The One Who Watches
Page 23
Forty-One
“Hey,” Melanie whispered, stepping into the waiting room. “Her mom and dad are here.”
Madigan squinted into the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
I fell asleep. How could I let myself fall asleep?
“Have you been here all night, too?”
Melanie nodded. “I fell asleep by Raven’s bed, but now that her parents are here, I might go home.”
Madigan rubbed her eyes as she stretched out. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“You had to sleep sometime.”
Madigan leaned over to see another officer sitting in front of Raven’s door.
Good, they still have someone there.
“If Raven asks, will you tell her I’ll be back? I need something to eat, a shower…”
“No problem.”
Melanie left the waiting room, and Madigan pulled her laptop from her bag, resting it on her lap. “Let’s see,” she whispered, opening the Facebook website. She typed Melanie Harvey in the search bar and hit enter.
All blondes.
She scrolled through the names, squinting at the tiny profile photos. No match.
Who’s not on Facebook? Okay, let’s try LinkedIn.
She typed her name into the website, and a picture of Melanie popped up as the second option. She wore her dark, thick-framed glasses, and in her profile picture, she had bangs.
Melanie Harvey. Medical Examiner’s Assistant. Tall Pines.
Okay, there’s nothing here I don’t know already.
She clicked back onto Facebook and typed in the last name Harvey, squinting at the pictures as she scrolled until she came to a middle-aged woman with short, dark hair resembling Melanie. She clicked into her profile, and as the page loaded, Jackie Harvey’s about section appeared.
From Tall Pines. Good.
She clicked on her profile photo, enlarging it.
Looks like she could be related.
She clicked through the pictures until a family photo appeared. Five women stood in a row with their arms wrapped around each other. Melanie stood in the middle. Each woman’s name was tagged besides hers.
Madigan clicked through the family members until she found Pauline Harvey, Melanie’s mom. She scrolled through the pictures on her wall until one caught her eye, the date marked eight years prior. Melanie and her mom stood in a driveway. Her mom held a keychain up, and Melanie gestured to a car with a red bow behind her.
A dark gray car. I’ve seen that car before. She drives a different one now. Where have I seen that car?
She read the photo caption: Surprising Mel with her own car. My baby graduated with honours!
So, she had a gray car eight years ago but has another one now. Am I imagining that I saw it because I don’t trust Melanie?
I can’t shake the feeling she’s involved somehow.
She saved the picture to her laptop and shoved it in her bag. As she walked out of the waiting room and started down the hallway for a coffee, something caught her eye by Raven’s room.
The back of a man.
Someone just walked past the officer into her room.
Madigan walked back and asked the officer, “Who was that?”
“The fireman who saved her. He’s being released tomorrow, and he wanted to see her before he left.”
Madigan nodded and stepped into the room, leaning against the wall out of sight.
“… what you did for our daughter,” a woman said.
“It’s my job.” Jack’s voice sounded closer to normal. “Just glad you’ll be okay. Won’t be long before you’re out, too.”
“I just can’t thank you enough,” Raven said. “Take care of yourself, and I’ll be seeing you.”
“G’bye,” Jack said and rounded the corner, stopping in front of Madigan with an oxygen tank trailing behind him. “Hey.”
“Hey, you look so much better.” She walked with him out of the room.
“Thanks.” He ran his hand through his hair and turned left, toward his room.
“So you’re being released?” She stopped and leaned against the wall, and he stopped in front of her.
“Yeah, Mom, Dad, and Aleesia are picking me up tomorrow morning.”
“That’s great.”
“Speaking of, my mom said if I saw you here again to invite you over to their place for coffee sometime soon. They want to catch up with you.”
“That’s sweet.”
“You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“You think they want to see you out of pity or sympathy.”
She frowned.
“Mad, they miss you. I hope you take them up on the offer.”
Once I know Raven is safe, maybe I will.
She nodded.
“Okay, well, I better go lie down again. Take care, and maybe I’ll see you sometime soon?”
She sighed and remained straight-faced. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why?”
The smell of saltwater came rushing back with the memories of the night he appeared at her trailer, confronting her about her absence from his engagement party.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, tasting the adrenaline from that night. It had buzzed through every part of her after she admitted her feelings for him—her long-time crush—and Jack admitted he had feelings for her, too.
“Jack, you know why. Now that things are out in the open, and you know how I feel… You have a fiancée.”
“I know, but can’t we just still be friends? Can’t you…”
“What?”
“Can’t you stick around in my life for once since Drew passed?” The edge to his voice caught her off guard.
She raised her brows. “That’s not fair. You know why I haven’t.”
“But it’s out in the open now, and we both talked it through at your place. There’s—there’s not a lot of circumstances where we’d cross paths anymore, and somehow, I feel like the truth pushed us farther apart. If I’d known that would happen, I wouldn’t have said anything.”
