Scorned Page 23

  “What the hell happened to your room?” She pushed Claire aside and entered. Clothes were draped across the sides of the suitcase. She picked up a shirt and held it up for Claire to see. “You going somewhere?”

  Claire tore the shirt from Rebecca’s hands. The kind caring eyes Claire once exuberated were gone and replaced with a look of malicious intent. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “Where the hell are you going? When are you coming back?”

  “I’m getting out of town for a little while and will come back when I’m good and ready.” The fire burning in Claire’s eyes was one that Rebecca had never seen before.

  “So what; you killed a man and are skipping town so you don’t have to deal with the consequences?” Claire held up three fingers in reply. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Rebecca thought about it for a moment before realizing the three fingers meant three people. “Claire, tell me you didn’t.”

  “I didn’t; not yet anyway.” Rebecca wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “I killed two.”

  Rebecca turned ghostly white. “You killed t-two p-people? What? Why? How?” She shifted her feet and pointed them back towards the living room. “Forget it, I don’t think I wanna know.”

  The switch in Claire’s brain was turning from a cowering fearful woman trying to flee from possible prosecution to the cold hearted bitch that no one thought they’d see in her. “I’ll have you know it was my personal trainer.”

  Shock and horror was etched on Rebecca’s usual bubbly face. “You-you killed Tyson?” She backed away slowly.

  “It’s not what you think.” Claire became overly defensive. Becky was her friend and her legal attorney. “He tried to drug me and rape me or god knows what else.”

  “How do you know he tried to drug you?”

  Claire recounted what happened the last two times she ran into Tyson which led to her turning the tables on him and leaving his unconscious body in the steam room. Although, her version of the story made it seem like he was the one leading her to the steam room.

  “Who knows what he planned on doing to me that night. Hell, it could’ve been me he left in there for dead.”

  “Claire, you should’ve gone to the cops about it after the first time. You should’ve held onto the bottle of water, given it to the police, let them dust it for fingerprints and test the water to see if it was laced with something.”

  “I know that, but I couldn’t think straight. I was freaking out and didn’t know how much of it had worked through my system. When he tried doing it the second time, I completely lost it and needed to put an end to this once and for all.”

  Rebecca slowly made her way to the living room couch trying desperately to process everything Claire was telling her. “Okay, we might have a case of self-defense here. Did you at least keep the bottle Tyson drank out of?”

  “No, I think I left it there.”

  “That means there’s a chance the police might have it already. If they don’t, then it’s long gone.”

  “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “Both. If the police found the bottle, then they must’ve had it tested and now know Tyson was murdered. That’s bad for you. If they find a way to place you there that night, you’ll be one of their prime suspects. The good news is that if they found the bottle, we can use that to as a way to search Tyson’s house and find his drug supply. That’ll show he intended on using it either on you or another woman.”

  “Perfect,” Claire said with a gleam in her eye.

  Rebecca caught sight of it. Something was off in the way Claire was accepting this as a viable option. “You said you only killed two, but said there were three. Who’s the third?”

  “I can’t tell you.” Claire turned to stroll back to her bedroom, but felt Rebecca’s hand close around her arm.

  “You can tell me you killed two people, but you can’t tell me who the third is going to be?”

  “If I do, you’re an accessory to the crime.” Rebecca was stunned by Claire’s statement. “Come on; I took a few law courses in college and I’ve watched enough crime shows to know what an accessory before the fact is. If I tell you anything about it, you could go to jail. And if I tell you and you run to the police, then I’m guaranteed life in prison.” Claire took a deep breath. “Just know that I found out who raped me six months ago and I’m going after them. He’s going to pay for what he did.”

  Hearing Claire talk about the rape brought tears to Rebecca’s eyes. She lunged forward and threw her arms around Claire, pulling her in for a tight embrace. “If you go through with this, I won’t be able to help you.”

  Claire wrapped Rebecca in her arms. “I know, that’s why I’m leaving town for a bit.” Tears trickled down their cheeks. “I need to do this though. I can’t let him get away with it.”

  “Just promise me you’ll be safe and that you’ll get out of town before the police find you.”

  “I will, but you need to forget we ever had this conversation. You need to forget any of this ever happened.”

  Rebecca gave a tearful nod before turning back to her spot on the couch. She wiped at her face while placing her shoes back on. She stood and stared at her friend. Rebecca hugged Claire as if it were the last time she would ever see her again.

  Chapter 32-Ali

  The last stop on my journey of possible suspects to question concluded at a hospital in Dutchess County. I read her file. Everything about her screamed perfectionist. She was valedictorian of her high school, was on the dean’s list all throughout college, she graduated top of her class from medical school and had a stellar list of accomplishments since. On paper this woman was the epitome of success. If it weren’t for her being a doctor that could easily get her hands on different types of meds and that she checked into the gym the night Tyson Lee was murdered, she never would’ve been on my list of suspects.

  I had hoped meeting Dr. Cain would remove her from the list of possible suspects. Maybe she could provide some insight about the chemical compound we found at Blake Ambrose’s house or how one might obtain it. But the meeting was nothing like I imagined.

