“Thanks. I owe you a four-day weekend now,” James said.
Instead of a client, James and Jake found Sophie in the lobby when they walked through the door.
“What are you doing here?” James asked, surprised.
“I got the final autopsy result on Ann,” Sophie said. “There’s something here you guys need to see.”
James exchanged a look with Jake.
“Go,” Jake said. “I’ll get the information from Sophie and then text it to you.”
“How big is it?” James asked.
“Big,” Sophie said.
James sighed. “Can you tell me in less than five minutes?”
“Yes.”
“Go.”
“YOU can’t quit,” Marian said, following Mandy out into the lobby after the blonde retrieved her purse.
“Well … I am,” Mandy said. “I’m sorry, Marian. I really am. I like you. Maybe we can set up a time to have coffee next week or something. How does that sound?”
“But … you’re my only friend in this class,” Marian said. “What am I going to do without you?”
“Whatever you do, make sure you stay away from Professor Barnes,” Mandy said. “He’s … not a nice man.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s a disgusting pig,” Mandy said. “He only teaches this class so he can get the students into bed. He’s … disgusting.”
“How do you know that?”
“Let’s just say I have inside information and leave it at that,” Mandy said, slinging the strap of her purse over her shoulder. She leaned forward and gave Marian a brief hug. “I’m sorry this didn’t work out. You have my number. If you want to get coffee, I would love to see you.”
“But … .”
“I can’t stay here,” Mandy said. “I have to go. I hope things work out well for you in this class, and I hope you get everything you’re looking for.”
“I do, too,” Marian said, straightening her shoulders. “I think I know how to do it now.”
“WHAT do you have?” James asked.
“It’s big,” Sophie said. “It seems that Ann Nelson did not have sex with a man before she was killed.”
“I actually knew that,” James said. “We talked to Professor Barnes today. He said all they did was tongue each other and then Ann got distracted and left him hot and bothered.”
“I said she didn’t have sex with a man,” Sophie said pointedly.
James made a face. “Are you saying she had sex with a woman?”
“No, I’m saying that whatever Ann had sex with that night … um, well … it wasn’t a human,” Sophie said.
“Expand,” James ordered. “Do it quickly. I have to pick up Mandy at her cooking class.”
“She’s still going?” Sophie was incredulous.
“Later, Sophie,” James said.
“Sorry,” Sophie said. “I’m saying that fluids weren’t found because whatever was inside Ann wasn’t part of a man. It was a … foreign object.”
“Like a … vibrator?” Jake asked, grimacing.
“No,” Sophie said. “If it was a vibrator I wouldn’t be tiptoeing around the subject. That would be easy to explain.”
“What was it?”
“The coroner thinks it was the handle of a flashlight,” Sophie said. “One of those ones that is big enough to hang off your keychain but still small enough not to get in the way while you’re driving. There were … specific markings … inside of her.”
“That sounds horrible, but I’m not sure what to do with that,” James said. “Does that mean the killer can’t get it up? Is this like a phallic thing?”
“No,” Sophie said. “The DNA on the skin cells found on Ann came through, and while there wasn’t a match in the system, there was something else interesting about the sample.”
“What?”
“It was from a female.”
James stilled. “Are you saying a woman killed Ann and Julie?”
“I’m saying that’s what it looks like,” Sophie said. “Whoever it was left a hair on Ann. Do you know anyone with red hair that came from a bottle? I believe they identified it as Miss Clairol 108, to be exact.”
James tilted his head to the side, his mind busy. “Red hair?”
“Yes.”
“Barnes said that there were some women in multiple cooking classes,” James said, turning to Jake. “He said he tried to make his way through all the women in the class.”
“He sounds like a real prince,” Sophie said.
James ignored her. “Look at that list. Is there anyone named Marian on it?”
Jake scanned the list, moving his finger down it as he read. “Um, yeah. There’s a Marian Jessup. She took Barnes’ class last semester and she’s in Mandy’s class now. Why?”
“She’s in her thirties,” James said. “She was obsessed with the story of how Mandy and I got together. She acted … desperate … to have her own love story.”
“You think that Marian Jessup is killing the women Barnes is sleeping with to eliminate the competition, don’t you?” Jake asked.
“I think that’s exactly what she’s doing,” James said, digging into his pocket for his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Warning Mandy.” James pressed the phone to his ear and waited. When the call went straight to voicemail he swore under his breath. “It’s me, wife. Do not leave that classroom until I get there. I’m on my way now. Whatever happens … stay away from Marian. She’s the murderer.” He started to pull the phone away but stopped. “I love you, baby. I’m on my way.”
Jake was already moving in James’ direction when he disconnected.
“What are you doing?” James asked.
“We’re both going,” Jake said. “Two heads … and guns … are better than one.”
“Let’s go,” James said. “I have a feeling we’re already too late.”
MANDY fumbled in her purse as she searched for her keys, her mind a jumble of scenarios. If Barnes wasn’t guilty, did that mean Steven Balish was? Who else could it be? Were they looking in the wrong direction the whole time?
Mandy was so lost in thought she didn’t register the sound of footsteps until they were almost upon her. She turned swiftly, ready to defend herself if it came to it, and came face to face with Marian.
