Authors: Sarah Biglow
“What took you so long?” AJ exclaimed as she rounded the back of the shop.
She let out a huff and bent over to catch her breath. Sweat glistened on her arms and she could feel beads threatening to spill from her forehead.
“Give me a break, kid. I had to walk from the other side of town. I got here as fast as I could.”
He pointed to a large CPR dummy. “That will work, right?”
“It’s perfect.” She fanned herself with her shirt as she caught her breath. “Where’d you find it?”
“A friend was doing CPR training and lent it to me. I told them I wanted to practice in case I wanted to take the class.”
“You know, should I be worried about this criminal mastermind thing you’ve got going?”
He laughed and grinned from ear to ear. “Just don’t tell Mom.”
Together, they managed to fit the dummy in the backseat of Kalina’s car without it looking suspicious. The sun had begun its descent toward the horizon as she pulled out of the back lot and made her way toward Ocean Front Lane.
“So, what friend is this? Have I met them?” AJ was trying to fill the dead air between them.
“I don’t think so. We hadn’t spoken in a long time. Since high school really. But the minute I saw her and realized she was in trouble, I had to help her.”
“That’s nuts that you would have that connection again after so long.”
“It sounds cliché but it’s true. Your true friends are the ones you don’t see for years and you pick up right where you left off when you see them again. Of course, it doesn’t usually involve murder.”
“So do you think she did it?”
Kalina shook her head as she eased to a stop at stop sign. “I don’t think so. I understand her relationship with her father better now but … even with all of that behind her, she was trying to reconcile with him.”
“What about the other person in the house?’
“Maybe. I am hoping this test will tell us one way or the other if Mr. Larrabee was pushed.”
“Detective Harper is going to be pissed when he finds out.”
“That’s why we aren’t telling him until we’ve done it. Besides, I’m sure he’s got someone doing the same thing in a lab somewhere. We’re just confirming results, really.”
A few minutes later, she pulled up in front of the Larrabee house. She hoped Mr. Beech wasn’t around. She didn’t need him interfering or ratting them out to the police. Despite it being the end of the work day, the streets were mostly empty. That would work in their favor.
“Are you sure we can get in?” AJ asked as he struggled to drag the dummy out the passenger side of the backseat.
“Yes. The front door isn’t locked.”
“And you know this how?”
“I was here earlier with Jimmy and we didn’t lock the front door when we left.”
“Oh. Right.”
Kalina locked the car and helped AJ carry the dummy up the driveway to the front porch. She kept moving, forcing her nephew to keep up so he wouldn’t have time to gawk at the dark stain still on the pavement. She was a little surprised no one had come to clean it up. They paused long enough for AJ to throw the front door open and duck inside. With one last glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, Kalina eased the door shut.
“Up to the third floor,” she instructed.
It was a clumsy affair dragging the dummy up the two flights to the study but they managed it.
“This is a nice house,” AJ said as they stopped outside the study so he could work a kink out of his wrist.
“Yeah. I spent a lot of time here when I was your age.”
AJ wrinkled his nose. “Don’t say it like that. It makes you sound old.”
She swatted his arm. “I am old.”
He rolled his eyes but resumed his grasp around the dummy’s torso so they could maneuver it into the room. The window had been closed. Maybe Jimmy did it when he went back to collect the teacup.
“Put it against the chair,” she said and went to unlatch the window.
“Man this place is kind of a mess,” AJ responded.
“I’m sure people would say the same thing about your room.” She turned back to face him. “So … what’s next?”
He retrieved his phone and fiddled with it for a minute. “Ok, so we just have to simulate someone being pushed, jumping or falling. Seems easy enough.”
“Right. I think I should be the one to do the pushing. Nadine and I are about the same height and build. If I can get the dummy to land the right way then we will know if he was pushed.”
“Got it. I’ll head back downstairs.”
She waited for him to reappear outside before she hefted the dummy over to the window. She turned it so that the dummy was facing her before she gave it a solid shove. It tipped over the windowsill and fell head over feet to the pavement below.
“Uh, Aunt K. I’m guessing the head is supposed to be over this dark spot,” AJ called up.
Kalina leaned out the window to check the final position. The feet were where Mr. Larrabee’s head should be and the dummy had landed face up. “Yeah. That clearly didn’t work. Bring it back up.”
AJ lugged the dummy back up the front porch and appeared in the hallway a few minutes later. She motioned for him to head back out and he groaned before doing as he was told. She waited until he was in position again and turned the dummy to face away from her before giving it a hard shove. It fell straight down but, again, wasn’t in the right position.
“It’s closer,” AJ said.
“But not quite right. It’s still too close to the house. Bring it up again.”
