Dirty Money

by Michelle Love

  “Are you ready to order?” Hurriedly, they both made the same choice, and the waitress left.

  Sarah leaned toward the elderly lawyer.

  “Please go on. How did you become his lawyer?”

  “His mother Amelia was the daughter of a rich man, a rich man who had high expectations. She married Yann when she was just nineteen, and her child, Raymond was her world. I mean, the whole world revolved around that little boy. He was doted on by his entire family but Amelia and he shared a bond like none I have ever seen.”

  “Raymond was prone to fits of rage, especially when his mother’s attention was diverted from him. He would scream, even bite her sometimes until she tended to him. Amelia, at first, didn’t see that his behavior was extreme.”

  His father soon grew tired of being ignored and began to punish his son, never with violence, just by restricting his access to his mother. They started to find animals, dead animals, on the estate. At first, no-one suspected – Raymond was only five years old at this point – no one suspected that he could have killed them. Until he brought home a cat that he had killed. Brought it right into the parlor. Amelia was sickened of course, and punished the boy but Raymond didn’t care about the punishment, he had his mother’s attention.

  He started to set small fires on the estate, nothing was damaged, really but they were numerous and occasionally their neighbors would complain and Raymond would be punished. In response to the punishments, he would deliberately wet the bed – mostly his own but on several occasions the beds of his family and their staff. Their overnight guests. He seemed to revel in their discomfort.”

  William sighed, deep in the memory. “Amelia was increasingly distraught. She had adored her son and now he was behaving in such a profoundly disturbing manner. Amelia came to recognize that her son was…”

  “A monster.” Sarah whispered. William nodded sadly.

  “She was destroyed.”

  “You loved her.” Sarah studied the elderly man’s face, watched as it creased with pain.

  “With all my heart. Yann was a cold man, a cold, cold man. She was lonely and I was weak.”

  Sarah reached across the table, took his hand. “I understand, William, believe me.” She gave a little laugh and shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe how much I understand.”

  William squeezed her hand gratefully.

  “She was an extraordinary woman, warm, brilliant. Beautiful. Forgive me for saying so, Sarah, but you remind me so much of her, you appear to share many of her qualities.”

  She flushed and William smiled kindly at her.

  “Dan…Raymond,” she corrected for his benefit, “Raymond told me that his was an abusive childhood and that’s why he was sent away.”

  William sighed. “That’s not true. Yes, Yann was not an affectionate father and could be a harsh disciplinarian but no, Raymond wasn’t abused. For a time in fact, when he was six, he seemed to change, behave well.”

  “A new family came to live in the estate next to theirs, Chinese immigrants. A young family, with an infant daughter, she would have been four or five at the time. They weren’t as rich as the Petersen’s but Amelia and the girl’s mother, Suyin, often would visit with each other and Suyin would bring the little girl to play with Raymond. The two children would play on the grounds of the estate, making a den out of a little boathouse on the bayou. Raymond’s behavior seemed to improve and, for Amelia, the relief was palpable.”

  William coughed quietly, and as he brought his coffee to his mouth, his hands shook. Sarah’s stomach began to roil with unease. William put his cup down slowly.

  “One day, they were playing out in the den when Raymond came back to the house, alone. He was covered in blood.”

  “Oh my God.” Sarah covered her mouth with her hands, horror sweeping through her, ice in her veins. William nodded.

  “Yann came running from his study when he heard Amelia’s screams. Later he would tell me that Raymond just stood there, smiling, and blood dripping from his little hands. He had killed the girl, Hotaru, I think her name was, with a knife he had stolen from the kitchen. When they found her, she had been disemboweled.”

  Sarah felt the bile rise up into her throat, her head shook from side to side, not wanting but needing to hear the rest.

  George. The other women.

