Deadly Stakes

10

Lynn Martinson lay in her jail cell with her head on her arm and tried to imagine how any of this could have happened to her. Her attorney, who was nice enough but very young, had outlined the terms of the county attorney’s offer. All Lynn had to do was finger Chip for Gemma’s murder, and Lynn herself would probably skate.

There was only one problem. Lynn couldn’t bring herself to believe that any of it was true. She couldn’t believe that a man who had dedicated his life to doing no harm would have taken anyone’s life, including Gemma’s. Yes, the woman had been a pain in the ass. Yes, paying her alimony and buying out her share of the medical practice and their joint real estate holdings was putting a crimp in Chip’s bottom line. He had lost a bundle in real estate, and he’d turned over a big part of his pension, but Lynn refused to believe that money meant so much to him. After all, hadn’t that been one of Gemma’s major gripes about him? That he had backed away from the big-bucks medical practices in favor of shepherding the families of Alzheimer’s patients? Was that the kind of man who would stoop to murder? Lynn didn’t want to believe it. Wouldn’t believe it. It just wasn’t possible. Couldn’t be. Could it?

Lynn had been on her way home from Chip’s place early that morning when an unmarked patrol car had pulled her over on Shea Boulevard as she made her way toward the 101. Since she hadn’t been speeding, she almost didn’t stop. What if this was one of those times when the guy pulling her over turned out to be a bad guy masquerading as a cop?

“What seems to be the problem, Officer?” she had asked through the open window when she pulled over and Detective Holman walked up to the driver’s window. “Was I doing something wrong?”

“Would you please step out of the vehicle, Ms. Martinson? I need to ask you a few questions.”

It surprised her that he already knew her name, even though he hadn’t asked to see her license or registration. It struck Lynn as odd, but she complied with her hands shaking and knees quaking. The badge and ID he showed her turned out to be from Yavapai County rather than one of the local jurisdictions.

“Where were you night before last?” he asked as she handed him back his ID.

“I was at my boyfriend’s house,” she said. “I spent the night.”

“Your boyfriend would be Dr. Charles Ralston, right?”

“Yes,” Lynn said hurriedly, “but what’s this about? Does it have anything to do with my telephone?”

“What about your telephone?”

“I know my cell turned up at the scene of a homicide, but like I told the officer who came by the house yesterday, I evidently misplaced it sometime earlier. I have no idea how it could have made its way to a crime scene near Camp Verde. I’ve never even been there.”

“Never?” he asked.

The way he looked at her when he said that was disquieting-as if he didn’t believe her. Lynn’s knees shook that much more. It was sounding much more serious than some kind of minor traffic violation. People going by on the street were rubbernecking, peering at her and trying to see what was going on. Fortunately, she was far enough from Surprise that it seemed unlikely any of the gawkers would know either her or her mother. Still it was embarrassing.

“Do we have to do this here?” she asked. “Couldn’t we have our discussion somewhere more private?”

“Sure,” Detective Holman agreed. “There’s a Denny’s just off Scottsdale Road. How about if we go there to talk? I can follow you.”

It seemed like a reasonable enough request, so that was what they did. Lynn was grateful that he turned off the flashers on his light bar. When they pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, she was relieved to see that it was relatively full.

They went inside. Detective Holman ordered a Grand Slam. All Lynn wanted was coffee, and it was frustrating to see how much her hand shook as she raised the mug to her lips. She was nervous about talking to this guy. She couldn’t help it.

“So let’s go back to the night before last. What time did you arrive at Dr. Ralston’s place?”

“Ten or so.”

“You left there when?”

“About this time, maybe a little earlier.”

“You come late and leave early,” Holman said. “Why’s that?”

She fudged a little on that one. “I leave early so Chip can get ready for work.” The answer sounded lame, even to her.

“I understand you stopped by a car wash on your way home?”

How did he know that? Lynn wondered. Had she mentioned the car wash to the other cop when he came to the house asking about the phone? “Yes,” she said.

“Why?”

That struck her as a stupid question. People went to car washes when their cars were dirty.

“When I went to get into the car in the morning, I noticed it was really dusty,” she answered. “The wind must have come up overnight. Since I needed gas, I had it washed, too. There’s a car wash on my way, and I usually stop there. I suspect that’s where I lost my phone. I probably put it down on the counter when I was paying for my gas and forgot to put it back in my purse.”

“What can you tell me about Dr. Ralston’s former wife?”

