Secrets and Lies

by Capri Montgomery

  Suddenly the knot in his stomach twisted tighter and he felt the urge to get back to Thena. “Thanks, Kyle. You’ve been helpful.”

  “Anytime.”

  Thomas raced past every speed limit sign not paying attention to the numbers posted. Thena was at his place, which was safe, but if this guy were as crazy as Thomas was starting to think he was then he needed to get back to her. He needed to put a guard on her when he couldn’t be with her.

  “Hey, you’re back;” she checked her watch, “already…that was quick.”

  “I need to know what that Mason guy said to you.”

  “Eddie Mason?” She didn’t know why she was asking him for clarification when clearly that was the only “Mason guy” they had talked about before. “I already told you what he said about Kyle.”

  “What else did he say to you?”

  She shrugged. It wasn’t as if she was completely hanging on to every word. She was tired, she wasn’t feeling well and she really wanted him to just go away. “Oh,” she slapped her hand to her forehead. “He did say that I should have dated a brother,” she laughed. “Apparently they don’t do crazy stuff like that.” She shook her head. “Why is what he said so important?”

  Thomas was about to answer her question when the doorbell rang. She shrugged. “Clearly it’s for you.” She went back to her sketches. He had told her she could design a new kitchen for him and she was almost finished with her basic design. If he were at all serious she would have to transfer her idea to a larger, more detailed, design. To do that kind of work she would need to be either at her at-home office, or at the company.

  “Wrong,” Thomas entered the dining room. “It’s for you.” Reese was at his side. She blinked twice. How did he know where she was? Not even Jacinda or Deanne knew she wasn’t staying at home.

  “Actually,” Reese sat down at the table without being invited to. “I need to talk with both of you. It’s about your mother, Thena. I think it’s time to tell you what I know.”

  Thena dropped her sketching pencil. “You know something about my mother?”

  “I knew her,” he stated calmly. “She was an amazing woman. She didn’t deserve what happened to her.”

  Her mouth went dry and she found it hard to swallow. He knew her mother; how? Fortunately, even though she was speechless, Thomas was not. He fired off questions quickly, and Reese eagerly provided the answers.

  “I worked on the addition to the hospital. I met her then. She was so nice to me. I accidently wandered into the cafeteria where the doctors ate, and some of the doctors were…well, less than civil in their push to get me out. They reminded me I didn’t belong, but your mother…she stood up for me. She told them to leave me alone. She let me get my food and she even showed me a nice spot outside under one of the trees where I could have my lunch.” He smiled. “I was twenty-four at the time, new to the area. She was amazing and if she hadn’t been married already I would have asked her to marry me.” He laughed. “Anyway, she was real friendly, and always smiling. When I cut myself on the saw she insisted I let her clean it up. It wasn’t too bad, you know, but she was a doctor and she wouldn’t let it go. She looked disturbed that day. I asked her what was wrong, but she said nothing.” He explained how the next day she seemed equally as bothered. At first he thought it was something at home. He told her if her husband was beating her he’d take care of it for her. “That’s when she told me it was work. That she had found out something that wasn’t right and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.” He lowered his head in shame. “I think her death was my fault. You see, I told her she seemed like a good person and if something was wrong she had a duty—as a good person—to make it right.”

  “Reese,” Thena patted his arm. “My mom would have done the right thing anyway; that’s the kind of person she was. You can’t blame yourself.”

  “But I do,” he said. “When she disappeared I knew it was partly my fault because I should have just told her to cut out and keep herself safe. Whatever it was that she knew it wasn’t worth getting herself killed over it. After she went missing I knew she was dead…I knew somebody in that hospital had killed her. I just couldn’t prove it.” He told her how he set out to make sure what was left of Neenah’s family stayed safe. “I watched from a far. You all seemed to be okay…that is nobody came after you. But then your father died in that accident, and with him gone I knew you would need somebody to watch over you. So I started following you from a far, keeping an eye on you. And when I found out that you were hiring for the company…well, I knew it was my chance, my way to get close enough to keep a closer watch on you. I was right too…if I hadn’t been there that night they would have run you down.”

  Her head was in a near fog. Reese had been watching her all these years? He had been trying to protect her because he hadn’t been able to save her mother.

  “When I found her body inside that wall…it hit me so hard. I knew she was dead, but I had hoped it had been quick and painless. But that frozen in fear look on her face, and the pain that seemed etched there…” He pounded his fist on the table. “I should have saved her.”

  She felt tears welling up in her own eyes. He was right; the look on her mother’s face had been one of pain, and fear. She knew she was going to die, and she had suffered. Thena was so angry she could feel that anger trying to consume her. She wanted the bastard who did this to her mother and she wanted him to burn for it. She wanted to strike the match herself and watch the flesh fall off his body. And she wanted him alive to feel every second of the pain he deserved. She placed her hand over her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to break free.

  “Why did you decide to come to us now?” Thomas put his hand on Thena’s shoulder and gently rubbed, trying to sooth her.

  “Because now I know I can trust you. I wasn’t sure. And because…well, my doctor’s appointment the other day wasn’t really real. I mean I had one…kind of…I went to see that Evans guy.”

