“OK then, back to work.” Colm picked up a notepad. “I’ve made some notes here, and if I’m right, there’s more than a few that would have reason to want Kallita out of the way. Her husband for one, but there’s a couple right here in this complex who had good motive to do her harm.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, look here,” he showed her his notes. “There’s Jim Roberts and Audri Seavers who live right here and your boss, Frieda Gerst.”
“Yes, they all knew her, but so did everybody in this town. And I talked to Jim, he told me he didn’t know her personally, but Audri says differently. She says he not only knew her, but that he and his wife were close to Kallita and her husband. Why would he lie? Audri knew her from when she lived here in the condos, but Kallita also did the books for the condo corporation, so I think she knew Kallita better than she lets on. What could they possibly have against her?”
Emily spent the next hour telling Colm everything she had learnt from Audri.
“There’s decidedly more here than meets the eye. I think I need to talk to all of these people.”
“You mean we, don’t you?”
Colm was impressed with Emily’s investigative efforts. According to the paperwork on the table, she had discovered more in twenty-four hours than professional investigators had in months. Some of the information was in the papers, but Emily had put a new slant on things. He sank back into the sofa. Rubbing his eyes, he yawned, and looking at Emily, he thought for a moment.
“It’s getting late, and my brain is beginning to freeze. There must be something in here that ties all these people together. When Kallita disappeared, each of these people, and more, were questioned. The thing is, Dan Clifford did the investigation. He was the lead on this case, and he let it go—after only a couple of weeks.” A nasty thought entered his mind.
“You didn’t answer me,” Emily insisted. Colm pretended not to hear.
“It’s all here in these papers. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I found that purse in the tip out in our parking lot. He must have thrown it in there, but why? Why would a thirty-year Sergeant in the OPP throw away what could be evidence in a twenty-five-year-old unsolved missing person case? Something is wrong, and I fear the deeper we dig, the more dirt we’ll uncover.”
Colm was overcome by a foreboding sense of dread. In all probability, Kallita was dead, and that someone named in the pile of papers on the coffee table was the killer.
“Dan had a reason for throwing this away,” he pointed at the purse on the table. “If we pursue this, I’m afraid it could get dangerous.” He took Emily’s hands in his. Looking deep into her azure blue eyes, his heartbeat harder as the thought hit him. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
Emily had to force herself to breathe. Mesmerized by his gaze, she stammered, “Me neither, but what can we do?”
“We—can’t do anything. I—on the other hand—have to. You have brought me a mystery that needs solving, and now I have no choice.” Colm looked down at his feet, shaking his head. “I can’t let you take any kind of risk. I think I should go.” He began to gather up his papers. “I promise, when I find out what happened, I will let you know.”
His words sickened Emily. Her euphoria at Colm’s presence and his willingness to help her evaporated instantly, leaving an emptiness in the pit of her stomach. She liked this man, and she wanted to see him again. It was too early to know if the feelings she was experiencing were real or was it simple infatuation, but she was determined to find out, and if that meant she had to push the issue with him, she would.
“I want to help.” She crossed her arms, a pout formed on her lips. “And I’m going to, with or without you or your help. I found that purse, and I’m the one who started this whole thing. I will see it through. Trouble’s your middle name! Well, mine’s danger.” She glared at him in defiance. Colm almost laughed. She looked like a little girl testing her father to get her own way. He thought for a moment.
“I’m sorry. Please understand, I can’t let you. If anything bad were to happen—well—I just can’t let it. Like I said, I’ll keep you in the loop, but that’s the best I can do. Besides, my badge can get me into places that you can’t go.”
He grabbed his file folder and the purse and walked to the door. Emily followed him out, still pissed at his decision. She stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the light from inside the house. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but as he turned to say goodnight she shut the door in his face. Emily watched as Colm shuffled his way slowly to his car. She could see that he was disappointed at her reaction. Nevertheless, she would be part of this investigation with or without his blessing, and she knew exactly what she would do next. Retrieving her phone from the coffee table, she dialled a friend she was sure would help her.
