“So, how are you handling the media frenzy on this thing? You keeping your mouth shut and ignoring the television like the plague?” Alex asked.
“Yea, I’m doing my best, but you know the local news is all over the thing, trying to spark up as much controversy as they can.”
“Yea, those vultures have nothing better to do. That will never change.”
“I haven’t been thinking too much about them. I’m just thinking about who is walking around out there scot free when they murdered my wife a few days ago. That thought is driving me wild. It is dominating my every waking moment. I can’t let it go. If the cops don’t find who did it then I have to.”
Alex looked at Joe solemnly for a few seconds. Joe had seldom seen him look so serious. It was like he was shocked by what Joe had just said.
Finally he spoke. “You aren’t considering something crazy are you?”
“Like what?”
“Like rushing into something that could get you killed too.”
“What are you talking about? If they wanted to kill me then they could have done it by now,” Joe replied.
“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about going Dirty Harry and trying to find the scumbag yourself.”
“Well, I’d be full of it if I told you that thought was not racing through my mind a lot.”
“That’s what I was talking about; you can’t do this. Let the cops do their job.”
“The cops? Man you know as well as I do that these cops don’t solve most murders they look into. It’s almost an epidemic.”
“That may be true, but they don’t need another murder to solve right now. Let it go. You are not a cop.”
“I got to do what I feel I have to do,” Joe said.
Alex finished his drink.
“I’ll see what I can find out about the evidence. Just wait until we see where things are heading before we do anything stupid,” Alex said.
“What do you mean we?”
“Well, if you do go rogue on this then I’m going with you.”
Chapter 4: Dose of Reality
The jail cell was the emptiest and most hollow place that Joe had ever known. He had been placed in an isolated cell because of his wealth and celebrity status, but it was still the loneliest place he could ever imagine. It was hot but he felt cold all at the same time. The sweat that poured out of his skin felt like he was being wrapped up in a cold, wet towel and the air had been taken from his lungs to be rationed out a breathful per hour.
He could not wrap his mind around the fact that he was actually in jail. He never thought for real that he would see the inside of a cell. Since Tracy’s murder he had been trying to prepare himself for what would happen if he actually landed in jail, but it had been a stupid attempt. It was much worse than he could have dreamed of. Although, he wondered if it would have been better if he’d been just a regular prisoner and allowed to be in the general population. He knew that he would have been killed instantly since he was a somewhat famous millionaire who hobnobbed with celebrities and he was being held for trial for murdering his wife.
When the cops arrived at his doorstep to arrest him he thought they were joking at first, but he quickly realized that this was no joke and it was no dream. The reality hit home as they placed the cuffs on him and sat him in the back of the dark police car.
They had miraculously found evidence that placed him at the murder scene. It was like something out of a movie. Joe could not believe it. They had found some of his blood at the crime scene. He didn’t know how that was possible. It was ludicrous. He tried to explain this to them, but quickly realized how insane this was. There had to be a rational explanation of this.
It was his house. He bled occasionally from paper cuts and so forth. He imagined that a lot of people did. But the cops believe that this was enough evidence to hold him while they waited for more to place him at the crime scene to secure a conviction.
He had instantly called Alex, who was on his way down to bail him out. Luckily Joe was wealthy enough to buy his way out of trouble for a while and postpone it. That was a small favor he had to praise somebody for.
An hour later he was released and Alex was driving him home. The day was beautiful despite it all and he had to admit the warm sunshine felt heavenly compared to the hot, dank air in the jail. It was horrible in that place and Joe knew that he could not allow himself to go back. He had to find out who was responsible for this and make them pay.
“Someone must have found a way to get ahold of your blood and carefully place it at the crime scene. This is a setup job Joe. I can see it a mile away.”
“Why can’t the cops see it then? Why do they have it in for me?”
“Because it makes everything a nice open and shut case for them that way. That is all they are after. They want to make sure they can close this thing to increase their conviction rates.”
“It’s ludicrous. The murder occurred in my house to my wife. I’m sure there are microscopic fibers and DNA of me on her and her on me even after several days of showers. Married people and family members got to have that problem in this situation.”
“Right. We will get to the bottom of it. Right now we have to rack our brains to think of who would want to go through all of this trouble to kill Tracy.”
“I’ve been thinking, but I can’t decide on anyone. It makes no sense at all. I’m completely flabbergasted.”
“Well, think harder. Who have you wronged lately?”
“Well, let me check my diary, because you know I have a list of people that I have to wrong every day and then I check them off the list and write about it in my little diary.”
“I’m trying to help, buddy. Think dammit.”
“What if it’s no one I’ve wronged, but maybe someone who is just really jealous?”
“That works. Who you got?”
“Mike. Mike Pilson.”
“Who is that?”
“Mike is a former business associate of mine. When I first started getting into real estate right after college I offered to cut him in on a deal I was doing. He said no, but then changed his mind after he saw I was making some cash off it.”
