Cold Case Christmas Read online

  His phone rang.

  Walt, his coroner friend.

  “Hey, Walt.” Rush hunched in the weather and dashed for his vehicle.

  “I know it’s Christmas Eve but it didn’t take long to look at those photos and come to a conclusion.”

  Rush hopped inside his truck. “And what conclusion is that?”

  “It’s clear that Marilyn Livingstone was murdered.”

  Faltering to get the keys in the ignition, Rush paused. “Say that again. How so?”

  “I don’t know why it wasn’t ruled a homicide.”

  Rush had a few ideas. Gary Plenk. Where. Was. Nora?

  Rush’s blood turned to ice.

  “Go on,” he said, and cranked the engine. Please let her be at the main house or the chalet.

  He could barely swallow, barely hear Walt speaking.

  “The markings on her skull have indentions that match a crowbar perfectly—if you know what to look for, which I do. Someone hit her, and hard enough to leave those impressions in the bone.”

  Sliding on the ice, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and made his way down the road that cut up to the main house. The snow fell in fat flakes like white ash from a volcano. “Would she have been alive long enough to drive a car into the lake?”

  That at least had to have been an accident—otherwise someone had thought their tracks were covered. No wonder someone was bent on killing Nora. They’d never expected to have that car found. Gary hadn’t expected that. But he was in a prime position to lie. He knew Rush would look at that report. See the indentations, not be able to identify it as a layperson and therefore putting all his trust in Gary’s lie.

  “No. That kind of blow would cause immediate death. If her car was found in the lake with her in it, then it was put there after the blow to the head.”

  “Walt, thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Merry...Merry Christmas,” he mumbled, and hung up as he pulled into the drive at the main house.

  Gary Plenk had mountains to lose back then and now.

  Rush bounded up the steps to a wide-open front door; his knees turned to water and his heart jumped into his throat. He grabbed his flashlight, drew his weapon and raced inside. No sign of a struggle. He ran down the hall and into Nora’s bedroom.

  Was that—Was she—

  As he came closer he realized the dress wasn’t red, but black.

  The hair a darker blond and longer.

  Hailey.

  Blood.

  Where was Nora? He checked Hailey’s pulse.

  Faint. But there. He used his cell phone and called it in. Gunshot wound to the abdomen.

  “Hang on, Hailey. We’re gonna get you help.” But where was Nora? Had the killer shot Hailey and abducted Nora? Had she even been here at all?

  Or did the killer mistake Hailey for Nora in the dark?

  “Rush?”

  “Back here, Troy.”

  Troy entered. “Just got back from the pileup. Drove by. Saw your vehicle and the door wide-open. What happened? Where’s Nora?”

  “I don’t know. Nora took off about thirty minutes ago. I came looking for her. I found Hailey like this. Could you check the chalet for me? I’ll stay here with Hailey.”

  And hope she didn’t die. Hope that Nora was out there and safe.

  * * *

  Nora entered the ballroom as the power died. She’d thrown on boots and run through the snow and ice to the party to get help for Hailey. Throngs of people gasped and moaned and groaned over the inconvenience of the power outage. Candlelight from the tables illuminated the rooms. Why wasn’t the generator on? Where was Dad?

  Hailey needed medical attention, but Nora feared she was already dead. She had no pulse that Nora could find.

  Nora pushed through the people, looking for Rush or Troy. Someone who might be able to help her, but she couldn’t find anyone. Her mind raced as panic took over.

  Her purse was in the office. She’d get her phone and call Rush. Call 911. Something! Anything! She hated leaving Hailey there all alone and bleeding, but she also had to get some kind of help.

  She headed for the stairwell leading to the offices. As she opened the door to the stairs, a hand grabbed hers. Dan stood dressed in his tux. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Dan, I don’t have time to talk right now. Hailey’s... Hey, is your dad here? Do you have a radio by any chance?”

  His eyes clouded over and he seemed to be agitated. “Dad? No... I mean yes, he’s... Nora, we have to talk.”

