“So when you were getting in her car, you could see this car directly to your left.”
The teenager thought about it, blew a bubble, and nodded.
“Okay, tell me about the car you saw. What color was it?”
She briefly closed her eyes. “Uh, kinda red, like a dark red, maybe burgundy?”
O’Brien jotted a note. “How old would you say? Was it new?”
“No, not new. I don’t know much about cars. Just that I want one.” She giggled.
“Anything else you remember about the car? How many doors? Or special wheels or anything?”
She crinkled her nose. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just that we didn’t pay attention. We didn’t know anything was going to happen.”
“Of course. Now, you told your mother that you didn’t see who was driving. I want you to take your time and think about it. Could it have been a man? A woman?”
“I, I don’t know, but maybe it was a man.”
“What makes you say that it was a man?”
“I don’t know. It just seemed like a car a man would drive. It was kinda fuddy-duddy, if you know what I mean.” She giggled.
“So, it was an older car?”
“Kinda, not a junk box, but not new, for sure. It had that big front thing, uh, uh, what you call it?”
“The grill?”
“Yup, that’s it,” she said.
“The car had a large grill?”
“Yeah, I think so, like, you know, those cars that kinda looked like a, those real expensive cars over in England?”
O’Brien pulled his chin in. “Rolls Royce? A Bentley.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was something like that.”
“Sounds like it may have been a Chrysler. I hate to impose, but do you folks have a computer we can look at pictures of cars on? It’d be real helpful.”
Chapter 11
Luca and Cremora were greeted at the door by Mrs. Rourke, Mary’s mother, and were shown into the apartment’s small kitchen. Even without makeup, the twenty-something Mary was a stunner. Her shoulder-length auburn hair had a glossy sheen to it, but it was the perfectly apportioned body that Luca nearly gaped at. Braless, Mary’s nipples were pushed against her white tee shirt. Luca had to make a conscious effort not to stare, but he thought he could make out the dark circles surrounding her nipples.
“Mary, these are Detectives Luca and Creama.”
They extended hands. JJ corrected his name as Cremora, and they offered their condolences.
“Sorry it’s so cramped in here.”
There were only three chairs around the half-moon table.
The mother said, “Sit, sit please.”
“It’s okay. I’ve been sitting all day.” Cremora backed up and leaned on the fridge as Luca and the mother settled into chairs.
Luca loosened his tie a smidge. “Again, we’re truly sorry for your loss, Mary, and we’re sorry to bother you at a time like this, but it’s important for us to interview people while the information is fresh in everyone’s mind.”
“I understand,” Mary said as her mother quickly squeezed her hand.
“How long did you know Billy?”
“Almost my entire life, like from grade school.”
“And when did you start dating?”
“Well, we always seemed to have a thing for each other, but we got serious a year ago, and we were gonna—” She sniffled, and her mother offered a tissue. “—get engaged for my birthday.”
“Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Billy?”
“Nobody. Everybody liked Billy. He was a prince.” Mary dabbed her eyes.
Luca held up his palm. “Just give it a second and think about it. Anyone he had a beef with, someone from the past, maybe at work?”
Luca watched her tits bounce as she wagged her head. She looked him in the eye, and by her barely perceptible smile, he knew she’d caught him. “Like I said, everybody loved him, right Mom?”
Luca shifted in his seat as the mother chimed agreement.
“Did Billy like to get his way, be the center of attention?”
Mary cocked her head. “Kinda, I guess.”
“So what. Who wouldn’t?” the mother added.
“It’s just that we hear Billy was quite the bully.”
“Mom!”
“How dare you, the poor boy is not even in the ground yet.”
Cremora stepped forward. “Sorry, ma’am, we’re just trying to see if anyone harbored a grudge or something.”
The women pursed their lips and remained quiet.
“Did Billy carry a wallet?”
“Uh, yeah, except he was always losing it, like leaving it behind when he paid the check,” Mary said.
“Do you know if he lost his wallet recently?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t say anything to me. Why?”
“We couldn’t locate his wallet on his person or in the house.”
“Did you check his car? He’d put it in the console all the time. Said it bothered him when he sat.”
Luca glanced at Cremora, who said, “Pretty sure we did, but thanks. I’ll check it out, just to be sure.”
Luca ran his hand over his silk tie. “Okay, Mary, I’m going to ask some questions about the morning you called 911. Take your time, and if you need to take a break or anything, just let us know. So tell me about the morning you found him.”
“Well, it was Saturday, and we always went to the gym together on Saturdays.”
Ostensibly to knock the picture of her in gym shorts out of his head, Luca frowned and nodded.
“And what gym is that?”
“WOW on Route Thirty-Five.”
“The one by Shoprite?”
Mary nodded.
“Kinda out of the way for you to go all the way to his place, wasn’t it?”
“Um, yeah, I guess so. I was out already and figured, you know, to just get him.”
“Where did you go?”
“When?”
“When you were out.”
“Oh, I don’t know, the store or something.”
Luca made a mental note. “You have a dark red car, right?”
