Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) (20 page)

“I don’t have much of an appetite right now,” she replied. “I’m going to be so happy when this day is over. I just want to go back home and curl up in my own bed and sleep for about a week.”

He nodded, as he pulled the fork away from his lips. “I bet,” he said a moment later. “How’s your head?”

“Physically or emotionally?” she asked with a small chuckle. She didn’t wait for him to react before continuing. “My headache is gone, and it only hurts when I touch it. I’m not looking forward to sleeping on it tonight. It feels pretty gross, though, hence the hair tie. Remind me not to take anymore blows to the head.”

He chuckled as he took another bite. “Seriously, though, who the hell hits someone with a frying pan? I mean, you see it a lot on cartoons and old television shows, but a frying pan…really?”

“At least it’ll make a comical story when we get back to the station,” she said.

Ben grinned, but it quickly faded away. His hand pulled up to his jaw. Rilynne watched curiously, unsure how she should confront him about what she knew he was thinking. “We don’t have to tell anyone the specifics,” she said a few tense moments later. “Chances are the story won’t make the news in Addison Valley. Even if it did, by then enough time would have passed that…”

“It’s all right,” he interrupted. “News has no doubt already spread around that I’ve taken a bullet for you. My heroism won’t stay hidden, no matter how hard we try.” He was joking; it wasn’t the response she expected, though she was glad.

“Well, hopefully by the time you get back to work everyone’s questions will have been answered to their satisfaction, and you won’t have to deal with any of them,” she responded. “I’m sure you’ll grow tired of being asked how it happened. I can field any questions they might have.”

“Are you sure?” he asked. “No one in the department even knew that you were married, let alone anything about the case. I’m guessing that was for good reason; I know you’re a private person. If you want to keep it all under wraps, I don’t have a problem with that. We can just make up some fantastic story, or say that the details of the case can’t be discussed until after the court proceedings. That should keep everyone happy, for the most part at least.”

She smiled warmly at him. Ben wasn’t the kind of person to willingly keep things hidden, let alone lie. It felt good that he would even consider it just to spare her sense of privacy. “It’s fine,” she said. “I want to start with a clean slate, and that can’t happen by keeping things secret. I can’t move past all of this if I’m keeping it bottled up. Besides, it’ll get out eventually. It might as well come from me.”

“Oh,” he groaned as he leaned back against the pillows, “the guys are never going to let this go.”

She knew he had a point, and was glad he talked about it so lightly. Once the story got out, he would no doubt face a lot of jokes-jealousy being the subject of most. After all, he had killed her husband.

W
hen the car pulled up in front of the station, it was the passenger side door that opened first.

“What are you doing here?” Rilynne asked as Lori rushed toward her, reaching her arms out and pulling her in for a hug. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but don’t you have a little one to be caring for?”

Lori squeezed her tightly for several seconds before pulling away. “I called my mom as soon as the Chief told me what happened, and she flew in to watch her.”

“I bet she’s loving that,” Rilynne replied.

“You have no idea. She hates being so far, but she would never leave Dallas to move closer to us. She’s never been able to handle the cold,” she explained. “Enough about me, are you all right? How’s Ben?”

Rilynne let out a low sigh and leaned against the hood of the car. “We’re all right,” she said simply.

“You know that I won’t settle for an answer like that,” Lori said as she sat down next to her. “So, we’ll just start simple, how’s Ben?”

“He’s already begging to leave the clinic,” she laughed. “The bullet nicked his appendix, so they removed it. Aside from that, he was very lucky. Emotionally, I don’t know, though. He didn’t just kill some random criminal; he killed my husband. He seems all right, but only time will tell, I guess.”

“I can only imagine,” she said. “It’s hard enough when you’re forced to kill someone when it’s part of your job description. Most people outside of our profession wouldn’t handle it well. I’m sure he’ll be fine, though. How are you handing it?”

For the first time since Christopher walked out of the cabin door, Rilynne felt like she was going to completely breakdown. She tried to gather her composure so she could speak, but after several unsuccessful moments, she just shrugged and looked down at her feet. Lori put her arm around her and sat with her in silence until Wooldridge stuck his head back out of the door half an hour later.

“Evans,” he called out and motioned her in. She hadn’t seen that look on his face since the night he told her that Mifflin had been responsible for Christopher’s death.

She walked into the station behind him, Lori at her side, and followed him into Detective Byman’s office.

