Deceitful Moon Read online

  The feeling of uneasiness came racing back. Elevator metaphor notwithstanding, someone had brought that bag and rifle into his house. Who else besides him and his family had access? He and Louise needed to talk.

  Suddenly he felt eyes watching him. He spun around and . . . Sampson was looking at him, head cocked, with that look dogs universally coined as theirs: he really had to take a leak.

  Manny patted the dog on the head and let him out the back. Then he went to the bedroom, opened the door, and stared.

  His wife usually slept like she was in a deep trance, but this time she was wide-eyed and blanketing his face with a look that melted his heart.

  “Manny. What is it?” she whispered.

  “I need you to come with me, okay?”

  Silently, she picked her robe off the bedpost, their bedpost, and followed him into the spare room. It took everything he had to control the turmoil slapping his heart around.

  Louise moved a couple steps toward the trapdoor and stopped, taking his hand. He frowned.

  She is afraid to go closer, yet . . .

  “What do you know about what’s down there?” he asked, almost inaudibly.

  “You mean my piece of mind? A piece of hell? A piece of my soul?” she was getting angry.

  “I found a sniper’s rifle and a bag of bloody clothes, along with a cell phone and a handgun. Someone had to put it there after we got you out.”

  She let go of his hand and moved in front of him. “What are you talking about? Have you been drinking? There was nothing like that in there and how would I know what a sniper rifle . . .” His wife’s eyes grew large. An angry, hurt smile creased her beautiful face. “Manfred Robert Williams! How could you think such a thing? Me? What the hell’s wrong with you?”

  “Louise—”

  She stomped out of the room, then stomped back in.

  “Are you flipping nuts?”

  “Louise, I just—”

  “Just what? The evidence led you down this path? I’m not a damn evidence path; I’m the woman you’ve been sleeping with for seventeen years.”

  He grabbed her and pulled her tight. “Stop. I know you aren’t involved. I just wanted to ask if you had any idea how this stuff could’ve gotten here.”

  “Oh.” Her gaze softened, and she put her hands on both sides of his face, pulling him within an inch of her nose. “If you found what you found, then we have a problem because apparently our house is some kind of Grand Central Station for deranged killers. I also have no idea how that stuff got down there, and that scares me. But you almost had a worse problem because I was going to kick your ass for thinking I could be involved in those murders. A sniper’s rifle?” Her eyes narrowed. “You never thought that, right?”

  “I—”

  Then out of the blue, it hit him like those sudden bursts of truth do. “Shit. Sniper rifle. I should have put that together.”

  He kissed Louise and ran to the phone.

  “As usual, I don’t have a clue what just went though that head of yours, but you don’t get off that easy. That minefield for a brain isn’t getting you out of answering my question.”

  He turned and kissed her again. “I’m an idiot, but I’m your idiot, and I love you.”

  “Okay. maybe you’re digging yourself out a little. I’m going back to bed.” She patted her backside. “You’re not getting this until you answer my question, got it?” Then she turned and disappeared into the bedroom.

  Manny grinned. He’d explain himself later and hope it worked. Reaching for the phone, he noticed the display said 12:57. The man wasn’t going to be happy, but maybe by this time tomorrow night, everyone would be sleeping better. He was sure that he was going to be.

  He dialed the first five numbers before the knock on the door got his attention. He stopped dialing. It was probably one of the uniforms checking in because the lights were still on, per his instructions. He took the phone with him and finished dialing as he moved to the door. He grabbed his Glock with the other hand. The number continued to ring as he cradled the phone to his ear. He unlatched the dead bolt and pulled the door open.

  Chapter-75

  Alex and Sophie stood on the small, brick stoop leading to the front of his house. Manny didn’t care for the look on their faces. This felt wrong. “Out of whack” was an understatement. He opened the screen door. “What’s going on, you two?”

  Alex fidgeted. “We need to talk. Can we come in?”

