Stalker, Stalker

by Therese Sullivan

  Eliza glanced at him, and at Trina, then Ronan flanking her, and the police in the doorway.

  She took a step back towards the window, then another. Mike watched her. If her hand so much as twitched he would shoot, and despite what he said, he would shoot to kill. She couldn’t be allowed to get away. There would be no more chances for her to ruin any more lives.

  Eliza looked back at Adam. Tears were now running down her face. ‘Why can’t you love me?’ she sobbed. ‘All I wanted was to be happy with the man who would love me above all others. I’ve done everything to make this possible for us and yet you still won’t acknowledge our love. If you can’t even give me that, after all I have done for us, then you should know this is your fault.’

  With that, she turned the gun on herself and pulled the trigger. The sharp report was followed by the thud of her body hitting the floor, then a few seconds of complete silence.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Suddenly the room erupted with noise. Everyone trying to take in what had just happened, and make sure no one else was hurt. While we had expected her to target me or even Adam, we hadn’t expected her to take her own life. From her last words, she sought to make Adam suffer for rejecting her, expected him to feel guilt at destroying her.

  All she had done was free the world from her evil presence.

  Jethro whistled, and the noise abated immediately.

  ‘Anyone who doesn’t need to be here should go next door. We need to let the police do their job.’

  Trina, and Ronan, moved towards the adjoining door. Jethro held his hand out to Lucy to go with him. Lucy looked reluctant to leave Adam and I could understand her need to stay close to him.

  I looked towards the officer who seemed to be in charge. ‘Okay if Adam here goes with them as well? I’m probably better able to answer any questions. We also got it all on tape.’ The officer inclined his head, so I nodded to Adam to go with the others. Lucy grabbed his hand again and they followed the group to the other apartment.

  Mike stayed with me and I was grateful for his support. I was going to have a lovely bruise, and I was still shaken.

  I was really pleased Mike had thought to call the police. The fact that they had witnessed Eliza shoot herself gave us one less thing to have to explain.

  The officer who had recognised Mike turned to his colleague. ‘Call it in,’ he uttered as he made his way to me. The other officer stepped outside to make his calls.

  The officer stopped in front of me and nodded to Mike.

  ‘JB, this is Detective Sergeant Gavin Brooks. Gav, this is JB Wilcox,’ Mike introduced us.

  ‘Shamash!’ DS Brooks smiled widely. ‘You’re well known on the force, ma’am. I understand now how Mike got involved. My colleague, Steve Dawson,’ he added as his off-sider returned to the room and, shutting the door behind him, joined us.

  ‘Uniform are sending a couple of officers to guard the scene and the coroner will be here soon as he finishes at the accident scene he’s currently attending,’ DS Brookes nodded and turned back to me.

  ‘You said you had tape? I’m presuming an ongoing case? Is the deceased victim or perpetrator?’

  ‘Yes! Yes! And perpetrator!’ I laughed, but with the pain in my chest it came out as more of a gasp.

  ‘Okay, fair enough.’ DS Brooks laughed with me. ‘Sorry to make you laugh,’ he grinned, and I got the feeling he was more than a little amused. ‘If we sit down, do you think you could fill us in?’

  Mike took my arm and led us all to the table, away from the chaos of the living area. ‘Do you want a coffee?’ he enquired.

  He got three, Yes, pleases, so moved to the kitchen to make coffee.

  Once we were all seated with coffee, I explained the course of our investigation and how we had come to this point.

  I advised we had the whole confession on tape, video as well as audio, and that Eliza had admitted to four murders and an assault on Adam’s previous secretary.

  I gave a brief overview but said they should listen to her own words.

  I let them know we also had tapes of all the conversations we’d had with Eliza over the course of the investigation.

  DS Brooks asked multiple questions and I answered them as fully as I could. He then asked why Adam had come to us instead of going to the police.

  I told him Adam had gone to the police, but on seeing the difference between Adam and Eliza, and with Eliza being a consummate actor, Adam had not been believed. I added that, at the time, there was no real evidence, which was why he had consulted us.

  The deaths that had occurred along the way were considered suspicious, but again there was no evidence to point to any particular party, certainly not Eliza.

  The facts we uncovered, while allowing us to link the cases together, did not provide evidence. There was nothing the police could have done.’ I could see DS Brooks was perturbed by the lack of understanding when Adam had contacted police, but that was a matter to be dealt with later.

