Love 'Em or Leave 'Em Dead

  “I saw him . . . once . . . shortly after I had started dating Grady. We ran into him when we were at a coffee shop in Uptown.”

  Holy shit. “When was this?”

  “A Saturday afternoon in September.”

  “Was this meeting planned?”

  “No.”

  “What makes you think so?”

  “Grady was surprised to see him.”

  “Not upset?”

  “Yes, maybe a little.”

  “What did you think of Robert Quinlan?”

  “He was nice.”

  “Nice, huh. How did he look to you?”

  “I remember thinking it odd he wore jeans and a suede jacket because it was a warm day.”

  Probably to hide the Glock. “I meant what was your impression of his financial status?”

  “I don’t think about how much money people have. He’s a pilot for Delta, so he must do okay.”

  “A pilot? Did he talk about what routes he flew?”

  “Minneapolis to Las Vegas. He said he could get Grady and me on a flight anytime we wanted.”

  I nodded as I squelched a smile.

  “What did you three talk about?”

  She sat up straighter, leaned in. “Well, I can’t remember the specifics of a conversation that long ago.”

  “Take a minute to think about it.”

  She sat for a few seconds, then said, “I guess mostly about his travels.”

  “Did he ask you questions about your family?”

  “I suppose. That’s what people do when they meet for the first time.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “Well, he seemed interested in my grandmother’s radio show. He said Grady told him about her house in Dexter Lake. He said he’d love to see it because he was looking for a vacation home like that.”

  “Uh-huh. And did he ever see it?”

  “I’m sure not.”

  “Did you ever see Robert again?”

  She rubbed her neck and blinked. “No.”

  “Did those tattoos on the back of his head strike you as pilot like?”

  “What tattoos?”

  “All over the back of his bald head—medieval swords and weapons. You could hardly miss them.”

  “I think he was wearing a baseball cap.”

  “So why did you get pregnant?”

  She leaned back, arms crossed over her midsection. Big sigh showing me I was annoying.

  “It was an accident.” She enunciated those syllables like it was none of my business. Pleased to have penetrated her feisty side, I continued my line of questioning.

  “You didn’t use protection?”

  “I’m not a moron.”

  “Then how did you get pregnant?”

  “The condom must have broke or had a hole in it. Duh.” Her upper lip curled in a snarl. Feisty turned snotty.

  “Do you remember an occasion when it broke? Or a time he didn’t put it on right away?”

  “Oh, my God, why are you asking me these questions? Are you getting off on it?”

  “So glad you asked. Most guys Grady’s age just want to get laid. You know that, right? Getting married is the furthest thing from their minds.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “It’s my belief that the death of your mother and grandmother are directly related to your pregnancy.”

  She screwed up her face. As far as she was concerned, my theory was stupid.

  “And what tips Saint Grady’s hand is that he’s eager to marry you. Now, one might ask, why would a poor young man possibly want to impregnate and marry a rich young woman? See what I’m saying?”

  Her chin began to quiver as her face began to contort. The girl was going to let loose, and I had to just sit back and let it happen. I only wished I had thought to bring earplugs.

  “Why are you saying these mean things to me?”

  “Because you need to start getting wise to your station in life and what happened. You, a young woman from a wealthy family, have been played. Your boyfriend’s family plotted this whole thing. And Robert? Grady’s biological sperm donor? He cleans toilets at the airport. Yeah, Grady’s loser old man and old lady are counting on you and your bank account to fund their future. Wait here a second.”

  I stated for the tape that I was exiting the interview, then went to find Patrice.

  “Should I go in?” she asked.

  “Absolutely not. I need a laptop.”

  “I’ll get mine. It’s quicker,” she said.

  I watched Zabrina’s tears quickly subside when she didn’t have an audience. Patrice rushed back in, opened up her computer, typed in her code, then handed it to me. I found what I was looking for and then went back into the room with my ammunition. Zabrina sniffed, letting me know she was still upset. I pulled up Robert Quinlan and Brenda LaMere’s mugshots and placed them side by side.

  “This is your future mommy and daddy-in-law. Meet Brenda LaMere, the woman who plotted your grandmother’s and mother’s deaths, and Robert the toilet cleaner, who carried them out.”

  She studied the mugshots and looked up at me. The look of horror on her face proved I’d succeeded in my mission.

  “Now, when I ask you questions, you need to tell me the exact truth, so we can keep her in prison, cement Robert Quinlan’s conviction, and nail his accomplice. Someone had to have helped Robert get inside your grandmother’s house. Someone with access to the security code and a key, like Grady. He could have easily lifted your key off your keychain.”

  She made tiny little nods with her head. Holy Christ. I may be getting through to her.

  “Has Grady gone with you to the Dexter house when your family was there?”

  “He came with me for Thanksgiving.”

  “Was that the only time he was there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you have used the security code in front of him?”

  “Yes, because we were the first ones there for Thanksgiving.”

  “If you’ve heard or seen anything, I need you to tell me now. For example, did Grady seemed interested in when your grandmother was going to be up at the lake?”

