Harper stared down at the small bed. “I see where you’re going, and yeah, that’s a kid’s bed. My youngest girl sleeps in one just like it.”
Harper went off to get things rolling, and Troy asked Erica what was next.
“We’re headed up to Kingston. I want to be there when Dr. McNamara is served her warrant. She told Brad and I that we weren’t welcome inside her home without one, now she’s got her wish.”
“How was Brad when you saw him yesterday?”
“He’s coming along good and thinks he’ll be released soon. The injury to his kidney wasn’t serious.”
“That’s great news.”
“Although he’s officially sidelined for medical reasons, I suspect Brad will want to stay in New York for a day or two after he’s released from the hospital. I told him we were getting close to cornering this killer.”
“Once you and Brad linked the murders to that therapy group, the pieces fell into place. It seems like it almost has to be someone who has knowledge of Dr. McNamara’s group.”
“And no one fits that criteria better than the doctor herself. Come on, Troy, let’s go visit the lady and see if we can put an end to this case.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
NEW YORK CITY, MONDAY, JULY 22nd
After leaving Ted Marx, Heather went to an AA meeting at a nearby church. She only stayed for a few minutes; however, the meeting helped her to calm down and she came to a decision.
When she returned to Jason’s apartment, she found him straightening up after the cops had given the place a thorough search. She imagined that her own apartment must be in a similar state.
Jason had kissed her in greeting at the door, surprised to see her return so soon.
“I’m glad you’re back, but I thought you were headed home.”
Heather wanted to talk to Jason, to make a confession, but before she unburdened herself, she thought it would be a good idea to have him relaxed and receptive.
“I just want to hang out with you today. Why don’t we order a pizza?”
“Okay, but is everything all right? Your eyes look like you’ve been crying recently.”
“It must be my allergies acting up.”
The apartment was back in order by the time the pizza arrived. They ate while watching an old movie. When it ended, Heather cut off the TV and took Jason’s hand.
“I have something to tell you that might upset you.”
Jason studied her face as he said, “This sounds serious.”
“Remember when I told you that I didn’t want any secrets between us?”
“Yes.”
“I meant it, and so… I… Jason, I saw Lila on the day she died.”
“You… where did you see her?”
“At the train station, and it must have been shortly before she killed herself.”
“Oh my God, Heather, what was she like? What did Lila say?”
Heather wiped away a tear. “She never said a word to me, only looked off into the distance. And I, I said hello and just kept walking. You have to believe me that I had no idea what she was planning to do.”
Jason fell back against the sofa. “She was so lost, so vulnerable. I don’t think she ever had a good day after the rape. Craig Rubio abused her body, but he also ruined her mind. I’m so glad that bastard is dead.”
Heather was still holding Jason’s hand. She gave it a squeeze as she asked, “Are we all right, or do you hate me for not doing more for Lila that day?”
Jason had been staring off into the distance, as if he were reliving a memory. He shifted his eyes toward Heather and pulled her closer, to embrace her.
“I don’t think anyone could have convinced Lila to go on living. Even if you had talked her into leaving the train station, she would have killed herself at some other point. She just wasn’t strong enough to live with the memories she had.”
“I wish that wasn’t true. I’ll always regret not being able to apologize to Lila for the things I said to her in the past.”
Jason smiled, then kissed her. “You’ve changed so much. I never believed that people could change, but you have, thank God.”
Heather laughed, then grew solemn again. “I have one more confession.”
“Yes?”
“I had a child once, a little girl. I gave her away. It was a private adoption.”
“Wow, when was this?”
“It was years ago, and I’ve regretted it every day since.”
“Pregnant, is that why you stopped drinking?”
“Yes, the first time, and Lord was that hard, but I didn’t want to have an abortion and I didn’t want to risk harming the baby. I knew back then that there was no way I could raise her; I was such a mess then.”
“You said that was the first time you stopped drinking, so I guess you started again after the baby was born?”
“I drank and partied more than ever. I wanted to forget that I’d given my daughter away.”
“What made you stop finally?”
“The party life wasn’t the same, or, I guess, I wasn’t the same. I had been sober for over eight months after I found out I was pregnant. I felt better then, and I wanted to feel that way again. That’s when I got serious about AA.”
“And it’s why you came looking for me, to make amends. If not for that, we wouldn’t be together.”
Heather turned in Jason’s arms. “Are we still good, now that you know all about me?”
“Yeah, I mean, everybody has skeletons in their closets.”
“And what are yours?”
“You know mine. I used to be a nerd and I’ve never been lucky with women.”
Heather smiled as she reached up and removed Jason’s glasses. “You’re no longer a nerd, and as for getting lucky…”
They left the sofa and continued the conversation in Jason’s bedroom.
KINGSTON, NEW YORK
Dr. McNamara was enraged by the intrusion into her home and shouted expletives at Erica and Troy. Erica took it all in stride, then asked the police to escort the doctor outside. McNamara was also required to submit a sample of her DNA and would have the inside of her mouth swabbed.
