Deadly Echoes (26 page)

I sank down onto the couch, and Mike sat next to me. Although he lowered the gun, he kept it in his hand. There were beads of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes were wild.

“We don't have much time. You've got to let me explain, and then you need to get out of here. I'll find someplace safe for you and Cicely.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice high with anxiety. “Are you going to kill me?”

“No, of course not. This gun is for your protection.”

“Well, I don't feel protected. Put it down. What if Cicely sees it?”

“If she comes downstairs, act normal. I'm just here for a friendly visit. Send her back to her room for whatever reason you can come up with.” He hid the gun under his jacket.

All I could do was nod at him.

Mike took a deep breath. “Listen carefully and don't ask questions. We may not have much time. This all started back when Anson and I were rookie cops. Not all cops are on the
up-and-up, Sarah. I was Anson's partner. First he started taking drugs from the evidence room, telling me to sign off on lesser amounts than what we really confiscated from the drug dealers we arrested. Then Anson moved on to making arrangements with the dealers. They gave us a lot of money to look the other way when it suited them. He even planted evidence that led the department to arrest other people instead of those who were really guilty. By the time it got that far, I wanted out.”

His sigh was so raw I shivered.

“I can't explain how things got so out of control. It happened little by little. Bit by bit. When I told Anson I wanted out, he refused to let me go. Threatened to ruin my life.” He snorted. “I should have turned him in. My life was destroyed anyway. I was afraid, felt so guilty, that I was impossible to get along with. My wife left me and took my daughter.”

“But . . . what does this have to do with me?”

“Anson sent me here to find out what you know. How close you were to the truth. I tried to get you to quit pushing for answers, warned you to stay away from Anson. I was trying to protect you.”

“From what?” I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “I don't understand.”

He took a deep breath. “Anson and your mom dated before she met your father. They became engaged. She was everything he wanted in a wife. He was . . . obsessed with her. But after Maggie was introduced to your father, she realized she'd made a mistake with Anson and broke it off. He was furious. He was used to getting everything he wanted, but he couldn't have Maggie. Years passed, but Anson never got over your mother. I don't know if he's capable of love, but if he has the capacity, he loved Maggie. Anson and your father knew each other. They crossed
paths quite a bit. Your dad was a very smart man. Firefighters see things on the job. Meth labs blow up, drugs are uncovered. I'm not sure exactly how he found out what Anson was up to, but Ben told Anson he was going to turn him in. If only he'd just done it instead of warning him ahead of time. When we went to your house that night, Anson promised it was just to warn your dad to keep quiet.” Mike's eyes sought mine. “I swear to you, Sarah. I had no idea what was going to happen.”

I couldn't tear my gaze away from his. “Are you . . . are you telling me . . .”

He nodded. “Anson Bentley killed your parents before I could stop him. If I'd known, I would have done something.”

A realization hit me almost like I'd been slapped. “It was you. You were the one who found us hiding under the stairs.”

He nodded. His dark skin looked almost gray. “Thank God Anson assumed you weren't home. I couldn't take the risk that he'd kill you too. He's a sociopath. No feelings for anyone. No compassion at all. Anyone who gets in his way . . .” He took a deep breath. “After he killed your parents he went to his car and got a bouquet of flowers. White orchids. Your mother's favorite flowers. He'd started sending them to her after they broke up, just trying to let her know he still loved her.”

“But Hannah and I don't remember any white orchids.”

“That's because she threw them away,” Mike said. “Told him to quit sending them. That made Anson livid. And that's why he spread white orchids around her body.”

“But why didn't my dad make him stop?”

“Your mother never told Ben about Anson. She got rid of the flowers before he saw them. She was afraid of Anson, Sarah. Afraid of what he might do. She thought she could handle him on her own.” He shook his head. “Anson Bentley is responsible
for a lot of deaths. Including a friend of your mother's. Although your dad didn't tell your mom everything he knew, he said enough about what was going on with drugs and fraud in the police department to worry Maggie. She told a reporter, a friend of hers, that she suspected there was corruption in the department. She had no idea Anson was so deeply involved, because your dad didn't mention him by name.”

“But why? That doesn't make sense.”

Mike sighed. “Your father was a good man. He'd given Anson a chance to come clean on his own, thinking it was the right thing to do. He had no idea how dangerous Anson was. The reporter your mom talked to decided to do some investigating for a series of articles. Anson found out. I have no idea how. He killed her before she could write the story. He murdered her husband too.”

“Martin and Elise Summers?”

“Yes. It was staged to look like a robbery. Just like your mom and dad's murders. Just like Hannah's. Anson figured that if it worked the first time, it would work again. Of course it helps that he's able to manipulate crime scenes. After your parents died, he worked things around until the case was closed. After he killed the reporter and her husband, he removed our names from both crime scene reports. That way, in the future, no one would ever connect us to it.” He pointed at the papers in my hand. “Obviously he missed at least one original hard copy. I'm surprised it slipped past him. He and the men working for him control all kinds of cases that come through the department. And now that he's got more authority, it's even easier. No one wants to go up against him, because they're afraid of him. He's the one who closed your sister's case, Sarah. And I'm about as sure as I can be he's behind Steven
Hanks's death. It's easier to blame a murder on someone who can't defend themselves.”

I shivered involuntarily. “How does John Smith play into this?”

