Dead Drop: A Girl's Guide to Homicide

by D. A. Brown

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s cool. I’m not gonna spoil your night.”

  “Some other time, ‘k bro?” Adrian hung up without waiting for an answer.

  Jared tried to unzip his jacket but the tab wouldn’t move. It was only then that he noticed the dried blood in the teeth of his zipper. He peered inside the jacket. His shirt, which clung to his sunken chest, was saturated with Ed’s blood.

  The bus rumbled to a stop. Jared pulled the jacket around him just enough to hide the blood. He flashed his bus pass and walked to the back, taking a seat in the corner and out of sight of the driver’s rear view mirror.

  By midnight, he’d managed to stay on the same line for over two hours. The bus driver had traded shifts with a heavyset black woman who eyeballed him every five minutes. He knew his time was about up and she was going to call the transit cops. Shivering from fear and exhaustion, he stumbled off the bus at 4th and Virginia.

  Panic was beginning to settle in. He couldn’t understand why his mother hadn’t tried to call. She must have found Ed’s body by now. He wanted to tell her what a vulture and asshole Ed was to him. His phone chirped and a text message popped onto the screen.

  “Hi, hon. I’m working late tonight. Tried to call Ed but no answer. Is he home?”

  Jared texted back. “Don’t know im out.”

  “Where r u”

  “With friends.”

  “K. See u later.”

  She was working late again. It was eerily reminiscent of the late nights she started working when she was representing that bastard Ed. Working wasn’t what was happening, though. Wouldn’t it be ironic if he’d killed Ed for nothing.

  For reasons he couldn’t begin to understand, Jared found himself texting Barrett Halifax.

  “R u up?”

  Several minutes passed and then the cryptic response came.

  “Who this?”

  “Poppins.”

  A minute passed. Jared imagined Halifax texting his friends alerting them to the fact that he was being invaded by one of the nerd squad.

  “What’s up.”

  “Need to talk.”

  “Now?”

  “Y”

  “Where are u?”

  “Downtown. Cant go home.”

  Another long pause.

  “Can u call? I can’t leave.”

  “Can u talk now?”

  Something was better than nothing. He’d already made the step forward. Barrett wanted something from him the other day. Now he was in the position to broker a deal.

  His phone vibrated. Looking down, he expected to see Barrett’s number but it was one he was more than familiar with. It was Ed’s cell phone number. He fumbled with the phone he’d placed in his pocket, the one he thought belonged to Ed. It looked dead, but when he tapped the screen, it bounced to life.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Jared froze. Maybe it was his mom, calling from the house, from Ed’s phone, panicked at the sight of her dead husband.

  Or maybe he wasn’t dead.

  But he had Ed’s phone. Or at least he thought he did.

  The ringing stopped.

  Jared huddled in the doorway of Macy’s and stared at his phone trying to calculate his next move. He turned off the ringer and set it to vibrate.

  The phone shuddered.

  “Fuck,” he yelled.

  He recognized Barrett’s number.

  “Hey.”

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “You know how you said you needed me to help you with something the other day?”

  “You mean the day you basically blew me off? Yeah, I remember.”

  Barrett got out of bed and looked out his window. His mother was headed out to the garage with Grace. The street light shone just enough for him to see she was carrying her oversized purse and had a computer bag slung over her shoulder. She glanced at her watch as she opened the door to the garage, pushed Grace toward the car and then gingerly closed it behind her. He pulled his phone away from his ear and looked at the time. It was half past midnight.

  “That’s weird.” Barrett said.

  “What? I need help. I’ve really fucked up big time.”

  “Why don’t you call your dork squad friends, dude?”

  “You know those cops you were talking to the other day? The one’s that came out to the school?”

  “What about ‘em?”

  “Do you trust them?”

  “The chick was OK.” Barrett watched his mother’s car slowly move down the alley, her headlights off.

  “Why?”

  “I need to talk to the police.”

  “So call 911.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Look, dude. I’m not going to play fuckin’ twenty questions here. Why do you need to talk to the cops?”

  Jared paused. “I killed my stepfather.”

  “What do you mean you killed him?” It sounded like such a stupid question. “When?”

  “A couple of hours ago.”

  “Are you sure you killed him?” Barrett stood up and paced.

  “His fuckin’ brains were all over the living room.”

  Barrett sat on the edge of his bed. “I don’t…”

  “Look, your old man’s connected right? Isn’t he tight with some police chief of something?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t pay much attention to his friends. What about your mom? She’s a lawyer, right? Doesn’t she defend people like…”

  “Like me.”

  “Yeah, like you.”

  “I’m not sure she’s gonna want to help me out this time.”

  “What happened?”

  “You know this whole thing with your sister?”

  “What does my sister have to do with this?” Barrett’s face flushed and he pulled his shirt over his head.

  “I found some stuff on Ed’s computer. On his laptop. It was…Shit, it’s his phone again.”

  “Whose phone?”

  “Ed’s.”

  “I thought you said you killed him.”

