Silent Witness, page 4
part #2 of Cass Leary Series
Vangie stared out the bay window at the placid lake. An inch of snow covered it making a picture-postcard scene. Tall, snow-dusted pines broke up the white landscape on the opposite shore. “I didn’t think they’d do it,” Vangie said, her voice small and quiet. “Sarah wanted to take what she called a cooling-off period. With all the publicity surrounding the trial, she thought it wasn’t good for me to be around them.”
“What did you say?” I asked.
Vangie had tears in her eyes as she looked at me. “What do you think I said? I love that little girl. She’s my heart, Cass. She’s a miracle. She’s beautiful and smart and she’s got this wild streak that drives her parents nuts. Jessa is amazing.” Vangie’s voice cracked. I went to her.
“Tell me the rest,” I said. “Vangie, I need to know it all.”
“I got angry,” she said. “A few weeks ago, Sarah said she wasn’t going to let me see Jessa anymore. She said it just got too complicated. She and Ben were even thinking of moving. He’s had offers to work for another firm near his aunt and uncle in Florida. Boca Raton or somewhere. They always say no. Part of that is because Sarah liked that Jessa had this connection with me. But now …”
I sat on the footrest near her. I hated to admit it, but it made a certain amount of sense. The Drazdowski trial had ripped Delphi apart and made national news. I could understand her mother’s desire to protect Jessa from any of that. My sister was brave to tell her story, but it also meant Jessa’s paternity was public knowledge. She had been conceived during a rape.
“Did you ever threaten them?” I asked.
Vangie dropped her eyes. “No. But ... I just couldn’t not see Jessa. I went to her school a couple of times. They know me there. I brought her lunch.”
“Christ. Without the Dales’ permission?”
Vangie’s eyes said it all. I wanted to shake her. I wanted to scream at her and ask her why she hadn’t come to me with all of this. Why was she still hiding the biggest parts of her life from me?
“Okay,” I said. “So they got the restraining order. Why did you go there the other night?”
“I just wanted to talk. I swear I didn’t know about the order. I don’t know why they never mentioned it. I don’t know. Maybe they changed their minds about it? They never told me not to come. They never told me they got that paper. I didn’t hear from their lawyer about it. Nothing. But Ben was really cold to me that night. He’d never been like that before. Things got a little heated. I’ll admit, I said some things I regret now. I’m not proud of that. But I did not kill them over it. Jesus. I don’t even know how to shoot a gun. The cops said someone shot S-Sarah in the head.”
“All right,” Jeanie said, practically reading my thoughts. “Let’s focus on some of the rest of this. What the heck have you been doing in Ypsilanti? You’re supposed to be in Indianapolis?”
Again, Vangie’s eyes dropped to the floor. “I’ve been seeing someone. It’s not super serious. His name is Travis. Sarah actually fixed me up with him. They did some remodeling last year and Travis’s company installed all her new countertops. His boss went to high school with her or something, I don’t know. I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure where we were going with it. Travis let me stay with him when I’d come up to visit Jessa. I was going to tell you, I promise. I was just ... I was trying to work things out with Sarah and Ben and I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Vangie,” I said. “You need to stop keeping things from me because you don’t want me to worry. I’d say so far it’s done you no damn good.”
“I’m sorry.”
“The bloody shirt they found,” I said. “Was it yours? I need to know whose blood they’re going to find on it when the labs come back.”
Vangie nodded and my heart sank. “It’s not what they think. I told you. Jessa’s been learning to ride her bike without training wheels. She wanted to show me when I came over. This was before we got into the argument. Looking back on it, I think Ben and Sarah were treating it as a final goodbye or something. Anyway, Ben had shoveled the sidewalk but it was still slippery and she’s just learning. Jessa took a fall and scraped her wrists pretty badly when she hit the ground. I got to her first and picked her up. She bled on me. I took her into the kitchen and helped clean her up. That’s all.”
It sounded plausible. But there was still so much more. It was morbid to think it, but I knew it would be much worse if they found either Ben or Sarah Dale’s blood on that shirt.
“And your fingerprints on Sarah’s phone?” Jeanie asked.
