“But Carl refused,” I guessed.
Theresa nodded. “Carl said he had seen Feliks on the news. He said he didn’t want his good name soiled by doing business with criminals … only that’s not exactly what Carl called him.”
“So Feliks killed him.”
Theresa swatted away a tear. “Andrei slit Carl’s throat. On Feliks’s orders.”
Of course he did. Because Feliks never did his own dirty work. But now Andrei was dead, Feliks was in jail, and Theresa was stuck holding the bag—literally.
“So you and Feliks made an agreement to let him use the farm. And you never told Steven or the other partner?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t want anyone else to die. I told Feliks I had a close relationship with the person who owned the land. I told him I could get him and his men in and out of the farm whenever he needed to use it, and he didn’t need to speak to anyone else. Feliks agreed.”
“And you were more than happy to take his money.” Vero tsked.
“If you and Feliks came to an agreement,” I asked Theresa, “why didn’t the two of you just bury Carl on the farm with the other bodies?”
“I told the police the truth. I never knew Feliks was using the farm to bury bodies.” She choked out a dark laugh. “Believe me, if I had, that would have made my life a whole lot easier. I never would have been stuck dealing with this!”
Theresa covered her mouth with a trembling hand, as if she’d said too much. But something didn’t make sense. If Feliks and Andrei killed Carl, why had Theresa gotten stuck with the body? Why risk leaving an amateur to clean up the evidence of their crime? Unless …
“They killed him and left,” I said, picturing the scene playing out in my mind as if it were a chapter in my own book. “Feliks left you to deal with the body because he wanted you to be culpable. If you were an accessory to the crime, you’d be a fool to report it, so he made you clean it up. And you didn’t think to use the farm. Instead, you took Carl across the state line.”
“And used Steven’s credit card to pay for it,” Vero added, “so you could pin the murder on your fiancé if the police ever found Carl’s remains.”
Theresa turned away.
Vero was right. Steven’s future interest in the farm could be seen as a motive for killing Carl. He was the perfect patsy.
“Wow,” I said, unsure if I was disgusted or impressed. “That’s real love and commitment for you.”
“I was scared! They killed a man in front of me. I didn’t know what to do!”
“So you found the answer in Feliks Zhirov’s wallet?”
“More like in his pants,” Vero muttered.
“There’s one thing I still don’t understand,” I said. “If Andrei slit Carl’s throat and they left you to clean up the body, then how did Carl end up in all these pieces?” Theresa winced. “Oh, god. You didn’t…”
Vero blanched. “So glad I skipped lunch.”
“What did you expect me to do, Finlay! They’d left me alone in a house with a corpse! Have you ever tried to lift a dead body?”
“All it would have taken was some table linens and a skateboard,” Vero said under her breath. I shot her a look.
“I couldn’t leave him there! Someone would have found him and called the police. And he was so heavy!” Theresa’s confession spilled out of her as if a dam had broken. “I couldn’t carry him to my car. Not in one piece.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police about this when Feliks was arrested?” I asked. “You could have told them Andrei and Feliks killed Carl when you gave your statement. Feliks is behind bars. He isn’t a threat anymore.” And one more count of murder, with an eyewitness to testify, would have made the DA’s case against Feliks airtight.
Theresa laughed. “You’re kidding, right? This is Feliks Zhirov we’re talking about. He won’t serve a day of prison time. If his lawyer doesn’t get the case kicked out for some stupid technicality, Feliks will find his own way out, and when he does, I have no doubt he will personally take down anyone who had a hand in his arrest. I told the police I had no idea there had been any bodies at the farm, and that was the truth. I never accused Feliks of murdering anyone, and I don’t plan to start now. He would only come after us.” Theresa’s cheeks flushed a guilty shade of red.
“Us?” I asked. Theresa had never cared about my well-being before. And she certainly had no reason to care about Vero’s. Why start now?