She nodded. “How’d you know?”
“It’s parked in front of your unit. Lucky guess. So continue, you were shopping, right?”
“Um, yeah, and when I got to the house, Billy’s house, I found him. He was lying there and all the blood and . . .” She broke down and her mother consoled her.
“Was the door open?”
She shook her head. “No, I have my own key.”
“Okay, what did you do when you found him?”
“I went straight to him. I tried to rustle him, but I knew, I just knew he was . . .” She cried again.
“Take your time, Mary. Did you notice anything unusual? Anything out of place?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know what to do. I started to scream, and then, I just ran out.”
“Did you touch anything?”
“No, I don’t know. Billy, I touched him, and I don’t know what I did . . .”
“Isn’t that enough, officers? My poor baby’s upset.”
“We’re almost through, ma’am.”
Mary wiped her eyes and nodded to her mother.
“Did you and Billy fight often?”
The mother bolted upright. “That’s it! Get out, get out!”
***
Luca dropped the receiver into its cradle.
“If I have to talk to another crackpot with visions of who did it—”
“School me. This kinda shit never gets covered in the TV shows.”
Luca checked his watch. “Wow, it’s almost six. Time flies when you’re having fun.”
“I’m outta here by six, six thirty latest.”
“Me too. Meeting Deb for pizza and a movie.”
“What you going to see?”
“She loves DiCaprio, so that remake he’s in—”
“Heard it sucked.”
> Luca said, “Hope so, I could use the nap.”
After a square Sicilian pie at Luigi’s, they settled into their seats at the Hazlet Sixplex, where Luca nodded out a quarter of the way through the flick. Debra enjoyed the movie and filled in Luca on what he’d missed.
As they prepared to hit the sack, Luca said, “Boy, you must really like that Leonardo dude.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just that you seem so happy. I’m ready to get a poster of him for the bedroom.”
Debra shook her head as she capped the toothpaste. “See, all it takes is the simple things, Frank. I don’t need diamonds. They’d be nice, though. Just keeping a promise for a little thing like going to the movies is really all I need.”
Luca came up behind her and nuzzled her neck. He slipped his hand under her robe and caressed her breast. Pressing his hips into her, he steered her onto the bed.
“You know what? I think there might be a diamond under your pillow.”
***
Luca bolted upright, awakening Debra.
“What’s the matter?”
Luca was breathing heavily.
“Nothing. It’s okay.”
Debra reached out and touched his back. “Geez, you’re soaked,” She said.
Luca sighed heavily and nodded.
“You’re still having those nightmares?”
He shrugged. “Not like I used to, really, just every now and then.”
“It wasn’t your fault, you know.”
“I know, it’s just that I can see Barrow’s father’s face like it was yesterday.”
Chapter 12
Joanne was a pretty nineteen-year-old who lived with her parents in the same neighborhood as Billy Wyatt. She developed earlier than most girls in her school and owned a rack that had interested older guys since junior high. Attracted to older men, Joanne found herself in a relationship with a married man while she was still in high school. When her parents discovered it, they went ballistic and confronted the man. It was an ugly ending for all and quickly became the talk of the neighborhood.
The devastation and embarrassment made her ripe for a rebound lover, and she secretly began seeing a Hazlet policeman. Thirty-five-year-old Steve was married and had a three-year-old son but was hot and heavy with the teenager nonetheless.
Joanne would feign going out with friends when she left the house to meet with him. Steve would pick her up two blocks away from her home, and they would drive west of Morristown, where no one would see them.
Steve pulled up to the curb. “Hey, good looking! How’s it going?”
Joanne looked both ways and hopped in the car as Steve leaned over to peck her cheek.
“No one saw you, right?” she said and sank her frame as low as the seat would allow.
“Of course, what’re you worried about?”
“Well, everyone’s spooked, and, like, there are cops everywhere.”
“Take it easy. They’re just canvassing to get information about the murder.”
“What’s going on with it? Did they get anyone?”
“Nothing yet, it’s a tough one.”
“Nothing?”
“Couple of pieces, clues. Looks like maybe a robbery gone bad or something.”
Joanne sat quietly as they headed for the parkway.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get him.”
“I think, maybe, oh, it’s probably nothing.”
“What? Tell me, Jo.”
“Well, Friday night, I left to meet you and walked right by his house.”
“Whose house?”
“The kid that got killed.”
“Okay, go on.”
“I was across the street, the side without lights, and I was just past the house when a car came flying up and kinda screeched to a stop in front of his house.”
“Whoa, hold on there.”
Steve pulled into the Cheesequake rest area, and Joanne told him she saw this reddish or maybe it was a brownish car pull up in front of Wyatt’s house. Then a man, she was certain it was a man, who was about thirty, got out carrying a pole or something. She said she saw him walk up to the door. Joanne said she didn’t think much of it until she heard what had happened and checked to be sure it was the same house. When it was, she was scared and didn’t know what to do.
“You gotta tell the detectives handling the case! We’re going now.” He started the car.
“No, no, I can’t.” She started crying.
