What She Left (Martina Monroe Book 1)

by H K Christie

  “We’ll be there. We will catch the person who killed your father.” Hirsch declared.

  She nodded as if she believed him. “So you said you have a new lead in the case?”

  Hirsch said, “Yes.” He described what he’d discovered about the veterinarian’s office break-in, the possible connection to her father’s murder, and how they’re now waiting for DNA on the suspect.

  She appeared surprised and hopeful. Hope was the best thing you could have when you had nothing else. It must be terrible not to have a single lead. That’s how Donna’s case had been, and it sounded like it was the same for Hirsch’s brother’s case as well.

  I think I was completely wrong about Hirsch. In working together over the last week, I could see he was dedicated, hard-working, and probably a workaholic like myself. He was reserved, but seemed to talk freely with me. Maybe he was happy to have someone to talk to, especially someone who understood the job. And someone who understood what it’s like when life went downhill.

  Kennedy dabbed her eyes. “It’s so strange - all of it.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw something dart across the room. My heart palpitated, and then I shook my head at my silliness. It was a cat. Zoey had begged me for a pet ever since she could talk. She wanted a snake or rat or kitten or dog, and once, even a lemur. I don’t think I even knew what a lemur was when I was seven years old. Kids these days. Oh, jeez, I was starting to sound like my mother. I shook off the thoughts of my mother. I needed to focus.

  “Like I promised, we have news on the baby in the photo and about your mother’s past.”

  Kennedy’s eyes brightened. She scrunched up the tissue in her fist. “Is it good news? I could really use some good news.”

  What a loaded question. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Only time would tell. I didn’t know how I would continue investigating, with Stavros standing on my shoulders. What would I do if I lost my job at Drakos Security & Investigations? Go out on my own? I could probably afford it with the life insurance, Jarod’s pension, and my savings. The idea of not having to take orders certainly sounded great. At heart I was a soldier, but only if it meant that I was doing the right thing, and turning my back on the Henleys did not seem right. “The baby in the photo’s name is Amy Henley. She’s your mother’s younger sister.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “I have an aunt, my mother had a sister?”

  “Yes.” I then continued to explain what else I’d found out about the Henleys, and the lie that Charlotte had died in a car accident.

  Kennedy looked up and out the window, as if trying to comprehend what I was telling her. “Why did my mother tell me they were dead? Why would she do that? Did you find her ex-husband?”

  “Your mother has never been married before. Or at least there’s no record of it and the people I spoke to, who knew her, they didn’t think she’d ever been married either.”

  Kennedy stared at the floor, and her eyebrows knitted together. “I don’t understand. Everything she ever told me was a lie?”

  The short of it was, yes. Her mother had lied to Kennedy her entire life. “I’m not sure why your mother told you the stories that she did, but I’m sure she had a good reason. I just don’t know what that reason was. We may never know.”

  “Can you find out? I can pay.”

  I glanced over at Hirsch and then returned my focus to Kennedy. “It may be difficult to do that.”

  “You found this other information, and so fast. Rose was right, you’re the best. Please find out why. Whatever it takes. I have savings and now all this money from my parents. Please, whatever it costs. I’m begging you.” Tears streamed down Kennedy’s face.

  If Stavros saw Kennedy, would he tell me to walk away? That it wasn’t my responsibility to find out why this woman’s mother had lied to Kennedy her entire life, and why she kept the Henley family hidden from her? I stared into her eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

  She leapt off the couch and came over to me, arms extended, and we embraced. “Thank you so much, Martina. You’ve given me so much. Thank you.” She let go, and looked over at Detective Hirsch. “You too, Detective. It sounds like you’re getting close. Hopefully, the DNA will come back with a suspect.” Kennedy’s eyes welled with tears once again. “It’s so much to take in.”

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Kennedy, do you have anyone to talk to? Do you have a therapist or a close friend? This is a lot to process. Losing your parents and finding out about your mother’s family.”

