I Know What You Did

by N L Hinkens

  Jo fell silent, unconvinced. Even after going over in her mind a thousand times the various combinations of possible suspects who could have been responsible for Noah’s and Sarah’s deaths, she still felt like she was missing something. She had no problem believing Mia was involved in some capacity, but it was hard to accept that Robbie could have participated in something so heinous. Still, Liam did have a point that it would have been difficult for Mia to act alone. Robbie hadn’t been honest with them about his relationship with Mia from the beginning. He could be lying about a lot of other things too, like who he really was behind closed doors.

  Tory was waiting for them when they pulled up at their house. She climbed out of her car with a crying Olivia in her arms. “She’s exhausted. I tried feeding her, but she’s not interested.”

  Jo took the baby from Tory and rocked her gently to soothe her while Liam went next door to pick up Claire. “Have you talked to Mia at all since she was arrested?”

  Tory shook her head. “Only her lawyer. If Robbie confesses, her lawyer’s optimistic the charges against her will be dropped because she was locked in an abusive relationship.”

  “The police are taking her claims seriously,” Jo said. “They arrested Robbie just before we left his house.”

  Tory’s eyes widened. “I’m relieved to hear that.”

  “I can’t imagine what this is going to do to Noah’s parents,” Jo said.

  “It’s killing me,” Tory sighed, smoothing a hand over her brow. “There’s no point in me heading back to the station. They told me I won’t be able to see Mia until tomorrow.”

  “Come in and I'll make some tea," Jo suggested. “You look exhausted."

  Olivia fell asleep almost right away after Jo tucked her into the bassinet she’d set up in the guest room. Tory went to the bathroom to freshen up while Jo put the kettle on. Liam was playing with Claire in the family room. Every so often, Jo could hear Claire's giggles and it warmed her heart that such innocence still existed, when everything around her had become such a sordid mess.

  Her phone buzzed, and she fumbled in her pocket to retrieve it. She frowned at the unknown number. “Hello?” she said in a guarded tone.

  “Jo, it’s Lydia Tomaselli. I just heard the news about Mia’s arrest.”

  Jo frowned. “How did you find out?”

  “I told you, Sérgio has friends in the police force,” Lydia said with a tremor in her voice. “I wondered if you knew anything more. I know you’re friendly with her and Robbie.”

  Jo hesitated before responding. Evidently Lydia hadn’t heard yet that Robbie had also been arrested, or that Mia was accusing him of orchestrating the crime. “I don’t know too much myself,” she said.

  “It’s shocking to think Mia was involved in Noah’s death,” Lydia choked out, the anguish in her voice making her almost incoherent. “Why didn’t she just break it off with him if she wanted to be with Robbie? She always was a bit of a money-grubber, but I tried to believe the best of her. I suppose she really did want to get her hands on the money all along.”

  “What money?” Jo asked, confused by the direction the conversation was taking.

  “Sarah’s mother’s estate,” Lydia answered.

  “Mia may be materialistic,” Jo said, “but to be fair, she didn’t know about the money until after she married Robbie.”

  Lydia let out a scoffing laugh. “I highly doubt that. I’d be surprised if her father hadn’t told her.”

  Jo frowned, growing more baffled by the minute. “How would he have known about it? Chuck Allen lives in San Francisco.”

  “He does now,” Lydia replied. “But he used to work at Brookdale Meadows where Sarah’s mother lived.”

  Jo blinked, trying to assemble her thoughts as she made the connection. “Doing what?”

  “He was their accountant, until he got fired. Some kind of fraud allegation, I think.”

  Jo’s pulse was doing double time. She tried to figure out what it meant, if anything. If Mia knew all along that Sarah’s mother was wealthy, did that mean Mia had planned to seduce Robbie and get rid of Sarah? Jo shivered as another thought struck her. Mia might even have written those anonymous notes to drive a wedge between Robbie and Sarah before she made her move. “Have you told the police about this?”

  “I … no. I didn’t think it was relevant until now, I suppose.”

