Vendetta (15 page)

    
“Are you implying that you, yourself are going to handle this in your own way, if we don’t produce the results you want, when you want them, Mr. Anderson?” Haddock asked seriously. “Are you threatening with bloodshed?”

    
Detective Williams and Julie silently watched and waited for Mark to answer.

    
“No. I am not implying that at all Captain Haddock. We’re just dealing with a cold blooded killer here, whether you acknowledge it or not. Criminals, that might be looking to get rid of people who have become a liability. Why pay a scumbag you hired to do your dirty work, when you can just get rid of them afterwards. It‘s a money saver in the least,” Mark said bluntly.

     “
I must have misunderstood you then, Mr. Anderson. I apologize for the confusion,” Captain Haddock said awkwardly. “I see your logic. That’s a very good point,” he nodded.

    
“Well, I think we have a good idea of what’s happening in the next 24 hours. Right now, let’s just focus on tonight and hope we can get some good evidence from the wire,” Williams said.

    
“Well, thank God we have a plan,” Mark said sarcastically.

    
Julie felt that Mark was acting arrogant and was simply mocking the investigation. But she felt that she didn’t have the right to judge him on how he should or shouldn’t be acting. Despite her own feelings about it, she knew she shouldn’t blame him for his temperament.

    
Detective Williams glanced at Julie, somehow knowing that she was thinking the same thing he was.

    
Mark had always had a good moral compass, one that clearly defined that fine line between right and wrong, good and evil. It was getting harder to distinguish that faint line under the dim lights of his now harsh circumstances. Julie now understood that as a friend and someone who cared a great deal about what happened to him, she would now have to keep a close eye on Mark, just in case he was in need of someone to switch on a light for him when he could no longer see in the dark.

    
“We thank you again, Mrs. Butler, for your willingness to wear this wire tonight. It will be extremely helpful. If you don’t mind going into the ladies room now with Detective Chavez, she’ll be the one to get you all set up with that, okay, Mrs. Butler?” Captain Haddock said respectively.

    
“It‘s my pleasure, Captain Haddock. After tonight, sir, if you’ll kindly refer to me as, “Ms. Allen,” Julie almost smiled as she thought of how nice that sounded. She took one last glance at Mark, before she walked out of the room.

    
Mark sat motionless and stared blankly at the floor, pretending not to hear what Julie had just said. He didn’t have time to care about her and Nick’s marital issues, let alone her name status. He just wanted to get in that stake out van, and hear Nick’s confession on that wire.

                                
    CHAPTER 11

                            
           WIRED

     The Captain’s instructions echoed in Julie’s mind as she drove home that evening. She hoped she would remember everything. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and focused on the road ahead of her.

    
“Don’t instigate a fight or argue with him, just stick to the facts. You believe he has been cheating on you with Lucy, you need some time to think, and you’re going to a hotel for a couple of days. Okay? Everything he says to you will be picked up by the wire. Detective Williams’ will be listening in a nearby van that will be parked right around the corner. Other police officers and I are close by just in case. If anything should happen, we’ll be there in ten seconds,” Haddock said.

    
Julie took comfort in that last part. Her colleague at work said Nick hadn’t been by, or called for her…so that meant she could pretend she was at work all day. Business as usual, it was time to go home. He might not even be there, she thought. He usually wasn’t.

    
Julie pulled into the driveway and saw Nick’s truck. Damn it.

    
She took a few deep breaths before getting out of the car and heading up to the house. Julie saw a faint glow of light on in the upstairs window. She paused for a moment and looked around at the outside of the house. For the first time in the seven years that they had lived there, she was frightened to go in. Everything looked completely normal and unchanged, yet everything felt so different. She had no idea what to expect and had even thought about just getting back in her car and driving away. But, instead, she gathered her strength and went inside. “We need answers for Allie,” she told herself.

