The Night Is Deep (A Liam Dempsey Thriller Book 2) (23 page)

“You need to put down any weapons you still have and come with me, Valerie.”

“Do you think after all I’ve been through that I’m going to go quietly back and be judged by the same people who overlooked what happened to my sister? Do you really believe that?”

“But you’ve already taken justice into your own hands, haven’t you? You killed them all. Davis murdered Alexandra and Erickson and Rowe must’ve been involved somehow, right?”

At the mention of her sister’s name, Valerie’s austere facade wobbled slightly in the low light like a fragile wall in the path of a hurricane.

“It was the bracelet, wasn’t it?” Liam continued, lowering the gun a few inches. “That’s why you were in the jewelry shop nearly every day. You were looking for it.”

“They took it from her that night,” Valerie said in a dead voice. “Davis to be exact. He was a klepto even then. Power and money, that’s what it was always about with those three. Barely out of high school, they always wanted more.” She gazed at him and now a sheen of tears coated her eyes. “Davis came up with the plan since he had contacts that were drug suppliers. He and Rowe were poor but they knew the right people, all they needed was a solid way to transport whatever their suppliers were moving that week.”

“So that’s where Erickson came in. His parents owned the shipping line,” Liam said.

Valerie nodded. “He provided the space, unbeknownst to his parents, on whichever ship was traveling to the East Coast. He also invested in the product and made a nice amount with each shipment.”

“Was Alexandra using? Is that how she got involved?”

“No. It was love that killed Alex in the end. And that’s the saddest thing about this all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alex was madly in love with Dickson Jenner, and when he wanted to hold off on marriage until they were older, she got impatient.” Valerie looked over Liam’s shoulder and her gaze grew distant. “She was always like that. She’d want to do something, and even if it required years of practice and skill, she’d insist on doing it herself, her own way. She’d rush in without considering all the consequences.” Her eyes slid to him again. “And that’s what happened the night she died.”

“‘I have to do something to get rid of this feeling,’” Liam quoted, and Valerie looked as if she’d been struck. “What did she do, Valerie?”

“She called Dade Erickson since he was the richest and most arrogant person she knew, the complete opposite of Dickson. She asked for a favor, to go on a date somewhere public where people would see them together and Dickson would catch wind of it. She thought that by making him jealous it would force him into proposing. Alex and Erickson were supposed to meet up at a party but he never showed. Alex left, but on the way home she spotted Erickson’s car near the docks. She walked right into the middle of a drug deal.” Valerie’s face darkened, the line of her mouth flattening to a razor blade. “They grabbed her and the suppliers they were dealing with threatened to kill them all if they didn’t take care of her.”

“So Davis had the key to the church.”

“Yes.”

“And they took her up to the tower and threw her over the side.”

“Like she was a piece of trash,” Valerie spat. “But they had help that night too. There was one more person with them who wanted in on the fast cash they were making with the shipments. Someone who already had money like Erickson but wanted more.”

Liam felt his gorge rise as tumblers began to fall into place within his mind. The hand holding the gun trembled.

“His name,” Valerie said in almost a whisper, “was Owen Farrow.”

Liam shook his head. “No. That can’t be true. Owen was a good man.”

“He was a liar and a murderer!” Valerie screamed. “He lived in that house with me every day, knowing that he was the cause of what was eating me alive!” She shuddered with rage and grief. It poured off of her like heat that Liam could feel from where he stood. “They all told me he was there that night. All of them confirmed it when I made them talk and tell me what they did to her. Owen was beside them when they hurt her, brought her to the church in the trunk of Erickson’s car, when they killed her . . .” Valerie’s voice cracked on the last word. “He walked away and then found me months later and moved in like the predator he was.”

The tarmac seemed to be rotating beneath Liam’s feet. He clenched his jaw, forcing the world to stay steady around him. “How did you do it? How were you able to leave the house?”

