Freak

by Jennifer Hillier

  “Hon, I’ve tried. He doesn’t return my calls.”

  “Try again. Please. He needs support through all this. He’s just afraid to ask for it.”

  Morris frowned. “I’ll call him, but I don’t think he’ll talk to me about his love life. We’re guys, darlin’. We talk about sports. The stock market. The size of Kim Kardashian’s ass. We don’t talk about personal stuff.”

  “He’s our friend.” Sheila’s voice was soft but firm. “He was there for you when you needed him. So you be there for him, too. Even if you have to force him to let you help.”

  “All right.” Morris kissed her forehead. “I’ll call him tomorrow, see if he wants to go to that Chinese monkey place.”

  Despite her concern, Sheila laughed. “The Golden Monkey, right! That’s his favorite restaurant. I thought you hated dim sum. You said that place was gross.”

  “It’s growing on me. But don’t you dare tell him I said that. I need something to bust his balls over.”

  “I won’t breathe a word. It’ll be our ancient Chinese secret.”

  Morris groaned. “Honey, that’s terrible.”

  “So is the Golden Monkey.”

  chapter 12

  JERRY WAS EXHAUSTED. Arriving at a women’s prison at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning was not his idea of a good time, especially since he was just here the day before.

  He and Danny were met by a long lineup inside the lobby of Rosedale Penitentiary. The prison had seemed quiet yesterday afternoon, but Jerry and Sheila had come after visiting hours. Mornings were obviously when most families arrived.

  Yes, families. The lobby was filled with husbands, grandmothers, and young children who all seemed to know the drill. They were probably here every week. How many of the inmates were mothers? The thought was disturbing.

  Jerry was surprised to see Mike Torrance waiting inside the lobby. Torrance seemed equally surprised to see Danny.

  “What are you doing here?” Jerry asked as he shook hands with the detective.

  Torrance nodded to Jerry’s assistant and held up a thin manila envelope. “I have Maddox’s deal here. Signed by the prosecuting attorney first thing this morning. Bob Borden’s been notified and he’s probably already here.” He smiled, a sharklike grin. “He’s not expecting me, though.”

  “Thanks for running it down. So you’ll leave it with me?”

  “Nope,” Torrance said. “I’m giving it to her personally.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Mike—”

  But his former partner had already turned away, heading straight for the corrections officer manning the reception desk and bypassing the long lineup. Jerry and Danny followed, ignoring the hostile stares of the other visitors who were annoyed they’d cut in line.

  “Lineup starts at the back, sir,” the corrections officer said to Torrance. Jerry recognized her from the day before, the one with the permanent scowl. Her tone matched her face. “We’ll get you processed as fast as we can.”

  Torrance flashed his badge and stared her down. “I’m here on official police business, Sergeant . . . Briscoe,” he said, peering at the name on her uniform. “And it’s very time-sensitive. Abigail Maddox is expecting us.”

  The CO glanced at his badge and punched something into her computer. “Detective Torrance, yes, of course. Right this way please.” She noticed Danny and Jerry standing behind him. “Detective Isaac. Oh, and hey, Danny. Didn’t see you on the visitor’s list. You three are together?”

  At the CO’s use of the word detective, Torrance raised an eyebrow and looked at Jerry, who raised an eyebrow and looked at Danny. His assistant knew the CO?

  “They’re with me, yes,” Torrance said.

  “Any of you bring weapons?”

  “I’m carrying.” Torrance’s face changed once he understood what she was getting at. “Oh, come on, Sergeant. Seriously?”

  The corrections officer was unfazed. “Sorry, Detective. Prison regulations. I’ll need to keep your weapon and holster. We’ll lock it up tight for you, don’t worry.” She looked over at Jerry’s assistant with disapproval. “Maddox is high custody level, Danny. You know you’re supposed to get preapproval from the superintendent first.”

  Danny managed to look chastised and hopeful at the same time. “I know, but there was no time, Sergeant. One-time exception? Please?”

  The CO sighed. “Fine, but get your name on the list if you want to come back after today.”

