Rubio’s lawyer did his best to discredit the witnesses, then had argued that his client couldn’t have been the rapist. The rape had taken place inside a groundskeeper’s shed on the property of a public park. It was within sight of a small lake.
“My client nearly drowned in such a lake when he was a boy of seven, Your Honor. The incident left him terrified of bodies of water. I submit a signed statement from a psychologist who attempted in vain to cure Mr. Rubio of this phobia several years ago. The treatment failed, and my client remains panicked near water deep enough to drown in. So, as is obvious, there is no way my client could be the child’s rapist. He would have been too traumatized by the nearby lake to even be in the area.”
The judge didn’t buy it, and neither did the jury, and Craig Rubio had gone to prison.
Jason admitted that he had obtained a copy of the trial transcript. He had been thinking of killing Craig Rubio for years, since Lila committed suicide. That single desire for vengeance festered in his mind. It later grew and developed into an intricate plot to kill all of the sexual offenders he had heard discussed, while listening from inside the basement closet in Dr. McNamara’s home.
That plan merged with a similar desire for vengeance against Richard Behan, the man Jason blamed for his father’s disgrace and suicide. By placing the blame on someone else, as he did with Behan’s son-in-law, a man accused of being a wife beater, Jason was certain that he would never be a suspect in Behan’s demise.
He admitted “deep regret” over the deaths of the crime scene techs and police officers killed by his bomb.
When asked about Miranda Marx, Jason said that she was murdered out of desperation. He had fallen in love with Heather Gray, the woman whom he had chosen to take the fall for the murders. He had to make it look like Ted Marx was guilty instead, if he was to keep Heather out of prison.
“She didn’t suffer. I struck Miranda from behind as she was letting me into her home. I told her I was there with a message from Mr. Marx. I think she died without knowing it.”
Erica had taken it all in from the rear of the courtroom. Heather had not attended the sentencing. Erica thought that was a good sign that Heather may have moved on. Despite Jason’s professed feelings for Heather, the man had set out to ruin her, and all because his feelings were hurt. From all accounts, Heather had been unpleasant as a teen and treated Jason horribly.
She had also been a victim of rape and a girl battling addiction and self-loathing. As an intelligent and well-read adult, Jason should have recognized this, even more so once Heather had apologized to him. She had come to him to ask forgiveness and to say she was sorry for her past behavior. In response, Jason had decided to seek revenge against her as well. Erica hoped he truly had grown to love Heather; it would make his forced separation from her all the more painful.
Dr. McNamara was there. She had been interviewed on air once since Jason’s arrest. The doctor stated that Jason should be looked at as a hero for murdering the sexual predators. When she was reminded that Jason had murdered two police officers, the doctor shrugged, as if their lives were of no consequence. She then said, “The cops made themselves expendable by putting on a badge. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Her cavalier attitude toward the deaths of the officers, and her innate dislike for law enforcement personnel caused several commentators to excoriate her. It was also pointed out that Jason had killed two crime scene techs as well, not to mention Richard Behan and Dave Feldman. Those last two victims were a result of Jason’s greed. By killing Behan, he had sought to prosper financially.
The book deal Dr. McNamara had been counting on fell through, and the licensing board had her under review and were considering suspending her license. They had apparently become aware of the video showing her acts of petty theft involving her neighbor’s newspaper. Between that and her comments, Erica didn’t think the doctor was fit to treat young women suffering from sexual trauma. When a reporter dug into the doctor’s past while visiting her relatives, she uncovered a family secret. The doctor may have been molested herself as a girl, through the incestuous attention of an uncle; an uncle who had been a police officer. If true, Erica felt sympathy for the woman. Perhaps the doctor needed therapy herself.
To Erica’s surprise, Ted Marx wasn’t present. Oddly, Erica found that she had been looking forward to seeing him again. While riding in a cab back to the airport, she received a call from a New York City cop she had become friendly with, and whom she had spoken with at Jason’s sentencing. The call explained Marx’s absence from the legal proceedings. The reason shocked Erica so much that she nearly dropped the phone.
Ted Marx was dead. The thirty-eight-year-old star had passed away overnight of a heart attack while in bed. The preliminary report from the coroner stated that Ted Marx had likely never felt any pain and died in his sleep. Erica remembered a conversation she’d had with Marx. He had stated that he hoped he wouldn’t suffer when it was his turn to die. He hadn’t. As Marx often said, he’d always been lucky.
Erica changed her flight plans and stayed in the city. There was a mystery to solve. Marx’s live-in housekeeper wasn’t the only one in his apartment at the time of his death. There was also a child, a female toddler of three.