“About two years ago I had a breakthrough of sorts. It wasn’t so much the therapy as it was a realization. I knew deep down that Alex would never kill herself. But even knowing that, knowing that her killer was still out there, didn’t break me from my prison, it only walled it in closer. You have no idea what I went through in that house, alone most days just trying to get by. It crippled me to the point of no return.”

“You tried to kill yourself.”

She nodded. “I thought it was the only way out. But as I was lying there, waiting to slip into the nothingness, I saw her, I saw Alex.” Valerie swallowed. “She was older, and beautiful, and so happy. She was . . .” Her voice failed her again and she blinked. “She was holding a baby. And I knew then that I was seeing what could have been. I was seeing the life that was taken from her.” Valerie composed herself. “When I recovered I started forcing myself to go outside, no matter how afraid I was. I would go a dozen steps from the front door one day, and thirteen the next. I did it until I was able to get in the car and go to the gas station. For some reason it seemed important not to let Owen know I was leaving. Looking back, I think it was fate. The one thing that kept driving me was the only option I had that the police hadn’t fully investigated.”

“Her bracelet,” Liam said. “It had the scratch on it from when she fell as a little girl.”

“Yes. When they found her in front of the church, it wasn’t around her wrist. I knew it was the longest shot in the world, but it was all I had. I monitored every online jewelry auction I could find, and after I was able to leave the house, I visited every pawn and jewelry store within fifty miles almost every day of the week. I knew that the bracelet might’ve been lost in the struggle or maybe whoever had taken it already pawned it. I knew there was next to no chance, but without the hope of finding it, the walls would have closed in for good. As I searched, I started tutoring myself in the skills I would need to do what would have to be done, if I ever found the bracelet. I started learning how to shoot a gun at a gravel pit outside of town. I worked out, kept in the best shape that I could. I took private flying lessons from the elderly man who owned this plane behind me. When I got my license I bought it from him. I started funneling money aside to pay for all of the things that would be an eventuality.

“I found the bracelet in a nasty little pawn store on the west side of town about three weeks ago. The owner didn’t want to tell me who had brought it in, but when I bribed him he sang like a bird. It was Davis of course. He wasn’t smart like Rowe who invested the cash they made from the shipments. Davis was on hard times, addicted to meth and a number of other things. He must’ve been desperate to sell the bracelet. I think he genuinely valued it as a trophy, a keepsake from that night. Bastard.”

“So you set up the meeting with him on the pretense of buying drugs. And you kidnapped him, didn’t you?”

Valerie nodded. Somewhere to the west the first beat of a helicopter’s rotors rose like distant thunder. “First I staged my own abduction. At that point I was simply going to kill Davis, but of course what he told me when I had him strapped down to a table changed all that. I wasn’t looking for one person; I was looking for four.” Her face changed, the angles becoming sharper, crueler. “I made them suffer. All of them. I let them feel a little of what I’d gone through over the years. The burning inside, the feeling of drowning in open air, the insanity that constantly lurked at the edge of my mind. Oh, I made them understand. My only regret is not being able to do the same to Owen. I hope he knew it was me right before that bullet went through his rotten brain.”

“So you set up the ransom in order to start over once you were finished.”

Valerie nodded. “I knew I’d never be able to come back to my old life. Through my work I knew how to edit a video and manipulate it to look as if someone were holding me. That was the simple part. It was only after the first hour of working on Davis with a propane torch that I knew I didn’t ever want to return to who I was. Through their agony, I was reborn. I’m not the woman who hid for nearly a decade inside her own fear anymore.”

“I can see that.” Liam glanced to the side, trying to spot any approaching boats or the helicopter that was coming closer with each second. “Dickson Jenner is dead, along with his mother. Did you know that?”

The briefest flicker of regret crossed her face. “Yes. I’m sorry that they’re gone, but it’s not my fault.”

“You put this all in motion. You could have gone to the police with the bracelet, had them handle it.”

