Disrobed for Death (25 page)

Susan could tell by the expression on Wesley’s face that he was withholding something. “What is it?” she asked.

“More bad news,” he said, looking first at Susan and then at Herman. “Dispatch called. New Orleans faxed information on Vera’s daughter. Seems she was no stranger to the police station. Her rap sheet shows numerous charges—prostitution, petty theft, and drugs. She was diagnosed as a schizophrenic but refused treatment. Instead, she took to the streets.” Wesley paused and drew a deep breath before continuing. “Vera didn’t go to visit her daughter. She went to identify her body in the morgue.”

Herman’s mouth flew open. “That’s enough to send anyone over the edge. How’d she die?”

“She OD’d.”

Susan pictured the tiny, gray-headed lady standing all alone over the body of her only child. She could imagine her shivering as the icy chill of the morgue coursed through her veins. Why did Vera feel she had to go through that alone? Didn’t she know Herman would stand by her? And what, if anything, did her daughter’s death have to do with the attempt on Jack’s life? It just didn’t make sense.

Wesley walked toward the church’s entrance. Before disappearing behind the massive doors, he stopped and held up a hand, his final warning that they had better stay put. Susan had no intention of crossing him at this point. Herman, however, was another question. He was like a bridled horse, chomping at the bit, ready to spring into action.

The sound of a vehicle caught their attention. It was a police car. Two deputies pulled in behind Wesley and exited their unit.

Susan waved them over. “I’m Susan Griffin and this is Herman Washburn. We’re friends of the suspect and here with Detective Grissom.”

The older deputy stepped forward. “Deputy Ryan,” he said pointing to himself, and this is Deputy Mason. Where’s Grissom?”

“He’s inside. He ordered us to stay here.”

“How long has he been in there?” Deputy Mason asked.

“Only a few minutes,” Herman said.

The deputies walked back to their unit and leaned against the car.

“Wish I knew what was going on,” Herman said. “I can’t stand this waiting.”

When the door to the church opened, everyone took a step forward. Wesley came out alone and motioned for all of them to join him. Susan was so hoping to see Vera with Wesley.

“Vera did talk with the preacher, but she didn’t confide in him. She said that she needed to talk to the Lord and to work things out privately. He respected her wishes and left her alone. After praying for a while, she told the preacher she was going to visit the grave of her husband. That’s where she is now, in the cemetery behind the church.

“We’re going to walk around back. I want to talk with her first, see if she’s willing to listen to reason. If not, you, Herman, might be our best chance at getting her to surrender. Ryan and Mason, hang close. She may be armed, but don’t take any action unless shots are fired.”

After the short walk to the cemetery, Susan spotted Vera leaning against a tombstone in the middle of the cemetery, head down and her hand in her purse. Susan couldn’t help notice how well kept the place was, with flowers atop almost all the graves—a testimonial that the deceased had not been forgotten.

As they approached, Vera slowly raised her head. “That’s far enough,” she said, exposing part of the gun.

The deputies drew their weapons.

“Stand down,” Wesley ordered. “Vera, I just want to talk.”

“Well, I don’t.” Vera voice was sharp and defiant.

As usual, the elderly woman was smartly dressed—suede boots, jeans, and a black turtle neck sweater under a blazer. But hours of crying had smudged her eye shadow and caused her mascara to run. All the makeup in the world couldn’t disguise the grief etched into her face.

“Will you talk with Herman?”

Vera gave a heavy sigh.

“I’ll take that as an okay, but first, you have to put your gun on the ground.”

Vera did as he said, but kept the weapon close to her.

Wesley turned to Herman. “Careful now, just let her know you’re with her no matter what. Whatever you do, don’t judge her. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

Herman took a couple steps toward Vera. “Please, honey, I only want to help you.”

“Nobody can help me…not now.”

“That’s not true. Let me come a little closer. The others will stay back. I promise.”

Vera gave a slight nod of her head, and Herman sat down at the foot of her husband’s grave. The rest of them held their positions. At about thirty yards away, they could easily hear what was being said.

Herman smoothed his beard with his hand and glanced back as if to say everything was under control. It was then Susan noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes. Vera wasn’t the only one who had suffered.

