LIES OF THE PHOENIX (A Lieutenant Cassidy Mystery Book 1)

by Jeanne Tosti

  After several minutes Sarah regained control. “He lied to me. I thought I knew him, but now I find out I didn’t know him at all. I don’t know what to do. What am I supposed to do now?” she said pleadingly.

  Ruth was at a loss. She had always had misgivings about Jordan, but she never imagined that it would extend to his fabricating a major part of his life. She felt as helpless as Sarah looked.

  Ben stood silently taking in the whole conversation. As a cop he had seen a number of intentional spousal disappearances. Lies and cover-ups were the norm. It never ended well for the abandoned party. Marital discord was a touchy subject and he was just a mere acquaintance. He felt like he was intruding on what was obviously a sensitive situation and no one had invited him in.

  He did his best to fade into the background of the room and edged slowly towards the kitchen as he planned his escape. He had no desire to be drawn into offering an opinion on Jordan’s apparent deliberate disappearance. Sarah didn’t need to hear any more negative things about her husband right now.

  Sarah’s cell phone rang breaking the intensity of the moment. She made a frantic grab for it and placed it to her ear.

  “Hello!…Oh, Lieutenant Cassidy. . .No, I just thought it was someone else. . .Yes, I guess if it’s important I can be there. . . No, no, I’m sorry my husband isn’t, uh, available. . .O.K., 4:00 p.m.”

  Sarah hung up the phone and looked in Ruth’s direction, “He wants me to come to the precinct station again to discuss the break-in. He wanted Jordan to come, too.”

  Ben had edged his way almost to the kitchen door and was about to make his escape. He stopped and turned toward Ruth. “Break-in? What is she is talking about?”

  Ruth answered, glad to be on a safer ground. “There was a burglary at Sarah’s house not too long ago. Jordan shot and killed the intruder. The police haven’t been able to identify him.”

  Without thinking, Ben said, “Jeez! And now Jordan turns up missing? I take it no one thought to tell the investigating detective that he’s gone missing.” Immediately he wished he had softened his words.

  Sarah’s face clouded over and her eyes filled with tears again. She said defensively, “Why would that concern the police? Jordan didn’t have anything to do with the break-in,” but her feelings of protectiveness faded fast. There was no escaping the reality of the situation—Jordan had lied to her. Maybe he had lied about the break-in as well.

  Ruth gave Ben a helpless look and Ben attempted to rectify his less than tactful intrusion into the conversation. “Maybe I can help. I know how the police think. Call the detective back and ask to meet with him now. Don’t wait until 4 p.m. You don’t have to explain everything on the phone; just tell him you have some information that may have a bearing on his investigation. Believe me, he’ll be more than happy to talk to you.” Ben quickly added, “I’d be happy to take you down to the precinct when you talk to him.”

  Ruth was relieved that Ben had stepped in. She immediately added her encouragement. “I think you should do what he says. He has a lot of police experience and a fresh set of eyes can only help.”

  Sarah’s emotional reserves were exhausted. She was overwhelmed and ready to accept help from wherever it came. Ruth handed her the phone and she called Lieutenant Cassidy. As Ben had predicted, he agreed to see her as soon as she could get to the precinct station.

  She hung up and leaned against the back of the couch drained and dejected, “Ruth, would you mind if I stayed here another night? I just don’t want to be alone tonight.”

  This was Ruth’s territory and she jumped on it, “Of course. You know you can stay here as long as you like. I think you should stay for at least a few more days anyway.”

  “Thanks, I don’t know what I would do without you.” She looked in Ben’s direction. “Do you think we could stop at my place to pick up a few more things before we go to the station? I only brought an overnight bag with me.”

  “Sure, whatever you want. I have nothing scheduled for the rest of the day so I am at your service,” Ben answered.

  Ruth slipped into her domestic mode not knowing what else to do. “You two aren’t going anywhere until you have some lunch. I’ll make sandwiches. You can have a quick bite to eat before you leave.” She set off for the kitchen.

