Conspiracy

“I don’t understand Bert, why is she not getting better?”

“I don’t know Joannie, Doc Phillips can’t seem to figure it out.” Bert looked toward the open door, the bedroom was dim, the only sound from inside was a faint laboured breathing.  He frowned and rubbed at the dark stubble on his jaw realizing he needed a shave. 

“We have to do something, I love her so much, she can’t die,” Joannie sobbed, clasping her hands to her face to stifle the sounds. 

Bert looked down at her, petite with hair the colour of sunflowers cascading down her back, he pulled her close, “It’s okay little darling, we’ll figure it out, we’ll get another doctor, a specialist, I’ll spend whatever it takes, getting Vanessa better is the only thing that matters, after all she is my wife.”

“Promise Bert? Do you promise? I can’t lose her, she practically raised me, and Janet, you know what Mother was like, hardly here and didn’t pay attention to us when she was. Daddy wasn’t much better, too busy making money to wonder what three little girls needed.” Joannie swiped angrily at her tears, her forehead resting against Berts chest.

“I promise Sugarplum,” Bert pushed her gently away, looked into the big blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears and then pulled her closer, placing a gentle but audible kiss on the top of her head before reaching across to the bedroom door and closing it.

In the bedroom a prone figure fluttered its eyes, hearing the sound of sobbing and quiet voices from the hallway, then the clear sound of a kiss before the click of the door closing. 

For several seconds there was no sound in the room, not even the whisper of a breath. As the breathing resumed the eyes opened, faded blue and sunken into the emaciated face, bony fingers crept out from under the blankets pushing them down.  There was a groan as the figure struggled to sit up and slid its skeletal legs over the edge of the bed, tugging a pale blue nightgown down over its knees.  Its hands swept slowly over its face, groaning again at the feeling of bones and loose skin, sunken eyes and chapped lips, feeling across the top of its head and gathering the lank, thin strands of hair, no longer lush and golden but dirty and dull, strands loosening from its skull and tangling across its fingers.  A single tear formed but dried before falling. 

This was Vanessa, beloved sister and wife, heiress of the entire Campbell fortune; a thriving ranch, oil-wells, an ethical diamond mine in Botswana and a multi-million dollar human-rights charity.  A strong-willed and vibrant woman who had taken over where her father left off, continuing to build the families wealth, diversifying and strategizing over the last seven years, ensuring the family maintained a position of respectability and power. Her only questionable decision was Bert. 

Vanessa slowly stood up, unsteady but using every ounce of willpower to stay upright. Each step towards the door was agony, after three weeks of lying still her muscles had started to atrophy and she was struggling to take in enough oxygen. 

Reaching the door she clenched her fingers several times before slowly opening the door, feeling the bones and remaining muscles complain, and frightened of what she might see or hear.

Bert and Joannie were embracing, his lips resting on her hair, his arms around her shoulders as she leaned against his chest. His dark green eyes were closed but at the slight sound of Vanessas breath he opened them, and while staring directly at Vanessa he placed his right index finger under Joannies chin, tipped her head up and kissed her. 

For a brief moment Joannie responded and then recoiled back pushing him away, “What hell are you doing!?” 

At the same time Vanessa screamed, a harsh anguished sound from her entire being. 

“Vanessa! It’s not what it looks like, I don’t want him, he kissed me,” Joannie turned from Bert in horror, seeing Vanessa just steps away and realizing what she had just witnessed, Joannie looked back toward Bert and pleaded, “tell her, Bert tell her, you kissed me. It was a mistake.”

Vanessa heard nothing but the scream in her head, felt nothing but the betrayal of a sister, planned nothing but to release her anger and stumbling forward she used all her strength to push Joannie, once, then again. 

“Vanessa stop, please,” Joannie looked down, she was at the edge of the landing, she reached out and grasped the front of Vanessas nightgown and as they both teetered on the top step Bert lifted his foot and pushed the back of Vanessas leg. 

Both bodies tumbled down the curving staircase, coming to rest in a tangled heap on the imported Italian tiles in the foyer. 

“Hmm, well that was quite a sight,” said a husky voice as a tall slender woman wearing a dark blue trouser suit and resting her right hand on the gun holster on her hip walked through the front door. 

She moved toward the bodies, pulling her dark hair back with one hand as she crouched down and checked each body for a pulse. Standing she shook her head indicating that both women were dead. 

“You do good work Bert, two for one, I’m impressed,” she gave a short bark of a laugh and stepping carefully around the bodies started up the stairs, the Sheriff badge on her belt glinting each time her blazer opened. 

“I thought the plan was to frame Joannie for Vanessas murder.  That little push you gave Vanessa suggests you improvised.” 

“Janet, it’s done, doesn’t matter how, just that it’s done,” Bert reached for her as she stepped onto the landing but she dodged his embrace. 

