Carnal Vengeance (44 page)

"Also, the two women you never met, Samantha Kingsley and Paula Marconi, have been cleared as well. That brings us to the two you felt certain could not be involved, April MacLeash and Cheryl Wallace."

"And I still feel the same way," Holly said. "April was the one who set down the rules for the women to follow. She felt very strongly about the punishment fitting the crime. And Cheryl hasn't been in any condition to do anything."

"Why do you say that?" David asked.

"I didn't mention it before because April didn't want it to get out, but Cheryl... isn't well."

"Explain," Diane said.

"Apparently, she had a nervous breakdown after the hearing and April's been taking care of her."

"Where?" Quick interjected.

"At her house in Newark, Delaware. I told you I was there Saturday morning."

"But you didn't mention Cheryl Wallace being with you."

"Well, that was because she wasn't actually
with
us. She—I know this sounds odd, but she's been staying in April's attic. According to April, Cheryl's completely withdrawn from everyone. She said Cheryl reacted the same way in college after she was attacked. I know how she feels. You see, I did the same thing for a while."

"Did you see Wallace while you were there?" Quick asked.

"No. April checked on her and said she wasn't up to joining us. I got the impression Cheryl doesn't like to leave the attic room at all."

Quick was on the edge of the sofa. "So, you only took MacLeash's word for it that Wallace was in the attic."

Holly immediately understood what Quick was getting at. "I have no reason to doubt April, but her husband, Theodore, mentioned Cheryl being there when I met him."

"Hmmm." Quick got up and paced a bit. "All right. Here's what happened. The agent we sent up to Newark to question April MacLeash said no one answered the door and neither did any of the close neighbors, so he drove on up to Wallace's house in Connecticut."

"No one was there, either, but the next-door neighbor was very helpful. She was positive Mrs. Wallace hadn't been there since the hearing and Mr. Wallace left the house right after it ended and hadn't returned. He'd told her they were taking a trip to Europe. The neighbor's been collecting their mail for them ever since. Our agent stopped at the MacLeash home again on his way back and an elderly man answered the door."

"That would be Theodore."

"Yes. The agent said the man seemed a little disoriented, yet defensive at the same time. Insisted no one by the name of Cheryl Wallace lived there, and his wife was away on business for a few days."

Holly frowned. "He did seem to have some trouble recalling something when April was speaking to him, so he may have some dementia. But I also remember him mentioning that April goes away from time to time to visit patients who've moved away."

Quick raised an eyebrow. "How convenient. Let me give you a few more pieces of the puzzle. The possibility that Greenley was protecting someone with her confession looks a lot stronger today. We just found out she'd buried the lab findings on the fingerprints from the Ziegler murder. There was one set of prints not identified. That in itself wouldn't be so astounding, but combined with the deduction that there might have been a witness to the murder—"

"A
witness
?" David exclaimed.

Quick nodded. "Possibly. We haven't released this information in hopes that the person would come forward without fear of the killer going after him or her. But it hasn't happened. Here's what we know. The killer wore gloves during the murder, and yet someone wiped the doorknobs and took a quick swipe over a few surfaces throughout the suite. The haphazard way this was done suggests it was someone other than the methodical killer.

"The conclusion is that someone besides the murderer was in the hotel room after Ziegler was killed. That person either witnessed the murder or discovered the body afterward, panicked, wiped some areas she remembered touching, and took off. Note, I said she. That's because the unidentified prints were in the bathroom along with a, uh—" Quick cleared his throat.

Diane rescued him. "A piece of tissue found in the toilet had a spot of menstrual blood on it. It's logical to assume the woman who put it there was in the bathroom after the maid had cleaned. Thus, we came to the assumption that Ziegler had a woman in his room when he returned there in the early evening to get ready for his party. When the killer arrived, she may still have been there."

"But why wouldn't she have, called the police?" Holly asked. "Or at least come forward afterward?"

"It's hard to say," Quick replied. "Panic can cause people to do strange things. Then again, what if the woman was there to do harm to Ziegler herself and someone beat her to it? She might be afraid of getting blamed for the deed. Or, there's the possibility that the woman recognized the killer, and is keeping quiet out of loyalty or for purposes of blackmail."

Quick let them all consider that much, then added, "Of all the women you told us were involved in the Little Sister Society, one has never had her fingerprints put on file anywhere—Cheryl Wallace. And now, I have a question for you, Holly. Describe April MacLeash."

Holly was reeling from the suggestion that Cheryl might have been in the room when Ziegler was killed, but she forced herself to answer Quick. "April is, um, petite, smaller than I am, very attractive."

"What about her hair?"

"Blond-on-blond frosting, a little lighter than mine. She wears it very short." Holly used her hands to demonstrate as best she could. "Why?"

"After analyzing every hair and lint sample and particle of dust gathered at the three murder sites, the technicians have finally come up with a common denominator. A light-blond, chemically treated hair, about three inches long, was found in two batches of evidence. DNA testing has been ordered to confirm that the hairs came from the same person and whether that person is a female."

"Dear god," Holly muttered. "It has to be an incredible coincidence. I can't believe April would be capable of butchering a man."

Quick turned to Diane. "Call Thackery. Tell him to get that search warrant for the MacLeash house and a warrant to obtain a hair sample from April MacLeash."

