“Todd’s not home,” Mac said. “He slipped his detail.”
“What?” Grace stopped at the intersection and turned off her right turn signal.
“We’re heading to Marie’s now. It’s the most obvious place we can think of.”
“You’re right. That has to be it. I’m less than five minutes away.”
“Okay, I’m still twenty minutes out,” Mac said. “Just wait for me. Brad admitted to stabbing Cory, but he didn’t do anything with Cory’s tie. It had to be Todd who strangled him.”
Two killers.
“I’ll see you there.”
“Grace? How’s Madigan?”
She took a deep breath. “She’s going to be okay.”
As she pressed the gas pedal to the floor, speeding through the intersection, she flipped on her lights and ended the call.
If Todd is with Marie, he could be trying to reason with her. Apologize for lying or convince her he didn’t lie, and that Mac was the liar. He truly cares about her. He probably won’t hurt her.
I should wait for Mac and backup… but there are no guarantees.
She turned off the lights as she sped around the corner into Marie’s subdivision, slowing down as she approached her street. She let the car roll to a crawl toward Marie’s home.
“Todd’s car’s out front,” she spoke into her radio, squinting into the dark, searching for any sign of the Boyd’s rental car. A figure stood close to the living room, catching her eye.
The room’s too dark to see.
She parked her car on the other side of the road and got out, drawing her gun and pacing up the driveway, out of view of the window. As she reached the front door, through the side window, Todd followed Marie upstairs.
She’s frightened.
As Todd disappeared from sight, she twisted the doorknob, and it gave way as she pushed the door open.
Marie didn’t have time to lock it behind them.
As she climbed the stairs, voices drifted from the room at the top of them.
“You were never going to be happy with him,” Todd said. “I did you a favor. You wouldn’t leave him because you’re loyal. To a fault.”
Grace did a sweep down the hallway toward the room at the end, aiming her gun at the open door.
“So was he,” Marie cried. “Cory was a lot of things, but he stayed with me. He loved me and only me. You lied!”
“The only person Cory loved was himself.”
“He had an addiction,” Marie said, her voice shaking. “He needed help.”
“You’re looking at me like you’re frightened,” Todd scoffed. “I don’t get it. I know you have feelings for me.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Tell me I’m wrong, then. That I read it wrong and that you were never attracted to me. Never fantasized about us. Never wanted me. Tell me that, and if I believe you, I’ll leave right now.”
“Y-yes, okay? It’s true. I-I liked you. I was attracted to you.”
“See!”
“You had your life together in a way Cory didn’t. You look at me in a way Cory hadn’t in a long time…”
Grace leaned her back against the wall by the doorframe.
Mac won’t be here for another ten minutes.
“You feel it too,” Todd said.
He’s smiling.
“But you’re right about something else,” she said. “I wouldn’t have left Cory. I didn’t really know what I had until he was gone, but even when he was here, I knew we were meant to be together. He was my person. No matter how bad it got, I still wished for the life I dreamed of with him. I still had hope…and you took it from me.”
The edge to her voice automatically sent Grace into motion. Grace stepped into the room. “Todd, move away from her now.” Todd pulled Marie in front of him and held a knife to her throat.
“Todd, what are you doing?” Marie screamed.
“Easy,” Grace said, aiming the gun at Todd’s torso, lowering it toward his leg. “Everybody calm down.”
“It didn’t have to be this way,” Todd said.
There’s sadness in his eyes. Regret maybe. Get him talking. Keep him calm.
“You were really decorating that limo, weren’t you?” Grace asked. “You took on Cory’s tasks and duties for the rest of the night, just like you’d been picking up his slack for months with the responsibilities of a Best Man and of a husband.”
“I’m the man she can depend on.” Todd kept his eyes on her. “You know that, Marie.”
“But then you heard something in the side lot.” Grace said, taking a step to the left, closer to the window.
Maybe Mac will see me before he comes in.
“You heard noises. Maybe a small cry for help? Moaning?”
Todd seemed to clench his jaw and strengthen his grip on Marie.
“You were hesitant, but you went to check it out. When you got to the parking lot, was Cory’s business partner still there, or had he left already?”
Brad had run behind the bushes when he heard someone coming. It was Todd. That explains not finding a matching shoe to the prints from any of the guests.
“Was Cory standing beside his car, Todd? Did you help him into the car? Help him sit down?”
Todd nodded, and Marie opened her mouth, but Grace shook her head.
“That’s right, you were going to help him… at first.”
Todd licked his lips, giving Marie the side eye.
He’s trying to get a read on her. He thinks there’s still a chance she’d be with him—even after knowing what he’s done. That’s why he’s here.
“At what point did you decide it was your chance to get rid of him?” Grace asked.