Later, Lynn understood that was when she should have guessed what was really going on. If she had, she might have moderated her answer, but she didn’t.

“Gemma Ralston is a money-grubbing bitch,” Lynn replied. “She hired the best divorce lawyer money can buy, and she took Chip to the cleaners.”

“Do you know her personally?”

“I don’t really know her; I know of her,” Lynn admitted.

“She stays in close contact with Dr. Ralston?”

“More with his mother and sister than with Chip. Chip’s mother told him that just because he and Gemma were divorced didn’t mean she was divorcing her daughter-in-law. As for Molly, Chip’s sister? I understand that she and Gemma have been good friends since they met as college roommates years ago.”

“That must make things awkward for you,” Detective Holman surmised.

“A little,” Lynn admitted, “but over time I expect Chip’s family will come around. At least that’s what I’m hoping. It’s also one of the reasons we’re not rushing into anything.”

Another, Lynn thought to herself, is that we can’t afford it. I don’t have a job, and he can’t afford a house payment and alimony.

“Have you ever heard Dr. Ralston voice any threats against his former wife?”

“Threats?” Lynn echoed. “Never. Not once.”

“He never made any comments to you that maybe he’d be better off if Gemma were dead?”

“No!” Lynn said forcefully. “He never mentioned such a thing. Not to me, anyway, and I doubt he’d say it to anyone else, either. You need to understand, Chip Ralston is a good man-an honorable man.”

“In your opinion,” Detective Holman said.

The comment made Lynn flush, but she said nothing.

“Let’s talk about the other night,” Holman continued. “You spent the night.”

“Yes,” Lynn said. “I do most nights.”

“You were there the whole night? Was Dr. Ralston there as well?”

“Yes, of course he was. We slept in the same bed.”

“He didn’t go out at any time? Was he on call?”

“We were both there all night,” Lynn repeated.

“Is there a chance he might have slipped out of bed and been gone for a while without your noticing?”

Lynn paused before answering. For years she had struggled with sleep apnea. It was only with the arrival of a breathing aid, a CPAP machine, on the recommendation of a physician specializing in sleep disorders, that she had started sleeping well at night. When she and Chip started dating, she had been too embarrassed to bring it up. Who wants to think that a romantic partner is going to come to bed looking like a gas mask-wearing member of a hazmat team. But she also knew that the mask was the source of her ability to sleep well and safely.

So the first time she and Chip spent the night together-at a casino on the outskirts of Scottsdale-Lynn had brought her mask and machine along, tucked discreetly into her suitcase. She hadn’t really intended to take it out or use it, but then a miracle happened. Chip opened his overnight bag, and Lynn caught sight of his machine, tucked in among his underwear and his shaving kit. Not only did they each have a CPAP machine, they had the same make and model.

Lynn had grabbed hers out of her suitcase, and they stood looking back and forth. “What,” he said finally, grinning. “You, too? Looks like we’re a matched set.”

With that, the two of them had collapsed onto the hotel bed, laughing hysterically. Months into the relationship, the masks and machines were an integral part of their lives. Chip bought Lynn an extra machine to leave at his house so she wouldn’t have to carry hers back and forth. Over time they stopped being self-conscious about it. Donning their masks in the aftermath of lovemaking was as automatic as brushing their teeth after dinner. Lynn had adjusted to the comfort of the machine’s white noise, and when she was at Chip’s house, she slept in a welcome, dream-filled slumber that allowed her to awaken after only a few hours fully rested and alert. More than once, Chip had teased her, saying that when she was asleep with her mask on, the house could fall down around her and she wouldn’t notice.

So he could have crept out without her knowledge, but she didn’t mention that to Detective Holman. “No,” she insisted instead. “That’s just not possible.”

“How long have you known Dr. Ralston?”

“I met him over a year ago.”

“While he was still married to his wife?”

“Their marriage was over long before I came into the picture,” Lynn said. “He was my father’s doctor. That’s how I met him. He does primary care for Alzheimer’s patients and provides counseling for families dealing with Alzheimer’s-related issues. You need to understand that Chip didn’t make any inappropriate overtures to me while my father was alive and his patient. His behavior was entirely aboveboard.”

“So you don’t regard yourself as Gemma’s rival?”

“Absolutely not. I told you. Their marriage was over before I came into Chip’s life.”

“When’s the last time you remember using your phone?”

