Thrilled to Death v5

by L. J. Sellers

  “I’m on my way.”

  Chapter 23

  Lucas had the thin face, nervous eyes, and sparse hair of a man who’d spent most of his life worrying about something. Today was no exception. Even with his hands cuffed in front, he was chewing his fingernails as Jackson walked into the interrogation room.

  “Eddie. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.”

  “I go by D.J. now.”

  Jackson sat on the other side of the scarred wooden table. He set out his recorder. “Eddie, if you tell me the truth, I’ll use this tape to convince the district attorney to cut you a deal. If you lie to me, I’ll convince a jury you’re as guilty as you look.” Jackson gave him a shitty smile. “Ready?”

  “You’re wrong about me,” Eddie said, sounding high-pitched and eager, his black Kid Rock t-shirt making him seem younger than his thirty-two years. “I’ve been on the right side of the law for a long time now. They picked me up on some stupid left-turn thing.”

  “Why did you run?”

  Eddie shrugged. “I don’t know. Sometimes I see cops and I panic. I keep hoping I’ll get over that.”

  “You’re looking at a murder charge in the death of Courtney Durham. I guess that’s reason to panic.”

  His suspect swallowed hard. “That’s crazy.”

  Jackson wanted to get to the heart of this conversation, but he had to put Lucas on edge first. “We know Seth Valder hired you to kidnap Courtney. We know it was her idea, and that she was fine when she left Seth Valder’s house in your van. What happened after that? Did you panic and kill her because you were afraid of getting busted for your part in the whole thing?”

  “Hell no.” Eddie shook his head vigorously. “I let her off over there on that bike path behind the football stadium, just like Seth told me to. Then I drove away. Courtney was fine. She said, ‘Thanks for the ride,’ and blew me a kiss when she hopped out.”

  “When did you learn she was dead?”

  Eddie’s eyes darted around as he tried to find the best answer. “I didn’t know she was dead until you mentioned it just now.”

  Jackson laughed a little. “Why did you suddenly leave town yesterday?”

  “My mother is sick. I was on my way to Fresno to see her.”

  Jackson leaned forward. “Look, Eddie. You need to cut the bullshit. I have Seth Valder in custody too. I’m prepared to charge both of you with two counts of kidnapping and murder.” Jackson put extra volume on the word two and watched Eddie’s reaction.

  Two counts of murder? Eddie felt queasy. His tongue slid back and forth across his bottom lip and he was powerless to stop it. “Who else is dead?” He had to ask, but he already knew.

  “Danette Blake. The first woman you kidnapped.” The detective stared at him with the coldest eyes. “If you cooperate, the DA will offer some kind of deal with minimal jail time. He’s on his way over here now. I want the whole story before he gets here. He’s not a patient man.”

  Eddie remembered that day. It had seemed like such easy money at the time. Then everything had gone to shit. He couldn’t believe Valder had killed the girl. For nothing. For his mistake. Fuck! Eddie felt like crying. He began to rock, a gentle movement that gave him little comfort. It all came back to him in vivid detail.

  He sat in the back of the van, watching the building out the rear window. Everything was ready, including the washcloth in his hand. The parking lot was quiet, and only one car pulled in while he waited. The pretty girl came out the door just before ten o’clock as Valder had said she would. Eddie scrambled over to the van’s sliding door to get in place. He grabbed the handle and listened for her footsteps. Suddenly she was there, keys jangling.

  Eddie threw open the door and stepped out directly behind her. He locked his left arm around her chest and pressed the chloroform washrag over her nose and mouth with his right hand. She made a small startled sound, dug an elbow into his ribs, then went limp as he dragged her backward into the van and slammed the side door. Handcuffs on first, then handkerchief over her eyes. Another cloth around her mouth, then the nylon rope around her ankles. The whole thing took less than three minutes.

  Eddie climbed into the driver’s seat, glanced around, and started the van. Damn that had gone smoothly. He pulled out of the parking lot, thinking it shouldn’t be that easy to kidnap someone, even if she was expecting it.

