Brooklyn Body: The Madison Knox Brooklyn Mystery Series (Book 3)

by M. Z. Kelly

Amy’s forehead tightened as she turned in the direction of the nurses across from us. “What did you just say?” she asked one of them.

  The nurse apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

  “It’s okay. I just need to know what you said. It was something about Dr. Palmer.”

  “You haven’t heard?”

  Amy shook her head.

  “He didn’t come to work yesterday. When they went to check on him at his home, they found his body. He was murdered.”

  ***

  “Listen to me, you nitwit,” Amy said into her phone. She had Mojo on the line as we rushed to the car. “Jonathan Raines’ father was murdered last night, and there’s a good chance his son was behind it. You’ve got to get out of there.”

  Amy had put the call on speaker, and we heard Mojo saying to someone, “Maybe I should come back another time. I was just reminded that I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”

  There was a muffled sound before we heard a man say, “Get in here.”

  “Mojo, did you hear me?” Amy said into her phone. When there was no response, she told me, “The call was dropped.”

  “Or someone ended it, as in Raines,” I said. “We’ve got to get over there.”

  As I pulled out of the parking lot, Amy said, “You think I should call the police?”

  “Yes. I don’t think we have any choice. Mojo could be in extreme danger.”

  Amy was mumbling something about idiot and dummy as she made the call.

  We were on the highway, less than fifteen minutes from Raines’ house, when Amy ended the call.

  “What did the police say?” I asked.

  “They’ll send a unit, when they have one available. There’s some kind of accident over on Remington Avenue.”

  I pushed the gas pedal to the floor. “Hold on. This could get crazy.”

  SIXTY

  The drive to Jonathan Raines’ house took us less than ten minutes, only because I managed to break every traffic law in the city, including running several red lights. My injured wrist was killing me, but I gritted my teeth and pushed on.

  As we turned down the street where Raines lived, Amy said, “You think Mojo is worth us risking our necks?”

  I glanced at her. “Probably not, but it’s the right thing to do.”

  She sighed. “I guess you’re right.” She glanced up the road. “That’s Mojo’s car. Park behind it.”

  I did as she suggested, and we made our way up to the porch of the small house. The afternoon was windy and cold. I wrapped my coat tighter around myself as we stopped and listened. We heard voices from inside the residence, one of them angry.

  Amy knocked on the door and called out, “Animal control! We’ve had reports that you’re abusing your dog! Open up!”

  I looked at her, mouthing the word what?

  She shrugged. “It’s all I could think of on short notice, and Mojo is a mutt.”

  The voices inside the residence grew louder, and we heard Mojo calling out for help. I moved Amy aside, drew my weapon, and opened the door.

  We found Raines in the living room, holding Mojo at gunpoint. He was a tall young man, with a pasty complexion and acne scars.

  “Police,” I said to Raines, stepping inside the house, with Amy behind me. “Drop the weapon.”

  He continued to point the gun at Mojo, even as he glanced at Amy and me. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “We know everything that’s been happening,” Amy said. “You murdered Jessie Walker, dumped her in the landfill. And there were other patients you killed, before you murdered your own father.”

  A half-smile formed on Raines’ lips as he said something that confirmed he was mentally deranged. “They were suffering. I saved them from that fate. You should thank me.”

  “Thank you?” Amy said. “How ‘bout we just tell it like it is: You’re freaking crazy. Drop the gun.”

  Raines didn’t move, still holding his weapon on Mojo, who was trembling. There was movement behind us. I glanced over, realizing that two officers had come through the doorway with their guns drawn. One of them called out, “Police! Drop the weapons!”

  “I’m an officer,” I said. “This man is responsible for several murders.”

  The distraction was enough to cause Mojo to seize the opportunity. He ducked down, then began crawling his way over to Amy and me.

  Amy and I were reaching out to him as Raines moved his weapon in our direction. That movement was enough for the two officers to realize our lives were in jeopardy. They opened fire, cutting Jonathan Raines down where he stood.

  As the officers went over to check on Raines, I looked down, realizing that Mojo had pulled Amy down to him. He was on top of her and had grabbed ahold of her breast.

  She pushed him off and stood up. “What the fuwk do you think you’re doing?” she said, trying to get to her feet.

  “You just saved my life,” Mojo said. “I was trying to thank you.”

  Amy huffed out a breath. “It’s a good thing I ain’t armed. If I had a gun, you’d be dead too.”

  SIXTY-ONE

  Amy, Mojo, and I spent most of the afternoon at Jonathan Raines’ house, debriefing the investigators on the afternoon’s events and telling them what we knew about their dead perp. A forensic team had arrived and found a couple shallow graves in the back yard, likely patients from the hospital whose suffering had been ended at the hands of Raines.

  We learned that Raines had been in and out of several psychiatric hospitals over the years. The investigators speculated that he believed he’d been chosen by God to eliminate suffering from the world. It was apparent that when Jessie Walker and Grady Winston tried to expose what he had been doing, they had paid the ultimate price.

  As we were leaving Raines’ house, Mojo told Amy, “I believe I should be compensated for hazardous duty. Five hundred should be adequate, for now.”

