My heart stopped. “You think…you think they were in the house?”

  Weasel shrugged. “I don’t know what I think anymore. But I thought you should know.”

  I nodded. It was what they would call a suspicious death. That was my field. “Got it. Anything else I should know?”

  Weasel looked at me. “No. Go on home to those beautiful kids of yours. Kiss them from me, will you?”

  I chuckled. Weasel never had kids of her own. I often wondered if she regretted her decision.

  “Sure thing.” While I spoke, the firefighters finally managed to put out the last few flames. The spectators clapped, and so did I. They were the true heroes around here. First responders in most situations. They never knew what would await them when they arrived.

  “Chief!” I heard the Captain of the fire department yell, addressed to Weasel. He approached her, holding something between his hands. “We found this.”

  “A gas can,” I said. “Where did you find it?”

  “In the driveway. Next to that burnt out car over there.”

  “Was that the wife’s car?” I asked. “There seem to be two.”

  Weasel looked pensive. “The husband said she drove a brown Audi.”

  “That’s not a brown car,” I said. “Anyone can see that, even from where we’re standing. It might have been burned, but that car was black.”

  I walked closer and spotted the license plate. It was still sitting in its place. I kneeled next to it, careful not to step on anything. Weasel was behind me.

  “Could you run this plate for me, please?” I asked.

  “Sure thing.” Weasel grabbed her radio and ran the plate. Then she looked at me while shaking her head. “It belongs to Judge Pete Martin.” Weasel went pale. “What the…what is Judge Martin’s car doing here?”

  “Maybe he was visiting?”

  “You think he was in there as well? Oh, my God.” Weasel clasped her face. I couldn’t blame her for being upset. “What the heck is going on around here?” she asked, looking at me like I had an answer for everything.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But I can tell you one thing. Someone set this house on fire. And that someone wanted us to know it was on purpose.”

  35

  JANUARY 2015

  WEASEL AND I drove in my Jeep together to get to Judge Martin’s house. He lived in one of the newer houses in Cocoa Isles, overlooking the Thousand Islands. His wife opened the door.

  “Mrs. Martin?” I asked and showed her my badge.

  “Yes?” She looked from me to Weasel and back. The terror was in her eyes. It seemed like she already suspected something was wrong. “Weslie? What’s going on here?”

  “We’re looking for Pete,” Weasel said.

  “He’s not here. He was supposed to be home hours ago. I called his cell, but…” she stopped herself. Her eyes were flickering back and forth between us. “Did something happen?”

  “We don’t know yet, ma’am,” I said. “But we did locate his car.”

  “His car? Where?”

  I took in a deep breath. Weslie was personal friends with the judge and his wife. It was best if I told her. I didn’t have emotions involved. “It was parked in the driveway of a house that burned down this afternoon. We still don’t…”

  I didn’t get any further before she broke down and cried. “Oh, no!” She clasped her mouth. “I mean, I heard the sirens…I watched it on TV. The news chopper showed everything. I wondered…I knew…”

  “Could you tell us what your husband might be doing there?” I asked.

  “He…he…he was visiting…he thought I didn’t know, but I did. It has been going on for months. I let him. Thought he would figure out that he wasn’t really missing out on anything, that he had all he needed at home, if you understand what I mean…It wasn’t like it was his first. He always comes back…he always…oh, my…if you’ll excuse me, I need to…sit down.”

  I grabbed her arm before she fell and helped her inside the hallway. I found a chair and helped her sit down.

  “Just take it easy, Mrs. Martin,” I said. “We don’t know that anything has happened to him yet.”

  Weasel held her hand while Mrs. Martin sobbed, then bit her lip to hold it back. “It’s all my fault. I should have stood up to him. I should have told him I knew. Told him to end it as soon as I found out. I even drove over there to see her. She was gorgeous. And so much younger than me. How was I supposed to compete? All I could do was to give him a stable home to come back to and hope he would know not to throw that away, you know?”

  I exhaled. “I know,” I said. “You did the best you could.”

  Mrs. Martin choked on a cry. It was hard for her to breathe properly. “You shouldn’t be alone,” Weasel said. “Do you want me to call your sister to come?”

  Mrs. Martin nodded with a sob. “That would be very nice, thank you. I need to call the kids as well. They’re upstate. They deserve to know.”

  “Maybe you should wait with that till we know what happened,” Weasel suggested. “The technicians are working the scene right now, and hopefully we’ll know more soon.”

  Mrs. Martin looked up at Weasel. “Technicians? As in crime scene technicians? You think it was arson?”

  Weasel nodded. “We’re pretty certain. We found a can of gasoline on the scene.”

  Mrs. Martin gasped and held a hand to her chest. Then, she finally broke down and let the tears roll across her face. Weasel called for the sister while I found a box of tissues in the bathroom and handed it to her. She thanked me and wiped her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I feel horrible that you have to see me like this. It’s all just so…”

  “Unbelievable. I know,” I said.

  36

  JANUARY 2015

  TWO DAYS LATER, Weasel called me into her office. It was right before lunch and I was planning on hitting the Juice ‘N Java within a few minutes when she spoiled my plans.

