“That’s fine. We’ll find out when we talk to her bosses.” Zach said.
“I’ve always been suspicious of the insurance policy he had on her. It was like he was planning her death.”
“Tell us why?”
“Because he’s a narcissist. Thinks he’s God’s gift to mankind, and he’s mean and demanding. He’s a bully.”
“Do you think he was the one threatening her?” Jessie asked.
“If he was, I don’t think she would have told me. She never wanted to worry me. Besides, she knew if I found out Harlan was, I’d have plenty to say to him. Problem is, I knew whatever I said, he’d know Carly told me and there’d be hell to pay afterward. So I managed to keep my mouth shut most of the time. When her hours at work increased, Harlan put a lot of pressure on her because his dinner wasn’t on the table at the exact time he’d expected it. She even bought one of those slow-cookers, but he wouldn’t eat anything out of it, and she’d wind up cooking something else for him. In his dreams,” she sneered. “They had a lousy marriage.”
“Really? He told us they had a great marriage.”
She adjusted in her seat, draping her arm over the back. “Carly planned to leave him.”
“Do you know if she’d told him?”
“I honestly don’t know. During our last conversation, she mentioned she was going to tell him. She knew he was going to get really mad and blow up.” Charlene shrugged, “she might not have though. Although Carly never told me this, I personally believe she was just as afraid of him as we were.”
“Why were you afraid of him?”
“Because we’d both seen his fierce temper.”
“Do you know if he ever hit her? You know, slapped her around?”
“He did once after he found out about the affair. Knocked her right on the floor, then he kicked her while she was down.”
“What affair?” the detectives said simultaneously. “He never told us anything about that. He said they were inseparable.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Charlene smirked. “I hate that man,” she said in her southern drawl that seemed to thicken the angrier she got. Her hand went to her hip. “Yeah, they were inseparable alright and that’s because he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. It was like they were joined at the hip. Everything changed after the affair. He wouldn’t allow her to have friends or go out with them if he couldn’t come along. The only time she was ever alone was her morning jog, during work hours, and her nightly walks after the bozo fell asleep because he ate too much. If she planned to work late, he was waiting outside her building in his car until she came out. He had to meet every single person she worked with or associated with to get a feel for whether she was getting too close to them.”
“Did you encourage her to leave him?”
“Damn right I did. Every chance I got. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
“How did she respond to your push?”
“She’d say she hadn’t completed her penance yet, but she was definitely going to do it in her own time.”
“Her penance? For cheating on her husband?”
“Yes, ma’am. She’d turned to the church after that, but I was glad she did. The church was the only comfort she had because you know damn well, Harlan wasn’t going to ease up on her betrayal.”
“Did she ever tell you about anyone harassing her during those ‘alone’ times?”
“You mean like when she went for her walks at night or jogged in the mornings?”
“Right.”
“No. I have to believe if she was being harassed, she thought she could handle it. Like I told you, she knew how much I worried about her. And she knew I’d defend her until my last breath.” Charlene released a frustrated groan, “and I will.”
“Do you think she was still having an affair?”
She was surprised by the question. “Wow!” She swallowed hard, “I’m speechless. I honestly don’t know, but I really think she would have told me because she’d confided in me the day after the tryst. And dammit, I warned her about telling Harlan, but she went ahead and confessed anyway.”
“Okay, you said, tryst. So tell us more about this affair.”
“Well, it wasn’t really an affair, per se. It was more like a one-night stand. Unfortunately, the guy was Harlan’s best friend—poor choice on her part. I’m sure the guy was the only friend he ever had because I’ve never seen anyone come over to visit. They never entertained anyone except family, and that was only on holidays. Okay…the affair. She and Harlan were invited to the annual Arco Christmas party. Harlan argued he didn’t want to go out that night, but Carly convinced him. Apparently, the entire department, including his best friend had been invited.” Charlene’s mouth twisted to the side. “Anyway, Harlan drank too much in a short amount of time and passed out in the host’s bedroom. Carly wasn’t feeling any pain either, so when this guy started coming on to her, she lost control and they let the throes of passion get the best of them. Afterward, as the booze started to wear off, she realized what she’d done.” Charlene crossed her legs, her foot flexing back and forth. “Weeks later when her guilt got the best of her, she confessed it to Harlan like a damned fool. Harlan went berserk, and that’s when he started cracking the whip in their marriage and took complete control. After talking to her minister, Carly became very involved with the church. I guess it somehow seemed to help ease the guilt she felt…that’s that penance thing I was telling you about.”
