PENITENCE: An Andi Comstock Supernatural Mystery, Book 2 (95,893 words) (9 page)

Denise threw up her arms. “Great! Clem’s sentenced me to death and I have to sit around and wait for it to happen. I swear to God, if he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself right now.”

She continued to pace the room, her anger so palpable, Andi expected to see red smoke pouring out of her ears at any minute.

Denise came to a sudden halt in front of Andi. “I want to be there next time you talk to Clem. Maybe I can help jog his memory, or something.”

“You can’t come in where I work,” Andi said. “No one there knows about…well, you know.”

Denise glared down at her, then resumed pacing.

“One thing we could do,” Andi said, her brain on overload, “is have coffee at Java Josie’s. We could dress warm and sit on the patio. I can communicate anywhere on the block. It doesn’t have to be in the building.”

Denise swung around. “Really?”

She had such hope in her eyes, Andi hated to deflate her. “I can’t guarantee that he’ll speak to me on demand, but I could try.”

“Now?”

“No, Josie’s closes at nine, but we can meet there tomorrow.”

“What time? When does Clem talk to you?”

“Never at the same time, and remember, I can’t guarantee that he’ll show up.”

“A snipe hunt,” Denise mumbled.

Andi shook her head. “Not really. Even if he doesn’t show up then, he will later.”

“I should meet you there,” Stacy said.

Andi and Denise both looked at her. “Why?” Denise asked.

“Because,” Stacy said, her tone wry, “I’m a cop and this is my case.”

Andi’s phone rang. She knew it was Father Riley from the church bells tone. She excused herself and went to the living room to take the call. “Hi, any luck?”

“He said he never knew the killer by any other name than The Liquidator,” the priest responded.

“Hell fire and damnation,” Andi said.

“Not quite, but all may not be lost, Andi. He said he knew a guy, who knew a guy, who might be able to help us.”

“Are all these guys inmates?”

“Two of them are. He told me to expect a phone call in two or three days.”

“So maybe by Monday.”

“Maybe. How’s it going with the widow?”

“About like you’d expect.” She gave him a quick overview of the evening. “We’re going to meet at Java Josie’s tomorrow and hope Clem comes out to play.”

“Speaking of play, since The Liquidator is answering texts, it might well be worth it to tell him to make sure he’s not going to pull the trigger when the kids are around.”

“I don’t know if it’ll do any good, since he said he knows Clem died, but I’ll give it a try. The thing that disturbs me most now is him saying that he’s been paid in full and that he has a no-cancellation contract. There’s nothing in the emails or texts that says the contract couldn’t be cancelled, and Clem even told me it could be. If the hitman really received full payment, why
not
cancel if the person who paid him is dead?”

“Good question. Hopefully, Clem can give you the answer.”

She drew a deep, frustrated breath. “No kidding. I’ll check in with you tomorrow and let you know how things are progressing.”

“I look forward to it. In the meantime, I’m going to be saying some extra prayers for Denise and her children.”

“It couldn’t hurt and I’m sure they’ll appreciate it. Hold on…Vaughn’s giving me hand signals. I think he wants to talk to you.” She handed the phone over and went back to Clem’s office. She said to Denise and Stacy, “Father Riley suggested that I text The Liquidator again and tell him to keep the kids out of this.”

Denise gasped, a horrified expression on her face. “Dear God, surely he wouldn’t…not when Aria and Christian are nearby!”

Stacy began to pace. “Father Riley is right. Do it, Andi.”

Andi picked up the burner phone and input another text. The response came back quickly.

i don’t kill kids, but i don’t leave witnesses, either.

Andi debated reading the response aloud, but Denise interrupted her deliberation when she yanked the phone out of Andi’s hand. She read the reply and began to hyperventilate.

Stacy ran off to the kitchen to try and find a lunch sack, returning moments later with a large plastic baggie. She yanked open a desk drawer and withdrew a pair scissors, which she used to snip off the lock band across the top. She gathered it about two inches down and handed it over for Denise to grasp. “Breathe in and out. Try to go slow.”

Vaughn came in, saw what was happening, and left the room. He returned with a glass of water. Denise’s color began to return to normal. She put the bag aside and reached for the water.

