Retribution

by T. K. Walls

  Then he found what he was looking for at the bottom of the stack. Taking a magnifying glass from his desk, he carefully looked at the news clipping that had been placed in the car window. It was definitely a birth announcement, but it was for Dr. Rivers’s youngest children, the twins Elizabeth and Stephanie.

  “Miss Van!” Ryan hollered louder than he had intended. “Hey, do you know anything about Stephanie Rivers? That would be Dr. Rivers’s daughter?”

  He knew Miss Van hated it when he yelled for her from his office, and she would either call him by phone or ignore him. This time, however, he heard her chair creak as she got up, and he listened as she slowly and carefully made her way down the hall toward his office. He knew she must be mad at him, as it took great effort for her to walk. Her knees were bent from age and weight. He guessed she probably was in dire need of a joint replacement. He also knew if she was walking to his office, he’d better pay close attention.

  “Now, Doc, how many times do I have to ask you not to yell at me from this nasty, dark hole in the building that you call your office? You know how bad my knees hurt! You know how hard it is for me to get up and out of that chair and walk down this hall to your office! I ain’t some young thing that’s gonna run up and down these here halls, either.” Pointing at the phone on his desk, she continued to scold him. “You want me, you call me on that phone you carry and the phone I sit next to. I will answer.” Shaking her finger at him and smiling, she continued, “And, don’t you be yelling at me from this office.” Bracing herself against the door jam, she waited for him to reply.

  “Yes, Miss Van. I won’t do it again,” he said looking up from the photos.

  “Oh yes you will, and I’ll be here to make you shape up! Now, what was so important that I had to get up out of my chair and walk all the way back here?”

  “Miss Van, I am sorry. Forgive me?”

  Chuckling, she said, “Now you know I do.”

  “Thank you. Do you know about Stephanie Rivers?”

  Steadying herself with the doorknob and walking farther into his office, she accepted the photo from the coroner. Examining the photo, she said, “This is Stephanie Rivers? The little girl who died in the plane crash? I don’t know anything more than anyone else! All I know is what I heard on the news. She was Dr. Rivers’s youngest, and unfortunately, she died in the last plane crash. Awful life for that child. Can you imagine? She loses her mother, brothers, and twin sister in the first crash and then dies in such a horrific way in yet another crash! That poor child!” Shaking her head in sadness, she said, “She never had no one looking after her.” She handed the birth announcement photo back to the coroner. “It’s almost as if she was never destined to live. Never had a chance, that one.” Sighing, she turned and ambled back down the hall to the dispatch booth.

  Leaning back in his chair, Ryan ran his hands through his hair. The events of the previous few days were wearing on him. He knew that soon all of this would fall into place, but something still puzzled him. Something in the photos.

  He was on his second cup of coffee when he noticed what was wrong. The police photographer who had turned in the first set of prints had taken a photo of Dr. Rivers’s car. There was nothing stuck in the driver’s side window, nothing on the windshield. Ryan poured through the rest of the photos until he found the photo with the birth announcement stuck in Dr. Rivers’s car window. Comparing the two photos, he slowly realized the old newspaper clipping had to have been put on the car by someone after the fire was extinguished. Sitting back in his chair, he also realized only one person could have placed the clipping in the car window.

  THIRTY-SIX

  RYAN HEARD THE DOOR TO THE MORGUE OPEN AND KNEW WHO WAS ENTERING THE SPACE JUST BY LISTENING TO THE FOOTSTEPS. He didn’t wait for him to speak. He was still somewhat hoping he was wrong. He would know soon enough.

  “You killed them all, didn’t you?” asked Ryan. It was more of statement than a question. “I just don’t understand why,” he stammered. “You didn’t even know these people.”

  Ryan was confused but continued stumbling for the words to express how stunned he was to learn that his closest friend for years—who was also the sheriff of his home community—could commit such heinous acts of violence against seemingly innocent people. “Stop staring at me and explain this to me,” he said. “Why…? Are you planning to kill me too?”

