“You see the letters written on the windshield?”
I nodded. “I’m not sure if the killer meant to attack James tonight. I believe his original plan may have been to vandalize James’ car first, to send him a message. He could have been interrupted before he had the chance to write the last letter.”
“We’re all thinking the same thing.”
“There aren’t many words he could have been trying to write, given what he’d started with. ‘Fool’ is the obvious choice, especially since the killer called Adelaide a liar earlier today. What I don’t understand is why Caroline’s and Hugh’s murders had no obvious signatures. Why mark some but not the others?”
“Hard to know the meaning of anything until we find the bastard.”
“I have two possible theories on how James ended up in the park,” I said. “The killer could have taken off when James spotted him, and James chased after him. The light in the park at night is a lot dimmer than the light in the parking lot. For the killer, that would have given him an advantage.”
“Good theory. And the other one?”
“James ran toward the park, and the killer chased him.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess we’ll find out when we get the chance to speak to James.”
My right shoe had been bugging me. My sock was all bunched up inside it, and I hadn’t remembered tying the laces so tight. I removed my shoe to adjust the sock, and a silver gum wrapper fell out of the side. I picked it up, looking at how perfectly it had been folded down the middle. I was about to toss it out, when I noticed something odd—there appeared to be writing on the inside of the wrapper. I unfolded it, revealing the message: Then the liars and swearers are fools, for there are liars and swearers enough to beat the honest men and hang up them.
A few minutes earlier, I’d asked Noel to get me a cup of tea. He walked into the room, cup in hand, hesitating when he saw me scrutinizing the wrapper.
“What do you have there?” he asked.
“I knew it,” I said. “I knew he was there.”
“Knew who was there?”
“The killer.”
He raised a brow. “How do you know for sure?”
I handed the wrapper to him. “This was folded up in my shoe. It’s a quote from Macbeth.”
Noel looked at me, confused.
“One of Shakespeare’s plays.”
“Oh, gotcha.” Noel set the tea down next to me and held the wrapper in both hands, looking it over. “Writing is so small, I can barely read it without my glasses.”
I read it aloud.
“I think the killer was there, hovering over me right before the ambulance arrived,” I said. “He must have shoved the note inside my sock before he left. What kind of weirdo does something like that, knowing the police are on their way to the scene?”
“I think you’re asking the wrong question.”
“What’s the right one?”
“He had the chance to kill you. Why didn’t he?”
It wasn’t the first time I’d been at death’s door, but it was my most vulnerable. Noel’s question had rattled me to my core. If we were dealing with a cold-blooded killer, why had my life been spared when so many others hadn’t? He had the opportunity to kill me and hadn’t taken it.
Nothing made sense.
With my fainting spells showing no signs of returning, I was released from the room I’d been in at the hospital and relocated to the waiting area where I sat next to Noel, awaiting the outcome of James’ surgery. It was a long hour and a half before the surgeon emerged and pulled Noel to the side. James was alive, having narrowly escaped death. If the knife he’d been stabbed with had been pushed in an inch further, as Caroline’s had, James would be dead. James had a long way to go before he’d be back to himself again, but doctors believed, in time, he would make a full recovery.
I had appreciated Noel’s sentiments about it being me who’d saved James’ life, but I believed James had saved his own. He had defensive wounds on both hands, which caused the police to speculate the killer wasn’t able to stab him as precisely as he intended.
As my memory returned, I had flashbacks of running through the park, screaming James’ name. It was possible the killer heard me coming, and the distraction threw him off just enough to stop him from stabbing James again. At that point, I believed the killer assumed the blow he’d dealt James would prove fatal, and he fled the scene, remaining close by to watch events unfold.
The tall and short officers met me in the waiting room, and I handed over the wrapper I’d found in my shoe. As they bagged it, they began asking a series of questions but stopped when Victoria burst through the hospital’s main entrance with a red, puffy face that looked like she’d been crying on the drive over. She noticed the officers and whipped around, blotting her eyes with the end of the shirt sleeve. She took a moment to compose herself and then walked over.
I grabbed hold of her arms and looked her in the eye. “He made it out of surgery, and the surgeon said the operation went well. It’s a good sign. He’ll be all right.”
She showed signs of smiling, but then the tears began flowing again.
I turned to the taller of the two officers. “I need a few minutes.”
“And we need answers to our questions,” he said.
“You’ll get them when I’ve finished talking to Victoria.”
“We need them now.”
I thought about pacifying him for exactly two seconds before deciding his lack of sympathy made me lack all consideration for his current needs.
“If you want my cooperation, you’ll give me a few minutes,” I said. “Until then, the Sloane Monroe shop of questions and answers is closed.”
We squared off while he thought about how much he wanted to press a friend of the senator, and then the shorter one jabbed the taller one in the side and said, “Let’s grab a cup of coffee, Pearce.”
The taller one glared at me. “Stay put.”
And then both officers walked away.
I grabbed a few tissues off a nearby counter, and Victoria and I sat down.
