Of Truth and Lies: Hollingsworth Copycat Killer (Virgil McLendon Thrillers Book 5)

by catt dahman

  “Virg?”

  “Tina, he is messing with your head. Don’t give Hollingsworth any credit. You are the best deputy I have; that’s why I brought you. If I had lost the election, I’d support you as sheriff any day. You are smart and brave. The only way I’d feel good about this is knowing you have my back.”

  “Thank you. So, what are we doing next?”

  “Now that I guess I’m not going to kill the doctor, we are going to throw ourselves into the final crime scene and hope for the best.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yep, we’ll be at your house, Sheriff Kirby. It’s the final scene when the perp breaks into the couple’s house where a retired cop lives. You aren’t retired, but it’s close. No one can seem to say it, so we’ll find out for ourselves who the master criminal is who is far more cunning than Hollingsworth. We will meet the real mastermind.”

  “Fine by me.” Tina led the way to the car.

  Chapter Fourteen: Confessions

  “I feel as if we’ve been in a really bad movie and someone forgot to give us a script,” Tina said.

  Virgil sat at the piano and replied, “I know.” He stretched his fingers and began to play.

  “What is that one?”

  “Chopin’s First.” His fingers flew over the keyboard, and any wrong notes were ignored and lost in the intensity of the piece. “This second part is kind of a lull and relaxing.”

  “It’s nice. Why did you choose it?”

  “Oh, because of the first movement. It’s so deep and powerful. It’s like Hollingsworth and his acolyte setting everything up and then having us running from scene to scene, changing up the clues, and having us chase false leads. I admit I thought Starla did it.”

  “I did, too. I’ll never drink iced coffee again.”

  Virgil chuckled, “I know. It was good, but I couldn’t drink it again, either. Starla is going to need a lot of help after losing four children so brutally and being accused. That was particularly cruel, don’t you think?”

  Tina sat in a chair, pretending to relax. “It was mean to do. Evil. Hollingsworth wasn’t content and determined that he would serve up perfect crimes until he got bored and decided to mentor instead. Why did those people admire him?”

  “They thought he was smart, and he can be charming. They were star-struck, I suppose. He did fairly well by David Gaither. I just happened to be in the way. It was random.” Virgil thought about that as he played and talked, “I never knew we were in a game of wits.”

  “Yeah, that part is unfair. A person should at least know he’s playing a game. Battling. Was it just the boot prints, and so when Ned Bennet mentioned boots, that gave you to the idea?”

  “No, you know I was already on it. You kept saying the scenes were very staged and very organized. I grant Hollingsworth could mentor that, but the action at the pond was just so perfect, and yet, it wasn’t. I was sidetracked by the attack on Keri. It didn’t fit.”

  “I liked that part,” a voice said.

  Virgil played a few last notes and then sat still. Tina didn’t move.

  “Deputy Turnbow, I’m so glad you joined us and that I wasn’t wrong about the case.”

  “No, you were right. You stayed right on my heels.” Turnbow stood in the dark kitchen, no doubt with his shotgun pointed at Tina or Virgil. “Excuse me for bringing my Ithaca, but I really need to be sure I can take you both out. The gun is loaded with bird shot, and if I fire, you’re both gonna be shredded.”

  “Change of weapons. Does Hollingsworth advocate that?”

  “Sheriff, you know like I do that the doctor is the least of our concerns. In this competition, I am far ahead. He only led you. Let’s get on with this, and then I’ll wait for the Feebies, and it will be all done.”

  “That’s your biggest aspiration? Getting caught? Seems a real expert would keep going.”

  Turnbow laughed, “Naw, Kirby knows and Tackett and Gunn by now and then the entire FBI, I guess. I’m done. But to be at the top, I have to best you, Sheriff. That’s how my name goes into all the books. Sorry, it ain’t personal, but it’s how things are. ‘You’re just the best,’ people say.”

  “If I were, I would have saved some lives. I’m not the best, by far. You’ll have to kill a lot better than me.”

  Tina slid around casually, not moving suddenly. “If you shoot Virgil, I assure you I can fire fast enough to put you down. If you take me out, he’ll get you.”