“There was so much blood,” Todd said. “Too much. I knew—I knew he wouldn’t make it.”
“So, you, what? Decided to strangle him?” she asked, and his eyes opened wide. Make it about how Todd’s the good one. “You wanted to help him. Put him out of his misery?”
Todd nodded. Marie whimpered, and Grace turned her attention to her.
“What are you talking about?” Marie cried.
“Maybe it was his way of trying to end his suffering, Marie,” she said. “Maybe he thought it was the most compassionate thing to do.”
“It was,” Todd said right away.
Grace nodded, her eyes still on Marie.
Come on. Don’t be upset with him. Play along.
“How c-could you say that?” Marie cried to her with a look of distain. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Todd wants you to understand that he only wanted to help you,” Grace said.
“It’s true,” Todd said. “You don’t see what kind of life we could have together, do you?” He brought his mouth close to her ear. “I can give you everything you ever wanted. Everything you never had. Stability. Security. A child.”
Marie’s chest heaved up and down, and her face turned red. “You took away everything I ever wanted,” Marie sneered, closing her eyes.
“Don’t move,” Grace shouted as Marie pulled away, and Todd yanked her back toward his knife.
She’s making it worse. She won’t listen to me.
“Todd,” Grace said, in a calm voice, “if you love her, prove it.”
Black mascara tears ran down Marie’s face as Todd wrapped his arm around her collar bone, keeping the knife close.
“She doesn’t love me back,” he said.
“But you’re a good man, Todd.”
A glowing light emerged from Grace’s peripheral, somewhere out the window below.
Mac’s here. Outside.
Relief washed over her as she lowered her gun.
“I’m putting mine away,” she said. “Drop your knife Todd. If you truly love her, you won’t hurt her.”
“I never wanted to.” Todd choked on his words, bending down toward her ear. “I never meant to hurt you. You’re a beautiful person, and you deserve so much…”
Grace nodded. “Now put the knife down so we can all talk.”
“Do you forgive me?” Todd asked, his voice wavering as he loosened his grip on her neck.
“What?” Marie asked, shaking her head.
“Do you forgive me for killing Cory?”
“She does,” Grace said, “don’t you, Marie?”
I just need him to let his guard down a little.
Marie’s body shook as she wept in Todd’s grasp.
“Tell me you forgive me and that you understand I did it all for you.”
“Put the knife down,” Grace said. “You can’t threaten the answer from her. You want the truth, don’t you?”
Todd lowered his hand away from her neck and loosened his grip, lifting his arm off of her. “Please, Marie,” he said, his voice shaking, begging her.
Because if she doesn’t say yes, he’ll hurt himself or her. And if she tries to get away, I’ll have to shoot him.
Marie took a step away from him, shaking, and he reached out for her again. She pulled away, out of his grasp, and turned toward him. Grace lifted her gun again as Todd’s eyes reflected Marie’s anger.
“I’ll never forgive you, you bastard!” she screamed, swatting him away.
As he lunged toward her, knife first, Grace squeezed the trigger. The shot rang through the air as Todd’s body swayed backwards. He dropped the knife and wobbled in place. Marie screamed and brought her hands to her ears as Todd dropped to the floor and Mac rushed into the room, taking Marie in his arms and pulling her away.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Grace holstered her gun and approached Todd as blood seeped from his left shoulder. She kicked the knife away.
I haven’t shot anyone since my undercover work, defending Leah. I had to…
Paramedics rushed past her and applied pressure to the wound as she stood watching, adrenaline shooting through her veins.
“Grace?”
Her name seemed to echo in the distance, and she turned to Mac as he approached her, reaching out to her.
“Grace, are you alright?”
She nodded, gathering her composure and squatting, patting Todd down for any other weapons as the paramedics worked to stabilize him. She cleared him and stood, moving aside as another paramedic brought a stretcher into the room.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing her arm gently. “You saved her. You probably saved them both.”
Grace nodded, the adrenaline vibrating through her.
“What can I do?” he asked.
“Go and take a statement from Marie—“
“No.” He took a step closer. “For you.”
She shook her head and waved him off. “I’m following Todd to the hospital. I want to see Madigan anyway.”
Mac dropped his stare to the floor and nodded as she strode past him, out of the room. Tears clouded her vision as she descended the stairs, striding down the hallway past Marie, whose jaw hung slack as she stared up at Grace. As she stepped out into the damp night air, she took a deep breath and shuddered.
It was too close. What happened here.
Madigan. I have to do better.
“You ready?” a paramedic asked her as they passed, carrying Todd on the stretcher.
She nodded and followed, pushing aside all the feelings rumbling within to focus on finishing the investigation and bringing Cory Boyd justice.