“Have you seen him yet?” she asked. “Is he awake?”
I shook my head. “Noel’s with him now. I’m sure James will be glad you’re here.”
She dabbed her eyes with the tissue and took a deep breath.
“We need to find this guy,” she said. “If we don’t, he’ll just keep on killing, and if anything else happens to James ... I ... I just ...”
“We’ll find him,” I said.
“But no one has any idea who he is.”
“You’re right, but there’s something different about this killer than the ones I’ve tracked in the past. I’m hoping that gives me an edge I haven’t had before.”
“What kind of edge?”
“The killer had the chance to end my life tonight, and he didn’t do it. I don’t know what it means yet, but it means something.”
“Are you serious? What happened?”
I told her.
Her take was different than mine.
“Maybe he was going to kill you after he jammed the paper inside your shoe,” she said, “but he didn’t get the chance. All I know is he’s murdered three people in less than a month. James was his intended fourth, and something tells me he’s not done yet.”
Noel walked up, looked at me, and said, “James is still fairly drugged up, but he’s awake, if you want to visit with him for a minute. No heavy conversation, but he’s asking about you. I’m sure he’d like to see for himself that you’re all right.”
I nodded. “Would it be okay for Victoria to say hello first?”
Noel shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We just need to keep the visits brief.”
I agreed, and we walked to his room.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said. “And I’m a mess. I don’t want him to see me like this. You should go in, Sloane. I’ll see him later.”
&nb
sp; “He’d want to know you’re here. Besides, I think it will be good for him to see you like this.”
“Are you kidding? I’m a disaster.”
“The other day when you were talking to me about James. You don’t just regret what happened, you still love him, don’t you?”
She glanced down the hall, avoiding eye contact with me.
“Victoria,” I said, “do you know what I think James would appreciate after all the hell he’s been through tonight?”
“I don’t know. What?”
“He’d like to know you feel for him the same way he still feels about you.”
I left the hospital with Noel, and we drove to my hotel. I packed my things, checked out, and relocated to James’ guesthouse. Grace was with Sonia, Noel’s other daughter, and given we’d left the hospital in the middle of the night he had decided to let her sleep over and pick her up the following morning.
I spent part of the night soaking in a jetted tub about double the size of the one at the hotel, trying to get into the mindset of the killer. I believed his first two murders were premeditated, but what had happened with Adelaide and James seemed a lot more spontaneous. His knowledge of Shakespeare suggested he was well-read, possibly even sophisticated, and someone who most likely fit into the society norm.
Whoever he was or wasn’t, there was something about this case that I wasn’t seeing. It was as if I was trying to construct a home with a blindfold on. There was still too much I was missing.
The next morning, Noel left the house, returning around an hour later with Grace. I got ready and set my agenda for the day, starting with a trip to Caroline’s office. On the way to the car, I spotted Grace lounging on a hammock on the back porch. She waved at me. I waved back and walked over to her.
“I was hoping I’d see you while I was here,” I said.
She stared at me for a while and then said, “I remember you.”
“We met the week of your uncle’s wedding.”
She scrunched up her nose like she’d smelled something rotten. “I’m glad he didn’t marry that woman. I didn’t like her.”
I sat on the porch beside her. “How have you been doing?”
“I’m sad every day.”
“I’m sorry. You will start to feel better, but it will take some time.”
“That’s what everyone says, but no one knows what it feels like to be me.”
“You’re right.”
“Thank you for getting my clothes.”
“Is there anything I can do for you while I’m here?” I asked.
She thought about it. “What about a cheeseburger?”
“You want a cheeseburger right now? For breakfast?”
She nodded. “Cheeseburgers are good any time of the day. They’re comfort food, you know.”
“I can pick one up for you.”
“When?”
“As soon as I leave.”
She looked at me like she wondered why a fire hadn’t been lit under my ass so I could leave right now.
“Where do you want your cheeseburger from?” I asked.
“Happy Burger. You’re going to get it and come back, right? I’m hungry.”
I nodded.
“Good,” she said. “You should have one with me. And you better get one for Grandpa. He’s always hungry, and he doesn’t like the food Uncle James’ cook makes. He says it’s far too sophisticated.”
We both laughed.
She pulled part of her T-shirt over her face like a protective covering, and I wondered if she was nervous. Through the fabric, she said, “I’m glad he’s dead.”
The comment caught me off-guard. “You’re glad who’s dead?”
“Nobody. Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Do you mean Hugh, your mother’s boyfriend?”
“Yeah, maybe. You say ‘mother,’ and I say ‘mum.’ That’s funny.”
She glanced across the yard at a yellow butterfly that had just landed on the fence post. I got the impression she wanted to say more about Hugh, and I wasn’t sure whether she didn’t because she wanted me to go get the burgers or because she thought she shouldn’t.
“I never met your mother,” I said. “Or Hugh.”
“You would have liked her. She was nice. You wouldn’t have liked him, though. He was a bad person.”
“What didn’t you like about him? Was he mean to you?”
