Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
A aron had been putting in so many hours on Carina’s case that it was hard for him to get his regular caseload done, so his plan for the day was to stay at the office and work. Maisey had to admit to herself that she was glad. She needed a break from Carina’s world. It had become a bit overwhelming.
The only admonishment he’d given her that morning was to stay close to the Child Protective Services’ office, and that was exactly what she intended to do. She’d been at work for about an hour when her phone rang. “Hey, babe!”
“Hi, sweetie. Having a good morning?”
“So far, so good. What’s up?”
She could hear squeaking, and she knew Aaron was tipping back in his desk chair. “So after we talked about it, I did some more checking. There has been paperwork filed for a divorce between Evelyn and Lance, but it’s never been finalized. Apparently all it’s missing is Lance’s signature.”
“Wait. So Evelyn says they’re divorced. We didn’t ask Lance about it. What’s the holdup?”
Aaron chuckled. “There’s only one reason I can think of.”
“Yeah. He wants part of that money when Evelyn gets it.”
“Bingo. I think that’s it.”
Something else flitted through Maisey’s mind as she remembered the feeling that had poked at her when they interviewed Lance, and when it settled, a shiver ran up her spine. “No. He thought he’d get all of the money.”
“He’ll get half of it in the divorce settlement. Community property and all that,” Aaron reminded her. “In the state of Kentucky, he’ll get half―”
It hit Maisey like a runaway train. “Unless she’s dead.”
There was silence for a few seconds before Aaron said, “I think I’d better check on Evelyn.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“I’ll call you back, babe. Love you. Bye.” Before Maisey could get another word in edgewise, Aaron had hung up.
No matter what she did, Maisey couldn’t concentrate on her work. Things kept spinning through her mind, over and over, and there was no way to sit still. The more she thought about it all, the surer she was that they were missing some vital piece of the puzzle. When lunchtime finally came, she grabbed her bag and decided to walk the three blocks to the pie shop where she sometimes had lunch. Walking would give her time to think. She’d made it a whole block before her phone pinged, and she checked to find a message from Aaron.
Just talked to Evelyn. She’s fine. Lance stayed the night at her place so she wasn’t alone.
Just like a slot machine’s reels spinning, one by one, everything fell into place. The reason why there had been an attempt on Kyle’s life. The reason why Lance was attacked. The horrible energy she’d encountered at Lance’s wasn’t from Lance. It was left over from the other person who’d been there. Monty had told Lance to sign the papers so he wouldn’t have to kill both him and Evelyn, but that had been the lie. He’d never intended to kill Evelyn. He wouldn’t.
Maisey stopped at the corner to check for traffic, but before she could step across, a car pulled up in front of her and the window went down. “Mrs.Friedman?” a voice asked, and she peered into the vehicle.
It was Lance.
She knew exactly what was happening, and if she got into that car, she was as good as dead. His voice was low as he said, “They told me to pick you up and bring you to them or they’ll kill me.”
“And if I get into that car with you, they’ll kill us both.”
Lance shook his head. “No. I’ll sign the divorce paperwork and they’ll let us go.”
“Why do they need me for you to sign the divorce paperwork?”
“They’re going to make you give them the unclaimed property paperwork.”
“I can’t do that, Lance.”
To her surprise, Lance raised a weapon and pointed it at her. “Please, god, I don’t want to hurt you. Please just get in the car. They’re watching us right now, so you have to come with me. Please?”
“No, Lance. I’m not getting into the car.” Somebody please honk or something! Make a distraction! Maisey’s brain whispered. She needed a chance to run, and if only…
“Hey, asshole! You’re in the loading zone! Get the fuck outta the way!” a guy driving a large delivery truck yelled from the street as he pulled up behind Lance’s car.
As soon as Lance glanced in the rearview mirror, Maisey took her opportunity and bolted. She was super thankful she’d changed into athletic shoes before she took off walking to the pie shop, and she darted here and there, hoping no one was following her. Turning down an alley, she groaned when she realized it didn’t go all the way through, and she managed to slip behind a large dumpster to hide. By leaning out just a little, she could see the street, and she watched as Lance’s car drove past, then drove past again going the opposite direction. She was about to tiptoe to the entrance of the alley for a quick look-around when she heard voices.
“She’s gotta be here somewhere! I know she came in here,” she heard a voice say, and she knew it was Lance’s.
“Yeah? Well, where is she?” a female voice asked, and she recognized it immediately―Evelyn.
“I don’t know! I did what you told me, and I―”
“You let her get away, that’s what you did!” a male voice snapped, and Maisey knew that was Monty. Everything was getting clearer and clearer, and she totally understood what was happening.
