“Thanks,” Luke said softly and ran his hand over his head and let out a sigh. He needed a shower and a shave. “I appreciate that, but how am I going to explain being here?”
“I don’t know but give me a minute,” Riley said as she stood in the middle of her room and looked around as if some explanation would occur to her from the thin air.
“We don’t have a minute,” Luke said more impatiently as there was another loud knock.
“I’ll call Cooper and tell him to go and pick up coffee. Wait until he leaves, then get dressed and wait at the table. I’ll shower up here. We’ll just tell him you came over to talk about the case. I guess I can tell you both about the bracelet.”
Luke shrugged. He guessed that was as good a plan as any. He waited as Riley called Cooper. She told him she was about to shower and that Luke was on his way over. She asked him to head to the Starbucks on Kavanaugh to pick up coffee and breakfast for three.
Luke shook his head at how easily she could get men to do her bidding. “You just snap those little fingers and get men to jump, don’t you?”
Riley shot him an annoyed look and growled, “Don’t go back to being a jerk so quickly. We were doing okay for a little bit.”
She turned her back to him, pulled her top over her head and threw it to the floor. Then she pushed her shorts down her legs and revealed her naked supple backside. She walked down the hall and into the bathroom naked without even turning to see if he looked. Luke was momentarily stunned. This woman was going to be the death of him, but he was pretty sure he was going to die with a smile on his face.
CHAPTER 41
ALMOST AN HOUR LATER, the three of us sat around my kitchen table and enjoyed hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Luke told us about Sam Bloomfield, the guy who showed up at the police station the previous night and reported his wife missing.
When Sam pulled out a photo of his wife, Luke had the horrible job of explaining that Sam’s wife’s body had been pulled from the river the night before. Sara was the second victim the police found in the river. Luke and another officer drove Sam to the morgue to identify his wife. Luke explained to us that Sam was devastated, as most anyone would be, and barely kept himself together.
Luke said he didn’t stick around for long. He assigned another detective to question Sam well into the night. Luke thought Sam was nothing more than a grieving husband and didn’t think they’d get very far. But everyone had to be treated like a suspect until ruled out.
It seemed, or at least from the story Luke heard last night, that Sara was supposed to be on a business trip. She was a local real estate agent with an upscale firm headed to a big yearly conference in Los Angeles. Sam had left town last Thursday, the same day as his wife. He had gone with friends on their yearly duck hunt. His cell didn’t get any service at their cabin so he didn’t think it was unusual not to hear from her. They rarely spoke while he was on a hunt.
When Sam returned a week later, he saw her car in the driveway but no Sara. She usually took a cab to the airport so he thought he’d surprise her and pick her up when she returned. Only she wasn’t on the return flight. As Sam learned later, Sara never made it to her business trip at all. No one had heard from her since Sam had seen her the Thursday morning before he left. Luke asked Sam if he or his wife had any connection to George or Maime. Sam knew of no connection at all. He had been gone all week and hadn’t even been following the news.
At least there was only one woman left to identify. When you can’t even identify the victims, cases rarely get solved. As hard as it was for Sam, this was a least at step forward for the case.
Luke finished explaining and then said, “Even though Sam didn’t know of a connection to George there must be.” Turning to me he demanded, “Now tell us about the bracelet.”
I showed them both the bracelet and explained that George had given it to me as a gift. I fingered the clasp and showed them where it had been broken. I explained that when I took it in to be fixed, the jeweler mentioned that the piece was not one carried in the store but had been specially made. That was all I really knew. Seeing it on Sara Bloomfield confirmed for me that there was a connection to George.
“You’ve known this the whole time? You couldn’t be bothered to tell us?” Cooper asked his arms crossed. “What are you doing? You lied about details of your relationship with him and now you hide evidence?”
Cooper threw his hands up and walked away from the table, standing on the other side of the room. “I can’t work like this.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” I conceded and meant it. “I don’t have an explanation. I was shocked when I saw it on her wrist. I wasn’t sure until I came home and confirmed it was the same one. I haven’t said anything to George about it. My gut says he gave it to her. We’d have to check the jewelry store to see how many were made and who they were sold to.”
I looked at them both trying to give them my most contrite face, “I really am sorry.”
Cooper was still angry. I couldn’t blame him. If he did this to me, I’d probably quit working with him. If you couldn’t trust your partner, who could you trust? My reasons for withholding now seemed stupid.
Luke leaned across the table, put his hand on my arm, and said, “You are just going to have to start trusting me and Cooper. We’re in this together.”
Cooper eyed us suspiciously. He pointed an accusatory finger between the two of us as he asked, “You two want to tell me what is happening here? First you hate each other and now suddenly we’re in this together?”
Without going into too much detail, I explained to Cooper how badly I had ended things with Luke, and added that now that we had talked, I hoped we could work together.
“I can’t if you continue to hold things back from me,” Luke said in response.
“Me either,” Cooper echoed.
They had me. I wasn’t a team player. I never had been, but if I wanted information from Luke, I’d have to give it in return. I wasn’t ready, but I let the other shoe come crashing to the ground.