“Jessa had gotten retakes of her school pictures. Her front teeth finally came in. Sarah had them on her phone and she handed it to me to show me. When I first got there, it was just a nice, normal visit. Then Ben and Sarah sent Jessa to her room and wanted to sit down at the table and talk. That’s when they told me they didn’t want me around anymore.”
“What about that family photo?” I said. “The one the cops say was taken from the house. Vangie, why?”
She put a hand up. “That’s a misunderstanding. Sarah gave that to me last year. They had a session with a professional photographer. She had one made for me. Jessa’s wearing her favorite shirt in it. I got it for her. There’s a little unicorn with a crown on it. It’s from this cartoon Jessa likes to watch. They gave it to me. I don’t know anything about a copy being taken from the house. I swear. That’s all. I didn’t take anything from that house. The cops have it wrong.”
So Vangie had an explanation for everything. I needed to believe her. “Vangie, is there anyone who can corroborate any of this? I’m going to need to talk to this Travis White.”
She shrugged. “Cass, I wasn’t even comfortable telling you. Travis is pretty chill but he was still kind of trying to process all the stuff I told at that trial. I mean, I’m not saying he blames me but ... I have a lot of baggage. And like I said, we’re not super serious. So, no. I didn’t tell him I was having issues with the Dales. He didn’t even know I was going over there the other day. He’s been working in Chelsea for most of the month.”
Great. So Vangie’s defense rested on the strength of her own words right now. Though the presumption of innocence was on her side, I knew I’d need a hell of a lot more to get her out of this mess. I may have to track down a killer myself.
“Cass, I’m sorry,” Vangie said. “I’m so sorry. I know you think I’m this huge fuck-up.”
“No. That’s not what I think. At all. I just …” I stopped myself. I felt a big-sister lecture coming on and I knew that was the last thing Vangie needed. She was scared, vulnerable. In the space of three months, her entire life had been flipped on its side. I was responsible for that. I could have left her alone, living in Indianapolis away from all of us.
“Come on,” Jeanie said. “I think we all could use a break. Cass, let’s take a walk. The fresh air will do you good. And Vangie hasn’t had five minutes alone since this whole thing started. Let’s give her that.”
Jeanie pulled my parka off the hook near the door. I took it and shoved my feet into a pair of Joe’s old snow boots that he’d left in the mudroom.
“Call Joe again,” Vangie pleaded. “I have to know if they found anything.”
“I will,” I said. “Vangie, I love you. I want to tell you that everything is going to be all right.”
“Don’t,” she said; her expression turned stony. “You can’t say that. No one can. And I know what the time means. I know everyone thinks there’s no hope for Jessa.”
“No one is saying that,” I said.
“She’s alive,” Vangie said. “I just ... I think I would feel it if she weren’t. You know?”
I let out a hard breath and tried to muster a smile. God, I just could not imagine what my sister was going through. I’d been frustrated that she hadn’t told me more about her issues with the Dales. She made so many bad decisions in the last few days but it was only in hindsight. And as Vangie sat there, her heart breaking and her eyes filled with tears, I understood her. She didn’t care about the murder charges. She only cared about Jessa. It was one more thing I felt powerless to change.
Chapter 8
I walked outside with Jeanie. Bitter cold had set in and my teeth chattered. The dock was pulled, but Joe and Matty left one wooden section at the edge of the water. Jeanie and I stood on it, looking out at the frozen lake.
“Well,” she said. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we have some pretty huge problems. It’s all going to come down to whether they believe Vangie’s story.”
“Yep,” Jeanie agreed. “But somebody killed those poor people and took that child. That someone is still out there. What’s our first move?”
“We shadow the investigation,” I said. “I talk to the neighbor who heard their argument and the one who found the bodies. We have to try and start figuring out who else might have had the motive to hurt those people.”
“What about her prelim?” Jeanie asked. “You wanna waive it?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Not this time. It’s a risk giving the prosecution any insight into our defense strategy, but I have a sinking feeling it might be my best chance to talk to some of the witnesses or at least see how they play in court.”
“We’re going to need some help,” Jeanie said.
She knew where my thoughts led. Jeanie had a private investigator she liked. It might come to that, but first, I had someone else in mind. “I want to talk to Detective Wray from the Delphi P.D.,” I said. “Pick his brain on this one.”
