“I’m going to contact the district attorney’s office, I’m going to contact the coroner, and I’m going to contact the funeral home. They’re going to need to all talk and then if I’m right, and I’m afraid I am because I’m never wrong, they’re going to need to do a DNA test. I just hope the coroner has enough tissue left to do that.”
“Or…?”
“Or they’ll have to exhume the body.”
Brian swallows with difficulty. “This is a big fucking mess.”
“You have no idea. Have you considered what it could mean? If it’s not Kitten in that fucking box?”
Brian loses the strength in his legs and falls back into the chair. He opens his mouth but the only sound that will come out makes no sense. “Gaahhhh…”
“Yeah. I hear you, man. We’ll talk tomorrow morning, first thing, if not sooner. Later.” Gary hangs up without waiting for an answer.
Brian looks down at his phone and hits the speed dial for Helen.
“This better be good,” her sleepy voice says.
“Helen, I need you over here now.” Brian’s staring at the wall like a zombie. He’s numb with fear, dread, sickness, and a tiny spark of hope.
“What’s the matter? Is it Nicole?”
“It’s Nicole, it’s Kitten, it’s … everything.”
Chapter Sixty-One
NICOLE IS WAKENED BY THE smell of toast. She wanders out into the kitchen and stands there in shock, finding not only Brian there, but Helen, Agnes and her attorney. She wraps her arms around herself, drawing her robe across her body tightly.
“What’s going on?” she asks, not sure she wants to hear the answer. It’s way too early in the morning for them to be sitting in Brian’s kitchen, and it’s way too weird for them to all be together like this.
Brian stands. “Babe, just sit down. We have some news.”
“News about what?” she asks, looking at each one of them in turn. “You guys are scaring me. Is John out of the hospital? Is that why you all look like you’re going to another funeral?”
Gary shakes his head. “No. He’s still there. He’s awake, but he’s still unable to walk.”
She sits down and ignores the tea Agnes pours for her. “Well?” She looks at Brian, getting more irritated by the second.
“I told you,” says Helen, “she needs to know now. She can handle it.”
Brian puts his hand over hers, but she pulls it away, angry that he’s babying her.
“We have some news,” he says. “About Kitten.”
She grimaces, the pain of just hearing her name sharp in her chest. “What news could you possibly have about Kitten? We buried her yesterday.” Her voice goes up with the slight edge of panic.
“Gary called me last night,” Brian explains. “He was reading the coroner’s report.”
“Something you said at the funeral jogged my memory,” Gary says. “I just couldn’t get it off my mind, no matter how hard I tried.”
“What?” Nicole purposely didn’t read the awful report, preferring instead to remember Kitten as a newborn wrapped in her arms.
Helen speaks to her in a soft voice. It’s so unlike her, Nicole can’t help but stare. “Remember in your eulogy how you said the baby’s head was bald?”
Nicole nods. “Yes. Of course I remember. And I remember her head perfectly.”
“Wasn’t the garage really dark?” asks Gary.
“No. I had a flashlight with me. That way I could turn it off if John came out, but I could still see when he wasn’t around.” She smiles briefly, remembering making the plan. “I was kind of proud of myself that I thought of it at the time.”
“So you saw the baby’s head, like really clearly?” confirms Gary.
“Yes. Why are you guys asking me these questions about her head, for God’s sake? It’s really freaking morbid if you want to know the truth.”
“We wouldn’t do it without good reason, believe me,” Gary says. “I’m just going to cut to the chase. The coroner’s report says that there was tape around the baby’s head and that there was one-inch black hair in the tape. I confirmed with him last night after hours. One of his co-workers gave me his cell number. The baby had a full head of black hair. The rest of the body was mostly decomposed, but hair takes a lot longer, especially when it’s embedded in adhesive like it was.”