  Slowly shaking his head no, Mac said, “Ryan, you’re a good friend and a good man. And for those reasons, I’ll answer your questions. To answer your last question first, believe it or not, I have no intention of killing you. Now for the first question, I may not have known all of them on a personal basis, but I did know of them, and all of them are intricately related to each other.”

  He waited for a response, and seeing nothing more than stunned disbelief on Ryan’s face, he continued with his story. “Before I became Mac, and long before I ever moved here, my name was Seth Richards. Dr. Rivers’s first wife, Rachel, was my closest friend growing up, and eventually we became lovers, but that was after she married Brad and after she had the boys. She eventually became pregnant with Stephanie and Elizabeth… my children… my daughters. Whom he killed. He didn’t just kill one person, Ryan. He killed Rachel and his sons; he killed his second wife, Beverly, and her kids; and of course… Stephanie and Elizabeth. Are you keeping count? I have. He killed eight people, at least eight people, that I know of.”

  “Why didn’t Rachel just get a divorce? You two could have gotten married and raised your children. Hell, she could have gotten a decent settlement and possibly custody of her sons.”

  “Maybe, but I wasn’t calling myself Seth. I changed my name after college. You forget that I was a police officer in Boston long before I accepted this job. Dr. Rivers has—or had—enough money to discover not only who I really am but also Rachel’s secrets. That discovery would have cost her the children.”

  Seth removed his gun from his holster and motioned for Ryan to stand up. “Grab your coat, a blanket, and anything else you may need to stay warm and, most importantly, alive.”

  Ryan was even more confused. “You really aren’t going to kill me? How are you going to ensure I don’t talk to anyone or call the state police? Look, buddy, we have been friends for a long time, but you know me, I can’t keep quiet about this. There are too many dead bodies, too many questions, and the bottom line is… I just can’t stay quiet.”

  Seth was still pointing the gun at him. “I know, but I also know I am not going to kill a good man, much less a good friend, even if that means risking exposure. Besides, Ryan, you aren’t going to be found for at least twelve hours, and that’s all the time I need to finish. After I am done, I don’t really care what happens to me.” He tossed Ryan’s coat to him. “Put the coat on, and get a couple of blankets off the gurneys. I don’t want you to freeze to death or lose a finger.” He smiled lightly.

  Ryan backed up to the gurney and grabbed the blankets that were lying on top. “OK, uh, Mac… or Seth, is it? I understand why you killed the doctor, but I don’t understand the rest. Why the police detective? And how did you get the body to the beach without anyone seeing you? Oh, and how on earth did you know the lawyer would find him?”

  “To be honest, the lawyer finding him was purely a coincidence. A perfect coincidence. I couldn’t have planned it better, but it was, nonetheless, a coincidence. As for the rest, you forget who I am and where I used to work. I am the sheriff. Who do you think closed the beach that day? I closed the beach. Detective Connard was a colleague of mine back in the day. I think we went to the academy together. Not that it matters,” Seth absently added. “I invited him to interview for a job. Of course, the job didn’t exist. Before you ask, there is no record of my invitation. I arranged an accidental run-in with him in Boston a few weeks before he came out here for the interview. Our conversation was completely verbal, and I insisted he tell no one under the guise that the job wasn’t posted, it was his if he wanted it, and all he had to do was
keep his mouth shut. Which he did. He was easy to kill. And by the way, good job on discovering ‘death by burking.’ I wasn’t expecting you to figure that out so fast. After he was dead, I lubed him up in motor oil and stuffed him in the wet suit. I had the body in my truck when I closed the beach. It was just a matter of dumping him.”

  “But why him? How does he fit?” Ryan kept asking questions in the hopes that one of his residents would walk into the morgue.

  “You’re stalling, Ryan, but I expected no less. He fits because he was connected to Rachel. In an indirect way, but he still fits. He worked for the lawyer, Emily. He wasn’t a good cop, and he certainly wasn’t a good person. He knowingly turned in a false confession that eventually led to the death of an innocent kid.

