24. Chapter 24
July 1, 2011
12:36 pm
Hailey sat on the couch next to Trey. The box that held the case files was small and the reports were even smaller. Dust from the box riddled his coffee table but neither of them cared.
Despite Hailey’s invitation, Sara stayed behind to help Genevieve with Trinity, though Hailey figured it had more to do with spending time with Gavin and not being re-traumatized. Truth be told, Hailey hoped something developed between the two of them.
She and Trey had been looking over crime scene photos for nearly thirty minutes, studying each photo carefully. Hailey would look at the image as a whole then she would look from left to right, carefully examining each pixel.
Hailey almost missed the slight change in color of the dirt in the photo, but the light caught it just right. At the time, her father was having their yard relandscaped and there were marks running through the dirt that covered part of the yard.
Hailey showed Trey the photo. “What is this from?”
Trey took the photo from her and looked at it for a few moments. Finally, he raised a brow and said, “They’re drag marks. I bet someone dragged your sister inside.”
Hailey shook her head and furrowed her brows. “Wait, why would they do that? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Trey said, “Think about it: your mother is killed, and your sister is passed out in the yard. The killer waits for Thomas to leave and then gets an idea to move her body next to your mother’s, making it look like she may have had something to do with it.”
“That sounds like the killer is counting on luck and that’s a huge liability for someone who just killed a mayor’s wife. Plus, they’re running a huge risk of her waking up.”
Trey nodded. “True, but not if you’re someone who can control the narrative.”
Hailey knew he was referring to her father. Truthfully, he was looking guiltier by the minute.
“But why wouldn’t he carry her? She wasn’t that heavy,” Hailey asked.
“She vomited when Thomas dropped her off. He probably didn’t want the added mess.”
Hailey closed her eyes and exhaled. Sara was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it had altered her entire life. Hailey felt anger surge through her as she pictured her father deliberately setting up his own daughter.
Trey gave her back the photo and picked up the one he had set down. After a moment, he asked, “Were any of you going on vacation when your mother died?”
Hailey tilted her head and furrowed her brows. “No, we were about to head off to college, so she was doing last minute stuff to prepare for that.”
“Was your dad going on a business trip or coming back from one?”
Hailey shook her head in confusion. “No. Why?”
Trey slid the photo over to her and pointed to the upper left corner. “There are suitcases sitting near the front door. Why are they out if no one was leaving and no one was returning?”
Hailey studied the photo. “Those are definitely my mother’s.” After a moment, Hailey’s eyes widened. “She was leaving him, Trey.”
He nodded. “And your father wouldn’t take too kindly to that.”
“No, he wouldn’t. He would have been humiliated.” Hailey’s voice trailed off as she realized the likelihood that her father had killed her mother. She had seen first-hand the rage that overtook her father when he was disobeyed or disrespected. She couldn’t imagine how he would have reacted to her mother leaving him.
Morgan was finally standing up for herself after being manipulated, lied to, and abused by the man who claimed to love her. And she had died trying. And Sara was framed for it.
Hailey stood and started pacing, grief consuming her. After a moment, she stopped abruptly. “Do you really think he did it?”
“I uh-”
“Please, Trey. I can’t keep thinking in circles,” she said quietly.
He let out a breath and nodded slowly. “Yes, I think he killed her.”
Hailey squeezed her eyes shut. “We have to make sure he never sees the outside of a prison.”
Trey stood and wrapped her in an embrace. “Yeah, we do. But we have to find proof first.”
“This feels impossible,” she groaned.
“I know. Whoever helped investigate didn’t do their job. There's hardly any evidence, there’s no eye-witness statements, not even from you. It’s like they botched the investigation on purpose right along with Eli. And that thought scares me.”
Hailey didn’t want to believe the police would intentionally ruin a homicide investigation, but she knew better. There were countless stories of police deliberately derailing investigations for one reason or another. It was infuriating. She especially hated that it happened to her sister.
Hailey wanted to scream at the injustice of it all.
