The secrets they keep, p.5
The Secrets They Keep, page 5
Doreen stared at the ground and nodded.
“And you’ll get through this together,” Madigan said, taking a step back and turning toward the door. As she walked away, she remembered the way Kurt looked at Doreen when the officiant pronounced them husband and wife.
Pure bliss. Maybe someday, someone might feel that way about me, and I’ll love them back just as much.
She hurried down the steps outside and walked around to the driver’s side of the limo, holding her hand up to her driver before knocking on the window. It buzzed down, and the driver turned down the radio.
“Sir? The Bride just asked me to let you know you can go,” Madigan said.
“You sure?”
She nodded.
“Terrible what happened,” he said. “Cops hoped maybe I’d seen something, but I was across the street a ways having a coffee. Kinda glad I wasn’t here.”
“Why were you here so early?” Madigan asked.
“Oh, the Best Man…I guess the deceased now—told me he wanted to decorate the limo for the newlyweds. I came a half hour early. Free of charge.”
“When did you get back?” she asked.
“Ten minutes before they were scheduled to leave,” he said. “Guests had just begun to file out. I’m always early. It was before all the commotion happened. Hey, you live close?”
Madigan nodded.
“That your cab?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“Why don’t I give you a drive?”
I’ve never been in a limo before, but this is for Kurt and Doreen.
“Oh, I couldn’t. I live by the coast. Rosebank Drive.”
“That’s not too far. Why not?” he asked. “I’ve already been paid. Tipped too.”
She shook her head and took a step away from the limo.
He shrugged. “Alright then…”
“I mean… I guess it would be a waste…” she whispered.
He smiled and hit a button, nodding to the back.
After scurrying back to the door, she climbed in and sighed, relieving the pressure from her feet. A bottle of champagne sat in a silver bucket with glasses beside it, and one long-stemmed red rose laid on the seat beside her.
“Help yourself to a glass,” the driver called as the partition slid open. “No sense wasting that either.”
“Thank you!”
It feels wrong to enjoy this, but when else will I get the chance?
As she popped the bottle open, bubbles spilled down the sides. She glanced over at the champagne flutes, but after witnessing the events of the night, she took a swig straight from the bottle. The dry carbonation left a stale taste in her mouth, but she took a second sip.
So this is how the other half lives.
As they made their first turn onto Main Street, something dug into her back.
Did Grace leave the tag on this dress?
She brushed her hand against the smooth seat behind her and pulled out a white envelope. No name on the front. She drank the last bit from her glass and set it down, opening up the envelope.
Crack open the bottle and have a drink on me. A toast to love.
Through rocky terrain, peaks and valleys, may you always lean on each other for strength. May you always remember your vows and that as long as you are willing to try, you can accomplish anything together.
Kurt, trust me when I say, Doreen is the best thing to happen to you. We’re both lucky men to have our best friends by our side. May we all grow old together.
Cheers and all my love, Cory.
Madigan folded it back up and slipped it into the envelope.
“This note,” she called over the music. “We need to take it back! Did you see who left it in here?”
“Oh, shit. The deceased gave it to me to put back there with the champagne and rose. I should have taken that to the police.”
“I’d better bring this in,” she said.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Madigan ran back to the building and gave the envelope to the officer at the door, telling him to take it to Detective Sheppard. She thought about the note on the rest of the ride home.
“Did Cory say anything else to you?” she asked.
“No,” he called. “Just paid me and left that envelope.”
“And he tipped you?”
“No, that was another guy in a suit. The one decorating the limo. He asked if I was tipped. I said no, so he gave me fifty. Generous guy.”
“Thanks for the ride. This was the silver lining of my night.”
“Glad I could be of service to someone.” He waved to her before she slipped out.
Madigan pulled her key from her clutch, and the driver waited until she was inside to leave. She re-armed the alarm system as Buster wagged his golden tail at her feet, eager for her attention.
All seems well in here.
“Hey, boy,” she whispered, kicking off her heels and bending down to kiss the top of his big head. “I missed you too.”
She turned on the lights, and Buster followed her into each room as she checked the locks on all windows and doors. She changed out of the dress and into a Tragically Hip tank top and baggy jogging pants, tying her hair up as she shuffled to the kitchen, jiggling the back door handle.
Locked. Good.
“I’m a little tipsy, Buster,” she hiccupped and poured herself a glass of water.
As she put the pitcher back into the fridge, something caught her eye. The light turned on in the backyard. She walked over to the door, and Buster wagged his tail behind her. She watched him as he sat down and stared up at her.
“All good?” she whispered.
He licked his lips and stared outside.
He doesn’t sense anything. No footprints in the fresh snow.
She rubbed her hands over the goosebumps on her arms and took a sip of water as the light went out, and her reflection in the glass door stared back at her.
Don’t be a chicken.
Her brother, Drew, used to say that to her all the time.
Would you call me that now? No, probably not.
