Provoked

by Angela Ford

  She paused for a moment. Riley remained silent and listened. His heart ached for her. She’d been so calm and confident to him before tonight.

  “The storm raged so quickly, I told him to come back up. He had just begun to climb down the ladder. It was hard to see with the blowing snow, but he must have lost his grip. I saw him fall. They never found his body. Those mountains, especially Eagle’s Path, have taken many lives over the years.”

  Basia took a swig of scotch. Riley noticed there were no tears, but then again the man had abused her. She probably had no feelings left for him.

  “I’m sorry, Basia, that you experienced all of that,” Riley whispered as he placed his arm around her. His hand squeezed her shoulder gently.

  She looked up at him. “I’m not.” He could tell by her eyes she wasn’t. There was something cold in them for the first time since he’d met her.

  ****

  Basia felt some relief. She’d left out the part of Darek’s plan to kill her and the thallium she put in his coffee that morning, before they left for their hike. She carried that with her and never told a soul. Basia convinced herself it wasn’t murder and that it had been self-defense. The thallium she used to poison him was to make sure that his fall would definitely take his life. She knew Riley was suspicious of the poison found, and her expertise in forensics could tie her to them, especially since they’d been friends of abuse.

  “Riley.” She bit her bottom lip.

  “I must confess I know Beth and the other women. I met with them and offered to help them financially to escape their abusive relationships and start over. You must understand their desperation, Riley. They were abused, poor, and believed they had nowhere to go. We talked about self-esteem and life after abuse. My situation was different. I had money. They didn’t. They still lived with the abuse daily. It’s like being brainwashed into believing you can’t leave. Abuse takes over logical thoughts and desperation takes over sometimes, I guess.”

  “Desperation, you mention. Do you think they killed their boyfriends? There are two deaths from the brownstone; coincidentally the two men that lived with Beth’s friends.”

  Basia didn’t like Riley’s line of questioning and informed him of the autopsies performed.

  “Their deaths were determined by natural causes; well, one was a drug overdose but the other was a heart attack.”

  “And if we exhume their bodies, would we discover they’d been poisoned?”

  She definitely didn’t like his line of questioning. It was too close to revealing her secret.

  “Why would these women want to poison their boyfriends? I’d given them more than enough money to start over.” Basia defensively stood up for them.

  “You did mention some women become desperate to get out. Maybe they didn’t want the men to track them down. How well did you know these women?”

  “Well enough to know they didn’t kill them.”

  She set her glass down on the bar. Riley was getting too close. The last person she wanted to know about her secret was the man standing behind her. The man she’d fallen in love with. She placed her hands on the bar and silently prayed he’d stop his line of questions. He didn’t.

  “Two wrongs don’t make a right, Basia. Abuse is wrong, but it doesn’t mean you kill your abuser.”

  Basia shook her head. “No, but the thought crosses your mind when you feel there’s no other solution.” She remained in her stance with him behind her.

  “My husband’s sudden outbursts, screaming; and when I say screaming, I mean that decibel point way beyond normal yelling. Nothing even close to two people fighting; it’s far worse. It sends a chill, a shiver of pain through your ears into your entire body. Your mind blanks out the words used. You just remember the screaming and the fear. Words that should never be used with someone you supposedly love. The mind freezes and ignores. Memories of trauma are difficult to remember. After so long, abuse numbs you, numbs your mind. Fear is all you feel.”

  Her defensive words came out so quickly; before she realized she threw herself into his next question.

  “Did it cross your mind, Basia?”

  His question made her inhale quickly.

  “The accident took his life. I didn’t have to.”

  She hated to lie to him. She knew if she told him the truth, she’d never have a chance with him. Her stupidity to continue after the one-night stand had only created feelings for him. Those feelings were now too strong. She was in love with Riley. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life behind bars. She wanted to spend it with him.

  “Basia.”

  Riley stood behind her. He touched her lower back gently with his hand.

  “Do you think these women could have poisoned their boyfriends?”

  She sucked in a quick breath with his touch.

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t believe they killed their boyfriends.”

  Riley moved toward the balcony. He pointed to the flowers and turned to Basia. “Just coincidence then?” She nodded.

  “I like the flowers, Riley, that’s all. I’m not a killer, nor am I a supplier. And I don’t believe these women committed murder.”

  Riley stood by the doors of the balcony. She wasn’t sure what thoughts went through his mind. She wondered if he believed her. She knew she had nothing to do with the murders she’d believed were natural causes, but she carried the guilt of her own husband’s murder.

  “What do you know of this landlord?” Riley asked without turning to face her.

  “I only met him a few times at the building, and at the diner, when Beth pointed him out. My team was called in for both deaths. He seemed to be a loner and a man of few words. He’s not mean, just sort of creepy. He looked a little off. I know I couldn’t wait to get out; he didn’t maintain a clean building. I had to knock on his door the first time we were called there, but we only spoke briefly. There were pornographic magazines stacked on the coffee table and a poster of a woman in leather and chains on one wall. Beth stated he didn’t like his tenants, except for an old lady and her. She mentioned she’d heard her boyfriend tell his brother that Adam desperately wanted to evict them, because of their drugs, but they always laughed it off. Why, Riley? Do you suspect him? He’s creepy, but I don’t think he has the smarts to poison someone.”

