Red Rover, Perdition Games

by L E Fraser

  “When they released her, we had sole custody.” Brenda’s voice was so low Reece had to strain to hear her. “Graham let her see them about a month after her release. She kidnapped them. Then claimed it was a misunderstanding. Said she thought it was okay to keep them overnight. That’s when Graham filed the restraining order. We never heard from her again.”

  “Yet she went to the school eighteen months ago in front of multiple witnesses,” Sam said, “and you have no idea why she did it?”

  Brenda nodded.

  Sam’s tone of voice was tinged with annoyance when she asked, “Has she contacted you since?” She looked between Brenda and the kids.

  Jennifer didn’t appear to be listening at all. She sat perfectly still, staring at the cover of the bible she held. The twins exchanged a look before shaking their heads.

  Brenda cleared her throat. “We never saw her again.”

  “Did you or the school press charges?” Reece asked.

  “My husband didn’t want Caitlyn to go back to jail.” Brenda glued her eyes to her skirt. “Graham made excuses because his ex-wife and her sister had a terrible childhood. Their mother was abusive and mentally ill.” She glanced at Roger. “Paranoid schizophrenia, I think.”

  Roger nodded. “The night Caitlyn…” He glanced at Jennifer. “The night of the crime, Caitlyn’s mother had a psychotic break. Based on Dolores’s medical file, she’d suffered from homicidal ideation since adolescence. Given her psychopathology, a psychotic episode would pose a dangerous threat.”

  Reece again wondered why Caitlyn had pled guilty to manslaughter. Based on what Roger just said, it sounded like an open and shut case of self-defence.

  “How did Graham meet his first wife?” Sam asked Brenda.

  “They grew up together, married right after high school, and moved to Boston,” Brenda said. “Caitlyn graduated high school at sixteen and received a full scholarship to MIT. Emerson accepted Graham for communications. They stayed for three semesters, and then Caitlyn became pregnant with the twins. She quit school and Graham transferred to the University of Toronto to play football.”

  It must have killed Caitlyn to give up a full ride to MIT. Reece wondered why she hadn’t deferred for a year to have the babies and return. He didn’t know much about US university scholarships. Maybe deferring wasn’t an option.

  “So she was eighteen when she had the twins,” he said. “That’s young.”

  Brenda nodded. “Then Jennifer was born when she was twenty. Caitlyn went to prison nine years later, but there were problems before that. Drugs maybe. Graham didn’t talk about his ex-wife. I know he believed Caitlyn hated him.” She picked at the wrinkles in her skirt. “My husband felt he deserved her contempt. He cheated her out of MIT, took away her children, and abandoned her.” Her eyes roamed around the room. “But there was something else, something he refused to talk to me about. I always thought that the secret, whatever it was, made him feel guilty.” She sighed. “But I have no idea what it was. He’d always get angry if I asked.” A tear dripped down her pale cheek. “Did she kill my husband?”

  “Is it possible she was in the house without your knowledge?” Reece asked.

  Brenda swallowed and gave a little shrug. “I guess. We don’t keep the doors locked out here.”

  Something wasn’t adding up to Reece. If Caitlyn had tried to take her children when the prison released her, why wasn’t she seeking full custody now Graham was out of the picture? Maybe she’d legally relinquished her rights to her children.

  “Did you adopt the kids when Caitlyn was in prison?” Reece asked.

  Brenda shook her head. “No. We tried, but Caitlyn refused to sign the papers.” She paused before saying, “After she got out of prison, she kept calling Graham and saying terrible things. A week before his death, Graham had a terrible fight with her.”

  Sam frowned. “You said the last time you heard from her was eighteen months ago when she went to the school.”

  “I meant we didn’t see her.” Colour rose in Brenda’s cheeks. “Caitlyn called. Maybe she did something to the sump-pump so Graham would have to go downstairs.” She dabbed her eyes with a tissue she took from the pocket of her skirt. Roger put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Since the incident at the school, have any of you spoken to your mother? Maybe on the phone?” Reece scrutinized the three kids, watching for classic signs of lying.