“Make sure she stays put,” Erica told the police. “I’ll want to speak to her after the search is completed.”
When Dr. McNamara saw a tow truck back up to her garage, she nearly went apoplectic.
“My car too?”
“Read the warrant, Doctor. It grants authority to search your house, garage, automobile, and your phone, which you can hand over right now.”
“My phone is in the house on the kitchen counter, you Nazi bitch.”
“That temper of yours brings to mind the phrase, ‘murderous rage.’”
“I didn’t kill those child predators.”
“If true, then you have nothing to worry about.”
Erica went inside to claim the doctor’s cell phone and to join the search. While it was being conducted, other agents and the police were working the neighborhood as they spoke to Dr. McNamara’s neighbors.
Troy Carson had been down in the doctor’s finished basement helping to search through the cartons of old paperwork and files the doctor stored down there. He approached Erica with a smile, and she knew that he had discovered something.
“Please tell me you’ve found a smoking gun. I think the doctor has replaced Ted Marx as my favorite suspect.”
“It’s not anything so dramatic, but it may help provide a motive for another suspect, Jason Warwick.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come down in the basement; you need to experience this yourself.”
Erica went down the stairs with her sore hip protesting. Troy led her to a corner of the carpeted basement where there was a closet. He and a cop had removed everything that had been inside it, and that’s when Troy made his discovery.
“Step inside the closet, then listen,” Troy said.
Erica gave him a puzzled look before stepping into the small space and cocking h
er head to listen. She heard voices. They were the cops in the room above her that were conducting a search. Two of them were discussing a baseball game that had been on TV the night before; she could clearly make out every word they said.
She looked about and saw that there was a vent in the closet ceiling. During the home’s construction, someone careless must have placed a cut-out in the floor above for heat to circulate, not realizing that it would never be connected to the furnace because the space below was to be enclosed as a closet. That slight flaw in the home’s construction left a perfect space for eavesdropping on any conversation in the room above.
Erica looked at Troy as she pointed at the closet’s ceiling.
“That room up there, is it what I think it is?”
Troy nodded. “That’s the doctor’s office, at least it is now. If it was also that back in the day when Jason Warwick lived here, then he could have overheard every word the girls said about their rapes and abuse.”
Erica stepped out of the closet and looked around. “I was under the impression that Jason and his mother stayed upstairs in two of the rooms. Instead, they might have been given the basement to stay in; there is more room down here.”
“The doctor could tell us where they stayed, and also if she conducted the group therapy sessions in the room above us.”
Erica grinned. “Good work, Troy. This has me looking at Jason in a new light.”
“Thanks, but it was luck. If no one had been talking upstairs while I was in the closet unloading boxes, I never would have considered it.”
“I need to speak to the doctor, although I doubt she’ll cooperate.”
“Jason Warwick will probably admit to staying down here as a teen, and Heather Gray can tell us what room the group sessions were held in.”
“You’re right. I doubt they would lie about it since the separate questions don’t give anything away.”
The search was winding down when one of the local FBI agents came up to Erica while smiling. He was an experienced man in his forties, balding on top but still fit and trim.
“I’ve got bad news and good news. First the bad—I’ve uncovered an alibi for the kind doctor. She was captured on a neighbor’s doorbell camera several times during the timeframe of the murders.”
“Too bad, she was looking great as a suspect for a while there. What’s the good news?”
The agent grinned. “You’re going to love this.”
The video from the doorbell camera had been given to the police by the neighbor who had filmed it. Erica was watching it on her phone screen. There were several short scenes, all of them showed Dr. McNamara caught in the act of stealing her neighbor’s newspaper in the morning. There were other videos as well; these showed the doctor returning the paper to the neighbor’s porch, refolded and with the rubber band back in place.
Erica laughed along with Troy as they watched.
“A petty thief. I came looking for a multiple-murderer and discovered a penny-ante crook.”
“The fact that she returns them reveals how sneaky she is,” Troy said.
“Not sneaky enough, apparently. The neighbor said she installed the camera because her newspaper was always wrinkled when she opened it, as if it had been read already.”
“Does she want to press charges?”
“No, but the doctor doesn’t know that,” Erica said.
When the search of the house was completed, Dr. McNamara was released from the patrol car she had been made to wait in. She stormed toward her home with fire in her eyes. Erica, Troy, and a stern-faced female cop were in the living room. Dr. McNamara strode toward Erica while wagging a finger.
“I can’t wait to get my lawyer on the phone, you fascist. When he finishes with you, you’ll be transferred to some remote hellhole.”
As she’d been coached to, the officer took out her handcuffs and asked Erica a question.
“Should I take the doctor in for booking now, or do you have questions for her?”
McNamara jerked her head around to look at the cop. “You’re arresting me?”
“Yes, Doctor,” the cop said.
“On what charge?”
“There are multiple charges of theft and trespassing; these are all backed up by video evidence.”
“Theft? I’m not a thief.”