  “Fine, but talk fast.” She bounded down the stairs, Dan right behind. “What’s going on?” She raced for Dad’s office.

  Inside, she flipped on the light out of habit. No power. Only a trace of moonlight filtering through the windows. Dan grabbed her arm.

  “Hey!” she yelled. “What is wrong with you?”

  Dan’s face turned eerie in the low light. Nora got a sick feeling in her gut. “Nothing. It’s... I...I have to talk... I’m...”

  “Dan, you’re scaring me. Let go of my arm. Right now.”

  The lights flickered.

  Flickered again.

  Stayed on! Landlines might be working now. She grabbed the phone and Dan yanked it from her, slamming it back on the cradle. “I need to talk to you! Are you not hearing me?”

  Sweat slicked Dan’s face; his glazed eyes darted around the room.

  All Nora wanted was to get help for Hailey. “Dan, my sister is hurt. I need to call in some help.” She held her hands up, every bone in her body trembling. “Calm down. We can figure this out.”

  “That’s the problem, Nora. You have to try to figure everything out.” His eyes darkened and he stepped toward her. Fear iced her heart. “Why did you have to go digging into your mom’s death?”

  FIFTEEN

  Rush held pressure on Hailey’s wound and prayed she would make it. This was his fault. If he’d sped up the investigative process like Nora wanted, if he’d pressed Dad for information like she’d asked sooner and more often, they might have found out about Gary Plenk earlier. But he hadn’t. He’d been too afraid of stepping on toes and making mistakes. How would Nora ever forgive him for this?

  “Hang in there, Hailey. You have a little boy that won’t be ready to see his mama go. Fight.”

  Sirens signaled the arrival of ambulances and Troy bounded into the bedroom. “No sign of her in the chalet, Rush.”

  Either she’d been taken or... He couldn’t think of what might be the worst-case scenario. “By any chance have you been up to the ball?”

  “Earlier, why?”

  “Did you happen to see Gary Plenk?” Hang in there, Hailey. She was too pale. Too still.

  “Saw his wife, so I assume he’s up there. Why? You want to call him down here or something?” Troy glanced toward the front of the house as the sirens grew louder.

  “No.” His dread grew. Gary was here. He had access to Nora. “He doctored the death certificate, and he might have Nora right now. Hired someone to take her—hurt her.”

  Troy’s eyes narrowed. “And how would you know that? You talk to him? He admit it?”

  “No. I found out before I arrived. I sent the report to a friend in Shelby County.”

  First responders entered the house. Rush stepped aside and let them do their job. Fear coursed through his veins. Putting her on a gurney, they took her from the home.

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because Nora still wasn’t sold on the fact that you aren’t the one coming after her.” Rush’s cheeks heated even saying it.

  “Nora or you?” Troy demanded.

  Rush shook his head. Right now, all that mattered was Nora. “Put a BOLO out for Plenk.”

  “And what if he’s not the man who has her? You put out a BOLO, people are gonna talk.”

&nb
sp; “Let them talk.” Rush wasn’t going to let his fear interrupt his job or stop him from finding the only woman he’d ever loved ever again. “I’m heading up to the ball. Call it in, Troy. Now.”

  Troy licked his upper lip.

  “Troy, what is it? I don’t have time. Nora could die!”

  Raking a hand through his hair, Troy dropped his head. “Gary Plenk did doctor those records.”

  Troy knew? “Why didn’t you say something?”

  He raised his head, met Rush’s eyes and nothing but shame filled them. “Because I told him to do it, or I’d expose the fact that he’d had an affair with Marilyn.”

  Rush felt the weight of his words, the betrayal, and it knocked him back a step. “Why?” It made no sense. Unless Troy had lied and did have an affair with Marilyn. Had he seen her kissing Gary Plenk that night and killed her? “What did you do, Troy?” He slowly placed his hand on his holster. “And where is Nora?”

  “Don’t go getting trigger-happy, Rush.” Troy held up his hands. “I didn’t hurt Marilyn.”

