Mystery: Missing Rita: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery) (18 page)

“Do you know where she went after you sealed your deal?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Sam got to his feet after the information he had just been given and walked out of the room.

“Am I in any kind of trouble, sir?”

“I will contact you.”

He walked out of the room and was just about to place a call to Lohan but a call came from him instead.

“Where are you?”

“Was interrogating June’s fiancé,” Sam answered.

“We need to go to the memorial.”

“But we…”

“We need to get there,” Lohan interrupted before hanging up the phone. The urgency in his voice was not missed and Sam wondered what he had found out. He got into his car and drove off slowly his mind wondering what lay ahead.

****

Tracy saw the venue appear from a distance and threw a glance over at Ryan. He had been quiet most of the way and only moved slightly when Tracy finally parked in the driveway.

“Here we are,” she announced.

Ryan did not react. He did not move a muscle nor
did he bother to say a word to her. She placed a comforting hand over his as he went on to stare ahead into the distance. She looked out at the crowd that was clearly waiting on them and noticed that his kids were already in the vicinity.

“We could seat here for a minute longer and make them wait,” Tracy said trying to get him to speak.

“You know what I hate?”

“No, tell me,” Tracy answered and looked at the blank expression on his face.

“I hate the pity,” he started. “I hate the way people will walk up to you and tell you how sorry they are and give you their condolences. I hate how people will tell you how she was a good woman and she left too soon when we all know she was wicked. I hate how they look sympathetic when some of them are actually glad she is gone.”

Tracy was about to give him a response but he rammed his fist into the dashboard in front of him before straightening his tie and letting out a bold, brave smile.

“It's show time.”

He stepped out of the car and started walking towards the crowd of people who were standing at a distance waiting on him. Tears welled up in his eyes when he saw his children and he realized how much he missed them.

“Hey guys,” he asked after giving them both hugs. “How was your stay at Grandma’s?”

“It was okay,” his son answered after pulling out of his tight embrace. “Grandma tried to make us eat all the time though.”

“That is good of her,” Ryan answered before turning his attention to Tracy who was standing right beside him.

“Kids, I would like you to meet your aunt Tracy.”

“Aunt Tracy?” Stacy asked confused as she gave Tracy a weird look. “How come I have never heard about her?”

“Your mother and her were very close back in the day and they had a falling out,” Ryan tried to explain. “To cut a long story short, she was your mother’s younger sister.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Stacy said rather reluctantly.

“I think we had better head on in,” Ryan said as he took note of the stares that came his way.

“Do you have the program?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I will go get it for you,” Tracy volunteered and detached herself from the bereaved family who were now getting too much attention from the crowd that had showed up. She took short strides to the back of the building in search of nothing in particular. She knew all the pressure and unexpected turn of events would get to her but did not expect it to happen at the memorial. She had a jumble of emotions searing right through her and did not know which one to heed. The possibility of her sister still being alive crossed her mind and she wondered how she would react to the news. She had hated her for so long but losing her in this way was different. A shiny black leather shoe caught her attention as it approached her and she looked up and assumed a face of bravery.

“I thought I would find you here,” the now-familiar voice said to her and she wondered what he was doing showing up to the memorial.

“You have got some nerve showing up here,” she said as she charged towards him.

“Relax, there is no need for drama,” Jack said and loved the look of anger that was carefully displayed on Tracy’s face.

“What the hell have you come to do here?”

“I can’t let everybody think they are burying someone who is still alive.”

“This is not the place Jack,” Tracy begged. “For Pete’s sake, the kids are here.”

“On the contrary, Miss Evans,” he answered. “This is the exact place and time.”

Tracy saw the determined look on his face and knew he would not be convinced otherwise. She knew he had something planned but wished she knew exactly what it was.

“Shall we?” he stretched forth his hand and offered it to her.

Tracy circled his arm with his and they both walked into the venue. She liked the place immediately and thought the event planner was very thoughtful. They had chosen a small hall that would fit about fifty people and a huge portrait of Rita was placed at the very front of the room. The room had white lilies all over and she immediately remembered how Rita loved white lilies. Ryan and the kids had already taken their place at the front of the room and she decided to sit at the back with her guest where she could keep a closer eye on him.

A few more people walked in after them. Some were sobbing softly while others were as cold as the North Pole. Tracy watched as a young woman who she presumed to be the event planner took the podium and looked at everyone with a somber face. She was clad in a tight-fitting black dress that made the contours of her body look crafted and a matching black hat perched squarely on her head.

Everyone in the room went silent when they saw her standing at the front of the podium and listened to her.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she started. “We are gathered here today to say goodbye to a dear friend.”

She cleared her throat and made sure she had everyone’s attention before going on.

“This is not a sad day,” she went on. “We are celebrating the life of Rita Sutter, devoted wife, loving mother and a general caregiver to all who came her way.”

Tracy sneered when she heard these words but was however distracted when she saw both Sam and Lohan stride in and take the backseats. She exchanged a look with Sam who smiled back and gave her a slight nod before listening to what the woman at the front was saying.

“Rita left behind a husband and two children who loved her more than life itself.”

“Ex-husband,” Tracy sneered as she went on to listen to the woman. Something caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she saw Jack slowly get to his feet and slowly began to applaud the woman. The whole room looked at him confused, some with disgusted looks while others knew drama was about to unfold.

“Thank you for all those kind words, my dear,” he started. “But we all know Rita was nothing close to what you have cited. The woman was wicked.”

“With all due your respect sir,” the woman interrupted him. “It is common courtesy never to speak ill of the dead.”

