Chasing The Dead (An Alex Stone Thriller) (32 page)

“And Bethany’s if she decided to get rid of both blackmailers. We’re looking for Sonia but she’s in the wind.”

Alex looked at Gladys, who was listening to Alex’s side of the conversation, giving her a wide-eyed, now-do-you-believe-me look.

“I think the wind just blew her into my kitchen.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. I’m on my way.”

Alex went to the top of the stairs, surprised to see Charlotte sitting on the bottom step, tapping the carpet with her spatula. Charlotte got up, went down the hall into the kitchen, and began screaming, a piercing, terrified wail. Alex hustled after her, Gladys on her heels, both rushing into the kitchen.

Bonnie was standing by the sink, pale and bracing herself with one hand on the counter. Charlotte was balled up on the floor next to a small desk opposite Bonnie, screaming so loud it was difficult to hear. Sonia stood next to the kitchen table, holding a gun, the three of them forming a triangle, Alex and Gladys falling into the line between Bonnie and Charlotte. Quincy was on all fours, hugging Bonnie’s side.

The veins in Sonia’s neck swelled, her eyes blazing, her jaw set. She aimed the gun at Charlotte. “Somebody shut that little bitch up before I do it for her.”

Quincy went to Charlotte, licking her face. Instead of shrinking from the dog, she stopped crying and stroked his fur. Quincy kept himself in front of Charlotte, shielding her, his ears back and his eyes locked on Sonia.

Alex’s heart was racing, pounding against her ribs, making her wounds throb with pain. Light-headed, she glanced at Gladys, whose arms were locked at her sides, her fists balled as she raised her heels up and down like she was winding herself up to launch at Sonia. Certain that Sonia would shoot Gladys at the slightest move, Alex put her hand on Gladys’s arm, holding both of them in place. She wanted to keep Sonia talking, hoping Rossi would get there in time.

“Her name is Charlotte. She’s ten years old and she’s autistic. She was screaming because you frightened her.”

“Why would I frighten the bitch?”

“Well, the gun is scary enough. But when the woman holding the gun is the same person Charlotte saw murder her mother and her aunt, that’s really scary.”

Sonia kept her gun on Charlotte. “You know, I could have lived with Tony having an affair. After all, what man hasn’t? I could have even gotten over him fucking my best friend. But having a bastard child with a prostitute? This . . . this pathetic little thing.” She bared her teeth. “That was too much, and her whore mother and her vulgar aunt demanding my money to save my husband’s reputation!” She shook her head. “I told Tony that I wouldn’t stand for it!”

Alex said, “So you strangled Joanie Sutherland in the woods at Liberty Park and threw her body in the creek, and then you crushed her sister Bethany’s skull with an iron.”

Sonia’s face reddened, her lips quivering. She turned her gun on Alex. “Well, I wasn’t going to put them on the fucking payroll. And you! You made it worse refusing to tell me what Robin said in her message. How could I risk not knowing if she said something about me?”

“She didn’t but if she had, the police would have already talked to you so you stabbed me for nothing.”

Sonia’s face slackened. “You don’t know that.”

“Of course I do but you’re like some other killers I’ve represented. You got so caught up in killing that you couldn’t think of anything else.”

“But don’t you see, that’s the point. Stabbing you wasn’t my fault! You could have told me there was nothing on that message about me. And if Tony had kept his dick in his pants, Robin would be alive! They’d all be alive! None of this is my fault! None of it!”

“I know the people you cared about didn’t just let you down; they betrayed you. But none of us had a hand in that. Charlotte didn’t ask to be born. Bonnie and Gladys never met you before. And I am so sorry I didn’t tell you about the message. But there’s no reason to make things any worse. We can find a way out of this.”

Sonia’s mouth turned down, her face sagging with resignation. “Don’t kid yourself. We both know there’s only one way this can end.”

She swung her gun in an arc, pointing at them one at a time like she was deciding whom to kill first, settling on Bonnie, who looked at Alex, stricken.

“I love you, Alex Stone.”

“Sonia! Please! You don’t have to do this.”

“But it will feel so good.”

