Dancing In Darkness (25 page)

“Probably not, probably not.” He had to agree. That woman irked him to no end. Why in the hell did she have to make her presence known now? It was ridiculous at the amount of sheer bad luck rolled into one event.

When they made it back to Nina’s home, Adam walked in with her. “You know I was thinking, she’s going to have to relive this entire mess when it goes to trial.”

“We all are.” She responded.

“Yeah, but as much as we suffered, you particularly with the girls, it is going to traumatize her all over again. It’s not something I’m looking forward to, but maybe he’ll get what he deserves and never walk free again.” He said.

As the two of them sat talking, in a building across town Detective Beth Tony was sitting face to face with her former partner, who was now charged with multiple counts of homicide. His attorney, Mark Willis, was present with him for the questioning.

“Det. Tony, if you have anything to ask my client, I would highly suggest that you start asking, otherwise I am going to have this terminated.” Willis said.

“Mr. Willis, I want to make sure that I ask your client the appropriate questions. Some of the questions that come to mind have no direct bearing on the legal obligations of this case.” She told him.

During their discussion Mike Ward sat across from her hands shackled to the table with enough moving room to write and his ankles shackled to the chair. Just like any other homicide suspect.

“Mr. Ward, did you kill Zena Wilkins, Diamond Jacquere and Megan Dryer?” She asked him.

“I believe his title is Detective.” Willis said sarcastically.

“I believe he lost that title when he kidnapped and attempted to kill Priscilla Barnes. Which, we already have the confession for plus finding her in the woods outside of his hunting cabin.” She replied.

“I’ll ask you again, did you kill those women?” She asked the same question.

“Det. Ward, do not answer that question.” His attorney suggested.

“Yeah, I fucking killed them.” He said completely ignoring the attorney.

“Mr. Ward, I am here as your legal counsel, and I am telling you to quit answering their questions.” Willis stated emphatically.

Beth had the digital recorder still on record, making sure to have every one of his confessions on tape.

“Why did you kill them, Mr. Ward?” She asked him.

“As legal counsel, do not answer that question.” Willis stated again.

“Because they were nothing but thieving whores. Just like all the rest of them.” Ward answered.

“Mr. Ward! One more question that you answer against my advice and I will not be able to represent you. Do you understand me? You are doing nothing more than giving them a full confession.” Willis was almost yelling at his client.

“You know what, Mr. Willis, legal counsel, fuck off. I don’t need your help. I already confessed to the Barnes bitch. What is a few more going to hurt?” Ward snapped at Willis.

Beth sat back and allowed the recording to continue. She wanted every bit of this and she wanted to get it submitted as evidence. The two men argued for about a minute and Mr. Willis excused himself from the room. After he left the room, Beth asked him if he was going to continue or if he wanted new counsel.

“I don’t want counsel. I don’t need counsel. I don’t need some bitch ass wanna-be detective questioning me about anything. I’ll tell you every damn thing you want to know.” Ward spit at her.

“Please, feel free to continue.” She said, ignoring his outburst.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

“You know when I snapped? When the mother of my fucking kids was fired from a job that she never should have had. She worked her ass off to pay her bills, to take care of those kids, and to live a life that she could support or so she said. The bitch lost her job and was coming after me to pay child support on kids I never wanted in the first place. Fuck that. I lived my life the way I wanted to, it didn’t involve some whore and her snot nosed kids that I didn’t want. I told her to abort them. Plain and simple. No, she was too stupid to even get that part right. When they were born and there were two of them, I wanted to kill myself. I was not about to be tied down.

She called me the night that she was fired and told me that either I could pay child support to her directly each week or she was going to have to take me to court to get ordered support that would be garnished from my wages each week. Fuck that, you stupid bitches and sleeping around from dick to dick just to collect cash. If you fuck up and get pregnant that’s your shit not mine. Deal with it.

The next morning when she called me back, to bitch some more about it, she told me that none of this would have had to happen but she lost her job. She shouldn’t have been screwing up is the way I look at it. I told her to go find a new job, it wouldn’t be hard in her line of work. I mean she had no education and still made decent money. All she could do was cry. I don’t have time for that. I deal with enough crying people while I am at work. I didn’t want to listen to it when I was at home. Bitch hang up the phone and shut the hell up.

My job as you well know was stressful. Why should I have to deal with anything that I don’t want to deal with? Like I said, get a fucking abortion, I would have paid for it in a heartbeat. Then she had to start in with the bullshit “but I am already falling in love with it.” No, there is no time for that shit. Do what you have to do.

You don’t get it Tony, you’re a female, you have kids and your husband wanted them. That wasn’t me and I wasn’t about to let this come between me and my career. I had worked too hard to have some dumb ass stripper present her brats somewhere as my kids. No, they aren’t mine. I didn’t want them and I tried to get her to get rid of them. When she wouldn’t listen, it became a problem.

