Are You Listening to Me? : A Detective Toby Mystery (9781927899403)

by Cushnie-mansour, Mary M.

  Tuesday, July 7, 2009

  E

  mma stood outside the interrogation room and gazed in at her brother. A tear slipped down her cheek. She turned to Lucy: “He looks so lost.”

  “He is lost, Emma,” Lucy stated quietly. She laid a hand on Emma’s shoulder. “He needs you now. Are you ready?”

  Emma nodded and followed Lucy through the door. Camden stood when he saw his sister. Emma didn’t approach him. She sat in a chair beside Lucy. “How are you Camden?” she asked in a firm, quiet voice.

  There was a puzzled look on Camden’s face as he sat down. This wasn’t the fragile sister he had known. There was something different about her. “I’m okay,” he finally answered.

  “What have you done, Camden?” Emma looked her brother straight in the eyes. “No one ever hurt you so badly that you had to kill people.”

  Lucy was shocked at Emma’s statement, but she thought to sit back and let her continue when she noticed the look on Camden’s face––disbelief!

  “You understand, don’t you, Em? You were there when we were growing up … you suffered too. I tried to protect you from them, but I didn’t always do such a good job.”

  “Are you talking about our parents, Cam, because if you are, they couldn’t help what happened to them. I heard Daddy telling Mommy that he had lost everything.”

  Camden butt in: “Do you know how, Emma? Do you know Daddy Dearest gambled away all his money––money that was supposed to feed and clothe and put a roof over his family’s heads!”

  “But that was him, Camden. That was Daddy, not all these innocent people the police are saying you killed.”

  “Same thing, Emma … look what happened to us! We ended up in foster homes!”

  “They weren’t all bad,” Emma insisted. “Just a couple of them,” she added with a grimace, remembering the tragic homes they’d had to endure.

  “Your memory isn’t as good as mine, then,” Camden spit sarcastically. “Besides, I shielded you from a lot of the bad stuff. Most of our foster parents were just in it for the money. And look at what happened at the last home we were in––the bastard husband raped you!”

  Emma repeated her statement: “But that was him, Cam, not all these innocent people. You have done a terrible thing, and you are going to have to go away for a long time. That hurts me because I am going to miss you, but that’s the way it is.” Emma stood. “I won’t abandon you, Cam, but I won’t support what you’ve done either.” She turned and walked out. When she got outside the room, she collapsed in Jack’s arms.

  Tessa had an idea. She wanted to show Emma the pictures of all the victims. This way they might be able to get a handle on why Camden had picked the ones he did. She would run it by Jack first, though. Tessa took Jack by the arm and pulled him aside. He agreed it was a good suggestion.

  Emma was shocked when she saw the victims’ pictures. When the sixth victim was laid out, she began to shake, and a fury of tears started flowing. Cole brought her a chair, and she sat down. Jack put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Tessa waited. Finally, Emma got herself under control, cleared her throat, and pointed at the sixth victim. “He looks like the man who raped me.” She paused. Then she pointed to some of the others and identified them as either foster parent look-a-likes or as persons who vastly resembled her parents.

  Tessa looked at Cole and Jack. “I think we have some of our answers now as to what type of victim Camden was targeting––his alleged abusers and those whom he thought were abusing his sister.”

  After Emma had left the room, Camden went quiet. Lucy let him be for a time, wanting to give him the chance to recuperate from his sister’s words. Finally, she opened the conversation. “Emma is right, you know, Camden. It isn’t anyone else’s fault that some people were not kind to you. I think you have a serious problem, but I also believe there is help for you.”

  “It doesn’t matter now.” Camden took a deep breath. “What’s going to happen to Emma?”

  “Emma will be okay. Jack is going to help her get situated. She wants to stay in the house you rented. She is happy there. In fact, she has unpacked all the boxes you packed.”

  “But she has never been on her own.”