  “What did you find out?” Thomas leaned forward.

  “Well, after I twisted his balls a bit…literally, should have heard the slimy bastard screaming like a girl,” he laughed. “He told me that he didn’t have anything to do with it, but he thought he might know who did. Something about being falsely accused for steeling drugs from the hospital. He said his father had paid money to keep it quiet, and the hospital had kept him on. He said Neenah confronted him and told him that she knew he wasn’t the one doing it. She asked him why he would let them get away with blaming him, and he told her it was because he had told his father he wasn’t on drugs, and his father didn’t believe him. He decided to let him pay out every cent, just because he was angry. He said he knew it was one of the other doctors. He said he had proof, but after what happened to Neenah…well, he was too scared to do anything about it. He told me where I could find the proof.” He pulled a brown envelope from his vest pocket. “I haven’t opened it yet. I was scared to because I knew if I had the answer I’d kill whoever it was. I would rip him apart with my bare hands and I wouldn’t think twice about it. So, I’ve been holding on to that, trying to decide what to do, who to trust. I’ve decided to trust you, Mr. McGregor.” He handed him the envelope. “I trust you know what do with this; that you know who you can trust.”

  Thomas nodded. Thena felt the tears breaking free, the sobs no longer containable. She cried, with such raw emotion, such gut wrenching, heart breaking fierceness that she didn’t know how she would survive it. Thomas wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. She clung to him, sobbing. It was almost over. It was almost done. Soon she would have all of the answers. Soon, she would have justice.

  “Since you’ve been looking after Thena for this long, Reese, I need you to stay with her for a little while. Can you do that?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good. If you have a car, you can pull it into the garage.”

  “I walked,” he said. “Keeps me in shape.”

  “I have to take
care of this, Thena. I want you to stay inside, and don’t open that door for anybody.”

  “Thomas?”

  “I don’t think those attempts on your life are related to this, Thena. I think it has more to do with Kyle than you, but you’re still in danger. I’d feel better if there’s somebody here with you while I set this,” he patted the envelope, “right.”

  “Kyle? What could this have to do with Kyle?”

  “I think it’s Eddie Mason. I think he has a grudge against Kyle. I think he was the one stalking Sandy, and trying to frame Kyle for it. I think he’s after you now. He wants what Kyle has…or shall I say he wants who Kyle had.”

  She nodded her understanding. If Eddie had been able to make it seem as if Kyle was the one trying to hurt her then clearly she wouldn’t keep his friendship, but did Eddie really think he would be her first choice of people to run to? Was he that delusional?

  “That’s why Eddie talked to my dad. He wanted him to make me stop seeing Kyle. I guess that’s why my dad wanted me to get the alarm so badly.”

  Thomas ran his hand through his hair. “What?” She sat up, her shoulders stiff. She knew there was something more, something Thomas wasn’t telling her.

  “I think your father figured things out. I think his suggestion that you get the alarm was to keep you safe from Eddie. I think his distraction at work was because he was trying to figure out how to prove his theories about Eddie. And I think Eddie killed him for it.”

  “What?” She nearly yelled. “My dad had an accident.”

  “I saw the photos of the accident, Thena. Accident isn’t the first conclusion I would draw. The red paint on the bumper of your dad’s car looks a lot like—”

  “Eddie has a red car,” she said absently. “I was coming out of the lumbar yard one day and Eddie was getting out of his car…it was a little red Toyota, and the front of it was dented pretty bad and the paint was all scraped off…he said he ran into one of those concrete barriers while trying to avoid hitting an illegally parked car.” That had been just a couple days after her dad died. She remembered because she had received a call from the lumber yard that the order was in and that the final payment had to be made if her dad wanted delivery on time. She remember because she didn’t want to handle business; she didn’t even want to think about it…but she had to. Her father’s company had depended on her holding it together. While she was trying to arrange the funeral, trying to deal with her own pain, she had to try to keep the company functioning. She went down to the lumbar yard; she made the payment, arranged delivery and tried, desperately, to keep from falling apart that day. Kyle had been a blessing during that time. He dropped what he needed to do with his own company to ensure the delivery was made on time, that the workers kept working…he even helped her plan her father’s funeral.

  “Why?” She cried. “Why?”

  “He’s a sick man, honey. And I promise I’ll find a way to prove it all, but for right now. I have to get these bastards to pay for what they did to your mother. After that, I’ll make him pay for what he did to your father.”

  She hoped he was right. She hoped to God that Thomas could make them all pay for what they had done. Lord knows none of them deserved to get away with. They had already gotten away with it long enough. There had to be justice…there just had to be.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I guess you know why we’re here.” Thomas watched as the look of surprise washed over Hancock’s face. “Did you really think you could throw this off on Livingston? Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I mean, Doctor Evans clearly was stealing drugs and Livingston was covering for him.” He frantically tried to search for an excuse.

  “I didn’t say anything about drugs,” Thomas narrowed his eyes. “I’m talking about murder—plain and simple.” Not that there was anything simple about murder.

  “I didn’t kill her.”

