She’d silently handed him her BlackBerry and suggested he follow the map she’d found online two hours ago.
At his stunned expression, she’d laughed herself silly. Humiliated, he’d sat beside her, fuming. But then her infectious giggles eventually got to him, the ability to laugh at himself making its way to the surface, and he’d found himself chuckling along with her.
They’d found the waterfall in a matter of minutes and shared the sweetest kiss he’d ever experienced.
Now, he spotted the glint in her eye. So, she still thought about their times together, too. Interesting. Heartening. Hope rose within him, but instead of making a big deal about it, he gave her a mock glare and said, “Cute.”
She laughed and exited the car, leading the way to the front door of the school.
Their mood turned serious as they entered the building. Joseph watched her shutters come back down. All cop now, she was back to business. Flashing her badge at the receptionist, she said, “Did Billy Franklin’s mother call to let you know we were coming?”
“Yes, she did.”
“Is there a room where we could speak with him privately?”
“Of course.”
They walked down a short hall to a conference room. She said, “I’ll just page Billy for you.”
She left, and Joseph paced.
A few minutes later, the door opened once again and a young man who Joseph knew to be seventeen years old, entered. He had on baggy jeans and a light sweatshirt with the school logo emblazoned across his chest. He looked scared and tired, like he hadn’t had much sleep lately.
Probably hadn’t. Not with his kid sister missing.
Following Billy was Coach Dillard. “I’m sorry,” Joseph stopped his advancement into the room, “You can’t be here.”
“Billy asked me to join him. Is it all right?”
Joseph looked at Billy then over at Catelyn. She shrugged. “If he wants him here, I guess.”
Alan sat next to Billy at the table. “I assume this is about Kelly.”
“You assume right,” Catelyn said.
Joseph turned his attention back to the boy. “Do you know if Kelly and Tracy were together at the school Tuesday night?”
Billy licked his lips, his eyes darting around the room stopping when he came to Catelyn. “She already questioned me the day Tracy died. Why do I have to answer more?”
“Because Kelly’s still missing, Billy, and we’re running out of options to help find her. So, if some of our questions seem repetitive, will you just humor us?” Catelyn frowned at Billy’s evasiveness. Joseph didn’t blame her. He eyed the kid and started to speak when the door opened.
Another man in his early sixties stepped through the door. “I’m Carlton Bowles, principal here. Do you mind if I sit in on this?”
He held out a hand and Joseph and Catelyn stood once again. Joseph said, “Have a seat.”
Catelyn decided it was time for a woman’s touch. “Billy, I know we talked right after Tracy was found and I appreciate your cooperation. The only reason Special Agent Santino and I are here is because we’re hoping you might have remembered something since I last talked to you. You’re not a suspect in any way right now. Do you think you could relax and just try to help us out?”
At her reassurance, his countenance seemed to soften. “Yes. Like I said before, I think she and Tracy were together, but I can’t say for sure. She texted me a little after 4:00 that afternoon and said she was meeting some friends.” He shrugged. “I don’t know if that included Tracy or not. She wanted me to make up an excuse to tell Mom and Dad about why she was going to be late for supper. I did.”
“And she never came home, right?”
“Right. I wasn’t too worried because she was always late, but then she wasn’t home by dark, which still wasn’t that unusual. Then around 9:00, I mean, she still wasn’t home…”
She waited to see if he was going to pick back up with his sentence. He didn’t, so she said, “I do have one question that I haven’t asked you. Do you know anything about the gang, The Skulls?”
Catelyn knew she’d hit a bull’s-eye when Billy’s face lost all color. His throat bobbed and shook his head. “No, no. I don’t know anything about them. Just what I’ve heard and it’s not good. I don’t want to be mixed up in that stuff. Uh-uh.”
He placed his hands on the table. They trembled and he shoved them back in his lap. This boy was terrified of something.
Alan lifted a hand. “Um, do you mind if I intervene here?”
Catelyn lifted a brow. “Sure.”
“Billy’s a good kid trying to stay out of trouble. A fantastic baseball player with a huge future ahead of him. That sister of his…well, no disrespect, but she seemed to be heading toward trouble. I mean, I’ve heard she was a good kid, so maybe I’m off base, but considering the kids she hung out with…” He shrugged. “From the outside looking in, I would say that if she had her way, she would have had Billy involved in that gang.”
“Do you know for sure that Kelly was involved?”
“No, like I said, I only have my suspicions. I do know she was good friends with Tracy, the only other girl from the deaf school who was also part of our mainstream program here. You know, where we bus deaf kids over so they can be around their hearing peers. And I know Tracy was involved in the gang. She made no secret of that fact. We also have a few hearing students who claim they’re involved in the gang, but as long as they don’t cause trouble here at school, there’s not much we can do about it.”
“Billy?” Catelyn turned to him. “Was Kelly involved with The Skulls?”
The teen buried his face in his hands for a brief moment before looking back up. “No way!” Then he looked at the two men and muttered, “I don’t know. But no, I don’t think so, although she never said anything to me about it. And I really don’t think she would be involved in that anymore than I would. She wasn’t like that even though she was friends with Tracy. Kelly did say something about talking to Tracy about the gang, but I think she was going to try and convince her to quit the gang, not ask to join.” He shot a look at his coach, refuting the man’s earlier comment. To give the man credit, he just shrugged.
