Mystery: Missing Rita: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery)

by James Kipling

  “No, I do not mean the body,” he answered. “I mean I have found her.”

  “But she is dead.”

  “No, she is not.”

  “I think you should get out of my house, this is a very sick joke,” Tracy answered and could feel anger boiling up inside her.

  “I know she is alive because I was with her, I helped stage the whole death and now know where she is.”

  “But her body disappeared from the morgue.”

  “That was not her.”

  “Whose was it?” Tracy asked confused.

  “That was her twin sister June,” Jack answered.

  Tracy let her weight slump down on the ground before letting out fits of giggles. She looked up at the man and thought of him as crazy.

  “The plot thickens,” she let out before looking up at him again and letting out a slight chuckle.

  “I knew you would not believe me,” he said calmly.

  “So how did you know Rita again?”

  “She was,” he answered. “I am sorry, it’s my girlfriend.”

  “Okay,” Tracy said after looking at the stranger for quite some time. She led him to the living room sofa and sat opposite him before crossing her arms across her chest and saying, “please start from the beginning.”

  “Like I said, Rita is still alive. She faked her own death.”

  “Why on earth would she do that?” Tracy asked but was lost in her own world for a minute before saying, “this is Rita we are talking about after all, so what you are trying to tell me is that Rita is alive?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Where is she?”

  “In hiding.”

  “Where?”

  “I can’t tell you that for now.”

  “If what you are saying is true,” Tracy said and moved closer to Jack, “that means you are only here because she screwed you over on a deal.”

  Jack shifted slightly in his seat before letting out a wicked grin. He nodded slightly in Tracy’s direction and said, “it seems like you know your sister all too well.”

  “All too well.”

  They stared at each other for sometime before Tracy looked her guest straight in the eye. As much as he was the bearer of disturbing news, she kept her calm and wished she could see right through him.

  “So you are either here to try and make a counter offer with me or to get yourself leverage if anything happens to you.”

  “She did say you are smart, you know.”

  “It runs in the family.”

  “I am beginning to see that,” Jack nodded.

  “So tell me about this twin sister of hers that died,” Tracy asked curiously.

  “Rita said that your mother told her she had a twin sister before she died.”

  “But we never communicated with that woman, I didn’t even know she is dead,” Tracy interrupted but remembered she had also not talked to Rita for the longest time either and she wouldn’t know of any communication between the two. “Go on.”

  “After the revelation she tracked her down and saw she was the exact replica of her. She however never made any contact with her until about a year ago, that was when she found out she had a breast cancer which she died of.”

  “Did she know Rita would use her body to her advantage?” Tracy asked. “I am sorry that kind of sounded sexual.”

  “Yes it did,” Jack answered before letting out a naughty grin and going on. “They agreed on a certain amount.”

  “Okay, so my question is this,” Tracy asked before settling well in her seat. “Why?”

  “Life insurance.”

  Tracy let out a wider grin and looked at Jack in the eye; it was all starting to make sense to her. She moved even closer to Jack with the grin still on her face and shook her head slightly.

  “How did you pull it off with June, I am sure the family must have been looking for her after her death,” Tracy asked.

  “That is why the body went missing from the morgue,” Jack explained. “After she died we had to delay the news to the family and took her back by stealing the body from the morgue.”

  “You had all this planned out,” Tracy pointed out. “So why now? Why are you backing out of the deal now?”

  “You know why.”

  “No I don’t,” Tracy answered. “How could I possibly know?”

  “Because you know your sister all too well like you mentioned,” Jack answered.

  “So she screwed you over? Is she planning to?”

  “She is planning to.”

  Tracy let out an unsympathetic laugh at the mention of this before looking at Jack straight in the face.

  “So what do you want from me?”

  “That is a topic of another day,” Jack answered and got to his feet unexpectedly. He started walking towards the door and Tracy was right behind him.

  “This conversation is not over,” Tracy complained.

  “It is, Miss Evans.”

  “Wait,” Tracy pleaded again and made him turn on his heel to face her. “I need proof, how will I know that Rita is indeed alive?”

  Jack looked at Tracy and took out his cell phone from his breast pocket.

  “Miss Evans, are you familiar with the current senator election going on in Michigan?”

  “Yes I am, but what has that got to do with anything?”

  “Are you aware that they made front page news yesterday?”

  “No, I am not aware of that,” Tracy answered.

  She watched as Jack scrolled through his cell phone and showed her a picture of what appeared to be Rita seated on a bench park with the newspaper in her hands. The headlines, just as Jack had stated, were the Michigan senatorial elections.

  “Now do you believe me?”

  “Barely,” Tracy sighed disgustedly. “That could be Photoshop.”

  “It could,” Jack nodded before pocketing his cell phone. “But think about what I have just told you, does it sound like something Rita could actually do?”

  These words were left ringing in her mind as Jack walked out of the living room and through the front door. He looked back at Tracy who was still standing her ground staring at him and let out a knowing smile.

