The Deadliest Institution Collection

by Holly Copella

“What about Joe?” Devon gasped softly while feeling her body tremble. “You didn’t--? Not for me.”

  “Joe was a two for one deal,” Martin admitted proudly while raising his brows. “When Ross blabbed what actually happened that day in the barn, I wanted to kill Joe. It wasn’t until he attempted to blackmail me for killing Paula that I decided he had to go. I didn’t count on him actually remembering our drunken conversation. Joe’s death was no big loss, I assure you.”

  “And Brant?” she asked with surprise. “Did you try to kill Brant? Why did you frame him?”

  “That wasn’t me, I swear. I’ll admit; I did dispose of Jamie’s body down here, but it wasn’t my intention for Brant to be blamed. In fact, when I learned how much he meant to you, I tipped Ross off to the Ruby Club. I was the one Brant spent the evening with drowning his sorrows. When I ran into him at the beach house party, I had to take my leave. I didn’t realize that was your boss and couldn’t risk him connecting any dots,” Martin informed her. “I knew he was innocent. My journal will clear him as well.” He drew a deep breath while staring at her. “You were my only reason for living, Devon. I just want you to be happy. Chelsea and I will be together forever now. This is the way it has to be.”

  “What do you mean?” Devon suddenly gasped with alarm. “What have you done?”

  “Just a little poison cocktail.”

  Devon gasped with horror. Martin clutched the altar for support.

  “It’s okay, Devon,” he gently informed her. “I’ll finally be happy. Chelsea and I will be together forever. We’ll finally be free.”

  “No, we need to get an ambulance.”

  Martin snorted softly and, with all his strength, approached her. He gently touched her face.

  “It’s already too late, I assure you,” he announced while smiling weakly.

  Devon sobbed softly while shaking her head. Martin held her in his arms then released her and wiped away her tears.

  “I love you, Devon,” he announced. “But it’s time for you to go. I only have a few minutes left, and I’d like to spend them alone with Chelsea.”

  She sniffed and wiped her tears while staring into his eyes. “I love you, Martin.”

  Martin smiled warmly and turned toward the altar. He clutched the altar for support and took Chelsea’s hand. Devon slowly backed away and turned for the walkway. She knew she needed to get to the phone in the workshop. Perhaps, she could still save her brother. Save him for what purpose though? He’d brutally killed nearly half a dozen people and would need to pay for his crimes. Letting him go the way he wanted would be the compassionate thing to do. As she headed for the walkway, she heard a thud. She turned and saw Martin lying on the floor alongside the altar. She ran back and fell to her knees alongside him. Devon clung to Martin and sobbed.

  Chapter Forty-nine

  There was a large gathering at the ranch after Martin’s funeral. Despite what had come out about Martin, dozens of people from town showed up to express their condolences to the family. Although no one condoned Martin’s behavior, they knew the family had a long way to go with the healing process. The twelve ranch hands were dressed in their finest jeans and flannel shirts to attend the wake at the main house following the viewing at Tony’s funeral home.

  Devon’s friends were there to support her as well, which she was grateful. She needed her friends more than ever to deal with the crushing blow of losing her brother. Even more so, the fact that someone she had admired since she was able to walk could do the horrible things he’d done. Tyler had accompanied Brant to the farmhouse. It was his first introduction to Ivy, and he was particularly taken with Devon’s friend. Devon wanted to warn her about Tyler, but she just couldn’t bring herself to have a normal conversation. She particularly avoided Ross, because he would try to make her feel better, and she didn’t want to feel better.

  Brant remained by her side throughout most of the wake, which she appreciated, but she needed some time alone and was frustrated when she couldn’t escape people attempting to cheer her up. She eventually ended up standing by the paddock fence petting her horse. Even her horse attempted to cheer her up by lipping her cheek when she stood still and silent for too long. She looked across the yard filled with cars and saw her father leaning against Tony’s blazer with his head down. Devon drew a deep breath and finally approached her father. She leaned against the blazer near him but didn’t speak. He placed his arm around her, pulled her to his side, and held her in silence. It was probably the nicest moment she’d had with her father in a long time.

