by Carsen Taite
Playing in the dank cellar as a child had been fun, but now Ellen wished she’d never known the place. Dark, cold, and completely spooky. Like Sarah’s hurried instructions on the phone. It had been clear she wasn’t supposed to ask questions and that scared her the most. Doing what she was told without question had never been one of her strong suits, a fact long lamented by her mother. Vivian Davenport specialized in ordering people around, and Ellen and her father had been the primary subjects of her mother’s control. Ellen had spent her youth testing the boundaries of her mother’s patience. It wasn’t until she went off to college that Vivian became the supreme enforcer. “You will not now, nor will you ever do anything to besmirch the family’s good name at university,” She relished using words like besmirch. “I have a reputation and you must uphold it. You will be a lady of Alpha Nu and you will be the best Alpha Nu there has ever been. If not, you’ll be cut off.”
She should’ve taken her up on it, since she’d been cut off in one way or another since she’d been born. An only child, her most intimate relationships had been the ones she’d had with a progression of nannies, all of whom wound up being deemed unsatisfactory. Her child’s brain recalled no problems with any of them, but her adult mind reasoned her mother’s jealousy was probably the reason for the firings. Bill Davenport always went out of his way to balance his wife’s harsh demeanor by being especially nice to the help. Ellen often wondered if he realized he cost many of them their jobs.
Doubtful. Bill Davenport had sailed through life, the absent-minded law professor, living on his wife’s money. The only price he had to pay was devotion to her causes and dutiful attendance at all her society events. He’d lived his life this way until last year when Vivian was diagnosed, and then he cut all ties. He took a transfer to a university in Chicago and left with nothing more than the clothes on his back. No explanation, no apologies.
Her relationship with her parents had never been close, but losing both of them at the same time—one to a void, the other to distance, left Ellen lonelier than she cared to admit. Her solution had been to dive into work and her mother’s care. Her friends and co-workers noticed the change and thought she was paying short shrift to her personal life, but she knew the truth. Relationships weren’t all they were cracked up to be. If she was doomed to the same fate as her parents, then she was better off never getting involved with anyone in the first place.
Which made her think of Danny. Would Danny come to her rescue with Sarah, or had she washed her hands of her? She couldn’t blame her if she chose to stay away after the stupid things she’d said. This was a mistake. Last night hadn’t been a mistake, not in the least. Being with Danny had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. And potentially the most risky. She surveyed her surroundings. Risky in more ways than one considering she was hiding out in a dark cellar waiting for a team of police officers to come rescue her.
It hadn’t taken her too long to figure out what was going on. The flowers. Danny hadn’t even responded when she’d mentioned the roses. She assumed they were from her, but that was silly really. Danny rushes off to work, but takes the time to call a florist on a Sunday morning to have roses delivered, right away? With a note, even though she’d already left a note. And of course they were white roses. Ellen pulled up the mental image of Danny receiving a white rose from Angela at the mixer. They’d been smiling, almost flirty. She’d wanted to rip the rose from Danny’s hand and shove it down Angela’s throat. She’d been so excited to get a whole vase of the flowers from Danny she’d completely forgotten the recent warnings about strangers posing as flower deliverymen.
But there had been no deliveryman. She mentally retraced her steps. She’d walked out on the porch and tripped over the vase, breaking it in the process. She’d gone back inside to get a broom, walked back out, swept up the mess, gathered the flowers, and gone back inside where she’d read the card. She’d contemplated the message, then reached for the phone to call Danny when Jill rang. At least thirty minutes had passed from the time she’d discovered the flowers to the time she had spoken with Danny and not a single suspicious thing had happened during that time. The news warnings about flower deliveries had implied that the man making the deliveries might be dangerous, but it didn’t appear the man had stuck around her place to do any harm. If he had, where was he? Was he watching her? How long had he been there? Had he strategically waited until Danny left?
Where was Danny now? Ellen stared at her cell phone, willing Danny to call her, tell her everything was okay, that the scare had been a false alarm. Fear aside, they would talk, figure out what last night meant. Where they would go from here. She couldn’t wait any longer. She started typing a text, but got no further than “Are you here?” before a loud crash froze her fingers.
*
The drive to Ellen’s place had taken forever. Danny didn’t have the benefit of lights and sirens in her civilian pickup. When she finally reached the house, half the street was already blocked off. She left her truck parked at an angle and rushed toward the scene, badge in hand. The uniform posted at the farthest point raised a hand to stop her, but then quickly waved her in once he realized she was from the DA’s office.
“Where’s Agent Flores?” Danny barked at the patrol officer.
“She’s inside. They went in a minute ago.”
Danny considered her options. It was one thing to show up at a scene where a crime had already happened and that had been cleared, but she knew she wouldn’t be welcome inside the house right now. Her appearance could cause confusion if they were still searching for the sick fuck who’d delivered the flowers. She pictured Sarah and George leading a team of guys in flak jackets, guns drawn. No, she’d have to wait it out. Even sending a text to Ellen was too risky. What if she’d left the sound on on her phone? A simple ping signaling a text message could be enough to get her killed.