“Hello, Julie? It’s Emily, I know it’s late but would you be able to come over tonight? I’ve got a story to tell you, and I know you will be interested.”
* * *
Colm’s mind focused almost entirely on the events of the evening. The drive home was automatic. Pulling into the parking lot at his apartment complex, he could barely remember the short journey from Emily’s condo. In his mind, he could still see Emily’s silhouette in the window. At least she was watching you Colm old son; maybe you haven’t screwed that up for good and all. He gathered up his paperwork and the purse and walked the thirty meters to the apartment entrance. He had a lot to think about, and Dan Clifford was at the top of his list.
* * *
Julie Meadows couldn’t suppress her excitement. There hadn’t been this much dirt to write about in years. My editor’s going to have a baby when he sees this. Fifteen hundred words aren’t enough. I will have to write a follow-up.
* * *
Stepping up to his door was not quite as daunting this time. She pressed hard on the doorbell.
“Well, twice in one week, now there’s a record for you. What brings you back here, Emily? Don’t tell me you found Kallita and returned her purse.”
“Good morning Jim. No, I’m sure you know I didn’t. May I come in for a minute? I want to ask you some questions.” She stepped into the doorway, not waiting for an invite.
“Sure. I guess so.” Jim stepped aside to let her through. “What kind of questions? I was just about to have my coffee. Can I interest you in one?”
She really didn’t want one, but to be polite, she accepted. She sat in Jim’s chair without invitation.
Jim glanced at her, uttering a low chuckle. “Make yourself at home. How do you take your coffee?”
“Black, one sugar, please, Jim.”
Jim placed the steaming mug on the table and took the seat on the opposite side of the table. Emily was impressed to see the kitchen all clean and tidy. A stark contrast to their previous encounter.
“So what questions then? How can I help you today?”
Emily sipped at her coffee. “Umm, coffee’s quite good, Jim, thanks. I spoke with Audri yesterday. I’m not sure how to ask. Oh, hell, why did you tell me you didn’t know Kallita? Audri tells me that you and she go back a long way. That you were great friends with her husband, and you knew each other very well.”
“Frankly, it’s none of your business. You took me by surprise with that purse, and all, and it brought up a lot of nasty memories for me. Memories I’d sooner forget. I lied to you in the hope that I’d never have to hear that bitch’s name again. It was too much to hope for, I know, but there it is.”
“Yes, I can see your point, but Jim, I don’t know you or any of the history here. I don’t understand why you couldn’t tell me you knew her. You must have known I might find out.”
“I did it because I didn’t want to have this conversation we’re having right now. Because the next question you’re going to ask is what happened between us? I don’t want to discuss it. Here’s the way I see it. Kallita disappeared. Everyone lives happily ever after. End of story. If I tell you my story, then it goes like this: Kal
lita wrecked my marriage, she goes missing, they never find her, police accuse me of something terrible, my life is screwed, my marriage is ruined, the story never ends, and maybe, I go to jail. I like my version better.”
“From what I’ve learnt so far, there are a lot of people who might have motive to do Kallita harm. Not just you. I should tell you that the police are looking into this again, and I think they may want to speak with you.”
“Ah, Jesus! Now, you see! That’s exactly what no one wants to happen. Kallita’s dead. She must be otherwise, why hasn’t anyone heard from her? So why dig her up now? Too many lives are going to get screwed over because of this, Emily. I think you’ve started something that has the potential of going nuclear.”
Jim hadn’t touched his coffee. He sat, pulling at the fingers of his right hand as though he was trying to ease a phantom pain. What could he possibly be afraid of?
“Please, Jim, if you can tell me what happened so I can understand, I promise it won’t go any further. Er—you didn’t kill her—did you?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but she had to ask.