“I didn’t do it on purpose! I was trying to do what you guys told me to do! I was―”
Pop! interrupted Lance’s whining, and she heard the sound of a body hitting the ground. Fear like she’d never known overwhelmed Maisey. Monty had a silencer on the weapon, and no one would know anyone had been shot. But who was it? Her suspicion that it was Lance was confirmed when Evelyn said, “Shame that had to happen.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t leave us much choice. Now, we’ve got to find that woman. We get her house key, we go in, take the documents, then we’re home free.”
“No, we’re not, idiot. There’s still the issue of my brother’s death-defying recovery.”
“I swear, baby, I thought the bastard was dead, but I’ll take care of him once and for all.”
Baby? Yep. These two are together! It had seemed totally unlikely, but Maisey had seen crazier things, that was for sure. And she had her confirmation. Evelyn and Monty… Ugh. That’s just gross , Maisey told herself. But she didn’t have time to think about that. They had the alley blocked. How was she going to get out of there?
From where she hid, she could see a doorway on the far side of the alley. If she could just make it to that door and it was unlocked, she could get away. If not, they’d grab her. From somewhere to her left, she could hear laughter, and it grew louder. Ah, somebody walking past on the sidewalk out there! Maisey waited and, sure enough, it was two young women, laughing and talking. By leaning to the left, she could see the end of the alley, as well as Evelyn and Monty. As soon as the women came into view, Maisey took off.
The door was unlocked, and she threw it open and ran, listening to Evelyn and Monty yell from somewhere behind her. Without even slowing, she darted through the store, which turned out to be Warwick’s Hardware. As she went, she grabbed things on the shelves and pulled them onto the floor, especially bigger things like shovels, cans of paint, and open boxes of nails and screws. Monty and Evelyn were screaming and shouting, trying to chase her, but Maisey kept running. When she burst through the front door, she stared straight into the barrels of three handguns, and Aaron’s voice barked, “Maisey! Get down!”
Maisey dropped face first to the sidewalk just as she heard Monty and Evelyn’s footsteps power out the door and onto the concrete. “Hands in the air!” Carly’s voice rang out. “Up where we can see ’em! Get ’em up!” There was movement everywhere, and all Maisey could do was lie there and wait.
A hand touched her shoulder and Aaron’s voice whispered, “Hey, babe, get up. It’s okay. We’ve got ’em.”
“But how―”
“The truck driver who honked at Lance. He saw you jet from the car and figured something wasn’t quite right. Described the car, and when we found it out there on the street by the alley, we put it together. Vickers saw you run for the door just in time to radio us and tell us where you’d be coming out. We were planning to come in, but you bolted out the door before we could.”
A transmission came over Aaron’s comm unit. “Sheriff, it’s Vickers. We’ve got a body in the alley, over.”
“Roger that, Vickers. Be there in just a second. Over.” Carly turned to Aaron. “You’ve got these two. I’ll go help him.”
“Roger that, sheriff. We’ve got them.” For the first time since she’d burst from the front of the building, Maisey looked around to see Deputy SheriffYeager standing there. She and BeverlyYeager had gone to high school together, and she was glad to see the familiar face.
“You okay?” Beverly asked her quietly.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Exhausted but fine.” Maisey turned to Aaron. “What tipped you off?”
“That Lance seemed concerned about Evelyn, even though he was the one who’d taken a beating. And she seemed totally unconcerned about her brother or Lance. Killing Lance and Kyle would’ve guaranteed her the entirety of the unclaimed property. She would’ve left Lance completely out of it―”
“If he had just signed the divorce papers, which is what Monty told Carina when he killed her. Then they waited all this time―”
“Because Lyle was still alive. It wasn’t until Lyle died that it became important to press for that. But Evelyn didn’t know her dad had that stuff in a storage unit until it was too late and Cherilyn was there, bidding on all of it. She didn’t know where the paperwork was, so she busied herself trying to get Lance to sign the divorce papers until…” Aaron stopped for a second, closed his eyes, and let out a breath. “Until we went to her office and she recognized you. She saw you at the auction that day with Cherilyn, and she figured out that she had a way to get the paperwork. And when we turned up to ask questions and she found out we’d talked to Kyle, she figured out that Cherilyn didn’t have it anymore. We had it.”
“She just assumed we were onto her, which we weren’t yet. And she’s how Monty knew to come looking for me.”
“You figured it out, didn’t you?” Aaron asked with a grin.
“The minute I got your text that Evelyn was fine and Lance pulled up in front of me, I knew it was her. She didn’t actually kill anybody. She just got Monty to do it.”
“Wrong. Turns out,” Yeager said, looking at her phone, “according to Vickers and the sheriff, Evelyn’s the one who pulled the trigger on Lance. So she’ll go down for his murder.”
Maisey nodded. “And Monty for Carina’s and attempted murder for Kyle.”
“Yep. So we’ve got it sewn up.” Aaron wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “And Kyle will get whatever’s in that unclaimed property. Plus he won’t have anybody to have to share it with.”