Valerie laughed and it was a cold sound in the evening air. “I saw how they handled Alex’s case the first time. I told them her bracelet was missing, but they did nothing to find it. My father believed me, but even as powerful as he was, there was nothing to be done. No, they had their chance. I wasn’t going to let them interfere in the justice Alex deserved.”

“But you were willing to go beyond that, weren’t you?” Liam said, raising the gun again. “You nearly killed me twice because I was in the way.”

“Twice?” Valerie asked.

“You almost shot me at Rowe’s on the shore and you tried to run me down with my own truck at your father’s last night.”

“I was defending myself at Rowe’s, but I wasn’t at my father’s last night.”

“You’re lying. I saw you. You followed me into the woods. You were going to kill me for finding your diary.”

Liam studied the confusion that crossed her features, trying to identify a flaw in her act. There didn’t seem to be one.

“I have no reason to lie to you now, Liam. I did shoot at you at Rowe’s, but I swear to God I wasn’t at my father’s house last night.”

Above the trees in the direction of the city, a helicopter appeared. It hovered over the bridge as sirens grew louder and louder, their cries mingling like the voices of wolves.

“You need to let me go. I don’t know you well but you seem to be a good man.”

“That’s why I can’t let you leave.”

“Let me ask you this, and answer truly from the depths of your soul: if it had been someone you loved thrown from that bell tower, what would you have done?”

Liam blinked. The black rage that had reared its head over the last days rose again within him at the thought. He saw the man in the park that had groped Dani, the smile on his face as she hurried away from him.

“Empathy is one thing, but truly imagine what you would do if someone precious was taken from you. How far would you go to make sure they were avenged? At what point would you stop and let fate dole out justice?” Valerie’s voice was lower now. She’d taken a step toward him. “You know deep inside that those men got what they deserved, including Owen. You know that.”

Liam watched her, studied the lines on her face that shouldn’t be there. The ones that were created solely by long suffering. They were road maps to a pain he hoped he would never truly understand. He felt a tipping within him, scales tilting that balanced every decision he’d ever made of any consequence.

Time slowed around them.

The sounds of sirens, the helicopter, even Superior’s waves faded away. There was only this woman and a choice. Nothing else.

“I’m sorry, Valerie. I can’t let you leave.” His voice was unsteady when he finally managed to say the words. The muscles in his arm holding the gun quivered.

“I won’t go back. You know I can’t. Please, let me go. No one will ever know what happened here.”

“I’ll know,” he said slowly.

She nodded, as if she’d already guessed what he’d say. “I’m not sorry for what I did. I wrote a full confession and mailed it to the police department this afternoon. I put everything in the letter, including the bracelet. I didn’t want to leave any doubt. Doubt is a poisonous thing. Remember that.”

Valerie moved in a blur of motion. Her hand flew behind her back and drew out the pistol that was stowed there.

“Don’t!” Liam yelled, flexing his knees, his finger tightening on the trigger.

Valerie whipped the pistol up and fired.

Liam jerked the trigger.

Their dual reports shattered the stillness of the airport.

A hole appeared in Valerie’s shirt below her throat followed by a dark stain that spread outward, flooding the fabric with blood. The pistol fell from her hand and clattered on the concrete near her feet. She took a faltering step back, a tremulous smile on her lips.

She crumpled against the side of the plane, leaving a bright red slick on its white paint as she slid down and fell on her back.

“Dammit!” Liam said, rushing forward. He knelt at her side, putting a hand beneath her head. Her hair had come slightly undone from the tight weave she’d had it in and it tickled his arm as it fluttered in the wind. Her eyelids flickered and some clarity came to her gaze as he crouched over her. Her lips trembled and opened, a rasp coming from her throat.

“Don’t talk. I’m gonna get you help, okay?” Liam said, digging for his phone. As he drew it out, one of her hands fell on his wrist, pushing the phone away. He looked at her and with the last of her strength, Valerie gave a small shake of her head. She took several shallow breaths, each one less than the last. A wet sound almost like a sigh came from the wound in her chest. She looked up at him, past him, through him, as her eyes took on a haze that deepened with each second. She shivered once and was still, her hand dropping from his arm.