“You scared me,” Mandy said, pressing her hand to her heart. “You walk like a cat. Make a noise or something.”
Marian smiled, although the expression didn’t make it all the way up to her eyes. She looked … odd. She was gripping her own set of keys tightly, and Mandy didn’t miss the flashlight dangling off the key ring.
“Did you have that the night of the storm?”
“What?”
“The flashlight on your key ring,” Mandy said. “That would have come in handy when we were trying to get out of the classroom the other night.”
“I forgot I had it,” Marian said, her voice low.
“Oh, well, I guess that makes sense,” Mandy said. “Did you decide to quit the class, too? Is that why you’re out here?”
“That’s not why I’m out here.”
Mandy waited. When Marian didn’t volunteer further information, she shuffled uncomfortably. “Marian, is something wrong? You look … upset.”
“I am upset,” Marian said.
“Did Professor Barnes do something to you? Did he say something suggestive? He’s such a pervert. Don’t worry. I’ll tell James. He’ll handle him. We’ll go to the school board and get him fired if we have to.”
“Don’t you even think about it,” Marian hissed.
Mandy froze, the harsh tone of Marian’s voice causing her to involuntarily shudder. Something was very wrong here. “I … um … I should really be going.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Marian … .”
“Shut up,” Marian ordered. “Just … shut your stupid mouth.”
“What’s going on?” Mandy asked, sh
uffling sideways because she couldn’t take a step backward. The car was at her back, and there was no escape in that direction.
“I know what you are,” Marian said. “I know what kind of person you are. I know what you’ve done.”
“What have I done?”
“You seduced my boyfriend.”
“I’m pretty sure I did nothing of the sort,” Mandy said.
“Don’t you lie to me!” Marian exploded, her finger shaking as she wagged it in Mandy’s face. “You slept with Ben. That’s why he wanted to talk to you outside of class. You wanted to make another date, and even though he told you he was involved with me, you just kept pressing him. That’s why he had to kick you out of class.”
“That is … crazy,” Mandy said, looking Marian up and down. As far as she could tell the woman was unarmed. Of course, since Marian was rapidly losing her cool – and apparently her mind – Mandy wasn’t leaving anything to chance. “I didn’t sleep with Professor Barnes.”
“You did. I know it. I saw you two outside of the classroom together. You were practically throwing yourself at him.”
“Yeah, that’s not what happened,” Mandy said. “He wanted to talk to me because James questioned him about his ties to Ann Nelson and Julie Nichols today. He wanted to make sure James didn’t think he was a murderer.”
“Of course he’s not a murderer,” Marian scoffed. “He’s a good man. Actually, he’s the perfect man.”
Things started to shift into place for Mandy, and she didn’t like the picture that was clearing. “You killed Julie and Ann, didn’t you?”
“They had it coming,” Marian snapped. “They were both sluts. They seduced my boyfriend. What was I supposed to do?”
“Have you been … sleeping with Barnes?”
“No,” Marian replied, rolling her eyes. “We’re in love.”
Mandy was pretty sure any love manifesting in this equation was purely of the crazy kind, and totally from Marian’s end. “How long have you been dating?” She had to keep the woman talking until she could think of a way to escape.
“Since last semester,” Marian said. “I knew the second I walked into his class that we were destined to be together. It was kismet.”
“I … this is the second class you’ve taken with Barnes?”
“Of course,” Marian said. “He wants me to be close to him. We have to pretend we’re strangers so the other students don’t get jealous … but in private, well, we’re in love.”
Mandy rubbed the heel of her hand against her forehead, flustered. “Marian, I think you need to take a deep breath and calm down,” she said. “We can talk about this. It’s not too late to … make this right.”
It was too late to make it right, but Mandy was desperate for Marian to regain some sense of self. If she didn’t, one of them was going to get hurt. Mandy wasn’t in the mood to kill someone if she didn’t have to, but she was prepared to defend herself.
“I didn’t make things wrong,” Marian said. “Someone should’ve told you when you were growing up that it’s not okay to go after someone else’s boyfriend.”
“I didn’t touch your boyfriend,” Mandy said. “I’m married. Remember?”
“Your poor husband,” Marian said, clucking sadly as she shook her head. “He’s dedicated to you, and you’ve been cheating on him with my boyfriend. What kind of a person does that?”
“I have not been cheating on him,” Mandy said. “I would never cheat on him. He’s the love of my life. I’ve been in love with him since I was fourteen years old. Why would I cheat on him?” Especially with a schmuck like Ben Barnes, she added silently.
“I thought you were a good person when I first met you,” Marian said. “I thought you were different from the other trollops who kept trying to steal my happy ending. Tonight, though, tonight I realized exactly what you are.”
“And what’s that?”
“The last obstacle to my happiness,” Marian said.
“Marian, I … .”
Mandy didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because Marian lunged at her. She tried to sidestep the woman, but despite Marian’s round hips and heavy bosom, she was faster than she looked.
