by L B Wyatt
She hunkered down down next to the tire vowing to never wear another skirt like this as long as she lived. Deciding she couldn’t take it anymore, she tucked the pistol away at her waistline, hitched the material up over her knees and took the blade to the skirt, turning it from business casual to super slutty in two seconds. Sighing with relief, she folded the blade back over, tucking it discreetly in her palm.
She crawled the length of the vehicle dismissing the discomfort in her knees as they pressed into the pavement. She dodged behind the row of shrubs lining the driveway up the walk and took a moment to look through the branches while she was in a safe zone. Her ears detected water in the distance. It sounded like it was lapping at a bank indicating she was extremely close to a river, lake or pond. She scanned the house, noting it had a pretty Cape Cod style and manicured lawn. She knew instantly the place was someone’s lake home.
A vacation spot in a secluded area. The perfect place to kill someone and dispose of the body with very little effort.
Her mind went back to her enemies list. Every person she had pissed off lately had enough money and power to own more than one vacation home. Was she at the Barber’s lake house, the senator’s or whoever killed her fellow Rogue agent?
She had no idea, but she was determined to find out. Veronica crept across the plush grass thinking that the amount of fertilizer they must have used to get it so thick probably cost more than a month’s rent at her apartment. This little detail greatly irritated her, but she pushed it out of her mind and focused on what really mattered. As she moved along, the land started to slope off toward the water she had heard earlier. A few yards out she could make out a dock with a cute boathouse designed to mimic the actual structure on the hill. She was sure by the size of the boathouse that the boat within it was probably a yacht.
Turning her attention back to the main house, Veronica suddenly heard a ruckus from the driveway. Her absence had been noticed. She wasn’t entirely ready, but she didn’t have a choice. She slinked in behind the railing to the back deck, crouching down again so she could look through the lattice at the bottom for shadows. She hadn’t been there long before she saw movement. She could hear the sound of feet crushing into the grass and then she watched as a man hustled right by her without even noticing. She quickly rose up and the man stopped at the corner of the house as he finally acknowledged her presence. It was too late, though. She had her gun aimed right at his bald head. He was older, out of shape and not at all like a body guard she would have imagined someone with money to spare might hire.
Oh well, she thought. The dumber the better.
“Don’t move,” she said with authority. He didn’t even have a weapon pulled when he came around the corner. Probably because he didn’t expect you to still be here, stupid, she chided herself. Oh well, she conceded once more. It worked out in her favor that he wasn’t prepared. She could see the fear, anger, and disappointment wash over his features. She walked closer to him and jerked her head in the direction of the back deck. “Let’s go inside,” she insisted.
She could tell by his puzzled expression that he probably thought she was insane. But if she cared what people thought about her, she wouldn’t have survived this long. “Hurry up now.”
He complied, raising his hands slowly and walking up the steps of the deck. She followed in behind him, reaching out and pulling his gun from his belt loop in the process. She tucked it in the waist of her skirt and pressed the barrel of her pistol into the back of his neck. He was quite husky, though not tall, and his neck was wide making it a broad and easy target. They stopped at the door and she noticed an electronic keypad.
“Open it,” she ordered. She could tell he wanted to resist, so she pressed the tip of the gun further into his neck for emphasis. It did the trick and she watched as he pressed in the code. Veronica was beginning to think more and more this must be the work of the Barber. Electronic security systems? It was expensive and elaborate and seemed like something he would use. Veronica didn’t shut the door back after they had entered a large living area. She wasn’t sure if she would need a code to exit as well as enter and she didn’t want to take a chance. She kept pushing the man further into the house. It was dark in the den and she could see lights filtering down the hall.
“Take me to your boss,” she demanded. The man nodded his head and the end of her gun moved slightly with the motion. She should have known he was being too compliant. As soon as they turned down the hall, Veronica heard the soft click of a gun cocking and then felt the cold barrel pressing against the small of her back. It was way too big to just be a pistol, she decided.
