Killing the Secret (23 page)

“’Town closed down every Friday night so we could all go watch the girls play. They were great! Their senior season was flawless—not a loss, not even close.’”

Lexie turned to page three to continue Adam’s story. Adam reported that Wells said it was after the season ended, during a celebration campout at the lake, that the young women followed Mariah into the woods to play a trick on her. The joke ended abruptly when the team members saw a shocking sight—Mariah had a penis. The shocking story continued:

“Our season and our reputations would’ve been left in ruins if anyone found out a male played on our team. So we swore never to tell Mariah’s secret,” Loretta confessed in tears.

According to Loretta, Mariah was obsessed at the prospect of becoming First Lady. Wells believed this provoked the series of murders that started with Terri, Tina, Heather, and Abbey. Mariah’s plot was to end last night when she trapped Beth, Jamie, and Loretta in a burning house. Mariah’s plan would have succeeded had it not been for the detective work of Diffee County Sheriff Lexie Wolfe. Wolfe accumulated evidence and figured out who the killer was in time to rescue Beth, Loretta, and Jamie from the fiery deaths planned by Mariah Toleson.

Beth and Sheriff Wolfe are recovering at the county hospital. Jamie and Loretta were examined at the hospital and released last night.

“Terri’s husband, Ronald, who was charged with her death, will be released after a court appearance to drop the charges,” Lasell Detective Stan Johnson reported during a phone interview.

Wade Cartwright, spokesman for Donovan Toleson, reported that Mr. Toleson doesn’t have a statement at this time regarding the tragic death of his wife, or the allegations of murder and attempted murder.

Reading the long story made Lexie’s body feel like she’d been running for miles. Her eyelids shut out the paper, and it dropped to her chest.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Tye approached Sean’s porch. He hated confronting the old guy. Whatever he did, it was to protect his kids, not because he was a criminal. Getting Lexie to cut Sean some slack wasn’t going to happen. Hopefully, the judge had more empathy than his sister.

The old man wasn’t seated on the swing. Tye’s gaze darted from the porch to the surrounding area. He called out, “Sean?”

Tye saw the front door was ajar. Peering through the opening into the dark living room he saw the closed blinds and the curtains tightly drawn. Pulling the screen open a few inches he called, “Sean? Man, I need to know if you’re okay.”

Wood on wood creaked somewhere in the room. It took a few seconds for Tye’s eyes to adjust to the darkness. Finally, pinpointing the location of the sound, he saw Sean rocking back and forth in an old chair. Every few seconds the chair squealed as if in pain from contact with the wooden floor.

Sean’s eyes didn’t divert from the photo in his hands. Age crevices in his face caught the escaping tears.

Tye sat down at the end of the sofa closest to Sean’s rocking chair. The steady rock and squeal was the only communication in the room.

Tye didn’t know what to say, and even if he did know, this didn’t seem to be the time. He sat, waiting silently for the next squeal from the chair. In what seemed like an hour, but was probably twenty minutes, the squeal stopped and Sean moved his arm, placing the photo in Tye’s hand.

“This was my family—my wife Rose, my son Michael, and my daughter Mariah. They’re all gone now.” He grabbed the photo back from Tye and continued, “I’m so sorry Bud killed those women. I should’ve had him locked up after he drown Mariah. I couldn’t do it. He was my son, and the only  family I had left.”

Sean pulled the photo to his chest. The rock and squeal started again. “So sorry, so sorry everyone died.”

“Tell me about your daughter, Mariah.” Although Tye said the words softly they sounded intrusive in Sean’s self-made tomb.

“A beautiful girl. She sang like an angel. There were days when the thought of her smile and giggles was all that kept me sane,” Sean said tenderly.

“How did she die?”

The squeal and rock stopped. Sean’s voice boomed from his dark corner, “He killed her! I know he did!”

“Did you see it?”

“No. Michael said she drowned, but she didn’t. She swam like a fish—under the water, on top of the water, and diving into the water. He lied.”

“Why did he lie?” Tye questioned in a gentle tone.

Agitation crept into Sean’s demeanor. “He wanted to be Mariah Rose so he killed her. I let him become her, because he was so sad, so sad.”

“I don’t understand how he became her.”

