“What are you saying?” asked Charlene. “That you know who really killed Jaqlyn?”
“Yes,” said Omar. “I know who killed Jaqlyn.”
This time there was a stunned silence, as people stared at the former guru.
“But I think it’s important that the person who did it comes forward and tells you himself what happened.” Omar directed a knowing look at one of those present and said, in a kindly tone, “So how about it? Are you going to tell them or do you want me to do it?”
Chapter 36
“What’s going on, Max?” asked Dooley.
“I think Omar has just revealed who Jaqlyn’s killer is,” I said.
“But… isn’t Odelia supposed to do that? She’s the detective, isn’t she?”
“Well, it looks like things have taken a slightly different turn this time,” I said.
“Twists and turns,” Kingman whispered. “All of the books Wilbur likes to read got them. He says he can’t read a book that isn’t filled to the rim with twists and turns.”
Well, this was a twist, all right. One of those things you don’t see coming until they hit you in the snoot. Or the patootie.
Jason Blowhard, for it was he who’d been singled out by Omar, opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. It was obvious he hadn’t seen this one coming either. He glanced longingly to the door, but the two sturdily-built bodyguards standing sentry quickly made him see that there was no escape possible.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said now, in an unconvincing attempt at bluster. “He’s gone mad,” he declared to the others present. “The man has gone completely screwy! That’s what happens when you go around declaring that you’re some kind of god in human shape. It starts to mess up your brain.”
“I never said I was a god in human shape,” said Omar, leaning back. “All I ever wanted was to talk about the soul, and you guys started assuming stuff. Calling me a god and saying that Soul Science was a new religion and yadda yadda yadda. You did that.”
“Did you kill Jaqlyn, Jason?” asked Uncle Alec, assuming his role as chief of police.
“No, sir,” said Jason, shaking his head decidedly. “No, sir, I did not. Tex Poole did.”
“Oh, nonsense,” said Gran. “Tex wouldn’t hurt a fly. When I told him the other day to rid my roses of greenfly he told me the poor creatures had a right to live as much as the next garden pest. The man is a softie. And I should know. He married my daughter twenty-five years ago and I’ve come to love him like a son ever since. And if any of you dare tell him that I’ll hunt you all down and kill you like the rats you are,” she warned.
“I thought you killed Jaqlyn,” said Chase, gesturing to Jenny’s dad. “For almost killing your daughter.”
“I did have a word with the guy,” Jenny’s dad acknowledged, “and I admit I had to restrain myself from landing a punch in his no-good incompetent face, but in the end I couldn’t do it. My little girl wouldn’t have liked her dad to get into trouble like that.”
“But you did give him a piece of your mind, didn’t you, Dad?” said Jenny proudly.
“Oh, you bet I did,” said Nick Parker. “He paled beneath his tan, the horrible ass.”
If Francine Jones was hurt by these epithets being hurled at her dead husband, she didn’t show it. Instead, she said, “I could have killed him myself, but I didn’t. I thought about it for a moment, but I figured he wasn’t worth going to prison for.”
“I’m sorry I did that to you, Francine,” said Monica, seated next to her, and held out her hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Francine took it.
“And I’m sorry I scratched you,” she said.
“I deserved it,” said Monica. “I was a fool, falling for the guy, but it took me until now to realize it.”
“And I was a fool to stay married to him for all these years, even after he gambled away my inheritance, and cheated on me practically the entire time we were married.”
“He was scum,” said her brother Kenny. “Well, he was, sis,” he said emphatically when she gave him a look. “The world is better off without him. You’re better off without him.”
“I just wish I’d squeezed harder when I had my hands around his neck,” his brother Mike grumbled.
“You didn’t,” said Francine, wide-eyed.
“Oh, yes, I did. I told him in no uncertain terms what I thought of him, and he squealed like a pig when I lifted him clear off the floor.”
“So… did you kill him?” asked Odelia.
“No, I didn’t,” said Mike. “I finally let him go, after he promised me he was going to sign the divorce papers the moment they arrived, which I told him wouldn’t be long.”
“I could have killed him,” said Barney Sowman now. “A nice big whack across the occipital bone with an aluminum bat would have done the trick. Or just your plain household hammer, of course,” he allowed, for the sake of argument.
“But you didn’t?” asked Uncle Alec.
“Nope, I didn’t. Tex beat me to it,” he said with a touch of regret. “Literally. Though in all honesty I probably wouldn’t have gone through with it. I think when push comes to shove I don’t have it in me to go around murdering people. I guess I’m just not that guy.”
“I know how you feel,” said Monica Chanting’s husband Garvin. He was a big guy, built like a brick outhouse. “When I found out about my wife having an affair with Doctor Jones I wanted to squash him like a fly. Stomp on his neck like a viper. Tear him limb from limb like a piñata. Rip him up with my backhoe like a tree stump. Split his head like a melon. But I only found out after he was already dead,” he concluded with regret.
All eyes now turned to Jason, who’d gone markedly pale, and was sweating profusely.
“Simply confess, Jason,” Omar said kindly. “You’ll feel so much better, you’ll see.”
“But I didn’t do it!” Jason cried, his voice shrill. “How can I confess to something I didn’t do!”
“So you really want an innocent man to go to prison for a crime you committed?” asked Omar. “You want that on your conscience, too?”
Jason gulped some more.
“He looks guilty, Max,” said Dooley.
“He does indeed,” I said.
“Think of the twelve steps, son,” Father Reilly tried. “Get up and introduce yourself.”
Jason stared at the priest, then at the others present, then buried his face in his hands for a moment, before abruptly getting up and saying, in a shaky voice, “My name is Jason and I’m an alcoholic. I’m also… a murderer.”
Chapter 37
“Why did you do it?” asked Omar, still adopting the same kindly tone he had throughout the meeting.
“I don’t know. It came out of nowhere,” said Jason, taking a seat again. “I-I’d gone over there to tell him to back off. That I wasn’t going to take any more of his crap, and things… got out of hand.”
“What crap?” asked Omar.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut, then sighed. “Look, before Jaqlyn joined Soul Science I was the big cheese around here, okay? I was on the inner circle and I was the one sitting next to Master Omar at the table. I was the man, and for the first time ever I felt like my life had purpose, I was going places. People looked up to me and asked me for advice. Girls suddenly started going out with me. Me! Jason Blowhard! It was like a dream.”
“And then Jaqlyn showed up,” Omar prompted gently.
Jason’s expression darkened. “Right from the get-go he started playing mind games. As my doctor he knew all about my past. The boozing, the drugs—”
“Drugs?” asked Odelia, sounding surprised.
“Oh, I’ve been clean for months,” said Jason, like a man at a job interview convincing a future employer of his merits. “But Jaqlyn started telling me it wasn’t fitting for an addict to be in my position. He said I was sending out the wrong energetic vibe, and also, I didn’t look the part.” He touched his face tattoo. “He said I looked like an ex-con and I was liable to scare people away from Soul Science by featuring so prominently in all of the videos. For the sake of the movement he advised me to take a step back and assume a backstage role. At least until I’d had the tattoo removed.”