  “Seven years,” her father muttered finally breaking the silence.

  She pulled away and eyed him, wondering what he’d meant by the comment. “What about seven years?” she finally asked.

  “Your brother loved that girl for seven years, and I never knew about it,” he announced almost painfully. “To love someone that much and keep it hidden so deep inside. I guess I never really knew him at all.”

  “You knew him, Dad,” she gently replied. “He just chose to keep that part of his life to himself.”

  “And it eventually destroyed him from the inside,” he remarked then looked at his daughter. “I don’t want that to be us, Devon. I don’t want you mad at me and let it fester inside for the next seven years.”

  “I’m not--” She hesitated and met her father’s gaze. “Yes, I’m mad at you. You took away the thing I loved most because you didn’t want me to be one of the boys. You wanted me to be like mom; a dutiful wife and mother. That’s not going to happen.”

  “You’re wrong, Devon,” he informed her and shook his head. “I don’t believe a woman’s place is in the kitchen. I never have. I don’t want to see you attempting to fill a role that makes you miserable just because you were born a certain gender.”

  “You ordered me to stay away from the ranch hands,” she reminded him. “You told me I could no longer work the herd. Don’t deny it upset you when you had to fire Joe because you didn’t want to lose a hard worker. That it tore you up inside to fire a man fulfilling the role your son didn’t want.”

  He stared at her with surprise. “Yes, it upset me when I fired Joe because he was a great worker,” her father boldly announced. “But I wasn’t upset with you because of his weakness, Devon. I never blamed you for being in the barn that day.” He drew a deep breath. “Honestly, I was mad at myself. I’d allowed you to engage with men I thought I could trust around my daughter. Joe betrayed my trust, and I was afraid I’d been mistaken about the others as well. I didn’t want anyone else ever touching you again.” He shook his head. “I just wanted to protect my little girl, and I failed. Keeping you away from them was my only way to protect you.”

  “You don’t get it,” she announced defensively. “You don’t have to protect me. When things happen, I’ll deal with them. I can’t stop living just because I get hurt along the way.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry,” he replied gently. “I don’t want you carrying anger with you like your brother had. I want us to be honest with each other and have real conversations when things are bothering us.”

  Devon lowered her head. “I’ll admit; I didn’t handle our disagreements very well either.”

  “What do you say?” he asked and managed a smile. “Can we start over? You can even come back and work the ranch if you’d like.” He then made a face. “You can even bring your odd boss along since I hear he’s been playing cowboy while evading the police at my ranch like some outlaw.”

  She laughed nervously and managed a smile. “You heard about that, huh?”

  “Yeah, the guys think they’re so slick,” he announced with a sigh then shook his head. “I know more than they think, but we’ll keep that between us.”

  She laughed and hugged her father.

  Chapter Fifty

  Nearly a week had passed since Martin’s journal, and confession had cleared Brant of killing Jamie and her friends. Unfortunately, Martin had an alibi for Marlene’s murder, so that meant he was t
elling the truth about not killing her. Marlene’s killer was still out there. Sheriff Carter sat behind his desk while staring at the whiteboard on the wall, which contained photos of the dead women and Joe. Marlene was now on the left side of the board by herself. Her murder was unsolved, which took him right back to his first suspect--Brant. Marlene’s body was found in his basement, where it was proven she had been murdered. By his own admission, Brant was in the museum workshop from the time Marlene disappeared until her suspected time of death. He was alone the entire night. Carter shook his head with annoyance and slammed his fist on his desk, bouncing several items.

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” he muttered, leaned back in his chair and resumed staring at the board.

  Deputy Havens poked his head into the sheriff’s office. “Did you call me?”

  “No,” Carter muttered. “Unless your name is Deputy Bitch.”