She crossed her arms. “Look, I still want you in my life, but having you as a friend is hard for me right now. Can you understand that?”
He nodded. “I think so.”
I don’t think you do.
“When I saw you come out of the burning house—no—before I even saw you, I was hoping you weren’t there. Then, when you came out, I was so scared for you.” I didn’t want to lose you. “You mean a lot to me—more than you should right now, given the circumstances, and…the thought of losing you…”
“There’s risk with my job, but I signed on for that. I’m well trained, and we prepare for the worst. I know, you can never be prepared for learning something bad has happened to someone you love—” He stopped, staring down at her.
I love you, Jack.
“I—” She stopped herself from saying it and shook her head, pushing herself away from the wall.
So stupid.
“What?”
She shook her head, but he grabbed her wrist, his warm hand squeezing it.
“I’m worried about losing you, and you’re not even mine,” Madigan whispered, “but I love you.”
He stared down into her eyes, both frozen in the moment.
“I haven’t stopped loving you,” she whispered. “I can’t give you up—I don’t know how—and it can’t end well.”
“You can’t say that,” he muttered and let go of her wrist.
I shouldn’t have told him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, holding her wrist against her chest.
He took a step backward toward his room.
“I—I’ll never bring it up again,” she said.
He nodded and took a step back. “Okay.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
He shuffled down the hall and disappeared into his room, leaving her clutching her chest, leaning back against the cold concrete wall in tears.
Forty-Two
Rain poured, splattering against the pavement as Grace ran up Joel and Mia’s empty driveway with Officer Malone close behind.
It could have been anyone who met me here. When I called for an officer’s assist, why did it have to be Malone?
They stepped under the awning, close to the door, and Grace knocked twice.
“No cars in the driveway,” Malone mumbled.
“I noticed.” Grace sighed.
“How long are we gonna wait out—”
The door opened, and Mia stepped back into the foyer. “Detective, come in.” She closed the door, and as she stepped in front of them, the dark circles under her eyes stood out under the recessed lights.
“Mia, thank you. Sorry to come unannounced. Is Joel home?”
She shook her head and sniffled. “He probably won’t be back tonight.”
“Is everything okay?”
“We broke up. He broke off the engagement.”
At least he’s not lying to her anymore.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Come in, please. Just take your shoes off. Let me make you a hot drink.”
Thunder rumbled outside as they followed her into the kitchen, and she gestured to the table. Grace and Malone sat down, and she pressed the button on her instant coffee machine. “Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee, please,” Malone said.
“I’m fine.” Grace tucked her damp hair behind her ear. “Mia, can I ask you some questions?”
She nodded, sniffling as she tucked the coffee pod in the machine.
“I have some questions about Donelle, but first, I just want to say, now that you aren’t with Joel, please speak freely with me about any doubts or concerns you had about him regarding Tyler’s crash.”
Mia frowned. “What do you mean? Joel wouldn’t do anything to hurt Tyler. Ever.”
“Okay, and I believe you, but I had to mention it in case there was something you were holding back. Joel has gained a lot of money and opportunity since Tyler’s death.”
Mia shook her head and stepped up to the counter. “Honestly, he wouldn’t do that to Tyler, and his life isn’t going to be as glamourous as it seems. He’s dealing with a big lawsuit now that he owns the company. He doesn’t have the talent Tyler did, so he won’t be able to do as much going forward with it on his own. He’ll probably just live off their licensing deal for as long as he can, and then he’ll have to get another job. I guess he’ll be getting another girl, too, or maybe he already has one. I’m not stupid. Women were all over him and Tyler at their app launch party.”
Coffee poured out of the machine into the mug, and she turned toward it, wiping her eyes. “Tyler was his best friend, but he was also his meal ticket, his wingman, and the brains of the operation. Joel wouldn’t have done anything to mess that up.”
She grabbed the mug and brought it to Malone. The rich smell of French roast wafted toward Grace as Mia took a seat across from them.
“Thanks.” He raised the mug and took a long slurp.
They both gave him a look, and Grace rolled her eyes. “Okay, so about the reason I came. You told me that Donelle had really changed about two weeks before her death, so much so that you didn’t have much contact with her after that, and it was just Tyler and Joel who saw her—in class.”
Mia nodded.
“Why do you think she withdrew?”
“Mostly her dad. He didn’t realize he had an adult daughter and not a little girl who needed to be controlled.”
“When she didn’t come out as much, were Joel and Tyler upset with her?”
“Umm, no. More like… over it, you know? It was always a hassle, her sneaking out, feeling guilty, and then leaving the party early. They didn’t really understand the dynamics between her and her dad. They weren’t as sensitive to what she was going through.”
“But you were.”
“I understood that she was just looking for some fun and freedom for once. I felt bad that her dad was so strict. It wasn’t her fault.”
“So you think that’s why she stopped coming around?”
Mia scratched her arm and nodded. “Pretty much. If there was something else, she didn’t tell me.”
