Somebody I Used to Know (38 page)

“So you killed Emily in that hotel?” I asked. “Strangled her. And all because you
thought
she was Marissa’s daughter? And all because you couldn’t resist the sick impulses of your ex-husband?”

Kendra lifted her shoulder, a slight shrug. “Sometimes innocent people get hurt.”

“That girl, Emily, didn’t kill your son,” I said. “She had nothing to do with it.”

“But now that family has a tiny glimpse of what it’s been like to be me all these years.” She pulled her left hand out of her pocket and held it in the air, the thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart. “A tiny glimpse.”

“That girl was adopted,” I said. “That other family raised her, the Russells. You’ve put them through hell, and they have nothing to do with this.”

She blinked her eyes a few times, and I felt, just for a moment, that I may have gotten through. It was a foolish, vain wish, but it rose within me, some last vestige of hope for a human connection.

“It’s unfortunate for them,” she said, her voice flat. “What matters is those Minor brats getting a taste of it. That’s what counts for me.”

“All these years, you’ve harbored such hate for people you didn’t even know.”

“Not hate,” she said, her tone becoming lecturing. “Never hate. Love. I loved my son. I loved my husband. Still do, as a matter of fact, even though he hasn’t returned the feeling for a long time.
That’s
what I’ve nurtured all these years. Do you know what it’s like to have someone you love taken from you through no fault of your own? And to live with that for two decades?”

“I do know,” I said. “Not the same, of course, but I know. I lost someone very important to me, someone I love very much. Someone who was also involved in this situation.”

Kendra Maberry studied me for a moment, her head cocked to one side as though she had just discovered me sitting on the couch. Every nerve ending in my body felt tight. Stretched to the limit and sizzling with energy.

“The girl?” she said. “You were in love with one of those awful girls? Is that why you’re in this mess?”

“Marissa,” I said.

“
Don’t
say her name. It makes me sick.”

“Yes,” I said. “That’s her.”

“Then you’re right,” she said. “It’s not the same. She’s alive . . . for now. And you can try to get her back.”

“I doubt it,” I said.

“No, I know the difference. As long as someone is alive, there’s hope.”

“Then let’s keep everyone alive.”

She laughed a little. “It’s too late for that. For me.”

“No one’s forgotten what you’ve been through. You lost a child. It’s incomprehensible. I get it.”

“I doubt it. I really doubt it.”

The hand holding the gun rose.

At the same time, something moved to my right, something sleek and low to the ground.

Kendra heard it at the same time I did, and she spun as Riley leapt, throwing his old body against hers with as much force as he could muster. Kendra stumbled to the side, leaning over like a stack of falling blocks, and as she fell she swung her gun hand in the direction of Riley, making solid contact with Riley’s head, causing him to yelp.

But I was up by then, diving off the couch for Kendra. I ended up on top of her, as she grabbed me around the neck. I felt the surprising power in her grip, the same power that had choked the life out of Emily Russell. I tried to pull away but couldn’t. My air was cut off, my neck about to burst.

Then Riley was back. He snapped at Kendra’s arm, taking a quick bite above the wrist, just enough to loosen her grip for a moment. Kendra swung at Riley again, missing, but when her head was turned I swung my fist, once and then again against the side of her head. She turned back to me and reached for me, but I twisted out of the way.

The gun sat on the floor next to us. I picked it up. It felt heavy and awkward in my hand. I started to swing it at her head, but she dodged out of the way, and I ended up smashing the floor, feeling the shock of the contact all the way up my arm. Then Kendra backhanded the gun away from me, and it thudded against the carpet.

She managed to jerk her knee up in the confined space between our bodies, taking aim between my legs. I twisted my body to avoid the contact, and while she missed her target, the movement threw me off-balance, allowing her to break loose, and she scrambled across the floor.

I grabbed for her from behind, and then climbed over her, both of us clutching at the gun. My hand landed on top of hers, and beneath it I felt the heavy steel of the weapon. We both squeezed at it, trying to get a grip. She jerked her free arm back, using her elbow against my side. She couldn’t get a clear strike in, and while she tried that, I shifted my weight on her back. I leveraged my body up, moving along her back, until I placed my knee against her spine. I leaned in, applying pressure, and then more pressure. She grunted beneath me, her breaths coming in shorter and more labored bursts, and I felt her hand loosen until I was able to knock the gun away.

