Power Struggle

by Carolyn Arnold

  “The same one.”

  “How did we not find this before now?” she asked, exasperated, and not really expecting an answer to this question. She did, however, seem to have a roundabout motive for Bates’s murder. “Greg was getting revenge for Dimitre taking out his nephew.”

  Troy nodded. “Seems so. And we don’t believe Greg was acting on Roman’s blessing. We believe that Constantine was sent back by Roman to kill you, to finish what he’d started months ago, but was intercepted by Greg and given additional orders.”

  “Did Greg know about the hit out on him?” she asked.

  “Terry’s brought in the prison warden, and he confessed to working for Dimitre and Greg. He was told to relay any messages from Dimitre to Greg. And the writing on the letterhead was Dimitre’s. Now, we’ve figured out that Greg was one of the owners of Vytek Holdings and the warden’s financials confirmed he’d been receiving deposits from that company for the better part of ten months.”

  “Basically from the time Dimitre was transferred to Mitchell County,” Madison began, “And from the time of Sergey’s murder.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Her mind was on the warden, on the tight timing between Bates getting the message and Constantine coming to Stiles. The timeframe wasn’t impossible, but likely a coincidence. And if that was the case, Dimitre would have had someone keeping an eye on Greg for any signs of revolt. That someone had probably been Bates. But why frame McAlexandar?

  “Did the results come back on the gun recovered from McAlexandar’s?” she asked.

  Troy nodded. “His prints were all over the gun, the bullets, and the magazine.”

  Guess Karma had a way of working itself out one way or another.

  “And the drug test?”

  He shook his head. “It was done, but the results aren’t back yet.”

  “And how much do you want to bet that when they do come back nothing will show up?”

  “There’s a good chance. There are a lot of drugs out there that Constantine could have used that wouldn’t show up.” Troy paused. “We got a hold of McAlexandar’s phone records and confirmed that he was in regular contact with Jimmy Bates. On Bates’s side, the number was blocked.”

  McAlexandar was probably set up to serve the same purpose as Bates: to cut off Dimitre’s connection to the outside world. But why Yasmine? Was she just collateral damage?

  “Do we know why Yasmine was killed?” Madison asked.

  Troy’s face paled. “On the record, motive is still being established for McAlexandar. Off the record, she knew too much. Cynthia took a closer look at the video from Yasmine’s building, and she found a small glitch. She concludes that it could have been modified. Yasmine’s role must have been to provide access to Bates’s house. Whether she did that intentionally or not, who knows.”

  Madison’s heart sank, and she preferred to believe that Yasmine had been duped.

  “There she is!” Terry rushed into the barn, and he hugged Madison. “Happy you’re okay.”

  Madison smiled at him.

  “Guess we know how Constantine got into the country.” Terry pointed to the privately owned plane.

  “It seems likely.”

  “So you heard about Greg Berger? His sister? His nephew?”

  “I did.” She glanced at Troy, and he put an arm around her. Terry smiled at them, and she shot him a snide look in jest. She had a feeling that her partner was probably thinking about the two of them taking the next step. And maybe…

  She leaned toward Troy, and he rested his head against hers. Constantine was no longer a threat, and she had promised to do some real thinking about her apartment and their living arrangement.

  “What about Vytek Holdings?” Terry asked. “Did he update you on them?”

  “Yep,” Troy interjected.

  “Humph.”

  Troy held up his hands. “If you had been here sooner, you could have told her.”

  Terry simpered. “What about the fact that everything Greg and Rodney told us was a lie?” He paused for a few beats. “No? Well, Greg’s been involved all along, right in front of us. He probably was the one who recruited Rodney way back. He was just really good at covering his tracks. Greg also did a good job of keeping himself separate from Rodney because there’s no mention of him in your grandfather’s files.”

  “That would explain why Greg got so angry when we implied that he did Rodney a favor by hiring Jimmy Bates,” Madison surmised.

  “Uh-huh. And it could explain why he wanted Bates bad enough to pay for his education, et cetera. Keep it in the family, so to speak.”

  “That’s still a bold move hiring another Bates for his accounting company,” Madison said.

  Terry nodded. “I think he just wanted to ensure that he had control over the Bates family.”

  “Just in case Rodney decided to expose him,” Madison guessed. “Though we both know that would have been a deadly mistake.”

  “That’s for sure, but we figure the Russians are probably going to move their affairs out of Stiles now. A certain detective wouldn’t leave them alone to conduct their illegal business.” Terry laughed.

  Madison drew her gaze to the paramedics who were wheeling Chelsea toward the door.

  Madison stepped in front of them, and they stopped. “Where are you taking her?”