  “She is now––thanks to you.” Lucy pushed her chair away from the table. “I think we have done enough for today. The district attorney will be coming in to see you later. I believe it would be in your best interest to co-operate with him.” Lucy peered into Camden’s eyes. “For Emma’s sake,” she added before turning and walking out.

  Camden stared after her. His shoulders sagged in defeat. He breathed in deeply and shuddered as he released his breath. All he could think about was that Emma was forsaking him. Without her, he had nothing to live for. A police officer came into the room and led Camden back to his cell. He lay down on his bed, curled into the fetal position, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and closed his eyes.

  ~

  Lucy put her arm around Emma. “I have to return to Vancouver tomorrow,” she informed. “I have patients there who are depending on me.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card and wrote something on the back of it. “This is my personal email, Emma. I would like you to keep in touch and let me know how you are making out. Will you do that?”

  Emma took the card and slipped it into her pocket. “Yes.” She turned to Jack. “I’d like to go home now, please.”

  Tessa came over to Emma and took hold of one of her hands. “You are a brave young woman, Emma. We don’t always know why some things happen to us in our lives, but it is not the happenings that always matter, it is how we handle them. Camden didn’t handle his issues very well. Now, hopefully, he will get the assistance he needs to get better. Unfortunately, he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. I am going to make some calls for you and get you in to see a good counsellor. You will need some professional help to get you through this and through some of the incidents that happened to you in the past.”

  “I won’t be able to afford it,” Emma said. “I still have to figure out how I’m going to put food on my table and pay my rent.”

  “You let me worry about the counsellor’s fees. I am sure Jack will look into the other for you.”

  Emma nodded and then followed Jack out to his van.

  Wednesday, July 8, 2009

  W

  hen the District Attorney, Brody Kaufman, walked up to Camden’s cell on Wednesday morning, he was shocked at the sight of the young man lying on the bed. Camden was still curled up under his covers, his thumb in his mouth. There was almost a peaceful aura surrounding him.

  Brody turned to the officer with him. “Too bad we couldn’t send this young fellow back to where he seems to be at the moment and let him start over again, correcting all the wrongs he perceives have been done to him, and all the ones that were done to him.”

  “Not sure it would have made a difference, Mr. Kaufman; some people are just wired wrong––in my opinion, anyway.” The officer scowled at Camden.

  Brody Kaufman noticed the look on the police officer’s face. He was saddened there was so much pain in the world and so little empathy toward the afflicted. He glanced in the cell again. Camden was beginning to stir. The officer banged on the bars.

  “Get up, Gale, there’s someone here to see you.”

  Camden’s eyes opened. Brody flinched at the emptiness he saw there. A door opened at the end of the hallway and Tessa approached. Brody had worked on cases with Tessa numerous times.

  “Good morning, Brody,” she greeted. She looked in at Camden. “I guess it will be a bit before we get started.” Tessa turned to the officer: “Sydney, could you get Mr. Gale cleaned up and then bring him into interrogation room three please?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Tessa noticed a hint of contempt in Sydney’s voice.

  “Be gentle, Sydney; we want Mr. Gale in one piece––unblemished,” she added with a stern look. Tessa had heard about how the odd prisoner so
metimes had ‘little accidents’ while in Sydney Couzen’s care. A couple of court cases had even been lost due to such incidents, and the department had been sued. Tessa had no idea why Couzen was still on the force, and she wished it wasn’t him who was here this morning.

  “Is Jack going to be joining us this morning?” Brody asked as they were leaving the cell area.

  “I believe so. He was driving Doctor Lucy to the airport early, around seven, and then going to check on Toby…”

  “Toby?” Brody raised his eyebrows.

  “Jack’s cat. Detective Toby.”

  Brody started to laugh: “Yes, I remember now. Toby solved a case a few months ago, the one where the officer kidnapped his own kids.”

