––––––––
Carrie bounced the baby against her bosom gently as her daughter slept. They had been on the road for a couple of hours, heading up the New York State Thruway just after going over the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge and heading towards Albany.
That scene back at the motel had been nasty, but she hated to see Joan upset. The last thing she wanted was to start a fight, and they had been at each other’s throats a bit too much lately over this whole thing.
She smiled as Joan got back into the car, handing her a Styrofoam cup bearing the pink and orange Dunkin’ Donuts logo.
“Your latte, madam.” Joan said, smiling as Carrie did too and thanked her. Joan put her iced coffee in the cup-holder. She had decided they should leave Zach’s SUV on a side street somewhere over on Ditmars Boulevard. Eventually the police would find it, but they’d be long gone by then.
Well on their way to Montreal.
“And for you,” Joan said, running her hand gently over the baby’s back as she smiled, “More formula when you wake up.”
Carrie laughed as Joan leaned in further to press a kiss against the back of the baby’s head, before settling back in the driver’s seat.
“I think we should find somewhere to lay low for a coupe of days.” Joan said, as Carrie nodded. “Take a break for a bit.”
She had been so relieved to get out of Queens, happy to see that Joan had handled that unpleasant business with Zach. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before someone called it in.
Best of all, Zach had gotten their new identifications, and most importantly the passports, which she’d found in his stuff. Thankfully, he had also taken care of the old couple that Morgan had stupidly allowed to watch the baby, making their gruesome deaths look like a home-invasion gone wrong.
But for that neighborhood, stuff like that happened all the time so she was sure it was no big deal, and definitely nothing new.
The less people involved in this, the better.
It had gotten hairy, but Joan had handled it.
She always handled everything.
There were no loose ends except for Connie, but they couldn’t do anything about it at the moment. She was sure that by now Connie had told Ryan everything.
But there would be other times, because if she knew Ryan as well as she thought, he’d never stop looking for them.
Ever.
She tried not to think of her handsome husband, pining over them, but it had to be done. Guilt washed over her as she thought of the last time they’d made love, how into each other they’d been.
They remained active with sex during the entire pregnancy, and she did crave his touch, but it just wasn’t quite right.
She just couldn’t be herself around him.
Joan had been so shocked when she decided to marry him, but she had tried to make her understand that she had feelings for him. He treated her like a queen, he was ruggedly handsome, loving and caring. Ryan’s charm had won her over, and she hadn’t been able to resist him, despite Joan’s anger and hurt feelings over the whole thing. It had been hard, the three of them in her marriage, but what could she do?
Carrie had written a lot about her confused feelings in her journal, sometimes wishing that it wasn’t so hard to just be happy.
She had cried many a tear over the past few years, hating that she and Joan were bickering more and more the longer Ryan hung around.
Carrie knew that couldn’t be with both Joan and Ryan at the same time, and this killed her.
She wanted them both, but it was impossible.
So she’d chosen to truly follow her heart.
Sadly, she had neglected to grab her beloved journal in her haste to get out of the house and away from Ryan before she could change her mind. This was something she really wanted to write about since she was still feeling weird about the whole thing.
She’d start another one, one that reflected her new life with her true love and with her baby girl.
There were quite a few hotels, nice ones, in the area to choose from. Carrie got out of the car and put the baby back into her car-seat.
They hadn’t gotten around to naming her yet, but they would have all the time in the world for that.
“Maybe the Hyatt Place up in Yonkers....” Joan muttered as they drove along and Carrie nodded. “I love how upscale that place is...”
Carrie leaned over and kissed Joan, smiling at her lover as the woman took her hand, squeezing gently.
Life was good.
***
The NYPD was all over the scene at the shabby motor inn on Astoria Boulevard and seventy-first street, the Crime Scene Unit already there. This was the second murder to take place in this general area over a stretch of three days.
The hotel was notorious for allowing prostitution to occur on the premises, and drug deals went down left and right, but murder was a bit unusual even for this area.
