Infatuations
Page 7
That was something only Jordan could decide.
* * * *
Ellie conferred quickly with Casey and let Meg and Ginny have a quick reunion. The two young women hugged, and Ginny tearfully thanked Ellie.
She set up a room for Meg and then found Waters and Esposito.
“That’s your witness? You’ll have to clean her up a whole lot before she gets anywhere near the stand.” Ellie straightened her shoulders, willing not to take the bait.
“How do you know she’s not on something?” Waters asked.
Meg had told her she didn’t do drugs, and she’d sounded believable, as she had in every other part of her testimony. Kathryn sounded genuine, too, when she had them over for dinner, but Ellie didn’t want to think about that now.
“She’ll do fine, you’ll see.”
Waters and Esposito stayed outside while Ellie sat down with Meg once more, pointed out the cameras to her, and asked her to repeat, in as much detail possible, what she’d told Ellie earlier.
Meg didn’t hold back.
“His name is Sean Norton. He came with a group from the university—they get extra credit for volunteer work, and some of them have developed a project to provide us with information. Short-term, a safe place to stay for the night, long-term, to get back on our feet.” She shrugged. “He asked a lot of questions—and he got into an argument with Marco once. Most of them are cool, but Sean, he had no idea. I was wondering if he joined the project as some sort of compromise with the university.”
“You saw this man several times, and he came back without the members of the group?”
“Yes. I don’t know the others. A couple of them came only once or twice—I guess it wasn’t for them after all. I recognized Sean, because he talked to me a lot, saying stuff like the streets are no place for a pretty girl. I heard about them roughing up Willie. Then, not long after that, Willie was dead. I was scared.”
“I understand. Tell me about the night Lea died.”
“I swear I didn’t know at first that Marco got arrested. You know, Sean wasn’t the only person causing trouble. There’s this neighborhood watch wanting to clean up the park.” Meg scoffed. “As if anyone feels safe if those guys run around parading their guns—but anyway, this one guy kept coming at Marco. He often drives his truck around the park in circles, to let us know he’s watching. He did it that day, too…” She swallowed hard. “It got dark, and I didn’t know where to go. I was already scared because of what happened to Willie. I wanted to talk to Marco and tell him to step back for a bit, because at the time, I thought those guys might be the more dangerous ones. Then I saw Sean…with the rock in the hand. There was blood on the rock, and his hand, and Lea…”
“You are absolutely sure it was him?”
“Yes. I was close enough to see his face. He looked right at me. That’s when I freaked out and ran. A friend told me I could probably crash at Kathryn’s for a couple of nights.”
“Initially, you weren’t going to come forward? What made you change your mind?”
“I was already feeling horrible, and many of us were afraid…Kathryn said to me I’d feel better if I told the truth, and that you could protect me. I hope that’s true.”
“You’re talking about Kathryn Larson,” Ellie made sure to confirm.
“That’s right. I heard from another girl that I could go to her. She understands…She’s been through a lot, and she came close to being homeless. Anyway, she called you, and that was it.”
“Yeah.” Ellie had to be careful not to lose her thread. It was odd and somewhat frustrating that Kathryn seemed to turn into a saint all of a sudden. How could people compartmentalize like that? How could she not take care of her own daughter? If that daughter had been anyone but Jordan, of course, Ellie would have given herself the answers easily. Drugs, loneliness, depression. And still.
“That was good advice, in any case. You’ve helped us a lot, and we’ll make sure you’re safe. I promise.”
* * * *
She had joined Esposito and Waters when after a knock on the door, Jordan came inside.
“I heard there’s a new development in your case? I have good news too. A description of the arsonist’s vehicle, including a license plate. Ron Heller. He’s a student at the university.”
“The plot thickens,” Valerie said. “Sounds good to me so far. We’ll go with Sean Norton first, and check Heller’s alibi while you’re there.”
“You’re ready to make an arrest?”
“Why are you surprised, Carpenter? You’re not the only one around here who knows how to do their job.”
Jordan didn’t bother responding to Waters’ comment.
“That’s your witness?” she asked with a nod to Meg behind the glass.
“Yes. Look, Kathryn called me earlier. Meg was staying at her place, and Kathryn convinced her to talk to us. We have an ID, a witness to the crime.”
“Okay. That doesn’t sound too bad,” Jordan said carefully.
“Even though she’s your fiancée, you can give her a little more credit than that,” Valerie chastised. “I, for one, am glad that we can move on from the neighborhood watch guy with domestic issues. I’ll make sure you get your warrant.”
“Ellie, can I talk to you for a moment?” Jordan asked.
Waters rolled his eyes, but there wasn’t much he could say at the moment. They had to wait for Valerie anyway.
“I won’t be far,” Ellie told Waters, then she followed Jordan out of the observation area and into the hallway. When they were alone, she continued, “I’m really sorry. I had to check it out, and I had no idea what she was going to say would turn out to be this important. I swear I was going to tell you the first chance I got.”
“And you did.” To her surprise, Jordan pulled her into a quick, tight hug.
“You’re not mad?”
