A Weapon of Choice

by Jennifer L. Jennings

  She nodded slowly. “I think I figured out what my mom wanted to talk to me about on the night she died. She wanted to tell me the truth about her past because she was planning on writing about it in her book.”

  I paused. “Does this have anything to do with Gregory?” I asked.

  “No,” she said. “This happened long before she met Gregory. Long before I was even born.”

  I figured it must be about the abortions that Melanie had when she was just a teenager.

  Candice stared at her hands. They were shaking. “I guess I can understand why my mom never wanted to tell me about Aunt Shelly. But I still can’t believe she was going to write about it in her book.”

  I froze. “What?”

  Candice sighed. “Aunt Shelly got into a lot of trouble when she was younger. She was promiscuous, had two abortions, and she made my mother promise not to tell anyone, not even their parents. Mom has felt guilty about it her whole life.”

  When I glanced at Carter, he returned my gaze with a taut expression. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. When I looked at Candice, she seemed lost in her own troubled world.

  “Candice,” I said, getting her attention. “I should probably tell you something. You’re aunt lied to me. She told me it was your mother who had the abortions.”

  Candice shook her head in disbelief. “So, what does this mean?”

  “Maybe your mom has resented her all these years because she knew that Shelly was a fraud. Maybe she wanted to expose her. Think about it. Shelly is ensconced in the church community. If the truth got out about the abortions, can you imagine the ridicule she’d receive from the parishioners of her church? In some religions, abortion is the equivalent of murder.”

  Candice had that blank stare of a person in shock. “What do we do now?”

  I said, “We need to prove that Shelly convinced Derek to poison her sister. Does your aunt have a laptop?”

  “Yes.”

  Carter abruptly got to his feet. “If you’ll allow me, I can do a quick search and see what turns up.”

  She bit her lip, thinking it over. Finally, she said, “Okay. Her bedroom is upstairs. Do it quickly please as she’ll be home from work soon.”

  Carter disappeared and I put a gentle hand on Candice’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head. “I should have known there was a reason why Aunt Shelly was being so nice to me after my mom died. She never seemed to have much interest in me before. Inviting me to come live with her, it was all because she wanted to keep me in her control.”

  “It never occurred to me until now, but maybe Shelly was the one who deleted all the files on your mom’s laptop after you came to live with her. She could have easily done that while you were in the shower or otherwise occupied. The thing I can’t figure out is how she convinced Derek to poison the joint. Does your aunt know the Dunaway’s? They’re a wealthy couple who donate millions of dollars to charities.”

  Candice looked at me. “Aunt Shelly works for them.”

  My brain almost exploded. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. She goes there a few times a week, takes care of the old guy. He’s practically on his death bed.”

  Finally, all the pieces started to fall into place. Shelly had mentioned days ago that she worked as a caretaker, but we never bothered to ask whom she worked for. She could have somehow convinced Alfred Donahue to make a donation for Raul, but why would she do that unless it benefited her in some way.

  When Carter came down the stairs and into the kitchen, he said, “I looked everywhere. I couldn’t find a laptop, but I did find this.” He held up a take out menu for Papa Johns Pizza.

  It clicked. “That’s where Derek works,” I said.

  The distinct sound of the garage door opening made Candice stiffen. I followed her gaze out the window toward the street. An old green Subaru inched its way into the garage.

  Of course, it was the same green Subaru parked at the Donahue’s home.

  I turned to Candice whose face had gone completely white. She was frozen in place, like a statue. “What do we do now?”

  I glanced at Carter and said, “I have an idea. Just go along with it, okay?”

  He gave me that look, but said nothing more.

  When Aunt Shelly walked into the kitchen, she seemed a little surprised to see us. “Don’t let me interrupt your meeting,” she said. “I’m just going to head upstairs and change my clothes. It’s been a long day.”

  “By the way,” I said to Shelly. “We have some good news.”

  She stopped and raised an eyebrow. “Really? What is it?”

  “Carter and I found out who poisoned your sister. It wasn’t Jasmine.”

  Shelly blinked a few times, then finally said, “Oh? Then who was it?”

  “Derek Thompson,” I said.

  “Who is he?”

  “Raul’s younger brother,” I said. “Jasmine helped us put it together. When we went to his home to confront him, he took off. He was in a near fatal car accident.”

  She stared at me. “Will he be okay?”

  “Yes. He’s very lucky. He’s at the hospital now recovering from his injuries under police supervision. I just got a call from one of the detectives and apparently Derek has made a full confession. I don’t have all the details yet, but it looks like he has implicated someone as the mastermind behind the poisoning.”

  Shelly swallowed hard. “Has he said a name?”

  “Yes, but the police haven’t released that information yet. We’re heading over to the hospital right now to find out. Would you like to come with us?”

  A long pause. “Why don’t I meet you over there in a little while. I’d like to take a quick shower and change my clothes first.”

  “We can wait for you,” I said.

  She waved a hand. “Don’t be silly. This is exciting news. Don’t let me keep you. Go on over there, and I’ll meet you shortly.”

  “Okay,” I said. “We’ll see you over there.”

  I took Candice by the arm and led her out the door. She never once looked at her aunt.

