Killer in Sight (A Tom Lackey Mystery)

by Sandra Carrington-Smith

  friend die in front of them and move forward as if

  nothing had happened. Both he and Parker knew that

  dying on the line of duty was a threat that loomed over

  their heads anytime they went in to work, but

  intellectually processing the risk didn’t lessen the impact

  of such a profound and scarring loss. Parker was a

  family man and very involved with his daughter; Tom

  felt a tight squeeze around his chest when he thought of

  how his daughter would take his untimely death. Was it

  worth it? Was a job worth the life of a good man? He

  thought about Kathy and how she would feel if he had

  died instead of Parker, and he knew that even if she

  never asked she would be immensely relieved if he quit

  his job as a police officer. It was definitely something to

  think about. And of course, he was proud of her – she

  was a superb photographer, and this was her time to

  shine. He wanted to support her and yet he was terrified

  at the prospect of walking away from a profession he

  merged with for so long. He closed his eyes and saw

  Parker, his old pal, the friend who had laid his life on the

  line for him, and he wished Parker could have walked

  away too. It was too late for Parker, but not for him, and

  as Kathy came back outside carrying two cups of coffee

  he felt a slight twinge of hope breaking free from its

  prison of guilt and pain -- maybe a radical life change

  was just what the doctor ordered.

  #

  Mary Townsend walked to the visiting room and sat

  across the glass from Shannon. When she first entered,

  Shannon could barely recognize her – she looked

  smaller than how she remembered her, and her hair was

  slightly longer and more feminine; but the thing about

  her that kept Shannon in a spell was her eyes; they were

  no longer filled with anger, and for the first time in her

  life Mary looked like a lost little girl.

  “Hi Shannon…” Mary was surprised to see her, “I

  didn’t know you were out of the hospital.”

  “I wasn’t. I checked myself out this morning when

  Detective Quince came by to see me and told me what

  happened. How are you Mary?”

  Mary shut her eyes for a moment and tears escaped

  them. “I am fine. I am finally free from everything – I

  am free from my mother, but most of all I am free from

  myself and from anger, and I am happy that you no

  longer need to live in fear of me. I cannot tell you how

  sorry I am, Shannon. Believe me when I say that I love

  you and that every time I scared you I hated myself for

  it but couldn’t help it. I had no control over who loved

  me or left me when I was a child, and I had no power

  against the man who raped me repeatedly when I was no

  more than a little girl – I wasn’t going to let anyone be

  in charge again, and I couldn’t bear the thought of being

  abandoned by anyone else. There is something else I

  need to share with you…something you will probably

  find sick and completely twisted. You look a lot like my

  mother did at your age, so when you loved me I felt like

  she was loving me and I was a happy child again; when

  you resisted my attention I felt like my mother was

  abandoning me all over. Do you remember the night we

  met your friend from high school? I know you had no

  interest in her, but just seeing you so captivated by her

  tales of times gone by made me feel like second option

  – I was second option to other priorities where my

  mother was concerned. I never meant to hurt you

  Shannon. I do love you, and if I never see the light of

  day out this place again, I wish you a happy life. Find

  someone who can treat you right and can respect you for

  the beautiful person you are.”

  Mary turned her face away and quickly wiped the

  tears away. Shannon was sobbing openly, her heart

  breaking for a friend who had inflicted her own pain on

  her, yes, but had also avenged her twice.

  “Maybe you won’t be convicted, Mary. When the

  jury hears what happened they will probably

  understand.”

  Mary smiled through her tears. “No, Shannon, they

  won’t. To them I will look like a monster with no

  conscience who committed the ultimate crime, and

  maybe I am just that, but I guess I will have to wait for

  God to judge my actions. I hated her, Shannon. I hated

  her with everything I had in me; I blamed her for

  everything that happened to me and to my brother Jack.

  I just hope that he can move on now, and be free from

  the ghosts that haunted both of us for a long time.”

  “I will find Jack, Mary, and talk to him. I promise

  you that no matter what happens to you, I will look out

  for him.”

  Mary nodded, tears running freely down her face.

  “Thank you Shannon. You’re a good girl. I hope that

  some day you will be able to forgive me for the pain

  I’ve caused you and you will be my friend. I never

  meant to hurt you – I just didn’t know how to love you.”

  “I know, Mary, and I have already forgiven you. As

  far as being your friend, you will never have to worry

  about being abandoned again.”

  Shannon lifted her hand and placed it on the glass,

  and Mary raised hers to touch it. They couldn’t

  physically feel each other’s touch, but for the first time

  they were truly connected through the heart.

