Chapter Twenty-Three 

“He’s been staying with you?” Lily asked. 

Marcia nodded as the elevator in her building rose to her floor. “Rick told me things were getting hostile at the funeral home, so I told him he could stay with me.”

“Hostile? More like suspicious.” Lily watched the elevator numbers light up one after another, then glanced at Marcia’s tear-stained cheeks. “I get it. He promised you the world but what he gave you was hell. I don’t know how you stayed with him this long, but we’ll fix it. I’ll fix it.”

Lily knew Marcia would never be able to work for her again and she would need one hell of a plea bargain to avoid serious jail time. How did it come to this? 

As the elevator stopped on the twelfth floor, Lily’s pulse rate sped up. Rick hated her. She’d been the only one to pursue him. If it weren’t for her, he’d still be hanging out in the funeral home, stealing bodies while she and James go on a honeymoon. Who knows, maybe he would’ve burned the whole place down. Her jaw clenched. 

Good. 

She needed to use any anger she could muster for this meeting. She turned to Marcia as they stood in front of her apartment door. Lily’s hand slid the gun out of its holster. Lord knows she would need it. “You knock on the door and answer him when he asks who’s there. That’s the only way he will open it.”

Marcia eyed the gun and then sighed as if her life was about to tumble down on her like a ton of bricks. Even though Lily hated what Marcia had done, she would lead them to Rick, and they would finally get rid of the boogeyman. 

At first, Marcia gave two wimpy raps on the door. 

“That’s not going to do it. Louder.”

She tightened her fist and pounded harder on the door.  No answer. “It’s me, Marcia,” she announced at the door. 

There was a pause and a few tentative footsteps coming closer and closer to the door until it finally swung open. Lily held her gun pointed at the man she’d been chasing. Rick Drakon.

He smiled at Lily. Then frowned at Marcia. “I knew you were weak. It took so little to get you to talk.”

Saying nothing, Marcia stared at the ground. 

“She did the right thing,” Lily said.

He turned to Lily. “You have nothing. It’s her word against mine. Didn’t you see? She burned those bodies. Not me.”

Keeping the gun pointed at Rick, Lily forced her way into the apartment. She thought about the black T-shirt she’d found in Shanna’s old room. Had Marcia worn it instead of Rick?

“She may have done the dirty work, but you are without a doubt, the ringleader. It takes a true coward to prey on the weak.”

Rick’s posture relaxed. He seemed less concerned about the turn of events but the arrogant stance made her uneasy. She kept the gun pointed at him, although her hand shook with uncertainty. Could she kill a man if she had to? Not if she had a choice. “With Marcia’s help, we have more than we need.”

He smirked. “As I said before, it’s my word against hers.”

“Your DNA will be all over her apartment and with her confession your involvement will be easy to prove.”

“In fact,” he continued without missing a beat, “coming here with a gun pointed at me when I’ve not behaved in an aggressive manner is unprofessional.” 

“You are a flight risk and a manipulator. Not to mention you are clearly unwell if you think stealing bodies from my funeral home is normal behavior.”

“Ah, so protective of your funeral home. So this,” he said as his dark eyes flickered to the gun, “is personal. If that’s what you care about, Lily, I can get real personal.”

“What are you talking about?”

Rick gave her a self-assured grin. “You don’t even know who you are sleeping with.”

Her eyes narrowed. What bomb was Rick about to drop that would change her life forever? “Stop talking. This case is clearly closed.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Even better since according to you I have nothing to lose. I’m talking about James. He and I have known each other for years. And boy, does he have a past.”

The pounding in her ears left her practically deaf. “Everyone does. Even you. Anyway, I know about his past. He told me everything. Nothing you can say will change anything.”

“But he didn’t tell you everything. And what he didn’t tell you will break you two apart.”

Lily’s chest heaved. The hatred oozing from Rick’s stare made her want to question everything she had known about James. But she couldn’t let him get to her. “This is a sad attempt to take the heat off yourself.”

Rick smiled. “I may have done some things in my day, but my past is not nearly as pathetic as your husband’s.”

The sound of racing footsteps approached the open doorway. Lily didn’t dare take her eyes off Rick. Whoever it was would need to look away and move along. 

“Pathetic is exactly what I would call you,” her husband’s voice rang out from behind her. 

“Buddy, you don’t believe these accusations against me, do you?” Rick asked with a far less creepy tone.

“At first, I didn’t want to but then I thought about it,” James said as he came closer. “You’ve been cryptic about what you’ve been up to here and partnering up with Marcia doesn’t add up”

Rick laughed loud and long. “All you have here are assumptions. I came out here to help you with your honeymoon plans and this is how I get treated?” He spread his hands in a gesture of surrender. “What I know about you, James, will harm your marriage. It will be my get out of jail card.”

