CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Kent Perry checked back in at the station where the break-out had occurred. The information he had wanted earlier was ready. Looking at the picture of the girl named Jennifer, he wondered why she would want to get mixed up with a guy like Dominick Maxwell. She was a very pretty girl. Kent felt sorry for her. She was in deep right now and she didn’t deserve to be. Maybe they could get her a plea bargain.
Kent took the photograph to the officers that had been involved in the breakout. Both of them positively identified her. He didn’t want to, but he had a warrant issued for her arrest along with a new warrant for Maxwell. She had definitely committed a crime now. She was a criminal and she’d have to pay.
The information on the Cadillac also came back. It was not imperative anymore since they knew the subjects had switched vehicles. Nevertheless, Kent contacted the registered owner of the vehicle to find out if it was a stolen vehicle. He was actually surprised to find out that it wasn’t stolen. The man he talked to told him that someone had bought it from him for cash. Kent asked him to describe the buyer and he did. It had to be Maxwell.
The information on Butch was sketchy. He had no permanent address listed anywhere. They had found his girlfriend earlier when she had come in to try and bail him out. It was too late, because he had already escaped. She knew nothing about the situation, or so she said. Butch had not come to see her at all. She promised when she left that if she heard from him at all, she would contact the police.
Kent had a warrant issued for Butch’s arrest and assigned a plainclothes officer to watch his girlfriend’s house. Not that he really cared about this guy. He just wanted to find Maxwell and Jennifer Capstan.
Kent could not believe how obsessed he had become with this case. It was everything to him. He couldn’t think about anything or anyone else. He took it personally.
He was confused about that too. He didn’t know why he couldn’t approach this case with the same professional impartiality and detachment that he did with all of the other cases before this. He didn’t know the victim. He didn’t know the murderer. He had no attachments to this case whatsoever. For some reason though, he was compelled to seek and destroy.
Kent made a phone call to Jennifer’s parents to let them know the serious trouble their daughter was in. He was hoping that they would give him some information that would help. Jennifer’s father answered the phone and Kent talked to him for half an hour. Her dad was shocked at the news of what she had done. Together, they could find no reason for Jenny running off like she did with this guy.
Kent was silent for a minute. Finally he spoke. “It really seems as if she left with him because of some attraction. What I can’t figure out is how he drew her into his web so completely that she committed crimes for him.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Perry. You don’t know my daughter like I know her. She is an excellent judge of character and is also very honest and true, not only to herself, but to others. Are you sure that this Maxwell guy really killed his sister?”
“His sister told us herself that it was him, Mr. Capstan.”
“Still, there must be some mistake. Maybe she was still in shock. My daughter just wouldn’t run off with a murderer. She has never broken the law in her life, until now, but she wouldn’t risk going to jail for just anybody. She would not commit a crime to help somebody unless they were totally innocent and it was an emergency situation. Jenny just would not let it happen the way you said.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Sir,” Kent said. “I’m just telling you the facts. Are you sure that you don’t know where they might be?”
“Like I said, I’ll call you if I hear from her,” Jennifer’s dad said.
“Thank you, Mr. Capstan. I’ll let you know when we find her. Thanks for the information.”
“Sure,” he replied. “Thanks for calling.”
Kent hung up the phone and replayed the conversation in his head. Something didn’t make sense. Jenny’s dad was really sure about his daughter, yet circumstances were still what they were. Somewhere, there was a piece of the puzzle missing and Kent didn’t know where or what it was. He was beginning to realize that this was not as cut and dry as it originally appeared.
Still, he had no doubt that Dominick Maxwell had killed Nina Dyer, and he had to find him. If more information came out during the trial, fine, but he knew he was right. He needed to finish this thing. He couldn’t, however, figure out how to find them. He needed a starting point.
Kent Perry picked up the phone and made a call. A few minutes later, as he finished his call and hung up, he smiled to himself. Within an hour, Mr. and Mrs. Capstan would have a tap on their phone line. It was a start.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Jenny woke to the sound of screaming. For a second, she was incoherent and confused. She didn’t know where she was or what was going on.
After a few seconds, she remembered, and realized it was Dom who was screaming. She turned over to face him, grabbed his shoulder, and shook him. His screaming stopped and he awakened, but Jenny noticed that he was shaking. The look in his eyes was enough to tell her that he must have had one hell of a bad dream.
After a few seconds, relief flushed over his face as he realized it was only a dream. Dom reached for Jenny and pulled her tight. Jenny didn’t say anything, she just laid still in his arms. After a while, Jenny noticed that his heart had slowed down. She had to ask.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “These dreams I have been having are a little too off the wall and vivid for me. I don’t know why I’m having them, but I have a feeling that they have something to do with Nina’s death. They also seem to be connected with Mom’s, Dad’s, and Phillip’s death. I just can’t figure out what they mean.”
Jenny comforted him. “What happened in this dream?”
“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked cautiously. “It involves you this time.”
Jenny had a surprised look on her face. Finally, she said “I wasn’t expecting you to say that, but if I’m going to try to help you, I have to know what it was about.”