“I knew Kathryn would try to draw you into this, and I know you can handle yourself. That she’s being this do-gooder now, is new, and let me tell you, it’s pretty confusing to me.”
“I can imagine. She asked me to tell you she’s sorry.”
“I don’t doubt that. I guess we have to postpone that conversation,” she said when Waters and Esposito approached them.
“Come on, Harding,” Waters said. “Let’s find Norton. You want to go talk to Ron Heller?” he addressed Jordan.
“Sure. I’ll get Derek, and we meet you there.”
Chapter Eight
Derek was on the phone, lowering his voice when Jordan came to his desk. His behavior was sparking her curiosity. Besides, she’d prefer to occupy herself with someone else’s affairs for a moment. Kathryn being the saving grace of a case once again? It bothered her. It probably shouldn’t, as it had nothing to do with her biological mother’s mistakes, or Jordan’s present in which she was planning her wedding.
Ellie’s case was moving forward—that was a good thing. Jordan was happy she had success early on, not that she’d ever doubted it.
“You’re done? Come on, let’s go to the university and speak to Heller now. Ellie and Waters will be there—turns out they found a good suspect this time. The murders, the fire…looks like it’s all connected.”
“Good news.”
“Yeah, it is,” she agreed.
Derek seemed happy—really happy. Jordan suspected it had more to do with the call than with the good news.
“I assume that wasn’t work,” she said, teasing, as they walked to the car.
“Assume all you want. I don’t mind.”
“Partners share, right? You’re seeing someone?”
“No, I’m not. Stop it.”
Jordan shrugged, ready to change the subject. “All right, it seems there is a connection between Heller and the murder suspect. Never mind the arson case is now homicide as well. With a little luck, we nail them both.”
“Ellie’s got a warrant?”
She nodded. “We can tie those guys together, we get our own soon enough.”
They didn’t talk about anything but the case on the way, but when Derek started whistling, Jordan found her suspicions confirmed. She would find out, one way or another.
* * * *
After conferring quickly with Ellie and Waters, they waited outside the lecture hall where Ron was sitting in a class. Having his classmates witness the police wanting to talk to him might jog something—if not the fact that Sean Norton, on the same baseball team and fraternity, was about to be arrested.
The door opened, and the students started streaming out. Ron came out of the hall with his arm around a blonde girl.
“Ron Heller?” Jordan identified herself and Derek. “We’d like to talk to you.”
The girl’s eyes widened.
“I’ll see you later,” he said to her, giving them a lazy smile. “Police? What did I do?”
“We were hoping you’d tell us. This is your car?” She related the license plate number, even though they already knew the answer.
“I assume you ran it already. I watch cop shows sometimes. The ones with the attractive chicks.”
Jordan wasn’t sure whether this was meant to be flattery or an insult. In any case she couldn’t care less if he put her in either one of those categories.
“Well, then you can guess where this is going. We’d like you to come to the station with us. Talk in private.”
To her surprise, he laughed.
“You know, I’d actually appreciate that. Less of an audience that way. I know you’re not arresting me or anything, because you’d have shown me a warrant already—so I should call my lawyer, right?”
“Would that be your lawyer, or your daddy’s?” Derek asked.
“What’s it to you? Give me a minute to call him.”
“Well, it’s absolutely your right to call legal assistance,” Jordan agreed. “You can do that at the station. In any case, it would help you if you’re working with us.”
“You’re fishing. I gotta say, that’s kind of hot.”
It was Jordan’s turn to laugh. “We can place your vehicle at the scene of a crime, and one of your classmates was just arrested. I’m not sure how hot you think that is.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’re bluffing. Why would you arrest anyone?”
“We know that you and your friends tried to scare a number of homeless persons out of Patton Lake Park. Arguments, fights, a clever attorney will say it’s one person’s word against the other’s, maybe get you off on a misdemeanor…murder is another story.”
“Hey, careful there, okay? I didn’t murder anyone.”
“You know what? I believe you. But it’s going to be a jury you’ll need to convince.”
“All right, you know what? This is ridiculous. I don’t need a lawyer for this. I’ll tell you what I know. Which isn’t much, okay? You’ll leave me alone after that?”
“If you didn’t do anything wrong, why wouldn’t we?”
* * * *
Seeing his friend in handcuffs on the way to the interrogation room was good timing, Jordan thought. She shared a quick smile with Ellie before she and Derek sat down with Heller—he wasn’t in handcuffs, but he looked less smug now.
“You can call your lawyer now, if you want.”
“I don’t need a lawyer. I didn’t do anything illegal.”
“So, for the record, you’re waiving your right to an attorney?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Okay. Let’s talk. Arson. Three people now dead including the man who died in the fire. That looks like a terrible strategy.”
“There is no strategy. Yes, it was my car, but I lent it to somebody. I had no idea they were going to torch that place! You have to believe me.”
Jordan perched on the edge of the table.
“Let’s start at the beginning. Who borrowed your car for what purpose? You know Sean is doing his best to save his hide right now. It’s now a matter of which one of you makes the smart decisions.”
“It wasn’t Sean. Jack is one of his buddies. He said he just wanted to run some errands.”