  “I’m pretty sure I did, but I keep getting calls from his cell number.” Jared’s heart was pounding in his ears now. He could barely hear Barrett.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m downtown.”

  “Where downtown?”

  “I’m near the bus station, over by that one precinct.”

  “So go in there and tell them what happened. You’re a juvenile. They can’t do much to you. But I still don’t know what Grace has to do with all of this.”

  “Her picture. It was on Ed’s laptop. I hacked into his profile on New World and traced his history on the site. I saw her. I saw your sister. She was…”

  “Fuck it, Poppins. Don’t say it.”

  “You asked.”

  “I don’t want to hear it.”

  “That’s why I did it.”

  “Why you killed him?”

  “That was part of it. That, and the fact that he was beating the shit out of me.”

  “There you have it. You’ve got a defense, right? It was self-defense.”

  “I fucking caved in his skull, dude. I need to talk to a cop I can trust. Someone who will believe me.”

  “Why are you asking me for this?” Barrett fished around in the pockets of his jeans and khakis for Sophia’s card.

  “I know you know.”

  Barrett stopped his search. “What do you think I know?”

  “The stuff about your sister. What’s happened to her. The shit’s that been going on with your old man.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Fuck that, Halifax. I saw it on that site. I saw your sister, and she was with some guy they called the doctor.”

  “So? That could be anyone.”

  “Ed had your home number on his phone.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? This is insane.” Barrett picked up a paperback and threw it against the wall.

  “I’ll text you that cop’s number if I
find it. Text me the number you saw on Ed’s phone.”

  “I don’t have the number memorized. I just saw your old man’s name in Ed’s contacts. Maybe it wasn’t your dad’s number. Maybe he just used your dad’s name with someone else’s number. I don’t know.”

  “I have to go..”

  “Yeah. Send the number, OK? I’ve gotta do something here soon.”

  Barrett hung up and texted Sophia’s number to Jared.

  And then he called 911.

  Sophia was sound asleep and didn’t recognize the number on her phone.

  “Detective, it’s Barrett Halifax.”

  She paused. “Is everything OK? I don’t recognize this number.”

  “Yeah, I’m calling from home. I’m actually calling for a…” Barrett took a deep breath. “A friend who’s in trouble. He wants to talk to the police but he’s afraid.”

  “What kind of trouble, Barrett?”

  “I don’t want to say. It would be better if it came from him. Can you meet with him?”

  “Meet where?”

  “I’ll call you with the information. I don’t know exactly where he is at the moment.”

  Sophia looked at her watch. It was almost one AM. Bodhi was on the bed, firmly behind her knees.

  “Call your friend and find out where he is and then call me back.” She sat up and turned on the light. “And you need to tell him I want to know a little more before I meet with him.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Barrett hung up abruptly.

  Sophia let Bodhi out and gave her some fresh water.

  Her phone rang.

  “Hey, it’s me,” Barrett said.

  “Did you talk to your friend?”

  “The cops just picked him up. They’re taking him to your headquarters.”

  “For what?”

  “He killed his stepfather.”

  Sophia pulled on a pair of pants and took a pressed shirt out of the closet. She slid on some loafers.

  “Who is this kid?”

  “Jared Poppins. He goes to my school and he,” Barrett hesitated, “he may know something about my sister’s thing.”

  “He’s not related to Sherry Poppins is he?”

  “Yeah, he’s her kid.”

  “Barrett?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is your Dad home?”

  “I think so, why?”

  “I called him today. He didn’t want to let you guys go into protective custody.”

  “I told you he wouldn’t.”

  “Where’s your mom?”

  “I saw her leave with Grace earlier tonight. About the time Jared called me, twelve-thirty.”

  “Where was she going so late?”

  “No idea.”

  “And with Grace?”

  “I know. It’s weird. But that’s my mother.”

  “All right. Keep your phone with you. We’re working things out on this end.”

  “I will.”

  Now wasn’t the time to ask him why he lied to her about his father. He had to know she could check his father’s alibi. Why would he be so careless?

  Sophia turned on the coffee maker and brewed enough for a large cup. Bodhi sat in the kitchen door, her eyes half open and sleepy.

  She called the homicide unit.

  Drew Taylor answered the phone.

  “I understand patrol picked up some kid on a homicide,” Sophia said.

  “I can’t wait to hear what you’re going to tell me, Benedetti. Get your butt down here. Kid’s asking for you by name.”

  Sophia got to the office in twelve minutes. Taylor was on his phone in the hallway outside the holding cells on the seventh floor. The cells were in the center of the building, in an area that ran perpendicular to the rest of the offices. They were hardened to prevent escape and a camera feed monitored all of them. Doors at either end could seal the space from the rest of the floor. Outside the four cells, was a hallway, a bathroom and an elevator that went down to an underground tunnel to the jail.

  Taylor put up his hand.

  “Yeah, she’s right here. I’m going to talk to her. Stand by.” He put the phone back in his belt holster.

  “So what is it with you, Benedetti?”

  “Sorry?”

  He shook his head. “Well, follow me.”