Billy went on, “Tracy and Kelly have been friends since they both started preschool at the deaf school, so if Tracy was involved with The Skulls in any way, and I’m pretty sure she was, she probably did ask Kelly to join, but Kelly would never…” He shrugged and looked away again.
Catelyn glanced at Joseph trying to see what he thought. An impassive rock stared back her, but she knew he wasn’t missing a thing.
She turned back to Billy. Was this kid telling everything he knew? She couldn’t tell. He still looked scared. And that made her suspicious that he knew something else.
She leaned forward. “Look Billy, if Kelly’s in trouble, withholding information isn’t going to help matters. We’re going to get to the bottom of this one way or another.”
He threw his hands up. “I don’t know anything else. I’m sorry, but…I mean I can make something up if you want, but I don’t know what else to tell you.”
Alan placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Calm down, Billy. They’re just trying to do their jobs.”
“No, of course I don’t want you to make something up,” Catelyn assured him. “We just don’t have much to go on and are doing everything we can to find out what happened to your sister and Tracy. One last question.”
“What?”
“Do you think Dylan would hurt Tracy? Did he have any reason to kill her?”
Billy winced then mumbled, “I don’t know. I didn’t really hang around with Dylan that much even though he was dating Kelly. As for him hurting Tracy, I wouldn’t think so, but they had a fight the other day. Kelly told me about it. Zachary, Tracy’s brother, wanted Kelly to be his girl.”
“And Kelly didn’t want that.”
“No way. She was all into Dylan.”
“All right.” Catelyn pressed her palms
to the table and stood. “If you think of anything else, you’ll call, right?”
“Sure.” He licked his lips. “I will. Can I go now?”
“Yeah, go on.”
Joseph looked at him. “You have a game tonight, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good luck, then. I look forward to watching you play.”
Confusion flickered briefly, then he shrugged and said, “Oh, right. You’re Alonso’s brother. He’s told me a lot about you and I’ve seen your picture. Thanks.”
The boy and his coach left. The principal stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. “We want to do everything we can to help Billy. I don’t think he would have anything to do with Tracy’s death or Kelly’s disappearance. He’s our star baseball player. Our pitcher. He spends his time on the field. He doesn’t hang out with the wrong kind of kids.”
“Star pitcher, huh? Scholarship material?”
Pride puffed out Carlton’s chest. “National Baseball League material for high school kids, then on to the majors. He’s going to put this school on the map. You just wait and see. A couple of years ago, the district was going to cut the team, the whole program, due to a lack of funds. Thanks to an anonymous donor, we got the money. We already had the best coach in the country. Put those two together…” He rubbed his hands together in what Joseph would call glee. “Now, Billy and Coach Dillard are the ones taking the team all the way this year. It’s going to be big. So, whatever I can do to help you with this case to make sure Billy stays in the clear, you just let me know.”
Joseph frowned. “We’re not investigating this to keep Billy in the clear. If Billy’s guilty of something, Billy’ll take the fall for it.”
“I know, I just meant…”
Catelyn jumped in, saying, “Coach Dillard seems very involved with his students.”
“Definitely.” The man looked relieved at Catelyn’s intervention. “All of our coaches are. He even takes a couple of them to church every week. Just the ones who want to go and don’t have a ride. We certainly don’t force anything on anyone. Alan’s also an avid hunter and takes a group up into North Carolina every year. He says it teaches his students patience.”
“Sounds like the school is lucky to have him,” Joseph said.
“Definitely.” They shook hands again.
The secretary popped her head in. “You’re needed in the cafeteria, sir.”
“Thanks, Alice.” He turned back. “Can you two see yourselves out?”
“Absolutely. Thanks again for your cooperation.”
“Anytime.”
He left and Joseph looked at Catelyn. “Billy knows something, and he’d scared stiff to tell us what it is.”
“I got that feeling, too.”
“What do you think about the coach?”
Shrugging, she moved toward the door. “He seems nice enough, I guess. Supports his students, a concerned teacher.”
“He’s also in the running for the Amateur Baseball Association’s coach of the year. His team is going to the High School Baseball World Series in July and he’s got colleges and the National Baseball League looking at him. Like Mr. Bowles said, Billy’s his star pitcher. Colleges all over are looking to snatch him up as soon as he graduates. And the man doesn’t want anything to happen to shake that up. I think he’d protect Billy with his life if it came down to it.” Joseph shook his head. “And although he comes across concerned and solicitous, I bet he wouldn’t feel the same way if it was just his average student in trouble.”
“Possibly. Then again, you never know. And how do you know all that about him anyway?”
He grinned. “I read the newspaper.”
“Huh. Sounds like Coach has a lot going on.”
Catelyn’s phone rang, cutting her off. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Sandy, in the crime lab.”
“Sandy.” Anticipation jumpstarted her heart rate. “What did you find?”
“The DNA came back with a match for the blood on the ring. You’ll never guess who.”
