Garden of Sorrow (Book 4 of Psychic Visions, a paranormal romantic suspense) (32 page)

"It's not up to us any longer, so let's concentrate on what we can do something about." He stood up with a large stack of papers in his hand. "John should be here any minute."

She glanced at the watch on Kevin's wrist. "Is there a computer that I could use for a few minutes before I go to work?"

A few minutes later, she looked up in time to see John being ushered into Kevin's office. The door shut firmly behind the two of them.

Damn, she wished she were in there.

***

"Good morning, John." Kevin motioned his visitor to take the chair across from the desk. He couldn't help but look at his friend differently now.

"I presume you have something for me as you called this early morning meeting?" John replied, somewhat testily.

"I think so. That doesn't mean you will agree with me." Kevin hadn't looked forward to this meeting. But some skeletons had to be taken out of the closet for another look. "John, I'm sure you felt you had a good reason for withholding this information. But since reading this old file, I'm wondering seriously if this information doesn't all tie in with the current blackmail mess." Kevin looked directly into John's bleached white face.

"Old file?" John asked faintly. All of a sudden, all the pomposity sagged out of him and he fell back against the chair. "What old file?"

"The old file on your deceased daughter. The accidental death that reads more like a manslaughter case." He watched the expressions flit across John's face…shock, fear, horror and pain. The whole gambit raced by. Some Kevin expected, yet some he hadn't, like fear. If he were innocent, he had no reason to be afraid. He waited for John to speak.

"What does that file have to do with my blackmailer?" John's reedy voice slowly regained its former strength, obviously boosted by years of denial.

Kevin found it difficult to stare into those blank eyes. "Maybe everything," he suggested cautiously. "Someone wants you to confess something. Maybe they know about your past and suspect you to be the villain."

"I loved my daughter." He was calm, cold and unequivocal in this statement of fact.

"Be that as it may, your tormentor may have a different spin on things." He shuffled through the various papers in the open file before him. This was going to be more difficult than he'd first anticipated.

Silence.

"John?"

The two men studied each other, the breach between them widening perceptibly. It was uncomfortable, this shift from friend to interrogator, but not entirely unexpected. It didn't make the rest of the meeting easier.

"I had another reason for asking you to come in. Someone else was being blackmailed in town."

John leaned forward. "Who?"

"I can't say." Kevin hesitated. "This other person has identified his extortionist as Charles."

For the second time, the color leached from John's face. "What? This can't be. He's a good boy."

Kevin let that one pass.

"We're going to be bringing him in for questioning today." Kevin checked John over, looking for any sign these shocks had been too much. "Is there any chance Charles is also blackmailing you?"

John looked at him blindly, obviously having difficulty processing the information and what the question implied. Kevin had heard of people seeming to age upon receiving bad news, but he'd never seen it himself, until then. It was incredibly painful, for both the person in question and the observer. Kevin stood and walked over to the window, remembering Alexis slipping over here for exactly the same reason. It hurt to see such human suffering.

"Could he hate me so much?"

The frailty of his voice made Kevin wince. He turned back to face him. "Would he blame you for his sister's death?"

John shrugged in defeat. "How do I know? The subject hasn't been brought up since we lost her. I tried to make it seem like it had never happened. Otherwise, I couldn't stand it." The painful memories obviously overwhelmed the man, making it hard for him to speak. "Charles couldn't think that. I loved her – we both did."

"Was Charles close to her?"

John smiled. "Very. The difference in their ages added to that, maybe. She was his special baby sister. They played together all the time, especially in the garden. They loved the flowers. He even had his own nickname for her. Charles went to pieces when she died. He'd already lost his uncle, four years earlier… It was a lot for him to deal with. I should have gotten more help for him," John said. "But then we were all a mess at the time. He seemed to straighten out after a while." John shuffled in his chair. "Then Sandra collapsed. My marriage almost didn't make it, for the second time, and I know I lost the close bond with Charles." He brushed a shaky hand over his hair. "But for Charles to do this to me…" His head shook sadly. "I just don't believe it."