    
The houses warmth and the smell of vanilla candles comforted her. She had been burning those candles for Allie. She decided to just act as normal as possible and stick to her routine. Julie sauntered into the kitchen and tossed her purse on the counter.

    
Glancing in the sink, she absent mindedly looked for dirty dishes. It was one of the ways she could tell if Nick had eaten anything that day. Julie now realized just how pathetic this habit was. Hindsight could be so obviously cruel. Julie felt stupid, not acknowledging his drug use before. All the little signs now seemed like billboards framed in bright, Hollywood style, movie theater bulbs.

    
She heard Nick upstairs, blowing his nose in the bedroom. She decided it was time to get this over with. Julie slowly walked up the stairs and crept into the hallway.

    
She could see him standing next to the bed, looking out the window as she peeked in through the crack in the door. She carefully and slowly pushed the door open.

    
Julie stepped into the room with her game face on. She looked annoyed, with her eyebrows slightly raised. It was almost a chore just to look at him. Nick turned and looked at her, he had obviously been crying.

    
“I know why you’re here, and I know what your plan is,” he said, staring at her. He jammed his hands in his pockets.

    
“You do?” Julie thought her heart might have just gone up into her throat. She thought for a second he might really know.

    
He looked away from her and squinted, like it physically hurt him, to look into her eyes.

    
“Before you go, just let me say a few things to you, please? Let me try to explain and then you never have to see me again!” Nick pleaded. He paced back and forth in front of the bed.

    
“Okay. Go ahead and say what you need to, Nick,” Julie watched him cautiously.

    
“I know you’re leaving me this time, and you’re probably going to ask me to sign the damn papers, once and for all. That’s fine. I don’t blame you! I just want to say, that I’m sorry for the way this is ending. It’s my fault… everything’s my fault, entirely!”

    
He was weeping now. He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

    
“Holy hell, Jule’s, you have NO idea. No idea at all!” He yelled.

    
Julie stood silently and listened to him. Trying to keep her heart from slamming outside her chest… she took long slow breathes to calm herself.

    
“Enlighten me. Give me an idea, so I know what’s going on with you. I mean, I think you might owe me that much,” she said cynically.

    
“I do owe you that,” Nick acknowledged. “But you’re not going to like what I have to say. I’m not the man that you thought you married. I never have been. I have always thought that I didn’t deserve you, and now I know it’s true. You’re too good for me, Jules, and you always have been!” He snickered a little in between his sniveling. Julie stayed in front of the open door.

    
She cleared her throat. “So it’s definitely true then, you and Lucy have been sleeping together? “ Julie asked quietly.

    
“Yeah, it‘s true. What the heck,” he looked down at the floor. “I might as well get it ALL out, right?” He smiled.

    
“How long have you been seeing each other?” Julie said louder. Trying not to raise her voice too much, but wanted it to be clear on the wire recording.

    
“Awhile, maybe a year or so, but you weren‘t supposed to find out. Definitely not like this anyway,” he looked a little ashamed.

    
“Dom has been gone a lot taking care of his stupid sister and he’s always busy with his ‘Golden Boy’ Mark… teaching him new shit! You were always at work or hanging out with ‘Princess Allie’, so what was I supposed to do, you know?” he laughed.

    
“Lucy gave me attention and made me feel like a man. I’ll tell you what I ended up doing, though. I got myself mixed up in the wrong shit. That’s what!” He sat down on the bed and put his head down into his hands.

    
“What do you mean? What kind of stuff did you get yourself mixed up in?” Julie tried not to sound too obvious, like she was coaxing him to say more.

    
“I’ve noticed you haven’t been yourself …for quite some time. I knew we were drifting apart, but not like this,” she said truthfully.

    
“We want different things in our lives, Jules. You want kids and a family life…with a picket fence and …I want to have fun! I want excitement in my life, to explore other… options.”

    
He stood up and looked at Julie through red, watery eyes.