Zach darted a satisfied glance over at Jessie. “She didn’t put up a fight?” she asked.
“No.” Charlene took a deep long sigh. “When Harlan became more aggressive with his demands…she accepted it. And because I knew she wouldn’t tell me what Harlan was doing to her mentally, I made sure we talked every day just so I could hear her voice to see whether she was upset or not.” Charlene was on a roll now and getting fired up every time she thought of something. “Did he tell you he was fired from his job?”
“He did. He said he blew the whistle on another employee, but he didn’t elaborate, and we didn’t push too hard because it was right after your sister was killed. We need to go back and talk to him again.”
“Do you want to know who he blew the whistle on?”
“Of course.”
“His best friend—the guy Carly had the tryst with.”
Zach caught Jessie’s eye again and nodded. “Do you remember how long ago she had this affair?”
Charlene’s hand rested on her chin while she thought. “I swear, it’s seems just like yesterday…it can’t be more than a year ago…no, I guess it’s about two years. Yeah, it’s about two.”
“Do you remember anything about the man’s name?”
“Hmm,” her tongue rolled around inside her cheek. “You know, something tells me it started with ‘T’.” She shook her head, “No, wait. I think his name was Roger? No, that’s the guy at her job, hmm…Ra…Ralph Munson…Morton?” She snapped her fingers. “That’s it. Ralph Morton. Go ahead and ask Harlan about him. I’m sure he’ll give you a complete dossier on the guy.”
She paused briefly, swallowed hard as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I can’t believe she’s gone.” She leaned forward and pulled a tissue from the box on the table and glanced at the clock on the wall, when a new rush of tears streamed down her cheeks. She nodded toward the clock. “This is the time we spoke every day,” she said. “I swear, so help me God, I won’t rest until I find out who did this to her and why. And I won’t stop until that person is brought to justice. If it was Harlan…” she shook her head, “and if New York has the death penalty, you can be sure I’ll push for it. Sitting his lazy ass in jail awaiting execution would be right up his alley because he could continue to sit around all day.”
“This talk has been very helpful, Charlene. Thank you for coming in today. I imagine you’ll stay in New York for a while until after your sister’s burial. Is that correct?” Jessie asked.
“Yes ma’am. I’m also going
to see my two nieces as well. I’m sure they’re beside themselves. I didn’t think Jennifer was going to make it.” Charlene’s voice lowered as though she was afraid someone would hear. “She doesn’t have a job or much money, but she did manage to come up with the airfare.” She shook her head. “Carly was forever sending her money, so I imagine she must be using her last allotment until Carly’s insurance policy pays out.”
“Speaking of the daughters. We’d really like to talk to them too. Where will they be staying while they’re here?” Zach asked.
“With Daniel and me at the Plaza. I rented a suite so we’d all be together.”
“Did they arrive yet?”
“This evening.” She checked the clock again. “I believe their flight gets in around seven tonight. I’m sure Daniel is anxious to get to the airport and pick them up.” She got up from the chair. “Anything we can do to put whoever did this behind bars.” Pulling her coat off the chair, she slipped her arms into her coat. “What about the guy who called me?”
“Don’t take any more calls from him.” Zach nodded toward Jessie, “she’s calling for a car to drive you back to the hotel. Keep the entire family away from the subways until we can find out who this guy is.”
“I’m really nervous about him now.”