  “We’re going to get her hooked up to some fluids and take her to the hospital to be checked over,” one of them said, and they started moving again.

  “I’m coming with her.” There was no way Madison was letting Chelsea out of her sight. Madison beseeched Troy with a glance.

  “Go.” He waved her off with a smile.

  Madison watched the paramedics load Chelsea into the ambulance, and she got in the back with her. Chelsea was already hooked up to an IV.

  “Did he rape you?” Madison could barely scrape the question from her throat.

  “No,” she replied weakly. “But I’m going to have nightmares for months.”

  “At least you’ll be alive to have them,” Madison countered, and in that moment, holding her sister’s hand while she was lying in the ambulance, any guilt that she had tormented herself with melted away. It wasn’t her fault that Constantine was a psychopath. She smiled, thinking about their mother’s label for him. And really, in a simplistic state, that’s exactly what he had been.

  “What are you smiling about?” Chelsea raised a brow. “Maybe I should be worried about you.”

  Madison chuckled. “Oh, I was just thinking about something Mom said.”

  “You’ve been talking with Mom?”

  “Ah, yeah. There have been extenuating circumstances,” Madison teased. “Actually, Mom and Dad flew in last night and stayed with Troy and me.”

  “Can you pinch me just so I know I’m— Ouch!” Chelsea rubbed her hand. “You weren’t really supposed to pinch me, you brat.” Chelsea started laughing.

  Madison joined her but stopped abruptly when searing pain shot through her jaw. She cupped her cheek and winced.

  Chelsea struggled to get up, but the paramedic held her down. “You all right?”

  The paramedic glanced at Madison.

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured both of them. It was just the damn adrenaline wearing off. Come to think of it, the back of her head and wrist hurt, too. She looked down at it and saw the colorful shades of early bruising. Maybe she’d get it tended to, but her sister was the priority.

  And while she knew that she and Chelsea would be fine, there would be tough days ahead for them. Her sister, for being held captive and seeing what she had seen, and Madison, for doing what she’d had to do. Even though a chapter of her life had ended, it wasn’t exactly a fairy tale. It would leave residual emotional wounds, no matter how much she wished to deny it. But in this moment, she would continue to ride the high that came with
facing death and coming out the other end alive.

  Madison called Jim to let him know she had Chelsea and that she should be fine, and to tell everyone to meet them at the hospital.

  When she hung up, Chelsea said, “Let me guess, Jim’s freaking out?”

  Madison smiled and pinched her fingers together. “Just a little.”

  “I should be happy. The man’s crazy about me.” Chelsea actually appeared wistful for a few moments and closed her eyes. Madison noticed then how dark her eye sockets were from lack of sleep.

  Chelsea opened her eyes again. “Speaking of men being crazy…” One corner of her mouth lifted. “I saw you and Troy. The way he literally swept you off your feet.”

  “Lifted me off my feet,” Madison corrected with a smile.

  “Mince words if you wish, but he really loves you, Maddy.”

  “And how do you know that?” Madison asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “The way he looks at you, the way he stands beside you.”

  “Uh, the way he stands beside me?”

  “Yeah.” Chelsea paused. “You know, shoulders relaxed but he’s at the ready if he needs to defend you. He’s proud to have you by his side.”

  As Madison listened to her sister, tears formed in her eyes.

  “Oh, I struck on the truth,” her sister teased. “And you know it. You might have to make an honest man out of him.”

  “Marriage?” Madison blurted out, almost choking on the word.

  “Why not?”

  “Why?” Madison countered. “There are a lot of couples who live together without being married. I just moved in with him two months ago!”

  Two months ago…

  And he loves me, and I love him…

  And I’ve known him for years…

  She swallowed as she realized what she had to do, but it would be taking another step in the vulnerability arena and losing the safety net that her furnished apartment represented. Madison looked over at her sister, who had gone quiet. Chelsea’s eyes were closed, and she was snoring softly.

  -

  CHAPTER

  49

  THE DOCTORS THOUGHT IT BEST that Chelsea spend the night in the hospital just to get her fluid levels up and some much-needed rest. They had just moved her into a room and gotten her settled when the curtain was pulled back and Jim came through.

  Madison watched as her sister and brother-in-law openly cried upon seeing each other, but they were also smiling amid the tears. Jim went over and hugged his wife. Madison was grinning as she watched, thinking about what Chelsea had said to her in the ambulance. She looked over at Troy, who had somehow managed to beat the rest of the family here, and smiled at him. He had his arm around her, his hand resting on her lower back.

  “Can we talk for a moment?” Madison asked him.

  “Ah, sure.”