  The nervous look Alex shot Sophie did little to ease the warnings going off in Manny’s mind. “Of course, but you didn’t answer my question.’

  The shadow to Alex’s right came alive, mimicking some creepy science fiction parody. There was no one there, and then there was.

  Sarah Sparks, Alex’s right hand tech, lifted the M9 military-issue Beretta, fitted with a customized suppressor, so that he could see it clearly. “Hello, detective. We’re all going to have a little chat in your front room.”

  He glanced across the street to the squad car. Sparks noticed.

  “Oh, they won’t be of any help. I couldn’t afford to be interrupted.”

  Her smile reminded him of Eli Jenkins, the serial killer they’d taken down on the Ocean Duchess. Not a good thing.

  “You don’t seem to be too surprised to see me. Did the great Manny Williams figure things out?”

  “Why don’t you just put that thing down and—”

  “Shut the hell up and let me see the other hand, slowly.” She put the gun against the back of Sophie’s head. “Very slowly.”

  “Hey heifer, watch the hair. This cut cost more than you make in a week,” said Sophie.

  Sparks pushed harder. “Shut up, bitch. I’m tired of your mouth.”

  Manny wanted to make a move, only she never took her eyes from him. But then again, Special Ops were a talented bunch. He raised his hand, the Glock pointing down.

  “Toss it.”

  He did.

  A minute later Sophie, Alex, and Manny were lined up on the sofa in his family room. The silence was crawling with a tension Manny recognized and hated. Someone was going to die.

  “Sparky,” said Alex, breaking the choking silence. “Why are you doing this?”

  Manny watched her dark eyes soften like a lovesick teenager. “You don’t know? Really?” She leaned closer to him, stroking his chin with her hand. “I’ll explain everything soon. Just know it was for you. Always you.”

  She turned to Manny, her look reverting back to reflect her daughter-of-evil character.

  “Before I kill you, tell me how you figured me out.”

  Manny shrugged. “I remembered your résumé when Alex showed it to me. Not many women make it to a Special Ops level. I know you finished your sniper training before you tore up your knee and were discharged. Your determination was a big part of the reason Alex wanted to bring you aboard.”

  She looked at Alex with that puppy-dog look again, and Manny knew they were running short of time. She was in love with Alex and wanted to finish what she started here, then run off with him to places unknown.

  Pointing the gun at Manny, she stepped back, just out of his reach. “Impressive, detective. I had no idea you saw my credentials. And for your information, I didn’t hurt my knee. I was set up by two officers and booted to keep my mouth shut.”

  Her eyes grew wilder, darker, if that were possible. “They didn’t like it that a woman was kicking their precious men-troop’s asses in just about every category, particularly the sniper thing. I could hit a four-inch square at 200 yards nine out of ten times.”

  “So why didn’t you say something?” asked Sophie.

  “Because I was a soldier. I wanted them to know I was as tough as any of them. And I told you to shut up.”

  More hatred sprang from her face. “But the men in charge saw that I wasn’t broken, wasn’t going to give up. So they put drugs in my footlocker. I had two choices, their terms or the brig.”

  “I’m sorry that happened, but—” started
Manny.

  “I don’t need your idiot sympathy. I just want men like them to disappear, the hard way.”

  Alex seemed to catch on to her mental state. “Sparky. You are the best tech I’ve ever had. Just give me the gun and we’ll—”

  “I can’t do that. I’m going to finish what we started.”

  Their best shot at getting out of this was to keep her talking. Manny did. “So why hide the guns and clothes here?”

  “I couldn’t bear to part with them. Every time I looked at those things, it made me feel like I’d made a difference. I hid them here while you were at the ballgame. There was no one watching the place, and Sampson and I made friends at that cook-out you had last month. Besides, if anyone would’ve seen me, I would’ve said I was working. But you really should get a less laid-back dog. Not that it’s going to matter.” She spread her feet a little wider and shifted the sidearm to her right hand.