Nicole feels the blood rush out of her head. She falls back against the chair, her brain not processing the information like it should. She feels as though she’s betrayed her daughter by remembering something so basic in such a drastically wrong way. How could she remember a pink, bald head when it was really covered in hair. “How is that possible? I thought I remembered…”
“Of course you did,” says Helen, taking her hand and squeezing it. “That’s the point!”
Nicole jerks her hand away and stands, accidentally tipping the chair over behind her. She scans the faces before her and they have the audacity to look hopeful. Only Agnes looks worried.
“What are you guys talking about?!” She’s screaming now, but she doesn’t care. They’re freaking her out, and she’s almost convinced herself she’s about to wake up in John’s house to find that she’s dreamed all this.
“Calm down,” Brian says, getting up and stepping over to stand in front of her. “We think … and it’s kind of a long-shot, but we still think that it’s possible … that we didn’t bury Kitten yesterday.”
“What?” She stares into his impossibly beautiful eyes. “I don’t get it.”
He takes both her hands and holds them up by his chest. “Your baby, Kitten, she was bald, right?”
Nicole nods, incapable of speech. She’s mesmerized by his strength and conviction.
“The baby that was in your backyard was not bald. She had a full head of long black hair. What if it wasn’t your baby? What if it was someone else’s baby?”
“Whose baby?” she finally whispers. Her mind is swirling with the implications.
Brian holds up a photograph. “Maybe hers.”
Nicole takes the picture from his hand, looking down at the skinny woman with black hair, holding a baby wrapped in blankets. “Who in the hell is she?”
Gary takes the photograph from her, glancing at it before he continues. “I don’t know. We don’t know yet. But the district attorney can do DNA tests to confirm whether it’s your baby or even if it’s John’s.” He looks at Brian. “I’m going to give this to the police. You say you found it in his house?”
“Yeah. In his drawer next to his bed.”
“They can do that with the DNA?” she asks, looking over at Gary.
He nods. “Yes, they can. I’m getting a court order for John’s DNA right now. With your permission, we’ll get yours.”
“How long will it take … before we know?” Nicole asks.
“A week max.”
“Have a seat, so we can discuss this,” Helen says. “Please. I’m getting a crick in my neck looking up at you guys.”
Nicole puts her chair back upright and sits in it reluctantly. She wants to run to the graveyard and sit at Kitten’s grave, as if talking to her headstone will clear things up. It’s ridiculous, the things that are running through her mind. She actually considers talking to John. And then it all becomes so clear.
“Take me to see John,” she says, looking first at Helen and then at Brian.
“Are you completely insane?” Helen asks.
“That sounds like a bad idea,” says Brian. “I don’t like it at all.”
“Maybe it’s the best way,” says Agnes, her little voice rising above the tide of concern. “If he knows something, maybe he’ll tell her.”
“Why would we let her do this?” asks Helen. “It’s insanity! She’s come so far.” She shifts her sharp gaze to Nicole. “Seeing him will send you backwards, Nicole. Forwards, not backwards, right?”
Gary interrupts. “He’s awake. He can talk. I don’t see why she shouldn’t go in there and try to talk to the guy. Maybe she’ll
be able to work a confession out of him if none of us are in the room. It’ll be faster than waiting for DNA. We can do both. A confession to get us started on finding the baby and DNA to confirm for a conviction later.”
“I can’t let her go in there without me,” Brian says, shaking his head emphatically. “No way. Not gonna happen.”
Nicole pulls her hand out of his. “This isn’t your decision. It’s mine. I want to talk to him.”
“We’ll record it,” Gary says, getting excited about the whole idea. “The entire conversation, we’ll listen in on it. I can get the DA to authorize it. I’ll make sure the evidence sticks.”
Nicole feels energized and terrified all at the same time. She looks at her friends. “I know you guys are trying to protect me right now, but I know the best thing is to deal with this head-on. No more hiding, no more acting afraid of him. He doesn’t control me anymore. Now it’s my turn to be in charge.”
Brian backs away and stands in the entrance to the kitchen, his arms folded across his chest. “I’m on record as saying I think this is a huge mistake. I want to be right outside the door.”
