Chapter Thirty-four
Back at the station, Juliet leafed through her notes on Monique. She had no priors, no real motive of her own, and a valid reason to have been at the library that day. She’d brought her dad a cup of coffee. It had all seemed so innocent at the time. Juliet slammed the drawer of her filing cabinet shut. There had to have been something, some clue she’d overlooked.
“Hey, Mitchell,” Quinlan said, stopping in front of Juliet’s open door. “Just heard from the officer stationed at the hospital, one of County’s guys. Goodman is going to be fine. He’ll be hurting for a while, but that’s it. No lasting damage. You did good, Juliet.”
Juliet gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks, Chief. I’ll be glad to get back to the town’s usual business. You know, parking violations and rowdy teenagers. I have to go over to Gretchen’s a little later with Sienna. I’m not looking forward to it.”
“No, I can’t imagine you would be. You don’t think anyone filled her in yet, based on the spectacle at the daughter’s place?” Quinlan asked.
“I highly doubt it. No one wanted to touch this. She’s going to be heartbroken, Chief. When this is all said and done, she’ll have lost a husband and a daughter. Can’t even imagine.” Juliet swallowed hard. She couldn’t help but picture Gretchen and Monique at the town benefit, sitting together while Kowalski was honored by his friends. The gall of the woman, to sit beside her mother knowing she’d killed Rich. “She left Sienna a message telling her to forget about the checkbook. I guess the PT guy said he’d grab it next time.”
“I just finished up with Sienna. Seems like the daughter wasn’t keen on her mother being targeted. Maybe that’ll be something. Not much, but something.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
Quinlan shrugged. “Either way, they’re both going away for a long time. It’s too bad Goodman won’t get as much time as Monique, since he didn’t actually kill anyone. But we’ll make sure justice is served.”
Juliet nodded. Quinlan dropped a booklet on her desk before he went back to his own office. She looked down and shook her head. There was a sad-looking police officer sitting in an office chair with his head in his hands. The title was A Practical Approach to Addressing Police Trauma, and on the back was a sticky note with the number for one of the police psychologists. Quinlan’s scribbled note indicated that she needed two sessions of counseling because she shot someone, and they needed to make sure she didn’t have lasting issues because of it. Juliet didn’t feel like she needed much of anything based on Charlie Goodman having a sore shoulder for a while. Richard Kowalski was dead, and Gretchen Kowalski was still in physical therapy, a widow now. Juliet didn’t feel any guilt at all.
Her phone sitting on the desk vibrated. It was a text from Declan.
Is it true? Were you involved in a shootout?
Well, that was disconcerting. Maybe they should head over to Gretchen’s earlier than they’d originally planned.
Not a shootout. I’m fine, Sienna’s fine. I’ll be over in a little bit to tell you about it.
The response bubbles appeared and disappeared a few times, but nothing came through. Juliet wondered if Declan was going to ask about Sienna being there with her, and then decided against it. She needed to talk to him again, alone.
With two uncomfortable conversations ahead of her, Juliet sighed loudly and closed her laptop. Monique’s statement meant everything had been dealt with, and the case was officially closed. They’d hand off the chop shop element to the city authorities since Monique said that’s where they were based. She texted Sienna to ask her to meet her at Gretchen’s. Sienna responded in the affirmative and added a sad face.
Juliet parked the police car in front of Gretchen’s house, behind Sienna’s Volvo. Sienna was standing on the front porch, her hands firmly in her jacket pockets.
“Hey,” Juliet said.
“Hey.”
“Let’s do this.” Juliet rubbed Sienna’s back in a light circle. “Waiting won’t make it easier.”
Sienna nodded and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened, and Gretchen was standing there using only a cane.
“Pretty good, huh?” she asked, holding it out for them to see. “Lieutenant, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Seeing Gretchen smile at her presence made it all the worse. Juliet stepped forward. “We have some information about Rich’s death, Gretchen. Can we come inside for a minute?”
