Murders & Romance, page 3
“It’s all right, Beth,” Sidney spoke up, hoping her voice was soothing. “Whatever it is. If we can help, we will.”
“Well, it’s just that… I can’t send Kylee to school because my husband… well, we’re not really married, but… well, Hank could get to her there. He keeps threatening to take her and leave town.”
Sidney closed her eyes for a split second.
“I’m sorry you’re going through that.”
“Yeah, well… anyway… I was just wondering if you had any schooling she could do while we’re here? Any textbooks or home schooling?”
“No, I’m sorry. We don’t.” Zoe’s expression was as apologetic as her voice, and she and Sidney shared a look.
“How old is your daughter, Beth?” Sidney asked.
“She’s eight.”
“So, she’d be in the third grade, right?”
Beth nodded.
“You know, I’m actually a teacher by trade. I’d be happy to tutor your daughter in a few subjects while you’re a resident here.”
“I-I can’t pay you…”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t dream of charging you.”
Beth finally sent her a timid glance.
“Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.” Sidney smiled at her. “What subjects does Kylee need help with?”
“Well, mostly math. She’s a really good speller, and she loves to read.” Beth perked up when she talked about her daughter’s skills. “But numbers give her a hard time, and I want her to do better at them. Maybe that way she can grow up to be a banker or an accountant or something, and she won’t allow herself to end up like me.”
Sidney and Zoe exchanged another look.
“Seeing her mom fight to break free of an abusive situation will help keep Kylee from ending up in one herself someday,” Sidney said. “Your strength and courage. Those are two of the best things you can teach her.”
Beth finally met her gaze head on, and smiled.
“That said, it would be my pleasure to help Kylee with her math.”
“Thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome. I’ll bring in some materials and we’ll get started tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.”
Beth thanked her again and left the office.
“That was very kind of you.” Zoe grinned at her.
Sidney shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not a big deal.” She sat back down at her desk. “So, what’s her story? Beth?”
Zoe sighed and sat back in her chair. “I got a call from Sgt. Malone at CPD yesterday afternoon.”
“Malone?”
Zoe nodded. “He works in the domestic violence unit. He asked if we had room for two more. I guess her neighbors called and reported the fight. He said they do that a lot.”
“Is the husband, boyfriend, baby-daddy in custody?”
“Actually, no. Sgt. Malone said when they showed up at the house he wasn’t there. They found the daughter huddled next to Beth in the kitchen, crying and afraid her mother was dead.”
“Jesus,” Sidney whispered.
“Right? So, here they are.”
“What’s her plan?”
“Well, I know she’s filed a restraining order, and the cops are actively looking for him… Whatever his name is.”
“I think she called him Hank.”
“Mmm. Other than that, I’m not really sure she’s made any big decisions.”
They were quiet for a moment, and something flitted through Sidney’s thoughts.
“Hey, Zoe?”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever thought about hiring security for Hope House?”
“I have. But the idea of big burley men hanging out around here might not be the best thing for our residents, you know? Some of them get quite spooked around strange men after what they’ve been through.”
Sidney nodded, still turning it over in her mind.
“Yes, I totally get that. But we could hire female security.” She perked up as the idea took shape. “I mean, we could request female security guards from whatever agency we hire.”
“Female security?”
Zoe sounded as though the idea had never occurred to her before, and Sidney smiled.
“To any irate spouse or boyfriend who comes charging in, they’d just think she was one more battered woman. Until she flattened him on his ass.”
Zoe looked intrigued for a moment, but that was replaced by skepticism.
“I don’t know, Sidney. Where would we find a security agency that employed women?”
Sidney shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know, but I bet they’re out there. I’ll ask Ike about it. Maybe he knows of a place.”
Zoe lifted an eyebrow at the mention of his name.
“So, about Ike. Everything’s really okay with you two? He’s not the reason you’re so gloomy?”
“I am not gloomy!”
“Yes, you are.”
Sidney sighed, her shoulders slumping.
“Fine. I’m gloomy. But it has nothing to do with my relationship with my fiancé. And yes… he is still my fiancé, and we are still very much in love.”
“Okay. I’ll stop prying then. As long as I know you’re all right.”
Sidney smiled, resigning herself to Zoe’s mother hen routine.
“I’m all right.”
Zoe nodded and left the office. And Sidney let out another long exhale.
4
On the university campus, Isaac and Pete entered the admissions building and went straight for the office. Flashing his badge at the young lady at the front desk, Isaac stared at her.
“Detective Sergeant Ike Taylor. Detective Pete Vega,” he said, motioning to his partner. “We need…”
“Oh, my God!”
The young woman looked at him with unbridled glee.
“You’re here about the body, aren’t you? I heard the crime scene was totes gross!”
Isaac and Pete shot each other an is-she-for-real exasperated glance before Isaac turned back to her.
“And where’d you hear that?”
He gave her his patented intensive intimidation glare, and it didn’t let him down. The young woman faltered, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes.