  ‘We set up the confrontation, expecting Eliza would target either myself or Adam,’ I concluded. ‘We could then bring the police in and get her locked up.

  ‘We hoped, given time, we could find evidence for the other deaths, and increase her sentence. The confession was a complete surprise. We delayed in order to get as much information as we could.’

  I handed over my flak jacket. ‘The bullet in this will match her gun.’ Detective Dawson held out a large bag for me to place the jacket in.

  There was a heavy knock at the door. Detective Dawson went to let the uniformed officers in and instruct them.

  Mike and DS Brooks held a murmured conversation. I drifted off into my own thoughts. Now that it was over, the adrenaline was subsiding and I felt more tired than I could remember being in a very long time.

  Mike touched my arm, bringing me back to the present. ‘Gav said they’ll need full statements from you and Adam, and brief outlines from anyone else involved.

  ‘This is clearly a suicide, but with the information we have, they’ll be able to clear the other cases as well.’

  I nodded I understood, and DS Brooks interjected.

  ‘That can all wait for tomorrow, though. If you and Mr Sullivan could come to the station around two that would be good. Mike will gather the information from everyone else, just for corroboration.’

  He smiled at me. ‘For now, I think you probably need sleep more than anything else, so go, we’ll finish up here.’

  He rose and held out his hand to me. I stood and shook his hand. ‘Thanks for your help,’ I said with a slight smile. It was all I could manage.

  ‘No problem. It’s a pleasure to assist Shamash, believe me.’ He started to walk away then turned back. ‘If you could bring the tapes with you tomorrow, that would be appreciated.’

  ‘I’ll have them with me,’ I responded. ‘See you tomorrow.’

  Epilogue

  6 Months later

  There was a tap on the door. I checked I had everything and moved to answer it.

  Damien grinned as I opened the door. He had on shorts, button-down shirt and loafers. His beautiful eyes gleamed. These days he always looked like life was fun.

  ‘Timing perfect, as always,’ I grinned.

  ‘Cute as ever,’ he replied. I smacked his arm as I stepped out and closed the door behind me.

  ‘Behave yourself,’ I growled.

  Damien just laughed. He was well used to me by now and we both enjoyed the banter. We had become very good friends and spent a fair bit of time together these days. It was easy and uncomplicated.

  We were heading to a barbeque at Lucy’s and Adam’s new home.

  They had moved to a quieter suburb, having decided they wanted a gentler life. Lucy continued to run her learning centre, but Adam had resigned from Davis & Co. He said he couldn’t work for a firm that had someone like Arthur Benham as CEO. If he could cheat on his wife like it meant nothing, then berate another man for leaving his wife, he wasn’t the sort of man Adam w
anted to work for. Besides, once he thought about the double standard he wondered, if Benham had such discrepancies in his moral ethic, what else did he cheat at?

  Adam had set up as a financial adviser and was doing very well. Working from home meant he could spend more time with Gabe, and Lucy as well. He was a man happy with his life!

  His old secretary, Shirley Winter, was working for him again. Only part time, as she had become busy in retirement.

  It turned out the infusions that her friend Beth (that was how she knew Eliza) were giving her had small amounts of wolfsbane included. Just enough to make her sick. We now realised that had Shirley not retired she would have got a much larger dose, one that would have killed her.

  Shirley had not connected the infusions with her illness as she had begun drinking them long before she got sick, and Beth had continued to provide her with tea after she ceased work.

  She had felt betrayed and foolish when Beth/Eliza’s true intent became known, but at the same time had been grateful she was still alive to enjoy life.

  We pulled up outside the sprawling house. It looked like a real home, lived in and loved, the yard tended but not manicured: toys visible. Shouts of children and splashing coming from the back yard.

  As we walked around the back we saw people milling around. Most I had come to know in the last six months. Adam and Lucy had become good friends. Adam and I, particularly, had become very close during the investigation, and I now counted them as family.

  That happened a lot in our line of work. Being in such intimate contact with people at the worst time of their lives creates lasting bonds.

  Speaking of bonds, I spotted Kim and Jethro moving towards us, both grinning. Kim let go Jethro’s hand and wrapped me in one of her hugs. She really should know better, and mostly did, but sometimes when she had exciting news she forgot, and I accepted her hugs on those occasions.