  “Thank you.” Danny headed toward the lockers, where she stowed her purse.

  “You and the CO know each other?” Jerry said when his assistant returned.

  “I used to volunteer here, remember?” Danny looked at him and waited. When he didn’t reply, she said, “Last summer, for a few weeks, before I started grad school? I told you about it at the interview.”

  Jerry frowned.

  “It was on my résumé?” Danny looked irritated.

  He honestly didn’t remember.

  A few moments later they were being escorted down the same long hallway. The corrections officer unlocked the door to Conference 2.

  Jerry stifled a sigh. “Back here again.”

  The CO unlocked the door and pushed it open. An older gentleman was already seated at the metal table, briefcase in front of him. Jerry recognized him immediately from Abby Maddox’s assault trial. Slick suit, silver hair, flashy paisley tie. Bob Borden.

  Maddox’s attorney almost spit out his coffee when they stepped in. The door closed and locked behind them, and just like that, the room got even smaller.

  “Mr. Isaac.” Borden stood, his chair scraping the linoleum floor, making a screechy nails-on-a-chalkboard sound. “This meeting was only supposed to be with you.”

  Jerry took a seat, not bothering to introduce anybody. “What can I say, I’m a popular guy. I don’t travel without my entourage. Looks like we’re going to need an extra chair.”

  Torrance stepped forward and stuck his hand out toward the lawyer. “Detective Torrance, Seattle PD.”

  Borden’s arms stayed firmly fixed at his sides. “I know who you are, Detective, but you have to leave.”

  “Excuse me, I don’t—”

  Borden cut him off. “My client made it very clear she’ll only speak with Mr. Isaac.” He gave Danny the once-over, seemed to decide she was insignificant, then turned his attention back to the detective.

  Torrance’s face turned a deep shade of red. “I don’t give a shit what your client said, Mr. Borden. Women are being murdered and she knows who’s doing it. I’m lead detective on the fucking case. So you tell your goddamned client—”

  He was cut off by a discreet cough, and everybody turned around. Abby Maddox, hands cuffed in front of her and dressed head to toe in the same gray prison issues she was wearing the day before, stood in the doorway watching them. Her face was a mixture of amusement and wariness. In the sudden silence, the sound of Danny’s sharp intake of breath was heard by all.

  Maddox scanned the scene, her blue-violet eyes glancing over the red-faced detective, the apprehensive lawyer, the smirking private investigator, and the wide-eyed student. Finally her gaze settled on Mike Torrance. “Tell his goddamned client what, Detective?”

  Torrance stiffened. “I was just going to say that I don’t see why you’d object to speaking with me.”

  Borden pulled out a chair for his client, and Maddox took a seat. She raised her wrists as the corrections officer who escorted her—Officer Cavanaugh, same guy as yesterday—unlocked her handcuffs and then stepped back toward the doorway. The CO didn’t leave.

  Maddox rubbed her wrists. “Because I think you’re an asshole, Detective. Do you need me to be any clearer than that?” Her smile was sweet, a complete contradiction to her icy tone. “Bob, kindly tell the detective that if he doesn’t leave, the deal is off and I’m going back to my cell.”

  Borden looked at Torrance reproachfully. “Do you really need me to repeat that?”

  The detective’s alrea
dy mottled face turned a shade deeper, which Jerry wouldn’t have believed possible if he weren’t seeing it for himself. Danny was watching the whole awkward scene with huge eyes.

  Heaving a big sigh, Torrance headed for the door, which the CO opened for him.

  Danny spoke up. “Maybe I should go, too, so you guys can talk privately.” She made a move toward the door, but Maddox reached out and touched her arm.

  “No,” Maddox said, and Danny stopped. “That’s okay. You can stay.”

  Danny glanced uncertainly at Jerry. He shrugged and gestured for her to sit. She took the last remaining chair, which put her directly across from the inmate.

  “You gonna be okay here?” the CO asked, addressing Maddox.

  “I’m good, Mark, thank you.” The inmate flashed him a brief smile, and he left the room, the door locking behind him.