  Jordan continued to look bored, Jordanna flipped her hair with a provocative smile, and Jennifer stared into space. Reading teenagers was next to impossible. He hoped Sam was having more luck.

  Speaking for her siblings, Jordanna finally answered, “We didn’t want anything to do with her after she embarrassed us and we had to deal with psycho Mrs. A.”

  Bringing the conversation back to Sally Alistair again. Since they were determined to tell their side of the story, Reece decided to hear them out. He supposed he understood. Jordan was denying that he did anything to deserve having his teacher accuse him of rape.

  Reece spoke to Jordan. “Why do you think Mrs. Alistair made such a serious charge against you?”

  Jordan snorted but refused to respond. Brenda glanced at him and he looked at Jordanna before nodding his chin at his stepmother, as if indicating she had permission to speak. The exchange bemused Reece.

  “Well, she said she was experiencing behavioural problems with Jordan and asked to see Graham.” Brenda’s voice was soft, and there was a strange intensity on her face. “The conversation upset my husband. He was good friends with the football coach, so he asked his advice.”

  Her eyes darted up to Reece’s and then fell to her lap. “Coach told him strange things he’d witnessed between Jordan and his math teacher.”

  “That’s when my dad talked to me.” Jordanna spoke to Reece. “Mrs. A seemed… I dunno. She told me once my brother was hot.” She shuddered. “She texted Jordan that her son was sucking her dry but there was some left for him. Then she kept texting him sick stuff about what she wanted him to do to her. You know, like sexually.”

  Reece might be able to buy a Snapchat, but he found it difficult to imagine a teacher texting an illicit message to a student. It was easy to trace text messages to the sender. Everyone knew that. Reece fully understood why Sam was smirking.

  “Can we see the text thread?” Sam asked Jordan.

  “Nah, trashed them,” he muttered.

  “Jordan, why didn’t you keep the text?” Reece demanded, losing his patience. “Why wouldn’t you show your father?”

  “Dad would make a big deal and everyone at school would find out. I showed my sister.” He glanced sideways at his twin. “Then Mrs. A showed at practice. I told her to leave me alone or I was telling the principal. She punched me, like right in the face. It was wacked.”

  “A week later,” Jordanna continued, “she accused Jordan of raping a grade nine girl. After cheerleading practice that day, Coach said he’d drive Jordan home so I could take the car. There was no way my brother was in the parking lot.”

  “As if I need to rape a chick,” he declared. “I get plenty.”

  But Reece knew that rape wasn’t about sex. It was about fear and control. Raping a Muslim girl heightened the thrill of humiliation and shame. Observing Jordan’s angry face and clenched fists, Reece had no problem imagining him capable of rape. He was a scary, entitled kid who was a hair away from being a full-blown narcissist.

  Reece caught Sam’s eye. She tapped her index and middle fingers casually against her cheek. A gesture they’d used for the past year as a non-verbal signal to wrap up a meeting. Because of Roger’s interference before they arrived, the interview was a waste of time. No spontaneous reaction to Caitlyn Franklyn’s involvement or the complaints of Sally and Eric Alistair. Roger had given the family plenty of forewarning. Lots of time to get their stories straight.

  Sam stood. “Jennifer, that’s a nice bible. Was it a gift?”

  “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard sh
all lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them,” Jennifer quoted deadpan. “Mother believes that the passage means that a child will lead the way to heaven or to hell. She’s wrong. I go to bible camp every summer, Sunday school every week, and bible study on Thursdays.”

  “No one cares, you bed-wetting Jesus-freak,” Jordan yelled.

  Reece jumped a bit at the sudden outburst. It was the first time he’d heard Jordan, who strived hard to act cool and in control, raise his voice.

  “Jordan, please,” murmured Brenda, and Reece couldn’t tell if Jordan’s attitude toward his younger sister surprised her or not.

  “Who wets the bed at sixteen?” Jordan retorted with a mean laugh. “A bible-thumping loser, that’s who!”

  Stone-faced, Jennifer replied, “I told Mother you killed my cat.”

  Brenda’s face sagged in shock and Jordan leaped to his feet. “You lying skank! I didn’t touch your fucking cat and you know it!”

