I looked up at him and felt the rush of love wash over me. He responded by pulling me closer and kissed me, a deep, passionate kiss that left me almost dizzy.
“You don’t need to worry—you’ve already swept me off my feet,” I whispered in his ear, then playfully nibbled it. “Let me sever the last ties to my past so we can get home and show Purr Baby his new digs.”
I watched him walk back to the Jeep and then headed to the front door. Nicole lived exactly the way I envisioned—an over-the-top classic Georgian style home, complete with a full, wrap around porch and two story columns. I rang the doorbell and watched Steve drive away, missing him already.
“Well, right on time, as usual. I would expect nothing less from the ‘Warrior,’” Nicole said, her southern accent heavier than normal. She smiled as she opened the door wide and I stepped inside, admiring her beautiful décor. She glanced out the open door just as Steve’s Jeep disappeared from site, a thousand watt smile plastered on her face.
“What? I don’t get to congratulate the soon to be groom?”
“He has a few errands to run and then he will be back. I wanted to talk to you anyway, if you have some free time? I didn’t interrupt your dinner, did I?” I said, noticing the smell of burnt food in the air. There was also an underlying smell that seemed familiar; I just couldn’t quite place it.
“Oh no, Eric and I already ate. Dinner was late since I burnt the first batch of chicken, but he didn’t seem to mind. That man will eat anything. He is waiting for us in the living room, by the way. Let’s just make this stop in the kitchen and get these papers signed and the transfer of power over with. Then maybe you could sample my famous southern dessert while visiting with Eric.”
“What a lovely idea, although I’m not sure my stomach could hold another bite! My mother fixed my favorite for dinner tonight, and I’m afraid I overate,” I said, walking behind her as we made our way into the kitchen.
The papers were already laid out on the counter awaiting my signature. I scanned quickly through them, making sure they were exact copies of what Carl had faxed me earlier. Satisfied that they were, I felt the weight that had been so heavy upon my shoulders immediately cease.
I stuck out my hand, noticing the brief shudder of excitement causing it to shake slightly, and said, “Congratulations, managing partner. I hand the crown over with gusto!”
Nicole never said a word, her face devoid of readable emotions. I knew her well enough to recognize that she was using every ounce of strength to control her features to not betray her true thoughts.
She recovered quickly and shook my hand, then backed away and began fussing with some delicious looking chocolate dish on the counter. With her back to me while she busied her hands, she said, “Go, visit with Eric. I’ll be there in a second.”
Sensing that she wanted to compose herself, I simply nodded and left the room.
“Your home is lovely, Nicole. I love the interior design. The artwork is breathtaking,” I said, noticing the ornate paintings that graced the walls as I walked down the hallway.
Nicole called out behind me.
“Wait until you see what I’ve done in the living room. It’s quite spectacular.”
I rounded the corner and stopped, my eyes taking in the full view. The red glow from the sun was almost gone, but enough was left to illuminate the entire room, giving the impression of fire licking up the walls and on the carpet.
Then, to my horror, I realized it wasn’t an illusion, and it wasn’t the sun’s rays. The red haze was blood, and the faint smell from earlier was death.
I froze, my senses overwhelmed with stimuli. Before everything completely registered, I felt something hard and cold against my temple, then the presence of someone right behind me.
“So, how do you like my decorating skills? Reminds me of a Picasso….How ’bout you?”
LATE SATURDAY EVENING
“RHONDA, I’VE TOLD YOU a hundred times tonight that I’m sorry. How many more times do I need to repeat myself before you forgive me?”
Special Agent Lucas Kendal was in hot water with his wife. It was not the first time in their fifteen years of marriage and certainly, it wouldn’t be his last. He warned her when they were dating that the life of an FBI agent’s wife would be difficult, but back then during their “lovey-dovey” courtship phase, she swore she could handle it. But after years of no contact for days while he was on assignment, the constant secrecy, and the countless missed dinners and special events, the toll was weighing heavy on their relationship.
