I went over to Angela and
sat next to her. I could see the terror in her eyes, and I think she knew
Jennifer was capable of shooting her. But something was wrong here, and
Jennifer’s story didn’t add up.
No one walks into a place
where the front door is unlocked. In my book, that was asking for
trouble.
I think Jennifer was expecting to see exactly what I’d seen and
was there for a reason.
“I wouldn’t scream when I
take off the gag Angela,” I said. “I
expect Jennifer is looking for a reason to use that gun.”
She nodded.
I removed the gag.
She took a few deep
breaths and tried to calm herself. She was practically at the point of
hyperventilating. I’d expected an outburst of outrage against Jennifer,
and a pleading of innocence. I had no doubt she knew exactly what had
happened in this room.
There was something else
in her expression: pain.
Then I saw why. Her
shoulder, which had been hidden from view, the cloth of her dress was soaked in
blood. I took a closer look. A rough bandage, but no mistaking a
bullet wound, roughly patched but leaking blood. She, too, had been shot.
“Who did this?” I asked
quietly?
“I don’t know. I
came home and found Al waiting for me.”
“You were expecting him?”
“We had an arrangement.”
“Your assistance in
exchange for retribution for Cathy’s death?”
“Joe visited her when she
threatened to tell Jennifer about him sexually abusing her. Al confronted
him and he said it was an accident; that he never meant to hurt her, just keep her
quiet. He also said that Cathy had been filming his visits, and would use
that as evidence. He figured that night would also be on tape, but hadn’t
been able to find it.”
“Were you aware Cathy had
a camera installed?”
“No. But only
recently, I recovered the video when cleaning out some old boxes. Joe was
telling the truth, but he was still responsible for her death.”
Jennifer had put down the
gun, come over to the table and sat. She moved the gun on the tabletop
to within easy reach, just in case.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You would have gone
straight to Joe and he would have disappeared.”
“So you went to Al?”
“Yes. When I told
him, he said he’d suspected he’d been set up by Joe but couldn’t prove
it. He also said he thought Joe was up to something, and when he’d found
out what it was, he said he would take care of him.”
“Kill him?”
“I thought he might have,
but Al was the sort of man who beat people up, not kill them. He might be
a lot of things, but he’s not a cold-blooded killer.”
“And your part in it?”
“I wanted him to teach
Joe a lesson, not kill him.”
“That charade at Outtel?”
“He said Joe had
discovered him poking around in the company’s affairs, and he had to
disappear.
He said if you were involved you’d bring in the police, that
Detective Sykes, and give his disappearance some credibility, put Joe at ease.”
“It wasn’t for long. Who killed Joe? Al?”
“No. He told me someone
else did it, and I believed him.”
“Did he find out what Joe
was doing?”
“Yes. He was
skimming money, millions over the years.”
“That would require
help.”
“Al was trying to get
information out of Miriam. He knew she was not the real Miriam, but an
ex-con called Alice something or other. You were right, he was not having
an affair, he was just trying to get close enough to find out what she was
doing.”
There was another knock
on the door. Jennifer didn’t seem too
perturbed by it. She picked up the gun,
put it behind her back and walked to the door. A look out the peephole,
then she opened it.
Edwina.
She let her in and closed
the door. The gun was in her hand but pointing at the floor.
“An unfortunate
circumstance,” Edwina said when she saw me. “You were supposed to stop
investigating.”
“I did. I just
wanted to see Angela again.”
“Curiosity killed the cat
Mr Walthenson. It might also be your undoing.”
Seeing the two women
together, it all became clear. The two women, married to two such men
like Joe and Al, saw a way out.
© Copyright Charles Heath
2018
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