  “I expect to be shot. Doctor Hollingsworth took a shot to his shoulder in his last event.”

  Virgil smiled, “I don’t intend to aim for your shoulder. I’m not your retired cop, remember.”

  Tina gasped as another figure walked out from the back of the house, holding her firearm at the ready, aiming at Turnbow. All four looked at one another. Tina smiled a little, “I guess you’re outnumbered, Deputy Turnbow.”

  “Everyone wants in on the action. Everyone’s gotta be a hero,” said Tim Turnbow as he grimaced. “Anyone else wanna get in on my action?”

  “Tim, if you shoot one, the other will take you out. It’s very possible you could be killed.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m surprised to see you, Kimiko,” Tina said.

  “It wasn’t my plan, but here I am.” She brushed her hair back with a hand and then concentrated again on her gun.

  “Hollingsworth was the one to mention a deputy who felt like an extension and never had the chance to show true abilities,” Virgil said.

  “I know. I’m not going to be a nobody,” Kimiko said as she sweated and gritted her teeth.

  “Deputy Turnbow was my surprise and challenge. I had nothing pointing to him. I did have you figured out, Kimiko.”

  “You had nothing. I am sure I left nothing to indicate I was involved. You’re full of yourself.” She moved her gun so it was aimed at Tina. She had no problem with Tina, but sometimes, people had to do the difficult things.

  “You made a mistake.”

  Kimiko glared at Virgil, keeping Tina in her sights, “No, Tim screwed that up. Keri wasn’t supposed to survive, and neither was Dion, of course. He let his dick run his life, instead of thinking about the plan. You did, Tim. Idiot, you had no reason to rape her.”

  “We’ve been through this, Kim. I said I messed up.”

  “Your own sister. Unreal.”

  Kimiko shrugged.

  “No, there was a bigger mistake: your timing. Keri was too terrified to tell us that Tim did everything. She knows you’re part of it, and she’s scared of you, Kimiko. She can’t tell us anything yet, but your mother could and did. Candace was a great witness although she didn’t understand my questioning and what it all meant. See, she figured out Keri had sneaked off with the rest far sooner than you indicated.”

  “Oh?”

  “You did well, and I bought your concern and worry for your sister and her friends. I fully accepted it. But later, when I thought over everything, I only had to ask your mother a few questions. One was the time. She was positive about when she found out where the kids were, and the other parents backed up her timing. That made me wonder why you waited so long to tell us and have us go check on them.”

  “Well, I made a mistake.”

  “I saw your boot print, and it looked like some of the others, but smaller. Then at the Bennet house, Ned Bennet helped me put the parts together. But I already knew. Hollingsworth went on and on about a deputy feeling left out, making it clear he meant a female. At first we thought he was digging at Tina, but then I realized he was giving us clues all along.”

  “He talked way too much.”

  “He said to look at someone close to me.”

  “Again, he talks too much.”

  “Then, I knew the final scene was about a couple at home, Tina and me as surrogates, and it had to be the home of a cop…retired or active…Sheriff Kirby was surrogate, and the killer…well…before it was a law officer, right? It was Hollingsworth. I figured the final scene had to be about a law offic
er as well, and I knew it was you.”

  “This whole time?”

  “For quite some time. Yes, in other words, Kimiko, you didn’t win the game. I knew it was you and cracked the case ahead of you. You failed. I bested you.”

  “Tim and I have the advantage, you know. His gun will make you look like hamburger.”

  “Fair enough. Kimiko, three things before we get down to business?”

  “I thought you had it all figured out?” asked Kimiko as she sneered.

  “Just details. I am curious. For instance, first, was it you or Tim who took out the Stoker family, and how was that done? Children? Hard kills.”

  “That was all me, Sheriff McLendon. I was very focused, and it was simply a job to be done expertly. I didn’t enjoy killing them, but I didn’t dislike it, either. I had no issues with those kids other than I had to use them for a decoy crime. That’s what elevates me about Hollingsworth.”

  “When did you and the Doctor get chummy?”

