by Anna Scott
When I heard her sniffle, I glanced over and saw her head laid back against the head rest, her face tilted toward the side window. I knew she wasn't asleep, and even though I wanted to, we didn't have time to stop so I could hold her. I stretched my arm across the bench seat and clasped her left hand, twining our fingers together. Gillian placed her right hand on top of our bond, looked down at our hands and then up to meet my eyes. She showed the smallest hint of a smile, her eyes were wet and red, but she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
"Thank you," she whispered. I didn't respond, just nodded and smiled back. There was no joy in it, not for either of us, a woman had died tonight, a woman that Gillian loved greatly. The weight of that knowledge stayed with us not only for the rest of that night, but through the following months.
We drove like that for quite a while, hand in hand, connected, sharing and receiving much needed strength. The silence was broken only occasionally by her snuffles and quiet sobs. As we crossed the city limits of Shreveport, Louisiana, Gillian released my hand and dug around in her purse for some tissues. She cleaned up her face, ran her fingers through her hair and was visibly working to pull from her endless well of strength.
"I'm with you, precious, right here." Gillian nodded and took a deep breath, steeling herself before we started up the concrete steps to the second floor of the open air apartment building. As I always did, I glanced around and took it in. It wasn't too bad; the lighting was pretty good but I didn't see any security cameras in the vicinity which could make things more difficult. The age of cameras had certainly made many of our investigations easier to prosecute, showing the jury a video of the accused committing the actual crime took away their doubt in most cases.
At the top of the stairs, Gillian halted and I looked in the direction she was staring, toward a closed door with police tape stretched from side to side. I squeezed her hand, hoping to give her what little strength I could. She nodded almost imperceptibly and guided me to the next door down.
"This Mrs. Pierce's?" I asked, though the answer was pretty obvious.
She nodded again, and raised her hand to knock. Before her knuckles met the wood, it swung open and a tall thin man wearing wrinkled tan trousers and a Shreveport PD polo shirt stood looking at us. He was obviously surprised at our presence, but quickly shook it off and asked, "Are you Ms. Young?"
"I am," Gillian replied, her voice quiet but steady.
"Ms. Young, I'm officer Draper. I'm so sorry for your loss, ma'am." He hesitated a moment, took in her nod of acceptance and continued, "We have some questions for you."
"Thank you officer, I will see my cousin first, once I have, I'll answer your questions." Gilli's spine was straight, her head held high, she was not going to back down and I couldn't have been more proud of her in that moment if I had tried. When he nodded, she breathed, relief evident. The man stepped back and as we moved to pass, he stuck out his hand and I shook it.
"Agent Allen, I presume."
"Reed, please."
Nodding, he indicated the living room where I saw a tiny little girl with dark hair pulled back into a wild pony tale sitting on the lap of a woman in her thirties. Kelly was hugging the woman, who I assumed was Mrs. Pierce, tight with one arm, her other arm tucked in between them and her little thumb securely in her mouth.
"Kelly," Gillian called as rushed toward the pair. Her words were weighted with emotion, a mixture of relief and inexplicable sadness. My heart clenched at the sound and I knew without a doubt that I would do anything for her. After all we'd shared, she was going to be mine, forever if I could convince her.
"Auntie Gilli!" The little girl exclaimed, in her sweet excited little-girl voice and almost toppled over as she moved to climb down from the sofa. Gillian was right there to steady her, then took the child into her arms and swung her up, holding on tight. I stood back, giving them space and watched the stunning scene before me. The love that Gillian had for this innocent child was so apparent it was impossible not to feel it, even from several feet away.
"She's been quiet for a while, but seems to be afraid of me and any of the other men that come in." Michael Draper spoke quietly, so the other occupants in the room wouldn't overhear. There was another man, shorter but bulkier standing near the doorway leading to the kitchen and an older woman sitting in an arm chair. The leather satchel and business casual attire told me that she was the social worker from Child Protective Services.
"How was she when you found her?"
"Inconsolable, and it only got worse when the officers entered her bedroom. She was in a crib, safe, but crying. She was terrified when the men entered her room, she backed away, almost throwing herself against the wall. Her crying changed too, it was eerie. I've seen a lot of reactions in my time, but that was one that will haunt me."
"Did they-"
"No, a female officer arrived on scene shortly after and went inside. The men left the room, after ensuring it was secure and Bethany, the female officer, was able to approach the little girl and get her out without letting her see anything."
I took a deep, relieved breath. I didn't know what had caused the little girl to start crying in the first place, which I understood was what alerted Mrs. Daugherty to trouble, but I was immensely glad that Kelly didn't have to see the crime scene, some nightmares were impossible to erase, even when you were too young to remember them. I was worried however about her reaction to men in general, sometimes kids were trained to fear the uniform, an asinine thing some parents did, but the detectives were plain clothes.
We stood silently watching Gillian and Kelly for a few minutes and taking in the heavy feeling of grief that shrouded the room. Finally, Officer Draper turned to me, looked at me hesitantly and after I nodded at him to speak, he did.