Quincy sprang at Sonia as she pulled the trigger, barreling her to the floor and throwing her aim off so the bullet missed Bonnie. He clamped his jaws on her gun hand, shaking it like it was a rag doll.

“Get him off! Get him off!”

Sonia battered Quincy with her free hand until Gladys kicked her in the head, knocking her out. She straddled Sonia, brushing her hands together.

“Can’t stand a person what would hurt a dog.”

Chapter Fifty-Four

ALEX GOT TO WORK early Monday morning. She stood in the doorway of Robin’s office looking at the desk and the credenza behind it, at the chairs and at the bare walls. There was no trace of Robin, no way to know that she had lived within those walls for so many years.

She crossed to the windows looking down at the street below, at the people and cars passing by, small and distant, caught up in their own lives, as they should be. She raised her gaze to the eastern horizon, smiling at the rising sun, grateful for a new day, a new beginning.

Bonnie had encouraged her to take the interim director position, telling her it was a great career move and assuring her that she had the right skills for the job. What went unspoken was Bonnie’s relief that Alex would be one step further removed from the violence and death that had so haunted them. Alex shared her relief, knowing that she’d no longer have to wrestle with her duty to her clients and that she would put welcome space between her and Judge West. Though in her private moments over the last few days, she found it hard to imagine herself so far removed from the battle, she told herself that she’d get used to it and if sitting behind a desk all day allowed Bonnie to sleep better at night, she’d happily do it.

Any doubt that she could leave the past behind was erased the night before while they were enjoying a glass of wine, the television on in the background. The screen flashed with a bulletin about breaking news followed by a reporter standing outside a farmhouse that Alex recognized. She put her glass down and turned the sound on, listening to the reporter.

I’m standing outside the home of Jackson County Circuit Court Judge William West, where police tell me they found the bodies of both Judge West and his wife, Millie. According to police, Mrs. West shot her husband and then committed suicide. We’ll have more details as they become available.

Dumbstruck, they had remained glued to the television, absorbing the news. Millie West’s mental illness had claimed both her and her husband, her paranoia swamping reason. Their deaths hadn’t wiped away Alex’s sins, but they had buried them, and she promised herself that she wouldn’t look back.

Meg Adler rapped on the door. “You’re going to do great things.”

Alex smiled. “Thanks.”

“You know, when I first moved from the courtroom into management, I was sure I’d miss it, you know, the jousting, the killer closings and cross-examinations.”

“Didn’t you?”

“For a while, until I realized that I could accomplish more by making sure my lawyers did their jobs well than I could ever accomplish on my own.”

Alex nodded. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“You will, but there will be days when you’re overwhelmed with budgets, bureaucracy, and politics and you’ll go home at night cursing my name.”

They both laughed.

“I guess there’s no such thing as a perfect job.”

Meg gave her a final hug and left. Alex tried Robin’s desk chair but couldn’t get comfortable. She swapped it with the one from her old office, smiling and beginning to feel like she was in the right place. Grace Canfield helped her hang her pictures and diplomas, telling her to go get them both coffee while she organized Alex’s desk. When Alex returned, there were flowers from Bonnie and a stack of files and assorted paperwork to review.

The day passed quickly, work interrupted by a steady flow of well-wishing colleagues and congratulatory e-mails and phone calls. Late in the afternoon, the receptionist called her.

“Detective Rossi to see you.”

“Bring him back.”

By the time Rossi had arrived at her house last week, Sonia was conscious, Bonnie was bandaging her tattered hand, and Alex was holding a cold compress to her head while Gladys toyed with Sonia’s gun, telling Sonia to sit real still because there was no telling if the gun might accidentally go off and shoot right her between the eyes.

The next day, Alex went downtown to give a detailed statement to Rossi and to work out Jared Bell’s release with Kalena Greene. She hadn’t talked to Rossi since and wondered what was on his mind.

“Nice digs,” Rossi said when the receptionist delivered him.

“Yeah, but it still feels weird. Have a seat.”

He set a large envelope on her desk and pulled up a chair. There was no name on the envelope, but Alex was certain it was for her. Though curious, she’d let him get to it in his own time.

“So how are you feeling? Wounds healing okay?”

“Pretty good. I’ve graduated from sore to itchy.”