  We didn’t head to the hospital. We drove down the street a block, turned the car around, and parked. We had a clear shot of Shelly’s house while we waited. Ten minutes went by.

  “Do you think she bought my story,” I asked Carter.

  “Of course she did,” he said. “You were very convincing.”

  I could take no pride in the compliment, especially when Candice was sitting in the back seat, trying to deal with the reality that her aunt was probably responsible for her mother’s death.

  But we still weren’t sure about that.

  At least, not until we saw the taxi pull up in front of Shelly’s house.

  Carter pointed. “Looks like your plan worked.”

  I let out a gasp when I saw Shelly dash out the front door with a small suitcase. She quickly got into the back seat of the cab, and they took off.

  I wanted to scream with joy, but I kept it inside. This might have been a victory for me and Carter, but not for the girl sitting behind me.

  “Where do you suppose she’s going?” Carter asked.

  “As far away from here as possible, I suspect.”

  I glanced into the back seat, where Candice sobbed quietly. I wanted to say something to ease her pain, but what could I say? She’d wanted to know the truth about her mother’s death.

  And sometimes the truth sucks.

  We followed the taxi to Boston’s Logan International Airport where Shelly got dropped off at the international terminal. She disappeared into the crowd, never to be seen again.

  There was no point in calling the cops. They couldn’t arrest her because without some hard evidence to prove that she conspired to kill her sister, she was free to go.

  Derek was dead. He couldn’t rat her out. The only hope we had left was to find something in Shelly’s laptop or phone records connecting her to Derek and the poisoning. Even if we did, ch
ances were it wouldn’t be enough to inspire the FBI to put her on the most wanted list.

  “She’ll be on the run for the rest of her life, looking over her shoulder,” I said. “I can’t imagine she’ll ever come back now. Even when she finds out that Derek is dead and that I lied about his confession.”

  “Does the punishment fit the crime?” Carter asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Probably not.”

  We went back to Shelly’s house and found her laptop in the Subaru. Carter took his time with it at the kitchen table, and what he discovered in her search history was the incriminating evidence we’d hoped for.

  Weeks before Melanie’s death, Shelly had Googled websites on easily attainable poisons. She’d visited a website with instructions on how to lace a joint. Through her research, Shelly had visited numerous sites about water hemlock.

  “The internet is a wonderful yet frightening thing,” I said to Carter. “It’s probably one of the worst weapons out there for crazy people like Shelly. Knowledge is power, and not always in a good way.”

  “She also has a program,” Carter said. “Similar to one we use for our business. Type in a person’s name and you get their criminal history. She was doing her own background checks on Jasmine, Raul, and Derek. When she saw that Derek had a rap sheet, she probably figured he was the most likely candidate to go along with her plan.”

  “Okay,” I said. “But how did she contact him?”

  Carter said, “My guess? Shelly didn’t go to their apartment to convince Jasmine to stop selling weed to her sister. She wanted to assess their situation. When she saw how sick Raul was, how desperate they were for money, she probably figured one of them would jump at the chance to help her.”

  “So, I think it’s safe to assume that Shelly found out where Derek worked. She ordered a pizza from Papa John’s and when Derek came to the house to deliver it, she made him a deal he couldn’t refuse. All Derek had to do was make the poisoned joint, then switch it out with Melanie’s while Jasmine wasn’t looking.”

  It all made sense. But I still couldn’t believe that Derek would let Jasmine go to jail for it. Then I realized what would have happened. “If Derek came forward and confessed, he would have gone to jail for a long time with his criminal record. Maybe twenty years or more.”

  “He was desperate to save his brother,” Carter said. “He probably figured it was his only chance to do something before it was too late. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not justifying his decision, just trying to understand it.”

  “So, how did Shelly convince her employer to donate the fifty grand for Raul’s cancer treatment?”

  “Well, Shelly could have easily manipulated the old man. Either that, or she signed off on the transaction without his knowledge. We could go back, talk to the Dunaway’s and try to find out, but I don’t think it’s worth upsetting them at this point. Shelly probably isn’t coming back anytime soon.”

  I checked my watch. 7:30pm. “We need to take Shelly’s laptop to the police as soon as possible. I think this might be enough to convince a judge to let Jasmine go free.”

  “Let’s not get our hopes up.”

  Chapter 33

  One week later

  When Candice called me this morning and offered to buy me lunch, we made plans to meet at the Hometown Diner at noon.

  As I sat in my favorite lumpy booth, waiting for her to arrive, it occurred to me how much I’d miss this place.

  Carter and I had spent countless hours at this very booth, discussing whatever case we were working on at the time. I could recall many of those conversations and it made me a little sad.

  When Candice arrived, I stood up to give her a hug. After a long embrace, it seemed as if she didn’t want to let go.

  Finally, she pulled away and I saw tears in her eyes.

  “How are you doing?” I asked her, squeezing her hand.

  “Taking it one day at a time.”

  Once we were seated across from each other, I could hardly wait for her to fill me in on what had transpired over the past week.

  She said, “Jasmine was released yesterday. She’s finally home with Raul.”

  A sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful news.”