He picked up the dummy roughly by one arm and started dragging it behind him. Kalina leaned farther out the window.
“Be careful with that!”
As she leaned back into the room, a thought occurred to her. If her theory were true then Nadine and Adam would be off the hook for Mr. Larrabee’s death. AJ finally appeared and slumped into the office chair, not taking note of the blood specks on the leather. He set the dummy on the floor and wiped visible beads of sweat from his forehead.
“For a teenage boy you aren’t in very good shape,” Kalina scolded.
“I’m a nerd. Exercise is my kryptonite.” He took several deep breaths before hoisting himself back to his feet. “I’ll head back down.”
“No, stick around up here. I think might have figured it out. And I think I need your help.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Help me lift the dummy so it’s standing on the ledge.”
“Seriously?”
“Just do it.”
They lifted up the dummy and positioned it on the ledge of the window. Kalina looked at her nephew. “On the count of three, let go. One. Two. Three.”
The both let go. Gravity took over and the dummy fell face first onto the pavement in the general spot where Mr. Larrabee had been discovered. AJ let out a low whistle.
“So he jumped.”
“It certainly looks like it. I need to let Chris know.”
“Remember, he’s gonna be pissed at you.”
Kalina smirked. “I’ll make it up to him.”
AJ gagged. “Gross. I didn’t need to know that.” He wandered over to the desk and started rifling through papers while Kalina pulled out her phone. “Hey, Aunt K. I think you should look at this.”
“Don’t touch it. It could be evidence.”
He pulled his hands away and took a big step away from the desk. “Sorry.”
“Just point to what you found,” she said and walked over to stand beside him.
He indicated a pile of official looking documents with a notary seal at the bottom. She bent down to study the text more closely. “He was giving it back.”
“Giving what back?”
She waved her nephew’s question away. She walked to the other side of where he stood and nudged pages with the side of her phone. A handwritten page fluttered to the floor. She bent down to read it but didn’t touch it.
“Oh, God.”
AJ bent down to read it too and Kalina backed away, hitting ‘Call’ on her phone. It rang twice before someone answered.
“Ellesworth Police Department.”
“Hi, I need to speak with Detective Harper right away.”
There was a pause and then, “He’s in an interrogation right now.”
“I know. But I need to talk to him right away.”
“Who should I say is calling?”
“Kalina. His girlfriend. It’s about the case he’s working. Please, just put him on the line.”
She started to pace as the line went quiet. She could hear vague footsteps echoing on the other end of the line. Hopefully, her pleading had been enough to get the desk officer to summon Chris. Finally, the line clicked as someone picked up.
“Kal? What’s going on?”
“I know what happened in Nadine’s case.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you’re going to be angry with me but just hear me out. It would be better if you came to the Larrabees’ house. Bring Nadine and Adam, too. They need to know what happened.”
“We are definitely going to talk about this later.” Chris’s voice had taken on a hard edge of annoyance.
“Just get here, please.”
Kalina and AJ waited on the front porch for everyone to arrive. AJ had turned pale after reading the note from Mr. Larrabee. She could understand his anxiety. It broke her heart a little to think that Mr. Larrabee had taken his own life. She only hoped it would somehow bring Nadine some comfort knowing that she hadn’t blacked out and killed her father. Tires squealed in the distance and the squad car rolled up moments later. Chris climbed out, his face clouded with emotion. Nadine and Adam climbed out of the back. Neither said a word. Nadine was visibly shaking at the sight of her family home. Adam tried to place a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off. Kalina wondered what else had been revealed during that interview after she’d left.
“Why is there a CPR dummy in the driveway?” Adam asked.
“We were testing a theory,” Kalina answered.
“What theory?” Nadine’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“We were trying to figure out how your father landed the way he did. Whether he was pushed or fell.”
“And?”
“He jumped. It looks like he climbed onto the windowsill and just let gravity take him.”
Nadine’s eyes welled with tears and she didn’t try to stop them. They stained her cheeks in seconds. “Why would he do that?”
“It’s better if you see what else we found.”
“And what exactly did you find?” Chris kept his shoulders back and gaze straight ahead. All business.
“It’s better if you see it for yourselves.”
Chris briefly returned to the car to grab an evidence bag and some gloves before they all headed up to the study in a silent, single-file line. Kalina had made sure AJ hadn’t moved the note from where it had landed on the floor. She would let Chris handle that. Immediately, Chris spotted the note and snapped on his gloves. After taking a cursory look he faced Kalina.
“Neither of you touched this?”
“No. I mean it fell when I was moving some other papers but I used my phone. We didn’t touch anything.”
“What is that?” Nadine asked.
Chris slid the note into the evidence bag and handed it over. “A suicide note.”
