Authors: Andrew Hess
Scorned (27 page)
Claire’s other hand hovered above Ron’s neck, resisting the urge to lock her fingers around his throat and squeeze with all her might. “I had no memory of anything after that drink. I woke up in a strange bed naked and alone.” A tear trickled down her cheek. Ron’s eyes closed, yet the smile remained. Claire’s words barely reached his ears. Her right hand swiftly swung, connecting with sting across Ron DeMarco’s face. “You fucking bastard. You took everything from me.” He couldn’t smooth talk his way out of this one. In fact, there was no response from him at all. Claire stared at DeMarco’s motionless body. “Now, I’m going to take everything from you.”
Claire slipped her dress over her head, feeling the snug fit around her body as she hurried back to the dining room. The bottle of wine stood in front of their entrées. The irony of the situation put a devilish grin on her face. Ron DeMarco’s fate was sealed when he drugged Claire’s drink. It was fitting that he should die in a similar way.
Claire gripped the bottle and dripped a steady stream of wine in front of the liquor cabinets, leading the trail to the front door. She retrieved her clutch from a nearby end table and found a book of matches hidden between her cell phone and her driver’s license. With a flick of her wrist, she struck the side and ignited the flame that would inevitably seal her fate. “This is where I take back my life.” She glanced back at Ron one last time. “And yours end.” The match fell from her steady fingertips, setting the trail ablaze. She waited for the flames to take vengeance on the man that ruined her life. The building inferno consumed the living room within minutes. Claire returned to her car, hearing the satisfying sounds of Ron DeMarco screaming in agony as the flames tortured him until justice prevailed.
Denied again, well…partially denied. The A.D.A. refused to grant us the arrest warrant, but permitted us to search Dr. Cain’s house. It was easy to find. It was the only house that was starch white with emerald green shutters. They were still perfect in color, showing no dirt. It had to be costly to keep up that maintenance. We waited until eight at night, thinking she would be home by then. To our surprise, inside the house was shrouded in complete darkness. It took away our chance to question her, but made the task of searching her house a lot easier. People hate when cops serve them a warrant. The idea of someone, even a cop, looking through their stuff is highly intrusive. Once they see us coming, they try to hide anything that could be misconstrued or incriminating.
“Looks like no one’s home,” Rodney said as we stepped out of his squad car. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
We walked up to the front door and rang the bell. There was no answer and no movement. We rang it again and got more of the same. Finally I banged my fist on the door. “Doctor Cain, open up. This is the police.” Still no reply which we anticipated. “Doctor Cain, we have a search warrant.” Formalities aside, it was time to enter the house. I nodded to Rodney and James, letting them know my intention. “Doctor Cain, we are coming in.”
James took position in front of the door and kicked it in. There wasn’t a single light on inside the house, putting us at a distinct advantage. “I got this.” A small beam of light clicked on behind us. I turned to my left and found James holding a thin flashlight. “
And here I thought you were just happy to see me.”
“Ali, I’m always happy to see you.”
“Get a damn room already,” Rodney joked.
Heat rose within me, making my cheeks feel like they were on fire. James seemed to shrug it off and kept up with his search to turn on the lights. The beam fell along the wall, locating a switch several feet from us. The house lit up instantly. The lights blinded us momentarily while we discovered the dark wood floors, the suede couch, and walls that had a stonework appearance.
“How do you wanna split this,” I asked.
“Ali and I will take the bedroom and bathroom. James can take the kitchen and the living room.” James looked at Rodney questioningly. “What? You think I’m going to trust you two in a bedroom together?”
The comment should’ve made me blush, but this time was different. I was sick of being the butt of Rodney’s joke. “He’s just jealous because he hasn’t gotten any since his wife found out she was pregnant.” Rodney’s eyes burned with anger.
Shit, that was low even for our usual banter
. Rodney clenched his jaw tightly and stormed off to the bathroom area. Not a single word of rebuttal, not even one retort, joke or spout of anger.
“The fuck’s gotten into him,” James asked.
“The hell if I know.” My eyes followed Rodney, but I stood by James in the living room. “Let me straighten him out. See what you can find in here and the kitchen.”
Detective Thornton stared blankly at the kitchen. “What do you think I’m gonna find in there, a recipe for making roofies?”
“Humor me.”
