Run For Your Life, page 21
“No, I don’t understand. Why the hell are you doing this? Are you Marlon’s helper that nobody ever saw?”
“The gun, now!”
I slowly pulled my gun from the holster and remembered that she was a bit left of center and probably easy to piss off. I couldn’t chance it with someone that volatile. I slid the gun toward her, and she kicked it across the kitchen.
“Stand up and head down the basement stairs. I won’t say it twice. It isn’t up for discussion, and we don’t need to have a conversation about why I’m doing this. Now, move it.”
I did as told and knew I had no chance of reaching my gun before being shot. “What are you going to do?”
“Kill you. What else? The neighborhood houses are too close to each other for my liking, and the basement creates a sound buffer.”
“So you planned on approaching me at Alioto’s all along? Our meeting was never by chance? There never was a scavenger hunt, was there?”
She chuckled. “You’re good-looking and smart. I’ll have to remember to put a gold star on your coffin.”
“You’ll never get that far.”
She kicked me down the last three steps to the basement floor.
I grunted as my knees slammed into the concrete. Groaning, I turned and faced her. “Who is Marlon to you? One of your less-than-desirable friends?”
“Nope, he’s family. My brother, actually, and the only family I have left. You robbed us of our father by hunting him down like a dog, capturing him, and sending him to death row. Now he’s dying of cancer, and there’s nothing left of him but a shell of a man. He doesn’t even know who we are!”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about, but I know one thing for sure. You kill a cop and you and Marlon will be sitting on death row too. Tell me something before you shoot me.”
She stared at her fingernails as if bored. “Yeah, what?”
“Who did you kill, and where did you and Marlon put that person?”
She shrugged. “Who the hell knows? I faked car trouble, and your partner got out and looked under the hood. That’s when Lee arrived and blindsided him, but some woman who was out for an evening stroll saw us. We couldn’t have that, so we grabbed her, knocked her out, and tossed her in the trunk. After your sister escaped, Marlon and I had to make Devon think Marlon’s helper shot me, except it wasn’t me. It was the woman in the barrel, and I was the one who shot her. Collateral damage, if you will, but that definitely put the fear of God into your partner. Now, let’s see what you’re made of, Mitch. Will you plead for your life or just let me kill you like the tough guy you portray?” She cocked her head, grinned, and racked the slide.
I stared at her and waited for the gunshot. Then I heard it. Liza’s gun flew from her hand. She was shot in the arm and stumbled backward. I leapt to my feet, unsure of what had just happened until I saw him. Lee stood on the steps with a pistol still pointed at her. I grabbed Liza’s gun and aimed it at Lee.
“Drop your weapon right now, Lee!”
“I’m not here to hurt you, Detective Cannon.” He placed the gun on the step. “I already know I’m going to prison, but I want to make sure Liza and her piece-of-shit brother go down too. What I did was wrong, but they ripped me off and killed an innocent woman. I just heard Liza confess to it. They deserve everything they get.”
Liza screeched at him. “Shut up, Lee. You don’t know shit.”
“I know enough to testify against you and Marlon in court. That’s all I need to know, and maybe I’ll even get a plea bargain for helping out.”
I fished my phone from my pocket and dialed 911. I needed officers at 1348 East Duffy immediately. I told them who I was and said they’d find me in the basement and that I had two people in custody.
Five minutes later, squad cars squealed to a stop outside the house. I yelled out when I heard them rush inside.
“We’re down here in the basement! One male and one female in custody. I need them cuffed, arrested, their rights read to them, and taken to the Habersham precinct.”
The officers cuffed Liza and Lee, put each of them in the back of a squad car, and asked if I needed help at the house.
“No, but thanks. I’ll get some of our detectives out here to go through everything. Right now, I have somewhere more important to be.”
Chapter 57
I called Royce’s cell and asked where he was. He said he’d just arrived at the hospital and was sitting in the emergency wing’s waiting room, right where we were when Marie was brought in. Devon’s injuries were being addressed, and Royce would know something soon enough.
“Good. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Did you find the cell phone?”
“Not exactly, but someone found me. I’ll explain everything when I get there.” I ended the call and said a silent thanks that Devon was still alive.
I needed to know who Marlon and Liza’s father was, but at that moment, the only things that were important were learning Devon’s condition and that Liza and Marlon were behind bars. I couldn’t believe what Lee had done for me or how he even ended up in the house, but I was thankful. Even though he was the one who kidnapped Marie, stuffed her into a barrel, and helped Liza with Devon’s kidnapping, I still owed him a debt of gratitude. I had no doubt that Liza would have shot me. Lee would see a prison sentence regardless, but there was a chance I could get it reduced due to the circumstances.
I reached the hospital and crossed the lot to the emergency wing doors. Inside, Royce sat in the waiting area. I took a seat next to him, let out a relieved sigh that everything had gone okay so far, and began telling the story of what happened at the house.
“So Liza is alive, she’s Marlon’s sister, and all of this was planned weeks ago?”
