What She Left (Martina Monroe Book 1)

by H K Christie

  His eyes locked with mine. “My lawyer will be here any moment now. So, if you have nothing else, Detective, I’d hate to take up any more of your day.”

  He acted like he was confident, but it had to be a show. The best lawyer in the world couldn’t get him off the hook from these charges. The only way he would ever even have a chance to be a free man again is if he attempted to plea, but maybe not even then. “Okay, but as soon as this goes to trial, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you.”

  Alonso stared straight ahead. My guess was that it was his best attempt at appearing unfazed by all of this information. I pushed back from the table and stood up. “If you change your mind and you want to talk, you know where to find me.” I shrugged. “I certainly know where to find you - you’ll be in your jail cell.”

  Alonso didn’t look at me. So be it. I practically waltzed out of the county jail, knowing we had this guy. There was no way he was going to walk on any of these charges, and soon the case would be closed.

  I loved closing cases. The sense of accomplishment and knowing the bad guys were locked up was a feeling akin to a first kiss or watching the sun rise. Not to mention, it would bring some closure to Kennedy Gilmore. She’d been through enough already. It was too unfair for her to not know who was responsible for her father’s death. Damn. I still didn’t have the why. Alonso hadn’t cooperated, so I couldn’t explain why he had killed Theodore Gilmore. It certainly wasn’t random. My feelings of elation faded. I wasn’t done with Alonso yet.

  I reached the parking lot and slid into the driver’s side of my car when the inside of my jacket vibrated. I pulled out the phone. Finally. “Martina, how are you?”

  “Oh, you know, things could be better.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing really. I just finished a rather difficult conversation with Stavros. He was pretty against me continuing on the Henley case. After a long, drawn-out debate, I had to threaten to quit for him to allow me to continue. It wasn’t pretty.”

  “But he’s on board now?”

  “Yep.”

  That must have been rough. Going toe-to-toe with a superior was not for the faint of heart. “Well, if you want some good news. I have some.”

  “Yes, please.” She said with a ring in her voice.

  “The DNA came back from the break-in at the vet’s office. Guess who it’s a match to?”

  “Alonso?”

  “Yep, I’m just leaving the county jail now.”

  “How did he take the news?”

  “He tried to make it appear he didn’t care. He’s still not talking, but I could tell he’s rattled. His lawyer hasn’t shown up yet.”

  “Interesting. Whoever he’s working for doesn’t want to step up.”

  “I think that’s what Alonso is figuring out.”

  “Good news for the case.”

  “Yep, I offered him a public defender, but he declined.”

  Martina chuckled. “You don’t say? All right, we should meet to discuss our approach for the Pennsylvania mission.”

  She was definitely ex-military. All missions and commands. “I have a meeting with my sergeant later today. He’s endorsed the trip, but we’re going over specifics before the official approval. If you have time, we can meet and discuss it around four?”

  “Sounds good.”

  I hung up the phone. We had a plan. Martina and I would go to Pennsylvania and figure out how the Henleys were tied into this whole mess. I was sure they were at the heart of it all, despite the lack of confirmation from our closed-lipped friend, Alonso Ricci.

  40

  Alonso

  Alonso shook his head, bewildered. Why hadn’t the boss been taking his calls? The boss had always cautioned him to never call his offices, but he had to know Alonso was getting desperate as he sat in jail. Now that they had DNA connecting him to the murder, he needed a damn good lawyer and fast, or he was going away for life. That stupid detective was right. He knew he should’ve taken the time at the vet’s office to clean up the broken glass, but he hadn’t realized he’d been cut until it was too late. Not to mention the blaring alarm that had been piercing his eardrums.

  Everything he’d done was for the family and for him, the boss. Now it was Alonso’s time of need, and he’d been certain the boss would be there for him. The three days in county jail, without a peep from a lawyer or the boss, were saying the contrary.

  Against his better judgment, he dialed the office number. “East Coast Securities. How may I help you?”

  “I need to talk to Frank Henley, please.”

  “May I ask who is calling?”

  “This is Mr. Ricci.”

  “One moment, please.”

  Heart racing, Alonso hoped the boss would take his call. He needed to talk to him now. The situation had gone from bad to worse and he needed his help. Alonso had some money stashed away to pay for a decent lawyer, but it would likely clean him out.

  Considering Alonso was facing the loss of his freedom, which was no small thing, Frank Henley had a heck of a lot more to lose than that. It was in his best interest to help him, so why hasn’t he?

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Ricci. Mr. Henley is not available right now. If you’d like to leave a message, I can have him get back to you.”

  Anger seared through Alonso. “I want to talk to Frank. I want to talk to him now. Tell him to get on the phone or it’s all over.”

  “Sir.”

  “Look lady, just give Frank the message.”

  “One moment.”

  His hands were vibrating on the telephone receiver. “Frank Henley here?”

  “Frank, it’s Lonnie. I need your help.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t know anybody named Lonnie. What’s your last name?”

  Alonso’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at the phone. He was acting like he didn’t know him. His temperature rose, and he curled his hand into a fist. “Frank, don’t mess around with me. I need a lawyer, yesterday.”

