Victoria (8 page)

That's when Steven is going to arrive at the SWAT team command center. I think it's better if she finds out from us instead of Steven or the grapevine."

"How come he hasn't contacted her himself? What the fuck is his problem?"

"Son, you have no idea what he went through over there. He was involved with some pretty heavy shit, and if Victoria lets him explain everything, and if he tells her everything, then maybe, just maybe, they could work things out."

"What about Collins?"

"That's where we come in, son. We've got our work cut out for us, that's for sure."

Victoria was irate at the information from Tod. She couldn't just sit there and not continue with her own investigation, never mind, believe her father actually cheated on her mother. There was no way it were true. Her parents were high school sweethearts, through and through. She made up her mind.

She drove down the Garden State Parkway en route to Pascack, New Jersey and the place called Mallorie's. She had a plan in motion and would sit every employee down if need be to find out exactly what the deal was.

Victoria hid her true identity, and with her impeccable acting skills, as well as her sexy appearance, she had the male bartenders talking a mile a minute. Soon, even the seasoned waitress who worked every Thursday talked up a storm. Victoria knew that a short skirt, long legs, and a bit of cleavage went a long way when doing undercover work.

By the time she finished at the restaurant, she found out more than Tod and Detective Phelps had been able to. Much more than these people had been willing to tell the police.

There had been someone else there that day who took the picture, a man, well dressed, in his late thirties or so. They couldn't remember too much because it had been such a long time ago. The three people knew one another. It was obvious.

She racked her brain trying to figure out a way to identify the other man at the bar, the one who took the picture.

Victoria thanked them for their time and made her way back to her car.

Fiddling with her car keys, she glanced around out of habit, when she noticed some man she didn't recognize waiting by her car for her. She knew right away that he was in law enforcement of some kind, or possibly an attorney. There was that look in his eyes. She had seen it many times before.

He dressed rather nicely, wearing a good, expensive suit, not one from the local department store. There was a bulge near the bottom of his ankle. He was carrying a gun; she just knew it.

The guy followed Victoria's gaze, and he quickly introduced himself.

"Miss Mardullo, I'm Investigator Warren. May I have a moment of your time?"

Warren was a tall, thin man, possibly in his fifties, with salt and pepper hair and a thin mustache. He offered her his business card.

She was hesitant at first but decided to play the game as she refused the card and asked for identification. Warren seemed annoyed at this, apparently seeing right through Victoria's tactics.

Victoria smiled after accepting Warren's identification as authentic.

"Why would the River County District Attorney's office send an investigator to speak with me?” Victoria leaned against her car. A thousand things went through her mind. She knew her boss and the staff covered her ass in all her articles and assignments. They didn't want the hassle of a lawsuit, nor could they afford one.

Her boss, John, and the other board members ran
Search and Seizure
by the book.

"Miss Mardullo, maybe there's somewhere we can go to talk? This is a private matter and I would prefer to stay unnoticed."

Victoria looked around. There was no one in sight and no windows on the side of the building where she parked.

"What's wrong with right here? There's no one around, no windows on the building. Tell me what's going on?"

He explained about the investigation the County DA's office was conducting in regards to some local political corruption that may have spread into the police department. One particular officer's name came up, but she hardly knew him.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, we believe there's a connection with your father's murder. We also believe that we have a suspect, but are still investigating at this time."

"What do you mean you have a suspect? Tod ... I mean, Detective Kafrey, didn't mention this to me."

"The detectives are steps behind us. There's a bigger picture here, Miss Mardullo. You've been conducting your own investigation into your father's murder, and we believe that you just uncovered information that eluded the detectives. Information we already know about."

"I don't understand. What is it that you want from me? Silence? I won't stay silent when everyone is accusing my father of adultery. This is going to destroy my family."

"Victoria, we need you to help us out here. The corruption runs deep and we believe your father stumbled across it somehow. Also, there is a connection between Linda Delaney and our suspect."

"Delaney was the one my father was with at the restaurant. Who is your suspect? Was he the one who took the picture at the restaurant?"

"It's Bret Collins."

"What? How could that be?"

"I'm sure it's a shock to you, Miss Mardullo, but we've been investigating Mr. Collins for some time now. The FBI is involved. He's paid off a lot of people to cover his tracks. Your father was aware of this and we're assuming you had no idea that they disliked one another."

"Oh, my God, no. I didn't even know that they knew one another. I know my uncle Patrick and most of my family doesn't support him politically, but I just thought it was due to the changes he wants to make if he becomes town supervisor. You think he murdered my father?” As the words passed through her lips, she became nauseous and dizzy. Warren reached for her as she grabbed at his arm for support.

"Come sit down, Miss Mardullo. I'm sorry to have upset you. This must be a complete shock. Let's take a moment, just relax.” Warren helped Victoria take a seat on a nearby bench.

Victoria was stunned. Did she just have dinner with the man who killed her own father? She kissed him, allowed him to hold her, seduce her, and lie to her. He didn't mention he knew her father. What did he want from her? A thousand questions ran through her mind.

"Miss Mardullo, don't beat yourself up over this. Collins is very slick. He's a pro and that's why he's been able to evade capture for so long. We believe he killed your father out of jealousy. Linda Delaney is his cousin's daughter. You know Delaney Construction, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, but she's his cousin, his family, that's sick."

"Exactly. He was the one who took that picture. Linda did have a thing for your father, but he didn't entertain it. Collins has been spreading corruption and making promises to cops for years. We're pulling our evidence together, and so far, we've got him for money laundering, taking bribes, fixing his elections, tax evasion, and are close to pinning him for murder."

"If you have so much evidence, what do you need me for? Can't you arrest him and interrogate the shit out of him?"

