Landslide

by Robin Mahle

  “Here; drink this.”

  She looked at the glass and then at Gordon. Her long, slow blink suggested she wasn’t fully registering what had happened.

  “You’re in shock, Claire. Go on and take a drink.”

  Claire reached for the glass with trembling hands and raised it to her lips. The taste of Evan’s mouth still lingered and so she swallowed large gulps to force it down.

  “Detective Vance is on his way, along with the coroner.” Huffman took a seat next to them.

  “Claire, can you tell me what happened? Why are you here?” Sanchez asked.

  She hadn’t thought about what would come next, how she would explain the situation, hoping to have been long gone before Winters arrived. “Will you call Colin and let him know that I’m okay?”

  “Of course. Claire, do you remember what happened?” Agent Sanchez had seen victims completely block out traumatic events; it wasn’t an uncommon phenomenon. Although, in his current line of work, it wasn’t something he’d come across in a while.

  “I came here, pretending to be Evan’s assistant, and they let me in. I told them he asked for a few things and sent me to collect them.” She turned to Sanchez, looking directly into his eyes. “I knew he would have to come here and so I waited. I wanted to get him to say that he was setting me up.”

  “For God’s sake, Claire. Why would you do that? You gave us Paul Higgins. We could have made the connection on our own, without endangering you in the process.”

  “But that wouldn’t have proven that I didn’t move the money or sign those authorizations.” Her story was proving to be more effective than she thought. Gordon seemed to believe her.

  He shook his head. “Then what happened?”

  “He attacked me because I rejected him. When he came in, I panicked and reached for the nearest thing I could. There was a letter opener on the desk in the kitchen. I grabbed it before he saw me and shoved it into my sock.” The lies were pouring from her so smoothly that she almost believed them herself.

  “And he took you to the bedroom, where you defended yourself?”

  “Yes. I had to defend myself against him.” Claire sipped what remained of the water and set the glass down.

  Sirens grew louder in the distance until they sounded in front of the building and finally came to a stop.

  “They’re here,” Huffman said as he stood up in anticipation. “Detective Vance is going to want to question you, Claire.”

  “She’ll need to be cleared by the hospital first. He can question her after she’s released.” Sanchez joined Huffman as they moved towards the elevator, waiting for the local authorities to arrive.

  “What’s going on, Gordon? Why did you lead her with your questioning?”

  “Because I’m not convinced she came here with the intent to get Winters to confess. She was desperate; I saw it in her earlier today. There’s something else at play, something else she wanted to get to prove her innocence. But you and I both know he was the ring leader and likely responsible for the death of Charlie Monroe. It was self-defense, nothing more.”

  “I sure as hell hope you know what you’re doing.”

  The doors opened and three officers, along with Detective Vance and the coroner, emerged.

  Colin stepped out from behind the others. “Where is she?” But before Sanchez could answer, he rushed towards her. “Oh my God, Claire. Baby are you okay?” He wrapped his arms around his wife, visibly shaken, but grateful she was alive.

  “I’m so sorry.” She buried her head in his chest, the emotions finally erupting.

  “Winters in the first bedroom down the hall,” Sanchez started. “I’d like to get Mrs. McKenna to the hospital and have her checked out. Can you question her after she’s released?”

  “I can wait until then. Do you know what happened?” Vance asked.

  “He attacked her. It was self-defense.”

  Vance appeared a little more than skeptical at Sanchez’s immediate conclusion, but proceeded to direct his team to seal the crime scene. “Forensics is on their way. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “Let’s get her to the hospital,” Sanchez said, walking towards the couple, still huddled on the sofa. “Mr. McKenna, she needs to be examined.”

  Colin agreed and began helping her up.

  They stepped inside the elevator, flanked by the FBI agents.

  Claire stared into the living room, and watched it fall from view as the doors closed. There was still one thing she had to do.

  ***

  Northwest Hospital was where they sent her. Colin phoned Claire’s mother, asking that she bring the kids up so they could see her.

  Inside, the family waited at the nurses’ station on the third floor. Claire was with the doctors, Colin by her side, holding her hand.

  The doctor had asked Claire very pointed questions regarding the attack. Fortunately, there was no need to lie anymore. She looked at Colin and squeezed his hand. “No, there was no sexual assault.”

  In fact, she had no physical evidence of an attack at all. No cuts, no bruises. She had complied with his desires right up until the moment she plunged the metal shiv into his neck. With no physical signs of trauma, she wondered if her defense would hold up.

  “I think we’re all set here, Mrs. McKenna. I’ll sign the discharge papers. You’re free to get dressed.” The doctor left the room. She and Colin were alone.

  Colin was angry, hurt that she had put herself in danger yet again. She could see it in his eyes. “Are we going to be okay—you and me?” There was an end game, but she couldn’t reveal it yet. Until she was certain she was in the clear, he had to remain in the dark. It was for his own good.

  “I just need some time to process. I can’t understand why you did this alone. Why you couldn’t trust that I could have helped. If I had lost you—if the kids had lost you…”

  “I know.” She looked in his eyes. “I’ll have to live with what I’ve put you through for the rest of my life. I just hope you’ll give me the chance to make it up. I swear, I’ll make it up to our family.”

