Read To Have and to Kill Online
Authors: Mary Jane Clark
To Have and to Kill (20 page)
T
he housekeeper welcomed Piper into the entry foyer and asked her to wait while she summoned her boss. Piper remained in the clean, modern space, admiring a large, framed black-and-white photograph hanging on the wall, of a young Asian girl with bangs and big, dark eyes. Piper stepped closer to get a better look.
“My mother took that.”
Piper turned to see the little girl in the picture standing near the staircase.
“It’s wonderful,” Piper said. “Your mother is very talented and you are very pretty.”
The child smiled, revealing a missing front tooth. “My name is Ella,” she said.
“I’m Piper.”
Piper bent down and was shaking the child’s hand when Martha came down the stairs.
“Ah, I see you’ve met my Ella,” she said, looking fondly at the child.
“Yes, I was just admiring her picture,” said Piper, gesturing to the photograph.
“Well, Ella’s going to be late if she doesn’t get upstairs and change for the Christmas party at her friend’s house.”
“I get to stay up late tonight,” Ella announced excitedly. “Santa Claus is coming to their house early and we’re going to see him.”
“He is?” asked Piper. “Well, that sounds like fun.”
“Ella’s friend and her family are going to be in Europe on Christmas,” explained Martha. “The mother thought that since Santa was coming early to their apartment, it would be nice to have a few kids over to enjoy that, too.” She turned again to her daughter. “Now, come on, Ella. Get going. Dory will help you change.”
Martha’s eyes followed the child as she scampered up the steps. “Ella is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “I want to make sure she has everything.”
“Well, she sure has it here,” said Piper. “This place is fantastic!”
“Would you like a quick tour?” asked Martha.
Piper could hardly wait to look at the photographs but she did want to see the place. She put down her bag and followed Martha up the stairs.
A
lcoholic beverages were prohibited, but one of the guys on the squad had smuggled in some eggnog. For many of the agents, this was the last day of work before Christmas. They had decided to use some of their annual leave to lengthen the holiday. So they were staying a bit later than usual to clean up loose ends before they left.
A desk in the center of the office had become a temporary buffet as plastic glasses, cartons of eggnog, and plates of Christmas cookies made by a few of the guys’ wives were laid out. Jack joined the others in some holiday cheer, popping a small cookie in his mouth and getting confectioners’ sugar on the lapel of his jacket. He wished he had asked Piper to bring him some of those cookies he liked so much from her mom’s bakery.
As more agents gathered, it got noisier. Jack almost didn’t hear his phone ringing. He rushed to his desk and answered. It was his N.Y.P.D. contact.
A saleswoman at Saks Fifth Avenue remembered selling the letter opener. Though it had been paid for in cash, sales records showed that it had been purchased less than half an hour before Peggy Gould was stabbed.
P
iper followed as Martha showed her through the home. The kitchen was sleek and spare, with top-of-the-line stainless-steel appliances. The living areas featured glossy wood floors and giant windows to let the light stream through. Finishing that level was a gym, a maid’s room, and a powder room. Framed photographs, large and small, were hung artfully on every wall.
On the floor above were the five bedrooms. Two of them shared a bathroom; the other three each had its own. Piper almost swooned as Martha showed her the master bedroom with a massive four-poster shrouded in yards and yards of diaphanous fabric flowing from the ceiling like waterfalls and coming to rest in gentle puddles on the floor at each corner of the bed. The fireplace opposite was the size of a walk-in closet, and the en suite bath featured a sunken whirlpool tub that could seat at least six.
“One more floor, Piper,” said Martha. “I think you’ll enjoy seeing the lap pool.”
As they walked toward the bedroom door, Ella came barreling in.
“Look, Mommy. Don’t I look pretty?”
The child twirled around in her red velvet party dress. Piper’s mouth dropped as she saw what Ella was wearing around her neck.
P
iper wasn’t picking up.
Jack knew from her tweet that Piper was going to visit Peggy. The hospital didn’t allow cell phones to be operational inside the building. Piper must have turned hers off.
When the ringing switched to voice mail, Jack left his message.
“Pipe. We’ve got something on the letter opener. It was purchased at Saks Fifth Avenue with cash. And the salesperson remembers two women. Call me as soon as you get this, Pipe.”
E
lla preened, the large diamond necklace glittering against the red velvet.
“I found it in a box in your closet, Mommy. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Piper looked at Martha. Their eyes locked, both of them instantly realizing the significance of the moment.
“You can’t wear that to see Santa, honey,” said Martha calmly. “Let me help you get it off.” She took the necklace from the child.
“All right, go ahead now with Dory and have a good time,” said Martha. She closed her eyes as she bent down and gave the little girl a long hug. Martha’s eyes misted as she watched her daughter run out the door and down the hallway. When the child was out of sight, Martha turned to Piper.
