As if to prove her point, she paused, then leveled serious eyes on them. “The autopsy will confirm it. She died in under three minutes.”
Awfully specific. Maybe because she was there?
Morgan’s thin lips turned down in a scowl. “Don’t suppose you could ask God to tell you something important, could you? Like who killed her?”
“It doesn’t work like that. God doesn’t answer to me, I answer to Him.”
Okay, time to cut this short before she suggested they all take hands and pray. Zander’s gaze wandered down to rest on her long, slender fingers. Not that he’d mind holding that hand. No ring on her finger, that was also a good sign…
Whoa. Rein it in, dude. Crazy chick, remember?
The last thing he needed right now was the complications caused by a woman, much less a crazy one.
“Okay, well, uh, I think that’s all we need for now. We’ll need you to come by the station later to give a formal statement. For now, let’s get your contact information in case we need anything else.” Zander jotted down the phone number she recited, glancing up when she gave a P.O. Box as her address. “Physical address?”
“I live on a boat.”
Was there anything normal about this woman?
“But you can always find me here,” she offered, as if sensing his thoughts.
If he knew what was good for him, he wouldn’t find her anywhere, no matter how much he might want to see her again.
“I’d be happy to help you look for Monica. She knows me a little, so she may respond better if I’m with you.”
Yeah, not gonna happen.
“We’ll keep that in mind. For now, just keep helping Betty here.” Zander pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to her. “If you think of anything else that you saw, give us a call, okay?”
She looked at the card for a second before fixing those purple eyes on him. “Of course. And Detective Salinas? God wants you to know that He heard you.”
God heard him? The words shafted his soul. “I, uh, heard me what?”
“Whatever you prayed. God didn’t give me the details but He told me that He heard you.”
Saliva dried in his throat. His tongue felt too big for his mouth as memories of falling into bed last night flickered through his head. Yeah, he’d had a few drinks too many, but he could still recall his fractured prayer, the first one he’d prayed in years.
He hadn’t told anyone about that. So how could she possibly know?
He forced a chuckle which sounded strained even to his own ears. “Sounds like you need a better connection with Him. I don’t pray.”
Without waiting for a reply, he turned away and headed toward Betty. Behind him, he heard Morgan thanking Elly for her time and reiterating the invitation to call if she remembered anything else.
He hoped she wouldn’t.
Those lavender eyes skittered through his mind. Or maybe he hoped she would.
Ugh. He should’ve given her Morgan’s card instead of his.
Betty turned as he approached. Red splotches marred her otherwise pale face and her chin wobbled.
He put an arm around her shoulders and gave a small squeeze.
Not the most professional of approaches, but Betty wouldn’t care. After all she and Bill had done for these kids, they didn’t deserve this kind of trouble.
Releasing her, he took a step back and assessed her face. “How’re you holding up?”
“Oh dear. It’s just so awful. Thank God Elly was here. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her.”
He allowed his gaze to travel back across the room to where Morgan was shaking hands with Elly.
“Yeah. She’s, uh…” Frankly, he didn’t know what she was. “Something else.”
“She’s an angel sent by the Lord, that’s what she is.”
Yeah, Betty would like Elly. They both had that whole God thing going on. “How long has she volunteered here?”
“Almost daily for, oh, maybe a month now. Wouldn’t you say, Bill?”
Bill scratched his head. “Sounds about right. Feels like she’s been here forever.”
A month wasn’t that long. “You know her very well?”
An emphatic nod answered his question. “That woman was sent by God Himself. I don’t know how we got along without her.” Conviction lined Betty’s words.
Morgan joined them but, surprisingly enough, didn’t take over the questioning.
Huh. Maybe Morgan was letting him lead because Betty knew him. “And before that? Where did she come from?”
“Some other country. I don’t remember where exactly.” Betty appraised him with questions in her eyes. “Why’re you asking about her anyway?”
“She, uh, gave us some very, well, strange answers.”
Betty’s hands perched on her wide hips and she narrowed her eyes on Zander. “Now you listen to me and you listen good. That woman hears from the Lord like no one I’ve ever met. She tells you something, you’d best pay attention, ‘cause she’s got a direct line to God.”
Message received loud and clear. Elly was perfect and suspicions were off-limits.
He held up his hands slowly. “I’m not accusing her of anything, Betty. Just trying to make sense of what she said.”
“Well, whatever she told you is the truth. Elly doesn’t lie.”
Right. Everyone lied sometimes. Betty was just too trusting to know it.
Which meant he needed to be very careful about how he asked the next question. “Elly said you both found the body. What were you two doing before that?”
What he really wanted to ask was if Elly had been with Betty the whole time or if she’d had enough time to go to the kitchen and murder Jessie, but Betty’s earlier reaction had proven that would be the wrong approach.
“Elly was helping me with the laundry. We’d been in the laundry room at least a half hour.”
Okay, so once they learned time of death they’d know if Elly could have been anywhere nearby when Jessie was murdered. “So, walk me through finding the body.”
Betty’s voice faltered as she recounted the story, her version lining up with Elly’s.
