by BJ Bourg
“How long will it take?”
“A couple of days,” Amy said. “She’s got every hand on deck. She said they’ll work this at light speed, but she can’t guarantee how fast the state will work. She said she’ll pull every string she’s got left over there.”
Susan nodded. Tracy Dinger was an old friend of Clint’s from when he worked for the La Port Police Department. Although her area of expertise was firearms, she could always be counted on to make things happen in a hurry in other areas of the crime lab.
“Has Mr. Goldsmith been able to get an emergency hearing yet?” Amy asked when Susan didn’t respond immediately.
“Not that I’ve heard.” Susan pulled the cell phone from her ear and checked to see if she had any missed calls or text messages from the lawyer. There were none. “He promised he’d contact me as soon as he knows anything.”
“I still can’t believe he agreed to help Clint,” Amy said, “especially since we arrested his only son.”
“He’s a good man.”
Before they ended the call, Amy told Susan she was heading to the district attorney’s office.
“I want to speak directly to Bill Hedd,” she said in a determined voice. “He needs to know that David Monier withheld information from him and he needs to know about everything I’ve found.”
“I thought you already spoke with Isabel?” Susan asked. “Wouldn’t she have already told him?”
“She said she would talk to him, but I haven’t heard back from her and I don’t know how persuasive she can even be right now. If she does or says anything to piss him off, I imagine he could still change his mind about his replacement.” Susan could almost hear Amy shaking her head. “Nah, I think I can make a much stronger argument than she can at the moment. If he doesn’t listen to me, then I’m heading to the troop to speak with David’s supervisor. They need to know that he’s screwing up big time. As it stands now, it’ll blow up in their faces in the media, but maybe they can do the right thing and avoid even more public embarrassment by being the ones to approach the judge to recall the warrant.” Amy paused, and then said, “And if I happen to run into David, he’d better pray I have my hands full.”
“Amy, don’t do anything that’ll get you locked up,” Susan cautioned. “I don’t need both of y’all in jail right now.”
“Oh, I’m not going to jail today,” Amy said in a low but dangerous voice, “and that’s something I can promise you.”
“Let me know if you need anything.” Susan knew it would be a waste of breath to caution Amy against smacking David, so she left it unsaid. Clint had gotten Amy hired onto the Mechant Loup Police Department and then later had her transferred to the town’s detective bureau, so she was fiercely loyal to him. If she knocks David on his ass, Susan thought, how bad could it actually be?
Susan went to the bathroom and then walked back to Mallory’s office. In the hour or two that followed, she fielded a number of calls, especially from her own people. Melvin, Regan, Takecia, and Baylor all called to check up on Clint. Melvin had offered to break him out of the Empyrean Parish Detention Center, but she had told him that wouldn’t be necessary. Finally, Mayor Cain had called several times for updates and to offer whatever help she could.
At around two o’clock—and after much swearing and many calls to her IT department, Mallory said she found something.
“Here are all the employees who logged into the system today,” Mallory explained. “There were eleven in all, but only three match the general description of the suspect—Willy, Doug, and Steve.”
Mallory minimized the visitor management program and brought up the surveillance program again. She began in the morning and found where each man had punched in their code to enter the building on the morning of the attack on Kim Plant. She scribbled on her pad as they watched the footage, making notes of the times each man came and went throughout the day.
Although she played the videos in the fastest speed possible, it still took a considerable amount of time to reach the hour when she was in her office making the phone call. There were no shortcuts they could’ve taken. Had she jumped directly to that time, they wouldn’t have known who was still inside the building, so they had to go the painstaking route.
“None of these men work in the cubicles across from my office,” Mallory said as they reached the footage where she was walking to her office while talking to Clint, “and they were all in the bureau at the time of the call.”
“Where are their desks?” Susan asked, knowing they wouldn’t be able to see them because of the tall cubicle walls, but still wanting a general location of the men.
Mallory pointed to the far end of the screen. “Their work stations are located along the back wall,” she explained. “I just need to see who leaves first.”
Susan held her breath with anticipation as the shadow they’d observed earlier reappeared in the section of cubicles directly across from Mallory’s office. They continued watching as the figure scurried out of the building.
“Okay, but who are you?” Mallory mumbled, studying the footage intently.
Susan leaned in and watched as the minutes passed. They watched Mallory leave and return. The secretary left her station for about thirty minutes and returned with an apple and a soda can. The bald detective Mallory had earlier identified as Mack appeared from the back of the room at around four-thirty. He had a file tucked under his arm and he ambled slowly toward the door.
“He does that when he’s leaving for the day,” Mallory explained. “He likes to cut out early, but he doesn’t want us to know, so he puts a case file under his arm and pretends to be heading out for an interview. One of the other detectives snatched the folder from under his arm one day and found that it was empty. We all got a good laugh out of that.”
Susan nodded idly, not taking her eyes off of the back of the room. The time was nearing five o’clock on the video when they finally saw one of the detectives who matched the description of the suspect.
“That’s Willy,” Mallory said, making a note on her pad. “We can scratch him off the list.”
