Bake it to the limit, p.13
Bake It to the Limit, page 13
“I'm sure you didn't let Brian off the hook that easy, though,” Rita said. “A woman like you wouldn't let a crisis go to waste without working it to her advantage.”
Karina looked at Rita and started to understand a horrible truth: cops weren't as stupid as she’d once believed. In fact, Karina admitted to herself, cops—at least ones like Rita and Rhonda—were far smarter than she would ever be. It embarrassed her how they saw through her so easily, so she barreled ahead with her story. “Brian had to die...Joey had to die...Vinnie, Frank...Valentine, my father...everyone had to die,” she said desperately. “My life was in danger. It was either me or them. The rules of the game had changed.”
“That's…one perspective on the situation,” Rhonda said, standing up. She exchanged an incredulous look with her sister. “Keep spilling the beans.”
Karina ran her hands through her hair. “I told Brian I would arrange to meet Joey at a remote location,” she said. “I would bring a poison to stop a heart instantly, and Brian would inject Joey with it. Brian agreed, but...but...”
“But what?” Rita asked.
“Brian knew Joey had visited the prison and spoken with Vinnie and Frank. He honestly believed Vinnie and Frank knew where Joey was hiding the stolen money.” Karina shook her head. “Brian refused to kill them, insisting Vinnie and Frank be kept alive until they told him where the money was. He threw them in the hole and ordered me to start romancing Joey.”
“One way or another, Brian Young was going to become the owner of the stolen money, huh?” Rhonda asked.
“Brian was in trouble,” Karina continued, her eyes looking more desperate as she realized how thin of an excuse that was. “I didn't know it at the time, but he had acquired a great deal of gambling debt. His own life was on the line. He didn't tell me this until I went to him about Joey. I sensed Brian was on edge about something. I just didn't know what. Brian was desperate for money, and then he—”
“He stopped being Mr. Nice Guy and threatened to kill you unless you did what he ordered,” Rita finished for her.
“Yes.”
Rhonda added, “Joey ran before you could romance him, didn't he?”
“Yes,” Karina confirmed, her eyes downcast. “Joey called me and told me he had located the both of you and that he was going to contact you to ask for protection. He ordered me to meet him in this town and marry him before he contacted you, though, and I agreed. I came here because I had no choice. Because I needed to stay alive.”
“You mean because you saw a way to kill Joey, Brian, and Valentine in one sweep and go back for Vinnie and Frank later,” Rita said wryly.
“Yes!” Karina screamed in frustrated rage, unable to control herself.
“Cool down,” Rhonda ordered. “Your actions are nothing new to us, sister. We've seen it all. Murder comes in all different forms. You're not the first person to plan a murder, get in a mess, and squirm trying to get free and start taking desperate actions. You’re not to blame for the abuse, but there are still crimes to answer for here. Murders have been committed.”
“That's right,” Rita said. “At first, we thought maybe the killer was trying to start a mafia war...and maybe you are? After all, Lou Callone did work for a mafia family in New Jersey. It wouldn't be hard for you to turn two families against one another, now would it?”
“I—” Karina began to speak.
Rita held up her hand. “You're nothing special, Karina DeVivo. You may look into a mirror and believe you see a beautiful, charming woman who can outwit any opponent who stands in your path, but deep down, you're nothing but a common street thug with murder in her veins. You just happen to dress nicer.”
Rita's words slapped Karina across the face. “I'm not a common street thug,” she hissed. “I was born into a prestigious family that happens to have been torn by very violent events and—”
“Save your sob story for the courts,” Rhonda snapped. “Let's get back to Joey.”
“You are obviously smart. Figure the rest of the story out for yourself,” Karina said with a scowl.
“We already have,” Rita assured her. “You agreed to meet Joey in Clovedale Falls and marry him. You conned your father into bringing you here as a driver and as part of his own plan, when you, in fact, intended to betray him. You also brought Brian along. Only you're a very smart woman, Karina, and you have that degree in chemistry.” She locked eyes with Karina. “Brian Young believed the poison he injected into Joey was some form of a truth serum, didn't he?”