“You can apologize until doomsday, Lucas. Apologetic promises are just empty words if not backed up by actions. When you actually live up to a promise, then I will accept your apology,” she huffed, throwing away the batch of something that looked like it once would have been a tasty dish before she hurled the entire container into the garbage.
Lucas rubbed his forehead and sighed, then grabbed a cold beer out of the fridge, bypassing his fuming wife, and exited onto their porch to watch the sunset. It would be another lonely night on the couch. How many more of those could their marriage withstand before it broke?
Once he got situated in the chair and cracked open his beer, he reached into his hidden pocket and pulled out a cigarette—another thing for Rhonda to complain about since he told her he had quit. He reasoned that since the night was already shot to hell, why not indulge?
He became obsessed during any case that he worked until he felt the rock in his stomach dissipate. Until he had uncovered every possibility, every scenario, left no stone unturned, it would eat away at his insides. Out of all the cases he had been lead on over the years, the Winscott one topped them all.
The little twerp Doster was right: everything pointed to an open and shut case—all the evidence tying back to Kevin Robertson and Piper Rancliff. Even Nicole Simmons’ story was plausible. But the minute he met her and watched her finely tuned performance of “victim,” he felt the rock drop in his gut, and it just kept pressing on his insides since. He felt it deep from within: she was lying through her teeth. The only thing he couldn’t figure out was why.
As the evening air began to cool and the sun was long since set, he finished off half a pack of smokes and three beers while his mind went through every piece of evidence they had. The last shred of hope he had was the completion of the autopsy on Kevin, which was taking entirely too long in his opinion. The Phoenix lab was notorious for carrying a backlog of cases and taking longer than normal to finish a complete forensic workup, but the case should have been top priority after all the national media attention it had garnered. His superiors were breathing down his neck to give his final report, and all he could do was throw up smoke screens and request that they turn their attention to the lab, not him.
Lucas was just about to grab another beer when his cell phone vibrated on the table. He glanced at the number and winced when he saw that it was Doster. He had already called three times earlier, annoying the hell out of him with trivial, bullshit questions, and he wasn’t in the mood for anymore.
“Now what, Agent Doster?”
“I’m sorry to bother you again, sir, but I owe you an apology. You were right,” Doster said, his voice on edge.
“Excuse me? An apology for what?” What was it with apologies tonight? Lucas thought as he took another sip of beer.
“Your gut instincts were right, sir. The autopsy report just came in. Kevin Robertson didn’t shoot Audra Tanner.”
Lucas spat out his beer and bolted upright. “Fucking-A, Doster! I knew it! Where are you? We need to saddle up and go get that lying bitch.”
“I’m about ten miles away from your house. Already secured the arrest warrant. I’ll be at your house in about eight minutes.”
Lucas was too excited to respond. He disconnected the call and ran back inside, collecting his service weapon and badge from the countertop, then out the front door to await his ride.
While he paced the front porch, he couldn’t help but smile. His
gut instincts were always right; it just took longer than normal to prove it. Nicole Simmons was the one that pulled the trigger on Audra, and he sensed it all along.
Then he remembered that Audra was out of the hospital and still part of the team of Winscott. He didn’t have any number for her except for Detective Ronson, so he dialed his number.
“Detective Ronson.”
“Detective, this is Special Agent Lucas Kendal.”
“Special Agent Kendal. What can I do for you?” came the reply, the detective immediately sensing something was amiss.
“I wanted to inform you, before you heard it through the media first, that there has been a break in the case and a new arrest will be happening in a short time. You will need to keep Ms. Tanner in a secure location under I call you back, and she is not to have any contact with anyone at Winscott. Understood?”
There was a brief pause before Detective Ronson responded.
“What are you not telling me, Kendal? Who am I protecting her from, and what break?”