“Of course.” Gretchen limped back to the couch. “Did you catch who did this? Was it a gang initiation? I’ve heard about those.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Juliet sat in the armchair across from the couch. “It was something a little closer to home than that.”
Sienna sat next to Gretchen and held her hand. Gretchen looked at Sienna, confused, then back to Juliet.
“What was it?” she whispered.
“Well, you remember when you told Sienna about Charlie Goodman? The business partner Rich had for a short time?” Juliet asked.
“Yes, did he have something to do with this? I never liked him.”
“He did, yes. But it wasn’t him, exactly. He was close with Monique. I’m not sure if you knew that.”
Gretchen looked disgusted. “What do you mean, close? I didn’t even know they knew each other. Not well, anyway.”
“They were seeing each other romantically.” Juliet paused, while a pall cast itself across Gretchen’s face. “I’m sorry, Gretchen. Monique was the one who poisoned Rich. It seems to have been under duress, but we don’t know anything for sure about that. Charlie was the one driving the truck that ran you off the road. They coordinated poisoning Rich together, but Charlie appears to have been on his own when it came to you. I’m so sorry.”
Gretchen was silent. She was looking down at the carpet, and when she looked up her eyes were glass. “How do you know this? She wouldn’t have done such a thing. She loved Rich.”
“She confessed, Gretchen. She held Sienna at gunpoint and confessed to killing him. They were caught up in some bad business and wanted to collect Rich’s life insurance money. And Charlie wanted to collect yours, too. I don’t even know what to say to you, Gretchen. I’m just…sorry.”
“I think she was probably coerced into this. Monique was never a warm and fuzzy type of daughter, but she got along with Rich just fine. It had to be a false confession. Charlie Goodman threatened her, I’ll bet,” Gretchen said. She was surprisingly calm, which Juliet took as a very bad sign.
“We found the red truck in Monique’s garage. It appears to be the red truck. I’m sure once everything is processed and the dust has settled, you’ll be able to talk to her,” Sienna said, rubbing her arm.
“Why did he try to kill me? What have I done to him?” Gretchen ignored Sienna.
“Same reason. You both had life insurance policies, and Monique had access to your checkbook and your online banking info. Goodman thought it would be better to collect two payouts instead of one. He’s a bad man and we’ll make sure he doesn’t get away with anything that he’s done.” Juliet looked over at Sienna, who gave her a helpless shrug. It probably wasn’t the time to convince Gretchen that her daughter was the one who’d set the plan in motion.
“Well, I’m glad we have some resolution, I suppose. I told Rich time and time again that he wasn’t a person to get tied up with. He didn’t listen,” Gretchen said. She let tears spill down her cheeks. “I was so happy when he told me he’d cut ties with that man. He told me that he was involved in something shady, and Rich didn’t want to be a part of it. Funny how one bad choice can ruin so many lives.”
“If you want to talk about it, I’m right here,” Sienna said. “I’ll answer any questions that I can, and what I can’t, I’m sure Juliet will tell you whatever she is able to.”
“No, I’m okay. My nephew is here from Ohio, and he should be here any minute now. He’s staying in the area for a few nights. I think I might just need a little family time. Once Monique is released, I’m sure
she’ll want to see him, too. I have to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
Sienna stood to help her, but Gretchen held her hand up. She made it to the bathroom by herself and left her cane against the wall.
“Should we leave her like this? In such denial?” Juliet asked quietly. It would have been terrible for Gretchen to accept that her daughter was a murderer, but it almost felt worse that she was pretending like Monique was wrongfully accused.
“We don’t really have a choice. My services are optional, so if she doesn’t want me here, then I need to go. Unless we think she might hurt herself, which doesn’t seem likely at this point. We can wait until the nephew gets here,” Sienna said.
“Okay.” Juliet covered her face with her hands. “This whole thing really, really sucks. I can’t believe that Rich’s stepdaughter and that scumbag Goodman did this to her. It’s so unfair.”
