Faces of Evil [4] Rage

by Debra Webb

  “Just telling it the way it is, Chief.”

  “Who else knew this hit had taken place?”

  “My informant and the lead members of my task force. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

  “There’s no way Lieutenant Grayson could have known?”

  Allen stepped closer to her. Jess stood her ground. Maybe he thought the move was intimidating. He’d have to bring a better game than that.

  “I don’t like the way you do things, Harris,” he said for her ears only. “Course that doesn’t mean a thing since you and Chief Burnett are such good friends. But, be advised, you don’t have a lot of friends in the department as it is. You start accusing good men like Grayson of murdering his own wife, you’re going to lose what few you do have.”

  Jess studied his face, the part she could see around the glasses. His body language told her he liked playing the role of tough guy. Probably got off on it. Either way, Jess wasn’t going to apologize for doing her job. “And what about Riley? Is he one of the good guys?”

  “Riley is a damned good cop,” Allen all but growled. “He’s just a little gung ho. Typical adrenaline junkie. Gets a little too proactive. He’s one of those who would run in before getting the go signal. But that doesn’t make him a bad cop. Anything else?”

  “I appreciate your observations, Captain. I’m certain this won’t be the last time we’ll run into each other in the line of duty.”

  “I can always hope.”

  He walked away, every arrogant stride making her angrier. But there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about those who decided she’d gotten her position because she was friends with Burnett. There was also nothing she could do about the kind of attitude that would find murder acceptable under any circumstances.

  Jess stilled. And yet she dreamed of killing Eric Spears with her own two hands almost every day. Maybe she was no better than Allen. Did it matter that the two vics inside this rundown house were nowhere near the kind of monsters Spears was? Was murder ever justified?

  The roar of an engine and squealing tires drew her attention to the street. The SUV barreling up the block she recognized as belonging to Lieutenant Grayson. The vehicle rocked to a stop at the curb. He climbed from behind the wheel and his partner emerged from the passenger side.

  Things were about to get interesting.

  Harper appeared at her side. They exchanged a look and Jess had to admit she was glad he was here.

  “You gonna do this?” Harper asked. “Or am I?”

  “I think I can handle it, Sergeant.” She focused on the two men striding her way. “But I appreciate the backup.”

  The man’s wife had been murdered; for that reason Jess disliked the need to be firm. But finding Gabrielle’s murderer was far more important than appeasing him.

  “Lieutenant,” she said, holding up both hands, “you cannot be here.” She glanced at his partner, who had no excuse for not heading off this situation. “You either, Sergeant Riley. Now take your partner home and cool off.”

  “I just want to know if the same person who murdered my wife did this,” Grayson demanded. “That’s all I want. Just tell me the truth, Chief.”

  “I can’t answer that question, Lieutenant.” He knew better than to ask such a thing. She’d barely begun her investigation into these murders. The scene was still being documented and analyzed for evidence. His ex-wife was in there doing her thing.

  “You’ve been talking to her coworkers,” Grayson said. “Looking into our personal lives as if you think Gabrielle did something to deserve this.” His eyes pleaded with Jess. “I need to know who did this.”

  “What the hell?” Riley roared.

  Jess followed his gaze and found Dr. Baron at the door instructing her assistant on the removal of the bodies.

  Riley stormed right up to the front door. Thank God he had the good sense not to charge into the scene. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Baron didn’t spare him so much as a glance. “Since you’re not visually impaired, Sergeant, I’m certain the answer to that question is glaringly clear. Do not get in my way.”

  “You’re the reason we don’t have any answers about Gabrielle!” Riley stabbed a finger at Sylvia. “You want this to drag out and hurt him.”

  Grayson joined the shouting match.

  “Sergeant Harper.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I’d like you to escort those two gentlemen outside the perimeter of my crime scene.”

  “My pleasure, Chief.”

  “If either one resists, you are to arrest one or both.”

