by V. B. Tenery
“You carry plastic explosives around in your car?”
He smiled. “Not exactly. I picked up the bomb from my garage after I heard the body had been found.”
Somehow, she had to stop Charles. He was unhinged enough to kill everyone in the house, including the children. Keep him talking without goading him into action. “I can’t say I’m sorry I spoiled your plan. You also drove the truck that pushed me into the lake and it was you who hit me at the church.” A statement, not a question.
“That was risky for someone who doesn’t like to take chances.” Her frantic brain searched for some way to signal Maddie to leave and call the police.
Charles shrugged. “You spooked me by the call you made to my home to ask about the sleeping bag. I realized the police were trying to trace it back to the donor. It was the mate to the one I buried Penny in. I could hardly admit I’d donated it.”
Maddie moved at the same time Charles saw her. She snatched the crystal tennis ball from the shelf and hurled the glass orb like the fastball she had been famous for in her college days, just as Charles raised the gun and fired.
Charles Edwards’ Home
Arrest warrant tucked inside his jacket pocket, Matt and his two detectives drove to the Edwards home. The pretentious mansion sat in the better part of town. Only one car in the driveway, an older model Chevy that didn’t look like it belonged to the Edwards’s.
When Matt knocked on the door, a solemn maid answered.
“I’d like to speak to Mr. Edwards,” Matt said.
“He’s not home. Mrs. Edwards is here, but...” the maid’s voice cracked. “She’s in hospice.”
A pang of awareness tugged at Matt’s heart. He was all too familiar with what hospice meant. “I’m sorry. We’ll wait outside for Mr. Edwards.”
They returned to Matt’s SUV, when the radio blared an ADW code. “Assault with a deadly weapon at 220 Woodbine Trail. Two people down. All units in the vicinity proceed immediately.”
Matt pounded the steering wheel and started the engine, muttering under his breath. “That’s Sara’s address.”
CHAPTER 33
Sara Bradford’s Home
“No. Dear God, no.”
Sara sprang from behind the desk, knowing she couldn’t reach him before he fired. Sara’s scream sounded loud in her own ears as Maddie hurled the glass tennis ball at Charles Edwards. The shot rang out and Sara’s gaze watched as Maddie collapsed onto her knees.
“Maddie, Maddie.” Sara gasped for air and dropped to the floor beside her aunt, pulling her close. Sobbing, uncontrolled tears streamed down her face.
Maddie returned the hug. “Sara, I’m okay.” Her aunt pointed at Charles Edwards’s body, prone on the carpet in front of the desk, eyes wide open. “He missed.”
“Dead?” Sara asked.
Maddie grabbed hold of an end table and pulled herself upright. “I have no idea. You’d better get the gun.”
“I thought…” Sara reached for the gun but realized it wasn’t necessary. Charles was dead. She backed away.
Maddie, her face ashen, nodded. “I know, but the shot went wild. It hit somewhere above me.” She pointed to a hole above the doorframe.
Confused, Sara stared at her aunt. “But, why did you fall?”
Maddie gave a shaky laugh. “I didn’t fall, I collapsed. Nerves.” She patted Sara’s arm. “Now I need to sit down. My knees hurt.”
Sara glanced at the crystal tennis ball by Charles’s body, and it struck her that the decision she’d made to keep the souvenir, had saved her and Maddie’s lives.
She helped her aunt to the leather chair by the fireplace. “Oh, Maddie, you did it. You stopped him.”
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we have to get help for Don.”
****
Matt made the twenty-minute drive to the Bradford home in twelve.
The car skidded to a halt behind an ambulance and Matt raced to the front door.
The heavy, double doors at the entrance stood ajar. Just inside the entryway, Pete Martinez stood near the library. He smeared the palms of his hands on his pants. “Hi, Chief. Sara and Miss Maddie are in the kitchen. The medics are loading Mr. Tompkins onto a stretcher now. He was shot, but he’s still alive.”