"Has Ms. Young contacted any other family members, friends, anyone?"
"No, she said that she would call her parents later when she had more information. She told me there was no reason to wake them when there wasn't anything they could do."
The officer nodded his understanding, I felt his reluctance to say anymore and had to wonder what was on his mind. I watched his expression closely, but he was a professional and didn't give away much. Without another word, he walked outside the apartment to answer his phone, which must have been vibrating in his pocket.
I kept my vigil in the room, watching over my girl, and was in wonder at the beauty she portrayed, holding that sweet child so lovingly. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, even though I wasn't ready for it yet, I knew that she would hold our children like that someday. It was too soon to plan for, too soon to talk about, but it wasn't too soon for that dream to plant itself in my heart.
Gilli held her little cousin for a long time, sitting on the couch next to the neighbor lady who had been holding that same child and had failed to settle her. Kelly was, even after all the drama that has come to her young life, she was asleep in Gillian's arms. Officer Draper came back in, looked to Gillian, observed the scene and looked around the small, but very clean apartment obviously in search of something. He took a few steps toward the pair and spoke in a low tone, but since I moved forward with him, I heard.
"Ms. Young, I need to speak with you. Is there somewhere you can lay the little girl down?"
Gillian's wide, tear dampened eyes had moved to the officer when he began speaking. She bit her lip, considering his question, looked to Mrs. Daugherty who smiled and indicated a door leading out of the room. Gillian stood gracefully to her feet, even with the thirty-pound angel wrapped in her arms. I followed, then helped her to place the sleeping child on the bed. We worked together silently to move pillows around Kelly and to cover her with a soft afghan that had been placed at the foot of the bed. Gilli laid her hand on Kelly's unruly head for a few seconds before moving away.
I took Gillian's hand as we walked out of the room, lifting it to my lips, I grazed her knuckles with a light kiss and prayed that she would feel my support, I knew that whatever was about to come w
ould be heart wrenchingly difficult for her.
Officer Draper motioned toward the hallway that ran between the apartments. Gilli bit her lip again and looked back at Mrs. Daugherty, who nodded again, telling us that she would look after Kelly. I knew that the woman had a little girl of her own, who even through all of the commotion, was thankfully still asleep.
"Ms. Young, this is Officer Mason and Sergeant Riley." He motioned to each of the other men who nodded in greeting. "We need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?" He was speaking gently, considerate of Gillian's emotional state and being careful not to treat her as anything but what she was, someone who may be able to help them solve this crime. Gillian was a clean cut, beautiful woman who carried herself with grace and pride, I knew without a doubt that was what these men saw in her. I was biased, but regardless of that, you can't take the job out of the man - or woman. We can't help but to see every person we encounter, every situation we run across with an observant and critical eye.
"That's fine, what ever I can do to help. I'm not sure how much help that will be though. I am sorry about that." Her smirk was small, tired and sad, but my respect for her grew every moment I spent with her.
The sergeant nodded his understanding, but motioned toward the other officer, who by his attire and stature, I assumed was a detective.
"Ma'am, I want to start off by expressing my condolences, I am truly sorry for your loss." Gillian nodded her appreciation and clutched my hand tighter. I let go of her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into my side.
"You ready to begin?" Officer Draper asked, and I knew the game. They were going to tag team her, bouncing questions off her from both sides, if I had to guess, they would lob a couple of soft ones, hit her with a hard on and then soft again. The tactic was effective, but I wasn't thrilled with them using it on Gillian, simply because it left the witness off balance and when emotions were high could lead to a breakdown. That, I wouldn't put up with. I lifted one brow toward the sergeant, indicating my concern, but didn't stop the process. Riley flattened his lips but nodded imperceptibly. He knew what I was saying and he would watch it. Professional courtesy be damned, if I wasn't comfortable with Gillian's mental state, I'd shut that shit down quick.
"Do you know a Dwayne Martinez?"
"No, sir," Gillian replied, no hesitation, no expression. Her body didn't shift or move in anyway, and I wasn't surprised when the same officer spoke again.
"What was your relationship to Melissa Dougherty?"
"Missy is my, was, she was my cousin on my mother's side." Gilli shook her head in obvious disbelief, and I assumed that it was at the reminder that her favorite cousin was no longer walking among us. I knew they'd been close, she had been strong so far, but I had a feeling that in the following weeks, she would break down, I just needed to be sure to be with her every time it happened.
"Missy?"
"Melissa, we called her Missy, for as long as I can remember."
The second officer entered into the conversation, "Were you close with your cousin, Ms. Young?"
"Gillian."
"Gillian, were you close with your cousin?"
"Yes, since we were kids, but they moved to Shreveport when we were pretty young so we didn't see each other as much after that."
"Her family moved to Shreveport from McKinney?"
"Allen."
"Allen?" The officer questioned.
"Yes, Allen, Texas, next town over."
Nodding, the same officer continued. "And when was the last time you spoke with your cousin?"
"Wednesday."
"You spoke to her Wednesday?"