"Maybe it wasn't him, but he had the access, the hidden knowledge and the motive."

"What motive?" John turned to him in surprise. "What possible motive could there be?"

"There're any number of possibilities. He might want you to suffer for what he believes you did." Kevin waited a moment before plowing ruthlessly on. "There is no statute of limitation on murder."

That finished John. You could actually see the walls of John's foundation crumble to the ground around him.

"I swear on my mother's bible that I did not kill my little girl." Tears welled up and slowly rolled down his face. "I loved her. She was everything to me."

John appeared to be telling the truth, but Kevin didn't know what to believe. He'd seen too much in his career to be surprised by anything. Besides, what did he really know about John?

Kevin opened the file and studied the contents while John composed himself.

There had been an investigation at the time of the child's death. Her death had been ruled accidental, and the case closed. Kevin checked a couple of sheets, looking for the officer in charge at the time. This deserved a follow-up call.

"John, is there any chance, with the understanding that
if
her death wasn't accidental and you weren't responsible for your daughter's death, then…could it have been Charles? Is he capable of something like this?"

John didn't look surprised at the question. In fact, he appeared resigned. "He changed when Glen had his accident. My brother didn't die, but he might as well have as he's been non-responsive since. Charles took that hard. So…I don't know. For almost twenty years, I've wondered. I don't want to believe it. Mental illness runs in the family and at one point, he needed serious help. We thought he'd improved, then he'd just stop taking his meds. It was a roller coaster ride for all of us. We had to keep a close eye on him for many months, until the doctors could straighten him out again." He stared off into the distance sadly, as if looking down the long tunnel of his own past. "I don't know anymore. The boy I knew couldn't have done it, but then he wouldn't have blackmailed anyone either."

"We have an odd case open right now. Believe me when I say I wouldn't be asking without good reason, but can you tell me what clothing your daughter was buried in?"

"Daisy? But she's buried in Redding, California." John stared at him in shock.

Kevin's heart hitched. He leaned forward to pin the hapless man in place. "Daisy? I thought her name was Marie Leanne?"

"Yes, yes it was, but Charles nicknamed her Daisy when she was just an itty-bitty toddler. The name stuck. I think the dress she had on had her name on it."

"Which name?"

"Marie. She was buried in her favorite yellow sundress, with white stockings and black shoes. I had to help pick out the clothes. Sandra was inconsolable at the time. She hadn't been herself for a long time already, but that…"

Confirmation the body Alexis found was likely that of John's daughter, although necessary for the files, hurt. The next question was going to devastate John.

Keeping a sharp eye on John's face, Kevin continued, "There is a strong possibility that the body we found in the city gardens could be your daughter. We'll need DNA tests to confirm."

"What?" John lurched forward before falling back into his chair. The color drained from his face. "That's not possible. I told you she was buried in the family plot in California. We actually gave her Glen's burial plot because he was here."

"And now she's probably here." Kevin studied John's face. There's no way John could have faked this response. He hadn't known. The man was shocked and devastated.

"I can't believe it. No one even knew about her. Who could possibly have dragged her from her resting place to dump her alone in the gardens?" He raised a trembling hand to his forehead. "I can't believe it. I just can't believe it."

"I need to ask for a DNA sample in order to confirm her identity as your daughter. She was found wearing the remnants of a dress with the letter M embroidered on the collar."

John shuddered. "Yes, of course. Anything you need."

"We're also going to need to talk to everyone in your family, particularly Charles." Kevin studied the older man. "We're picking him up now." He doubted that Charles had the wherewithal to be a killer. He wasn't the kind to get his hands dirty. Blackmail. Yes. Murder. No. But then how well did anyone know Charles these days?

A grave robber? Who knew?

John nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated. In an almost pleading voice, he said, "I would like to keep Sandra out of this. She's not been very good lately."

"Sorry, John. That's no longer possible."

