Gin Jones - Helen Binney 01 - A Dose of Death (24 page)

Tate was just outside, phone in hand, to catch her as she almost tumbled down the front steps.

“Pierce is inside,” she said. “He killed Melissa. Don’t let him get away.”

She didn
‘t know whether Tate believed her, but at least he didn’t try to tell her she was crazy. He just said, “The police are on the way,” and offered his arm to lean on as they walked over to his car. He opened the passenger side door so she’d have a safe place to wait.

She settled into the seat while Tate kept an eye on the cottage to make sure Pierce didn
‘t leave. Helen almost hoped Pierce would try to run; it would make her story more credible.

A few anxious minutes later, two police cruisers screeched to a stop behind Tate
‘s car. She told them that Pierce had threatened her and had been defrauding the nursing home patients. They might not have believed her if Tate hadn’t been standing beside her. He didn’t say anything, but his presence seemed to be enough to convince the officers to go inside the cottage, at least to find out his side of the story.

Apparently Pierce was even less credible than Helen was, because it wasn
‘t long before the officers escorted him out of the cottage and toward the police cruiser. One of the officers was studying the papers that Pierce had tried to force Helen to sign, and judging by the officer’s face they were every bit as bad as she’d believed.

A trickle of blood ran down Pierce
‘s ear, and he seemed dazed, either by the blow to his head or the shock that the victim he’d thought was such an easy target had actually fought back. Helen didn’t regret having hit him, but she did regret having done it before she’d been able to get him to confess to Melissa’s murder. His confession to her might not have been enough to convict him, since it would have been her word against Pierce’s, but her testimony should at least have been enough to establish reasonable doubt at Jack’s trial.

Pierce
‘s hands were cuffed behind him, holding his cravat, which he’d apparently used to sop up some of the blood from his ear. As he passed Helen, he said plaintively, “Why’d you have to hit me?”

“
You were in my cottage, trying to hurt me, and you wouldn’t let me leave,” Helen said. “Why wouldn’t I hit you?”

Pierce glanced to his left and then to his right, at the officers flanking him.
“You’re delusional. I would never hurt one of my clients.”

“
Save it for the judge.” Helen said, and then she had an idea. There were all sorts of reliable witnesses to anything he said now, and he was a bit off-kilter from the blow to his head. If she could just keep him talking, he might say something incriminating about the murder. “It’s ironic, really. I hit you the same way you hit Melissa, in a disagreement over your fraud, and even with the same type of weapon. Except you killed her, and I only gave you a bump on the head.”

“
You’re crazy. I didn’t kill Melissa,” he grumbled, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything more before the officers stuffed him into the back of one of the cruisers. One of the officers climbed into the cruiser and left with Pierce, while the other one remained just long enough to let Helen know they were planning to charge him with assault immediately, but that the fraud claims would have to wait until they could be investigated by someone in the detective division.

As the second cruiser was leaving, Tate said,
“Don’t feel bad that you couldn’t get Pierce to confess to Melissa’s murder. It was a long shot at best. Confessions don’t happen very often, and in the few cases when you get them, they’re not always admissible at trial.”

“
Even if the confession didn’t hold up in court,” Helen said, “Detective Peterson would hear about it, and he wouldn’t be able to ignore me any longer. I’d have at least had a chance to convince him not to pursue the case against Jack.”

“
Once Detective Peterson gets a look at the papers the officers confiscated, you won’t have any trouble convincing him to listen to you,” Tate said. “According to the nursing home board members I spoke to, they were just starting to think something was wrong with Pierce’s agency, but they hadn’t realized quite how bad it was. Yours won’t be the only voice calling for an investigation.”

“
The state is probably looking into it too,” Helen said. “But I’m not sure the fraud investigation will help Jack as long as Pierce is denying he killed Melissa.”

“
At least now his attorney has an alternative suspect to offer the jury,” Tate said. “If it will keep you from doing anything crazy, now that you’re no longer a suspect I might consider taking Jack’s case. It’s probably the easiest way to get our lives back to normal. If you’re not worried about him, you can go back to living all alone in your cottage, and I can get back to my woodworking.”

