Liar

by Campbell, Jamie

  Leo appeared to think it over, really he was just making him sweat it out for a few moments. “Depends on the quality of information you give me. Tell me everything you know about Lou and his dealings with Renee White.”

  Ed sighed, knowing he lost the battle. It was hard to fight when you didn’t really have a weapon. “Lou was working on something big. I don’t know what it was. He asked me to help so I helped a little.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I had to keep an eye on the woman’s husband, make sure he stayed away from his house for a while. But that’s all I did, I swear.”

  “When was this?”

  “I don’t know, like a week ago or something.” Ed shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal so he had just forgotten about it. Unfortunately, Amelia knew he was telling the truth. She didn’t like the guy, if she needed proof of why, then she got it.

  Leo continued, determined to keep the momentum up. “Did Lou tell you why he needed her husband distracted?”

  “Said he needed to talk to her about a few things.”

  “What things?” Leo waited for an answer but didn’t get one. He raised his voice. “What things, Ed? Tell me.”

  “I don’t know, he didn’t say.” The man was getting frustrated, uncomfortable with the whole thing. Leo knew it was time to apply the pressure, it was the moment where anything could slip out of his mouth without him realizing it.

  “Tell me Ed or I swear I will call Lou right now and tell him about our chat.”

  “No, you can’t do that.”

  Leo took out his phone. “I’m dialing.”

  “No, no, stop.” Ed threw out his hands, physically reiterating his point. “Lou said he had business with her. With a guy like Lou, you learn not to ask questions. I swear I don’t know what he talked to her about. Did something happen to her?”

  “She’s dead.”

  Ed’s eyes grew wide with the surprise. Either he was a good actor or he genuinely didn’t know. “You’re here about a murder? I had nothing to do with that.”

  “Nobody said anything about murder except you. You sure you didn’t know about it?”

  “I’ve never killed anyone.”

  Leo mulled over his answers, trying to work out how to play it. He was starting to think Ed really didn’t know much about his friend. He was probably his lackey, helping Lou out when he needed it for the approval of his hero. Every psycho needed someone to stroke their ego and Ed was most likely Lou’s.

  Amelia took the opportunity to ask the question she was most curious about. “How did you stop her husband from going home?”

  Ed smirked, finally a question he was happy to answer. “I pretended my car was broken down next to his office. He stopped to help me fix it. Apparently my fan belt needed replacing.”

  “Should have known,” Amelia groaned and turned around to face the front of the vehicle. She knew good deeds never went unpunished and Kale’s assistance to a needy stranger was the perfect example of that. Just another reason why the human race disappointed her.

  Leo’s phone rang, breaking the silence in the vehicle. He answered, trying not to let the voice on the other end of the line be heard by his hostage.

  “Yes… When?… Okay, I’m on my way,” he said into the phone before hanging up. “Amelia, do you have anything else to ask of our friend here?” He asked, ready to wrap it up and get out of the sauna doubling as a car and deal with the telephone call.

  “I’ve heard enough.”

  “Me too.” He turned his attention back to Ed. “Anything else you want to confess while you’ve got my undivided attention?”

  “I didn’t do anything and you can’t prove I did.”

  He took the safety lock off the doors. “Get out of my sight.”

  “What about my protection?” Ed halted, his fingers poised on the door handle.

  “We weren’t here and neither were you. Understood?”

  Ed nodded and opened the door. This time he didn’t hesitate to leave. Immediately, Leo started up the car engine. The bursts of air conditioning were like a soothing arctic blizzard.

  “What was the call about?” Amelia asked when it was clear he wasn’t offering the information.

  “It was the hospital. Turner’s been taken there by ambulance. They don’t expect him to last much longer.”

  “But he should have months left,” Amelia said, not believing the news. They were supposed to get him to freedom for his last few months before he perished from his illness. It was too soon. No matter how terrible a human being he was, he still didn’t deserve to die in jail for a crime someone else committed.

  “No-one can predict the way a cancer will go,” Leo offered. “Let’s hope it’s just a false alarm.”

  Leo drove faster than he should have, hoping he wouldn’t get pulled over by one of his colleagues. Some cops liked making an example of their co-workers, it gave them a power trip.

  “Do you think he’ll tell us everything if he’s not going to last much longer?” Amelia asked, trying to keep her emotions out of it. Truth be told, they still needed him for the information he held. He was way more valuable alive than dead.

  “Deathbed confessions are not uncommon. Who knows? Maybe Blake Turner will finally do the right thing.”

  They barreled down highway twenty-two toward the hospital, taking the exit as fast as possible. Leo didn’t even bother finding a park for his car, leaving it in the drop off area with his police light on the dashboard. Even snobby hospital security didn’t like messing with police vehicles, even if they were off duty.

  The emergency department was abuzz with activity. It seemed as though Blake Turner’s sudden health downfall wasn’t the only emergency in Scribe. Broken legs, car accidents, and a stomach virus were all occupying the doctor’s and nurse’s time.

  Leo grabbed the attention of a nurse as she hurried by. “Excuse me, we’re looking for Blake Turner.”

