by Nic Saint
“All lies,” said Veronica, but she looked like the fight had left her. She knew that Odelia was holding all the cards now, with those pictures of her.
“Tell her about Chase,” Brutus supplied helpfully. “How she set him up.”
“And then there’s that little matter of Chase Kingsley,” said Odelia.
“What about him?”
“He never did assault you, did he? You just made that up because Commissioner Necker asked you to. You cut a deal so Donny would walk free, in exchange for your testimony against Detective Kingsley.”
Veronica was giving her just about the meanest look any woman had ever given her, but Odelia didn’t care. She had proof, and she wasn’t letting go.
She tapped her phone. “You know what I’ll do? I’ll publish these on the front page of tomorrow’s Hampton Cove Gazette. Let the good people of this town draw their own conclusions. I’ll blur out the X-rated parts, of course. Don’t want to shock people more than is strictly necessary.”
“You can’t do that,” said Veronica hoarsely. She looked appalled.
“I can and I will,” she promised.
“Look, I didn’t kill my father, all right?” said Veronica. “I would never do that. I loved that man. He was a deeply flawed individual, but he was also a very sweet guy. The problem was that he had the mental age of a fifteen-year-old, which made me feel like I was dealing with a younger brother, not a father. I still loved him, though, like the funny, goofy guy he was. And as far as money is concerned, he set up a trust fund in my name when I was born. I don’t know how much is in there but last time I checked there were millions. So it’s not exactly as if I’m hard up or anything. And I was happy for Jasper. He’s more mature than my dad ever was, and he was like a second father to me. He deserved everything that was coming to him, including the wedding. It wasn’t easy being Dad’s significant other—just ask my mom. Jasper had to make a lot of sacrifices over the years, and I didn’t begrudge him anything.”
“Millions of dollars?” asked Rubb, eyes wide. “So you’re loaded, babe?”
She smiled. “Pretty much. I didn’t want to tell you as I was afraid you’d only like me for my money and not for me.”
“You told me the only money you had was your allowance.”
“Which is probably more than you’ve made in your entire life.”
He whistled through his teeth. “Well, I’ll be damned, babe.”
“Look, what about the poison?” Odelia asked, not liking the direction this conversation was taking. Veronica should be confessing by now, but instead she was making a pretty convincing case she was innocent in JPG’s murder.
“What poison?” asked Veronica with a frown.
“The spider venom. The only one who could have supplied that was your boyfriend.”
“Hey, don’t look at me, crazy lady,” said Rubb. “Like I told you yesterday, I had nothing to do with that spider stuff. I might be able to get my hands on some top quality narcotics, but I don’t know the first thing about some weird spider venom. Besides, why would I kill my best customer? That’s just crazy.”
“Because you wanted to help your girlfriend vouchsafe her inheritance.”
“I didn’t even know she was loaded, all right? She never told me.”
“And with good reason,” Veronica said. “Now I know you love me for me, and not for my money.”
“I’ve always loved you for you, babe.”
“Listen, what about Chase Kingsley?” asked Odelia, who hated to admit she was starting to believe these two were innocent after all.
Veronica hesitated. “If I tell you what happened, do you promise to delete those pictures? I so don’t want them on the Internet. I’d die of shame.”
“I promise not to publish them. I’ll keep them, though. Just in case.”
“All right. Yes, I did lie about Detective Kingsley.”
“Don’t tell her that, babe. They might put me back in prison.”
“No, they won’t,” she said. “This time I’m getting you the best lawyer money can buy, whatever Mom says. And I’m going to tell her everything.”
“Why don’t you begin by telling me everything?” Odelia asked.
“You were right,” said Veronica. “I set up Detective Kingsley because Commissioner Necker made a deal. In exchange for Donny walking free, all charges dropped, I had to make up a story about Detective Kingsley harassing me. I filed those charges and that restraining order, just like he asked me to, and the next thing I knew, Donny was sprung from prison.”
“Did the Commissioner tell you what it was all about?”
She shook her head. “I never spoke with Commissioner Necker himself. Everything was arranged through Donny’s lawyer, who swore us to secrecy.”
“And a lousy lawyer he was.”
“Mom forbade me to get a decent one, so this one was all we had,” Veronica explained. “I’m pretty sure he was working for the Commissioner all along. They just needed someone to agree to do the dirty on Kingsley.”
“Will you retract your statement?”
“I will,” she said.
“Why the restraining order against Donny?” she asked.
She rolled her eyes. “That was Mother’s idea. She’d seen how easy it was to get one against Kingsley, so she told me to get one against Donny. She’d never liked him.”
“That woman hates me,” grunted Rubb, waggling his beard indignantly.
“What’s not to like?” asked Odelia. “Having a drug dealer for a son-in-law is probably every mother’s dream.”
“She’s right, you know,” said Veronica. “You have to stop with that drug business, babe. It’s going to get you killed one of these days.”
“Not to mention a bunch of other people,” said Odelia, shaking her head.
“I know,” he grumbled. “But it’s easy money. And everybody loves my product. You wouldn’t believe how popular I am amongst the celebrity set.”
