Murder and Chocolate Cake

by Meredith Potts

  “I imagine.”

  “I mean, when you watch someone get convicted of murder and sent to jail, you just assume that’s the last you’ll ever see of them. Never once did it occur to me that Kyle could break out of prison, determined to get revenge.”

  Wally grimaced. “That’s such a chilling thought. I mean, if Jennifer ever broke out…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.

  With good reason. Jennifer Hollenbeck was Wally’s ex-wife. It was safe to say they didn’t have an amicable divorce. As a matter of fact, they had the messiest break up of anyone I knew.

  The unraveling of their marriage began when Wally cheated on Jennifer. While that was abhorrent behavior, which Wally regretted, Jennifer’s reaction to the news was as extreme as could be. Instead of serving Wally with divorce papers and taking him to the cleaners in court, she got violent. Not just with Wally. But his mistress, Diane, as well. After assaulting Diane, Jennifer was thrown in jail. Jennifer currently had a number of years left in her prison sentence.

  My face filled with concern as I stared into Wally’s eyes.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Sorry. I’m fighting off some bad memories,” Wally replied. “Anyway, suffice it to say, if Jennifer was out roaming the streets right now, I’d be a complete wreck.”

  “I’ll bet. Luckily, she’s behind bars. David and I have enough to deal with already without worrying about another lunatic being on the loose,” I said.

  “That’s so true.”

  “Speaking of David, I should be heading back to our booth now.”

  “Right. Of course,” Wally said. “Good luck with the case,” Wally said.

  “Thanks. We need it,” I said.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  David and I had a delicious breakfast. We then headed over to the police station. While we were eager to tackle the case again, it didn’t change the fact that we were just as stumped as ever.

  So it was no surprise when a sense of desperation began to creep in. Normally, I found a way to shake it off. Or I ignored the feeling until it went away. But that morning, I let it get the better of me. To the point where I let it do the talking for me.

  “Maybe we should speak to Wade again about making a deal,” I said.

  David’s eyebrows rose. “Are you serious?”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes.”

  “But we already know how ridiculous his terms are. And he may not even have useful information to give us. Or his info might be outdated by now. After all, a lot can change in a day or two.”

  “I know.”

  “Yet you still think we should talk to him?”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I’d prefer not to make a deal with that scumbag, but it’s not like we have any new leads to work with.”

  David winced. “There has to be a better option than giving in to Wade’s ludicrous demands.”

  “He has been sitting alone in that jail cell for a while, so who knows? Maybe he’s finally willing to listen to reason.”

  “Come on, Sabrina. Let’s get real. Wade is used to the brutal existence of life in a state penitentiary. So I doubt that the time he has spent in his cell here at the police department has broken him.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  David put his hand on my shoulder. “Look. I understand what you’re going through. These are desperate times. And I feel just as much pressure to solve this case as you do. But making a deal with Wade isn’t the answer.”

  “Then what is?” I asked.

  “I haven’t figured that out yet. But I’ll say this, forget about Wade.”

  “Would it really kill us to pay him another visit?”

  “Sabrina, I’m telling you,” he said. “You’re wasting your time thinking about Wade.”

  My mind clearly disagreed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get Wade out of my thoughts. Nor could I silence my gut. I was getting a really strong instinct about Wade being the key to solving this case. Since my gut rarely ever steered me wrong, I kept trying to piece together exactly why my instincts were acting up so much.

  After all, when David and I were at the penitentiary yesterday, my instincts kept telling me that there was an important clue there. Yet we left empty handed.

  While I kept thinking about Wade, David tried to pull my head from the clouds. “Sabrina, are you okay?”

  I remained pensive for a few seconds. My eyes then widened as a theory popped into my mind. “Actually, I think we’re going to be just fine.”

  David squinted. “How do you figure?”

  I pointed at David’s desk. “Grab your keys.”

  He shrugged. “Why?”

  “Because we need to take a drive.”

  “Where?”

  “Treasure Cove Penitentiary.”

  His nose scrunched. “But we already went there.”

  “Yeah. To dig up dirt on Kyle,” I said. “But I think that Wade’s visitation records have been the key to solving this case all along.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When David and I arrived at the penitentiary, we had the warden immediately escort us to the visitation area. We already knew that Kyle Lipinski had been severely lacking in visitors over the years. But it turned out the same could not be said for Wade Becker. According to the prison’s computer records, Wade’s sister had come to see him every few weeks over the last couple of years. That seemed like a lot of visits.

  So the moment after David and I finished up at the penitentiary, we headed over to Gwen Becker’s place. Wade’s younger sister lived a good fifteen minutes out of town. In my experience, there were only three types of people who chose to reside that far outside of city limits—farmers, people who hated humanity, and people who had something to hide.

  Gwen lived in a big house, but she wasn’t a farmer. She also hadn’t done a good job of keeping the property up to date. The house itself was a hundred years old and looked every bit its age. It was a shame too, because with some work, it would be a real treasure. In addition to the poor condition of the house, weeds were growing in her front yard with reckless abandon.

