No Place to Die

by Jaden Skye

  The other officer clicked his heels on the floor. “That’s a tall order, you realize. Maybe we can and maybe we can’t. But okay, come inside with me. We need you to sign the sworn statement.”

  Andrew’s eyes closed a moment and he seemed relieved. “I will,” he murmured, as he started following him to the door.

  Olivia rose to leave, too, but was surprised to find Lorna’s hand on her wrist.

  “Stay right where you are,” she said, turning to Olivia with full force.

  Olivia was stunned by her tone and the accusing look.

  The door opened and in marched three more officers.

  “Remember me, Olivia?” one of the officers asked.

  Olivia did; it was one of the policemen she’d met early on, Officer Tan. “Yes, I do,” she replied. She also recognized the other officers. They had picked her and her father up at the airport when her mother and sister left.

  “Funny that you’d come into the station on your own like this,” Officer Tan continued. “Some suspects enjoy taunting the police.”

  “I beg your pardon?” asked Olivia, startled and confused.

  “It becomes a game for some killers, trying to see how long they can outwit us,” he went on.

  Olivia turned to Wayne, agitated, and saw him shake his head disappointedly.

  “We’ve been doing more research on you,” Officer Tan continued. “It seems you have quite a history of taking all kinds of meds.”

  She felt a pit in her stomach. Where were they going with this?

  “I took some antidepressants after my first fiancé died,” Olivia admitted.

  “Someone said you were also taking anti-psychotic medications,” Officer Tan continued.

  “Never!” Olivia was emphatic. “I only took regular antidepressants. I was suffering from grief, as you can imagine. I was not psychotic, never have been.”

  They glared at her suspiciously.

  “There can be a fine line,” Lorna said.

  “Are you a psychiatrist, then?” Olivia shot back.

  Lorna scowled, but remained silent.

  “And what are you implying?” Olivia pressed on. “That I’m insane?”

  “You took the meds for quite a while, didn’t you?” Officer Tan pressed forward as the other officers seemed glued to every word Olivia said.

  “I took antidepressants on and off,” said Olivia. “It was a hard time for me, they helped.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it was a hard time.” Officer Tan’s eyes looked threatening. “Losing a fiancé does funny things to your mind, doesn’t it?”

  They all stared at Olivia as if she were a caged animal, and she felt increasingly uncomfortable.

  “Losing anyone close is horribly painful,” said Olivia slowly, feeling the chill in the air now surrounding her.

  “Very painful,” Officer Tan taunted her, “but not as painful as for the one who died, is it? Especially when you get another fiancé in such a short time.”

  Olivia felt her jaw clenching. They were going after her full force.

  “Did you stop taking the antidepressants when you met Todd?” Officer Tan continued. “Or did you start taking them again then?”

  Olivia was cornered. “I was happy with Todd,” she tried to answer.

  “Those antidepressants could have even made you suicidal, couldn’t they?” Officer Tan wouldn’t let up.

  “I was never suicidal,” Olivia answered promptly, “not even in my worst moments.”

  “Your worst moments? What do you mean by that?” Lorna pressed.

  “I mean when I was saddest, most lonely and lost,” said Olivia.

  “That sounds suicidal to me,” Officer Tan quickly commented. “Who knows what a person would do then?”

  “No, I wasn’t suicidal,” Olivia insisted. “I never wanted to die.”

  Wayne cleared his throat, and the room fell silent. “Olivia,” he said softly, kindly. “Please level with us. Make this easy on yourself. We’ve discovered arsenic amongst your belongings.”

  Olivia felt her heart plummet.

  “You bought arsenic regularly, in fact, didn’t you?” Lorna chimed in.

  Olivia was stunned. She wracked her brain and remembered the homeopath she had seen. He’d given her small amounts of arsenic as an antidote to chronic pain. Yes, she had bought it regularly for a while, kept it with her. Could she have brought some with her on the trip down here? It must have been lodged in a jacket pocket.