Dom remained silent for a few more minutes. Finally he spoke. “I was walking through a cemetery.”
Jenny waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.
“Go on,” she prodded.
Dom had a pained look in his eyes. “I was reading the headstones. I was not there for any particular reason; I was just taking a stroll. I happened upon a very pretty headstone. The prettiest one I had ever seen. I was curious as to whom the much loved, but unfortunate soul was that was laid to rest there. You can imagine my shock when I read your name there, with the year of death being this year.”
A tear slid down his face and fell onto the bed.
“Is that it?” Jenny asked.
Dom shook his head no.
“Tell me the rest of it,” she pleaded. “I can handle it.”
Dom looked miserable, but finally he resumed his story. “I remember my shock, pain, dismay, and anger at seeing your name on that headstone. I wondered how anyone could have ever hurt you. I wondered how anyone as special as you could be dead, why it was you and not me, for I would gladly give my life for you.”
There was another long pause. The room was fairly dark, shadows being cast by the faint moonlight flowing through the closed window. Jenny could see most of Dom’s face. He was struggling with this. He was definitely in pain. Jenny felt badly for him.
Again, Dom resumed his story, this time on his own; this time without prodding. “As I stood and wept over your grave, my view of the scene changed and no longer was I standing over your grave, but I stood in the distance and watched another version of myself stand over your grave, crying. One moment, I was there feeling the pain of losing you, crying over you, and the next, I was feeling the pain of seeing myself crying over your death. As I watched from my new viewpoint, the earth below started to move beneath my feet. Not where I stood, b
ut the feet of the Dom that was standing over your grave. From my position as observer, I could feel no ground movement whatsoever. As I watched in amazement, the ground opened and you floated out of the vast chasm of the opening. You wore what appeared to be a beautiful white satin wedding dress. You looked remarkably good for being dead and buried, but the front of your dress was soaked in blood. You hovered over the gaping hole in the ground, as if standing on air. As I watched myself watch you in amazement, you spoke. It was your voice, your soft, warm, gentle, caring voice. But it no longer contained love for me like it does now. I watched and listened as the conversation transpired, as you told the other version of me that you could not believe what I had done to you. You told me that you had believed in me, that you had supported me. You told me that all along you knew that I never killed Nina or anyone else in my family. Then you told me that you could not believe how wrong you were about me. How I was the devil in disguise, how I came off as the innocent victim, but in reality, I was a cold-blooded murderer. Lastly, you told me that you had loved me, had given your life to me and I had betrayed that love, betrayed your trust and had taken your life in a display of such violence the likes of which you had never seen before.”
Dom collapsed on the bed and wept. It was too much for him to handle. Jenny was in total shock over the dream. She wasn’t a dream analyst, so she had no idea what it meant, but it didn’t look good. Holding him, she smoothed his hair back with her hand and continued to stroke his head as if he were a cat.
Finally, he spoke again. “Do you think that maybe I lead a double life and I get up in the middle of the night and kill people? Maybe I have a disorder and when I wake up, I don’t remember any of it.”
Jenny shook her head. “You would find some clues on you like blood or something.”
“But what if I did go out and do these things and I was a compulsive murderer, covering up my tracks while I was in this fugue, only to awaken the next day, having no clue as to the events of the previous night. What if I’m a cold-blooded murderer?”
“You’re not!” Jenny loudly reaffirmed.
“But how do you explain Nina telling the cops that it was me? Nina loved me. She wouldn’t say that unless she had a really good reason.”
“She was in shock. She was mistaken, that’s all.”
“But how do you know?” Dom asked. “How can you be so damn sure?”
“I know you,” she replied.
“But not that well and obviously, I don’t know myself, so how can you say you know me?”
Jenny was getting exasperated. “Listen, damn it, I just know! I don’t know how I’m going to prove that to you, but I will. Just give it a chance. I’m in this thing for the long run and I don’t care if you did do it, I’m still going to stick by you.”
Dom looked scared. “But what happens if I hurt you? My dream scares me. I love you too much. I would rather have you go away and never see you again then have you die and for me to be responsible for it. Maybe you should go.”
Jenny shook her head. “Wrong answer, Bub. I am staying, so deal with it.”
Knowing that he could not change her mind, Dom nodded. “Just be careful, okay? I can’t handle one more person dying. Especially not you.”
“No problem,” she said. “I have no intentions of dying just yet. I have too much to live for and I just found you. I’m going to put off dying for another sixty years or so!”
He managed a slight smile even though his heart wasn’t in it. He hoped she was right. He didn’t feel like a killer and he didn’t think he was capable of taking another person’s life.
“Do you want to go into town and get some food?” he asked.
“Sure,” Jenny answered. “I’m hungry, let’s go.”
Dom and Jenny went out to the truck and got inside. He was careful to look around and make sure that there was no harm waiting for them anywhere. He knew he was being paranoid, but he had reason to be. The way was clear and uneventful and he started the truck and headed into town.
