Page 124 of Mistletoe and Malice
Everett shrugged. “Wasn’t that hard.”
“Then what?”
The man released another deep sigh. “Ordered the flowers, gave them the message for the card. I followed him around for a few days, to his different job sites. Noticed he always changed phones before going in. It was easy to simply pop the lock on that vintage car of his and lift the phone. No alarm. Bummer that he realized it so early in the day and suspended his service.”
“What did you wear to pick up the arrangement?”
“Blue suit. Cost me a bundle. Should’ve put it on that credit card.”
“Is that what you wore to Caitlyn’s?”
He shook his head. “Changed into clothes like a delivery guy. Wore a ball cap. Cait opened the door, smiled when she saw the flowers. Probably thought Shane had sent them. Pathetic.”
“Did she recognize you?”
“She barely looked at me. Like an entitled princess dismissing a servant. I handed her the flowers, and while she was staring at them all starry-eyed, I pushed her back and walked in.” Grinning, he shook his head. “Man, the look on her face changed so fast. From happy one second, to shocked. Then fear when she finally realized it was me.”
Watching his expression on the screen, it seemed to Colton the guy reveled in the memory.
“The knife was Caitlyn’s, so we know you didn’t bring it. What was the original plan?”
“I wanted to choke the life out of her. No noise. No mess. My face the last thing she ever saw, so she’d know she shouldn’t have discounted me. But then she threw those blasted flowers at me and ran for the kitchen. Picked up the knife, which I took from her in about two seconds.”
He pointed his finger at John. “It’s her fault what happened. If she hadn’t screamed at me that herboyfriendwas on his way over and could snap me in half, I wouldn’t have lost it. But how’s a guy supposed to take that? Throwing Shane in my face. I honestly lost my mind. Didn’t even remember doing it until it was over.” Everett turned his attention to his attorney again. “There should be a defense for that, right?”
All Colton heard was an impatient sigh. “You’ve already agreed to this deal.”
Everett scowled. “Guess I should’ve thought that through. I was insane. I know I was. It was like comin’ out of a blackout. I don’t remember none of it.”
A convenient excuse that held no merit. Even without the deal, it was doubtful a judge would grant a motion to plead insanity. Everett was too clever. Too thorough. All he’d done prior to the offense, and everything he’d done to Riley over the past several weeks, was proof of his state of mind.
Twisted, yes. Insane, no.
“Have to admit, it threw me off my game for a minute. I just sat there, catching my breath. But with Shane coming, I had to get out of there. Grabbed a man’s jacket from her closet—probably Shane’s—because … well … she made a mess of me. Stuck the hat inside, and left the way I came in, right through the front door.”
Typical sociopath. It wasn’t his fault he stabbed Cait to death. It was hers for grabbing the knife. It wasn’t his doing that had blood splattered all over him. It was Caitlyn’s for bleeding.
It was probably a good thing Colton had stayed back at the precinct. He wasn’t sure he’d have the self-control John possessed.
The detective consulted his notes again. “You wore gloves?”
“I’m not stupid. Didn’t wanna leave fingerprints behind, now, did I? Once I was in the car, though, I realized I’d sliced myhand along the base of my thumb.” He glanced at his hand. “Still have that stupid scar.”
Just as Riley had suspected. But with all the blood and no cuts on Shane’s hands, the police simply hadn’t looked hard enough for foreign DNA.
Chuckling, Warren shook his head again. “The day Shane’s arrest hit the news, I bought a bottle of champagne. Never had it before and wished I’d opted for a good bourbon instead. But it was a celebration. Champagne seemed appropriate.”
John exchanged a tight-lipped look with the prosecutor, but Warren went on without missing a beat. No emotion. Only arrogance.
“The trial was a blast. Sat through every second of it, disguised, of course, so Dad and that witch he married wouldn’t see me. Watching them sitting there every day, devastated, was an extra bonus. It’s what they get for tossing me out of their lives. I was every bit as good as Shane. They just didn’t care.
“And that Riley Hudson. Sitting there so self-righteous. Every day, she looked right past me. I was worried early on that she might say something to the cops about seeing me arguing with Cait at the club, but apparently, she hadn’t remembered.”
John shifted his weight to one hip. He had to be as exhausted as Colton, having been up all night putting together the arrest warrant, obtaining search warrants from a judge willing to sign off on New Year’s. Still wearing the tux from the party, sans tie and suit coat.
“Why go after her now? Even if you’d succeeded, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. Her office would’ve still worked Shane’s case.”
“I saw that press conference on TV. Thought she’d taken Shane’s case because she remembered seein’ us that day. But when nobody showed up to question me, I knew she hadn’t put it together. Didn’t want to take the chance that she might atsome point. She was the only loose end. Cut that off, and Shane’s gone for good.” He shrugged as if talking about squashing a bug. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
