Killer in Sight (A Tom Lackey Mystery)
Page 16
Tom decided to throw the ball in Don’s court to see
if the man would catch it. “Were you aware of Tracey’s
pregnancy, Don?”
Once again, Don was caught in a conflict and his
uncertainty was painfully painted on his drawn face.
“I was, Lieutenant.” He said in a defeated voice
tinged with shame and hopelessness.
“Were you the father of Tracey’s baby, Don?”
“I couldn’t be sure. I know she was seeing someone
else from time to time.”
“Brad Johnson?”
Don Russet nodded silently.
“How did you react when Tracey told you about the
pregnancy?”
“I was upset, as you can surely imagine. I had
already told Tracey that it was best to interrupt our
relationship when it became too demanding and
dangerous, and then she came out with this piece of
news. She was upset that I was going to let her go, too,
but of course I had to follow the rules – she was, after
all, caught with her hand in the cookie jar, or in the
medicinal cabinet I should say. Exonerating her from her
responsibilities could have cost me my job.” Don smiled
suddenly. “I suppose I shouldn’t tell you these things
without an attorney present, should I? They will
probably come back to bite me, but I am tired of hiding,
and I haven’t done anything wrong – well, maybe I have
done something morally wrong, but certainly nothing
illegal.” His sincerity was almost disarming, and Tom
didn’t quite know what to do with it – either the man
was caught in the middle of a really bad situation and
was only guilty of cheating on his wife, or he was a
brilliant player who knew what cards he should throw
on the table.
Tom threw the question out there for Don Russet to
chew. “Did you kill Tracey Newman, Don?”
There were many emotions playing on Don Russet’s
face, but they all appeared bathed in honesty. “I didn’t
kill Tracey. I loved her. God help me, I loved her more
than I should have, and it was wrong, but I would never
harm her.”
“Did Tracey ever confide in you about being scared
of anyone?”
“Yes, she actually did. She was very cautious
around some woman named Mary, and she also told me
of a guy she used to date, who stalked her.”
Tom nodded. “Jack Little. That’s the man I asked
you about when I first came to see you.”
“Yes, Lieutenant, but I never met Mr. Little in
person, and in all honesty, I don’t personally know all
the people we contract to come and work on the grounds
– they are provided by an external service. From what
Tracey told me, he never tried to harass her while she
was at work, or I would have made sure to let his
employer know.”
“Who do you think killed Tracey?”
“I don’t know…nobody deserves to die like that.”
“Like what, Don?” Tom asked, well aware that no
details of the murder had been released to the press.
“I…I don’t know. I meant nobody deserves to be
murdered.”
“I see. Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Russet, I
think it is enough for now.” Tom stood up and placed his
notebook in the inside pocket of his jacket before he
walked to the door.
“Lieutenant?”
“Yes?”
“Can we keep this private? My affair with Tracey, I
mean…it would destroy my family and possibly my
career.”
“I don’t know, Mr. Russet. Unfortunately, that’s out
of my hands.”
Don Russet didn’t respond, and when Tom turned to
look at him before closing the door, all he saw was a
broken man.
Chapter 12
Tom’s mobile phone rang just as he got ready to
walk outside to weed his flower garden. He was certain
that most of his colleagues would have picked on him if
he told them how he was spending his day off, but he
inherited a love for flowers from his mom, and
gardening was always a good thing to clear his mind. He
had barely gotten on his knees to pull a few clumps of
knot grass when he heard the unwelcome ring.
“Lackey here.”
“Lackey, it’s Parker. I stopped by to check on
Shannon Brinkley and I had a run in with the linebacker.
The hospital was able to track down a couple of
Shannon’s relatives and they are here now, but they
don’t want Mary Townsend around, and she is about to
explode.”
“Damn, Parker, I was just getting ready to work on
my yard.”
“You what?”
“Never mind, Parker, I’ll be there in a little while.
Cool her down for me. And by the way, we need that
search warrant for her apartment. Shannon didn’t seem
to mind us snooping around, but Mary Townsend is not
so agreeable.”
“Imagine that…”
“Yeah, well, we need that warrant. Can you get on it
today?”
“I’ve been on it -- it should be ready by noon.”
“That’s great. Let me rinse my hands and I will head
your way.” He hung up the phone without a final
greeting knowing that Parker wouldn’t mind.
By the time he arrived at the ICU, Parker had
already left and the picture wasn’t pretty. Mary
Townsend was in one of the waiting rooms and almost
charged him when she saw him coming around the
corner. “They are not letting me see Shannon! Do
something about it or someone is going down!”