James reluctantly agreed, giving me the chance to check on Rodney. He was already working in the bathroom. Hairbrushes were cast aside, tiny boxes and bags were dumped on the floor, and cabinets were thrown open. He was in the middle of emptying the vanity cabinet when I walked by. The anger and hostility in his eyes demanded to be left alone. The more I thought about it, the more I was willing to oblige. Instead of interrupting Rodney, I decided to check on Dr. Cain’s bedroom. The door was already slightly ajar and the light from the hall allowed me to easily locate another switch. The scene before me was a bit unsettling. “Guys, I think you need to see this,” I shouted.
James and Rodney ran through the doorway one after the other. Their eyes were glued to the same mess of clothes, scattered shoes and half packed suitcases that sat on the bed. “Looks like the good doctor was planning a little getaway,” James said.
“Or planning her escape,” Rodney commented.
I pulled out my gloves to search the room for anything incriminating, finding nothing that could link Dr. Cain to either homicide. All that was found were clothes, some DVDs, music and books. We dumped her suitcase on the floor. A bag full of toiletries spilled onto the floor.
“That’s one room down,” I said. “You guys find anything yet?”
“Just razors, shaving cream, facial and hair products. The garbage was empty and everything looked like it was just cleaned.”
“I didn’t find anything in the kitchen cabinets,” James replied. “The fridge was pretty empty. Although, I didn’t have time to search the trash or the living room.”
“So let’s rip it apart and see what we come up with.” I was determined to find something to help point us in the right direction; something that can let us get the arrest warrant. I decided to take the kitchen and look through the garbage. James offered to do it for me, but I thought he would be best used to move some of the furniture around.
I entered the kitchen and began my search in the lower cabinets. A tall yellow bin sat underneath the sink with a tall black bag sitting inside. I pulled it out and dumped its contents onto the floor. A hollow tube sound emanated from the pile of garbage. While sifting through the pile, I found two orange prescription bottles with the labels peeled off. This was the evidence we were looking for. This was another big break in the case. I quickly removed two plastic bags from my pocket and placed the pill bottles inside. There were one or two tablets left in each. There was no telling what they were or why they were sitting in the garbage, but it definitely looked bad for Dr. Cain.
I re-entered the living room finding the couches and recliners moved. James and Rodney were prying open a small box. Its contents contained pictures of our suspect at a bar dated six months ago, a letter addressed to Claire, and a mystery disc tha
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our curiosity. We played the disc on her TV and watched the security footage from another club. Claire was dancing with a drink in her hand. The camera showed a man in the distance watching her until she approached the bar.
“Looks like the good doctor is taking a walk on the wild side.” Rodney’s comments were getting tiresome.
“What are you fifty,” I asked. “No one talks like that anymore.”
He made a face and kept his focus on the video. We kept watching the mystery man make his move, eventually slipping something into Claire’s drink. Later the video showed the two dancing very close and intimate. But Claire didn’t look like she was enjoying herself. In fact, she appeared to be barely conscious.
“Well I think I know why she might’ve snapped.” James and Rodney turned towards me with curious expressions. Damn, did I have to spell it out for them? “Whoever that man is,” I paused the video on a clear shot of the man that was all over Claire and pointed to him. “It looks as though he drugged her. My guess is he took her back to his place and had his way with her.” I paused to let the boys catch up. “She must’ve seen Ambrose slip something into one of the drinks and had a flashback to the night she was drugged.”
“Are we trying to make a case against her or work on her defense,” Rodney asked. “I mean, under those inferences, she could easily plead temporary insanity.”
“True, but that doesn’t explain why she went after Mr. Lee.”
“She had a mental breakdown and killed Ambrose. Then Mr. Lee got a little too touchy feely with her and she snapped again. She took him out and now she’s trying to leave town.”
“If she wanted to leave town, she would’ve left the day after killing Mr. Lee,” James said. “She stuck around for a reason.” He pointed to the screen. “I think she watched this video and found out who our mystery man is.”
“So you’re saying she has another target in mind?”
“Either he’s a target or she’s already claimed her third victim.”
“We need to figure out who this man is and find him before Claire does.” A pair of headlights hit the house illuminating the living room. I jumped to my feet. “Shit, she’s here.” There were only two options. The first was to show her the search warrant and have one of us stay outside with her while we finished conducting our search. The other was to arrest her on the spot and pray we could make the charges stick.