  Sarah was still in her pajamas and excused herself to get dressed. Ben was left by himself in the family room mulling over what he had heard. He didn’t know all the details, but his police intuition was telling him that there was a lot more to Jordan’s story than Sarah knew. He walked to the kitchen and sat down at the island counter. Ruth was busy putting together sandwiches. He was hoping Ruth could fill in some of the blanks.

  “Ruth, while Sarah is getting ready, tell me about that break-in at Sarah’s house.”

  Ruth had heard the story many times and repeated it to Ben with every detail she could recall. With his police background, she was hoping he would see something that would help Sarah.

  “How did he get into the house?”

  “Police said he picked the lock on the backdoor.”

  “Anything else that you can remember?”

  “Just that the police thought he wasn’t a typical burglar. Something about his clothes being too nice. They couldn’t figure out what he was after either. He passed up money and credit cards in Sarah’s purse and some electronics that were in plain sight. They think he may have been watching the house for a while before he broke in, too.”

  Ben listened intently. He could tell from what Ruth had said that this was no ordinary neighborhood break-in. Jordan’s sudden disappearance and Sarah’s discovery of his fabricated employment story raised more red flags.

  Sarah came into the kitchen and Ruth served up the sandwiches she had prepared. There was little conversation despite Ruth’s attempt to lighten the mood. Ruth and Ben finished eating, but Sarah had taken only two bites of her sandwich.

  After a few more minutes, Sarah pushed her plate away, “Sorry. I’m just not hungry.” She turned to Ben, “I’m ready to go now.”

  They said their goodbyes to Ruth, and then Ben led the way to his car parked in the driveway. They pulled out and headed to the precinct station.

  “Sarah would you mind going over what you can remember from the night of the break-in? It will get me up to speed before we talk to Lieutenant Cassidy.”

  Sarah recited the facts almost as if she had memorized them. She had repeated them so many times to the police that they were etched in her mind. Ben noted that Ruth’s version was almost identical.

  Ben listened attentively, but his intuition told him that there was more. “Is there anything that you didn’t share with the police? Anything that may be bothering you or doesn’t seem right? Regardless of how small.”

  There was a telling silence from Sarah. Ben knew she was holding something back.

  After a long moment, she took a deep breath. “I guess it doesn’t matter now.” Her resolve to protect Jordan was no longer there.

  “It was dark in the bedroom that night, I couldn’t see very well. I heard Jordan open and close his dresser drawer before he went downstairs.” She fidgeted, uncomfortable with what she was about to say. “I looked in his dresser after the police arrived at the house. There was an ammunition clip for a gun under his clothes.”

  “Did Jordan own a gun?”

  “I didn’t think so. But why would he have ammunition for a gun?”

  “Did you tell the police what you found?” asked Ben.

  “No, Jordan said that the gun he fired that night belonged to the burglar. I had no reason to doubt him. I didn’t tell the police because I didn’t think it had anything to do with Jordan shooting that man.”

  “What do you think now?”

  “I don’t know. I checked for the clip just before Jordan and I left for the hotel that night; it was gone. When we were at the hotel, I asked him what he took from the dresser. He told me it was a flashlight.”

  “A flashlight? Did you see any light
from it?”

  “No. He said he never used it. He put it on the table downstairs,” Sarah answered.

  “When did he do that? I thought he confronted the intruder as soon as he saw him.”

  Sarah didn’t answer. It sounded implausible to her now, and it just occurred to her that Jordan never mentioned the flashlight to the police.

  Ben brought her back to the present, “Did you ever ask Jordan about the ammo clip you found?”

  “I was afraid to. I didn’t want him to know I went through his personal things. He trusted me!”

  Too bad you trusted him, Ben thought. He could see that Sarah was coming to the reality herself that Jordan was not what he seemed to be. It was a painful lesson, but one that she needed to work through to get herself back on track. “Anything else not seem right to you?”

  She moved uncomfortably in her seat and Ben knew something else was coming.

