PENITENCE: An Andi Comstock Supernatural Mystery, Book 2 (95,893 words)

by Ann Simas

  According to Clem, his wife was so strong, she rarely cried. Apparently, he had never considered how she might react to his death, or the allegation that she’d cheated on him. Choosing her words carefully, Andi explained who she was, where she worked, and what she encountered on a daily basis when she sat at her computer.

  Denise stared at her as if she were some whack job just released from a mental hospital. Andi couldn’t blame her. Wouldn’t she react the same way, if their roles had been reversed? Hadn’t she had a hard time dealing with the Smokies in the beginning? And if she were being honest, she still had difficulty with whatever phenomenon it was that had made her the one who could hear dead people.

  The doorbell rang. Stacy righted Denise’s chair and forced her to sit. “I’ll get the door. Be right back.”

  She returned with Vaughn close behind her.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said to Andi. “Kid issues.” His gaze moved on to Denise, whose expression was a cross between shock and disbelief. “I’m guessing that right about now, Denise either wants to throw you out on your arse or use a butcher knife on you.”

  Denise raised stunned eyes on him. “You believe this madness?”

  Vaughn rounded the table and squatted beside her, taking both her hands in his. “I can’t speak to whether or not you were having an affair, Denise, but—”

  “I wasn’t!”

  “But,” he went on, as if she hadn’t interrupted, “I do believe what Andi’s told you.” He swallowed hard, as if trying to get his emotions under control. “I’ll tell you why.”

  . . .

  Denise led Andi, Stacy, and Vaughn into Clem’s office, then went upstairs to see if she could locate the burner phone in the bureau. She returned several minutes later, looking a little shell-shocked as she handed it and his smartphone over to Stacy, who passed both to Andi. “Honestly, I’m surprised it was there. Clem was constantly misplacing his phone. The fact that he could keep track of two of them astonishes me.”

  Denise and Vaughn sat in the two leather chairs facing the desk while Stacy began a methodical search of the desk and file cabinet. Andi took Clem’s laptop and both phones over to a small table near the window where a chess board was set up. She moved it to make room for the laptop.

  She tackled the disposable phone first, transcribing the text messages between Clem and The Liquidator. An hour later, Stacy came up dry in her search, but Andi, with Denise’s assistance on possible passwords, managed to get into both Clem’s smartphone and his email account. There were only two related texts on the smartphone, but nearly a month earlier, he’d exchanged several emails with The Liquidator. The week before his death, he received one last email, which had instructed him to buy a throw-away phone.

  Andi made a note of the IP address. Maybe, just maybe, the police could track this contract killer down before he got close to Denise.

  “What now?” Denise asked, her eyes on Andi.

  Clem’s widow had gone from tearfully wringing her hands to being royally pissed off. Who could blame her? No woman wants to know her husband, dead or alive, hired someone to kill her. Especially over a bogus assumption.

  Andi looked to Stacy for guidance. Technically, this was her show, after all.

  “First things first,” the LT said, her tone crisp and cop-like again. “Clem gave the hitman a window of opportunity to complete the hit. We’ll do everything we can to make certain you’re not only safe during that period, but inaccessible, as well.” She went on to relay the dates from the summary page Andi had given her.

  Denise looked doubtful. “You really think if this Liquidator person can’t kill me before February eighth, I’ll be free and clear?”

  “We’ll make every effort to ensure your safety, but obviously, I don’t know what’s going on in the hitman’s head, which means I can’t predict every contingency.”

  “So, basically, you’re saying this is a crap shoot.” Denise popped up out of her chair and stalked toward the window, even though the blinds were drawn. “I can’t live the rest of my life in fear, looking over my shoulder whenever I leave the house!”

  “Let me back up a minute. Every date Clem gave the hitman coincided with something he had calendared that would provide him with an alibi. The first date was next Wednesday, January twenty-seventh, and the last date was Monday, February eighth. However, he subsequently told Andi that his preferred kill date was February third, which was his birthday.”

  Denise winced at the kill date part of Stacy’s statement, but her voice was strong when she spoke. “Despite the fact that I loved Clem, he had a bit of a puffed-up ego and a tiny mean streak, and from the tone of the texts and email, I’m betting on the February third date. If his birthday was going to be miserable, he’d want me to suffer right along with him.” She paced the room, ending up beside Stacy at the desk. “You still haven’t answered my question. What happens if you manage to keep me alive until February ninth? Will he still come after me?”

  Andi decided to put in her two-bits worth. “If I may?”

  Stacy nodded, looking slightly relieved. Andi wondered if maybe the LT should recuse herself from the investigation.

  “What if, acting like I’m Clem, I text The Liquidator and tell him I’ve changed my mind? That I want the contract cancelled? Tell him to keep the money and keep on truckin’?”

  “That’s a great idea, Andi!” Stacy said. “Do it.”

  Andi activated the burner phone and used her thumbs to type in the message. She kept it short and in the style Clem had used on previous occasions.

  Changed mind. Discovered wife not

  cheating. Contract cancelled. You keep

  down payment. cn

  She hit SEND.

  “Do you think he’ll answer immediately?” Vaughn asked, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.