  “Let’s just go home, okay?” Colin retrieved her clothes and helped her to dress.

  “Mom!” Robbie ran towards his parents with Anna in tow.

  “I’m fine, really, I’m fine, baby.” Claire held her children close.

  Robbie embraced his mother as tightly as he could.

  “Okay, give Mom a chance to breathe.” Colin looked at the nurse. “Can I take her from here?”

  The nurse backed away from the wheelchair with a nod, leaving Colin to wheel her the rest of the way where Huffman and Sanchez waited.

  “I don’t need to be in this thing.” Claire began to stand up. “Detective Vance will want to see me, won’t he?”

  “Yes. I’ll let him know you’ve been released and are on your way home. Would you like me to be there with you?” Agent Sanchez asked.

  “No. I can handle myself.”

  “Just tell him exactly what you told me and you’ll be fine, Claire.”

  She understood his meaning and wondered how transparent she had been when he first questioned her only hours ago. She’d killed a man and it was in self-defense and that would be how she would relay the story to Detective Vance.

  The safe, or the fact that she’d accessed it, had been conveniently left out. There was no doubt the police would search Winters’ cell phone and find the text message that alerted him to the safe having been opened. Vance was a good detective and he would ask her about it. The timing couldn’t be disguised and, although it was Sheri’s code, she was miles away when it happened.

  ***

  Colin pulled into the driveway, noticing Vance’s car was already parked out front. His black Dodge Charger looked menacing in the darkness that had set in. The hour having already approached eight o’clock, Vance wasn’t wasting any time. “Go on inside, kids, and go up to your rooms while we talk to the detective.”

  Robbie looked at his mother. “It’ll be okay,
Mom. Just tell him the truth.”

  A brief, tender smile appeared for a moment as she realized Robbie wanted to protect her. “I know. I will. Now do what your father has asked. We won’t be long and all of this will be over.”

  Colin walked around to the passenger side and helped Claire out of the car. Detective Vance stepped out of his vehicle and approached them on the drive.

  “How are you feeling, Mrs. McKenna?”

  “I’ve seen better days, Detective. Would you like to come inside?”

  Colin still held Claire’s arm as they approached the front door. Robbie had already unlocked it and took Anna inside.

  “I’ve got it from here, honey.” She steadied herself as they stood in the foyer. Claire began moving towards the living room. “We can have a seat in here, Detective.”

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Colin asked.

  “Just some water, please.”

  Colin walked into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of water. He sat down next to Claire. “Are you going to arrest her?” There was no beating around the bush.

  “I just need to ask a few questions.” Vance placed his cell phone on the coffee table, having set it to record the conversation. “What time did you arrive at Evan Winters’ apartment today, Mrs. McKenna?”

  “About 2:30, I think it was.”

  “And why had you gone there? You knew that Winters was going to be released later today. I was sending a unit to keep an eye on you and your family until the FBI had what they needed and felt that you were no longer in any danger.”

  “I had to get the pictures.”

  Colin shot a nervous look to Claire. She had said nothing of this to Sanchez. Why mention it to Vance?

  “What pictures? Claire, were you being blackmailed? Had something happened between you and Winters?”

  She nodded, knowing that it was only a matter of time before the question of the safe would arise. “He had threatened to blackmail me if I didn’t stop talking to the FBI. Send the pictures to my husband.” It was the first truth she’d spoken nearly all day.

  “Did you know for a fact that Winters had these pictures in his possession? Why hadn’t you mentioned this to the FBI?”

  “I was still in shock, I guess. I had just been attacked. And, no, I just assumed the pictures were in his safe based on what he’d told me the previous day. That he had them. I figured he kept them in his home, since the FBI had already raided the office building.”

  “So you drove to his residence to retrieve them, knowing he was still being held in custody. How were you able to open the safe?”

  “I used the code given to me by his assistant.”

  “And you knew nothing of this?” Vance looked to Colin, appearing to gauge if this information had come as a surprise to him.

  “No.” Claire interrupted. “He didn’t know why I had left earlier.” Of course he knew about the pictures, but she couldn’t make Vance aware of that and hoped Colin would pick up on her lead. “Winters was already trying to frame me for embezzlement. You only need to ask Agent Sanchez about that. Regarding the pictures, well, I planned on using them as a way to show the FBI that he intended to blackmail me as well as set me up for stealing.”

  Claire looked to Colin. It seemed they both were thinking the same thing. Would the detective buy her story? Yes, it was partially true, but she wouldn’t have needed the pictures to let the FBI know what he’d been threatening to do. There was no reason for her to have gone to Winters’ place.

  “Do you have these pictures in your possession now?” Vance asked.

  “Yes.”

  The detective paused for a moment. “So he caught you by surprise in the master bedroom while you were retrieving the photos?” Detective Vance seemed to move in directly for the kill, so to speak. The man still had a job to do. Winters was dead. He had to rule out premeditation.

