Merry Without Malice by P. Creeden

Author:P. Creeden [Creeden, P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-09-20T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Tears streamed down Lynn Reiner's face. She ripped off her glove. Red blood covered the forefinger and thumb of her hand. “You're right. You're entirely right,” she cried out. “I killed him.”

John gasped, his eyes wide.

Jeremy kept his cool, nodded to one of the uniformed police officers. “Get a forensic technician in here.”

The officer nodded and disappeared under the tent flap.

“Please hurry,” Lynn cried out. “I'm tired of having his blood on my hand. I'm sick of him. I want to be done with him entirely.”

“How?” John asked, his voice cracking. “How could you kill someone like that?”

She shook her head, some of her hair coming free of the bun it had been in and falling freely around her shoulders, it was frizzy and wild. “He was blackmailing me. When we broke up, he kept calling me at first and wanting to get back together. When I kept denying him, he started threatening me. He had some photos of me in a compromised position. He said he was going to post them on the internet. I would have been ruined. Then he found out about how I’d started dating John and said he didn't want me back after all. Instead, he wanted money. He was a gambler and owed a bookie some money. He wanted me to pay him six thousand dollars to stay quiet. I paid him last week. But then he called again and demanded more. I looked into my future and saw that this was never going to end. He claimed that he'd given me the pictures on the thumb drive he'd given me before, but he lied. I couldn't ever see this ending. So, I had to make it stop. He said he'd already started texting John and planned to send those pictures to him directly, too.”

“So, he's the phishing scam. It wasn't just a scam. He did have a secret to tell. How did he get my number?” John’s jaw tensed.

“We both work at the grocery store. He stole my phone out of my locker and got your number. I'm so sorry, John.”

John backed away when she reached out for him. Then he turned toward Jeremy. “Do you need my phone for evidence? Can I get it back?”

Jeremy shook his head and offered the blue smart phone back toward John. “We already emailed a copy of the video you took to our office. It was all the evidence we needed.”

After taking the phone, the man drew a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment.

“John?” Lynn pleaded again, but he ignored her.

“Am I free to go?” John asked when he opened his eyes and met gazes with the detective.

Jeremy nodded. “Yes, sir. Though we ask that you do not disclose any of the details of this case on your blog or YouTube channel.”

John shook his head. “Of course not.”

The forensic technician came in at the same time as John lifted the tent flap and ducked out of the area.

***

The night air had gotten colder and flurries began to fall around them as Merry exited the tent with her grandchildren.

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