“Did you move out here to be closer to Veronica?” asked Odelia.
“Yes, I did,” he said, pulling her close and planting a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I already had a few high-profile customers back in New York, so it wasn’t hard to make the move, as a lot of them had a weekend place out here. And when Veronica introduced me to her dad, I knew I had a winner.”
“I only did that to make sure Dad had the best quality drugs,” said Veronica with a shrug. “If he was going to take that stuff anyway, he might as well buy from Donny.” She tapped his nose. “But now you’re through.”
“If you say so,” he grumbled.
“Yes, I do. If Mother is ever going to accept you, you need to go legit.”
“You’re going to introduce me to your mom again?”
“I am. And this time she’s going to accept you. Just you wait and see.”
Rubb didn’t look too happy about that prospect, but Odelia had the impression that Veronica was the type of woman who liked to get her way, and she was pretty sure she was going to see this through. She didn’t like her cavalier attitude toward drugs, but at least she’d come clean about Chase.
“So we have a deal?” she asked. “You’re retracting your statement about Chase Kingsley?”
“Yes,” said Veronica. “And you promise never to publish those pictures?”
“Deal,” said Odelia, and they shook hands on it. In one fell swoop she’d rid Hampton Cove of a drug dealer, and Chase Kingsley of his pesky accuser. She’d also lost a perfectly good suspect in Johnny’s murder, but that couldn’t be helped. She believed Veronica. She hadn’t killed her father. So who had?
Chapter 25
After she’d dropped the couple off at Veronica’s place, Odelia drove to her uncle’s house to give Chase the good news. When she arrived, she found the back door open, as usual. Alec didn’t believe in locking his door, figuring nobody would be so stupid to break into the house of the chief of police.
She walked through the kitchen, which was squeaky clean. Her uncle
never cooked, and neither did Chase, apparently. All she found were two cups in the sink and half a pot of cold coffee in the coffeemaker.
She went upstairs to look for Chase, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Chase? Are you up there?”
“Over here,” he bellowed, and she found him in the guest bedroom, his suitcase open on the bed, while he was seated next to it, staring at a picture frame of an older man in police uniform. He looked like Chase, but older.
“Your dad?” she guessed.
He looked up. “Yeah, this was taken when he got a commendation.” He dumped the picture frame on top of his luggage.
“I’ve got some great news for you,” she said, grabbing a chair.
“Oh? What’s that?”
She quickly told him the story of what had transpired just now, and his eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch.
“So Veronica George finally decided to come clean, huh? Well done.”
“I just thought you’d like to know she’s going to retract her statement, so you should be good to stay on here in Hampton Cove. I’m sure my uncle will take you back in a heartbeat.”
“Too late,” he said, surprising her.
“Too late? What do you mean? This is your chance, Chase.”
He gave her a weary look. “My reputation is shot to hell, Odelia. Even if Veronica retracts her statement, those rumors will never go away. Not until the whole story comes out, and even then they’ll persist. It’s like with those apologies the tabloids publish in small print on the bottom of page fifty after they’ve destroyed your reputation on the front page just days before.”
“This won’t be buried on page fifty, Chase. I’ll get you the front page.”
He shook his head. “Muds sticks, Odelia. No matter what you write.”
“Not when I reveal the truth and do the whole story, like you said.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “What are you going to write?”
“I’ll print the retraction on the front page. Clear your name entirely.”
“Like I said, mud sticks. I can’t be a cop in this town, not with half the population believing I’m dirty. I’ll never have the authority I need again.”
“But—”
He held up his hand to silence her. “Look, I appreciate what you’ve done for me, I really do, but my mind is made up. This part of my life is over.”
She stared at him, defeated. “What are you going to do?”
“A buddy of mine set up his own business in Cleveland. Private security. He’s always asked me to join him so I finally told him I would. It’s not as much fun as being a cop, but it’s a paycheck.”
She stared at the picture frame of Chase’s dad. “Is that what your dad would have wanted? You running away like this?”
For a moment, the fire returned to his eyes. “I’m not running away. I just know when it’s time to call it quits. And right now it’s time to move on.”
She remembered something Brutus said. “Wasn’t being a cop your dream?”
He stared at her. “Yes, it was. My dad was a cop, so naturally I thought being a cop was the greatest thing ever. And it was. It still is.”
She realized she didn’t know Chase all that well. In the short time he’d been here, he’d made quite an impression on her, but he’d never discussed his personal life.
“Your dad… is he retired now?”
“Retired to that big old retirement home in the sky,” said Chase.
“Oh… I’m so sorry, Chase.”
“One week before his retirement he broke up a fight on the Lower East Side. Some dumb dispute about a hot dog stand. One guy suddenly took out a gun and fired off a warning shot. The shot went wide and hit my dad in the carotid artery and he bled to death. Dumbest death ever.”
“Oh, God, Chase. That’s horrible.”
“Mom didn’t take it too well, as you can imagine. She hasn’t been the same since. The fact that her son was kicked off the force didn’t help either.”
“Where is she now?”
“Living with her sister in the Bronx. I’d take her, but I’m not exactly in a position to do so right now.”