  Taylor walked into the camera room where all of the holding cells could be monitored.Through the two way glass, Sophia saw a boy slumped over the table. His hair fell forward onto the surface. His shirt rode up above his pants to expose an alarmingly white lower back. His legs were so long, his black biker boots lay at an angle on the floor. He was a portrait in goth, framed by the white walls of the room.

  Taylor pounded on the window as Ron Dillingham, a new homicide detective, walked into the holding cell. The kid jumped and then returned his head to the table.

  “Recognize him? He one of your victims or something?” Taylor continued to stare at the kid in the cell.

  Sophia moved close to the glass.

  “I don’t know him.”

  “Are you sure about that? Because in addition to asking for you by name, he had your name and number written down on a piece of paper in his pocket.” Taylor glared at her from the reflection in the glass.

  “I don’t know him. But…”

  “But what, detective?”

  “I got a call right before I called you, from another kid in a case I’m working, and I think the two of them may be friends.“

  “And, what did this kid tell you?” Dillingham had locked the boy in the holding cell and walked into the camera room.

  “He told me he had a friend who was in trouble and needed to talk to someone, but he wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

  “Well, he’s in some trouble, all right. He’s a fuckin’ homicide suspect.”

  Sophia looked at Dillingham and then back at the kid. “That scrawny thing?”

  “Yeah, that scrawny thing bashed in his stepfather’s head with a garden gnome.”

  Sophia started to laugh but then thought better of it.

  “So he had your number so he could confess to you?”

  “I have no idea. Barrett wanted to help him.”

  “Jesus Christ, Benedetti. And who’s Barrett?” Taylor said.

  “His sister Grace…”

  “Oh yeah, the rich kid with the special sister.”

  Sophia looked at Taylor.

  “I’m kidding. Lighten up.” Taylor took his phone out, looked at it and then put it back into his pocket.

  “Benedetti, I want you to sit in on this interview with Dillingham.”

  Dillingham cleared his throat. “Hey Sarge, I think I can handle this…”

  “Of course you can, but how many juvie’s have you worked?”

  “A killer’s a killer. It doesn’t matter to me.”

  “Well, this kid was probably going to call Detective Benedetti so I’m thinking it would behoove you to have someone in there who’s used to talking to kids.”

  Sophia hated talking to kids. She’d never developed the comfort that people do after they have children. The only kids she didn’t struggle with were her nephews.

  “I’m sure Dillingham can handle this, sarge.”

  “You want to come to homicide? I suggest you get in there. Dazzle me with your brilliant technique. I’ll clear it with your chain.”

  Taylor turned and walked out .

  “I have no intention of participating, Ron. I’ll just sit in the back and keep my mouth shut.”

  “It’s not you, Benedetti. Don’t worry about it.” Dillingham walked out of the room. “I’ll meet you in there in 5.”

  Sophia ran back to her office one floor below, and grabbed a legal pad. This was her chance to audition for Taylor.

  The holding cell area was as clinical and brightly lit as an emergency room. The white walls were peppered with scuff marks. Cameras announced with stiff formality by signs in the hallway, that all conversations were recorded.

  Dillingham was
waiting for her along with his partner, Marty Kilhanny. Kilhanny nodded to her.

  “Everyone ready?”

  Sophia noticed a backpack and a paper bag outside of the cell. This was where suspect’s property stayed until they were headed to jail.

  “Let’s see if you can help us break him, huh?” Kilhanny said. He chuckled and pressed the electronic lock button that released the door.

  Sophia was the last to step in. She dragged a chair in from the hallway and positioned it so she could see the young man’s face.

  “Jared, I’m Detective Dillingham. This is Detective Kilhanny and over there is Detective Benedetti. We’d like to talk to you for a bit.”

  Jared looked at the two men and then at Sophia.

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  Dillingham looked at Sophia.

  “For safety reasons, we’re not going to let you talk to her alone. One of us is going to have to remain in the room.”

  “Then I’m not talking and I’ll ask for a lawyer.”

  Sophia had never encountered a kid who’d brought up an attorney. She guessed that having a defense lawyer for a mother helped.

  “It’s in your best interest to talk to us, Jared. This is a big deal, not some fucking video game.”

  “I fully understand what’s going on. I’m not retarded.”

  “No one is suggesting you are, but Detective Benedetti here, she doesn’t do these kinds of investigations normally.”

  “How do you know what kind of investigation you’ll be doing?” Jared sat back and looked at his hands settled in his lap.

  “Well, we have a lot of questions for you, so maybe during the course of our conversation we can better understand what all we’re looking at here.”

  Kilhanny stood up and leaned over the boy. “We’re more than willing to consider this in the context of self-defense, but we can’t look at that without your cooperation. You understand?”

  Sophia had heard Kilhanny could sell ice to a penguin, but seeing his mojo up close was impressive.

  “Fuck you. I’ll talk to her.”

  “Big man.” Kilhanny slapped the table so hard, it moved.

  Dillingham pulled on Kilhanny’s arm and motioned for Sophia to open the door.

  “Let’s step out for a minute and see what we can do here.”