“Fine. I’m okay with you being outside the door. Just not inside it,” Nicole says, standing firm. She lifts her chin so he knows she means it.
“And I’ll be right behind you,” says Helen, standing up to move around the table.
“I’ll stay home and bake some cookies,” says Agnes.
Nicole smiles at her neighbor over Helen’s shoulder as Helen takes her into a hard embrace. “Thank you, Helen. I knew you’d understand.”
“Time to kick some ass, sister,” she says.
“Yeah,” Nicole agrees. “Time to kick some serious ass.”
Chapter Sixty-Two
BRIAN IS IN A PATIENT room across the hall from where John is being kept in the hospital. There’s a police guard outside the monster’s door that will remain there until the DA is satisfied that Nicole’s attorney is wrong about the whereabouts of Kitten, and there’s a whole contingent of law enforcement personnel in this room with Brian getting ready to hopefully record John’s confession. The equipment rests on the empty patient bed in the middle of the room.
“So you’re sure this is going to work?” Brian asks Nicole’s attorney. They both have headphones on that are plugged into the recording unit. This equipment will pick up the signal coming from the microphone under Nicole’s shirt. It’s just like the movies, but it’s the first time Brian’s ever felt the very real panic of someone he cares about confronting one of the bad guys. In that way, it’s not like the movies at all.
“Nicole’s affidavit describing her baby’s head after birth and the coroner’s report was enough to get the court order for John’s DNA, but this confession would just nail it,” explains Gary. “At least it would make it a lot easier to put him behind bars and give Nicole some breathing room.”
“So, confession, DNA, bam. Done.” Brian nods at the beauty of it. If only the asshole would just tell the truth, Nicole could be home free.
“Yeah, he’s toast.”
“What about entrapment or whatever? Isn’t setting him up like this going to make it impossible to use this stuff in court?”
“You watch too much TV. The only way it’s entrapment is if it’s a police officer in there. Citizens can’t entrap other citizens.” He grins. “I love the law.”
“I can tell,” Brian says, trying not to roll his eyes, but glad the guy knows what he’s talking about.
Brian looks around at the people in the room. There are three uniformed police officers, a couple detectives, Gary, and another attorney from Gary’s firm. He can’t see Helen, but she’s close, standing just outside John’s room as moral support for Nicole. She’s promised everyone she’ll stay out of John’s room, and the guard at the monster’s door makes Brian feel confident she’ll keep that promise.
As soon as Nicole’s voice comes over the wire, the room filled with law enforcement personnel goes silent. The four people with headphones on stare at the recording unit as if it’s the one doing the talking.
“Hello, John.” Nicole is calm. Assured. She sounds totally in control, even though Brian knows inside she must be quaking with fear. This man is the living, breathing embodiment of her worst nightmares. Anyone in her position would be terrified. Brian admires her even more, hearing her be so strong in the face of all of that.
The sound of rustling sheets is her first response.
“Can you hear me?” she asks.
“Who’s that?” a sleepy male voice says.
“It’s me. Nikki.”
“What’re you doing here?” John asks in a slightly less sleepy voice. “Haunting my ass?” He chuckles.
“I just came to ask you about Kitten. I’m not a ghost. I’m real.”
He coughs, and when he speaks, his voice is less blurred. “Kitten? What kitten?”
“Our baby, John. The one you said you buried in the backyard. Remember?”
He sighs and clears his throat but doesn’t answer. The sound of more rustling sheets fills the headphones.
“What did you do with her, John?”
“I already fucking told you, Nikki. She died. I buried her. End of story.” He coughs again. “Fuck, man. My throat is so dry. Get me some water, would ya?”
“I will in a minute. Answer my questions first.”
“I need some pain meds. My leg is fucking killing me. Tell the nurse to give me some meds.” He’s almost whining.