  Amy fixed her glowing eyes on him. “I should have you arrested for sexual battery, you perv.”

  I found forty dollars in my purse and handed it over. “That’s the current scale for hazardous duty. Try not to blow it on hookers, and help my aunt and uncle with their rent.”

  Mojo tucked the bills in his pocket. “I’ll do just that, but I need a drink before going home. Would you lovely ladies care to join me?”

  “You’re as crazy as that Raines idiot if you think that’s gonna happen,” Amy said, pushing him out of the way as we headed for the car. She said to me, “Let’s stop at Trader Joe’s. I could use a little something to erase the memory of a boob grabbing my boob.”

  We got home just as Max did. As we settled in on the sofa, I asked her how things had gone with the opening of the new Precinct Blue headquarters.

  “It was about what you’d expect. Lots of political talk about the new direction the department’s taking, trying to work with staff on professionalism. They almost made it sound like being in Blue is a plum assignment where staff voluntarily go to update their skills and training.”

  “I guess that plays well, if you’ve never met Corker or Hock.”

  “Speaking of the devils, they were there, but they both looked like they were at a funeral. I got a feeling the brass is gonna keep a close eye on them. Maybe this is the payback we been hoping for.”

  “That’s a good thing.”

  Over a bottle of something called 19 Crimes that Amy had got at Trader Joe’s, we spent the next half hour telling Max about what happened at Raines’ house, and our earlier conversation with Gail Walsh.

  “Do you think Christina has slipped into this other personality and made up the whole kidnapping scheme?” Maxed asked.

  “It’s hard to say,” I said. “It might be that she’s gone back and forth between the two personalities. Walsh said, from what she knows about Christina’s condition, she has no memory of the events that take place when she’s the Melissa personality.”

  “What’s her mother have to say about all this?”
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  Amy had her phone out. “I’m glad you asked. Let’s give her a call.”

  A couple minutes later, Amy had Effie Walsh on FaceTime. She didn’t waste any time telling her what we now knew about her daughter. After giving her the details of our conversation with Christina’s friend, Amy said, “Gail thinks Christina might have slipped into the personality of Melissa.”

  Amy showed me the screen on her phone. I saw that Blaze was crying. It took a long time for her to compose herself enough to answer. “It’s all my fault. My ex-husband abused her terribly, and I wasn’t able to stop it.”

  “That’s when she developed this other personality?”

  “Yes, and I have no doubt that Melissa is now in control. She had nothing but contempt for me when I was at Benedict’s house with her. She wishes I was dead.”

  “Tell me about what happened between your daughter and Billy Mercer. And this time I want the truth.”

  Blaze pushed a hand through her hair and shook her head. “She played Billy, acting like she was his girlfriend, so he wouldn’t talk.”

  Amy looked at me, then said to Blaze, “Talk about what?”

  “When Jeremy and Billy’s brother harassed him, there was another boy. His name was Ryan Craig. They made him drink alcohol until he overdosed and died. Billy knew everything that happened and was threatening to go to the authorities.”

  “So they killed him?”

  Blaze nodded. “Several years ago, Christina was having problems with her medication and began acting out under the Melissa personality. She admitted that she convinced Aaron Benedict to push Billy off the parking structure so he wouldn’t talk.”

  “He killed his own brother?”

  “I think he was jealous over the attention Billy got. He was also in love with Christina, or, I should say, Melissa. She said he would do anything for her.”

  “That also explains why Aaron Benedict shot Jeremy at the bank. He was jealous of his relationship with your daughter.”

  Blaze was in tears again. “Probably.” She sniffed, holding back her emotions. “I want you to know none of this would have happened if Christina hadn’t been abused. I think it’s also why she became a reporter for that TV station. She wanted to help people who were having problems. Even though she didn’t remember what the Melissa personality had done, I think, on some level, she wanted to make up for everything.”

  Blaze went on for a couple minutes, blaming herself for her daughter’s behavior. Before ending the call, Amy got her to promise that she would deliver the money tomorrow as she’d previously arranged.

  Amy put her phone away, and Max asked the question that was on all of our minds. “How we gonna handle things tomorrow?”

  Amy was about to answer, when there was a knock on the door. I went over and let Kat and Ola into our apartment. When they saw Amy, both women stopped in their tracks.

  “You have been looking Dominika in the eye,” Ola said. “You have the curse of the devil eye. It make your eyes shine with evil light.”

  “Swell,” Amy said. “What the hell we gonna do about it?”

  Ola handed Amy a small vial. “You must drink this down.”

  “What is it?” Amy asked.

  “Goat bladder.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “The goat grazed in the hills of a holy place before being sacrificed. It is the only way you can reverse the spell and remove the light of evil from your eyes.”

  Amy looked at me, raising a brow.

  “I don’t think you have any choice. Just hold your nose and drink it down.”

  “Damn, the stuff I gotta do just to keep the devil away.” Amy did as I instructed, pinching her nose as she downed the potion. When she was finished and took a breath, she started gagging. “It tastes like I just drank the devil’s own pee.”

  Ola smiled. “You be better soon. I go now.”

  After she was gone, Amy poured herself a glass of 19 Crimes and gulped it down. She set her glass down. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same.”