Matt expelled a deep breath. He’d braced himself for bad news, but Sara and Maddie were safe. The anxiety dissipated and logic took over. “What was Tompkins doing here?”
The gardener swallowed hard and nodded toward the kitchen. “Miss Maddie hired him to bodyguard Sara.”
Matt stepped past Pete into the library. The first officer on the scene had set up a sign-in log. Davis had taken over as lead detective.
Matt signed the log, pulled on the blue booties, and entered the room. Charles Edwards’s body lay face-up on the polished hardwood floor.
Lisa Martinez entered behind Matt, pulling on sterile gear and working the plastic gloves over her fingers. She knelt beside the body and probed the carotid artery in Edwards’s neck.
Matt threw her a questioning glance.
She nodded.
He turned to the patrol officer nearby. “What happened?”
The young officer straightened his posture. “As I understand it, Chief, the victim held a gun on Mrs. Bradford. The older lady entered the room and threw the crystal tennis ball.” He pointed to a glass object next to the body. “It hit him in the right temple.”
Hunter and Davis remained with the crime scene, and Matt headed into the kitchen to find Sara and Maddie.
The two women sat at the bay window. A white-faced Maddie leaned against the cushions, immobile.
Sara handed Maddie a china mug. “Drink this. Beatrice made the tea strong and sweet. It’s good for shock.”
Poppy lay with her head in Sara’s lap. Danny huddled in the booth corner, wide-eyed, taking everything in. These kids just couldn’t catch a break.
Matt pulled out a chair and sat next to Sara as Beatrice placed a cup of coffee at his elbow. “How did Edwards get inside the house?”
“He had a key made when he brought my car to the hospital after the explosion. He shot Don. Thank God the shot wasn’t fatal.”
Matt masked his rage at Edwards’s devious determination to kill Sara.
Sara stopped in the middle of her story, and cast a glance at him. “Why aren’t you surprised the killer turned out to be Charles Edwards? If you tell me you knew it all along, I may shoot you.”
“We found out late this evening. Hunter, Davis, and I were at his home to arrest him when the call came in about the disturbance here.”
Sara sighed and drew a shaky breath. “Charles confessed everything. Marnie drove the van that killed Penny. She’d been drinking, he tried to protect her. Incredibly, Charles also murdered Josh, and made the attempts on my life.”
Strobe lights flashed through the windows, and sirens blared, as the ambulance headed to Twin Falls Memorial with Don Tompkins. Two uniformed officers followed Hunter and Davis into the kitchen and stood in the doorway. Davis pulled out a chair next to Matt, and Hunter took a stool at the island bar.
“Who hit him?” Hunter asked.
Matt nodded toward Maddie. She raised her head to look at Hunter. “I did.”
The two detectives exchanged a look of surprise, and Davis turned to Maddie. “What happened?”
Maddie took a sip of tea. Her hand trembled as she set the cup back on the table. “I heard noises and came down the passageway from my room to investigate. I almost tripped over Don on the floor. He was conscious and whispered for me to call the police. I went back to my room and placed the call. When I came back, Don had passed out.
“When I reached the library, I overheard the man, Mr. Edwards, telling Sara how he had killed Joshua and was going to kill her. I was afraid to leave. I thought he would shoot her. I picked up the glass tennis ball on the shelf and threw it. I didn’t know what else to do. Because of my vision, my aim isn’t as good as it used to be. I planned to knock him unconscious
but he must have heard me and turned.”
“How did you see well enough to hit him? “Davis asked.
“I can see people at a short distance, although I can’t always recognize who they are. I just threw at his head.”
Hunter whistled. “That’s amazing.”
Maddie looked down into her teacup. “I guess that depends on your perspective.” She shuddered. “It was awful. It must have killed him instantly. He didn’t make a sound.”
Matt placed his hand over hers. “That must have been a powerful fastball you threw. Don’t blame yourself. You saved Sara, Don and possibly the children’s lives, as well as your own.”