“They cycled you off. They said you aren’t getting anymore. They need you lucid.” She doesn’t tell him why, but Brian knows from what the doctors and the attorney said, if this confession is going to hold up in court, it has to be made not under the influence of drugs. The doctor’s said it wouldn’t hurt him to be off them for a little while.
“They cycled me off for what?” He spits the words out.
“I think you’re going to get charged with killing her. They can’t find her, John. They think you murdered her and hid the body.”
“Oh, fuuuuck that. No goddamn way are they pinning that on me.” He snorts arrogantly.
“They have evidence. Blood. Tools with blood on them.”
“I never fucking did anything like that and you know it. I have proof.” He mumbles something else, but it’s unintelligible.
Nicole’s voice belies her anger. She’s losing her cool. “I know that you broke eighteen bones in my body, John. I counted them in my chart after they x-rayed my whole skeleton. I know you cracked my skull. You broke my ribs and my arm and my ankle. You bruised my kidneys and ruptured one of my lungs. You’re a killer, John, just admit it.”
His voice is louder and clearer. She must be standing closer to him to be picking up his signal this way. “Don’t fucking call me that! I didn’t kill her, you did! You killed your chance at being a mother with your own stupidity, you fucking idiot.”
“I didn’t. She was alive when I saw her last. And she had beautiful black hair.”
Brian grits his teeth, pulsing out his jaw, hoping the douchebag will fall for it.
He laughs at her. “You’re so goddamned stupid. I’m glad you don’t have her. You’d make a terrible mother.”
“Why do you say that, John? Because after all this time, and after only seeing her for a few minutes, I still remember every single solitary detail about her?” She’s taunting him. Brian wants to hug her for her genius.
John’s laughing and then moaning with the pain it apparently causes. “No, Nikki. No … that’s not it. I’m laughing because you’re so delusional.”
“I’m not delusional. You are.”
“Oh yeah? How so?” His voice is deadly calm.
“You deluded yourself for years that I found you attractive. That I stayed because I wanted to, when we both know I stayed because you kept me prisoner and terrorized me.”
“You liked it, you crazy bitch. That’s why you stayed. You liked me forcing you. You liked making me mad. You did it on purpose. Nobody
could be as klutzy and sloppy as you are by accident.”
Her voice is even calmer than his when she responds. It raises the hair on the back of Brian’s neck as he listens. “No, John. No one likes being beaten. Not me, and not my baby. I did everything I could to make you happy. I cleaned, I scrubbed, and I cleaned all over again. I tried to be pretty, I tried to be smart, I tried to do everything I possibly could so you’d walk through that door at the end of the day and tell me you loved me and put your arms around me and treat me like a person. That’s all I ever wanted … to be treated like a human being. But all you ever did was treat me like an animal. I’m nothing to you. I never was.”
“You’re nothing to anyone. That’s why you should never be a mother. That’s why you never will be as long as I have anything to say about it.”
It’s the last thing Brian hears before a bunch of loud, weird sounds come over the recording device.
“Gaaarr … ! Phhaarrrr …! Geeeet …!! Heelllp!” Crashing and banging occurring right near her microphone make Brian yank the headphones off his ears in an attempt to save his eardrums.
“Go! He’s got her!” yells one of the officers in the room, bursting through the door with a shout.
Brian’s jack pulls out of the main unit, and the voices from John’s room come out over a speaker. Brian hears them as he’s trying to get out of the room but is blocked by all the bodies in his way. “Move! Move!” he yells, but no one’s listening. He can’t get out to save her.
“Let go, ma’am! Let go of him!” yells a voice inside John’s room.
“I’m going to kill him!” Nicole shrieks.
Bangs and crashes are followed by John’s yelling. “You crazy bitch! See! I told you! You’ll never find her! Never! You hear me! She’s with a good mother, not a monster like you! You fucking freak!” Any sanity he might have had sounds as if it’s abandoned him. He laughs maniacally.
By the time Brian makes it out of the room, Nicole is being dragged down the hall by two police officers, bawling her eyes out and struggling to get free. He loses sight of her as she rounds the far corner.