by C. M. Sutter
“Where’s Mariah?”
“She’s at the sheriff’s department. I’m here with a few detectives that have questions for you.”
“About what—cheaters that deserved to die?”
“Yes, they want more information to give the wives. Please, Mama, I want to see you, and there’s nowhere for you to go, anyway. You may as well talk to them.”
“Fine, come in.”
Jack put his hand over the phone and whispered, “Ask her what room she’s in.”
“Mama, where are you?”
“At the kitchen table.” Alice clicked off.
“You heard her.” Mandy leaned back against the seat and waited.
Jack and I got out. Clayton killed the engine, and he and Billings exited their cruiser. They approached our car.
“What’s the plan?” Billings asked.
“First, you and Clayton check on her whereabouts through the windows. We don’t need any surprises. If everything looks normal, we go in with Mandy. No mistakes and no suicide by cop. Vests on, guns at the ready,” I said.
They nodded and left. I watched as Adam crept along the house and peeked in the living room window. Chad rounded the workshop and came in from the south side where the dinette was, according to Mandy. He crawled under the window and peeked over the sill, watched for a minute, and then returned to the cruiser the same way he came.
“What did you see?” Jack asked.
Adam said he could see her arm at the table through the living room curtains. The television was on too.
Clayton added, “I saw her sitting at the table, typing on her computer. There wasn’t anything else there except her cell phone. Nothing looked fishy. I also checked the back door. It’s unlocked.”
“Good. You two enter from the back. Jack and I will go through the front door with Mandy. Make sure there’s no booby traps. Take your time and be extra cautious.”
Clayton nodded. “Got it, boss.”
We waited for them to reach the back door of the house. Billings radioed from his shoulder mic that they were in place.
I opened the door of the cruiser and pulled Mandy out by her elbow. “Okay, let’s go talk to your mama.”
She walked ahead of us as she crossed the driveway and shuffled through the dust to the front door. Jack took one side of the door and I the other. I turned the knob and pushed the door open. Mandy walked through first. Alice remained seated at the table.
“I’m finishing up this email on your behalf, sweet pea. I’m confirming your date for tomorrow night.”
Mandy looked nervous as she approached Alice. “Is it okay if the officers talk to you, Mama?”
“Go ahead and grab a seat. I don’t bite.”
“Mrs. Blakely, I’d like you to stand for a moment,” I said.
“In a second, I’m signing off.”
I saw Billings and Clayton enter through the back door, their guns drawn.
“The both of you can come in too. Have a seat,” Alice said, snickering.
I slammed the laptop lid. “Stand up.”
Alice complied, and I handcuffed her. She returned to her chair and plopped down. I pulled the cord out of the wall socket and placed the laptop on the couch.
“Are there any other computers in the house?” Jack asked.
“No, but the computer Dean used for his art is in the workshop. The door is locked, though.”
“And where would the key be?” I asked.
Alice grinned at me. “In my pants pocket.”
“Stand back up.”
She rose, and I fished a set of keys out of the back pocket of her jeans. “Mandy, which are for the workshop?”
“The silver one.”
Clayton took it and headed to the front door.
“Be careful,” I called out behind him. “Mrs. Blakely, I’m going to read you your rights. We’re putting you under arrest for the murder of David Smith and aiding in the torture and murders of Dean Blakely, Larry Taylor, and John Leiter.”
Alice laughed. “It will never stick. I’m crazy as a loon, and everybody knows it. I talk to God, and he tells me what to do. I’m not responsible. Mandy killed two people. If anyone is a cold-blooded murderer, it’s her. May as well kill me now, because if I go to prison, I won’t survive it. Somebody will surely do me in. Go ahead and shoot me.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Alice.”
Alice rose and walked into the living room. “I’m going to sit on my rocking chair if you don’t mind. My sciatica is bothering me.”
Mandy approached me. “Can you take these handcuffs off so I can go to the bathroom? You said you would.”
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“It’s right there. I can’t escape.” Mandy jerked her head just beyond the kitchen.
“Hang on.” I entered the small half bath and looked around. The only things inside were a sink and toilet. No medicine cabinets with razor blades or anything sharp in the room that Mandy could use to hurt herself or anyone else. I opened the cabinet beneath the sink and peeked in. Two rolls of toilet paper, glass cleaner, and a rag lay inside. I walked out. “Okay, turn around.” Mandy did, and I removed the handcuffs. “Make it fast.”
Mandy closed the door behind her after she stepped over the threshold. I stood only twenty feet from the bathroom door against the living room wall. Alice had everyone’s attention as she described in great detail how each man met his demise. She seemed to be enjoying the horror story she told my colleagues.