She buried her face in Trey’s chest, inhaling his scent. She wished time would stop. She felt safe in his arms but knew that tonight the nightmares would come back, and she’d have to face her monsters alone.
Trey kissed her crown. “We’re going to figure this out. I’m going to talk to the investigating officers, and I’ll likely have Internal Affairs open an investigation. If I.A. finds out they helped cover it up or botched the investigation, it would likely help get this case in front of a judge.”
She appreciated his dedication to her mother’s case, something he didn’t have to do.
Hailey lifted her head and studied Trey’s face. She loved him more than she cared to admit. Though she had come back to Auburndale full of anger toward this man, it had entirely melted away.
She didn’t dare tell him she was considering moving back so that they could rekindle their relationship. Well, likely not Auburndale because she wasn't sure she wanted to live in a place that held so much anguish, but somewhere close by.
She kissed him then, long and hard as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close. His hands traced her figure and she found herself running her fingers through his hair. It was as if they were making up for lost time.
She allowed herself to get lost in his kiss, to forget reality. She wanted to stay in this moment forever.
“I love you, Hailey,” he said, “but I want to make sure this is right. I don’t want either of us getting hurt if things don’t work out again, especially with Trinity.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “I love you too.”
He stilled, not expecting her response. She giggled. “I mean it, Trey. I love you.”
“So does this mean we’re done acting like we don’t like each other?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “I think so. Unless you do something to piss me off again.”
“Well, that’s pretty easy to do so…”
He laughed when she playfully smacked at his chest.
He kissed her again as they blindly made their way to his bedroom. Hailey kicked the door closed and melted into him, hoping that when this was all over, she wouldn’t regret it.
Unfortunately, Hailey and Trey didn’t find anything else of importance in the case files. As much as he wanted to sit in his cozy home on this rainy day and kiss her for hours, he needed to catch a killer. And he’d bet his entire career that person was David.
Though his gut told him David murdered Morgan, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Ryan was still somehow involved. The whole damn case was complicated. It was infuriating.
But despite who killed Morgan, it was evident Sara had been exploited. Everything Trey found out about the investigation thus far should have already been looked into. And from what he’d gathered, hardly anything had been thoroughly investigated.
No one checked alibis, potential eyewitnesses, or even possible suspects. Genevieve and Hailey should have been interviewed since they had the most involvement with Morgan. Nicole, Ryan, and David should have been questioned. But Washington bypassed any protocol and went straight to arresting and detaining Sara.
The problem with this case was they investigated Sara, but they didn’t investigate Morgan’s death. They went into the case with a biased opinion that Sara was guilty, and, because of that bias, they didn’t bother to chase down any other potential leads or suspects.
Trey just couldn't figure out why.
Why would Eli not make sure this was an air-tight case since, according to Hailey, the Gallaghers were like family to him?
He needed someone who could tell him exactly what happened with the investigation that night. So, he dropped Hailey off at Genevieve’s while he went back to the station to talk to the one man, he thought might actually tell him something.
Once inside, he beelined for Sargent Williams’ desk. Lucious was an older man, in his mid-sixties, with long salt and pepper hair that he kept pulled into a ponytail, his beard and mustache matching. Not a style Trey would wear but the ladies loved the Sargent, despite him being married for nearly forty years.
He was one of Trey’s favorite, and best, officers. Lucious was a wise man who spent his career taking the time to train other officers. He was fantastic at his job; fair and just, but he was also merciful when the circumstances called for it. He was no-nonsense and didn't mind calling other officers to the carpet, including Trey. Trey actually respected him for it.
Lucious saw him approaching and smiled. “Afternoon,” Lucious said with a nod.
“My office.”
He quickly followed Trey and took a seat across from the desk as Trey closed the door and sat down himself.
“How can I help, Chief?”
“This is off the record so we can drop the formality,” Trey said.
Lucious shifted slightly. “Okay.”
Trey tried to keep his temper at bay, but he was slowly losing control. This case was driving him crazy, and he was furious to know his own officers potentially covered up a murder. Especially Lucious.
