made her heart hurt, yet she couldn’t give up. She owed
it to Alexis and, she thought closing her eyes, she owed
it to Tracey.
#
Tom knocked on the door and waited for Mary
Townsend to open it. He was still frustrated from his
exchange with Kathy, so he hoped that the Townsend
woman was at least going to be cordial. He wasn’t
worried so much about her hostility as he was worried
about his own reaction if she said something that pissed
him off. Tom was usually proud of his calm demeanor
and, thanks to his mother, he had a healthy respect for
women, but Mary Townsend didn’t fit his image of a
woman, and he felt that all boundaries were off. He
despised men who abused women, and felt no
differently about women abusing women: Only a sick
coward would harm another person to feel in complete
control. He felt his hands closing into fists as an image
of Shannon’s bruised face and shoulder flashed through
his mind, so he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.
“Can I help you?” Mary Townsend’s voice didn’t
sound happy when she opened the door, but then again,
Tom never expected her to be pleasant. This Mary didn’t
have a little lamb – she was the wolf who ate the little
lamb. She stood in the middle of the open entrance with
one hand on the door handle and one hand on the door
frame, sending a less-than-subtle signal that he wasn’t
welcome inside.
“I stopped by yesterday but you were not home. I
have a few questions to ask you about Shannon
Brinkley. You are the person who found her, right?”
“I was at work yesterday. And I was sleeping just
now. How long is this going to take?”
“Not too long Ma’am. May I come in?” Tom
accentuated the word ‘ma’am,’ sure in his heart that
Mary Townsend didn’t appreciate being addressed as a
lady. Just getting under her skin felt like a small victory
right now.
Mary moved away from the door but her face
continued to reflect her annoyance. “Sure. Come in and
make yourself at home. Do you want a beer?”
A beer?! At this time of morning?
“No, thank you Ma’am. I can’t drink while I am
working.”
“Your loss.” Mary walked to the kitchen to grab a
bottle of beer for herself and joined Tom back in the
living room. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
“The police report shows that you came home
around seven o’clock in the evening and found Shannon
Brinkley collapsed on the bathroom floor.”
“If you already know that, what do you want to
know from me, Lieutenant?”
“In the original report you said that you were
coming home from work, but you work night shift.”
“That’s correct, but someone called in sick and I
was asked to switch shifts.”
“What did you think when you first found Shannon,
Ms. Townsend?”
“I thought she had slipped on the wet floor and
maybe bumped her head.”
“And instead?”
“Instead I found an empty box of pills and I knew
she had tried to kill herself.”
What sort of pills were they?”
“I think they were over-the-counter sleeping aids.”
Did Ms. Brinkley have trouble sleeping at times?
Did she typically take sleeping pills?”
“Sometimes, when she was working nights and had
to sleep during the day.”
“I see. Can you think of a reason why Ms. Brinkley
would want to die?”
Mary Townsend laughed bitterly. “After finding her
note, I have wondered if Shannon was the person who
killed Tracey, and if she did, it is possible that she might
have felt guilty afterwards.”
“Is there anything else aside from the note that
would give you reason to think Ms. Brinkley is guilty of
murdering her friend?”
“She took my car that night, and she brought it back
with mud in the undercarriage and a dent in the fender. I
took her car to go to work, so I didn’t find out until the
next day when she came back and said that she got lost
and ended up on a country road. Of course I knew she
was lying and we got into an argument.”
“So why didn’t you report that to the police?”
Mary shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t like cops.
They’re trouble.”
“I understand, Ms. Townsend, but do you know that
withholding information during an investigation is a
crime?”
“Don’t play that game with me, Sherlock. You are
not going to intimidate me so easily. I didn’t do anything
wrong and I am helping you right now. Take it or leave
it.”
Tom decided to change the line of questioning.
“What did you do when you realized she had tried to kill
herself?”
“I called 9-1-1.”
“Do you mind if I take a look at Ms. Brinkley’s
room?”
“Actually I do, Lieutenant. Shannon’s room is also
my room, and I need to go back to sleep. Unless you
have a search warrant, I am kindly asking you to leave.”
“Very well,” Tom said standing up, “I will need you
to come to the police station for an affidavit. We will
need to record what you just told me. We will also need
to analyze your car for possible evidence.”
“Shannon left a suicide note. I think what she wrote
speaks for itself.”
“Why would Shannon want to kill Tracey, Ms.
Townsend?”