Erica smiled. “Troy, let the doctor get a look at the evidence against her. By the way, Doctor, that video will be forwarded to the state licensing board. I believe they’re interested in misconduct by psychiatrists. While petty theft might not meet their definition of moral turpitude, I don’t think they’ll appreciate your behavior.”
Dr. McNamara’s angry scowl morphed into a look of concern as she listened to Erica. When Troy showed her video of her stealing her neighbor’s newspaper, the doctor’s cheeks reddened considerably.
“Do you still want to claim you’re not a thief?” Erica asked.
“I only borrowed them,” McNamara said in a small voice. “The woman has a long commute and leaves for work before the paperboy gets here. It seemed wasteful for me to pay for my own newspaper when hers just sits on the porch all day.” The doctor shrugged. “I always put them back neatly.”
“Maybe your neighbor will refuse to press charges if I talk to her. After all, it’s just a petty crime.”
Dr. McNamara nodded vigorously. “Yes, please talk to her, and don’t tell the licensing board about this, that… that wouldn’t be good.”
“Before I speak with your neighbor, I have several questions for you. Would you care to answer them?”
“Yes, I’ll tell you what you want to know, and I swear that I had nothing to do with the murders you’re investigating.”
“So you say, now have a seat, Doctor; we might as well be comfortable while we talk.”
Dr. McNamara confirmed that Jason Warwick and his late mother, Carol, had lived in the basement apartment. During that same time, the doctor had been using the room above the closet as her office.
They left the doctor humbler than when they first arrived. Troy drove, and as he pulled the car away from the curb, he asked Erica a question.
“Are you really going to send a copy of those videos to the state licensing board?”
“No. That was only a threat. I did hear the neighbor say that she was putting them up on the internet. That means there’s a chance that someone from the licensing board could stumble across them.”
Troy shook his head. “She risked all that to save a few dollars a week. And she’s a psychiatrist, a doctor. What was she thinking?”
“It’s always the same with criminals, Troy. They all believe they’re smarter than anyone else. Even if that were true, they’re not smarter than everyone else. Sooner or later they get caught, if not by us, then by someone.”
“That’s true of murderers too?”
“Especially serial murderers, and this one will be caught.”
“I suppose we have another late night coming up. What’s on the agenda?”
“We’ll factor in what we’ve learned from the searches, take the doctor off the suspect list, and reevaluate the rest. I’m positive that our perp is either Heather Gray, Jason Warwick, or Ted Marx.”
“What do you want to order in tonight? I could go for a burger maybe.”
“Not tonight. Tonight I want to sit down at a restaurant, relax, and enjoy a good meal.”
“That sounds great, but let’s stop by the hospital first to see Brad.”
“You read my mind,” Erica said. She was looking down at her phone and viewing the video of Dr. McNamara stealing her neighbor’s newspaper. The sneaky look on the Harvard-trained doctor’s face reminded Erica of a child stealing cookies from a jar.
“Amazing,” Erica said, then laughed.
Chapter Fifty-Four
STATEN ISLAND, MONDAY, JULY 22nd
Erica and Troy found Owens sitting in the hospital’s solarium with Rhonda Wheeler. Rhonda was headed back to her hotel room, after having spent the day with Owe
ns in the hospital. The couple kissed goodbye and Erica and Troy followed Owens back to his room. While Erica’s slight limp was barely noticeable, Owens’ hobble was pronounced. Along with his other injuries, he had twisted a knee. He had to wear a brace and walked with a cane.
Owens was intrigued by the revelation that Marx may have been keeping a child in his apartment.
“I remember from reading the file on him that he has an older sister who lives in California. Does she have any small children who might visit him?”
“No,” Erica said. “And even if there is a similar explanation, why remove everything from the room?”
“I don’t like the sound of that. It suggests that he’s trying to hide something. What about that housekeeper of his that we heard about? Has she been interviewed?”
“We haven’t come across her and she’s not answering her phone or returning messages, likely under Marx’s orders,” Erica said.
“You two had a good day. You’ve eliminated a suspect and found incriminating evidence against a third one.”
Erica nodded. “Troy’s discovery inside the closet raises Jason Warwick’s viability as being our killer. He may have been seeking revenge for the girl he loved and lost, Lila Martin.”
“But why kill all of the girls’ molesters?” Troy asked. “He could have just killed Craig Rubio, Lila Martin’s rapist, then stopped. We wouldn’t have known that he had knowledge of who Rubio was.”
“Maybe he wanted revenge for all the girls?” Erica suggested.
“But I thought he and Heather didn’t get along until recently, why avenge her rape if he didn’t like her?”
“He couldn’t discriminate,” Owens said. “He wanted it to look like a serial killer was murdering random victims. Remember, these men had no connection to each other except the therapy group, and two of them weren’t classified as molesters. Jason might have believed that we would never make the connection. Then again, if a connection was made, it would seem odd that Heather’s rapist was the only one spared. It would also have eliminated her as a likely suspect. By torturing Keith Pardo the way he did, Jason ensured that Heather would be looked at hard by anyone investigating his death.”
The Appointment Killer Page 23