  “He’s been moved to ward 3A on level five.” She didn’t stop to confirm he heard.

  They found the elevators and rode up to level five. It was far less chaotic but the signs of the special guest on the ward were obvious. Uniformed police officers stood guard at the door, presumably the one where Turner was being treated.

  There was no need for Leo to introduce himself, he knew the officers well. “What’s the story?”

  Constable Shawshank answered first. “He got sick in holding, started vomiting everywhere before he collapsed.”

  “Can I see him? It’s important.”

  “You’re too late. He’s gone.”

  “But I only just got the call. Surely he couldn’t-” Leo’s words were left to linger as Turner’s girlfriend headed directly for him.

  “How could you let this happen?” Mandy screamed, not caring about her surroundings or being overheard. “You said you were going to help him!”

  She ignored the calming urges of the officers as she fixated on Leo. She was across the room in just moments, holding him by the shirt collar.

  “You killed him!”

  Leo tried to remain calm, taking a step back to put some distance between them. It didn’t work, Mandy’s hands were firmly gripping his collar and she wasn’t letting go.

  “Miss Parkes, you need to settle down,” he said, giving the officers a nod to let them know he didn’t need their interference. They stood on guard anyway, ready to spring to his aide if needed. “I’m sorry about your loss, I really am.”

  “You said you’d get him out. You said we’d have some time together before he died. You promised,” her voice was halfway between a whimper and a threat.

  Amelia stood back, watching. She didn’t fear for her own safety but that of Leo’s. An angry, grieving woman could be lethal. Especially one that ran in her circles. She left plenty of room for the officers to intervene if needed.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Parkes, but no-one can predict when an illness will take someone. I’m really sorry.”

  “You lied to me, you
said you’d take care of it.”

  “And I’m still doing that.”

  “No, you aren’t,” she sobbed. “You let him die in jail where he didn’t belong. He died alone with no-one to be there for him. He was all alone.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it. You need to bring him back. He can’t be gone.”

  “He is, he’s gone.” Leo looked Mandy directly in the eyes, offering no resistance to her threats. They stayed that way for several moments before she finally let him go.

  “He can’t be gone,” she said in barely a whisper as she slumped against the wall. Her legs no longer held her up, she slid down to the floor. “He can’t be dead.”

  Leo didn’t hesitate, he sat on the hospital floor alongside her. He didn’t say a word, just being there with her while she cried was enough to comfort her. Far better than any words could do.

  The officers continued to guard the door, despite the reason for doing so was now dead. Blake Turner wasn’t going to escape now, not unless he came back as a zombie anyway.

  Amelia couldn’t just stand there, feeling awkward and a third wheel, she needed to do something. Her solution was going to the vending machine near the elevators and making coffee for everyone. It wouldn’t fix anything, but it might help take the edge off the tragedy.

  She handed Mandy one of the plastic cups when she returned. “I’m sorry about Blake.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she accepted the coffee. She had travelled through the first stage of grief – denial – and jumped to acceptance.

  Leo stood to take his coffee, his leg was starting to go numb from sitting on the hard floor. Hospital corridors were not meant to double as comfortable chairs.

  Together, they stood with the officers, just far enough away from Mandy for her not to overhear.

  “What’s she on about?” Constable Shawshank asked, indicating to Mandy. “Turner wasn’t going to get out of jail any time soon.”

  Leo thought fast, he didn’t want to give anything away yet. “No idea. She’s probably just upset.”

  Amelia heard the lie but took a sip of coffee to stop the smile. She actually liked the way Leo lied, it seemed so effortless. Normally people had a tell, even if you couldn’t hear their truth. But not Leo, he never even blinked. It was both disturbing and endearing.

  “This doesn’t have anything to do with you thinking he’s innocent, does it?” The constable continued. “The commissioner said you’d been dreaming up theories.”

  “Perhaps it’s the commissioner that’s dreaming things up,” Leo replied jovially, refusing to be baited into saying something he shouldn’t. “So is the coroner coming for the body? Or at least a counselor for his girlfriend?”

  “They’ve both been called.”

  Leo nodded, knowing it could take them hours to arrive. There were only so many public servants to go around, and just like the police force, they were severely understaffed.

  “I’m going to wait for the counselor, so if you want to leave, I’ll take responsibility,” Leo said. He wasn’t going to leave Mandy on the floor by herself, no matter what else he had to do.

  The officers agreed and left them to wait. They just hoped the counselor would arrive before the coroner did.

  * * *

  Leo was wired, he couldn’t stay still. It could have been the five cups of coffee he had or the loud clock that was ticking away inside his head. Whatever it was, he tried to funnel his energy into something productive.

  The problem was, he was frustrated. Losing Blake Turner was the last straw. He was so certain he was going to come clean and help him prove who the real murderer was, he was counting on him. And now Turner was dead.

  Another dead end. Literally.

  His only hope was sitting on the couch in front of him, Harley asleep at her side and lapping up the pats. He knew Amelia could give him more information than he could get just from interviewing people, but it was unpredictable and nothing could be used in evidence. The commissioner would just laugh at him. Her presence at the station hadn’t gone down well the first time. There was nothing to make him believe it wouldn’t be the same a second time around.