  She shook her head. “I have friends. I don’t have a therapist, but I guess it’s not a bad idea.”

  “I can give you a recommendation for a good counselor, who has experience with grief and loss, that I think would really help you.”

  “I’d like that. Thank you.” A meow came from below. I glanced down at Kennedy’s orange tabby cat, who was meowing at her feet, wanting her attention.

  “It’s time for her lunch.” She said with a weak smile.

  “She’s a cat that knows what she wants,” I said, trying to lift the mood.

  “That she is.”

  We said our goodbyes and exited Kennedy’s apartment. Hirsch turned to me outside on the steps. “You’re going to keep investigating the Henleys?”

  “How could I say no?”

  “I don’t know. I wouldn’t have been able to say no either.” We continued down the steps and headed to my car. Now I had the choice to go behind Stavros’s back or confront him, and tell him I was continuing on with the case. Either way, he could fire me if he wanted. It was a risk I was willing to take.

  29

  Martina

  I stared down at the piece of paper with my mother’s phone number scribbled on it. I’d been right about Rocco’s advice. He told me I should call her, make amends, and forgive her. I just didn’t know if I had the energy right now. My daughter’s life and mine were being threatened, and now Stavros was threatening my job. Did I really have to deal with my mother, too?

  As it was, we had nothing officially on the Henleys or on Alonso Davidson. We didn’t even know if that was his actual name or if he was even connected to the Henleys.

  What I really needed was to return to Pennsylvania and continue the investigation. If I went out there, I could get the answers that Kennedy needed and potentially stop whoever had been threatening me. These people needed to know that Martina Monroe didn’t just lie back and let things happen to her. I was a woman of action, and that was exactly what they were going to get.

  My phone buzzed on the kitchen table. I walked over to it and picked it up. “Hirsch, how’s it going?”

  “I received some bad news about Donna’s case.”

  “What happened? They’re not shutting it down, are they?”

  “No, but they found a key witness dead in his cell this morning. Diego is dead.”

  “Suicide?”

  “No, he was most certainly killed.”

  “How did he die?”

  “Stabbed, in the yard. The warden thinks it was gang-related.”

  Damn it. He was our best lead. “Well, I took the day off work and would like to head out to Stone Island and see if the Bernards will let me go through Donna’s things. I’m sure they still have them.”

  “What do you think you’ll find?”

  “I’m not sure, but I have to find something.” It still surprised me that Donna had kept secrets from me. We had been so close for so long.

  “I’m not sure I’ll be able to go out there today, but call me if you find anything, okay?”

  “Will do. Did you get anything back on the Henleys yet?”

  “Not yet. So far they’re looking squeaky clean, which is pretty strange for a political family.”

  “Tell me about it. You know anybody in Pennsylvania law enforcement?”

  “I have a friend in the FBI. I could ask him for a favor.”

  “That would be great.”

  “I’ll check into it. Let me know if you find anything at the Bern
ard’s. I’ll be at the station.”

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up the phone and looked at the time on the screen. I had five hours before Zoey would get out of school. That should give me enough time to make it out to Stone Island, search Donna’s room, and get back in time. Zoey had been ecstatic when I told her I’d take the day off and would pick her up at school, and we could have dinner together. Now, I had better make good on that promise.

  I pulled into the driveway of the Bernard’s and an eerie feeling washed over me. I don’t know if I’d ever shake this feeling of being transported back in time to my wild teenage days, hanging out during the long summer nights with my best friend. I shook it off and continued up the steps toward the front door of the Bernard’s residence.

  I glanced to the left at the Gilmore house. It was dark, with no signs of life. I wondered what Kennedy would do with it when all was said and done. Would she move back to her hometown or sell it or keep it as a vacation rental? I’m not sure I’d be able to sleep in a house where my loved one had been murdered. I had a feeling Kennedy wouldn’t either. I knocked on the door. The door creaked open, and Sandy greeted me with a smile. “Always good to see you, dear.”

