“It does.”
“It’s not just Kathryn who rattled me. I mean, that was obviously the main reason, but Derek and I closed this case, and it was awful. It caught me off guard, this guy, and the widow left behind. I wanted to give her a better reason than that he chose this.”
“I know. But you can’t find what’s not there, and don’t tell me you didn’t look hard enough. I know you did.”
“I passed it on to the folks in Fraud. I guess that was all. How about you? Any new suspects? Do you think someone’s targeting homeless people?”
“My gut says yes, but I’m going to need a bit more. The only witness has a rap sheet of his own, domestic violence and carrying without a license, but he also has an alibi. And there’s something I can’t put my finger on—Potter was beaten up a few weeks ago by some guys who were wearing sweatshirts with logos. This could be anything. Businesses? No one knows.”
“If it was local, he might have recognized them. It’s pretty blatant for the perps to show up in identifiable clothing, unless there are many of those sweatshirts. Like…”
“A school!” Ellie finished the sentence for her. “Thank you so much! I love it when you’re in my brain.”
“Slow down,” Jordan advised, though she was pleased and relieved to be back in safer territory. “It’s still a needle in a hay stack.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, and that would mean neighborhood watch guy’s alibi works out after all. Okay, but I’ll look into that.” She hid a yawn behind her hand. “Tomorrow. Well, later today. Let’s go to bed now?”
Jordan didn’t have any objections, though she lay awake for a long time, replaying the past few days in her mind, the Kenning case, Kathryn’s promises and failure to keep them, her own reaction that had been far over the top. She recognized the pattern, of being truly happy and at the same time, terrified it could all be over in a heartbeat. She had to do better, she knew, trust herself, trust Ellie.
Bridal gowns. The prospect excited her in a way she had never imagined.
Ellie’s lips were soft against her neck. “We’re going to need so much coffee tomorrow.”
“No kidding.”
“You were right, you know. I wanted the happy ending so badly, for you, and selfishly, for me, too. I’m sorry it took me so long to understand that you were grieving too…for the parents you deserved to have right from the start.”
Jordan turned around to pull her close. There were no more words necessary.
Chapter Seven
“What’s this? You’ve been partying on a school night?” Officer Casey Lyons asked, amused, as she perched on the edge of Ellie’s desk.
“Something like that,” Ellie sighed. “Please tell me you have something good.”
“I do,” Casey affirmed. “Ginny Collins. I talked to her at the woman’s shelter. She’s here and she wants to make a statement.”
“Really?” This news gave Ellie the longed for adrenaline jolt. “I love you so much right now.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Jordan, who walked by at an untimely moment, said.
“I’ll pretend she didn’t say that,” Casey muttered. “I don’t want to be uninvited. Interrogation 3.”
“All right. And stop it with the lame jokes.” Ellie didn’t wait for an answer, already on her way, eager to meet the witness that might give her the big break for this case. As she stepped into the room, Ellie was for a moment taken aback when she saw the young woman. Ginny Collins looked like a teenager, cold and scared.
“Ms. Collins, hi, I’m Detective Harding.” She still had to resist the urge to smile when saying this. “I have a few questions. Would you like a coffee?” Might as well combine the practical with the necessary.
“Do you have hot chocolate?” Ginny asked hopefully.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Ellie’s mind was reeling already as she headed to the break room, purchasing a coffee, a hot chocolate, a granola bar and a chocolate bar from the vending machine. If Ginny had the same concerns as Marco, how would they keep her safe as long as they only had a vague idea of the threat? She hoped this conversation would lead to something solid.
She returned to the room where Ginny was waiting for her, still shivering. Ellie kept the coffee for herself and set the other beverage and the bars in front of the woman who took it all in with a longing expression.
“Okay, let’s start.” At this moment, her cell phone rang. “Excuse me for a second.”
On the other end was the last person Ellie had expected to call.
“Ellie, I know it’s probably a bad time, but—”
“You’re right, it is. I’m at work. Please, don’t call this number again.” Ellie pushed Kathryn and whatever motives she might have, out of her mind. “I’m sorry about that. Officer Casey said you are concerned for your safety.”
“I’m fucking scared, okay? They might come for us one by one. First Willie, now Lea…You gotta wonder who’s next.”
“Who are they?”
She shrugged. “Guys who hang out at the park, drunk, looking for a fight.”
“Did you see any of them? Can you describe them?”
“I’m not sure. It was dark. I was scared.”
“How old are you, Ginny?”
“What does that have to do with anything? I’m eighteen.”
Ellie knew she couldn’t let herself be distracted right now, even though the lack of options frustrated her. If Ginny told the truth and she was of age, she was too old for the foster system—then again, chances were that was where she came from.
“Are you taking this seriously? We are being attacked out there!”
“I am. I promise you. This is why whatever you can remember, is important. Take your time. I believe you, Ginny. We want to make sure it won’t happen again.”
“That’s not what the other cop said.”
“What cop?”
“The one Willie reported to. He said not to bother, that they can’t do anything without a description.”
Ellie found her to be sincere, and she was furious that someone on the job had brushed off a homeless man who’d been the victim of a crime.