    
“I just don’t want what you want. I never have. I just went along with it and it got to be too much to handle. So I got a little crazy, and a little ahead of myself. Now I don’t know what I want or what the hell I’m doing anymore,” Nick was swinging his arms, gesturing with his hands as he spoke.

    
“Are you on drugs?” Julie asked point blank.

    
“Why? What difference does that make? We’re not going to be together anymore…what difference does it make, Fuck! There you go again! What are you, my fucking MOTHER?” Nick suddenly became very defensive. She knew she had pushed a button.

    
“I’m sorry… you’re right it doesn’t matter. Not anymore, so… I’m going to get a few things and I’ll be out of here. I’m going to stay in a hotel for a couple nights, and clear my head,” Julie reached for the closet door, when Nick suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her by the wrist.

    
“Just let me finish saying what I have to say! Then you can pack your shit up. But right now, I’m trying to tell you something, Julie!! I’m trying to fucking talk to you!” Nick shouted in her face. She turned her head to the left.

    
“Let go of my wrist, Nick!” Julie yanked herself out of his grasp, and turned to face him.

    
“Don‘t you touch me, ever again,” Julie’s icy glare backed him off.

    
Julie wondered if the cops were on their way. Was Mark listening too? He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, right?

    
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry…I just need to get this out…and then you can go! You don’t ever have to see me again,” Nick pleaded.

    
“Okay, then, finish!” Julie yelled back at him.

    
Nick walked back to the bed and sat down in the same spot where he had been sitting before.

    
“I did something bad, Jules. Something I thought was a good idea at the time,” he shook his head back and forth.

    
Julie didn’t say a word, she just kept listening. As Nick began to talk, he grabbed at the comforter he sat on, knotting it up in his hands.

    
“Lucy told me if I did this little favor for her, I could get all the dope I wanted and an easy... $500,000 cash. It sounded pretty good to me. I could take my money, my dope and Lucy…and move away from all this crap. Start a new life for ourselves,” Nick daydreamed.

    
He was waving his hands above his head and looking up at them, like his future was on some magical map, and he was spreading it out on the ceiling.

    
“But it’s not like that anymore! Shit’s all messed up now!” He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

    
“It wasn’t supposed to be her! It wasn’t supposed to be her, Jule’s! I swear!” Nick began hitting himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand, out of frustration.

    
“What are trying to say, Nick? It wasn‘t supposed to be who? Lucy?” Julie was shaking and felt sick to her stomach. The hair stood up on her arms as she anticipated his next words.

    
“NO! Not Lucy, Allie!” He blurted out.

    
“I’m the one who poisoned her. I killed her!” Nick was screaming it out now. His struggling conscience was being set free with every word he spoke.

    
“It was meant for Mark! The icing on his piece of cake that was served to him must have gotten mixed up, and put on Allies plate instead! Lucy hired a bunch of temporary workers from a place up town, so they wouldn’t be suspicious or question anything.”

    
“They sure as hell didn’t know what we were trying to do! I’m telling you the truth. I didn‘t mean to kill her, I swear!” Nick yelled.

    
Julie was shaking uncontrollably. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Nick fell onto the floor and crawled over to Julie, grabbing at her hands.

    
“Do you believe me, Jules? Please say you believe me! I didn’t mean to kill that girl!” Nick was begging her to believe him.

    
“Yes. Yes, I do,” she whispered in a raspy voice. Her salty tears flowed into the corners of her pursed mouth.

    
“I was just so sick and tired, of every little thing I worked so hard for, to just be HANDED on over to Mark on a silver fucking platter! All my time, all my hard work, that I put into that restaurant was all for nothing!” Nick stood and angrily stomped his foot.

    
“I decided I wasn’t going to do it anymore. When was I supposed to get my big break? Where was my big promotion? I was tired of waiting. No one was just going to GIVE it to me! So, that’s why I did, what I did! I wish I would‘ve killed Mark instead,” Nick felt like his actions were justified somehow.

    
Julie was devastated by what she heard come out of his mouth. He wasn’t remorseful for the murder. He was upset that he hadn’t killed the right person. He was a monster.