Moments later, the doorbell rang, and a man in his thirties entered with a bag full of take-out. Gretchen greeted him warmly, and they held each other for a few minutes. He looked at them questioningly, but Gretchen shook her head and told him they needed to have a talk. When Juliet felt like it was safe for them to leave, she and Sienna left with a promise to return the next day.
“Well, that was awful,” Juliet said on their walk to the cars.
“Understatement,” Sienna agreed. “This is awkward, and I’m sorry, but I’m not really sure where I’m supposed to go right now. Should I go to your place? The motel? I know what we said earlier, but I don’t want to assume anything.”
“Of course, you can go to my house. You should. I have to go see Declan and Will, but I’ll be home right after that. We can figure things out later. Tomorrow. Next week. All I know is that I want you next to me, and everything else is just a matter of semantics,” Juliet said. It was the truest thing she’d said all day. They hugged briefly, Juliet handed Sienna her key, and they went their separate ways.
* * *
Juliet couldn’t remember feeling much worse than she did as she pulled up to Will’s house. His car was in the driveway, which made her heart sink. She had no idea what she was walking into, or what Declan had or hadn’t told him.
She tried the front door and found it was unlocked. As she was about to call out for Will or Declan, she was nearly barreled over from behind.
“I’m still pissed at you, but I’m glad you’re okay,” Declan said, wrapping his arms around her.
Juliet turned and folded him into a hug, relishing the affection. “I’m fine, honey. We brought down a couple of bad guys today, so I guess it was a good day, all things considered. I know you’re pissed at me, but I would like to talk to you about it.”
He turned away, petulant. “I don’t want to.”
“Come on, Dec. You know I love you, I love your dad, and now I love Sienna, too. So, it’s not that much of a stretch, right?” Juliet asked.
Declan wasn’t biting. “You know it’s different.”
“I do, yes. Have you told Dad anything? I need to know how to approach him.”
“No.”
“Thank you for that. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to talk to him myself,” Juliet said, straining to see around the corner. She was putting on a brave face, but the truth was that she was filled with dread at the idea of telling Will.
“Whatever, it’s fine. I see that Sienna bagged out, huh? Disappointing.” Declan shook his head
“She didn’t bag out, Declan. I told her that I wanted to be the one to talk to your dad. I don’t want him to think I’m hiding anything from him, or that he doesn’t mean enough to me to have a face-to-face conversation about something that concerns us both.”
“Except that you are hiding something. Something pretty huge. How could you let this happen? Maybe she would have gotten back together with Dad, but now that will never happen. Everything could have gone back to normal, but you screwed it all up.” Declan leaned against the counter, crossing his arms. He seemed to have quickly forgotten that hours earlier, his mother and stepmother were involved in a shooting incident.
Juliet shook her head vigorously. “No, Dec. They weren’t getting back together, regardless of what happened between the two of us. Maybe she would stay close by, maybe she would go. Staying married was never an option.”
“So, what am I, then? Her acquaintance? Dad’s baggage from when he was just a stupid kid?”
“No! She loves you very much. You were one of the only reasons she stayed as long as she did. She wanted you in her life no matter what happened between her and your father. But she also knew you’d be very angry with her. She didn’t know if you’d forgive her, or even want her in your life anymore. Sienna was heartbroken over the thought of losing you.”
Declan seemed to soften. “Yeah, well. I wish none of this ever happened. Just want to go back to normal.”
“This is normal now. Dad and Sienna living apart, you still seeing all of us. Hopefully. Do you still want to see her?” Juliet asked. She was afraid to hope.
“I guess. But not now. And not with you two being all kissy face or anything.”
Juliet chuckled softly. “That, I get. You don’t like your parents being kissy face with anyone ever, so I suppose it makes sense in this situation, too.”