“Easy now, how do I know you won’t push me down the stairs? That would be a hat trick right Bertie, three sisters dead and you married to the heiress. Everything would be yours, not that you would know how to manage it, an unemployed musician whose only achievement was to charm my lonely workaholic sister into marriage.”

“You seemed to quite enjoy my charms these last two years,” Bert stepped closer to Janet, smiling and reaching out his hand, “Come on baby, it’s ours now, all of it.”

Janet allowed him to move closer, relaxing her shoulders and tilting her head to the side she peered at him from under her lashes, Bert liked to feel that he was in charge, bigger than he was and this pose had always been effective. 

“Tell me again, Bert, what did you use? how did you plan for Joannie to take the fall,” she paused and with a small smile continued, “pun intended.”

“It was so easy, Joannies work at the charity in Rwanda gave me the perfect opportunity to put her in the right place, a vague suggestion that we might be able to do some good in the Congo was all it took to send Joannie on a fact-finding mission. If you remember she had a bit of trouble getting out of the Congo and back to Rwanda, I really wasn’t sure she’d make it back. I made sure that she left a paper trail, reminding her to use a credit card whenever possible, for accounting purposes,” Bert laughed. 

“But how did you get the drugs to give Vanessa? Did Joannie bring them back from Africa?” 

“No way, are you kidding?” Bert responded quickly, not noticing the slight change in Janets tone, “I have a contact, a guy from way back owed me a favour and he supplied the goods, and don’t get any ideas that he’ll be coming out of the woodwork with a story either, no loose ends. It will look like Joannie brought the stuff back from the Congo and started poisoning Vanessa. A tale as old as time, rivalry between sisters,” Bert looked down at the crumpled bodies lying at the the foot of the stairs and shrugged, “Shame, you know I quite liked them both.”

“Bert Spencer I’m arresting you for the murder of Vanessa Campbell-Spencer and Joannie Campbell, and apparently the murder of an unknown accomplice.” Janet pulled out her handcuffs and reached for Berts arm. 

“What the fuck, are you kidding? get off me you stupid…” Bert pulled out of Janets grasp and pushed her, she stumbled back pulling her gun and pointing it at his chest. 

“Get down, Bert! On your knees, hands on your head now!”  Janet gripped her gun in both hands, fully focused on the target in front of her. 

“Janet, what the hell is this?” Bert continued standing then took one step forward, “Come on Janet, stop messing around. Let’s just call your team, explain that Joannie and Vanessa were fighting and they fell.”

“Bert Spencer I repeat, on your knees, hands on your head, now!”

Bert took another step forward, confident in his ability to manage the situation, to manage Janet, after all, hadn’t he managed Vanessa into marriage, and Joannie into a fall-guy or should it be fall-gal?

“Stop or I will shoot, stop Bert, last warning! Get down on your knees!” Janet shouted and taking a deep slow breath she pulled the trigger. 

Bert fell sideways towards the stairs, his right arm catching on the bannister and sending him tumbling face-forward towards the bodies of his wife and sister-in-law. 

Janet holstered her gun then reached into her pocket and pulled out a little black box. Turning it over she pushed a button marked stop and the red light flashing in the corner faded. She looked down at the mess in the foyer before hitting rewind and then play on the recorder.

Berts voice was a clear as day, his tone full of smug self-assurance, arrogance. 

It was so easy, Joannies work at the charity in Rwanda gave me the perfect opportunity to put her in the right place, a vague suggestion that we might be able to do some good in the Congo was all it took…

Janet fast-forwarded the recording before hitting play again.

…don’t get any ideas that he’ll be coming out of the woodwork with a story either, no loose ends. It will look like Joannie brought the stuff back from the Congo and started poisoning Vanessa.

She smiled and fast-forwarded one more time.

Bert Spencer I repeat, on your knees, hands on your head, now! there is a faint sound of a footstep before Janets voice shouts Stop or I will shoot, stop Bert, last warning! Get down on your knees a second of silence and a gun-shot. 

“And that is that,” Janet proclaimed to the empty house as she skipped down the stairs.

“You were a simpering whimpering idiot,” poking Joannie with the toe of her black boot, “and you were a simpering whimpering idiot” she laughed leaning over Vanessa, “and you! You were the biggest simpering whimpering idiot of them all!” flicking Bert with her forefinger. 

Pulling her phone from her blazer pocket Janet dialled the Sheriffs office, her office. 

“Toby, I’m at the ranch, we were right, yep, just as we suspected. I have everything on tape, but unfortunately I had to discharge my weapon, it’s bad. Send the coroner and a couple of officers as quickly as possible. I’ll wait outside. Thanks Toby.” 

Janet strode through the foyer and stood in the open doorway, leaning against the wooden door frame she breathed in the fresh air and sighed with happiness. Acres of fields and woods surrounded the homestead and outbuildings, not another house or vehicle in sight. It was quiet and peaceful and now it was all hers. 

The End.