by Robin Caroll
Nick drove to Tiddle’s apartment with his adrenaline spiking. This was it. He felt it. Knew it in his gut. Now he just had to prove it.
Tiddle’s car sat in its parking space. Nick parked beside it, then rushed to the door. The chill in the air had become all too nippy.
“Hello, Agent Hagar.” Tiddle opened the door and waved Nick inside. “It’s getting colder out there.”
“Weather forecast says we might get snow tonight.”
“I’d believe it.”
Nick noticed the suitcase in the hall. “You going somewhere?”
Tiddle followed his line of vision. “Maybe.” He shrugged and smiled, but beneath his smile, fear snuck in. “Gotta be ready in case the boss needs me to scout.”
“I see.”
“Please, sit down.” Tiddle motioned toward the couch.
Nick sat in the chair. “I have a couple of questions for you.”
Tiddle took a seat on the couch. “Shoot.” He grinned, nerves tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Not literally, of course.”
“When did you learn you were adopted?”
As if time suddenly moved at the slowness of frame by frame, Tiddle’s upper lip quivered, then his chin wobbled, and finally, his face flushed. “E-Excuse me?”
“When did you learn you were adopted?” Nick watched every nuance of Tiddle’s expression and body language and would bet the man hadn’t known. This could be useful. “Come on, David. Surely you realized you couldn’t be the biological son of Sherwin and Velma?”
“Uh, I guess I never thought about it.”
“I guess you heard the senator spouting off to the media that we’d brought a suspect in Gina’s murder in for questioning.”
“I did hear something about that on the news.” Tiddle’s foot bounced. “So, who is it?”
“Well, as usual, the senator got some of his facts wrong.”
Tiddle’s laugh came out forced. “Yeah. He does that.”
“See, we found a familial DNA match in the system to the blood left on Gina.”
Tiddle’s eyes widened. “There was blood left on Gina?”
With his focus there . . . Nick leaned forward and lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “And we haven’t released this just yet, but those stab wounds? Not her cause of death.”
“Really?” Tiddle blinked. Once. Twice. And again.
But he never asked how she died.
“Matter-of-fact, there’s been new evidence in the Hailey Carter case that proves irrefutably that these murders were not executed by the same person. The arrest in the Carter case should occur any moment now.”
Tiddle’s Adam’s apple worked overtime. “T-That’s good.”
“Yeah. But back to that family DNA thing. It’s ironic. We did think we had the killer pegged by it. At least I thought so.”
“It wasn’t?” Tiddle fidgeted on the couch.
“No. And for a few moments, it really confused me. I’d looked at the information until it was embedded in my brain. You ever do that? Look at something so long and so hard that you can no longer see what’s right there in front of you?”
Tiddle fingered the edge of the ugly and knotted throw pillow on the couch. “Uh, I guess so.”
“That’s what happened to me. I became so focused on that particular aspect of the case, that I overlooked some other details. Threw me totally off track.”
Tiddle remained silent.
Nick stood and went to the front window. He eased back a curtain and looked out, nodded as if gesturing to someone, then turned back to Tiddle. “I know you travel a bit, for work and all, so you probably know this, but I just recently found out what express checkout is. Do you use that? It’s incredibly cool.”
“Yeah. I’ve used it on occasion. It’s convenient.”
“I agree. But the thing is, David, they slip your bill under the door. If you forget it, like I’m always forgetting things as I get older, housekeeping finds it when they come to the clean the room. Some zealous worker—probably one itching for a promotion—can turn it in to the manager and it just might be put in a file in case that person comes back and wants a copy.”
His cell phone buzzed. “Excuse me just a minute.” Nick stepped into the little dining area. “Hagar.”
“It’s him. Brody remembers Priscilla. It was a one-night stand, he didn’t even know her last name. Frat party. He never saw or heard from her after that night, but he recognized her picture.” Timmons nearly tripped over his own words.
“Oh, I see. That’s interesting.”
“I’m on my way to meet you at Tiddle’s now. I should be there in fifteen minutes or so. Stall.”
“Thanks.” Nick hung up and turned back to Tiddle. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem.”
Nick glanced into the kitchen. There weren’t dirty dishes, but the stench of just that hung in the room. He returned to the living room. “Anyway, I wondered if you ever knew who your birth parents were.”
“Uh, no.” Tiddle shook his head and blew air.
“Really? You never wanted to know? You could possibly have siblings or half-siblings running around in the world. Wouldn’t that be interesting?”
“I never thought about it. I guess that might be.”
“You know, my girlfriend is a DNA specialist. I bet she could get your DNA and process it and help you find out if you have some living relatives.”
“That’s okay. I’m not fond of needles.” Tiddle stared at his suitcase waiting in the hall.
Nick would bet his next paycheck that the man was about to leave town.
“She can do that DNA thing with your spit. No needles.”
Tiddle stood. “I appreciate it, but not right now.” He glanced at his watch. “Matter-of-fact, I really need to run a few errands before I go into work, and I don’t want to be late.”
