by B. T. Lord
Clarisse was slunk down in a chair across from Rick, her belly protruding like a giant circus ball between them. Her face was surly, and when the door to Cammie’s office opened, she started to protest.
“You’ve got a hell of a lot of nerve asking me to come all the way down here. I’m about ready to pop and it isn’t easy--” She swallowed the rest of her tirade when she saw Rick enter. “Well, well, looks like I lucked out,” she said, giving Rick a seductive smile.
Rick smiled. “I did too,” he agreed.
That got her attention. She straightened up a bit.
“I’ve seen you around town,” she said. “I’ve heard you really know how to show a lady a good time.”
“I do my best.”
“I’m sure you do.” She laughed.
“When is the baby due?” he asked.
“Not soon enough.”
“I heard the father skipped out on you.”
“Yeah. His loss.”
“Tell me, are you really into all that witchcraft stuff?”
Clarisse guffawed. “I just do it to keep Torri happy. She’s the one who’s into all that shit.” Clarisse leaned forward as much as she could, and grinned at Rick. “Anybody ever tell you you’ve got gorgeous hair. What I wouldn’t give to run my fingers through it. Maybe when this little rug rat is finally outta me, you and I can get together.”
Rick politely ignored her remark. Hell would freeze over before he would ever consider going out with her. Instead he asked, “So why did you change your name to Clarisse Jackson? Did it sound better than Susan Wallis?”
Clarisse’s head shot up and her eyes narrowed. Then, she unexpectedly chuckled. “Clarisse sounds a helluva lot sexier than Susan, doesn’t it?”
Rick could tell she was playing with him. And enjoying every minute of it. He was determined to change that. He leaned forward slightly and smiled his most charming smile. He saw Clarisse taking the bait.
“When did you start using salvia timor?”
Her demeanor instantly changed. She averted her eyes and her face paled.
Gotcha! Rick thought to himself.
“You went through a lot of trouble and expense to change your name from Bonnie Wallis to Torri Jackson and cover up your past,” Cammie said to Torri. “Is that the real reason Todd gave you the $50,000?”
Torri met Cammie’s gaze and smiled. “Sorry to burst your conspiratorial bubble, sheriff, but I told you why Todd gave me the money. If I was blackmailing him in some way--” Torri began counting on her fingers – “number one, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to off him if I could get more money out of him. Number two, if I was in a hurry to get money from him, how come I haven’t cashed the check he gave me yet, and number three, I heard how he died. How did I get over there without leaving any footprints in the snow?”
“Looks like you’ve thought about it.”
“What do you expect when the sheriff comes knocking on your door and starts insinuating you had something to do with your friend’s death?”
“So why did you go through all the trouble of changing your identity?”
Torri leaned back in her chair and crossed her massive legs. “Actually Sheriff, I think you’d understand exactly why I did what I did. I heard tell around town you had the same problem once upon a time. Only you solved yours with a hockey stick and a one way ticket to Seattle. I solved mine by erasing any trail that might lead to us. Like you, I made the mistake of marrying a guy who used his fists to tell me how much he loved me.” She chortled at her own words. “Brian almost killed me twice. Dislocated my arm, broke my nose. I finally got wise when he came home one night with a revolver and shoved it into my mouth. If a neighbor hadn’t taken that moment to knock on the door, I don’t think I’d be here today. The only way to get away from him was to erase all trace of my and Clarisse’s existence. It wasn’t easy, I can tell you that. And don’t worry, Sheriff. We did it legally. So you see, there’s nothing suspicious about it.”
“Is Brian still in prison?”
“Nope. Got out on a technicality. Lucky for me, he drank too much one night and had an intimate rendezvous with a tree. He broke enough bones to be laid up for a long while.”
“You did an excellent job erasing the existence of Bonnie Wallis.”
She shrugged. “Through my herb shop, I got to know lots of people from different walks of life. Some of those contacts came in handy when it was time to make Bonnie and Susan disappear. They told me exactly what to do and how to do it.”
“Including getting your sister’s assault charges dropped?” Cammie asked.
A flicker of fear passed over Torri’s features.
“Salvia what? Never heard of it.”
Despite her words, Clarisse’s demeanor spoke otherwise. She continued to avoid Rick’s eye as she picked at a loose thread on her black and white sweater. Rick decided to go for a bluff.
“That’s not what I heard.” He leaned back in his chair, giving the appearance of casual indifference. “In fact, I heard you were notorious for using the stuff.”
“That’s not true!” Clarisse exclaimed, her eyes flashing. “I only tried it a couple of--” She realized her mistake, but it was too late.
Rick leaned forward, his gaze intent. “When did you try it, Clarisse? And how did you convince Marcy Audet and Todd Paradis to try it? Or did they even know you were giving them some? Did you spike their tea? Did you enjoy watching them go crazy on that shit?”
Clarisse’s eyes watered as she sputtered.
“You’re wasting your talents up here, sheriff,” Torri replied once she’d gotten herself back under control.
