“I understand this is a difficult time for you, but those are serious accusations. Do you have evidence that someone had a hand in—”
“That’s your job, right?”
“Help me do it. Tell me what you know.”
“He got this new job, about two years ago. At first, everything was great. We bought this house, we were talking about a vacation…but then, something changed. He changed. He was always working late, and when he was home, he was distracted. I thought he was having an affair. A few months ago, I confronted him, and he told me. They were forcing him to take part in illegal activities. Dan said it would be better if I didn’t know too much, if the police ever questioned me. I told him to get out, that the money wasn’t worth it. He said it was too late.”
“Who was his employer?”
“Andrews Secure Living.”
Jordan had received the occasional flyer from the firm even though the sticker on her mailbox clearly stated ‘no solicitation.’
“We will ask some questions, I promise you.”
“I hope you do. They are evil. We were married for fifteen years, detective. We finally moved into a quiet and secure neighborhood, zero crime, and…I don’t know what to do now!”
“Do you have any friends or family you could stay with?” Jordan asked softly.
“This is a crime scene, right? I could stay with a friend, I suppose. I’ll call her.”
“You do that. We’ll keep in touch,” she said, laying her hand over the woman’s.
“Thank you, Detective.”
Jordan and Derek drove back to the station in silence. They would have to wait on test results and reports, not to mention, the autopsy, but at a first look, there was no reason to suggest foul play. Except, if Mrs. Kenning was right, someone had driven Daniel Kenning to this desperate step, placed him into a situation where he could only think of suicide as a way out. Some research was in order before they contacted his employer’s local office. She also wanted to check in with Ellie quickly.
The image of Daniel Kenning haunted her, not so much the actual sight, but what it implied. Some people would never experience what it felt like to stand so close to the precipice—but at one time, a short, dark period in her life, she had. No actual plans, no actions, but the memory was enough to spook her.
* * * *
“Hey, Harding, wait a second.”
Her hand on the door handle, Ellie turned around.
“Yes?” She hadn’t mentioned her annoyance with Waters over leaving her at the scene, determined to let these first few days go by as smoothly as possible. That didn’t mean she would let him walk all over her. She and Potts had arrested the suspect, twenty-seven year old Marco Raynor. She had faced criminals in an interrogation room before.
“I’ll talk to him. Just listen.”
“But—”
“You heard me.”
“Fine.” She was proud of herself for not snapping. They both went inside, and Waters introduced them. As much as she disagreed with him, “Detective Harding” still had a new and exciting ring to it. Ellie suppressed a smile, before she made herself focus on the situation at hand. She noticed the man in the bloody shirt was shaking. His composure clearly showed fear.
“Whose blood is that on your shirt?” Waters asked.
“Am I being charged with something? If you’re not charging me, you have to let me go, right? I didn’t do anything!”
“You ran from the police, after showing up in a place where a homeless woman was found with her skull caved in.” Waters barely raised his voice. “I bet it’s her blood, and the moment we have proof, son, we have no reason to let you go—so why don’t you tell us the truth?”
“It is the truth! I didn’t kill her…Lea…I found her.” A tear was sneaking out of the corner of his eye.
“So you knew her. Lea. Do you have a last name?”
Waters cleared his throat. Ellie couldn’t find anything wrong with her intervention, especially when Raynor said, “We didn’t talk much. She was around…I saw her at the shelter a few times.”
Perhaps someone from the staff would be able to provide them with a last name, so they could figure out if there was any family to notify.
“You were both homeless?” Ellie asked.
“That’s obvious, isn’t it?” Waters snapped. “Why don’t you tell us what happened? I promise my colleague won’t interrupt again.”
Raynor cast an uncertain look at Ellie before he looked back at the older detective.
“It was raining pretty hard last night, so I wanted to go to the shelter. I saw Lea…” He swallowed hard. “At first I thought she might have fallen and slipped, but I realized pretty soon that someone stabbed her. I tried to stop the bleeding, but it didn’t work, and then I realized…It was already too late, anyway.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“I don’t think so. It was dark. Not many people were out.”
“Why didn’t you come to the police right away?”
Raynor looked at Waters as if he had said something outrageous.
“Are you kidding me? This is exactly what I was afraid of. I just came back this morning to make sure you found her, and that you’re looking for the person who did this to her. Right now, you’re looking at the wrong guy.”
“Did you know a Willie Potter?” Ellie wasn’t sure Waters would ask about the other homeless man.
There was a knock on the door, and Officer Atwood peeked inside. “Detective Harding?”
“Go,” Waters said. “I’ll finish up here.”
She stepped outside with Chris Atwood, wondering if she’d ever get an answer to that question.
“About that guy driving around the park. A truck matching the description shows up a few times in the footage. I got a license plate, and I have a name.”
“Great. Who is it?
“Bob Stanton, got arrested once for carrying without a license.”
“All right, thanks. Send everything to me, please, and I’ll take a look in a minute.”
Before Ellie had a chance to go back inside, Waters joined them.
“He’s hiding something,” he said, casting a look at Raynor who, behind the two-way mirror, was fidgeting in his chair.
“I agree, but I don’t think he killed her.”
