“We’d like to ask you a few questions, are you up to it?”
“I’m not sure if I can help as you’ve asked me every possible question thus far,” he sneered, struggling to sit upright on a pillow, straightening his blanket around his legs.
“Well, I can place you at the Gondola Bar at a quarter past two in the morning, right around the time of the murder. We have your receipt where you checked out for the night, and you’re spotted on the surveillance camera at the marina at exactly twenty past two, headed towards Arles Cave. Your alibi checks out Dimitri. You’re in the clear.”
“Told you all along, Detective,” he snarled, grabbing a tissue to wipe his nose. “So, get out then.”
“But you’re not in the clear for the blood bank burglary. There was a hidden camera and we have the footage—we’re prepared to press charges for the burglary. You’ll do probably five to ten years at Huntville, but be able to get off for good behavior after three to four years,” he said candidly, covertly winking in my direction as Dimitri blew his nose.
Detective Chase was bluffing about the camera footage. Dimitri paused for a moment, a tissue held to his face, glaring at him with narrowed, black eyes.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to tell me what you know, Dimitri. We’ve got it narrowed down to two suspects—your roommates. What’s going on with them and what can you tell us?”
He struggled to prop himself up with another pillow that he grabbed from the opposing end of the couch. He glowered at the detective for a long moment, mulling over his thoughts, deciding if he wanted to give any information.
“You will offer me immunity for the blood bank case and for the Jody James case?”
“Deal. I will speak on behalf of the district attorney, I know him very well. Plus, Fiona can speak for her father too,” he said boldly.
“That’s right, Mr. LeMorte. I know he will work with you if you help us solve a murder case. He is a very reasonable man.”
After a long hesitation, Dimitri cleared his throat, wincing from the pain.
“On your word, then. Mel’s seeing my cousin Gerald. She’s kind of gone a little nuts for him, lately” he said before pausing to endure a coughing fit. “She’s the one who broke him out of prison. I warned her, told her it was a bad idea and that she’d end up on the other side of the iron bars, but she didn’t care.”
“Yes, she even visited him while she was at work,” Detective Chase added, writing in his notepad.
“She and Gerald tried to stage that murder in the cave. I said it was a dumb idea, but they did it anyway. As I was walking home from my friend’s house that night, I saw those idiots standing in front of the cave and we started arguing about what they had done. That’s when your witness saw us, but they didn’t see Mel—she was changing out of the bloody clothes. She had brought a set to change into, and they put the bloody ones in a bag—”
“We’ve got the bag, Dimitri. We can make an easy match to her, but why’d they do it?”
He shrugged his tattooed shoulder—the rounded portion was the inside of a dragon’s mouth, fire pouring down his arm.
“They were trying to frame the kids. They staged it, trying to make it look like they had done it again, timing it with their release from jail.”
“Damien, Victoria, and Camber? But Victoria’s her daughter? Is there something that we should know about their relationship?”
He grabbed a water bottle from the coffee table, downed half of it, reaching for a cough drop from a bag on the ground. He untwisted the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth like candy and sucked on it a few seconds before he responded.
“Vic and Mel’s relationship has been strained ever since Vic came home from foster care. They pretty much hate each other. Vic still blames Mel for not rescuing her from the Thomas house.”
Detective Chase repeated, “Rescuing her from the Thomas house?”
“Parker Thomas is Jody James brother, and Jody went over there for holidays and got to see Vic—she’d pick up where she left off with the abuse. I told you Jody was Vic’s babysitter when she was little and lived with Mel. Jody’s the one who abused Vic and blamed it on Mel when the school started asking questions—claiming she turned over Mel to CPS because it was the right thing to do,” he explained, his hand pressed against his mouth to suppress a cough.
“Then, why didn’t Victoria just tell the truth—that it was Jody James that was beating her and not her mother?”
“She did tell people, but they didn’t listen, she was young. The psychologists said it was a defense mechanism for a child to protect their parent. And I think that seeing Jody James on a regular basis once she was in foster care was intimidating, and after telling on Jody didn’t work, she probably got scared and didn’t try it again. Who knows, Jody probably threatened Vic for all we know,” Dimitri said.