That was exactly what Helen had wanted originally, but the last few days had made her realize that she didn
‘t just want to be left alone. She wanted to find something to do with her solitude. She wanted something that wasn’t just a hobby, but was an avocation, a calling, something she could be as passionate about as Tate was with his woodworking and Betty and Josie were with their chemo cap knitting.

The only thing she
‘d felt passionate about recently was getting rid of Melissa and then figuring out who had actually gotten rid of Melissa. Unfortunately, she couldn’t count on people dying just to give her something interesting to do.

After the police and Tate left, Helen considered calling her nieces to let them know that Melissa’s killer had been caught, but then they’d have wanted to know about how Pierce had been caught, and that explanation was going to upset them. Helen was too tired to deal with it tonight. She’d call them first thing in the morning before the reporters got hold of the story. Tonight, all she wanted to do was go to bed early.

She was too wired and sore to sleep right away, so she took the painkiller that she
‘d postponed earlier. While she waited for it to make her sleepy enough to rest, she puttered around the cottage, putting away her notes on Melissa’s murder. The police had Pierce in custody, and Jack would be cleared soon enough now that Tate was representing him.

It still bothered her that Pierce hadn
‘t confessed to the murder, even after conceding the fraud. She understood why he hadn’t said anything incriminating when the police were there to overhear it, but why hadn’t he confessed when they were alone? He had clearly thought no one would listen to her about the fraud, so why think anyone would listen if she’d started claiming that he’d killed Melissa? Detective Peterson would have patted her on the head and told her not to worry about such things. Tate might have believed her, but he also would have told her that she needed more proof. Betty and Josie might have believed her too, but they also believed that Elvis had been seen at the nursing home two weeks ago, and if they became too agitated in their defense of Helen, the staff would likely send them to their rooms until they calmed down.

The ache in her hip wasn
‘t going away with the first pill, and she couldn’t relax until the pain receded. Reluctantly, she took a second dose of the painkiller and a moment later heard a car coming up the gravel driveway. As far as she knew, Tate hadn’t planned to return this evening, Jack was still under court order to stay away from her, and her nieces didn’t have any reason for an unannounced visit. Maybe Geoff Loring had heard from the police about Pierce’s arrest and had figured out that Pierce was the one who’d attacked him, so it was safe to venture out to do his job.

Between the pills she
‘d taken and the effort it had taken to get away from Pierce, she was exhausted and more irritable than usual. Whoever was outside, answering the door would not be a good idea. She’d bashed one person’s head today, and it wouldn’t take much to tempt her to do it again. The police might start to wonder if maybe she was as crazy as Pierce claimed if she thumped all of her unannounced visitors with her cane.

Helen ignored the knocking at the door, until finally a woman
‘s voice spoke. “Helen? Tate told me you were home. I need to talk to you about Pierce and the nursing home fraud.”

She recognized the voice. Judge Nolan.

It figured, Helen thought. Now that the judge wanted to listen, Helen didn’t feel like talking, and considering the two painkillers she’d taken, she wasn’t even sure how much longer she’d be able to string together a coherent sentence.

“
It’s late,” Helen said through the closed door. “I’ll stop by the courthouse tomorrow. Just tell me when would be a good time.”

“
I’ll be tied up all day. I’ve got a major trial starting in the morning,” the judge said. “It’s embarrassing enough that there was fraud at the nursing home while I was on the board of directors. I’d like to be able to show that as soon as I realized what was going on I took quick action.”

Helen was feeling a little lightheaded from the first painkiller, but it should be another half hour or so before the second one really kicked in. She could tell the judge what little she knew before then.

Helen opened the door. As the judge came inside, Helen noticed that she was wearing sneakers. A haute-couture suit, trendy necklace and sneakers. She’d been wearing designer pumps in her previous visit to the cottage, even when she’d been walking around the yard. Why was she wearing sneakers?