So Elly had told the truth about finding the body. Didn’t mean she hadn’t been there before making the big discovery.
Still, he had a hard time seeing Elly as a killer. Although the best murderers were the ones no one ever suspected. How many times had he heard people say that the killer seemed like such a nice person?
“How well did you know Jessie?” Morgan broke into the conversation.
Betty swiped her eyes. “As well as you can know someone like her. She’s been coming around off and on for about a year now. I knew she was hooking and tried to get her out of the life, but she wouldn’t let me help. Just came by for some meals and the occasional place to sleep.”
“Did she ever share about her past? Where she grew up?”
Even as Morgan asked the question, Zander knew the answer. Girls like Jessie didn’t usually open up.
“No and I knew better than to push. Best thing for those girls is to know they have a safe place here.” She paused. “I did see her and Elly in a pretty serious conversation about a week ago, though. Maybe Elly knows something more.”
Hmmm. Elly had claimed she didn’t know Jessie very well. Might be worth circling back to talk to her again. “Did you ask her about it?”
Betty looked directly at Zander. “I try not to get in the way of the volunteers building relationships with the kids. You know that.”
He did know that. So why had he thought she’d treat Elly any differently?
Maybe because she was newer here and he didn’t trust her. But Betty obviously did.
“Elly mentioned that Jessie was friends with a girl named Monica. Do you know where we can find her?” Morgan shifted his bulk as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“She floats in and out. Monica’s a little newer around here. Jessie kinda took her under her wing for some reason, maybe because she wa
s so young.”
“How young?” The younger they were, the more Zander’s stomach revolted at the idea of prostitution. It was bad enough that these kids were doing that, but for them to be involved at such a young age made him want to beat the johns who kept them in business.
“Oh dear. Maybe fourteen or fifteen. She’s not exactly advertising it.”
Of course she wasn’t. “Anyone else Jessie spent time with?”
“Not that I saw. She really kept to herself.”
“Could we take a look at the security footage?”
Bill offered a curt nod in response to Zander’s question. “I’ll take you back there.”
They followed him down the hall, passing the kitchen and another closed door, before stopping outside another door. The dead-bolted door hung so that it opened into the hallway rather than the room.
Huh. To keep someone from breaking the door in, perhaps?
He’d never been back here before, but evidently Bill and Betty took security very seriously.
Bill pulled out a set of keys, hunted for the right one, then inserted the key into the deadbolt.
A few seconds later, he swung the door open and stepped inside, flicking the light switch as he moved toward the room’s single chair.
The room, no larger than a closet, contained a small desk with a single monitor sitting on top. A hard drive, keyboard, mouse and control panel completed the ensemble.
Zander followed Morgan in, pulling the door mostly closed behind him.
As Bill tapped buttons, various rooms flashed across the monitor. The front steps, back alley, Elly and Betty in the dining room, uniforms in the kitchen.
“Not a bad little set-up you’ve got here.” Morgan stepped closer to examine the picture on the monitor. The wide angle shot didn’t show a lot of detail but the picture was crisp and clear. “What made you put this in? You have trouble in the past?”
Bill shook his head. “Not like this. But Betty and I figured you could never be too careful. ‘Specially not with kids involved.”
Yeah. All it’d take was for one kid to make a claim of abuse to bring serious trouble. “How long do you keep the footage?”
“Few years, I think. I got a volunteer who’s good with this kinda thing and he said something about it being backed up on some cloud.” Bill rubbed his neck. “Don’t really know what that means, but that’s what he said.”
Zander watched the uniformed officers move around on the live feed. “Can you run it back a few hours?”
“Think so.”
It took Bill twice as long as it would’ve taken him, but finally Zander saw two girls move into camera view. The vic and another girl, smaller, with dark hair. Both girls glanced around, their movements jerky and furtive.
“Kids know they aren’t supposed to be in the kitchen.” Bill’s voice held a hint of censure.
On the video, Jessie gestured with both arms. The other girl shook her head.
Arguing? Could the girl have killed Jessie?
A few more seconds passed before both girls whipped around. Looking at something… or someone?
“Any guesses as to what they’re looking at?”
Bill shook his head. “Only thing over there is the door to the alley.”
Maybe that was how the killer got in.
Jessie whirled back to Monica and pushed her, not in an aggressive “get out of my way” kind of way, but with an urgency that said “move now.”
Monica dropped to her knees and scuttled under a low shelf. Jessie nudged a small wastebasket in front of her before turning back to face the alley door.
The camera barely caught the swing of the door flying open. A man moved into view.
Jessie crossed her arms over her chest, but held her ground.
Man, did he wish this thing had sound.
The man stalked closer, hands fisted by his side. A baseball cap covered his head, which was facing away from the camera. A short-sleeved shirt tucked into the waistband of pants that appeared to be the same hue as the shirt.
In black and white, anyway. Kinda hard to tell without color.
Something on the man’s arm caught his eye.
He leaned in and pointed. “That look like an emblem to you?”
Morgan squinted. “Could be. Good catch, kid.”