Detective Chase and I locked into a gaze for a moment, trying to figure out what else we could get him to confess to. The detective went for it.
“Do you think Melanie or Victoria killed Jody James?”
“Yes. I do. But I think it was deserved. Mel lost her kid, and you can’t get those years back, things aren’t the same. Jody cost her a lot of cash, shamed her. Then, Mel lost the promotion at the prison not too long ago because of this BS charge; she’s got a criminal record. Jody deserved what she got, every drop of blood that spewed from her body was justified,” he said, pulling his blanket up to his chin.
“Thank you, Dimitri. You’ve been a great help. I think you should see a doctor, by the way,” he said, strolling towards the front door.
“Nah, to be honest, it’s a curse. Comes back times three. I should have known not to mess with it,” he bewailed.
“Mess with what,” he inquired cautiously.
“The Rinden bowls. They’re cursed, black magic. I used them to get even with you, Detective. Now I pay the price. Never took that crap seriously, but it is real. I’m sorry I messed with it,” he said in a false Mexican accent, before blowing his nose like a horn.
“Well, Dimitri, I guess I accept your apology.”
The detective gazed at me, a smirk plastered on his face.
“By the way, Detective, I think Mel’s lost her mind. She said something this morning about doing another copycat to throw the scent off her trail. I’ve been too sick to get off the couch, but I could have sworn that I heard somebody crying in the other room. It was muffled like the person was gagged. I don’t think it was Vic, though, she left; she was angry with Damien and said she was going to a friend’s house in Silver Springs. She also got in a fight with Mel and stormed out of the house saying she was never coming back.”
“Melanie’s got Maddie!” I screamed in terror.
25 WITHIN SECONDS
I blasted a mass text to the team.
Detective Chase and I are on our way to Arles Cave. We believe Maddie was kidnapped by Melanie Newsted, and her life is in danger. Get there when you can.
Detective Chase and I sped at top speed to Arles Cave. He fired a report on his CB radio about Melanie, explaining we were on our way to the cave and needed backup. My world became a blur until he pulled the car next to the cave. Without delay, we ran towards the cave, flashlights in hand. We sprinted into the darkened corridor.
“Hold on, Fiona.”
He paused, viewing the screen of his phone, panting. He shook his head in disgust.
“We have a link to Melanie in the cave, thanks to Maddie’s data, Fiona. The team recovered a ring, made from recycled cans—the exact type that she sells at the markets for extra cash.”
“Wow. But if your team was in the cave earlier today, wouldn’t they have seen Maddie here?”
“Not necessarily. We don’t know if she’s here at all, and the team had no reason to search Dracul’s Den today—just the river in the Open Council Room.”
We carefully pointed our flashlights at every crevice of the cave, stopping in the crystal room, the orb room, bat room an
d surveying the main area of the cave. Detective Chase received a radio call. A static shrouded message said backup officers were on their way. He made a sly comment about hoping this all wasn’t just a hunch.
We approached the tunnel, hearing muffled voices from down in Dracul’s Den. He pulled his gun from the holster, climbing into the passageway, whispering for me to turn off my flashlight. We allowed our eyes to adjust for a few seconds before climbing into the tunnel, the darkness intensifying as we crawled through. As we rounded the curve, a dim candlelight flickered from down below.
He stopped, curling around as much as he could muster in the confines of the tunnel, whispering for me to remain in the shadows behind him.
He climbed out ever so slowly and descended the stairs, the blackness of the cave hiding us from view. I followed his lead, feeling each step with my heel as I couldn’t see anything besides the center of the room. Maddie was laying face-up on top of the altar, ominous candles surrounding her. She was strapped to the slab with duct tape. Her long, black hair was soaked, her mouth was bound.
Melanie was lighting matches and holding them to the candlewicks, taunting Maddie about how she was a perfect student with a perfect, loving family that cared about her. She ranted in a maniacal voice about how Victoria had left her to move in with a friend from Silver Springs. She raged about Victoria promising to file for emancipation and claiming she would never see her again.