She stiffened and felt the air escape her lungs as she exhaled in frustration.
“Drop it,” a male voice sounded from behind her.
Veronica hesitated, but she wanted to play her cards right and getting blown in two by a shotgun wasn’t part of the plan. So she slowly raised her hand, releasing the hammer on her pistol and held it up. The man behind her snatched it from her and the man in front of her whipped around, moving faster than she gave him credit for and pulled his gun roughly from the waist of her skirt. Veronica clenched her jaw in anger and walked backwards as Husky pressed the weapon aggressively between her eyes.
“Let’s get her secured before boss gets here,” the man behind her stated.
She walked somewhat awkwardly with a pistol to her head and shotgun to her spine right back out of the hallway and toward what appeared to be the dining room area. Once she was in the doorway, the man with the shotgun rounded on her and she now saw that he was just a skinnier version of Husky. He was balding and a shade taller. He looked angry as he pointed the shotgun at her face now.
“Sit.”He gestured with the barrel for her to take a seat in one of the dining room chairs.
Veronica watched as Husky pulled the chair out and turned it around. She reluctantly lowered herself into and heard the weapon Husky was holding clatter as he sat it down on the dining room table. He grabbed something she couldn’t see, but soon discovered it was duct tape. He secured her hands tight, winding the tape around several times.
“That would’ve been real bad, missy, if you had taken off,” Skinny said, his demeanor turning gleeful now that Veronica was secure in the chair.
“She ain’t as smart as boss let on, huh?” Husky chuckled, picking his gun back up.
“Well if I’m so dumb, I guess it won’t hurt anything if you fellas tell me why exactly I’m here,” she suggested.
Skinny exchanged a long look with Husky and they both took a seat at the table. For the first time since Veronica entered the house, she realized the smell of food was in the air. She realized with amusement that her captors had left her in the trunk and came in for something to eat.
Wow, she thought. That was a whole new level of stupid.
But then again, Veronica…here you are taped to a chair.
“You got something boss wants,” Skinny offered.
“I don’t have a thing,” Veronica assured.
“Hush now. We’re not supposed to be talking about it,” Husky said to his partner.
Veronica cursed herself inwardly. She knew taking the ledger was going to put a price on her head. These goons just proved her right. They were probably going to get some sort of reward money for capturing her alive. Looking on at the two before her made her kind of sad she’d let them get the upper hand. If she was going to be captured and killed, she’d always imagined it would be by some suave, debonair assassin with extensive military background and a handsome face. Not Mutt and damn Jeff.
“So you work for the Barber?” Veronica guessed. “He’s a pretty tough guy. I can understand why you don’t want to spill any secrets.”
Husky and Skinny exchanged a confused glance. Then they stood up quickly when the sound of the alarm system beeped at the front door. Both of the thugs grabbed their weapons and had them aimed at Veronica when she heard the unmistakable sound of high heels clicking on the hardwood floor in the
ir direction. The chair she was being held captive in faced away from the entrance, so she was left with bated breath when the footfalls stopped.
“Lower your weapons, you idiots. I told you I wanted her alive.”
Veronica didn’t recognize the voice. She only knew that it was female and was edged with irritation.
“Sorry, boss,” Skinny said, tucking his weapon into his pants and looking like a scolded puppy. Husky did the same and both of them stood there with their heads down.
“Guard the doors, gentlemen. Veronica and I need to talk,” the woman ordered.
The lapdogs rushed out of the room and Veronica felt her heart racing as the sound of those heels drew closer. Before she could fully see the female figure, her eyes caught a flash of pale blue material as it swept across the floor beside her chair.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Veronica watched as the senator’s wife waltzed around the table and pulled up a chair in front of her. Everly Ross sat down gracefully and crossed her legs like a poised pageant queen. She looked directly into Veronica’s face and those big, pretty eyes Veronica remembered from the party earlier were gone. These eyes were dark, hard and unforgiving. It was like a switch had been flipped.
