The Maid's Diary(98)

“You mean my bump?” Darling’s voice again. “Silicone. Do you know how many different kinds of these pregnancy prostheses you can buy online? You should google it. Does make one wonder what people use them for. Fake photo shoots? Just to walk around in? Test-drive pregnancy? Did you know that you can even buy very realistic fake little babies online?”

The investigators watch as Jon and Daisy Rittenberg are led into the living room. They remain riveted as Darling pours the Rittenbergs drinks, then starts to show them footage from the night in the ski lodge. They watch as Jon transfers money, anger black on his face, his body wire tense.

“He looks murderous,” whispers Lula.

They watch Daisy and Jon Rittenberg leave the house. The footage ends.

Suddenly Kit Darling appears on screen. She has turned the camera on herself. She smiles. Up close. Mal feels an involuntary shock of tension as vampire teeth in red lips fill the screen. Kit is heavily made up. She points to the red horns on her head. “The mini sports camera was tucked up here,” she says.

It feels as though their victim is speaking directly to them all, sitting here in the room, talking to them from beyond her watery grave. It’s an eerie sensation. The others feel it, too. Mal can see it in their faces.

“It’s Halloween,” Kit says. “Appropriate, no? The devil gets her pound of flesh.”

The footage ends.

Quickly, Mal pulls up the recording from the sexual assault. She hits PLAY.

The investigators study the old, grainy footage. When it cuts out, they all sit in heavy, shimmering silence.

Mal clears her throat. “We have Rittenberg and some of his teammates on the sexual assault.” She points at the monitor. “Everything we need to bring those charges is right there on that footage alone. Let’s bring him in. Get him in front of a judge. Charge him. We can work on the rest while we hold him.”

Jack says, “I don’t buy that Saelim would have dropped Darling back at the scene. Especially after she screamed like that. Doesn’t add up.”

Lula says, “It’s weird, but bear in mind, I checked, and it took more than ninety minutes for first responders to even arrive at the Glass House. Beulah Brown was known to make false calls. The West Van PD and dispatch are all too familiar with going out there only to find raccoons in her garbage or shadows in the wind. Brown’s call was placed at a lower priority when another emergency came in right after hers. There was a significant delay in response to the scene, so it’s possible Darling returned, and that Rittenberg had time to abduct or kill her, or both. It’s possible Saelim is telling the truth.”

“Saelim says he can identify the other participants on that ski lodge footage,” Mal says. “Let’s get him started. We—” Her cell rings. It’s Benoit.

Mal holds up her hand, connects the call. “Go ahead, Benoit. You’re on speaker.”

“They’ve almost got her body free. They’re about to bring her up now.”

Mal surges to her feet and reaches for her jacket. “I’m on my way. Lu, get Saelim identifying those participants. Get a written statement from him detailing his involvement. Arnav, assemble a team—arrest Jon Rittenberg. Gavin, loop Crown prosecution in. Get things rolling on the charges. Jack, work with our media liaison, and let’s get ahead of the press on this one.”

Mal shrugs into her jacket and hurries for the station exit. As she climbs into her car, the irony hits hard. Kit Darling is getting exactly what she wanted. Theater. With Jon and Daisy in the spotlight.

Darling is finally exacting her revenge. She has won.

At a price—her life.





MAL


November 4, 2019. Monday.

Clouds press down low and dark, and rain whips sideways, driven by gusts of wind.

Mal stands next to Benoit at the water’s edge, where giant riprap boulders shore up the bank. The ground underfoot is muddy. They’re near the bridge, close to where Tamara Adler stated that she and MLA Frank Horvath parked to have sex in her Mercedes-Maybach. Traffic roars overhead and the bridge clunks.

Mal huddles deeper into her coat as the rigid hull inflatable with tenders on board guides the divers underwater. In her mind Mal sees the photo of Kit Darling. She hears Beulah Brown’s words.

She’s pretty. I’ve seen her face through my binoculars. She always waves when she sees me. Sweet girl . . . She wears her hair up in two little buns, like cat’s ears.

Emotion tightens Mal’s throat. Perhaps she’s finally been exhausted by the depravity and darkness after year upon year of this job. Perhaps retirement will feel okay. She glances up at Benoit. He offers a comforting but sad smile. He feels something, too. Benoit has empathy, and while empathy can be an asset to an investigator, especially when it comes to interrogation and getting into a victim’s or villain’s head, the trait has a downside for a homicide cop. Those who can shut out feelings last longer, because this job takes its toll, and after thirty years, she’s feeling it.

“You okay?” Benoit asks.

“Yeah. Just thinking about the irony of Rittenberg bringing her back out here.”

“You think Saelim is telling the truth?”

“We’ll find out. I’ve got the team going through additional CCTV footage.”

“I’m just glad we found her.”