  Riley turned to Basia. “Adam Crawford definitely seems to give the same impression to everyone that’s met him. His complaints and attempted evictions of the same tenants who’ve come up dead, I guess, that could be one way to get his evictions. When I spoke with him in his apartment, he had a pile of papers on his table. He informed me he was writing a book. The title of the book is The Perfect Poison.”

  Riley’s findings of Adam certainly answered Basia’s suspicions.

  “The thought crossed my mind earlier. I don’t know why I thought about Adam after I read the report that poison was found in her body; for some reason he popped into my head. I remembered Beth spoke of the cockroaches in the building. She’d mentioned that Adam looked like someone from a horror movie with his out-of-date mask and spray pump. Insecticides contain poison, but then that would have shown in the first round of bloodwork.”

  Basia’s phone rang.

  “Yes, thank you. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  Basia ended her call and looked at Riley.

  “A letter was left for me in the lobby,” she told Riley, in more of a questionable tone than a statement.

  “Want me to get it for you?” Riley offered.

  “Yes, if you wouldn’t mind.” Basia looked down at her robe and pajamas. Riley told her he’d be back in a few minutes. Basia poured another drink. The day’s events had drained her and her heart ached for Beth.

  Riley returned with an envelope in his hand. He handed it to Basia and grabbed his empty glass. She offered to pour him another drink and he said he’d help himself. Basia looked at the envelope and flipped it over. All that was written on it was her name and address. There was no stamp, no
return address, but there was something that triggered a memory. The scent that came from the envelope took her back to Poland. She lifted the envelope to her nose before Riley returned with his drink. A trace of horror raced through her veins, as she took in the scent of the cologne her husband always wore. She closed her eyes and prayed it was a coincidence. She slid her fingernail under the gold seal sticker that held the envelope together. Carefully she pulled out the piece of paper inside. She opened the paper and read, the perfect poison won’t kill me, Basia Lis, but it’s going to kill you. She felt something else inside the envelope. She reached in and pulled out an empty vial container. Was Darek alive?

  “Basia? What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Riley took the paper from her trembled hand. “What the hell?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  She took the note from his hand. “This is, um...I’m sorry, Riley, for what I’m about to tell you.”

  “Is this from Adam? That’s the title of his book. Is there something you’re keeping from me?”

  Riley’s expression told her that what she was about to say would shock him. And worse, his feelings for her would disappear. She shook her head.

  “No, it’s from Darek.”

  The sound of his name through her lips was something she thought she’d never have to say again in her lifetime. The thought of him brought horror to her mind. Not just the horror of his abuse, or the fact she’d killed him, or thought she had, but the horror that he was alive and wanted her dead. She knew he’d only found her to kill her and take her father’s money.

  “Who’s Darek?” Riley asked in confusion.

  She figured he’d think the note was from Adam and that she hadn’t told the truth; but she had. She’d only met the man a few times and had fewer words with him.

  “My husband.”

  Basia turned away. She didn’t want to see Riley’s expression. She felt weak and grasped onto the bar. Not only was Darek alive, and hunting her down for his prize, but she realized with him alive, she’d been an adulteress. Riley had slept with a married woman. So many thoughts raced through her thoughts. Basia wasn’t innocent but she’d never commit adultery. So many different emotions soared through her veins. Basia didn’t know which one to deal with first. She knew she had to tell Riley the truth and live with the consequences.

  “You’re husband died in the hiking accident you mentioned earlier. Unless you have another you haven’t told me about?”

  She took a deep breath and turned to face Riley and the consequences her secret would expose.

  “Darek is the only husband. His body was never found. The rescue workers closed the file and reported his death as a hiking accident. They said the cliff he fell from was over a hundred meters, but with the strong winds and the storm, they couldn’t begin their search for a day. They reported the winds could have carried him further than the vicinity they searched. By the second day, and another storm coming, they called off the search and announced his death. I know those mountains. I grew up in them. My parents were guides. I could hike as soon as I could walk. I’ve hiked all trails and forested areas. I believed them. I knew he was dead, but I couldn’t confirm to the rescuers why I was certain.”

  “So you were certain he was dead? But now you believe he’s alive?” Riley’s questions were full of confusion.

  “I believed he was dead before he hit the ground from the thallium I put in his coffee that morning. This note tells me he knew and outsmarted me.”

  “Did you say thallium? That’s the poison I researched that would give similar symptoms of heart and respiratory failure and flu-like symptoms, too. Did you provide that to your abused friends, Basia?”

  She sighed heavily. “No, Riley, I did not provide thallium to my friends to kill their boyfriends. I never shared what I did with anyone. I knew it was wrong. It went against everything I’d worked for and believed in. I took the same oath. I felt I had no choice.”

  Basia poured a drink and tilted the glass back until all of it trickled down the back of her throat. She hoped the alcohol would ease the pain, the guilt; but it didn’t. She rambled in hopes of justifying what she’d done.