She nodded. “I’ll try to remember that, Matthew. I did a lot of praying before I threw it, knowing if I missed, he would kill both of us. But taking a life is an awesome responsibility, even when it’s unintentional and perhaps, justified.”
Matt acknowledged the small woman’s courage with a squeeze of her hand. He turned to Sara. “Are you all right?”
She laid her hand on Poppy’s head and her countenance lightened. “I’m fine.”
He’d seen that look on Mary’s face in the months before her death. Like his wife, Sara had reached inside herself and shaken off all the terror and pain from the last couple of weeks. Drawing strength from a reservoir of faith only a few possessed. The knowledge, that whatever happened, God was in control.
Sara gave him a weary glance. “How much longer will this take, Matt? Maddie and the children need to rest. She blames herself for Don being shot, and insists on going to the hospital tonight.
“I’ll put the kids back to bed and ask Pete and Beatrice to stay with them. Then I’ll drive Maddie to the hospital.” She lifted the little girl into her arms and motioned for Danny to follow her.
Matt helped the boy off the cushions and set him on the floor beside her, then turned to Davis. “How much longer will you be?”
“The crew has finished filming the scene and they’re bagging the evidence. Shouldn’t be more than an hour. We’ll have to seal off the library. Any more questions we have for these ladies can wait.”
Matt stood and glanced at Sara. “I’ll be glad to drive you and Maddie to the hospital.”
“I can do it.” She pulled Poppy tighter to her chest. “Matt, Josh sent an email to himself the day he died, intending to give it to you. Cook confessed he’d witnessed Charles burying Penny’s body at the retreat. The email is on the computer in the library.”
Matt glanced over at Davis and nodded.
The detective left the room, headed to pick up the computer.
“Are you going to be all right here tonight?” Matt asked.
She smiled up at him. “We’ll be fine, now that we know we’re safe again. We just need a little time to recharge our batteries. I’ve been bombed, almost drowned, kidnapped, and nearly shot in a little over two weeks. Soon, I intend to go to my room, pull the cover over my head, and have a quiet nervous breakdown.”
Twin Falls Memorial Hospital
Don Tompkins was out of the OR, when Sara and Maddie arrived at the hospital. The bullet went through his shoulder, requiring a minimum of surgery.
Maddie eased up to Don’s bedside and took his hand. “How are you doing?”
Only a florescent tube above his bed lit the room. Don’s face looked pale and pasty in the dim lighting. Bandages covered his shoulder, and they had placed his arm in a sling to keep him from moving it.
“Okay, I think,” he said, his voice weak and raspy.
Maddie took his hand. “I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep.”
Sara slipped from the room, closing the door softly behind her.
The immensity of God’s mercy never ceased to amaze her.
CHAPTER 34
Twin Falls Police Station
Next morning, Matt sat with his two detectives to finalize the report that would go to the district attorney on the Pryor case.
Outside the office window, low gray clouds blocked the sun. A light flurry of large white flakes drifted to the ground, leaving a fine dust of powder on the lawn.
Hunter rose and moved to the window. “Is that snow?”
Matt swiveled his chair around. “That would be my guess. However, this is Texas and it’s October. Could just be global warming.”
Hunter chuckled and sat back down.
“You have anything to add to this?” Matt handed them copies of the report and waited for the two men to finish reading. “The DA should be pleased. You guys solved two murders, three attempted murders, an explosion, and a kidnapping in record time.”
Davis scanned his copy, then stuck it into the inside pocket of his sport coat. “Looks good to me, Chief. Edwards’s confession to Sara clears up most of the details…that and the email Josh Bradford sent the evening he died.”
Matt rolled his chair back. He pulled out the bottom desk drawer and propped his feet up. “The FBI returned the results from the VMD samples McCulloch sent. They confirmed two partial prints on the jumper belonged to Edwards. It would have been nice to have received that information a week ago.”
Hunter pushed out a deep breath. “Yeah, and imagine if Mrs. Bradford had found that email four years ago, it would have saved us a ton of work and a lot of shoe leather.”