“My God, Martha,” gasped Piper. “
You
stole the necklace?”
Martha nodded. “And I’m not proud of it.”
“But why?” asked Piper incredulously.
Martha stretched out her arms. “All this is expensive, Piper. I want to give Ella the life she deserves.”
Piper’s mind made the next connection. “And you killed Jessie Terhune?”
“She saw me, Piper. I had to.”
T
wo detectives were waiting in the hospital hallway.
“You can go in to see her now,” said the nurse. “But just for a few minutes.”
As the detectives entered the room, Peggy was lying in bed, her head raised slightly, her face colorless. Her elderly parents sat in chairs beside her.
“Ms. Gould,” one detective said gently, “can you remember what happened? Do you know who attacked you?”
Peggy slowly nodded once, closing her eyes as she thought of it.
“You recognized the person who stabbed you, Ms. Gould?”
Peggy softly whispered, “Martha Killeen.”
M
artha carefully laid the diamond necklace on the tall dresser. In one seamless motion, she pulled open the top drawer, grabbed the gun inside, and turned to face Piper.
“I’m so sorry you had to find out, Piper. I liked you.”
“I don’t believe you are going to kill me, too,” said Piper, terrified but determined not to panic.
“At this point, there’s nothing else I can do,” Martha said evenly.
“You poisoned Travis, didn’t you?” Piper asked.
Martha didn’t answer.
“But you might have killed Glenna by mistake,” Piper continued.
“It didn’t matter to me who died,” said Martha, keeping the gun trained on Piper. “As long as I got pictures that I knew I could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“And Peggy?” asked Piper.
“That was
really
too bad,” answered Martha. “She was such a trusting soul, but so naive. Now enough. Get going.”
Piper shook her head, yearning for the pepper spray that was in her bag downstairs. “No. If you’re going to kill me, you’ll have to do it right here and have blood spatter all over the walls. I’m not going to make it easy for you.”
“I mean it, Piper,” Martha said menacingly. “We’re going downstairs to take care of things in the shed out in the garden.” She gestured with the gun, pointing it toward the door for just a moment.
That was all the time Piper needed.
T
he unmarked police car with the flashing portable beacon barreled down Second Avenue, slowing down a bit at red lights before running through them.
As the detectives’ vehicle made a right on Fourteenth Street, the radio dispatcher confirmed that patrol cars were also proceeding to the Perry Street residence of Martha Killeen.
I
n a split second, Piper recalled the lessons drilled into her head almost every Saturday morning for years, when her father dragged her to karate class.
The element of surprise is a great weapon.
Legs have the greatest reach and greatest power.
Stay loose, keep your shoulders and arms relaxed.
Breathe, Piper, breathe. Don’t hold your breath. Breathing will help you keep your balance.
Be confident. Nothing makes you as slow as indecision and apprehension.
She had done it a thousand times in class, only now she had to do it to save her life. Balancing herself on her right foot, Piper used her hip, knee, and foot, all at the same time, aiming the sole of her left foot at Martha’s hand. In a blur, Piper’s foot hit its target, sending the gun flying across the room, landing several feet away and skittering across the polished hardwood.
Martha dove to the floor, landing on her stomach. She propelled herself on her elbows, closer and closer to the weapon. In two seconds, her hand was just an inch away from the gun, and Piper leaped on top of Martha’s back, arresting her forward motion.
Reaching around Martha’s head with both hands, Piper pressed her fingernails into Martha’s eyes, pulling her head up and back. Screaming in pain, Martha reached out and blindly wrapped her right hand around the gun. She rolled over on her side, spilling Piper off her back, and shot wildly into the air.
Piper pounced on her attacker again and pinned Martha’s left shoulder with her right forearm. She reached Martha’s wrist with her left hand and started slamming the photographer’s hand against the floor over and over until, in a spasm of pain, it relinquished the gun.
She knew that her next move had to be perfect. Using the side of her left hand, Piper struck Martha’s neck in a flash, hitting her just below the ear. The impact to the nerves bundled there rendered the woman instantly unconscious.
Piper heard pounding on the door from downstairs as Martha went limp beneath her.
Thursday, December 23 . . . One day until the wedding
P
iper took the defrosted cake layers, covered them with vanilla buttercream, and then placed them in the refrigerator for the icing to harden. Taking out a plastic package of prepared fondant, she put it into the microwave for just ten seconds, making it more pliable. She kneaded the fondant ball like bread dough.
As she misted the bakery worktable with cooking spray and then sprinkled powdered sugar over it, Piper gave a silent prayer of thanks that Peggy was all right. Though Piper hadn’t gotten to the hospital the night before, she had talked with her friend on the telephone. Peggy’s voice sounded weak, but she was totally lucid. Her doctors were predicting she’d only have to stay at the hospital a few more days.