  “After my parents died in a car crash, he’d been there for me. He’d been my strength. I thought I was madly in love. We married not long after I buried my parents. I adored Darek, he made me feel safe. I felt lucky to be loved by him. The honeymoon ended quickly. He became angry. He drank more. He smoked more. At first, it was verbal abuse and I excused it because of his drinking. Then it became more emotional. He tried to control my every move. He didn’t want me to return to work. He couldn’t understand why I’d want to work with all the money I’d inherited. I loved my job. He even accused me of having a thing for my boss, even though I continuously told him my boss was gay. Darek just yelled and told me I gave excuses he didn’t want to hear. Then he told me his decision was final. I would no longer work outside the home. He wanted full and complete control of me. I should have left him. I could have divorced him and let him take half of everything my father worked so hard for. I told no one of the abuse and control. I was ashamed and embarrassed. Then it got worse; physical. He threatened me if I attempted to leave him. I believe his exact words were the only way I left him was in a body bag. I also overheard he’d rigged my father’s brakes. That crash in the mountains on a dangerous curve killed both my parents. All he wanted was the money.”

  Basia put her head down. She’d finally confessed. She waited in silence for Riley to digest what she’d just announced.

  ****

  “You believe what you’ve done is justifiable?”

  Riley inhaled deeply and turned his head. He felt as though he’d just been stabbed him in the heart. He closed his eyes as they filled with tears. He couldn’t look at her any longer. She was a cold-blooded killer, no matter how she justified it.

  She reached for his hand. “Riley, look at me.”

  He inched away from her touch. “I can’t.”

  “Riley, I love you. The first time I thought I was in love, I was wrong, so wrong.”

  He heard her cry but he remained with his back to her. He tried to hold back the tears himself. He’d never loved another woman. Not the way he loved Basia. She was the perfect woman in his eyes. She was strong, independent, beautiful, and smart. Her crazy dry humor had made him laugh at a time when he thought he couldn’t. It may have been a physical attraction in the beginning, a one-night stand, a piece of ass; but there’d always been something about her that intrigued him. Something mysterious; he’d never guessed it was that she was a killer. Emotions ran through his thoughts like a roller-coaster out of control. He didn’t know whether to kiss her, embrace her, or help her. He was a cop and knew he should fucking arrest her on the spot. Anger stepped in and took over. He paced back and forth. His hand vigorously brushed through his hair and then across his five o’clock shadow.

  “For Christ sake, Basia! You murdered your husband, or at least you thought you did. You think justice was served? We’re goddamn cops! We took an oath to serve and protect. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  She struck back with anger in her tone. “You’re one to speak. You’ve never followed protocol your whole career. You’re like loose cannon. You want that arrest and you don’t care whose life is taken, not even your partner’s.”

  Basia stood a mere inch from his face. He could feel her hot breath against his skin.

  “I think my ways are a little different, Sweetheart.” Riley stressed on the last word sarcastically and continued after a quick pause. “I may not follow protocol, call for backup, or enter with a search warrant. But I’ve never killed anyone and believed it was justifiable. Makes me wonder if you did have something to do with the murders at the brownstone. Did you? Did you believe those men deserved to be killed, too?”

  Riley exhaled hard enough to blow the hair away from her eyes. The beautiful blues he loved filled with tears. He wasn’t sure if they were real tears but
those blues still melted his heart. She’d never appeared innocent to him, but she also never appeared to be a cold-hearted killer. Could she have killed those men?

  “Riley.”

  He watched her lips move. He loved her accent and the way she said his name. Riley closed his eyes. “Not now, Basia. I can’t listen to any more of this.” He walked toward the door and heard her trembled voice.

  “I did not kill those men. I only wanted to help their poor girlfriends escape their abusive relationships, with money to start over, far from their boyfriends. I’ve had to live with the fact that I’d killed my own husband. Now I’m scared, Riley. He’s here to kill me.”

  Her shaken words hit him hard. Part of him wanted to walk out that door, part of him wanted to cuff her, but his heart told him to protect her. He didn’t want her husband to kill her. He stood for a moment with his hand on the doorknob. Her words played with his heartstrings.

  “I do love you, Riley. I’ve never loved anyone else. I thought I loved my husband, but I was wrong. You’ll never understand what it feels like to be abused. To be brainwashed to believe you can never leave without consequences. I don’t expect anyone to understand. Perhaps my way is not justifiable. But it worked. The justice system wouldn’t have helped. They wouldn’t believe me. It would have been my word against his. So many women are abused. We don’t live. We exist in fear. Men who abuse should be punished but try to charge them with it. They’ll be back in no time and punish you for it. The system doesn’t work until it’s too late. I protected myself. He planned to kill me. He killed my parents, and then planned to take my father’s money. I did not kill anyone else, but I’m happy they’re dead.”

  “I’m sorry, Basia, that you had to experience what you did. I do feel for what you’ve survived. I do.”

  Riley remained with his back to her. He couldn’t look at her. He could no longer allow himself to be put in the trance her eyes had the power to induce. His hand turned the doorknob, and without looking back at her, he announced he needed some air.