“So tell me about those charges.”
Torri looked tired, as if the weight of all she’d been through in her life suddenly fell upon her shoulders.
“Sheriff, you got any siblings?” Cammie shook her head. “Count yourself lucky.” She chuckled mirthlessly. “Clarisse – sorry, but once I changed our names, I can’t get out of the habit of calling her Clarisse – she’s always been a handful. Always bucking authority. Always thinking she knows everything when in fact, she knows absolutely nothing. But I love her. And have always taken care of her. I can’t stop now.” She heaved a heavy sigh. “The dumb shit who knocked her up isn’t the only guy she’s ever shacked up with that was no good. She got involved with a guy back in Danvers who ended up having another girlfriend on the side. When Clarisse found out, she went a bit apeshit. Instead of blaming the guy for being a two-timing jerk, she went after the girlfriend. Tracked her down to the Liberty Tree Mall where she hauled off and punched her. Knocked out a tooth. I had to call in a few favors to get the girl to drop the charges.” She sighed again. “Sometimes I think I should have just let her go to jail. Maybe that would have scared her enough to stop her life from going down the shitter.” She shrugged. “Ah well, too late for all of that.”
“That had to be some pretty powerful favors,” Cammie responded.
“I told you, my shop was pretty popular. Had all sorts of people depending on my teas, from police officers all the way up the ladder to judges and local politicians.”
“None of them could protect you from your husband?”
“Maybe for a little while. But not forever. Just seemed easier to erase our existence and start fresh somewhere else.”
“Yet you’re still mailing your tea to some of these people.”
“I ain’t stupid. A friend of mine has a post office box in Bangor. We handle all transactions through him. My old and new name never comes into the picture.”
“It must have hurt you that Clarisse has no interest in following your centuries-old family tradition of blending herbs.”
“I’ll say. I’ve tried teaching her, but she’s got the attention span of a fly.”
“Is it true you really believe you’re descended from one of the Salem Witch Trial victims, Anne Pudeator?”
“That’s right.”
“It’s interesting that you became friends with t
he one person who is descended from Reverend Samuel Parris.”
“Small world, isn’t it?”
Cammie had learned long ago to keep a suspect off kilter by dramatically changing the direction of an interrogation. She watched Torri carefully as she asked, “When did you start using salvia timor?”
Torri jerked up her head and stared at Cammie for a long moment. “Is that what killed Marcy and Todd?”
“Just answer my question, please.”
The large woman shook her head. “No respectable herbalist worth their salt would ever use that stuff. It’s too unpredictable and too dangerous. I heal people. I don’t give them crazy ass visions.”
“So you’ve never used it.”
“Never have and never will.”
“Do you know anyone who has?”
“It was making the rounds a few years back in the teenage crowd. It was affordable and exotic.”
“Did Clarisse ever try it?”
Torri’s eyes narrowed. “She did not,” she answered emphatically.
“You seem sure about that.”
“Look, my sister is no saint, I’ll grant you that. But salvia timor? Not her style.”
“Cocaine was more her style?”
Torri smiled slightly. “Your talents really are wasted here, sheriff.”
“Did you kill Todd because you believed his ancestor killed your ancestor?”
“Are you crazy?”
“What about Marcy? Why did you kill her? Was she related to you too?”
Clarisse’s eyes flashed in rage. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” She sat up and slammed her fist on the arm of the chair. “Are you charging me with anything?” she seethed. “Because if you are, I want a lawyer right now. If you’re not, I’m done here. I’m not feeling well. In fact, you better get me to Doc’s and you better hope I don’t lose this baby or I’ll sue the crap out of you, your sheriff and your whole worthless department for harassing a helpless pregnant woman.”
She struggled to get to her feet, and slapped Rick’s hand away when he tried to assist. Waddling out of Cammie’s office, she burst into the conference/interrogation room.
“We’re leaving,” she announced. “I’m feeling really sick. You need to get me to Doc’s pronto.”
“It was nice chatting with you, Sheriff,” Torri said as she stood up.
“Right now, Torri!” Clarisse screeched.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Grabbing Clarisse by the elbow, Torri helped her out the door. Rick came up beside Cammie and watched them leave before turning to her.
“Clarisse used that salvia stuff,” he said.
“Did she admit to it?”
“Not in words. But her body language screamed it. I’ll bet my next paycheck that she used it, knows all about it and is somehow involved in what happened to Marcy and Todd. I know I could have gotten her to say so, but she got spooked when I started asking about the salvia and the witch trials. The only way to end the interrogation was to pretend she was sick.”
“She actually did look a little pale.”
Rick grunted. “She’s guilty as all hell. One way or another, I’m going to make her admit it to me.”
The sky was darkening and the night air frigid when Cammie arrived at Doc’s house just in time to find him flying out the front door.