  In a low hesitant tone she said, “I didn’t hear Jordan say anything to the intruder and I didn’t hear sounds of a fight. Our bedroom door was open and right at the top of the stairs. I should have been able to hear anything happening downstairs. All I heard were the two gunshots and the lamp breaking.”

  “Did you tell Jordan that?”

  “Yes, it bothered me. He said maybe my memory was playing tricks on me because I was so scared or distracted by the 911 call.”

  Ben listened carefully to Sarah. The inconsistencies were jumping out at him even if Sarah was not ready to see them.

  “So, tell me what happened the night of the play, after I brought you home?”

  Sarah went through everything she could remember. There wasn’t much to tell. She finished by mentioning Kyle Mason and his uninvited visit to the house the following morning and phone calls.

  They arrived at the townhouse and Ben parked the car at the curb. “Mind if I come in with you?” he said.

  She nodded and led the way to the front door with Ben following close behind. She fished her keys out of her purse and unlocked the front door. As she stepped in, she let out a gasp and jumped back colliding with Ben.

  Ben was caught off balance, but quickly righted himself. With a protective arm he moved her aside and proceeded into the house. The living room was in a complete shambles. Furniture was upended and cushions had been sliced open with the stuffing pulled out and scattered around the room like mounds of cotton candy. The bookshelves had been cleared and the desk drawers were pulled out with the contents dumped in a heap on the floor. Framed photos lay broken on the floor. Mail, bills, and business correspondence that had been stacked in neat piles on the desktop were now scattered across the destruction.

  From Ben’s vantage point at the front door, every part of the first floor looked like it had been ravaged. Wonder if they found what they were looking for, he thought.

  Sarah peered around Ben and couldn’t believe what she saw. Nothing seemed to have been spared from ruin. There was even a hole several feet in diameter in the plaster wallboard by the stairs leading to the second floor. Sarah tried to push past Ben. She wanted to know if anything was left of her home.

  Ben’s arm shot out and stopped her as she tried to push by, “We have to get out of here, and call the police. Don’t touch anything.”

  He guided her back outside and settled her safely inside his car. “We need to call Lieutenant Cassidy. Let me have your phone.”

  Sarah handed it to him and he skimmed through the recently received calls until he found Cassidy’s number.

  “Lieutenant Cassidy? This is Ben Taggert. I’m a friend of Sarah Lawrence. I was bringing her to the precinct to talk to you, but we stopped at her townhouse on the way. There’s been another break-in. The place has been ransacked. Looks like a pretty thorough job. Thought we should give you a heads-up because of the previous incident.” Ben listened to Cassidy’s response and then said, “O.K., good. We will be outside waiting.”

  He hung up and turned to Sarah. “Cassidy and his crew are on the way. He’s sending a couple of squads to secure the premises. We’re supposed to sit tight outside until they get here.”

  Within minutes two squad cars arrived with sirens and lights flashing. Ben spoke to the officers and they quickly entered the house with guns drawn. After a short time, the officers exited the front door and announced the house was clear. Several unmarked cars pulled up in front of the house. Lieutenant Alec Cassidy and Detective Nora Castle climbed out of one of the vehicles.

  “Give me a minute with Cassidy,” Ben said to Sarah as he slid out of the car and walked over to the two detectives.

  Sarah watched as Ben shook hands with Lieutenant Cassidy and Detective Castle. They spoke for some time and then Ben returned to the car.

  “They’ll be out to talk to you after they survey the house. Cassidy wants to look things over for himself. They’ve identified your dead burglar; he’s not a local.”

  Sarah sat in silence. She didn’t feel like talking. Her home and her life were in ruins. She wanted to run away and hide. Just then her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen on her phone, but didn’t recognize the number. She let the call go into voicemail. A few seconds later a text blinked onto her screen—It’s Kyle. Pick up when I call back.

  Her phone rang again. Sarah reluctantly answered. Maybe Kyle would have some news. “Hello, Kyle. . .No, I haven’t heard from Jordan. . .I already told you he didn’t leave anything for me. Why do you keep asking?. . . Look, this is a really bad time. Someone broke into my house and trashed it. The police are here. I have to go.” She hung up the phone.