The sound of the door closing and the deadbolt turning brought her back to the present. Her mind was wandering, she realized. She didn
‘t have time for anything except telling the judge about Pierce.

“
Come on over to the kitchen island and have a seat. All my guests sit there. I prefer the recliner, unless I’m working at my desk. I’ve been making spreadsheets recently. You can learn a lot from spreadsheets.”

Helen glanced at the judge, to make sure the woman was following her across the room. The judge was right beside her, but there was something wrong about the judge. More likely, Helen thought, there was something wrong with herself, and she was projecting onto her visitor.

For one thing, Helen realized her words had been rambling. She didn’t normally chatter about nothing. Probably the painkillers messing with her head. She forced herself to stop talking, except it didn’t stop her thoughts. The judge wanted to know about Pierce. Who had admitted to the fraud but had refused to confess to killing Melissa. It was almost as if he hadn’t actually done it. Which meant someone else had killed the nurse.

Helen slowed and then stopped in the middle of the room, vaguely aware that she
‘d lost her train of thought. She was supposed to be talking about Pierce. The police had him. He wasn’t bothering her any longer. The judge was here now. Wearing sneakers. Ugly, beat-up sneakers that should have been thrown out a long time ago. They were so old, they really were sneakers and not running shoes. Everything else the judge wore was new and fancy. Designer suit. Silk blouse. Necklace that was as much expensive art as jewelry. All pristine. Except the sneakers.

Before Helen could bring her wandering thoughts back under control, the judge said,
“You don’t look so good. Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Helen was closer to the recliner than the kitchen, and she really didn
‘t think she could stand much longer. She barely had enough energy to drop onto the chair. The pills seemed to magnify her usual lupus fatigue, sapping her strength.

The judge crossed the room to the kitchen and used a dish towel to open the cabinet under the sink.
“I understand Pierce confessed to his involvement with insurance fraud. What, exactly, did he tell you?”

Pierce. Right. That was why the judge was here. Helen needed to explain everything she knew about Pierce, and then the judge would leave.

“The fraud started two years ago, but Melissa didn’t get involved until later. That’s why he killed her. Except he didn’t kill her.” Wait. That wasn’t right. Pierce had to have killed Melissa. Why would Helen even doubt it? Stupid painkillers. They were confusing her. She needed to explain Pierce’s actions more clearly. “Pierce used Melissa to ramp up the fraud. She had the inside information that made the billing seem legit.”

“
That’s what I thought.” Judge Nolan had pulled on a pair of yellow latex dishwashing gloves, and was now systematically investigating the contents of the kitchen cabinets. In the second one, she found the beverage glasses. She took one down and began filling it from the faucet. “There’s a good chance that neither Jack nor Pierce will be convicted for Melissa’s death. Someone needs to be punished.”

“
Exactly. Otherwise, the police will do a better investigation, and they’ll identify the real killer.” Her brain finally caught up to itself, but her body wasn’t fast enough to do anything but sit where she was. “They’ll identify
you
.”

“
You’re not as silly as you look.” The judge kept poking through Helen’s cabinets, seemingly unconcerned about having been accused of murder.

Helen tried to concentrate, but her head was spinning. Maybe she was actually asleep, and this was all just a weird dream. The idea of the judge having killed Melissa was as surreal as the methodical way the judge was investigating Helen
‘s cabinets.

What on earth did the judge want? Helen clearly remembered the woman saying she
‘d come here to talk about the nursing home fraud. Except no one official knew about the fraud yet. The police had taken Pierce away for assault, not for the fraud.

Helen knew she should keep her mouth shut, but apparently the painkillers were in charge of her actions now.
“How’d you find out about the fraud, anyway?”

“
My mother told me.” The judge paused in her search of the cabinets to turn and face Helen. “Can you believe it? I only volunteered for the board so I could be sure my mother was in a good place, and my being there didn’t help at all. Pierce was still cheating Mom, right under my nose. He’d been billing for physical therapy she never received, and she didn’t tell me for months, because she didn’t want to worry me.”