  “It was a perfect hiding place. Who was going to look there? I didn’t think you’d find the rifle and bag before I got rid of you and your family. Or before Buzzy could get a GPS fix on the phone.”

  “Why us? Me, I get . . . but my family?”

  “Because once this stuff is found here, your wife will be the prime suspect, so no one’s going to be thinking of me, especially with Alex to back me up. You’ll all be dead, and, well, I’m home free.”

  “What about Stella and Kathy? Why them?”

  Her impatience was growing, but her narcissism was stronger. She wanted to impress Alex with her story. More time to sort her out, Manny hoped.

  “After Gavin was shot, I knew Stella had done it and that she was coming after all of you. I couldn’t allow that, certainly not my beautiful Alex.” She smiled at him again. “So I followed Stella and set up across the street. You know the rest.”

  “How did you all get together?”

  “Oh, girl talk, a few drinks, a hatred for men, particularly perverts, goes a long way. You’d be surprised what truths people can agree upon.”

  Sparks frowned. “I hadn’t been officially introduced to Kathy and Stella before all hell broke loose, so I decided to take things into my own hands. I followed Kathy to talk to her and introduce myself, but heard her tell Evelyn that I needed to go. Hey, I’m a survivor. I wasn’t going anywhere. They’re the ones that went.”

  “But there was one thing I hadn’t counted on.” She went starry-eyed in Alex’s direction. “No one ever treated me the way you did, Alex. Kind, considerate, patient. The men in my life were never like that. Hell, neither were the women. I knew right away that you loved me. A month later, I’d fallen for you. I never thought that would happen to me.”

  “So you killed Stella to protect Alex?” said Sophie. “How sweet.”

  Sarah took two quick steps and put the Beretta between Sophie’s eyes. “What the hell would you know about love? You’re just a shallow smartass. I’d do anything for him, and he’d do anything for me.”

  Alex nodded. “So you hung out near my house to be close to me?”

  “Of course. There’s no other place I’d rather be.” She backed away from Sophie, touching Alex’s cheek, and Manny knew it was time.

  “We’ll have to get rid of your wife, and I have a plan for that. Then we can be together. Forever. But more on that later. Let’s get this over with.”

  “No, wait,” said Alex.

  “Shhh. Don’t worry. Let me handle this. It’ll be over before you can blink.”

  It was now or never. Manny gathered himself. He was going to be killed trying, but he couldn’t just sit there and let Sparks send them out of this world.

  Sarah racked the slide. Then all hell broke loose.

  “What are you doing?” yelled Louise from the kitchen doorway.

  Sarah spun to see who had interrupted her private revelry.

  Manny leaped off the couch as the pain in his side rose to just this side of black-out. He hit Sparks in the middle of the back, and she flew through the air. The gun went off as she hurtled forward. He scrambled up her back desperately reaching for the Beretta. She elbowed him in the nose. More stars than he could count shot past his eyes, but he held on and grabbed the hand holding the gun. She tried to move it away from him, and another shot bellowed through the room.

  Manny grabbed her hair and slammed her face into the hardwood floor. She screamed, and the gun skittered across the wood, hitting the TV stand. He raised her head again, and slammed it down with all his strength. He felt her body go limp, and she stopped struggling. He rolled over on his back, breathing hard and wondering if there was enough pain medicine in the world to quiet the storm in his side.

  A second later, Sophie had Sparks in cuffs.

  Somewhere in the distance, he heard sirens. The blues in the car outside his home hadn’t checked in, so here came the cavalry. It was okay with him; he’d had enough of this shit for the night, maybe for the rest of his life.

  Except it wouldn’t be enough. Destiny wanted more.

  “Manny! Come quick.” The pure panic in Alex’s voice caused the hair on the back of his arms to raise straight up.

  He sat up, looking in the direction of Alex’s voice. That’s when he saw the blood. Louise had been hit.