  “Shut the door,” she said with a serious face.

  “I take it you have news?” I asked and sat down.

  She sighed and hid her face between her hands for a second before she looked at me again. “It was him. They finally identified the body found in the burned down house. It was Judge Martin.”

  “Jeez. Well, at least the family will finally get closure,” I said. “Did you tell his wife yet?”

  “I’m going over there after this meeting. Just trying to gather myself a little first.”

  “I understand. What about the mother and child?”

  She threw a file on the desk in front of me. “According to this, they found remains of just one body. They used dental records to ID him.”

  “At least that gives us hope for the mother, Melanie Schultz, and her child,” I said and flipped through the pages in the file. Pictures of the carbonized body parts jumped out at me. They had found bullets on the scene too. And then the can of gasoline. They believed it had been poured on the body of the judge. The fire started in the living room.

  “Yeah, well. With fires, you never know. But, yes. I have a feeling the mother and child weren’t in the house,” she said. “I just can’t for the life of me…understand what the judge was doing in the house all by himself?”

  “It sounds odd. Maybe he was waiting for her to come home. What we know now is they usually met at two o’clock every Wednesday. Her friends have told us and so has Mrs. Martin, who knew all about it. Maybe Melanie Schultz just never made it home?”

  Weasel slammed her palm on the table. “But the car, Jack. Her car was right there.” She pointed at the file in my hand. “It was in the driveway. She drove home, but then what? She decided to go for a walk? She was picked up by someone? She took a cab out of town and disappeared? What?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s stick to what we do know. The judge. Who do we think would want to kill the judge?” I asked.

  Weasel snorted. “Look around. A lot of people. There’s an election coming up. His poster is in most people’s front yard. He had many supporters around here, but also many opponents. He put criminals in jail. It could be political. It could be revenge. You pick. There’s a lot to choose from. There are many people with motives.”

  “Like his wife,” I said.

  “Don’t get cocky.”

  “I’m not. I’m serious,” I said. “The man was cheating on her repeatedly. That gives her a pretty good motive in my book.”

  “I’ve known the woman since we were children. It’s not her,” Weasel growled.

  “We have to at least look into it,” I said. “And you know it.”

  “Good grief. Okay then, but be careful with her, all right? She’s in a fragile state of mind.”

  “I’m always gentle,” I said and smiled. “So, are we looking at a connection on the three deaths here?” I asked.

  Weasel shook her head. “I talked to Sheriff Ron earlier, and we both agree there is no need to look into that angle. Nothing connects them, apart from the fact that they were committed in our town within a close time frame. I think it’s just a coincidence. There is nothing that indicates they’re related. One of the deaths is a suicide, so that is certainly not connected to the others.”

  I wasn’t sure I agreed, but didn’t say it out loud.

  “What about the man Melanie’s friends said they saw at the parking lot at the restaurant right after they were done eating?” I asked. “I can’t seem to get him out of my mind.”

  “The Animal Control guy?” Weasel asked.

  “Yes. They said he was driving one of the vans from Animal Control and had snakes in a tank inside the van. He offered them a ride, they told us. One of the girls took a look inside and saw the snakes.”

  Weasel nodded. “Joel called Animal Control, and they told him they didn’t have a guy in that area on that date.” She looked at me pensively. “You think he might have followed her back to the house?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea at this point. But I think we should have a drawing made and send it to the newspaper and ask the public to help us find this guy. Tell them we’d like to talk to him.”

  Weasel nodded. “I’ll set that in motion. The friends said they got a pretty good look at him. They can help us get a good picture of this Snake-guy. What else? How are we on the suicide and the homicide on West Bay Drive?”

  “Nothing much to tell yet,” I said. “I’m looking into Rhonda Harris’ finances. She made quite a lot of money the last couple of years. I’m trying to figure out where the money came from.”

  “Good. But don’t spend too much time on the West Bay Drive case. The murder of the judge has first priority now, and finding Melanie Schultz and her child. Judge Martin was a high-profile judge around here. People will be demanding justice. I know the Mayor will. It’s going to create quite the media-drama once they get the news. I’m not looking forward to that part.”

  I got up from my chair, holding the file in my hand. “I want to take a closer look at it anyway,” I said.

  “By all means. It’s your case now. Knock yourself out.”

  “Thanks,” I said, and walked towards the door. I grabbed the handle and looked back at Weasel. “And don’t worry. I think you look great on TV.”

  I ducked just in time to avoid the stapler hitting me.

  37

  APRIL 1990

  SHE HAD EVERYTHING she could ever ask for in life. She had the most beautiful house in a gated area, she had the biggest most expensive car, and the most beautiful jewelry that Victor brought home for her almost every month just to spoil her.

  She had everything, her neighbors said, with jealousy in their voices. Even her child was beautiful. Her little baby boy, who was now five years of age, was just so…so perfect.

  Why wasn’t she happy? Why wasn’t Annie enjoying any of it? Why did she constantly feel like she was trapped in a prison and couldn’t breathe?

  Why?