Susan shifted her feet and glanced at her watch again. She wanted to scream at the video player to hurry the hell up. Right about then Malory let out a gasp. Susan looked up at the computer monitor and saw another detective heading for the door. He matched the description of their suspect, but Susan didn’t recognize him.
“What is it?” Susan asked, noting Mallory’s ashen face. She looked as though she’d seen a ghost.
“Dear Lord,” Mallory said, pointing weakly at the figure walking out of the office. “That leaves only one other detective.”
CHAPTER 44
Susan swallowed as the realization set in. The man in the video was Willy, so there was only one other possible suspect. She leaned even closer to the monitor and she and Mallory watched breathlessly as the footage continued to play. They reached the seven o’clock hour and one of the female detectives left. She switched off the lights on her way out.
“That’s it—there’s no one left.” Mallory leaned back and swiveled around in her chair to face Susan. “It’s Doug Cagle. Doug attacked Kim Plant.”
Susan clinched her fists. Doug and Clint had history, that was for certain, but it was supposed to have been ancient history—water under the bridge. Susan had a quick thought and asked Mallory if Doug wore a Remember the Fallen wristband.
“Come to think of it, he does.” Mallory leaned back in her chair and shook her head. “Sue, this is crazy. Do you think this has something to do with the Parker brothers?”
Susan was thoughtful. When the Parker brothers—who were responsible for the murders of Clint’s first wife and daughter—had broken into Clint’s house to murder him, Clint had gone scorched earth on them and there had been no survivors. Although Clint had been cleared of any wrongdoing, Doug had taken issue with the killings. No one had a problem with Doug voicing his opinion, but when he’d gotten drunk and started badmouthing Clint in a barroom one
day, Sheriff Buck Turner had promptly kicked him out of the bureau—that is, until Clint had interceded and asked Turner to reinstate Doug.
“Doug is Bill Hedd’s nephew,” Susan said slowly, still trying to process this latest discovery. “So this might have something to do with the past.”
“We believe that whoever attacked Kim also killed Ralph, right?”
Susan nodded, still trying to make the pieces fit together within her head. Something wasn’t right. It didn’t make sense that Doug would kill Ralph and then attack Kim for the sole purpose of framing Clint for the crimes. She said this out loud to Mallory, who agreed with her.
“Then why would Doug kill Ralph?” Susan asked. “Did he lose any cases to Ralph?”
“Not that I knew about, but who would kill a lawyer over a lost case?” Mallory turned and accessed the visitor management program again. Her brow furrowed. “Doug didn’t sign into the office today.”
Susan walked to the door and glanced out into the bureau. There were a few detectives milling about. She saw the one named Willy standing toward the back of the room talking to someone who was seated and out of view.
“I need to talk to Doug.” Susan spun around. “We need to get him in here now. If he confesses, we can get Clint out of jail easily.”
With a nod, Mallory snatched up her handset and punched in a number. Her brow furrowed as she listened and waited. Finally, she left a message asking Doug to call her back right away. “There’s been some movement on the Boudreaux murder case,” she said in the handset, giving Susan a wink. “I need you to get here as soon as possible. We need to move now.”
Once she had replaced the handset, she sat there staring at it, as though she expected it to begin ringing immediately. It didn’t.
After about five minutes of nothing happening, Susan said, “Mal, we need him now.”
She nodded her agreement and called dispatch. “Hey,” she said when a dispatcher answered, “can you try to reach Detective Cagle on the radio?”
After a full minute, she frowned and shook her head. “He’s not answering.”
Susan began pacing again. “Where in the hell is he?”
“I don’t know.” Mallory stood and walked to her door. After swinging it open, she glanced around the bureau. “Willy, have you seen Doug today?”
“No, I haven’t seen him since…” Willy frowned as his voice trailed off. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since Monday.”
Susan and Mallory traded glances.
“What time Monday?” Mallory asked.
“We had lunch together in the break room at eleven,” Willy recounted. “Sean was with us.”
“What about after lunch?” Mallory pressed.
“Um, I don’t remember seeing him again.” Willy cocked his head to the side, as though trying to recall his actions from Monday. “I know we came back to our cubicles, but I don’t know what happened to him after lunch. I was busy, so I really wasn’t paying attention. I’m working seven forgeries, seventeen burglaries, and two—”
“I’m aware of your case load,” Mallory interjected. “What about yesterday?”
After a moment of reflection, Willy snapped his fingers. “Oh, yeah, he called me yesterday morning to say he wouldn’t be in the office. He said he was gonna conduct another canvass of the neighborhood where the Boudreaux murder occurred. He didn’t catch everyone home the first time around, so he said something about hitting the neighborhood later in the evening.”
“Does anyone have his wife’s number?”
Willy smirked. “It wouldn’t do any good. They’re separated.”
“When did this happen?” It was obvious to Susan that Mallory had no clue about the separation.
“A few weeks ago.” Willy waved a hand dismissively. “They separate once or twice a year. He doesn’t make a big deal about it because they always get back together.”
“What about today?” Mallory asked. “Have you heard from him yet?”
“Nope. Haven’t seen or heard from him. I just figured he worked late into the night on his canvass and hasn’t gotten his lazy ass out of bed yet.”