  “I will be in touch Miss Evans,” were his last words before he left. Tracy could hear his soft footsteps echo in the hallway but her mind was not really fixed on it. She thought of what Jack had just told her and her mind started arcing through the details. As much as it made sense to her, Tracy still had her level of doubts. She placed a hand over her mouth and thought again about the reality of the matter.

  “Bitch is alive.”

  Chapter Five

  Dr. Mathews took in his surroundings and did not know how to react. He had never been held in custody before and from what he saw it was nothing like the many action and criminal movies he watched. The place was nothing short of filthy, the walls were all cracked and there was no proper ventilation in the room. The only thing that mimicked the movies was the table at the centre of the room with a light bulb hanging low. He was alone in the room, he felt cold but at the same time his palms were sticky with sweat. He tried to be comfortable in the chair but the constant squeaking it gave out made him give up on it. There was a tinted glass on the far end of the room where he assumed the rest of the officers will be watching his interrogation.

  The thought of an audience made Dr. Mathews relax, he pictured himself in a stage play where he was the main character and his work was to entertain. The idea sat well with him and when detective Lohan finally walked in, he looked calm and felt relaxed.

  And action, he thought to himself as soon as he sat on the chair opposite him.

  Detective Lohan had a file in one hand and a paper in the other. He too looked relaxed but was armed to the teeth with the hardest questions he could possibly imagine. He opened the file right in front of him and looked up in Dr. Mathew’s direction. He settled well in his seat and the doctor noticed that his did not squeak.

  “I am detective Lohan ,” he s
tarted without looking up from his file. “And I have a few questions for you.”

  “Dr Mathews,” detective Lohan started but was interrupted.

  “Peter is fine.”

  “Peter,” Lohan went on in the same serious tone. “You were the late Rita Sutter’s therapist were you not?”

  “Yes I was.”

  “Could you please tell me what you were doing at her house today?”

  “I was looking for something.”

  “What were you looking for Peter?”

  “A necklace.”

  “I see,” Lohan nodded and scribbled down a few things in his file. “What value does this necklace have for you?”

  “I gave it to Rita once,” Peter answered.

  “Peter, did your relationship with the late Miss Rita exceed that of doctor and patient?”

  “We were friends outside the office if that is what you mean.”

  Lohan shook his head slightly and looked up in Peter’s direction. He hated how settled he now was and looked for a few ways of making him squirm in his seat.

  “Did you have a sexual relationship with Rita Sutter?” Lohan asked bluntly.

  “Yes I did.”

  “Was the husband aware of this?”

  “Ex husband,” Peter corrected, “And no, he was not aware of it.”

  “What about Rita’s other lovers?”

  “What about them?”

  “Did they know about your relationship with Mrs. Sutter?”

  “No they did not know that,” Peter answered confidently.

  “Do you know them, sir?”

  “Know who?”

  “Her other lovers by any chance?” Lohan inquired.

  “No, I do not know them.”

  “So you wouldn’t really know if they knew about your relationship or not?”

  “Now that you put it like that,” Peter started to answer but was interrupted with Lohan who took out a few papers from his file and placed them in front of him.

  “These are the men who Rita Sutter was having a sexual relationship with while still seeing you.”

  The look on Peter’s face slowly passed from calm to shock and back to calm again.

  “From the look on your face I don’t think you knew that,” Lohan pointed out.

  “No sir, I did not.”

  “Why were you in the house, Peter?”

  “I told you I was looking for a necklace.”

  “Why? What for?” Lohan probed on.

  “There was a necklace I gave Rita when we were still together,” Peter explained. “I wanted to make sure it was on her before she gets buried that is if you manage to find the body.”

  “I do not believe that.”

  “You do not have to.”

  Peter then shifted slightly in his seat and gathered up some courage.

  “Detective why am I here? What am I being charged with?”

  Lohan seemed to be taken aback by the question and he considered Peter’s newfound confidence.

  “Interfering with a police crime scene.”

  “Is that all? Is that why I’m being questioned?”

  “We now have reason to believe that you had something to do with the death of Rita Sutter.”

  “Based on what evidence?”

  Lohan did not like how the tables had been turned against him and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He looked at Peter and saw the bright fire burning in his eyes.

  “We just found you in the deceased’s house,” Lohan answered. “That to me is reason enough.”

  “And I have explained myself and given a good reason as to why I was in the premises,” Peter sat up feeling more confident. “Look detective, you are merely clutching on straws here because you do not have any suspect on the case. We both know you need a lot more than me being found in a crime scene for me to be regarded as a person of interest. For instance, you did not find me with the murder weapon neither was my DNA on the dead body.”

  “You are not the first person we have brought in here who watches too much Crime TV,” Lohan said before getting to his feet. “I will be right back Peter.”

  “I will be right here sir, I can’t go anywhere.”

  Lohan walked out of the room and straight to where Sam was standing in the viewing room.

  “You know he is right,” Sam said. “We do not have much on him.”