  After the girl fell out of the van in Valder’s garage, Eddie squatted and lifted her onto his right shoulder. She was heavier than he thought she would be. He staggered into the house where Valder was waiting. Eddie kicked the door to the garage closed behind him and followed Valder through the stainless steel kitchen into a hallway.

  By the time they reached Valder’s office at the back of the house overlooking a tennis court, Eddie was winded and his knees hurt from the weight. He dropped the girl on the leather couch just inside the door.

  “What was the noise I heard?” Valder picked up something from his desk and headed toward Eddie.

  “She got a little feisty and I fell against the car. Your car’s fine.” Eddie hated the way his voice sounded. Nervous and submissive, like a kid.

  Valder looked down at the couch where the girl was prone, chest heaving. He turned to Eddie and screamed, “You fucking idiot.”

  “What?”

  Valder grabbed his arm and propelled him away from the couch. “You grabbed the wrong girl.”

  “What?” It was all he could say. His heart hammered so hard he couldn’t think.

  “She’s not even blond. How could this happen?” Valder’s anger-twisted face was inches from his. Eddie glanced over at the girl, who no longer had a hood over her hair.

  “I don’t know.” He fought the panic rising in his throat. Valder was a businessman, not a thug. He wouldn’t hurt him. Would he? “She came out of the building where you said she would be. The time was right, the place was right, she looked right.”

  “She’s not even blond! I gave you a fucking photo.”

  “She had her hood up over her head, so I didn’t see her hair. And she had on sunglasses. Are you sure it’s the wrong one? Women color their hair.”

  Valder’s hand came up as if he were about to slap Eddie, then the big man got control of himself. His face went blank and his voice was smooth. “Look at the photo again, then go back out there and kidnap the right girl. None of us get paid until we get it right.”

  “Where do I find the blond girl?”

  “Tonight at Diego’s. It’s a nightclub on Pearl Street. Park in front of the building and wait for her to come out.”

  “What if she’s not alone?”

  “Follow her until she is.”

  “What about her?” Eddie nodded in the direction of the couch.

  Valder’s eyebrows came together. “Did she see you when you picked her up?”

  “No.” Eddie had been careful, despite assurances that he couldn’t get into trouble.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll clean up your mistake.”

  Eddie’s gut flip-flopped. “What do you mean? You’re not going to hurt her, are you? This was supposed to be a clean job.”

  “I’ll give her some drugs, then drop her off near the hospital. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. Just don’t fuck this up again or you won’t be.”

  Eddie didn’t tell any of this story to the cop. Instead he said, “I can’t believe they’re both dead. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.” He hated to be a rat, but he wasn’t going down for a murder charge. “Valder said it was a straightforward adventure kidnapping. It was supposed to be easy money.”

  “How much money?” Jackson asked. Eddie was hard to read, but he knew he was holding back.

  Eddie hesitated. “Three grand.”

  “So what happened?”

  Eddie massaged his bottom lip some more. “I messed up. It was an honest mistake. I had a short list of places Courtney could be, so I waited in the shrink’s parking lot. She came out right on schedule. She had a hood over her head and I didn’t
see her hair.” Eddie’s voice tightened. “I thought she was Courtney. I saw the contract she signed. It was a legit job.”

  “How did you kidnap her? What exactly did you do?”

  “I used a little bit of chloroform to knock her out, then dragged her into the van. I cuffed her hands and tied her feet.”

  “Did she struggle?”

  “Not at that point. It went very smoothly. I thought everything was fine.” Eddie bit his lower lip. “Until I got to Valder’s house.”

  “What happened then?”

  “I carried her in and set her down on the couch in Valder’s office. He started freaking out and yelling at me.” Eddie’s distress was palpable. His eyes blinked rapidly and he worked his lower lip in a rhythmic motion.

  Jackson needed the whole story. “Then what?”