“
Family can be like that,” Helen said. “I’d have been furious if someone had been taking advantage of my nieces. It wouldn’t be enough just to have her arrested. I’d want to confront her directly. Like you did with Melissa.”

Judge Nolan nodded and went back to opening and closing cabinet doors.
“It wasn’t going to be easy for anyone, once the police were involved and the story hit the news and the grapevine. I was going to get a lot of criticism for not preventing the fraud. I needed to know the truth. Beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Helen
‘s nod of agreement turned into a whole series of nods. She had to hold her head to make it stop bobbing. “You tried to convince Melissa to turn herself in, and when she refused you got angry and murdered her.”

“
Not murder,” the judge corrected sharply. It was self-defense.”

“
Either way,” Helen said, “Melissa still ended up dead.”

“
It matters to me,” the judge said, seeming distracted by whatever she’d just found in a drawer. “You need to understand that I didn’t mean to kill her. It wasn’t my fault. I was on the way to her house, and we would have passed each other on the road, except her car had broken down, and she was waiting for the tow truck. I stopped and offered her a ride, so we could talk about the fraud.”

“
She asked you to bring her here?”

“
Said she had found your walking cane and wanted to return it to you.”

“
She was lying,” Helen said.

“
I’m not surprised.” The judge paused in her search of the drawer in front of her. “She lied about everything, didn’t she? She certainly denied that she and Pierce had done anything wrong. I’ve been on the bench long enough that I’ve seen much better liars than she was. Eventually, they’ll trip themselves up.”

“
Literally?” Helen said. “Melissa tripped and hit her head? But there wasn’t anything near her body that could have done that much damage.”

“
It would have been so much better if that’s what happened,” the judge said wistfully. “Melissa did kill herself, in a sense, but not by tripping. She just kept lying about what she and Pierce had done and why she was at the cottage. When her key didn’t work on your front door, I thought she’d break down and admit everything, but she came up with another story. I’ve learned to be patient, so I pretended to believe her. She wanted us to go around to the back deck, where she said there was a hidden spare key. I kept trying to reason with her, telling her she had to admit what she’d done and turn herself in and cooperate with the case against Pierce. And that’s when she spun around with your cane raised to hit me. She missed, and it must have surprised her, because she hesitated just long enough for me to grab it away from her.”

“
You must have been pretty certain you were right about her at that point,” Helen said. “Why didn’t you just leave then?”

“
I tried. I was already a few feet away from her when she screamed and started running at me. She was wearing her nursing clogs, much better suited for your lawn, and I was in my pumps. There was no way I could outrun her, not without more of a head start. So I spun around, intending to shove her to the ground just to slow her down. I’d forgotten about the cane, but my subconscious hadn’t, and the next thing I knew she was on the ground, dead, with her blood all over the cane and my suit.”

“
Why didn’t you just call the police and tell them what happened?”

“
I meant to,” Judge Nolan said. “But I needed to clear some things up at my office first, so I changed into a spare suit that I always keep in the car for emergencies, bagged up the bloody clothes, and went to the courthouse. Then I lost track of time until one of the court officers came into my chambers to tell me that Melissa’s body had been found, and the police suspected it was the work of the Remote Control Burglar. I thought it might be best if they continued to think that. After all, it was self-defense, so I hadn’t committed murder, but if everyone knew that I’d killed someone, it would have made it more difficult to do my job, presiding over criminal trials.”

The judge seemed to feel the need to justify her actions,
much like Helen’s ex had never been able to accept blame for any problems in their personal lives, without first trying to split legal hairs to prove he was right, even when he knew he was wrong. Especially when he knew he was wrong. The habit had always annoyed her, but it might actually come in handy right now. As the judge laid out the detailed argument in her defense, the fog in Helen’s head was beginning to dissipate. Not enough, but it might lift enough for her to escape if she could just keep the judge explaining her motives. “So you were the one who tipped the police to Jack’s role in the remote control burglaries.”