“What situation?” Will asked, toweling off his hair with a too-large bath towel. He walked over to Juliet and hugged her tightly. “So glad you’re okay. I still can’t believe it. I’ve driven by that guy’s garage a million times on my way to the city.”
Who the hell had already told Will what had happened? She supposed at that point it was irrelevant. She hugged him back, feeling like a traitor. Maybe she was being paranoid, and he would understand. Highly unlikely, but maybe.
“It was crazy. Definitely not used to that kind of thing in our little oceanside slice of heaven,” Juliet said. She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“I saw Celeste at the Mobil station,” he said. Ah, that explained a lot. “She said Sienna was there too, because of Gretchen, and almost got shot? Is that really how it went down? I know Celeste likes to embellish a little.”
“A little?” Juliet laughed. “But in this case, she’s right. If we’d been a few minutes later…I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I know,” Will said. He looked thoughtful. “I shouldn’t have told her to move out. I was angry and acted hastily. It wasn’t fair to her.”
The pit in Juliet’s stomach continued to grow.
Declan scoffed.
“What?” Will asked.
“Nothing,” Declan said. He shrugged. “I have homework to do.”
Juliet was torn watching him run up the stairs. On the one hand, she needed to talk to Will alone. On the other, a buffer would have been nice.
“What’s his problem?”
“I don’t know,” Juliet said. And then wondered why she lied. She had to gear herself up, not just blurt it out. She wanted to be thoughtful and considerate of his feelings.
“Anyway, I’m just glad she’s okay. I was thinking of asking her to come back, even for a little while. She might just need that sense of home, instead of being holed up in some hotel. I got a call from my lawyer this morning, funny enough. Apparently, she wants to ‘expedite the process’ as he called it,” Will said, sarcastically. “You’d think she was already in another relationship.” He smirked and shook his head.
Sweat began to form on her forehead and her stomach churned. She didn’t smile back at him.
“What?” His smile faded. “Do you know something? Jules, tell me. Is she already seeing another guy?”
He looked so vulnerable and afraid of the answer that Juliet nearly wept. She cleared her throat. “Will, I have to tell you something.”
His eyes widened. “Juliet, if she has already moved on, I will freak the fuck out. She told me that there was no one else, that it had nothing to do with why we were splitting up. You’ve been spending a lot of time with her, has she told you anything
?”
“Will, I promise you that there was no one else. She wasn’t lying about that.”
“There was no one else? What does that mean?” Will asked. His face clouded over. “What are you not telling me?”
Juliet cringed. He sounded desperate, and the longer she took to spit out the words, the worse it was going to get.
“I know this is hurtful, and I am so sorry. But…yes. She is seeing someone.” Juliet swallowed hard, willing herself not to cry. She didn’t think it would help the situation at all.
Anger flushed Will’s face. “Who is he? I’ll kill the sonofabitch. She’s my wife, goddam it. Even if it wasn’t working right now, that doesn’t mean we couldn’t have reconciled sometime in the future.”
“No, Will. No. You weren’t going to reconcile, ever. I don’t mean to crush your hopes and dreams, but she told you time and time again that she was done. I don’t know what else she could have said to make you understand. It was over. Over. It is over.” Juliet inhaled deeply, realizing that she was angry as well.
Will just stared at her, and slowly, it was clear he understood. “Is it you?” he whispered.
Juliet’s silence was all the answer Will needed.
“You need to go,” he said, looking down at the counter.
“Will, it was never supposed to happen. You know I would never—”
“You know what, Juliet? I don’t know anything anymore. You were my friend, probably my closest friend in the world, and when I told you Sienna needed a friend, somehow you interpreted that as an invitation to fuck my wife.”
“Don’t say that. That’s not what this is about, believe me when I tell you that I tried to push it away, I didn’t mean to fall in love with her,” Juliet yelled, furiously wiping at her eyes.
“In love with her? You’re in love with her? Get the fuck out, Juliet. I mean it. Go.”
Heart of the Storm Page 23