“Where’s the ledger, Veronica?” she asked frankly.
Veronica was struggling to wrap her mind around what in the hell was going on.
His wife?
She just couldn’t believe it, though, and why she was still able to find herself surprise in situations like this was beyond her level of comprehension. Sometimes why wasn’t even a question, but it didn’t hurt to ask, she decided.
“Why do you care?” Veronica’s tone was neutral, but her heart rate was anything but.
Everly tilted her head to the side and studied Veronica for a while. “Because if you turn that evidence in, investigations will start like wildfires and before long, people will know what really happened to Amelia Mason.” She paused and her eyes slanted just a trace. “And I can’t let that happen.”
Veronica was quiet for a while. She was processing, but nothing was making any sense.
“You look confused,” Everly noted.
“Just disappointed. You killed her to cover your husband’s reputation, didn’t you?” Veronica accused.
“It’s not that simple.”
Veronica felt her heart sink to her toes. That was all but a confession, now wasn’t it? All this time Veronica had been convinced Amelia was dead and now that she actually had the confirmation, it was like a knife in the gut. Perhaps there was a glimmer of hope Veronica had been holding on to. Hope that maybe this story wouldn’t turn out as bad as every other story she had unraveled.
“Isn’t it, though?” Despite her shock, Veronica wanted the woman to continue talking.
Everly’s expression shifted slightly to anger and she shook her head. “I couldn’t stand by while he threw everything away. He’s going to run for president one day, you see.”
“A presidency isn’t worth taking someone’s life. Your husband made his mistakes and you should let him pay for them,” Veronica insisted.
Everly’s anger dissipated and she sat up a little straighter in her chair. “Who said anything about Dwight?”
Well, now Veronica was really confused. She hoped her mouth wasn’t hanging open because she’d lost all control of her expressions momentarily. Veronica’s mind had been spinning so fast it was like it shut itself down. She couldn’t imagine a woman like Everly killing to cover up her husband’s affair and it seemed as though her intuition was right again. So if Everly wasn’t covering for Dwight Ross, who else could she possibly care about enough to kill for?
And then Veronica’s mind cranked back up and the first image that flooded her thoughts was the day she’d confronted the senator on the golf course. The way his son had come over with such concern. The way his son had whispered something to his mother after he’d walked away…
When Veronica’s eyes lifted to meet Everly’s she was staring back in amusement.
“You are smart,” she complimented.
“How did your teenaged son get involved with a prostitute?” Veronica didn’t mean for the words to come out so harshly, but they did.
“It’s not important really, but I’ll humor you, Veronica. We’re both intelligent women and I think you know you’re not leaving this place alive.”
She had considered that, but it bothered her a little more having Everly confirm it. Nevertheless, the truth was what Veronica desired and here it was. She couldn’t resist.
“I didn’t even know anything about it until Caleb left his phone home one day. I always try and give my boys privacy, but his phone would not stop ringing and alerting those stupid text messages. I had to see what was so important.”
“Amelia?” Veronica guessed.
Everly nodded. “Yes. She needed to speak with him ‘right away’ the message had said. So I looked back at some of their conversations and I was devastated when I saw the picture of her in his contacts. I knew exactly who she was. What I didn’t know was how my sweet Caleb had gotten tangled up with the likes of her.”
Veronica had seen Dwight Ross’s name in that ledger beside Amelia’s. She knew Ross had paid for Amelia’s services, but she was wondering now if he paid for himself or for his son. She shuddered to think. It was still a possibility that Caleb had met Amelia during her ‘time’ with Dwight. Maybe Amelia and Caleb really had fallen in love. Before her mind could even think it, Veronica was balking at the idea. Love, she repeated with disgust.
And where was Amelia now?
“They were dating?” Veronica assumed.
