Duskwood Mysteries

Part 41

I heaved a sigh of relief. I was getting a headache. Lies swimming in my mind. "Can you believe what a day..?" I started as Richy pulled me in a hug. I could feel his heart hammering in his chest. "You are not hurt, are you?" he asked. "No, I am fine. Are you ok?" I asked. "Better now since you are here. I thought I had it bad, but you were in a worse situation. You sure you are fine?" he said pulling back, placing his hand on my cheek. "Yes, I am fine." I said. "Honest?" he asked. "Honest," I responded. "Well, I am glad then." He said. I pulled myself away from him, "That was close, with Johnson." "Yeah, I don't think we can hide anything from him. How did you know I was in jail?" he asked. "Well, the gang put it on the group chat. But actually, Jake called me. After the fire, he called to check if I was ok. He called Johnson and the emergency services to save me." I said. "Wait, Jake knew you were in danger?" Richy asked. "Actually, Lilly did." I said showing him the messages that Lilly had sent. His eyes widened at the screen, "Fuck. How does the kidnapper know all this? And he has your picture and address?" I sighed, "I don't know. Guess I can't just walk away."

"Yeah, me neither, I left after you left," he said. "Yeah, I saw your message." I said. "What now?" Richy asked. "We go back to Jake's house. Jake asked to meet us." I said. "Basically, he summoned us." Richy said rolling his eyes. "Richy, I don't think we have an option, you are still not absolved of the crime so you could be arrested again and I don't think the kidnapper will stop at anything." I said. He nodded, "I feel like we are in quicksand and right now we are struggling to get out. Lets get this over with." "Wait you've been to jail, don't you want to freshen up?" I asked. "Of course. Right. Come on in." He said opening the door to his house. I got in and sat down on the couch. Richy put away his phone on the console table and removed his t shirt. I couldn't help but look at the surprising comfort with which he was roaming semi naked in his house. Okay, Jade. This is his house. Who cares what his comfort level is? I noticed that he had a tattoo on his back. I looked away just as he saw me staring at him. "See something you like?" He asked with a smirk. "No," I snapped back. "So, you don't like what you see?" he asked cocking his head to one side. "Please hurry up Richy," I said as firmly as I could. "Okay okay. I'm sorry I asked," he said chuckling to himself.

Twenty minutes later, we were in Richy's car heading to the house. I had texted Jake that we were on the way. I was dreading it. Exhaustion was taking over me, not to mention the headache that was reaching its peak. I leaned against the window, sleep teasing me. "You okay there babe?" Richy asked. I didn't even have the strength to tell him to never call me babe, instead I said, "Yeah. No sleep and headache, that's all. How are you holding up?" "Pretty good for a guy who spent some time in jail. Makes me feel invincible." Richy said jokingly. "Are you saying this to make me feel better?" I asked. "That depends. Is it working?" Richy asked. "Sadly, no." I said. He placed his hand on my shoulder, "I understand. Once this is over, we can sort things out, ok?" I nodded. We had now reached the house. Flashbacks of the last time I was here, came rushing in. "Hey. Its alright. He's only the big bad wolf if you want him to be." Richy said holding my hand. "I've given up on trying to know him," I said shrugging my shoulders. We got inside the house. Breaking convention, Jake wasn't at his desk but rather pacing around in the living room. He stopped as he heard the door closing. Minutes later he rushes towards me and pulls me into an embrace. This is the third time I was being hugged in a day. "Are you ok? Are you hurt? What happened? Did you injure yourself? Did you get proper medical assistance.." Jake asked quietly when I interrupted him, "I'm fine, Jake. I told you already." My mind was still mad at him, but I was still finding comfort in his embrace. "I was so worried. I called the emergency services. I called Johnson. Did he get there on time? I didn't know what else to do." He said without letting me go. I gulped, "Johnson got there on time." I pushed him away in a few moments. We stood there looking at each other in deafening silence when Richy cleared his throat and said, "While I am not opposed to this awkward reunion, I think we have a lot of things to sort out." "Of course, I was just.." Jake said. "Yeah I get that." Richy said cutting him off. "What happened at your house?" Jake asked looking at me. "Someone set it on fire and made sure I wouldn't escape. He had a gun and he was wearing a mask. So, I don't know how he looks." I said trying to be as concise as possible. Jake gulped, "Did he do anything ...?" "No, but I think he had planned it well. Shut off the water supply, turned off the alarms, used a cellphone jammer, all the unpleasant things." I snapped. He turned to Richy, "What happened at the police station?" "Well, they said they have a witness who saw me stab myself in the forest." Richy said. Jake groaned, "And we don't know who that is. Great." "Well that's not all. Turns out my dad knows the Chief." I said. "I know," Jake said. "You do?" Richy quizzed. "Yeah it was in the drive. In fact, the Chief called in your dad here for the Hanson case. The chief was your dad's senior in high school. The chief wanted it handled well so he got your dad." Jake said. "What? That's news to me. And why would you need a high-profile criminal defense lawyer? Any connection between Madruga and the chief?" I asked. "Not that it was mentioned in the drive." Jake said. "What else is on the drive?" I asked. "A lot to go through, you wont believe it." Jake said. "Let's go through it." I said.