In the background, as we listened to Alice’s rambling, I heard the toilet flush. Mandy would be out in a second, and we’d head back to the station, she in one cruiser and Alice in the other. The house and workshop would be locked for the night, and we’d return tomorrow with the forensic team to process the buildings.
The sound of a drawer opening and closing caught my attention before Mandy rounded the corner. It took only a second. The expression on Alice’s face said it all—and then the piercing blast of a gunshot rang in my ears.
Chapter 62
The rocker tipped over when Alice was thrown backward by the bullet tearing through her skull. The pistol, still gripped between Mandy’s hands, had ribbons of smoke curling upward toward the ceiling. The men jumped from their seats and I spun—disbelief clouding our thoughts for a split second. Instinct told each of us to pull our service weapons. Mandy stared at Alice’s lifeless body while her fingers relaxed one by one. The gun fell to the floor, and a single tear slid down her cheek.
I holstered my weapon and grabbed her. “What the hell did you do? Why did you kill her, Mandy?” I yelled as I kicked the gun toward Jack.
“She said to shoot her, and Daddy told us to do what Mama said. She wouldn’t have made it in prison, anyway—she wanted this.” Mandy stared at me with blank eyes. “It’s justice for the families, don’t you agree?”
“Jack, call Clark. We’re going to need Lena out here. Forensics too.” I spun Mandy around and cuffed her again. I pushed her down on the couch. “Don’t even think of moving. You told us there weren’t any weapons in the house. Where did the gun come from?”
“I found it in the basement this morning and put it in the kitchen towel drawer. I didn’t trust Mariah or Mama anymore. Eventually, it would have been them or me.”
I raked my fingers through my hair as my anger increased. Mandy pulled one over on us, and now Alice was dead.
Jack hung up from the call and came back into the room. “Clark said he’d get everyone out here. Clayton, he wants you and Billings to stay put until they arrive. Jade, he wants us back at the station with Mandy.”
“Get up. Let’s go.” I pulled Mandy’s arm and lifted her from the couch.
She stood and looked back at Alice lying half in and half out of the rocker with a pool of blood spreading under her head. “Bye, Mama. Enjoy hell.”
Chapter 63
A week had passed since Alice was shot in the Blakely family home. Mandy occupied a private cell upstairs, where she’d remain until her
trial. A psychological exam had told us she was deeply disturbed. Chances were, she’d never be in a typical prison setting, and in a way, I hoped she would live out her life in an institution instead.
I couldn’t feel bad for Mandy, she had committed murder, but the irony tugged at my heart. She was the only one of the three that had a moral compass and knew right from wrong, yet when all was said and done, Mandy killed more people than Alice and Mariah combined. The sickness that started with Alice consumed both daughters. Now one was dead, and the other would be seriously affected for life.
Several days ago, the DNA results came in for Larry Taylor and John Leiter. The DNA matched our victims at St. John’s Church. We had known it would, but we needed formal confirmation. Now, the families could grieve and make funeral arrangements for their loved ones. The buried computer files revealed that Larry and John were both members of Unhappilyhitched Inc.’s dating service. That was something the wives would have to come to terms with on their own.
A warrant gave us access to the member names for that dating service, and sadly enough, Dean Blakely’s name was nowhere to be found. According to the home computer, Alice had a membership, and she and Mariah were the only ones that ever accessed that website through a password-protected log-in. According to Mandy, Dean never used the home computer. Billy checked the computer we took from Dean’s workshop. By most standards, the computer was nearly empty of files. The only usage was for Dean’s artwork and communications with his customers. A website he created showed descriptions, photographs, and the prices of his wall art. Dean was a skilled craftsman, a good husband, and a loving father and provider for his family. Unfortunately, he had died for nothing.
With the loose ends wrapped up and our initial paperwork completed, there was nothing to do with the Blakely case until the trial. I was actually going home on time. My day was done, and I had a date with my sister at the gun range.
“Good night, guys. See you bright and early in the morning.”
Groans sounded among them.
“Night, Jade, have a good evening,” Clark said as he looked up from his desk.
I walked out with Jack on my heels.
“Wait up, partner. What are you doing for dinner?”
“I’m going to the gun range with Amber and having pizza afterward. Want to join us?”
“Yeah, that sounds like fun. We have to bet on the best shot, though.”
“Of course we will, meaning you’ll be picking up the doughnuts for work in the morning.” I grinned at him. “Don’t forget, French crullers are my favorite, and I’ll have two.”
THE END
Thank you for reading Fallacy, Book 3 in the Detective Jade Monroe Crime Thriller Series. I hope you enjoyed it!
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