Eye of the Witch (27 page)

“
That it is,” he said. “Because that Mallory, she’s crazy like a fox.”

I laughed. “Yes, like a fox, or maybe a wolf. After all, she’s just a dog in sheep’s clothing. What else would you call someone who knows a secret about her boss and uses that knowledge for personal gain?”

“
A blackmailer?” Carlos offered.

“
Yes. That’s a good one.”

“
Look, Marcella. You can never prove anything regarding my father’s will, and neither can Mallory. But…” he softened his aggression. “You’re right about one thing. I don’t get her fired because I don’t want her telling Benny something else that she’s found out. He gets confused easily, and I don’t want his feelings getting hurt.”

“
That’s understandable,” I said. “But why don’t you tell us the truth. What’s she got on you?”

He looked down at the ground and kicked at the gravel some more. “All right, it’s like this. Benny is not my brother. He’s my son.”

“
Oh?”

“
I was sixteen, in high school and wild as a boar. I had a girlfriend and we liked to party and drink and…well, you know drill. Anyway, the girl got pregnant and had twins. I thought our lives were ruined. But my father stepped in and agreed to help us. He said he would raise the boys if we both finished school and went on to college, which we did. We both went on to college and studied law and we both became lawyers.”

“
Let me guess,” I said. “Bridget Dean is Benny’s mother.”

He nodded. “Yes, and she’s wanted nothing to do with him since the day he was born. All she’s ever wanted in life was money and power.”

“
And you resented that.”

“
Of course!”

“
Enough to kill her?”

“
No! Absolutely not! I didn’t kill her. She was my son’s mother, for Christ’s sake.”

“
Is that why you got so defensive when Carlos asked you if she aborted your child?”

“
What do you think? But in a way, she has, hasn’t she?”

Carlos and I shared a glance of apathy. “How does Mallory fit into all of this?”

“
You mean, Ed, the pervert? He went to Doctor Lowell’s class for psychics, along with Benny, Ana, Karen and the whole lot.”

“
And Bridget, too.”

“
Yes, Bridget, too. She’s the one that got Benny into the classes. I believe she may have even slept with the good doctor to make it happen.”

“
So, you knew about the ties everyone had to Lowell and the workshops all along?”

“
Of course.”

“
You know how that will look to a jury.”

“
Forget it, Marcella. A jury will never hear it.”

“
We’ll see.”

I turned to Carlos again to see if he was taking any notes on our conversation, and was glad to see he was. I came back to Rivera and asked, “If Bridget didn’t want anything to do with Benny, then why did she want him to attend the workshops with her?”

He laughed. “To piss me off, why else? She knew I didn’t like the idea one bit. But you see, at the time, she still stood in the good graces of my father. As far as he was concerned, she was the responsible one, not me.”

“
So, what about Eddy? You still haven’t explained why you’re beholding to him.”

“
I’ll tell you. Now, keep in mind that Benny was just a kid, like eleven or twelve maybe. Mallory wasn’t there a month when he touched Benny in an inappropriate manner. These days there’d be a Spanish inquisition over the matter, but back then the simplest thing to do was to remove Benny from class, declaring that he had no special attributes or paranormal abilities and sweep everything under the rug.”

“
You’re saying he made a sexual advance towards Benny?”

“
Detective, Edward Mallory was crazy about Benny. We just didn’t know how badly until after he left town and someone found a notepad full of love letters he wrote to him, letters he’d written, but never sent.”

I reeled back in utter disbelief. If what Rivera said was true, and if, as I believed, he was capable of murder, then I couldn’t imagine why he hadn’t already killed Mallory Edwards for what she did to Benny. I turned to Rivera with reservations and said, “All that being what it may, it still doesn’t explain why you hired Mallory and continue—”

“
I know,” he interrupted. “Why I hired her and continue paying extortion money. I told you, it’s because Bridget told her that Benny is my son. Can you believe it? Benny’s own mother. She’s the one that put her up to it. Bridget told Mallory about Benny, and even suggested she blackmail me into paying her so she wouldn’t tell him.”

“
But why?” said Carlos, his voice high pitched.

“
To distract me. Bridget figured that if I had a big enough distraction going on in my life, I would start screwing up at work, I would lose my concentration in court cases and derail my chances for that promotion.”

“
Guess it worked,” I said.

He looked at me coldly. “I guess so.”

Carlos tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “So, what now?”

“
I don’t know,” I answered, and to Rivera I said, “but you should go downtown and talk to the police about Mallory Edwards blackmailing you.”

He scoffed. “Sure, then Benny will find out everything. I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

I shook my head. “Oh, trust me. Benny has greater issues to deal with right now. Maybe the truth will help him sort things out.”

“
And maybe not. I know my son, Detective. He’ll do fine if you just let me handle this my own way.”

I looked again to Carlos. He shrugged and gave me a look like it was none of our business. He was probably right, but still, I felt uneasy about the whole affair. If Benny wasn’t our killer, then he certainly had the potential of causing trouble later on with an alter ego like Leo fighting for dominance. His need for professional help seemed clear and immediate. But for the more pressing issues before us, I bowed to Carlos’ inclinations and gave in to Rivera’s request.

“
Okay, fair enough,” I said. “If you feel you know what’s best for Benny, then we’ll let you work it out your way. Your secret shall remain safe with us—for now.”

He smiled back modestly. “Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome.”

“
So now, what do you need from me?”

“
Tell us where to find Mallory Edwards.”

He pulled back with a jerk. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

“
Don’t you?”

“
Should I?”

Carlos said, “Her last known address on her driver’s license is listed here.”

“
At my house?”

“
Yes.”