She shrugged. “He was fine to me, but he was mean to my mum sometimes.”
I thought about how adamant James had been about me not talking to Grace. He’d painted a picture of a girl who was too fragile to talk about anything yet. But sitting here now, she didn’t seem as delicate as he’d made her out to be. Even though she was suffering, she was a lot stronger than he gave her credit for, and I was torn. I wanted to respect his wishes, but I was desperate for answers I hoped she could provide, and there was no way of knowing whether or not I’d get the opportunity again.
I decided to press on.
“What did Hugh do to your mother that you thought was mean?”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He’s dead now. She’s in heaven, and he’s where horrible people go when they die. I had a mean cat once. Her name was Cass, but I called her Ass even though my mum didn’t like it because it was a swear word, but I didn’t care. That’s what she was—a big, supersized ass. She died a few years ago, and I bet she’s at the bad place with Hugh, and they’re sitting on a dark storm cloud somewhere being gigantic asses together.”
She’d spoken plainly, with a straight face, and although it shouldn’t have been funny, it was, and I had to stop myself from laughing.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “Maybe they are together.”
She squinted at me.
“Are you going to get me that cheeseburger, or what?” she said. “Remember when I said I was hungry, like two minutes ago? I’m even hungrier now.”
I had hoped to keep her distracted just long enough to get a little more information. I thought about the bruising found on Caroline’s body during the autopsy. What I didn’t know was whether Grace was aware of it or not.
“I’ll go in a minute,” I said. “I promise. Can I show you something first?”
She rolled her eyes. “I guess so, but only if you hurry.”
I lifted my shirt up just high enough for her to see a two-inch scar I had on my side. It wasn’t the only scar I had on my body. But for demonstration purposes, it would suffice.
She leaned forward and pressed two fingers against the wound. “Wow. That’s so funny looking. It’s shaped like a kangaroo ear. Does it hurt?”
“It did at first. But it happened many years ago. I don’t feel any pain now.”
“What happened?”
“My father wasn’t a good person,” I said. “When my sister and I were young, and he was drunk, sometimes he’d come after us with his belt.”
“And he would hit you with it?”
I nodded.
“Why?” she asked.
“No reason, really. He had a bad temper. He had a belt buckle he liked to wear that had a skull with wings in the center. The wings stuck out, and they were thin and sharp. One time when he swung the belt at me, the wings broke my skin. My dad yanked the belt back, and the wings tore some of my skin off. I was bleeding, but he wouldn’t let my mother take me to the hospital to get it stitched up. She tried to do it herself, and it got infected. That’s why I have that nasty scar.”
She locked eyes with me, and I could tell she was struggling to keep from crying. I reached out and grabbed her hand.
“I’m sorry, Grace,” I said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t. I’m fine. Your dad is a bad man ... a very bad man. Is he still alive?”
I shook my head.
“And are you sad he’s dead?” she asked.
“I’m glad he’s dead because he can’t hurt anyone ever again.”
She rubbed her hands up and down her dress. “I want
ed to protect my mum, and I couldn’t.”
Finally, I was getting somewhere.
“Protect her from Hugh or someone else?”
In what I considered to be the worst possible timing, the front door opened, and Noel walked outside. “I’ve made poached eggs on toast. You two care for some breakfast?”
Grace glanced at him and burst into tears. She hopped off the hammock, pressed her hands to her face, and ran past him into the house, yelling, “I just want a cheeseburger!”
He watched her scurry down the hall and then turned toward me. “Well, what’s going on with her? She usually likes it when I make breakfast.”
“We were talking about my father who passed away,” I said, “and she got really upset. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would upset her, but I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t feel bad. She has good days, and she has bad ones. It looks like today will probably be a bad one. She’s confused, you see, all bottled up, and she won’t talk to anyone about it. I saw you out here a few minutes ago and thought talking to you might do her some good. Maybe I was wrong too. Maybe neither of us knows what she needs.”
“James asked me not to talk to her yet,” I said. “He thinks she needs more time. He’s probably right.”
“I know what he wants. He told me. He’s trying to keep her away from just about everyone. I don’t agree with it. Not talking about what she went through is keeping her from the chance to heal. We can’t go on pretending like nothing happened forever. It did happen, and we all need to accept it—most of all, Grace.”
I stood. “I’ll run to the burger place and get her a cheeseburger.”
“One word of advice if I may before you head out,” he said.
I nodded, expecting his next words to be profound and encouraging.
Instead, he winked at me and said, “If you don’t want her to complain, better make sure her burger has extra cheese.”
I dropped the cheeseburgers off to Noel and decided to give Grace some space before approaching her again. In turn, Noel handed me a note Grace had written to me. He said she had been in her room since I left and had only cracked her door open to pass the note to him. It said: Thank you for the cheeseburger. I want to stay in my room today and watch movies. See you later. P.S. I’m sorry about your dad, but don’t worry. He’s in the bad place with Hugh and Ass-cat.
Smoke and Mirrors Page 8