Then sirens.

I heard sirens.

I didn’t let up on the pressure. I held it steady, keeping her against the floor.

And then people were coming through the door.

Hands grabbed me from behind, tossing me to the side. Several cops in dark uniforms, their voices loud and efficient.

“Are you okay, sir?”

“Are you Nick Hansen?”

“Do you need medical attention?”

I couldn’t answer any of them.

They grabbed Kendra Maberry, pulled her hands behind her, and cuffed her, and then asked her if she needed medical attention.

I held my breath. Had I hurt her? Even though she had tried to kill me, I was suddenly worried I had injured her.

Then she said, “I’m fine, dammit. I’m fine.”

I tried to breathe evenly, to return to normal.

And I did—at last—feel like I was okay.

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

T
he police led Kendra Maberry out of the apartment, informing her of her rights, and then after they hovered over me for a few more minutes, asking again if I needed medical attention, which I told them I didn’t, I shifted my attention to Riley.

He turned in circles a couple of times, his belly low to the floor, his ears pinned back. When I got close enough to examine him, he made a whimpering sound and stopped moving, settling onto the carpet ungracefully, letting his legs give way as his body weight took over.

“What is it, boy? What’s the matter?”

I looked at his head. A knot had already risen where Kendra struck him during the struggle, and I knew Riley had taken one or two other blows in my defense.

“Mr. Hansen?” one of the cops asked behind me. “Do you need help?”

“I’m checking on my dog.”

“We need to ask you some questions.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“Not really.”

I stood up. Two cops waited by the front door, and outside I saw the swirling blue lights and figures moving about in the darkness. “You’re going to have to. This dog saved my life tonight. I have to get him to a vet.”

I returned to the floor, and Riley moved his eyes in my direction. He looked tired and pathetic, as though he’d just given everything he had.

“Detective Reece is on his way—”

“That’s great,” I said. “He knows me. He knows I’m not going anywhere. And he knows I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m going to take my dog to the animal hospital, and I’ll meet Reece at the station or wherever he wants me.”

I gently eased my arms under Riley’s body and lifted him up.

He whimpered a little more but didn’t resist as I carried him to the parking lot. The neighbors had gathered, gawking. I recognized a few.

“Shit,” I said, more to myself. “No car.”

A woman stepped forward, someone I recognized from seeing her walk her own dogs. She came over and stroked Riley’s head. “Poor guy,” she said. “Is he okay?”

“I need to get him to the vet. I don’t have a car. Mine got smashed out on the road.”

“Come on,” she said. She led me to a Volvo wagon and lifted the hatch. “Put him in there.” I did. “I’ll drive you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. He needs help. And I love dogs. Let’s go.”

“Thank you.”

I climbed in, while she started the car. As we backed out, I looked, and I couldn’t see Riley. His head was down.

“All those years, you didn’t make a sound,” I said. “You were saving it up for when I really needed you.”

*   *   *

They took Riley back as soon as I got to the animal hospital and for a short time I paced around the waiting room, wishing there was more I could do. My neighbor—who said her name was Alicia—offered to stay with me, but I told her to go home. She did, but only when I promised to tell her how Riley was doing as soon as I heard, a promise I was more than happy to make. While I resumed my pacing, Reece called and asked me how soon I could make it to the station to, as he put it, tie up all the loose ends. I told him I didn’t know when I’d get away. He tried his best to show patience and understanding, but then gently reminded me that the things he was dealing with were kind of urgent as well.

“This woman here tried to kill you,” he said.

I promised to hurry up.

Not long after the call, I was liberated. A technician came out and told me Riley was going to be there all night. When I pressed for more information, she told me what she knew.

“He’s an old dog, and he’s been through a lot. We’re going to do everything we can.”

*   *   *

I walked the four blocks to the station. I called Brosius on the way, waking him up and letting him know all the events of the evening. He said he’d be there soon, but I told him to hold off. He warned me to be careful, but I assured him I felt pretty safe from prosecution or suspicion given everything that had happened.

I ended up at Reece’s desk, telling him the whole story. The drive home, Kendra Maberry’s car ramming into mine and pushing me into the culvert, the chase through the complex and to my apartment door.