"I saw her Wednesday." She clarified, again, no hesitation, no tensing, nothing besides some obvious confusion and of course her sadness.
I watched the two men glance at each other, then to the sergeant and Officer Draper picked up the questioning.
"Ms. Dougherty cam to McKinney?"
"Yes, sir, she and Kelly."
"What was the reason for her visit?"
"She had a job interview, Missy wanted to move home. She wanted bring Kelly and start over." She emitted a slight hiccup with the last, and I knew that this was so hard on her. I would have given anything to shield her from that pain.
"Why did she want to start over?"
Gillian looked up to me, silently asking if it was okay to share what she knew. I smiled down at her and nodded. "It's okay precious, go ahead."
"Missy got into a bad crowd a while ago, but she cleaned up during her pregnancy. Both her parents died last year, just a few months apart and she seemed to slide back after they passed. She told me that she wanted a better life for Kelly and knew she needed to get away from whatever she was mixed up in here in order to do that."
"When did she start to get into trouble?"
"Hmmm, maybe the end of high school, four years ago, I'd guess."
"Do you know what she was into?"
"No, sir. Though my aunt alluded to some kind of drugs, but I don't know specifics."
"Do you know her friends?"
"No. Well, I did know a couple of girls she was close to before - before everything went south, but not now."
"When was Ms. Dougherty planning to move to McKinney?"
"She said less than a month. She got the job that she interviewed for and it started in just over four weeks."
"Was she working here in Louisiana?"
"Yeah, she had been, at a lumber yard I think, but I'm not sure if that was still where she was."
"Why aren't you sure?"
"Mrs. Pierce told me a couple of times that Missy would be out late and a couple of times didn't come home at all. I think maybe she had a new job, another job. I don't know. I asked Missy about it but she wouldn't give me a straight answer."
I noticed Officer Draper, who had been speaking, look at his sergeant again. The action was quick, but I was pretty sure they either had more information about that or were planning to look into it.
"Who is the father of Miss Dougherty?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? You say that you and she were close and yet you claim to not know who the father of her child is?" Gillian's spine stiffened at the implied accusation. My glare shot straight to the sergeant and when he cleared his throat, glancing to the officer, he took a small step back.
"Missy wouldn't say and didn't list him on the birth certificate."
The officer's lips tightened and I wondered again if he knew something and wasn't sharing.
"What other family lives in the area?"
"No one in Shreveport, unless there are cousins I don't know on her dad's side. He was from Louisiana, but nearer to Baton Rouge I think. Other than that, my parents and my brother who live in Galveston."
"If Ms. Dougherty's parents have passed, but your parents are still alive, why are you, a young, single woman, listed as her next of kin?"
"She listed me on everything because my dad had some health problems and they retired." I can feel Gillian getting defensive, understandably so, the question is totally out of the blue and as much as I try to remain calm and understanding that they need to ask their questions, I'm starting to get pissed.
"And your brother?"
"She isn't, wasn't close to him." Her tone takes on a hint of belligerence and again I wonder what the story with her brother is. Of course, this isn't the time to question her about it.
"Is your brother older?"
"Yes, thirty."
"Is he married?"
"Yes."
"Children?"
"Yes." What the fuck are they asking her this shit for. It can't have anything to do with the case.
"Why wasn't she close with him?"
Gillian hesitates for several seconds before answering and I imagine that she is trying to choose her words carefully. "He isn't the nicest person in the world."
"Where does your brother live?"
"Galveston"
"Is he there now?"
&
nbsp; "I assume so, but I don't know."
"You haven't spoken with him?"
"Not in a few days."
"Did you talk about Ms. Dougherty?" I start to see where the officers are going and I have to fight my body's natural inclination to tense.
"Yes"
"Did you discuss her plans to move to Texas?"
"Yes"
"Will you give more details about that conversation?"
"Sure, Adam called, he had heard from our mother that Missy was planning to move. He asked about that and where she and Kelly were going to live."
"And where were they going to live?"
"I don't know; she didn't tell me. I'm not sure if she had that planned out yet."
"What was your brother's interest in where she planned to live?"
"He thought that Missy was planning to live with me, he basically laid into me that I was ruining the cafe, that I couldn't make it on my own and that I was using my cousin or something. I really try not to listen much when he calls me." Okay, that did it, my entire body goes rigid and I know that Gillian felt it when she tips her head up to look at me. Her hand tightens against my lower back when she gets a good look at my face. I think back and realize that it was the day that she had the terrible migraine. Was he the reason she was in so much pain? Was it the stress from talking to him that caused her to be so bad off?
"So, it wasn't pleasant?"
"Um, no, never is," Gilli chuckles slightly but there is no humor in her words and I know, just know that something has gone on between them in the past. Why in the fuck would this guy call her and bitch her out because Missy was moving to town?
"And you don't know any of Ms. Dougherty's friends or acquaintances now?" She jolts at the sudden subject change and I focus back on the officer who is speaking. The two officers asking the questions are good at this and I know they've done this many times before. They volley one question then another almost as if they've rehearsed it.