  “I’m so sorry, sir, but I think you might have me mixed up with somebody else. Who is that you are trying to get a hold of?”

  Anger bubbled out of him as he spat at Frank, “You will be sorry,” before he slammed the receiver down. If that’s how Frank wanted to play it, that’s how he’d play it.

  41

  Detective Hirsch

  I stood outside and let the raindrops fall down on me. The pattering on my skin and the chill reminded me I wasn’t dreaming. I had just received the call. The call that we were about to break this case wide open. The cherry on the hot fudge sundae of the case. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and called Martina. “Do you have time for a field trip?”

  “Where to?”

  “County jail. I got a call from our friend Alonso Ricci, and he wants to talk.”

  “Did he say about what?”

  I don’t think Martina understood the gravity of the situation. I think Alonso was about to tell us who he had been working for and why he’d ordered the hits - the last pieces of the puzzle. “I think he’ll give us his boss and maybe motive.”

  She hesitated. “All right. Where are you now?”

  “I’m at Concord PD talking to a buddy of mine, the guy who worked the veterinarian’s office break-in.”

  “Is he coming too?”

  “No, it’ll be just you and me. We’ll finally get answers, Martina. I can feel it.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” she said.

  “I’ll be here waiting for you.” I hung up and headed back inside the station.

  My hair was wet and rain trickled down the sides of my face, but I didn’t care. I headed back toward Webb’s desk. “Hey, man.”

  “Hirsch, you did it.”

  “We did it. I’m about to head down to the county jail with Martina Monroe and try to get his full confession.”

  “Case closed.”

  “Fingers crossed.” I hoped by the end of the day we could finally dot
the i’s and cross the t’s and erase the case from the board.

  Webb leaned against his desk. “So, I was talking to my wife. Are you available Saturday night? She’s trying a new chili recipe. You like chili?”

  “Love it.”

  “So you’re in?”

  It wasn’t like I had anything else to do. As it was, I hadn’t brought myself to open up the envelope that sat on my dining table. I knew what was inside - divorce papers. All I needed to do was sign them, and it would be official. I’d be divorced. Like so many other detectives before me who couldn’t hold on to a relationship. It was a difficult thing to do, when most of the time, all you could think about was the job. “I’ll be there.”

  “Great. It’ll be good to catch up.”

  “Thanks Webb.”

  Martina and I entered the county jail. She still seemed a little down from the tough conversation with her boss. Hopefully, whatever Alonso told us would cheer her up and remind her of why she fought so hard to stay on the case.

  We were escorted back to the interview room. It was the same dank little box where I had visited Alonso twice before. I had asked Martina if it would be strange to confront her attacker, but she’d shrugged it off like it was no big deal. That woman was tough as nails.

  We entered the room, but it was empty, except for Martina and the guard. “Where is he?”

  “He’ll be down in a minute. Can I get you anything?”

  “Another chair.”

  “No problem.”

  A few minutes later, he returned with a plastic chair. I sat down. Martina did the same. “Here goes.”

  The sounds of footsteps and chains jingling were audible and growing louder. I watched as Martina’s eyes followed Alonso’s every move. The guard closed the door, and all eyes were on the prisoner. “I heard you wanted to talk.”

  “I’ve had a change of heart.”

  “Glad to hear it. This is my associate, Martina Monroe, but I think you two have met.”

  “Martina Monroe,” he said, squinting his eyes curiously.

  “What did you want to talk to us about?”

  “I have decided to do the right thing and tell you what you want to know.”

  I lifted my hands. “Great, we’re all ears.”

  “Not so fast.” He sat up a little straighter in his chair. “I want to do what’s right, but I also want to do what’s right for me. I’m willing to talk for a price, of course.”

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Well, I’ve got some information that I think that you’ll want.”

  “What kind of information?”

  “Well, I believe earlier you asked me some questions. Now, I’m not admitting anything mind you, but you had asked me why I wanted to kill Theodore Gilmore, why I had broken into the veterinarian’s office, and why I had attacked Ms. Koltz here.”

  Was he losing his memory? Koltz was her maiden name - how did he know that? I exchanged glances with Martina before refocusing on Alonso. “I did ask those questions. Are you saying you may have answers to those questions?”

  “Not only that, sir, ma’am, but I may have additional information that may be useful to you both.”

  “Okay, what do you want?”

  “Immunity.”

  “What kind of immunity?”

  “Full immunity. I’m not the guy you really want. I’m a gentle soul who may or may not have committed terrible acts only at the behest of my employer. If you give me immunity, I’ll give you what you need to close your cases, and we can let bygones be bygones.”

  Was he delusional? He’d murdered a man. Did he really think he’d get full immunity with such vague statements? “You’ll need to provide more details to determine whether the information you give would warrant such generous compensation.”

  “Is your DA around?”

  “I could get the district attorney in here pretty fast. I’ve got him on speed dial.” Not true, but I could get him quick enough.

  “Good. Now, if I were to be able to tell you who may have asked me to attack and kill Ms. Koltz, murder Mr. Gilmore, and a few other things, would that be enough?”