***

Alexis hoped Kevin and the mayor wouldn't be much longer. Even as the thoughts whirled around in her head, the door opened and John shuffled out. Dear God, what had happened in there? John looked like he'd aged fifty years and Kevin – well, he looked like the cold, detached detective she'd first met at the park.

Alexis waited until Kevin looked around for her, before getting up and walking over.

"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This morning is shaping up to be hell. Are you sure you want to stay?"

"I called Scott. He's rescuing me from the office for the morning. We're going to head to one of the parks."

"As long as you stay with him." Kevin had already returned to his desk to collect some papers.

Alexis quietly withdrew. He needed space and she needed freedom.

Ten minutes later, she stood inside the station entrance waiting for Scott to pick her up. She hoped to be gone before the officers returned with Charles. The thought of seeing him made her skin crawl.

"Hallo, beauty. Waiting for a ride are ya? Well, git in." Scott's cheery grin poked through the passenger window as he pulled up beside her.

Thank goodness for friends. Alexis hopped in. Within minutes, they were heading to his favorite coffee shop, and then on to their gardens.

"How was Moira when you left?"

"Ach, she was fine. Said she'd check in on your friend as soon as she arrived at work."

"Good." Kevin had called the hospital that morning, but there was no change. Alexis couldn't help but wonder if more was going on there than anyone knew. Determinedly, she shrugged off the negative thinking. Stefan would be fine. She refused to contemplate any other option.

For the next couple of hours, they lost themselves in the gardens. The place was deserted and there was a nice light breeze to combat the sultry heat. Alexis worked tirelessly, enjoying the return to a normal day.

Scott's phone rang. He checked the number and handed it over to her.

"I've been trying to reach you, but only got your voice mail," Kevin said. Alexis detected a fine tremor of tension threading though his voice. At his words, she dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Shit. She'd accidentally shut it off. Probably while it was in her pocket.

"Sorry. My phone was turned off. What's going on? Did Charles come in for questioning?"

"Hell, yes. He's definitely the blackmailer, but he's adamant about his father's guilt over his sister's death. This is going to get pretty ugly."

"Could he have anything to do with Daisy's death?" Alexis waited for Kevin's answer, uncertain about the odd energy she sensed, surrounding him.

"Not likely. He'd have been pretty young. We've confirmed Charles whereabouts at the most crucial times in regards to the kidnapping and Mandy's murder. But we have more to look into."

Alexis winced. She wouldn't want that job. At the prolonged silence on the other end, she felt her bottom drop out of her stomach. She asked, "Do you think, intuitively, that Charles is the murderer?"

"I don't know." Kevin spoke slowly and thoughtfully. "I can't read him. I get a black wall that seems impenetrable."

Alexis had just about rung off when a thought occurred. "Kevin, I need to ask. What was Daisy's real name?" In the background, she could hear papers being moved as if he were searching.

"It's here somewhere." Another pause as he read quickly, "Marie Leanne Prescott."

"Marie. Interesting."

"But also quite common," Kevin pointed out. "I have to go."

"Wait. I know this isn't a question you want to hear, but I wondered if it is possible to contact Mandy?" She bit her lip wondering if she'd gone too far.

Kevin spoke with great difficulty. "As far as we know, a person who has recently crossed over can't communicate right away. There's a period of adjustment required."

That made sense, sort of.

"Would Lissa be able to communicate with her?"

"There's a slim possibility, but apparently they can't direct their focus over there like we do here."

Alexis didn't know what else to say. They were playing a waiting game. Only it was a game in which one person seemed to make up all the rules.

***

Charles walked out of the police station smiling, Daddy's pet lawyer at his side. He'd given his statement. His father had, of course, refused to press blackmail charges in order to keep his only child out of jail, and out of the news. Charles had also freely admitted to pressuring Arnie to give up any information to help convict his father. Of course the District Attorney said they'd be filing charges for blackmailing a police officer. Charles would let the lawyers battle that out.