Liam swallowed the solid lump in his throat and looked up at the sound of cars approaching as well as the swell of boat motors from the direction of the lake. He placed two fingers over Valerie’s vacant eyes, and drew them shut to the deepening October night.

CHAPTER 24

Liam stepped off the hospital elevator and strode down the hallway, looking for the room number the nurse at the station desk had told him.

He switched the small bouquet of flowers to his opposite hand and slowed as he came to the correct door. As he reached out to knock, it opened, revealing Perring who stopped in the doorway.

“Hi,” he said, stepping aside to let her through.

“Hi.” She glanced down at the flowers.

“They’re for Rex. How’s he doing?”

“Going to make a full recovery.”

“And how are you?”

“Busy. Still slogging through paperwork. If I’m walking funny it’s because I have the chief, the mayor, and half the city council up my ass.”

Liam couldn’t help but laugh. “The paperwork is one thing I don’t miss.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

They stood for a moment, an awkward silence stretching out before Liam handed her the flowers. “I’ll let you give him these. You don’t have to tell him they’re from me.”

She took the bouquet from him. “He’s got a pretty different opinion of you now. He hates flowers though, so maybe I’ll say they’re from the department.”

“Good idea.”

“How are you doing?” Perring asked after a pause.

“I’m fine. Healing nicely. I’m heading home from here, looking forward to seeing my family. I just wanted to stop and say good-bye.”

“Is it wrong that I’m not real sorry to see you go?”

He laughed again. “I won’t hold it against you.” He fished inside his coat for a moment and pulled out a sheet of folded paper. “I wanted to give you this,” he said, handing it to her.

“What is it?”

“It’s a ballistics report I requested yesterday after I found a pistol tucked beneath the mattresses on Owen and Valerie’s bed. It matches the bullet they dug out of Caulston’s garage wall.”

Perring looked up from the page. “What?”

“It was Owen, Denise. He snuck out of his room the night I went to find the diary. I had Heller check his phone records. He called a cab service shortly after I left and again in the early morning hours after I lost him in the woods. He must’ve known that something in the diary would lead me to the truth about Alexandra’s death. I think Valerie may have written something about the bracelet and that would have been the key to it all. He was willing to kill me to keep the secret.”

“Did you find the diary too?”

“No. He must’ve destroyed it or hidden it somewhere. Who knows if it’ll ever turn up. But there was something else. Owen had rented a boat and wanted to go out on the lake during the exchange for Valerie.”

“Yeah, I remember you saying that.”

“Do you recall they found a long folding knife in his pants pocket?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I think he was going to try and kill me once we got out into open water,” Liam said, watching the surprise wash over Perring’s features. “He thought I was still a threat, even with the diary gone. And he was right. He knew me well enough to know I wasn’t going to give up on Alexandra’s case no matter what the outcome with Valerie’s situation. I think he was going to stab me and throw me overboard then say that I slipped and fell in. I would have sunk to the bottom of the lake. And Superior never gives up its dead.”

Perring shook her head in disbelief. “I never would have guessed he was capable of that, or of any of the things he did. I could have sworn he truly loved his wife.”

“I think he did. I think maybe he regretted what happened to Alexandra and on some level his marriage to Valerie was a form of retribution in his eyes.”

“Paying for his sins?”

“I don’t think he ever would’ve paid for them, but in his mind that might’ve been what he was trying to do.”

“To think that he’d kept that secret for over sixteen years.”

“Sometimes the things that people hide grow stronger with time instead of lessening. Sometimes they take over completely.”

Perring sighed. He could hear almost a week of fatigue in that one sound. “This will go down as the most twisted case in our department. We’ve already had several offers from the big news stations to do exclusives about Valerie. I’ve never seen an orchestration like that. The way she planned it, it was . . .”