He thought back to his dream as they rode in silence. The dreams kept getting more vivid and cruel each time. He couldn’t figure out what they meant and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He was sure however, that the dreams were leading up to a climax. Of this he was extremely sure. He knew that it was just a matter of time before hell confronted him and he had to prepare himself. Time was ticking away and Dom knew the explosion was going to be intense.
Eventually, the lights of the city came into view, scattered sparsely over the city floor. They descended the hill, unsure about everything except the hunger in their stomachs. The moon filtered softly through the trees, casting a soft glow onto the hood of the truck. Steadily, they made their way to the city that awaited them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Dom and Jenny parked the truck at the local grocery store and went inside to shop. She got a shopping cart since they needed to stock the cabin. They would be there awhile.
Dom pushed the cart around the store while Jenny filled it up with all of the things that they would need. Occasionally, he would see something he wanted and put it in the cart. When they got to the pop section, Jenny went over to the Mountain Dew and grabbed two twelve-packs.
“Would my baby like these?” she played.
He gave a quick smile, but Jenny could tell that his mind was elsewhere. “Thanks Hon,” he replied. “I appreciate it.”
Jenny went over to the cart and put the Dew into it. Walking over to Dom, she put her arms around him. He returned the hug and they embraced for a couple of seconds. When she finally pulled away, she looked into Dom’s eyes and squeezed his hand.
“Baby, it’s going to be okay, one way or another,” she said sympathetically. “Just keep your chin up and remember you still have me.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” he asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, irritated.
“I’m just wondering how long it will be before I kill you,” he stated flatly as he looked at his shoes.
“Damn it, Dom!” she said, raising her voice. “I told you. You are not a killer.”
“Yeah, well I’m still not convinced,” he returned stubbornly. “You have no way of knowing.”
“Yes I do,” she said firmly. Dom could tell that he was pissing her off.
“How do you know?” he challenged.
“You’re forgetting I’m a woman!” she triumphantly stated.
“Sorry Babe, that doesn’t hold water this time. You’ll have to do better than that.”
“Fine,” she said with defeat. “I give up. Think what you want. Just remember that I love you.”
“I’ll remember,” he said. “I love you too, and very much!”
They finished their shopping in silence. As they neared the checkout counter, Dom said, “Thanks for getting me the Dew, Jenny.”
Jenny smiled and gave him a “you’re welcome” hug.
The line at the register was fairly short and they made it through swiftly. Dom paid for the groceries and they pushed the cart out and parked it next to the truck. He unloaded the cart and Jenny started the truck for Dom.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, the lights that illuminated the parking spaces went out as well as the exterior signs for the store. The lot was thrown into extreme darkness with only moonlight casting down upon it. It gave Dom an eerie feeling, but he didn’t say anything to Jenny for fear that she would get upset at him.
“They must have forgotten to pay their electric bill,” Jenny joked.
“Looks like it,” he answered.
The drive back to the cabin was also uneventful. When they got there, Dom unloaded the truck and Jenny put away the groceries. Since they had been eating a lot of fast food in the last two days, she wanted to cook something good for them for dinner.
Dom came into the kitchen after the truck was emptied out and tried to help Jenny with dinner. She chased him out and told him to relax and watch TV. When he insisted, she refused.
Defeated, he went and flipped through the channels while Jenny made dinner.
Forty-five minutes later, Jenny came out and told him that dinner was ready. He shut off the TV and went into the dining area. He couldn’t remember what he had been watching. Obviously, his mind wasn’t on his viewing.
As he sat down, he voiced his amazement at the dinner that Jenny had prepared. There was steak and mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a tossed green salad. Dom forgot about their troubles for a moment and focused on the food.
“This looks and smells absolutely wonderful, Jenny. Thank you! I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now.”
“You’re very welcome, my sweets,” she replied. “I hope you like it.”
“I know I will,” he said.
They began to eat and Jenny watched as Dom devoured his food in record time. She could tell he liked it by the way he ate. Jenny was pleased. After dinner, he seemed to be a different man. He was cheerful and smiling.
“I’m going to do the dishes really quick, Jen. Why don’t you go and watch TV until I join you?” Dom suggested.
“I’ll help you,” she volunteered.
“No way!” he firmly stated. “You made dinner and made me sit in there until you were done, now it’s your turn to relax while I clean up.”
“Yeah, but …”
“No buts,” he interrupted. “But speaking of that, you have a really nice one!”
Jenny smiled. “Well alllllllllllrighty then!” she said, imitating Jim Carrey in his Ace Ventura role. “Call me if you need me, and by the way, don’t look at my butt unless you have a dollar to give me!”
“Brat!” Dom said, throwing the dishtowel at her as she ran into the living room. “And don’t come back unless you’re naked!”
“Fat chance, Buster!” she called from the living room. “That would cost you ten bucks!”
“Sounds like a bargain to me,” he yelled back, laughing.
Dom heard Jenny switch on the TV and he opened the dishwasher. Looking around the kitchen, he could not believe all of the dishes. He wondered what he had gotten himself into.
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