“Dad,” Dani paused. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“I mean, a question about mom.”
He looked away for a second, then met her eyes. “I suppose. We’ve spent too long sweeping the whole mess under the carpet. Ask me whatever you want.”
“Mom’s favorite hobby was acting, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “She was good at it, too,” he said. “The first time I saw her was in a play, you know. She was playing an empress, and my God, she looked like one. It was like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed out my heart. I’ve never seen anyone who looked so beautiful.”
“Did she have a play where she wore a wedding dress?” Dani asked.
“A wedding dress?” Her father frowned. “A wedding dress.”
“Never mind,” Dani said. “I don’t want to-”
“No, wait, it’s a good question. I suppose the folks at the theater will remember the name, but I do remember the play. Don’t you?”
“I never watched them,” Dani said. “I suppose I wasn’t a very supportive daughter, but most of the plays would go over my head. Too much metaphor.”
Harry laughed. “I felt the same way. But this one was semi-decent, a three act play about a failing marriage. It was very popular. She played the role for about a year. In fact, she was getting sick of it and planning to quit.” Harry’s face crumbled a little. “She was planning to quit, just before she ran away.”
“Forget it, Dad.” Dani said. “I’m sorry I asked.” She was growing a little alarmed. Her father’s face was growing red, and his breathing was a little shallow. She really shouldn’t have bought up her mother.
Yet she couldn’t help the gnawing feeling that her mother was somehow at the center of this. Her mother had triggered Jessica’s breakdown. Why?
“I just wish I could remember what it was called,” Harry said. “Maybe we could go see it again if I did. The title had love in it, I remember.”
“Dad, I want you to sit down,” Dani led him to the couch. “Forget I asked, alright?”
“Alright.”
“You really loved mom a lot, didn’t you?” Dani asked. “Her vanishing like that did a number on you.”
Harry smiled. “I suppose so,” he said. “It feels like part of my life froze in that moment, and even now, the ice hasn’t thawed.”
“I feel the same way,” Dani said. “I think Sharon and Caroline do, too.”
“Do you think we’ll recover from this, Dani?” Her father asked, his voice hesitant. “I mean, Caroline especially, I’m worried that she’ll be permanently haunted by whatever has happened.”
“She’s young,” Dani smiled. “And she’s got Martin.”
“Yes, Martin,” her father nodded. “I suppose he will help her get over the loss of Jess and Leo, with time.”
Dani nodded. Martin would help Caroline, alright. But would part of him be glad that Jess and Leo were gone? That the two best friends who had stood between him and his love for Caroline were now out of the way? She shivered slightly at the thought. No. Martin was too nice to think that way, wasn’t he?
She had been so full of rage herself, that she hadn’t paid much attention at the time. But now she remembered how Martin had sounded, when he had told Caroline that he wanted to kill Leo. His voice hadn’t had rage in it. He had been almost dispassionate, just like a doctor setting out to do what needed to be done. Icy calm. But he had meant it, too. In that moment, he would happily have snapped off Leo’s neck, and not had the slightest twinge of guilt about it.
An image of Martin’s face swam up in front of her. Martin, with his cold eyes, eyes that turned soft when they looked at Caroline. Just what did they know about him? He’d only come to town one and a half years ago. He was practically a stranger. Yet Caroline loved him.
Shivering again, she turned back to her father. “Sharon is coming soon, you said?”
“Yes,” her father said. “I’m worried about her too. When I told her about Leo’s death, she stayed quiet for a long time, then said that maybe it was all for the best.”
“She did?” Dani frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Sharon.”
“No. It doesn’t,” her father shrugged. “When I pressed her, Sharon said she’d overheard something about Leo that made her dislike him. Out of respect for the dead, she refused to tell me exactly what it was.”
Dani jumped. “Sharon overheard Caroline talking?”
“I’m not sure who she overheard,” Harry shrugged. “Dani, give it a rest, will you? Thoughts about these deaths make my head spin.”
