Deserving of Death (CJ Washburn, PI Book 1)
Page 13
Stella got out and walked up the walk. She was within three feet of the doorbell when the door flew open and Dave McDermott stepped out and grabbed her arm. He said something to her and then pulled her into the house. For a few seconds CJ remained frozen in his seat. Jump and run? Climb into the driver’s seat and drive away? Abandon Stella?
He blew out a lungful of carbon dioxide, rubbed his forehead, waited. The door opened again and Dave stepped out. He pointed at CJ, though CJ knew Dave couldn't see anything but a human form, wiggled his finger and then pointed at the house.
CJ considered the look on Dave’s face and the fact that he couldn’t read anything, then pulled the hat low and got out. He looked around at the quiet neighbors and casually walked up to the door. Dave didn’t say a word until they were both in. He closed the door and grabbed CJ’s hand. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Ms. Summers here walking up to my front door. Just happened to be looking out.”
“You recognized me?” Stella was startled.
“Damned right. You and your boyfriend’s photos are all over the news, especially after the body found this morning.”
“Another one?” CJ said. He tightened his jaw and dropped his head. “Damn! We missed the news, couldn’t find anything.”
“The young woman was discovered by a homeless guy in a dumpster near the downtown library.” He pointed them both toward his living room. “Sit down.”
“Same MO?” CJ asked as he and Stella sat together on a leather sofa.
“Pretty much, though no mention of whether she was a hooker.”
“And I’m still suspect number one.”
“According to the Feds.”
“What do you think?”
“You’re in my house and I haven’t called the swat team. There is no way CJ Washburn would ever do anything like this. This killer is insane, plain and simple.”
“Thank you for that, Dave.”
“Even if I thought you did it there’s no way I’d have those backstabbing blue varmints tracking their boot dirt through my house.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re not bitter anymore, Dave”
Dave laughed. “Actually, CJ, they’re all good cops. I get a little excited over the old crap now and then. I’m really only bitter at those few individuals higher up the food chain who thought the department image was more important than that of a single cop. If you found the truth then so could have they, if they’d only tried. And now, with you, they’re turning their heads again. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same individuals who are taking the opportunity to smear your face as much as they can. You certainly made them look bad six years ago.”
CJ sat back on the sofa and thought about that. “Do you think it’s one of them doing this?”
“Oh, hell no. They’re just opportunists. I can’t imagine any cop doing something like this.”
CJ glanced at Stella and then looked back at Dave. “It’s not unheard of, Dave.”
Dave’s mouth dropped open. “You’re thinking it’s a cop?”
“I wish I weren’t, but everything’s pointing in that direction. It’s either a cop or someone on the inside with near instant information at his fingertips.”
“How do you figure?”
CJ went over everything that had happened since he discovered the third body, covering almost minute by minute the events in Idaho and his theory that it had to be someone having the information fast enough to book a flight there and then back. “A serial killer opportunist,” he said at the end, “with a badge.”
Dave had been leaning forward in his easy chair, entranced by CJ’s story and Stella’s occasional input for clarification sake. When CJ was done, Dave sat back in his chair and said, “Holy shit. I see where you’re coming from now, CJ. It has to be someone with a very fast communications pipeline. All we should have to do is find a guy who took those two days off, or was already off. Should be able to run names through the airlines, bounce credit cards, see where he went.”
“I said the same thing to Dan but he made a good point. This guy is likely smart enough to have covered his tracks, probably driving as far as Los Angeles to pick up a flight."
Dave considered that for a few moments. "No way. If I were doing this, I'd go maybe as far as Phoenix. LA is an all night drive. Maybe Las Vegas, but definitely not LA."
CJ nodded. "You're right. Never thought about the credit card thing, though. It’d all mean getting the Feds on board with the theory to be able to access all the data.”
“Who took over for Dan when he was taken off the case?” Dave asked.
“Ralph Bunko.”
Dave snorted. “You’re screwed.”
“I don’t know this Detective Bunko,” Stella said. “What’s he got against you?”
Dave and CJ looked at each other, then Dave said, “When a young lady, I use the term lady loosely, filed a rape charge against me, it was Bunko who was assigned to investigate. He was a brand new detective at the time. He botched it.”
“I thought you just said it was some higher ups that were responsible.”
“The press blew it up and the public wanted blood. The higher ups either knew that Bunko had botched it or refused to hear it, wanting instead to turn a blind eye so that they could say to the public that they took quick action, that they did not tolerate such conduct by one of their own. Bunko started the bus rolling in the wrong direction and the bosses were making ready to throw me under it, until CJ came along.” He looked at CJ. “I doubt Bunko would lift a finger to help you now. When he got the case he probably started salivating, not giving a rat’s ass who the real perp was. Bet you twenty that right now he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to finish throwing you under the same damned bus.”
Stella fell back in the sofa next to CJ, discouraged.
“So, why have you come to see me? If there’s something I could do to help, you know I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’m so far out of the business I’ve forgotten what it means to be a cop.”