  “A long time ago. I was a bad kid; Sheriff Kirby told you that. I was pure trouble and in awe of a killer behind bars that defied the entire law community. He was very kind to me, and when Sheriff Kirby took an interest in me, well, it was pure fate. From there on, it was all fate.”

  Virgil nodded. He took that in.

  Tina spoke up, “I’m interrupting, but, again, we didn’t think you were a part, Tim. How do you fit in?”

  Kimiko laughed, “He’s got a gorilla on his back.” She saw they didn’t understand. “Worse than a monkey. He’s got a hankerin’ for drugs, and he likes them a lot. I have connections. Win-win situation and besides, he gets to go down as a mastermind with me.”

  “They’ll fry you both.”

  “Yes, Deputy Rant, they will, but before them, we’ll have fans and be all the talk. We’ll be famous, and what else is there? Life in a small town, marrying some idiot that drinks all night at the bar, pushing out a half dozen kids, and working for peanuts. We lived in a trailer house, smoked weed every night, fist fought with a man over his whoring, and smoked a lot, and in a recliner, he died young of a heart attack and high blood pressure. That’s what people here do,” Kimiko spat it out angrily. That was how she felt.

  “You could have been a great deputy. Never mind,” Virgil said. He pretended to think hard. “Second question. Wasn’t it difficult to do that to your own sister, and how did you happen to get a campground killing? I mean what were the chances they’d be there for you to stage a crime?”

  “That was easy. I talked it up to Sam. I dropped hints to the rest. I told Keri I knew what was up, and I’d cover for her.” Kimiko laughed. “And no, it was very easy. She was a little bitch. Perfect grades, homecoming queen, cheerleader, churchy type, and always just So. Damned. Perfect.”

  “Hurry up. I’m tired of this.” Tim Turnbow was visibly agitated and needed a good smoke and a drink. He was ready to blow away the female deputy and let Kimiko have the sheriff. He raised his gun slightly to fire.

  Okay. Third item. As I said, Kimiko, I bested you. The scene was for you to come into a retired cop’s house. Sheriff Kirby isn’t retired. And he’s got his gun aimed right at your back. He prefers a shotgun, as well.”

  “Liar.”

  “One thing: Virgil never lies, and he doesn’t bluff,” Sheriff Kirby called out.

  Kimiko spun with her gun out, firing at a shadow. The shadow was already moving; Reb Kirby was a big man, but he could move fast. He fired his shotgun, and Kimiko had time to realize her mistake as her head and shoulders were shredded. Brains and blood splattered the living room.

  Virgil used the opportunity to duck and slide down beside the coffee table, hoping he was out of range and praying Tina used the split second to duck.

  Tina Rant didn’t duck or take cover.

  Tim Turnbow was in shadows and held a gun on her, but she drew her pistol and fired five shots. All five hit Tim Turnbow center mass; one bullet would have killed him. Five dropped him solid.

  Virgil climbed to his feet, “Tina?”

  “Yes, Boss?”

  “You okay?”

  “Right as rain.”

  Virgil stepped over to her and gently pushed her arm down so her gun was aimed at the floor. He took her pistol and set it on the table. Tina looked a little wide-eyed. “You okay, Sheriff Kirby?”

  “Doing fine, you?”

  “Good. Just checking on my deputy. Tina, sit down a second, okay? He’s dead. Kimiko is dead. We’re okay. You…wow…you shot him dead.”

  “Like a rabid dog. I’d tell Hollingsworth, no grief over taking out a mad dog.”

  Virgil blinked.

  Tina sat down and said, “Virgil. Did you hear him? He was jealous that she made those kills…that she hurt the children. He enjoyed what he did to Keri. She may have been the brains, but he…he was evil, Virg. He was going to get off on killing me with a shotgun. He was….”

  “He was vile, I know. You just made a helluva shot. I thought we’d duck and then get him, but you….”

  “I’m sorry. I did the wrong thing, but all I could see was what he did to Keri. She wanted to be famous. He enjoyed what they did. I lost it.”

  Virgil hugged her, “It’s okay.”

  Kirby finished a radio call and shook his head. He was sad and disappointed to have been betrayed by two deputies, but he was still high on adrenaline for the time being. More than anything, he was glad Virgil and Tina were safe. Virgil did a good job making sure they had back-up. It was never pleasant to kill anyone in the line of duty, especially his own deputy.