“You have to.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Jo, a man’s been killed, brutally beaten to death, and the killer is still out there!”
Her chin fell into her chest. “I know, but . . .”
“No buts, you have information that may help us find who did it.”
“My parents—they’ll find out about us.”
“We’ll handle that.”
“We’ll? You mean you and your wife?”
He slammed on the brakes. “That’s not fair, and you know it!”
“Yeah, well, what about me?” The tears flowed as Steve pulled off the entrance ramp and parked.
“Come on, Jo, well, maybe we can say you were meeting your friends or—”
Her lips quivered. “Can’t we just forget it?”
“I can’t. I’m sorry, but our guys are busting their asses to track down this guy. He’s a killer, Jo. No one’s safe with him out there.”
She blew her nose. “I know, but can’t we do it, like, anonymously, like on a hotline or something?”
Steve drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Look, I know the guy running the investigation. He’s a pretty good guy. I’ll reach out to him.”
“You gotta promise me, Steve, don’t use my name. I’m begging you. My parents—they’ll throw me out. I couldn’t face them.”
***
At the end of his shift, Steve knocked on Luca’s office door. The detective was reading a report and peered over his reading glasses.
“Hey, Stevie, how’s it going?”
“Good, got a minute?”
Luca looked at his wristwatch and frowned.
“Shit, Debra’s—”
“It’s important, Luc—the Wyatt case.”
Luca snapped off his glasses, motioning to a chair that Steve took after closing the door.
“What do you have?”
“Well, I don’t want to beat around the bush, so I’ll give it to you straight. A girl I’ve been seeing, and we obviously got to keep that buttoned up, she thinks she saw something that might help with a suspect.”
“No worries, bring her in and—”
“Well here’s the thing . . .”
Luca settled back into his chair as Steve laid out the situation.
“Look, I’m not gonna lecture you, but geez, the kid’s only nineteen.” He shook his head as Steve hung his. “All right, let’s get moving. I don’t have to tell you the pressure we’re under.”
***
Vinny called me as soon as he heard the news.
“Pete, I can’t believe what happened to Billy.”
“Yeah. How’s it going?”
“How’s it going? I mean, holy shit, Pete, Billy was murdered, for God’s sake!”
I didn’t know what to say other than, “So what?”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
The words just tumbled out of my mouth. “The prick deserved it.”
“Geez, we were friends our whole life. What’s wrong with you?”
I didn’t really feel bad about it. “Well, maybe he shouldn’t be going around with other guy’s girls.”
“What’re you talking about?”
Why couldn’t my brother see how bad Billy was? I mean, he was always making people miserable the entire time I knew him. What was Vinny, blind? “Fuck it. Look, he was a piece of shit, a fucking bully, and he got what he had coming, is what I’m saying.”
“You know what, man? You’re fucking crazy.” Vinny slammed the phon
e down on me. He spent the rest of the two days he had in Texas doing his thing without checking on me. I kinda enjoyed not being babied.
***
After meeting with Steve and his young lover, the detectives huddled in Luca’s office as the station emptied out. Luca told his partner about the new source, and Cremora shook his head.
“Stevie’s taking some big-ass risks here. This shit leaks, and it’s not only his wife he’s gotta worry about; Gesso will be forced to suspend him.”
“Yeah, I promised him I’d keep it under wraps, so let’s try and keep it there.”
Cremora threw up a hand and nodded.
Luca flipped open a file. “This kid, she corroborated the car color to be in the red family. So let’s rule out brown for the moment. Best of all, she said it had a big grill. I showed her some pictures. She thinks it’s a Chrysler. Why don’t you put in a request for a DMV report? It may give us something to run with.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“Kid also said it was a male, just like the neighbor said. I don’t know about you, but Wyatt’s girlfriend didn’t leave me warm and fuzzy.”
“Yeah, that whole story about being out and going to pick him up for the gym.”
“If she was, she didn’t call him before coming over. There’s no record of a call going to the house that morning.”
“You run their cell phones?”
“Not back yet.”
“So we know Wyatt was or seemed to be alone when someone driving a red Chrysler and in a hurry pulled up to his house. This someone had a bar, stick, or bat, according to Stevie’s squeeze. Wyatt either knew this person or for some reason let him in. Maybe an argument broke out, and bam, he gets whacked in the skull.”
Cremora rubbed his forehead. “Could’ve been a revenge type thing. He was a bully. That’d give us motive.”
“Neighbor did say he and the girl were always fighting.”
“We need to dig deep, Luc, see if he ever got physical with her. Maybe he hit her or did something to enrage her. She’s got no history of any violence, so she’d have to have been pushed over the edge.”
“Yeah, but nine times out of ten it happens right then and there. I don’t know, to me this seems like it could’ve been premeditated.”
“Wyatt was out back, smoking and having a beer sometime that night.”
“If someone was there, they weren’t drinking with him. The one can was his, but the other was old, according to the yeast sample test.”
Am I the Killer? - A Luca Mystery - Book 1 Page 9