“Your call partner,” Rodney whispered.
“We need to get her off the streets. She’s a danger to herself and to every male she comes in contact with.”
We met her as she approached the front door which was now hanging on by a hinge. “Who the fuck are you?” Claire shouted. She was trying to be as loud as she could to draw the attention of the neighbors. “Never mind, I’m calling the cops.”
“Too late,” James shouted. “We’re already here.” He took the search warrant from his pocket and presented it to the woman while flashing his badge in the other hand.
Claire’s mouth hung open. She was unable to make a single comment in fear of saying the wrong thing. “Can I see that?” She ripped the warrant from James’s hand and scanned the document. Beads of sweat formed over her brows. She knew we were on to her and there was nothing she could do about it. “Fine, search away. But you’re not going to find anything in there.”
“We already have,” Rodney said with a grin that was ear to ear. His hand pulled the pair of handcuffs from his belt and slapped one side on Claire’s left wrist.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Doctor Claire Cain,” I said sternly. “You are under arrest for the deaths of Blake Ambrose and Tyson Lee. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Claire struggled to free herself as Rodney pinned Claire’s left arm behind her back and reached for the right. “This is absurd. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court.”
“Oh you bet I’m calling my attorney and your asses are in deep shit when she gets a hold of you.”
Rodney finally placed the cuffs on Dr. Cain and was not directing her into the back of Rodney’s squad car. “You wanna ride with me?”
Somehow the thought of being trapped in a car with a crazy woman that killed two men and my partner who was obviously pissed off was not something I wanted to be a part of. Unfortunately for me, it was in the best interest of Rodney, the Ulster County Police Department and the case against Dr. Cain for there to be two arresting officers in the car taking her back to the station for processing.
“I’ll be right there.” I turned to James. “Meet us at the station. It’s going to be a long night and we could use your help.”
He smiled with the porch lights shining down on us. I melted a little. The cold hearted bitch that stood up to the complete jackass when we first met was gone, and I rather enjoyed being in his company.
“So what’s in this for me?”
“Stale doughnuts and day old coffee.”
“Fine, but only if I can take you out tomorrow for some real food.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “I think I’d like that.”
What was supposed to be a moment of great relief and triumph, had quickly become the worst night of Claire Cain’s life. She had never been in trouble before. Even as a kid, she had never been sent to the principal’s office. But here she was, sitting in the back of a squad car, her hands locked in place with handcuffs, and was arrested on two counts of murder.
Claire spat in defiance of the police, but kept her mouth shut for the most part. The last thing she told them was I want my lawyer, hoping Becky could get her out of this mess. She didn’t know what the police had found at her apartment or the list of evidence they had piled up against her. She was hoping it was all circumstantial at best and her defense team could destroy the prosecution’s case.
The officers that arrested Claire escorted her into the station, brought her to have her mug shot taken. It was by far the most humiliating experience of her life. She held the board with her prisoner ID number in front of her and would now be in the system. Her picture would be logged into the criminal databank along with thousands of other convicts, thugs, and felons. Then they dragged her to fingerprinting. The black ink stained her otherwise pristine hands.
“I want my lawyer,” Claire shouted at one of the officers.
A large black man pushed her towards a desk. He took a pen and paper from it. His large round eyes focused in on her. “What’s the number?”
Claire rambled off Rebecca’s number to him, but refused to make any further eye contact. The officer’s towering size intimidated her, and that intensified her anger. He folded the paper and placed it in his shirt pocket before escorting Claire to interrogation.
It was a cold room. A large metal table sat in the middle with a hook in the center to shackle the handcuffs to. An uncomfortable wooden chair sat behind the table facing a mirror that one could only assume had a bunch of cops lurking behind it. There was a tape recorder that sat on the table and video cameras setup in each corner of the room.
“What the hell am I doing here? I told you I want my lawyer.”
“Look lady,” the large arresting officer said. “You can either wait in here for your lawyer, or we can throw you in a holding cell with a bunch of criminals that would eat you alive.”
Claire knew this was just another tactic the police were using to get her to open up, to cooperate, and give up everything they wanted to know about the murders. They were trying to be nice to her in hopes that she would be nicer to them, maybe talk before her lawyer showed up. But Clair wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to give them anything, but she wasn’t going to sit and wait in a holding cell either.