Rossi looked around the office. “I think this suits you.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. Someone like you will live a lot longer behind a desk.”

Alex chuckled. “Bonnie would agree, especially since she wants us to have a baby.”

“No kidding.”

Alex was surprised that she told Rossi, given their history, but she was getting a different vibe from him, like maybe he was ready for a cease-fire.

“Yeah. We’re going to do the whole turkey-baster thing as soon as we find a donor.”

“Speaking of kids, how’s Charlotte doing?”

“Child Protective Services was going to put her in foster care until Bonnie convinced them that the three of us could take care of her for now.”

“The three of you?”

“Bonnie, Gladys, and me.”

“That crazy old lady? You sure that’s a good idea?”

“No, but it’s working out so far. Gladys is the only person left that Charlotte has any kind of relationship with. The county sent a social worker to our house to observe them and said they’ve got a bond that she doesn’t want to screw up. So they’re both staying with us. Plus, Charlotte loves Quincy and it turns out that having a pet can help an autistic child develop some social skills.”

“What about Judge Steele? You going to find out if he’s Charlotte’s father?”

“He says he’ll agree to DNA testing, but we’ll see. He’s got his hands full right now. You heard he resigned from the bench so he could help with his wife’s defense?”

Rossi nodded. “Which is interesting since she set him up as her second option to take the fall for Robin’s murder.”

“Second option?”

“Robin’s ex, Ted Norris, was her first choice. She knew Ted kept a spare key hidden in the wheel well of his car. That’s how she stole it and used it to run Robin off the road. She left the car at the airport, and when she got out of the car, she was carrying her husband’s duffel bag, the one you saw in his chambers. She made sure it would be picked up on the airport security cameras. If we gave up on Ted, the duffel was going to be the first bread crumb leading us to the judge.”

“So why would he want to help with her defense?”

“Because he says he loves her and doesn’t believe she’d do that to him or that she’s guilty of anything except justifiable jealousy.” Rossi reached for the envelope. “Listen, there’s something I need to show you.”

He opened the envelope, removing a photograph encased in a plastic sleeve showing her kneeling over Dwayne Reed’s body. Alex gasped, her stomach grinding. She stared at the photograph, unable to speak or look at Rossi, her hands clenched in her lap.

“It came in the mail last Friday, addressed to me, no note, no explanation, just the photograph.”

Alex forced herself to look at him. “I . . . I . . . I can explain.”

“You don’t have to. It’s a fake.”

Alex blinked, slumping against the back of her chair. “How do you know that?”

“I gotta admit, when I first saw it, I thought I was gonna bust the buttons on my jeans. But you know what they say about things that are too good to be true. I had one of our forensic photographers check it out, and he said it had been Photoshopped. He pulled the photographs from Dwayne Reed’s file and showed me how it was done.”

“Wow.”

“Wow is right. So naturally I was curious about who sent the photograph to me and why, so I had it and the envelope it came in checked for prints.”

Alex swallowed. “And I take it you found some.”

“Big fat ones, one on the envelope and one on the picture. They were so clear and distinct, it was like somebody went out of their way to make sure we’d find them.”

“Could you identify them?”

Rossi nodded. “Yep. Ran them through the system and got a match.”

Alex was afraid to ask but knew Rossi wanted her to. “Whose are they?”

Rossi leaned back in his chair. “Millie West. Turns out she was arrested for disorderly conduct a few years ago and that’s how her prints got in the system.”

Alex’s chin dropped, her mouth hanging open. “What?”

“Nuts, right? So Friday night, I go see her. She and the judge are out at their horse farm, and man, that horseshit is nasty stuff. But I guess you know that from helping that friend of yours clean out their stables.”

Alex straightened, her relief ebbing away. “Go on.”

“So, like I was saying, I go out there to talk to Millie, and right away the judge is on my case, what’s this all about, and I tell him I need to talk to his wife and he says what for and I say that’s between her and me and he says if I think he’s going to let her talk to me alone, I’m out of my mind, so the three of us sit down at the dining room table and I put the photograph on the table. Don’t say a word. Just put it out there.”

Rossi’s eyes were dancing, a grin creeping out of the corners of his mouth. Alex didn’t know how to read him.