  “Of course, it was all hushed up. The other family was paid off, a huge amount, and Raymond was sent away to boarding school. Amelia refused to ever see him again and killed herself shortly afterward. As for Raymond, his father visited occasionally but even that tailed off. Eventually, when Raymond left school, they lost contact. He had given him a lump sum allowance that he withdrew from his account on his eighteenth birthday but he never saw or spoke to him again. Yann died just over two years ago.”

  “Where was Raymond?” Sarah’s voice was gruff, her throat dry. William shrugged.

  “No one knows. It was only after the notice of Yann’s death appeared that he contacted my office. Where he was, or what he was doing is anybody’s guess.”

  Sarah remembered what Finn had said. The invisible man. William Corcoran was watching her, his face sympathetic.

  He cleared his throat. “Sarah, should I have told you all this?”

  She nodded, vehement. “Yes, William, yes. It’s better to be informed.” Then, all her bravado disappeared and her shoulders slumped.

  “Do you think he’s killed since?”

  “I couldn’t even begin to...” He sighed. “There’s no evidence.”

  “But you think so?”

  “Yes. Sarah, Raymond Petersen is a malignant narcissist, a bully, a sadist. He enjoys inflicting pain, both physically and mentally. I imagine his victims are…legion.”

  Her face drained of color. William looked at her, worry etched on his kind face. She murmured something and he frowned.

  “I’m sorry, my dear, I didn’t catch that.”

  She looked up at him then. “I said he’s going to kill me.”

  William paled. “My dear…”

  “It’s okay, William. It helps to say it out loud, believe it or not. Otherwise, it would be too easy to pretend all this wasn’t happening, that it was some insane nightmare.” She sighed.

  Corcoran finished his drink and signaled to the waitress for another. He leaned across the table, his face serious.

  “Sarah, tell me everything.”

  “I met him in college. He was charming, friendly, loving. I saw nothing in him then that would point to who he became. It was after we married and moved back to the island that he changed. My friends – my family, really – always had reservations but I was blind to them. I had a bad childhood and here was someone who told me he would take care of me. I feel so stupid now. He became possessive, verbally abusive. Then he disappeared and – I can admit finally – it was more a relief than a sadness.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I just said that. Of course, I was upset, it was such a shock but after a while, I just got angry. I divorced him in absentia. And then, last year, I met Isaac and I finally knew what real love was. I was happy and then my father figure was murdered – just like that poor little girl and things fell apart. I was beaten pretty badly, my life threatened, my best friend Molly was attacked. And then Dan came back and it’s been a living nightmare ever since.”

  She could feel the curious glances of the other diners on her. William looked appalled. After a moment, she brushed the tears from her face.

  “I’m sorry, William.”

  “My dear, there’s no need to apologize. I’m just so sorry. I should have gone to the police with my suspicions.”

  “But you haven’t any proof so…” she almost gagged on the words and William reached across the table. “How are we going to stop him when…?” Her voice trailed off, and she couldn’t finish the thought. William squeezed her hand.

  “You married again? Is he a good man?”

  “Yes.” She said without hesitation. “He’s a proud man, he loves me and this
is killing him.”

  “I see.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes.

  “Sarah, Raymond is a very dangerous man, and if he’s already assaulted you…my dear, forgive me but when I saw you...you look so much like her. Like little Hotaru. For an old man’s piece of mind, please be vigilant. Don’t be alone with him, don’t get into any situation where he could harm you.”

  “I promise I won’t take any unnecessary risks, William. And thank you.” She smiled at him and he returned it with just a little hesitation. He bent down and pulled a folder from his case.

  “I have something for you.” He slid the folder over to her. Curious, she opened it and gasped.

  “I took this photograph just a few moments before Raymond was taken away.”

  Sarah stared at the photograph. Amelia, her soft dark hair curling down to her shoulders, her ruby pendant crimson at her throat, gazed down at her son with abject horror in her eyes. The tears poured down her face as she looked at the unbearable, searing grief on the face of a mother who knew her son was an abomination.