Jim placed his hands flat on the table, drumming his fingers against the surface as he thought it through. Finally, he looked up and locked eyes with Emily.
“Drink your coffee. This is going to take a while. I’m going to tell you some things nobody knows.”
Chapter 10
Senior Constable Stan Worthington liked working Saturdays. Weekends around the detachment offices were quiet. It was a good time to catch up on paperwork, or, as in Stan’s case, read a book; which was why he didn’t notice Colm’s car enter the parking lot. However, when Colm presented his card at the door, the system logged the event sending a message to Stan’s computer showing the date and time of entry, as well as the card holder’s name. Stan scanned the monitor and returned to his book. He didn’t see the warning appear on the screen.
Thirty minutes later, Colm walked out, scanning his card again sending another signal to Stan’s computer showing the ‘request to exit’ message. The flashing notice ballooned toward him as though it would leap off the screen and devour him. NOTIFY SGT. CLIFFORD IMMEDIATELY OF ACCESS GRANTED!
“Oh, shit!” Stan stared at the monitor covering the parking lot. It was too late! Colm’s car was leaving. He snatched the phone from its cradle and dialled Clifford.
“Dan, I’m sorry man, I think I screwed up. You wanted to know if Colm came into the detachment this morning. I didn’t see the note on the system until it was too late. He left two minutes ago. Man, I’m sorry. Do you want me to have Dispatch stop him?”
“No, never mind—”Stan heard a muffled curse—“If he comes back, I want to know ten minutes before he gets there, do you understand?”
“Yes, sir! No problem. If I see him again, you’ll be notified right away—” The line was dead before Stan could finish. Just another sixteen months of this shit and they can stuff all the Staff Sergeants up their asses.
* * *
Two names had cropped up within the reports on Kallita’s disappearance. It struck Colm as odd that the brothers of Roy Prewitt had been questioned but not to any great extent. Before he spoke to Roy, he wanted to talk to the brothers. His six years of experience as an inspector with the An Garda Síochána in Ireland told him that most often, the family knows more than they are willing to acknowledge. He also knew that time has a way of loosening tongues. Michael and Alan Prewitt might offer insight to their brother that Dan Clifford failed to extract.
Heading south out of town twenty minutes later, he pulled into the gravel driveway of Alan Prewitt’s home on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Stepping out of his car, swarms of little midge-like flies immediately assailed his bare skin. He raced up the steps of Alan’s back deck and rushed to the door, eager to get away from the hungry little beasties.
The view from Alan’s deck was breathtaking. The blue water of the lake glistened in the sun. In the distance, a lake freighter ploughed its way west toward Lake Erie. I could easily spend the rest of the day here if it weren’t for these bloody flies. The door opened as he was about to knock. An older man, Colm judged him to be in his late fifties, stood in the entryway. He was tall, balding in the centre of his scalp, about two hundred and thirty pounds, and needed a shave.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, I hope so.” Colm presented his badge to the man, waving the flies away as he did so. “I’m Detective Sergeant Colm O’Byrne with the OPP. I’m looking for Alan Prewitt. Might you be him?”
“Yep, that’s right. What’s this all about?”
Colm sensed reluctance in the man’s tone.
“This isn’t about that old assault charge. The judge ruled that as self-defence,” said Alan.
“No, no.” And now he understood. Colm hadn’t found anything untoward about Alan in Kallita’s files. “Nothing like that. I’m after looking into an old cold case. The disappearance of Kallita Prewitt. Your sister-in-law, I believe.”
The blood drained from Alan’s face, and he lost his balance. Finally, regaining his composure, the colour returning to his face, he opened the screen door for the detective.
“Please come inside. The black-flies are murder today.”
* * *
Alan led Colm up a short flight of stairs, through his kitchen and into the dining room.
“Please, have a seat.” Alan pulled a chair out from the ancient oak dining suite dominating the centre of the room and offered it to Colm.