  “I know.”

  “But I know he is hiding something, there is something about that so called necklace he was talking about,” Lohan said and was deep in thought. He wanted to say something else but was interrupted by a young police officer who came looking for Sam.

  “There is someone here to see you, Sam,” he said. “Says it’s urgent.”

  “Did the person leave a name?”

  “Tracy Evans,” the police answered.

  “I will be right there, thank you.”

  “You go handle that,” Lohan said and looked at Peter through the tinted glass. “I will handle Mr. Smart Pants.”

  Lohan watched as Sam walked away and wondered what Tracy had come to see him for. He looked at Peter through the glass again and analyzed him, there was something he was hiding and he couldn’t really tell what exactly it was. He went on to look at him and an idea came to him.

  “I have a good deal for you,” he said.

  “I’m all ears.”

  Lohan had returned to the room and walked back to where he had originally sat. He placed the files back on the table and looked straight in his eyes.

  “Do you have a photo of the necklace you were looking for?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact I do,” Peter answered.

  “This is what will happen,” he went on. “You will get us a photo of the necklace and proof of a receipt of it and I will let you walk home.”

  “Okay,” Peter answered more confidently. “I will need a phone to have the items you need delivered here to the station.”

  “I know that.”

  Lohan got to his feet and started heading out of the room. He got to the door and gave Peter a knowing look before saying.

  “An officer will come get you,” he said to him. “You will be able to make a phone call then. Until then try and remain comfortable.

  “I will try.”

  Lohan walked out of the interrogation room and headed back to his office, he walked in on Tracy Evans seated opposite Sam and the first thing he noticed was the change in appearance.

  “Good afternoon Miss Evans,” he said and walked over to his seat. His eyes were still glued on her as he took his seat.

  “Good afternoon, sir,” Tracy replied with a faint smile before turning her attention to Sam.

  “Tracy here was just telling me very interesting news,” Sam blurted out.

  “I love interesting news.”

  Lohan said these words and sat up to listen more keenly to what Tracy would say next. She fidgeted with her palms before looking at both Lohan and Sam.

  “Someone visited me today,” Tracy started all along not maintaining any eye contact with either of them. “He said his name was Jack and he had very disturbing news.”

  “I also like disturbing news,” Lohan said and settled well in his seat.

  “He said that Rita my sister is still alive.”

  The news both caught the attention of both them and they stared at her with blank expressions on their faces. Tracy went on to narrate what Jack had just told her and the shock was clear on their faces.

  “How long ago was this?” Lohan asked.

  “About two hours ago,” Tracy said after looking at her wrist watch to confirm the fact.

  “Does you apartment building have surveillance?”

  “No it does not,” Tracy answered.

  Lohan combed his hand through his very little hair before scratching his bald head and turning his attention to Sam.

  “What do you think?” he asked a very silent Sam.

  Sam looked in Tracy’s direction as if to weigh the words she had just blurted o
ut of her mouth.

  “Do you think it is possible?” he asked Tracy. “Do you think your sister could actually do something like that?”

  “I honestly would not put it past her,” Tracy answered.

  Lohan immediately got to his feet without warning and let out a knowing smile. He then started walking out of the office but was stopped midway by Sam.

  “Where are you going?” Sam asked his partner.

  “If there is anyone who knows Rita better than anyone else, it should be the therapist.”

  “Dr. Mathews is here?” Tracy asked in a shocked tone but no one answered her. She waited for him to walk out of the room before turning her attention to Sam.

  “I have something to tell you,” Tracy said.

  “I am all ears.”

  “The other day after we left Dr. Mathews office, I followed him,” Tracy began. “And he had very interesting things to tell me.”

  Sam leaned closer to Tracy and scrutinized her, he had a feeling whatever she was about to say would be very interesting.

  “Go on.”

  “Back in my modeling days before Rita stole my man from me we were very close.”

  “Okay,” Sam said encouragingly as he relaxed more in chair.

  “Rita took care of my finances as I slowly started becoming successful,” Tracy went on to explain. “We opened a joint savings account, at that time Rita was in control of it. I later forgot about it until recently when Dr. Mathews reminded me about it. He said Rita had still been saving and now that she is dead.”

  “You are the only one with access to it because you are co-owner of the account,” Sam finished the sentence for her.

  “So what is in it for the good doctor?”

  “He wants a cut,” Tracy replied.

  Sam looked at Tracy straight in the eye and could tell she was telling the truth simply based on his own opinion and nothing else. He however remembered what Lohan had constantly told him about familiarizing too much with the victim and started to question his conclusion. He sat up in his seat and went on to look at Tracy without saying much.

  “Why are you telling me this now?”

  Sam leaned closer after asking the question and saw Tracy quiver.

  “Why didn’t you come to me with this before?” he asked again but did not wait for Tracy to answer him. He instead let out a chuckle and looked in the direction Lohan had used as he left the office. “You just heard my partner mention him and it got you stirred, lest he throw you under the bus.”