Mistaken Identity (A Lucinda Pierce Mystery)

by Fanning, Diane

  “I want an attorney.”

  “What a disappointment. I thought you were smarter than that, Mr. Kidd.”

  “Screw you, bitch.”

  “I don’t think so, Mr. Kidd. I’m too young for your senior citizen fetish.”

  Kidd slammed his free arm down hard on the surface of the table.

  Lucinda stood and walked to the door. When she opened it, she turned back and said, “I hope you didn’t hurt yourself, little man.”

  Forty-Four

  “Any word from the hospital?” Lucinda asked as she stepped from the interrogation room.

  “Everyone is just fine. Martha has a new cast and she and Frank are on their way to their son’s house in the next county – we couldn’t take them back to the farm because the forensics techs are still gathering evidence out there. We thought you’d like to take Freddy back home, so a trooper is bringing him over here. Should arrive any minute. But, if you’d rather, we can get the trooper to transport him.”

  “No, not at all. That’s perfect. Jake and I need to head back and it would be nice to have some time to talk to Freddy on the drive into the city.”

  A civilian employee stepped into the back hall and informed Lucinda that Kidd was ready for transfer to her county’s jail. “And his attorney has been contacted. He will meet him there.”

  Lucinda dreaded dealing with attorneys in general and assumed the one representing John Kidd would be particularly difficult. She just hoped that it wasn’t one of the lawyers she’d already annoyed.

  The back door opened and a bandaged, weary but upbeat Freddy walked through the door. “Lieutenant Pierce! That sure was scary but it got really exciting at the end. I can’t wait to tell everybody at school about what I did for my summer vacation. Nobody’ll be able to call me a wimp ever again.”

  Jake ruffled the young boy’s hair. “We’re all proud of you, Freddy. What you did took a lot of guts.”

  “Are you the FBI guy?”

  “Sure am. And you’ll be riding back home with me and the Lieutenant.”

  “Do you have a cool car like the one you brought to the farmhouse?”

  “I do, Freddy, but unfortunately, it’s in DC. We’re riding in the Lieutenant’s boring-mobile.”

  “Hey,” Lucinda said, “it gets us where we need to go.”

  “See, Freddy, women just don’t get it.”

  Freddy laughed and asked, “Do you have to junk that red Camaro?”

  Jake winced. “I sure hope not.”

  “Let’s go, guys,” Lucinda said, putting an arm on Freddy’s back and giving him a gentle push towards the door.

  Before they hit the highway, Lucinda stopped at Dairy Queen and told Freddy to order whatever he wanted. He asked for a Butterfinger Blizzard. She thought about insisting on a meal, but then decided that after what the kid had been through, he deserved anything he wanted.

  While he devoured the frozen concoction, Freddy babbled away about his recent experience. His hard-won freedom put a glossy shine on his days of captivity, turning it all into a grand adventure. Then he became serious. “What makes people get that way?”

  “That’s something we study at the FBI all the time, Freddy,” Jake said, “but we still don’t have a clear-cut answer. It has something to do with abuse in their early childhood, brain injuries, drug and alcohol use at a young age – and then, there seems like there must be something in their genetic make-up because you can take a bunch of people with nearly identical lives and one person grows up a psychopath, another leads a life devoted to helping others, and most of them just end up like pretty ordinary folks.”

  “How come my grandma didn’t know he was a bad person?”

  “I’m pretty sure she’s come to regret that, Freddy,” Lucinda said. “But she’s not the first person to be tricked by a psychopath and she won’t be the last.”

  As they traveled the last few miles, Freddy grew quiet. Both Lucinda and Jake tried to bring him out again but he resisted all their attempts with monosyllabic responses.

  Victoria Whitehead raced down the front steps as they pulled up front. She threw her arms around Freddy as soon as he stepped out of the car. She turned to Lucinda. “Can you please come in for a bit? I have a few questions.”

  Lucinda nodded and she and Jake followed Freddy and his grandmother into the house. Victoria prepared a snack for Freddy and, at his pleading, allowed him to take it downstairs where he wanted to go to play with his Wii.