  As Harper closed in on the two irate detectives, Grayson said something to Riley and the younger man stormed off. He didn’t dodge the opportunity to send a drop-dead look in Jess’s direction. She held that threatening glare until he’d shut himself up in his partner’s SUV. If half of what she suspected proved true, he was going to be falling off that high horse of his.

  Grayson was next. Harper was right behind him. Rather than heading to his SUV, Grayson headed straight for Jess.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, Harris. You’re letting that woman influence your assessment of this case and I swear to God I will take legal action.” He struggled to regain his composure. His face was beet red, his nostrils flaring. “My wife scarcely took an aspirin much less a pain killer. If she”—he sent a furious glare in the ME’s direction—“screwed up that toxicology…” He shook his head, didn’t finish the statement.

  Enough was enough. “Lieutenant, those two homicide victims are not related to you or to Dr. Baron. There is no ethical reason she should be removed from this particular investigation.” He started to argue, but Jess cut him off. “She’s here to do her job and these victims deserve the best we have to offer, the same as your wife does. Dr. Leeds handled her case personally. You just go ahead and file whatever complaints you feel inclined to file. What you think of me or your ex-wife or what she thinks about you is irrelevant to me. I will conduct this investigation to the best of my ability.”

  The fury started to recede. Agony haunted his eyes. “How am I supposed to trust what you say, Chief Harris? Monday afternoon both you and Chief Burnett promised to keep me up to speed on my wife’s case and just this morning I had to hear that the boy next door had gone missing and that you believe his disappearance is related to my wife’s murder!”

  “We’re still talking to several of your neighbors, Lieutenant,” Jess hedged. “The fact that he’s gone missing right next door to where the murder occurred may or may not be connected.” She wasn’t ready for his partner to know that yet and if Grayson knew it, so would Riley.

  Grayson dropped his head. “God almighty, the nightmare never ends.”

  “Was Devon Chambers a regular visitor at your home?” She’d wanted to ask him about that.

  “My wife said he watched her and the baby in the backyard. When she’d wave he’d move away from the window. To my knowledge he never came over.”

  “Sir, you stated that you and Gabrielle didn’t have any problems.”

  Anger tightened his features again. “I told you the truth.”

  “In the interviews I’ve conducted, I learned that Gabrielle called a friend the day before she died and said she needed to talk about a problem that involved you.” Jess braced for his retaliation.

  The agony was back. His shoulders fell as if he no longer possessed the strength to hold them straight. “If you have anything else to say to me, call my attorney.”

  He returned to his vehicle and drove away. His departure lacked the fanfare of squealing tires and the roaring engine of his arrival. Devastation was leading Grayson. His partner didn’t have that kind of excuse.

  “Methinks he doth protest too much,” she murmured.

  Baron joined Jess on the overgrown lawn. “I’d estimate the victims have been dead approximately three days. The stab wounds and beheading were carried out postmortem, as you know. Maybe twenty-four to thirty-six hours later.
Determining that timeline is somewhat more difficult outside a lab setting.”

  Time of death backed up what Allen had heard via his informants. “Thank you, Dr. Baron.”

  “I can give you more tomorrow or the next day but that’s the way it looks.”

  “Just so you know, Grayson is threatening to take action against us both.” Jess wasn’t really worried about his threats. That was Burnett’s problem. But, somewhere deep inside, the idea of how many enemies she had made here already nagged at her. And one of those enemies wanted her dead.

  “I heard.”

  “I understand there’s bad blood between you and the lieutenant,” Jess ventured, “but what’s the deal with you and Riley?”

  “I never liked him.” She pursed her lips and seemed to think a moment before she continued. “He was assigned to work with Larry just over five years ago and from day one I had a bad feeling about him. I don’t trust him.”

  “I’ve found no reason he’d want Gabrielle dead,” Jess said bluntly. “On the other hand, he seems to have oodles of simmering motives where you’re concerned. If you turn up murdered, I’ll consider him first.”