“Of course,” Dani said. “Sit down, dad. But, I’ve got to go out for just a little while. I should be back in fifteen minutes.”
“Meeting that nice deputy?” her father smiled.
“Actually, I’m going to check up on Mona,” Dani said.
She was also going to ask Mona a question. But her father didn’t need to know that. It would only worry him.
*****
Chapter 19
A Snake In The Grass
Thoughts were still swimming in her mind, but Dani felt as though she were close, so close, to figuring out everything that had been going on with Jess. Mona, she thought, might be able to reveal something. Perhaps something that she thought was inconsequential, would give insight into what was going on in Leo’s mind before he died.
The boutique was open, to Dani’s surprise. She’d assumed Mona would have taken a day off. Instead, she was standing inside, talking to a thin, eager looking man.
As soon as the man turned around, Dani recognized him. Dante, from the theatre.
“Dani!” he smiled. “It’s so good to see you again.” With an excessively fake smile, he picked up her hand and planted a kiss on it.
Dani ignored him. “Mona, you’re supposed to be resting,” she said.
“I’d rather work,” Mona said. “Being at home alone was making me feel… too much. I don’t want to think, I don’t want to feel, and the best way to do that is to work.”
“Yes and, as sorry as we are for her loss, the theater group really needs those costumes,” Dante said. “A replacement wedding gown.”
“What play is this for?” Mona asked.
“A very good one,” Dante said. “It’s called, Love With The Man Who Broke Me. Wonderful three act play about a disintegrating marriage. As a matter of fact, it’s one of our longest running-”
“Dani?” Mona took a step forward. Dani had turned pale. Far too pale. Her entire face had drained of color, and her hands were shaking.
“Funny, you really do capture Jessica’s look at the audition perfectly,” Dante commented.
“I’ve been an idiot,” Dani whispered. “We’ve all been such idiots. But, me, I was the biggest fool of them all.”
“What are you talking about?” Mona looked confused. “Are you alright?”
“I need to sit down,” Dani said. “I need to take a deep breath.”
“You look like you need a blood transfusion, to be honest,” Dante piped up. “Get her some water, Mona.”
But Dani was whispering to herself.
“In love with the man who broke me. Being in love with the man who broke me. I can’t keep being in love with the man who broke me,” she shook her head. “My God. My God!”
“She needs a doctor,” Dante said. “I think she’s having a stroke or something.”
“No!” Dani stood up. “I’m going to go meet the sheriff. I have to talk to her. Now. I think I just solved it! I think I just figured it all out!”
“You really do need to sit down,” Mona tried to hold her back, but Dani shook off her hand.
“Just one question, Mona,” Dani said.
“What?”
“Was Leo good at English?”
“What?” Mona raised an eyebrow.
“English. Was Leo good at it in school?”
“He was, actually,” Mona said. “He took advanced classes, and always got A’
s. I used to think he’d be a writer someday.”
“He created a masterpiece, alright!” Dani exclaimed. “The last thing he did!”
“What?”
Dani just shook her head and ran out the door, letting it slam behind her as she left. Dante and Mona both stared at her.
“That whole family is a little mental,” Dante said. “Her mother used to be one of our finest actresses, you know. Pity none of the daughters followed suit.”
*****
Chapter 20
Revelations
Sheriff Mackenzie grunted, as the doorbell rang. She always had lunch at home and, today, she already had one guest. She really didn’t want any more people barging in. Nevertheless, she stomped up the stairs from her basement, taking off her gloves as she went, and wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“Dani?” the sheriff looked surprised for a second as she opened the door but then her face split into a wide smile. “Just the person I wanted to see. Come on in!”
Dani stepped in, nodding. “Sheriff Mackenzie. We need to talk.”
“Yes we do,” the sheriff said. “I’ve been breaking my head about what to do since Caro came to me with the diary you found.”
“Where is Caro?” Dani’s voice had a hint of fear in it.