  “You be feeling better in morning,” Kat said. She stood and was about to leave, but said, “Merrill call me. He and Darryl are coming back to work tomorrow.”

  “Where have they been?” I asked.

  “I not sure. They say they explain everything tomorrow.”

  After she was gone, I went over and checked on Amy. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m possessed by the devil and just drank a goat bladder smoothie.” She headed for the bathroom. “I think I’m gonna puke.”

  SIXTY-TWO

  Christina looked out the window of the motel room as the sun went down. Aaron came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

  “Tomorrow everything we’ve planned for will finally be over. We’ll be rich and can leave the country.” He studied her for a long moment. “I’m just glad you finally remembered and accepted everything that happened. I was tired of playing this game with you.”

  She turned and faced him. It had taken Aaron some time, but he had finally accepted that the Melissa personality was in complete control now, and it was no longer necessary to restrain and threaten her. Melissa had spent days in the background, watching, as Christina denied her involvement in Billy Mercer’s death, and endured her captivity, while Jeremy and Aaron tried to steal her trust fund. It had been a shattering realization, but Christina had finally accepted that she had cheated on Jeremy with Aaron and was complicit in the murder of his stepbrother.

  That was over now. Christina was now like the ghost that Melissa had once been. She was the one hiding in the background, while Melissa regained her power.

  “Everything needs to go like clockwork,” she said. “There can’t be any mistakes.”

  Aaron smiled. “You always were a worrier, even years ago when we got together behind Jeremy’s back. You were always afraid he’d find out about us.”

  “Jeremy was an idiot, but he had a way of sensing things.” She chuckled. “I almost laughed out loud when you shot him coming through the doors of the bank. The look on his face was priceless.”

  “The idiot got what he had coming. I’m glad he’s out of the picture for good, and we can be together. I also took care of Billy’s mother, just like you asked.”

  “She had to be eliminated or she might have eventually pieced things together and talked.”

  Christina kissed him, even as her stomach roiled at his touch. When their lips parted, she said, “Tell me about the money drop.”

  Aaron took a couple steps away from her, folding his arms and considering her question. “Your mother drops the money, just as she’s been told. A couple minutes later, I’ll come by, wearing a city maintenance uniform, and empty the trash. I’ll meet you back here, and we head for the airport. Tomorrow, we’ll be on the beach in Belize, sipping tropical drinks.”

  Christina nodded and smiled, turning away from him. What an idiot. Did he really think he could take the money and walk away like no one would be watching him? She had no idea if her mother would let the FBI know what was happening, but she couldn’t take any chances. This was her one and only opportunity to take her mother’s fortune and live the life she deserved.

  Christina turned back to him. “How do you feel?”

  Aaron smiled. “I feel like we’re finally getting everything we deserve.”

  He came closer and tried to kiss her again, but she pushed him away. “I’m talking about having killed Billy and his friend Ryan, and now Jeremy.”

  He shrugged. “It’s what I had to do, what you wanted me to do.”

  She smiled. “You would do anything for me, wouldn’t you?”

  “Of course.” He reached out to her again.

  She took a step back. “Stop.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “There’s something you need to know.”

  Aaron smiled. “What’s that?”

  “I hate you. Making love to you is almost as sickening as it was when I fucked Billy to keep him
from talking to the cops before you killed him.”

  Aaron moved back and regarded her. “I don’t understand. I...I love you.”

  Christina nodded and pulled a gun out of her purse. “Of course you do. And now you’re going to die.”

  SIXTY-THREE

  “I think my eyes look better,” Amy said the next morning. “Ola’s potion worked, even though I feel like shit.”

  It was Max’s day off. She and I approached Amy to take a closer look.

  “I think your headlights are on low beam,” Max agreed. “What you gonna do as payback for Dominika?”

  “Ola’s working on something. I’ll let you know.” She brought some tea and muffins over to the breakfast table, where we all took seats. “I think we need to talk about how things are gonna go with Effie’s money drop tonight. We can’t screw it up.” She looked at Max.

  “Agreed,” Max said, looking at me. “And I think we’re gonna need some help.”

  It was apparent that she and Amy had already talked.

  “What are you trying to tell me?” I said, my gaze moving between them both.

  Amy answered. “We need to call the FBI, as in you-know-who who works there. This is too big for the three of us, and if we fuwk it up, we’re gonna be in big trouble.”

  “I can’t believe you’re asking me to call Sam.”

  Max reached over and touched my hand. “I know it’s the last thing you wanna do, Mads, but Amy’s right. If this goes off the rails, we’re the ones who will pay the price.”

  I sighed. “You’re right.” I looked at Amy. “And, just so you know, sometimes I hate it when you’re right.”

  She smiled. “That’s cuz it hardly ever happens. I’m afraid you gotta take one for the team. Just be thankful you’re not me. I got me a crazy client who is probably a killer and I ain’t even gonna get my fee.”

  “Speaking of crazy killers, Holmes called me about Jonathan Raines last night. He thanked us for doing the jobs the other cops didn’t.”

  “Did you ask him about living in a cave over in Queens, like Mojo said?” Max asked.