Tom rushed to her and brought his finger to his nose
urging her to lower her tone. “Stop screaming, you will
get yourself kicked out.”
“They can’t stop me from seeing Shannon! She is
my girlfriend!”
Several heads turned in her direction, but Mary
Townsend didn’t even acknowledge them. Her eyes
were smoldering charcoals, ready to grill the next
person on her path. Tom grabbed her arm and pulled her
to the side. “Shut up, Townsend! I am not kidding – you
are going to be banned from even coming on these
premises if you keep it up.”
“What’s the trouble here?” Two security guards
approached with their chests puffed out, but they
quickly deflated when Tom flashed his police badge.
“It’s all good, officers. Ms. Townsend here is a little
upset, but I have it under control. Thank you, we will be
leaving shortly.” He nearly dragged Mary Townsend
toward the elevator before she could speak, and he saw
the two security guards watching them until they
disappeared behind the elevator doors.
“What is wrong with you, Townsend? You know
that area is full of critically ill patients. This kind of
drama is not allowed up there.”
The elevator opened in front of the cafeteria. “Let’s
go get a cup of coffee and talk.” Tom’s tone didn’t leave
any room for arguments, and Mary followed him
without saying a word.
They went through the line and got coffee, then they
went to sit at one of the booths.
“Look, Mary…is that okay if I call you Mary?”
Mary nodded, then she smiled. “I’ve been called
worse.”
“Look, Mary, you already know that Shannon’s
family is a bit – how can I say it…”
“I know Lieutenant, but I am just going to check on
Shannon. No matter how they feel about me, it’s not fair
that I can’t see her.”
“Unfortunately those are their wishes, and nobody
at the hospital has the authority to deny what they ask. I
can’t do anything about it, either.”
“I know…” Tears spilled out of Mary Townsend’s
eyes, and Tom looked at her without knowing what to
say. “And look, I also wanted to tell you, Lieutenant…
please forget all those things I said about Shannon. I
don’t know if she killed Tracey. All I know is that she
resented Tracey and her suicide note sort of confirmed
the suspicion in my mind.”
Tom nodded. “We have a search warrant, Mary. We
have to come in and look around the apartment a bit. My
partner is going to be on his way there shortly, and I am
meeting him as soon as I leave here. Do you want to go
with me? It would make it a lot easier if you let us in
willingly.”
“Yes…listen…about Shannon’s bruises…I know
she has told you about our arguments, and I admit that I
have a problem with my anger – I have never been able
to deal with it too well, but I really love Shannon, and I
am committed to getting some help to learn how to
handle my emotions better. I know we can work on our
relationship and make it work if there are no obstacles in
the way.”
Tracey was an obstacle in the way…
Tom tried his best to remain impassive, though he
did feel a hint of compassion toward this giant of a
woman who seemed lost at the moment. “I know, Mary.
Anger is a bad beast, but it can be overcome.”
Mary nodded, Tom’s words having a calming effect
on her.
“Mary, is your car back?”
“Yes, why?”
“Because we will need to impound it to have it
analyzed. Can you use Shannon’s car for the time
being?”
“Yeah, I guess, until her family kicks me out of the
apartment, at least.”
Tom looked at his watch. “It’s almost twelve. Parker
was picking up the warrant around twelve. Let’s head
back to your place.”
Mary stood up and she suddenly didn’t look as tall
and as threatening as she had before. “I really never
meant to hurt Shannon, Lieutenant, and in case you are
wondering, I never hurt Tracey.”
#
It was nearly one in the afternoon when Tom, Mary
Townsend and Parker met in the parking lot of the
apartment. Parker looked a bit surprised to see them
arriving together but didn’t ask.
“I’ve got the warrant. We are ready to go in.” Mary
Townsend glimpsed at the document in his hand and
went upstairs to open the door. Tom and Parker followed
her in. The apartment was dark and it smelled of stale
smoke. Saying that the living room was messy was a
huge understatement, and the kitchen counter was
covered in dirty dishes.
“Sorry, I am not much of a housekeeper. I didn’t
expect company.”
“We’re not running a ‘good housekeeping’ contest.
We’re just going to look around a bit.”
“Suit yourself.” Mary plopped down on the living
room couch and turned the TV on.
Tom and Parker opened every drawer, every closet,
every box they found in the house, but nothing of
interest materialized. When they were about to give up,
they noticed a small case under Tracey’s mattress, and
when they opened it they saw a document neatly folded
inside – Tracey’s life insurance policy. The only
beneficiary was listed as Bradley Ryan Johnson. “Hey,
we’ve got something here!” Parker said excitedly.