“This is not right. I swear I’ll look into this. Did you speak to anyone at the shelter, or anywhere else, who saw them?”
“They were harassing Meg, too, but I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
Ellie didn’t want to scare her any more, but she didn’t like what she was hearing.
“A couple of days ago. Wait…She called them frat boys. I don’t know if that was for real, but they were about that age.”
“That’s very good. Do you have a place you can stay tonight?”
The young woman shrugged. “I guess.”
“Great. Be careful, and if you remember anything else, please come by. I’ll make sure that someone will take a message if I’m not here.”
There was a knock on the door, and Casey Lyons peeked inside. “Ellie, the lieutenant wants to see you.”
“I’ll be right there.” To Ginny, she said, “Could you please wait here for a moment?” Truth be told, Ellie wasn’t sure if it was safe for her to go back out there. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to stall a little.
She hurried to get to Lieutenant Carroll’s office, only to realize that Waters, Jordan and Derek were already there with their supervisor, all of them wearing a serious expression. For a brief moment, Ellie worried that she had done something wrong without knowing it, that she’d be off the case, or worse, fired—then she reminded herself that not everything was about her. She was right.
“The woman Officer Lyons brought from the shelter is still here?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The shelter is burning as we speak. So far, one death, but several occupants have been injured. There’s hardly any doubt anymore that someone is targeting the homeless community. Waters, Henderson, I want you at the scene, coo
rdinate with Arson. Carpenter, you go to the hospital.” Jordan nodded. “Harding, you’ll join her after finding the woman a place to stay.”
This was hardly a time to argue, so Ellie didn’t, though she wondered why Carroll made Derek go with Waters instead of her.
“Sure. Yes, sir. Do we know who died?”
“Male, thirties, apparently he was doing janitorial work for the place.”
“Okay. I’ll be at the hospital,” she said to Jordan, and their small group dispersed. Back in front of the room where Ginny had finished her treats, Ellie took a deep breath, wondering what to do next. Finding a place to stay for Ginny was easier said than done. The place where she’d come from was going down in flames, and someone out there wanted to kill her. They might have succeeded if Casey hadn’t brought her here.
She had an idea and went to find Casey who was on her way out.
“Casey, please, wait. You heard about the fire? I need to make arrangements for Ginny, but since she can’t go back there, I’d like to put her in a motel. I want you to go with her.”
“Okay, sure. Let me know when you’re done.”
Ellie finally stepped back into the room with Ginny.
“Slight change of plans,” she said, trying to sound more optimistic than she felt. “I’d prefer if you didn’t go back just yet. As I said, we are taking this seriously. Officer Lyons will take you someplace safe, and she’ll stay with you.”
“Please, find Meg,” Ginny said. “I’m scared something might have happened to her.”
Ellie didn’t say what she was thinking—it was likely.
* * * *
Ellie found Jordan with a woman who was about to go into surgery. She had broken her leg when she jumped out of a window in panic. Most of the patients had been admitted for smoke inhalation.
“Thank you. Get well soon.” Jordan touched the woman’s shoulder lightly before she turned to Ellie.
“I guess this confirms your theory.”
“Yeah. Sometimes it sucks to be right. This was the only place for them to go, and now they barely escape with their lives. Did you find anything?”
“Nothing as to who set fire to the place, but there had been a sense of fear even before it happened. How’s the university angle coming along?”
“It’s coming along,” Ellie answered. “Ginny told me earlier about a friend of hers who called the harassers frat boys. The thing is, now she’s missing.”
“I was going to talk to the woman who runs the place. She’s here, wasn’t injured, but she wants to make sure everyone has somewhere to go.”
Ellie followed her along the hallway.
“You don’t think it’s odd that we’re here together?”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, it seems like a test. Maybe Carroll wants to know if we can work together?”
Jordan shook her head with a smile. “He already knows that. You were in the middle of an interview, and he needed a couple of detectives on the scene right away, that’s all.”
“Hm.”
“It wasn’t me either, I swear. I promised not to hover…anymore.”
“Thank you. Let’s do this, then.”
* * * *
The interview confirmed that lately there had been a general air of unease and outright fear from the people coming to the shelter. The stories remained somewhat sketchy. A group of men looking to pick a fight.
“They are literally scared to death.” Ellie sighed. “I don’t believe it. If you’re out there and trying to survive, you do pay attention to detail. It was unfortunate Willie Potter couldn’t tell what was on that shirt, but everyone? How are we supposed to protect them if they don’t trust us?”
Jordan looked thoughtful. “Unfortunately, many of them don’t trust that we actually intend to protect them. Darla had some bad experiences with cops.”
“Well, yeah, there are some people out there likely belonging to some organization, and they are worse. They are killing people at an alarming rate. Excuse me,” she said when her cell phone rang. Ellie stepped aside, suppressing a curse when she saw the caller ID. She made a little more distance.
“I said I can’t talk to you.”
To her relief, Jordan had found Officers Lyons and Potts, and was talking to them.
