Mystery: Missing Rita: (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Suspense Thriller Mystery) (17 page)

Ryan looked at his reflection in the mirror again and straightened his tie. The suit he had chosen to wear that day was not special and he had his reasons why. He threw a glance at his wrist watch and knew it was time to leave if he wanted to beta the traffic. The doorbell rung and he chose to ignore it; he was not in the mood for guests and went on to look at his reflec
tion. He listened keenly as whoever it was let themself in and from the soft familiar footsteps that echoed in the hallway he knew who it was. He turned on his heel and started walking out of his bedroom to meet his guest midway.

“Good morning,” Tracy greeted. She was clad in a tight-fitting black dress with a wide hat perched on her head and gloves covering her hands. She had a low heel in place of a shoe and had decided to tie her hair back in a tight bun.

“Good morning,” Ryan answered as he walked towards her.

“I see you are already dressed.”

“I am.”

“I am here to drive you to the memorial.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Ryan answered. “I will be fine.”

“I insist.”

Ryan had planned on taking a cab to the venue anyway; he knew he was not feeling strong enough to drive anyway.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

“Kids?”

“They will meet us there,” he answered.

Tracy took a few more steps towards him and placed a light kiss on his lips. She then cupped his cheek with her right hand before taking his arm in his and guarding him towards the car like a blind man. Ryan did not protest every step he took felt heavy as lead. He was not ready to bury the mother of his kids but however had no choice.

They both got into the car and Tracy took the driver’s seat, she had grown accustomed to Ryan’s car ever since he started grieving and knew the ins and outs of it.

“There is something I need to tell you,” Tracy started once they were securely strapped in the car. “I know it is the worst timing in the world but I wouldn’t want you to feel ambushed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I am talking about Rita” Tracy went on. “There is reason to believe she may still be alive.”

The look on Ryan’s face was masked with confusion a she sat up straighter and listened more keenly to what Tracy had to say.

“How come I do not know anything about that?”

“I am sure the police did not want to burden you with such news,” Tracy answered. “They are not so sure about it and would only want to present you with facts.”

“But there was a body,” Ryan protested.

“Yes there was, it was supposedly her twin.”

This news did not seem to shock Ryan as Tracy thought it might and she looked keenly at him.

“You knew she had a twin?”

“She may have mentioned it once or twice but I thought it was one of the many stories she told me. Rita was never a straightforward person, you know.”

“Don’t I know it?”

“So why would the police think she would stage her own death?”

“As of now they are leaning towards the fact of life insurance,” Tracy answered.

She then started the car and pulled out of the driveway, she then looked up at Ryan who looked tired and placed a warning hand over his.

“Are you ready?”

“No, I am not.”

“I know,” Tracy answered and placed a gentle kiss on his left cheek. “I am right here for you.”

“I know you are,” he answered.

She then looked straight at the road ahead and started driving to the venue. She had a brave face on but her mind was imprinted by Rita’s face. She was as confused as everyone else about Rita’s case but her mind was on the money. She threw a side glance in Ryan’s direction and thought of the rampant sex they had been having – for a grieving man he sure had a strong sex drive. She wiped the thought out of her mind and decided on focusing on getting through the day ahead.

*****

Sam looked from his computer screen and smiled up at Lohan. They were both seated in the office working on the case.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Lohan asked curiously. “Found something?”

“As a matter of fact, I did.”

He turned the computer screen and from it, Lohan could see the name June Andrews appearing on the screen with Rita’s face.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he exclaimed as he got out of his seat and moved towards Sam. “She is the spitting image of Rita. Granted, she wore her hair differently but nevertheless the same.”

“I know,” Sam said and went on to look at her personal information. “The family does not live far from here.”

“Has she been buried already?”

“I think so,” Sam answered. “I can’t see any death certificate filed.”

“You know they take forever to file those things. They only speed up when the family needs life insurance or an inheritance.”

“Do you think we should go over there and try getting some answers?”

“I think we should,” Lohan agreed. “But I will let you handle this on your own.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“No, I still have to take care of the shrink business.”

“Dr. Mathews?”

“The one and only.”

“He still won’t crack?”

“He is just about to,” Lohan answered and started walking out of the room.

“Rita’s memorial is today.”

“That is very interesting,” Lohan answered. “I will join you once you are done talking to the family, we should go pay our respects.”

“Ok, I will give you a call.”

Lohan walked out of the office and headed to the interrogation room with a new sense of determination. He wanted to get answers from Dr. Mathews and hoped he would crack soon. He strolled into the room and found Peter waiting on him with an expectant look on his face.

“I trust you slept well, sir?” Lohan said as he took a seat opposite him.

“I have had better nights.”

“I am sure you have,” Lohan started. “Let’s get right to it then, shall we?Have you talked to your attorney?”

“I have,” Peter answered. “I called him yesterday and he said he would show up today though he gave me legal advice on the phone”

“That is a smart lad,” Lohan pointed out. “You do know he is going to charge you for the legal advice. You want to know what else he is going to do?”

“I don’t.”

“He is going to show up here when it is not visiting hours or when he is sure he will not be able to access you, and decide to wait on you. Then he will bill you by the hour for waiting on you before getting in here to see you.”

“What is your point, Detective?”

“My point is, Peter, for a man who charges his patients by the hour, you sure like to waste a lot of time.”

Peter did not answer Lohan and he slightly shifted in his seat as he considered Lohan’s words. They made a lot of sense and he knew his choices were limited.

“I have a question for you, sir.”

“Anything,” Lohan answered eagerly.

“The last time you were here you said a dead man tells no tales,” Peter started. “What did you mean by that?”