My solution to that problem was to go after the source. The reason she was fired in the first place. To tell you the truth, the first three were just collateral damage. Nina Powalski fired her and I was going to do everything in my power to destroy her. How would I do that? It would have been much too easy to take her out right away. It wouldn’t have caused her to suffer or worry. Losing those sluts she called dancers was going to directly affect her. In her wallet and in her poor little heart.”

Beth could not believe that she was getting all of this on the record and even more that he was telling her at all. This man was insane. Although she would never vocalize that because she didn’t want a chance of him getting off by reason of insanity. No, she was going to hang his ass. At least she was going to get the full confession so that the prosecutor’s office could hang him.

“The first one, she really was an idiot. By all accounts an idiot. What was her name? Zena? Yeah, her. She knew I was a cop and I knew that she was a thief. I had arrested her years before on a shoplifting charge. This one wouldn’t be found on her record, you see, they are all the same. All it took was a blowjob to get that to go away. Anyway, I remembered her when I saw her and she recognized me. I told her she needed to get in my car or there would be a warrant for her the next day. She was scared and I knew that she had been staying clean legally, but still the bimbo fell for it. Took her out by the beach near the pier and using her own scarf, took her out of the equation. The first piece of Powalski’s heart was dead. Tossed her by the trail and barely covered her, so that she would be found. You know, you had that part right. Oh, and I’ll give you credit, you knew that a cop was involved. That was some class detective work right there.

Beth said nothing and remained quiet.

The second one was a little more difficult, she had a general distrust of police, imagine that. Same thing, not difficult to get her in the car. These women see a cop and they are either scared because they are shady as hell or they trust them without questioning anything. Funny thing, they all wear shit that can be used as a weapon without ever worrying about being caught. Makes it rather simplistic really. I had thought about upping the ante on that one, but why change a good thing that works well. No need to raise eyebrows if not necessary.”

“Can I get a cigarette? I know someone here has one, maybe Wileski.” He asked her.

“Finish telling me what you need to tell me and then we’ll talk about the cigarette.” She told him.

“Fine. It’s better to get this out anyway. That way everyone can know. Fuck that long trial period. Anyway, the third one…she was a real treat. The way she begged me to spare her life because she was pregnant. Wrong choice of words bitch. She wasn’t going to trick some poor soul into raising a brat he didn’t want. Took her out quick and fast. You know why we couldn’t find the choice weapon for that one? Because it was a brand new baby blanket someone had painstakingly crocheted for her. How adorable right?

The next one was going to be my piece de resistance, she was going to be the crown jewel of my endeavors. She was the one making the money for Powalski. Then to make it even more appetizing, I saw her at the Linston place sucking up to him for the extra cash. That was it. I watched her at both parties she attended, she had no idea it was me…although she did to her credit know someone was watching her. I couldn’t resist leaving that enticing little note on her countertop. Even her new found boyfriend walked right past it. Do you know how exciting it was for me to be in her apartment taking a report about the very note that I had left mere hours before hand? Incredible.

What I didn’t count on was that she would go stay with Linston. What a pain in the ass that was. I thought about taking him out too, but hey, the more left to suffer their losses the better, am I right? That kid. Man that kid cracked me up when he tried to rob that other one. It fit perfectly into my plan even though it was an unplanned event. Once he was locked up and people thought that the “real killer” had been captured, it made my job twice as easy. When she went home and I knew that Linston had left, a simple phone call and an apology got me cleared in her mind. At least enough to where hours later she was willing to follow me to a lineup.

Imagine my surprise when her car broke down along the freeway. It really could not have been simpler than what it was. Then…she had to fight back. She wasn’t like the rest of them. She had a grittier side. It was a struggle and a bloody struggle at that. The first swing of the knife that cut her leg, I thought she would give up. Dumb asses never learn and she was no different. The stab wound in the side did the trick. She passed out either from pain or the loss of blood. It didn’t matter to me, she was out. When she got loose at the cabin by chewing through the ropes, I realized she might not be as stupid as I thought. If you hadn’t shown up with your forces of power behind you, she would have been mine at first light.”

“You are a sick fuck.” Beth told him. “Thanks for your confession. It’s all we’ll need.”

“Yeah, what about that cigarette?” He asked her nonchalantly.

“I forgot, it’s a smoke free building.” She smiled at him.

“Fuck you bitch. You’re no better than the rest of them.” He told her.

“Oh for the record, who was the girlfriend that had your kids?” She asked, not expecting an answer.

He smiled at her. “Yvette. Yvette Dornan.”

“Nina fired her the night that Priscilla Barnes was hired.” Beth said.

“Yes, I told you that whole story.” He said.