  “Lydia, I need you to get off the phone and call Officer Bowman right away. Tell her exactly what you told me. It could be important. Mia’s trying to pin the murders on Robbie. The police arrested him a short while ago. If what you’re saying is true, it gives Mia a compelling motive to get rid of Noah and Sarah.”

  Jo hung up the phone and hurried into the family room to tell Liam what she’d learned.

  He let out a low whistle, looking thunderstruck. “So, it was all about money for Mia.”

  Jo grimaced. “It’s beginning to sound like it. I’m going down to the police station to talk to Officer Bowman. If she’s not available, maybe I can talk to Robbie’s lawyer.”

  Liam looked dubious. “What about Olivia?”

  Jo gave him a teasing smile. “You can make up a bottle. You learned before I did, remember?”

  Liam blew out his cheeks like balloons. “So much responsibility. I’ll do my best, but don’t be long. I don’t know how I’ll cope if they both start crying at the same time.”

  “Tory will know what to do.“ She lowered her voice. "Tell her I had to run down to the station to answer a few questions about Robbie. Don’tt say anything else until we know more."

  For the second time that day, Jo found herself sitting in the hard-plastic chairs in the reception area of the police station. Officer Bowman was tied up on a conference call, but the receptionist told her Robbie’s lawyer would come out to speak to her as soon as he had a chance.

  Half an hour went by before a stocky, balding man in an expensive suit appeared. He strode over to Jo and shook hands with her. “You must be Jo. I’m Paul Garcia, Robbie’s attorney. He told me I could speak freely with you. He’s grateful you came.”

  Jo swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. “How is he?”

  “Shaken up. The detective’s pushing hard for a confession. He had motive and opportunity—his late wife’s estate was substantial—and the detective makes a compelling case that Mia is too slight to have accomplished everything herself on the night of the murders. The evidence on the laptop doesn’t help either. Not to mention the fact that he’s a chemistry teacher. Of the two of them, he’s the one most likely to be able to pull off murder by carbon monoxide poisoning.”

  “I don’t agree that Robbie has a motive,” Jo protested. “In all the years I’ve known him, he never cared about money, but Mia’s obsessed with it. She makes it difficult for him to keep up with all her demands.”

  “Do you have any evidence of that?”

  “I’m sure Robbie does. He says she spends every penny he makes, and then some.” Jo paused, frowning. “And there’s something else. It always struck me as odd that Sarah’s mother died the evening Mia visited her. They never conducted an autopsy. Isn’t it possible Mia gave her something?”

  “All circumstantial,” Paul countered. “It won’t hold up in court. We need something solid.”

  “I do have another lead that might be worth following up on,” Jo said. “I found out this afternoon that Mia’s father worked for several years at the Alzheimer’s facility where Sarah’s mother lived. He was their accountant until he was fired for some kind of fraud. If he knew about Barb’s estate, he might have told Mia about it.”

  Paul pulled a notebook out of his jacket pocket and jotted something down. “Do you know his name and where he lives, by chance?”

  Jo pulled out her phone. “I can share his contact information with you. Mia lived with him for a few months. What’s your number?”

  Before he could respond, Jo’s phone buzzed with a text notification from Liam.

  Tory watching girls. Emer
gency at the office

  Jo sent him a thumbs up emoji in return and smiled apologetically at Paul. “Sorry about that.”

  He recited his phone number and Jo plugged it into her phone and forwarded the contact information to him.

  “I’ll pass this along to the detective in charge,” Paul said. “It’s probably a long shot. But it’s a lead they should follow up, nonetheless.”

  “Is Mia still claiming that Robbie coerced her into driving Noah to the garage?”

  Paul gave a curt nod. “At first, she said she didn’t see Sarah there that night, but she finally broke down and admitted that Sarah’s car was already in the garage when she got there. She assumed Robbie had drugged her too, but she didn’t know why, and she was too scared to ask.”

  “That’s a stretch,” Jo retorted. “Mia’s not afraid to ask anything.”

  Paul grimaced. “She’s been pretty convincing so far. Now she wants to press charges against Robbie for statutory rape as well as unlawful coercion to commit a kidnapping.”