  “No, actually.” She began to stumble on her words as she tried to find an explanation for having the letter opener in her possession, having told Sanchez she’d picked it up in the kitchen. “I heard the elevator and ran back down the hall, towards the kitchen, where I waited for the doors to open. I could just see him around the corner. I was surprised and scared.” She clutched Colin’s hand as she continued. “I saw a letter opener lying on the desk, only a foot in front of me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I grabbed it as a precaution. I knew Winters had to be responsible for whatever happened to Charlie. I was afraid I might be next. I planned on getting out of there before he’d returned, but I had to protect myself.” Her mention of Charlie had not come by accident. Claire needed Vance to remember that Winters was already under suspicion for Charlie’s disappearance.

  “And you tucked it into your sock?”

  “Yes, I put it in my sock before he saw me. I tried to talk to him, Detective. Tell him that he couldn’t frame me for what he and his people had done to the company. That I had a family to take care of. I begged him to tell the FBI the truth.”

  “Detective, do we have to continue? You already know what happened from there. She was attacked. Claire was attacked and she defended herself. I can’t imagine what my wife has gone through, but I think you have what you need, don’t you?” Colin looked at Claire, his eyes suggested he knew she was not being completely honest with him.

  “I just need to understand that Claire had no intention of taking revenge on a man who’d threatened to blackmail her and take her down as a co-conspirator in an embezzlement charge. I need to be as clear as possible to the timeline from which these events happened. I understand how hard this must be for you, Claire. But I need to ask you one more question.”

  “Yes?”

  “Were you aware that Mr. Winters kept bank account information in that safe?”

  Colin furrowed his brow as he looked to Claire for her reply.

  “I’m sorry? No. I didn’t have a chance to look through everything he kept inside it. I saw the jewelry, but I didn’t take anything, except the photographs.”

  Detective Vance picked up his phone and ended the recording. “Thank you, Claire. I will need to get those pictures from you, though. Oh, and I thought you should know, too, that a body washed ashore near Kingston.”

  His words echoed in her ears. Had she heard him correctly? But by the expression on Colin’s face, there was no doubt that she had. “Is it Charlie?” A slight quiver in her words conveyed her emotions.

  “We don’t know yet. Body type seems to match, but after being in the water for several days, it’ll take some time to get a positive ID. I’m going to head out to the scene now. I just thought you might like to know.”

  “If it’s Charlie, what will happen next?”

  “We’ll get an autopsy, forensics will do their thing, and we’ll hopefully find out what happened to him, if it is Charlie.” Detective Vance pushed himself up from the table. “I won’t take up any more of your time, Mr. and Mrs. McKenna. But if I do need to ask further questions, can I count on your continued cooperation?”

  “Of course,” Claire replied.

  “I’ll walk you out,” Colin said, leading Vance to the door. “Is this really over now, Detective?”

  “I don’t know the true reason she went to Winters’ apartment and I don’t know what evidence forensics will turn up, but I’d say that it would be extremely hard to prove she hadn’t tried to defend herself against him, especially given what we know about the man right now.

  “Mr. McKenna, I think your wife is an honest woman who got caught up in a very dangerous world. My report will reflect the facts and the evidence will speak for itself. But an indictment will be unlikely.”

  “Do you believe she intentionally murdered him?” Colin didn’t know why he asked that question.

  “I think she got in way over her head. I think Winters was the type of man to take by force what he wanted. Frankly, if she hadn’t killed him, it’s entirely possible that he would have killed her.”

  Colin swallowed hard, choking
back his emotions. “Thank you, Detective.”

  “Have a good night, Mr. McKenna.”

  Colin closed the door and headed back towards the living room, where Claire remained seated on the couch.

  She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears that had begun to spill down her face.

  Colin sat back down beside her. “If I’d have been there, I would’ve killed the bastard myself. He attacked you—twice. You had no choice.” In that moment, Colin had made the conscious decision to believe his wife.

  “What if that is Charlie? What if I killed a man who would have gone to prison anyway for murder?” Claire dropped her head.

  “Look, you don’t know what happened to Charlie. You did what you had to do and that’s the end of it. If he’d have…” Colin shook his head as if trying to clear it of the dreadful thought that’d seemed to cross his mind. “It doesn’t matter now. You’re safe and all of this is over.”

  “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done to this family. For what I’ve done to you.” Claire gasped for the breath that had been taken by her emotions. “Can you ever forgive me for what I’ve done?”

  “I love you, Claire. We will get through this.” Colin pulled her close.

  She rested her head on his shoulder and wondered if his words would hold true tomorrow.

  CHAPTER 25

  IT WAS THE first time in four days the kids had been allowed to return to school. The time approached ten o’clock in the morning and Claire waited patiently in the kitchen, peering through the back door and looking out onto the lake. Agent Sanchez would be there soon and she was prepared to answer his questions.

  Colin insisted on staying with her and, after everything she’d already put him through, she wasn’t going to deny him his request. He would find out soon enough anyway.

  “Is he here yet?” Colin peeked out the bay window, but didn’t see any other cars out front. “Didn’t he say ten o’clock?”

  “Yes. I’m sure he’s on his way.” Claire turned from the back door and dumped what remained of her morning coffee into the kitchen sink.