“Did Clem even
think
about our children?” she asked, enraged.

“He’s frantic about them,” Andi said. “He never intended for them to be hurt or to witness you being killed.” She put a hand on Denise’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “The way I see this is that Clem was madly in love with you. When he thought you’d cheated on him, he went berserk—if he couldn’t have you, no one would. He didn’t think things through and he couldn’t bring himself to confront you about what you were doing when you were gone in the evenings.” Andi shook her head. “He never once considered how it would affect the children to be without you.”

Denise mulled that over, her face a study in anger. “So the man who made millions
thinking
turned into a pea-brained jackass because he was too fucking proud to confront me.” She hurled the glass across the room. It left a trail of water in its wake before it shattered against the wall.

“Denise,” Vaughn said, “I know this sucks, but you have to get control of your emotions. You’ve got Aria and Christian to think about. Your first priority has to be how you’re going to keep them out of the line of fire.”

Vaughn’s graphic comment was the magic wand that dissipated Denise’s anger at Clem and replaced it with stark-raving fear for her children. “Ohmygod, you’re right! They can’t be around me. They….” Her eyes darted frantically around the room. “They’ll have to stay with their grandparents.” Her eyes welled again with tears, which she blinked frantically to dispel. “If he kills me, that means…I may never get to see my babies again.”

“It’s not going to come to that,” Stacy said.

Denise railed at her. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“She’s not,” Andi said in defense of the LT. “We’re going to find this guy. Bank on it.”

She could almost feel Denise’s panic deflate. Conversely, her own qualms increased.

Stacy remainedbehin
d
with Denise, intending to stay the night, if need be, to offer her sister’s best friend support and police protection all rolled into one.

Vaughn walked Andi to her car. “You doing okay?”

“I’m so damned frustrated!” Andi said. “You do realize, if he read about Clem’s death, that he’s here, right?”

“I gathered that, yes.”

“He may even live here.”

“It’s possible.”

“Do you think he’ll stick to the schedule and not do anything before Wednesday?”

Vaughn lifted a shoulder. “I did some digging on the ’net after I talked to you. Apparently, hitmen have a code of honor, both among themselves and with their clients. If they have a contract for a certain date and time, they adhere to it. If they say they’re going to kill Person X, they don’t leave a scratch on Person Y, standing right beside them.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, maybe it’s just me being paranoid or suspicious or whatever, but something’s hinky about his last reply.”

Andi couldn’t control the shiver that coursed through her. “Funny you should say that, because I’ve got a bad feeling about it, too.” She leaned against her car, peering up at one small cloudless spot in the night sky that framed a few stars. “If what you say is true, and The Liquidator has his own twisted code of ethics, why would he make a statement like ‘I don’t leave witnesses behind, either’?”

Vaughn followed the direction of Andi’s gaze. “Consider this. What if the person who’s responding is not The Liquidator?”

Andi’s startled eyes locked with Vaughn’s. “How could that be?”

He shrugged. “Maybe he’s busy elsewhere and can’t make the hit in the window stipulated, so he hires a sub to do the work. Someone local.”

Andi frowned. “That seems like a far reach, and if you’re right about the hitmen having a code of ethics, wouldn’t that be an unforgivable breach?”

“I suppose.” Vaughn blew out a loud sigh. “One thing I know for certain, though, is that Denise has got to make sure her kids aren’t around until after February eighth.”

“She should probably hire a bodyguard, too.” Andi chewed her bottom lip. “Do you think she has the money for that?”

“I’d say so. Clem had a strong financial statement, if what he told me about his business and his investments was true.”

“That was smart of you to suggest she get an alarm installed, and to activate it, even when she’s in the house.”

He hesitated. “A savvy hitman can probably bypass any alarm she has installed.”

“Really?”

He nodded and said, “Hell,
I
probably could.”

“That’s comforting.”

“Look, why don’t I drop by and pick up Denise in the morning and drive her down to meet you? I can have a talk with her about what kind of system she needs to install and hiring an armed security firm to keep tabs on her.”

“While I appreciate the offer, I don’t think you should be hanging out with her in public places while she has a bull’s-eye on her. Remember what The Liquidator said about not leaving any witnesses? You have four little kids at home who need you, Vaughn. You’re the only parent they have now.” In the glow of the amber street light, Andi read his shocked expression.