Most residents stated that the area was quiet and tranquil, most likely due to the expansive cemetery located on the other side of the Grand Central Parkway, directly across from the motel.
The coroner had now arrived, and was making her report, speaking into a small tape-recorder in a clear and concise manner as she surveyed the scene.
“Caucasian-male, approximately thirty years of age, a deep cut, throat wound is present. Carotid artery. Initial impression is suggestive of homicide. Body is lying supine on the floor. There is pooling of blood just below and along the sides of the body. There is spurting of blood on the floor at a distance of one to two feet away from the site where the body is lying.” She said, leaning over to get a better look at the murder weapon that had been carelessly tossed aside. She pressed the button on the tape-recorder and continued her report.
“A standard scratch awl screwdriver, having steel body and handle of length seven inches, was found at a distance of thirty-five centimeters from the deceased. All the things are properly arranged in the room and there are no signs of struggle.”
There were no grossly visible foot prints or any trail of blood, ruling out the entry of any outsider into the room.
It was baffling, but whoever had done this knew exactly how to stage the scene. She doubted they’d get any prints from the murder weapon, but she knew that CSI would try.
The seasoned coroner looked back at the victim in pity, his bright blue eyes open and staring into infinity as he lay in a pool of his own blood.
Terrible.
“Any identification?” she asked, as one of the officers shook his head.
“Nothing. We asked the hotel staff and they mentioned something about two women with him, but the guy’s information is all they have and he used an alias. Cameras are busted of course.” He said, crooking his index and middle fingers on both hands to emphasize the word ‘busted’. “So we have no video at all.”
“Damn.” She said, shaking her head. “Well, I’m done.”
“Sure thing, Anita.” The detective on the case said, as Anita headed towards the door, “You’ll send us the report?”
“As soon as I can check him out thoroughly, I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks.” The burly detective said as he looked at the corpse and shook his head wearily.
Yet another unsolved murder in Queens.
***
Millie was sitting at her desk when Ryan Ashby walked into the office. She did a double-take at seeing him, getting to her feet as he spotted her.
“Detective Harvey.” He greeted, as Millie folded her arms across her ample bosom. “Detective Chandler here, too? I need to talk to you both.”
“Come on.” Millie said, leading him towards the small conference room that they used to interrogate suspects. “Wait here.”
She hurried down the hallway and rapped on Sandy’s closed door. It popped open a minute later, and Sandy held up his finger to let her know he was almost done with his phone call.
“What’s up, Millie?”
“Ryan Ashby just walked in the door. He’s in the interrogation room.” She said, as Sandy followed her back down the hall where Ryan had obediently waited for them.
“Hey Ryan.” Sandy said, sitting down across from the young man, “What’s going on?”
“I have something to say,” he said, as Millie came in and shut the door before taking the other seat next to Sandy. “And I want this recorded.”
“Done.” Millie said, pressing a button on the small tape-recorder she took from the center of the long table.
“I will tell you everything about this, only if you can promise leniency for my source.”
“Who’s the source?” Millie asked, skepticism on her face.
“Do you promise?” Ryan asked again, his expression serious.
“We’ll do our best. “ Millie said dryly, as she wondered if he was for real.
“Connie Brooks.” Ryan said as he hunched over the desk, “She’s the assistant director of security at the hospital and she reached out to me. I went to meet her last night and we both nearly got killed by some guy in a black SUV.”
Sandy sat up more in his seat, and leaned forward. They already knew that the owner of the black SUV was Zachary Bronson. Guy had a rap sheet a mile long. They were still looking for him.
He was hardly an angel.
He was surprised to hear about Connie Brooks, though. They had checked her out and she was basically squeaky clean. According to Armbruster, she had gone through a nasty divorce recently and her finances were struggling, which could account for why she got mixed up in this crap in the first place, if what Ryan was saying was true.
“Connie was involved in this,” Ryan was saying, as he paused uncomfortably, “But the bigger news is that my wife and Joan Addams paid her to do this. My wife was the one who actually planned it all.”
Millie pursed her lips, for the first time since she’d met him, she actually felt sorry for him.
