The Second Wife (7 page)
“Well, if what you say is true, the teeth should also match with Alice's X-rays in her real file.”
“I shook my head. Alice Coates's dental file is missing. I already checked.”
Cal was sitting forward, his elbows on his knees. I could see him replaying the evidence in his mind. “If this is trueâand I'm saying ifâwhere is Marjory now?”
“I believe she and her real husband are hiding out somewhere. They're waiting for Jason to collect on the life insurance policy. He's also supposed to sell off Brian's business and condo when he's found guilty. Then Jason plans to join them.”
Cal closed his eyes. His face had paled. “There's no way to prove any of this.”
I reached into my bag. “They made a few mistakes. I visited Marjory's old dentist, Dr. Bloom. When Marjory left, she took her file with her. She also erased it on the computer in Bloom's office. She didn't know that it had been backed up on a disc. She worked weekdays and wasn't aware that one of the girls made a disc every Saturday. Here's the disc with Marjory's real X-rays. They won't match the ones in your file. I'm sure of it.”
“You said
mistakes
, as in more than one?”
“They didn't count on a lonely old woman living next door to their first apartment. Rose Gatto remembers Alice Coates and Marjory's real husband. He used to visit Marjory before they found a mark. Brian to be exact. The other thing that Marjory hadn't counted on was Jason's affair with her co-worker Tina Sweet. Marjory got angry with Jason and made him break it off. He could have blown the whole deal.”
“I'm guessing you have all this documented?”
I reached in my bag and handed him the file I'd been gathering.
He looked down, then back at me. “I can see I have some work to do.”
“Like find out where Marjory and her husband are living.”
“That's top of my list. If all this checks out, Brian owes you big-time.”
“All in the line of duty,” I said.
I reached the front door and turned. Cal was already talking into his cell phone and slipping one arm into the sleeve of his jacket. His eyes met mine. I could tell he believed me. He had the look of a bloodhound tracking a new scent.
I smiled and let myself out.
B
y late Friday morning, Jason was sitting in the Duluth jail. It didn't take him long to spill his guts. He'd helped his mother kill Alice Coates. He and his mom had moved to Duluth to get a fresh start after some money went missing at her previous job. Marjory came up with the plan to clean up on her insurance only after a chance meeting with Alice at the mall. She remembered how people used to confuse the two of them in high school. It took her a while to work out the details. She used the time to reel in Brian. He was to be her backup plan.
Jason gave Cal his father's address in a little town in Wisconsin. His father was living a few towns over from where Marjory and Alice grew up. Cal called the Wisconsin state police. They picked up Jason's dad before lunch. They also arrested a woman who turned out to be the very much alive and kicking Marjory.
I sat at my desk. The excitement of the chase was over. I felt as deflated as a balloon after a nail had been poked into it. The past week had made me realize how empty my life had become since Brian left. I had a boring desk job and nobody waiting at home. My life sucked.
Jan Hill from hr stopped by for a chat. “Have you heard the big news?” she asked. “Cal broke the Marjory White case wide-open. He figured out that she faked her own death and pinned it on your ex, Brian. Her son Jason killed a woman who looked like Marjory. Marjory and her son even managed to switch dental records. They would have gotten away with it if Cal hadn't kept digging. He's likeâ¦a hero.”
My mouth fell open. I could feel anger shoot up from my stomach. I couldn't breathe. For a few moments I thought that I was having a heart attack. I made myself inhale deeply and pushed the anger back down. There was no use fighting. Of course Cal claimed the victory for himself. He couldn't let himself be outsmarted by a desk officer. “Cal's a cracker all right,” I said.
I was a loser and it was time I accepted it.
The rest of the day dragged. I couldn't concentrate on my work. All I wanted to do was go home and sit in front of the tv with the remote and a bottle of wine.
Midafternoon, the inbox on my computer dinged. An email message had arrived from the chief. I clicked it open and skimmed the words. He wanted everyone to meet in the boardroom at three o'clock. I sighed and deleted the message. O'Malley was always sending emails to the wrong people. He should leave computer tasks to his assistant.
At ten after three, I received a phone call. It was the chief 's assistant. She told me that I was late for the meeting and they were waiting for me. Everyone on staff was expected. Even little old me.
I hurried to the room with a pen and notepad. I tried to slip in without being noticed. The only empty seat was between Cal and Chief O'Malley. Neither of them looked at me when I sat down.