As her mother watched, Piper picked up a long rolling pin and began to flatten out the fondant. Eventually she had a big, round shape a quarter-inch-thick. Piper took the cake layers out of the refrigerator and applied a thin layer of piping gel to help the fondant adhere. Then she looped the fondant over her rolling pin, lifted it, and carefully draped it over the first layer. She smoothed, tucked, and then smoothed some more, popping any air bubbles with a pin. Finally, she trimmed off the excess fondant with a pizza cutter.
“You’re doing a nice job, Piper,” said Terri, her head turned to the side to get a good view. “You don’t need me at all.”
“I’ll always need you, Mom,” said Piper. “I don’t know what I’d do without you and Dad.” She hugged her mother.
Terri beamed. “Did you see how proud he was at breakfast when you told him you used your karate?”
Piper nodded. “Yeah. I don’t even want to think what could have happened without it. I’m never going to make fun of his emergency-preparedness obsessions again.”
“Never say never,” said Terri, smiling. “I have a feeling that your father will go on to bug you another day.”
A bell tingled, signaling a customer.
“I’m going to leave you to it,” said Terri. “Call me when it’s time to stack the layers.”
While Terri went to the front of the shop, Piper repeated the process on the other two cake layers and thought about Ella. She wondered what would become of the little girl now that her mother was in custody and faced a life in prison. Dory, the housekeeper, was staying with her for the time being, and it had been mentioned that one of Martha’s relatives would take the child. Piper hoped so.
As she stood back and assessed her work, Piper rubbed her calf. It was sore. She had pulled a muscle when she kicked Martha’s gun without warming up first.
Two people were dead and another had been through a terrifying ordeal because Martha Killeen had been desperate. Though Martha rationalized that she had committed the crimes for her daughter’s sake, Piper wasn’t totally buying it. The world-class photographer had become a slave to her possessions and her lifestyle.
Though Piper was thankful for her safety, there was something she would definitely change about last night if she had to do it over again. Instead of going for the tour of Martha’s place, Piper wished they first had gone into the photography studio. Vin had talked about the use of potassium cyanide as a reducing agent in labs—maybe she would have seen it in the developing room. She also would have had the chance to look at her precious photographs. Her dream of having her picture taken by Martha Killeen had come true. She just didn’t have any concrete proof of it.
Before she began stacking and decorating the cake, Piper washed her hands, took out her BlackBerry, and texted:
TAKING ON A NEW ROLE: WEDDING CAKE MAKER !!!
A
large arrangement of long-stemmed red and white roses was brought up by the doorman. Glenna placed the vase on the round table in the foyer. She took off the cellophane wrapping and smiled as she inhaled the sweet scent of the flowers. Then, she opened the small envelope that was attached.
Her face fell as she recognized Phillip’s scrawl.
Dear Glenna,
Because of Susannah, I will always be a part of your life.
Phillip
He had to get in the last word, a parting shot intended to intimidate me and rain on my happiness.
I refuse to let Phillip sour this special time for me.
Glenna tossed the card in the fireplace. There was much to be thankful for, and she didn’t want to be distracted from it. Casey was no longer under suspicion. His brother had come to him this morning, apologized for his remarks to the police, and promised to come up with a satisfactory financial agreement.
Tomorrow, she was marrying the man she loved, the man with whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Glenna wasn’t going to let anybody diminish her joy.
But one thing that she had hoped for wasn’t going to happen. Martha Killeen wasn’t going to capture the bliss of the bride and groom.
Glenna could live with that.
Friday, December 24 . . . WEDDING DAY
Piper, Jack, and ninety-seven other guests watched reverentially as Glenna seemed to float down the sweeping staircase. She wore a flowing ivory gown of cascading ruffles—and a dazzling smile. In front of the fireplace of the grand entrance hall of the Metropolitan School for Girls, before family and friends, she and Casey pledged their love for each other and promised to stay together. No matter what.
After the ceremony, everyone went upstairs for the reception in the old ballroom.
Glenna gasped with delight when she saw the wedding cake with its smooth round layers and glittery stars displayed on a table swathed in tulle.
“Oh, Piper! It’s absolutely fabulous!” she exclaimed. “I can’t imagine a more perfect cake.”
Piper smiled with pleasure. “I’m so happy you’re satisfied, Glenna,” she said.
“Satisfied? I’m thrilled, Piper. Just thrilled.”
As Glenna turned away to greet well-wishers, Jack took a picture of the cake.
“Oh, good idea,” exclaimed Piper. “I’m going to post that.” Then her face fell.
“What’s wrong?” asked Jack.
“I just thought about my Killeen pictures. I wish I could post those, too.”
“You can,” said Jack.
Piper looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”
“I have the photographs at my apartment.” He grinned. “You look fantastic in them.”
Piper’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding, Jack. How did you get them?”
“Do me a favor, Pipe. Don’t ask.”