Waters winked at Atwood as if enjoying a shared joke.
“Listen to Harding, she has it figured out already. I can retire right now.”
“I didn’t mean…” Ellie felt her cheeks grow warm.
“What do you have?” Waters asked, and it took her a moment to realize he hadn’t spoken to her.
“A possible witness,” Atwood answered.
“Good job. Harding, what are you waiting for?”
Chapter Three
The CEO for Andrews Secure Living wasn’t around, but his second-in-command reacted shocked at the news.
“Oh my God, that’s terrible,” he said. “I don’t even know what to say. Of course we’ll have to extend our condolences to Mrs. Kenning. I didn’t hire him, I wasn’t here yet when he started working here, so I don’t know him that well. Anyway. It’s a tragedy.”
“You have a high turnover in the company?” Jordan asked.
He shrugged. “I don’t see what that has to do with Mr. Kenning’s death, but if you must know, it’s no different from others. Some are temp workers—they move on. We have a dedicated regular staff, and we’re committed to selling a product of the highest standard. Mr. Kenning was in sales…pretty successful, I believe. I can’t even begin to imagine why he would do such a thing. Personal problems maybe?”
“Do you know if he was close with anyone in the company, someone he might have mentioned anything to?”
He shook his head in response to Derek’s question. When he realized that they were waiting for more, he elaborated, “Not that I’m aware of. He attended meetings, worked long hours. There wasn’t a lot of time for socializing.”
So far, there wasn’t much to sustain
the grieving widow’s theory, however, Jordan had found in her research that the company had suffered from financial problems. About two years ago, a new CEO came in, put his name in the logo, and shortly after, the company started to thrive. That, at least, was what she had been able to come up with so far.
“A while ago, the company wasn’t doing well. What changed?”
“As I’ve told you, I wasn’t here at the time, but I can tell you what happened—we updated our product line, modernized it, and we became competitive again. I’m sorry, Detective, but there’s nothing shady about it.”
“Oh, I didn’t say that.” Jordan wondered about this choice of words. “Do you know if he had been working on a big project lately, something that might have put a lot of pressure on him?”
“Detective.” His tone changed. Jordan braced herself. “I’ll forgive you this line of questioning, because you obviously don’t know much about our field. I can assure you, everyone working for Andrews Secure Living chose to be here. We don’t ask anything impossible from our employees, but we demand commitment. If Mr. Kenning had problems that made him unable to fulfill his tasks, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t aware of it. Anyone alleging anything else is lying. It’s sad, but that’s all there is.”
“Very well. Thank you for your time.”
Derek was about to say something when they were outside the door, but Jordan’s cell phone rang, so she excused herself.
“Hello?”
“Jordan. It’s so good to hear your voice. You haven’t called in a while.” Kathryn sounded a bit too chipper for her liking.
“I’ve been busy. In fact, I am at work right now. Is there anything…”
“I’d like you to come by for dinner sometime this week. And bring Ellie, too. Have you asked her yet?”
That was too much all at once, Jordan decided. The truth was she had avoided talking to her birthmother, because the subject of the marriage proposal would inevitably come up. With Kathryn, Jordan wasn’t worried about her reputation. She was worried that the decision whether or not to invite her and her husband Jim might be taken right out of Jordan’s hands.
“I can’t talk right now,” she said. “I’ll let you know about dinner.”
* * * *
Back at the station, she went straight to the restroom and splashed some cold water on her face, frowning at her bleary reflection in the mirror.
She had no reason to feel this restless and anxious. She had done everything she could to slay her demons, and now she was going to marry Ellie, live together in the home they had chosen. Ariel was in good hands.
Jordan even managed to maintain some sort of relationship with Kathryn, keeping her at bay at the same time. Why now? She had dealt with nightmares before and understood them as a way to work through events, but there was nothing left to work through about her childhood. It was what it was, no doing better next time.
She couldn’t go back and tell the child that eventually, everything would be okay—so she kept bugging her adult self, in crystal clear nightmare images. It was exhausting and unnecessary.
“Give it a rest,” she mumbled before turning away from the mirror abruptly.
Jordan wasn’t entirely sure who she was talking to. She just hoped it would work.
* * * *
They were standing on the porch of the one-story house where Bob Stanton, the man who had been circling the park in his vehicle, lived. His mother, Marjorie, was listed as the owner.
“Okay, Harding, you think you can handle this guy?” Waters asked.
“Sure. Not a problem.” Ellie rang the doorbell, and a moment later, the man in question opened the door.
Bob Stanton was a big man sporting a buzz cut, tattoos sneaking out from underneath the sleeves of his T-shirt. Ellie wouldn’t let appearances deter her. In the past few years on the job, she had met men wearing suits and a polite smile, who literally had skeletons in their closet.
“Mr. Stanton? I’m Detective Harding, this is Detective Waters. This is your vehicle?” she pointed to the truck in the driveway.
“Yes, why?” He looked her up and down.
“You were driving around Patton Lake Park yesterday? People saw you circling the park several times?”
“Is that against the law?”
“We found the body of a woman this morning. You might have seen something.”