“George told me last night he knew Shannon McCarty. He hired her a few times on business trips to New Orleans.”
“You have got to be kidding me?” Cooper said in an exasperated sigh.
“He said he’s being framed.”
“Him and every other dirtbag I’ve arrested. We’re screwed regardless. I can’t interview him now. He left the station yesterday and said he was getting a lawyer. Did he tell you?” Luke asked, directing the question to both of us. We shook our heads no.
“I brought him in to ask about his alibi and Laura’s disappearance. I showed him the photos of the other women. He looked agitated and asked me who was trying to ruin his life. Then, he asked for a lawyer.”
“You still think he’s innocent?” Cooper asked me sarcastically.
“Actually, as strange as it sounds, yes I do.”
CHAPTER 42
COOPER AND LUKE GROANED IN UNISON at my admission. I knew I was in the minority of probably everyone on the police force, all of Little Rock and probably most of the U.S., but yes, the more I heard, the more I thought George was innocent. Luke and Cooper spent the next twenty minutes debating with me, laying out the evidence. I held firm.
“The package is too neat. The case has been handed to you on a platter with a pretty red bow. George is not an idiot. He’s not going to leave a trail of evidence to his door this deep,” I said, trying to drive home my point.
I could tell they were both disappointed in me. I wasn’t letting it go. “There’s more though,” I added. “I found out some information about Maime.”
I told them all about my meeting with Gina Young. I filled them in on the drugs and the affair with Dean. Neither one of them seemed as shocked as I was when I heard. They didn’t think the lead was too promising. Both remained zeroed in on George. They reminded me it was just more motive.
While we were on the subject, Cooper had his own strange tale about Dean. Cooper described what he saw t
he night before on his surveillance case. “I don’t know who the guy was or even if he was a cop, but we should look into it. It was weird. They definitely wanted whatever they were doing to remain hidden. It could be related to Maime’s drug use.”
“You’ll have to come down to the station. We’ll walk around to see if you can identify who you saw. He could be from the Sheriffs office or even North Little Rock police department. We’ll check it out though,” Luke said.
“Luke, last night when George saw the photos of the missing women, did he notice their jewelry?” I asked, rolling the bracelet in my hand.
“I don’t know about the bracelet or ring, but yes, he had to have seen the earrings.”
“We should focus on that. Maybe like Cooper said, it might be some kind of signature the killer is using. If you could do that, I want to run down the drug angle on Maime.”
I started picking up the table, carrying dishes to the sink from breakfast. I just wanted to get moving. I didn’t like how they were looking at me. Cooper looked at me with pity, like I was blinded by the facts and still strung out over George. It was Luke who finally spoke up.
“Run with the drug angle if you want. You need to be safe, Riley. I know you think you can trust George, but promise me you won’t be alone with him anymore.”
Then he turned to Cooper and said forcefully, “Don’t leave her alone with him.”
“Riley, I agree with Luke. All the evidence right now, even though I admit it’s circumstantial, is pointing at George. I know he’s our client, but we have to take precautions just in case,” Cooper reiterated.
Luke got up to leave. He gave me the cellphone numbers of the detectives who worked over on the southside regularly in case I needed some back up. I had my own contacts over there from my reporting days. I figured I’d be fine, but I kept the detectives’ numbers just in case. Cooper left first. As Luke was leaving, I remembered something.
“You know I ran into that reporter Ben last night. He said he heard some gossip about George’s affairs. He said he gave you some names.”
“You weren’t on the list if that’s what you’re worried about,” Luke said and then continued. “It was some women we hadn’t heard about so two of the detectives are running down some leads to locate them. I don’t remember their names. I can let you know later.”
“You’re not worried about him running the story?”
“Nope, he’s around the station a lot. He hears things. We trust him. He hasn’t screwed us over yet,” Luke explained.
“The media seems to know an awful lot. Do you have it under control? There’s probably a leak. You want me to call my old editor and see if I can find out?”
“I got it covered, but thanks,” Luke said. He started to go but turned back, leaned down, and kissed me on the cheek before he left.
CHAPTER 43
LUKE LEFT RILEY’S HOUSE thinking about the potential media leak. Both Cooper and Riley had mentioned how odd it was that the media was showing up so quickly. He had thought earlier there might be a leak. Now that Riley mentioned it, Luke realized he should take it more seriously. One of the uniformed cops had mentioned that at all three crime scenes, two of the news stations had arrived before the police did. Someone from the crowd could have called it in. Now Luke was wondering if they did have an inside leak trying to derail the investigation. He immediately thought of Norwalk.
For now, it would have to go on the back burner, Luke had more important work to focus on. He was on his way to the jeweler, J.T. Roth & Sons, where Riley said her bracelet was from. Luke was hoping he could get the jeweler to tell him a little more about the bracelet, how many were made and who purchased them. Luke knew they might be overlooking something when it came to the jewelry. As Riley had reminded him, some killers leave a signature and the jewelry could be it.