Tom went over to take a look but he didn’t feel like
smiling. Of course, the insurance policy alone wasn’t
enough to charge Brad Johnson with murder, but it
certainly offered new possibilities. Tracey was stealing
drugs for him and she stopped after being caught. Of
course, if she told someone, his job at Caldwell & Sons
– a family-run operation with strong moral standards
and zero-tolerance for drug use – would have been
jeopardized. This fact alone was enough to turn Brad
against Tracey, and the possibility of becoming a rich
man in the event of her death certainly made it seem
even more likely that he would have an interest in
seeing the woman dead. Silence and money were surely
powerful motives.
Parker’s phone rang while he looked through the
rest of the box contents, and he picked it up by the
second ring. “Parker here.”
“Sergeant Parker, this is Jeremy Miller. I have
finished analyzing the computer Lackey dropped off a
few days ago. There are a few things on the hard drive
that you might find interesting. One of them is a photo
sent by someone named J. Bernardini just two days
before the murder. The photo shows a very creepy table
literally covered with photos of Tracey Newman. The
message sent along with the photo said: “I will love you
even after death do us part.”
#
It was nearly five o’ clock in the afternoon when
Kathy looked at the clock on the wall of her studio. She
had been waiting all day for a call of apology from Tom,
though she knew that maybe she was the one who
should call and apologize – after all, she could
understand how it would be hard for him to accept some
of the things she felt without compromising all he ever
held true and sacred. She was about to pick up the phone
when someone knocked on the door. Surprise was the
first thing that registered in her mind the moment she
saw a distraught Mike Howard standing in front of her,
his hair disheveled and his sunken eyes reflecting the
anguish that gripped his soul.
“Mr. Howard…what’s wrong? Did something
happen to Alexis? Or to Mrs. Howard?”
The man just stared at her, tears erupting from his
eyes. Until now, Kathy never noticed the toll the events
of the past week had taken on him. The lines on his thin
face looked deep and exaggerated, scars from a war
without winners.
“It’s Alexis, Ms. Spencer…”
Kathy felt her heart sink and she tried her best to
suffocate the shrieking sound that rose from her throat.
“Where is Alexis? What happened to her?!”
“She is not talking or eating, and she just stares into
space as if she is trying to shut out the world. We have
tried different things, but nothing seems
to work – she is
just too far for us to reach her.”
During her training, Kathy studied cases of children
suffering from different types of psychosis who
gradually lost touch with reality and stopped talking and
connecting to the outside world, but she didn’t feel
Alexis’s alienation was due to psychosis. Rather, it was
more likely that something had scared her and she was
trying to process it.
“Did something happen that might have unsettled
Alexis?”
“Yes, I am afraid so. Your…Lieutenant Lackey
stopped by for a brief visit to inform us of Tracey’s
pregnancy, and as soon as he left, Alexis came bursting
through the door saying that we had to listen to her, that
she already knew Tracey was pregnant because Lily told
her. When my wife heard that nonsense, she
momentarily lost her better judgment and she lashed out
at Alexis, calling her heartless and crazy. This is not
normal behavior for my wife, Ms. Spencer, please
believe that, but she has been under so much stress
lately that something inside of her snapped. As soon as
she said those words, she realized the impact they had
on Alexis, and she apologized, but Alexis locked herself
in her room and would not talk to anyone. The only
thing she said before slamming the door was that she
wished she could have died instead of Tracey, so at least
she could be with her friend Lily.”
Kathy wiped the tears that were running
unrestrained down her face. “May I see Alexis? Maybe I
can talk to her.”
Mike Howard smiled. “I was hoping you were
going to suggest that, Ms. Spencer. Yes, thank you.
Alexis seems to have a special bond with you, so I am
hoping that having you near is going to help her unlock
the door she has closed against suffering and loss.”
‘Let’s go,” Kathy said as she grabbed her purse and
car keys, “I will follow you back to the hotel.”
She knew how to get there, but waited for Mike to
lead the way in his rental car. In fifteen minutes they
were pulling up in the parking lot of the hotel. When
they got upstairs, they entered Alexis’s room through the
adjoining room.
“We had to get in her room from the other door
earlier, since she locked this one. Thankfully, she didn’t
think of locking both. When we got inside, we found her
like this.”
Kathy could have burst into tears the moment she
laid eyes on Alexis. She lay on her bed turned toward