  “That would be a wise first step.” She sighed. “He strikes me as the kind of man who would do anything to get ahead. Larry doesn’t see it because his own ego blinds him. Riley pretends to worship him. What man doesn’t want his very own fan club following him around, even if it does have only one member?”

  “I think the lieutenant has a little more than one fan,” Jess countered.

  “But Riley is different. He treats Larry as if he’s a god. Even his wife treats him as if he’s some big hero.”

  “Was there ever a problem between you and Sarah Riley?”

  “We hardly knew each other. They didn’t come around when Larry was married to me. It wasn’t until the last few months of our marriage that he began to drop by their home. I was too busy to notice. The next thing I knew they’d found him a new wife. One who fit into their intimate little circle.”

  “You believe Riley and his wife purposely tried to break up your marriage?”

  Baron frowned. “Possibly. The part that bothers me most is that Larry knew who I was when we married. We dated for two years. Suddenly, that final year of our marriage, it was as if I was a stranger to him. He saw all the things he had once admired in me as shortcomings. Then he found the perfect wife.”

  “She admired and adored him the same as his partner and his wife, is that right?” That old familiar anticipation started pumping.

  “One who couldn’t wait to bear his children.” Baron looked away. “Gabrielle was everything I wasn’t. Patient, doting, submissive. She made him feel like the king of the world.” She laughed. “He actually said that to me. I wish I could hate her for it, but I never could. Not really. And God knows I tried.”

  “That’s the difference between you and the person who murdered Gabrielle.” Jess met Baron’s expectant gaze. “Gabrielle’s killer hated her. Hated her so completely that even after she was dead, it wasn’t enough.”

  1:50 p.m.

  Sarah stared at the rear entrance of the floral shop only a few steps away. But she couldn’t get out of the car until he said what he had to say. She was trapped like a child awaiting punishment. She didn’t deserve any better after what she’d done.

  She’d made a mistake and he was disappointed. She’d let that Chief Harris in their house.

  Coming to buy flowers was the only way they could escape the preparations for the service to talk. Jack had driven around behind the shop and parked between the delivery vans so they could have some privacy.

  “You fucked up, Sarah.”

  She thought about lying but he always found out everything. “I didn’t have a choice.”

  He laughed long and loud. She hated that sound. It grated on her nerves so badly. He never laughed and meant it. Whenever he made that obnoxious sound it was either to intimidate or to humiliate. That’s what he was best at.

  “We wouldn’t be in this situation if you hadn’t fucked up in the first place.”

  He wasn’t screaming like he usually did. But there was no mistaking how enraged he was. She’d failed him. Failed their union. Failed their children.

  “I tried to fix it.” The urge to cry welled in her throat but that would only make him more angry. He hated weakness. “I swear I did.”

  “You wore gloves? Shoe covers?”

  She nodded. “I was very careful.” Except for the bottle. Damn it. She had touched the bottle after taking off the gloves. She hadn’t meant to but little Gary had started crying again and she’d known he needed more milk if there was any hope of him settling down for the night.

  But he’d already had a bottle full.

  That was when she knew someone was in the house. So she’d pretended to leave and waited.

  It was the kid from next door! The worry and fear twisted in her belly. He’d been hiding in the baby’s closet, which meant he’d probably seen her.

  “Why was the boy hanging around the house?”

  “I guess he heard the baby crying and came to see if he was okay.”

  “It’s that retarded kid, isn’t it?”

  “He’s not retarded. He’s autistic.” Please let him focus on the kid and not on her. Please, please.

  “Can he tell that cop bitch he saw you?”

  She thought about that for a second. She’d seen him staring out his bedroom windows before. Gabrielle always said he never talked the once or twice he came over. He just showed up in her backyard and watched her and the baby for a while without ever saying a word.

  But that didn’t mean he couldn’t repeat exactly what he saw and heard if he chose.