Luke would never admit it in front of Riley, but she made a few good points about George being framed. She was right that the evidence was too neat. The killings had a lot of the markings of a serial killer. As much as he wanted to, Luke just couldn’t see George fitting that mold. Then again, Luke reminded himself, the evidence all pointed to George and no one else. That was the problem, if not George, then who? No one else had any motive to kill these women, and the women’s only connection so far was George. Luke was lost in thought as he entered the jewelry store.
“How can I help you?” asked a man dressed in a fine tailored suit. “Looking to buy something pretty for your wife?”
Luke thought of Riley. Then immediately put that thought aside and wondered where on earth it had come from. They had never even talked marriage.
“Not today. Hoping you can help with a case,” Luke said, showing his badge. The man took a good look and then ushered him into a side room. He motioned for a younger woman to take his place behind the display case positioned directly in front of the shop’s entrance.
“I’m Jeb Roth, the owner. What’s this about?”
“I have some photos. I need you to tell me if these are pieces you made. It’s related to an ongoing investigation. We have reason to believe they came from your store.” Luke put the three photos of the jewelry in front of him. He also had Riley’s bracelet in his pocket.
Luke watched Roth pick up the photos one by one, saw the recognition in his eyes, and was not the least bit surprised to hear what the man had to say.
“We don’t make a habit of discussing a client’s private purchases.”
“I understand. I can leave and come back with a search warrant, if you prefer. That will open you up to discussing a lot more than what I asked. Up to you,” Luke said, shrugging like it didn’t matter to him one way or the other. He picked up the photos and turned to leave.
“Wait,” Roth called to him and then let out a sigh and said, “George Brewer. I’ve made a few of the bracelets for him as well as other pieces like the earrings for his wife. George designed and ordered the bracelet. The earrings and ring I can only tell you came from this shop.”
“You’re sure? It’s strange a man would order more than one of the same bracelet. How many has he ordered? Have you made these for any other client?”
“No, this is exclusive to Mr. Brewer. I’ll need to check the records.” Roth went to a large filing cabinet against the wall and riffled through files. He pulled out a manila file folder and flipped through the pages inside. “He’s ordered four of the same bracelet over the last five years.”
Luke pulled out Riley’s bracelet and handed it to Roth, “This is the same as the photo. How would we tell this particular bracelet from other designers?”
Roth pulled out a magnifying glass and held it close to the bracelet so both he and Luke could see. There on the inside of the bracelet, Roth pointed out two very small letters G.B. – George’s initials.
“That’s how you’ll be able to tell. He initials each of his orders. I can’t tell if the earrings and ring are uniquely from George, but they do come from our collection. If George purchased them, he initialed them.”
“Any women come in with these bracelets that need to be fixed?”
“Just one a few years back. We don’t keep that kind of information. I just remember she was a pretty girl with auburn hair. We fixed it while she waited. I don’t even think we took her name.”
CHAPTER 44
I COULDN’T HELP BUT THINK about Luke as I drove to the southeast part of Little Rock. A part of me was glad that we made up, but I worried Luke would get ahead of himself. There was still a part of me that didn’t know if I was willing, or even ready, to give anything another try. Besides, I was only supposed to be in Little Rock until we found Maime. I had a life back in New York that was waiting for me.
As I drove, my thoughts stayed focused on Luke and our kiss last night. I would have thought the passion might have died between us over the years. That kiss proved it hadn’t. In that moment, we were right back to where we had left off. There was a time when I thought George was going to be the only person I ever f
elt that overwhelming feeling of familiarity with. Luke quickly proved that I had it with him too and more. If I was willing to admit it, the connection was always stronger with Luke right from the beginning.
Of course, thinking about Luke right now was probably natural given where I was headed. Right back to the spot where Luke and I first met. I had been a reporter in Little Rock for just a few months when I was called to cover a shooting. The tip came into the newsroom hotline. They had sent me immediately. Unfortunately, I got there even before some of the cops did. What I saw has stayed with me to this day. It is a memory I wish I could forget.
Alexander Baltazar was just eleven years old when he was gunned down in his grandmother’s front yard. His body still laid uncovered in the grass when I pulled up. He was just a fifth grader. By all accounts I’d come to learn, he was an excellent student. His parents had left him with his grandmother for the week while they went to Memphis to the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital where his seven-year-old sister was having a lifesaving operation to remove a brain tumor.
Up to that point, I’d seen a lot of death and violence but never had I witnessed a sight like that. Alexander was just a child, a total innocent life taken for reasons I couldn’t even possibly fathom.
When I arrived at the scene, his grandmother was being held back by two uniformed cops. She was wailing in misery, and at the sounds of her screams, the reporter in me ceased to exist. I walked over to her, wrapped my arms around her and tried to comfort her the best I could. Soon after, a tall black detective pulled up to the scene. I noticed him right away and the grief on his face.
The witness reports from the neighbors came pouring in. It was a truck with three white men who drove through the neighborhood shooting. No specific target. It just seemed any person they came across. Given the makeup of the neighborhood, all of the victims were black. A man had been shot in the leg and a woman shot in the arm. Then they came upon Alexander. It was a shot to the chest that killed him.
Deadly Sins Page 14