  Isaac stood and shook the hand of QuinnCorp’s new client, showed her out then called in at his brother’s office. “Hey.”

  Saul smiled. “How’d it go?”

  “In the bag. Look, I’m done for the day. You going soon?”

  Saul pulled his tie down. “Hell, yes. Maika’s mom has the kids for the weekend.”

  Isaac grinned. “Damn.”

  Saul laughed. “Yeah, we’ve been married a long time, Iss, our idea of a sexy-time is watching crap t.v. in bed and eating ourselves into a carb coma. Wait till you and Sarah are married as long, you’ll see.”

  “I gotta say,” Isaac dropped into the chair opposite his brother, “I think Sarah would go for that now.”

  Saul snorted. “I knew I liked that girl for a reason. How is she?”

  “Better. She’s meeting with the lawyer from New Orleans today. Maybe he can tell us something we can use.”

  “You didn’t want to go with her?”

  Isaac smiled wryly. “I was forbidden.”

  “Whipped.”

  “And happy with it. Anyhoo, I’m going, have a good weekend.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  Sarah stepped out of the restaurant into a world that was altered. She remembered feeling like this once after she, Finn and Molly had seen a violent movie when they were teenagers – a film crew becoming entangled with a serial killer – they’d left the theater eyeing everybody suspiciously and raced back home, feeling foolish and giggling to themselves.

  But this wasn’t a movie. Outside, despite the sultry weather, she felt chilled to the core. She walked slowly along the waterfront, wanting to scream, to cry, to anything. Anything but this, she thought to herself. This numbness.

  She let Flynn and Jay, following her at a discreet distance, steer her back to the car. Sitting in the backseat, she hugged her arms around her, trying to get some warmth back into her bones. Her thoughts were like scatter-shot in her brain, nothing coherent, but each one like a spike of terror stabbing at her.

  She didn’t even realize she was crying until Jay asked her if she was okay.

  At seven Molly left the Varsity in Nancy’s hands and wandered over to the police station. Steve, the deputy who had saved her from the attacker, smiled at her. “Hey you, what’s going on?”

  She half-smiled. “Have you see Finn?”

  Steve looked blank. “Is he at work today?”

  Dread started to tighten her chest. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

  Steve looked confused. “Hang on…”

  She watched Steve with frightened eyes as he punched out some numbers on the office phone.

  Molly tugged out her cell and tried to call Finn. Finn’s voicemail clicked in.

  “Finn…please….” Molly’s voice broke. “Call me as soon as you get this. Where are you, honey? We’re worried.”

  She hung up then looked at Steve. “I’m going to check his apartment.”

  Steve, phone pressed to his ear, nodded. “I’m calling in help. We’ll find him, Mols, don’t worry.”

  ***

  William Corcoran walked slowly, his brow furrowed. His intention had been to walk to the Space Needle, take the glass lift to see the city at night. His hotel wasn’t more than a few blocks from Seattle’s most famous attraction and, a once-keen photographer, he couldn’t resist the chance to capture the city’s beauty from on high. He bought his ticket and rode up to the viewing platform, only half listening to the guide’s oft-repeated speech about the “62 World Fair.

  The view didn’t disappoint. The water, Puget Sound, Elliott Bay Lake Washington, glistening with the lights from the city, the Downtown rising like the turrets of a castle. The hills, Queen Anne, and Capitol; in the distance he could see the planes taking off from Sea-Tac Airport and there, just to the left, the snow-capped Mt. Rainier rising like a dream from the violet twilight.

  Corcoran sighed. So much beauty. He thought of Sarah – his heart had broken for her, for the fear and sadness in her eyes. He had warmed to the young woman, her grace, and femininity and felt only remorse and sorrow for the horror that had entered her life. That he, William Corcoran, had brought to her life. He berated himself – why, why, hadn’t he warned someone about Dan when he’d seen him reappear two years ago? And now this lovely young woman…Corcoran felt, with every bone in his body, that Sarah Quinn was in terrible, terrible danger. Would his telling her about Dan help her? He couldn’t answer that.

