I swallowed back the lump in my throat.
“So,” he continued. “I’ll mail this out to you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Dave.”
After hanging up, I sat down in the kitchen and put my head in my hands. While I was relieved that our financial problems would be taken care of, the fact that Scott was gone seemed more real than ever.
I spent the rest of the day looking through old photo albums, trying to bring back better memories. Unfortunately, it made things worse. By the time I’d made it through the first album, the one showing our wedding, I was a wreck.
I pushed the albums aside and decided to take a shower before my mom arrived back with the kids. When I finished, I put my robe on and stepped back into my bedroom. It was then that I noticed my mother had left a message for me to call her.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Oh, this rental car,” she huffed. “One of the tires is completely flat. We’re at the mall, waiting for the rental company to bring me out a new car.”
“Would you like me to pick up the kids?” I asked.
“No,” she replied. “As soon as they make the switch, I’m taking them to a movie. We’re going to that new Batman movie.”
I smiled; it must have been Jeremy’s idea. “Okay.”
“Would you like to meet us?”
“No thanks, mom. Have fun.”
“I will. Even grandmothers can appreciate a tight-fitting costume like Batman’s.”
“I’m sure,” I said.
“Well, we’ll see you later.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Molly and Henry wanted to take the kids overnight.”
“Okay,” she said. “With that in mind, we’ll come home right after the movie so the kids can each pack an overnight bag. Then I’ll drive them over myself. I haven’t seen Molly since Caroline’s wedding and should pay my respects.”
“Thanks, mom.”
“No problem at all.”
I hung up and slipped on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. Then, I made myself a glass of iced coffee and sat down on the porch with my Kindle. As I took a sip, I noticed a car pull up to Jake’s house. I watched as a tall blonde got out of her car. She wore a tight black skirt and a blue short-sleeved blouse that showed off her perfect, model-like body. She walked up to Jake’s door and began knocking. After getting no response, she stormed back to her car with an angry scowl on her face.
I took another drink of my coffee just as she noticed me on the porch. When she moved away from her car and towards my house, I groaned inwardly, wondering what in the hell she wanted.
“Excuse me!” she called, raising her hand in greeting.
“Yes?” I asked as she stopped at the bottom of the steps.
“Would you happen to know if your neighbor has been home recently?”
I cleared my throat. “Well, he was home last night.”
“Hmm…I wonder if I should wait around for him,” she mumbled, turning to look back at his house.
“I think he may have gone out of town,” I said. “For some case he’s working on.”
She raised her eyebrows. “A case?”
I nodded.
“He actually told you he was working on ‘a case’?” she asked.
“Why, is that strange?” I asked.
She snorted. “Because he hasn’t been working for the past few months and owes me a lot of money. At least that’s what he told me. No wonder he’s been avoiding my phone calls.”
I straightened up. “Really?”
She folded her arms under her chest. “Yeah. Apparently he’s forgotten that he has a five-year-old son who needs food and clothing.”
“He has a son?” I asked, stunned.
She nodded. “That’s right. If you see him, tell him his ex, Connie, stopped by and I’m royally fucking pissed. If he wants to see Michael anymore, he’d better pay up. My job doesn’t cover all of our son’s expenses.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “So, you’re his ex-wife?”
She smiled bitterly. “Well, almost ex. He refuses to sign the paperwork. I’ve tried divorcing the bastard several times, but he doesn’t like giving up his ‘possessions’, I guess.”
I stared at her in astonishment as she turned and stomped away.
Chapter Twenty-seven
When the initial shock finally wore off, I went into the house and called Jake’s cell phone, pissed as all hell, but of course, he didn’t answer. I had a feeling he’d already gotten another voicemail from Connie after our conversation, and was now avoiding me. Whatever kind of game he was playing, I really wanted no part of.
Needing someone who’d listen to my rants willingly, I tried calling Darcy, but she didn’t answer. I left her a message to call me back as soon as possible.
Feeling completely vexed about everything happening in my life, I paced around the house for the next couple of hours, trying to make sense of it all. When Darcy hadn’t returned my calls and the sun started going down, I grabbed my keys and decided to go for a drive. I left the house without having any kind of destination in mind. I just wanted to get away from everything and clear my mind.
Not an easy task.
By the time I made it halfway through town, I was fuming again and had to force myself not to call Jake’s cell phone and let him have it. Instead, I tried Darcy once again, but there still was still no answer. It was now beginning to worry me; it never took her this long to call me back.
Sighing, I turned my SUV towards her apartment and was relieved when I noticed her car in the parking lot.
I shut off my engine and went inside to try and buzz her apartment, but she didn’t respond. Fortunately, her friendly neighbor from across the hall let me in as she was walking out.
I took the elevator up to Darcy’s and knocked on the door several times. I could hear her stereo playing, but as many times as I knocked, she still wouldn’t answer.
“Darcy?” I called. “It’s Linds, open up!”