“Huh?”
“Who told you the crime scene was gross?”
“Oh. Well, the whole campus is buzzing about it, that’s all. I’m not sure who specifically mentioned it to me.”
“Right.” His flat tone was evidence he didn’t believe her explanation, but Isaac didn’t press the issue. “My partner and I were hoping to get our hands on some kind of list. A student roster, or something similar. Can you provide us with one?”
The young woman suddenly became intrigued again.
“Oh! Well, I guess that’s a matter of public record, so you wouldn’t need a warrant for that kind of thing.”
Isaac’s patience was running thin, and he slapped an I’m-one-second-away-from-putting-you-in-handcuffs smile on his lips.
“I know we don’t need a warrant. What we do need is access to your current student roster. Can. You. Provide me with one?”
A confused expression lodged on the young woman’s face, and Isaac wanted to scream.
“Yes, of course we can, Detective.”
The voice was efficient and clearly in charge, and Isaac looked from the girl at the desk to the older woman now standing behind her.
“I’ll see to it right away.”
“Thank you, miss…?”
“Ivan,” the woman offered. “Mrs. Sylvie Ivan. I’m head of the Admissions Office.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Ivan.” Isaac gave her a slight nod as something suddenly occurred to him. “Any chance that the gossip mill around here may have already identified our victim?”
When the two women looked at each other, he knew his hunch was correct.
“Well, there have been whispers,” Mrs. Ivan replied. “One of the girls who found the body… Kimberly something, I believe…”
“Kim Barns?” Pete asked.
“Yes. That’s right. She mentioned to someone that the victim was Bobby Cook, so that’s the name that’s been floating around this morning. But again, that’s only a rumor.”
“Thank you,” Isaac said. “We’ll still be needing that student roster, ma’am.”
“Right away.”
She walked off to another office, and Isaac turned to Pete.
“Seems like we need to have another talk with Miss Kim Barns.”
“Sounds that way, doesn’t it?” Pete nodded. “You want to do it nice or not so nice?”
“Well, she did withhold information the first time we met, so I’d say she’s earned a little not so nice.”
“Agreed.”
“You want to give patrol a call?”
“I’m on it.” Pete stepped away pulling out his cellphone. A minute later, Isaac heard him asking patrol to pick the girl up and bring her in for questioning, just as Mrs. Ivan reappeared.
She handed him a colored copy of the student roster.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
When he and Pete left the building to head for the car, they noticed several news trucks setting up around the campus.
“The vultures are circling.”
“Yep. I wonder if they’ve gotten wind of the possible ID of the victim.” Pete opened the passenger side door of the car.
“For the family’s sake, I sincerely hope not.” But as he slid behind the wheel, a sinking feeling began to swirl in Isaac’s gut.
As they drove back to the station, Pete flipped through the student roster.
“Robert John Cook. I think the rumor mill is right. That definitely looks like our vic to me.”
He held up the booklet so that Isaac could see, and pointed to a photo near the bottom of the page. Isaac glanced at it and shook his head.
“Why lie about whether or not you know the victim’s name?”
“I don’t know. All that does is make her look guilty to me,” Pete replied.
“Exactly.”
They drove on in silence.
By the time they got back to the station, up to the detectives pit, and over to their desks, Isaac’s work phone was ringing.
“Your witness is in interrogation one.”
“Thanks.”
“Thank you.”
They answered the passing patrolman in unison, and Isaac grabbed his ringing extension.
“Detective Sgt. Taylor.”
The voice on other end of the line was male and frantic.
“Hello? Y-yes, my name is John Cook. My son is Bobby Cook; he’s a senior at Case Western Reserve University. I just heard on the morning news that he’s dead! S-so, I called the police, and someone transferred me to you. Please, God, tell me that news wasn’t right!”
Isaac sighed and flopped down into his desk chair. He hated this shit storm of a day.
“Sir, I am very sorry you heard this news on the TV. The truth is that we have not officially identified the victim we found earlier this morning, and whoever is reporting that we have is being grossly irresponsible.”
“But it’s not my son?”
The man was desperate for it not to be true, but Isaac couldn’t tell him what he wanted to hear.
“Honestly, sir… I don’t know that for certain yet. If you would like to come in and possibly identify the body, that would be the best thing at this point. Again, I am very sorry.”
Once he finally got the distraught man off the phone, Isaac looked at Pete.
“That was uncalled for. Come on.”
He got up and headed for the interrogation room. The instant they stepped inside, Kim Barns stared at them with frightened eyes.
“Why am I here?”
Isaac ignored the question and sat down across from her. He nodded for Pete to start the recorder and state the date and the parties present.
“Please, why am I here? What’s going on?” Kim asked again.
“You’re here because you lied, Miss Barns.”
Isaac could hear the disgusted and annoyed tones in his own voice, but he made zero effort to hide it. As far as he was concerned, this woman deserved his attitude.