  Maddox appraised Danny thoughtfully but said nothing. Danny met her gaze with a nervous smile.

  “Did you bring the paperwork?” Bob Borden said, his steely eyes focused on Jerry.

  Jerry pushed the manila folder toward the attorney.

  Pulling a pair of reading glasses out of his breast pocket, Borden scanned through the documents quickly. He looked up, brows furrowed. “This isn’t as we discussed.”

  “That’s what they’re offering.”

  “The deal we discussed was immunity for all the murders, including the bodies found in Wolfe’s basement.”

  “The PA agreed to dismiss the murder charge for Diana St. Clair, and your client will be moved to a minimum security facility for the assault on me. No way the PA is going to agree to immunity on the other murders.” Jerry’s jaw was clenched. He hated everything about this deal, but there was nothing he could do about it. “I’d say that’s pretty sweet.”

  “I don’t understand,” Maddox said, addressing her attorney. “You said I’d get probation and time served for the assault, and you also said you’d make sure they couldn’t charge me with anything else. Now you’re telling me it’s just a prison transfer? It’s still prison. And they can still get me for the bodies in Ethan’s basement?” Her voice, normally soft and husky, was growing loud.

  “Yes, what’s the glitch?” Borden shot Jerry a glare. “What are we missing? You want her help with these new murders or not?”

  Jerry glared back at the man. “This is the deal they gave me to present to you. I’m not authorized to make changes. You want to whine to someone, call the prosecuting attorney. Sign it or don’t sign it, I don’t give a shit.”

  “I don’t want to spend any more time in jail, Bob,” Maddox said to her lawyer.

  “Shoulda thought of that before you cut my throat,” Jerry said before Borden could respond.

  Maddox turned back to him, silent for a moment. “I see,” she finally said. “So it’s you who wouldn’t agree to probation. You want me to stay in jail.”

  “Oh, come on.” Jerry finally met her gaze, ignoring the wild itch inside his collar. “We both know you’re an intelligent woman. So don’t sit there and pretend like you don’t know how much I despise you. Your future is of no interest to me.”

  “I think we’re remembering what happened that night differently.” Maddox’s voice was steady. “The night everything . . . happened.”

  “Nope. I remember it perfectly.” Jerry leaned forward. “I know you did those murders last year, okay? All of them. I don’t have proof, and neither does the prosecuting attorney yet, but I know you did them. Or at the very least, you helped Ethan cover them up. It’s the reason you tried to kill me. It’s the reason you ran.”

  She glanced up, as if checking to make sure none of this was being recorded. She didn’t have to worry. There were no cameras in here.

  “What can I do to change your mind?” she asked.

  “Not a goddamn thing.”

  Maddox leaned back in her chair and appraised him thoughtfully. “Wow. You really hate me.”

  “Yes. I really do.”

  She stared at him a moment longer, then said, “I’ll need a moment alone with my attorney.”

  Jerry nodded and he and Danny left the conference room. The CO, stationed outside the door, looked over at them curiously, and Jerry took Danny’s arm and maneuvered her a few feet away down the hallway. He didn’t trust Officer Cavanaugh, or Mark, as Maddox called him.

  He lowered his voice. “Listen, Danny, I have to ask. When you were a volunteer here, did you have any contact with Maddox?”

  His assistant blinked. “No, none.”

  “Why didn’t you mention last night or this morning that you used to volunteer here?”

  “Dude, I assumed you knew. Check my résumé if you still have it. It’s right on there.”

  Jerry rubbed his throat through his turtleneck. “She’s bad news, Danny.”

  “I know that—”

  “I mean it.” Jerry put his hands on Danny’s shoulders and turned her to face him. His assistant was petite, only five-four. He had a good foot on her and she had to crane her neck to look up into his face. “I know you find her fascinating, but Abby Maddox is a master manipulator, Danny. She was Ethan Wolfe’s girlfriend for eight years. She’s extremely good at getting what she wants. She’ll say whatever she has to say to get you on her side. Don’t get chummy, you hear me? And whatever you do, don’t turn your back to her. And for God’s sake, don’t trust her.”

