The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (158 page)

Again he waited for her to speak. Part of her wanted to tell him that it was okay, that he didn’t have to tell her any more, but she realised that this was something he had to do, something he should have done a long time ago. So she waited. He stood up and eventually and with his back to her said, ‘we received intel that something huge was about to go down at a house belonging to a well known mob boss, the one my friend was suspected of working for. We also believed that girls were being held there against their will.

The raid was going to be a combined operation, the APD, ICE and FBI. When we were almost ready to go we were informed that my friend was in the house, something we didn’t expect. My superiors told me that because of my close friendship with John it would be better if I left. A horrible cold feeling came over me. That morning I had seen Adrianne dressed up in her most sexy clothes, she had given me a smug grin as she left the house, and I just knew she was in there with John. I was furious.

So instead of going home as ordered when the raid began I got into the house ahead of them and tried to find John.’ I found him in a bedroom with a woman.’ Lando paused here; his fist clenched tightly his face hard and set. ‘Of course it
was
Adrianne.’

Although Adela had expected this she was still shocked.

Before she could say anything Lando continued, ‘They were hurriedly dressing after, well, I don’t have to spell it out do I? John’s face was a picture of shock and regret. It was obvious he was devastated that they’d been discovered, I prefer to believe that he actually did feel bad about what they’d been doing behind my back. Of course, his mortification could have had less to do with the fact that he’d been found with his best friend’s wife and more to do with who’s house he’d been caught in.’

Lando sat down at the table again before going on, ‘as for Adrianne, after the initial shock of seeing me there was calm itself. She told John not to worry that I wouldn’t do anything about it, that I never did. Just as we all confronted each other there were sounds from below and I knew the teams had moved in. There was a lot of shouting and screaming. John looked terrified and asked what was going on. I told him to get Adrianne out of there but he just stood there frozen.

Then he did something I never expected, something that I never thought him capable of, he pulled a gun on me.’ Adela’s eyes opened wide in shock, ‘he took me by complete surprise so I was slow in reacting. He pointed the gun at me and fired but thank God he was not a good shot and missed by a yard. I drew my weapon and fired but Adrianne, Adrianne she,’ he paused here his face ravaged by guilt and regret. Adela wanted nothing more at that moment than to reach out her hand and take his. She didn’t because she didn’t know how he would react to the gesture, but knowing him he probably wouldn’t have appreciated her sympathy.

He swallowed deeply and went on, ‘she cried out, “no,” and flung herself in front of John and my bullet hit her directly in the heart. She looked at me and the look of shock and accusation on her face haunts me still.’

Adela gasped and spoke for the first time since he had began his narrative, ‘I’m so sorry, Mr. Lando, so very sorry.’ Inadequate words but it was all she had right then.

He stared at her his expression unreadable but said nothing as though waiting for her to ask the inevitable question, which she did. ‘So if it was an accident why were you accused of her murder?’

He hesitated a moment before answering, ‘John covered his own ass by telling them that I had burst in on them, found them in bed together and was so enraged that I killed her and tried to kill him. That he had only reached for a weapon to defend himself and Adrianne.’

She was aghast, ‘but if he was known to be associating with criminals why would they believe him?’

‘He told them he was just a lawyer there to speak with his client about an upcoming land development they’d been working on. He had no idea that his client was suspected of being involved in drug or people trafficking. He told them that Adrianne was also a guest but not his. They had slept together but it had been a one off and had never happened before, despite what her husband or others thought. He said he was sorry that it had happened, he was ashamed of himself but she had been a beautiful, desirable woman and his only crime was that he had been weak.’

‘And they believed him?’

Lando gave a scornful smirk, ‘he was a lawyer don’t forget, used to telling tales to jurors. He made Adrianne out to be the seductive siren, himself out to be the sorrowful, penitent dupe and me the vengeful, murderous, cuckolded husband.’

Just for an instant the memory of Hennessey laughing at her own use of the word “cuckold” came to her but unlike Hennessey she did not laugh at Lando’s use of it.

He said, ‘if it’d been just his word against mine maybe things might have gone differently, but there were some of those present who witnessed my reaction when I’d been informed that John was inside the house. They even tried to make out I’d known about their affair. They told the court that I knew she was in there with my best friend. They said that I'd been, and I quote, “Angry enough to kill.” That combined with the fact that I’d disobeyed orders was my undoing.’

‘But according to Hennessey you only got three years. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to belittle those three years, but it isn’t the usual sentence for murder is it?’

‘I was lucky in that I had witnesses too, friends and colleagues who told the court that Adrianne had been having affairs for years, that I had known about her affairs for ages and done nothing about it. And if I had previously known about her and John’s affair why should I suddenly decide to get all outraged there and then in the middle of an important police operation?

Anyway, despite John’s and the other witnesses’ testimony the jury found me not guilty of murder but of negligent homicide. The judge gave me the maximum sentence for that particular crime, three years. I was shocked I must say, I thought I was going down for murder. But the jury was obviously more discerning than I thought and saw John for what he was. But I really don’t know why they reached the decision they did.’

‘But I still don’t understand how they could find you guilty of anything, you were just defending yourself, and your wife’s death was an accident.’

He looked away and stared into space as if thinking about that one then said, ‘I think they believed that there was something to the revenge thing because I never attempted to defend myself.’

‘Why?’ She exclaimed.

He stare
d long and hard at her, ‘because I
was
guilty.’

‘What?’ The word was a mere whisper.