Nadine’s hands trembled as she took the bag and sunk into the leather chair in the middle of the room.
Nadine,
I have spent so much time being angry about your mother’s passing when I realize now it was my fault. I let my desire of material things get in the way of loving my only daughter and for that I am sorry.
The horrors I put you through are not something I can ever atone for. I do not seek your forgiveness. I only hope you are able to move forward with your life and be happy. Don’t let the troubles of the past haunt you anymore.
Please don’t see this as your fault. I have been struggling with this decision for some time. It is the only out I can see. I am truly sorry for everything.
Dad
The note fell to the floor as Nadine crumbled. A loud wail escaped her and filled the room. Adam picked up the fallen evidence and handed it back to Chris. Kalina went to wrap Nadine in a comforting hug, all the while wondering why Adam didn’t seem surprised by the discovery.
“I missed something,” Kalina said.
Chris tucked the evidence bag under his arm and blew out a breath. His shoulders relaxed a little. He was relenting. “Adam was here the night Mr. Larrabee killed himself.” He looked to Adam. “You might as well explain.”
Adam cleared his throat. “I was worried about Nadine. I came back to get her but, when I got here, she was out cold, or at least I thought she was. I came up here to confront Edwin about drugging his daughter again and I found him standing on the chair with a rope around his neck. I managed to get him down and… I tied him to the chair. I know it was stupid. I should have called the police but, to be honest, I was just in shock and a bit of a panic. I tied him up and I left. I knew it would look bad but at least he would be alive.”
“So he was definitely alive when you left?” AJ interjected.
“Yes. He was. I didn’t realize Nadine had woken up and untied him.”
“I… I let him go so he could jump,” she sobbed into Kalina’s shoulder.
“It isn’t your fault. None of it. He was sick for a while and he thought this was the only way he could make things right,” Kalina whispered.
“He didn’t have to kill himself.”
“Grief makes people do unthinkable things,” Chris said.
“That’s a long time to hold on to grief,” Kalina said.
“So, this is over then? The investigation is done? We aren’t suspects anymore?” Nadine had stopped crying.
Chris’s phone beeped, putting a halt to the conversation. He scrolled through whatever message he’d received. “The lab just came back with results on the rope we found as well as the tea. There were traces of both of your DNA on the rope along with Mr. Larrabee’s. There were traces of NyQuil in the tea. So it sounds like you were drugged and the rest of the evidence lines up with the version of events you’ve shared. So, yes, it’s over.”
“There’s one more thing”—Kalina pointed to the desk—“it looks like he changed his will.”
Chris—still wearing gloves—picked up the paper from the top of the pile. “You’re right. It looks like he deeded the house back to Nadine.”
“After everything he went through to get the damn place and now he just gives it back?” Bitterness colored every word.
Adam bent down in front of her and took both of her hands in his. She didn’t pull away this time. Apparently, knowing neither of them had been directly responsible was enough to thaw her emotions towards him. “You don’t have to worry about it now. I think, as long as Detective Harper says it’s okay, we should go back to the motel to get our stuff and leave town for a little while. We should put some distance between us and this place.”
“Tomorrow. I just want to sleep. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.”
Adam pulled Nadine to her feet and with an affirmative nod from Chris they headed downstairs, no doubt in for a long walk back to the motel. Kalina looked at AJ and nodded her head towards the hallway but her nephew seemed oblivious to the hint.
“AJ, can you wait for me outside, please? Get the dummy back in the car, too.”
He mouthed ‘Good luck’ on his way out, leaving Kalina and Chris alone. He set the evidence bag down on top of the will and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Go ahead and yell at me. I deserve it.”
“You are too nosy for your own good sometimes. We would have solved the case eventually but what you did helped.”
Kalina stared, open-mouthed. “That’s it? No rant about getting involved in police business or threatening the chain of evidence?”
“You didn’t threaten the chain of evidence. You’re smart enough not to touch things you aren’t supposed to. Technically, this wasn’t a crime scene anymore so you being here wasn’t disturbing anything and thanks to you I got information out of Nadine sooner than I would have if you hadn’t been around. I have a feeling Adam would have ended up stonewalling me in an effort to protect her. Hell, he might have even taken the fall for her if it came to that.”
Kalina thought about mentioning Jimmy’s role in her snooping but decided it wouldn’t be very nice to throw the poor kid under the bus with Chris. She liked to think maybe she was giving Jimmy some on-the-job training in critical thinking along the way.
“You know what we need to get our minds off of this?” she said.
He shook his head. “No. What?”
“A game of Cards against Humanity. I’ve got a deck at home,” she said with a smirk. After all, she’d told AJ she would find a way to make things up to Chris.