“Ok, so you didn’t cut him in then?”
“Well, no. I had already borrowed the money to flip my first house from someone else. The bank of all people came through and I didn’t need Mike’s dad’s help anymore.”
“So, Mikey missed out on a great business venture and has been pissed all these years? Why not cut him in on future investments?”
“Well, I would have but after he got burned on that first one he told me that I was dead to him and he was not going to ever do business with a snake like me again.”
“Ok, sounds reasonable enough. What does Mikey do now?”
“He tried to make a go of it by investing in some other guys who were doing the same type of thing; there business amounted to nothing and his dad lost a lot of cash. So he eventually became an insurance salesman last I heard. But I wonder if he is still holding a grudge after all these years. That sounds like a long time to make a move doesn’t it?”
“Maybe this isn’t the first time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I hate to open old wounds, but maybe Tori’s death wasn’t a suicide.”
“You think this guy might have killed her too just to get back at me? That is crazy. Why not just kill me directly?”
“Well, maybe he thinks this is more painful. If you die then he doesn’t get to torture you for life.”
“Well, it’s worth a shot to check out.”
“You got nothing else to do today right?” Alex said with a smile.
****
An hour later they were in Mike’s office waiting for him to finish up with a client. Joe had to admit he was feeling a bit nervous waiting for Mike. He had not seen the man in twenty years and he wondered how much hatred the asshole still had in him. Could he have really been beh
ind the murder of Joe’s wife? Possibly both of them? The more Joe sat there the stranger he felt. He knew that Alex was trying to help him any way that he could here, but this was grasping at straws and he thought they both knew it.
But he had to try at least. He couldn’t just sit by and let them convict him of a crime he did not commit.
Mike came out of his office just then after saying goodbye to a few of his insurance customers. He looked almost the same as he had the last time that Joe saw him: same smug expression and the same optimistic gleam in his eye as if he was aware of a joke that no one else around him was. He appeared to be the same prick that Joe had known in college. It was weird to think they had once been friends.
“Joe, what a pleasant surprise. It’s been forever,” Mike said grabbing Joe’s hand and giving it a hearty hand shake.
“Hey, Mike. How are you doing?” Joe asked.
“I got no complaints,” Mike said.
Joe doubted this very much. The guy was always lying through his teeth. That was pretty much the man’s M.O.
“I’m Mike PIlson,” He said shaking Alex’s hand.
“Alex Denton. Pleased to meet you,” Alex said.
Mike led them both into his office where they sat down on a comfortable couch. His secretary followed closely behind them with a few bottles of mineral water. Joe was shocked to see how fancy Mike was conducting his business. Was it possible the guy could have changed in twenty years? He had to keep reminding himself of why he and Alex were actually here.
“So, how is the brilliant entrepreneur doing?” Mike asked.
“Well, if you hadn’t heard I’m not doing so well.”
Mike’s face turned to one of shock and awe as if he had just been kicked in the head.
“Oh, of course. What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve seen the story on the news. I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. My condolences. From what I’ve heard she was a wonderful woman,” Mike said.
Joe almost believed the sincerity.
“Well, thanks. I appreciate that.”
Mike paused a moment to grab a drink of his own mineral water.
“So, what can I do for you today Joe?”
“We were wondering if you could tell us where you were on the eighteenth of this month,” Alex said. The blunt way he said it was confusing and somehow brilliant. Joe wanted to smile and point a finger in Mike’s face advising him not to lie or they would know. Although they totally would not know the difference.
“What? What is this about?” Mike asked.
“It’s a simple question. Where were you on the eighteenth?”
Mike laughed a bit taken off guard. He was really not sure what to think. Joe thought it was hilarious.
“Well, I went out to dinner with my wife to The Mirage Café. Are you a cop, Alex?”
“Attorney,” Alex replied.
“So, then I’m not obligated to answer any of your questions.”
“Right, you aren’t. But if you don’t answer the questions then I will do a little digging on you and your fine established business here.”
“Ok, not sure what kind of threat that is.”
“Please, I know your type Mike. Are you going to try to tell me that you can afford a suit like the one you are wearing from selling insurance here? This is the only office you have right? It’s not like you are one of the big boys.”
Joe loved how observant Alex was at times like this. Joe had not even noticed the suit that Mike was wearing. Mike had tried hard to hold up the image that he was successful with a great suit, nice office space, a beautiful secretary, nice furniture, mineral water, and Joe was pretty sure the ten year old—but very shiny and polished—Porsche outside was Mike’s too. The man was a fraud. Just like he was twenty years ago.
“I’m not sure what you are talking about, but I’d like you to leave now. Joe I thought you might have stopped by to apologize about stabbing me in the back all those years ago, but I see you haven’t changed a bit.”