“I don’t believe that, Dave. I ran into Lisa at several of the crime scenes, before the finger started pointing at me.”
“Ah.”
“I was shocked. Last time I saw her she was looking at colleges.”
“My baby girl became a cop. It wasn’t my choice, believe me.”
“It certainly wouldn’t have been my choice, either.”
“You guys don’t think a woman can be a cop?” Stella cut in.
“On the contrary,” Dave said, “we think women make great cops. We just don’t want them to be our daughters.”
“Nail on the head,” CJ said.
“Ah,” said Stella.
“So, it’s not what I can do for you, it’s what Lisa can do for you. I don’t see what it could be.”
“I know she hasn’t access to vacation and time off dates, however, there might be a chance that she has connections, knows someone in the right places.”
Dave raised his eyebrows and then reached for his phone. After dialing and listening for a few seconds he said, “Hey, it’s your dad. Isn’t this your day off?”
Stella dropped her head on CJ’s shoulder. He took her hand.
“Good,” Dave continued. “I need you to come by.” He listened then said, “It’s extremely important… No, not over the phone. Trust me. You’ll understand when you get here. Bye.”
“She’ll be here in about thirty minutes. Have you guys eaten?”
It was forty-five minutes before they heard a car door slam. Seconds later the front door opened and Lisa Bowers walked in.
“Sorry it took me so long, Daddy, had to go by the post office and…” She looked at the two people sitting on the sofa. “CJ Washburn?” She looked at her father. “What’s going on?”
“Lisa, this is CJ’s companion, Stella.”
“I know who she is, Daddy. Their faces are plastered everywhere. I should be placing them both under arrest.”
“I understand. I’m asking that you just sit down and
listen for a bit.”
“Listen? Damn it, Dad, you’re placing me in a bad situation here. How about if I place them in handcuffs and read them their rights. Then, maybe, I’ll listen.”
“You don’t really believe he committed these murders, do you?”
“It’s not for me to decide and you know that.”
“Lisa,” CJ said, holding up his hands, “I’ll make you a promise. We’ll turn ourselves into you, give you the honor of the collar, if you feel after listening to us that that would be the best route to take.”
Still not convinced, Lisa’s head swiveled between CJ and her father.
“Please, Lisa,” Stella said. “We were prepared to turn ourselves in this morning until we thought of you and your dad. You’re our last hope. We’re begging you. Please, give us a chance to share our thoughts with you first.”
“I’ll probably take you in no matter what you tell me, even if I totally believe you. I’m a sworn police office. If you’re innocent, let the system work it out.”
“Do you think the system would have found me innocent if CJ hadn’t uncovered the truth six years ago?” her dad said.
Lisa glared at him.
“Do you know who the lead investigator is on this case right now?” CJ asked her.
“I know it’s not Payne.”
“It’s Bunko,” CJ said.
“Bunko! You’ve got to be kidding me.” She looked at her dad. “Really?”
Dave nodded.
“Fine.” She sat down in what CJ assumed was her mother’s chair. “I’m listening. But, no promises.”
Chapter 30
One more time CJ and Stella went over everything, from the very first two murders, although Lisa knew more about them than did they, all the way to sitting in her father’s house, including the belief that the killer was a cop.
At the end Stella said, “I have been with Clint around the clock since noon on Wednesday, during which time the last two murders took place.”
Lisa looked at CJ. “So you’re thinking that this guy, this cop, is doing this just to frame you?”
CJ had been sitting forward, his forearms on his knees. The question from Lisa sent him back against the sofa again. “I can’t say I’ve ever thought of it that way. That’s certainly true now, but...” He thought about it for a time while everyone waited on him. Finally he said, “No, not initially. There would have been no way he could have known I’d wind up close to the case. I’m just a PI now. It was a fluke that I showed up at the scene of the old woman, who ended up being a copycat, and then a pure coincidence that I found the fourth one because I couldn’t sleep. It was from that one, the perp’s third, that he had to have come up with the idea to divert the heat toward me and so planted a body in the trunk of my car. Then, when he discovered that I had gone to Idaho, he followed me and did another kill up there.”
“Trying to drive the final nail into your coffin, I’d say,” Dave said.
“Most likely, however, if he’d left well enough alone I’d still be suspect number one to everyone.”
“You still are,” Lisa said.
CJ looked at her. “I’d like to think I’ve got you all on my side.”
Dave and Stella gave their over-whelming confirmation, but CJ was still waiting for Lisa’s nod. When she finally gave it, though obviously with reluctance, he said, “Add Detective Payne and that’s four. If not for these last two kills when I had iron clad alibis, I’d probably have zero.”
“I’d still be with you,” Stella said.
“Out of loyalty, but, understandably, you’d carry a certain amount of reservation.”
Stella started to open her mouth to argue, then closed it and looked down at her hands. “I rescued you, remember, before the Idaho murder. I was with you from the onset.” She turned her head up to look directly into his eyes. “I never once, for a second, lost belief in you.”