  The two investigators ran down the series of events and responded to all of Victoria’s queries, assuring her that Freddy had received a thorough medical examination at the hospital. Lucinda was walking toward the stairs to say goodbye to Freddy when her cell rang. “Pierce,” she said and then listened. “You’re kidding!” She paused again. “Miracles do happen. Thanks for the call.”

  “What is it?” Jake asked.

  “He’s ready to give up his accomplice in the double homicide. Fear of a possible death sentence does wonders for the level of cooperation.”

  After their car pulled away from the curb, Victoria yelled down to Freddy, “Get your Wii, your games and all the cable you need to hook it up and come upstairs.”

  “You want me to bring my Wii upstairs?”

  “Just do it, Frederick. And hurry.”

  Freddy did as he was told and came up the steps. “Grandmother?”

  From the second floor, she shouted down, “Set that stuff down in the foyer and get up here. You need to pack your clothes.”

  “Pack my clothes? Where are we going?” Freddy asked as he mounted the stairs.

  “Don’t you worry about that. Just get busy. We may never come back here so pack everything you ever want to see again.”

  “Grandmother, this doesn’t make any sense. Jason or John or whatever is in jail. They’re not going to let him out. We’re safe.”

  “No, we are not safe. There is more in this world to worry about than Jason’s violence. We need to leave and we need to leave right away.”

  In his bedroom, Freddy found an empty suitcase open on his bed. The thought of never returning frightened him and made it difficult for him to decide what to take and what to leave behind. He filled the bag, zipped it shut and rolled it out into the hall. “Grandmother, I finished.”

  “Good. Come in here and get another piece of luggage for your Wii – get the smallest one that will hold it all and grab an afghan from the family room and wrap it around the pieces so it won’t get banged up.”

  Freddy grabbed an overnight bag and rolled the two pieces of luggage down the stairs. After packing away his Wii, he sat down on a chair trying to figure out what was happening and why. He finally decided that his grandmother was just freaking out and in a few days she’d realize that and then they’d come home.

  Victoria emerged from her bedroom pulling two big suitcases behind her. Freddy leaped up the steps to take one of the bags downstairs while she took the other one.

  “Ready, Frederick?” she asked.

  Ready for what? “Yes, ma’am.”

  Victoria led him through the kitchen and into the garage. She backed the car out and stopped. “Say goodbye, Frederick. I don’t know why any of us ever moved to this godforsaken town. I, for one, will never return – not even if I’m stone-cold dead. You remember that, Frederick. As much as I loved your mother, and as much as I’d like to rest beside her for all eternity, I can never do it here. My soul would never find a moment’s peace.”

  Forty-Five

  District Attorney Michael Reed and Federal Prosecutor Alicia Monroe greeted Lucinda and Jake when they arrived at the justice center. “John Kidd is in the interrogation room with his attorney, Stephen Theismann,” Reed said.

  “Not Theismann,” Lucinda groaned.

  “Afraid so, Pierce. But it won’t be a problem. Kidd’s ready to deal, so we won’t need the two of you in the room.”

  “Excuse me?” Lucinda snapped.

  “Pierce, settle down and hear me out. Here’s h
ow we’re going to play it. You and Special Agent Lovett will be on the other side of the glass, able to hear every word. Prosecutor Monroe and I will be in the interrogation room wearing earpieces so that you can communicate with us – feed us any relevant details, suggest questions, whatever.”

  Lucinda threw up her hands, “Fine. Fine. But if he balks …”

  “We hit a brick wall, Pierce, we’ll bring both of you in.”

  “Okay,” Lucinda said, shaking her head in disagreement.

  “Pierce, don’t come barging in there without an invitation – you got it?”

  “Whatever,” Lucinda said, walking down the hall and into the observation room.

  Reed and Monroe entered interrogation, sat down across from Kidd and Theismann and put in their earplugs. Reed introduced Monroe to the attorney and his client, then said, “Mr. Theismann, for the record, what is your client offering and what does he want?”