“Apparently. After we hear Rue’s prognosis and pay him a visit if they’ll let us, I’m going back to the station to figure out who the hell Liza’s father is. They can’t have the same last name since I checked that days ago, and I’ve never testified or helped put anyone behind bars with the last name Montclaire.” I frowned.
“What are you thinking?”
“Just wondering why she doesn’t have the same last name as Marlon.”
Royce scratched his cheek. “I’m sure we’ll put all the puzzle pieces together soon enough.”
We were allowed a few minutes with Devon. Areas of his face were stitched, bandaged, and swollen. He was lucky that none of his teeth had been knocked out. A nutritional IV drip was in his left arm, and the doctor had told us Devon would likely spend several days in the hospital.
We held back details about the investigation. Devon was weak, and we didn’t need to cause him undue concern. We would handle the police business while he rested and healed.
I couldn’t wait to get to the precinct. I wanted answers, and we had to find that woman’s body. I told Royce we had detectives scouring Marlon’s house and that I’d meet him back at the station later. We had a lot of work ahead of us, and the sooner we hit it head-on, the better. With a gentle pat to Devon’s shoulder, I said goodbye and left.
At the station, I looked in on Marlon and Liza, both sitting in jail cells. I wasn’t ready to interrogate them yet. I needed more ammunition. SVU wasn’t responsible for finding the woman that Liza had killed, but if a recent missing persons report had been filed, they could find out who she was. They worked on that while, with Lawrence and Bentley’s help, I dug through the names of men I’d helped put on death row. Only five of the thirteen homicide cases I’d worked on during the years before Rue and I became partners were death row sentences. By calling the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison, or GDCP, where death row inmates were housed, I could avoid being slammed with bureaucratic red tape, and it wouldn’t be too hard to find out which of those five prisoners was dying of cancer. The state execution chamber was located there.
I checked one more time, and nobody named Montclaire or Reyes was ever in my death row cases. There was the chance that Liza and Marlon’s father never married their mother, or maybe the last name Montclaire was fictitious and not related to the family at all. My next task was to check the court records to see if a Liza Reyes had ever existed.
“Mitch, I have something,” Bentley said. “A Stan Foley at GDCP was diagnosed with brain cancer six months ago. He doesn’t have much time left and is lucky to still be alive.”
“Okay, have them transfer you to the office that handled his approved visitor list.”
Bentley asked the question then covered the receiver with his hand. “I’m on hold.”
While we waited, I pulled up Foley’s file, read a quick summary of his crime, then remembered him. Stan had murdered his parents because they had been horribly abusive to him and his siblings, which one could justify any way they liked, but he also murdered a neighbor because she witnessed the attack on his mother.
The Foleys were the only family to live in that home, and word in the neighborhood was that they’d moved away with Stan when he was a young adult. The neighbor lady, who had just moved in, was there and gone. Nobody really knew her, and nobody seemed to notice or care that she’d disappeared.
After the mortgage payments had stopped, the Foley house was foreclosed on and sat vacant for years until it was sold to a developer and demolished. That was when a gun registered to a Stan Foley was unearthed along with skeletal remains of three people. Mr. and Mrs. Foley had never been reported missing since the story was that they’d fallen on hard times and had to move away. Stan had covered his tracks well and lived guilt free—and physically free—for twenty more years.
I told Bentley the rest of the story.
“I was assigned to the investigation seven years ago and tracked down Stan, who was living in Nebraska. He was extradited to Georgia to stand trial for his crimes. I remember the interview with him, and he said he had no regrets. I asked about the neighbor, an innocent woman who hadn’t done anything wrong, and his only response was that she was collateral damage.”
“Wow, a callous person like that deserves death row.” Bentley lifted his index finger. “Hang on, Mitch. They’re back on the line.”
I listened to his side of the conversation and watched as he jotted down information.
“Great. Can you email me the last year of visitor sign-in sheets for Mr. Foley? Thanks, appreciate it.” Bentley gave the person on the phone his email address then hung up. “It’ll be a few minutes, and then we can take a look at Foley’s visitors’ log.”
I went on to the county records website to search for a Liza Reyes and found her. I just needed to make sure it was the same Liza. I pulled up the address, and it showed the one I had gone to on East Henry. It had to be the same woman. I entered my password and pulled up the records on file for her. The newest one was a name change granted by Judge Fran Conway four months earlier.
“Bingo. I found her. Liza legally changed her last name, likely to create even more of a buffer between her, Marlon, and their father before they decided to come after me.” I wondered if that was why not a single offense for her showed up in our criminal database. She had reinvented herself. “I bet they started planning this revenge against me soon after their father was diagnosed.”
“Probably. The person I was talking to said he’s too weak and mentally disabled to have visitors anymore. Nobody has been allowed to see him for”—Bentley looked at his notes—“four and a half months.”
“And I’m guessing the plan for my demise began right around then.”
Bentley agreed.
I stood, stretched, and felt the need for a coffee. I offered one to Curt, but he declined. On my way to the vending machine, I made a stop at Royce’s office to see if he was back, and he was, so I told him the news. At any minute, the relationship between Marlon, Liza, and Stan would be confirmed when we saw the visitors’ log. There would likely be an L. Reyes and an M. Reyes on that sheet, or the names would be completely illegible to err on the side of caution. To be absolutely positive about their family ties, we could always demand a DNA swab test from all of them.