  She asked herself that very question every day when Victor kissed her goodbye with those yellow crooked teeth and bad breath of his, and she was left alone with the child. She never knew what to do with him. To be honest, she found it hard to spend time with him, and often she would leave him downstairs with some toys, then walk upstairs and go back to sleep or just hide. She didn’t know what it was about the child, but she just didn’t like to be close to him. She feared it was because of how he had come to be. Did she resent him for it? Did she somehow blame him for the rape?

  She didn’t know. All she knew was that she was counting the days till he would start Kindergarten after the summer. Then, Annie wouldn’t have to be with him all day. Finally, she would be able to have some time for herself.

  While sitting in her bathrobe in her bedroom, listening to the boy play with his toys downstairs, smashing cars into each other and pretending they exploded, she wondered if she even loved him.

  Victor adored the kid. There was no doubt about it. He loved the boy. But Annie found it harder and harder. When she looked at his face, she sometimes thought she saw Tim’s eyes, or one of his friend’s facial expressions. And that was when she was reminded of what had happened on that dreadful night six years ago.

  Two years ago, she had confided everything to her mother. She hadn’t been able to hold it in anymore, and just told her everything. She asked her if she was a terrible mother because she found it hard to look at her own child.

  Hoping her mother would understand her, she had leaned against her shoulder, longing for a comforting hug, but her mother had, instead, moved away and turned her back on her. She had walked to the kitchen sink and started peeling potatoes while saying:

  “Well at least everything turned out fine, right? At least you have a good husband now, and you live a great life in that big house. I tell you, I’ve never had a house like that. You should be very grateful and not dig up all these ugly memories. Make the best of what you’ve got. That’s what I always say. That’s how you get by; that’s how you live a good life.”

  Annie had stared at her mother’s back while she spoke. While tears streamed across her cheeks and the feeling of abandonment pierced her stomach, she imagined grabbing that potato peeler out of her mother’s hand and piercing her in the heart with it. She wondered what it would feel like and closed her eyes to shut out her mother’s words. They felt like punches to her stomach.

  Since then, Annie had stopped seeking her parents’ comfort and understanding. While her discomfort in that big mansion grew day by day, she wondered if anyone would even care if she died.

  “Victor would,” she mumbled to herself and shivered in disgust. The more the days passed with him, the more she couldn’t stand being close to him. She always dreaded having sex with him and tried to get out of it if he suggested or tried to make a move when they went to bed. There was always a headache or a tiredness to blame it on. Every now and then, she gave in to him, simply because she felt she had to, since he had done so much for her, and let his stinking sweaty body on top of hers. She would close her eyes and think of something else while he finished his business. Lately, she had started to gain a lot of weight, trying to make herself less attractive to him, and it seemed to be working. So, she continued. Sitting in her bedroom during the day, she stuffed herself with chocolate, cheesecake, chips, and sodas. Soon Victor stopped making approaches on her at night at all. It was a small victory for her, but it didn’t help with the child. She still wasn’t happy, and she blamed the boy.

  “Soon,” she whispered, sitting in her bedroom, while he played wildly downstairs, knocking over furniture and jumping on the couch. “Soon, he’ll be gone all day, and then you’ll be able to enjoy your life. Then you’ll be happy.”

  38

  JANUARY 2015

  WE HAD A drawing made of the snake-guy and it was published in all the local papers and shown on TV, along with pictures of Melanie and Sebastian Schultz. According to Melanie’s friends, the guy was both long-haired and long-bearded. He wore his hair in a ponytail. It got a lot of immediate response from the public, but unfortunately, nothing we could use.

  As Monday morning came and went, I feared more and more for the life of Melanie and her child. I had hoped they had just gone somewhere else, maybe visited family or friends we didn’t know about, and then maybe would see this on TV and call us. But nothing came of it.

  On Tuesday, I finally had a breakthrough in the suicide of Rhonda Harris. The bank tracked her big payments over the last couple of years and found them to be coming from across the street, from Laura Bennett’s bank account. And they were quite large amounts. Hundreds of thousands of dollars several times a year.

  “Why was Laura Bennett paying Rhonda Harris?” I asked Weasel, when we went for lunch at Juice N’ Java across the street.

  “Ask the husband,” she said.

  So, I did. I called him and asked him to come down to the station. He arrived in the afternoon. I hadn’t seen him since I had been at the hospital to interview him. He looked at lot better now. He was dressed nicely in a white shirt and black pants. He had trimmed his moustache and cut his hair nicely, making him look a little like a young Tom Selleck. He didn’t look like the drunk everybody was so busy making him into. But some drunks hid it well. I smelled no alcohol on his breath, though.

  “Haven’t touched a drink since it happened,” he said, as if he could read my mind. He sat down. “Haven’t gambled either.”

  “Good to hear. So, how’s Ben?” I asked. I knew he was back in school, since Abigail and Austin had told me. They had all tried to be a good friend to him, they said. I liked that.

  “He’s better,” Brandon Bennett said. “It hasn’t been easy, but people have been good to us. They’re taking real good care of him at the school.”

  “That’s good to know,” I said. “That’s what I’ve always liked about this town. We take care of each other here in Cocoa Beach.”

 

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