“You know I love you,” Herman said, “and that I’ll stand by you no matter what.”

“There’s nothing you can do to help me. I killed a doctor.”

“No you didn’t. You only grazed him. He’s very much alive.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“No, it’s true. I swear.”

“Doesn’t matter. I meant to kill him.”

“Why, Vera? We’ve been trying to figure it out. Jack’s sister said you blamed Jack following your husband’s surgery, but that was ten years ago. You never sued the hospital or Jack, and you’ve worked for him ever since. How could you do that if you hated him? Why now? Did it have anything to do with the death of your daughter?”

Vera sat upright from her slumped position and drew her purse into her belly. “You know about Brandy?” Then her mouth turned downward, and years of heartache swirled in her watery eyes. She moaned like a hurt child. “My baby, my little girl…I’ll never forget how she looked lying on that cold, metal table in that ice box of a room. She had wasted away to nothing. Her skin barely covered her bones.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked up at Herman. “When David died, I no longer had money to help her. I sent her what I could. Begged her to come home and live with me. But she wouldn’t listen. Now that she’s dead, I don’t even have the money to bury her. If David had lived, she might still be alive today.

“Can’t you see? When Jack killed my husband, he also killed my daughter… and he had to pay for what he did. I had already made my plans, had it all worked out, when Susan showed up with her story about Clarissa hiring Gary. How wonderful! My idiot neighbor was going to kill Jack for me. But then you spoiled everything when you joined forces with Susan to stop him.”

“Look at me. I need to know that you still love me.”

“With all my heart, but it’s too late for us.”

“It’s never too late to do the right thing. Why didn’t you confide in me?”

“I was ashamed at having failed to save my daughter.”

“Vera, your daughter made her choice. All the money in the world couldn’t have saved her. And by all account, your husband’s surgery was a success. You let your grief blind you to the truth. It was just his time to go.”

Vera rubbed her hand over her husband’s plot. “How could I have made such a mess of things?”

“We all make mistakes. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but however long it takes, we’ll get through this. Yes, the D.A. will press charges, but there are mitigating circumstances—your age, your mental state, and if Jack requests leniency, that could go a long way.”

“You really think he would?”

“We’ll find out soon enough. First, you need to give me the gun, surrender yourself to Wesley. I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

When Vera slowly pulled the revolver from her purse, the deputies raised their guns.

Wesley held out his hands. “Stand down.”

Herman reached across the grave and took the gun from Vera, who buried her face in her hands and cried.

Wesley approached. “It’s going to be all right, Vera. Right now you have to go with these deputies. Herman can follow in his truck.”

“I’ll post bail as soon as the judge sets it,” Herman said. “In the meantime, I’ll hire the best lawyer I can find. Like I said, we’re going to beat this.”

Wesley contacted dispatch. “The suspect in the Evan’s shooting is in custody and en route to the jail. Cancel the BOLO and recall the officer at the hospital.”

Before the deputies could take Vera away, Susan put her arms around her and held her close. “You have lots of people who love you. Don’t forget that.”

The deputies led Vera to their unit and helped her into the back seat. Herman climbed into his truck and followed the police unit.

“Do you think she has a chance of avoiding prison time?” Susan asked.

“It’s a possibility,” Wesley said. “I’m sure Jack’s input will carry a lot of weight. I’m also sure he’ll be glad to know it’s all over.”

“I really hope he’ll help her.”

“Me, too. Looks like you’re left without a ride, so I’m stuck with you as a passenger. Think you can behave yourself?”

She grabbed his belt and pulled him close to her. “I’ll try and restrain myself.”

“Hey, lady, do that again when I’m off duty.”

His kiss set her head to spinning. Why was it every time his lips touched hers, the world ceased to exist?

Cruising down the road in the Crown Victoria, Susan thought about Vera riding alone in the back of the police unit. She had to be terrified, wondering what she would face. “Is it really over?” Susan asked.

“Hey, you’re the psychic. But as far as I can tell, it is.”

“Then why do I still have an uneasy feeling? Was there something I missed, something else I could have done?”