“Because Tracey stole something that was very
important to Shannon, Lieutenant.”
“Really? What was that?”
“Her reputation.”
“How so?”
“Shannon grew up in a very strict religious family
who would not accept her gay lifestyle. Tracey went to
Shannon’s family and told them of her relationship with
me.”
“Why would Tracey do that?”
“Because Tracey didn’t like me, and she would have
done anything to get me out of the picture, even if it
meant that Shannon would lose everyone she loves.”
“Why do you think Tracey didn’t like you, Ms.
Townsend?”
“Because the man Tracey claims was stalking her is
my brother.”
#
No word from Tom. This had never happened
before. Not that they fought often, but anytime they
argued over something, Tom was usually ready to kiss
and make up within the hour. Something was different
this time, and Kathy couldn’t help feeling anguished,
knowing all too well that lack of communication was
the beginning of the end for most relationships. She
tried to call him at the police station several times and
was directed to his voice mail, so she tried his mobile
phone but got no answer there either – was he just busy,
or was he still so mad that he couldn’t talk to her? The
mere thought of losing
Tom was eviscerating, and Kathy
felt lost.
She heard the phone ring and jumped – the caller ID
displayed ‘unknown name, unknown number’ on the
screen, so it probably wasn’t Tom, but she picked it up
any way.
“Hello?”
Static was all she could hear on the other end of the
line.
“Hello…who is this?”
No answer. Kathy felt the hair on her arms sticking
up, her first thought that Tom was maybe in trouble
somewhere and he couldn’t talk. Panic overtook her.
“Tom, is that you? Please say something!”
She heard a click, and the line went dead. She dialed
star-sixty-nine to call back, but since the call was
anonymous it could not be traced or redialed. She
waited for the phone to ring again, and every fiber of her
being was on alert. What would she do if something
happened to Tom? She couldn’t bear the thought; she
stood up and furiously paced the room to get rid of the
excess energy in her body. She couldn’t stand feeling
this way, so she called the station again. The information
desk picked up by the third ring.
“Hello, this is Kathy Spencer. Is Tom Lackey in?”
“I’m sorry Ms. Spencer, he left early this morning
and he hasn’t returned yet. Would you like me to
connect you to his voice mail?”
“No, thank you. May I speak to Sergeant Parker?”
“I’m sorry, he is out also.”
“Did they leave together?”
“No Ma’am, not that I know of. Each of them took
their own cars.”
By the time she hung up the phone she was a
nervous wreck. Tom typically turned his phone off if he
was in the middle of an interview but he regularly
turned it back on and returned calls after he was
finished. Why didn’t he return her calls?
Sitting there was driving her crazy, the ghosts of her
failed marriage to Andy coming once again to haunt her.
That’s how things started falling apart for the two of
them…and what if something happened to Tom? How
could she live with herself knowing that the last time
she saw him she didn’t even tell him she loved him?
The moment that thought entered her mind she
banished it quickly. What was wrong with her? Tom
wasn’t Andy, and nothing had happened to him. But
then, who had called a little while ago?
She was so taken by her thoughts that she didn’t
realize another storm was approaching, but when the
wind coming in from the open window blew a few
magazines off the table in her waiting area, she hurried
to close the window and pick up what had fallen. One of
the magazines was open facedown on the floor, and
when Kathy picked it up, she noticed the title of the
article: “Can Abandoned Children Ever Trust Again?”
Her heart skipped a beat – there seemed to be an
almost eerie connection to the card inside the photo
album that had fallen off the bookshelf the day before…
mothers abandoning their children, trust, pain…why had
these two similar items fallen within the last twenty-four
hours? Was there a link to them? The strange phone call
flashed through her mind…Tracey, was that you
calling? She closed her eyes for a moment and took a
cleansing breath. Maybe Tom was right – maybe she
was losing her mind.
#
“Jack Little is your brother?”
“Yes, Lieutenant, he is my half-brother.”
“Do you know of his whereabouts?”
Mary Townsend shook her head. “Nope. He left
town a couple of weeks ago.”
“Did he leave before or after Tracey’s murder?”
“Whoa…wait a minute, Sherlock…you don’t think
Jack did it, do you?”
“Jack Little had a relationship with Tracey
Newman, and from what I’ve heard, it wasn’t a loving
one.”