  “I got it.” Danny seemed spooked by his intensity and she backed away slightly. “Honestly, Jerry, I got it.”

  The door to the conference room opened and they were called back inside.

  Once they were seated, Borden spoke. “Everything looks to be in order.”

  “Good.” Jerry kept the surprise out of his voice. He didn’t think in a million years Maddox would agree to the deal, but somehow, her lawyer had talked her into it. Wonders never ceased. “Then all your client has to do is put her signature at the bottom.”

  “Do you want to read it over?” Borden said to Maddox. “It’s fairly straightforward, but I can summarize each paragraph if you need me to.” Jerry couldn’t help but notice that the attorney’s tone was different when he spoke to his client. Gentler. Less authoritative.

  Maddox shook her head. “If you tell me it’s fine, Bob, then I’ll sign it right now.”

  Looking pleased, Borden took a silver-plated ball point pen out of his briefcase and placed it in front of her. “So you understand that you’re receiving immunity for any charges involving Diana St. Clair’s death in exchange for helping the police catch a murderer. If the information you provide leads to an arrest, you’ll be transferred to a minimum security prison for your current conviction, where you’ll serve out the remainder of your nine-year sentence for first-degree assault. However, with good behavior and a successful parole hearing, there’s no reason to think that you won’t be out in the next three years, since you’ve already served a year. You’ll still be a very young woman when you get out, Abby.”

  Maddox took the pen, scrawling her name at the bottom of the last page. Then she fixed her gaze on Jerry. “It’s not exactly how I hoped it would be, but I’m still grateful you helped make this happen, Jerry.”

  “Wasn’t up to me.”

  Maddox handed the silver pen back to Borden. “Thanks, Bob. You can go now.”

  The attorney was taken aback. “You sure? I can stay if you—”

  “We’ll be fine.” Her tone was dismissive. “It’s Sunday, Bob. Go play with your kids.”

  Borden’s face flushed, but he nodded and put the documents in his briefcase. “I’ll be in touch. Call me if you need anything.” He knocked on the door for the CO to let him out.

  When he was gone, Maddox leaned back in her chair. For somebody who’d just found out that she wasn’t getting out of prison anytime soon, she didn’t look too upset. If anything, she looked quite satisfied. An uneasy feeling settled over Jerry. It was as if she knew all along this would happen. As if her plans had come to fruition exactly as she’d expecte
d.

  He couldn’t shake the feeling he’d just been played.

  Maddox’s eyes danced over Jerry’s face. “So how was your trip to the cemetery? Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “We did. She was right where you said she would be.” Jerry cracked his knuckles. “You signed the deal. Now start talking.”

  Maddox folded her hands in front of her. “I’ve been getting letters from the killer. Not that I really believed he was the killer, until just now. People will say anything to get my attention.”

  Jerry waited for her to continue. Exasperated, he said, “Well? Are we going to see these letters?”

  “Bob told the CO to get them from my cell. They should be here in a few minutes.”

  “How many letters has he written you?”

  “Not sure. Maybe a few.”

  “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

  “What would I say?” Maddox looked irritated. “I get a lot of letters, Jerry. And all of my mail is checked before it gets to me, anyway. I have zero privacy here. You should be grateful I remembered anything at all.”

  “How do you know he’s the killer? Did he actually tell you where the body is buried?” Danny’s voice was surprisingly firm.

  Maddox turned to the younger woman. “There was a letter that mentioned Heavenly Rest. That stuck with me. And he said something about ‘three-ten’ being hidden there, which didn’t make sense until my lawyer told me that the bodies were numbered.”

  “Did you put that specific letter aside, at least?” Jerry said, cranky.

  “Well, that would be too easy now, wouldn’t it?” Maddox said with a wry smile. “Sorry. It’s in the pile with all the others.”

  The headache started in Jerry’s left temple. “Do you at least remember the guy’s name?”

  “Of course not.” Maddox frowned. “Come to think of it, I don’t know if he always signed the letters. But after a while I was able to recognize his writing style. I guess we’ll have to read through them all.”

  “How many letters we talking?”