“Downstairs,” the sheriff said. “I invited her for lunch, but then a pipe sprang a leak in my basement. Caro was nice enough to lend an extra hand.”
“Is that so?” Dani asked. She had her arms pressed tightly by her sides. “Sheriff, I mean, Elaine, don’t you think it’s time you stopped pretending?”
“Pretending?” Sheriff Mackenzie stared at her then shook her head. “Pretending about what?”
“The game’s up,” Dani said. “I should have seen it as soon as I saw Leo’s body. But it took me a while. Now there’s too much evidence piling up. You’re done for.”
“You’ve gone mad, Dani!” The sheriff’s smile was sharp, but her words were brittle. “The events of the past few days must have been too much for you.”
“Just let my sister go,” Dani said. “We won’t talk. Alright? You have time. You can escape if you want to.”
“Why don’t you sit down?” The sheriff advanced on her. “Have a cup of my special tea. It will relax you.”
“Sure it will. You know all about it, don’t you Sheriff? As sheriff, you’ve probably read a lot about different kinds of drugs and their effects on people. You know all about how to relax people. All about how to kill them, too.”
“Dani, you really do seem to be having a psychotic episode of some kind.” The sheriff was still all smiles.
“Drop it! I know everything,” Dani said. “I know that you killed my mother. I know that you killed Jess and Leo, too. I know that you’re stealing from the town! Or, at least, that you were.”
That knocked off her smile. Elaine snarled, “How do you figure that? All lies, of course. But I’m interested in knowing!”
“It should have been obvious to me a long time ago,” Dani said. “But maybe I should start at the beginning. Things will be clearer that way.”
“Go ahead,” the sheriff said. “We’ve got time.”
“Let’s start with my mother,” Dani said. “She was the one who first figured it out, wasn’t she? She was the one who caught you with your hand in the town’s coffers.”
The sheriff stayed silent.
“You were on a lot of town committees with her. You’re still on all of them. How long had you been stealing the funds, Elaine? What were you planning to do with them, anyway? Were you going to run away eventually?”
The sheriff’s breathing was growing heavier. Her eyes were narrowed into slits.
“I think my mother confronted you. And you killed her. It took us all some time to even notice that she was missing. And, taking advantage of that, you drove the car far away, burying her somewhere she’d never be found. It was easy for you to cover your tracks, after all. You were leading the investigation!”
The sheriff’s fists were clenched.
“Only, my dad found her. He loved her and he kept looking. And he found the car, eventually. Just a few years ago, right? How scared were you when he came to you with the private investigator’s findings? Scared enough that your actions made Jess, who was working for you at the time, suspect something was going on. It prompted her to look in the file and she must have found something. What did she find? I don’t know what it was but I think she found something, because she ended up dead.
“I think Jess thought that you and my mother had simply partnered up, or that you’d taken a little extra money out of the till once my mother vanished with what she’d stolen. You’d planted the story that my mother had “vanished” so successfully that I don’t think Jess ever dreamed that you could have killed her. Plus, Jess’s mind wouldn’t immediately jump to murder, she just wasn’t that type of person. She could understand being greedy enough to steal. But being desperate enough to murder? She never could’ve gone that far.”
“Just shut up,” the sheriff growled. “Stop talking.”
“Oh, but I’m not going to,” Dani said. “She started blackmailing you using what she knew, didn’t she? And she used her diary as “insurance” in case you tried to retaliate.”
The sheriff only shook her head.
“See, Jess thought she’d hit a goldmine - a woman she could blackmail who’d be willing to steal to keep her quiet. It was perfect. You could fund her dream lifestyle. And Jess was happy to blackmail a lowdown thief. That is, until the night she realized the thief was also a murderer.”
“How did she figure it out?” the sheriff asked, frustrated. “I never found out how she figured it out! I saw her enter Leo’s house - I’d just dropped him off after the town council meeting - and she looked heated. I snooped around, trying to make sure she wasn’t blabbing- but I couldn’t hear much. All I heard was her crying about being a bad friend to Caroline.”