  “I’m sorry, but you just missed her,” Sheila the secretary said.

  “When did she leave?”

  Sheila glanced at the clock. “I don’t know; maybe a half hour ago.”

  The digits on the small rectangle clock that sat on the desk read three thirty. “Does Dr. Cain always leave this early in the day?”

  “She’s private practice, so she can leave whenever she wants. But to answer your question; no she doesn’t typically leave this early.”

  “Did she give a reason for going home?”

  “None that I know of.” I wasn’t getting anywhere with the secretary and it was agitating me. She was holding back something and I needed to know what it was.

  “Tell me; how well do you know Dr. Cain?”

  “We’ve been friends since high school.”

  Ah, now that explained why I was getting a hostile feel to Sheila’s answers. “Look, I get that you want to protect your friend and boss, but I need you to cooperate with me. The faster we get through this and I speak to Claire, the faster I can rule her out as a suspect.”

  “Suspect? What is she being suspected of?”

  “I’m investigating a multiple homicide and...”

  Sheila laughed in response. “And you think Claire did it? You think sweet, innocent, Miss Goodie goodie Claire killed a bunch of people?”

  “I’m not saying she did, but we have proof she was one of the last people to check into the Highland Fitness center the night Tyson Lee was murdered. I’d like to ask her a few questions to see if she might’ve seen anything that might help us find his killer.”

  The color drained from Sheila’s face. Something about what I said rattled her. She picked up a pen and tapped in nervously on the desk as she turned to her computer.

  “I’m sorry Detective, but I don’t know anything about that. If you’d like to speak w
ith Dr. Cain, you can feel free to make an appointment.”

  Sheila’s abrupt cold attitude told me she knew more than she was letting on. “I think I’ll do just that.” I slapped my card on Sheila’s desk, hoping it would rattle her just a bit; just enough to scare her. “Give that to Dr. Cain, and tell her to call me the moment she checks into the office.” I stormed out of the office making sure to slam the door shut behind me. Somehow I doubted I would get that call. Maybe a visit to Dr. Cain’s house would be in order, but that too would have to wait as my cell rang with Rodney’s number appearing on the screen.

  “Hey partner, you miss me already?”

  “Yeah, I miss you like I’d miss getting electrocuted.”

  We both had a good laugh from that. “What’s up,” I asked.

  “I got a call from our friends at the D.A.’s office. They got the warrant for the security footage from the gym. It’s being delivered to the station as we speak.”

  “Rodney, that’s great news. I’ll meet you there in just a little bit.”

  *************************************************************

  The station was a near ghost town with the exception of the six foot something detective standing by my desk along with my former captor. Thornton leaned in and whispered something into Rodney’s ear. I prayed my name wasn’t involved in their topic of conversation. Then Rodney turned towards me and tried to hide his smile. I guess the joke’s on me.

  I sucked it up and marched over there as if the sight of their smirks didn’t bother me. “Hey guys, what’s so funny?”

  They straightened themselves up and stared blankly at me. “Hey, if it isn’t my favorite jailbird,” James said mockingly.

  I wasn’t embarrassed and I damn sure wasn’t going to let them turn my drunken train wreck of a night into something they would continue to make a mockery of either. I stormed up to the duo with my hands balled into fists, burying a shot into Detective Thornton’s stomach, doubling him over instantly. “Fuck you asshole.”

  “Whoa, Ali, calm down,” Rodney said with a kinder tone.

  His hands gently fell on my shoulders trying to restrain me from doing any further damage to James or my career. But Rodney had a good laugh at my expense too, and he deserved some punishment as well. Without hesitation, my right foot slammed on top of Rodney’s, letting the two inch heels instill a measure of revenge he wouldn’t soon forget. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

  “Sorry Ali,” Rodney grunted. “Won’t happen again.”

  “It better not. Now, can we get back to work or should I find you two a babysitter while I do some actual police work?”

  We took the tapes to the Tech Department to skim through. The time frame we were given would be easier to watch than going through the Ambrose videos. It would be easier to look for something out of the ordinary, but wasn’t seeing anything.

  “How did the interviews go,” Rodney asked. “Any viable suspects?”

  “I got nothing,” James said. “Most of them were just fitness junkies that go there every day at the same time and leave the same time. What about you?”

  “The only one that stuck out was the female wrestler. She said she didn’t know Ambrose, but Tyson Lee was someone that thought he knew more about staying in shape than anyone else. She told me he would always try to show her something with the weights and would be very hands on, if you know what I mean.”

  “I think I do,” I replied. “The old lady I questioned was telling me he was always lending a hand to his clients and was very hands on. The life guard I talked to said something similar.”

  “What about the doctor,” Rodney asked.

  “She wasn’t at her office.” I paused in reflection of my brief questioning of the doctor’s secretary. The glazed look in my eyes let my partners know something was weighing heavily on my mind.

  Rodney snapped his fingers, trying to wake me. “You sure nothing happened? I mean you got a look like something’s bothering you.”