After a short silence Lisa held up her hands. “Okay. You’ve got me, but I still feel very uncomfortable.”
“Well understood,” CJ said.
“What do you think I can do for you?”
“I don’t really know. Your dad seemed to think you might have some connections.” CJ looked at Dave. “What were you thinking, Dave?”
“Yeah, what were you thinking, Dad?” Lisa said.
“Who’s the friend you have in Personnel? Krystal something.”
“Krystal Kramer.”
“Officer Kramer. Right. She would know who has taken time off. Think you could talk to her?”
“First of all I don’t believe vacation schedules are her area. Second, how could I possibly do something like that? It’s one thing to agree with you all here in the safety of my father’s home; it’s quite another to go asking fellow officers for help. I could lose my badge.”
“We know you can’t reveal why you’re asking,” CJ said. “You could say something like you’re investigating a situation and just wanted to know if there was anyone who had taken sudden time off August 1st and 2nd for sickness, family emergency, anything. It may not be her area but she likely has access to the data.”
“Maybe, but she couldn’t give me names, privacy crap and all that.”
“Probably not and it’d likely make her uncomfortable for you to even ask, however, she could confirm whether there were any such requests made, and she’d likely not even think twice about it, especially if you imply that there is an official twist to the request?”
“Twist is certainly a good word for it. It would make more sense to her if the request was coming from internal affairs, which I certainly am not.”
Silence prevailed for a time, then her father said, “Call for a girls’ happy hour tonight, a little girly gossip time. Give her the old what-if… like, what if this was a cop doing it, not CJ Washburn? Put a spin on it that makes it her idea to go looking at vacation schedules.”
“Who do you think I am, Dad? For one, I don’t do girls night out, didn’t even when I was unattached. It would not only be weird to Krystal, but I’d have to answer to Jerry.”
“Who’s Jerry?” CJ said.
“My husband.”
“Tell him the truth,” Dave said, “or as much of it that he’d accept; you’re doing a quiet investigation into a situation that you can’t talk to him about and you need to enlist Krystal’s help.”
Lisa considered it for a time and then pulled out her phone. She stood as she poked the phone and disappeared into another room with it pressed to her ear. “Hey. It’s Lisa,” she said before her voice faded away.
“Every serial killer eventually makes a mistake,” CJ said, “and trying to purposely divert the suspicions toward me might be this guy’s mistake. He revealed a card in his hand which said, ‘cop.’”
“And he doesn’t yet know it,” Dave said.
“Makes him vulnerable until he does.”
“How so?” Stella asked.
“He’s leaving tracks galore,” CJ said. “The first three of his murders were almost exactly one month apart. That’s typical of a serial killer to kill on a schedule, usually the same time of month, week or day. I don’t know the CSI details, but I’d be willing to bet those three were within an hour of each other, 2:00 a.m. for example. When he suddenly decided to use me, he stepped completely out of his box.”
“And it’s got to be getting harder for him to find victims, because it’s all over the news.” Dave said. “University sororities are engaging male body guards. Prostitutes are working together, eye balling or sneaking pictures of each other’s clients in case one of them should wind up dead. Parents of teenage girls are putting the brakes on dating. Women, in general, are not going anywhere alone. He started out with prostitutes and then diverged to young women in general, it seems.” He looked at CJ. “Did you know that the one in Idaho wasn't a prostitute, or anything even close to that definition? She wasn’t even a college student. She was a young mother of a 2-year-old, picked up while walking between her parent’s house and her ap
artment where she lived with her husband and son, a two block distance.”
Stella’s hands went to her mouth. “Oh my god!”
CJ dropped his head while the impact of that settled in. When he finally looked up he said, “I’ve got to turn myself in. He’s gone berserk. Once I’m in custody he’ll stop.”
He looked at Stella. Tears where flowing so freely that he grabbed her and pulled her to him. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
“He’s destroying people,” she blabbered. “He’s destroying families. That baby’s mother is gone.” And the tears just kept coming. “It’s never going to be okay for that family.”
While she was crying Dave had gotten up and left. He returned with a kitchen towel and handed it to her. She took deep breaths and wiped at her face. When the sobbing had subsided and she had herself under control, she said, “I don’t want you in jail.”
“But…” CJ started to say.
She put her finger to his mouth. “I know. I don’t think you have any choice.”
They all went silent for a time; the only sound that of Lisa’s voice coming from her phone conversation in the kitchen. When finally her phone call ended and she stepped back into the living room, everyone was staring at her.
“What?”
“What do you know about this morning’s victim?” Stella asked. “Was she a prostitute?”
“I don’t know. Having the day off, I haven’t been keeping up with things.”
“She was a college student,” Dave said, “according to the news. Top of her class, well respected by her peers. Didn’t say much more.”
CJ and Stella looked at each other. When Stella nodded CJ stood and turned to Lisa. “I’m surrendering to you, turning myself in.”
Stella stood, once again tears flowing like the tap was stuck open. “Me, too.”
“No!” CJ said. “You don’t need to.”