  “That’s him,” Tessa grinned. “And he saved the life of the last victim in this case. Right now Toby is lying in the animal hospital, all broken up because of his heroic deed.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He jumped off the gym roof and knocked the drink out of Andrew’s hand. Unfortunately the jump ended up like more of a fall and both his front legs and shoulders were broken, and one of his back legs. Last I heard, though, Toby is doing fine and should be home by the weekend.”

  “Quite a cat!” Brody exclaimed with admiration.

  “You got that right.” Tessa opened the door to the interrogation room. “We may as well wait in here. I can show you the files we have, and Doctor Lucy left us copies of her files and the files she brought from other doctors.”

  Brody Kaufman sat back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “What do you think, Tessa––what is this young man all about?”

  “Doctor Lucy and one of her colleagues diagnosed Camden as paranoid delusional. Watching the interview and listening to him leads me to believe they are right on target. The emails Camden sent told the victims how bad they were to others.” Tessa handed Brody a copy of both of the emails.

  Brody scanned them and set them back on the table. “And you are telling me his sister was totally unaware of all that was happening? Tough to believe.”

  “Actually, there are a lot of times when I wouldn’t consider such a scenario either; but I’ve met Emma. She was, and still is, in her own little world––a world created partly by the traumatic rape she lived through and partly by the brother who tried to protect her.”

  “He tried to protect her by killing innocent people?” Brody questioned, his eyes narrowing.

  Tessa pulled the files closer and pointed to the pictures. “All of these people resemble individuals who were in Camden’s and Emma’s lives––people who, in Camden’s opinion, treated him and his sister badly.” Tessa pointed to two of the male victims. “These two men could pass for brothers, no?”

  “Pretty damn close.”

  “They look just like her rapist.”

  “I see.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Jack entered. “Where’s Camden?” he asked.

  “Should be here any minute,” Tessa replied. “Have a seat. You know District Attorney Brody Kaufman, don’t you Jack.”

  Jack extended his hand: “Yes, we’ve had the pleasure many times before. Been a while, though––how are you, Brody?”

  “Fine, Jack––you?”

  “Not sure if I like being pulled out of retirement; I was getting real comfortable living a life of leisure,” Jack smirked mischievously. Brody laughed.

  There was another knock on the door and Sydney entered with Camden. He looked so small. The chains around his ankles were attached to the handcuffs, and Camden was stooped over. He walked with a shuffle. Sydney pushed Camden into a chair on the opposite side of the table. Tessa threw Sydney a dirty look.

  “That will be all for now, Sydney,” she informed him. “We’ll call when we are finished.” Tessa waited for Sydney to leave before turning to Camden. “Camden, this is District Attorney Brody Kaufman. He is here to talk with you about what you have done. I do need to inform you, though, if you wish a lawyer to be present on your behalf we will get you one. Do you want a lawyer?”

  Camden looked from Tessa to Jack to Brody. His eyes were void of life. The dark circles around them emphasized the paleness of his face. His black hair was lifeless and unkempt. His fingers locked together and he twirled his thumbs. Then he looked directly at Jack

  “Should I have a lawyer, Jack? You’re my friend; you tell me.”

  “It is the right of everyone to have a legal representative present, but if you wish to talk to Mr. Kaufman…” Jack didn’t get to finish.

  Camden reclined as far back in his chair as he could. “I think I want a lawyer,” he smirked.

  Tessa stood and left the room. On her return, she told Camden a court-appointed lawyer would be arriving soon. “Is there anything you want to say to us before they get here?” She was hoping for something.

  Once again Camden turned to Jack. “Should I say something, Jack? You’re my friend; tell me.”

  Jack was puzzled as to what Camden was doing. The vacant look in his eyes had been replaced with a look Jack couldn’t quite read, and it was not a pleasant one. “Only if you want to, Camden,” he finally answered.

  “Good. Then will you tell Tessa to stop suggesting I talk? I know she’s out to get me. I know her kind. I’ve had to survive through many of them. She isn’t like you, Jack. You’re my friend.”