  “The arsenic was a remedy for pain I was in,” Olivia cried out. “It was prescribed by a homeopath.”

  “Very convenient.” Officer Tan’s eyes narrowed.

  “So you admit you had arsenic in your possession for a long while?” Lorna asked.

  Olivia felt her mouth go dry. She no longer knew what to think.

  “It was a prescription!” Olivia’s voice rose even louder.

  Officer Tan ran his hands over his face harshly and then turned to the other men in the room. “Okay, we’ve got more than enough. Book her now!”

  Olivia felt her world spinning out from under her as two officers came up behind her, spun her around, and cuffed her. As the metal dug into her wrists and they led her from the room, the last thing she saw was Wayne’s face, looking down, shaking his head, as if asking himself how he could have been fooled all along.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  The cell Olivia was thrown into was small, cold, dark, heartless, and smelled of sour urine. There was a narrow bed to sleep on, a basin to wash in, and a cracked mirror hanging on the wall. In the cell to the right of her a woman alternated between wailing and cursing the dead. She then shook the bars on her cell, demanding to know who had just been placed in the cell next to her. Why weren’t they answering her?

  Terrified for both her life and her sanity, Olivia put her hands over her ears and remained silent. In the cell on her left, another woman, older it seemed, kept thumping against the wall with her foot, trying to get out. Olivia was sure she would break through the wall at any moment.

  Why was Olivia here? She’d come to help Tomas and landed in jail herself. Clearly now that Tomas was out, they needed someone else in his place quickly. How could false evidence have built against her so fast? Thankfully, when she was booked, Olivia gave them the name of her father and was told they would contact him immediately.

  Exhausted, Olivia lay down for a moment on the hard, cold bed and let her eyes close. The only way she could survive was to block everything out, try to sleep and wait for her father.

  As she lay there in the darkness, thankfully, she felt herself nodding off. One dream suddenly arose after another in rapid succession, though, taking her with them into a whirl.

  Olivia saw Todd’s face. She dreamed that he was alive, standing beside her, stroking her face to soothe her. They were walking on the beach they had visited the night he was killed. It was just before they got engaged and the evening air was still and warm and sweet. Olivia and Todd stood arm in arm at the edge of the water, looking out at the sun setting. Their future lay ahead of them and Olivia knew this was the moment he was going to propose.

  “I love you, Todd,” Olivia whispered to him in the dream, waiting for him to respond.

  But Todd said nothing, did not respond at all.

  Olivia waited with bated breath.

  “Todd?” she had to ask again, prodding him on. “Don’t you want to say something? Don’t you have a surprise waiting for me?” Olivia was waiting for him to go down on his knee and pull out the engagement ring.

  Instead, this time Todd turned to her and smirked. A horrible chill ran up Olivia’s arms, right into the center of her heart.

  “Do you hear me, Todd?” Olivia’s voice grew harsher.

  Again, he did not respond. Instead, this time he pulled far away from her.

  Olivia fled to his side. “Did you bring me here to reject me, Todd? Why do you want to hurt me when I love you?”

  A long, slow smile then spread over Todd’s face. />
  Olivia immediately dug into her pocket and felt for something she had hidden there. It would be easy to feed this to him before he fell asleep. Fell asleep forever! Olivia could not allow him to treat her this way, would not! She could not return home empty-handed and be the laughingstock of all her friends. Todd had given her nothing and said nothing about their future together, either. He had drawn her to him, enticed her, mesmerized her, only to leave her standing entirely alone.

  Olivia reached out, opened his mouth, and slipped the arsenic she had in her pocket inside.

  “Here, dearest Todd,” she said.

  Then Olivia solemnly watched as he collapsed onto the sand.

  Olivia woke shrieking. She looked around her small cell, drenched in sweat, aghast at her dreams. She grabbed at the edges of the narrow bed and pulled herself up, disoriented. Was it a dream? Was it real? Had she poisoned Todd? Would she spend the rest of her life in this cell, dreaming about it over and over?