“You guys have any questions?” Matt tossed his copy of the report into his file basket.
Hunter patted the report in his pocket. “That does it for me, Chief.”
“Me too,” Davis said. “By the way, we found out where Tompkins’ money came from. Seems his father was an electronics wizard. The old man held a number of patents worth a ton of dough. He left it all to Tompkins.”
Hunter chuckled. “I should be so lucky. The only thing my old man ever invented was a beer keg that fit in the refrigerator with a nozzle through the door so he didn’t have to open it to refill his glass.”
“Maybe he should have patented it.” Davis said, laughing. “A lot of couch potatoes would buy one during football season.”
The two detectives stood and moved to the door. Matt followed them into the hallway.
Officer Stein strode down the corridor. He stopped in front of Davis, giving him a high-five. No words were spoken. None were needed. A salute for a job well done.
That had been happening all day. A light mood filled the station. Deservedly so. They had all helped to close a difficult series of murders and sent a message to the bad guys. It might take time, but eventually justice would prevail.
There was no high quite like it.
County Court House
Two hours later, Matt drove the short distance to Gabriel Morrison’s office. Even the weather couldn’t dampen his spirits. Snow was such a novelty in this part of the country, even adults acted like kids. He would go home and crank up the fireplace as soon as he finished with Gabe. Perhaps his mood had nothing to do with snow. Could be because the past couple of weeks were behind him. Whatever the reason, he’d take it.
At the courthouse, Matt was the only person on the elevator on the ride up to the DA’s office. He exited on the third floor. People in the corridor greeted him with congratulations. He stopped midway down the hall at Gabe’s office. The secretary motioned him to go right in.
When the door closed, Matt took the chair proffered.
Morrison finished reading the report. He removed his glasses and plopped the sheaf of papers on the desk. “You should feel proud of yourself. That’s pretty remarkable police work.”
Matt shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. “I make it a point to surround myself with smart people who make me look good.”
“Don’t be modest, Foley. It’s an outstanding piece of investigative work. In fact, you must have broken some kind of record solving a case that old, that fast.” Gabe rocked back in his chair and gave Matt his full attention. “I’ll pass it on to the Herald. Just to tick off The Terror. Maybe your boss can get you a pay increase in next year’s budget. Look at the money the city saved by not having t
o hold Edwards over for trial.”
“I was just along for the ride,” Matt said. “If the city is passing out raises, I’ll see they go to the detective squad. They did the work.”
“Tell me, why do you work if you don’t need to? In your position, I’d retire and play golf every day for the rest of my life.”
Matt grinned. “I don’t golf.”
“There’s got to be more to it than that,” Gabe said.
“I like my job. One man can’t save the world, but I like to think I make a difference in my little corner. I felt a calling into law enforcement, to protect society from a lot of evil people.
“We create our own monsters. And all too often, a flawed justice system finds loopholes and lets them back on the streets. But occasionally, the rule of law prevails, as with this case. That makes it all worthwhile.”
“You’re preaching to the choir. I met Marnie Edwards socially many times. Even now, I can’t think of her as a killer. It’s difficult to believe someone of her background could be part of this sordid mess.”
“It is hard to believe. But consider the agony she put the Pryor family through for all those years by not admitting her guilt.”
Gabe shifted in his chair and nodded. “What have you done about her?”
“That’s your call. She’s still in hospice, in the last stages of bone cancer. When she heard about Charles, she went into a coma. Soon, she’ll stand before a much higher authority than you or me.”
CHAPTER 35
County Court House
The week before Christmas, Detective Miles Davis and his partner filed out of the courtroom with the rest of the crowd. They’d finished testifying before a grand jury on a new case and were on their way to lunch. Davis leaned over the rail and looked down on the atrium that stretched from the ground floor to the roof. Dressed in her seasonal finery, the Christmas season showed off the courthouse to its best advantage. The atrium, a postcard of holiday splendor. An enormous tree soared to the third floor where he and Hunter stood.