  Her brows furrowed, the wheels turning. “He did ask when we could use the Dexter house for a weekend—just the two of us.”

  “And what did you tell him?”

  “It might have to wait until after Christmas because my grandmother would be there before winter break.” The wailing began with a single sniff. “Oh, my God, oh, my God. Did Grady kill my grandmother?”

  I tried to calm her, but she was on the verge of hysteria. I stood and motioned for Patrice to enter. When she did, I left to go into the observation room to watch how she would act without me there. Crosby indicated the video camera was still on.

  “Good, let’s keep it rolling.”

  “Do you think her boyfriend was in on it?” Crosby asked.

  “That’s the question. He’s a convincing kid.” He nodded.

  Patrice embraced Zabrina and said, “Shh, shh. It’s going to be okay.”

  “Did Grady kill Grandmother?”

  “I don’t know, sweetheart, but he knew it could happen, and he didn’t tell anyone. Nor did he mention anything about Robert to us when we first questioned him.”

  “I want him out of your house!” she screamed.

  “I’ll see to it.”

  Patrice took Zabrina down to her office, so she wouldn’t have to run into Grady on the way out, then came back to the observation room where I was watching Grady, still in room four.

  “How’s he acting?” she asked.

  “He’s had his face covered with his hands almost the whole time you were gone.”

  “Do we have enough to arrest him?” she asked.

  “Not for murder.”

  Her phone chimed. She looked up at me. “Samantha pulled up some information on Robert Quinlan we should see. She sent us both emails.”

  I pulled it up, and what she’d found didn’t surprise me in the least.
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  “And that’s where Robert gets his money,” I said.

  Patrice asked, “Okay, what’s your best guess as to how Sonya’s murder went down?”

  “I’ve been playing this over and over again in my mind. If Sonya heard someone enter the house in the middle of the night and didn’t expect anyone, she would have been scared and called 911.”

  “I agree.”

  “And if they surprised her in bed, she would have fought back and there would be evidence like scratches, bumps, contusions. There was none of that.”

  “So what happened, then?”

  “I think someone she knew came in and went to the pool and made a lot of noise. Yelling, splashing around in the water. She awakened, went to the window in her bedroom that overlooks the pool, and recognized the person or persons. So she walked down to the pool to give them hell.”

  “Okay.”

  “But they’re ready for her. Someone pulls or pushes her in. She can’t swim, so maybe it was all they needed to do.”

  “That’s about the best explanation anyone could come up with,” Patrice said. “It could have been Marvin who helped Robert.”

  “Certainly.”

  “Cal, you never suspected David, did you?”

  “You mean Waldo?”

  I told her about my dream—that she killed Sonya for control of her money.

  “Do you have such a poor opinion of me?”

  “No, of course not. But my brain messes with me a lot.”

  “Mine, too. The thought David did it crossed my mind—that maybe she threatened to tell me about the affair, and he shut her up.”

  “Do you have any doubt he left the house that night?”

  “I’m positive he didn’t.”

  “How is he?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not talking to him.”

  “You’ll eventually have to.”

  “Not if we go through attorneys. Who did you use?”

  “Iris Kellogg.”

  “Shannon speaks highly of her.”

  “She was easy to work with, but Shannon and I were in agreement on almost everything. Are you sure you want to divorce? You could get marriage counseling.”

  “I’m not doing anything until after this mess is settled. And now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Grady.”

  “Go for it.”

  Patrice gave him another opportunity to talk. He said he didn’t know anything more and proclaimed his innocence. In a calm, controlled voice, she told him if it turned out he was involved in any way and didn’t speak up now, she’d come after him with everything she had. I had a feeling she was quite capable of vengeance. Poor Waldo.

  “You’re free to go, Grady. Don’t leave the state.”

  He gave her a disheartened look but said nothing. Then in front of him she made a call and told whoever to pack up Grady’s things and set them out on the step.

  Since a squad car had picked up the kids, I volunteered to give Grady a ride out to Patrice’s home on Island Lake. I had driven a block when I said, “Do you have your car back?”

  “Yes.”

  “What was wrong with it?”

  “Water pump.”

  “Who drove you to pick it up?”

  “I took a cab.”

  “I heard Robert’s car had some muffler work done, too.”

  “Yeah, it was going.”

  “Fixed now?”

  “Yes.”

  I was guessing about Robert’s muffler. The witness who saw the drive-by said the car was noisy. And the evidence continued to mount.

  A mile or so out of town, I said, “Zabrina told me Robert showed up one day while you two were having coffee in Uptown. Had you invited him?”

  His head whipped toward me. “No!” he shouted.

  “Whoa there, partner. Take it easy.”

  He turned his head away from me and stared out the window.

  “Why do you think he just happened to be at that coffee shop at that particular moment? To my way of thinking, a man who lives in Burnsville and works at the airport is unlikely to hang out in Uptown.”

  “He had to have been following me.”

  “Stalking you?”

  He nodded.

  “Did you tell him about your rich girlfriend?”

  “No, but I’m sure my mother did. I told him it wasn’t cool and not to do it again.”