Detective Chase cautiously entered the range of the candlelight. Maddie spotted him, locking widened eyes with him. As instructed, I remained in the blackened shadows and hoped the backup officers would flood from the tunnel at any moment.
“Melanie Newsted,” he roared from the darkness. “Detective Chase, Godley Grove Police. You are under arrest for the murder of Jody James and the kidnapping of Madison Christie. Step away from Miss Christie, and put your hands up. Drop to your knees,” he boomed, turning on his flashlight and pointing it at Melanie’s face, her short brown hair wet from perspiration. She yanked a straight razor from her pocket, lunging towards Maddie.
Instinct drove me to turn on my flashlight and point it directly into Melanie’s eyes as Detective Chase unhinged the safety of his gun. I had never witnessed him pull his gun. Baffled, I was standing behind a respected forensic scientist, a doctor, using lethal force. Maddie’s eyes were riddled with pure fright, her breaths rapid as she kept an eye on Melanie’s every move while struggling to get free of the duct tape.
“I am going to give you three seconds to put the weapon down, and do exactly what I say. Put your hands in the air. Lie flat on the ground, right here,” he pointed his flashlight on the ground next to the altar.
“I can cut her throat right now and end her. Why don’t you do what I say and toss me your gun so I can get out of here? I’ll give you two seconds before I open Miss Perfect’s throat,” she snarled, sliding the razor across Maddie’s neck, her thick-rimmed eyeglasses and rhinestone piercings in her face catching the flames just right, sparkling in the dim light. She was tall, muscular. I imagined her dragging Jody James’ tiny body into Dracul’s Den the morning she killed her.
I gasped as a red line surfaced across Maddie’s neck, a drop of blood forming in the center and trailing towards the altar. My heart pounded with a thunderous rage, slamming against my rib cage. I fought to keep up with the swiftness of my breaths as Maddie turned her head to find me, her forehead wrinkled in dreadful furrows of panic, her eyes had become portals of sheer terror.
“Detective, shouldn’t you give her the gun?” I cautioned with an unsteady voice, trembling.
“Didn’t they teach you in the police academy that you always do everything possible to save the poor victim?” she taunted, waving her razor an inch above Maddie’s neck. “I could stab her in the heart in a millisecond, and it will be your fault that you didn’t do anything to stop me!”
Melanie feigned a stabbing above Maddie’s chest, stopping right as it made contact with her. I gasped for air, helpless, feeling as though I would lose consciousness. I was unable to save my best friend.
“She’s going to kill Maddie!” I whispered in a fit of hysteria.
“Fiona, I’ve got this, calm down,” he said under his breath, aiming at Melanie with a cool hand, raising the gun level with his shoulder.
I twisted around, hoping to see officers behind me. Nothing. Nobody. It was dead silent. Where are they? Where is backup?
“I will kill this girl; you will live the rest of your life in regret,” she warned, raising the razor once again.
“This is your final warning,” he bellowed, keeping a steady aim. “One, two—”
I screamed as the gunshot fired. It was piercing, intense, the loudest sound I had ever experienced—even more than Gerald Smith’s blast in my living room. As the bullet reached Melanie, her shoulder kicked backward, tossing her towards the Devil’s Throne, her razor spinning into the darkness of the cave.
A high-pitched tone rang inside of my head, screaming inside of my brain as I cupped my ears, pressing as hard as I could to ease the discomfort. A fuzzy static filled my ear canals, a loud, painful humming vibrated inside of me as Melanie crumbled to the ground, moaning. I charged towards Maddie, removing the duct tape as fast as I could, strand by strand. Inspecting the cut on her neck, I sighed as I examined only a surface wound, it had already stopped bleeding, leaving her with a clotted line. She whimpered as I pulled off the piece of duct tape from her mouth, tears streaming down both of our faces.
“Fiona! Oh my gosh, you don’t even know what I’ve been through!” she screamed, her voice coming through as if she were at the end of a tunnel.