“Could be some kind of uniform.” They’d have the lab enhance the image and see if they couldn’t find out for sure.
Silence descended as they watched the two on the screen. Tension rippled across the man’s tightly wound muscles. Defiance oozed from Jessie’s face and arm-crossed stance.
The man lashed out, movements as fast as a viper.
Jessie’s mouth opened. Her arms shot out, fingers scraping at the killer’s face. Seconds later her knees buckled.
The man ripped his arm back. A knife extended from his fist, blood darkening the blade.
Jessie hit the ground. A black circle grew around her as her fingers moved and her legs twitched.
He noted the time stamp on the video. 3:17 p.m.
The man knelt beside her, careful to avoid the blood, and placed a hand on her chest, leaning in to look her in the face.
Was he saying something?
Or did he just want to be close to watch her die?
The answer could tell them if they were dealing with a motivated killer or a complete psychopath.
Jessie’s legs stiffened as the man pushed himself up.
The blood pool continued to grow, edging toward his feet. Jessie stopped moving.
Zander looked at the time stamp.
3:19 p.m.
His blood chilled. Two minutes. The killer must’ve known what he was doing to cause death so quickly.
Elly had called it. To the minute.
Looked like they’d be having another talk with the redhead who knew things she shouldn’t. Maybe this time she’d come up with a better answer than “God told me.”
Focus. He fixed his attention back on the video.
The man stepped back, his head swinging side to side as if looking for something. He reached down and snagged a backpack off the floor before swinging around.
Finally. Maybe now they’d see his face.
The man kept his head angled down as he strode across the kitchen. The 49ers emblem on the ball cap would hardly identify the man. Half of the city owned those caps.
The door swung and the man disappeared from view.
Dang it! It was like he’d known exactly where the camera was… Could he have known?
“Bill, did that guy look familiar to you?”
Bill swiveled in his chair. “Couldn’t rightly see him now, could I?”
“His build? The way he walked? What he was wearing?”
“Nah. Coulda been you, for all I know.”
Morgan leaned his shoulder against the wall. “We’ll need a copy of that footage. Maybe our tech guys can get us something.”
Bill held up his hands. “Whatever you need. We want this thing solved. The kids gotta feel safe here, you know?”
“We’ll send someone back now, okay?” Jerking his head toward the door, Morgan led the way out.
The hallway was clear. Morgan stopped just outside the kitchen door. “What do you think, kid?”
A test? Or was Morgan genuinely interested in his thoughts?
He never could quite tell.
“I think our killer’s been here before. He knew right where the camera was and how to avoid it.” Zander dropped his voice. “I also think it’s… interesting… how Elly knew so much about time of death.”
“Agree on the killer, but my gut says Elly’s all right.” A grin crept across Morgan’s face as he elbowed Zander. “But maybe you oughta take her out for coffee. You know, get her guard down so you can figure her out.”
Subtle. “It’s your gut. Maybe you oughta do it yourself.”
Morgan snorted. “You know I don’t like payin’ those kinds of prices for a plain ol’ cup o’ joe.”
“And
you know I’m not looking for that kind of trouble.” Not ever again.
The grin slid and Morgan’s expression sobered. “You gotta let that go, kid. What Laura did to you stunk, but not all women are like that. Trust me. I got myself a good one.”
After four divorces and a failed engagement, Morgan really thought he was one to offer advice on women?
He bit back the sarcastic response forming on his tongue.
Morgan was concerned about him. Dude’s heart was in the right place, even if he was wrong.
Zander forced a smile. “I’m okay on my own. Look, I’m going to try to talk to some of the kids. See if they can give me any leads on Monica or who might’ve wanted Jessie dead.”
“I’ll circle back to Elly and ask her more about her conversation with Jessie last week and how she knew about the time of death.”
Good. Let Morgan talk to Elly.
Because as far as he was concerned, she was just as dangerous to him as the killer had been to Jessie.
₪ ₪ ₪
“You get anything?” Morgan didn’t remove his eyes from the rush-hour traffic surrounding them.
“Yeah. A lot of kids who don’t know anything.” Zander watched a motorcycle zip by their car, driving down the center line and bypassing the stalled traffic. “The kids I talked to claimed Jessie and Monica didn’t come by a lot and when they did, that they didn’t talk to many people.”
In fact, a few of the kids had called the girls stuck up, but Zander didn’t agree. Damaged was a better word.
And he knew a thing or two about being damaged.
“Well, Elly’s sticking with her story that God told her. Crazy thing is, I think I believe her.”
Zander arched an eyebrow and surveyed his partner. “You? Believe in God?”
Morgan snorted. “Let’s not go crazy. I believe that she believes it. Me, I think she’s just got one of those sixth sense things that lets her pick up more details than most folks.”
Yeah, that sounded more like Morgan. “What’d she have to say about that conversation Betty witnessed between her and Jessie?”
“Said they were talking about Jesus. I asked her if they talked about anything else or if Jessie talked about her past or personal life but Elly said no, just Jesus.”
Silent is the Grave Page 2