  “Just curious. How much money has he given you?”

  Grady took a deep breath. “He paid for this year’s tuition.”

  “So where in a toilet cleaner’s budget does he get that kind of money?”

  “He buys and sells things.”

  “Yes, he buys stolen goods and sells them on the Internet.”

  His cheek muscles tightened as he worked his jaw back and forth. “I didn’t know. I never asked where he got the money. Why would I?”

  “Did he tell you he was a pilot like he told Zabrina?”

  “I knew he was a janitor.”

  “But yet you didn’t set Zabrina straight?”

  “I wanted to impress her. Okay?”

  “And what else do you know about him you haven’t told me? You’re not being recorded now.”

  His head lowered, his hand lifted to his temple. “In October, he took me out into the country to practice shooting—he said for hunting season, but he had a pistol and a shotgun. We shot at cans for a couple hours.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “South on 169 a little past Jordan, then west near the Minnesota River.”

  “Did he have the guns with him?”

  “He keeps them in a storage locker in Jordan.”

  “What’s the name of the place?”

  “I don’t remember, but it was off Quaker.”

  “Why that spot for shooting?”

  “He knew the guy who owned the property.”

  “Do you know the guy’s name?”

  “No.”

  “Is Robert a good shot?”

  “Hits the bullseye every time.”

  “Grady, look, if you’re involved in this shit, it would behoove you to tell the truth right now. Maybe you were coerced into participating or didn’t know what you were getting into.”

  Tears streamed down his face. “I didn’t have anything to do with it, but I’m sure Zabrina won’t believe that.”

  “Well, to be honest, I have a hard time believing it myself.”

  His eyes shot up to mine. “You think I could kill the love of my life’s family and hurt her like that?”

  “At your age, how could you know who the love of your life is? I believe there are many people you could meet and fall in love with—it’s in the timing.”

  He scowled, then went back to staring out the window as we turned into Cadillac Jack’s, which shared a driveway with the residences to the left of the restaurant/bar. Why did I bother trying to tell a kid about love?

  When I dropped him off at his car, he got out without a word, slammed the car door, then walked with purpose to grab his duffle bag off the front step. Without looking back, he got in his car and drove off.

  As I drove by Cadillac Jack’s parking lot, I decided to pull over and make some calls. First, I phoned Ryan and told him about the storage unit in Jordan. Then I called Dallas and asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner at Cadillac Jack’s.

  “Sure.”

  “Invite your family if you want.”

  “No, I think I’d like be alone with you. Then after maybe we can have, you know, pie for dessert.”

  “Excellent.”

  I WAS ALMOST HOME when Tamika called. Her voice was full of excitement as she told me she remembered arguing with Zabrina about leaving the Donovan house.”

  “You didn’t give her permission to leave?”

  “Hell, no. Patrice would’ve shot me.”

  “Was Grady there?”

  “Yes. The doorbell rang, and he went to answer it—and that’s the last thing I remember.”

  “Where were you when
the doorbell rang?”

  “In Zabrina’s bedroom helping her dress.”

  “Did you help her bathe?”

  “I did, and that’s what I get for being nice.”

  “Ryan and Gill will want to hear about this.”

  “I’ll call them. Anton thinks I should have hypnosis to help me remember everything.”

  “Worth a try. When are you coming back to work?”

  “As soon as I can.”

  WHEN I RETURNED TO THE OFFICE, John Mulligan called to tell me he went over to Cherry Street Apartments and could not see any evidence work had been done in the laundry room.

  “There was dust on the floor by the machines, which would have been cleaned up along with the water, and I could see no new parts on either washing machine. The service operator said a man had called at one thirty, reported the leak, then hung up before she could get his name.”

  “Can you find out the number he called from?”

  “The operator said ordinarily she would have called him back to get his name, but it was a blocked number.”

  Mulligan was upset to have been cheated. Given how Marvin also cheated Sonya Donovan, it wasn’t a shocker to me.

  “I just wonder how much he’s taken me for over the years,” John said.

  “I wouldn’t know, but you can always have a talk with Chief Magliano to put it on record.”

  DALLAS AND I WERE EARLY for our eight o’clock dinner reservations. We checked in the dining room at Cadillac Jack’s, located on the lower level, then headed upstairs to the bar. We slipped into the only available booth in the back corner, and a new waiter made his way over to get our drink orders. He introduced himself as Dominic. He was a small kid with a friendly smile.

  I preferred facing the center of the room: I wanted to see if anyone was coming at me. Zach Whitman was behind the bar, which didn’t surprise me. He’d helped out his dad and grandpa, who owned the place before he was legally allowed to. When a heavy-set guy got up from the far end of the bar, his absence exposed Zabrina Bennett. She was smiling up at Zach.

  “What are you looking at?” Dallas said, as she leaned out to have a look.

  “Tell me what you think about the dark-haired girl at the end of the bar and the bartender.”

  “If I bend over much farther, I’ll fall out of the booth.”

  “Come sit by me.”

  She slid in beside me, and I no longer had a view. It took Dallas only a few seconds to say, “I’d say they’re into each other.”