more often. But it wouldn’t be with Larry,
since she’d planned on relocating to Florida. Oh damn, why did
everything have to be so complex?

It was well
after midnight before they finally parted company. He insisted on
walking her back to her room. She very much appreciated that he
didn’t attempt to make a move on her. That was classy.

Judy felt
blessed by the gods. The evening had turned out to be a magical
oasis in the midst of a stormy and evil sea.

“Thanks for
the dinner,” Larry said. “I’d like to return the favour soon.”

Judy nodded.
“It was my pleasure.”

Then just when
she was practically floating on the legendary Cloud Nine, he
dropped a bombshell that demolished it and left her shocked to the
core.

“Oh by the
way,” he said. “I forgot to tell you. There was someone asking for
you today.”

My God, who
could that be, she wondered frantically? No one knew she was here.
Could it be the police? Were they onto her? Had Juanita survived
and tracked her down? In that few seconds she tormented herself
with the horns of a hundred demons.

“Oh really,
who was it?” She was amazed at how normal and calm she sounded. She
even managed to keep a smile on her face.

“It was a
Chinese woman...”

Fang!
Judy’s eyes widened in terror. So she’d been right after all. It
had
been Fang she’d seen walking past the window of the
coffee shop. Oh my God! So there was such a thing as ghosts and
vengeance from beyond the grave after all. What the hell was she
going to do? How could you do battle with something that wasn’t
alive and few people even believed in? And would this avenging
apparition follow her to Florida, or wherever else she went?

Judy fumbled
with the door key to hide her confusion.

“Here let me
do that,” Larry offered, and took the key from her trembling hand.
He looked at her quizzically. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Judy nodded.
“Just a bit tired.” She hesitated. “...Did...did the Chinese woman
say who she was?”

“Yes she did.
She left a business card.” Larry fished around in his pocket. “It
must be back in the office. I’ll get it for you.”

Well heck this
couldn’t be a ghost, Judy reasoned, as she paced up and down
waiting for Larry to return. She’d never heard of a spectre handing
out business cards. But who was it then, and what the fuck was
going on? That it had something to do with the evil trio --
Matthew, Fang and Juanita -- she had no doubt. All her troubles
came from those evil bastards. Even when they were dead they
continued to torment her.

Larry returned
with the card. “She dropped by on her lunch break,” he explained.
“She said to tell you she found the blouse.”

“...Found the
blouse?” For a moment Judy drew a blank, then it dawned on her as
she looked at the card. Why of course, it was the sales assistant
from Echoes. She’d promised to try to find one in her size and she
had. Relief flooded over her like a friendly tide.

Talk about
much ado about nothing,
she thought self deprecatingly. If
only The Bard could see her now.

Once inside
her room, Judy collapsed gratefully on the bed. How many shocks
like that could she stand before going stark raving mad? She had to
get a grip and fast. There were no such things as ghosts, and
provided she didn’t do anything wildly foolish, she had gotten away
with a double murder, and possibly a triple one. Now it was time to
relax and enjoy life.

She started
seeing Larry regularly after that. They discovered similar tastes
in books and movies, and they both enjoyed taking long walks. All
the plans to head down south to Florida had been put on hold, more
or less indefinitely. Larry had become such an integral part of her
days that she couldn’t imagine going back to a barren existence
without him.

She even
hesitated to leave the Palace and get a decent apartment. Things
were going so damned good that she didn’t want to risk altering the
dynamics in any way. Besides, she was close to Larry at the Palace
and that was the main thing.

Was she
getting too attached too soon? Judy pondered the question as she
sat on a park bench on a vibrant spring day. Oh what the heck, you
couldn’t control emotions to a strict timetable like a train
leaving a station. The important thing was, Larry felt the same
way.

They’d
arranged to go away for the Easter weekend. Nothing too elaborate,
just a leisurely drive along the coast and a couple of nights at
the Raven Inn. It would be marvellous to get out of the city for a
while, and she was looking forward to it immensely.

Judy got up
and walked slowly back to the Palace. She felt so wonderfully close
to Larry that she’d often been tempted to tell him about the
murders. That’s how much she trusted him. He was a kindred spirit
and soul mate.