Lily watched her husband’s nostrils flare. “No deal. You can’t hold anything over me. I think you came here to rip off some naïve innocents and satisfy some God-complex, not to do us a favor.” 

Rick’s expression turned cold.

As he turned his eyes on Lily—a lump formed in her throat. Her stomach roiled. Whatever he had to say held more power than pointing a gun to his face.

“Did you know you married a liar?” 

Lily swallowed hard but said nothing. 

“Or maybe you want to tell her, James? How you married her without even telling her you're a junkie.”

The shaking in her hands had become so unbearable, Lily felt forced to lower her gun. She’d already told herself no matter what James had kept from her, it wouldn’t change anything.

James’s voice seethed with anger. “You’re sinking this low out of desperation.”

“Maybe, but it’s still the truth.”

“I’m not a junkie. Yes, I went through some things after Andrea’s death, like any normal person would. I certainly didn’t hurt anyone, only myself. You, on the other hand, are a parasite, preying on the weak for your own gain.”

Lily glanced at James. She wasn’t angry. Her heart felt heavy for him.

“Once a junkie, always a junkie,” Rick taunted. “If Lily had known, would she have married a junkie? If I leave you with that doubt forever instilled in your brain, rotting and festering, then it was all worth it.”

Lily saw James’s jaw clench in time to his pumping fists. Oh boy.

The elevator dinged as the door opened on Marica’s floor. Teeth gritted, James lunged forward but stopped just short in front of Rick who stood his ground. Abrams gripped James’s arms with power Lily had never seen him display.

“Now, now. Don’t batter the suspect. Even if he is a freak.” Abrams said, with the calm voice of a veteran. 

“Again, you can’t connect me to your scene,” Rick said. “All you have is Marcia. It’s her word against mine. She became a scorned woman after I dumped her. Nothing more.”

Marcia stepped in; tears welled in her eyes. “Not true. You were groomed to be a thief and a scam artist. That’s what you have become. You are not Zeus or anything powerful. I’m sorry I ever met you.”

Lily watched the former weak woman assert herself in a nice change of pace. She’d come a long way from the wide-eyed deer caught in headlights to sticking up for her beliefs. She made a lot of mistakes that will cost her dearly but at least there seemed to be a glimmer of hope that she could come out of this a stronger, better person.

“Take him away,” Abrams said to the backup team waiting in the hallway. “We have more than enough to charge him.”

Rick smiled. “You’ve got nothing. Your criminal is there.” He pointed at Marcia. “She did everything.” Two large officers pushed their way in and handcuffed Rick. “You’ll see. This is a mistake.” He scowled at Marcia but went without a fight. 

Lily breathed out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t known how Rick would react. The thought that she might have to shoot him had crossed her mind. Her hand shook as she held the gun. And yet there was so much she still had to process. She couldn’t look at James, not yet. 

“We’ll have to take you in, too,” she told Marcia. “You’ll get a deal for your cooperation in this case, but you may have to do some time.”

The idea that Marcia may have been the one lighting the match to her clients’ bodies seemed impossible and revolting at the same time. 

Marcia looked down at the floor. “I know. I’m sorry for everything. Once I realized Rick didn’t really care about our future, I saw nothing but the end of us. I should’ve listened to you, but I thought I loved him. And now I’ll have to live with the horrible things I’ve done.”

“I know you thought you loved him and yes, you did despicable things. He took so much from you. I hope one day when you start over you will be a better judge of people’s character and make better decisions.”

Lily glanced toward James. He’d been staring at her with increasing intensity. Suddenly she was uncomfortable in her own skin.

Marcia nodded and covered her eyes with her hands.

“On that note,” Abrams clapped his hands together. “I think I’ll head back to the cemetery and begin arranging the return of your two missing clients.” He pointed at Lily. 

“Good idea,” James said, breaking his silence. 

“Sounds like a big job,” Lily said looking at James. “Why don’t you go with him? I’ll take Marcia to the station.”

James didn’t answer. 

“Good,” Abrams said. “I always need some help in my old age.”

But judging by his hold on James earlier Lily knew that wasn’t true. Although she didn’t think Abrams knew about James’s substance abuse, she could tell he knew something was up.

“Sure thing.” James walked slowly toward the door. “It also gives me a chance to admit to myself that I was wrong about Rick and Lily was right…again.”

“No one is shocked about that.” Abrams slapped James on the back and pushed him through the door. “Get used to it.”