“Brilliant,” Liam finished for her.

“Yes. For lack of better words. She made us all look like fools.”

“She did. But you and your team handled the case admirably. There was nothing you could’ve done different.”

“We did things by the book. But I can see now that some things have to be found outside of the lines. You have to be willing to go there, though.”

Liam gazed at her, a slight coolness settling over him with her words. “Yes you do,” he said quietly.

“And to think if her bullet had hit you, she would’ve gotten away with it all: the murders, the money, everything.”

Liam shook his head. “She never intended on killing me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When she went for her gun she knew I had her beat. She fired the shot well over my shoulder.”

“She wanted to die.”

“I think so. I guess we’ll never know for sure, though.” They stood silent for a moment, each wrapped in their own thoughts, until Liam reached inside his pants pocket and drew out a pack of gum, holding it out to her.

Perring laughed and shook her head. “No thanks, I’m trying to cut back.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “And no cigarettes?”

“None. And I’d appreciate it if Rex never found out that I smoked the rest of his pack.”

Liam mimed a key turning at his lips. “Not a word from me.”

“I think that’s a blessing in more than one way.” A grin tugged at Perring’s mouth.

Liam held out his hand. “Good-bye detective.”

She shook his hand. “Good-bye Liam.”

He walked quickly down the hall. When he was nearly at the elevator Perring’s voice stopped him.

“Liam.”

He turned. “Yeah?”

“You’re a damn fine cop.”

He smiled and stepped into the elevator as it opened. “You’re a better one,” he said as the doors closed, Perring’s smile the last thing he saw.

It was early afternoon when he pulled into the farmhouse. The sight of his home waiting there in the glory of fall foliage left him nearly breathless. The field beyond was golden with swaying grass, the few trees that surrounded the house had flared into even deeper reds, yellows, and oranges of varying shades in the short time he’d been gone. The sound of gravel crunching beneath his tires was a melody he could’ve listened to for hours.

He’d barely shut the truck’s door and retrieved his bag from the backseat when Eric barreled around the pickup, slamming into him with a rib-crushing hug.

“Liam! I missed you!”

“Missed you too, buddy. Ouch, you gotta go easy on me. I’m a little sore.”

“Sore from what?” Dani said, following the same path Eric had taken to him. The boy stepped aside and made an exaggerated sound of disgust when Dani pressed herself against him, kissing him hard on the lips. He kissed her back, wrapping an arm around her waist while waving dismissively at Eric who made another vomiting sound.

Dani finally broke away, a smile lighting up her face. “So glad you’re home.”

“Me too.”

“Now what were you saying about being sore?”

“Nothing. I’ll show you later.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Let’s go inside.”

They spent most of the afternoon catching up with one another on what had happened since Liam had left a week ago. Dani made cups of tea for all of them and they sat around the kitchen table with the smell of the fresh bread from the bakery he loved permeating the air. He breezed through an overview of the case without mentioning the murders or any of the horrific details that had taken place, his gaze speaking to Dani over the top of Eric’s head in the silences. When they were finished talking Dani rose and went to the cupboards, pulling out pans and several cans of organic tomato sauce.

“I’m making stuffed manicotti for supper,” she said, throwing a look over her shoulder. It was his favorite of all the meals she had cooked for them.

“That sounds wonderful. Do you need help?”

“No, why don’t you relax for a bit. Take a nap or something.”

“Can we go to the park, Liam?” Eric asked, bringing his empty cup to the sink and rinsing it. A heavy cloud of fatigue still hovered over him from the past week, but the enthusiasm in the boy’s voice was infectious. “Pleeeeease?” Eric intoned, drawing out the word. “Daryl and Christian from the team are going to be there.” The boy nearly danced in place with excitement and Liam chuckled, pointing toward the front entryway.

“Get your glove.”

“Yes!” Eric yelled, running to the front of the house.