  “Her secretary,” I replied. “She was being very defensive when I questioned her about Dr. Cain. But the moment I mentioned Tyson Lee, she got very cold and unresponsive.”

  “So what’s the plan?

  “Let’s get through the video first. After that, I might just pay the good doctor a visit at her home tonight or tomorrow morning.”

  “You want some backup?”

  “Nah, you should go home to your wife and kid. Spend some time with them before the new baby comes.”

  He rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah I guess so. Maybe I’ll take Mia out to dinner. We haven’t been alone together since, well I can’t remember the last time we were out somewhere alone together.” Rodney seemed to like toying with the idea of having a little date night with his wife. He deserved it. He had been working day and night, picking up extra shifts and staying later just to have enough money saved up for when the new baby comes.

  James jumped up and paused the video. “I think you might have to hold off on making any plans tonight.” He rewound the video by a few clips as one of the possible suspects was shown walking with the victim. “Ali, isn’t this one of the people on that list?”

  I viewed the video and zoomed in on the woman’s face. I flipped through my papers. “That’s the doctor I was supposed to talk to today.”

  “It looks like she knew the victim,” Rodney said.

  We played the video through and tried to focus on the pair as Tyson Lee helped Dr. Cain back to the office. We didn’t have audio and couldn’t tell you what they were talking about. Moments earlier, she had taken what would’ve been a nasty fall, but was helped by Mr. Lee. He exited the office a few minutes later and returned with two bottles of water. Claire had grabbed one of them, but the camera prevented us from seeing if she put something in it or not. They drank the water and sat idly by before Tyson and Claire exited.

  “Switch to a different camera angle,” I commanded. “We can’t lose them.” It was beginning to look like the sweet innocent doctor wasn’t so sweet after all. James messed around with the computer and found another camera that picked Claire and Tyson up walking around the corner from the locker rooms.

  “This is where the steam room was,” Rodney said.

  Tyson was walking on his own, but looked to be wobbling with every step he took. I figured Claire must’ve slipped something into his drink while they were in the office. I concentrated on the screen and watched as the pair disappeared around the corner.

  “Do we have any other camera angles that can help us see what’s going on,” I asked. Rodney and James shook their heads. Crap, right now it was circumstantial at best, but it might be enough to convince the D.A. to issue an arrest warrant.

  Claire emerged a few minutes later. She was alone and seemed to be in a hurry to leave the gym. We waited for a sign of Tyson Lee on any of the camera angles, or someone else to walk over there. But no one came near that area, not until hours later.

  “Your call Ali,” Rodney said. “How you wanna play this?”

  “Let’s present the evidence to the D.A. and see what she says.”

  Chapter 33-Claire

  A bead of sweat trickled down Claire’s cheek as she walked around her bedroom in a white cotton towel. The steam still billowed from the bathroom from the hot shower she took. She paced nervously around the room while contemplating what she wanted to wear. It needed to be something hot and sexy to lure him into a false sense of security. At the same time, Claire didn’t want to look like she was throwing herself at Ron either. He had already become suspicious when she disappeared from the restaurant. Then she too easily accepted his invitation to come over his house for dinner. If she appeared to be throwing herself at him, he would know for sure she was up to something.

  Claire browsed through the dresses that lined her closet. Her favorite red dress stood at the forefront of her selection. She picked up the hanger and stared at the bold color. “There’s no way I’m messing you up for him.” She placed it back on the
rack and cycled through the remaining outfits. The only ones that stood out were her favorite sexy black dress, a eye stunning royal blue one, and an emerald green number that Becky convinced her to buy a few years ago. Claire was tempted to wear it, but there was one more dress that called to her. It was one she almost forgot about. It was a short black dress with crimson streaks along the sides. The material clung tightly to Claire’s body with the exception of a small slit up the right leg. She reached into her closet and pulled out a pair of black stilettos that wrapped around her ankle and exposed the sides of her feet. She glanced in the mirror. “He’ll be eating out of my hands in minutes.”

  An hour of makeup and hair prep gave Claire a super model appearance. The crimson streaked dress clung to her body, putting every curve on display. Her confidence was at an higher than it ever had been, but the idea of going to Ron DeMarco’s house made her want to vomit. Despite her repulsion, Claire was determined to make the bastard pay for everything he took from her.

  The drive to DeMarco’s house was a blur. She shook the cobwebs from her head and found herself staring up a long driveway with a massive building looming in the distance. Her car inched forward until it lined parallel to a sleek black Corvette. This is it; now or never. Claire walked up the steps. The two story house towered over her as she pressed the doorbell. The lights were off inside, all except one flickering glow.

  Claire’s focus remained on the light, not noticing the front door had opened and the man she swore to kill was standing in front of her. “Claire, you look absolutely breathtaking.” Ron’s Cheshire grin was unmistakably noticeable as his eyes devoured Claire. He stood there in the black suit jacket he wore earlier in the day paired with khakis and a black button down. Claire had to admit, if it wasn’t for his attitude and what he did to her, she would’ve enjoyed the dinner for a different reason. Hell, she might’ve considered dating him.