“You’re right, of course. It’s just that…well, dammit, there are so many parallels here between Sherry’s murder and the contract Clem put out on Denise. I feel like I should do something, but I suppose there really isn’t anything I
can
do.”

“Sure there is.” Andi pushed away from her vehicle.

“What?”

She used the key fob to open the door locks. “Come with me when I meet Denise at her in-laws’ house. I’m going to ask Father Riley to be there, too.”

Vaughn opened the car door for her. “You need reinforcements when you tell them about Clem talking to you and what he’s done.”

“So to speak. It may be easier for them to grasp if someone who’s already experienced a similar incident can confirm that I’m not a lunatic.”

“Incident. That seems like a pretty tame way to describe it.”

“I know, but I couldn’t think of any other descriptive that fit.”

“I can think of a couple, but I don’t want to shock you.”

“I doubt you could,” Andi said. She tilted her head at him. “So, you can be there?”

“Yep.”

“Good, because I’m worried that Clem’s parents will think I’m one of those crazies who wears a tin foil hat on her head when the aliens are coming.”

Vaughn pretended amazement. “You mean you’re not?”

. . .

Andi drove to a nearby convenience store and pulled into the lot. She reached for her smartphone and dialed Jack. Again, his phone went straight to voicemail. Disappointed, she left him a brief message, debated whether or not to send it, then decided she didn’t care if he knew how disappointed she was to have missed him.

She barely got the phone put away, when it sounded the
Cops
theme. She accepted the call and said, “That was quick.”

“Is this Andi?”

“Yes.” Andi’s something’s-not-right radar kicked into gear. “Who’s this?”

“Detective Eriksson, Dubuque PD.”

Andi went cold all over. “What’s happened?”

“Jack was injured this evening during a transport assist on the prisoner being extradited to Oregon.”

Visions of knife-wielding felons flew through her head. “Is he okay?”

“He’s alive and as well as can be expected, considering.”

“Please quit bullshitting me,” Andi said as politely as she could. “Is he okay or not?”

“I’ll let him tell you,” Detective Eriksson said, her voice laced with humor.

A moment later, Jack said, “Hi, babe.”

“What happened? Are you all right?”

“I have a black eye, a cracked rib, and a couple of stitches in my cheek.”

“The prisoner
hit
you? Wasn’t he handcuffed or anything?”

“He was shackled, feet and hands, but he swung on me before I knew what the hell was going on. He got me in the ribs with his elbow and the cuffs caught me just below my eye.”

“Are you at the ER?”

“Just leaving.”

“You’re not going to have to bring him back alone, are you? Does Stacy know what happened?”

“No and no. DPD wants to send an officer back with me to assist and I’m going to call the LT as soon as I get back to my hotel.”

“Are you in pain? Did they give you something for it?”

“They did, and that’s why I’m headed directly to my hotel. I could use a good night’s sleep and I plan to take it easy tomorrow.”

“You’re still flying back on Sunday?”

“Yeah, we were able to get another seat on the flight and it leaves early. I should be nice and rested by then so I’ll be able to stay awake on the plane.”

“Will your prisoner be difficult to manage?”

“Our seats are at the rear of the plane, and he’ll be cuffed to his. If he has to take a leak, he won’t have far to walk. Other than that, he won’t be allowed to move around. We’ll be first on, last off so he can’t pull any shenanigans with the other passengers, either. Gerd and I should be able to handle him.”

“Gerd?”

“Detective Eriksson.” He grunted in a self-disparaging way. “I hate to admit this, but I was flattened and a girl had to rescue me.”

A burst of laughter sounded in the background. Gerd, huh?

A flutter of something green whipped through Andi. “Oh.”

Jack must have caught her momentary lapse into jealousy. “It’s not like that.”

“Did I say anything?”

“You don’t have to. I can read you like a book.”

Not likely. “Then you know I’m worried about you.”

He didn’t respond immediately. “I’m okay, Andi, really. I’ve been beat up worse when I was on patrol.”

“You have? How come you never told me?”

“It didn’t come up.”

That was true enough. “I guess this guy’s injuries weren’t as severe as they thought.”