  Leo gripped the whiteboard marker in his hand harder, wanting to squeeze it to oblivion if it made him feel better. “We need to go back to the beginning, the answers have to be here somewhere and we’ve just missed them.”

  “Well, it all started with Jordan,” Amelia sighed, exhausted. They had spent three hours at the hospital waiting for the counselor and not one minute of it was pleasant. “Jordan was kidnapped and that started everything.”

  “So we know Jordan was murdered and his body dumped. A black car was seen leaving the scene. We also know Lou Delaney had a black car repainted,” Leo recapped, making sure all the details were on the murder board. He figured it was like a big connect-the-dots puzzle. If he had enough dots on the board, he could see the full, real picture.

  “We also know Kale White isn’t Jordan’s father,” Amelia added. “Perhaps his biological dad was somehow involved?”

  “Jordan’s paternity probably doesn’t have anything to do with their deaths. He was conceived almost six years ago, it was probably a drama for the past.”

  “Probably. But it might make someone angry.”

  “If he even knows about it. But why would he kill his own son?”

  Amelia shrugged. “I can’t imagine how anyone could kill their own child. Perhaps Lou is his father and he killed Jordan for the same reason he killed Renee?”

  “We don’t know for sure if Lou did kill Renee yet, we’ve only got the surveillance photos in his house and Ed Haff admitting he delayed Kale so Lou could do something,” Leo pointed out. “What about if Lou was involved in whatever crime Renee wanted to report? Perhaps it was nothing to do with the stalking, he just didn’t want her to talk?”

  “You mean he might not have been obsessed with her like a lusty sleaze ball, but obsessed with keeping her quiet?”

  Leo nodded. “Maybe. But then how are they connected? How would a suburban housewife like Renee know of a lowlife like Lou? There is a link here that we’re missing. We need to find that link.”

  “How do we do that?”

  “I wish I knew.” Leo finally sat on the lounge, his steam gone. No matter how much his mind whirled, the cogs wouldn’t put together the information he needed.

  “This is so frustrating,” Amelia commented, putting her head on the back of the lounge and closing her eyes for just a moment. It had to be well past midnight, her bedtime long gone.

  “How about trying to use your gift?” He suggested cautiously. “Could you try to really focus on the case and see if you get any feelings?”

  “I can’t.”

  “I’m sure you can if you concentrate.”

  “I can’t, Leo, I’m not psy-” The words were almost out of her mouth when Amelia stopped herself just in time. Her brain wasn’t working, loosening her tongue when it shouldn’t have been. She tried to cover. “I’m too tired to even think, let alone concentrate.”

  As much as she wanted to come clean to the detective, she couldn’t find the right words to do so even if she wasn’t bone tired. She hated lying but it was still the only option she had. When they solved the case and the real murderers were brought to justice, then she could just go back to her normal life. She would never have to see Leo again, even though the thought of that pained her more than it should.

  Leo stared at her for a moment, just long enough for her to worry that he could see right through her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kept you out so late.”

  “It’s okay, we need to get this thing solved, right?”

  “Yeah, don’t remind me,” he forced a smile. “Look, if you want to stay over, you can take my room and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  Amelia didn’t have the energy to argue. By the time Leo dropped her at home, it would be time to pick her up again. She just had one objection. “I’m taking the lounge, yo
u go to bed. I’m already comfortable and I’m not moving.”

  Leo tried to argue but she wouldn’t listen, instead just getting more comfortable in her position. Harley was nice and warm at her side, the cushion behind her soft, there was no way she was going to move.

  Defeated, Leo left her, hoping tomorrow would bring all the answers they so desired. And needed desperately.

  CHAPTER 20

  The sound of the phone ringing cut through Amelia’s dreams far earlier than she wanted. She wasn’t ready to wake up, it felt like she had only just gone to sleep. In the blink of an eye the night had passed, given over to the daylight streaming in through the window.

  For a moment, she wasn’t sure where she was or what she was doing there. It definitely wasn’t her bedroom and the dog sharing her pillow definitely wasn’t hers. Then she saw the grisly murder board and it came back to her. She had slept on Detective Michaels’s lounge.

  She reached to the floor for her handbag, fishing out the noisy cell phone as it continued ringing. She didn’t have time to check the caller ID before she answered.

  “Hello?” She said sleepily, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the sunlight.

  “Amelia, where the hell are you?” It was Lane and he was anything but happy to hear her voice. “I’ve been worried sick about you. Why haven’t you been answering? What the hell is going on?”

  She wanted to hang up on him. His voice was so loud she didn’t even need to hold the phone to her ear. The lack of sleep didn’t help her mood. “Lane, I’m sorry. I fell asleep at Leo’s house. I’m fine, everything is fine.”

  “You’re at that detective’s house? What on earth are you doing there?”

  “We were working, what do you think we were doing?”

  Leo walked into the lounge room, giving Harley a pat and Amelia a questioning look. She shook her head slowly, silently telling him it wasn’t a happy good morning call.