  #

  Brad Johnson and Erin Winthrow got out of her

  gold Toyota Camry and hugged. She opened the back

  door of the car and let out her children, and she lovingly

  reminded Hannah – the younger of them – to be careful

  about the flowers. Jimmy filed out of the car behind his

  sister and fussed at her for getting out too slowly.

  “Be patient, Jimmy,” asked him smiling, “Hannah is

  trying to make sure the flowers don’t break.”

  “But why do we need to carry flowers to this park? I

  don’t see a playground anywhere – not even a swing

  set!”

  Brad laughed and ruffled the little boy’s hair. Jimmy

  reminded him a lot about himself at that age, and he

  silently pledged to be there for him as he grew up. He

  was aware that Jimmy already had a father, and he was

  okay with taking any scrap of time with him that he

  could; he didn’t want to steal the spotlight, but he hoped

  that Jimmy would come to love him some day. Erin

  answered Jimmy’s question in a calm and firm voice

  that instantly tamed the little rebel inside of her tiny son.

  “We are bringing these flowers to honor the memory of

  a friend. Her name was Tracey, and she died not too

  long ago, just beyond those trees. The park is allowing

  us to place a small cross marker there and the flowers,

  so that’s what we are going to do now. I expect you to

  be at your best behavior when we approach the place

  where she became an angel; are we clear, Mr. Jimmy?”

  Jimmy stuck his hands in the po
ckets of his red

  shorts and shifted on his feet while he looked down at

  his scraped knees. “Okay Mom. I promise, but I still

  think we should have taken the flowers to a park that

  had a play area; this Ms. Tracey would have liked it

  better.”

  Erin smiled and they all walked toward the trail

  leading into the woods. When they reached the area

  where Tracey was found – still marked by a piece of

  yellow tape left behind after the police wrapped the

  investigation – they stood around solemnly, Hannah

  proudly holding the flowers, Jimmy kicking a small

  pebble with his shoe and Brad and Erin closing their

  eyes to wish Tracey a happier journey than the one she

  left behind. Erin took the flowers from Hannah and

  handed them to Brad, who laid them on the ground

  while blowing a kiss into the air. “Goodbye Tracey. Our

  paths only crossed for a short while, and not in the

  healthiest of ways, but you were a good person and I

  will miss you. Rest in peace, Sweetheart, and awe the

  angels with the songs humans weren’t fortunate enough

  to hear.”

  Erin wiped tears and arched her brow as she looked

  at Brad. “Songs?”

  “Tracey loved to sing. She could play guitar and her

  voice really was beautiful. She wrote a few songs that

  are probably still at her apartment.”

  “Wow, that’s nice…maybe we should go look for

  them, Brad, and have them framed for her family.”

  Brad looked at Erin with adoration in his eyes. “I

  have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I must have

  done something right to deserve you. I have made a

  decision, Erin, and I was going to tell you tonight over

  dinner, but I might as well tell you now. I have a

  problem with addiction, and no matter how hard I try on

  my own, I don’t think I can kick it, but while I was in

  jail I spoke with a counselor who told me of a local

  program I can sign up for. The program lasts for thirty

  days, and their rate of success is impressive. If you are

  okay with it, I will check myself in tomorrow, and by

  next month we can really start a new life, free from the

  past and from anything else that can get in the way. I

  don’t think I will have a job when I get out, but I will

  find something else. I promise you right now, in front of

  Tracey’s memorial that I will make a good life for us.”

  “Oh Brad…of course I am okay with it! I love you

  so much!”

  “Good then, we can go home, after I ask you one

  final thing.”

  “Yes? What is it?”

  Brad got on one knee and took a small box out of

  the pocket of his shorts. He opened it in front of Erin to

  show a tiny diamond that even in its small size captured

  some of the sunlight filtering through the trees and

  sparkled in colors of fiery red and cool blue. “This is

  only a promise ring, Erin, because without a job it is all

  I can buy at the moment, but I promise you that if you

  accept to be my wife some day, I will honor you and

  love you and I will get you a ring much prettier than this

  one.”

  “Oh my goodness, Brad….of course I accept…I…I

  didn’t expect this. I don’t know what to say.”

  “We have a long road ahead of us, Erin. You will

  need to get a divorce, and we might be in for a nasty

  custody case, but if you can wait for me for one month, I

  promise I will never leave your side again.” He turned

  toward the children and was happy to see they didn’t

  mind to make eye contact with him. “I promise you both

  that I will never stand in the way between you and your

  daddy. I love your mommy, but your mommy and daddy

  were already not happy together before I came along. I

  will support anything you choose in life, and I will be

  content just to be there for you if you need me.”

  Hannah appeared a bit surprised but he didn’t detect

  any resentment in her eyes. Jimmy looked for more

  pebbles to kick and Brad gently touched his shoulders.