  This would take time to get over.

  What would he tell Candace Staggs about Kimiko?

  “You asked me if you were a good deputy and more than just an extension? Tina, I can’t think of anyone but you that I’d want to be in a stand-off with,” Virgil smiled. “You are rock solid.”

  “I can’t say it was a lot of fun.”

  Sheriff Kirby watched the night through the windows as a patrol car, lights spinning, climbed up the hill, racing to get to them. Behind it were other cars, and there were about to be a lot of law officers in the room with a billion questions.

  It was good that Virgil knew the answers.

  Chapter Fifteen: Finishing Up

  “So that is how it went, Doctor Hollingsworth. I thought you’d enjoy the details,” Virgil said. Several agents stood close, not daring to let Hollingsworth have a chance to do anything.

  “Fascinating.”

  “I suppose it is. You gave me all I needed. That was quite a challenge. Alone, I could have figured it out anyway. You muddied things, if anything.”

  Hollingsworth spread his shackled hands and said, “I do what I do.”

  “I beat David Gaither. I beat Turnbow and Kimiko Staggs. I beat you. I’d say the score is two to zero now.”

  “So it seems.”

  Virgil was anxious to be finished and back home with his wife, Vivian, and his own small town. Special Agent Mason Lord had everything written up and filed, everyone questioned, and the case neatly finished.

  At Virgil’s request, Sheriff Kirby and Tina Rant were both cited for excellent performance in the line of duty.

  This time, he wasn’t the one who shot the bad guy or saved anyone; he was the brains. Sometimes that was plenty. He only disliked that he had been in the same, albeit opposite, capacity as Doctor Hollingsworth.

  Dion was recovering in the hospital. He had been unable to identify Turnbow as the one who stalked them at the pond. Keri would need some rest and care as she recovered from the rape and deception of her sister, but her mother, Candace Staggs, was a strong woman and was determined for Keri to recover fully. She blamed the doctor for most of what happened, but she also accepted that her daughter had gone bad several years back. Candace would work harder for Keri, and Keri finally said she was terrified to say her sister was there, too and part of the attack, and Kimiko had threatened her.

  Reb Kirby said he had lost a few pounds and claimed giving up
iced coffee was the ultimate ticket to a better life. He would never again be able to stand the taste of iced coffee. His small town supported him and would take some time to heal, but it would survive.

  Jane Ferguson decided to sell her house and move in with the Bennets, acting as a proper nanny, so Jane Bennet could work and feel her children were safe. Because Ida Ferguson had her nose in everything, the children would never have a chance to get into mischief. Some things worked out perfectly. The extra room became a playroom and bedroom for the boys, and Ida took their room.

  Doctor Walter Hollingsworth was going to be returned to his prison cell and would find that many of his papers and books were removed. He wouldn’t be writing fans as freely now, and he was still under a death sentence: awaiting his execution or his death from stomach cancer. Whichever came first.

  “I guess this is it. This is our final discussion. I do intend to be there when they execute you. I want the closure.”

  “Sheriff McLendon, I know I’ve been a terrible thorn and caused you undue misery, but the world needs more men and women like you. You are good. Maybe you’re the best.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “Sheriff, I know how you think: each and every event and person can be connected in the most unusual ways. I know you think there are no coincidences, only patterns and connections. I, too, believe that,” Hollingsworth said as Virgil stood.

  Virgil was ready to be free of the evil that lived in this man.

  “I see.” Virgil nodded and began to turn and leave. He gave nods to the agents.

  “Sheriff, you must realize something because of your intelligence and your theories. It’s very clear.”

  Virgil held a hand up and said, “I’m done, Doctor.” Virgil walked away. He refused to be drawn into a debate and have his mind probed. He had told the doctor the details of how everything played out only as a kind of boasting and as a way to have the last word. He was finished.

  But the doctor never allowed anyone to have the last word.

  “Sheriff….”

  Virgil didn’t turn.

  Hollingsworth chuckled, “Of course, you are a step ahead. You already know.”