David Bell - Never Come Back

Post said, “He’s okay. No worries there.”

“Really?”

“Really,” she said. “Just give us a quick rundown of what you were doing last night. It’s important we know this.”

So I did. I told them about finding Elizabeth with the help of Neal Nelson. They didn’t look happy about that. I went on and told them about Beth’s story. The porn movies and her forced exile from Haxton, then coming back and eventually reconnecting with both Gordon and Mom. I shared her theory that Gordon had been blackmailing Mom, and when she cut the money off, he ended up killing her.

“I’ve seen the bank records,” I said. “She was giving money to somebody. And I can assure you it wasn’t me.”

Post and Richland didn’t look surprised by anything I told them. It seemed I was merely confirming what they already suspected.

Richland asked, “So you didn’t know this Elizabeth Yarbrough woman existed until your mom died?”

“Not until I saw the will.”

“And you believe she’s your half sister?” he asked.

“She looks a hell of a lot like Mom. And me. And she knew a lot about Mom. If she’s not my half sister, she’s doing a good job convincing me.”

“Right,” Richland said. “And did she indicate the nature of her relationship with Gordon Baxter? Where do they stand now?”

“Just what I told you,” I said. “She was trying to get back in touch with Mom, and he was holding them apart to try to get money.”

“That’s what she said?” Richland asked.

“That’s what she told me.” I watched their faces. “Gordon knew where Beth—my half sister—was. And he told Mom he knew, but doled out the information in exchange for money. Look, my mom didn’t suffer fools gladly. I know that about her. It would be tough to take advantage of her. But this should tell you how much she wanted to see her daughter again. She was desperate. I feel terrible for my mother having to go through that.”

They didn’t say anything. They seemed to want me to say more.

“Are you wondering if I believe Beth?”

Richland shook his head. “Has she asked you for money?”

“No. I just met her yesterday. Besides, she’s getting money. A third of the estate. There’s life insurance. What are you getting at?”

Richland remained quiet for a moment, as if he was absorbing everything. Then he said, “Okay, we wanted to let you know where everything else stood, especially as it relates to your brother.”

“Okay,” I said.

I looked at Dan. He was sitting on the arm of the couch, his eyes focused on the cops. I felt alone and scared. I noticed how my hands shook as I tried to tuck a strand of my still damp hair behind my ear. I looked at the front door. I thought about running through it—just get up and go and not hear whatever was about to come.

Richland said, “We spoke to the doctors at the hospital this morning, and they seem to think it’s possible your brother could be released in a day or two. His vital signs are back to normal, and they want to get him to eat something today. If that goes well…”

He broke his sentence off. I leaned forward, waiting for the rest. What else was there? I looked back and forth between the two detectives.

Post smiled a little. “This is good, Elizabeth,” she said. “Our investigation has shifted its focus. We now believe Gordon Baxter is a person of interest in your mother’s death. We’re actively trying to locate him right now. Your story helps to fill in a few gaps we had.”

I wasn’t sure what I expected. Ticker tape. A choir of angels. They were telling me the most important news I had ever heard—Ronnie wasn’t a suspect in Mom’s death anymore. And not only that, his health was coming back. He was going to be okay in more ways than one.

I wasn’t sure what I felt. It wasn’t joy. A touch of relief perhaps?

“Is that it, then?” I asked. “Ronnie is off the hook?”

“Well, it’s an open case, an ongoing investigation. And you’ll have to talk to the doctors at St. Vincent’s,” Richland said. He seemed stuck for a moment, not sure what to say next. He pointed at Dan. “I suppose your… friend here… I guess he told you about the cause of the overdose?”

“This digoxin stuff.”

“Right.” With something to explain to me, Richland seemed to be on firmer ground. “It turns out it’s not a medication that your brother has ever taken. And Dr. Heil, after his examination of Ronnie, reached the conclusion that it was unlikely your brother would harm anyone. Not your mother and not himself. It seems clear that someone tried to get Ronnie to take that medication, to make it appear as though he killed himself. Perhaps to cover some prior crime and frame your brother for it. At least, that’s the working theory. We’ll know more when we talk to Gordon Baxter. Like we said, we’re trying to find him.”

“Is she safe?” Dan asked, his voice full of skepticism. “This guy you’re looking for, you think he already killed somebody and tried to kill somebody else.”

“Two people,” I said. “He tried to kill Neal last night.”

“Is Elizabeth safe?” Dan asked again.

“You should certainly be cautious,” Post said. “Mr. Baxter knows where you live.”

“Can you put her somewhere safe?” Dan asked. “You know, some sort of protection program? What does this guy even want? Do you know, Elizabeth?”

Richland answered for me. “We don’t really do that,” he said. “Put people in a protection program, unless it’s a really dire situation. As far as what he wants…” He looked at me. “Didn’t you say he wanted money from you? Money from the life insurance policy?”

“That’s what he said,” I said.

“I don’t see how he can expect to get that anymore,” Post said. “He may have gone after Ms. Yarbrough because she knew so much about him from the past. But now we all know.”

“I think you’ll be safe,” Richland said. “A guy like Baxter, you have no idea if he’s even going to stick around in a town like Dover. His last known address is an hour away in Columbus, and he has an outstanding warrant there. He’s not really looking to wait around until the law finds him. Chances are, he’s left already, moved on to some other town. He’s an old man, and he knows the noose is closing.”

If I was supposed to take comfort in that bit of wisdom, I didn’t. It made sense that someone might run off when the noose tightened. I knew that better than anyone.

But what about those people who kicked and fought the more the pressure increased? Didn’t Gordon Baxter seem more likely to be one of those guys?

They released Ronnie from St. Vincent’s two days later. I spent those two days trying to get my life back to normal again. I lived at Dan’s house for the most part. We drove to my apartment once, so I could get clothes and toiletries and my laptop. But otherwise I camped out with him. And we talked, mostly about the future. My future, not his and mine. I knew Ronnie was leaving the hospital. I knew he still had some recovering to do, both physical and emotional. He needed as much stability as possible. Frank Allison checked in with me. He told me Ronnie was free and clear, that everything on the legal side was in order. My brother was coming home to live with me.

And I talked to Paul about Ronnie… and about everything else. He and I had a long talk the night before Ronnie was discharged. I told him everything that Beth had told me, the whole awful story of why she’d left Haxton and how she’d slowly worked her way back to contact with Mom and Gordon again. Paul listened skeptically, and when I reached the part of the story when Beth said Mom knew about Gordon’s crimes, Paul nearly jumped out of his chair.