One thing was for certain, Alistair and his silent partner were in for one hell of a fight.
9
Jude
When Jude got home from work, he found Wolf, Everly, and Aurora helping to set the table, while Cope and Ten finished making dinner. Their kind of hard work deserved spaghetti and meatballs, Jude and Wolf’s favorite meal.
Fitzgibbon had convened a meeting to go over what everyone had learned about Alistair Hooke. Jude knew the information he and Greeley unearthed was going to be a bombshell. The bigger question was if Ronan and Fitz had found anything equally explosive on their side of the investigation.
When everyone had their fill and dinner was finished, the kids went into the living room to watch a movie, with the exception of Everly, who looked proud to be included in the conversation. “Fitz, what did you and Ronan learn today?” It was weird for Jude not to have worked with his partners on this case like they always did.
“We drove to Manchester, New Hampshire to get a copy of Endora’s autopsy report, but spoiler alert, there wasn’t one. Our next stop was to the Nashua police station, who provided us with a copy of Endora’s death investigation. It was a single page long.” Fitz rolled his eyes.
“You’re kidding me?” Cope said, looking worried.
“Nope,” Ronan answered for Fitz. “According to Alistair, he came home that evening, saw his lifeless aunt on the floor and called 911, who talked him through CPR. He was still doing chest compressions when the paramedics and cops arrived minutes later. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Alistair told the police his aunt had a heart condition and hated taking her meds. The house was in pristine condition, with the exception of Endora’s body lying on the kitchen floor. The paramedics checked her over and there were no bruises, or signs of violence.”
Cope’s mouth hung open. “Was she brought to the morgue for a more thorough examination?”
Fitz shook his head. “No, Alistair was allowed to call the funeral home. The cops stayed with him until the hearse arrived and took Endora away and that was that. Please tell me you and Ten have better evidence than Ronan and I found.”
“We do,” Cope said, with his eyes on Ten.
“We weren’t able to speak with Amity Wellington, but Endora showed up and what a story she had to tell.”
Everly’s eyes widened. “What did she tell you, Dad?”
Ten sighed, looking as if the last thing he wanted to do was tell the story in front of his daughter. “Endora talked a lot about what Alistair was like as a kid. He stayed in the back of her carnival tent while she read for her clients. He wore her clothes and mimicked her personality.”
“He was learning how to look like he had psychic gifts.” Jude shook his head. This image of Alistair fit in perfectly with what he and Greeley unearthed.
“Exactly,” Cope agreed. “His parents died in a car accident, which I’m beginning to think mightnothave been an accident. When Alistair came to live with Endora, he was constantly in trouble with the law and was sentenced to juvenile detention until he was eighteen years old. He was allowed to live with Endora and seemed to be a changed man.”
“According to his aunt, he learned to become a better criminal in prison,” Ten added.
“Which is not surprising,” Greeley said.
“Things had gone pretty smoothly after Alistair came to live with Endora, but one night about a year or so after he got out of juvie, Endora caught him going through her private papers; her will, estate plan, insurance policies, and banking information.”Cope turned to Everly, looking as if he wanted her permission to continue.
“I know how the story ends, Uncle Cope. Aunt Endora came to visit me this afternoon.” Everly smiled at Ten. “Dad said she could. I’ll tell you all about it when it’s my turn to talk.”
Jude leaned over and hugged his niece. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Two days after Endora caught Alistair in her papers, he made her a home cooked meal. Said he’d been watching the Food Network and wanted to try making spaghetti and blackberry cobbler. Twenty minutes later, when Endora was doing the dishes, she collapsed to the floor. Alistair refused to call 911 and watched her die. Just before she took her last breath, he told her that he’d used belladonna, which grew in their neighbor’s yard.”
“Jesus,” Fitz said under his breath.
“Let me get this straight,” Ronan said, a grin playing on his lips. “The two of you found out that Alistair poisoned his aunt with spaghetti and meatballs and you thought it was a good idea to make that same meal for dinner?”
“That thought never crossed my mind,” Cope said with a shrug. “Anyway, that’s the end of our interview with Endora about Alistair. She mentioned being one of Bertha Craig’s friends. I’m going to mention this to Carson and Cole in the morning.”
“She seemed like the kind of lady Bertha would have loved,” Ten agreed, turning his attention to Everly. “So, what did you learn today?”
“Aunt Endora had such happy energy. Her chat with you and Uncle Cope did wonders for her. She’s going to come see me tonight when Mimi Bertha comes so they can reconnect, which is really great, but what I was interested in was Alistair. She talkedabout how he liked to make people pay who’d hurt him and that his revenge was always greater than the harm, which worries me about tomorrow night.”
“Do you see him hurting people?” Ronan asked.
“I can’t read him, Daddy. The night at the theater, I thought it was those loud air horns that kept me from reading him, but he’s got some kind of protection spell surrounding him or something and it’s strong.”