“You sure you’re up for that?” Dani asked from beside the counter.

“Just wait until later and see how much energy I have,” he growled leaning in for another kiss. She giggled and shoved him away.

“Get going, Mr. Dempsey.”

“Yes, Miss Powell.”

They drove through the late autumn air with the windows down. The respite from the biting cold of Duluth raised Liam’s spirits even further as they wound through a small neighborhood, the wide expanse of the park and brown dirt of the baseball diamond coming into view. The park’s grass still held its green color, which only highlighted the gold leaves dotting the stretches beneath several ancient oak trees. Eric and Liam played catch for the better part of a half hour before two skinny boys wearing baseball jerseys approached on bikes, yelling Eric’s name as they raced toward the unoccupied diamond. Liam watched them go, a portion of his heart with them in the unburdened happiness of youth on a fall afternoon, the other, greater part, full of pride and a pure contentment at simply being able to see them enjoy it from afar. For a moment all his worry drained away, the horror of how Valerie’s case had turned out less overwhelming. Even the simmering anger and fear quieted watching his son play in the autumnal light. He could almost imagine it had been something he had dreamed.

Trying to hold on to the contentment, Liam turned, searching for a park bench to rest on until Eric and his friends were finished practicing drills they’d run a thousand times. He began to move toward the jungle gym and swing sets but froze in mid-step.

A man about his age sat upon the farthest bench wearing a too-tight red sweatshirt with a yellow circle on the chest. He was leering at a mother who was bent over, helping her daughter pick up several toys from a sandbox nearby, his eyes locked on the taut jeans covering the woman’s ass.

Liam didn’t know he was moving until he was beside the bench.

“This seat taken?”

The man’s eyes were still on the young mother slowly walking away with her child, a crooked smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. He was exactly as Dani had described him. Average looking with a blond crew cut that accentuated his sharp nose and bright blue eyes. He was well-built; hard pectorals pulled at the fabric of his sweatshirt, and his thighs were thick within his designer jeans. He glanced at Liam as the mother and daughter moved farther away.

“What?” the man asked.

“Good,” Liam said, sitting down. The bench was built for children, perhaps three middle schoolers. It didn’t accommodate the bulk of two grown men well, especially when Liam widened his legs and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.

“Hey pal, I’m not into what you’re sellin’, you catch my drift?” the man said, inching slightly away from him despite the threatening tone in his voice.

“Oh I know what you’re into,” Liam said, gazing out across the park’s clearing. They were alone save for Eric and his two friends tossing ground balls to one another in the distance.

“What did you say?”

“I said,” Liam replied, slowly sitting upright and turning to face the blond man, “I know what you’re into. You’re into coming to public parks and harassing women. You’re so pathetic you think this is the best place to get a date or pick up fun for an hour back at your place.”

“What?” The man’s incredulousness was so potent, he actually tilted his head to one side. “I don’t know who the fuck you are, pal, but—”

“No,” Liam interrupted, scooting closer. “No you don’t know who I am. But I know you. I know you walk here from your house just down the street. You’ve come here often enough for me to have witnessed the filth that you are and followed you home. I know where you sleep.”

The second before the man threw his clenched fist, Liam whipped a hand to his throat and pressed his thumb behind his earlobe. The pressure he applied made the man wince, but he was strong and seemingly stubborn, so he tried to follow the punch through anyway. Liam caught his fist and turned it, the man’s fingers opening as he pushed harder below his earlobe. Snatching the man’s index and middle fingers, he twisted, hearing the knuckles pop under the pressure.

“Ah, fuck!”

“Shut up and listen to me,” Liam hissed. “I’ll be watching all the parks you go to from now on. I have nothing better to do. If I ever spot you in any of them again, the next time you’ll see me will be in the middle of the night, standing over your bed.” He bent the man’s fingers back farther, eliciting a hoarse whimper. “Do you understand me, you piece of shit?”