“No, I think it’s you who has not changed Mike. I know that you are a fraud and that you are a snake. If I find out that you had anything to do with my wife’s death then I will take you down,” Joe said.
“What? Are you high? Is that what this is about? My God, you have really lost it haven’t you. I would recommend you get some counseling. This is the craziest thing I have ever heard. Did you just pull that idea out of left field?”
Joe smiled. Actually he had, but it was crazy enough to hold something. There was something in the way that Mike reacted that made Joe uncomfortable.
Alex and Joe left the office and drove away.
“So, you think he is hiding anything?” Joe asked.
“Doubt it. That was a bit of a wild goose chase, but it was fun right?”
“Oh, yea it was a lot of fun to make that little jerk squirm. You got a bit of a sadistic streak don’t you?”
Alex smiled.
Joe’s phone rang right then. He picked it up without checking the call ID. It was Kirsten.
“Hey, sweetie! How are you?” Joe asked.
“I’m good, dad. I’m just leaving the airport. Just wanted to let you know I’ll be home in forty-five minutes.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t know you were landing now. I would have picked you up, sweetie.”
“Thanks, dad, but its ok. I wanted to surprise you a bit, so I took an earlier flight that opened up.”
“Wow, it’s wonderful to hear your voice,” Joe said. He decided not to mention to her that he had spent the night in jail because he was accused of murdering her stepmother.
“Well, I’ll be home shortly honey. I love you,” Joe said.
After the call ended he told Alex to drop him off at home.
“No problem. I’m going to go back to the office and make a few phone calls. There is a retired detective friend of mine named Bill Dyer that might be of some use. He has a few more ideas about investigating this sort of thing.”
“Sounds great,” Joe said.
****
His daughter got more beautiful every time he saw her. She was all grown up now and he wasn’t sure when the hell it had happened. That was the one thing he regretted about being so determined to build a strong business—he had to miss a lot of things with his kids.
Kirstie had never complained once, probably because she was so much like him. She had always been a bit of a workaholic, and though she wanted to go to law school instead of business like him, he knew that she would be a huge success no matter what she did. He remembered that she never slept and he would often catch her as a kid staying up all night to finish a project if she had to, but she was often the type who got everything done way early and rarely had that problem.
They had a nice lunch at the house and talked about things. Kirstie was very saddened by Tracy’s death and even though she had been a teenager when he had married Tracy, she felt as if Tracy was a mother figure in her life since her own mother died when she was so young. Joe thought she was being so brave and strong right then and she was an inspiration to him.
He tried to shift the conversation to her and her life. She was doing well in school, which was not a shock to him at all. She had always been a great student, but she was also so active. Kirstie told him about how she was active in student government, a sorority, and that she was involved in several other groups and movements on campus. Joe could not really relate too much to that. When he had been in college he mostly just studied hard and focused on getting the tools he needed to start his own business. He never needed to pad his resume or impress anybody because he had made up his mind early to never work for anyone else. That was not the way he was wired.
After getting caught up with everything, Joe decided that he had to tell his daughter the truth about what was going on. She was going to hear it on the news soon enough and he did not want her to get the information that way. He was determined to not let that happen.
As he told
her he saw the tears welling up in her eyes and he wished that he did not have to break her heart this way. But he didn’t believe in trying to protect her from life.
“Dad, how can they even think that you would have had anything to do with that? This town knows you. They know that you are innocent,” Kirstie protested.
“Well, I wish that were true. The thing of it is the town wants to lynch me.”
“What? Why?”
“It comes with the territory. People are often jealous of successful people like me and if they can drag you through the mud and pin something heinous on you then it feels like a victory to them to do it. But don’t worry. I’m fighting this and we will find a way out of it.”
Kirstie got up from the table and wrapped her arms around Joe, hugging him tightly. He missed his little girl’s soft hugs. He hated that she was now in so much pain because of him. It made him even more determined to find the murderer. His daughter would crumble if he went to prison. She was one of the strongest people he knew, but this would bury even her.
Just then his phone rang. It was Alex.
“Alex, what’s up?”
“I found something.”
“Great. What is it?”
Alex paused a moment. “You aren’t going to like it.”
Joe clenched the phone.
Chapter 5: Picture Perfect
Joe looked the pictures that were lying on Alex’s desk in total disbelief. He felt sick. It was as if someone had hit him in the ribs with a sledgehammer. His eyes kept trying to crawl away from his face to avoid looking at the ghastly image in front of him. It was beyond sickening.
“I’m sorry, man. I wish to hell I had never found this, but it might keep you out of jail,” Alex said.
The pictures lying before them were snapshots of Tracy coming out of a hotel room where Robin Lydell was standing in the doorway. He was wearing jeans, but no shirt. Robin Lydell was an investment banker that Joe had done a few deals with over the years, but he really didn’t know him beyond that. Joe did not know how the hell Tracy knew him.
Rising Darkness Page 3