“So you were paying attention!” Lohan answered excitedly. “All I meant was this: if you were coerced or forced into any kind of arrangement by Rita you can come forward. We will of course need concrete evidence to pin the crime on a dead person.”

Peter let out a loud, hearty laugh, a reaction that Lohan had not anticipated. He then leaned closer to Lohan and looked him straight in the eye.

“So in short you want me to place the blame on Rita because she cannot defend herself?”

“You can take it any way you want to,” Lohan said. “Whichever will get you talking.”

A silence befell both of them as Peter thought keenly about his options. He took in a deep breath and relaxed in his seat and threw Lohan a few curious looks.

“What is in it for me?” Peter asked curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“If I tell you what I know, what do I get in return?”

“It depends on what you know.”

“I know a lot,” Peter said. “I know enough to help you solve the case.”

“Then you had better start talking.”

“Not until I get a deal,” Peter replied. “And as much as I know I am going to wait for my lawyer to secure the deal for me.”

“Alright” Lohan answered. “I will make that phone call for you, I believe he will make haste once the call comes from me.”

Lohan got to his feet and looked at Peter; he looked weak and resigned but nevertheless had a brave face. He had a gut feeling he had the answer to every question about the case and walked out to place the call to his lawyer.

*****

Sam drove through the streets as he keenly followed the directions to June Andrews’ residence. He was just about to negotiate a corner when a call came through for him and he lowered his speed before connecting to the Bluetooth in his car.

“Hello,” he spoke into the receiver.

“Hi.”

He had not looked at the caller ID before picking the call but recognized the voice on the other end.

“How are you doing?”

“Trying to hold up so far,” Tracy said. “Not so good.”

“How are the kids?”

“Running late,” Tracy answered. “We are waiting on them to get here before we start.”

Sam searched his brain for more sympathetic words to give to Tracy but was glad when she interrupted him.

“I have to go Sam, I will keep you posted,” she said. “Are you still coming to the memorial?”

“Yes, Lohan and I should make it there by noon.”

“I will see you then.”

The line went dead and Sam got back to looking for the house in question and let out a smile when he finally located it. He parked right in front of it before stepping out of the car and walking towards the front porch. The front garden was well taken care of and so was the well-manicured lawn. He took in his surroundings and noticed how neat and affluent the whole place was before drawing a conclusion about June Andrews. He rang the doorbell and patiently waited for whoever was on the other side to answer it.

“Good morning.” An older man opened the door and looked at him curiously.

“Good morning,” Sam answered.

“Do I know you?”

“No you don’t,” Sam answered as he stretched out his hand for him to shake. “I am detective Sam and I am here investigating a case.”

“What case?”

“One involving June Andrews.”

“June?” the man asked, confused. “But she died only a few weeks ago.”

“That is why I am here,” Sam said. “Would you mind if I came in?”

“Not at all,” he said and stepped aside for him to walk through the door. He then ushered him to the living room sofa and walked over to the kitchen. Sam was left staring at his surroundings and immediately noticed the living room had many photos of June and the man who opened the door.

“Have a beer, will you?” he said as he offered Sam a beer bottle. He then crossed his legs and looked at Sam expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

“I am sorry sir,” Sam said apologetically. “I did not get your name.”

“That is because I did not give it to you,” he answered smartly. “My name is Mike.”

“Were you June’s husband?”

“Fiancé” he corrected. He had a bottle in his hand as well and took a sip from it as he went on to look at Sam.

“I see,” Sam answered. “I will get right to it, Mike.”

“Sure.”

“How well did you know June?”

“Well enough to want to marry her,” Mike answered.

“How long were the two of you together?”

“About six years.”

“That is a long time. Were you with her when she was diagnosed with cancer?”

“Yes, I was.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About two years ago. We’d started talking about having a family before we got the diagnosis,” Mike answered with a sad, nostalgic look in his eye.

“Did you know any of her family members?”

“No, I did not.” he answered. “June was an orphan. She grew up in the foster system.”

“Not even her twin sister, Rita Sutter?”

Sam waited for a reaction from Mike but did not get any. The name didn’t seem to ring a bell as he said it.

“She had a twin?”

“Yes, she did,” Sam answered. “Tell me something, Mike, who attended June’s burial?”

“My family, and close friends,” Mike answered. He took a sip from his beer bottle and looked at Sam strangely before asking, “If you do not mind me asking, sir, what is this really about?”

“We will get to that, Mike. Relax.”

Sam took out a few files from a folder he had walked in with and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

“I can see here that at some point during her treatment your insurance company refused to pay the bills.”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Did Rita know about that?”

“No, she did not; I couldn’t burden her with that at that time.”

“Why did the insurance company refuse to pay the medical bills?” Sam asked.

“They claimed that some of the procedures and treatment carried out on June were experimental and therefore could not be reimbursed.”

“And yet sir, you seem to have done just fine according to this invoice,” Sam pulled out an invoice with a receipt attached to it. “You paid all the bills right after June passed on.”

“I used our savings to pay that.”

“Funny, I thought you would say that,” Sam said and pulled out another sheet of paper “This receipt here shows that your savings are intact and the source of payment came from an offshore account.”

Mike sipped again from his beer bottle before looking in Sam’s direction and wore a resigned look.

“I can tell you what you need to know but I cannot be held accountable for it in the future,” Mike said and sat up in his seat.

“You had better start speaking,” Sam said and got comfortable in his.

“When the insurance claim for June’s medical bills did not go through, a young woman approached me and said she would clear all my bills.”

“What did you have to do in return?”

“All I had to do was let her borrow June for a day or two once she died.”

“Do you know this woman?”

“I didn’t then, but she was the spitting image of June and I gathered she must be her twin sister.”