Marian grabbed Mandy’s arm, digging in as she tried to control the flailing blonde. “I really am sorry it came to this,” Marian said. “If you’d just kept your filthy hands to yourself, none of this would’ve happened. Now I’m going to have to kill you.”
“I’m not just going to sit here and let you strangle me,” Mandy snapped.
“Who said anything about strangling you?” Marian gripped Mandy’s hair, tugging on it viciously with one hand while she withdrew a knife from her purse with the other. “I’ve decided to branch out. I think I need to send clearer messages when I stake my claim on my boyfriend.”
Twenty-Five
“Oh, shit,” James swore as he pulled into a spot at the end of the parking lot.
“Is that her?” Jake asked, his face reflecting the worry he felt in his heart as he caught sight of the redheaded woman with the knife at Mandy’s throat.
“Yes,” James said.
“I’ll call the cops.”
“We don’t have time,” James said. “She’s unbalanced.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I’m going to approach her from the front,” James said. “I’m going to keep her attention on me. I need you to try and sneak up behind her.”
“Okay. I’ll be quick.”
“Remember … she’s got a knife at my wife’s throat,” James said, choking up.
“She’s right there,” Jake said, grabbing James’ wrist. “We won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Just watch me,” James said. “Once she’s focused on me … you do what you have to do to get my wife. No matter what.”
Jake nodded silently.
“DO YOU want me to stab you in the neck or the heart?” Marian asked, uttering the question as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
“I want you to stab yourself in the head, you crazy … .”
“What’s going on?”
Marian swiveled quickly, dragging Mandy by her hair – the knife cutting into the tender flesh of her throat as she did. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
James forced himself to remain calm, flashing Mandy a reassuring look before raising his hands in a placating manner and focusing on Marian. “I came to pick up my wife,” he said. “I believe she’s right there. I don’t suppose I could have her, could I?”
He sounded so reasonable Mandy could almost imagine he was talking to a client and she wasn’t in mortal danger. Almost.
“James, I can’t tell you how sorry I am about all of this,” Marian said. “You deserve so much more than this … betraying tramp.” She yanked on Mandy’s hair, causing her to yelp.
“Marian, look at me,” James said, drawing the woman’s attention away from his wife. “What did Mandy do to you?”
Mandy had no idea where he was going with this, but she trusted him implicitly. He was her life, and she knew he would save her life. He always did.
“She slept with my boyfriend,” Marian said.
“Stop saying that,” Mandy hissed. “It grosses me out.”
“Stop pretending you didn’t seduce my boyfriend,” Marian said. “He would never purposely cheat on me. You made him do it.”
“I didn’t sleep with Professor Barnes,” Mandy said, hoping James would realize who had managed to unhinge Marian. “He’s not my type. Trust me.”
“I saw you throw yourself at him in the lobby,” Marian said. “Stop denying it. I’m going to gut you right here if you don’t stop denying it.”
James made his decision quickly. “Stop denying it, Mandy,” he said, hardening his voice even though it took every ounce of strength he had.
“What?” Mandy’s eyes swam with confusion.
“I know you cheated on me with Professor Barnes,” James
said, his plan taking shape even as he talked. “I found out earlier this evening.”
Mandy ran her tongue over her teeth, confused. “I … how?” He wanted her to play along. She could read the unsaid plea on his face. Even though it made her stomach roll, she did it.
“He told me,” James said, nodding slightly to let her know she was doing the right thing. “He told me you threw yourself at him and he couldn’t help himself.”
“I knew it!” Marian crowed. “I was right.”
“You were right,” James said. “Mandy is … not the woman I thought she was. She cheated on me, just like Barnes cheated on you.”
“Ben would never cheat on me,” Marian said. “He loves me too much. He’s a man, though, and they have physical weaknesses they can’t control. When a woman throws herself at a man, he has no choice but to act on the impulses.”
“I … um … wow,” James said. “I can’t believe he told you our big secret.” He kept his eyes glued on Marian even though he saw a hint of movement starting to skirt behind a back row of cars out of the corner of his eye. He knew it was Jake. He also knew he couldn’t draw attention to him. “Ben must love you very much to tell you our big secret.”
“I’m the love of his life,” Marian said. “We’re destined to be together. We’re going to get married. We’re going to have kids. We’re going to live happily ever after, just like on television.”
James had a feeling she watched a little too much television. “Marian, you can have your happily ever after without killing Mandy,” he said.
“You can’t be serious,” Marian scoffed. “She cheated on you and you still want to save her life?”
“I … I need her alive,” James said, exhaling heavily. “If you kill her here, I’ll lose everything. You don’t want me to suffer, do you?”
“What do you mean?” Marian asked, furrowing her brow. “Why would you possibly need her alive? If I kill her here, you can collect the insurance money on her and start all over. I have a sister you might like. Do you like redheads?”
“I … sure,” James said, swallowing hard. “I need her alive because all my business holdings are in her name for … tax reasons.” James was just making it up as he went along now. “I had a problem with a former tax bill, so I put my security business under her name.” James caught sight of Jake again. He was three cars back now, and he was moving low to the ground. James just had to stall for a few more minutes. “I need her to sign the business back over before you do anything.”
Deadly Storm Page 19