  The deputy entered the office and stared at Marlene’s photo all by itself pinned to the left-hand side of the whiteboard.

  “Should we bring Brant back in for questioning?” Deputy Havens asked.

  “No,” the sheriff muttered into his knuckles while resting his chin on his fist. “With Martin’s deathbed confession to the murders, the evidence against Brant is shaky at best.”

  “Marlene was killed in his basement, and he doesn’t have an alibi from the time she left work until the moment she was killed,” Havens reminded him. “It doesn’t look good for him.”

  “Yes, but everything we found in the upstairs bedroom pointed to Brant killing the women Martin confessed he’d killed,” Sheriff Carter reminded him. “Sure, the knife we found was used to kill Marlene, but it wasn’t used on the other victims. We found the dagger Martin had used and another phantom costume in his bedroom at his father’s ranch. It’s obvious everything in Brant’s spare bedroom was planted there to frame him. Martin didn’t frame Brant, so that means whoever killed Marlene planted those things in Brant’s house.”

  “So you don’t think he killed Marlene?” Deputy Havens asked with surprise.

  Sheriff Carter frowned without moving his mouth from his knuckles and continued to stare at the board. “Nope, I’m convinced he’s innocent.”

  “So who killed Marlene?”

  “I have no clue.”

  §

  It was a little after six o’clock Saturday evening and another fun-filled night of work for Tony at the funeral home. It seemed a lifetime since he’d had a day off after the rash of murders provided additional work for the mortuary. Things were finally returning to normal until yesterday’s death meant another weekend of work. Tony took it in stride and hummed while busily working on his most recent client spread out on the metal prep table. There was a knock on the interior prep room door, surprising him. Tony looked up as the door opened. As Ivy poked her head into the prep room, Tony covered his client out of reflex. He relaxed when he saw it was just Ivy. Tony laughed nervously.

  “You startled me,” Tony announced and leaned on the table. “I really need to lock the front door when I’m working in the prep room.”

  Ivy managed a timid smile and indicated the covered body. “Is it okay if I come in?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure,” Tony announced and smiled. “Mr. Rumsfeld won’t mind.”

  She eyed the sheet then cringed. “Old man Rumsfeld?” Ivy nearly choked while seeming tense. “Didn’t he, uh, shoot himself in the head with a shotgun?”

  Tony grimaced and managed a tiny nod. “Yeah, it’s, uh, well, sort of--” He groaned and shook his head. “Definitely a closed casket affair. You don’t want to see it; trust me.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she announced then indicated the interior door to the kitchen. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Yeah, sure,” he replied and pointed to the door. “Make yourself comfortable in the kitchen. Just give me a minute to, uh, clean up.”

  She eyed the dark smears of old blood on his apron and nodded. “Sure,” she replied and grimaced. “Take your time. Scrub thoroughly.”

  Ivy exited the prep room and entered the kitchen. She approached the stove and put water in the kettle to make tea for them. The kettle finally whistled, and she had just poured two cups of tea when Tony entered the kitchen. He leaned against the counter near her and eyed her almost suspiciously.

  “So what brings you here this time of night?” he asked then raised his brows. “And a Saturday no less. Don’t you and Devon have important partying to do?”

  “She’s working this evening, and I didn’t feel like going out by myself.” Ivy leaned on the counter near him and managed a tiny smile. “I was offered the part in the soap opera.”

  Tony’s eyes suddenly lit up and he immediately hugged her. “Congratulations!” He pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes. “And without sleeping with some sleazeball. I’m proud of you.”

  She placed her hand on his chest and frowned. “I turned it down.”

  Tony released her and appeared surprised. “What?” he practically gasped. “Why would you do that?”

  “Turns out the scenes won’t be filmed at the resort,” she replied. “The job is in New York City.”

  “Okay,” he replied not understanding. “What’s wrong with an acting job in New York? I mean, that’s big time, right?”