She paced the street outside Ellen’s house. Back and forth, back and forth. The uniform cops stationed outside stared, but she ignored them. They couldn’t possibly understand that the woman she’d made love to last night was somewhere in that house, scared and in danger. They would judge if they knew. She’d lost what little professional distance she’d had and she was in full-fledged panic mode. When Ellen emerged safe and sound, she would have to deal with her own breach in protocol, but for now, she wore out the pavement with her worry.
“Soto!”
Danny swung around and almost smashed into Sarah. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
“Whoa, there, Counselor. Hold up a minute.”
Danny pushed against Sarah’s arms. “Let me by or tell me what’s going on!”
Sarah grabbed her by the arm and steered her over to one of the patrol cars parked in front of the house. She opened the door and pushed her into the passenger seat.
Danny seethed, but Sarah wasn’t giving her any space to get away. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Keeping you from making a fool of yourself. What do you think’s going to happen if you run in the house and find Ellen? You going to sweep her up in a big hug, maybe give her a just married style kiss?”
Danny’s shoulders sagged as she realized the truth in Sarah’s words. She’d been about to make a foolish display of public affection that could jeopardize her job and embarrass Ellen. Sarah had saved her, but had she saved Ellen?
As if she could read her mind, Sarah said, “She’s fine. Scared, but fine.”
Danny sighed and shook the tension out of her shoulders. “Anything?” She relied on Sarah to understand her shorthand.
“Nothing. The flowers were placed on the front porch, in a vase, sometime this morning.”
“Had to be after seven.”
Sarah nodded, no judgment in her eyes. “She saved the card, but I doubt we’ll get anything off of it.”
“I need to see her.”
“She’s talking to George and Peter right now. They need to talk to her while the details are fresh in her mind.”
Danny heard an undercurrent of caution. “You’re not going to let me see her are you?”
“I need to talk to you first.”
“Spill.”
“She may not be everything she seems.”
“I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean.”
“Did she tell you this is her mother’s house?”
“She may have mentioned it used to belong to her parents. You have something against people who live with their parents?”
“Her mother is an Alpha Nu alum. In the same age range as our other victims. Same class as Marty Lawson.”
Danny considered Sarah’s words. Ellen had mentioned her mother. Or Sophia had at the mixer. Neither of them had mentioned she was Alpha Nu and Danny hadn’t read anything into the exchange. Looking back, she realized if she hadn’t been so wrapped up in Ellen, she might have asked more questions. “So what? Maybe she didn’t want to make a big deal of it.”
“Oh, she went to great lengths not to make a big deal of it. Yesterday, one of the detectives who was questioning alumnae found out about Vivian Davenport, who these women described as one of the most active Alpha Nus around. Peter checked the database that Ellen gave us, and guess what? She’s not listed.”
Danny racked her brain for a plausible explanation. What had Ellen said? Some members chose not to register and pay alumnae dues. “And you imply what from that?”
“Wouldn’t mean much if the database hadn’t been altered.”
“Altered?”
“Vivian Davenport’s name and contact information had been changed. Want to guess when?”
Danny fought to remain calm. “When were you planning to tell me about this?”
Silence.
“You weren’t planning on telling me, were you?”
Sarah cleared her throat. “Eventually. Just needed a little more time to sort out the facts. Our bad guy showing up on your girlfriend’s doorstep kinda got in the way.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“No? Well, I bet you wish she was. Seriously, Danny, I’m only trying to protect you and this case. How’s it going to look if we miss clues because you’re sleeping with a key witness?”
“She wasn’t a key witness until this morning. I even talked to George about it last night. He confirmed that it didn’t appear sorority members were involved in the killings in any way other than as victims.”
“Things have changed, don’t you think?”
“Really? You think Ellen’s mom is a killer? That Ellen deleted her name because they’re in on it together? Some crazy mother-daughter sorority sister serial killer team?”
“Settle down. I don’t know what’s going on and neither do you, but until we have more information, you need to keep your distance. For the investigation and for your job. Understood?”
Danny hung her head. Sarah was right and she hated her for it. Silly really, since it wasn’t Sarah’s fault. She’d gotten into this mess on her own, and it was up to her to put a stop to it. She just needed to do one thing first.
“I’ll keep my distance, but I need one thing.”
“Name it.”
“I want five minutes alone with her.”
“Name something else.”
“I won’t do anything stupid, but I need to hear from her that she lied to me.” She hoped Sarah could read her desperation without requiring her to beg. She waited. After an excruciating few seconds, Sarah finally nodded.
“I’ll bring her over here. You get five minutes. Don’t raise your voice. Don’t do anything crazy. Promise?”
“Promise.”
Danny waited anxiously, unsure what she would say when she finally came face-to-face with Ellen for the first time after their night together. Her warm fuzzy feelings from earlier that morning didn’t mix well with the blast of cold water Sarah had delivered. She didn’t have to wait long before Ellen showed up at the car, led by Sarah and visibly shaken. Sarah motioned for Ellen to sit in the back and then fixed Danny with a stare. “Five minutes.”
Danny turned in her seat, the awkward angle nothing compared to the awkward conversation they were about to have. First things first. “Are you okay?”