  “Let’s hope so,” Andi said, even as the phone pinged. She read the incoming reply with dismay.

  nice try, lady. read your husband died.

  pyt in full already made. no-cancellation

  contract.

  “What does he mean, ‘no-cancellation contract’?” Denise said, her voice almost a shriek. “I thought you said Clem only made a down payment.”

  “He did,” Andi said, distressed. “Either your husband lied or I guess it’s possible, being in the state he’s in, he doesn’t remember the payment details correctly.”

  “You make is sound like he’s just traumatized,” the widow said, her tone accusatory. “For God’s sake, he’s dead! Who knows how that affects a person’s mind?”

  Andi nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to minimize his condition. Each time he talks to me, I can tell he’s pretty rattled over this.” Her glance swept over the other three in the room. “To be honest, I just don’t know enough about how this talking-and-thinking-when-they’re-dead thing works.”

  “If it’s the same as when you’re alive,” Stacy said, “you may think of something days or weeks later. When they’re traumatized, it happens like that with witnesses all the time.”

  Denise threw up her arms. “Great! Clem’s sentenced me to death and I have to sit around and wait for it to happen. I swear to God, if he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself right now.”

  She continued to pace the room, her anger so palpable, Andi expected to see red smoke pouring out of her ears at any minute.

  Denise came to a sudden halt in front of Andi. “I want to be there next time you talk to Clem. Maybe I can help jog his memory, or something.”

  “You can’t come in where I work,” Andi said. “No one there knows about…well, you know.”

  Denise glared down at her, then resumed pacing.

  “One thing we could do,” Andi said, her brain on overload, “is have coffee at Java Josie’s. We could dress warm and sit on the patio. I can communicate anywhere on the block. It doesn’t have to be in the building.”

  Denise swung around. “Really?”

  She had such hope in her eyes
, Andi hated to deflate her. “I can’t guarantee that he’ll speak to me on demand, but I could try.”

  “Now?”

  “No, Josie’s closes at nine, but we can meet there tomorrow.”

  “What time? When does Clem talk to you?”

  “Never at the same time, and remember, I can’t guarantee that he’ll show up.”

  “A snipe hunt,” Denise mumbled.

  Andi shook her head. “Not really. Even if he doesn’t show up then, he will later.”

  “I should meet you there,” Stacy said.

  Andi and Denise both looked at her. “Why?” Denise asked.

  “Because,” Stacy said, her tone wry, “I’m a cop and this is my case.”

  Andi’s phone rang. She knew it was Father Riley from the church bells tone. She excused herself and went to the living room to take the call. “Hi, any luck?”

  “He said he never knew the killer by any other name than The Liquidator,” the priest responded.

  “Hell fire and damnation,” Andi said.

  “Not quite, but all may not be lost, Andi. He said he knew a guy, who knew a guy, who might be able to help us.”

  “Are all these guys inmates?”

  “Two of them are. He told me to expect a phone call in two or three days.”

  “So maybe by Monday.”

  “Maybe. How’s it going with the widow?”

  “About like you’d expect.” She gave him a quick overview of the evening. “We’re going to meet at Java Josie’s tomorrow and hope Clem comes out to play.”

  “Speaking of play, since The Liquidator is answering texts, it might well be worth it to tell him to make sure he’s not going to pull the trigger when the kids are around.”

  “I don’t know if it’ll do any good, since he said he knows Clem died, but I’ll give it a try. The thing that disturbs me most now is him saying that he’s been paid in full and that he has a no-cancellation contract. There’s nothing in the emails or texts that says the contract couldn’t be cancelled, and Clem even told me it could be. If the hitman really received full payment, why not cancel if the person who paid him is dead?”

  “Good question. Hopefully, Clem can give you the answer.”

  She drew a deep, frustrated breath. “No kidding. I’ll check in with you tomorrow and let you know how things are progressing.”

  “I look forward to it. In the meantime, I’m going to be saying some extra prayers for Denise and her children.”

  “It couldn’t hurt and I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Hold on…Vaughn’s giving me hand signals. I think he wants to talk to you.” She handed the phone over and went back to Clem’s office. She said to Denise and Stacy, “Father Riley suggested that I text The Liquidator again and tell him to keep the kids out of this.”

  Denise gasped, a horrified expression on her face. “Dear God, surely he wouldn’t…not when Aria and Christian are nearby!”

  Stacy began to pace. “Father Riley is right. Do it, Andi.”

  Andi picked up the burner phone and input another text. The response came back quickly.

  i don’t kill kids, but i don’t leave witnesses, either.

  Andi debated reading the response aloud, but Denise interrupted her deliberation when she yanked the phone out of Andi’s hand. She read the reply and began to hyperventilate.

  Stacy ran off to the kitchen to try and find a lunch sack, returning moments later with a large plastic baggie. She yanked open a desk drawer and withdrew a pair scissors, which she used to snip off the lock band across the top. She gathered it about two inches down and handed it over for Denise to grasp. “Breathe in and out. Try to go slow.”

  Vaughn came in, saw what was happening, and left the room. He returned with a glass of water. Denise’s color began to return to normal. She put the bag aside and reached for the water.