“Jack hangs out in the park with Sean a lot?”
He looked uncertain, and for a brief moment, Jordan harbored the hope that this could be easy. Then he shook his head.
“I don’t know anything about the murders, I swear. I heard them say they were annoyed with the bums at the park, but that’s all. I didn’t hear anyone say anything about killing them.”
“Really. You know Sean was taking part in one of the university’s programs, one that’s supposed to help homeless people?”
“Well, yeah.”
“You were in that program too? So you could choose your victims?”
“No. I mean, no, I wasn’t in that program, and you got it all wrong.”
“Do we? We have a witness that can identify Sean. She saw him with a rock in his hand, standing over the body. Were you there too? Did you guys have fun stabbing the woman, hunting her down—”
“No!”
“—finishing her off with that rock?”
“Stop it! I want my lawyer now.”
“I’ll give you five minutes. You can either tell us the truth or call your lawyer after that.”
Exasperated, she left the room, Derek following her.
“That was borderline,” he remarked.
“Yes.” She sighed. “Almost got him. Let’s see what’s going on next door.”
Valerie Esposito was in the observation area with Ellie. On the other side of the glass, Sean Norton sat up straight in his chair, his expression unreadable.
“They’re not talking,” Valerie summed up the situation.
“Not yet. For guys like that, it’s always about ego,” Jordan said. “Heller knows something. And he’s not so cocky anymore.”
“Ego, huh?” Ellie turned to the two-way mirror. “This one is not just cocky, he’s outright creepy. We might have to bring in the other kids from the program, see if they noticed anything…Wait. I have an idea.” She went back into the room and sat across from Norton.
There was a minute change to his demeanor, his expression reflecting arrogance. He was trying to test her, but Jordan had seen perps underestimate Ellie before.
They usually regretted it.
“So…it seems your buddy Ron is supplying my colleagues with interesting information.”
He scoffed. “I don’t believe it.”
“If he keeps talking, it won’t matter what you believe. We already have a credible witness, and Ron is backing them up. So far, no surprise. What surprises me is that it was him, not you, who came up with the idea.”
“What?”
Sean Norton started laughing. “He said that?”
“Aren’t you glad? That means he’ll be the one doing time. I guess if he’s the one who’s tough enough to kill people, he can handle prison.”
“Who says I couldn’t?” he asked, sounding irritated.”
“Ron, for one, says that. I’m beginning to think he’s right. I mean you have the chance here to tell us what was really going on, and so far, I don’t see you making use of it. Not very smart if I—”
“Shut the fuck up!”
He hadn’t said it that loudly, but the menacing tone was unmistakable. Ellie, to her credit, didn’t even shrink back.
“Excuse me?”
“You think this is just about those hobos, think again. Some people need to be taught a lesson, and the fucking police aren’t doing it.”
“You are?”
“They are garbage,” he spat. Now Ellie flinched. Jordan did too, like every decent human being would have.
“They are people. Human beings who are a lot stronger than you are.”
He shook his head, amused. “Lady, slap a Band-Aid on that bleeding heart of yours and wise up. This is my advice to you, by the way. Be glad that someone’s doing the job for you.”
“You want to give me advice? Then help me understand. Why Lea? Why set the shelter on
fire—if you don’t want to see them, why destroy a place that helps homeless people?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand it. The fire—that was Ron’s idea. To me, it doesn’t quite do the trick. As for the old hag, she was the perfect subject.”
Ellie leaned a tad closer. “Perfect for what, Sean?”
He smiled at her. “I wanted to see someone die. Know what it’s like.”
Ellie kept her expression neutral, even though Jordan was sure she felt as sick as she did, and everyone with her in the room.
“I see. You’ve helped me a lot indeed.” She pushed her chair back and came to join her colleagues outside.
“I guess that will do it. Damn, there’s an ugly side to humanity.”
“No doubt. You did a great job though,” Jordan hurried to say, aware of Valerie’s amused expression. “It’s going to make mine a lot easier. I’ll go finish up with Ron now.”
Ellie beamed at the praise, though she still looked slightly pale.
“This is good, right?”
“Beginner’s luck,” Waters commented. “Don’t expect it to be always this easy.” Behind his back, Jordan rolled her eyes and then made her exit.
* * * *
Today wasn’t the first time Ellie had looked into the abyss of a killer’s mind. This time, she hadn’t been in danger, but Sean Norton’s words stayed with her regardless during the rest of the day. People like him presented a dire reminder that prevention and education, while essential, could only go so far with a certain percent of the population.
“There I thought Stanton was an asshole, but apparently, there’s no bottom where that is concerned.”
“You’re figuring that out only now, Harding? I seem to remember your girlfriend was kidnapped by a serial killer.”
While she didn’t appreciate the reminder, Ellie had to admit Waters had a point.
“Let’s just say I’m glad we caught him.”
“Well, that was the fun part. I don’t know if you still feel lucky when you see the files we have to go through next.”
Ellie couldn’t help thinking about what would happen to Meg and Ginny in the long run, while she had the luxury of moving on to another case.