“As you know, John Smith is the Summers's stepson. Hannah discovered the connection and called him. John met with her, and somehow they found out Anson had been assigned to both cases. Hannah went to Anson, asking for answers. She had no idea he'd actually killed your parents. She realized the truth too late. When Hannah died, John suspected it had to do with what they'd been talking about, so he moved and left no forwarding address. Anson's been looking for him.”

“Hannah told Anson about John?”

“I have no idea. It's possible. Is there any chance you mentioned his name during a conversation on the phone?”

“I . . . I don't know. I think I did.” I swung my gaze to the phone. “You bugged it?”

“It wasn't me. Anson sent someone else in to do that. He's still heavily involved in the drug trade, and he has people he can use to do his bidding. Drug dealers and dirty cops.” He shook his head. “He had someone else kill Hannah. He had her laptop stolen and her house burned down so all the evidence would disappear. Anson can manage what happens at the department, but he couldn't control what your sister did. He had to stop her. He thought he'd accomplished that until he happened to run into you at your sister's house.”

“And I told him I'd removed boxes of papers from her house.”

Mike's hand moved a little, bringing his gun back into view. “Yes. From that moment, you became his new target. There's more,” he said. “But I can't tell you everything now. We've got to get out of here. Anson told me he was going back to Kansas
City today, that he was going to leave you alone, but I don't believe him. I'm afraid he's going to make sure you don't cause any more problems.”

“What do you mean?”

His voice was harsh. “I mean that you and Paul are in real danger.”

“Where's Paul?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea, but right now you and Cicely are the most vulnerable. Let's get you to safety, and then we'll take care of Paul.”

“Why would Anson want to hurt Cicely? She doesn't know anything.”

“I can't be certain he would harm her. If Anson Bentley ever cared about anyone, it would be her. But to be honest, I don't think he'd even spare her if he felt he was at risk.”

“I don't understand.”

“When Hannah turned nineteen, she began searching for the men who killed your parents. She contacted the Kansas City Police Department. Anson was ready and willing to be there for her. To misdirect her. He's a handsome and dynamic man. Your sister was young and vulnerable.”

Suddenly I realized why Anson Bentley looked familiar. It was his eyes. “He's Cicely's father.”

Mike nodded. “Hannah was in love, and Anson took advantage of her. I think he got some satisfaction from being with Maggie's child. If he couldn't have Maggie, he could have her daughter. After he felt he'd successfully led Hannah away from his involvement in your parents' murders, he broke off their relationship. It wasn't until recently that he found out about Cicely.” He stood up. “We've got to get going, Sarah. I don't know where Anson is, but he suspects that I'm not willing to
hide his crimes anymore. That not only puts me in danger, it puts you and Cicely into his cross hairs.”

“So Anson had my sister killed to shut her up.” Even as I said the words, I found them hard to believe.

Mike nodded.

“If Cicely had been home, would he have had her killed too?”

“I don't know the answer to that, Sarah.”

I shook my head. “One thing I can't understand. Why didn't Hannah just go to the police?”

I knew the answer before Mike said, “Who could she trust? She knew there was corruption at the police department, but she had no idea how deep the cover-up went.”

The gray car Claire had seen outside Hannah's workplace. “He was seen with her a few days before she died.”

“Until the very end, I don't think she knew the extent of his involvement.” He sighed. “I tried to stop it. Tried to save her. I sent her those flowers as a warning, hoping she'd leave town. But it was too late. I went to Hannah's house that night, but she was already dead. I spread the flowers around, trying to leave a clue that would lead back to Anson. I prayed that someone would see the connection between your parents' murders and Hannah. And someone did. Doug Sykes.”

Anger raged inside me. “You sent flowers, hoping they would lead back to Anson? Why didn't you turn him in? You could have saved her life. Now she's dead and so is Doug.”

He looked away from me. “I'm a coward, Sarah. I was too afraid of Anson. Besides, like Hannah, I have no idea who Anson's got under his thumb in the department. I retired to get away from him, but it also cut off my contacts. If I'd picked the wrong person to confide in, Anson would have killed Hannah and me too. Once I realized Doug was clean, I decided to
confide in him. Tell him everything. But before I could, Anson had him killed. That's when Anson contacted me. Told me to come here, to Sanctuary, and tell you Doug had asked me to follow up on the case.”

“So you could report back to Anson?”

“Yes, but I didn't tell him anything that should have concerned him. I did everything I could to set his mind at ease so he'd leave you and Cicely alone. Unfortunately I didn't know the phone was tapped until a couple of days ago. That's what got Doug killed. I have no idea what triggered his call to you, but my guess is that when the investigation was shut down, Doug smelled a rat. I'm also not sure when Anson began to suspect me, but what he heard on the phone didn't line up with what I was telling him. Although he hasn't actually accused me of double-crossing him, it's obvious he knows he can't trust me anymore.”

“So you tried to protect us?”

“Yes, Sarah. I'm not a complete monster. Look, I'll tell you anything else you want to know, but we've got to get out of here. After I get you to safety I'm going to the new chief of police and tell him everything. I've been told he's a real law-and-order guy who won't protect dirty cops. I don't care what happens to me anymore. I'm tired of this. Tired of the fallout from my cowardice. Now, go throw some things into a bag for you and Cicely, and don't take longer than five minutes. I'm afraid Anson—”

“You're afraid Anson what, Mike?”

Mike and I turned to see Anson Bentley standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding a gun. And it was pointed right at me.

Mike stared at Anson, his face ashen. “Please. You don't need to do this.”