Lizzy Gardner #2_Dead Weight (31 page)

And then she felt a tug.

The woman was stronger than she looked. She pulled the blanket with Vivian on top of it through a wall of ire and smoke. The last thing Vivian remembered was the way each wood step felt pounding against her head as she was dragged outside and down the stairs.

***

By the time Hayley was done burning the message onto Brian’s chest, much of her anger had subsided. That had never happened before and she didn’t like it one bit.

Despite his being determined to watch her every move, Brian had drifted in and out of consciousness.

He was awake now.

She slid off the bed, unplugged the iron and went back to the side of the bed to look at her knives. Which one, she wondered, should she use to cut out his heart?

She ripped the tape from his mouth in case he wanted to say any last words. He chose to remain silent, which annoyed her more than it should have.

“You’re going to die, Brian. Any messages you want me to relay to family and friends?”

Nothing.

She took hold of the knife with the longest blade. Once she cut into him, a voice in her head warned her, she would be a killer and there would be no going back.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had come to terms with the idea of being a killer a long time ago. That was the plan. Stick to it. Since when did she ever second guess herself?

“Having second thoughts?” Brian asked.

Her mouth tightened as she put the sharp tip of the blade over the area where his heart lay beneath flesh.

It wasn’t the blood that would bother her. It was the taking of a life.

But he wasn’t human. He was a monster. He deserved to die.

She was angry with herself for being so fucking pitiful. The idea that she might not be able to kill the monster had never once entered her mind over the past few months. Not once.

Her hands shook. She couldn’t do it. She exhaled and began packing the knives away.

If she couldn’t kill the monster, she’d have to think of another way to get him away from her mother. Maybe she could save some money and take her mom to another country where they would live for the rest of their lives—somewhere remote—a place where Brian would never find them no matter how hard or how long he looked.

She packed up the rest of her belongings. By the time she was at the door ready to go, Brian had found his voice.

“The irst place I’m going when I get out of here is to your mom’s house. The old, ugly bitch is going to pay for her daughter’s bad deeds. I’m going to use the axe out in the shed to cut her head clean off. It’s much sharper than those toy knives you carry around.”

A bubble of rage worked its way up Hayley’s throat, leaving a bitter taste. He was a big talker and she knew he was full of shit, but the fact that he could say those things while she still had full control was too much. He wouldn’t shut up.

The rage built quickly, illing her head until she could hardly see straight. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out her knives and grabbed the hunting knife. Her fury continued to build upon his every word.

As Brian continued to ramble on about all the awful things he would do to her mother, she turned toward him, the knife held in front of her as she walked back to him.

Looking into his eyes, letting him know she wasn’t afraid of him, she grabbed hold of his shriveled penis with her left hand and pulled and stretched. With one clean sweep of the knife, his penis was no longer attached to his ugly skinny body.

He was shouting now, screaming at the top of his lungs. Much better, she thought, because she no longer had any clue what he was saying.

Blood spurted, covering the bed and his body, but he wouldn’t shut the fuck up so she went to his side and when he opened his mouth to call her one more name she’d heard a million times before, she shoved his ugly bloody penis inside his mouth. “There. Chew on that for a while, dickhead.”

***

It was morning and Lizzy hadn’t slept in nearly 48 hours. She stood outside Andrea Kramer’s house in El Dorado Hills and watched as Andrea was read her rights.

Detective Roth stood at Lizzy’s side, talking on the phone. After he hung up he said, “They found Diane’s body, what was left of it, buried in the woods not far from the cabin.”

“Murder?”

“Looks that way. Multiple stab wounds. They’ll be running tests for a few days. I’ll call you when I have the results.”

Lizzy nodded, thankful to have met Detective Roth. He had a round face. Multiple laugh lines and deep dimples gave him character. He was quick to smile and easy to like.

“Why the hell did Andrea Kramer hire you in the irst place?” Roth asked her.