He frowned. “Like what? I see a lot of things, and I don’t like them. You guys do nothing about the loitering and the beggars harassing the tourists.”
“Is that why you drive by the park? Are you doing something about it?”
“Hey, lady, watch that mouth of yours.” He took a step forward, irritated when Ellie wouldn’t budge.
“It’s Detective, and I’m not accusing you of anything.” Yet, remained unspoken. “I just asked you a question.”
For the first time, he looked a bit uncertain. “I’m part of a neighborhood watch, all right?”
“You carry a gun?”
“Yes, I’m a law-abiding citizen who wants to protect himself, Detective.” His emphasis made the word sound like a slur. He didn’t mention his record. “I have a license. You want to see it?”
“I’d like to,” Ellie said in the most pleasant tone she could muster.
Bob Stanton stepped aside to let them in, and he went to a cabinet in the living room to retrieve the paperwork.
“While we’re here,” Waters finally spoke, “I’d like to show you some pictures, and please tell me if you noticed any of these men yesterday.”
Apparently Stanton saw no reason to challenge a request made to him by a male cop. Ellie suppressed a sigh, as she was just as interested in the answer.
Looking at one picture after the other, he shook his head. “Those hobos all look the same to me. Wait—this one.”
“You remember him?” Ellie asked.
“I sure do, he always begs the tourists for money. I told him several times to stay away. He was definitely there yesterday. I saw him a couple of times.”
“Did you get out of the car, talk to him?”
“No, it was raining already. But I’m pretty sure that when I saw him the second time, he was carrying something heavy.”
Ellie exchanged a look with her partner. One way or another, they were on to something. Bob Stanton had just identified Marco Raynor.
“I told you he was going to stay with us a little while longer,” Waters told her when they were back in the car. “Everyone’s telling you you’re good. I’m not saying it’s not true, but you can’t beat experience.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Ellie wasn’t at all convinced that Stanton was telling the truth.
* * * *
Jordan had no reason to be present during the autopsy of the homeless woman found dead this morning. None that she could easily sell, anyway. She hoped that ME Melissa Adams wouldn’t call her bluff, though the looks that the woman sent her way spoke volumes. Ellie had been surprised to see her here, while Waters’ only reaction was a grunt. So far, so good.
Ellie seemed to be doing okay. Her own stomach was fluttering a bit at the sight of the woman’s head. Aside from the two obvious injuries, a blunt object to the back of the head, and the stab wound, she appeared to have been beaten all over.
“I looked at the file of the man who died last month, Willie Potter. He had some older bruises too,” Ellie said.
“Not that again.” Waters groaned. “ME already ruled out a homicide. Guy was malnourished and hypothermic when he died. End of story.”
Ellie straightened her shoulders and took a closer look at the body on the table. She was a bit pale, Jordan noticed, but holding up nicely.
Jordan barely suppressed a proud smile.
“Detective Carpenter, don’t you have someplace to be? I won’t be getting to your guy until tomorrow, I’m afraid.”
Ellie cast her a quick smile to let her know she’d seen through her as well.
Jordan shrugged.
&nb
sp; “Fine. I’ll see you later, then.”
When she went back to her desk, she found Derek sitting at his, amused.
“Someone called your bluff?”
“What? I went to ask Melissa when we can expect her report.”
“And you had to do that in person. Liar. I take it Ellie didn’t faint during the first autopsy she witnessed?”
“No, of course not. Would you leave it be?”
“All right.” Derek pushed his chair back. “I think we should talk to the CEO as well. He and his former business partner were accused of embezzling big sums of money, but the charges fell apart all of a sudden. He went on to head Andrews Secure Living. Get this, the partner killed himself.”
“Whoa. This company has some seriously bad mojo. Why didn’t number two tell us about it?”
“More like bad guys, and that’s the million dollar question. CEO isn’t back until the day after tomorrow. By then, we should have all the results.”
“Yeah.” She stared at her own screen with a sigh. “I wish we had something solid to tell the wife.”
“We might get there soon. Doesn’t look as cut and dried as it did a few hours ago.”
Jordan wasn’t sure if the truth was going to set this man’s widow free, but they were going to find it, in any case—if not today.
Tomorrow night, they were going to see Ariel. Maybe by tomorrow, she’d also have figured out what to tell Kathryn, about dinner and the wedding day.
* * * *
Raynor had been assigned a public defender who advised him not to talk to the police anymore, and that seemed to be the end of it as far as Waters was concerned. Ellie thought she had to share her theories at least.
“Let it go,” he advised. “That other case is not related. Maria and I worked on it. We closed it. As for Mr. Neighborhood Watch, he has no reason to lie to us. He knows we’ll take a closer look because of his record.”
Ellie nodded, though she wasn’t convinced. Bob Stanton didn’t appear worried about being questioned by the police at all, in fact, he’d acted rather cocky.
After Waters had left, she sat at her desk and wrote down some notes. Ask Raynor about Willie Potter. She had convinced reluctant witnesses before. She also wanted to talk to some employees at the park tourist office, to get a feel for who had the bigger secrets, Stanton or Raynor. If she was lucky, she could get all of this done before Waters found out. If it didn’t lead to anything, he never had to.
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