“Good. I think he earned it,” Maisey said, and she meant it.
And she wanted to be the one to tell Kyle.
“So I’m supposed to be dead?”
“Afraid so,” Aaron said with a nod.
Kyle’s face was sad. “So my sister and that thug could have the money.”
Aaron grimaced. “Yeah, they’d already been making plans. Trips out of the country, a big house, all that kind of stuff. Poor Lance. They could’ve had a good life together with her portion, but she was too greedy for that. She knew Monty would take it, but by being with Monty, she was guaranteed to at least get some of it.”
“But why didn’t Lance just sign the papers? He wanted the money that badly?” Kyle asked.
“No. I think he genuinely loved her. He didn’t want a divorce, but he also didn’t know who she’d gotten mixed up with. I mean, as soon as he thought her life was in danger, he went to her place to stay to keep her safe. That’s how they got hold of him,” Aaron explained. “He unknowingly stepped right into their trap in the name of protecting Evelyn, a woman who didn’t really love him. How sad is that?”
Kyle shook his head. “Pretty sad.”
“But the money will be yours now, and you won’t have to share it with anybody,” Maisey reminded him.
“No. I won’t. But I will. I’ll help Rachel. With her dad dead and her mom in prison, she’ll need me, and I’ll gladly help her. I mean, I don’t have any money right now, but when I get the unclaimed property, I can pay for her college and buy her a car, help her get a house.”
“You can get a house too. Maybe you’ll even meet someone!” Maisey said, hoping to encourage him.
“Nah. I like my apartment just fine, and dating shouldn’t be something I’m even thinking about. I’d rather help Rachel. She should be my focus now,” Kyle answered with a weak smile. “I’ve never had kids, and I didn’t really get a chance to know Rachel that well, but now I’ll have the time and the money to.”
Maisey hoped he could see the admiration in her face as she gave him her warmest smile. “You’re a good man, Kyle. Just get close to Rachel and let her know you want to be there for her. This is going to be the toughest time of her life. Hopefully it’ll be easier from here on out.”
“And if we can ever help you, please let us know.” Aaron handed him another business card. “In case you tossed the last one,” Maisey’s husband added with a grin.
“Yeah. In case. Thanks again. By the way, you two make a good team,” Kyle said, grinning.
“I hope we don’t have to do this again!” Aaron said with a laugh, but Maisey knew what he was thinking.
Because she was thinking the exact same thing.
As soon as she got home, Maisey took a long, hot shower. Aaron was still at the office, finishing up paperwork, and he’d also picked up all the paperwork they’d had in the boxes and taken those cartons to the office with a texted promise to Kyle to bring him the cartons as soon as Evelyn and Monty’s trials were over. The paperwork for the property, however, they could photocopy so Kyle could get the ball rolling on that. She took her time dressing, then slipped on the boots and pulled the legs of her jeans down over them. They were adorable, especially since no dead woman was filling up space in her head while she had them on!
Aaron and Murielle came in, they all ate dinner, and when Murielle was finished with her homework and had her clothes for the next day picked out, she snuggled down in her bed, oblivious to the ruckus that had taken place earlier in the day. Maisey finished cleaning up the kitchen, started a load of laundry, and sashayed back into the living room where Aaron was straightening everything up out there. As soon as he saw her, he grinned. “The boots really are cute.”
“I know, right? And they’re comfortable too.”
Aaron smirked. “And no dead women screaming in your head?”
“Nope.” Maisey waited until he sat down, then took a seat beside him.
“Think you’ll hear from her again?”
Maisey shook her head. “Nope.”
Aaron sat there for a second, staring at her, then grinned. “You’re not wearing something bright pink with fringe on it under those clothes, are you?”
Maisey chuckled. “Maybe.”
His grin turned wicked. “Mind if I look?”
“Nope.”
When he reached over to unbutton the top two buttons on her plaid shirt, she grabbed his hands. “You don’t want me to see?” he asked, his eyebrows hiking up.
“Oh, I want you to see. But I want you to see behind closed doors. I don’t need Murielle watching me do any bronc busting.”
“Is that right?” Aaron stood and reached out his hand to help her stand, then held it and smiled. “And what would you say to thunderin’ off down that hallway to our own buckin’ chute and taking a whirl on a wild bronc?”
Without a second’s warning, Maisey took off, dragging him behind her. “I’d say, yeehaw! Ride ‘em, cowgirl!”
As the bedroom door closed behind them, Aaron laughed. “Think you can last eight seconds?”
“I dunno. Can you?”
“Oh, yeah, cowgirl,” he said, unbuttoning her shirt and staring at the slits in her bra. “Pretty sure I can.”
Maisey threw back her head and laughed. “I’m countin’ on it!”