  “Sure you did. And, you were the one stealing the drugs. We have proof of that much.” Thomas tossed one picture down on his desk, one that clearly showed him passing off the stolen drugs to one detective McGillicudy —at least he was a detective at that time. He was a captain now…not that he deserved the shield.

  “Damn,” he mumbled. “I should have known it was too good to be true.”

  “So they covered for you? Hid a murder, helped you sale drugs.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “And I’m not going down for this by myself. I’ll tell you all whatever you want to know. I’ll give them all up.”

  Thomas grinned. He was sure he would give them all up. The act alone wouldn’t save himself, even if he thought it would. Murder was murder, and he wasn’t going to get away with it.

  The arresting officer read Hancock his rights before he started telling, in detail, what he knew. “Send somebody to get the commissioner.” Shawn ordered. “Man what I wouldn’t give to see that.” He snickered.

  “Go on with them. I can meet the feds at the police station.”

  “No way,” Shawn quickly tossed out. “I don’t want to miss this arrest either. The look on their faces will be priceless.” He nearly laughed. Thomas could tell his friend was having a little too much fun with his job—but he couldn’t deny him that honor. If he were being honest, he would have to say he, too, didn’t want to miss the look on McNamara’s face and McGillicudy’s face when they realized they were being taken down.

  “Let’s go then,” Thomas patted his friend on the back. “The faster we move, the faster we can make sure nobody has a chance to get wind of this and make a run for it.”

  “I was just about to call you,” Phoebe’s smile was all teeth. “We found Neenah Davis’ body.” She stopped smiling when she saw the federal agents behind Thomas. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m sure you know Shawn,” he gestured to the detective on his right. He would have to find a way to thank his friend for the work he had done for him on this case. “And this is Special Agent Johnson, and Special Agent Deland, and of course I’m sure you’ll have a chance to get know the rest of them.” Several federal agents moved around the precinct. “You see, we found information that put Doctor Hancock knee deep in trouble. Something about…what was it Shawn?”

  “Stealing drugs from the hospital and selling it to dealers who sold it to junkies…you know your usual, scum of the earth, activities.”

  “Right; that was it. The good doctor…or maybe I should say bad doctor…wanted to save himself so he sung like the proverbial canary. Not that we needed him too, because the photos we have clearly shows the commissioner accepting a payoff from him. Well let’s just say you, the captain in there, the commissioner and several other key players are going away for a long time.”

  “I didn’t kill that woman.”

  “True,” he said. “We know Doctor Hancock killed her. He even told us how.” Thomas had been sickened just hearing him recount the tale. Neenah had made one mistake; she had gone to a detective, one she thought was honest, to get his help, and that detective, now the captain, had told the doctor about their troubles. She didn’t even know he knew about her visit to the cops, so she never suspected anything out of the ordinary when he asked her to work a little later that night. He had grabbed her before she could get to her car. He had taken her to a rented storage unit where he kept his supply of drugs to sell; where he also kept medical equipment. And he strapped her down on that gurney, hooked her up, and started the process of embalming her while she was alive. He thought it was justified because she could ruin him. He thought they should understand that. None of them did, and even with his confession, even with his help in getting these dirty cops, he was still going to do hard time for his crimes.

  “You didn’t kill her,” Thomas acknowledged. “But you’ve been helping your father and the captain cover it up for years. That makes you just as guilty.” He shrugged. “These guys are going to take you out of here.” He watched as another detective from an
other precinct put the cuffs on her.

  “This isn’t necessary,” she quipped. “I’ll go willingly.”

  He didn’t care if she felt it were necessary, he wanted to see it happen. Internal Affairs were already crawling all over this case. He was sure the FBI and IA could battle out who took what on their own. He didn’t care, just so long as justice was served. Thanks to Shawn, Thomas had managed to keep the bust under wraps. There wasn’t much that went on in the city that the commissioner didn’t get advanced warning on. This time it had been crucial that he didn’t find out beforehand.

  “Where’s the body?” That was the one question he wanted answered. No matter what else happened he did want that body back.

  “In the morgue,” she whispered. “Third slot from the door…on your left.”

  He watched as they dragged the captain and Phoebe out of the precinct. An IA investigation was being launched to see just how far reaching the corruption within the precinct was. He shook his head. “What a sorry excuse for cops,” he barked. “I can’t believe what they’re hiring these days.”

  “Tell me about it,” Shawn agreed. “What about the body?”

  “We’ll have it taken to the cemetery so Thena can bury her mother next to her father. They had the plot and never got rid of it, so I think it’s as she would want it.”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “Damn this is just messed up…I mean messed up,” he stressed. “Well, one more.”

  “Yeah, one more.” Thomas knew they still needed to get Eddie Mason where he belonged. He was sure he would make his move tonight. He was positive, because he had been sure to engage Kyle in the plan. He had told Kyle to make a point of telling Eddie he and Thena were back together. That he would be picking her up from Thomas’ place since the case was ending tonight and she would be safe to return home. Thomas was banking on Eddie’s obsession to drive him over the edge; to make him do something stupid; to make him get himself caught.