  “Mr. Kidd is offering up the identity of the shooter and his willingness to testify against this perpetrator in a court of law. He is also prepared to plead guilty to desecration of a corpse and complicity after the fact. In exchange, he wants a sentence commensurate with those lower level felonies.”

  “As if.” Lucinda chuckled.

  “Providing that your client is completely truthful with us here today and testifies to the same, we are in agreement.”

  “He’s got to be kidding! I will not let them do that,” Lucinda said, reaching for the button to speak to the prosecutors.

  Jake grabbed her wrist and pulled it back. “Wait. They’re only talking about dropping the murder charges. And what if there is another shooter? The kidnapping is a federal rap guaranteeing a stiff sentence and – unlike the state – in federal prison, the sentence given is pretty darned close to the time actually served. He’s not off the hook, Lucinda. And if he makes one false statement, we’ll prove it and the deal is off.”

  “The murders of Parker and Jeanine Sterling are not irrelevant, Jake.”

  “No, they’re not. But we need to be practical. This could give us the best of both worlds – an accomplice and Kidd behind bars for a long time.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “Let it play out.”

  Lucinda nodded and returned her attention to the other room.

  “Mr. Kidd, are you claiming you are not the shooter?” Reed asked.

  “Not just claiming. It’s a fact. It was not my gun and I did not pull the trigger.”

  “Who do you allege fired the weapon in the Sterling home that morning?”

  Kidd looked at his attorney. Theismann nodded. “Pamela Godfrey,” Kidd said.

  “Holy shit,” Lucinda said, picking up her cell and speed-dialing Ted’s number. “Go pick up Pamela Godfrey immediately and bring her in for questioning.”

  “She’s the accomplice?”

  “That’s what he says.”

  “On my way.”

  Lucinda turned back to Reed mid sentence. “… the nature of his relationship with Ms. Godfrey?”

  “She’s a lesbian – we don’t have a ‘relationship’. I’m not her type.” Kidd laughed.

  “Mr. Theismann, will you please remind your client of the seriousness of this interview and request that he respond accordingly,” Reed said.

  “Mr. Reed, my client is well aware of the gravity of his position. He is apprising you of the situation, nothing more.”

  “Well, Mr. Kidd, can we start at the beginning?” Reed asked. “Take me back to your arrival in town and why you came here in the first place.”

  “You sure you’re not a shrink? Taking me back to the horrors of my childhood?” Kidd asked.

  “You weren’t raised here, Kidd. You can skip the heart-wrenching biographical sketch.”

  “Not really, Mr. Reed. Not if you want the story to make sense.”

  “Okay, fine. Go ahead.”

  “My father, the philandering William Blessing, fathered quite a few children in his lifetime. My mother knew nothing about it until after his stroke killed him. When he died, they cleared out his office and turned his personal belongings and papers over to my mother and that’s when she learned the truth. He had extracted himself from our lives but since they were still legally married, my mother assumed that he was as faithful to her as she was to him. When she read his journal, she found out otherwise and took her life – she killed herself over that miserable son of a bitch.”

  Reed looked back over his shoulder toward the glass and raised his eyebrows. Lucinda pressed the button. “Yes, his mother did commit suicide.”

  “I take it you saw the journal after your mother’s death?” Reed asked.

  “Yes, I did. I found a list of the women who slept with my father, complete with dates. And it was their fault that my mother and I had to struggle to exist – we lived on beans, rice and water for a long, long time. My father never gave us a penny after he walked out the door. So I set out to get what was owed to me by those slutty women. You found my papers, you saw all the women and the children they had with my father – children that replaced me.”

  “Your father ran a sperm bank, Mr. Kidd. Did it ever occur to you that all you found was a list of women who were artificially inseminated with your father’s sperm?”

  “Of course I thought about it. But that would have been unethical – he ran the place, he couldn’t participate.”

  That astonishing response left the prosecutor momentarily speechless. In his ear, Lucinda said. “That was just one set of documents. What about the one that went back generations?”