“Do you know anything about a cover-up concerning the Morgan Gallagher case?” Trey saw fear flash behind the man’s eyes. Or was he being paranoid and seeing things that weren't there?
When Lucious didn’t respond, Trey continued, “There’s a lot of missing paperwork. You were one of the responding officers and I want you to tell me why protocol wasn’t followed. Walk me through the investigation.”
“I don’t know why reports aren’t there. I, uh, gotta get back to my desk. I’m trying to finish up some paperwork.” Lucious stood quickly and tried to exit.
Trey's voice boomed, “Sit down.”
The older man’s hand rested on the knob, his back to Trey.
Trey said, “I know something went on with this investigation and I want to know what it was. I’m going to make a phone call to I.A. and this will be your only chance to come clean before I involve them.”
The man shook his head. “Oh, hell.” Sighing, Lucious sat back down and rubbed his face. “We were blackmailed into incriminating Sara.”
“What are you talking about? What blackmail?”
Lucious looked at the floor, embarrassed. “David blackmailed me.”
“Are you kidding me, Lucious?” Trey was livid. If Lucious was capable of being blackmailed and altering reports, anyone was. And that thought had Trey feeling nauseous.
Lucious said, “A few years before Morgan died, he approached me about my son. Said he had been hooking up with Sara. David told me he would let it go but that I would owe him.”
Trey shook his head. “Why didn’t you go to Washington?”
“My son was eighteen and Sara was only fifteen.”
No wonder the man did as he was told. If Trey was in Lucious’ shoes, he likely wouldn’t risk his son being arrested for statutory rape and possibly even pedophilia. Especially if it had been consensual.
Trey made a mental note to ask Sara about it.
“Why didn’t you go to the higher ups?” Trey asked.
Lucious snorted. “You and I both know where their loyalty lies. And it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. David had pictures of my boy and Sara- which is pretty sick if you ask me- so there would have been an investigation regardless.”
For years, Trey heard rumors that David paid off a number of people for a number of things, from keeping his family out of trouble to gaining votes. But blackmailing cops into helping him frame his daughter for the murder of his wife…that seemed low even for David.
When Trey didn’t respond, Lucious said, “I don’t have proof, but Eli and David go way back, and I know Eli would have done just about anything to stay in the mayor’s good graces.”
“Would you ?” Trey asked plainly.
“Would I what?”
“Do anything to stay in David’s good graces? Or was this the only favor you did for him?”
Trey saw the pain in his friend’s eyes. It was clear Lucious felt guilty about the ordeal, but Trey couldn’t simply forget about all that the man had confessed to, as much as he wished he could. It was one thing to extend mercy to someone who had broken the law, but to willingly screw up an investigation was inexcusable.
Lucious shook his head. “No, I never took any calls if I thought his family was involved.”
“Did Washington know about the blackmail?” Trey asked.
Lucious shrugged. “I never told him but that doesn’t mean David didn’t.”
“Had anyone else at the scene been blackmailed?”
Lucious rubbed his hand together, not making eye contact with Trey. No one wanted to rat on a fellow officer, but Trey could tell that all of this weighed heavily on the man.
Lucious sighed. “Yes. All five officers at Morgan’s crime scene had accepted a bribe or had been blackmailed…except Bobby Young. He was new which is why I think Washington had him there; easier to control and manipulate. He was thrown off the force shortly after, so he wasn't as easy to manipulate as Washington and David thought. Serves them right, honestly.”
If Bobby was fired because he wouldn't follow orders, he may be their best witness as to what happened with the investigation that night.
“And, if I were you,” Lucious continued, “I’d also check with the Medical Examiner. The report that’s in the file isn’t the original. I heard Eli telling the M.E. to change it.”
Trey perked up. He hadn’t expected the M.E. to be involved, but that wasn’t surprising if they wanted to doctor an outcome.
Trey studied his friend. Lucious was a great cop and an even better friend. He was a deacon at his church and was a wonderful father and husband. Trey had a hard time believing all of this was true.