After several attempts, I turned the knob and found that it was unlocked. I swung the door open and poked my head through. “Darcy?”
No answer.
Her apartment was dark as I entered. I shut the door behind me and turned on the hallway light.
“Max?” I hollered.
Still not getting a response from anyone, I walked into her family room, but found it empty. I then turned and went to search her bedroom. The door was closed when I approached it.
“Darcy?” I asked, knocking loudly. “It’s me.”
No answer.
Worried and not caring anymore if I was about to interrupt some kind of passionate interlude, I opened the door and found the light on.
“Hello?” I called, peeking into her bedroom. When I noticed the stacks of clothing on her mattress, I sighed in relief.
She must be doing laundry somewhere in the building.
As I was about to turn and walk away, I noticed the door to her private bathroom was closed and the mauve carpet surrounding it was sopping wet. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up as I walked towards the door.
“Darcy?” I called, knocking on the door.
No answer but I could definitely hear water running from inside.
Alarmed, I knocked harder. “Darcy, are you okay?!”
Still not getting any kind of answer, I turned the knob and stepped inside.
“No!” I gasped, rushing towards her bathtub. “Oh, my God!”
The oversized porcelain tub was overflowing with water and looking up at me with vacant eyes, was my very best friend.
“Darcy!” I choked.
Someone had placed a large, metal barbell over her neck to hold her down and her hands were cuffed in front of her pale, naked body.
Crying, I tried lifting the barbell, but it was much too heavy. Feeling helpless, I stood up and backed away, realizing in horror that she’d obviously been murdered.
Sobbing hysterically, I grabbed my cell phone and ca
lled nine-one-one.
“Stay calm, ma’am,” said the operator. Someone should be there shortly.
“Okay,” I hiccupped.
By the time the police arrived, I’d stopped crying but was still in shock. My husband had been murdered and now my dearest friend.
Oh God, poor Max!
He adored his mother and would be totally devastated. My heart ached for the little boy who had been trying to adjust to his parents’ divorce and now had to live without the love of his mother. I felt like I was in a living nightmare that kept growing and claiming new victims.
After the police took my statement, I called my mother and left her a message to call me back. As I hung up, the detectives working on Scott’s case stepped through the door.
“Mrs. Shepard,” murmured Parker, with a grim expression. “I’d hoped to never meet with you under similar circumstances. I’m terribly sorry to hear about your friend.”
I nodded and wiped my face. “I know. I just don’t understand what’s going on.”
Franklin’s eyes narrowed. “Well, it’s probably safe to say that these two deaths are related. I think we need to sit down again and try to figure out what the hell is going on.”
“I know,” I sniffed. “My best friend and husband have been murdered, my kids threatened. I just don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
Parker raised his eyebrows. “Your kids were threatened?”
Crap.
I sighed. “Yes. I guess we need to talk about that, too.”
The two cops looked at each other and then turned back to me.
“You have something to tell us?” asked Parker.
“I don’t know for certain but I think I might have an idea of who’s behind these murders,” I said.
Chapter Twenty-eight
I sat down with the two detectives and started from the beginning, telling them about my first encounter with Tina, the confrontation with Jerry, and getting threatened by an unknown assailant. The only thing I left out was Jake’s involvement.
“So, someone broke into your home and threatened you, and that was before your husband was murdered?” said Parker.
I crossed my arms under my chest. “I was frightened. The man threatened the lives of my children.”
“You should have called the police,” said Franklin with a disapproving look. “Now two people are dead.”
I sighed. “But Jerry is a cop and I believe the man who threatened me is, too.”
“Do you know this Jerry’s last name?” asked Parker, writing in his notepad.
“Actually, I guess I don’t,” I said. “I know he’s a cop only because I saw him in uniform.”
“You have the address for him and his wife, Tina?” asked Franklin.
I told them the street and a description of the townhome. “It’s the one for sale. You know, I’m not even sure if they’re still living there. In fact, I heard that he might be staying in the hospital right now. That he recently had surgery.”
“Really?” asked Parker. “So, he’d probably have an alibi tonight, if that’s the case.”
I nodded. “Probably, but he has someone else doing his dirty work for him, anyway.”
“We’ll try and locate Jerry and his wife,” said Franklin.
I frowned. “What if his goon comes after me or my kids? Now that I’ve reported it to you guys, we’re sitting ducks.”
Parker scratched his head. “We’ll get you some protection. I’ll appoint a couple of officers to watch over your family for the next couple of weeks or until we crack this case.”
I sighed. “Thank you.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to add?” asked Franklin.
“Well, Darcy told me that she had a date tomorrow night,” I said. “Some guy she met on an online dating site.”
Parker nodded and scratched his dark blonde stubbly chin. “Interesting. Do you know which site she used?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Well, we’ll be going through her computer and files to see if there’s anything that might help locate her killer. I’m sure we’ll figure out the dating site as well.”