Kim vehemently shook her head.
“I didn’t!”
“Okay, maybe lie is too harsh a word. You withheld information. Information that could have saved us valuable time in identifying the victim. And that naturally makes us wonder what other information you’re currently withholding.”
“But I didn’t withhold anything. I swear!”
“That’s not what we hear, Kim,” Pete said. “In fact, we could arrest you for impeding an investigation. Obstruction of justice.”
“What? No!”
“Word around the campus is that you identified the victim as Bobby Cook.” Isaac glared at her. “And that news has spread far and wide. Now if you’d told us that information last night at the crime scene, we could’ve gotten a jump on our investigation. Maybe held the news media off a little bit. Most importantly here, is that we could have gotten to Mr. Cook’s family before they heard about his death on the TV!”
Isaac was practically yelling now, but he couldn’t help it.
“How do you think it might feel to learn about a loved one’s tragic death on the news over your morning coffee, Miss Barns?”
The girl looked stricken. Her face blanched, eyes wide.
“Oh, God!” It was a horrified whisper, but it did nothing to sooth Isaac’s ire. “I’m so sorry!”
“How do you know the victim?” Isaac ignored her apologies and pressed on.
“I don’t. I don’t know him. I just know who he is. We had a class together once, I think. Economics. Or maybe it was Ethics?” She shook her head. “Anyway… we had to work on the final project in groups, and Bobby was part of my group. That’s all! That’s how I know him.”
“And why didn’t you mention any of that last night?”
“I don’t know! I… I don’t know.” Her voice broke on a small sob.
“You weren’t friends?”
“No, sir.”
“You didn’t date?”
“No.”
“You weren’t enemies?”
“No. Nothing. We had nothing in common except that one class. I swear.”
“Who did he hang with? Who were his friends?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You know more than you think you do! Who did he hang with?”
Isaac slammed a hand down on the table, causing Kim to jump.
“Craig Wentworth! He’s tight with Craig Wentworth. That’s who I saw him with all the time.”
“And who’s Craig Wentworth?”
“He’s an engineering student. They both are.”
“And what’s your relationship with this Craig Wentworth?”
Kim faltered again. Just for a split second.
“I… I don’t have a relationship with him.”
Her cheeks got pinker. Her voice lowered in pitch.
“But you wanted one,” Isaac said with certainty.
Her pink cheeks became red, and she looked him in the eyes.
“H-how did you…um, I… I like him, yes. But he doesn’t know I’m alive. Not really.”
Isaac sat back in his chair, studying her. Now they were getting somewhere.
“What else can you tell me, Miss Barns?”
Kim swallowed. “I don’t know.”
“Were Bobby and Craig on the outs? Did they have a fight?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“When’s the last time you saw them together?”
“Um… earlier that day. They’d come into the student union together. Laughing and talking. They seemed tight as ever.”
“No arguments over girls, or grades, or anything that you know of?”
“No.” Her tone was emphatic, and she shook her head.
“And who were Bobby’s other friends? Anyone you know?”
Kim took a breath and appeared to think about that.
“Honestly, I… I’m not sure he had other friends. I mean, I paid more attention to Craig, obviously. But now that I think about Bobby… I don’t recall ever seeing him hang out with anyone but Craig. Bobby’s sort of a loner. Keeps to himself. Sometimes a little nervous acting. Weird even.”
Isaac watched her for a long moment. Then he looked over at Pete, who raised his eyebrows in silent response.
“Thank you, Miss Barns. We’re done here. Don’t leave town, as we may have more questions.”
They stood up to leave.
“I can go?” Kim sounded shocked. “I’m not under arrest?”
“Should you be?” Isaac gave her a pointed glare.
“No! Thank you.”
They left the room, and Isaac looked at the uniformed officer outside the door.
“She can go back to campus.”
“Thank you, Detective.”
They headed back to their desks.
“You came on a little strong in there, Ike.” Pete sat down and looked at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you that pissed at a witness before.”
Isaac rocked back in his chair and shook his head.
“The vic’s father found out his son was mutilated and killed on the morning news, Pete. Shit like that should never happen.”
Pete nodded. “No, it shouldn’t. So, what do you think?”
“Well, unfortunately, I don’t think she had anything to do with stringing our vic up and cutting off his junk. But I did find what she said about him being a loner interesting.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Okay. Let’s get into this guy. You take his social media, and I’ll start looking into his financials. See what we come up with.”
“On it.”
Gavin stepped off the elevator and walked slowly down the stylishly decorated hallway, searching for apartment 10B. He’d never been to Gerri’s place before, and he hated the circumstances that brought him here now.
Outside the door, he took a couple of deep breaths and wondered what he’d say to her.
The last time he’d seen her was at the funeral, and she’d been in no condition to talk then. He should’ve come to check on her sooner; he knew that. But he simply had no clue what to say. Not with all the feelings and the tension hanging between them.
“Suck it up, Gavin.”