“She admitted to everything,” I said. “Killing Emily. Trying to kidnap Andrew. She was the one doing all of it. We were assuming it was the dad.
I
assumed it was the dad.”

“And all of it because of that car accident in Hanfort, the one that killed her kid?”

“Yes,” I said. “All because Marissa drove away. And her dad convinced her not to go back.”

Reece sat there tapping a pencil against the top of the desk. “She’s an ambitious person, I’ll give her that. Ambitious when it comes to vengeance.”

“Relentless.”

“Until she ran into your wonder dog.”

“Right. Never underestimate Riley,” I said.

“I’m going to get back to talking to Mrs. Maberry now that we have your side of things. She’s in for a long night, and so are we.”

“What about her ex-husband?” I asked. “She told me—”

“We’re paying him a visit right now. We’ll see what role he played in getting Mrs. Maberry on the revenge trail. He’s not off the hook.”

“Good. I was also going to ask you about Jade. Is she ready to go?”

“She can’t go yet either,” he said. “But she did ask to talk to you, and, out of the kindness of my heart, I agreed to give you a few minutes together.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

Reece stood up, and so did I, but before we left the area of his desk, he held his hand out to me. I took it in mine, and we shook.

“Thanks, Mr. Hansen,” he said. “It’s been a long, strange trip, hasn’t it?”

“The most complicated trip to the grocery store I’ve ever taken.”

*   *   *

Reece opened the door of the small room, and I saw Jade sitting inside at a functional table with a Formica top. There were two chairs in addition to the one she sat in, and when she looked up and saw me, she smiled, relief playing across her face.

“I’ll be back pretty soon,” Reece said, and then he stepped away, closing the door as he left.

I looked around the room. It contained none of the things I was used to seeing on cop shows. No two-way mirror, no recording equipment or cameras. No rubber hoses or brass knuckles. I walked over and took a seat next to Jade.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Jade said.

“You heard about what happened?” I asked.

“I heard that they got her. A mother. A mother doing all of that.”

“How far would you go to avenge your child’s death?”

“I wouldn’t kill another mother’s child,” she said, her voice bitter. “I wouldn’t do that to anyone.” She looked at the tabletop and picked at a chip in the finish. “She’s here somewhere, isn’t she?”

“She is.” I folded my hands on top of the table and studied Jade’s face. She looked tired, as tired as when I’d found her in the cemetery, but she didn’t appear to have been crying. “I was thinking . . . I’m an only child. You might be the closest thing I’ve ever had to a baby sister.”

She smiled, reaching out her hand to where mine were folded. “That’s sweet,” she said. “And I wanted to tell you something. I wanted to thank you for bringing me here to the police. It was the right decision.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. And you’ve been mostly right about everything. You thought it was the Maberrys, and it was.”

Jade wore an unsettled look on her face. Something brewed inside her, something she wanted to tell me.

“What?” I asked.

She lowered her voice. “You know how you said that if I told this story it would be a way to end all of this once and for all?”

“I said that, yes.” I wondered what she was driving at. She seemed to be suggesting something deeper, more permanent. “What do you have in mind, Jade?”

“I’m really going to end it all, right here.” She leaned closer, although I doubted anyone was listening to our conversation. “I’m going to tell them
I
was driving the car that day. I’m going to tell them I’m the one who ran over that little boy, little Samuel Maberry. That will get Marissa off the hook. It really will all end right here.”

“No, Jade, I wasn’t asking you to do that.”

“I know you weren’t. But it makes sense now that I’m here.”

“How does it make sense?” I asked.

“Don’t you see?” she asked. “This will set Marissa free. She can live her life without fear of this coming back to haunt her someday. She keeps saying she’s going to admit to everything when her kids are old enough, but do her kids need her any less just because they turn eighteen?” Jade looked at me, but she seemed to be seeing past me, to something only she could envision. “I don’t have any children. I never did, really, but I certainly don’t have any now with Meredith gone.” Her focus sharpened, her eyes fixing on me. “I started all of this, remember? I got involved with an older man and got pregnant. I called Marissa home. I distracted her in the car that day. It was all me. She can be done with it. And so can you.”