“Just got the call Clarisse is in labor. She was here this afternoon and in a mood that puts other pregnant women to shame. She blamed you and Rick for making her ill. I told her she was dilating, but she insisted on going back to that trailer she lives in with her sister. There’s some leftovers on the stove top.” He turned to go, then suddenly turned back, his finger in Cammie’s face. “I expect to find my home still standing by the time I get back, so just use the microwave to heat up your supper. Just in case, I put a fire extinguisher on either side of the stove.”
He rushed down the stairs, jumped into his vehicle and was about to pull away when he lowered the window and called out to her.
“One more thing. The samples you got from your receptionist turned up nothing.”
Before she could respond, he was roaring down the driveway.
“Good-bye to you too,” she muttered as she watched him disappear down the road.
The next morning, Cammie was on her way out the door when it flew open and Doc swept in. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted, but smiled when he saw her. Having been subjected to his crankiness the last few weeks, she was grateful to see it.
“You’ll be happy to know Clarisse is now the mother of a healthy, bouncing baby girl. She weighed seven pounds, four ounces and her name is Bella.”
“Then I don’t have to worry about her suing the department.”
“If her language was any indication during labor, I’d say that at the very least you and Rick are not at the top of her Christmas card list.”
Cammie grinned. “I thought mothers usually curse out the father during labor.”
“Oh he was in there too.”
After peeling off his hat and coat, they entered the kitchen where Doc immediately set about making a carafe of coffee. While he worked, Cammie shared the results of the interrogation.
“Unfortunately, I can’t arrest her on body language alone. But she sure acted guilty as hell when Rick brought up the salvia timor.”
“After observing the Jackson sisters all through the night, not to mention the last two months of Clarisse’s pregnancy, I’d have to say Torri is the one I’d be more concerned about.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Nothing fazes that woman. Look up cool, calm and collected in the dictionary and you’d see her picture. If she is the one who spiked the teas, I could easily see her calculating how and when to do it. Clarisse, on the other hand, is all emotion. Now if Marcy or Todd had been bludgeoned, Clarisse would be your perpetrator. She’s the type to act first and ask questions later. If she’d even think of any questions to ask.” He shook his head to himself. “As it is, I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for baby Bella. As soon as she was born, Clarisse handed her over to Torri. Could care less about the little tyke.” He sighed. “At least Torri looks like she’ll be giving Bella all the love and attention she needs.”
Cammie nodded in agreement. “I’ve gotten the impression Clarisse is all about Clarisse.”
“And then some.”
“There’s always the possibility Torri is covering for Clarisse. It seems family is very important to Torri. She’s already protected Clarisse from the assault and battery charges. No reason to think she wouldn’t continue to protect her if Clarisse was the one who gave Todd and Marcy the salvia.”
“And you’re still convinced it’s one of them who administered the salvia?”
Cammie shrugged. “They both knew Todd and Marcy. They both know about salvia timor. Torri makes her own tea and we know the salvia was put into tea. We have no evidence that anyone else in their coven has made tea, or has even heard of salvia timor. So unless there’s an underground community here in Twin Ponds that takes salvia for spiritual, recreational, or any other reason, I come back to them.”
“Well, let’s hope they make a mistake before someone else suffers from its effects. Want some coffee?”
“Is it that mud you like to drink?”
Doc rolled his eyes in sorrow. “You can take the woman out of Twin Ponds, but you can’t take Twin Ponds out of the woman.”
Cammie offered him a wide smile. “And thank God for that small miracle.”
Driving to HQ, Cammie tried once again to get a search warrant from Judge Drury, but without any real evidence to go on, he refused. She and Rick spent the morning watching the tapes of their interrogation with Clarisse and Torri, searching for anything that might crack the case, but after reviewing it until their eyes grew blurry, they had no choice but to give up.
“I was so close,” Rick declared in frustration. “Just a few more minutes and I would have had her.”
Rick shrugged sheepishly. “Yeah, well, she did tell a good tale. I bet she would have had even you in tears.”
Cammie doubted it. She’d seen more than her share of women like Abigail who knew exactly how to strike the right note of pathos to get her way. In the end, Cammie arrested her anyway, but had to drop the charges when Mercy returned the snowmobile and somehow convinced its owner it had been his fault she’d stolen it.
“You’ve been watching reruns of Law and Order again, haven’t you?” she asked.
“Lars always has it on his TV in the Emporium. What else am I supposed to do while I’m waiting for him to get my mail?”
“Well, keep it up. You were very good. In fact, maybe next time, we’ll play good cop/bad cop. I’ll let you be the bad guy.”
“Cool! I don’t mind being the bad boy. Women love that.”
“As if you need any help in that department.”
The next few weeks were quiet, with the occasional fender bender or drunk and disorderly to keep Cammie and Rick busy. Thankfully, there were no more dramatic incidents involving salvia timor. If anyone in town was using it, they seemed to know what they were doing, or at least locking themselves up to prevent any unwanted attention, especially from the sheriff’s department.
Cammie occasionally saw Torri about town, noticing she always had Bella with her. Just as Doc had predicted, Clarisse appeared to have no interest in her baby, or at least didn’t like the idea of stepping outside the trailer with her.