“By the way,” I said. “Did you talk to those women I told you about? The ones my husband was messing around with?”
Franklin nodded. “Yes, and they both have alibis for the night your husband was murdered.”
“Figures,” I said.
Parker sighed. “Interestingly enough, they don’t deny the sexual relationship one bit. The two women live together and own a pretty successful shoe business. It appears that your husband was working on some new advertising gimmick for them.”
“It wasn’t all he was working on,” I said, looking down at my wedding ring, wondering why I hadn’t yet removed it.
“The women were definitely on their own agenda,” said Franklin. “At first glance, you’d take them for a couple of straight-laced gals, but once we started asking questions, they pretty much boasted about their sexual exploits. They’re a little strange, but you can’t arrest them for that.”
“Bummer,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s all you have for us?” asked Parker.
I sighed. “I don’t know. If there is anything else, I’ll call you.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to make a couple of phone calls so you’ll have someone watching your house. Meanwhile, keep the rest of your family in tow,” said Parker.
“You mentioned phone calls earlier. I’m going to have your phone tapped, just in case it brings us any leads,” said Franklin.
I raised my cell phone. “Speaking of phone calls, I still have one of the numbers in my cell phone; the number of the woman who called and eventually texted me.”
“Could you find that for us?” asked Parker.
I scrolled through my call history until I reached the number in question. “This is the only one that doesn’t pop up as a ‘private’ number,” I said.
Parker took the phone from me. “This might be a break. As far as the unlisted numbers, we can get that information from the phone company.”
“So, um…are you going to call that number?” I asked as he wrote it down.
Parker shook his head. “Not yet. I want to put a trace on the number and see whose it is before I even think about calling them. If they’re connected to these murders, they might bolt if we don’t do this right.”
“Chances are they dumped that number anyway,” said Franklin. “They’d have to be complete idiots to kill someone and leave their phone number out there for us to find.”
“I’m almost positive it was Jerry’s wife, Tina,” I said.
“Well, leave it to us. We’ll check out this Jerry character and see if we can come up with something,” said Franklin.
“Mrs. Shepard, this isn’t an easy question to ask, but I have to do it,” said Parker.
I sighed. “No, I did not kill my best friend, Detective.”
“Thanks for that, although it isn’t the question I had in mind. My question is, did Darcy and Scott have any kind of sexual relationship?”
I stared at him in horror. “No. Darcy was my best friend!” I paused, feeling my eyes fill up with tears. “She would never do something like that.”
“Was there anyone else she may have had a sexual relationship with?” asked Franklin.
I smiled bitterly. “No. She was pretty loyal to Herbie, actually.”
Parker’s eyebrows shot up. “Herbie?”
I wiped away another tear and smiled bitterly. “Forget it, private joke.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
“Mom,” I said into my cell phone twenty minutes later as I sat in Darcy’s parking lot. “Where are you?”
“We just got home. My cell phone died, I’m sorry I missed your call, dear. What’s going on?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It’s Darcy,” I squeaked. “She’s been murdered.”
There was a sharp intake of breath and then she moaned. “No! Darcy? How? Why?
”
“I don’t know, exactly,” I sniffed, cradling the phone on my shoulder while I reached for a tissue. “It might be related to Scott’s death.”
“For the love of God, Lindsey! You need to go the police or the FBI. This isn’t something you can just run and hide from.”
I sighed. “I know. I spoke to the detectives on Scott’s case and they know about it now. Which reminds me, we’ll be under surveillance for a while by the police, to make sure we’re protected.”
“What about Jake’s guy?”
I snorted. “I doubt Jake really had a guy watching out for us.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because, I’ve caught him in a couple of lies so I don’t really believe anything he’s told me.”
“Really? He seemed like such a nice man, too. He even stopped by when we arrived home from the movie tonight.” she said.
My throat went dry. “What?”
Jake was back?
“Yes. He was looking for you. I didn’t know exactly where you were and he seemed quite agitated when I told him that.”
“Well, he has my number, too,” I said.
“He told me that someone stole his cell phone and that he didn’t know your number by heart yet.”
Right.
“Well, I’ll be home, soon. I have a few things to say to him, actually.”
“Poor Darcy,” sighed my mother. “I just can’t believe it. First Scott and now her? I’m really frightened, Lindsey.”
“It’ll be okay,” I told her, although I was quite scared myself.
“Oh, somebody’s at the door. I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Wait, mom! Don’t…”
Click.
I sighed as the phone went dead. “Crap,” I mumbled, tossing my phone onto the passenger seat. Now that things were getting much more dangerous, I didn’t want her just answering the door for anyone. But knowing my mother, she’d throw the door open and invite the person in with a friendly smile.
When I reached my house, I noticed that Jake’s lights were on. Part of me was happy that I’d get the chance to have it out with him; the other was somewhat scared of the actual confrontation. I’d always avoided conflict until I was forced to face it and even now I debated on just simply giving him the cold shoulder.
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