Ellen nodded. “Yes, but I don’t have a clear idea about what’s going on. One minute I’m talking to you on the phone and the next minute I’m hiding out in my own house, waiting for the cavalry.”
“Maybe if you’d been honest with us from the beginning, you wouldn’t be in this position.” Danny winced inwardly at the harshness of her words, but she was determined to confront Ellen about her omissions.
Ellen puffed up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I do know you’re the one with an honesty problem. Telling me that you’d keep our records private, that you wouldn’t expose our members to harassment.”
“Don’t get all indignant on me. I know why you wanted to keep the records private and it wasn’t to protect your band of high and mighty sorority sisters. No, you had a different family member to protect, didn’t you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Danny stared, but nothing about Ellen’s demeanor gave her a clue as to whether she was telling the truth. Was the omission innocent or was she just a really good liar? Sarah said the files had been altered. No way did only one file get changed before Ellen turned them over and it coincidentally wound up being her mother’s information? There was no innocent omission here. Ellen had deliberately misled them. Her. She’d deliberately mislead her, a fact made worse in light of the intimate night they’d just shared. Her stomach rolled, but she stuck to her promise to keep things professional. “You could be charged with interfering in a police investigation.”
Ellen’s bottom lip quivered, but Danny held strong, waiting for a response that would explain everything, redeem Ellen. Several beats later, Ellen shook her head. “I didn’t do anything wrong. That you think I did means you don’t know me at all and you are not the person I thought you were.”
Danny pointed a finger over the seat back. “Don’t you dare try and turn this around on me. The only thing I’ve done wrong is to get involved with you in the first place. But then again, I seem to have a knack for falling for the wrong women, and you are no exception.”
Ellen placed a hand on the door handle. “I think we’re done here. If you have any official questions to ask, you should contact my lawyer. I’ll give her contact information to one of the detectives.”
And she was gone. Danny sat in the front seat and watched Ellen march over to Sarah and do a little finger pointing of her own. Danny was more confused than angry. She wanted to believe that Ellen hadn’t lied to her, but the evidence didn’t add up. Facts don’t lie, and the facts were that Ellen had kept valuable information from them. She’d come on to Danny from the beginning, and all Danny could think about was whether her salacious behavior might have been a cover. Distract her enough and she wouldn’t notice what she was hiding. Well, that ruse was done. She’d work this case eyes wide open from here on out.
Sarah appeared at the car. “Did you get what you wanted?”
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten what she wanted, at least not on a personal level. Professionally? She’d gotten assigned to this case, had the opportunity to be a shining star. To think she’d almost thrown it all away over a fleeting affair was a wakeup call. “I’m good. Let’s go catch this guy.”
*
“How long until I can get back in my house?” Ellen barked the question at George who stood on the front sidewalk, barring her entry. She hadn’t been able to get away from Danny fast enough. Her initial relief at learning she’d come with the rest of the crew had faded in the face of Danny’s abrupt manner, her accusing tone. Now, all she could think about was getting the hell out of here.
“Not sure,” Ramirez said. “We need to process the scene. The Crime Scene Unit should be here any minute.”
Ellen glanced around. A small crowd of neighbors had st
arted to gather on the usually quiet street. In keeping with their tendency to act like crime never affected their lives, they all glanced away whenever she attempted to make eye contact. Silly, since she was the victim not the perpetrator, but she knew that they considered her tainted merely by virtue of having the police at her house. She shouldn’t be surprised. Even Danny had treated her like a common criminal, like she hadn’t been the one who’d been threatened by a killer who’d managed to elude law enforcement for weeks.
But she had lied, or at least omitted information, and Danny had no way to know her mother’s ties to the sorority weren’t relevant to the investigation. And they weren’t, were they?
Her mother’s words upon learning of Marty’s death echoed. I think you might be in trouble again. What had she meant and who had she been talking to? She’d assumed it was more raving of her addled Alzheimer’s mind, but what if what Vivian had had to say really was important?
She considered her options. Only thing she knew right now was that she wasn’t staying at this house tonight. “Detective, I assume you’re done with me? If so, I’m going to a hotel.”
She watched George glance over in the direction of the car where Danny still sat, and offered a comment. “I already informed Ms. Soto that I won’t be giving any more interviews today. I’m sure you can appreciate that I’m a bit shaken up.”
“Sure, I understand. Just make sure we have all your contact information. Would you like an officer to drive you?”
Sarah Flores appeared at her side. “I’ll take her. I have a few questions for her.” Her tone was authoritative and her fierce facial expression made it clear she wouldn’t accept any arguments. Ellen had no intentions of leaving with her, but she dutifully followed her to a spot a few yards away from the rest of the officers on site. She had a couple of questions of her own. When she was sure no one else could overhear, she asked, “Am I in danger? No one’s given me a clear picture of what happened this morning. Right before your people burst into the wine cellar, I heard a loud crash. Is everyone okay?”
“A rookie was a little exuberant and knocked over a plant stand. He’s in there now, cleaning it up. As for whether you’re in danger? You might be. It’s hard to tell since it’s clear you’re not being honest with us.”