“The doc informed us he was mostly faking it, so there was no need to keep him hospitalized.”

“Sounds like a real loser.”

“In every way.”

“What time does your flight get in?”

“Should be on the ground at twelve-eighteen. The jail transport bus will be there to pick up the prisoner, then I’ll run Gerd in to her hotel so she can get checked in.”

No mention of,
I’ll call you when I get in, Andi
, or,
I’ll see you Sunday night, Andi
.

“I won’t keep you, then. I hope you feel better by the time you get on the plane.”

“Thanks. Me, too.”

Andi wanted to tell him about the last two days, but something held her back. He sounded drowsy already, but it was more than that. It was also remembering that he hadn’t picked up her call the evening before.

Be honest, she told herself. It’s Gerd-the-Detective. You’re worried about a woman you haven’t even met.

And then her rational self intervened. Just look at what
not
communicating had done for Clem Naylor.

After that, her mouth opened and she asked, “Do you think you and I can have dinner with Gerd Sunday night? I’d like to meet her and thank her for saving your sorry ass.”

Jack laughed. “Now you sound like the Andi I know and love. Dinner it is. Bye, babe.”

. . .

The next morning, Andi arrived early at Java Josie’s and asked Josie if she’d mind unlocking the back door so she and her friends could sit outside.

Josie looked at her as if she were nuts, but agreed and said she’d turn the outside heater on, as well. “You’re gonna need it,” she added, shaking her head.

Andi ordered a tall latté and a cinnamon roll.

Father Riley came in as she was paying and said, “Make that two.”

Andi paid for his, as well, and informed him it wasn’t polite to argue over who was paying in front of Josie.

Father Riley grinned and said, “For a logical-thinking woman, Andi, you sure come up with some doozy explanations sometimes.”

“I certainly do try,” she said agreeably.

The bell over the door tinkled and Stacy and Denise entered. They placed their orders and followed Andi and Father Riley out to the patio. Andi made introductions.

Fortunately, the bare trees allowed the sunlight to warm them somewhat, but Andi was thankful she’d dressed warmly. It was a biting forty-two degrees out.

By the time their drinks and pastries were served, Denise showed signs of being antsy. “How does it happen? I mean, how do you know it’s Clem?”

Andi said, “For some reason, the smoke gets really heavy and intense just before he talks to me. I’ve never smelled anything like it before with any of the other Smokies.”

“Why do you think it’s changed?” Father Riley asked.

“The only thing I can come up with is that Clem is distraught because of what he did and he’s so frantic to stop it, it affects his smoky essence.”

“So the intensity of his soul’s emotions cause the exacerbation of the smoke scent?” Stacy asked, frowning.

“I guess so. It hasn’t been like this with anyone else, not even Sherry.”

“That was so sad,” Denise said.

“It was,” Andi agreed.

“If not for Andi,” Father Riley said, “we never would have known about Dawna Stimack or her propensity to kill off women so she could have their men.”

“I don’t remember ever reading about Andi’s part in the investigation.”

“And you never will,” Andi said. “I’m strictly sidelines.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say that,” Stacy said, her intonation dryer than a drought.

Andi was saved from having to rebut by the incursion of Clem’s smoke. “He’s here.”

I did something bad, Andi, and I don’t know how to fix it.

“What’s he saying?” Denise asked on a whisper.

Andi repeated Clem’s opening salvo. “He always says the same thing at the beginning.”

Denise stared at her with wide eyes, her lower lip trembling.

Why’d you bring my wife with you, Andi?

“We met with Denise last night and told her what you’d done.”

She hates me now.

“I don’t know if she hates you, but she is deeply disturbed that you didn’t trust her enough to either accept her evenings away or to ask about her whereabouts outright.”

Am I ever going to be able to rectify that? I’m dead! How can I?

Andi wanted to scream out for him to move on from wallowing in self-pity and not to dare take off.

I heard that, Andi. I’ll wallow if I want to and I’ll only hang around until I’m ready to leave.

“Good,” she said aloud. “We have questions that need answers. First of all, we’re trying to figure out how to find the hitman you hired.” Piece by piece, she went over the previous evening’s discussion and also reported on Father Riley’s foray to the prison.