  Olivia’s entire body grew numb and cold. Better to die than live like this, she thought. Suddenly someone came to her cell, turned a latch, and opened the door.

  “You can come out now,” the guard said. “You have a visitor.”

  Olivia had never felt so unanchored and confused. Walking behind the heavy guard down the narrow hallway, she felt as though she were taking her last steps.

  He opened another door widely for Olivia to go through, where the light was brighter and she could fully wake up.

  “Olivia!” Her father, ashen, came running over to her. “My God, how did this happen? It’s a nightmare.”

  “Your father has put up your bail,” the guard then announced, calmly. “You are free to go.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  As soon as she got back to her room, Olivia went straight to her suitcase and began packing. Her hands shaking, she rooted through her drawers, closets, all in a rush, desperate to leave this place. She couldn’t stand to see this hotel or town one more second.

  She stopped, though, when something heavy fell out of her suitcase liner and she heard a thunk on the floor.

  Olivia looked down to see what it was, and was shocked. Todd’s iPad.

  It all came back to her, their exchange in the airport back in New York. Can I put this in your suitcase liner, hon? Battery died, and I don’t want to bring it in my carry-on.

  She held it now, and it was an eerie feeling. It was like holding the remains of a dead person. Olivia powered it up. What, she wondered, could be on it? Could Todd reach out and speak to her in this way?

  Olivia held the iPad in her trembling hands. This was the device Todd had held so often. She stared at it nervously, as if she were about to enter a private world where she had no right to be.

  Olivia was surprised when it prompted for a password. She had no idea what it could be.

  Olivia. It didn’t work. Key West. Nothing.

  Then her hands trembled. Her head started spinning. No, she urged. Please not this. Mina. It worked. She felt sick.

  And the iPad came to life.

  *

  Olivia was surprised to find Todd had a different personal email account on this device, one she had never seen before, or heard him mention. She scrolled through the emails, and she felt herself grow numb. There were endless emails there, both from people in the company and from various women.

  Olivia opened them up and read one after another. The emails from assorted women were flirty, and Todd had answered in the same way. He’d obviously had plenty of company for jazz, cocktails, and other late-night activity.

  Devastated, Olivia forced herself to keep going and see what else she could find. Another long string of emails were about money. Todd seemed to have been expecting and needing more money in his account than he had.

  Olivia became nervous and read each email carefully. Suddenly, an email from Frank Brunel appeared.

  I talked to Casa, Frank said. We’re building the casino for sure. You know what comes with that. It takes time, be patient.

  I’ve been patient for too long and I’m running out of time, Todd replied.

  What in the world did Todd mean that he was running out of time? Of course it was true, but how could he have known it? Olivia sat there frozen, staring at his comment. Todd had never said a word to her about being in financial pressure of any kind. Did he owe money to someone he couldn’t pay? Why did he feel he was being treated unfairly? And what about this casino? Obviously the company was involved with it. Where and when was it being built?

  She read Frank’s email: If you think things are rough now, it’s only the beginning. Keep this up and you’ll wish you hadn’t. The same thing will happen to you that happened to Louie.

  Olivia gasped. Who was Louie and had he ended up dead? If so, this was a death threat. Did Frank remember that he and Todd had this correspondence?

  Olivia’s phone rang as she read through the emails, but she didn’t answer. She couldn’t, was glued to what was unfolding in front of her eyes. Todd had been involved in a web that she knew nothing of. That had to be why he had those periods of strange silence. Was his sudden engagement to her a cover for something he was trying to hide?

  But there was still no smoking gun. She closed out the email and scanned the desktop, and then she saw it. An audio file. Eighteen seconds long.

  Olivia clicked the file and was horrified to hear Todd’s voice. He was speaking to Frank. He had clearly recorded their conversation.