“Indeed you did.” She replied.

Calling for the officer that was standing outside the door, she said, “Get him out of here.”

As he was being escorted out of the room he turned his head to look at her. “You’ll find Yvette and the kids in the bottom of the lake. Fuck them too. I wasn’t paying a dime for something I didn’t want.”

Beth felt the blood drain from her head and felt lightheaded. She instantly called in other detectives and officers. They had to search the lake and they had to do it immediately.

Priscilla was just waking up in her new room. She didn’t think she had been there long because Adam hadn’t returned. The medication they had her on made her head fuzzy so it took her a minute to orientate herself to her surroundings. When the cobwebs began to fade, she noticed that someone was sitting in the chair in the corner. Maybe she had been asleep for a while and he fell asleep waiting for her. When she looked again, she recognized the person. It was not who she wanted to see. Where was Adam and when would he be back? “Mother.” She said. One word, nothing else.

Nancy Barnes straightened in her chair. “Hello Priscilla.”

“What do you want?” Priscilla asked her.

“Well, is that any way to greet your mother after all of these years?” She said.

“Consider yourself lucky you got that.” Priscilla replied to the older woman’s question. “Can we not do this right now? It seems I’ve had a bad few last couple of days.”

“No, it appears you’ve had a bad few several years.” Nancy quipped. “My daughter, the stripper. That is golden. I told your father that you wouldn’t amount to anything, but you had him fooled all of those years.”

“What did you come here for?” Priscilla snapped.

“I came here to try and make amends with you. Bury the hatchet so to speak.” She retorted. “After the way your so called friends treated me upon my arrival, I’m not sure that is an option anymore.”

“It wasn’t an option to begin with. I’m an adult, not your child. You lost that right when I walked away from home.” Priscilla said. “Now, I want you to go. I need to rest.”

“If you weren’t mixed up in this stripping, you wouldn’t be in this mess. You do realize that?” She said with a smile. There was something in her voice that told Priscilla that this wasn’t the reason she was here.

“I am tired. I hurt. I’ve lost friends. What more do you want from me? I let you hurt me all my life and now I’m taking that right back.” Priscilla continued, “You don’t get to choose when you show up to fix things. You walked into my life when you decided you wanted to. It doesn’t work like that. I needed you all of those years and you never failed to let me know how much you hated me.”

“I did a lot of things wrong. I admit that. You came into my life at the wrong time. I wasn’t prepared to have a child. There was so much that I had wanted to do, things I couldn’t do anymore.” She said.

“…and you still blame me.” Priscilla sighed. “Things do not change with you. Ever. Now you can tell me the real reason that you are here…we both know it isn’t to simply make amends.”

“Fine. Since you moved away years ago and have no use for it, your father had added you onto the deed for the house. I want to move and you need to sign off on it.” Nancy said.

“You want to sell the house and property? I can’t do that while I’m in here and medicated like this. I need to think it over and when I’m clear headed nonetheless. I want Adam to look over the deed as well.” Priscilla told her.

“Adam doesn’t have to look over anything. This is between us and us alone. There’s nothing to think about. You don’t want to be there and I don’t want to be there. I have the paperwork all ready to go. You could sign it tonight and I would be out of your hair.” Nancy said sounding aggravated.

“I’ve learned enough in life to know better than to sign anything without reading it. So, if you would like it signed, we can wait for Adam to get back…he will be back some time tonight, or we can wait until I am off all of this pain medication that makes it difficult for me to think straight.” She told her.

As soon as she had finished speaking the words, the door opened. Adam had finally made it back. “What the hell is going on?” He demanded of Nancy.

“We were just having a friendly chat, no need in blowing a gasket over it.” She replied.

“Adam, my father apparently had added me to the deed of the house and now she wants to sell it so she can move. She’s not going to tell you all of this, so I will.” She continued, “Anyway, she needs me to sign off on the paperwork so that she can leave. I’m not comfortable signing it while medicated and not able to understand it. I told her that you could read it, but she doesn’t want that either.”

“Nancy, no one is signing anything right now. In fact, if someone is on a medication that can change your state of mind, it is not legally binding. Now, if you don’t mind, I am going to ask you to leave. If you like, as she said, I can look it over but there is nothing that she can do until she is no longer medicated.” He told her.

“There has to be a loophole around that. I do not want to stay down here for another however many days it takes for her to get off the damn drugs.” Nancy said.

“You are dense. She isn’t on drugs. She’s medicated because a crazed killer cop stabbed her and hunted her down in the woods.” He shook his head.

“Priscilla, do you know the address of the property? I can do a simple internet search and see what’s going on.” Adam told her.

The expression on Nancy’s face said everything they needed to know.

“You can tell me now or just get out and I’ll never sign it.” Priscilla told her.