“We don’t want that.” Nick’s hand rested on the butt of his handgun on his hip. “Mr. Tiddle, I really must insist you come with me to answer a few more questions.”
He froze. “I’ve cooperated with you all along.”
“Yes, sir, and I do appreciate that. But I need you to come with me to answer a few official questions regarding Gina Ford’s death.”
His gaze darted to the suitcase to the door to Nick to the suitcase to the door to Nick—
“David, it’s really in your best interest if you come with me now and answer a few questions.”
“Sure. Let me just go to the restroom and brush my teeth.” He moved toward the hall.
Nick grabbed his shoulder. “Your teeth are fine. Let’s go.”
Tiddle tensed.
Nick tightened his grip on Tiddle’s shoulder. “Don’t do it. I’m armed. I will shoot you if you run from me because I’m too old and too tired to have to chase you. I’m trying to help you here. I can make it easier on you if you tell us the truth. My partner is right outside. You have zero chance if you run. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
“Maddie?” Peter stood in the doorway of the lab, a man wearing a cheap suit hovering at his elbow. “This man needs a word with you, please.”
She glanced at Eva, shrugged, then went into the hall.
“I’ll be in my office if you need me.” Peter squeezed her arm as he passed.
“Ms. Baxter?” He flashed a badge. “I’m Jeffrey Melendez with Memphis PD Internal Affairs. Can we talk?”
“Sure.” She led him to the break room. They sat across the table from one another, the aroma of recently popped popcorn lingering in the air. “How can I help?”
“Captain Moore sent us the Nettie Sloan file and filled us in on your hypothesis. Very interesting.”
“I thought so.” Her breathing hitched. “I’m almost positive Bobby Rus
t’s DNA will match that taken from the Nettie Sloan crime scene.”
“And we’re working on attaining such a sample through the proper, legal channels.”
Was Nettie’s attacker finally going to be brought to justice?
“I just wanted to touch base with you. Assure you that we’re looking into the investigators who handled the case nine years ago.” Melendez tapped his notebook. “Based upon the case files and my initial interviews, Captain Moore is reopening the Nettie Sloan case.”
Maddie wanted to cry. “Thank you.”
“There’s no guarantee, you know that, but I’ve also put my investigators on the case to monitor the detectives.”
This was the best she could hope for.
He stood. “I just wanted to bring you up to speed. If this goes the way I think it will, I’m sure you’ll be getting a DNA sample to run against the one from Ms. Sloan’s crime scene.”
She stood, wanting to dance. “Thank you, Mr. Melendez.”
“No, thank you. If you hadn’t reviewed this case so diligently, it probably would remain nothing but a file in a cabinet.”
As soon as he left, she raced back to the lab. She filled Eva in on the conversation.
Eva’s eyes widened. “That’s so awesome, Maddie. I know how important this is to you.”
Maddie nodded. “I just can’t let Nettie Sloan down again.”
“You didn’t let her down the first time, Maddie, someone else did. Someone messed with her life, and Hubble’s too, for that matter. It wasn’t you.”
“I know.” She smiled at Eva. “I do. But I still want her to have justice. I want her to see there are people who care about the truth and work for the victims, not for the system.”
“You’re a good person, Maddie.”
She sat straighter. “Thanks, Eva. You are too.”
“Hey, can I interrupt this love fest?” Peter stood in the doorway.
They laughed.
He stood at Maddie’s desk. “You okay? The IA guy looked a little tense when he left. Was on the phone talking low and fast.”
She told him what she’d told Eva. “I’m so excited that the truth will finally come out.”
Peter smiled. “I have even better news. Just heard from the deputy director. Our funds came through! The expansion for the lab is back on track.”
Maddie grinned. “This is wonderful. I can’t wait to tell Nick about it tonight. I invited him for dinner.”
“Then let’s get outta here.” Eva turned off the light in her desk’s overhead. “I’m having dinner with Darren and Savannah.”
They walked out together. A few snowflakes drifted in the air.
“Snow! Oh, I hope Savannah wants to dance in the snow with me. I love that.” Eva twirled.
Maddie smiled. She, too, loved snow. It was like God’s way of cleaning with beauty.
Chapter Thirty-One
“They put me on television. And the whole thing broke loose.
It was wild, I tell ya for sure.”
Elvis Presley
Evening settled over Memphis as Nick and Timmons stood in the viewing room. David Tiddle sat on the other side of the two-way mirror, his feet bouncing his knees up and down. The technician straightened. “It’s recording now, sir.”
“Thank you.” Nick nodded and the man left.
Tiddle chewed his fingernails.
“Think he’ll confess?”
“I think he wants to. I think he needs to.”
Tiddle spat the nail on the floor.
Nick pointed. “Send someone in with some water for him and have them as discreetly as possible, retrieve that nail. We might need that DNA.”
Timmons went to find someone while Nick continued to stare. The mayor had called again today. The senator was pushing hard for something to be done on his daughter’s case. The DNA would prove Tiddle killed Gina, Nick was sure, but that would take a few days. He wanted this over, and now.