  “Your next question I will ask for you. How did Emily fit in, you wonder? She hired him and then lied about hiring him, and as latent justice would have it, she was sued by the family of the kid. She lost her job and almost lost her license to practice law. But most importantly, and this is what matters to me the most, it’s not the kid. I am not a vigilante. Emily was Rachel’s best friend, and when Rachel came to her for guidance and told her in confidence that she suspected Brad and Eric of smuggling, Emily not only ignored her, she violated her trust. She told Eric, and Eric told Brad. Brad’s first plane crash was the following week. Even after Rachel died, Emily refused to bring charges against the doctor, and she refused to investigate the case. Stephanie would be alive today if Emily hadn’t betrayed Rachel’s trust. Possibly Rachel would be alive too.”

  Seth finished his story and let out a sigh of relief. “I am just curious, Ryan, what gave me away? I am always careful.”

  “ ‘Always’? What does that mean, ‘always’? Are there more than these killings?” Ryan hesitantly asked.

  “Of course there is, my friend.” Seth softly laughed. “I don’t think you want to know all the skeletons in my closet, and I am not prepared to divulge everything, at least not tonight. Now, I asked you a question, and given that I have answered yours, you need to answer mine. How did you figure this out?”

  “The picture. The one by your front door,” Ryan answered, shaking his head. “I have seen that picture many times, and something about it always bothered me. You know, Mac, uh, I mean Seth. It is Seth, isn’t it?”

  Seth nodded his head. “Yes, it is.”

  “OK, Seth. At first I thought it was a picture of you and your sister. ‘Perhaps she’s dead, and that’s why he never talks about her.’ That’s what I told myself. The state searched Dr. Rivers’s home, you remember. You were there. A box of papers, flight records, and even some old photos were removed. One old photo was of a young girl and boy standing in front of a house. I knew I had seen that picture before, and it finally came to me. I had seen that photo before because it was one of you with the same young girl. The photo was in your house, on your table, in your foyer. It wasn’t a photo of your sister; it was a shrine to Rachel.”

  “Hmmm, I didn’t think you had noticed the photo. It doesn’t matter. Get the coat on. As much as I would enjoy talking to you more, my friend, I have to leave.” Seth opened the morgue cooler and motioned for Ryan to go inside.

  Ryan put the coat on, picked up the blankets, and walked toward the open door. “You are really going through with this, aren’t you? I suppose this will be the last time I see you.”

  Seth reached into his jacket, pulled out a handful of pocket hand warmers, and tossed them to Ryan. “Use these sparingly. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I would hate to find out something happened to you. If you look closely in those blankets, you will find a small flashlight. I will send someone to open the door once I am finished.”

  Looking at his old friend standing in front of the cooler door, Seth felt a flash of sadness. They had been friends for many years.

  “For what it’s worth,” Seth said, “I am sorry things ended like this.” He took the cell phone from Ryan and then closed the morgue cooler door, leaving Ryan inside.

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  TONI WAS BUSY GETTING EMILY’S SCHEDULE CONFIRMED FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WHEN SHERIFF MCNEIL CALLED.

  “Law office of Emily Bridges. How can I help you?” answered Toni cheerfully.

  “Good afternoon, Toni. I was hoping your boss had some free time this afternoon,” Mac quickly responded. He could hear Toni riffling through papers as she spoke on the phone.

  “Hang on a sec, and I’ll ask her. I think she was planning to stay late tonight to get caught up on a few things.”

  Without waiting for the sheriff’s response, Toni put him on hold and quickly walked to Emily’s office, poking her head inside the door. “Emily, the sheriff is on hold. He wants to know if you have any free time this afternoon.”

  Puzzled, Emily asked, “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “Uh, no, he just asked if you were free. I told him you might be staying late tonight.”

  “Great, thanks,” Emily muttered. “He is literally the last person I would want to see tonight—or any night, for that matter!”

  Toni gave her a quick, apologetic frown and asked, “Do you want me to tell him you have plans? I don’t mind. I am really sorry I told him you were going to stay late. I can tell him you changed your plans.”