    
“Now, you know everything. So, you can go on and live your perfect life. I’m not going to fight you on anything, the house, the car, my truck, the money in our account…it’s all yours. Okay? The divorce papers are signed. They’re on the desk in the den,” he smiled at her and nodded. He had said what he needed to and was satisfied.

    
Nick walked over to the bed and sat down again.

    
Julie nodded as the tears fell down her cheeks.

    
“I told Lucy, that you overheard us, and you called me out on it. So, I told her, as soon as this thing with you was over, we could take the money and go away together, just like we had planned. But, you know what she told me?” Nick asked.

    
“What?” Julie wept. “What did she say?”

    
“That the deal and our little arrangement we made, was off! She didn’t think things were working out between us after all! She says I’ll probably be implicated in the murder, and she’ll be long gone by then. No more money for Nick, no nothing! She just used me,” he was crying now.

    
“I have two choices, Jule’s. I can either run or just end it all right now,” he smirked.

    
Nick reached under the foot of the bed where he was sitting, and pulled out his 45 revolver.

    
“Oh, my dear, God!” Julie gasped and fell back into the closet door. “Put the gun away Nick…please?” she begged. “Please! We can go to the police, and we can tell them your side of the story. Nick, it doesn’t have to be like this. It was an accident, right?” Julie pleaded with him.

    
Julie slowly straightened herself up and began to inch her way to the door. She saw shadows in the hallway moving along the staircase, out of the corner of her eye. She focused her blurry eyes on Nicks and made her way towards the door.

    
“The police? Are YOU on fucking drugs? Just get out of here Julie, go! Move on with your life! I just wanted you know that I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to kill Allie! So, GO!” Nick put the gun to his head.

    
She stood in the door way and whispered, “Once upon a time, I loved you. Good bye, Nick.”

    
Julie’s left arm was pulled abruptly, yanking her into the hallway. Someone had grabbed a hold of her and picked her up, cradling her in his strong arms. He now carried her swiftly down the stairs. She didn’t have to guess who it was. She knew it was Mark.

    
The muffled sounds of the police rushed into the room and their voices yelled, “Drop the gun, get down, and show us your hands!” The shouting echoed through the house.  The blast of cold air on her face, made Julie open her eyes. She wasn’t even aware that she had closed them. She saw a black SUV and realized that Mark was taking her there. He opened the door, helped her in and slammed the door shut.

                                       CHAPTER 12

                     
           BAIT AND SWITCH

     Julie was lying down in the back seat of the SUV. The cool leather felt good on her cheek.  She lay there listening to all the commotion outside. She knew that they had Nick and were taking him to jail. She didn‘t want to look, for fear of laying eyes on him. She never wanted to see his face again. She thought she heard someone say something about having a search warrant.

    
This was all very surreal for her. Julie couldn’t believe that this was all happening, even though she had watched it with her own eyes. She was hoping that for the most part, the worst of it was over. At least she hadn’t watched Nick blow his head off.

    
Mark opened the door and stood there staring at her. He waited for her to sit up and move over, before getting in. He still hadn’t said a word to her. She was going to say something to him, but before she could get a word out, Mark grabbed the front of her sweater wrap, jerked it open and began to unbutton her shirt.

    
Her eyes were wide with confusion. “Wha-What are you doing?” she stammered. Her heart pounded.

    
Mark slid his hand inside her unbuttoned shirt, grazing the soft skin above her belly button, and pulled on the microphone wire, releasing it from the clip that attached it to her bra. He held it up in front of her face so she would understand.

    
“Oh, yeah… thanks,” she fumbled with fastening the buttons on her shirt and wrapped her sweater back around her, extra tight.

    
“I’ll be right back. Don‘t get out unless I tell you to,” Mark said sternly.

    
Julie had never seen him act so completely mechanical. She watched him give the wire to Captain Haddock, and then walk into the house.