“But don’t you want to stay close? Ohio is a long way from your family.”
He shrugged. “It’s a job. A man’s got to eat.”
“Look, what if I expose the Commissioner? Would that help?”
He stared at her. “And how exactly are you going to do that?”
“I have my sources. I’ll figure something out.”
“You can’t go throwing out wild accusations, Odelia. They’ll come after you next. This guy… he’s ruthless. And it’s not just the Commissioner, you’re going up against the mayor as well. Both powerful men, both trying to protect their careers now that there are important elections coming up.”
“I’m a big girl, Chase. I can handle myself,” she promised him.
He gave her a grimace. “You better have ironclad proof, or else they’re going to sink your career like they sank mine. In fact I’d advise you to stay away from this whole business.” He rose from the bed, grasped her hand and shook it. “See you around, Odelia Poole. It was nice sparring with you.”
“I’m not giving up on this yet,” she said adamantly. “This town needs a good cop like you, Chase, and I’m going to make sure you stick around.”
He shook his head. “Keep dreaming, Poole.”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” She wasn’t doing this for herself. She was doing this for Chase, for his mother, and for Hampton Cove. Because this town deserved a great cop like him, and his mother deserved a break, and so did he. The fact that her heart suddenly hurt when she thought about him leaving town never to return had nothing to do with it, of course.
Chapter 26
When Odelia walked back to the car, she was looking disappointed. It was obvious her one-on-one with Chase hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped.
“What?” asked Brutus eagerly. “Is he staying?”
She shook her head as she slipped behind the wheel. “No. He says he’s moving to Cleveland, to start working private security with a buddy of his.”
“Cleveland? Where is Cleveland?” asked Harriet.
“Ohio,” I told her.
“Where’s Ohio?” asked Dooley.
“Far away from here,” said Odelia, clearly not too happy.
“But didn’t you tell him about Veronica?” cried Brutus, dismayed.
“I did,” she said, slumping behind the wheel. “He said it’s too little too late. His reputation is shot to hell, and people won’t trust him as a cop.”
“Like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube,” I said.
“Exactly,” said Odelia with a wan smile. “Thanks for that imagery, Max.”
“It’s not so hard to put toothpaste back into the tube,” said Dooley.
“No? Let’s see you try it,” said Odelia.
“You just… do it,” said Dooley, sounding like a commercial for Nike.
“Why don’t you just write a big, beautiful story on the front page and convince everybody what a magnificent person Chase really is?” asked Harriet, gazing at Brutus as if he was the most magnificent cat she knew.
“Unless I print the whole story, with irrefutable proof, that won’t make much of a difference,” said Odelia. “No, Chase is right.”
“But… that means you’re leaving?” Harriet asked Brutus, eyes wide.
Brutus, for the first time since I’d met him, looked crestfallen. “Oh, tootsie roll,” he croaked.
“Oh, honey pie,” she whispered, and they both broke into tears. It was a little pathetic, but also heartbreaking.
“Look, I promised Chase I’d break the story of the Commissioner’s dirty little secret,” said Odelia, turning to me, “but I need your help. I need to have positive proof of this affair. Without that, we’re sunk. It’s Chase’s word against the Commissioner’s, and we all know who the public will believe.”
; I thought about this for a moment, then I nodded. “I think I know just the cat to talk to.”
“Well, you go do that, and I’ll…” She waved her hands helplessly. “I need to rethink this entire murder thing. If Veronica didn’t do it, and neither did Jasper… Well, then I really don’t know who did,” she finished.
“Can you drop us off at the mall?” I asked, and even though she eyed me curiously, she didn’t ask why. She drove us over and let us out of the car.
“Do you need me to pick you up later on?” she asked, gesturing at the tracker and panic button combo that was still fastened to my collar.
“Yes, that would be great,” I said. We’d been traipsing around so much I was starting to feel the strain.
“So where are we going?” asked Dooley when Odelia had left.
I motioned to a small collection of dumpsters across the parking lot from the strip mall. “Where do you think?”
He stared at the dumpsters. “Are you hungry? If you are, you should have asked Odelia to drop us off at Johnny’s place. I’m sure Princess and George wouldn’t mind sharing their food with us again. They’ve got plenty.”
“We’re not here to eat, Dooley,” I said. “We’re here to talk to a certain individual who’s usually very well-informed and might be able to help us.”
He frowned. “You mean that bearded hipster drug dealer?”
“Not him,” I said as I set paw for the dumpsters. Brutus and Harriet were lagging behind, still consoling each other and coming to terms with their imminent breakup. It broke my heart to see them, and I had to admit I just might have misjudged Brutus. To look as brokenhearted as he did, it meant he really cared about Harriet, which meant that he actually had a warm heart beating beneath that rugged exterior of his and not just a solid block of ice.
We arrived at the dumpsters. It was here that the shops comprising the mall dumped their trash, and it also served as a place where all manner of vermin gathered. Not just critters favored this place, though, but also one of Hampton Cove’s most feral feline inhabitants. She lived out in the woods, near the old hunting lodge that was now the Writer’s Lodge, where best-selling and not-so-best-selling writers came to write in all peace and quiet.