A translator had to be summoned to the scene to get the story from Hinata, the housekeeper, who only spoke Japanese. Hinata explained that the child was the daughter of Mr. Marx’s friends, but gave no explanation why the child was staying with Marx. She explained that the toddler’s parents were tenants in the same apartment building, but that they were away on an overnight trip. Hinata stated that she was hired to clean, cook, and care for the little girl, who was named Hannah. When asked how often Hannah stayed with Marx, Hinata stated that it was rare when Hannah wasn’t there.
Erica arrived at the apartment after Hinata had been detained for questioning and the child was with protective services.
On this visit to Marx’s apartment, the room with the small bed was intact. There were toys everywhere, many that were stuffed animals. The dresser drawers were filled with clothing, and there were also pictures on the wall.
One in particular caught Erica’s eye. It was a large photo of Marx and Hannah. The girl was giving Marx a big smooch on the cheek, and Ted Marx had never looked happier. Other photos displayed Marx and Hannah, and in each the little girl was happy and grinning, as was Ted Marx.
Hannah loved Marx, and it was obvious that Marx had cherished the child.
As she looked at the photos, Erica recalled something that she had come across during the investigation. Her mind worked at putting the pieces together but found a huge gap in the puzzle. The pieces constituting that gap fell into place once Hannah’s parents came forward.
Their names were Martin and Simone Rivers. They had adopted Hannah privately and lived on a lower floor in Marx’s building. At least, that was how it looked on paper. In reality, they had been paid by Ted Marx to fill the role of Hannah’s parents, while he actually raised the girl.
Martin Rivers had been a childhood friend of Ted Marx, or Teddy as he called him.
“Teddy always wanted to have children; later on, he discovered he was infertile. He tried all kinds of cures and nothing happened. When Hannah’s mother became pregnant, she approached Teddy and claimed that he was the father. Although he knew it couldn’t have been him, Teddy accepted responsibility.”
“And he chose you and your wife to come forward as the adopted parents?” Erica asked.
“Yes, we met with the young woman and played our parts. Teddy handled the rest. We are Hannah’s legal guardians and parents, but we rarely see her, and… we really don’t want to raise her.”
Erica nodded. “I think I know someone who will.”
Heather arrived at Marx’s apartment building at Erica’s request. She had heard that Ted Marx had passed away from a heart attack and said the news had shocked her.
Erica was pleased to see that Heather looked healt
hy. It seemed evident that she had not started drinking again.
“Why did you want to meet me here, Agent Novac? Does this have something to do with Ted’s death?”
“His death has brought something to light, and it involves you.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong; I swear. I’m just trying to get through each day.”
Erica reached out and placed a comforting hand on Heather’s arm. “This is a good thing, Heather.”
“What’s a good thing?”
“Come on, ride with me on the elevator; there’s someone you need to meet.”
Heather looked confused, but she did as asked. The Rivers lived on the third floor. When Erica stepped off, Heather hesitated, but then followed.
“I thought we were going up to Ted’s apartment.”
Erica turned and spoke to her. She needed to prepare Heather.
“We’re going to visit a couple named Martin and Simone.”
Heather blinked rapidly at hearing the names, then asked, “Martin and Simone Rivers?”
“Yes, the couple that adopted your baby years ago.”
“Ted said that they lived in California.”
“They moved here after the adoption, as part of the deal they made with Marx.”
“What deal, and what about my baby? Is the baby all right?”
“She’s fine, Heather, and you’ll be seeing her too.”
“I… I’m not supposed to. It was part of the agreement I signed when they adopted her.”
“Did you ever regret going through with the adoption?”
Tears sprang to Heather’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
“Every day, I think about her every day, and I wonder if she’s happy.”
“There’s a lot to explain, but yes, Hannah has been loved, and she’s happy. But she’s recently lost someone who meant the world to her; she’ll need someone to take his place.”
“Oh, that’s sad, but wait, you said her name is Hannah?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve always loved that name.”
Erica smiled. “Let’s go see your daughter.”
Little Hannah Rivers reached up to brush away Heather’s tears as they were introduced.
“Why are you crying?”
“Because I’m so happy to meet you,” Heather said.
“I cry sometimes when I’m happy too,” Hannah said, as she reached out to stroke Heather’s hair. “You have hair like mine, and your eyes are blue too.”
“Yes,” Heather said. “We look a lot alike.”
That was an understatement. Three-year-old Hannah was a miniature version of Heather. Erica had taken one look at the child’s photo in Marx’s apartment and knew who her mother had to be.
Ted Marx, womanizer, had a hidden passion to be a father, the one thing life had denied him. He went out of his way to make that dream come true.
Erica wished Heather luck and soon boarded a plane to fly back to DC. There was a new serial killer who had claimed four victims, and she and Brad Owens were being tasked with stopping him.
Erica read the file Owens had sent her about the slayings. The hunt was on once more. And as the plane lifted off the tarmac, Erica awaited the flight of the butterflies within her.
ERICA & OWENS RETURN!
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THE APPOINTMENT KILLER
Copyright © REMINGTON KANE, 2019
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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