“I asked Joel about this the last time I was here. Did Donelle ever have a thing going on with any of the guys?”
She frowned and shook her head.
“Did she ever fool around with them, or… anything like that?”
“No.”
She’s confident about that answer.
“Joel and Roger said it was possible she and Tyler might have hooked up at some point. You don’t think so?”
“No way. She would have told me.”
“Okay.”
Mia bit her lip and tilted her head to the side. “And, she was a virgin. She didn’t have any sort of sexual relationship with anyone. None of the guys knew that, though. I didn’t even tell Joel.”
“Did she tell you why?” Grace asked.
“She said she was waiting for the right person, but I think it was partly because she was so sheltered and nervous about it. Plus, her dad would have gone nuts if he thought anything like that was happening. I’m surprised he didn’t put a tracker on her cell phone or something.”
“That bad, huh?” Malone asked and took another sip of coffee.
“Yeah, but I feel kinda bad saying it now. I mean, he lost his daughter. He’s been through so much, and, as I’m sure is to be expected, he hasn’t gotten over it yet. He posts on Facebook about her once in a while.”
“Oh, do you have him on your Facebook?” Grace asked.
“No.” She sighed. “But he tags Donelle in his posts. I still have her as a friend on there, so I see when he does.”
Grace frowned.
Karlie showed us a post he made a few weeks ago. What was that post?
“Mia, can I use your Facebook account to see what he’s posted?”
She nodded and grabbed her phone from the counter, tapping her screen a few times and handing it to Grace. She scrolled back down through the posts and stopped as she recognized the words: The truth will come out my dear, sweet Donnie. It’s not over yet, but it will be soon.
If someone was worried about the truth coming out, this would sound like he might know something, or that the police might have reopened the case.
Donelle’s name, tagged in blue, stood out.
“So, Mia, anyone who had Donelle as a Facebook friend would see this post, right? Even if they weren’t friends with Donelle’s dad on there.”
“Right.”
She tapped on Mia’s friends section and scrolled to Joel, tapping his name and searching his friends.
Still friends with Donelle.
She scrolled through to Tyler’s name.
Still friends with Donelle.
She scrolled to Roger’s name.
Still friends with Donelle.
“What is it?” Mia asked. “You’re not looking through my messages, are you? There’s some personal things in there. Pictures.”
“No, don’t worry.” Grace typed the name David Redding into the search at the top.
She clicked on his name and scrolled through his friends section.
Still friends with Donelle.
Grace looked up at Mia and handed her phone back. “Can you remember anything else about those weeks before Donelle’s death?”
“I’ve told you all I know. Trust me, I’ve been over it so many times, wondering if there was something I could have said or done.”
“What was the last thing you all did together?”
“Went to a party at one of my girlfriends’ places off campus. It was another one of those nights Donelle went home early. I feel bad thinking about it because it got to the point that she stopped letting even me know she was leaving. I—I think she thought I didn’t care about her anymore, and that maybe I was inviting her out of pity.”
“When was the first time she left a party or somewhere early?”
Grace nodded and pressed down against the table. “We need to get going. I appreciate your time, Mia, and I’m sorry about you and Joel.”
“Thanks.” Mia led them to the door, and Grace passed by the pictures hung in the hallway once more, stopping in front of their group photo.
“When was this taken?”
Mia squinted at the photo. “That was the day we went to watch the guys play basketball. Hoops for Hope, raising money for breast cancer. It was an annual event.”
“They were all on the team?”
“Just Joel and Tyler. Roger was the announcer. He broadcasted the game on his radio show.”
Radio. That’s how Don could have recognized the voice, even if he’d never spoken to Roger before.
“Mia, when’s the last time you spoke to Roger?”
“When he was here.”
“Did he seem odd to you that night?”
“No. Why?”
“Come on,” she said to Malone, and he followed her out the front door. “Thank you for your help, Mia.”
She tapped Roger’s number in her phone, and it rang several times before taking her to voicemail. She ended the call as they walked through the rain to her car.
“Malone, I need you to find out the license plate for Roger Ellis’ car and put a BOLO out for it.”
“Will do,” he called as he hustled to his car.
“Then follow me!”
He raised his hand before they got into their vehicles. She twisted the keys into the ignition and tapped Tarek’s name on her phone, turning on the heat for a reprieve from the dampness.
“Sheppard?” he mumbled.
“I’m sorry, I know it’s late. I need you to find me Roger Ellis’ address.”
“Sending it to your phone A.S.A.P.”
“Thank you.” She ended the call and pulled away from the curb, flicking her windshield wipers on.
Her cell phone vibrated, and she plugged the address into her GPS.
I have no proof. I might even be wrong, but this makes more sense than anything else has.
He could have seen Gaines’ Facebook post, gotten scared that he’d been found out, and tried to get to everyone involved first—but why?
Why would he have killed Donelle?