Lucas debated for a moment before he replied. He knew he was breaking protocol by telling him, but he also felt that since Steve Ronson was a fellow officer of the law and the man that was in love with Audra, he needed to know.
“The autopsy results on Kevin Robertson came back today and confirmed my suspicions. He wasn’t the shooter.”
“Oh my God, that means it was…”
“Yes, but don’t worry. We are on our way there to arrest her, so just keep Audra in Summerset until we have her in custody.”
Lucas was shocked when he heard the panic emanating from the Detective when he responded. “Audra isn’t with me. I dropped her off at Nicole’s less than twenty minutes ago. Dear God...” Then click, the line went dead.
Lucas ran back inside and grabbed his keys. He called Doster while he ran, screaming in the phone as he barked orders, requesting full backup, including an ambulance, fearing the worst had already occurred. He spun out of the driveway and raced to Nicole’s, his mind and body on high alert as he sped through the night, red and blue lights blazing the trail, the rock in his gut telling him that it was too late.
The amber glow of the flames that shot into the sky made his heart sink as he realized he was too late. He sped up the driveway with Agent Doster right on his heels, the ambulance and fire truck screaming up behind them.
Damn he hated being right sometimes.
LATE SATURDAY EVENING
I WAS SURPRISED AT my reaction to watching her sign the papers. It was another moment that I had waited patiently to occur, and so it did—in my kitchen in almost the exact same spot as Eric’s proposal to me earlier. If I planned on remaining in the house, those two memories would surely drive me insane.
Good thing it was going up in a ball of flames.
I grabbed Audra’s bony arm and yanked it hard behind her, forcing her forward to the other side of the living room. I shoved her hard onto the couch, and then I tossed the duct tape at her, the gun only inches away from her head. Her eyes were wide pools of fear, shifting from mine over to the bleeding body of Mikey. She never let out a peep, which surprised me. I was expecting at least an ear splitting scream at the site of yet more carnage that she had caused.
Motioning to the tape with the gun, I took a step back and said, “Before we get started, wrap that tape around your hands. No cheating now; make sure it’s tight.”
She just stared at me like I was an alien from another planet, not comprehending my words.
“What’s the matter, sweetie? Is this too much excitement for that Swiss cheese brain of yours? We don’t have all night you know. Get to wrapping before I lose my temper. I don’t plan on shooting another hole in you just yet, but as you can see from my other handiwork,” I said, nodding toward Mikey and Eric, “I can only control my anger for so long before something bad happens.”
Audra’s gaze was full of confusion as she stared at the gun in my hand. Her expression was that of a small child. Then suddenly, it changed over to full cognizance. Her eyes turned almost a darker shade of green as her anger and pain swirled behind them.
“If I had to guess, I would say that your memory just came back. Well, how about that? I’ve always heard that amnesia victims can regain their lost time at the oddest moments. Maybe it was seeing me pointing a gun at you once again that did the trick. At least this time, I am more presentable…and much better prepared.”
She cleared her throat, her eyes boring through mine, no fear or fright shown behind them. She looked past me and over at Eric, then back at me.
“Nicole, I came here tonight to give you what you wanted—the keys to Winscott. Why all this? Why kill Eric? I thought you…”
“If you want to remain conscious, you get that tape on, now. I realize with your arm still in that pathetic little sling it might be painful, but trust me, you would be much better off suffering just a fleeting second of pain from your side rather than having a matching gash on your head like him,” I said, looking over at Mikey.
She complied and began to slowly wrap her wrists, her light groans of pain escaping her lips while she used her teeth to finish the job. Satisfied she was locked tight, I took a few steps back and then stopped in the middle of the room.
“Let me guess—you thought I loved Eric? Oh, silly, silly girl. You are pushing forty and have yet to figure out that true love is just an illusion that doesn’t exist. Like faith, it is a substance we all wish for yet we never see. Eric was just like every other man out there in the world. A mass of flesh whose only use lasts all of about ten minutes at best and can be replaced by rubber and batteries. Oh, and maybe to kill spiders.”