“
Ha. Detectives, I assure you, Mallory Edwards doesn’t now, nor has she ever lived here in this house. I’m sure that’s just a pipe dream of hers.”

“
So, you don’t know where she lives?”

“
I’m not sure. Last I heard she was staying at the Rue Valley apartments on Concord.”

“
Do you know where Benjamin is now?”

“
No. I thought he was upstairs, but I looked a few minutes ago. He’s gone.”

“
I see.”

“
Great,” said Carlos. “What do we do now?”

I glanced at my watch. It was nearing ten-thirty. “We have to go to Leona’s.”

“
She’s probably in bed sleeping by now.”

“
Let’s hope so.” I turned to Rivera. “If you hear from Benjamin, will you give us a call right away?”

“
Why? Do you think he’s in trouble?”

“
I still don’t know yet, but I think we’ll know by the end of tonight.”

Carlos and I got back in the car and headed out, our tires spitting gravel all the way to the gate. I called Spinelli on the way and told him to have an officer meet us at Leona’s place for backup. Then I asked him to send somebody back to Rivera’s to watch for Benny or Piakowski to show up. I believed I could count on Ricardo to tell me if Benjamin returned, but he owed me no favors regarding Piakowski. “And while you’re at it,” I told Spinelli, “check the damn phone book and verify Mallory Edwards address, will you?”

He told me to hang on, and within a minute came back, humbled as pie. “Yeah, looks like she lives down on Concord.”

“
Yes, I know. Can we get someone over there to talk to her?”

He hesitated. “Not right now. We have all available resources committed elsewhere.”

I shook my head. “Fine. Just make sure someone gets down to Leona’s then, okay?”

“
You got it.”

I turned to Carlos. “See what all your high-tech toys got us?”

I could tell he wanted to say something in defense of the new justice center, but he knew I didn’t really want to hear it. Lucky for me. The silence it bought us allowed for a nice quiet ride across town where I could think things through, something no fancy computer could provide. It helped me to connect the dots more clearly, establishing and prioritizing the possible motives the key players may have had. The only problem with that was, there were still too many people with way too many motives to come up with a definitive conclusion on anything.

Officer Burke arrived at Leona’s place ahead of us. When we arrived, he explained that he observed the apartment for about ten minutes prior. “I’ve seen her silhouette pass by the window shade a few times,” he said, “so I know she’s home. But I haven’t seen anyone come or go since I got here.”

“
And you won’t,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t got a visitor already.” I turned to Carlos. “You ready?”

He blinked a surprised expression. “For what?”

“
For whatever.” I slapped his chest with the back of my hand. “I thought you told me you were a Boy Scout.”

“
I was.”

“
Then let’s go.”

He slapped Burke on the chest in a similar fashion. “You heard the man. Let’s roll.”

We went up to the door and knocked. As we waited for Leona to answer, I said to Carlos and Burke, “We don’t want to scare her. After she lets us in, I’ll try to get her to sit on the couch and talk to me. Burke, you start checking out the other rooms, make sure no one’s gotten in without her noticing. Scope out under the bed, in the closets, that sort of thing. Carlos, you stand guard by the door. Keep your ears out for Burke’s call in case he needs you. Got it?”

“
Got it,” they both said, just as Leona opened the door. She seemed surprised to see us, understandably, and even gasped a little before she recognized me as the ringleader. I tried smiling to defuse the sudden impact of her seeing three large men the first thing after opening the door. But Leona probably hadn’t seen me smile much in the past, and I suppose I’d have done her better by maintaining my usual stone-faced expression. Regardless, she did recognize me, and that shaped a smile on her face more authentic than any I could muster.

“
Detective Marcella? What are you doing here?”

“
Hola, Leona. We need to talk. May we come in?”

She opened the door wide. “Of course. Mi casa es su casa.”

I crossed the threshold and stepped aside, allowing Carlos to pass upon entry. “You remember my associate, Detective Rodriquez, yes?”

“
Si! Detective Carlos, ?como estas?”

Carlos and Leona hugged. “Bien, y tu?”

“
Muy bien, gracias. Que bueno verte otra vez.”

Next, I introduced Burke, explaining that I hoped she wouldn’t mind if he checked out her apartment to assure it was safe.

“
Yes, officer,” she said, though now she appeared worried. “Please, look around.” She turned to me. “Is everything not all right? Do you believe someone to come to mi apartamento?”

I pointed to the sofa. “Have a seat, Leona.” She sat at the end of the sofa closest to the door. I came around the coffee table and sat down beside her, our knees almost touching. She reached for my hand. Instinctively, I took it and held it tight. “Leona, you don’t need to worry about a thing,” I told her. “The reason I’m here with Carlos and Officer Burke is because we believe that someone might want to get in here tonight, and we’re here to prevent that.”

Her eyes widened. “Do you mean like a bugler?”

I tried not to laugh, but it slipped out anyway. “It’s burglar, but no, not a burglar. Do you remember earlier when I asked you about your out-of-body experiences?”

“
Si. You wanted to know if I killed Miss Webber, Miss Dean and Miss Davalos.”

“
Right,” I said, wincing, and feeling just a bit uncomfortable with that. The girl had an uncanny gift for bluntly stating the obvious without really meaning to. I lost eye contact for just a moment, but found it again when I felt her give my mine another squeeze. “Well…I hoped you wouldn’t remember it like that, exactly,” I said, “but anyway, we still think someone may have influenced the actions of those women through paranormal channels. It’s just one of several ideas we’re tossing around, and I want you to know that even though we suspect bilocation as a factor, we don’t consider you a suspect in the slightest.”

She smiled, forgivingly. “It is okay if you do, Detective. I understand. I do not hold you for resentment. I believe you are a good man and you are only doing your job how you must.”