Catelyn took the information and looked at Joseph smugly as she hung up.
FIVE
“The DNA matched up with Dylan’s. I’m shocked.”
“Do I detect a tad of sarcasm in that statement?”
They rushed to the car, Catelyn heading for the passenger seat. “Maybe a tad.”
“So it was Dylan’s?”
“Yup.”
Joseph heaved a sigh and climbed in. “I suppose you want to arrest him?”
Looking him in the eye, she said, “No, I don’t want to, I have to. I’m sorry for Alonso, but I’m not surprised at this development. Dylan claimed he was never there. And now his DNA shows up on her ring?”
“Could have happened before that night.”
“The blood was fresh. She hadn’t been there long before the security guard found her.”
Joseph fell silent for a couple of minutes. “The cut on his chin,” he said, almost to himself.
“What?”
“The day he came to the crime scene at the school. I was thinking how Alonso and his buddies were growing up, then realized they were past growing, they were pretty much grown. Dylan had a cut on his chin and I thought he’d probably gotten it shaving. If that’s Dylan’s DNA on the ring, then Tracy must have slapped him, hit him or something…maybe backhanded him, depending on which way her ring was turned.”
“Let’s go pick him up. He’s at the deaf school. He’s a part of the mainstream program even though he does most of his classes here at the high school. Alonso loves the program because he has the opportunity to be around his hearing friends and be at the deaf school, too.”
She got on the phone with the deaf school and confirmed Dylan was on campus and informed them they were on the way with a warrant for his arrest. An officer would meet them there with the warrant. The school would call Dylan’s mother and let her know what was going on. Joseph drove through town going slower than she would have liked. “You still don’t think he’s guilty, do you?”
“No, I don’t. I think evidence can be misleading. I like to have all the facts before making a decision.”
Was he implying that she didn’t? Catelyn thought they had more than enough facts. “What about his jacket being at the scene? The ring with his DNA? The fact that he obviously lied about being there?”
“I agree. No doubt, evidence is there, but is it the right evidence or simply circumstantial? Sorry, I just…it’s a gut thing.”
She couldn’t discount that. Not when her gut had saved her life more than once. Instead, she turned her thoughts toward arresting the kid, telling herself she was doing the right thing. Doing what she had to do.
Like her job.
No matter what anyone else said or argued. She was a good cop. She’d do a good job. Period.
If the kid was innocent, his lawyer would prove it.
Joseph got into contact with the school resource officer and put the man on notice that they were on the way to arrest one of his students.
They arrived at the school and Joseph noticed the activity on the campus. Hands gestured, fingers flew in conversation. Students walking to and from class. A lot of laughter going on. Unfortunately, one student wasn’t going to be laughing when he was arrested.
The deaf school principal knew they were coming and stood outside the building to greet them. In his early thirties, he stood around six feet tall, had a dash of gray at his temples and a commanding presence. He welcomed them with a pained smile and a handshake. “I’m Cole Pierson. Are you sure you’ve got the right person?”
Catelyn sighed. “The evidence says we do.”
Shaking his head, he led the way back inside, saying, “I’m having a hard time with this one. I know I’ve only been here a short time, a couple of months since the last principal retired, but I’ve gotten to know these kids pretty well. Dylan comes from a tough background, but I can’t see him doing this. Especially not to poor Tracy. He worshipped that girl.”
Catelyn cocked a brow. “In certain circumstances, worship can turn to hatred real quick.”
“That’s true, I suppose. I just…” Cole shook his head again. “Well, let’s get to it. We didn’t put the school on lockdown, but our school resource officer has gone to get him. He’ll bring him to the conference room.”
As they headed in that direction, a young woman came hurrying down the hall, speaking and signing at the same time, “Dylan’s gone. Kevin came by to get him, but he wasn’t in my classroom. I think he figured something out and has run.”
Catelyn demanded, “Which way did he go?”
“He came in my classroom for a brief minute, then left. When he went out, he turned left, so he either went to the restroom…or out the end door.”
Joseph ran for the exit, Catelyn bolted for the one on the opposite end of the hall, thinking they could close in on him and catch in the middle.
Twenty minutes later, they gave up the search on the campus.
“If he’s still on school grounds, we’ll never find him,” Joseph declared with disgust. “We’d have to get the K-9 unit out here to track him down.”
“Yeah, I bet he knows this place like the back of his hand, including all nooks and crannies to hide in.” Catelyn stood for a moment, thinking. “And if he’s not on campus…where would you go if you were a scared deaf kid?”
Joseph watched her, seeing the wheels clicking in her mind. He answered, “Someplace I’d feel safe, to someone I could count on to help me out and not turn me in.”
They looked at each other and said, simultaneously, “Alonso.”
Realizing it was probably a waste of time, but having to check in spite of his gut feeling, Joseph raced back into the school building asked the secretary to call Alonso to the office. In the meantime, Joseph tried to text message his brother, however, he got no response even after several attempts. But then, Joseph reasoned, if Alonso was in class, he wouldn’t have his phone on.
And if he was trying to help Dylan, he wouldn’t bother answering Joseph’s text messages. Joseph had a feeling it was the latter.
A Silent Fury Page 5