Karina’s eyes grew wide with shock. “How did you...I mean...it's impossible—”
“We're cops,” Rhonda said proudly. “It's our job to discover the truth, no matter how many lies get piled over it.”
“That's right,” Rita said, feeling pride swell in her heart. “Cops—good cops—understand how to do their jobs. Now, let's move on.”
“I...” Karina stuttered, but relented. “I was supposed to meet Joey in front of the bakery you two bought. Joey believed I wouldn't dare try to harm him in front of the bakery. It was a way to test me. To make sure I wasn't hiding any cards up my sleeve.”
“A long-range rifle could have ended Joey's life,” Rhonda pointed out. “Standing in front of our bakery wasn't foolproof.”
“Joey was smart in some ways and dumb in other ways,” Karina said. “He always had a childlike mind.”
“I suppose that could be true,” Rita admitted. “Joey Stally never appeared to be the type of guy who understood the streets very well. Sure, he knew how to watch his back, but he also let Vinnie and Frank discover he was stealing from the bets.”
Rhonda looked at the back door. It was getting time for Brad to arrive. “How did Joey end up in the candle shop?”
“Brian and I arrived in town earlier than Joey,” Karina explained. “We crawled onto the roof of a building that faces your bakery.” She looked down at her hands, wondering how two such brilliant hands had turned sour, then looked up again. “We spotted Joey arrive right before the sun rose. He was nervously smoking a cigarette and pacing around. He tried the doorknob on the front door of your bakery, and when he found it locked, he tried the front door to the candle shop.”
“Let me guess,” Rhonda sighed. “The door was unlocked.”
“Yes,” Karina answered. “Joey hurried inside and closed the door.”
“Maybe he thought he found a way to watch you without being seen?” Rita asked.
“What Joey was thinking didn't matter,” Karina replied, looking at her empty coffee cup. “Brian told me to stay on the roof while he snatched a syringe full of the poison I’d created out of my purse, and...went off to kill Joey.” She looked at Rhonda. “Brian had a gun. He simply circled around, came to the front door to the candle shop unseen, hurried inside with his gun drawn, and took Joey by surprise.”
“Brian must not have been happy that the truth serum turned out to be poison,” Rhonda ventured.
Karina shook her head. “He wasn't. But you must understand, I was the one who was supposed to talk to Joey, not Brian. Brian was only supposed to watch. My assignment was to lead Joey to a hotel room—”
“A hotel room Valentine was aware of,” Rita interrupted. “After all, you arranged for Valentine to come to Clovedale Falls, didn’t you?”
“I was supposed to meet Valentine at nine sharp at a small air strip twenty miles south of town,” Karina said. “Valentine was flying in on a private plane. I had the car ready...and yes, I had Brian in place.”
“Only Brian broke the rules,” Rita pointed out.
“Brian didn't trust me to talk with Joey,” Karina confessed. “I...panicked and ran. I drove the car I had prepared for Valentine and raced to the air strip, leaving Brian high and dry.”
Rita looked at Rhonda, who bit down on her lower lip. “If you left Brian Young high and dry, how did he kill Valentine? Valentine was poisoned.”
Karina drew in a nervous breath. “Brian called my cell phone and demanded I meet with him. He threatened to kill Vinnie and Frank and pin their murders on me if I didn't. I knew Brian was telling the truth, but I also knew if I met him, he would kill me. So I devised a meeting between him and my father, insisting to Valentine that I’d tracked down the killer. My father...oh, he was such a fool. He believed every word I told him. I was his darling princess, his prize daughter.” Karina made a disgusted face. “My father kept me hidden away like a crown jewel for years. For my own protection, he always told me. I was told what to eat, what to wear, where to go, who to talk to. When I became a grown woman and wanted to stretch my wings, he...he...”
“What?” Rita asked.
“Simply wouldn't stop,” Karina said sourly. “Even though I grew to see him for who he really was. How could I ever accept love from a monster? I saw the horrors he committed, the people he hurt. My father was a monster who deserved to die. So yes, I arranged his death. I called Brian and told him where Valentine was going to be.”
“How did you choose the location?” Rita asked.