Anger swirled in her stomach as she let Buster out and stood by the door watching as he did his business before letting him back in again.
You’d probably want to tear apart the guy who attacked me right here in this kitchen as much as I do. Maybe more.
The attack happened months before, and she had convinced herself some progress had been made since. She could go out into the backyard alone during the day without looking over her shoulder all the time. Not worry much when she left Buster by himself with the security system armed. She even slept through the night sometimes.
But most nights, when she was by herself, she relived the attack in her memories, over and over again, whether she wanted to or not. The memories had control over her, and nothing she did could turn her out of the spiral she would send herself down.
Seeing the dark figure emerge from the shadows of the hallway.
Feeling the sharp throbbing in her hip when he yanked her down to the floor.
His weight on top of her.
The way he swore when Buster must have hurt him or bit him.
The sinking feeling that her life would be over, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Except Grace had come home.
The man escaped.
“You think you got away with it,” she whispered, removing her notebook from her side bag.
She grabbed a pen from the desk and sat down on the blow-up mattress as Buster circled around and laid down beside it. She opened the book and turned to the last written page.
Fourteen names.
One on each line.
Ten of them scratched out.
“Wherever you are,” she whispered, “I’ll find you.”
Chapter Seven
“We need to ask you both some questions,” Grace said as she and Mac sat down across from the newlyweds. “Have you noticed anything different about the Boyds in the past few weeks? Months?”
“It’s my fault,” Doreen said, and Kurt took her hand in his, shaking his head. “Yes, it is. I’ve been so preoccupied with wedding planning and making everything run smoothly, I can’t even answer that question properly. We weren’t as close…”
“Did you feel her pull away, or was it you?” Grace asked.
“I guess a bit of both,” Doreen said.
“Okay,” Grace said. “Let’s go back a bit. When did you both notice Cory and Marie having problems?”
“Since before the wedding,” Kurt said.
Sometimes other people can see things more clearly because they’re at a distance. They have a different perspective. Or maybe Marie lied, and things had always been tumultuous.
“Could you elaborate?” Mac asked. “Yours or theirs?”
“Theirs. I don’t know if they’ve ever been the right fit,” Doreen said. “Marie is... practical. A Type A personality. Cory was a Type B. Very laid-back. The first time Marie brought up anything serious was after the wedding, regarding their issues conceiving,” Doreen said.
“Things seemed rocky there until Cory’s big win,” Kurt said.
“Blackjack, right?” Mac asked. “Then roulette.”
Kurt nodded. “He bought them a house, got himself a business, and like Doreen said, he’s always been generous, but for a while there, all the drinks were on him. All the dinners. They actually paid for our whole engagement party.”
“Really?” Grace asked.
“You know, I didn’t even have to ask him about being my Best Man. It was just this unspoken thing. He just took charge. Always doing for others and trying to make things happen for himself.” His face turned sullen and he sat back in his seat.
“Had either of you noticed anything unusual about them lately?” Mac asked. “I know you don’t think you know much, but really, anything out of the ordinary can help.”
“Well, he planned my bachelor party, and when we went, he was really going overboard. It’s like him when he’s drinking, so I didn’t think much of it. He was trying to show me a good time. Then, one night when we got back to our room from the casino, he and I sat on the balcony and watched the sun come up. We drank. We talked. He told me he and Marie had never been worse. He was so scared she was going to leave him. The issues with having a baby put a real strain on him. I’ve never seen him like that.”
“What else did he tell you?” Mac asked.
Kurt sighed. “I guess after that, it was mostly me talking. I told him he’s gotta straighten up after the bachelor party. That it was my new beginning, but that he should look at it the same way. He was smiling by the end of it. He thanked me for—”
He choked on the last words, and tears slid down his dry cheeks.
“Why did he need to straighten up?” Mac asked.
“He drank at least every weekend,” Doreen said, rubbing Kurt’s back. “Came home late. Fought with Marie. He didn’t want to try IVF with her, and she felt like she was alone in their marriage a lot of the time.”
“Tonight, when you went out and saw the fight between Cory and Todd, what did you make of it?” Mac asked.
“I didn’t even understand what was going on at first,” Kurt said. “It was so out of the blue. Cory and Todd have always gotten along fine.”
“Do you know why Cory punched him?” Grace asked.
“I think he thought Todd was hitting on Marie,” he said. “That doesn’t make sense, though.”
“You’ve never seen anything between them?” Grace asked.
“No,” Kurt said.
“They’re friendly,” Doreen said, “but they only saw each other in regards to wedding plans and events. I think I would have known.”
But you’re not sure. Something in your eyes tells me you’re second-guessing.
The front doors opened, and Malone strode toward them with an envelope.
“Okay, we appreciate your time tonight,” Grace said. “We’ll wrap this up, but we’ll have follow-up questions for you at a later date. Will you be here?”