Dani nodded. “The play. Love With The Man Who Broke Me. My mother was in that play. My mother wanted to leave that play. By some coincidence, Jess happened to audition for it and, when she saw my mother’s photo on the wall, the words she’d read in the case file probably jumped out at her.
“On the phone call Caroline had overheard, my mother was saying, ‘I want to leave the play. I can’t stand being in Love With The Man Who Broke Me.’ But I, being the kid that I was, misunderstood her. I misunderstood the man who replied, too. He was just pressuring her to stay in the play. But how could I possibly know that?
“Jess realized immediately that I had misunderstood the conversation on the phone completely. My mother wasn’t cheating on my father. She wasn’t planning to leave him. She was talking about quitting the play!”
The sheriff laughed. “Yes. I figured that out soon enough.”
“Any sheriff worth their salt would,” Dani said. “So, right then, she knew that, if my mother hadn’t been cheating and hadn’t left town with some man, then something else must have happened altogether. You must have killed her. And, after killing her, you wanted the town to believe that she was the thief & a cheater because, that way, you could pin all your crimes on her, claim she had run off with a lover, and live a happy life.”
“It worked too,” the sheriff shrugged. “Right up until that little pig figured out what I’d done and started blackmailing me. And that was bad enough. But, once I knew she’d figured out the rest, after paying her for all that time, enough was enough. I’d already given her a ton of money. And now she was going to pretend she was better than me simply because I’d done more than steal and lie? Please. She deserved what she got. I followed her from Leo’s house and grabbed her right outside yours. I drugged her, dragged her away and then shot her using a silencer so none of you would hear. It was quick and easy. Case closed.”
“Why drag Caroline into it?” Dani asked. “Why try to pin the blame on her?”
“Why not?” the sheriff shrugged. “I checked Jessica’s phone and found
she had messaged your sister to meet her out in your backyard. So, once I figured out that Caroline was conveniently waiting to take the blame, it was a easy enough. I simply injected her with a heavy dose of sedative to act as a little “forgetful fluid” and dumped her in the woods. Then I climbed up to her room, from which she had just climbed down, grabbed the perfect photo to use as evidence and dabbed a bit of Jessica’s blood on her blouse once she was napping. Then I deleted the messages so no one would ever know Jess planned to go over there. It was perfect and, if I may say so, pretty ingenious.”
“Wow, you are a twisted woman,” Dani said.
“Money’ll do that to you. And it would have worked.” There was frustration in the sheriff’s voice. “I spent so much time on that crime scene, Dani, making sure it was staged just right!”
“I know you did,” Dani said. “That’s why the ‘anonymous hiker’ who phoned Jim Miller, didn’t do so until about 2 am. It took you hours to make sure you had cleaned up your tracks.”
“That’s right. I thought I was home free. Caroline would surely be arrested. But then, I saw Leo come into the station and talk to you and Darwin. What was I supposed to do then? I panicked, I admit it. I wasn’t sure what Jess had said to Leo. I just wasn’t sure. Plus, Darwin was too smart for his own good. He always believed that Caro had been framed, right from the start. I had to think fast. I had to find a new patsy. So I changed the game again. I snuck into Leo’s house and forced him to write that suicide note. Stupid oaf actually wrote it, too. Though I did threaten to kill both Caroline & Mona in horribly painful ways. So…he did me a favor.”
“No he didn’t,” Dani said. “None of us saw it because we weren’t looking hard enough but Leo left us a clue. A pretty major clue. He used exclamation marks instead of periods throughout his note. And if you take the first letter of each sentence, assuming the sentence ends with an exclamation mark, it spells out your name, Elaine. That weird, half-drunk sounding note of his was a clue. He knew he wouldn’t survive but he thought he could probably help pin the crime on you.”
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