  Jack frowned. “I am not your friend, Camden, not after what you have done.”

  Camden smiled. “What have I done, Jack? Tell me.”

  “Why don’t you tell me?” Jack turned the table. “Tell me what you have done, Camden.”

  “I don’t have to say anything. I have rights.”

  “Like those people you killed had rights?” Tessa hit her fist on the table.

  Camden smiled. “What people are you talking about?”

  Tessa was frustrated. The scared young man she had witnessed yesterday, and again this morning in his cell, was gone. This Camden would be much harder to deal with. She watched as Camden lowered his head and then squeezed his hands to his temples. She was about to ask him if he was okay when the door opened: a young male lawyer walked in. He extended his hand to Brody and introduced himself.

  “Mr. Kaufman … Travis Simons. I’ve been appointed to represent Mr. Gale. Could I have a few minutes alone with my client, please?”

  Brody nodded to Tessa and Jack. “Let’s go for coffee.” He handed Travis the files on Camden. “You might want to take a look at these first.”

  Travis scanned through the files and then turned his attention to Camden. “These notes say you have been a busy boy on more than one front. What do you say?”

  “I say a man is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. The justice system is just like everyone else who abuses: it hangs the innocent. I did what I did to protect other people from getting hurt by the nasty, inconsiderate people around here!”

  “So what you are telling me … your lawyer … is that you did commit these murders?”

  Camden sneered. “Of course, I did. However, don’t they have to prove it first?”

  Travis sighed. This guy is totally nuts, he thought to himself. Just my luck that my first pro-bono would be a nutcase! “Yes, they do have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed these crimes,” he finally answered.

  “So what do they have on me? Did anyone see me put poison in these people’s drinks? It could’ve been someone else at the gym. Did they check out Paige; she makes a lot of the drinks––Graham, too. No, they assumed it was me because I’d run home that afternoon … because I had a headache. They barged into my home, without a warrant I might add, and arrested me in front of my sister.”

  “Well, if you weren’t guilty why did you try to run? It says here you were running away and that you grabbed a bunch of castor bean seeds and stuffed them in your mouth. Those are poisonous, aren’t they?” Travis pointed to the papers in front of him. “And then you spent a few days in the hospital
being pumped full of saline and glucose so you wouldn’t die. What do you say to all of this?”

  “What am I supposed to say? They were out to get me. Don’t you see––it would be easier to blame someone like me than to go after the real killer!”

  “But you just told me that you killed these people.” Travis’s patience was wearing thin.

  “Well, the way I see it is: you are my lawyer, and you are supposed to respect our confidentiality, right?”

  “I am expected to represent you to the best of my ability; to the letter of the law,” Travis answered.

  “Then I’m going to plead not guilty and let them prove otherwise!” Camden put his hands to his temples. “I need a drink,” he moaned. “I’m withdrawing my confession; I didn’t do it,” he added.

  “I’ll be right back.” Travis left the room. Tessa, Jack, and Brody were waiting outside the door. “He needs some water.”

  “What do you think? Is he willing to talk?” Brody asked.

  “He wants a trial,” Travis replied. “He wants you to be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, he committed these crimes.”

  “Is he insane?” Tessa shouted.

  “I believe he is,” Jack stated.

  “Which is probably the direction I will have to take,” Travis mumbled. “Now I need to get my client some water … excuse me.”

  Brody turned to Tessa and Jack. “I have to be in court in half an hour. Keep me posted. I want everything you have on this guy. Talk to a judge to get a search warrant for his house and confiscate everything in his room. Hopefully the sister hasn’t already cleaned it up.”

  “We asked her not to,” Jack said.

  “Well, for her sake, I hope she didn’t. Call me when you have everything. The problem here, as I see it, is we really don’t have a witness that saw him put the poison in the drinks––other than your cat, Jack, and I doubt we can put Toby on the witness stand. Camden’s lawyer can argue someone else put the poison in the smoothies.”