  Why was he continuing to refer to Martina as Ms. Koltz? “Why do you keep referring to Martina as Ms. Koltz, when I’ve told you her name is Martina Monroe?”

  He glanced at Martina. “Oh, sorry, old habits die hard. Ms. Koltz is your maiden name, isn’t it?”

  I turned to look at Martina’s expression. She seemed as curious as I was. I had the distinct feeling he was dropping bread crumbs, but to what, I didn’t know. “That’s correct.”

  “How did you know that?” Martina asked.

  “I did my homework on you.” A Cheshire-cat grin spread up Alonso’s face, before he returned his focus to me.

  “Okay, let me make a call.”

  “I’ll stay here.” Alonso quipped.

  So, now he was chatty, funny Lonnie? I gestured to Martina to follow me out to the hallway.

  Out of earshot of the interview room, I faced Martina. “What do you think of this guy’s story?”

  “I’d bet he knows a lot more than he’s leading on. He seems pretty ticked off at whoever hired him. If we get him immunity, I think he’ll spill all the beans. Beans we don’t even know about.”

  “I agree. Let me call the DA and see what kind of terms we can get.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.” Martina leaned up against the wall as I dialed my office to get the number of the district attorney’s office and then spoke with a district attorney who had never heard of me, but had heard of the case. Thanks, pal, like I needed any more blows to my ego.

  I thanked him for the information and hung up the phone. I was now authorized to provide full immunity if Alonso had what we needed for a full conviction of his employer.

  I nodded at Martina, and we headed back into the interview room to share the good news with our pal, Lonnie. “The DA said that he will give you full immunity in exchange for the name of the person who hired you to attack Miss Monroe, break into the veterinarian’s office, and kill Theodore Gilmore. Besides naming the person, you’ll need to provide evidence that the transaction had taken place between you and that person. In other words - we need proof.”

  “What if I don’t have all the proof now, but can get it?”

  “That’ll work as long as it’s in a timely manner, which I would think is beneficial for both of us, considering this is your permanent address until you do.”

  “Understood. Let’s do it.”

  Adrenaline was pumping through me like I was in the middle of a 10K race. “Okay, let’s start with Theodore Gilmore. Why was he killed, and who asked you to kill him?”

  “Senator Frank Henley asked me to kill Theodore Gilmore after his wife, Charlotte, died. I think you may know by now that Charlotte was Frank’s sister. Frank was worried that Charlotte had told Theodore some sensitive information about the family, and he wanted to keep him quiet.”

  “Why now?”

  He looked over at Martina and then back at me. “After Charlotte’s Memorial, I bugged Mr. Gilmore’s house so I could listen to his conversations and assess how much he knew. A few days after Charlotte’s memorial, I listened as he told his daughter and Martina what he knew about Charlotte’s past. Although it wasn’t exactly accurate, Frank had a feeling he knew more, and that maybe he was just making up that story to placate his daughter. Frank thought it was too much of a risk to keep him alive and was convinced Charlotte had confided in him about the family.”

  “What about the family were they trying to hide?”

  “Look, I don’t know what he was looking for. I don’t know what this big family secret is but apparently Charlotte knew it, and Frank needed to ensure that she told no one and that it never became public.”

  “So, he asked you to kill Charlotte’s husband after she died so that he wouldn’t tell her family’s secret, and you don’t even know what the secret is?”

  “He never told me and I never asked.�
��

  “A good soldier,” Martina said.

  “I was.”

  “Until he left you behind,” I commented.

  Alonso shrugged, attempting to look tough, but there was hurt in his eyes. “Tell us about the break-in at the veterinarian’s office.”

  “You saw the video. It was me. I broke in to steal the drugs - ketamine and insulin - to kill Theodore Gilmore.”

  “Why did you attack Martina?”

  “It wasn’t personal. She was getting too close to the Henleys, and Frank didn’t like that she was talking to his little sister, Amy. He nearly flipped his lid when he found out. He didn’t like it one bit.”

  “So all of this was to keep some family secret? The Henley family secret. And you don’t even know what it is?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “And you have evidence that Frank hired you to do all of this?”

  “I have some, but I could get more and you’ll likely need more. If you can get him on the phone with a tap, I’ll get you all the evidence you need for a nice and tidy conviction against the senator.”

  Alonso was talking to save his own butt and frying Henley in the process. I didn’t blame him. Frank Henley burned Alonso the second he needed help. “This won’t be good for the senator’s reelection campaign.”

  “Or his run for president,” Alonso added.

  “All right, I’ll see what I can do with the wiretap. If you put it in writing, and we can corroborate your story, you’ll get full immunity. Until then, sit tight.”

  “And the immunity is for all crimes committed on behalf of Frank Henley?”

  “Yes.” Sure, why not.

  “All right.”

  I picked up my recorder from the table and glanced over at Martina as she stood up. Alonso leaned back in his chair. “Oh, before you go, I just wanted to say, Martina, you’ve done well for yourself. I’m impressed, but then again, you always were a firecracker.”