  She led him outside the curtain and nearly bumped right into her mother.

  “Mom? What are you—”

  Her mother starting sobbing and hugged Madison. Her father appeared to be in his own world at the moment, and next to him, her three nieces were all wide-eyed and teary.

  “Chelsea’s all right, Mom.” Madison held her tighter when it seemed obvious her mother wasn’t going to let her go.

  “She wanted to give Jim some time alone with your sister before we went in,” her father offered by way of an explanation. He never liked it when any of them cried, and he still got awkward, even after all these years being around women.

  Her mother pulled back slightly but continued to hold on to Madison. She looked her in the eye.

  “I know I come across gruff sometimes, but don’t think I don’t care…about you.” Her mother sniffled, and Madison blinked away tears. “You do know that I do, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, of course, I do…”

  “How could you? I give you such a hard time about everything. Every decision you make or don’t make.”

  As her mother spoke, an ache formed in Madison’s chest. It wasn’t one of pain but rather of healing.

  Her mother cupped Madison’s face, and Madison winced. The doctors had told her the cut on the back of her head was superficial and there was no permanent damage caused to her jaw or wrist. They had prescribed some pain meds, but she had yet to take any.

  “Oh, sorry, sweetheart.” Her mother dropped her hands but brought her forehead down to meet Madison’s.

  She hiccupped a sob, soaking up more love in this moment than she’d felt from her mother in years. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever feeling this loved, this accepted by her.

  Her mother pulled back again, glanced at Troy, but then settled her gaze on Madison. “Don’t mess this one up.” Her mother’s lips twitched as she spoke.

  Madison rolled her eyes. “Oh, here we go…”

  Her mother laughed, and so did Madison.

  After a few seconds, her mother tapped the back of Madison’s hand and said, “I’m going to see my other daughter now. Thanks to you.”

  Madison wiped her cheeks with the palms of her hands and watched as her mother went in to see Chelsea. Her father stopped and hugged Madison. Her three nieces followed suit.

  Once they were all gone, Troy said, “See, I told you that you were loved. And you didn’t want to believe me. Do you now?” He rubbed the pad of his thumb beneath her eye, wiping away a tear that had just fallen.

  “I’m going to get rid of my apartment,” she said it quickly before she could give it any more thought.

  Troy’s face brightened, but he seemed reserved. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know I don’t. I want to.” She smiled at him. “But I don’t want to live in your house, either.” Her heart bumped off rhythm just from knowing what she was about to propose.

  “I don’t understand,” he said, sounding weary.

  “I want us to find a home that’s ours. I mean, if we’re in this thing,” she said, playfully dismissing the depth of their relationship, “I say we might as well get bold about it.” She paused, but he didn’t say anything. He was peering into her eyes, and she wished she had magic mind-reading abilities. “Well, you’re not going anywhere. I’m not going any—”

  He planted a tender kiss on her lips.

  “Auntie and Unkie sitting in a—”

  “Why, you little—” Troy set out like he was going to chase Marissa, and she squealed as she tried to stay out of his reach. She failed, and Troy scooped her up and swung her in the air so her legs swayed side to side. Marissa started laughing hysterically.

  “Put…me…down…”

  Troy did as she asked, and Marissa turned around and put her thumb to her nose, wriggled her fingers, and stuck out her tongue. Then she went back into the room with the others.

  Troy was smiling, but it faded, his face taking on a serious edge. He met Madison’s gaze. “What are your thoughts on kids?”

  “What are my—” Her chest felt heavy. She couldn’t breathe.

  “I’m just kidding, Maddy. Breathe before all of you turns blue.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, and then she followed her niece’s lead, going in to see her sister and the rest of her family. Troy joined her, but she headed straight to her mother and put her arm around her. Her mother wrapped hers around Madison and smiled.

  “Mom,” Madison said, “tell us about Grandpa again.”

  -

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  Preview of Remnants

  All that remains are whispers of the past…

  When multiple body parts are recovered from the Little Ogeechee River in Savannah, Georgia, local law enforcement calls in FBI agent and profiler Brandon Fisher and his team to investigate. But with the remains pointing to three separate victims, this isn’t proving to be an open-and-shut case.

  With no quick means of identifying the deceased, building a profile of this serial killer is more challenging than usual. How are these targets being selected? Why are their limbs being severed and their bodies mutilated? And what is it about them that is triggering this person to murder?

  The questions compound as the body count continues to rise, and when a torso painted blue and missing its heart is found, the case takes an even darker turn. But this is only the beginning, and these new leads draw the FBI into a creepy psychological nightmare. One thing is clear, though: The killing isn’t going to stop until they figure it all out. And they are running out of time…