“Fool!” Sean yelled. “It was easy.” His voice suddenly went to a monotone, “Nobody cared about us in Bogotá’. Who we were, or what we did, didn’t matter. I told them Michael drowned. I cut Mariah’s hair short, dressed her in his clothes, nailed her in a wood coffin and buried her. Michael’s name was on the tombstone. It’s as if she never was. I did that to my precious girl.”

“Then what happened?”

“I retired from the Embassy. My commanding officer was glad to sign the paperwork. He thought I was going nuts after losing my wife and child. Looking back, he was probably right. Of course, he didn’t know the half of it.”

Sean let out a moan then continued, “I took Michael to Switzerland as Mariah. The hormone treatments started then. Right before his senior year we moved back to Diffee to live in this old house that my folks left me. I was about broke. The doctor refused to do the sex reassignment surgery until after Michael spent a year as a female. Returning to Diffee seemed like the perfect solution. It was a cheap place to live and no one had ever met my children.”

“The girls saw his penis that night by the lake?” Tye asked.

“Yes, but I thought it was okay because none of them wanted to get the championship taken away from them. Jamie and Loretta had their own secrets. Bud could hold that over their heads if they threatened to tell his. Everything was fine until Bud’s husband became a bigwig.”

“You called her Bud?”

“Yes, I couldn’t bear to call him Mariah. He became Mariah Rose, but I called him Bud. Rosebud was my wife’s nickname. So I called him Bud and told him it was after his mother.”

“What brought on all the killing?”

“Bud became obsessed with becoming First Lady. As Donovan was mentioned more and more frequently as a possible nominee, Bud became paranoid about the others telling his secret.”

“Sounds like you knew he killed those women.”

“I didn’t have proof, only fear.”

“What about the story of Mariah’s brother still being alive?” Tye questioned.

“If you thought her murdering brother was alive, then you’d have a logical suspect and you’d leave Bud alone.”

“So you made up that story to save Bud?”

“Yes. I had to give you another murderer. I sent you looking for a person who no longer existed. If you hadn’t gone nosing around Bogota, my plan would’ve succeeded.”

“Sean, you’re an accessory to murder.”

“I know, but it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing left for me anymore. Are you taking me to jail?”

“Not yet. You just stay here and I’ll be back by to talk to you some more later.”

The steady rock and squeal returned.

Tye squinted his eyes as he adjusted to the brightness of the outside world. He organized his thoughts. First, he’d phone Clay and have him come over and sit with Sean to be sure he didn’t hurt himself. Second, he’d go to Judge Simpson to get a court order for a psychological evaluation of Sean. Third, he’d return to transport Sean to his new accommodations.

Chapter Fifty-Three

Mariah’s eyes scanned every face she passed as she went toward the elevator at the Tulsa Marriott. No one would be looking for her, unless Curly Boy got a surge of conscience.

She entered her room stopping to put her laptop on the desk. A few minutes later, she’d purchased tickets from Tulsa to New York to Switzerland.

The soap stung the bloody pocks on her body and she quickly sprayed the warm shower water to lessen the sting. Using twice the recommended amount of Aleve did nothing to relieve her misery. A doctor visit would have to wait until she was out of the country.

She knew how close her call to death had been. At the very least, she should be running from law enforcement in her pursuit. At the most, she should have disappeared in a fiery inferno. She saw herself as invincible—risen from the ashes to pursue her self-anointed mission. Her only goal was the pursuit of the ultimate terror and sorrow for Sheriff Lexie Wolfe. The woman who destroyed Mariah’s future would be tortured then a stake would be hammered through her heart.

She packed her bag and straightened the wig. The lipstick, powder, and all things feminine were trashed. She was the man in the mirror again.

The cab took him to the airport. This, the first leg of his journey, would end in a couple of days in his chateau in Switzerland—a free man.

Mariah had died a second death and this time she’d remain dead. Bud would have plenty of time to rest, recover and plan before he returned to America in a year or two as a new woman.

Chapter Fifty-Four

The flames surrounded Lexie—red and yellow flares of hotness. Gray smoke engulfed her body. It crept up into her nose: choke, choke, choke, cough, cough, cough. The flares of fire were taller than she. They met and formed an arch above her head.