It wasn’t every day that you found out the person you’d dreamed about spending the rest of your life with had betrayed you in the worst, possible way.
“Joan and Carrie...are.....lovers.” Ryan finished, sighing as he put a hand over his eyes and tried hard not to lose it in front of them. “They’ve been together since grade school. You’ve gotta believe me, I didn’t know.”
Sandy nodded, as Millie got up and went to the door. She needed a breath of fresh air.
“I’m sorry, Ryan.” Sandy apologized, sincerely, “I know it’s going to be tough, but we’re going to have to bring Connie in.”
“That’s fine, but right now I need her help in finding Carrie and Joan.” He said, staring at them as he waited for their response.
“Where is Connie right now?” Sandy asked as Millie came back into the room.
“Somewhere safe.” Ryan said, as he got to his feet. “I stopped at my house before I came here and found some information that might help us find them. Connie’s going to try and initiate contact with them and we’ll see what happens.”
“How is she going to do that?” Millie asked, shaking her head. “They’re probably long gone by now.”
“Maybe, but Connie had a little insurance policy in place just in case something like this happened. I think it may work, so I need you guys to let this happen.”
“I don’t think so, Ryan....” Sandy said, clapping a hand firmly on the young man’s shoulder, “I know it’s hard, but Connie is in a lot of trouble. We’ll get the information out of her.”
“They’ll be long gone by then. We have to do this now.” Ryan said as he held his hands up, backing away from them and towards the door to the conference room.
“Ryan....” Sandy said, shaking his head.
“Trust me,” Ryan advised them, turning and walking towards the exit, “Just trust me on this. I’ll be in touch.”
Millie watched him as he left the station and she looked over her shoulder at Sandy with a disbelieving look on her face.
“Shouldn’t we tail him?” she asked when Sandy didn’t say anything, already moving towards the direction that Ryan had gone in.
“Yeah.” He sighed in resignation, getting to his feet. “He didn’t leave us a choice.”
They hurried out front and scoped the parking lot for Ryan’s grey Saturn and spotted it sitting in a spot, the engine running. They moved stealthily towards their car and they got in, waiting for Ryan to pull out.
“What’s he waiting for?” Millie asked impatiently after a couple of minutes.
“I dunno.” Sandy shrugged, as Millie drummed her pink, manicured nails on the steering wheel impatiently, “Maybe he’s warming it up. It’s twenty degrees out here.”
They watched as the Saturn continued to remain in place and Millie blew out her breath as she leaned forward in her seat, her eyes narrowing as she threw open the door.
“Where are you going?”
Millie motioned for him to follow her as she got out of the driver’s seat and headed towards the Saturn.
“Shit!” she cried as they both looked inside the car and saw that it was empty. The car was running, with the key in the ignition, but it was locked up tight.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Sandy swore, pounding his fist on the roof of the car as Millie pivoted on her heel and stalked away.
“I’m calling it in.” she said, heading back to the station to put out an alert on Ryan Ashby.
He could be anywhere by now.
***
Ryan got out of the cab in front of the Hampton Inn where he’d left Connie. He had the journal he’d found in their bedroom, the one that Carrie had hidden underneath the area rug their bed sat on. He knew he’d eventually find it, even though she’d hidden it rather well. She mentioned Canada a lot, Montreal mostly, from the quick skimming he’d done.
He didn’t really have much time to look through it, but he knew that it held the key to a lot of things he was wondering about his wife.
The most important thing they needed to do now was find Carrie and Joan so he could make sure his daughter was all right.
As he headed to the hotel, he saw Connie getting out of a silver Toyota Corolla. He had informed her of his plan to ditch the Saturn and told her to rent a car so that they could move around undetected. He was pretty sure, after they discovered his deception, Detectives Chandler and Harvey were sending people after them so they had to move quick.
“You were gone so long....”
“Yeah, we hit a bit of traffic on the way back, but I’m here now.” Ryan said, as he got into the car. “Ready?”
Connie nodded as she got into the drivers seat and they drove slowly out of the parking lot.