  Jo squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. The situation was going from bad to worse. Even if Robbie wasn’t charged with murder, Mia was going to make sure he didn’t walk away from this a free man.

  Paul glanced at his watch. “I need to get back to the interview room. I’ll try and give you a call later with an update.”

  “Wait!” Jo laid a hand on his arm. “Can you tell Robbie that Liam and I are looking after Olivia and that … that we’re here for him?”

  The lawyer gave a curt nod before disappearing back down the corridor.

  Jo wasn’t entirely sure why she’d asked him to let Robbie know he had their support. Even if he hadn’t been involved in Sarah’s murder, he’d betrayed their trust and friendship with his lies. But in her heart, she still harbored some compassion for him. She only hoped he wasn’t the monster Mia was making him out to be. As Jo turned to leave, Officer Bowman came striding into view. “I’m glad I caught you,” she said. ”I had a call from Lydia Tomaselli.”

  Jo raised her brows hopefully. “Did she tell you that Mia’s father used to work at Brookdale Meadows where Sarah’s mother lived?”

  Officer Bowman nodded, her eyes sharp and alert. “I just talked to the director of the home. Mia’s father was fired for forging a resident’s signature on a will leaving several hundred thousand dollars to a Lance Patterson. Turns out Lance Patterson is an alias for Chuck Allen.”

  30

  Jo stared at Officer Bowman, thunderstruck. “If Chuck knew about Barb's estate, then he might have been in on it with Mia.”

  “It’s an avenue worth exploring. We’re bringing him in for questioning. But it doesn’t rule out the possibility that Robbie was involved on some level.”

  Jo gave a half-hearted nod of acknowledgement. She still baulked at the idea that Robbie was a heartless killer who had premeditated Sarah’s murder for money and lust. She would much rather believe that Mia’s father had been the other half of the evil duo that had taken the lives of two innocent people.

  Her phone rang and she answered it immediately when Lydia’s number popped up again. “Hi, I’m here with Officer Bow—“

  Lydia cut her off before she could say another word. “Put me on speaker.”

  Jo shot Officer Bowman a look of alarm as she pressed the speaker button. “What’s wrong?”

  “I just heard back from the investigator I hired to dig into Mia’s background,” Lydia blurted out. “Turns out the Allen family has been hiding more than one dark secret.”

  Jo's gaze locked with Officer Bowman’s.

  “Go on,” the officer said.

  “The PI sent me a copy of Chuck Allen’s marriage certificate. His wife’s name wasn’t Tory, it was Natalie.”

  “I … don’t understand,” Jo said. “Was he married before?”

  “No,” Lydia replied, her voice falling away. “Natalie’s dead.”

  An icy gasp escaped Jo’s lips.

  Officer Bowman frowned. “Then who’s Tory Allen?”

  “Turns out she’s actually Mia's older sister. She was twelve when Mia was born.”

  A sinister tingling crept over Jo’s shoulders. “Tory’s alone at my house with the girls.”

  “You need to get them right away,” Lydia said.

  “Why? Do you think the girls might be in danger?” Officer Bowman asked, her fingers wrapping around her walkie talkie.

  “Yes … maybe. It’s just that the PI said Natalie's death was suspicious." Lydia’s words tumbled out faster. "She was alone in the house with Mia, who was thirteen at the time. Tory found their mother at the bottom of the stairs when she came home from work. She said Mia was asleep in her bed and knew nothing about it.” Lydia took a shaky breath. “The PI said the police suspected a coverup, but there wasn't enough evidence to prove it was anything other than an accident. If Tory covered for Mia before, she might do it again, or worse. Mia has some kind of hold over her.”

  Before she’d even finished speaking, Officer Bowman was talking into her walkie-talkie, dispatching officers to Jo’s house.

  Jo tried calling Liam, and when he didn’t pick up, she frantically messaged him to go home ASAP.

  “You can ride with me,” Officer Bowman said, already striding toward the door.

