by Tim Kizer
Or maybe Vera died in a car crash four years ago.
Hagan called Alice Cannon and told her that he hadn’t found Vera Garcia’s number in Andrew Walsh’s phone records.
“Did you check every number?” Alice asked.
“Yes. None of the owners of the numbers in his phone records looks like your sister.”
“Did you find any disposable numbers?”
“No.”
“Did you check if Walsh has more than one phone number?”
“He has only one number registered to him. I think he uses a disposable phone to communicate with Vera.”
“Can you find out the location of Walsh’s phone on the day of Melissa’s murder?”
“You think he helped Vera kill Melissa?”
“It’s possible.”
“Okay, I’ll get his geolocation records. By the way, I checked the phone records for the number you gave me yesterday. You’re the only person who’s been contacted from that number since its activation. This guy called you seven times. What did you talk about?”
“We talked about Melissa’s murder. He said he knew who killed her.”
It’s that pervert’s number.
Hagan realized why the disposable number Alice thought belonged to Andrew Walsh seemed familiar: it was the number of the pervert that had called Alice last month (Hagan now knew it wasn’t a pervert who had phoned her).
“Did he sound like Walsh?” he said.
“No, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t Walsh.”
“I checked the geolocation records, too. Some of the calls were made from San Jose.”
“Can you monitor this number in case he contacts Vera?”
“Yes. Why didn’t you tell me about these calls before?”
“He told me to keep my mouth shut. Stephen, would you do me another favor?”
“What is it?”
“There’s a man named Richard Swinson. I believe he might know where Vera lives. Can you send me his DMV picture? I have his address.”
“Does he live in California?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. What’s his address?”
Chapter 44
1
Some of Jeb’s calls had been made from San Jose.
Andrew Walsh was Jeb. Alice was sure of it now.
“Was it Hagan?” David asked when Alice put her phone on the coffee table.
“Yes.”
“Any good news?”
“No.”
Alice went back to mulling over the idea that had occurred to her shortly before Hagan’s call.
They could tell the Walshes that Bobby had died in an accident, and then catch Vera at the funeral.
Would Vera come to her son’s funeral?
She probably would. She might even give Justin Garcia a piece of her mind for letting their son die.
They would need Garcia’s help.
Alice told David her idea and asked what he thought about it.
“It might work,” David said.
For twenty minutes Alice thought about what she would say to Garcia, then she grabbed her phone and called Vera’s husband.
“Hi, Justin, it’s Alice.”
“Hi, Alice. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have five minutes?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Are the Walshes at your place?”
“No.”
“I need you to go to a place where no one can hear you. I have something important to tell you.”
“Okay.”
About ten seconds later Garcia said, “So what do you have to tell me?”
“Did you love Vera?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Do you miss her?”
“Yes.”
“Justin, Vera’s alive.”
“What do you mean?”
“Vera didn’t die in a car crash. She faked her death. She’s alive.”
“Faked her death? Why?”
“She had her reasons. Bad people were after her, and she decided to disappear.”
Tell me you know that Vera’s alive. Tell me you know where she lives.
“What kind of bad people?”
“Criminals.”
“Why were they after her?”
“I have no idea.”
“How do you know Vera staged her death?”
“I met her two weeks ago.”
“Where?”
“Pasadena.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“Yes. She wants you to do something for her.”
“What is it?”
“She believes Bobby’s life is in danger. She wants you to tell everyone that he died in an accident, and stage his funeral. I’ll help you.”
“Does she want to take Bobby with her?”
“I don’t know. She’ll meet you at the funeral and tell you her plan.”
“Can you ask Vera to call me?”
“I’ll ask her when she contacts me. Don’t tell anyone Vera’s alive, including the Walshes and Bobby.”
“Are those bad people still after her?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Maybe we should go to the police?”
“The police can’t protect Bobby.”
“Do you have Vera’s phone number or email address?”
“No.”
There was a long silence. Finally Garcia said, “When does she want me to stage Bobby’s funeral?”
“She’ll tell me next week.”
“Okay. Please don’t forget to ask her to call me.”
“Sure. Goodbye, Justin.”
“Goodbye.”
Alice hung up.
“That was good,” David said.
“Did I sound believable?”
“Yeah.”
2
Hagan emailed Richard Swinson’s DMV picture to Alice the next morning.
Swinson was not Kevin Munroe.
Alice decided that Bobby’s cause of death should be a fall from a cliff or a building. It would be a closed-casket funeral, of course. Hagan would help them get a fake death certificate.
They would hold a wake at the funeral home and a post-funeral reception at Garcia’s house. Hopefully, Vera would come to the wake and they would be able to end the show early.