Jake looked at me, "I don't think that's necessary. I can run over whats important." I held my hand up, "Yes but I think its better we all take a proper look at it. What if you missed something?" I said. "I don't miss anything," Jake snapped. "Really? That's new since you don't seem to have a clue any time in your life." I snapped back. "Okay both of you need to stop. Lets just take a look at the recordings and notes. Big deal." Richy said. "I don't think...," Jake started. "Two to one Romeo. Two to one. We win. Let's hear it." Richy said. Jake sighed. He went to his desk and we followed. We sat around the desk as Jake started working on the drive and setup. After a minute or so, he gives me a look and taps the keyboard. A slight static sound fills the room and we hear a voice resonate around.

"It is June 30th, 9 am. A week ago, Alan Peterson called asking for a favor. I hadn't heard from him since high school. He was my senior. It wasn't surprising that he was a cop now. What was surprising is that he needed a favor from me to take up a case. As he described, a young girl by the name Jennifer Hanson died in Duskwood. Based on the medical examiner's report, the cause of death was extensive trauma to the torso and head resulting from a heavy vehicle running over the victim's body. The body was crushed from the pressure and was damaged beyond recognition. However, the victim's wallet helped determine the identity to be Jennifer Hanson. Further DNA tests were done to confirm her identity. The accident occurred on June 15th, around 10 pm and a delivery service agent by the name, Ted Madruga has come forward and confessed to running her over. While Ted was assigned the State appointed attorney, Alan wanted me to take over and make sure the proceedings went smoothly and both parties had a fair trial. Madruga's confession has sealed the deal as he has pleaded guilty and is ready to do the time. It is a straightforward case. So, I think it should be wrapped up soon.

It is July 1st, 8 pm. Today was the first day in the court, but since both the parties have a common understanding of the case, I thought it would have been a matter of time since this would be over. Ted asked for time to apologize to Iris Hanson, mother of the victim which I still have to set up. I need to talk to the prosecution about it but hopefully it should go smoothly.

Its July 2nd, 10 pm. The judge has given the next date at the end of this week. Since Madruga confessed and voluntarily gave himself up, I feel he would be charged for accidental manslaughter. But, I do feel something off about it. The M.E just sent over some of the reports and I see something is not right. Of course, I am not a forensic expert eventhough I have read every book on the topic. Neither am I good at understanding medical conditions or behaviours, else I would have been able to figure out why my daughter has such mood swings. (A chuckle). Anyways, I am poring over these pictures of the crime scene and I did send these over to our other resident M.E which we use at our firm and she mentions that the crime scene looks too pristine to be a site of an accident. Not a lot of blood but then she also mentioned that because of the rainy weather, the blood must have just flowed away. The victim's left hand has an impression of a bracelet or a band I guess, which was recently removed. Don't know what to do of that. I still can't shrug the feeling that I am not seeing the entire picture. But then again maybe I have just been working on weird cases, that I find something mundane very suspicious.

July 5th, 9 pm. So, the proceedings are over. Ted Madruga was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He did read out a letter apologizing to Iris Hanson for her loss. Also, Iris Hanson met with Ted Madruga today, in person and she said that she forgives him, as he is remorseful. That's really big of Iris, the victim.... I mean Jennifer or Jenny as she calls her was the only daughter and family she had, and she lost her. I understand that very well. Heading back home now. Eileen while printing these notes, please cancel all my meetings for next Monday. I will be taking a personal day off to spend more time with my daughter."

The recording ended and I stood up abruptly, "Excuse me." I ran towards the room before anyone could see the tears flow down my face.