“I know you are, but like I told you, we’ll have our guys watching out for you and your family while you’re here.” He shook her hand, “It might be nothing at all. Just someone’s who’s being nosy, but rest assured, we’ll get to the bottom of it. Thanks so much for coming in.”
Jessie escorted Charlene to the door and returned to her desk. “Wow, she had plenty to say about Harlan.”
“She sure did. What do you make of this mystery guy questioning her?”
“Boy, I don’t like the sounds of that at all. Also, check your notes to find out if Carly’s cell phone was at the crime scene.”
Zach flipped through the papers in the file and checked the list of items on Carly’s body. “No, there’s nothing in here, but we should check with Harlan to see if her phone is at the house. Why?”
“Because I’m wondering how this mystery cop got her cell phone number. If he has Carly’s phone, then he has everyone’s phone number.”
“Excellent point,” he said. “I’m going to call Harlan right now and ask.” Jessie watched his handsome profile as he talked on the phone. She loved the way he leaned back in his desk chair and rested his elbow on the arm, his finger resting on his cheek as though bracing his head. He must have felt the heat of her stare because he glanced her way with question and smiled when her eyes lowered down onto her desk. He disconnected the call.
“Did you want to ask me something?”
“Yes, but I’d like to know about the phone first.”
“Her phone is at home and Harlan cancelled the service already.”
“Christ. We need to get a warrant for her list of numbers. The killer could be going after every one of her friends.”
“Her service provider was Verizon.” She laughed. “Don’t tell me Harlan was complaining about them too?”
“Yes he was.” He gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “This guy is a piece of work.”
“I’ll say. Out of the blue, Jessie asked him a burning question that had been bugging her ever since yesterday. “Do you think the captain is having us followed?”
Zach scowled. “Jessie, c’mon. Don’t you think that would be counterproductive?”
“Hey, it would be, but I’m not too sure about him either.”
“Let’s not jump off the deep end here. Let’s focus. This insurance policy has me concerned. Let’s do a thorough search of his premises. If he objects, I think we have a pretty strong case. I’m really curious about the guy she had the one-night stand with too. We have a host of suspects on this case. Most of the time, we don’t have any.”
“I’m glad to be back in homicide. I really like digging into these cases.”
“That’s for sure,” Zach snickered. “Charlene has given us some pretty incriminating evidence against Harlan. I’m curious as to why he didn’t mention the affair.” Zach shrugged. “I’m wondering if his sadness is fake.” His brows rose. “He’s definitely trying to hide something.”
“What about Charlene’s emotions?” Jessie asked.
“They looked pretty genuine to me, but I’ve been fooled before.”
She didn’t miss his dig, but decided to let it fly. “The other thing that has me thinking really hard is this, Jennifer. What if Carly did refuse to give her more money? Jennifer would have to fend for herself or…that insurance money would help support her habit, whatever that is.”
“You think she killed her mother?” Zach twisted his head to the side. “Let’s check the database to see the value of the policy, when she came into the city and whether Carly left her anything else…like maybe her 401K.” Zach scrubbed a hand over his face. “There are so many roads to take on this case. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.”
Jessie sat down at her desk and keyed in Carly’s name. “Whoa,” she screeched and Zach came around behind her and looked over her shoulder. “The value of the policy is for one million dollars.” She squinted at the screen. “It also shows she did have a 401K and that’s valued at five hundred thousand. If we can believe Charlene, chances are she left no money to Harlan. So the only thing he’d have is the value of the policy he took out on her. Hmm, her attorney isn’t listed on here, but my guess is one of her bosses at work would be her counsel of record, and it looks like she put this in a trust. Smart woman.”
“I’m sure her bosses told her how to handle it.”
“Okay, let’s take a break before we head out to see Harlan,” Jessie said.
“Not until after we see the captain,” Zach said. “He wants an update, and just to give you a heads up, he saw you grab my hand the other day.” Jessie sucked in a deep breath. “He threatened a suspension if we were back as a couple. I told him you were a touchy-feely type person, and I was certain you meant nothing by it.”