Mariah stood in the distance wearing Turner’s hat and badge. She yelled, “Burn, Sheriff, burn!”

“No, no, no!” Lexie screamed. The blanket flew from her body and her eyes rounded in terror. Her deep cough shot pains through her heaving chest.

“It’s a nightmare.” The woman in scrubs said as she lowered Lexie back to the pillow. “You’re safe here.”

Lexie took her outstretched hand in both of hers. The nurse petted her hair with her free hand. “It’s okay now. It’s over. The fire is over.”

Releasing her hold, Lexie sat up on the bed. “I’m sorry. It seemed so real.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, Sheriff. You had a hell of a day yesterday, and I mean H-E-L-L in all caps.”

“That it was,” Lexie agreed.

“I forgot. I came to tell you about a visitor. Adam from the paper wanted to talk to you. I’ll tell him to shove off if you’re not up to it.”

“Ask him to wait ten minutes, then he can come in. May I have some water?”

“Of course and I’ll give him the message.” The nurse handed Lexie her water to sip.

Ten minutes to the minute, or probably to the second, Adam arrived at the door to her room.

“Is it okay if I come in?” he said meekly.

“Of course, Adam.”

“I see you have the paper.”

“Yes, I did read your story before I fell asleep. I woke up from a bad dream and scattered it on the floor.”

Adam bent down and started folding up the sheets. “So what do you think of the story?”

“I think that one of these days you’ll leave Diffee and become a big time reporter. It was great! I especially appreciated your kindness toward me. Maybe the folks who wanted to lynch me will reconsider.”

“My story was picked up all over the United States and even in some foreign countries.” He said the words in rapid succession, as if saying them quickly wouldn’t be bragging.”

“You did a great job, Adam. I’m proud of you.”

Lexie thought that his face wasn’t going to have enough room for his grin.

“I need to work on the next edition. I wondered if you’d let me take a photo of you in the hospital bed?”

“Well, Adam, generally the answer would be ‘No.’ However, since it’s for you, I’ll agree to a photo this time. Let me warn you—it will probably be the last time.”

“Thanks.” He pulled his camera out of a bag.

Lexie smoothed her hair down with her hand, then pulled the sheet up to her armpits.

Adam suggested that she pretend to be reading the paper, so she cooperated.

When finished photographing, Adam paused at the door and turned back toward her. “I knew they were wrong about you.”

A blonde nurse stuck her head into the room. “Adam, they need you downstairs. They just brought your grandpa into the emergency room.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Adam’s voice was a barely audible whisper.

“They said it’s his heart.” The nurse ended up speaking to his back as he hurried out the door.

“Are Adam’s mom and dad already downstairs?” Lexie questioned.

“No, his folks are dead,” the nurse replied. He and his grandpa are my neighbors. That’s all the family the boy has as far as I know.”

“Poor kid.” Lexie shook her head.

“I need to return to my medicine rounds. I’ll be back to check on you in a few.”

“Okay. I know you have to wait until I’m asleep so you can wake me up.” Lexie grinned at her nurse.

“It’s people like you who give us nurses a bad reputation,” she said with a wink.

Lexie’s cell phone rang its familiar tune.

“Hello,” she said to Tye. “Yes, I’m doing fine. I’d like to escape from this place so I can get some sleep. No, I’m not causing any trouble. Our friendly town reporter, Adam, was just in my room getting a story when a nurse came and got him. His grandpa was in the emergency room with a heart problem. Kid turned white as a ghost.”

“Tye, are you still there? I can’t hear you?” Lexie listened for a response then continued, “You don’t need to come up tonight. I’m doing fine.”

Lexie felt confused by his next words. She asked, “Why are you coming up to be with Adam?” The phone clicked and the connection went dead.
That’s strange.

She considered turning on the television but her body decided on an alternative. The air conditioner lulled her back to sleep. The dream that followed was of a redheaded man who kept kissing her again, and again, and again.…

Chapter Fifty-Five

Tye rushed to his truck, not sure of what he was going to do when he got to the hospital. He knew he wanted to be there for Adam. The emergency room was empty except for a boy in a ball uniform holding his right arm while trying to be brave. His mother was yelling about the evils of baseball to a man who must have been the kid’s father.