“Andrea was sure that all the evidence she gave me would point to Melbourne. If she couldn’t have him, she wanted him to spend the rest of his life in jail. When she realized I wasn’t going to take Melbourne down without suf icient evidence, she decided to take matters into her own hands. After her husband left her and took the kids, I think she snapped. Jane just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

He nodded. “What about Melbourne’s secret program?”

“I think he truly believed he was providing a service for women who he thought could not help themselves.”

“So he wasn’t in cahoots with Andrea?”

“I don’t think so. I would bet he knew Andrea was in love with him, but he had no idea how dangerous she was.”

Detective Roth was called away.

As Andrea was led down the stairs, Lizzy stayed at her side. “Why did you kill Diane?” Lizzy asked.

“I didn’t kill her. Melbourne and his loozy assistant have hidden her away somewhere, I’m sure of it.”

“You killed your sister and buried her in the woods.”

“I would never do such a thing. I was always trying to help my sister.

She wanted so badly to be beautiful like me. When we were little we looked like twins. But then Mom died and Diane wouldn’t stop stuffing her face.”

“You said you gained a lot of weight, too. You did the very same thing. You ate because you were sad.”

“I was nothing like Diane. I realized I had a problem and I took care of it.”

“She loved you, Andrea. She thought you walked on water and you killed her.”

“I already told you I didn’t kill her. She could be lounging on the beach in Hawaii for all we know.”

“Give it up, Andrea. They found her body. Multiple stab wounds.”

Andrea’s face paled. “You have no proof.”

“How did you get those cuts on your arms?”

“Trimming the rose bushes,” she ground out.

“Vivian’s in the hospital,” Lizzy told her. “The doctors say she’s going to pull through. The police are waiting to talk to her.”

Andrea’s face turned an ugly shade of red. “Anthony Melbourne is the killer and you know it. I handed you the evidence on a silver platter, but you were too stupid to see what was right in front of you.”

“That’s enough from you,” Detective Roth said as he joined them, his voice a bored drawl. “Put her in the car.”

Lizzy’s phone rang. She clicked a button and put the phone to her ear.

“It’s me, Jessica. The reporters are swarming the of ice and I can’t get through the door.”

“How did they find out about Andrea already?” Lizzy asked.

“They didn’t. It’s Hayley. She’s been arrested. They’re saying that Hayley is the same girl that you and I saw in that crazy video on the Internet. It’s all over the news. What are we going to do?”

Chapter 40

The Reunion

“Why didn’t you stop him, Mom?”

“I didn’t know.”

“You knew,” Carol said. “More than once I saw you standing outside the door peeking in. If the father of my children ever touched one hair on their bodies, I would never just go on as if nothing had happened. I wouldn’t still be living with him either. I would have killed him. I would have stabbed him, driven a knife straight through his heart.”

A long stretch of silence followed.

When Carol called the hospital, the doctor had told her that her mother would be lucky if she made it to the end of the month.

Her mother looked older and yet the same. Carol couldn’t help but wonder if she was born like that. .dead, without any spark. “Why are you still with him, Mom?”

“I didn’t know how to leave him.”

Carol looked away.

“Not everyone is as strong as you, Carol.”

“Didn’t you ever, just once, want to pack up and leave?”

“Where would I have gone?”

“Anywhere. To the dump. Who the fuck cares? To the fucking dump.

Better to live IN garbage than with it.”

The door to the hospital room opened. It was Frank. He looked from Carol to Ruth.

“What the hell is going on here?”

“Get the fuck out of here,” Carol told the man whom she would never again call father.

“What is she doing here? What is going on, Ruth?”

“I’m saying goodbye to my daughter.”

“Get out. .now,” Carol said, her voice calm yet irm, a deadly glint in her eyes.

He pointed a inger at Carol. “If you think you can talk to your father that way, you are profoundly mistaken. I’m not going anywhere.”

Carol reached into her purse and pulled out a pistol. She cocked it and aimed the barrel at Frank’s chest. “Wrong again, Frank. One more step and you’re going straight to hell. No passing Go. I should have shot you twenty-one years ago.”

“Ruth, tell her to put the gun down.”

Ruth let her head fall back onto the pillow. “I’m sorry, Carol. So sorry.

