“Yes, it is,” Maggie cut him off. She was done playing nice. “All documents related to Robert Johnson’s stay here must be turned over immediately. I’ll gladly take an electronic copy or on good old-fashioned paper,” she added, her eyes glowing with authority.
Matthews glared back at her, but he complied, albeit grudgingly. “I’m afraid the best I can do is paper,” he told her tightly as he worked at his computer. In minutes, he had sent the records to the printer and it was just a matter of time before they were in Maggie’s hands. It was definitely the long way, but she wasn’t about to complain.
She exchanged a glance with Anatoly and saw the earnestness on his face. This was the first break they’d had in the case and it felt good to be progressing after so much time of banging their heads against the wall. However, the weight of what they might find lingered over them. It might be nothing and they’d have wasted all this effort, but Maggie was willing to take that chance.
Unable to sit still, Maggie stood up and moved to the printer, taking pages and skimming them as the machine shot them out. At first, it seemed like a lot of nonsense. Medications, therapy notes, and a demographics page, but then, amidst it all…
She let out a gasp.
“Did you find something?” Anatoly asked eagerly behind her.
Maggie nodded, a cold, sinking feeling lodging itself in the pit of her stomach. “Half of these therapy notes are from Miss Thomas,” she confirmed, but she didn’t celebrate just yet. “Anatoly, I think I know who the killer is…”
He stood up and so did Mr. Matthews, reminding Maggie of his presence. By now the printer had spit out the last few pages, and after snatching them from the tray, she stepped toward the door.
Her mind was racing as it started to connect all the dots, but she didn’t want to discuss the case in front of this douchebag. “Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Matthews,” she told him and then she led Anatoly back out to the car.
Only when they were seated in the vehicle did she pass the papers to Anatoly for him to look over. One page in particular had caught her eye and she pointed it out. “Here, he mentions a Jack Richards several times throughout these notes, how he was trying to help Richards and that they were friends during their stay here.”
“You think Jack Richards is killer? Why?”
She nodded, her mouth and jaw tight. “Remember the garbage truck?”
“Da?” Confusion laced his tone.
Maggie let out a heavy sigh and fixed Anatoly with a somber stare. “I think Jack Richards left the note for me. I vaguely remember arresting him. He must have gotten sentenced to rehab instead of jail time given his history.”
“History?”
She nodded. “He was a successful medical doctor with a wife and kids before his arrest.”
“That explains why he hit you with garbage truck, but what is motive in other murders? If Father Abrams was friend, why kill him? Why kill counselor?” Anatoly’s questions were just an echo of the ones in Maggie’s mind, but that didn’t mean she had the answers to them.
She shook her head and started the engine. “Why don’t we go ask him?”
Chapter Forty-Nine
It didn’t take Maggie long to learn that Jack Richards was out on parole, having been pinched again for possession. It was sad, but apparently his time at Starry Meadows hadn’t done him a lot of favors. Anatoly had a hard time feeling sympathy given he was now their lead suspect, but he tried to show compassion all the same.
Maggie gave him the full run down on her experience with the man as they were driving. Apparently, he’d been busted the first time for prescribing himself narcotics. The story was tragic and all too typical. An accident had left Richards in chronic pain and when he got hooked on popping pills, he utilized his own prescription pad to keep himself stocked up. At least until someone caught on to what he was doing.
“His first arrest they were lenient, though he still lost his ability to practice medicine,” Maggie was explaining. She’d looked him up in the system to get all the current details and was now sharing them with Anatoly as they drove to the hovel that was Richards’s home on the outside. Once he’d owned a beautiful cabin on the lake in the mountains according to his file.
“The judge threw him in Starry Meadows and it looks like he completed the program, but a few months later, he got picked up on a routine drug bust. Looks like he graduated from pills to street drugs and though he was suspected of distributing, they couldn’t prove it. That’s when the wife bailed and took the kids with her while he was on the inside. Now he’s out on parole and I guess looking for revenge. That’s the only explanation I can figure.”
Anatoly let out a sad sigh. “Is terrible what happened but is no excuse for murder.”
Maggie nodded in agreement, her hard ass demeanor back in place as they pulled to a stop up the block. “Stay in the car,” she commanded as she put the vehicle in park and turned it off. “I’ll signal you if it’s safe to join me.”
Under other circumstances, he might have objected. He was a vampire after all, he could handle himself, but given she had half a dozen uniformed officers to back her up, Anatoly didn’t fuss.
“You can listen on the radio,” she told him, tuning it to the appropriate station. “But no matter what you hear, promise me you’ll stay here.”
“Da, I will remain in car,” he answered. He wanted to reassure her that he wouldn’t do anything foolish. “Be careful, Maggie,” he told her gently and took a moment to squeeze her hand.
She grinned back at him confidently and double checked her firearm. “I will be. See you after.” To his surprise, she leaned over and kissed his cheek before bailing out of the car.
It took the police a couple minutes to sync up and get into position. All the while, Anatoly remained calm right up until he lost sight of Maggie in the darkness. Then he turned his attention to the radio, listening intently for any sign of what was going on.