  “If that guy is bothering you, I’d be happy to have a talk with him,” Ben offered.

  “No, that’s O.K. He’s just been a pest since Jordan left. He was Jordan’s best friend and they spent a lot of time together. He’s probably suffering from separation anxiety. The guy is strange, that’s all.”

  “Why does he think that Jordan left something for you?”

  “I have no idea.”

  After what seemed like an eternity, Lieutenant Cassidy came out and approached the car. “Given the state of things in there, I think it would be best if we talked down at the precinct. Detective Castle will stay here to oversee things. I’ll see you back at the station.”

  Sarah interrupted, “Can I go in to get some clothes and personal thing? I’m staying at a friend’s and need a few things.”

  “Just a minute.” Cassidy motioned to a person standing by a white Crime Scene Unit van that had just arrived. He spoke briefly to that person and then turned back to Sarah. “Mel will take you in to make sure you don’t accidently disturb something that could be evidence. He’ll give you some plastic bags to put things in. Ben, you may want to go with her to help with the bags. You know the procedure.”

  Ben and Sarah followed Mel into the house. He handed them booties to slip over their shoes and then told them to follow closely and not to touch anything. They made their way through the destruction in the living room and Sarah was appalled by the devastation to her home. Even the kitchen had not been spared. They ascended the steps and arrived in the master bedroom at the top of the staircase. The damage was just as bad there.

  She felt sick to her stomach at the scene. All of her clothes from the dresser and closet had been dumped in a heap on the floor. The bed linens had been stripped off the bed and the mattress and box spring had been slashed open.

  She looked at Mel and said, “I need to take some of my clothes. Can I go through this pile and take what I need?”

  “Pick out what you want. Our team has already looked this over, but I will take another look at whatever you decide to take. We don’t think that the clothes were of interest to the perpetrator. That’s why they were dumped on the floor. We’ll log and photograph anything you select before it leaves here. Once the team is finished with the scene, you’ll have access to all your stuff, but that may take a day or two. Sorry,” Mel said.

  The thought of someone examining and photographing her clothes and underw
ear was revolting, but she only packed an overnight bag when she went to Ruth’s and she had no choice. She needed something to wear.

  She picked through the pile of rumpled clothes on the floor and made a new pile in a corner of the bedroom that was free from debris. Mel went through what she had selected and examined each piece. He photographed the clothes and recorded each item in a log. Sarah then folded the items and placed them into one of the two plastic bags that Ben was charged with holding.

  Ben watched as she went through the pile of clothes. This guy was meticulous. Nothing escaped his search, he thought. He noticed that the pockets on all the clothes in the pile had been turned inside out. Whatever he was looking for was small enough to fit into a pocket. Given the extent of the damage, he also had his doubts as to whether the culprit had found what he was looking for.

  Mel finished his inspection of the clothes Sarah had selected and then led them carefully back out of the house. She surveyed the extent of the damage again as she followed him out. This was her house, her things, her life that were destroyed. Anger began to take over and displace the fear and abandonment she had been feeling. There was no way this was going to defeat her.

  Lieutenant Cassidy was outside speaking to a member of his team. He saw them exit the house and walked over to them. “Go ahead to the precinct and wait for me. I have a few more things to do here. I’ll be along shortly.”

  Sarah walked to Ben’s car without saying a word and slipped into the passenger seat. Ben placed the bags of clothes into the trunk and walked to the driver’s side door. He slid into his seat and saw that Sarah was just staring straight ahead in silence. She didn’t seem upset, just absorbed in thought.

  “Are you O.K.? I could talk to Cassidy and put him off for a while if you need some time,” said Ben.

  “No.” Her tone was resolute. “I’m ready to talk to him.”

  It was only a short ride to the precinct station. They made the trip in silence. Sarah was processing all that had happened and Ben did not want to disturb her with idle chatter.