  “You too, Sandy.”

  “Please come in.”

  I stepped inside and felt that there were ghosts everywhere. I stared at the framed photograph of Donna that hung on the wall. Her bright smile, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She was young, beautiful, spirited, and strong, but also had secrets. Secrets she didn’t share with her best friend. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt, that she had chosen not to confide in me that she had a side thing going on.

  I had thought we’d shared every dream and every whim that crossed our minds. I wondered if this was how Kennedy felt knowing that her mother had lied to her all those years. She’d said they were close and didn’t hide things from one another.

  It was like I didn’t know her at all. I would have liked to have known her, all of her, even her secrets, even if she was doing something that wasn’t right. “What are you looking for today?”

  “Do you remember Diego Tarantino?”

  Sandy rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

  “He was found murdered in his jail cell today, but before he died, Detective Hirsch had gone out and talked to him. He said that Donna had been working for someone, somebody he saw her talking to. He told us they were working on something together and promised he would tell us more after his first payment, but by the time Detective Hirsch followed up, he’d been killed.”

  Sandy’s face went pale. “You think the person who took Donna, killed Diego?”

  It had crossed my mind but slipped out shortly after based on what Hirsch explained to me. “The warden thinks that whoever killed Diego is from a rival gang or that he’d angered another prisoner. Diego wasn’t a pleasant person and could have made the wrong person mad.”

  Sandy nodded. “All right, well, Donna’s room is exactly how she left it. I didn’t change anything, in case she ever came back.”

  I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I hope she comes back too.”

  Sandy didn’t have to show me where Donna’s room was. I was quite familiar. I walked down the hall and stepped into Donna’s room for the first time since she’d gone missing. My chest tightened, and I had to fight to not shed any tears. I was here to find out what happened to her, not to mourn. I could do that later, but right now I had a job to do.

  I walked over to her closet and thumbed through her clothes. Each one flashed me back to a memory of when she wore it last. I glanced up, looking for any memory or keepsake boxes. Then it hit me. I swiveled around and rushed over to her bookshelf and knelt down. I scanned past the Nancy Drew novels before staring it straight in its black plastic eyes - a pink and purple teddy bear Donna had since she was a baby.

  It brought me back to a memory of the two of us sitting on the floor. Giggling, she’d said, “I got something.”

  “What did you get?”

  “Let me show you.” And then she pulled down the teddy bear and turned it over, splitting the seam and pulling out a baggie of marijuana. Her eyes had lit up like stars in the sky. “Tonight, we get high,” she’d said in a singsong voice. We both chuckled, grabbed the pot and ran out of the house to meet our boyfriends.

  I grabbed the teddy bear and turned it upside down, digging into the torn seam. I pulled out a few hundred-dollar bills and a slip of paper with a message in blue ink.

  Beth’s Pond.

  Every fourth Saturday.

  Midnight.

  Beth’s Pond? I wanted to search the rest of the room for additional clues, but I had an immediate need to be at Beth’s Pond right now. I rushed out of her room. Sandy was in the kitchen mixing something in a pot on the stove. “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, I found something. I’ll be back.” I rushed out of the house, ran down the steps, lightly gripping the rail as I descended. I didn’t need to tumble down a flight of stairs.

  I hopped in my car, drove two blocks down and pulled to the side of the road, parking near the path to Beth’s Pond. I hurried out to the entrance of the path. It was lined with tall grasses and weeds. I surveyed the area and didn’t see a soul. I returned to my vehicle, pulled my weapon from the glove box and secured it in it’s holster, then grabbed a flashlight and stuck it in my jacket pocket.

  I stepped out of the car, shut the door behind me, and looked around. Donna and I hadn’t gone to Beth’s Pond since we were kids. There was no reason. There weren’t any boys or booze.