  She fidgeted slightly and avoided looking at him. “I’ve done a lot of thinking,” Ivy announced then drew a deep breath. “I don’t want some acting job that’ll take me away from my family and friends.” She stared into his eyes. “There’s another reason.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  Ivy placed her hands on his face and kissed him warmly but passionately on the lips. She pulled back and stared into Tony’s eyes. He stared at her with some surprise then smiled.

  “Good reason,” he announced then pulled her into his arms and returned the kiss.

  §

  Ivy and Tony fell apart on the bed beneath the sheets while panting after their wild lovemaking. Tony wore a permanent grin on his face while Ivy was pleasantly rumpled. Ivy moved against Tony and rested her head on his bare chest. Tony clung to her and caressed her shoulder. She affectionately kissed his chest while he watched her and attempted to control his rapidly beating heart.

  “Can you call your mother and see if you can spend the night?” he teased.

  She eyed him and laughed.

  “Sorry,” he remarked while grinning. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a girl over.”

  “That long, huh?” Ivy giggled.

  “I exaggerate,” he replied then nodded. “But it has been a while.”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t spend the night,” she sadly informed him. “I have to drive my mother to the airport at an ungodly hour tomorrow morning.” She then offered a sly grin. “On the bright side, I’m free the rest of the week until she gets back on Friday.”

  “Well, then I’ll settle for the rest of the week,” Tony announced cheerfully. “Do you have enough time for a shower?”

  “I should probably go,” she replied while frowning. “I’ll see myself out.”

  “I understand,” he replied then kissed her warmly but passionately before pulling back and grinning. “If you change your mind; I’ll be in the shower.”

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Devon arrived at the museum Saturday evening a little before seven o’clock. She entered the workshop and paused in the doorway, surprised to see Tyler sitting at the counter working on one of his hideous creations. He cursed and wiped some paint from the wax face before him. Devon looked around with bewilderment then approached while summoning a pleasant mood.

  “Good evening, Tyler.”

  Tyler looked back with surprise. “Devon, I wasn’t sure you were coming back tonight.”

  “I thought I’d get a few hours in,” she announced. “I needed to get away from home for a while anyway.” Honestly, she didn’t want to think about Martin anymore right now. It was too painful. “Where’s Brant?” she asked. “He sai
d he’d be here.”

  “He had to run a few errands,” Tyler replied. “He’ll be back soon.”

  Devon walked toward the rack against the far wall and slipped into her lab coat. She took a seat at the counter before an awaiting wax head.

  “Are you going to the city tonight?” she asked while starting her work on the wax woman’s hair.

  “More than likely,” he replied then walked behind her. “Would you like to come along? I’m attending a friend’s party. It should be great fun.”

  “I’m working tonight,” she announced then looked back and offered a tiny smile. “My first night back after a week off.”

  Tyler sat alongside her and grinned. “I’m your boss, remember?” he teased. “I give you permission to take the night off.”

  Tyler placed his hand on her arm and affectionately stroked it.

  Devon pulled her arm away and glared at him. “You know I’m dating Brant.”

  “Oh, come on,” he announced and offered a slight chuckle. “We both know your thing with Brant will end the moment you meet his mother. She’ll never approve of some small town girl.” He raised his brows while staring at her. “Brant comes from a long line of wealthy snobs, and you’re nothing like those people. My family, however, will welcome you with open arms.”

  He again attempted to touch her arm. She sprang up from her chair and glared at him.

  “Leave me alone,” she snapped and hurried from the room.

  §

  Devon entered the mummy display with a rag and a can of turpentine. She needed to cool off before another confrontation with Tyler. Hopefully, Brant would be back and that would be the end of it. The carefully wrapped mummy was in a stalking position while a frightened woman was braced against a pillar in the ancient tomb setting. There were fake gold trinkets, statues, life-sized idols, and several wax archaeologists with horrified expressions upon their faces. There was a frightened woman apparently begging for her life from the horrifying mummy not far from the woman positioned against the pillar. As beautiful as the standing woman was, the begging woman was hideous and caked with makeup.