“Thank you.” Colm sat facing a large bay window that looked out over the back yard offering a panoramic view of the lake. “That’s a grand view, I could get used to that in a hurry.”
“Yes, it never gets old for me. Every day is different in some ways.”
“Well, it’s pretty, I’ll say that.”
“It can get pretty ugly at times when the weather is bad.” Alan fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt.
“I’ll get to it then shall I?” Colm sensed Alan’s impatience. “What can you tell me about your brother’s wife?”
“Why? Have you found her?”
“I understand Kallita has been missing a long time. Her case was never closed. It just went cold.”
“OK, so what’s caused it to heat up again?”
“Someone has found some items belonging to Kallita and has turned them in. We think it warrants a follow-up, and so, we’ve re-opened the case. It’s enough to make us want to dig a little deeper. And no, Kallita has not been found. We’re hopeful that this new evidence will lead us to her.”
“Someone? Who? Found what?”
‘I’m not at liberty to say who or what at this time. Nevertheless, it is enough to warrant some additional investigation. What can you tell me about her?” Colm flipped open his notepad.
Alan sat silent. Sensing his reluctance to respond, Colm pushed.
“Mr. Prewitt, please don’t try to guess where I’m going with this. All I want from you is the truth as you know it. I’m not here to point fingers at anyone, and frankly, my Sergeant wants me to wrap this up quickly. So please, just say what’s on your mind, and I will take it from there.”
“Kallita was a purebred bitch. I’m happy she disappeared. I don’t know what happened to her, and I don’t care. Ask anybody over fifty in this town, and they’ll tell you the same thing. She did the world a favour the day she left, and if she’s smart, she will never come back.” Alan sat back, teetering on the back legs of the chair, making the oak creak as he rocked back and forth. “She wrecked our relationship with Roy.”
Colm smiled inwardly. Just keep talking, and we’ll get to it. He had Alan right where he wanted him.
“How’s that? What do you mean she ruined your relationship? You’re brothers, after all.”
“Do you know what a cuckold is?”
This was new. None of the reports mentioned extramarital affairs. “Yes, of course, I know. Are you saying that Kallita was cheating on Roy?”
“You have to be keeping it a secret
for it to be cheating. Yeah, she was playing around on him. He wouldn’t believe it, but it was true. More to the point, though, she dominated him so badly that he couldn’t even visit his own parents. In eight years of marriage, he was only allowed to spend time with Mike and me once, on my birthday, and that ended badly. We argued, and I never spoke to him again until after that bitch vanished.”
Alan’s face flushed as his memories brought back the anger. His hands balled into fists, and his teeth clenched as he spoke. Finally, he caught himself and began to relax.
“What do you think happened to her?” Colm hoped he would speculate freely. Very often, people with knowledge of a crime will want to tell you their secrets. He figured that Alan wasn’t one to seek attention, but once it found him, he would respond to it positively.
“What do I think, or what do I hope? I think she simply got fed up with her life, maybe found a boyfriend with a bit of money and simply pissed off. I hope she’s dead. And I hope it was cruel and agonizing, because that bitch made everybody suffer. A quick death would be an injustice. There, I said it. If she had a grave, I’d dance on it, but first, I’d piss all over it. Does that tell you what I think?”
Colm smiled. “I see. One more thing. It’s obvious you didn’t like her, but why did you argue with Roy on your birthday?”
“We’d gone out to Benny’s Bar for a couple of beers. We were going to play a bit of pool and have a few laughs. You know, three brothers having a bit of fun. She couldn’t let it end at that. She wound up calling him home on an ‘emergency’; it was all bullshit, and when I called him on it, it went downhill from there. One thing about that day. Kallita’s ex—her first husband—was there at the next table. Roy accused me of setting him up, but I swear it was totally coincidental. Roy had words with him, and the ex left. It was after that that we argued.”
“When was that? Your birthday is in—” Colm flipped through his notes—“Ah here, August, right?”
Kill Her Twice Page 7