  “I’m backing out, Frank,” Todd said. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re the one that I’m sorry for,” Frank said. “Nobody backs out. Be here in the morning or be dead.”

  Olivia sat there, numb. Here was evidence not only about motive, but that pointed to the actual person involved, Frank. Mina had been right.

  Olivia knew she shouldn’t contact the police without her lawyer. And yet, she found herself picking up her phone and dialing.

  “Wayne,” she said when he answered. “I have something here I think you’ll want to see.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  “Is the case closed now?” Olivia asked breathlessly.

  She stood across from Wayne and Lorna at the police station, flanked by her father and her lawyer. They had taken Frank into custody hours before, and the rumor was he was talking.

  “Could well be,” Wayne remarked as he stood beside Olivia. “Frank may not have done it himself, but he certainly knows who pulled the trigger, so to speak. They all work together. Now that we have this, he’ll squeal like a pig. He’ll have no choice.”

  Strangely enough, Olivia felt no comfort at all. “You’re sure about Frank?” Olivia asked one more time. “Are we all jumping to conclusions?”

  “Now you’re sounding like me!” Wayne smiled. “But this is indisputable and when one card falls the whole house of cards topples down. Now that we have this on Todd’s iPad the case is as good as closed. You’re off the hook now, you can leave town.”

  The idea of leaving was strangely painful for Olivia.

  “I hope I wasn’t too hard on you, I didn’t mean to be,” Wayne continued. “Things didn’t look good for you, though, and we were concerned. You’ve made a real difference in solving the crime, though, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Olivia answered quietly.

  “Frank will be processed in no time. You can pack up and book the next flight with your father. There’s nothing left for you here.”

  Olivia suddenly felt depleted, as if a strong wind had blown through her life, taking along everything she cared about with it. There was nothing left for her to do here anymore.

  *

  Olivia left and returned to her hotel. Standing alone in the center of her room, she felt emptier and lonelier than ever. Not only was Todd gone, but her memories of him had been scrambled. And her sense of herself had as well. Olivia knew it was time to leave Key West and regroup slowly. There was a whole world waiting for her back in New York. Her father was tying things up with the
lawyer and would be back soon. He was thrilled to be leaving. He’d needed to get home for quite a while now and Olivia realized it. But, strangely, she still didn’t want to go. It didn’t feel like it was time. Something was unfinished, but she didn’t know what.

  Olivia went out onto the balcony then, sat down and let the warm ocean breezes blow over her. It seemed unimaginable that she would be leaving without Todd. Her phone vibrated. Once again it was Allison.

  Thank God, is all I can say, you’re coming home, Allison texted. We’ve all been keeping tabs on you through your family. We can’t wait to see you. I’ll meet you at the airport. You’re not alone.

  A wave of love and appreciation for Allison swept over Olivia then. She was not only a friend, she was a sister.

  Somehow the thought of returning to New York was unsettling, without any place to go to take in the incredible sunsets.

  Thank you, thank you, Olivia texted in return. It’s still hard to return though.

  Todd is gone, Olivia, he’s not still down there with you, Allison replied promptly.

  Yes, I realize he’s gone, Olivia wrote back. But there’s still something holding me here.

  Along with the beauty of Key West, deep down a question lingered. Frank loved to threaten, bluster, and storm around. It was definitely his MO. And he certainly had plenty of henchmen. But Olivia was not totally convinced that he had committed the murder. He’d threatened Todd that he would have the same fate as Louie. But had Frank been involved with Louie’s death? Had he just used him as an example? Was someone else lurking in the shadows that no one had even thought of?

  Olivia realized that she was grasping at straws. She was probably trying to find any reason she could to stay down there longer. But the case was as good as closed, and no matter how she felt she had to accept it.

  *

  Olivia walked back into the room and started packing, folding one item after another and placing it in her suitcase carefully. It was as if she were folding up her past life and taking what was left of it back with her.