“Valentine cherished his vineyards,” Karina explained. “The closest thing I could find was the apple orchards.” She tapped her wrist. “While Valentine was speaking with you two earlier this morning, I drove around and scouted out the location. I drove into the country, found a road leading to some farm, parked, and scouted around on foot, unseen and unheard.”
“That's a lie,” Rhonda said sharply. “You went to find the money Joey had hidden.”
“We know the money Joey stole from the bets is hidden somewhere on that farm,” Rita added. “Quit playing around. Valentine wasn't a stupid man. He wouldn't have arranged to meet Brian Young without having the stolen money in hand. And Brian wouldn't have ventured into the orchard without solid evidence you had the money.”
“Brian didn't kill Joey, you did,” Rhonda said. “You saw Joey sneak into the candle shop and you killed him, but not before Joey confessed to you where he was hiding the stolen money.”
Karina, realizing she had been trapped in her own lies, felt her hands become sweaty with panic. Trying to blame the murder of two men on Brian Young wasn't working.
“Woman, stop with the half-truths, do you hear me?” Rita growled.
“I...yes, I hear you,” Karina responded shakily.
“Brian Young isn't even in Clovedale Falls, is he?” Rhonda asked.
“He is now,” Karina confessed. “But no, he wasn't...not this morning. I...Brian did threaten to kill Vinnie and Frank and blame their murders on me. That's the truth. He sent me to Clovedale Falls to get the truth out of Joey with a false truth serum I claimed I created. That's the truth. I decided to kill Joey and Valentine myself. That's the truth.”
“Leaving Brian Young, Vinnie, and Frank,” Rhonda pointed out.
“I had to lure Brian to Clovedale Falls,” Karina explained. “Joey did confess to me where he had the stolen money hidden. I killed him with a kiss and a poison needle. I left his body in the open. My intention was to cause a war between two families.” Karina tried to settle her mind, though the memory disturbed her. “Afterward, I drove to the farm Joey had told me about, found the location of the stolen money, dug up the money, took a photo, sent the photo to Brian's phone, and reburied the money.”
Rita looked at Rhonda. “She had evidence the money had been located and power to lure two men to their deaths,” she said, walking her eyes back to Karina. “Both Valentine and Brian were now trapped in your web.”
“A woman will always outsmart a man,” Karina said darkly, giving Rita and Rhonda the creeps. “It was time to end the game once and for all. Daddy's little girl was about to bring out her claws. After all,” Karina said with a faint smile, “Joey had helped me regain control.”
“Maybe Joey did help you,” Rita acknowledged. “But look how you repaid him.”
“But you're not sitting in our kitchen because you want to be here. Brian Young obviously has you running scared for some reason,” Rhonda finished and looked at the back door. “The only question is, where could a wet rat like Brian Young be hiding in Clovedale Falls?”
Rhonda was about to ask Karina another line of questions when the telephone rang. She hurried and answered the call. “Hello?”
“This is Billy,” came a worried voice down the line.
“Billy?”
“Yeah, you told me to call, so I reckon now’s the time,” Billy said. He began pacing around a large parlor that never left the 1920s. “I sent José to fetch me his folks. When José didn't bring them, I went out to their house on the north side of the farm.”
“And no José?” Rhonda guessed.
“No José,” Billy said in a voice stricken with worry and fear. “If anything happens to that kid, I swear I'll blame myself.”
“Okay, Billy, just sit tight. Rita and I are on our way.”
“Wasn't sure which one of you I was even speaking to,” Billy admitted. “You ladies are going to have to start wearing name tags or something.”
“I guess we will,” Rhonda said with a small smile. “Give us about twenty minutes. The sheriff is on his way—”
Before Rhonda could finish her sentence, Brad knocked on the back door.
“I think the sheriff is here now, Billy.”
“Just hurry,” Billy pleaded. He snatched up a piece of peppermint in an antique crystal dish and popped it into his mouth. “Get here before I eat every piece of candy in this blasted house. My poor blasted nerves...that blasted kid. We should all be in bed at this hour of the night. Why, if my daddy was alive, he'd be fussing up a storm. And let me tell you, Chester isn't happy about being kept up this late, either. Why, he's twitching both his ears right and left.”
“We'll hurry,” Rhonda promised and hung up the phone. “Brad?” she yelled.