  If I didn’t know better, I would say that no one even lived here. But there was a red pickup truck in the driveway, which made me convinced that she was home. David knocked on the front door a number of times, only to receive no answer. That didn’t deter him from continuing. He knocked a few more times until Gwen finally came to the door.

  Gwen was fifty-four-years-old. She had long blond hair, a round face, and a curvy figure.

  David flashed his badge and explained why we were there.

  Gwen was quick to respond, “I don’t know where Kyle is.”

  “Miss Becker, you seem awfully defensive,” David said.

  “I just don’t like visitors,” Gwen said.

  “We’re not your average visitors. We’re investigators. There’s a big difference between the two,” David said.

  Gwen shook his head. “Not to me.”

  “Are you going to make us do this the hard way?” David asked.

  “Do what?” she asked. “Why would you think I have any idea where Kyle is?”

  “So he hasn’t come by here then?” David asked.

  “No,” Gwen said.

  David stared her down. “Do I have to remind you that it is illegal to lie to a police detective?”

  “Are you calling me a liar?” Gwen said.

  “I just want to remind you how important it is to tell the truth,” David said.

  “Why don’t you just do me a favor and leave me alone?” Gwen said.

  “There are still a number of things we need to ask you,” David said.

  Gwen groaned. “Do we really have to do this now?”

  “What’s the matter? Is this a bad time?” David said.

  “I just hate being hassled,” Gwen said.

  “You think this is a hassle?” David asked. “I could always drag you back to the station. Or you could just answer my questions r
ight now.”

  She folded her arms. “Fine. Make it quick.”

  “You visited your brother in jail quite frequently,” David said.

  Gwen shrugged. “So?”

  “I can’t help but wonder what you two talked about,” David said.

  “A little of this and a little of that,” Gwen said.

  “Would you care to be more specific?” David asked.

  “Not really,” Gwen said.

  “Gwen, you’re going to have to give us more than that,” David said.

  She groaned. “This is ridiculous. What does me visiting my brother in jail have to do with anything?”

  “Did Wade talk to you about his plan to break out of jail? Or what he intended to do once he got out?”

  “No.”

  David’s eyes widened. “Not once?”

  “I just said no.”

  “How about Kyle? Did he ever come up in conversation?” David said.

  Gwen shook her head.

  “I find that hard to believe,” David said.

  Gwen narrowed her eyes. “I don’t care what you believe.”

  “They were cellmates. How could Kyle never have come up?” David asked.

  “Wade didn’t want to talk about life behind bars. He mostly just asked me about my life.”

  David gave her a wary stare. “Uh-huh.”

  She folded her arms. “Now are we done here?”

  “No.”

  She groaned. “Come on. What more do you want from me?”

  “You’re awfully testy,” David said.

  “I already told you,” Gwen said. “I don’t like being hassled.”

  David held his pointer finger up. “Just one more thing.”

  “What is it?” Gwen said.

  “We would like to search your house,” David said.

  Gwen’s eyebrows knitted. “For what?”

  “Will you please let us in?” David asked.

  Gwen shook her head. “No. This is private property.”

  “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about,” David said.

  “I’m not hiding anything. I just value my privacy,” Gwen said.

  “Miss Becker, you told me earlier that you hate being hassled—”

  “That’s right,” she said.

  “If you don’t let us in right now, I’m going to get a search warrant for your house. Imagine what a hassle it will be to have a half a dozen deputies going over every inch of this place.”

  Gwen stared deep into David’s eyes.

  After a moment of silence, Gwen opened her front door all the way. “Fine. Just don’t break anything.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  David and I entered the house and began to look around. I made sure to stay behind David. After all, I could not rule out the possibility that Kyle was somewhere inside. And if he was hiding out in here, he probably wouldn’t give himself up without a fight.

  Not only was David stronger than me. He also had full police training. And a gun. I had a feeling that might come in handy.

  Strangely enough, for someone who didn’t even want to let us in her house in the first place, Gwen remained at the front door and left us to our own devices rather than following us around. David and I headed into the living room first. While it was messy, there was no sign that Kyle had been there.

  Our next stop was the kitchen. Again, no sign of Kyle.

  From there, we headed into the hallway. We stopped in front of a closed door, which presumably led to one of the bedrooms. David slowly swung the door open. Like the rest of the house, the room was a cluttered mess. But that wasn’t what I focused on.

  Instead, my eyes were immediately drawn to the open window at the back of the room. David and I approached the window. Before we reached it, I heard the sound of an engine firing up outside.

  David poked his head out the window and saw Kyle Lipinski sitting in the driver’s-seat of the red pickup truck that was parked in the driveway. The tall, lean, forty-eight-year-old had short hair and a goatee. He wasn’t alone in the truck.