“You’ve got to quit second guessing yourself. You stopped one killer, but there was no way you could have known Vera was on a mission. Revenge is a terrible thing. Thank goodness she’s a bad shot.”

“What about the money. Are you going to report it stolen? I’d hate to see Herman arrested for having someone steal the money from Gary’s place.”

“If I bring up the money, I’ll have to explain what started my participation in this investigation, and the department would think me nuts for sure. They don’t believe in hocus pocus and things that go bump in the night.

“The way I see it, the money is where it will do the most good, with Melanie. But from now on, I don’t want any more secrets between us, no matter how dire the situation. And I don’t want you playing policeman.”

“I promise.”

When they arrived at the hospital, Wesley parked at the main entrance in a place designated for hospital personnel. After all, he was on official police business. The smell of disinfectant greeted them. When the elevator doors opened, Wesley recognized the deputy getting off.

“Were you assigned to Jack Evans?”

“Shortest assignment I’ve ever had,” he said. “Headquarters called and said I was no longer needed, that the suspect had been apprehended.”

“She’s on her way to booking now. We were fortunate she surrendered. Who’s with Mr. Evans?”

“His sister and another woman.”

Susan pushed the button to the elevator, and the deputy continued on his way.

Jack’s floor had lots of foot traffic—visitors, and several nurses and orderlies milling about the nurses’ station. Susan imagined they were all anxious to give special attention to one of their own. One of the nurses carrying a tray with gauze pads, ointments, and hydrogen peroxide scooted in front of them and abruptly stopped in front of Jack’s opened door. The tray hit the floor, and the nurse screamed as a shot rang out. Grabbing her upper arm, she fell across the doorway.

“Anyone else?” a woman shouted from within the room.

The sharp and belligerent voice made Susan’s blood run cold.

“That’s Clarissa!”

“Officer requesting backup…Lakeside Hospital, room 421,” Wesley said into his mic, his voice low. He kept Susan behind him with one arm and held up his other hand, signaling to hospital personnel to stay back.

Clarissa continued to rail. “You gave me a pittance to live on, you creep. Did you expect me to be grateful? With you dead, I could collect on your insurance policy, so I hired Gary Bozeman. But that sleezeball tried to scam me. He took the last of my money then said someone stole it from him. Like I believed that! I warned him if he didn’t come through, I’d hunt him down, and he’d wish he’d never been born.

“When I drove by your complex and saw the yellow police tape, I thought maybe he had come through after all. That was until a passerby told me a doctor was shot but was expected to survive. I couldn’t believe the idiot had botched the job.”

“If you were looking to collect on my insurance policy, it wouldn’t have done you any good.”

“I didn’t know that at the time, but the insurance company notified me this morning that I was removed as the beneficiary.”

“So, why are you here? You have nothing to gain by killing me.”

“Oh, yes I do. I’ll have the satisfaction of seeing you six feet under.”

“You don’t need to do this, Clarissa. We can work something out,” Jack said.

With his gun drawn, Wesley stepped into the doorway and drew down on Clarissa. “Drop your weapon,” he shouted.

“No,” Susan shouted, fearing for his life.

Clarissa had the barrel of a revolver pointed at Jack’s forehead. Wesley’s sudden appearance startled her, and A. K. took advantage of the moment. She lunged forward, grabbed Clarissa’s arm, and thrust it upward. The gun fired into the ceiling. Screams filled the hall. As the two struggled, Wesley bolted across the room and wrenched the revolver from Clarissa’s hand.

“It’s over, Clarissa,” Wesley said, turning her around and pinning her against the wall. Pulling the cuffs from the back of his belt, he cuffed her. “Susan, get help for the nurse.”

A few minutes later, hospital personnel rushed into the room and lifted the wounded nurse.

“Let’s get her to the ER,” one nurse said, applying pressure to the wound.

An orderly stuck his head into the room. “Everyone okay in here?”

“We are now,” Jack said.

“Thanks for implicating Gary,” Wesley said to Clarissa. “We had no hard evidence against his involvement. But I think you should know Gary didn’t shoot Jack. He was long gone on a flight to Atlanta.”

“Then who—”

“You can read all about it in the newspaper.”