Knife Edge (A Dead Cold Mystery Book 27) by Blake Banner (most inspirational books of all time .TXT) 📗

“No, I think Lea was killed like we said, playing with Lee and Marcus, by accident. I think Emma was the first to arrive on the scene, not Brad, and in a fit of rage she killed Lee.”

“Just as we thought happened with Brad, but it was Emma. And that’s why she didn’t want Marcus to talk. So who the hell killed Emma…?”

I shrugged. “She pulled a gun on the wrong cowgirl. They’d known each other for years. Hell, they’d even been lovers. Maybe Emma lost her nerve. Wagner disarmed her, shoved her in the cubicle and shot her without hesitation, the way she’d been taught since she was a kid. Then she ran.”

We were silent for a moment, looking out at the front yard. “She’s gone home.”

I nodded. “I think you’re right.”

She frowned. “So, if you’re right, Marcus is in no danger. What do you want the guard for?”

“In case I’m wrong. I won’t be sure of anything until we talk to Marcus and Dr. Wagner.”

She smiled at me, but it was a sad smile. “Road trip.”

“Yeah, but we need to talk to the chief first.”

By the time we’d made it back to the stationhouse, it was well past lunch and my stomach was reminding me of the fact. We found the chief in his office eating roast beef on rye with lots of salad. He dabbed his mouth with a linen napkin as we walked in, and gestured to the chairs opposite.

“Please, sit, excuse me while I eat. Late lunch. I am trying to reduce the amount of red meat in my diet, you know. My wife makes me salad sandwiches, but then I buy roast beef at the corner deli and add it to the sandwich at lunch. A pointless exercise, I know, but…” He shrugged and smiled. “So tell me, progress?”

“Almost.”

Dehan leaned forward, elbows on knees, and cut in.

“It’s a bit of a mess, sir, but we are unraveling it. We now think the Mitchells have been colluding to conceal the fact that Emma Mitchell killed their adoptive son, Leroy.”

“Good lord!”

“He and his aunt, Sonia Laplant, had been blackmailing the Mitchells and we suspect Emma Mitchell must have grown to resent the boy. On that Sunday morning when the murder occurred, we think it all started when Lea fell while playing and damaged her throat. By the time Emma reached the shed, the poor kid was already dead. When Emma Mitchell arrived on the scene, and saw Leroy over her dead daughter, she snapped, went into a rage and killed Leroy by stabbing him with the gardening knife. Then, realizing they would have to call the cops, they decided to cut Lea’s throat and make it look like some third party had broken into the backyard and killed the kids. It almost worked. It explains why Emma Mitchell was so opposed to getting therapy for Marcus. If he started talking, she would go down for the murder of Leroy, her adoptive son.”

“Yes, I see. What about Sonia Laplant and Emma Mitchell?”

“We believe that recently, when Sonia saw that the Mitchells were opening a clinic in White Plains, pitched at the high end of the addiction market, she decided she was demanding too little in blackmail, and tried to demand more. That’s why she came to Stone with that photograph. It was a shot across the bows for the Mitchells, warning them she had more and more graphic pictures.

“When we started to investigate, especially when we got access to Marcus, Emma panicked and decided to take things into her own hands. She took her husband’s pistol, a .22 revolver, and shot Sonia. She also decided to take out Dr. Wagner.”

He frowned. “Why?”

Dehan hesitated and I answered. “I think it was a combination of things, sir. The Mitchells had an open relationship where each turned a blind eye to the other’s affairs. But Mitchell’s relationship with Wagner had gone on for years, and from what I can gather, it may have been becoming closer. Coupled with Brad’s lack of concern about Marcus talking to us, Emma may have been scared that she was about to be replaced. Mitchell and Wagner were going to get therapy for the boy, the boy was going to talk and she’d go down for Lee’s murder, leaving the way clear for Brad and Margaret to be together.”

“Good heavens! This is, of course, all conjecture.”

“It’s highly educated guessing. It’s also the only possible version of events that works. But as it stands we can’t take it to the DA. We need two things. We need Marcus to be made a ward of court until this is all over, and for him to receive proper therapy so we can find out what really happened that day.”

“Yes, I think as things stand it would be hard for a judge to refuse.”

“We also need to go to South Dakota.”

“South Dakota? What in the world do you want to go there for?”

“Because, when Emma Mitchell tried to take out Margaret Wagner, in the Macy’s lady’s toilets, in White Plains, we think Wagner disarmed her and shot her. And we are pretty certain she then panicked and fled back home to her parents’ ranch.”

“In South Dakota.”

“Yes, and my gut tells me a cowboy rancher is not going to hand over his daughter to some New York cop without some pretty persuasive arguments, especially if he believes that his daughter was acting in self-defense.”

“And you think you can persuade them?”

“Yes, sir, because I believe she was acting in self-defense.”

He gave a small grunt. “You don’t even know for sure that she’s there.”

“No, but we have BOLOs out just about everywhere, and this is our best bet. We should see it through.”

He sighed heavily. “Very well. Go to South Dakota. But make it snappy and wrap this up before anybody else gets hurt. I’ll talk to Judge Henderson about Marcus.”

“Thank you, sir.”

We made our way down the stairs and gathered our essentials from our desks.