  “Did Clem even think about our children?” she asked, enraged.

  “He’s frantic about them,” Andi said. “He never intended for them to be hurt or to witness you being killed.” She put a hand on Denise’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “The way I see this is that Clem was madly in love with you. When he thought you’d cheated on him, he went berserk—if he couldn’t have you, no one would. He didn’t think things through and he couldn’t bring himself to confront you about what you were doing when you were gone in the evenings.” Andi shook her head. “He never once considered how it would affect the children to be without you.”

  Denise mulled that over, her face a study in anger. “So the man who made millions thinking turned into a pea-brained jackass because he was too fucking proud to confront me.” She hurled the glass across the room. It left a trail of water in its wake before it shattered against the wall.

  “Denise,” Vaughn said, “I know this sucks, but you have to get control of your emotions. You’ve got Aria and Christian to think about. Your first priority has to be how you’re going to keep them out of the line of fire.”

  Vaughn’s graphic comment was the magic wand that dissipated Denise’s anger at Clem and replaced it with stark-raving fear for her children. “Ohmygod, you’re right! They can’t be around me. They….” Her eyes darted frantically around the room. “They’ll have to stay with their grandparents.” Her eyes welled again with tears, which she blinked frantically to dispel. “If he kills me, that means…I may never get to see my babies again.”

  “It’s not going to come to that,” Stacy said.

  Denise railed at her. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  “She’s not,” Andi said in defense of the LT. “We’re going to find this guy. Bank on it.”

  She could almost feel Denise’s panic deflate. Conversely, her own qualms increased.

  Chapter 9

  Stacy remainedbehind with Denise, intending to stay the night, if need be, to offer her sister’s best friend support and police protection all rolled into one.

  Vaughn walked Andi to her car. “You doing okay?”

  “I’m so damned frustrated!” Andi said. “You do realize, if he read about Clem’s death, that he’s here, right?”

  “I gathered that, yes.”

  “He may even live here.”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Do you think he’ll stick to the schedule and not do anything before Wednesday?”

  Vaughn lifted a shoulder. “I did some digging on the ’net after I talked to you. Apparently, hitmen have a code of honor, both among themselves and with their clients. If they have a contract for a certain date and time, they adhere to it. If they say they’re going to kill Person X, they don’t leave a scratch on Person Y, standing right beside them.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, maybe it’s just me being paranoid or suspicious or whatever, but something’s hinky about his last reply.”

  Andi couldn’t control the shiver that coursed through her. “Funny you should say that, because I’ve got a bad feeling about it, too.” She leaned against her car, peering up at one small cloudless spot in the night sky that framed a few stars. “If what you say is true, and The Liquidator has his own twisted code of ethics, why would he make a statement like ‘I don’t leave witnesses behind, either’?”

  Vaughn followed the direction of Andi’s gaze. “Consider this. What if the person who’s responding is not The Liquidator?”

  Andi’s startled eyes locked with Vaughn’s. “How could that be?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe he’s busy elsewhere and can’t make the hit in the window stipulated, so he hires a sub to do the work. Someone local.”

  Andi frowned. “That seems like a far reach, and if you’re right about the hitmen having a code of ethics, wouldn’t that be an unforgivable breach?”

  “I suppose.” Vaughn blew out a loud sigh. “One thing I know for certain, though, is that Denise has got to make sure her kids aren’t around until after February eighth.”

  “She should probably hire a bodyguard, too.” Andi chewed her bottom lip. “Do you think she has the money
for that?”

  “I’d say so. Clem had a strong financial statement, if what he told me about his business and his investments was true.”

  “That was smart of you to suggest she get an alarm installed, and to activate it, even when she’s in the house.”

  He hesitated. “A savvy hitman can probably bypass any alarm she has installed.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded and said, “Hell, I probably could.”

  “That’s comforting.”

  “Look, why don’t I drop by and pick up Denise in the morning and drive her down to meet you? I can have a talk with her about what kind of system she needs to install and hiring an armed security firm to keep tabs on her.”

  “While I appreciate the offer, I don’t think you should be hanging out with her in public places while she has a bull’s-eye on her. Remember what The Liquidator said about not leaving any witnesses? You have four little kids at home who need you, Vaughn. You’re the only parent they have now.” In the glow of the amber street light, Andi read his shocked expression.

  “You’re right, of course. It’s just that…well, dammit, there are so many parallels here between Sherry’s murder and the contract Clem put out on Denise. I feel like I should do something, but I suppose there really isn’t anything I can do.”

  “Sure there is.” Andi pushed away from her vehicle.

  “What?”

  She used the key fob to open the door locks. “Come with me when I meet Denise at her in-laws’ house. I’m going to ask Father Riley to be there, too.”

  Vaughn opened the car door for her. “You need reinforcements when you tell them about Clem talking to you and what he’s done.”

  “So to speak. It may be easier for them to grasp if someone who’s already experienced a similar incident can confirm that I’m not a lunatic.”

  “Incident. That seems like a pretty tame way to describe it.”

  “I know, but I couldn’t think of any other descriptive that fit.”

  “I can think of a couple, but I don’t want to shock you.”