  Sirens cut through the air like a knife, piercing Jo’s heart with terror. With every mile they covered, her dread multiplied. She’d only ever wanted to be the best mother possible to Claire, but she’d left her in the care of someone who possibly had blood on her hands, someone who’d covered up her own mother’s murder at the hands of her sociopathic sister. Jo cursed Liam inwardly for leaving Tory alone with the girls. They’d never left Claire alone with anyone other than Bethany before. Bethany! She’d be home from school by now. Jo pulled out her phone and dialed. The phone rang several times and then went to voice mail. Biting back her frustration, Jo sent a quick text asking her to run next door and check on the girls. She chewed on her fingernail, waiting desperately for a response. Bile rose from her stomach. The drive was taking forever. Weren’t police cruisers supposed to fly through traffic? All the cop shows she’d ever watched had squad cars racing at unimaginable speeds through neighborhoods.

  At long last, Officer Bowman turned down Jo's street. Jo peered anxiously out the window as they approached her house, shrouded in darkness. Her heart sank. Two squad cars were parked outside, engines running and lights flashing, but Tory’s car was nowhere in sight. “She's taken the girls!” Jo cried.

  “Can you describe her vehicle?” Officer Bowman asked.

  “It’s a green Subaru … I don't remember the model.”

  Officer Bowman’s walkie talkie crackled once more as she relayed the information. She gave a quick description of Tory, and then called in additional officers to pursue the vehicle.

  A moment later, they pulled up to the curb, and rushed to Jo’s front door, accompanied by four other officers from the parked squad cars.

  “Stand back!” Officer Bowman ordered Jo. "We can’t be sure she isn't inside. Do you have your key?”

  Jo fumbled in her pocket and handed over her front door key.

  “Police!” Officer Bowman yelled, before turning the key in the lock. She pushed the door open slowly, gun drawn, and then dropped to her knees and yelled, “Call an ambulance!”

  Jo’s heart lurched. She screamed and stumbled forward. “Claire! Where’s my baby?”

  A heavyweight officer barred her way.

  Officer Bowman called out to her. “It's not a kid. It’s a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair.”

  “Bethany!” Jo gasped. “That’s our babysitter. Is she alive?”

  "She's breathing,” Officer Bowman confirmed. “Looks like she sustained blunt force trauma to the head.”

  Jo turned as another vehicle screeched to a halt on the side of the street. “Liam!” She ran down the driveway to meet him, tears pouring down her face.

  He grabbed her by the arms, his face drained of
color. "What's going on?”

  “Tory’s taken the girls!” She sobbed for a moment before collecting herself enough to fill him in on everything. “She’s dangerous, Liam. She attacked Bethany.”

  He clenched his jaw. “Let’s hope for her sake the police get to her before I do.”

  Before Jo could respond, an ambulance pulled onto the street, sirens blaring. For the next several minutes, everyone’s attention was focused on Bethany as the medics secured her to a stretcher and placed her in the back of the ambulance.

  Jo buried her head in Liam's chest. “How could Tory have fooled me like that? I’m supposed to be a good mother, and I didn’t suspect for a minute that she was lying to us all along too. All that talk about raising Mia as a single mother. She’s such a good actress.”

  “You mustn’t blame yourself,” Liam soothed. “She played on your emotions. She had everyone fooled—us, the school, the police.”

  Officer Bowman walked over to them, her lips gathered in a tight line. “We’ve got a hit on a green Subaru heading north on the freeway. The driver matches Tory’s description. Officers are in pursuit.”

  “Thank God!” Jo wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “She doesn’t even have car seats for them.”

  “Once we apprehend her, we'll take the girls to the hospital to have them checked out as a precautionary measure," Officer Bowman said. “You might want to head there now.”

  Jo exchanged a stricken look with Liam. It hadn’t even occurred to her that the babies might need medical attention. She’d never forgive Tory if she’d drugged them or harmed them in any way.

  Liam squeezed her hand. “Let’s go. We can check on Bethany while we’re there.”

  They turned into the emergency room parking lot just as an ambulance pulled up. Jo and Liam leapt out of their car and raced to meet it. The back doors opened, and a medic stepped out holding a bewildered-looking Claire, her head swiveling to look at the flashing lights. When she caught sight of Jo, her face lit up with a bright smile. “Mama!” she squealed, bouncing up and down on the medic's hip.