The abrupt change in direction caught Lynn momentarily off guard. “I’m pretty sure the last time I used the phone was when I called Chip that evening to let him know I was on my way to his house. The next time I tried to use it was in the morning after I got back to my mother’s place in Surprise. That’s when I discovered it was gone.”

“What can you tell me about Dr. Ralston’s demeanor the last time you saw him?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. He was glad to see me. I was glad to see him.”

“He didn’t seem upset or preoccupied?”

“No. Not at all.”

“He didn’t seem angry?”

“No. Everything seemed normal.”

“What if I told you that Gemma Ralston is dead?”

“She’s dead?” Lynn repeated weakly.

And that was when he dropped the bomb-or at least what she thought was the bomb.

“And what if I told you that your phone was found at the scene of Gemma’s murder?”

Stunned, Lynn said nothing.

The detective nodded. “Right next to her body, so here’s the thing. How do you suppose your phone got there? Were you at the crime scene and left it behind without meaning to? Or was it left there by someone else in order to implicate you in the commission of that crime-to share the blame, as it were?”

Lynn’s half-empty coffee mug clattered onto the tabletop, slopping coffee in every direction. “I didn’t do it!” she said. She wanted to add, And neither would he!

“As you said earlier, Dr. Ralston has been under a good deal of financial pressure. People in those kinds of binds can do uncharacteristic things.”

Lynn reached for her new phone. “I need to call him,” she said. “I need to let him know what’s going on.”

“That’s not necessary,” Detective Holman said. “I’m quite sure Dr. Ralston is already aware of the situation.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Just what you’re doing,” he answered. “Talk to me. Give me your take on what’s going on. This has been a completely informal interview, and I really appreciate your help. But I’d like to have a more formal one. That would need to be done in Prescott-at the Sheriff’s Department. That way I’ll be able to record it; have it on the record.”

“You’re saying you want me to drive up to Prescott for an interview?”

“No. I’ll be glad to give you a ride up and a ride back down.”

“A ride. I’m not under arrest, am I?”

“Not at all.”

“All right, then, but what about my car? Shouldn’t I drive it home, and we can leave for Prescott from there?”

“It’s just for a few hours,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine here. Driving all the way out to Surprise and back will add two hours to the trip. I’ll clear it with the restaurant manager before we leave.”

That was how, a few minutes later, Lynn Martinson walked out of Denny’s under her own power and waited patiently while Detective Holman unlocked his vehicle and opened the back door to let her inside. “There’s too much stuff in the front seat,” he explained.

It wasn’t until after she was seated inside with the door locked from the outside that Lynn began to wonder if she’d been lied to again. By yet another man.

Her phone was in her pocket. Detective Holman had strongly suggested that she not try calling Chip; he hadn’t said anything about Lynn not calling her mother. Still, Lynn left the phone where it was. If she hadn’t told her mother about something as simple as losing her phone, how could she explain that she was somehow mixed up in a homicide?

No, Lynn thought as the big sedan eased out of the parking lot. I’ll tell her when this is all over. We’ll laugh like crazy.

Hours later and finding herself under arrest, Lynn Martinson wasn’t laughing, and she had yet to call her mother. Beatrice would find out what had happened the same way Lynn had found out about Lucas’s suicide. Someone else-a cop, most likely-would tell her. Having been on the receiving end of that kind of message, Lynn knew how much it hurt.

Sick at heart, Lynn turned over on her side until she was facing away from the barred door and the lit hallway outside her cell. She tried to be quiet about it, but she cried herself to sleep, wondering if any of it was true. Had Chip really crept out of bed without her knowing, murdered Gemma, and then come back to bed as though nothing at all had happened? Had he taken Lynn’s phone with him and left it there in hopes of pinning the blame on her? If so, that made Chip’s betrayal far worse than anything Richard Lowensdale had done.

It would have been easy to give up right then-to fall asleep and, without the aid of her breathing machine, simply not wake up again. But that wasn’t what happened. The next morning, when the lights came on at six-thirty and the jailers rousted her out of bed, Lynn Martinson sat on the edge of her narrow metal cot and realized for the first time in her life that she was mad as hell and she wasn’t going to take it anymore.

Late in the afternoon, when they had finally placed Lynn under arrest, they had told her that Gemma’s blood had been found in Lynn’s Focus. If that was true, if Gemma’s blood had turned up in Lynn’s vehicle, she sure as hell hadn’t put it there. And if anybody thought they were going to get her to plead guilty to something she hadn’t done, then, as her mother would say, they had another think coming.