  “Valder said I had to go out and get the right girl or I wasn’t getting paid. He made other threats too. He kinda scared me.”

  “What about Danette? What happened to the girl on the couch?”

  “I don’t know.” Eddie glanced away. “Valder said not to worry about her. He said she would be fine.”

  “You accepted that? You left her there?”

  “He said he would drop her off at the hospital. I believed him.”

  Jackson wasn’t buying it. “You know Seth Valder has agoraphobia? He doesn’t leave the house. How was he going to drop Danette off?”

  “He has other people working for him, bringing stuff to his house. I thought she would be okay.”

  “You were happy to walk away from her. You didn’t want to have to deal with the aftermath of your mistake.”

  Shame flushed over Eddie’s face. “I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  “You still went out and kidnapped Courtney that night.”

  “I needed the money. I was afraid of what Valder would do to me if I didn’t.”

  “You were afraid of what he would do to you, but not worried about what he would do to Danette?” Jackson was disgusted and let it show.

  “It’s not like that. I thought he might send someone to rough me up or maybe badmouth my business. I wasn’t worried he would kill me, and I didn’t think he would hurt that girl either. I know he used to be rough on his dancers sometimes, but nothing serious. I swear it was an honest mistake. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”

  “Why did you leave town?”

  Eddie let out a mirthless laugh. “I knew I was screwed. Once I heard Courtney was dead, I knew the cops would be after me. I figured the whole thing about the other woman I took by mistake would blow up in my face.”

  “Do you know what Valder did with Danette?”

  “No.”

  “You saw Valder when you took Courtney to his house that night and then again when you picked her up for the final drop off. You didn’t ask him about Danette?”

  “I never knew her name.”

  “Weren’t you curious about what happened to her?”

  “I figured he did what he said he was going to do.”

  “Which is what?”

  “I told you. He said he would give her some drugs and drop her off at the hospital.”

  Jackson began to think the little coward was telling the truth, or mostly the truth. By itself, Eddie’s testimony might not be enough to convict Valder, but if they came up with any of Danette’s DNA from Valder’s house, that would cinch it. Jackson had no idea what kind of deal the DA would make with Lucas and he didn’t care.

  “Could I have something to drink?” Eddie whined.

  “Sure.” Jackson grabbed his recorder and left the room. He asked one of the desk officers to take his suspect something to eat and drink, then he called McCray.

  “Eddie Lucas just confessed to abducting Danette from Callahan’s parking lot. He says he left her at Valder’s house and never saw her again.”

  “I needed to hear that. Because I’m sitting here at my desk reworking this subpoena because Volcansek turned it down. Cranston is out of town.”

  “Put it all back. Tell her about the confession. I want Valder’s computer and his phone and bank records. I want his DNA. Everything you can think of.”

  Jackson went to his own desk, sat down, and closed his eyes. On one hand, the who/why of these cases seemed to be wrapping up. Yet he sensed he was still missing something critical. Like Danette’s body, and a definitive cause of death for Courtney. He decided to take a moment to empty his mind and not think about anything. It was his own form of meditation. Sometimes after a ten-minute session, he would get new ideas.

  Jackson woke twenty minutes later. He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed he’d nodded off. Two other detectives were in the crowded room, but he was relieved to see one was on the phone and the other was staring at his monitor.

  An image of Danette, sitting in Dr. Callahan’s office holding Micah surfaced in his brain. He had dreamed it during his short nap. Jackson closed his eyes again and tried to remember more of the dream, but that one brief image was all he had. That often happened in the morning when he woke rapidly; his dream would dissipate like a puff of smoke.

  Jackson headed for the bathroom, where he splashed cold water on his face. He still had a long day ahead. The image of Danette stayed with him. Did it mean anything? Could Danette still be alive? But where? And why? It made no sense. She was a witness to her own mistaken kidnapping. Valder had very likely killed her simply to make the problem go away. He had a lot of property on which to bury her.