  Reed asked about the centuries-long genealogy chart and John Kidd laughed again. “I just made that one up.”

  “And why would you do that?”

  “Well, that wasn’t my original plan. I came looking for Jeanine Sterling – not Victoria Whitehead. I looked up Freddy’s birth certificate and saw that Parker was listed as his father and I knew that wasn’t true. I figured the easiest way to get the money Jeanine owed me for sleeping with my father was blackmail. I thought if I threatened to tell her husband about her affair and the paternity of her son, she’d pay me anything I wanted to keep quiet.

  “Unfortunately, she just told me to go to hell. So I had to come up with another plan and that’s when I discovered Victoria. She was easy pickings – most of those older women are; they’re usually widowed or divorced with no one giving them a second glance. They’re so appreciative of the smallest kindness and so grateful if you seduce them. It’s kind of pathetic, really.

  “I thought I could use her to get what I wanted. I realized she was a sucker for all that off-the-wall, mumbo-jumbo, supernatural stuff. So I created a story that Parker Sterling had sold his soul to the devil in exchange for immortality. Those phony documents I drew up made her a believer. I figured if she hated and feared her son-in-law, I could use that to my advantage.”

  “So where does Pamela Godfrey come into the story?” Reed asked.

  “The thing with Victoria wasn’t working as I planned. Instead of convincing her daughter of the evilness of Parker, Jeanine grew furious at her mother and stopped talking to her. So I staked out the Sterling house, looking for something else to use. I knew I had it the day I saw a woman walk out the front door, then stop to embrace and lay a passionate kiss on Jeanine’s mouth. That woman was Pamela Godfrey.”

  “How did you figure out who she was?”

  “I kept watching the house. I saw her come and go many times. Then one day, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I followed her to the parking lot of the complex where she lived. I approached her and told her I knew about her and Jeanine and thought she might be pissed off at someone in the Sterling house.

  “She said she loved Jeanine but Jeanine had called off the relationship – said she didn’t want to see Pamela any more. Boy, was Godfrey pissed. So I made her a proposition: we’d both blackmail Jeanine over the lesbian affair. No way could that woman survive in her social circle with her secret out. That’s
why we went to the house that morning. We wanted to catch both of them at home, thinking that if Jeanine balked, her husband would pay anything to keep that assault on his manhood private.”

  “So you want us to believe that the two of you went into the house for no reason other than extortion?” Reed asked.

  “Yeah, man, I swear, that was my only reason. I didn’t even know Pamela was carrying a gun.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “We went upstairs and found them both in the bathroom. I told them why we were there and the next thing I know shots are firing and two people are dead on the floor. On top of that, Pamela was getting all weepy after killing them. I had to help her move Jeanine’s body to the bed. She cried over her the whole time she was fixing her up. I kept telling her to make sure her tears didn’t fall and leave traces of her DNA behind.”

  “That explains the scene we found in the bedroom, but why was Parker’s body mutilated?”

  “Well, you see, I’d already fed my story to Victoria and she bought into it. So I figured if I made it look like Parker killed his wife and left some poor slob in the tub with his identifying features removed, she’d help me with an alibi and with cash when I needed it. After all, she would now control Freddy’s estate, so she could get her hands on lots of money.”

  “How did you know that? About her control of Freddy’s inheritance?”

  “Asked her about that a long time ago, just trying to figure out alternative ways to get to Jeanine’s money.”

  “That makes it sound as if you had a good motive for the shooting, Mr. Kidd,” Reed said.

  “Please, on the surface, sure, but I had this blackmail scheme going. I wanted to play that out and that damned Godfrey woman screwed it up.”

  “I’m not buying this story, Reed,” Lucinda whispered into the microphone.

  Reed just shook his head. He turned to Alicia Monroe and they exchanged nods.

  “Wait!” Lucinda urged. “Ask him about Parker’s other hand.”

  “Mr. Kidd, we recovered Parker’s head and one of his hands. Where is the other hand?”