  The vet’s autopsy had confirmed that a human eviscerated the animal. The evidence was inconclusive as to whether the cat was alive during most of the attack. There was no ambiguity about the missing eye, though. Someone had meticulously gouged out the eyeball first, while the cat was very much alive.

  Reece had considered Jordan a prime suspect in the heinous crime, but felt unsure now. The young man’s outrage and disgust over the allegation were genuine. The more troubling revelation was that Jennifer had spoken to Caitlyn recently.

  “How often do you speak with your mother?” Reece asked her.

  “All the time.” Jennifer stood and went around the coffee table.

  Reece thought she was going to leave the room, but she turned back and faced them.

  “When Brenda was in the hospital,” Jennifer said, speaking to Sam, “I told Mom you think one of us killed Dad. My mother’s angry with you.”

  From the corner of his eye, Reece saw Brenda’s lips narrow. Her face became uncharacteristically hard and ugly.

  “Why do you think we suspect one of you?” Sam asked

  Reece studied Brenda’s face, which had returned to its usual bewildered expression. Maybe he’d imagined the moment of fury.

  Jennifer didn’t answer Sam’s question. Instead, she said, “I wish you hadn’t involved Mom.” She turned her head to look at Roger, sitting on the sofa beside Brenda. “Thanks for letting me know they figured out who my mother was.” She grinned. “And thanks a lot for telling me they knew where she lived so I could warn her and she could leave.”

  Goddamn your insufferable interference! Reece glared at Roger, who had the good sense to drop his eyes.

  This explained why the police hadn’t found Caitlyn at the address. Jennifer warned her. She’d vanished because Roger couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut.

  “Can you reach your mom?” Reece asked Jennifer. “It would help if she’d talk to us.”

  “She doesn’t want to speak with the police.”

  “We aren’t the police,” he replied.

  “Does it matter?” she asked. “Because of you, I won’t get to see my mother again.” Jennifer left the room and the back door slammed.

  “I didn’t know,” Brenda said. “She must be sneaking out.”

  Considering the medicated daze Brenda was in, it didn’t surprise Reece that the teenagers were coming and going as they pleased.

  “I don’t even know where Caitlyn lives,” Brenda hurried to add, looking flustered and upset. “She had an apartment on Yonge and Eglinton when she got out of prison, but she left it. She never told us where she moved.”

  Sam’s face was angry as she stood and walked over to where Roger sat on the sofa. She put her fists on her hips and stared Roger down. “What about you? You want to explain why you offered up confidential information on our case to a sixteen-year-old?” she demanded.

  Finally! Reece thought. He was sick of pointing out Roger’s suspicious interference to Sam.

  Roger folded his hands against his knee. “Jennifer overheard me talking with Reece yesterday morning. My sense was she feared her mother would hurt her.” He paused and returned Sam’s hard stare with one of his own. “Obviously, I didn’t know she was in contact with her mother. I simply told her she didn’t need to worry. You had found an address and were sharing it with the police. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to do, and I don’t appreciate your tone.”

  She pointed her finger at his chest. “You and I are going to talk about this later.”

  Reece considered the timeline. Caitlyn had caught Behoo online the night before they went to speak to Bryce. She knew Reece and Sam suspected she was Bloody Widow. No wonder she ran before the police could question her. She had every reason to believe they would arrest her for cybercrimes.

  Reece glared at Roger who sat nonchalant on the sofa with a smug little grin. Reece wanted to punch him in the face.

  Sam had turned to face Jordanna and Jordan, who were standing together beside the sofa across from Roger. “Where’s your mother?” she demanded.

  “Jordan and I are stunned Jennifer was visiting her,” Jordanna declared with wide-eyed innocence. “I can’t believe it. I can talk to her, if you like. Maybe she’ll tell me where she is.”

  “Like she’s gonna tell you anything,” Jordan muttered. “I have a calculus test tomorrow, and this hasn’t got anything to do with me.” He sauntered across the living room to the stairs, leaning down to pick up a backpack from the base of the staircase.