You were right about everything. .except I could never have stabbed him through the heart.”

“Why not?” Carol asked.

“Because he doesn’t have one.” Ruth looked at Frank. “Go away, Frank. I’m tired. I already talked to Detective Roth. He has the pictures you took. He’s waiting for you back home. Tell him hello for me, Frank, will you?”

Chapter 41

One Week Later

For the past thirty minutes, Lizzy had talked to her therapist nonstop, getting it all out. Once she was inished, her shoulders fell. She looked at Linda Gates and waited to see what she had to say.

“It’s not your fault that Hayley is in jail.”

Lizzy exhaled. “This time, Linda, it is my fault. For months I’ve seen obvious signs that something was wrong. Hayley hasn’t been herself.

My other assistant pointed it out more than once. I knew Hayley was out walking the streets at night, but I took her for her word and never imagined she was seeking revenge. Every single one of those men deserved to be punished, but Hayley is the one who will pay the price.”

“What is it exactly that you think you could have done?”

“I could have been there for her. Instead, I swept it all under the rug, iguring I’d deal with Hayley once I tied up a few of the cases I was working on.”

“If you were there for her, would she have listened?”

Lizzy shook her head. “No, she would have gotten angry and left the apartment.”

Linda nodded.

“But that’s not the point.”

“What is the point?”

“The point is I didn’t try hard enough.”

“So this isn’t about Hayley,” Linda said. “It’s about you.”

Lizzy thought about that for a moment. Once again, Linda was right.

She looked at her therapist, the woman she’d been con iding in for fourteen years. “Are you trying to tell me that I can’t save everyone?”

Linda nodded.

“And I can’t take on guilt every time someone close to me makes bad choices?”

Linda kept on nodding.

They had been down this road a million times before. The good news was that Lizzy caught on a little faster each time. “What about Jared?”

Linda angled her head just so. “What about him?”

“Why am I so afraid of moving in with him?”

“Because you’re a very smart woman. You’ve been living alone for a long time and you want to make sure he’s the right man for you before you make a big commitment such as moving in.”

“Wow,” Lizzy said. “I didn’t see that coming.”

Linda chuckled. “I have con idence in you, Lizzy. I’ve always told you that you’re a smart one, and you’ve never let me down; so keep being smart. When you’re ready to fully commit to Jared, I’m sure you’ll have no problem moving in with him and accepting him for who he is.”

“What about telling him I love him?”

“What about it?”

“I feel sick to my stomach every time he says the words.”

“Why?”

“Because I feel guilty for not saying the words back.”

“Do you think Jared expects you to say the words back to him?”

The answer came easily. “No,” Lizzy said. “I’m sure he doesn’t. He loves me for who I am, the good and the bad. If I never said the L

word, he would be fine with it.”

“You’ll say the words when the time is right and when you feel it in here.” Linda put a hand over her heart.

Lizzy knew she was right. “I’m sorry I missed so many appointments.”

“Don’t be. You were busy.”

“It must be nice to have all the answers,” Lizzy said.

Linda smiled.

***

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Lizzy asked Jessica.

“And be a third wheel?”

Lizzy rolled her eyes.

“The truth is,” Jessica said, “I have a date with Casey. He’s taking me out for a hamburger and a movie.”

“Well, good for you.” Lizzy could tell she had something else on her mind. “Go ahead, Jessica, say it. I’m all ears and Jared won’t be arriving for a few more minutes.”

“It’s about Hayley. I’m worried about her.”

Lizzy stopped chopping carrots for a moment. “I thought you two didn’t like one another?”

“We don’t see eye to eye for the most part,” Jessica said, “but I like her. And I think she likes me, too, although she would never admit it.”

Jessica smiled. “I know this is wrong of me to say, but I’m proud of Hayley. She didn’t kill anyone. I know she must have wanted to kill those men, but she didn’t. She used restraint and that’s not something I thought I’d ever say about Hayley Hansen.”

Lizzy nodded in understanding. “Jared’s going to make sure she has a good defense lawyer.”