Claire released some of the tension in her face and relaxed her shoulders while she sat in the chair. “Can I get some water,” Claire asked.
The officer knocked on the door. When it opened, a woman appeared with a small paper cup filled with water. She handed it to the arresting officer before disappearing behind the closed door.
The officer took a seat across from Claire. “So Doctor Cain, tell me a little about yourself.”
They want me to play nice. I’ll play along for now.
“There’s not much to know about me. I graduated top of my class from Johns Hopkins. I’ve been working as a doctor for nine years, but working private practice for the last three.”
The officer took a seat in front of her. “That’s pretty impressive. What made you decide to become a doctor?”
“I was a science geek growing up. I loved learning how the body works and reading medical journals. So it was a no brainer for me. I just didn’t know which area to go into. During my residency, I learned more from working in the emergency room and diving into a surgical rotation than I did in pre-med and most of medical school.”
“So do you prefer working more in the medicinal field or surgical?”
This was a way of tripping Claire up and establishing her knowledge of how certain types of medicines and pills affect people. Showing that she had a working knowledge of various drugs put more of a target on her back and would surely fit her as the only possible murder suspect.
Claire decided this was the best moment to take a sip of water. “Did my lawyer say when she would be here?”
The officer eyed her up and knew she was onto his line of questioning. This was the third time she asked about her lawyer. There was a knock on the door and the curly haired woman that delivered the water poked her head inside the interrogation room.
“Detective Johnson, can I speak with you?”
The towering officer stood up from his chair and approached the woman. They conversed momentarily in a hushed tone that made it impossible for Claire to hear what they were saying. Whatever it was, caused Detective Johnson to excuse himself from the room. Claire was relieved to be alone. Getting away from the officers allowed her to focus on calming herself and a chance to come up with a plan to get out of the mess she created.
A half hour later, the door to the interrogation room opened again. This time Detective Johnson was escorting Becky in. Claire briefly smiled, but the look her friend/lawyer replied with was a stone cold look that knocked the grin off of Claire’s face.
“Detective Johnson, do you mind if I have a moment alone with my client,” Rebecca asked dryly.
“Sure thing,” he replied. “I’ll just be outside that door.” It was a reminder that even though he wasn’t in the room, he would still be watching them.
Rebecca waited until the door closed before snapping her head towards her client. “What the hell happened,” she asked in a low but harsh whisper. “I thought you were getting the hell outta town.”
“I was, but…”
“You went after him; didn’t you? You went after the man that drugged you and ra...”
“Yes,” Claire spat with venom in her eyes. “I had to. I couldn’t let him get away with it. He needed to pay for what he did to me.”
Rebecca paced around the table. Her eyes burned a hole through the floor as she thought about how to handle the murder charges and how to get Claire out of jail. “Who was it?” Claire stared at the table and kept silent. “You need to tell me everything if you want me to help you. Now tell me who raped you.”
Claire chewed the inside of her cheek. “It was my new boss,” she regretfully replied. “He saw me at some bar six months ago and drugged me. I have him on camera, and made him admit it tonight when I went to his house.”
Rebecca sunk into the chair across from Claire. “Fucking hell Claire; why couldn’t you just go to the cops about this?”
“They wouldn’t have done anything. They’d want to know how I got the tapes, and I don’t even know how they were obtained. He’d be out in a few months, my reputation and my career would be ruined, and I’d still be the prime suspect for the other two murders.”
“Do the cops know about him yet?”
“I don’t think so. They only mentioned Ambrose and Tyson.” Claire pleaded with Rebecca. “Please, get me out of here.”
“I’ll see what I can do about getting the arraignment moved up to be first on the docket tomorrow and we’ll get you out on bail. For now, let’s work on getting these cops off your ass. Just let me do all the talking” Rebecca knocked on the door and was met by Detective Johnson. “We’re all set in here.”
“Detective Johnson entered the room with two chairs in his hands. He placed one down next to Claire and the other across from her. He sat down and waited while the curly haired woman returned.
“Good evening, I’m Detective Ali Ryan.” The curly haired detective shook hands with Rebecca and sat down across from Claire. “Doctor Cain, we arrested you on two counts of homicide. This is your chance to tell us your side of the story.”