“Please, don’t hang up,” Kathryn said urgently. “It’s not about Jordan. There’s someone here you should talk to.”
“Why?”
“If you don’t want to come, please send someone else. It’s about the murders in the park. I swear I’m telling the truth.”
“All right.” Ellie looked over to where Jordan was still standing with the officers. She couldn’t imagine how Kathryn could know anything about the case, but the status quo had her frustrated enough to acknowledge every possibility. She’d tell Jordan eventually, but now was not a good moment. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you.”
She disconnected the call and walked over to her colleagues. “Something came up, I need to leave,” she said to Jordan who didn’t question her. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Sure.”
It was odd, she reflected as she drove to Kathryn’s home, how Jordan’s biological mother was likely to become a witness again after leading them to an escaped felon before. Maybe she had changed—maybe this was her way of trying to redeem herself. However, Ellie could understand Jordan feeling betrayed. It wasn’t the amount of pot Kathryn kept in her bathroom, but the fact that after all these years she still had a complicated relationship with the truth.
Kathryn stood in front of the trailer, arms crossed over her chest.
“Thank you for coming.”
“You said you have information on the case?”
“Yes. Come in, please.”
Ellie followed her into the confined space, startled to find a younger woman sitting at the table, her hands wrapped around a mug filled with steaming hot tea. She looked terrified.
“It’s all right,” Kathryn told her. “You can trust her. Ellie, meet Meg. She’s been hiding from some people I think you’ll want to take a closer look at.”
* * * *
The pieces were falling into place. Meg knew about members of a local fraternity that had beaten up Willie Potter. She had more to say about Lea’s death, and she was scared for her own life.
“Could you identify any of them?” Ellie asked, feeling excited despite herself. A real lead. That could mean a sliver of hope for the people who had just lost a safe place. Justice for Willie and Lea. Proving Marco Raynor innocent. Was it possible that Kathryn could make all of this happen, the current conflict notwithstanding?
“I can give you names, but I need something in return. Kathy told me they torched the shelter. Those are killers. I can’t ever go back to that park.”
“I’ll talk to the A.D.A. If you know something, Meg, you need to tell me. I spoke to Ginny earlier.”
“She’s okay?” Meg interrupted. “Thank God!”
“She’s worried about you. If you help me now, we can put all of them away.” Kathryn was leaning against the wall, observing them. Ellie hadn’t missed the flash of doubt in her expression.
“I promise you.”
“If they find out I told on them, they’re going to kill me too.”
“I’m not going to let that happen. I swear. Tell me what you know, and I will call the A.D.A. right away.”
Meg sent an imploring look towards Kathryn who nodded. Strange to think that she seemed to be able to build such easy rapport with those young women, Meg, Darla’s friend Serena she had hidden from a drug lord called Bud Ryder—but she couldn’t seem to succeed with her own daughter.
“Okay then,” Meg finally relented. “A group came to the park a few times. I think the university arranged it. They gave us addresses for where to get a warm meal or a place to stay the night, but also programs for jobs and school.” She shrugged. “I guess it was their project. They were mostly nice, but this one guy…the way
he looked at me, it scared me. Weeks later, he came back, and he brought some other friends, and instead of leaflets, they brought baseball bats. They killed Lea.”
“Willie Potter’s death wasn’t ruled a homicide. How could that happen?” Ellie said more to herself.
“Someone didn’t look hard enough?”
Ellie didn’t like Kathryn’s tone. She was hardly in any position to judge.
“Well, we don’t know for sure yet. With Meg’s help here, we will solve those cases. Let me make a call, and we can leave.”
She caught A.D.A. Esposito right away, and detailed the situation to her.
“Finally.” Valerie sighed. “Bring her here right away. Anything that is moving this case forward. Is Carpenter anywhere near you?”
“No, not right now.”
“All right, I’ll call her. See you in a bit.”
When she was done with the call, Ellie addressed the other women again.
“Okay, the A.D.A. is going to meet us right away. Let’s go.” When she turned to leave, Kathryn held her back. Ellie sensed that what she was about to say had to do with a private matter.
“Meg, could you please wait outside?”
Meg nodded and obediently left the trailer. Ellie stepped out of the somewhat desperate grip.
“Thank you, Kathryn. This is extremely helpful, but…I’m sorry. If you expected anything in return, I can’t do that.”
“Jordan is back to not talking to me, isn’t she?”
“What did you expect? Look, this is her decision to make, but you should ask yourself, was there ever a time when she could rely on anything you said?”
“You weren’t there.”
“That is true, but I know from someone who was. I’m really sorry. I need to go back to work.”
“Can’t you tell her I’m sorry?”
“I can,” Ellie said, thinking guiltily that for that to happen, she’d first have to tell Jordan about this meeting. “Thanks again. Please don’t hesitate to call if there’s anything else.”
She walked away, with Meg in tow, lost in thought. Kathryn might have helped break the case. She was taking classes to learn to cook healthier, and she seemed to be taking in young women in danger on a somewhat regular basis. She wanted to be a presence in Jordan’s life, but she still couldn’t be a reliable one. Did good intentions count?
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