She looked over again at the motionless body at the other end of the couch, his eyes lost in a world beyond the living room.
“And him? He looks a little old for your tastes, so what did he do?” she said, the cockiness in her voice beginning to annoy the hell out of me. Why wasn’t she shaking like a leaf with terror? While keeping an eye on her, I moved over to the other side of the room to where Eric’s laptop sat. I set the gun down beside it while I put my gloves back on.
“Oh, him? He’s just my ex-father-in-law. Well, technically, not ex, since I never actually divorced his son. I just killed the fucker,” I said. Then I clicked “send” on the email to Eric’s wife. That accomplished, I reached for my smokes next to the computer and lit up, enjoying the last cigarettes I would ever smoke in the house.
“Why? What did he do to you?” she asked, her voice still steady and clear. I felt the anger burn through me, just like the smoke in my lungs. I hot-boxed the first one almost down to the filter before I replied, enjoying the head rush.
“Frank, that was his name, was a Neanderthal that thought smacking his wife around and dragging her by the hair was as normal as baked apple pie and humidity in the south. I didn’t agree, so I fought back. Some, like Mikey next to you there, would say I retaliated too harshly. I would not.”
She actually looked at me with a pity, and that ignited a fire within.
“Don’t you dare look at me that way! The last thing I want is pity from anyone, and certainly not you! I suffered more than you can ever fathom, but I survived! And I made damn sure that I involved no one else!”
Audra continued to stare at me, a few tears glistening behind her eyes. The fear suddenly appeared, coming to the surface after my screaming tirade. Seeing it made me calm down slightly, and I reached for another cigarette, setting the still lit one in the ashtray that was near overflowing with butts.
I inhaled deeply and let the nicotine settle my nerves.
“On some levels, maybe in some alternate universe, you and I could have been friends. We both are strong-willed, determined women that aren’t afraid to go after what we want. We sink our teeth into something and like pit bulls, don’t let go. The major difference between us is that you have some twisted sense of morality, whereas I do not. My eyes have been opened to the evil that permeates every crevice in the world, your fea
r holding you captive in its cold embrace. I learned long ago that no one can be trusted, and if you want freedom, you must snatch it, no matter what the costs.”
“Nicole, please. I understand pain and letting it eat your heart and soul away…”
“Oh, don’t try to lecture me or try to talk me out of anything. I told you once before that I wanted the balance of our relationship to be zero, so it’s time to make that adjusting journal entry. You have no idea how many sleepless nights I wasted on plotting your death. You started it all and I get to end it.
You see, as I said previously, we are very much alike. We both plotted and planned taking down the people that hurt us. And like I told you, almost exactly one week ago if you recall, you simply wanted revenge but I wouldn’t stop until I had blood. Your little dog and pony show destroyed the plans I had in the works. You wanted to make us accountable for our actions, right? For letting you get fed to the wolf, so to speak, and not coming to your rescue when you screamed for help? Well, boo hoo little girl. Welcome to the real world. No saviors are around.”
“It was you, wasn’t it? You sent the email to the media about Sprigg. You knew.”
Lighting another smoke, I leaned back against the piano and smiled. “Good deduction. And guess who I was going to take the fall for that?” I said, tipping my cigarette in Eric’s direction.
“How did you find…” she said, the look of incredulity spreading across her face.
I glanced at the clock on the wall, then decided I still had plenty of time to tell the sordid tale before Ranger Rick came to the rescue. It sure was going to be a shame to kill that gorgeous hunk, but it had to be done.
“How did I find out? I knew everything, Audra. Every single piece of information you did, and I planned on using all of it to gain control of Winscott just like you did, albeit from an entirely different direction.”
The color that had still been in her cheeks drained, leaving her looking like I already shot her she was so pale. She stuttered, “Everything?”
Eviscerating the Snake - The Complete Trilogy Page 60