  “That’s possible, I guess. But it was dark.” Her heart started that painful thumping.

  “Then he might not be able to ID you.”

  She licked her trembling lips. “I hope not.”

  He grabbed her by the hair and jerked her face toward his. “If he does, you’re fucked. You know that, right? I won’t save you.”

  “I know,” she whimpered.

  “We have to make sure this kid goes away. Permanently.”

  Maybe there was still a chance she could make this right. She swallowed back the lump of fear in her throat. “I understand. I’ve taken the first steps toward protecting our family.”

  “Is that right?”

  She nodded, hope that he would see how smart she was blooming in her chest.

  “If you fuck up again, they’ll nail you for this. Do you have any idea what they’ll do to you in prison? You’ll never see the babies again. And I’ll find me another woman. One who’s smart and sexy and who doesn’t fuck shit up!”

  “I won’t mess up,” she promised, her heart pounding. What if she already had?

  “Do it after the service,” he ordered. “That bitch Harris is getting too close.” He grabbed Sarah by the hair and pulled her face to his. “Remember, even if the police don’t discover your fuckups, I know all your secrets. You mess this up and we’re done.”

  That was the part that scared her the most.

  Maple Road, First United Methodist Church, 5:00 p.m.

  They barely got through the doors of the church before the service began. There was standing room only and she and Burnett were way at the back.

  Jess left him gaping after her as she eased through the crowd until she was closer to the front. To Grayson and what was left of his family. She needed to see who surrounded him and how they reacted as the service played out.

  Burnett stayed put at the back, no doubt appalled at her behavior.

  Anyone in the church who knew her wouldn’t be shocked. Anyone who didn’t, well, what they thought didn’t really matter.

  The pews were lined with uniformed officers. Though the service was not for an officer, many had chosen to pay their respects dressed in their honor uniform. The choir loft filled with robed members was a spectacular sight. Lawrence Grayson had certainly ensured a
proper send-off for his wife.

  Sergeant Jack Riley and his wife, Sarah, sat in the front pew with Grayson and his mother-in-law. But it was Sarah Riley who held Grayson’s baby. Made sense, Jess supposed. If the child started to cry she could easily step out of the sanctuary. Grayson and his mother-in-law could remain focused on the somber event and their final moments with Gabrielle.

  All in the sanctuary who weren’t already standing rose to their feet, hymnals in hand, as a fervent rendition of “Amazing Grace” filled the room. Most knew the words or at least part of them. Jess knew the chorus and that was about it.

  Church hadn’t really been a part of her life since she was a kid.

  She considered the young woman next to Sergeant Riley. Sarah expertly balanced the baby and the hymnal. Sarah was three years younger than Gabrielle had been; her two children were obviously with a sitter or relative since they weren’t in attendance. While Jess watched, Riley put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and leaned down and kissed her temple.

  The two made a lovely couple. But there was something not so lovely and happy beneath the facade the Rileys showed the world. There was an ugliness that grew from control and rigidity and demands. Sarah Riley lived to please her husband. Maybe Jess was reading too much into what she’d learned and seen so far, but she couldn’t let it go.

  She had called the victim twice the night of the murder. Why? If she or she and her husband had committed this heinous murder what was the motive? Why would they kill a woman they seemed to adore?

  Why was Gabrielle Grayson dead? What was the motive behind the act that took her life?

  Until they had that answer, all the supposition and scenarios in the world wouldn’t solve this case.

  Jess’s attention turned to the front of the church, where mountains of flower arrangements surrounded the ornate ivory coffin. Two large peace lilies anchored each side of the coffin. Jess shuddered at the memory of the last peace lily she’d seen. Eric Spears had sent it to Burnett’s hospital room. Jess resisted the impulse to check her cell just to see if he’d sent her a text. She hadn’t gotten anything else from him since the pleasant dreams message. He did love to play games. He’d rattled her. She couldn’t deny it.