Doreen and Kurt looked at each other.
“What?” Mac asked.
“We were supposed to go to Europe for our honeymoon,” Doreen said.
“Tomorrow morning,” Kurt added.
“You should go.” Grace stood. “We can call you or communicate via emails while you’re gone.”
Mac turned to her, but she ignored him.
“I don’t know,” Kurt said.
“Think about it, okay?” Grace asked. “Just make sure you let me know either way.”
Kurt nodded and took Doreen’s hand in his once more as Mac stood.
Tarek, the resident tech analyst, walked in with a large case and set it up on one of the tables.
“I want to check the pictures,” Grace said.
Mac walked with her toward Tarek. “We should have discussed it before letting them go on their honeymoon,” he said.
“You want to treat them like suspects when they were with people at all times?” Grace asked. “It was their wedding. They have had it tough enough as it is.”
“You should have talked to me first, that’s all I’m saying. I appreciate being consulted before a decision like that is made.”
I don’t need to consult you.
She pursed her lips as they reached Tarek.
Same could be said for you and telling Marie how her husband was killed.
“I’ll be all set up in a sec,” Tarek said. “May I have the chip please?”
Grace gave him the chip, and Malone handed Mac a white envelope in a plastic bag. Mac and Grace put their gloves on, and Mac unfolded the envelope.
“Your sister gave it to me,” Malone said. “From the limo driver. He said the vic asked him to put it in there for the bride and groom.”
Mac read the letter out loud.
“Sounds hopeful,” Grace said. “Optimistic.”
“Well, that’s how Kurt seemed to leave things off with him,” Mac said.
“Doesn’t seem like he saw this coming,” Malone said.
“We want to take a closer inspection of the crime scene.” Mac turned away from her. “Actually, Malone, let’s head out while Grace and Tarek check out the photos.”
Grace opened her mouth to tell him she wanted to be out there too, but they left as Tarek pulled out a chair for her.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
I’m still picking my battles with him.
“All set,” Tarek said. “Eight hundred and ninety-one images to go through.”
“Can we start with the time stamp at about nine PM? We can look more indepth back at the department later.”
“Sure thing.” Tarek typed something and hit enter, bringing them to a picture of the bride and groom slow dancing with several guests around them dancing too. Grace studied each photo as Tarek hit the next button methodically.
“What are we looking for?” he asked.
“Hard to say. Anything unusual. Any fighting. I want to see who’s not outside around the time of the murder.” Grace leaned in closer. “Stop.”
In the corner of a wide shot of the hall, Marie and Todd stood close together by the coffee and dessert table, their backs turned to the camera.
“The one before,” she said. “Nope, okay, one after.”
He flipped to the one after, but they had both been taken minutes before and after the wide angle shot.
“Okay, that one again,” she said.
Todd seemed to look down at the dessert table straight ahead of him, but Marie looked up at him from a side profile.
Nothing inappropriate here. Just two friends talking. Maybe.
“Okay, without any other photos, it’s not giving me enough,” she said. “Keep going.”
Grace checked her cell phone and matched up the time of her call with Madigan at nine thirteen to the timestamp on the photos.
“There,” she said.
She pointed to the screen where Marie walked around a table in the background of a shot toward the bathroom. “That’s where she said she was until they were getting ready to leave,” she said. “Next shot.”
The next one showed her opening the door to the bathroom in the background, and the next she was gone. “Okay, keep going slow. There,” she said.
Marie and the other bridesmaid stood just outside the bathroom doors, and Katie had her arm on Marie’s.
“Her alibi seems to hold up, but we’ll double check with the bridesmaid,” Grace said. “Okay, interesting.”
If she saw her in there and spent time with her until they came out, her alibi would be solid for the time of Cory’s death.
“Okay, could you bring that back to the department and make copies of the chip for us please? I’d also like the photos printed out.”
Tarek nodded. “No problem. Anything else I can do?”
“Could you look through those photos nice and slow, making note of anything of interest?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks. I’m going out to the crime scene. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As she left through the double doors, one of the last cars pulled out of the lot, and Mac and Malone spoke with another officer by the police tape around the crime scene.
“Okay,” Mac said. “Let’s get started.”
“You waited?” she asked as he approached and held the tape up for her.
“Yeah,” he said. “We work it together.”
She ducked under.
Maybe I’ve still got some clout from catching the thieves earlier.
“Lockwood’s been by to collect the body,” he said. “She’s always happy when it’s been preserved in a cold environment.”
He led her toward the car.
“Okay, first thing I noticed earlier was the footprints,” he said. “There’s two sets coming in from the back there.”
He pointed fifty feet away, to the back of the hall, where several trees and bushes separated it from a residential area.
“They lead right to the car here,” she said, staring at the long sight line. “One set coming, one set going back into the trees. It’s bright out here with that light. They’d risk being seen in this lot, so maybe they retreated if someone came or they heard something.”