O'Malley stood up to speak. He was a short bald man but tough as they come. He'd been chief for the past ten years. “I am letting you know today that I've promoted Cal Rodgers to assistant chief,” he said. “Cal has done outstanding work on many files. The Marjory White case is the latest example. I'm also letting you know that I'll be taking a long vacation beginning next week.”
Everyone laughed. They clapped for Cal. I managed a couple of claps but my heart wasn't in it. I felt more like using my hands to slap him.
Cal stood up and raised his arms for silence. “Thank you, Chief O'Malley. As you know, I headed up the White case. We had a surprising but satisfying end to the case. I'm happy to take the creditâ¦but I can't because I didn't solve it. Gwen Lake put the clues together and handed me the killers.” He reached down and pulled me to my feet. “Gwen is the true hero on this file.” His eyes were twinkling.
I staggered against him as he pulled me into a hug. Cheers and clapping broke out. A few officers whistled. I stepped back and held a hand to my mouth.
“I've asked the chief,” Cal continued, “and he's agreed to promote our Gwen to junior detective. We can use her talent to help solve future cases.”
O'Malley stood and shook my hand. “Welcome to the detective division, Gwen,” he said. “Cal says you did some very good work.”
Brian was sitting on my front steps when I made it home. I was later than usual because Jan Hill and I had gone for a drink to celebrate my promotion. I parked the car and walked toward him. He was tired but smiled and stood to hug me.
“Cal tells me I owe you.”
“You're welcome,” I said. “Do you want to come in for a minute?”
We got a couple of beers and sat in lawn chairs on the back deck. It wasn't as hot as it had been all July. There was a nice breeze cooling things down.
After a while, Brian said, “I'd like to come home. I miss you and our life. What do you say, Gwen? Can you give me another chance?”
I took my time answering. I thought about the twenty-two years we'd lived together. I remembered the pain when he left me. I'd been lonely when he was gone. But I'd made it through Christmas and my birthday and holidays without him. I fixed my eyes on the lilac bushes. They'd grown a good foot over the summer.
“I say that it's too soon. I'm not ready to be married again or to have you back in my life. You need to sort out your life too. There was a reason you fell for someone like Marjory White. We owe each other some time.”
Brian took my hand. “Sometimes, we take for granted what we've got,” he said. “The grass isn't always greener.”
We drank our beer and sat outside until the sun set and the bugs came out. Then Brian got up to leave. I could hear his footsteps long after he disappeared into the darkness. I sat a while longer listening to the night sounds.
I stood and stretched my hands to the sky.
“You're going to be a detective,” I said out loud. It was the first time I actually believed it. Laughter started deep in my belly and bubbled out of my mouth. I laughed so hard that tears rolled down my cheeks. I threw back my head and looked at the stars. I yelled at the sky, “Gwen Lake, the forty-five-year-old couch potato is making a career change! Take that world!”
Then I grabbed the empty beer bottles and stood up. I twirled twice around the deck before I danced my way into the house.
BRENDA CHAPMAN
is the author of the murder mystery
In Winter's Grip
(2010), along with the successful Jennifer Bannon mystery series for young adults. She is a former special education teacher and currently works as a senior communications advisor in the federal government in Ottawa, Ontario.
The following is an excerpt from
another exciting Rapid Reads novel,
And Everything Nice
by Kim Moritsugu.
978-1-55469-838-7 $9.95 pb
When honesty isn't always the best policy.
Stephanie manages a clothing store and lives with her mother in the townhouse where she grew up. Her life isn't in a rut exactly, but it's not headed where she'd like it to be. Things begin to look up when she joins a community rock choir and meets Anna Rai, a local tv personality. When Anna's personal journal goes missing and ends up in the hands of a blackmailer, the two women lay a trap to snare the crook.
O
ne day, a few years ago, I found a wallet in the parking lot of the mall where I worked. It was sitting on the ground, open, right under the driver's door of a bmw. Like it fell from the driver's lap when he got out of the car and he didn't notice.
The wallet bulged with cash. Four hundred dollars' worth. And credit cards, a bank card, a driver's license. Everything.
I picked it up and looked around. Was anyone running back to the car in a panic? Nope. The parking lot was empty of pedestrians. And the spot where I stood was out of sight of the mall's outdoor video cameras. No one would see if I slipped the wallet into my bag and kept walking. Or if I removed the cash and dropped the wallet back on the ground.
I stood there for a minute and considered those options. And others. I could leave the wallet where I found it, money and all. Or I could write a note, stick it under the windshield wiper, and turn the wallet into mall security. But I didn't trust some of the guards who worked there.