The Straight Crimes (32 page)

Suddenly everything made sense. It was more haunting than she could’ve ever imaged. At that moment, Harper knew it was all over.

TWENTY-NINE

T
he winds picked up as the storm intensified, howling and thrashing its fury against the rickety shutters. The ghastly sounds kept Nik from dosing off in exhaustion.

However, just as he was about to fall asleep, he was unexpectedly startled by the sound of the doorbell.

He cautiously peered through the window, surprised to see the police standing at his front door.

“Good evening, Nik.” Tonya extended her hand. “May we come in?”

“Sure.” He frowned, detecting Tonya’s strange tone.

“Hey, boss.” Leland patted Nik on the arm. “Damn, it feels nice in here. We’ve been freezin’ our asses off all night.”

“Sorry for dropping by so late.”

“What’s going on?” Nik frowned.

Tonya cleared her throat. “I need to speak with you and Harper.”

“She’s not here.”

“Really?” Tonya asked.

“No, she won’t be back for a few hours.”

“Where is she?”

“Having dinner with a friend.”

“I see,” Tonya grumbled.

“Why, what’s going on?”

“I need to talk about Gage Black.”

Nik folded his arms across his chest. “You mean the serial killer? Everyone’s been saying he murdered Old Man Winston and Brielle Holloway.”

“His fingerprints were found at both crimes scenes, matching DNA in Port Vista’s criminal database.”

“I’m familiar with Port Vista.”

Tonya pointed her finger in the air. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Why’s that?”

“Prior to living with Bill Winston, Gage’s last place of residency was in Port Vista, a home in which he worked for Andrea Galva and Patrick Roberts—your father.”

Nik lifted his eyebrow in curiosity.

“Were you aware that Gage was employed by your father?”

“No.” Nik was astounded.

“He wasn’t employed for long. They pressed charges against Gage and had him arrested for theft. Did you know Patrick and Andrea were living together?”

“Not until recently. We found out that their boat went down during a storm on Lake Michigan.”

“I’m deeply sorry about your father.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“We were told the same story. However, considering their connection to Gage, we obtained a search warrant to investigate their property and found carefully concealed blood splatter in the entryway. The forensics results on their DNA samples were positive matches for Patrick and Andrea. They didn’t drown—they were murdered inside their own home.”

“What?” Nik’s heavy heart pounded in his chest, unsure if he’d heard the detective correctly.

“You all right, Kid?” Leland asked.

Nik slowly walked to the couch and covered his face. “I feel sick. I can’t believe this.”

“Gage’s blood was also found at the scene of the crime. He’s incredibly dangerous.”

After taking a few minutes to digest the news, he let out a heavy sigh. “Do you think Gage killed them just ‘cause he was fired?”

“Profiling a killer like him isn’t easy. His actions suggest greater motivation than revenge. He’s elusive, apparently without any ties—until we discovered that Andrea Galva’s daughter, Traci, posted his bail.”

“Traci?”

“We wondered what possible motive she’d have to release him, until we found Andrea’s Last Will and Testament, naming Traci sole beneficiary of Andrea’s estate and all her assets. Between that and Andrea’s life insurance policy, she stood to inherit over thirteen million dollars.”

“You can’t be serious.” Nik shook his head as the fury mounted.

“We’re thinking he’s some kind of pawn in her twisted game.”

“Yeah, no shit!”

The seething rage brewed deep within Nik. He thought he hated Traci before, but imagining that his father’s life had been taken by her was more than he could handle.

“Are you all right?”

“Why haven’t you arrested her ass?” he asked.

“At this point, her involvement is purely speculation. Aside from posting the bail, we have no solid evidence against her. However, I’m very interested in speaking with Traci. She wasn’t home when we went by her house earlier today, and her phone went straight to voicemail when we called.”

“That’s ‘cause she’s in Chicago.” Nik frowned. “Traci did it. I know it. She’s a greedy bitch.”

“Again, there’s no physical evidence to tie her to any of the crimes yet.”

“You think her prissy ass is gonna do anything herself? The woman lives alone, but has her own maid. She uses people. I’m sure Gage did all the dirty work, ‘cause she probably bribed him with the promise of her mother’s money. They’re both spineless.”

“But Traci’s hardly even touched Andrea’s bank accounts.”

“That’s ‘cause she’s calculating. She’s probably waiting for enough time to pass to make sure it doesn’t look suspicious, taking a little out here and there. I don’t care if you haven’t found any physical evidence against her. I know she’s guilty.”

“Don’t think we haven’t considered the same. That’s why we’re still investigating. However, our speculation isn’t quite as damning as a piece of evidence we found beside Bill Winston’s body.”

Nik lifted his eyebrow at the strange remark.

Tonya reached into her pocket and produced the transparent bag, containing the heart-shaped necklace. “This is where our theory gets a little unclear, ‘cause this piece of jewelry doesn’t belong to Traci. The inscription says it’s Harper’s…and it’s covered with Bill Winston’s blood.”

“Oh my God.” Nik’s gaze froze, entranced on the necklace.

“You’ve seen this before, haven’t you?” Tonya asked.

His mutter was inaudible as he stared, nodding his head in agreement.

“It’s important that we speak to Harper immediately.”

“We’ve gotta go. She’s in trouble.”

“We’re just looking to question her,” Tonya assured him.

“This is a set up.”

Tonya looked at Leland and exchanged a glance of disbelief. “You think this was planted at the scene of the crime to implicate Harper in Bill’s murder?”

Nik pulled the police towards the door with an intense sense of urgency. “I saw Traci wearing that thing with my own eyes. She tried telling me it was a gift, but when I questioned Harper, she told me Traci had taken the necklace and wears it constantly. The woman’s unbalanced.”