  She and I had become good friends. I loved that she made Jethro so happy. The sadness had gone from his eyes and for that alone I loved her. As she let me go she whispered, ‘He asked me to marry him!’

  I looked from her to Jethro and couldn’t stop grinning. I knew Jethro had been thinking about it and was really pleased for both. They had dealt with trials and deserved to be happy.

  I slapped Jethro on the arm. ‘About time,’ I grinned.

  Jethro grinned back and wrapped his arm around Kim. ‘When it’s right, it’s right,’ he said. ‘I decided I didn’t want to risk some hunk swooping in and stealing her, so I should make it official. We aren’t going to say anything tonight, but Kim couldn’t wait to tell you.’

  Damien looked at me and raised his eyebrow in query.

  I looked at Kim and she nodded. ‘They’re engaged,’ I said quietly.

  Damien grabbed Jethro’s hand and pumped it then wrapped Kim in a hug. ‘That’s brilliant!’ he said.

  I reflected for a moment how strange it was that I, who didn’t like to be hugged, was surrounded by huggers.

  We moved inside. Damien got side-tracked by an old mate, but I wanted to see the finished home. Last time I’d been here I’d been helping them move. I’d had lunch with Adam and Gabe yesterday and been told it was all sorted and a home now.

  I found Lucy in the kitchen with her sister, Ella, finishing the salads. I offered help, but Lucy told me to take a seat at the breakfast bar so we could talk. She asked if I wanted coffee or something stronger. I opted for coffee. She lifted the pot and poured me one, adding a tiny amount of sugar, before passing it over. If it was good coffee, I always drank it black and Lucy made the best.

  ‘Thanks,’ I said, savouring the first sip.

  ‘So, do I get the grand tour?’ I asked. ‘I’m dying to see what you’ve done.’

  ‘Let me show her,’ Ella jumped in.

  Lucy laughed. ‘Go ahead.’

  Ella took me through the house, obviously proud of what her sister had done. Gabe’s room was the last. Lucy had made a lovely job of it, with bunks and bright colours. It was a boy’s dream.

  Ella was watching me as I looked around the room. She clearly had something to say. I finally looked at her and flicked my right eyebrow up in query.

  She looked at me in earnest. ‘I just want to thank you for what you did for Lucy and Adam. They didn’t tell us the full story until recently. It must have been so scary for them.’ She shuddered.

  ‘We’re all so grateful to you, and Jethro, for helping them out, it’s a debt we can never repay,’ she smiled although her eyes were filled with tears. ‘But if ever we can do anything, you just need to ask.’

  I touched her shoulder, waiting for her to get herself together.

  ‘There’s no debt to repay. It’s what Jethro and I do. We enjoy it and because of it we’ve met some amazing people. Adam and Lucy have become good friends and that’s its own reward.’

  We headed back to the kitchen. It was nice to be appreciated, but the true joy was in seeing lives repaired. The benefit of lasting friendships was an added bonus.

  Ella headed out the back to catch up with friends leaving Lucy and me alone.

  ‘You’ve done a wonderful job,’ I said. ‘I love Gabe’s room.’

  ‘He’s thrilled with it. It’s all his ideas, I just toned them down a bit. It really was a labour of love.’

  She sighed then smiled at me. ‘It was the best and worst thing that could have happened. It certainly made us appreciate our lives and figure out what’s important.’

  ‘Our lives aren’t perfect, but pretty darn close and we appreciate everything we have.’ Adam walked in and put his arm around Lucy’s waist. She looked at him and they both grinned then looked back at me.

  ‘We’re going to tell everyone later, but we wanted you to be the first to know.’ Lucy was all but whispering now. ‘We’re going to have another baby.’

  Adam’s grin couldn’t be any bigger.

  I was so happy for them, clapping Adam on the back and touching Lucy’s arm. ‘That’s wonderful news.’ The night was certainly turning into a celebration.

  Adam’s face grew serious. ‘We want you to be the godmother,’ he said. I opened my mouth to reply, but he cut me off.

  ‘Don’t answer now. I know you don’t like the limelight but just think about it, please. It would mean a lot to us. Just give it some thought.’

  I looked from one to the other. ‘Thank you, it’s an honour to be asked and I’ll give it serious thought.’

  Adam laughed. ‘Well, I do owe you a baby!’ We both joined him in laughing.

  It felt good.