  “It’s bittersweet, I guess. Derek’s funeral is next week but at least Raul will have his wife by his side.”

  I took a sip of my coffee and waited for Candice to go on. I could tell by the strained look on her face that the next topic would be difficult to talk about.

  “So,” she said, trying to lighten her tone. “Aunt Shelly bought a ticket to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The FBI has been notified, but it does not seem to be a priority. The DA is talking about charges of conspiracy to commit murder, but what can they do if Shelly is out of the country?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Have you considered going to Argentina to find her?”

  Candice chuckled. “Why bother? I never want to see that woman again. No, I’m going to leave this up to the experts. Let the justice system deal with her. I have an important project I’m working on.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “I had a conversation with Greta Stone the other day. I asked her if she’d still be interested in publishing my mother’s book.”

  “How?”

  “I want to take my mother’s notes and complete what she’d started. She was very passionate about her work. But now I can also expose Aunt Shelly for who she really is.”

  I could feel myself getting choked up. “Really, Candice? That’s a great idea. Your mom would be so proud. And her death will not be in vain. You also must be feeling good that you helped get an innocent woman out of jail. Jasmine should be thanking her lucky stars that you believed her.”

  Candace nodded. “Yeah. At least now she can take care of her husband and get back to having a life. Did I mention that they invited me over for dinner tonight?”

  “No, but that’s wonderful. I assume you’re going.”

  “Yeah, I’m going.”

  “Good for you.”

  Candice grasped my hand on the table. “Anyway, I want to thank you and Carter for everything you did for me. You guys are so awesome. Maybe someday, I’ll write a book about you two. I’ll call it, The Dream Team. Or maybe, The Dynamic Duo.”

  I laughed, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Carter and I wouldn’t be a team for much longer. “Whatever you decide to do with your life, I’m sure you’ll be amazing, Candice.”

  * * *

  When I drove home after lunch, I walked up to my apartment to find Carter standing by my door. I hadn’t spoken to him for several days and for a minute I thought maybe I’d forgotten that we’d made plans.

  “Hey,” I said to him. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  I saw something in his eyes I’d never seen before. A mixture of sadness, fear, and something else I couldn’t put my finger on. And then I noticed the envelope in his hand.

  I pointed to it. “What’s that?”

  He folded the envelope and slipped it into his back pocket. “It’s nothing,” he said. “I changed my mind.”

  I studied his face for a long time, wondering what could possibly be going on in his head. “You wanna come in for a beer and talk?”

  He nodded.

  Carter sat at my kitchen table, grasped the Corona in one hand, and looked at me hesitantly. “I have a confession to make,” he said.

  I waited.

  He took a sip of beer, wiped his mouth, and said, “I’ve known about California for weeks now.”

  I paused. “How could you have known? The only person I told a few weeks ago was Jackie.”

  Carter shrugged. “I overheard you talking to Max on your phone one day. I filled in the blanks.”

  “You were eavesdropping?”

  “I can’t help it. I’ve been a detective a long time and I guess its just part of what I do. I can’t turn it off.”

  I didn’t know how to reply, mostly because I still didn’t know what he was
trying to say. Finally, I just uttered, “I guess I understand.”

  “No, Sarah,” he said, intently. “I don’t think you do. The prospect of you leaving … it’s turned my world upside down.”

  His words knocked me off balance for a second and then it dawned on me. Carter’s weight loss, his distraction, it wasn’t because he was sick. He’d been worried about me moving away.

  “Then why did you act as if you didn’t care? It really hurt my feelings.”

  “That’s all it was,” he said. “An act.”

  “Why?”

  He pushed his beer aside and reached into his back pocket for the envelope. He handed it to me. “Maybe you should read my letter.”

  “Why don’t you read it to me.”

  He bit his lower lip, unfolded the sheet of paper, and looked at it for a long time. Finally, he cleared his throat and began. “Sarah, I know you think I’m a jaded and guarded man, but there are reasons for that. Maybe it’s because of my daughter and my failed marriage, or maybe it’s because I’ve been in the game for too long, but what we do … what we see, can harden a man’s heart. It’s easy in the beginning to think we’re going to help save the world from the evil out there. That we’ll make any difference at all. Truth is, I had arrived at a point in my life where I was doing my job on autopilot, working for a paycheck and caring very little about the outcome. That is, until you came along. When I met you, it was like starting from scratch, with a renewed purpose. Not only for the work, but also in my personal life. Your enthusiasm and,yes, even your naiveté has reminded me why I got into this work in the first place. You care deeply for others and give people hope. You may think I have taught you how to become a good private detective, but you’ve taught me something even more valuable. I’ve learned that I need to open my heart and believe that good people still exist. People like you. You’ve made it possible for me to care about you so completely, that your happiness is more important than my own…. ”

  Carter stopped abruptly and placed the letter on the table with a sigh. He looked at me and said, “Look Sarah, what I’m trying to say is if you need to go and be with Max, I’ll give you my blessing. But the truth is, I desperately want you to stay.” He paused as a faint smile appeared on his face. “And just so you know, if Max wants to fight me for you, I’m pretty sure I can kick his ass.”