  Gwen was sitting next to him. So that was why she had stayed at the door. The moment David and I had headed into the kitchen, she had probably run straight out to the truck.

  Kyle, meanwhile, had most likely been hiding out in this bedroom when we interviewed Gwen earlier. So when we entered the house, Kyle opened the window and snuck out to the driveway.

  Now Kyle and Gwen were primed to make a getaway. At least, that was their plan.

  “We can’t let them get away,” David said.

  David and I climbed out the window and sprinted toward the driveway.

  While we ran as fast as we could, the pickup truck backed down the driveway.

  When we reached the top of the driveway, David pulled out his gun and pointed it at the truck.

  “Stop right there,” David screamed.

  Kyle didn’t listen. He kept backing down the driveway, showing no signs of stopping.

  David took aim at the truck’s front, driver’s-side tire.

  He fired two rounds, hitting the tire both times.

  The tire quickly deflated.

  A moment later, the truck came to a stop.

  Kyle gritted his teeth in the driver’s seat, realizing that there was no escape. But just because he couldn’t drive away didn’t mean that he was going to give up without a fight.

  David began walking toward the truck with gun pointed directly at Kyle.

  “Get out of the truck with your hands up,” David yelled.

  Kyle stared David down, but he did not follow his orders.

  “Out of the truck. Right now!” David demanded.

  “I’m not going back to jail,” Kyle said.

  “You don’t have any choice in the matter,” David said.

  “You’ll have to shoot me,” Kyle said.

  “I will if I have to,” David said. “But don’t make me do it. Don’t be a fool.”

  Kyle remained stationary in the truck.

  “Face it. You aren’t going to get revenge on us. Not now. Not ever,” David said.

  Kyle vented his frustration. “You don’t know what it’s like, spending seventeen years behind bars—”

  “I don’t care,” I said. “You killed my sister. And you also killed that delivery truck driver. You’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison. Because you’re a monster.”

  “Now get out of the truck with your hands up!” David demanded. “You two, Gwen. You’re both under arrest.”

  Kyle and Gwen reluctantly got out of the truck.

  From there, David handcuffed Kyle and Gwen separately and hauled them into the back of his car.

  Thankfully, the case was finally over.

  After my heart rate leveled off, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  Chapter Thirty

  With Wade, Kyle, and Gwen all behind bars, a celebration was in order. So when my family returned from the hotel they had been staying at, I swung by Mitchell’s Bakery and picked up a chocolate cake for us all to enjoy. As expected, no one hesitated to dig in.

  While I savored my dessert, my mother lobbed a question my way. “What tastes sweeter, the cake, or the feeling of relief from knowing that this case is behind you?”

  “Don’t make me choose,” I said. “Right now, they taste equally as sweet.”

  “That’s saying a lot, considering how much you love cake,” my mother replied.

  My daughter spoke up. “Who doesn’t love it?”

  My mom laughed. She then gazed at Jessica. “You really take after your mother, you know that?”

  Jessica threw out her arms. “Seriously, though, who doesn’t love it?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “But if there is someone out there who hates cake, I don’t want to meet them.”

  The lighthearted banter was interrupted by David, who replied with a deadly serious tone in his voice. “You know who I never want to see face-to-face again? Wade Becker and Kyle Lipin
ski.”

  I took my husband’s hand. “I don’t think you have to worry about that. I’m pretty sure that Treasure Cove Penitentiary is going to be putting much stricter security measures in place from now on.”

  My mother did not like the direction this conversation was taking. “Thankfully, the case is closed. So why don’t we talk about more pleasant things?”

  David took a deep breath. “Right. Of course.”

  My mom raised her fork in the air, as if to propose a toast. “Here’s to a period of unrivaled peace.”

  My forehead wrinkled. “Mom, what are you talking about? We just put Kyle back in jail this morning. What peace are you talking about?”

  “I was just trying to be optimistic,” my mom said. “After all, now that this case is closed, maybe things will finally settle down around here.”

  My eyebrows rose. “You’re being really optimistic.”

  “It’s better than being pessimistic,” my mother said.

  “That’s so true,” I said.

  “I prefer to be realistic,” David said.

  My grandmother spoke up. “Realism is overrated. But do you know what’s underrated? A second piece of cake.”

  Everyone at the table laughed.

  My grandma’s nose crinkled. “What’s so funny? I was being dead serious.”

  “Grandma, you always know how to lighten the mood,” I said.

  “I was just speaking my mind. After all, what’s better than celebratory dessert?” my grandmother said.

  I became pensive.

  “Don’t think too hard,” my grandma said. “It was a rhetorical question.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. Dessert is pretty great. But so is spending time with family,” I said.

  “Especially after everything we’ve just been through,” David said.

  My grandma held her fork up in the air. “In that case, let’s hope that things really do settle down around here.”

  We all shared a moment of silence.

  The quiet was broken up by the sound of my daughter’s voice. “Can we have more cake now?”