“You make a good point, my dear,” Jack replied before slowly moving out of his seat and taking short strides to where she was. “What these people do not know however is that Rita Sutter is still alive.”

The much-expected hush filled the room as people began to engage in mummers and whispers.

Ryan got to his feet almost immediately and looked in Jack’s direction.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he answered as he moved closer to Ryan. “I am sure Tracy filled you in on that, or were you too busy banging her to understand?”

“Jack, that is enough,” Tracy shouted from her seat as she got up and started walking towards him. He threw a glance over in Sam’s direction as she did this and waited for them to intervene but they did not.

“Look here,” Jack said and walked over to the podium and addressed everyone in the room. “I am a lover of drama just like the next person but I am not here for that.”

“Yeah, right,” Tracy sneered.

“Yes, you are right,” he answered. “I am here for that and so much more – I am here for the truth.”

“And what exactly is the truth?”

“Well, if you would be so kind as to have a seat as I narrate to you what really happened to Rita Sutter…”

Tracy walked back to her seat and gave Ryan a reassuring look; he too got back to his seat and folded his arms across his chest as he fed him an angry look.

“Now that I have gotten everyone’s attention,” he started. “I will borrow the words of the young woman who planned this event. Rita Sutter was not a devoted wife and her being a loving mother is debatable.”

He made sure he maintained eye contact with everyone as he strolled around the room looking at everyone intently.

“She was a wicked woman bereft of any mercy or fiber of love. I do not know how she got to be that way but whatever it was scarred her for life.”

“Rita was an adventurous woman, one who could never be caged. After snatching her younger sister’s boyfriend and making him her husband, Rita got bored. It became a boring lifeless routine for her, same sex position once a week, same work routine and life schedule, and in short it became boring for her. God knows boring never sat well with Rita. She thought it would get better once her husband Ryan got promoted at work. It was different but not better, she would only have sex once a week in the same position, would see him for only two weeks in a month and would have more work on her hands.”

“This really sounds like a eulogy,” Tracy interrupted. “What is the point of all this?”

“Patience, my darling.”

He said and started walking around the room. He could tell he had gotten everyone’s attention and reveled in it.

“Someone introduced Rita Sutter to a different world,” he went on.

“Who was this person?” Tracy asked.

“Would you please let me tell the story the way I want to?”

Tracy decided to remain silent but could tell that Jack loved the attention he was getting all too much. She shifted in her seat and threw a glance in Ryan’s direction. He seemed uncomfortable and she guessed it was because of the presence of his kids.

“Where was I before I was rudely interrupted by people who do not know half the story,” Jack said before throwing Tracy a glare and proceeding with the story.

“Rita got introduced into a world full of passion, romance and excitement. What she did not know, however, was how to put a tight lid on it. She indulged in this world, got soaked in it and soon her boring routine of a life got exciting. But all good things come to an end and maintaining a certain lifestyle requires a certain amount of money.”

“So you are trying to say whoever introduced Rita to this world was rich?” Ryan asked out loud.

“Filthy, stinking rich, sir.”

“Then what happened?”

“Rita became desperate simply because the man in question suddenly became broke and had to give up the lifestyle. However, Rita was a smart girl – I’m sure all of you know that. She had taken a few contacts from this rich fellow when they were wining and dining in these expensive joints and soon enough her lavish lifestyle was back on track. There was a new twist to the story though: this new man was equally rich but not as kind as the previous. He made Rita do things for the money, things you wouldn’t believe and much to his surprise Rita loved it, she loved living a double life and being a perfect mother in the day but a different person at night.”

Jack walked over to where Ryan was seated and stared him straight in the eye.

“There were times I’m sure you noticed the difference in your wife, times when you perhaps came home and found her in bed with another man.”

“What has that got to do with anything? What has that got to do with her still being alive?”

“I am getting to that,” Jack answered and strolled around the room. He went silent for a moment and loved how the whole room followed him with curious glances.

“After indulging in this wretched world that cost her marriage, Rita broke a rule in the game. The most dangerous rule of all: she fell in love. She fell in love with one of the men she wasn’t supposed to love and this became chaotic. She tried to hide it, but sadly one thing about love is that it conquers all.”

“So in short, you’re simply trying to say Rita became an escort for a rich pimp but somehow fell in love with one of the clients?” a random person in the audience asked.

“More or less, yes.”

“You could have just said that from the beginning. Aren’t you dramatic?”

“So is she alive and how did she pull it off?”

These were some of the questions Jack got from her curious audience. He loved the attention and felt like a stage actor playing the lead role.

“Rita eventually got tired of leading this kind of life and decided to devise a plot,” he went on. “A plot where both his family and as one of you put it, his pimp would not find her even if they wanted to. That is why she set about hunting for her twin sister June.”

These words made the whole room buzz with murmurs. Everyone looked at him curiously but he ignored the stares and went on.

“Yes, Rita had a twin sister who went by the name of June Andrews. It was her good that that she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness which only left her with a pile of medical bills to pay. You see Rita was an opportunist, she saw a chance in this and decided to exploit her sister’s illness and approaching death.”

“If what you are saying is true, how did they manage to steal the body from the morgue?” another curious audience member asked.

“Come on now, I have just mentioned that Rita put to bed some of the most influential men in this city; do you think stealing a body in a city morgue where the security is not high priority would be hard for her?”

“So where is Rita now?’ Tracy asked. “You seem to know a lot about her, where is she?”

“Believe me or not, Rita is amongst you right now as we speak,” Jack answered.

The chaos in the room rose to a different level which made both Sam and Detective Lohan get to their feet to try and control the situation. They walked over to where Jack was and flashed their badges to the crowd.