As soon as Timmons returned to view, Nick took a deep breath and entered the room. “Sorry to have kept you waiting. Do you need more water?”
“No, I’m good.” Up and down went his knees, like a piston in an engine.
“Look, I’m not gonna lie to you, David. I know you killed Gina. My problem is, I don’t understand why. If I can get the why, maybe I can talk to the DA for you. See if he can do something. The senator’s pushing for the death penalty.”
Tiddle’s face whitened.
“By electrocution, not lethal injection.” Nick leaned back. “I’ve never seen either in person, but I had to watch the videos of both. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to be electrocuted.”
“I don’t want to die.” Tiddle’s expression was one of pure horror.
“Then talk to me. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best. If you don’t lie to me. Shoot me straight, and I’ll see what I can do.” He looked Tiddle in the eye. “Deal?”
If he lawyered up at this point, everything went south. He needed the confession. The proof would be in the DNA and that would come later, but what he’d said about the senator pushing for the death penalty was true.
“Okay.”
“We know about your childhood. About being in the foster-care system after your adoptive parents died. About your juvie record.” Nick’s heartbeat drummed. “So start at the beginning. Friday morning.”
Tiddle shook his head. “It starts before then. Before I even met Gina.”
“Then tell it your way.” Nick leaned back in his chair.
“I didn’t know I was adopted until you told me. You say you know about my childhood? You don’t. Let’s just say that moving from one family who doesn’t want you to another isn’t exactly a self-esteem builder.”
He took a sip of water. “I wasn’t the most masculine of guys, and violence never turned me on. But I needed to learn how to make a buck. I knew I didn’t have the guts for drugs, didn’t have the ability for burglary—I have a hard time unlocking my door with a key—so I focused on scams. Blackmail being the easiest and least messy.”
Moving from blackmail to murder was quite the reach.
“I made my way through my twenties with little blackmail schemes here and there. Enough to survive, but not big time. Until one day, as I was getting some photos on another gig, I happened to spot Senator Ford sneaking into a house that wasn’t his. And he was following a woman that looked nothing like the photos I’d seen on the news of Mrs. Ford.”
Lila Acer.
“I began to watch that house. I took photo after photo of the two of them together. Some that there was no way he’d be able to explain his way out of. I figured I’d hit the big-time. But he’s a senator so getting to him and getting the demand letter to him past his flunkies would be impossible on my own.”
Like Ford’s security team had held the threats from Ward’s people.
Tiddle shifted in his seat. “So I researched the senator to see a time when I could get through to him. And I found Gina. I began to research her, learn her schedule, figure out where she hung out. I waited for the opportunity to run into her. I finally did. We became friends, then started dating. I knew if I could just get close enough to her, she’d eventually take me to her father’s house. I’d planned to slip copies of the photos and the demand letter in his room to find when I wasn’t there.”
What a calculating scumbag.
“But then I started having real feelings for Gina. I wanted to spend more and more time with her and cared less and less about her father and the blackmail. I got the photographer’s apprentice job and really applied myself to learn the trade.” His eyes glassed over as he stared at Nick. “I didn’t lie to you about loving Gina. We were in love. We planned to get married.”
A marriage based on blackmail, that was rich.
“Gina made me a better man. I looked forward to a future with her. I gave up my blackmail plan and concentrated on building a future with her.”
Sounded like a beautiful story. “What happened?”
“She went to my place to study while I was out of town. The whole Hailey Carter murder had her shaken up and she wanted to stay farther away from campus to feel safer. She was looking in drawers for a highlighter as hers went out and she found the pictures of her dad. Naturally, she got upset and left.”
“I have to interrupt to ask. If you loved her and were going to start a life with her, why’d you keep the pictures?”
“Honestly? I forgot about those copies. I’d destroyed the negatives and the other set, along with the demand letter. Those were extras and I’d shoved them in that drawer months ago.”
Nick nodded.
“That Friday morning, she came here, furious, but more hurt than anything.” Tears shone in his eyes. “I tried to explain but she was despondent. Not just about her father, but she’d figured out I’d intended to blackmail him.” He shook his head as he cried. “She wouldn’t let me explain. We argued. She threw the pictures down and stormed toward the door.”
Nick could see it.
“I couldn’t let her leave. Not like that. I’d never see her again. I tried to stop her. She struggled against me. She came at me like a cat, ready to claw my eyes out. I shoved her off of me.”
That explained the bruising around her collarbone.
“She shoved me back, then turned to grab the lamp in the bedroom. I pushed her. She fell backward and over the bed.” His tears fell freely. “She landed on her neck. I heard it crack. Knew she was dead.”
Nick’s stomach turned.
Tiddle sniffed. “I knew I couldn’t explain her death. Knew the whole blackmail thing would come out. I panicked. I remembered all the news about Hailey because Gina was almost obsessed with it. She freaked, terrified someone would attack her. And that’s when I got the idea to make it look like Gina had been killed by the same guy.”
“How could you do that?”