“Jack loved Tracey, but he couldn’t stand the fact
that she was running around behind his back. He
wouldn’t hurt her, I assure you; Jack wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Maybe you should look at some of the other men she
was sleeping with if you don’t believe what I am telling
you.”
“Men? Do you know who they are?”
“Brad Johnson was one. He is a complete loser and
a drug addict. Tracey was getting dope for him. She
decided to cut him off when she got busted at work, and
he didn’t like that.”
“Who else?”
“Who knows?” Mary hissed under her breath,
“Tracey was a slut. There is no telling who else she was
sleeping with.”
“Do you have any other family in town, Ms.
Townsend? Maybe one of your relatives knows where
your brother is?”
“No. Jack and I only had each other. Our mother
was like Tracey: a cheap whore who slept with
everybody. The state removed us from her custody when
we were little because she was caught up in some drug
affair and went to jail. We lived with her mother for a
while, God bless her soul, and we went to foster families
after she died.”
#
Alexis peeked in her parents’ room and sighed in
relief when she saw them both deeply asleep. She
needed to talk to Lily again, and since she left home,
Lily visited less and less. Alexis felt alone. She liked
Kathy a lot, but she was worried that her parents were
going to become suspicious if she called her too often,
so she spent most of her time laying on her bed
pretending to read the same magazine she brought along
for the trip. No matter how much she loved Justin
Bieber, even his smiling photos weren’t enough to make
her feel better at this point.
She closed the door separating the two rooms as
quietly as she could, and went to lay down on her own
bed. As always, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply
to still her body. It wasn’t long before Lily announced
her presence.
“Hi Alexis. Can you play today?”
Alexis’s face was sad. “No, I’m afraid not. We can’t
wake up Mom and Dad, but I was wondering if we can
talk for a while. I’ve missed you, Lily.”
Lily smiled. “I have missed you too. It’s boring
where I am without you. There are no kids to play with.
Well…actually there is one little boy, William, but he is
too little, and he is always crying for his mother. He is
not much fun to be around.”
Alexis’s eyes widened. “Really? Where is his
mom?”
“He doesn’t know. He has been looking for her for a
while, but he hasn’t found her yet. Someone told him
she is looking for him too, but they haven’t found each
other yet.”
“That’s terrible! Poor kid…and poor mom!”
“Yes, it is pretty sad, but that’s how things are
sometimes. He thinks his mom abandoned him, and he
is angry and upset, and his mom would do anything to
connect with him and make him happy.”
“But why did they get separated?”
“It’s complicated, Alexis. And I am not too sure of
the details. People get separated all the time, and the
worst thing is that each side blames the other for the
separation, when in reality everyone had reasons to
behave certain ways.”
Alexis looked at Lily with a puzzled look on her
face. “I’m not sure I am following you, Lily. What
ways?”
“Never mind, it is not important any more. What
counts is Tracey. Did your mom and dad make
arrangements for her body?”
“Yes. I think we are leaving soon to take her body
home.”
“Where is it now?”
“I am not sure…I think it is still at the morgue.
They don’t tell me much – they think I’m too young to
understand certain things.”
“I’m not surprised. Well, can we play now?”
“We can’t, I told you. Mom and Dad are sleeping.
They are already furious enough that I continue telling
them about you.”
“Then stop telling them! And you are as boring as
William today. I need to go.”
“Wait, Lily! Don’t leave!”
Lily didn’t answer. Alexis felt a cool breeze pass by
her, and suddenly she was alone again. Lily didn’t like it
too much when they couldn’t play.
Chapter 11
“Lackey, I think I hit the jackpot.”
“What do you mean, Parker? I’m not in the mood
for word games.” There were several reasons why Tom
was irritated today, one of them being his state of affairs
with Kathy. Tom had been through the coals with his
first wife and he remembered their arguments – fights,
he should call them – all too well. He and Kathy never
really argued before, and he didn’t know what to do
with this turn of events. He respected her point of view,
yet he couldn’t allow her to cloud his better judgment
with stories of ghosts and imaginary friends who lurked
in the shadows. The unsettled atmosphere in his
relationship, however, was not the only thing that was
bothering him: Mary Townsend and her abusive ways
bothered him. And, he thought, if Shannon really had
killed her best friend, what did that say about his
instincts as a detective? The thought that he felt
protective over a potential cold-hearted killer made him
feel foolish. Had the cute little brunette really played
him like that? The letter she left was typed, so it was
Killer in Sight (A Tom Lackey Mystery) Page 14