“I called Dr. Ramirez and asked her to go back over the body, looking for any sample of DNA she could find. She got back to me a little while ago and said that she was able to pull a small sample out of one of the bones, so it’s being run against Mifflin now,” he said sullenly. “I know that Christopher admitted to killing him, but we need a concrete identification.” Rilynne nodded as she thought back over all of the evidence that had been discovered.

“Daniel Summers, our blood guy in Addison Valley, is still working on the shirt. My guess is the second DNA profile that was pulled came from decomposition,” she stated. “He’ll be able to verify that. He can also look back over the knife. Ben was in the process of taking it apart when he came up here, so I don’t think he finished. We can see if Summers can pull another sample off of it, other than mine. With as many times as I was stabbed, it would have been nearly impossible not to get cut in the process. Chances are, Christopher would have left a little of himself behind.”

“Why do we need all of that?” Lori asked cautiously. “Christopher is dead, so we don’t have to worry about trying to build a case against him.”

“It’s not about him anymore,” Byman stepped in. “It’s about clearing the name of Detective Mifflin. There can’t be any doubt that he was anything more than an innocent victim in it all.”

Wooldridge nodded in agreement before continuing. “I’ve also spoken with Sarah Bennett, and she’s requesting a deal in exchange for information. She said that Christopher kept journals and although she doesn’t know what’s in them, she knows where they-along with any documents he believed were important-are located,” he explained.

“Okay,” she replied. “What is it that you need from me?”

“I spoke with the district attorney’s office and they’re willing to work out a deal with her, but only if you don’t pursue charges against her for assault. Normally they wouldn’t consider your opinion on it, but they’re going to leave it up to you since you’re at the middle of this case,” he stated. “Christopher is dead, so-like Sibrian said-they’re not worried about trying to form a strong case against him. The events of the case also appear relatively straightforward. At this point, it’s all about understanding why more than anything else.”

“Um,” she sat back and crossed her arms. “What kind of deal are they willing to give her? I mean, she isn’t going to just be able to walk away from this, is she?”

“She’ll still be facing charges for the insurance fraud, and they’re asking for six months in a minimum security prison,” he explained.

She thought about it for several minutes-everyone’s eyes on her-before she gave a gentle nod.

“All right,” Wooldridge said. “I’ll call them back so they can get things started.”

“What about Melissa?” she asked.

“I haven’t had the chance to speak with her yet, but if you’re right and she didn’t know anything Christopher had done, they may go lenient on her. After we got off the phone last night, I called all of the hospitals within two hundred miles of every home she and her husband had shared. I had them pull any records they had on her, and found that there were a surprising number of visits for broken bones and other domestic violence related injuries. The district attorney’s office will take that into consideration when determining what charges to file.”

Wooldridge pushed himself off of the edge of Byman’s desk and walked out of the room, cell phone in hand. Detective Byman nodded kindly to Rilynne before walking out himself.

“Are you really all right with all of this?” Lori asked as soon as he disappeared around the corner.

“Yeah,” she responded quickly, not needing to give it a second thought. “With Christopher dead, we’ll never know exactly what happened without the journals. After waiting for so long to get closure, I honestly just want it all to be over with already. I don’t want more surprises to pop up a few months from now and have to deal with it all over again.”

“Are you sure she wasn’t involved in Mifflin’s murder?”

Rilynne groaned as she leaned back and closed her eyes, rubbing her hands over her face. As she did, a blinding light flashed across her face.

“How much did you have to pay him to disappear?” Sarah asked, sitting on the sofa next to her brother.

“A quarter mil,” he replied. “I don’t want you to say anything about it to Mel, though. If she thought there was anyone else out there who could turn around and inform her ex that she was alive, she would never stop worrying.”

“Are you sure he won’t show back up and cause us any problems?” she asked, a distinct note of worry in her voice.

“He doesn’t know where to find us,” he said firmly. “And he wouldn’t dare tell anyone that he had taken a bribe to overlook a crime and obstruct justice.”

Rilynne opened her eyes and sat back up. “I believe her,” she said confidently. “Judging by the way Christopher spoke to her, he hadn’t told her that Mifflin was dead. She was also genuinely surprised when I told her.”

Lori reached over and rested her hand gently over Rilynne’s. “It’s still going to be a few hours before we’re ready to transport them back to Wisconsin. Why don’t you get out of here for a bit? I’m sure you could use some fresh air.”

“You have no idea.”