'She never openly flaunted her affair with John, not like with the others, but she dropped hints. I believe in her own strange way she wanted me to find out, not so much to hurt me, although that was part of it, but mostly to get a reaction from me. Something,
anything
to prove I cared. But I just didn’t care enough to listen.

I was guilty of not caring enough, of being a coward, of not ending the marriage when it was as good as dead. I was guilty of indifference, which is worse than hate; at least hate is an emotion. I was guilty of going into that house angry and humiliated. If I'd never gone in that house she would still be alive. I deserved to be punished for all of those things and a hell of a lot more.’

She shook her head, ‘we’re  all guilty of those things at some time in our lives, Mr. Lando. If we all went to prison for preferring to look the other way, for burying our head in the sand, for not caring, there’d be no room for the
real
criminals.’

For the first time he smiled, not a proper full smile but close enough. She went on, ‘but we can’t go on punishing ourselves forever, there comes a time when we have to forgive ourselves for our foolishness.’

‘Like you forgive yourself for your foolishness over Hennessey?’

She was startled by the question which contained an accusation. As he had she looked away from his eyes before saying, ‘what I did brought danger to innocent people, ‘she looked back at him, ‘like you, Mr. Lando. Because of my stupidity you were dragged into something that was not your concern.’

He continued to regard her strangely before saying rather abruptly, ‘none of what happened was your fault. Maybe instead of berating yourself for getting sucked in by Hennessey you should try congratulating yourself for escaping him. The men he killed never managed that did they?’

She was surprised by this complimen
t and lowered her eyes and said, ‘thank you for that.’ He said nothing so she changed the subject, ‘Mr. Lando, I know words are pointless now, but I am
very
sorry that you had to endure what you did. Your wife’s affairs and prison. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like for you, as a policeman and as a man.’

He frowned slightly whether at her words or the sympathy they contained was not clear. A little uncomfortable by his scrutiny she said, ‘what happened to your friend, John?’

‘Nothing much, they couldn’t prove anything other than he was just doing his job and was there at the house to go over legal business. It may have been business but it was
not
legal.’

‘He wasn’t convicted or even disbarred?’

Lando shook his head, ‘he was suspended for a while for conduct unbecoming. But as far as I know he’s still practising, he could be married with a family by now. I don’t know and don’t want to know.’

She nodded, ‘I can understand that, he turned out to be a disloyal and traitorous friend. What’s that old saying, with friends like that? You’re better off having no friends than one like him.’

He looked at her his head on one side and she realised how that must have sounded and hastened to change the subject, ‘and what about the man who’s house that was raided? What happened to him?’

His fist clenched turning his knuckles white, ‘turned out there was no girls there, nothing we could pin on him. Although we suspected they were there somewhere, maybe in a secret hiding place like at Glissando's. In any event, he found himself a better lawyer than John and walked free.’ He gave her a meaningful look she did not understand, ‘he was killed later though, he and several of his friends who were there that day.’

She frowned not understanding the strange glint in his eyes. For something to say she said, ‘but I’m sure your wife had no idea how serious a situation she was getting herself into. I’m sure she would never purposefully have put herself or you in that position.’

His eyes narrowed then he gave a derisory laugh, ‘I prefer to think that, but you didn’t know my wife. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had been involved, certainly the authorities thought so. But I know she deliberately went there that day. She would have considered it just retribution for my distance, for my neglect of her.’

‘Well, you obviously knew her better than anyone.’

‘Huh, no one knew that woman, not even her.’

This was getting too personal and he was getting irate. He obviously had his opinion and nothing would change that. His wife didn’t love him had set out to hurt him because of his uncaring attitude so he deserved to be punished and that was that. His guilt, his belief that he had gotten nothing more than he deserved was so ingrained in him that nothing would ever change it. She knew how he felt. She decided to say nothing further on the subject.

There followed a silence until taking a deep breath she said, ‘Mr. Lando, you’ve told me about your wife and what happened to you both and I’m glad you did. But why did you, I mean, why
me
?’

He looked away and made as if to rise then sat back down again his hands clenched together on the table as if praying. She was looking at him waiting for an answer. He said, ‘I...I just thought you should know.’

‘Why?’

She looked so perplexed that he thought God help me, I’ll kill Lomax. He was the one who had told him that she cared for him, that she had come here to be near him. Fuck, what had he been thinking to listen to that senile old guy.

After Lomax left he had called him every name under the sun. He’d lain awake thinking about what he’d said and also what she had said, “you can’t know what love is until you’ve experienced the real thing…and I have.” At the time he had convinced himself that she had meant Leyton but the morning after his talk with Lomax he had convinced himself that she had meant him. That's why he was here, that's why he had told her what he had, so that she'd know what kind of man he was, an unreliable, unfeeling man. That there could be no future for them. But now looking at her perplexed and enquiring expression he wanted nothing more than to get out of that cabin as fast as he could. Thank God she was leaving tomorrow and would not be here as a constant reminder of his stupidity and humiliation. He shifted in his seat and cleared his throat before mumbling, ‘I…Sheriff Lomax said…he said that…’ He came to a stumbling halt.

She studied his face for a moment before saying softly, ‘it’s all right, I know why you told me.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yes.’

He took refuge from his embarrassment in sarcasm, ‘then please share your insights.’

She ignored his tone. ‘You told me about your wife because that’s how you see me isn’t it? A spoilt, pampered, overindulged, wealthy heiress with no regard or understanding of the world in which real people live, people like
you
.’