  “No, it’s OK, probably best to get this over with anyway. Something about him… I don’t know. I don’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling from him. But then again, he is a cop. You’ve known him a while, right?”

  Laughing at her, Toni replied, “Oh, yeah, a soft, warm, fuzzy teddy bear! That one is not! I don’t think I have ever seen him outside of work. In fact, I don’t recall ever seeing him smile!” Toni turned to go to her desk, calling back to Emily, “I will patch him through to you.”

  Picking up the phone, she said, “Sheriff, I am patching you through to Emily.” She could hear the irritation in Emily’s voice as she picked up the call just before Toni hung up.

  Emily didn’t try to hide her dislike of the sheriff. “Sheriff, what I can do for you?” she asked dryly.

  “Counselor, we had a few new developments in the detective’s death. I was wondering if I could either meet with you after hours at your office or at my office. I know it’s getting late in the day, but this is too important to wait.” Mac waited for her to respond. He knew she would not readily agree to meeting at the station, and she probably wouldn’t want to meet him alone in her office either. Just as he expected, she offered an alternative.

  “Uh, Sheriff, I am going to be busy tonight at the office, but I could meet you for coffee afterward if that works for you. I should be done by eight or so.” Emily was quietly praying he would forgo the meeting. To her dismay, he took her up on her offer.

  “Sure, Counselor. Most places close early around here on a weeknight, but I know of a small family café not too far away where we could have a coffee, maybe dinner if you’re hungry.”

  “Sure, OK, sounds good. Just text me the address and I will be there,” Emily stammered.

  This was one dinner she wasn’t looking forward to having. She glanced at Toni, who was packing up her things and getting ready to go home. She envied her; she seemed to be happy most days, and she had a supportive, loving family. The last thing Emily wanted was for Toni to think she was upset that she had told the sheriff she was going to be working late. “Toni,” she called out.

  Toni turned around at the desk and shouted back to her, “I am still here! I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.” She walked back over to Emily’s office.

  “I just wanted to thank you for all you have been doing for me. I know I am not always the easiest person to work with, and I didn’t want you to think I was upset over the sheriff.”

  “No worries. I know him well enough to know it’s best to just get the meeting with him over with. I have to pick up my daughter, so I will see you tomorrow morning!” Toni waited for Emily to say something, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw her eyes tear up.

  Cle
aring her throat, Emily nodded her head, saying, “Yes, go get your daughter, and thanks again! I will see you in the morning!”

  Emily finished up her last case, turned off the lights, locked up the office, and checked her text messages. Sure enough, there was an address for her to meet the sheriff. Reluctantly, she got into her car and programmed the navigator with the address. It wasn’t one she recognized, and as dark as it was outside, she was hoping the street was well lit.

  According to her navigator, the café was only about twelve miles from her office. It was overcast, and given it was late fall, it was already very dark. The navigator told her to take a left turn off the main road, which soon narrowed to a dirt-and-gravel road.

  She hadn’t gone far when she started thinking maybe she had programmed the navigator incorrectly or maybe the address was wrong. Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time her navigator had sent her the wrong way. She laughed at herself as she recalled the time she and Eric had been trying to find a pizza place, and the navigator had taken them to an empty parking lot in the middle of nowhere! “Well, let’s see where you are taking me. I can always turn the car around and tell the good sheriff I couldn’t find his café,” she said aloud to herself.

  There didn’t seem to be any good areas to make a quick U-turn, but just as she was thinking of making her own path back toward the main road, the navigator told her to make a right turn on to County Road 205 and her destination was a hundred meters from the turn. She slowed for the turn and noticed there was no signage for the café. “Yep, wrong address,” she muttered. “I bet he won’t believe I even tried to meet him.”

  She made the turn onto the narrow dirt road and stopped. The road was littered with large potholes. “Damn, this is not the right place!” she complained out loud. She put the car into reverse and set to back out when she noticed her rear lights were out and her backup camera wasn’t working. Slamming her hands on the steering wheel in frustration, she knew she had no other option but to pull forward into this narrow road and find a way to turn the car around. She slowly crept forward, trying to avoid the deep holes in the road.