  “But you were having an affair with her. You lied.” And he hadn’t responded to the question about Nora. It was a like a nest of merciless wasps had descended on him.

  “I didn’t lie. I never had an affair with her, but I knew the truth about her. She’d had too much to drink one night at Mac’s and she’d been crying. She told me she had escaped from a man who wanted her dead. Sometimes she got scared and bailed, but she always came back. I told her I could help her, but she clammed up. That night at the Christmas Eve Masquerade Ball I went to talk to her about it again. I found her in the office.”

  “With Gary Plenk?”

  “No. Alone. She was crying.”

  Before or after Rush spotted her kissing Gary?

  “So what happened?”

  “I hugged her. Told her whatever had happened would be okay and that it was time for her to come clean about everything, that I’d help her. She promised to come see me the day after Christmas. But she vanished.”

  “Why blackmail Gary then, Troy? Why didn’t you tell what you knew about Marilyn back then...or in this investigation? You never even tried to find the man you thought was after her?” Which was Scott Rhodes. “How could you? They have the right to know that Marilyn was murdered. And where. Is. Nora?”

  “Because I was protecting my son, Rush.”

  Protecting Dan?

  Troy’s eyes brimmed with tears. “He made a mistake, Rush. That’s all, and I couldn’t let it ruin his life forever. What kind of dad would that make me?”

  Rush’s blood turned cold. “What kind of mistake?”

  “That night, he caught me embracing Marilyn in the office. He got the wrong idea and instead of confronting me, he followed Marilyn. Confronted her at the lake. They got into a heated argument. He didn’t want her wrecking his family—he’d already been broken by Tina moving away. He blamed Marilyn for that as well.”

  The stunning reality hit Rush. “He hit her with the crowbar.”

  Troy sadly nodded. “When he realized he’d killed her, he panicked and sent her car into the waters with Marilyn inside.”

  What was Marilyn doing at the lake in the first place? “The cuff link and mask we found in the car?”

  “Dan’s.”

  Too much of the mask had been unrecognizable, or Rush would have known earlier. “You let it go?” Rush hollered.

  “I didn’t even know for about a month. It ate him up until he had a breakdown and confessed it. By that time, she wasn’t going to be found and no one was asking questions anymore.” One shoulder lifted in an apologetic shrug. “I let it go to save my boy. I had to.”

  “You broke the law. You’re an accomplice after the fact. He was seventeen. He could have been tried as a child, Troy, and you know it!”

  “Marilyn ruined lives and probably had a criminal past—fleeing from some dangerous man. She was gone and people were glad. Even Joshua didn’t do much to find her!”

  Rush gaped at his mentor. “Are you saying Dan has done all of this and you’ve been helping him?” He balled a fist.

  “I haven’t hurt anyone and I wasn’t sure it was Dan at all until recently. He’s been acting just like he did after he...after he did what he did.”

  What he did was second-degree murder.

  “I don’t want anybody else to get hurt.”

  A little late for that. “Where is Dan? Does he have Nora? And don’t lie to me!”

  “I don’t know.”

  With Nora out of the way, and if Rush believed every word Troy said, Dan would have once again skated by with murder, and Troy would have once again been an accomplice after the fact. Without them discovering the truth about Gary Plenk, Troy would have never confessed.

  He was thankful Nora hadn’t given up.

  “Where is Dan? I won’t ask again.”

  “He’s here at the party with Ainsley. Nora is safe.”

  “Nora hasn’t been safe since she set out to discover the truth. And Hailey has been shot. Clearly, you’re wrong. You and I will deal with this later, Troy. For now, find Joshua and tell him his daughter has been shot and is at the hospital. And if Dan’s so much as laid one finger on Nora, I won’t hesitate to put him in the ground and you too if you try to stop me.” Rush flew from the house and jumped inside his Bronco. He’d deal with the hurt and betrayal later. At this moment, all he could think about was Nora and getting to her before it was too late.