"Maybe I can help," Holly injected. "Let me call April and ask if I can come talk to her." She noted the reluctant glances that passed between the agents. "One thing about April that I'm absolutely certain of, she'd never turn her back on someone who needed help. Wherever she is, I think she'll take my call and agree to meet me."

"It
could
save us some time," Diane said to Quick.

"It could also spook her into taking off," Quick countered.

"But consider this," David said. "If April is the killer or she or Cheryl witnessed the first murder, isn't it possible that Cheryl's stay in the attic might not be by choice? In which case, wouldn't April also love to get her hands on Holly about now?"

Quick sighed. "You're suggesting I send her in as bait, aren't you?"

"I could go with her," David said. "The killer was obviously trying to make a statement. Maybe she'd like to make it to a reporter. Between Holly and me, we might be able to get a confession out of her."

"We'd have to wire Holly," Diane offered. "But it could work."

Quick shook his head. "I can't afford to put another civilian on the line. In case you've all forgotten, the last one got shot."

"I'm already on the line," Holly said. "Rachel and Bobbi each threatened me before then Rachel accused me of murder. If April really is a killer, isn't it possible that she could try to get back at me for talking? I'd rather make the first move—with you all right behind me of course—than sit around worrying about when she might come after me. However, I want to go on record as saying the only reason I'm doing this is because I don't believe April is guilty. The woman I got to know would never commit such a violent act. She was extracting revenge by using her brain."

Quick massaged his jaw and paced a few more yards, but he knew when he was outnumbered. "Okay. Call her."

Holly smiled and got her cell phone out of her bag. She decided to try April's house first and concentrated on sounding desperate and depressed. It didn't take much effort.

Theodore answered and, after a gentle hint, he remembered Holly. A few seconds later, April came on the line. Her voice lacked the friendly welcome Holly was accustomed to hearing.

"Holly? Are you all right? I wasn't sure I would hear from you again."

"Oh, April, please don't hate me for talking. I was so scared and now so much has happened. Did you hear about Rachel?"

"That she was questioned? Yes, I—"

"No, no. She
killed
herself."

"What?" April exclaimed.

"In the letter she left, she confessed to the first two murders, but the third—April, she blamed
me!
I didn't do it, I swear.
Please.
Let me come talk to you. I always feel better after we visit."

For several seconds, April said nothing. When she spoke, her voice seemed almost too calm. "All right, Holly. I'll let Theodore know you're coming to visit. He's being very protective of me at the moment. By the way, how is your reporter friend?"

"Not nearly as bad as it sounded. In fact, he's here with me now. If you don't mind, I'd like to bring him with me. He sympathizes with what happened to us and I thought, maybe, if it's all right with you, he might be able to help."

Again April paused for several seconds before speaking. "Actually, I think I'd like to meet him."

Before saying goodbye, Holly gushed her thanks and promised to be there as fast as she could.

Quick filled David in while Diane called Thackery to get him moving on the warrants in case they became necessary after all.

As soon as Diane hung up, she told Quick, "I have a recorder and remote in the trunk of my car. I'll set it up in Holly's back seat and Jim and I can ride up with them. We can stay out of sight, but if anything happens, we'll only be a few feet away."

"Fine. I'll head back to the office and meet up with Thackery. Hopefully, he'll get the warrants easily and we won't be too far behind you."

As soon as they reached the parking area, Diane transferred the equipment to Holly's car, tucked the remote into the waistband of Holly's jeans and tested it. "All set," she declared confidently.

Holly wished she could work up half the excitement she could feel coming from the others. This was the sort of activity they all thrived on. She just wanted it to be over with.

* * *

Philip was at the end of his patience.

When he left Holly, he'd gone out and sat in his car across the street. At first, he didn't leave because he couldn't decide where to go. Then he remained to keep an eye on anyone entering the building who might pose a danger to Holly. It was a relief to know that an FBI agent was in her apartment, but if he saw any of the women Holly had described going inside, he could provide backup protection. They all sounded very unstable to him and he feared any one of them might try to retaliate against Holly for revealing their secrets.

Then he saw David Wells and another man get out of a cab and go inside the building, and he forgot all about the women. What was that damn reporter doing back in Washington so soon? Philip thought of a number of reasons for Wells to want to speak to Holly—some of them legitimate, most of them not. He kept reminding himself that they weren't alone up there. The female agent was with them. But who was that other man?

Then he remembered that the agent had been there when he was asking Holly to run away with him. What if Wells had the same thing in mind? What if he was telling her lies to convince her to leave with him?

As the length of time stretched into hours, he considered paying Holly another visit, just to make sure the reporter was sent on his way.

He was mentally preparing himself for a confrontation when he recognized Holly's car exiting the parking area... with Wells in the passenger seat. Whatever that bastard was up to, Philip intended to put a stop to it. He turned the ignition on and took off after them. He didn't know how Wells had gotten Holly away from the agent... maybe the other man was distracting her somehow... but he wouldn't shed Philip so easily.

Keeping his eyes on Holly's car and traffic in general, he reached over and opened the glove compartment. His fingers probed inside, beneath the tissue box and all the automobile papers, and pulled out the gun he kept there for protection.

If it was the last thing he did, he would make Wells regret the day he tried to steal Philip Sinkiewicz's woman.

Chapter 23