  Chapter76

  He cradled Louise in his arm, putting his hand on the hole in her chest, trying to stem the crimson flow that wouldn’t take stop for an answer. It took only a few seconds before he was covered in his wife’s warm blood. Somewhere in another world he heard Alex yelling into the phone, telling whoever was on the other end to hurry.

  “Come on, baby. They’ll be here soon. Just hang in there,” he begged.

  He pressed on the wound harder, and the bleeding slowed. He yelled for Sophie to get a towel. She ran to the bathroom to get one, her face as white as Louise’s. The coppery odor from her blood reminded him of how many scenes like this had been carved into his memory. Except this was his wife, the love of his life. He shivered and pushed a little harder.

  “Not one of my good ones,” gasped Louise, her eyes flickering open.

  “I’ll buy you new towels,” he said, trying not to cry.

  “You . . . you say that now . . .” she trailed off.

  He heard another door open, and a second later, Jen rushed into the room. It had taken the shouts to get her attention because she always slept with her headphones on. The look on her face would be one he’d take to his grave. Maybe beyond.

  “Mom!” she screamed.

  His daughter sprinted to them, tears already streaking her face, and crowded close.

  “Is she okay?”

  He nodded furiously. “She’s going to be all right. We just have to stop the bleeding until the EMTs get here.”

  “What can I do?”

  He didn’t think it possible to be prouder of his little girl than he was at that moment. Just like her mom.

  “Put your hand on mine and hold tight.”

  She did.

  A few moments later, Louise laid her hand on top of Jen’s, touching his. She felt so cold.

  “I . . . I love you two,” she whispered.

  Jen spoke for both of them because Manny couldn’t, hard tears stealing the youth from her face. “We love you too mom, forever.”

  Louise opened her eyes and tried to smile. Manny felt every emotion the two of them ever shared in the split second it took to glimpse the light in her eyes.

  “Take care of each other,” she breathed.

  Then Louise Williams left this world.

  Chapter-77

  Manny felt the sun peek over the top of the tall maple on the east side of his yard as he sat on the front porch of his home. The sun and the warm cup of coffee resting in his hand reminded him that he could still feel something, at least on the outside.

  It had been thirty-two days since Louise’s funeral, but it might as well have been thirty-two seconds. The pain in his gut felt like a dull, two-edged sword had run him through.

  There was no sleep. Nothing tas
ted or smelled good enough to eat. He picked a little here and there and made dinner each night for Jen, but mostly they stared silently at whatever was on their plates. He sensed they both felt the same way, that Louise would have used her magic to put her own special touch on the entrée, making it incredibly special. But that wasn’t going to happen ever again. There would be no more late night raids to the fridge to ravage a piece of her famous cherry pie or some of her unbelievable fried chicken.

  There were other late night things he was missing. The way she’d move close on a cold night. The gentle rhythm of her breathing that would rock him to sleep after one of those awful days that made him wonder why he’d become a cop.

  The times when they couldn’t sleep and would make love, giggling about making too much noise so Jen wouldn’t hear. Forever gone like fog in the wind.

  He sipped more coffee. The day was turning into a classic Indian-summer day for Michigan. It would get near seventy-five degrees and it was odd to see the reds and golds of transformed leaves basking in that kind of heat. Maybe another hot day would help melt away a little more of the numbness he felt. He’d always heard time made things better.

  Please God, speed it up.

  At least he had Jen, and she had him. He knew that sometimes teenagers who lost parents would become silent, withdrawn, sullen and angry at anything that was still living, especially the surviving parent. The worst fear haunting him was that his daughter would blame him for what had happened to Louise. But that hadn’t happened. Jen had been the picture of grace, a tower of strength that would make her mother proud. She seemed to have taken to heart Louise’s last request.

  Jen was determined to take care of him, and he would return the favor.

  Then there was big Sampson. The dog was the best natural psychologist in all of creation. Manny or Jen would talk; the dog would listen better than any PhD making $150 an hour. Then he’d come close and rest his head on the nearest body part, knowing just how long to stay.