  “Did you understand what I said, Jimmy?”

  “Yeah, I did. I only have one question. Does your

  house have a playground?”

  “Not yet, Jimmy, but I will build one just for you.”

  They all laughed together, and hugged, before

  saying goodbye to Tracey and walking back to the car. A

  light breeze blew through the trees and gently ruffled the

  leaves, just as a songbird flew on a nearby branch and

  delivered a soulful melody. Jimmy stopped on his track

  and turned around, his eyes as big as saucers. “Did you

  hear it, Mom? Maybe that was Miss Tracey singing one

  of her songs.”

  Chapter 23

  Kathy rubbed Petey’s silky fur while the kitten

  knitted her abdomen. She was glad to have worn a pair

  of jeans rather than the light cotton skirt she had planned

  to wear initially, since Petey’s nails would have gone

  right through the thin material of the skirt.

  “So, what do you think of Petey, Kathy? Do you

  like him?”

  “He is adorable, Alexis. I am sure he makes a

  wonderful playmate.”

  “Yeah…I don’t have Lily anymore, you know?”

  “Oh? Where did Lily go?”

  “She said she had to leave but she would always

  watch over me. I didn’t understand what she meant, but

  she left before I could ask her.”

  “Sometimes, people only cross our lives for a short

  while, Alexis, but the time we have with them is

  priceless. Lily was a good friend to you, and she was a

  good friend to me. She helped us both and I think we

  will always remember her with love. As long as you

  keep someone in your heart, they will always be alive –

  you won’t be able to see them with your eyes, but if you

  remember the good times you had together, they are

  right there, always waiting for you. Love and friendship

  don’t know boundaries of time or space.”

  Alexis nodded, and swallowed a knot in her throat

  to stop herself from crying. Petey crawled up to Kathy’s

  neck, and arranged his tiny body over her shoulder for a

  quick nap. His warm fur, combined with the softest

  purring sound Kathy ever remembered hearing, came

  together to form a powerful cocktail of instant peace.

  Kathy picked him up as gently as she could and placed

  him on the cushion beside her; Petey stretched and his

  whiskers twitched before he fell back into the type of

  deep sleep only a kitten could fall into. Kathy stood up

  and ran her hand over Alexis’s hair.

  “Why don’t you rub Petey for a little while, Alexis?

  I am going inside for a second to see if your mom needs

  help with dinner.”

  She walked into the kitchen where Rose was busy

  stirring something that smelled delicious. Kathy and

  Tom hadn’t had anything to eat since they first arrived at

  the airport this morning, and she was starving. Rose saw

  her coming in and smiled i
n her direction while she

  continued stirring.

  “Thank you so much for coming, Kathy. I know

  Alexis is on a cloud right now. She couldn’t wait to

  show you Petey.”

  “I am glad you invited us, Rose. Tom has been

  having a hard time the last week, and I am confident that

  a change of atmosphere is going to be good for him.”

  “He almost got killed….Jesus…that woman was

  crazy.”

  “Yes, she was. It is very sad to know what led her to

  madness.”

  Rose’s eyes filled with tears. “I understand her a

  little, you know? When I first found out about Tracey’s

  death, I locked myself into my own darkness, and I was

  not willing to get out of it until I realized that my other

  child needed me. Yvonne lost both of her children, so

  she remained trapped into her own pain.”

  Kathy nodded. “I can’t even wrap my mind around

  a loss so deeply devastating. I just wish she could have

  gotten help on time. Now one of her children is in jail

  and the other one is missing.”

  “He is not missing, Kathy. He was released by the

  authorities here in St. Louis and he called us. He

  apologized for his behavior and asked if he could bring

  flowers on Tracey’s grave – we said yes.”

  “Poor guy…”

  “I hope he will seek help to banish the ghosts of his

  past. Shannon said that she is going to help him find a

  good therapist.”

  “You talked to her?”

  “Yes. She is in town, meeting Jack for dinner as we

  speak. She is staying with us for a few days.”

  “If Tom and I don’t have a chance to see her before

  we go back home, please do tell her that we wish her the

  best.”

  “I will. Oh, and Kathy…thank you for being there

  for Alexis. I know Mike already said it, but I want to let

  you know how much I appreciate you.”

  “It was my pleasure, Rose. In time, your family will

  heal, and you all will be able to smile again together for

  the wonderful photos Alexis will take. I haven’t told her

  yet, but I have a gift for her – a camera like the one I

  carry around, which she liked very much.”

  “Oh Kathy…thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it. We’ll give it to her after dinner.”

  “It won’t be long then. Dinner is ready.”

  They walked out of the kitchen together, Rose

  carrying the pot of soup she prepared and Kathy