Vera would probably wear a disguise, so they would have to scrutinize the face of every woman who came to the funeral.
When Alice got home, she ordered a battery-powered GPS tracker, which she was going to put on Andrew Walsh’s car the day Garcia told him about Bobby’s death.
Chapter 45
1
Hagan scanned the geolocation records for Andrew Walsh’s phone and saw that Walsh’s cell had not left San Jose on the day of Melissa’s murder.
From 9:03 a.m. to 5:08 p.m. Walsh’s phone had been connected to the cell tower on Norton Avenue and Meridian Avenue, which was about six miles from the cell tower nearest to Walsh’s house. It meant that Walsh hadn’t left his phone at home that day.
Hagan called Alice and told her that Walsh’s phone had been in San Jose on the day of Melissa’s murder.
“But that doesn’t prove he wasn’t in San Diego that day,” Alice said.
“I could ask his employer if he was at work on June twenty-seventh.”
“No, don’t do it. They’ll tell him. Do you know where he works?”
“No.”
“Can you find out for me?”
“Yes. By the way, did you talk to that Swinson guy?”
“I found out he doesn’t know Vera’s alive. So are you going to tap Andrew Walsh’s phone?”
“I haven’t decided yet. It’ll be a waste of time if he uses a burner phone to talk to Vera.”
“I have an idea. Vera has a six-year-old son. We could trick her into thinking that her son died and arrest her at his funeral. I’m sure she’ll come to her son’s funeral.”
“How are you going to trick Vera in
to thinking that her son died?”
“Her husband will tell the Walshes that his son died in an accident. He has agreed to help us.”
Hagan thought over Alice’s plan and found no holes in it.
“Who’ll pay for the funeral?” he asked.
“Vera’s husband and I. Can you help us get a death certificate?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll need at least four cops. You and your partner must stay away because Vera may know you’re detectives.”
“Okay. When do you want to do this?”
“Next week.”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
2
“Is he in?” David asked.
Alice nodded. “Yes.”
She felt nervous. They could use the funeral trick only once, so there was no room for error. Everything had to be planned meticulously.
Alice opened her laptop and googled “santa cruz funeral homes.” As she perused the website of the Santa Cruz Memorial Funeral Home, her phone rang. It was an unknown number.
Alice took the call. “Hello.”
“Hi, Alice,” a woman’s voice said. “Are you alone?”
“No.”
“Are you at David’s place?”
“Yes.”
“Go outside. Don’t hang up.”
“Who is this?”
“Your sister.”
Her heart racing, Alice got up and said to David, “I’ll be back in five minutes.”
When she walked out of the apartment, she said, “Are you Vera?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Your father told me you were dead.” Alice pushed the elevator button.
“Yeah, everybody thinks I’m dead.”
Vera knows I’m staying at David’s apartment. Has she been spying on me?
“Oh my God! I’m so glad you’re alive.”
Alice wanted to scream obscenities at Vera, but she realized that the best course of action was to pretend to be Vera’s friend and try to arrange a meeting.
The elevator doors slid open, Alice stepped in and punched the lobby button.
“How are you doing, sister?”
“I’m fine. Where are you?”
Was Vera waiting for her outside?
She should have taken her gun with her.
“I’m in L.A.”
“Let’s meet.”
“Okay. When would you like to meet?”
The elevator reached the lobby. Alice exited and headed for the front doors.
“Tonight. Any time you want.”
“Where?”
“Wherever it’s convenient for you.”
Alice went out of the building and looked around. There were a man and a woman standing on the sidewalk across the street, talking to each other.
“Can I ask you a question, Alice?”
“Sure.”
Vera might be watching her from one of the cars parked on the street.
“Are you sad Melissa’s dead?”
“Yes.”
“Were you sad when she died thirteen years ago?”
“Yes, I was.”
Alice started down the sidewalk, peering into the parked cars.
“She was stolen from you thirteen years ago, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, she was.”
“Who do you think stole her?”
“I don’t know.”
“The police suspect you of murdering Melissa, don’t they?”
“Yes. So where do you want to meet?”
Alice began checking the cars parked across the street from David’s apartment building.
“Do you feel miserable, Alice?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think the police will arrest you if they find Melissa’s blood in your car?”
Had Vera planted Melissa’s blood in her car?
“I don’t have Melissa’s blood in my car.”
“Don’t be so sure, sis. What if they find the murder weapon in your house?”
“Vera, let’s not talk about that.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how miserable do you feel?”
“Ten.”
That should make this bitch happy.
“You don’t want to go to prison, do you?”
“No, I don’t.”
“In the best-case scenario, you’ll get a life sentence.”