My phone rang as I continued on to the cafeteria. Marie was calling, and I’d just remembered I hadn’t sent her any links to security systems like I’d promised.
“Hey, Sis. I’m sorry I forgot all about the links I was going to send you. Chasing killers and kidnappers seems to get in the way.”
The sound of her voice made me stop in my tracks.
“Don’t worry about it, Mitch. We’ll get to it when we get to it.”
“Marie? Why do you sound like you’ve been crying?”
“Because I have been. Ben finally came clean. I’m so embarrassed that everyone in the family except me, his wife, knew he was and still is having an affair. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I told you it wasn’t my news to share. He had to be the one to say it. It’s his job as a father and a husband to be honest with his family.”
“Honest?” Marie laughed. “You mean honest after he and his girlfriend were found out and spent nearly two days in jail?”
I coughed. “Yeah, then. So, now what?”
“Now I’m divorcing his ass, and Mom said I should take everything, including the house.”
I chuckled. “Mom would say that. It’s up to you, Sis. Divorce him and split everything fifty-fifty or stay in the house, but you’ll have to pay him his share.”
“Mitch, I make art and sell it online. I doubt that’s enough income to pay him half the value of the house.”
“Then sell everything, and you and the kids can move back home.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am, and I’d actually welcome the company.”
“Okay, I’ll give that some thought. Mitch?”
“Yep?”
“Did you see Ben’s girlfriend?”
“I did.”
“Is she pretty?”
“Not even half as pretty as you.”
“Then why is he cheating?”
“I don’t know. That’s something you and Ben will have to talk about, but honestly, I’m glad it’s out in the open. Now you can make plans for yourself and the kids. He isn’t the head of the home anymore. You’re a strong woman and have proven that many times over. You’ll make the right decision, and I have one hundred percent confidence in you.”
“I love you, Mitch.”
“And I love you too.”
I hung up feeling good about Marie. She’d been through a lot, but I knew she would do what was best for her and the kids. I grabbed my coffee and returned to the conference room, where Curt had already received the prison records.
“It’s confirmed.”
“Yeah?” I took a seat next to him, and he turned the laptop toward me.
Curt pointed at the screen. “Right there. The handwriting is probably sloppy on purpose, but it’s still legible. Up to four months ago, when the visitation ended, the visitor sign-ins were written as L. Reyes and Marlon Reyes. We’ve got them dead to rights.”
“Good. Now to find the woman they killed, convict them of kidnapping and murder, and send their asses to prison.”
I made the call to SVU and asked if they’d pinpointed the missing woman. I was told two women and one man had been reported missing last week. Since neither Devon nor Marie had seen the woman, we would have nobody to tell us which of the three she was. We might have to bargain with Liza and Marlon, and that wasn’t something I was keen on doing.
Chapter 58
It was time. Royce and I decided to interview Marlon first but let him think we’d already interviewed Liza. We knew she was the one who’d pulled the trigger—she’d admitted it—so we could use that to make Marlon think Liza threw him under the bus to get a better deal on the murder charge.
He sat shackled to the table in the interview room and growled when we walked in. “When do I get supper?”
I laughed and looked at Royce. “Do you believe this jerk?”
“It takes all kinds. Go ahead and question him, Mitch. I’ll jump in if it’s necessary. Stan Foley was your case, so it’s only fitting that his kids are too.”
I huffed. “Small world, right, Marlon? Where’s the woman you dumped, and what’s her name?”
He sneered at me. “Why the hell would I tell you that, asshole?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just figured you’d be as chatty as Liza was.”
“You’ve already talked to her?”
“Yep. After all, she’s the one who shot that woman. She admitted it in front of me and Lee.”
“Lee? Who’s that?”
“Cut the crap. Lee agreed to testify against both of you in court for a reduced sentence, and Liza already started pointing fingers at you to get a lighter sentence too. I mean, murder, that’s a very serious offense, right? First one who tells us where the woman was dumped gets the better deal, and right now, Liza is sitting in the queen’s seat since she has more to lose.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you if you take murder off the charges against me. Liza pulled the trigger, not me.”
I chuckled. “There’s that cuddly sibling bond I knew you two had. Tell us where she is right now. We’ll go check, and if she isn’t there, both of you will face charges of murder, attempted murder, battery against an officer of the law, and two counts of kidnapping. No matter what, you’re both facing life without parole or death row unless one of you talks.”
“I’ll be honest with you. Just give me a pen and paper, and I’ll draw you a map.”
I left the room and walked down the hallway to get the paper and pen. While I was at the guard’s desk, I asked him to put Liza in the second interrogation room so I could talk to her in a few minutes. I returned to the room Marlon was in, passed the paper and pen to Royce, and left. My work with Marlon was done. It was time to tackle Liza.
I walked into the room where she sat, her head down on the table, as if she was sleeping. She looked up and groaned.
“What the hell do you want?”