“What?” her eyes blinked. “Reamer is an ass!”
“I don’t know, Jessie. All I know is that I’m getting tired of him asking me.”
“Good! Then tell him to ask me. I’ll set him straight.”
“You know, I was thinking, maybe this partnership was a bad idea. If you want a different partner, now would be the time to say it. If not, then I’d suggest we act like things are peachy keen or he’s going to separate us and give us different partners.”
“For chrissake, Zach, how many times do I have to say this? I don’t want another partner. So stop asking me already, will ya? I have no intention of wanting to be paired with anyone else. You’re it for the duration.”
Zach couldn’t help but smile. Her answer gave him confidence that she’d eventually have a change of heart about their relationship. He gestured with his hand as he headed in the direction of the captain’s office. “Shall we?” Jessie fell into step.
“Want me to address the issue with him?” she asked.
“Oh, God no. I see how pissed off you are right now. You’ll wind up saying something you shouldn’t and you’ll be out on your ass.” She twisted her mouth to the side and shook her head. A few feet from Reamer’s office, he turned to look at her. “Promise me you’ll keep your mouth shut…at least until you’ve had time to think it over.” She agreed with a nod. Zach leaned inside the opened door. “Captain, is now a good time?”
“Now is a perfect time. Come in. Detective Bradshaw and I are just finishing up.” He signed a paper and handed it back to her. “Have you met?”
Jessie acknowledged her with a nod, but Zach’s appreciative glance gave her a surge of jealousy. “This is Detective, third class, Morgan Bradshaw.” She smiled at Zach. “This is the dynamic duo, Detectives Zach Gerard and Jessie Kensington.” Morgan extended her hand to Zach who cupped both his hands over hers.
“Jessie and I met in the restroom this morning,” Morgan said. S
he smiled. “Nice to see you again.”
Jessie wished she could say the same thing, but she wasn’t feeling it. She forced herself to acknowledge Morgan’s presence despite the uneasy feeling that was digging a deep well in her gut.
“Bradshaw is no stranger to the law. Her grandfather is Phillip Bradshaw. I believe you both worked with him in the two-one.”
“We sure did,” Jessie said with surprise. “So you’re Phillip’s granddaughter? He used to talk about you all the time.”
“How nice. I am indeed his granddaughter.”
“I should have realized the resemblance when we met earlier, but I didn’t.”
“And I was way too nervous to mention it.”
“Welcome aboard,” Jessie said, doubting she’d ever have the same warm feelings toward the girl as she’d had for Phillip. Glancing over at Zach, she swallowed hard when she noticed he was gawking at Morgan with a shit-eating grin on his face. It only confirmed her dreaded fear as he drank in the girl’s beauty. Zach had always been a sucker for long hair, but this long hair curled down over her full breasts. That was a double whammy. Zach was also a breast man. Jessie gave an internal groan suddenly realizing she could lose Zach forever. Was she willing to risk that? Seeing Morgan’s deep sapphire blue eyes light up when Zach reached for her hand filled her with resentment, especially when the depth of Morgan’s smile was wide and penetrating.
“So good to finally meet you Detective,” she said. “I’ve heard so much about the two of you from my grandfather through the years that I feel as though I’ve known you forever.” Jessie planted a fake smile on her face and glanced over at Zach again. He was still smiling at Morgan and when his eyes gave her the once over, her stomach flipped. Jessie scolded herself. She had no right to feel this way. She was the one to break it off, not Zach, but the thought of another woman in his arms or his bed, caused a cloud of anxiety to wash over her like a rainstorm. He’d told her on more than one occasion he was ready to settle down. He was thirty-seven years old. How long did she expect him to wait? She couldn’t blame him for wanting to get involved with someone else. Funny how that thought hadn’t meant very much to her when it passed through her mind before. She gasped at the thought and quickly turned it into a cough to cover up the fact that her mind was miles away. The cough caught their attention.
Deadly Obsessions (Kensington-Gerard Detective series Book 3) Page 6