Lori smiled as she rose out of the chair. “I promise I’ll call you as soon as anything happens.”

She had no sooner reached the door when a burly man forcefully swung it open. Rilynne knew she recognized him, but it wasn’t until he spoke that she could put a name to him.

“Where the hell is she?” he yelled through the station. Every officer instinctively stood up and placed their hands over the guns strapped to their hips. When no one answered him, he took a large step forward and yelled again, “Where the hell is she?”

“Mr. Roberts,” Rilynne stepped toward him, “you need to take a step back and calm down.”

He turned toward Rilynne, and she could see the recognition on his face. “Not until I see my wife,” he said, the anger flowing out with his words.

She took another step toward him, trying to position herself carefully between him and the path to the interrogation room that currently held Melissa Roberts. “I’m afraid that I can’t allow you to see her until you calm down,” she said forcefully. “Why don’t you come to the back with me and I can explain the current situation to you. After that, we can work on getting Melissa in here to talk to you. How does that sound?”

He seemed to mull it over for a few seconds before nodding. After Lori stepped into the room Melissa was in-she assumed to inform Wooldridge of the new situation-she walked him to the back of the station. “Do you mind if we borrow your office?” she asked Detective Byman, who was now occupying his doorway. He looked Mr. Roberts up and down curiously before turning toward his desk. He appeared to be unwilling to leave them alone together. Rilynne couldn’t blame him. Mr. Roberts had at least fifty pounds on her, and was close to a foot taller. Byman was also well aware of his history of domestic violence. With the level of anger he was currently showing, Rilynne wouldn’t have left him alone with anyone either.

She casually slid the blinds closed on the window as she shut the door behind them, and took the seat next to Mr. Roberts. “This is Detective Byman,” she said, “and this is Vic Roberts, Melissa’s husband.”

The men nodded to each other in acknowledgement before Mr. Roberts returned his attention to Rilynne. His face was red with fury, and his hands were closed into fist on his lap. Not much scared Rilynne, but something about him did.

“I want to know what the hell is going on here,” he said abruptly.

“We’re still trying to figure all of that out,” she said calmly, trying to shift him away from the state of rage he was in. “Can you tell me, though, how did you find out Melissa was still alive? A statement hasn’t been released to the press, and we only found out ourselves last night.”

He looked almost annoyed that she ignored his question and asked one of her own, but he gave her an answer anyway. “Cops like to talk, especially with such a shocking development like this one. I have a few friends on the force, so it didn’t take long at all for word to get back to me. You told me she was dead,” he said harshly. “You sat there and told me there was almost no chance she could still be alive.”

“I understand your frustration, trust me.” She tried to hide her own rage.

He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but a glint of admission flickered through his eyes. She had met with him prior to Christopher’s supposed death, but there was no doubt he knew exactly who she was. If he had gotten wind of his wife being alive, chances are he knew about Christopher, as well. He took a deep breath and seemed to relax a bit in his chair, though his fist still remained tight. She had considered for a moment that he might take his feelings toward Christopher out on her, but he didn’t. Instead, he seemed to almost see it as a bond between them. After all, they had both been duped.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “I saw the amount of blood that was in my kitchen. There can’t be much more than that in the human body. How’s it possible she was able to leave that much behind and live?”

“You know I can’t discuss the specifics of an open investigation with you,” she said. She almost felt sorry for him until she remembered why Melissa had chosen to leave him in the first place.

“At least tell me you took care of that son of a bitch husband of yours,” he said. Rilynne almost grinned. Not because of the events the night before, but rather at the look of longing he had in his eye.

She responded, “Unfortunately, Mr. Parker didn’t survive the injuries he sustained while attempting to avoid arrest.”

“Mr. Parker,” he chuckled loudly, “I like that. Now, when am I going to be able to talk to my wife?”

“Unfortunately, that may be a little while,” Detective Wooldridge said as he walked into the room behind him. “She’s being processed for the trip back to Wisconsin right now, and won’t be allowed visitors until she after she arrives. She’s been telling us some interesting stories, though. I thought we might discuss them with you since you’re here.”

To her surprise, he seemed completely stunned by the statement. Even with the lengths she had taken to get away from him and the time that had lapsed, she had a feeling he believed Melissa was still under his thumb enough to keep her mouth shut. “I don’t see how any of her stories have anything to do with me,” he said, stumbling over his words. “She faked her death and murdered that cop all on her own.”