  Jackson strode down the hall to see Sergeant Lammers. He needed a digging crew and equipment. His boss wasn’t in her office, so he called her from the hall and left a request. Could they convict Valder without a body? It was unlikely.

  Jackson decided it was time to go back to the jail. Valder was the key, and Jackson would keep chipping away at him until he cracked.

  The county jail was only six blocks from city hall and Jackson decided to walk over. It was a warm, blue-sky spring day, and he hadn’t been out for his morning run all week. He thought it would feel good to his intestines to stretch out.

  Except for the proximity to the police station, the location of the jail made no sense. It sat at the foot of Skinner Butte, only blocks from upscale shopping, dining, and theater. You could see the two-story red-brick building from the glass-walled top floor of the Hilton, the only major hotel in the downtown area. In the morning when they released groups of inmates, a crowd of riff-raff spilled out past the surrounding shops and restaurants.

  As he walked past the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, his cell phone rang. Jackson didn’t recognize the number.

  “Mr. Jackson? This is Shelley Ferguson, the vice-principal of Kincaid Middle School. We’ve asked Katie to leave the premises for the day, and it’s important you come pick her up.”

  The knife in his gut gave a little twist. “What happened?”

  “It’s rather complicated.”

  Jackson spun around and headed back to the department. Of all the times not to have his car! “Tell me anyway, I think I can manage to process it.”

  “I’d rather discuss this in person, with Katie here to explain her side of it.”

  “I’m on my way.” Jackson started to run.

  Kincaid Middle School was located in a busy south-side neighborhood with a mix of commercial and residential buildings. The building’s gray utilitarian look, with grass-only landscaping had not changed since Jackson attended almost thirty years ago. As a kid, what he’d liked best was the school’s proximity to the minor league baseball field where he’d watched the local team play.

  He remembered the secretary from his visit here last fall to question students about the death of one of their peers.

  “Hello, Detective Jackson. Ms. Ferguson is waiting for you.” She pointed down a narrow hallway.

  As Jackson entered the vice-principal’s office, he felt strangely nervous.

  Katie waited in a chair, doing math homework, and the vice-principal was just hanging up the phon
e. Shelley Ferguson was middle-aged, a little pretty, a little plump.

  “Thank you for coming. Katie told us you were very busy with a case, but she wouldn’t give us another adult to call.”

  “What’s going on?” He looked at Katie. She met his eyes and he didn’t see any trace of contrition.

  “I left school to buy something to eat at the little store.”

  “Leaving the campus during the school day is a serious violation,” Ms. Ferguson said.

  “Why not eat in the cafeteria? You have a lunch card.” Jackson knew there was more to this incident.

  “The cafeteria was closed,” Katie said, with small flare of drama. “I was late because Ms. Summers kept me after class to talk about Ms. Driscoll.”

  “Just give me the story, so we can get going.”

  Katie rolled her eyes. “Almost every time Ms. Driscoll sees me she puts her arm around me and blows a kiss. I don’t like it and I’ve asked her to stop. She did it again today, so I came to the office and said I wanted to file a sexual harassment complaint.”

  Oh oh. “That’s a pretty serious allegation, Katie.”

  “It can ruin a teacher’s career,” the vice-principal added.

  Katie sighed. “I know that now. Ms. Summers kept me after math class and explained it in detail. She was very upset with me. When I got to the cafeteria it was closed. So I went to the little store and bought lunch. I don’t do well in class if I’m hungry.”

  Jackson turned to the vice-principal. “What’s the penalty for leaving campus?”

  “Two days suspended.”

  Jackson rose to leave. “While Katie is out of school, I want you to talk to Ms. Driscoll. Please explain that her behavior is inappropriate and unwanted and it needs to stop. Explain to Ms. Summers that this is not her business and she should not discuss it with Katie further.”

  He turned to his daughter. “You will not file a sexual harassment complaint this time. You will never leave campus again without permission, except if there’s imminent danger. Grab your backpack and let’s go.”

  He smiled at Ms. Ferguson. “Sorry for your trouble.”