  He gave a frustrated grunt, startling an elderly woman next to him. Her little jump brought him back to the present.

  The evening was cooling, a breeze started to whip around the viewing platform and he joined the queue of people heading back down. In the gift shop, he treated himself to a tiny pewter replica of the attraction and while the clerk was counting out his change, he asked him how to get down to the waterfront. The clerk gave him directions.

  “My advice is to walk down, sure, but take a cab back, buddy. Those hills are a killer.”

  ***

  Isaac opened the door, his face set and stressed. Jay had called him from the car to warn him that Sarah was, in his words, “out of it.” He saw her face now and knew that whatever the lawyer, Corcoran, had told her, it was bad.

  Sarah finally focused on his face after he’d shut the door and taken her into his arms. For a long time, he held her, saying nothing. She didn’t cry, she didn’t shake. She was just still, rigid in his arms.

  Finally, he looked down at her. “Is it bad?”

  Sarah looked back at him with eyes that were full of horror and defeat. She opened her mouth to speak but all she could do was nod. Her body slumped and then her legs gave way and they were falling to the floor. Sarah dragged air into her lungs whilst Isaac, shaken to his core, whispered over and over to her.

  “Don’t give up, please, don’t give up…”

  Molly skittered back to the Varsity and told Nancy what was happening. Then she ran up the stairs to the apartments above the Varsity. The door to Finn’s apartment was closed but unlocked and Molly walked in, calling her brother’s name. No answer. Nothing was out of place, it was even tidy – she grinned to herself. So unlike her scruffy brother. She checked the bedroom, the bathroom, nothing. She gave a frustrated huff and stepped back into the hallway. The apartment opposite Finn’s had stood empty for years – Sarah had sold it a few years ago but no-one had ever lived in it and Molly only gave it a passing glance now.

  Then she froze. A shadow moved across the strip of light under the door. The new owner? She hadn’t seen anyone move in. She stepped closer to the door, pressed her ear against it. From within she could hear low mumbling, a man’s voice maybe, or a radio? She chewed her lip, considered for a moment then knocked. The murmuring stopped. The breath caught in her throat. She knocked again.

  “Hello?”

  Nothing happened. She waited but couldn’t hear anything els
e. Feeling slightly embarrassed she dropped to her knees and peered under the door. She couldn’t see anything. No one there. She pushed the door and it opened.

  William found himself at a parking lot of a hotel on a pier. He studied the map the hotel concierge had given him and saw he was at the far end, away from most of the nightlife. A seafood place was the nearest restaurant and he hesitated, deciding to look around before eating. He wandered over to the water’s edge and looked across the bay. Even at night, the ferries continued to sail and he toyed with the idea of taking a ride for the hell of it. It looked like a peaceful way to spend an evening.

  He heard the step behind him a fraction of a second too late. A strong hand gripped the back of his neck and he felt the hot breath of his assailant on his face.

  “Hello, William.”

  Dan. Corcoran struggled against the big man’s grip to no avail. With a swift merciless movement, Dan smashed William’s head against the corner of the hotel’s wall. A blinding explosion of pain ripped through the elderly man and Dan jerked the lawyer’s head back against him and jammed his mouth against his ear.

  “Telling tales out of school.” Smash. Blood pouring into his eyes.

  “You should think yourself lucky, William.” Smash. Pain screaming through him.

  “For you, this will be quick.” Smash. The synapses in his brain began to misfire – he saw Amelia, she smiled at him, held out her hand to him.

  The dying man felt Dan pull him even closer, heard him breathing in the metallic smell of his blood.

  “But when I kill her…” Smash. The very edge of consciousness, of life. Through a throat full of blood, gathering all of his remaining strength, William Corcoran choked out his final words.

  “Leave her alone.” A gurgled plea. Dan laughed.