"We plan on doing that, but you see, our evidence has loopholes that may not hold up in court. We need more proof and we don't think he's working alone. So far, the other person involved has stayed anonymous, covered his or her tracks really well,” Warren explained.

"In all honesty, I don't think Collins pulled the trigger himself. He's too much of a coward. I think he has a partner, someone who's on the inside and taking kickbacks,"

"What is it you want me to do? If he hated my father, he wouldn't confide in me. What does he want?"

"It may be just simply extra votes that will ensure him winning the election. Your family is large and heavily involved with the police department, fire department, military, and local community. Your support would mean a great deal,” Warren told her.

"Not if these accusations of my father having an affair are released. People don't like that kind of stuff. It turns them off whether it's true or not.

"Once it's out there, it sticks in their minds. They'll be saying he deserved to die, that the killer was probably a jealous boyfriend. Oh, my God, this is crazy.” She covered her face with her hands.

"The DA's office can't stop the detectives from conducting their investigation. We need to stay silent. They can't know we're on to all of this. We've risked telling you in the hopes that you'll help us.

"First of all, there's a Detective Monroe working out of the Boulder Point Police Department. He's gone through the whole FBI training academy. He's the only person other than you that knows what's going on. He's our inside guy in the police department and is currently working on some cases with the River Point P.D. Monroe and I will be working with you to organize everything. If your paths cross, you are not to acknowledge one another. Monroe and I will continue to investigate Collins and some others."

"What is it that you want me to do?"

"We want you to continue to date Collins, no matter what your family says. We want you to get close to him, confide in him, and make him believe you. You're to tell him how bad things were in your family. You'll have to lie and make it believable. If he thinks you're out for revenge, or aren't so loyal to your family, then he'll confide in you, perhaps reveal the name of his secret partner."

"I don't know if I can do this. How can I get close to a man who is somehow responsible for killing my father, whether he pulled the trigger himself or not?"

"Because the end result will be clearing your father's name, capturing his killer, ending corruption in the department, and protecting your family. We're close, Victoria. Can you do this?"

Victoria sat back and thought about everything the investigator told her.

"Victoria, don't think for a minute that your father even considered an affair with the Delaney girl. He had his reasons for meeting her at this restaurant.” Warren motioned with his arm toward the building behind them.

"So why was he meeting her? You know why?” Victoria needed to know everything.

"Linda Delaney was an artist. She enjoyed creating paintings from photographs, mostly engagement or wedding pictures. She sold the idea to him, showed him other work she did. Your father hired her to paint a portrait of his and your mother's wedding picture. The unfinished work wasn't recovered as of yet."

"Why was Bret there if my father hated him so much?"

"Bret and Linda did have a thing going on, but she wanted to call it quits. Your father had no idea about this. When Bret showed up that day and took the picture, he probably thought nothing of it. He disliked Bret, yes, but dealt with him while Linda finished her portrait."

Victoria thought about it for a minute, relieved that her father had good reason for meeting the attractive young woman.

Warren proceeded to tell her no one was to know about her decision, and that in the end, after hurting her family, they would understand and forgive her.

Warren called Monroe then pulled his car out of the parking lot.

"So do you think she's going to help us, or what?” Monroe asked.

"My gut would say yes. She wants revenge badly."

"You're not kidding. Who the hell wouldn't? I just wonder if she'll be able to handle her family. Besides that, where the hell did you come up with the story about the painting? She may ask to see that when everything is all over,” Monroe said.

"Don't worry about it, Monroe—just follow my lead. We are conducting this investigation for the County District Attorney's office. Do you know what kind of publicity the DA and all of us will get from this, especially, if there's multiple murders connected? As sick as it sounds, people eat that kind of movie shit up."

"It's crazy when you think about how this whole investigation got started."

"Yeah, one call from Jack ‘Flip’ Walker to his town DA,” Warren added.

"It would make a great story. A man who wanted the position as Town Supervisor had initiated the phone call to the District Attorney's Office. That call encouraged the District Attorney to take a deeper look at Bret Collins. Who would've known that the Highway Department Supervisor was onto something this big?"

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Victoria's tears threatened to escape. It would take a miracle for her to make it through the day without breaking down. The sense of foreboding, of the unknowing that lay before her, was enough to bring the most organized and strong person into a panic attack, but instead, she reluctantly entered her office. She had debated calling in sick, but she never did that. She did only once, two years ago, when she had the stomach flu and wound up dehydrated and in the hospital. That was before the murder of her father.

Tears filled her eyes for the hundredth time today. She needed to gain control of that. She had another job to do, and her anger and hatred were her motivation. As she looked toward her desk, she noticed the large bouquet of wild flowers that sat in a tall purple vase, her favorite color. As she lay her briefcase on the table, she heard Debbie's voice.

"There's no card, Victoria. Maybe it's from that handsome, Bret Collins,” Debbie took a sniff.

Victoria wanted to vomit. The show had begun, and she needed to stay in her role, constantly. Flinching at the sensation of chills running through her body, she stiffened then re-focused.

"Maybe they are. I'll have to call him and thank him.” Victoria touched the flowers.

Just then, her phone rang, startling her. Debbie took notice, but didn't seem to think anything of it as she waved goodbye and left the room, closing the office door behind her.

"Hey, gorgeous, did you sleep well?” Bret asked and Victoria held onto the receiver tightly.

"Pretty good, how about yourself?”
You murderous bastard.
She shook the thoughts away. She didn't want to screw this up.

"Do you have plans for lunch today? I'd love to meet you."

"I'm not sure. I'll have to check my book. I just got to the office. Thank you for the flowers.” It killed her to be so pleasant.