“If you can call sneaking around behind my back dating, then yes.” Everly was clearly appalled. “I set up a time via text messages and I met her face-to-face. She was quite surprised to see me instead of Caleb, but we had a nice conversation. She explained to me what was so urgent. She was distraught. All red-faced and ugly crying because she was pregnant.”
Veronica’s heart stilled. Her face turned into stone as she watched Everly’s eyes glaze over with the recollection of events. Suddenly, Veronica wasn’t so sure she wanted to know the end to this story—even if she already knew what it was. Veronica watched as Everly’s eyes darkened a shade more if that was possible.
“I have a gracious face, you see?” Everly’s eyes locked with Veronica’s. “People think I’m so sweet and innocent. They treat me like I don’t know what a slimy son of a bitch my husband is, and that’s fine. A lot of times it works out in my favor, but I couldn’t believe what this girl was raving about. It was like a slap in my face.”
“What did she want from you, Everly?”
“She wanted support. She wanted Caleb to know so they could raise the baby together.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
“To a commoner, perhaps.”
Oh, well, pardon me, your damn highness, Veronica thought as her eyes widened a trace. Everly’s choice of words led Veronica to discover just how delusional this woman really was. She honestly thought because of her family’s social status she was above the value of a human life.
“My son deserves better than to have a child at seventeen and be stuck with that stigma his whole life. We have it all planned out. Yale next year and from there, every opportunity will point to the White House.” For a moment, Everly’s expression turned wistful, but as the thoughts rolled through, Veronica could see those doe eyes darken once more. “But she wouldn’t take the money. She wouldn’t be bought off. Even though I was very practical and generous with my offer. You’d think a girl with a sick mother would jump at a pay off, huh?”
“What were you trying to pay her to do, Everly?” There were two options, Veronica knew. She would either pay Amelia to get lost and never come back or pay her to have an abortion. Through what little she’d learned about Everly in this conversation, Veronica assumed a Houdini act wasn’t enough to satisfy her. She would need Amelia’s ‘problem’ to permanently go away so it c
ouldn’t come back in the future and bite her presidential dreams in the ass.
“You’re a smart girl, Veronica. You tell me,” Everly insisted with a twisted smile.
“I think you wanted her to get an abortion and she wouldn’t. I think she was probably a good girl and wanted to do the right thing.”
Everly nodded slowly but it wasn’t necessarily in agreement. Her smile had disappeared and she was looking calloused again.
“Good girl,” Everly repeated with distaste. “Do you know the humiliation I faced while just speaking to that girl? To watch her cry over a child that could have been my husband’s or my son’s?”
Veronica cringed on the inside. That was a hard pill to swallow, but even under the horrible circumstances, murder was never an option.
“Did Caleb help you get rid of her?” Veronica demanded. This question caused Everly’s eyes to narrow and she suddenly looked angry.
“Of course not!” she hissed. “He never even knew she was pregnant. I used her phone once she was gone and I told him it was over.”
“You broke his heart?” Veronica prodded.
Everly glared. “I had to. Better now than to destroy his entire future. Teenaged hearts are quite pliable. He’s been doing well for a while now. In fact, he’s right back on track.” Her words dripped with pride.
“I never saw Caleb’s number, text or calls in her phone records,” Veronica was speaking more to herself than Everly, but she watched as the woman’s moment of triumph faded and she eased back into a frown.
“I had them erased, Veronica.” Her tone indicated she doubted Veronica’s intelligence at this point. “I sent Caleb a text from her phone telling him she needed some ‘time’ away. He never even considered her missing. Things get done quickly and efficiently when you have inside help, you see? No one else at that station has the balls to go after a senator. No one else can risk the exposure of that ledger. Everything would have been fine if you hadn’t been so insufferably nosy.”
“It’s a character flaw,” Veronica sighed. “And while I’m still alive to ask questions, I have one more. Did you kill Amelia’s friend Poppy?”
