"This nurse..." He paused and licked his lips. "Has a boyfriend who likes to abuse her regularly. She jumped at this chance to offer your daughter to him and his degenerate son and take the heat off her for a while. Christy will suffer."
A slow smile spread across Van's face. He remembered how, even as a child, her eyes were accusatory. He knew Christy judged him and he resented that everything he’d worked for would one day be hers.
"I want nineteen thousand cash, and I want it now. I'll be back in touch with you when it's time to drop her off somewhere so the authorities can find her."
An hour later, the man gazed out the airplane window and watched Tampa fade from view. He mentally tallied up his expenses. A rental car, a cheap hotel room for when he wasn't sleeping in his car, a couple of hookers and a rented room in the suburbs. His only regret was not spending more time with the first slut, Gloria. That would've been money well spent. He'd had to lay out very little cash on this job, and Van Chapman was so stupid, he not only fell for the staged pictures, but agreed to the nineteen thousand up front. Forfeiting his final thousand dollars was more than worth it. He'd give anything to see Van Chapman's face when he figured out he'd been scammed.
What a complete idiot, he thought as he signaled the flight attendant for a gin and tonic.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Naples, Florida 1978
It was just over a month after the attempt on Christy’s life at the camp that Detective Kimberly Cochran knocked on Anthony’s front door.
During that month, Anthony ascertained that Veronique Dubois had left for a month-long holiday two days after setting Christy up to be tortured and murdered. He’d been told by his informant that it wasn’t a random departure, but rather a planned vacation in Bermuda. Anthony was glad that he wouldn’t have to chase down Veronique to exact his revenge. She would be returning, and while she was gone, he meticulously laid out a plan. Not to just eliminate her in the most painful way possible, but to disgrace her as well.
Anthony invited the detective into his living room and called for Christy to join them. The three sat on the leather furniture that squeaked as their bodies weighed it down.
“I have news about both of your parents, Christy,” the woman said, looking at Anthony and then turning to Christy.
Anthony reached for Christy’s hand and squeezed it.
“I’ll tell you the bad news first.”
Christy swallowed and listened as the woman told her that they were pretty sure Vivian was dead. She’d been booked on a six-month European cruise under the assumed name of Vivian Slade.
“Does the name Slade mean anything to you?” the detective asked.
Christy shook her head. “I’ve never heard that name before.”
Detective Cochran went on to explain that Vivian Slade was two months into her vacation when a friend she’d made on the cruise reported her missing.
“Missing?” Christy interrupted. “How does someone go missing on a cruise?”
“It’s presumed that she fell overboard, since she was discovered missing between ports. It’s not common, but it does happen. They found so many prescription drugs in Vivian’s room, they assumed she wandered out to the deck and fell over when nobody was around. There’s no other explanation.”
“How do you know for sure that Vivian Slade is my mother?”
The detective unclasped an envelope she’d carried in and pulled out a picture. She handed it to Christy as she continued to explain. “Vivian Slade has a fake address in Naples. The cruise line couldn’t locate next of kin to notify so they contacted us. The picture you’re looking at was taken by the friend she made on the cruise. That is your mother, isn’t it?”
Christy nodded. “It’s her, and I’m sure Van had something to do with this!” she snapped.
“We thought that might’ve been possible too, Christy, but we checked out every single person on that cruise, and we could find no one, absolutely nobody, with any background that was even slightly suspicious. Yeah, there were lots of sea goers with outstanding parking tickets, trespassing violations, and a couple of DUIs, but none with a criminal history.”
Christy stiffened and said, “Well, if you could find Van, I’m sure you could press him to admit how he managed it. If Vivian was traveling with false identification, so could someone he hired to do her in. And those lawyers that visited Anthony said she was sent off with enough medication to kill her.”
"You're right. That's always a possibility, but from what we know, having Vivian killed wouldn't be convenient for Van. He can't touch her bank account without her. And you already told me that your grandmother's will came with a caveat,” she said kindly.
"That in the event of Vivian's death, I'm the sole heir to all of it," Christy finished.
"Yes, Van wouldn't get a dime. My thinking was that he sent Vivian on the cruise not to have her killed, but to have her out of the way while he schemed to have you committed. If she wasn't around, he would be the only parent available to sign all the paperwork that would put you in a facility. And of course, his lawyers would make sure he was given the ability to manage your assets."
"Exactly!" Christy agreed. "And with Vivian gone, I get her money, and Van gets mine. That's why he had her killed."
"It's possible, but I respectfully disagree," the detective added. "Right now, the only way Van is surviving is on his stipend from the dealerships and the money he receives as an allowance from your mother. The moment she is declared missing or dead all that dries up. I'm not saying he wouldn't have tried to have her killed at a later date—he's certainly capable of it. But I don't think he wanted that well to dry up until he was certain he had control of your bank accounts."
"Yeah, I guess it makes sense," Christy said, as she swiped her short hair behind her ear. "Who knows what his sociopath brain was trying to do. We'll probably never know."
Kimberly Cochran nodded her head in agreement and said, “Now for the good news. We have Van in custody, and he is facing charges that, if convicted, will put him away for a long time.”
“What?” Christy practically screamed. “You have him?”
The detective gave Anthony a quick glance and looked back at Christy. She didn’t want to admit that it was his tip about Dan Mikkelson and Pete Germaine that led to a sting operation. She explained to Christy that after discovering that the law firm of Mikkelson & Germaine was under investigation for some clandestine dealings, they negotiated through the state attorney to lessen possible charges in return for the men's cooperation. They gave up Van’s last known location, agreed to wear wires and get him to admit what he’d conspired to have done to Christy to take control of her finances.