“Yeah, it's me,” Brad yelled through the back door.
Karina tensed and began to stand up.
“No, you don't,” Rita said, pointing her gun at Karina and motioning for her to sit down as Rhonda opened the back door.
“Rain is still coming down pretty hard,” Brad said as he stepped into the kitchen, shaking rain off his poncho. “This her?” he asked when he saw Karina.
“Say hello to Karina DeVivo,” Rita said, lowering her gun.
Brad stopped shaking rainwater off his poncho, pushed the back door shut with his left foot, and said, “Put cuffs on her.”
“Hand me a pair,” Rhonda told him.
Brad reached under his poncho, retrieved the cuffs, and tossed them to Rhonda. She took them and walked over to Karina, slapping them onto her wrists.
“Is this really necessary?” Karina complained.
“Yes, it is,” Rhonda said, quickly turning her attention to Brad. “Billy just called. He said José is missing.”
Rita shot to her feet. “Let's get out to his farm,” she said urgently, completely caught up in the case. The thought of the bakery, the Pumpkin Festival—even Clovedale Falls itself—was far from her mind. All she cared about was bringing justice to the guilty.
The case, she thought as she watched Brad, might seem confusing to a rookie, but to her, the technical complications presented themselves as human thought. She understood the mindset of criminals, how they thought, and how they panicked and struggled to regroup when their original plans unraveled.
Karina DeVivo had believed she had the perfect plan to murder six people, when in truth, she had forgotten to take into account the harsh forces of reality and the raw unpredictability of human beings that lurked in ways that would never be understood. Karina was nothing but a common killer who was going to face justice along with Brian Young, Rita promised herself, feeling like a cop in action again. The exhilaration swept through her as natural as breathing.
“Brad, take Karina to the station, throw her behind bars, and then meet us at Billy's,” Rita said.
Brad didn't take offense at Rita's order. Instead, he respected Rita's commitment to duty and admired her obvious passion for justice. “I shouldn't be too long,” he said. He nodded at Karina. “On your feet.”
Karina slowly stood up. So much for a hot meal, she thought, looking longingly at the plate and soup bowl on the table. The day—and her lies—had caught up to her. Only gray skies and cold prison food awaited her...unless she somehow cut a deal with the cops. After all, she thought, it wasn’t impossible to manipulate the justice system. Even though she had failed to play Rita and Rhonda to her advantage to make them protect her, she could still tell the feds she’d been a victim and offer them information on certain mafia families in exchange for her freedom. But, Karina warned herself, the feds were far away, and Brian Young was still running free, intent on ending her life.
“Sheriff, a man wants to kill me,” Karina said to Brad. “If you lock me up, he might reach me. Please keep me in your custody.”
Rita glanced at Rhonda. Rhonda bit down on her lip. “Maybe it would be better to keep her within arm’s reach?” Rhonda asked.
Rita considered her sister's suggestion and agreed. “I think so, too. There is no telling what Brian Young is doing or where he is. We need to—”
The telephone rang, interrupting her. “That could be Billy again. I'll answer it.” Rita ran over to the phone and answered the call. “Billy?”
“I want Karina DeVivo and the money within one hour, or two very scared people are going to die,” hissed a voice that could only be Brian Young. His snarl sent chills down Rita's spine.
“Help us!” Rita heard José’s terrified voice cry out in the background of the phone call.
“Shut up!” Brian yelled.
“Please don't hurt us!” Rita heard a girl beg.
“José and Maria,” Rita whispered, motioning for Rhonda to hurry over to the phone. “Okay, Brian, take it easy. We're listening,” she said calmly. She held the phone away from her ear enough in order for Rhonda to hear. “We have Karina, but we don't have the money.”
“Don't lie to me!” Brian hollered into the phone. “I know Karina has the money. She betrayed me. She tricked me into going into that orchard and took a photo of me standing over Valentine DeVivo's body.” He smacked a wooden wall nearby. “Karina ordered me to release Vinnie and Frank DeVivo and threatened to send the photo to all my enemies if I didn't. That little liar!” He hit the wall again, bruising his fist. “I'm as good as dead! My only chance is to get that photo from her. I almost had it, too...but that woman managed to escape from me.”