“Yes.” Burning with anger, Alice clenched her hand into a fist.
This bitch was gloating!
“You know why I called you?”
“No.”
“I want to help you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I can make you very happy, Alice. But I want you to do something for me first.”
“How can you help me?”
“Alice, your daughter’s alive.”
“What?”
“Melissa’s alive.”
“What do you mean?”
“The dead girl they thought was Melissa was someone else.”
“Who was she?”
“I don’t know.”
“What about the DNA? That girl’s DNA matched mine.”
“We switched the DNA samples.”
“Where is Melissa now?”
“She’s with me. Do you want to get her back?”
“Yes.”
Alice’s heart was thundering wildly in her chest.
Vera could be telling the truth.
Her precious daughter might be alive!
“I assume you want me to prove that Melissa’s alive.”
“Yes. Let me see her. Let me talk to her.”
“Do you know what Melissa looks like?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have Skype on your phone?”
“No.”
“Download it. Melissa will call you on Skype in an hour. Don’t tell David or the cops that Melissa’s alive. Don’t tell anyone she’s alive. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Can I meet her?”
Alice checked the time on her phone. It was 6:28.
“No. What’s your Skype username?”
“Alicecannonz.”
“I left a package for you in your car. Go get it. Bye, sis.” Vera hung up.
Alice rushed into David’s building and ran up the stairs to David’s floor.
“Who was it?” David asked when she came into the living room.
“My dad.”
Alice grabbed her tablet and purse. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
She found a large yellow envelope in the backseat of her car. She ripped it open, looked inside, and saw a cellphone, a USB cable, and a small flash drive. Alice figured the phone was a disposable. The cable fit the phone.
What was on the flash drive?
She would check its contents after she talked to Melissa.
Alice got in the backseat, switched on her tablet, and did a search for “free Skype video recorder.” She downloaded the first program in the search results, installed it, and then logged into Skype.
Chapter 46
1
What if Vera asked her to murder someone? Would she kill to get Melissa back?
She had failed to protect Melissa thirteen years ago, so she owed it to her to do anything and everything to save her now. Anything and everything.
At seven-twenty, Alice opened Melissa’s picture on her phone.
Had Melissa been deceived into believing that Vera was her birth mother?
Should she tell Melissa that she was her real birth mother?
At half past seven, Alice’s Skype rang. The caller’s username was unicorn999. Alice accepted the call and then tapped the Record button of the Skype video recording program.
A young woman in large dark sunglasses appeared on the Skype screen. Behind her was a bare white wall.
“Where are you?” she asked.
It was Vera.
“I’m in my car.”
Vera stood up, moved out of the camera’s range, and said, “Come here, honey.”
A flood of jo
y and relief swept over Alice when Melissa sat in the chair that had been vacated by Vera. She glanced at her daughter’s photo on her phone to make sure she’d identified the girl correctly.
Melissa wore a white T-shirt and pink shorts. She did not look terrified or glum; there were no signs of physical abuse on her face or arms.
“Hello.” Melissa smiled.
“Hi, Melissa. How are you?”
Vera probably didn’t let Melissa leave the house. Alice hoped the girl wasn’t chained to a bed and was treated with kindness.
“I’m fine.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“You’re Aunt Alice.”
Vera had told Melissa she was her biological mother.
“Did you do anything interesting today?”
“No. I just finished watching Conjuring 2.”
“You like horror movies?”
“Yes. Do you like horror movies?”
“No. I like comedies.”
Vera walked up to Melissa and said to her, “Let me talk to Aunt Alice, honey.”
“Okay.” Melissa got up and went away.
Vera sat in front of the camera. Alice heard a door close.
“What do you want me to do?” Alice said.
“Did you open the package?” Vera asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“Switch on the phone and keep it on at all times. Use the cable to charge it.”
Alice turned on the disposable phone and showed it to Vera.
“I’ll call you in ten minutes,” Vera said, and terminated the call.
Alice put the tablet down on the seat, climbed out of the car, and took a deep breath.
Melissa was alive. It hadn’t been a dream, she had really seen Melissa, she had really spoken with her.
Her beautiful daughter was alive, and they would soon be reunited.
Alice felt tears welling up in her eyes.
2
Nine minutes after the Skype call, Alice got back in her car. Three minutes later, the disposable phone rang.
“Hello,” she said.
“Are you alone?” Vera asked.
“Yes.”
“There was a flash drive in the envelope. Did you see it?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Do you know where your boyfriend, David, works?”
“Yes.”
“He works at STS Industries. Have you ever been to his office?”
“No.”
“I want you to go to David’s office and plug the flash drive into his work computer for ninety seconds.”