By the time
she got back to her room, she’d decided that she’d procrastinated
long enough. She would pour out her darkest secrets while they were
at the Raven Inn. It would be an idyllic setting with the waves
washing against the shore and seagulls circling the beach. The
murders had been a burden on her soul, and it would be a great
relief to share the load in this way. She knew that Larry would
understand.

“How are you
feeling today?” Detective Neil Slater had cropped black hair and
dark eyes. He sat down next to the hospital bed.

“I’ve felt
better.” Juanita Gomez grimaced as she tried to move her legs. “But
I’ve felt a whole helluva lot worse too.”

Slater
reflected that she was lucky to be alive at all. The extent of her
injuries after being knocked down by a speeding car had been
critical. She was a fighter though, and had struggled to
survive.

“Do you have
any news about you know who?” She looked hopeful.

Slater nodded.
“That’s why I’m here.”

It had been
fortunate that Juanita got a good look at the driver of the car
that hit her. “I recognised her,” she’d said, her unusual eyes
blazing in fury. “I was the opposing counsel in a case that
involved her.”

“So you know
her name?”

Juanita nodded
and then gasped in pain at the movement. “It’s Judy Mason.”

She’d also
provided an address, but when the police went there they found it
had been boarded up by a bailiff.

A nurse came
in and helped Juanita drink a glass of water with a straw. There
had certainly been an improvement in her condition since he’d last
seen her. At that time, he hadn’t thought she’d make it.

The matter of
tracking down Judy Mason had been relatively simple. Since she had
no money, it was likely she’d apply for welfare. When she did, they
had her. But what they didn’t have was concrete evidence to link
her to the attempt on Juanita’s life.

Then Juanita
dropped a bombshell that suggested Judy might already be a double
murderer. She’d told Slater about her suspicions regarding the
house fire that killed Matthew Gillingham -- Judy’s ex husband --
and his new wife, Fang Po Wong.

“But the fire
department held an enquiry that ruled the fire was accidental,”
Slater pointed out. “There had been a party the night before and a
carelessly discarded cigarette was to blame.”

Juanita had
disagreed. “I know there was a smoke alarm in Matthew’s house,” she
insisted. “Yet when I checked with the fire department they said
there wasn’t one.”

This had made
Slater think she might just have something. “So you believe that
Judy planted the burning cigarette and removed the smoke alarm,” he
said.

“She’s a crazy
wicked racist bitch,” Juanita had railed so venomously that she
flushed scarlet and grew breathless.

“Try to stay
calm.” Slater had rang for a nurse.

He’d taken her
suspicions seriously and investigated them thoroughly. But while he
suspected that Judy was indeed a double murderer, and that she’d
been trying to go for a triple when she’d run down Juanita, there
was not a shred of physical evidence to link her to either
crime.

Slater got up
and walked over to the window. A curlicue of mist whirled around
the North Shore Mountains. It was an overcast day with a weak sun
drifting fitfully behind grey clouds.

“So you said
there is news about that crazy woman?” Juanita said, after the
nurse had left.

“Judging by
what we’ve learned so far,” Slater replied. “We’re certainly
interested in talking to her.”

“I should
think so too” Juanita looked angry. “So why haven’t you? What the
fuck are you waiting for, until she kills somebody else?”

“Look, I know
how frustrating this must be for you, but as it stands now we have
no evidence against her. If we pull her in for questioning it will
be a waste of time, and will tip her off that we’re onto her. I
suspect that she’d leave town after that, and there’s nothing we
could do to stop her.”

“Okay, okay,”
Juanita sounded exasperated. “So what
have
you done?”

Slater
hesitated. “All I can tell you is that we’re continuing to
investigate.”

When the nurse
came back in, he took his leave. He promised Juanita that he’d keep
in touch.

On the drive
over to the police station his mobile phone buzzed. It was the
detective who had gone undercover and was investigating Judy
Mason.

“I have a gut
feeling that she’ll spill the beans soon,” he said.

“If anyone can
get her to sing it’s you,” Slater replied with the utmost
sincerity. He had total confidence in Larry Holmes.

Karen Lewis is
an internationally best selling author. She won an award for her
suspense play, Hit and Run, and her short story, The Cellar Door.
Her novels are an intriguing blend of mystery, suspense and
erotica. They usually feature Detective Neil Slater.