  I continued down the path, swatting away the foliage for several minutes until I reached the clearing. The term pond was being generous. It was more like a large puddle. I walked around the pond and saw nothing unusual. I pushed back grasses, looking for clues - anything that would tell me what happened to Donna.

  After thirty minutes of scouring the surrounding area, I was deflated. I was frustrated and angry. I wanted to scream. It wasn’t fair that Donna was gone. It wasn’t fair that I had to stop working on the Henley case. It wasn’t fair that Kennedy lost her parents. It wasn’t fair that Jared was gone. Why couldn’t this world be more fair? Why did I have the alcoholic gene? Why had my parents decided to reproduce and give that to me? Why?

  I took a deep breath, and glanced up at the sky. It was dark and gray, with menacing clouds. I felt the first drops of mist, then the drizzle and then raindrops. Of course. Now I was going to be soaked. I shook my head. Here I stood at Beth’s Pond, alone and wet. Tired. Angry. Sad. I hadn’t found Donna, but that didn’t mean that I’d ever stop searching.

  Head down, I continued around the pond and back to the path that would lead me back to where I parked my car. My body went rigid, as if a force was holding me in place. My attention was drawn to a sparkle on the ground. My heart sped up, and I knelt down to the ground and stared at the shiny object. I brushed off the remaining mud the rain hadn’t washed off. I lifted it up, and my mouth dropped open. The sparkling diamond and pear-shaped emerald earring sent chills down my spine. It was Donna’s earring.

  30

  Detective Hirsch

  I thanked Webb and hung up the phone. The DNA testing on the blood sample from the veterinary office break-in still wasn’t back yet. I know I didn’t have to call. Most likely, Webb would let me know right away once the test results came in, but I’d thought maybe he was out of the office. He wasn’t.

  I switched gears and reviewed the names of family and friends of Theodore Gilmore that were expected at the memorial the next day. The memorial would bring out everyone who had cared for him - and potentially his killer, too. My cell phone buzzed. “Hi, Martina, what’s up?”

  She said, “I found something,” and then explained what she’d found.

  “How do you know it’s Donna’s earring?” I asked.

  “Her parents gave her the earrings for a high school graduation gift. I’ve got a feeling, Hirsch. I feel like she’s here.”

  �
�Did you find anything else other than the earring?”

  “No, but it’s raining, and it’s getting muddy. I don’t have any tools to dig and I’m guessing you don’t want me to mess up any forensic evidence, right?”

  “You’re right. Let me see what I can put together. I can’t guarantee I can get CSI out there today, but let me talk to my sergeant to see if we can get a team together and maybe some cadaver dogs. It might have to wait until next week.”

  “Next week? If the killer comes back, he could try to move her body.”

  “You seem awfully sure that her body’s there.”

  “It fits. The paper said that she met here every fourth Saturday at midnight. I’m telling you, Hirsch, she has to be here.”

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  I lifted myself off the desk and walked back to my sergeant’s office. If I kept this up, soon I’d be known as the guy who was always going to the sergeant’s office asking for favors. “Sarge.”

  “Hey, Hirsch, what’s up?”

  I explained to him what Martina had found at Beth’s Pond and what she was requesting.

  Sarge leaned back and scratched his head. “All the evidence we have is a slip of paper and an earring?”

  “It’s the first piece of physical evidence since her disappearance.”

  He let out a loud breath and shook his head back and forth. “I hope they find her because if they don’t - you’ll have a lot of answering to do.” He eyed me. “Put in the request and let’s get a team out there today.”

  “Thank you.” I didn’t wait to get back to my desk before calling Martina and letting her know. “Are you still at the site?”

  “I am, but I have to pick up my daughter at three. I don’t have a lot of time to wait.”

  “I’ll head out now. Can you wait until I get there, so I’ll know exactly where to direct the team?”

  “Will do. Thanks, Hirsch.”

  I hung up the phone and grabbed my keys before rushing out of the station.