  * * *

  “Dan, you want to talk. Let’s talk.” Nora backed toward the desk, hoping to get her cell and dial 911 while keeping Dan calm in the process. Fear zipped up her back, leaving a wake of chill bumps, but she found her clutch with her phone inside and slipped it into her hand. Dan didn’t seem to notice. “What do you mean by asking why I dug into my mom’s murder?”

  Dan peeked out the door as if someone might be coming to interrupt him.

  The power flickered again.

  “Help me understand.” Could Dan be involved? “Did you see my mom the night she died, Dan?” She crept toward the credenza by the door. If she could get to the door, she could bolt. Dan was unstable, unhinged. Warning bells rang in her head.

  “I didn’t mean to, Nora,” he mumbled.

  “You didn’t mean to what?” Fear paralyzed her.

  “I didn’t mean to kill your mama. I just... I got so mad. I was in love with Tina and when her mom moved away with her, you know how hurt I was.”

  Dan admitted to murdering Mom. Nora’s jaw dropped, but she recovered quickly. Anything to survive what might be about to happen. Admission meant he had no intention of letting her live. “I did know how hurt you were. I was so sorry about that. I liked Tina.”

  “It was your mom’s fault, so when I saw my dad hugging her that night... I lost it. I mean... You can understand that, right?”

  Troy did have an affair? He lied? “I can. Yes.” She barely inched toward the door.

  “I just wanted to talk to her. To tell her to leave my dad alone but she kept denying that they were involved. But I saw it with my own eyes! I grabbed the crowbar from the back of my truck and I...”

  Nora didn’t want to hear another word. Couldn’t.

  “I didn’t mean it.”

  She took another small step.

  “Where are you going?” Dan asked, and moved toward her. “You can’t go anywhere, Nora. You can’t leave this office. You don’t understand.”

  The power flashed again and died.

  Dan lunged.

  Nora shrieked and grabbed a crystal paperweight on the credenza, bringing it down on Dan’s head. He went limp and crumpled facedown on the floor. She only hoped he wasn’t dead but knocked out. She wasn’t planning on sticking around to find out, though. Once she found Rush, they could call an ambulance if it wasn’t too late.

 
She tore from the office and into the hallway. “Lord, help me!” she whispered and kept running, tripping over her ball gown and boots.

  She yelped as a figure appeared in front of her.

  Dressed in a glittery midnight blue gown and matching mask, Ainsley Parkwell-Parsons stood with a gun in hand. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Nora froze. “I—Ainsley, Dan—” Was she protecting Dan?

  “Dan is an idiot,” Ainsley said. “He’s made one mistake after another. I’ll deal with him. Right now, I’m going to deal with you.”

  “Rush knows!” Nora lied through her teeth hoping Ainsley would be too scared for whatever her intentions might be.

  Ainsley gave her a look that stopped Nora in her tracks. “Rush might know Dan murdered your mother, maybe. And he might think that Dan’s been coming after you to shut you up. Which means Rush only knows a half-truth. Give me that purse.”

  Blood whooshed in Nora’s temples and her skin froze over, but she complied and tossed her clutch.

  What was the half-truth?

  “You make me sick. You have everything!” Ainsley used the gun to motion Nora back toward the offices. “The perfect life. Did you know that my dad owned this property before your precious savior of a father rescued him from debt and purchased it? I should be living on this mountain! I should have been the bright and shining star, not the girl always struggling financially.”

  “I—I didn’t know.”

  “Of course not. You were too busy living a perfect life. With the perfect father. The perfect boyfriend. You should have never come back. I had what I wanted and you took him.”

  Rush? She wanted Rush? And a perfect life? Seriously?

  “Where is Dan? I know he came after you. To warn you.”

  Warn her? Nora pointed toward Dad’s office. “He’s in there. He’s...unconscious.”

  Ainsley forced her into the office. The sliver of moonlight only gave them a silhouette of Dan. He lay on the floor, blood surrounding his head, but he moved. He was alive! Thank You, God!