“Are you going to call Carrie?” he asked, almost hoping that she would say no. He had no desire to hear his wife’s voice at the moment.
“No. Joan calls all the shots.” She admitted, dialing a number on the burner cell she’d purchased while Ryan had been at the police station. “I know that Carrie won’t talk to me.”
They were silent as Connie waited for Joan to pick up the phone, but there was no answer.
“I’m going to try again.” She said, redialing Joan’s number and praying that she hadn’t changed it already. Finally someone answered and Connie put the phone on speaker, putting her fingers to her lips to let Ryan know not to say anything.
“Who is this?” Joan growled into the phone.
“I need to talk to you, Joan.” Connie said as Joan began to laugh.
“What do you want?” she said, the hard tone in her voice making them cringe. “Don’t call here again, Connie.”
“This is serious.” Connie interrupted, keeping her eyes on the road as she drove westbound on the Northern State Parkway, headed towards Queens. “I can’t get a hold of Zach and the police keep coming to the hospital. They know something’s up. I need more money so I can get away.”
“No.” Joan snapped, and then let out an exasperated breath. “You got your money already and we are not paying you another penny.”
“Wait...”
“Just hang up on her, Joanie.” They could hear Carrie urging her in the background.
Ryan’s mouth turned down sadly, and then his face broke into one of relief as he heard the baby gurgle and then coo.
His daughter.
Tears filled his eyes as he tried to hold his composure and remain calm until Connie could finish the call.
“It’s not enough and I am not going to be left holding the bag. Without me, none of this would have worked! I’m begging you. Begging you, Joan. I need more money so that I can get out of here.”
Silence.
“How do we know you haven’t already gone to the police?” Joan asked.
“I haven’t.” Connie swore. And technically she hadn’t. “You know I wouldn’t do that. I can’t go to jail over this. Tell me where we can meet.”
“Something’s funny.” Carrie cried as the baby started to cry, “I don’t like this. Hang up, Joan!”
“If I get arrested over this shit, I will tell them everything I know.” Connie threatened, as Ryan tapped a word on a page in Carrie’s diary and Connie nodded. “Especially about Canada. Montreal, wasn’t it?”
Dead silence again and then whispers as they argued back and forth, Joan’s hand over the mouthpiece of the phone from the sounds of it. Carrie had spilled the beans about their plans to go to Montreal when Connie voiced her concerns about the plan failing. She remembered the harsh look that Joan had given Carrie, right before she buttoned up.
“Where are you?” she finally asked.
“On the Northern State Parkway heading towards Queens.” Connie said, truthfully. “I can’t go home and I want to get as far away from Long Island as I can, for now. The cops are not going to stop, so I need to get out of here. Look, can’t I meet you somewhere?”
Joan hesitated for a long moment before speaking again.
“Come to Yonkers Raceway and Casino. Exit two on the New York State Thruway. I’ll meet you in the parking lot there. Just me. Rear parking lot.”
“Okay, I know where it is. I’ll be there in about an hour, depending on traffic on the RFK and the Major Deegan....” Connie said, and then winced as the phone clicked loudly.
Joan had hung up on her.
“Think she’ll really show?” Ryan asked as Connie nodded.
“She will.” She assured him with a nod, remembering how nervous Joan had been during the meeting that had started this whole thing. Carrie had been the one that was all gung-ho while Joan had been very reserved about it. “She has to. She knows I will go to the police if she doesn’t.”
“Well I sure hope this was all worth it.” Ryan said, in disgust as Connie kept driving towards Queens.
“I don’t think you’ll ever know how sorry I am for my role in this.” She said, sincerely, “But all I can do is try to make it right, now.”
“You’ll probably go to jail, you know.” Ryan informed her, in a surprisingly soft voice given the circumstances.
“I know.” Connie answered back, just as softly.
He didn’t bother to tell Connie that he had asked for lenience, not that she’d get it. She had done a terrible thing, out of greed, but his wife had done far worse.
And he was going to see that she paid for it.