Tonya groaned.

“Ask Harper, she’ll tell you how insane Traci is. That’s why Harper’s here. She couldn’t handle living with that nut bag any longer. Harper asked Traci for the necklace back, but she hasn’t been able to produce it…probably ‘cause she lost it. Traci must’ve left it behind when they killed Pops.” Nik tore open the door and motioned for Tonya and Leland to follow. “I can’t say for sure if Traci set Harper up at the crime scene, but I know she set her up tonight. She used Kendall to lure her back.”

“What?” Tonya asked.

“Kendall asked Harper over for dinner so they could spend time together without Traci interfering, but more importantly, so Harper could get her stuff while Traci’s out of town.”

“If you were so concerned, then why didn’t you go with her?” Tonya asked.

“’Cause Kendall insisted she wanted it to be a girls’ night only. Don’t you get it? Traci didn’t go to Chicago. She’s at the house waiting for Harper. The only way she knew she’d be able to convince Harper to come was to have Kendall lie about the plans. That’s why you can’t reach Traci. She probably turned off her phone so she can be alone with Harper and she couldn’t be tracked. And that’s why Traci didn’t want me giving Harper a ride.”

Tonya folded her arms. “How do I know you’re not just covering for Harper or that she’s not really working with Traci and Gage?”

Nik charged towards Tonya and stood in her face. “You’ve always been on our side. Don’t make me start hating you now! You might be a detective, but you’re also human. I know you’ve seen the hell Harper’s been through after losing her family. She’d never hurt anyone and until this, she’s never given you any reason to question that fact. I told you about Traci and the necklace. That information, along with bailing Gage out from prison, should be more than enough to see who she really is. So rather than wasting time, building a worthless case against Harper, I suggest you do your job and stop the maniacs before they kill another innocent person.”

The detective felt overwhelmingly compelled to renounce her suspicion and trust Nik. “Let’s see if you’re right.”

Tonya raced to the back door of the squad car and let Nik inside. Then she and Leland jumped up front. “I’m dispatching backup. Punch it, Brown.”

“Hurry,” Nik ordered. “I need to call her.”

Tonya handed her phone to Nik.

As he waited a response, the haunting silence between the long, unsettling ringing made Nik sick to his stomach.

“Anything?” she asked.

“She’s not answering.”

“Relax,” Tonya assured him. “We don’t know for certain that she’s in any danger.”

“I know what kind of person Traci is and the games she plays. I also know she’s furious at Harper for moving out. There’s no telling what she’ll do. I don’t wanna think about it.” His head began to throb, imagining the possible horror unfolding. All he could do was hope that they’d get there fast enough to halt Traci’s wicked scheme.

Harper nervously watched through the lingering shadows as Traci and Gage spoke in hushed whispers, nervously pacing back and forth in the foyer.

Uncertain of her fate, Harper briefly considered racing towards the door.

Were they so engrossed they wouldn’t notice her quiet escape? Could Harper regulate her breathing enough so they wouldn’t hear her? And if she made it outside, how far could she run in the snowstorm?

Before Harper took a step, Gage looked her straight in the eye. She noticed the gun he was boldly brandishing and realized she was confined to their merciless scorn.

Gage glared at Harper while he moved past her, making his way to the front door. Then he peered out the window just as a set of headlights flashed against the house.

“Looks like we’ve got company...”

“Are you serious?” Traci raced across the hall and watched the police vehicle slowly struggle at the end of her driveway.

“Bet that’s Detective Harris…”

“Shit, what are they doing here?” she asked.

He exhaled nervously. “Hell if I know.”

“Did they follow you?”

Gage covered his mouth in shock.

“Answer me, asshole, did they see you?”

“I doubt it.”

“Bull.” Traci jutted her chin in anger. “I’m not going down because of your stupidity.”

“That’s exactly what’ll happen if we keep standing here, arguing about this shit. What are we gonna do?”

Traci held her breath and wracked her brain in those fast seconds. “I can tell you one thing for sure…we won’t get caught.”

“Then what’s the plan?” Gage yelled, growing impatiently.

A vindictive grin overtook her face as she turned her attention back to Harper. “On your feet,” she ordered. Traci lifted her gun from the floor and pressed it against Harper’s back. “Move!”

“What’s going on?” Gage asked.

“You’re gonna wait on the balcony until they come inside.
 
Don’t
 let them pass. Is your gun loaded?”

“Of course.”

Traci’s sharp words were cold and direct as she whispered, “Shoot to kill—that means anyone who comes inside dies. If you fail me this time, 
you
 die.” She raced to the closet and threw her jacket on.

“So where are you going?” he asked.

“Outside now!” she instructed Harper, ignoring Gage.

Traci pushed her to the patio door and slid the glass door open. She grabbed one of the candles from the dining room and placed it inside a lantern. Then she pointed at the lighthouse. “We’re climbing to the top.” Traci pulled out her gun and examined it under the moonlight. “I’m not letting the police spoil our goodbye.”

“She’s here. That’s my dad’s truck!” Nik shouted impatiently.

Leland pressed his foot against the gas pedal and made his way up the slippery driveway. He turned off the headlights and looked at Tonya. “Shit, we ain’t got back up yet.”

“Don’t count on it. There have been tons of accidents tonight,” she reminded him. “We don’t have time to wait. We’re going in.”

Rather than retort with some cynical remark about Tonya’s rash decision, Leland nodded solemnly and followed her out of the car.

She opened Nik’s door and then motioned to her seat. “Wait here.”

“You’re frickin’ nuts. I’m coming with you guys.”

Tonya put her hand on her hip. “No you’re not.”