Yet, here Lucious was, admitting it all.
This job taught Trey that no matter how good someone is, there’s always a breaking point. And there’s almost always a secret to be uncovered.
Trey said, “I’ll make a call to I.A. For now, I’ll need your gun and badge. You’re suspended until further notice.”
Every case Lucious had been a part of would be investigated, as would the cases of the other officers. He didn’t doubt that many criminals were about to go free because of technicalities and that made Trey even more angry with David and Washington and the involved officers.
He had a serious clusterfuck on his hands. No doubt people would be coming out of the woodwork to file misconduct charges against his precinct, many of which would be fabricated. Not to mention the press was going to have a field day once news broke. Of course, he couldn’t forget how quickly the rumor mill worked. He got a headache just thinking about it. Their P.R. specialist was going to have her work cut out for her.
Lucious stood and placed his gun and badge on Trey’s desk, his hand lingering for a painful moment. However, despite being saddened by the news, he shook Trey's hand and said, “It’s been a pleasure serving under you.”
Trey admired the man for his humility. Most cops would likely need to be escorted out of the building. It made this decision even harder for Trey. He didn’t want to fire or suspend Lucious because Trey knew that one bad moment doesn’t define your character. But he also knew that if the police couldn’t uphold the law, then they sure as hell couldn’t enforce it.
Before Lucious left, Trey said, “Be careful. Someone is killing people involved in this case and I don’t want to see you hurt or have to stand over your dead body.”
Lucious simply gave him a nod. With that, he left the building, gaining stares from other officers as he did.
I’ve been watching Trey since he got back to the police department. I know he’s getting much too close to the truth. Enough to keep me tossing and turning at night.
I try to calm myself. Even if he knows the truth, he can’t do anything about it, not without proof. I smile at that. He must be going crazy trying to put the pieces together.
Unfortunately for him, I’m too smart for that. I have eluded the police for thirteen years, and not by luck. It’s taken planning and cleverness. I’ve had to be cunning and calculating, leaving nothing up to chance.
I turn my attention to the door, movement catching my gaze. I was hoping it was Trey coming out, but instead it’s Lucious. I saw him on patrol earlier so his shift shouldn’t be over yet. He’s now back in street clothes, no gun or badge visible.
That’s concerning. Lucious always wears his gun and badge on his belt, even when off duty. Part of me wants to approach him and ask why it’s gone, but that would raise suspicion.
However, I don’t need to ask. I already know the answer. It only makes sense that the cowboy would question him about Morgan’s murder. And if he is without a gun and badge…well, it means he told Trey what he knew.
Which is fine. For now.
He doesn’t know enough to make me worry, though I’ll keep an eye on him.
The Beast beacons for Lucious as he climbs into his car. My gaze follows him until he’s out of sight.
Today is Lucious’ lucky day. Today, I won't kill him.
But the Beast is clawing at the surface again, begging to be released. I feel myself losing control. Not that I mind, I love The Beast. Because of him, I’m able to let out the darkest part of me. The part that society would love to slaughter.
They would be surprised to know I’m the monster found in nightmares, the kind that lurks in the sunlight, waiting for darkness to fall. I’m the creature you let into your home, not realizing you should have locked your doors instead. I’m the beast you trust…and by the time you realize the truth, you’re already dead.
As children, we’re taught to bury the darkness, to ignore the monsters that live within us. But what they don’t understand is how satisfying it is to succumb to the yearning that beckons us. Everyone likes to pretend evil doesn’t exist within them, but it’s those who embrace it that are completely satisfied.
We understand there's a euphoria that comes when our monsters are released. When we’re on the hunt and catch our prey, there’s nothing more fulfilling than that of the whimpers of the weak. And when our hands are covered in the blood of our victims, that’s when we’re most alive.
Now The Beast is tearing through, his force much too strong for me to stop. It’s painful, a stabbing in the pit of my stomach. It’s an aching desire, one that will need to be satisfied in order to stop the pain.
And Trey Harbor will be the one to fulfill it.