  Jordanna arched her back with a sigh of pleasure. “I’ll call if Jennifer talks to me,” she promised. “See y’all later.” She waved her fingers at Reece before prancing up the stairs behind her brother.

  “I’ll walk you out.” Roger offered, leading the way outside.

  He stopped them before they got into the car. Roger took out his cell phone and turned it to face them. “Do either of you recognize this woman?”

  Sam looked. “Well yeah. It’s a better picture than we’ve found, but that’s Caitlyn Franklyn.”

  “Have you seen her before?” Roger asked Reece.

  He glanced at the photo. “No.” The resemblance to Jordanna was striking. “Why?”

  “That’s the nurse who went into Brenda’s room when we were at the hospital,” Roger said impatiently. “Remember? You and I stepped into the hallway for a private talk. A nurse went into the room.”

  Reece replayed the chain of events in his mind. Roger’s back had been to the doorway. To the best of Reece’s recollection, Roger never had sightlines to the nurse. Funny how he could make a positive identification when Reece, a trained cop, couldn’t. If he pointed out his suspicion, Roger would just come up with some lame excuse that would increase Reece’s desire to smack him. He took a deep breath and unlocked the car door.

  “Caitlyn went to the hospital?” Sam was asking Roger. “Why didn’t Brenda say anything?”

  “Brenda was catatonic and unaware of visitors,” Roger replied tersely. “You’re missing the point.” He put away his phone before saying, “What was Caitlyn doing in a locked-down psychiatric ward? Dressed in a nursing uniform. In the room of her murdered ex-husband’s wife. A woman Caitlyn hates for taking away her kids.” He raised a questioning eyebrow at them.

  If what Jennifer had said was true, she’d spoken to her mother after their first interview. That meant Caitlyn was aware he and Sam were investigating the murder of her ex-husband a day or two before someone poisoned him. Reece retraced the afternoon he’d visited Brenda. It would be simple for Caitlyn to research their firm and find pictures of him and Sam. Maybe she’d intended to poison Brenda but reconsidered when she recognized him in the hospital, sucking on a banana smoothie. A drink he’d left unattended. But that theory didn’t sit right with Reece. It felt too random for someone as deliberate and intelligent as Caitlyn.

  Roger was interfering in their investigation—continuously and unnecessarily. Brenda could have told Roger about the Alistairs�
�� poisoned dog and the witness who put Caitlyn on the scene. If Roger had wanted to kill him, using a poison that police suspected Caitlyn of using in the past would point the finger of blame right at her. Roger just had to wait for Reece and Sam to talk to the Alistairs and make the connection to Caitlyn.

  Deflection and multiple suspects established reasonable doubt. It was a clever murderer’s best defence. And Roger was a clever man.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sam

  “I DON’T WANT to go.” Reece’s petulant pout was not attractive.

  “We can’t cancel last minute. Lisa’s brother and sister-in-law took Kira.” Sam searched through their wine fridge and selected two bottles.

  He marched over and studied the labels. “This Dugat-Py is over a hundred and fifty dollars. I was saving it for a special occasion.”

  Sam sighed. “Then you pick something.”

  “Never mind. Take it.”

  “Are you ready?” Keeping her tone neutral was a struggle. Reece was wearing track pants and hadn’t showered. They were running late, and her temper was running hot.

  Yesterday, he’d bitched all the way home from the Harris farm, insisting Roger was up to “shenanigans.” He refused to relinquish his suspicion that Roger had poisoned him, even though the evidence now pointed to Caitlyn, and he regretted taking the case, claiming Roger’s situation had nothing to do with the letter Abigail had sent him.

  “Call and say I’m sick.” There was a definite whine in Reece’s voice.

  “You’re the one who preaches honesty,” she retorted. “What’s the big deal? It’s dinner. I’m not asking you to donate a testicle to medical research. Can you please go shower?”

  He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t like your friends. Roger attacked his sister with a hammer and has sex with patients. Lisa’s a passive-aggressive witch, and Jim’s a sanctimonious bore who defends rapists and murderers.”

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Wow. I’m not even going there with you. Can you please go shower?”