“Where’s he staying while he’s separated?”
“He’s home. His wife usually goes to her mom’s place in Mathews when they’re separated.” Willy shrugged. “She might’ve already come back home. That might be why he’s late. They could’ve made up all night.”
Mallory thanked Willy and hurried into her office. She snatched her keys from the desktop and headed for the door. Susan was right behind her. Once they were outside and no one was around, Mallory asked, “You know what I’m thinking?”
“Yep,” Susan said. “He’s staying away from the office so his wounds can heal. Kim must’ve scratched him real good.”
Mallory nodded. “And since he doesn’t have any court appearances planned for at least three weeks, it would look suspicious if he showed up wearing a long sleeved shirt.”
Without wasting more time, Mallory pulled out her cell phone and headed for her Charger, while Susan turned toward her Tahoe. Susan had barely reached the driver’s door when she heard Mallory tell someone on the phone to get the sheriff on the line.
Susan then proceeded to follow Mallory out of the parking lot and south toward a small community called Valentine, which was where Doug lived.
Susan, for her part, called Amy and gave her Doug’s address. “Meet us there as soon as you can,” Susan said. “This is your case and you’re gonna arrest that bastard.”
There was unbridled passion in Amy’s voice when she said she would take great pleasure in slapping the cuffs on the bastard. The two women exchanged locations, and Susan realized Amy was actually a little closer to Doug’s address than she was.
“Were you able to get a meeting with Bill Hedd?” Susan asked.
“Nope, the bastard refused to see me. Well,” Amy corrected, “the official story was that he wasn’t there, but I saw his vehicle parked behind the building.”
“And what about David?”
“Same thing,” Amy said. “I spoke with his supervisor, who said he would look into David’s questionable antics, but he said David was busy and couldn’t meet with me.”
“Do you know how to get a turtle out of its shell?” Susan asked wryly.
“What’re you saying right now?” Amy asked, sounding confused.
“You dangle a piece of carrot in front of its face.” Susan smiled to herself as she slowed for a car that was making a left turn in front of Mallory. “Call the Troop back. If David won’t talk to you, leave a message telling him we’re on our way to arrest the real suspect in Kim’s attack. Leave the address and just wait for him to show up. He’ll claim it’s his case and that we’re interfering with his investigation.”
Amy’s laugh was infectious. “I’m on it!”
After ending that call, Susan called Perry Goldsmith. The lawyer answered on the first ring.
“Anything from the judge?” Susan asked.
“Not a word,” Perry said. “I’ve called his secretary at least a dozen times. I think she’s about to swear out a protective order against me. She keeps saying he’s on the bench, but if I know Lamb, he’s already stepped off at least a dozen times to visit the men’s room.”
Susan nodded, but didn’t laugh at his joke. She was thinking about Clint, who was still locked in jail. She had wanted so bad to go see him today, but she felt it was more important to try and prove his innocence. The sooner that could happen, the sooner he could come home.
Susan quickly explained to Perry what was going on and where she was headed.
“How sure are you that this Detective Doug Cagle is the real culprit?” There was skepticism in Perry’s voice.
Susan hesitated. Maybe too long, because Perry let out a long sigh.
“Chief,” Perry began, “we need something solid—evidence so strong that Hedd and Lamb won’t be able to wriggle out of it. No one likes to admit they made a mistake, so we’ll have to bombar
d them with facts—cold, hard facts.”
“I’ll know something in ten minutes,” Susan said. “I’ll call you back soon.”
The last call Susan made was to Melvin. When she told him what was going on and who was involved, he sprang into action. She could hear his gun belt rattling and his feet pounding the concrete floor in the police station.
“I’m on my way,” he said in a voice that told her he was running as fast as he could. “Don’t kill him until I get there!”
CHAPTER 45
Susan and Mallory had driven for about ten minutes when Mallory’s brake lights shined and her right blinker started flashing. They turned onto the street and Susan’s phone rang. It was Mallory.
“His house is the second to last on the right,” Mallory said. “Wait near the last cross street and let me go in alone. He won’t get suspicious if I show up to knock on his door—I’ve done it a dozen times in the past.”
“But what if he knows you’re coming for him?” Susan asked, not liking the plan one bit. “If he feels like it’s over, he’ll be desperate. This could be dangerous.”
“I agree,” Mallory acknowledged, “but just trust me. I know Doug. If anyone can talk to him, it’s me.”
Susan sighed, but relented after imagining how she would react if the roles were reversed. “Leave your phone on speaker until you make contact and everything’s code four,” Susan suggested. “If things go south in a hurry, you won’t have time to mess with your radio or your phone.”
“Good idea.”
Susan heard the scratching of the phone as Mallory shoved it into a pocket. Mallory then began singing an intentionally bad version of Carrie Underwood’s Church Bells. Susan cracked a smile, but she felt too lost to laugh. She was focused on getting Clint out of jail—nothing else.
Susan was pleased to see Amy’s unit already parked on the last cross street. She parked beside the Charger and buzzed her passenger side window down as she watched Mallory continue toward the back of the street. From their vantage point, she and Amy could see the front and eastern sides of Doug’s house.