    
Julie looked around at the neighborhood, buzzing with activity. Many people were trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening, standing in groups of three or more in their yards, gossiping. She didn’t care what they thought in the slightest. She didn’t like this neighborhood anyway.

    
Captain Haddock suddenly knocked on the window, startling her. He opened the door.

    
“Hello there, Ms. Butler,” he smiled and nodded politely. “I mean, Miss Allen. We’re going to leave your vehicle here for now, okay? We’re taking you to a hotel tonight, where there will be officers patrolling the area, checking in with you and keeping an eye on your house. You will be perfectly safe, but we need you to call in to work for a couple of days, alright?” he said.

    
“Oh, that actually won’t be necessary. I have the next couple of days off anyway. Will it be any longer than that?” Julie asked.

    
“We’ll see. After the next couple of days, we’ll hopefully know more, and then be able to make a decision on what’s best for you at that time,” he smiled impatiently.

    
He gestured toward the police car that was parked in the driveway.

    
“Is this like, local witness protection?” she asked.

     “Yeah, k
ind of like that,” he nodded.

    
“I need to wait for Mark, he said he’d be right back,” Julie was looking over his shoulder trying to spot him, but he wasn‘t there.

    
“He’ll be right along, Miss Allen. He’s speaking with Detective Williams at the moment.”

    
“I know, he just told me not to go anyplace unless he was here,” Julie felt rushed.

    
Julie was staying in that SUV. She wasn’t going anywhere without Mark’s say so.

    
“It‘s okay, I assure you. Let’s just get you in that car over there. I‘ll help you out,” Captain Haddock held the car door open all the way now, and took a step back.

    
Julie began to panic. “Why is he making me leave without Mark? Mark said not to get out of the car” she thought. She didn’t know who to trust anymore, and the stress was starting to get to her. She was more than a little cautious at this point, she was flat out paranoid!

    
“Look, Cpt. Haddock! Mark told me not to get out unless HE told me too. I hope you understand…but I have had a HELL of a day, and I‘m waiting for the ONE person that I know I can trust right now. Do you understand that? Is that OKAY with you?” Julie reached out and grabbed the door, slamming it in the Captains face.

    
Captain Haddock backed away raising the palms of his hands, showing he had no problem with that, whatsoever.

    
“Uncle,” he said as he turned around and headed back into the house, shaking his head.

    
Mark was in Julie’s bedroom gathering a few things for her and putting them in a bag. He planned on taking her to the hotel where she would be hiding out for a couple days. Soon, the detectives would be picking up Lucy for questioning.

    
“If they can find her,” Mark thought.

    
All signs seemed to be pointing at something happening the following day. Mark didn’t want to take any chances with Julie’s safety, so he would be the only one knowing where he was actually taking her. He went back downstairs to look for anything else he thought she might need.

    
Grabbing Julie’s purse from the kitchen counter, Mark overheard Captain Haddock speaking to Williams on the front stoop.

    
“She’s not getting out unless Mark is right there, so good luck getting her to budge,” Captain Haddock was rubbing his temples out of exhaustion, glancing back at the SUV.

    
“Awe, don’t take it too personally, Captain. She HAS been through a lot. I can’t blame her for being on edge. So, if Mark told her to wait for him, then she’s not going to go anywhere unless Mark HIMSELF escorts her,” Williams said.

    
Mark smiled to himself and walked over to them to say goodbye.

    
“Thanks for all your help tonight, guys,” Mark shook their hands. “We’ll talk first thing in the morning, and uh… text or call me if there’s any new developments between now and then,” he looked at Williams.

    
“I’ll be taking Julie to the Hotel, and getting her settled in the room,” he stated. “I’ve been briefed on the room number.”

    
Captain Haddock nodded. “Good night, Mark.”

    
Mark took the keys out of Julie’s purse and went out to start her car. He put the bag of her things in the back seat, and went to get Julie. Dusk was setting in.