I grabbed my phone and attempted to call her mother. Straining to hear, I had no reception. She squeezed my neck, as I glanced at the detective standing over Melanie with a bleeding wound in her right shoulder. I helped Maddie get down from the altar.
Within a few minutes, the uniformed officers rushed into Dracul’s Den. We exited the cave with Maddie, who was visibly shaken from the ordeal. As we reached the main area with the waterfall, the inseparable duo rushed down the corridor. They had a team of paramedics behind them.
“We got your text, Fiona! Maddie, are you alright?” Willow screamed, immediately rushing to check her wound. “Oh my gosh, your neck! You need medical assistance!” she screamed.
“I am so glad they found you, Maddie. I thought you went out with Carden last night, but then, when they said at school you didn’t and were missing, I was so freaking worried!” Lauren shouted, putting her arm around her as we walked down the corridor. “So, Melanie Newsted kidnapped you? From the mall?”
She nodded, walking briskly towards the mouth of the cave.
“Yeah, she got behind me in the mall parking lot as I exited my car and put a chloroform napkin against my face. I fought her but inhaled it, and then woke up later at her house in this disgusting little room with scary dragon stuff, duct tape over my mouth and around my hands and feet. It was a nightmare!” she shrieked, trembling.
“Fiona’s the hero this time, huh?” Wolfe said as he walked out of the shadows of the corridor holding his longboard. “Came right over when I got your text,” he said, matching my steps as we exited the cave.
“Can you believe that it was Victoria’s mom? She murdered Jody James out of revenge. A long time ago, Jody called Child Protective Services on Melanie, even though she was the one abusing Victoria because she was Victoria’s babysitter and obviously has anger issues. Jody caused Victoria to be taken out of Melanie’s home when she was five-years-old—can you imagine that? Destroyed Melanie,” I reported, allowing my eyes to adjust to the sunlight.
“But that lady must hold some major grudges, how long ago was that?” Willow said bluntly, examining Maddie’s body for further injuries, stopping to survey the reddish areas on her arms from the duct tape removal.
“Well, from what I can recall, Victoria’s been back at home since she was eight. Obviously, Melanie never got over it—especially sinc
e Melanie and Victoria failed to repair their relationship.”
Detective Chase walked towards our group, his eyes glued on his cell phone screen.
“We just found out Melanie was up for a promotion at the prison. Before all promotions, they do a routine criminal background check. Well, for the first time, the warden noticed her previous child abuse charges; due to a human resources slip up, they’d been overlooked when she was hired. A hearing was scheduled for next week to see if Melanie could even keep her job, and as Dimitri said, the promotion was out of the question. Even though she was never convicted of the charges due to a lack of evidence, the case was so mangled and handled improperly—it showed up as a criminal record. Kind of sad that she couldn’t afford an attorney back then to straighten the mess out. I can see why she may have been bitter, but murder wasn’t the answer,” he reported.
“That story is all so crazy. I feel sorry for her to have dealt with that, but two wrongs don’t make a right,” Lauren added.
“Maddie, you told your mother that you were spending the night with me last night. Maybe next time, my best friend, let me know that you’re doing that!” I said jokingly, tapping her on the back.
She gazed at me with loving eyes, a grin spreading across her face. Frazzled, she looked as if she had spent five days on a deserted island.
“It was so dumb, a last minute thought. I wasn’t going to spend the night out, I planned to go home, but I just didn’t want her asking a bunch of questions. You know my mother; she’d have acted crazy if I told her the truth. She probably would have given me a curfew of 9 o’clock! I shouldn’t have lied to my parents; now I see how that got me into more trouble because nobody realized I was missing!”
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do when you get home,” I said, a rant blasted from the parking area. It wasn’t in English. It was Japanese. “Or maybe you don’t have to wait that long, actually,” I bemoaned, pointing towards Mrs. Christie who was marching in our direction. Mr. Christie trailed a few steps behind, and Maddie’s younger brother, Doug, struggled to keep up.
Fiona Frost: Order of the Black Moon Page 27
