“Yeah.” Ten nodded. “It’s not like we haven’t had sympathetic suspects before. While Jude asks questions, I’ll be reading Maria and any other spirits who show up. Maybe the men will speak to me if Jude says their names.”
“There wasn’t any duct tape residue on any of the men’s faces at autopsy,” Jude said. “So, I’m thinking it’s more symbolic of snitches get stiches.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Ten agreed, opening the door and hopping out. “Let’s get this over with.” All Ten wanted to do was wrap up this case and take a long hot shower. They’d call out for pizza or Thai and he’d cuddle with Everly and Ezra and watchFinding Nemofor the millionth time.
“Hey, wait up.” Ronan jogged up beside Ten. “I know how hard this is on you.”
Ten set a hand on Ronan’s cheek. “I’m not thinking about how hard this is going to be for me, but for Maria.”
“If she’s leaving things out or lying, you need to speak for her. I do not want to arrest a woman on her deathbed unless I have to. She seems the type to throw herself on her sword to savesomeone else. Make sure she doesn’t do that. I want the people responsible to pay for these crimes.” Ronan wore a serious look.
“Me too.” Ten opened the door to the facility and greeted the desk nurse who took his name and gave him a visitors badge. The nurse advised Ten that Maria had been moved out of ICU and to a regular room on the fourth floor.
When the elevator arrived, Ten saw there was no one standing in the hall outside Maria’s room. Using his gift, he saw no one was in the room either. Fitz had been prepared to remove any family members out of the room if necessary. Ten was glad to see that wouldn’t be the case.
Jude knocked on the door when they reached the room.
“Come in,” a soft voice called.
“Hi, Maria!” Jude offered the woman a smile as he entered the room.
“Jude, I wondered if I’d see you again. I wanted to thank you for the flowers.” Maria pointed to a large bouquet of sunflowers, which brightened up the entire room.
“You’re welcome.” Jude pulled a chair beside her bed. “You remember my friends, Ten and Ronan.”
“I do,” Maria agreed, “but who is this tall drink of water?” She pointed to Fitzgibbon, who hovered just inside the door.
“This is Kevin Fitzgibbon. Another of my friends.” Jude motioned Fitz into the room.
Maria shot Jude an indulgent smile. “He’s also the captain of the cold case unit.”
“That’s right.” Fitz shut the door behind him and came to stand in front of Maria’s bed. “We need your help, Maria. That’s whyI’m here. We have learned a bit more information about things since Ten, Ronan, and Jude were here the other day.”
“I assumed you would. I recognized Tennyson straight off, even with all the pain meds I was drugged up with.” Maria took a breath. “Before we start, there’s something you need to know.”
Ten knew exactly what Maria was going to say, not because his gift was telling him, but because he could see the resigned look on her face.
“I’ve only got a few days to live. It seems that cancer was discovered during my hip surgery. Further testing revealed it’s spread everywhere. I can’t say that I’m surprised. I lived a rotten life, it’s poetic justice that I die rotting from the inside.”
Ten reached out a hand to Maria, setting it on her left shoulder. “I don’t believe that’s entirely true. Sometimes we let the bad overtake the good.”
“Like we said the other day, we need to find out about the frozen remains in the freezer.” Jude patted Maria’s hand. “We would very much like for his family to claim him and bring him home. Any clues you can give about the whereabouts of the rest of his body would also be helpful.”
Maria nodded. Her eyes slipped shut. “His name was Henri Pascale, spelled with a silent ‘e’ on the end. I met him at UMass. We fell in love instantly. I knew from the beginning that my father wouldn’t approve of me marrying Henri, for so many reasons, the most important of them being that he loved me.”
“When did your father find out about your relationship with Henri?” Jude asked.
“After graduation.” Maria wore a wistful smile, as if she could see that day in her mind’s eye. “He wanted to ask my father’spermission to marry me, figuring that if he showed the proper amount of respect for my father, he’d agree. Henri couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only did my father not give his blessing, he told Henri that if he ever saw me again, he’d wake up wearing cement shoes.”
Tennyson was overwhelmed by the love Maria felt for Henri.
“I wanted to elope to New York City. Henri wanted to build skyscrapers there. All I wanted to do was get away from my father and his cronies. My father wouldn’t let me go. I was a Marino and was going to join the family business whether I wanted to or not. He said that he would have Henri killed if I didn’t break things off with him.” Tears streaked down Maria’s cheeks. “I agreed to obey my father, when I had no intention of doing so. I drove to Henri’s hotel as fast as I could, but he wasn’t there. I stayed in the lobby for hours and he never came back. I got in my car and drove home. My father was waiting in the kitchen, along with two of his guys, Brian Cullen and Mick Murphy. I knew in that moment I would never see Henri again. My father asked me to grab him a beer from the fridge. I did what he asked and when I opened the fridge-” Maria let out a wail and began to sob. Jude was quick to comfort her.
As Maria spoke, Ten witnessed what she had seen that night. He felt her horror and grief when she opened the door and found Henri’s severed head staring back at her with lifeless eyes. The rest of that night played out in his mind. He’d wait for Maria to tell it, if she could.
“We don’t have to continue right now,” Jude said, throwing away balled up, soggy tissues.
“It has to be now Jude. I might not have a tomorrow. I know there’s no statute of limitations on murder. I’m hoping whateverI tell you can lead to the arrest of my father, my ex-husband, and Triple M.”