Wray came with plenty of baggage of his own, but he was smart. Cunning even. And I knew he could look at things with an objective eye.
Jeanie nodded. “Not a bad plan. He’s got a good head and I think he’ll keep an open mind. Let me see if I can round up a list of friends or family for the victims who might be willing to talk to us.”
The wind picked up, making a keening howl. It blew straight through me. God, it was getting so cold. Tonight, it was supposed to get down to ten degrees.
“I just pray to God she’s safe,” I said. “She wouldn’t survive a night in the cold.” I pulled my parka tighter around me. I felt perhaps just a little of the despair my sister had. I’d never met my niece. She was part of Vangie’s soul. As the wind tore through me, I wondered if I’d ever get the chance to meet her. I had to put on a brave face for Vangie, but knew Jessa’s chances dwindled with every passing minute.
“God,” I said. “Who the hell could do such a thing? Jeanie, someone has to know something. I need to talk to this boyfriend. Vangie said something about his company doing work on the Dales’ remodel. It means he might have had access to the house.”
“One thing at a time,” Jeanie said. “One foot in front of the other and all that. Let the cops do their job heading up the search. We can only do our job for Vangie.”
My phone rang from deep inside my pocket. It was Joe. My heart flipped as I answered. “What?” I couldn’t even hide the rising fear in my voice. Please God, let this not be bad news.
“Cass,” he said, breathless. “They’ve got something. Can you meet me?”
Chapter 9
Now I was a liar. I could barely breathe as I gathered myself to walk back into that house. Joe’s words burned through me. They’ve found a little girl matching Jessa’s description. She’s at a hospital in Hillsdale.
As he texted me the address, Jeanie and I decided we couldn’t say anything to Vangie yet. “She’ll try to follow you. You know she will. Then we’ll have the added problem of her breaking her bond conditions. She’s already got a strike against her on that P.P.O. violation.”
I gave Jeanie a nod. In a lot of ways, I was asking her to handle the hardest part of this. She would stay with Vangie and try to keep her from turning on the local news. I made a vow to call and tell her what was going on as soon as I got to that hospital. As we walked back into the house, Vangie had my laptop open and her face was ashen.
Shit.
“Vangie.”
She looked up at me. “My arrest is in the Free Press,” she said. She turned the laptop toward me. Sure enough, her name was in bold letters across the top of my newsfeed. Star witness in Drazdowski murder trial now stands accused of double homicide.
I felt a flare of relief that news hadn’t broken about the Jane Doe in Hillsdale. Like Jeanie said, it would do her no good to get worked up about that until we knew for sure. But the publicity surrounding the Dale murders would land on all of us hard. There was no help for it.
I took the laptop away from my sister and slid it into my messenger bag. The police had Vangie’s cell phone. There was the television, but I felt fairly confident Jeanie could keep that under control.
“I have to leave for a little while,” I said, hating the lie I needed to tell. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Jeanie’s going to keep you company. Try not to worry about the media stuff. It was bound to happen. We’ll deal with what we have to and ignore the rest.”
Vangie stared out the window, not exactly placated by my words, but the fight had gone out of her. It broke my heart just a little bit more. I prayed I’d have good news for her from Hillsdale.
I heard tires crunch through the snow and saw Matty’s truck pull up across the street. Joe was already on the way to the hospital. Matty and I would go together. If Vangie saw him out there, she’d have questions I wasn’t ready to answer. I shot a quick look to Jeanie and went quickly out the door to meet my brother.
“What do you know?” I asked Matty as I shut the truck door and he whipped around, heading away from the lake.
“We were working in a grid pattern through Cedar Bend woods. The Ann Arbor cops got a call from the Hillsdale ones. A little girl was brought in to the emergency room there. She’s roughly the same age as Jessa and fits the description.”
Matty white-knuckled the wheel as he made the turn to the highway on-ramp. “Matty,” I said, my heart pounding. “Is she alive?”
He paused before answering. “Yeah. Cass, I don’t know much. Just that they’re trying to identify her. But she’s hurt badly. Not conscious.”
“Oh Jesus,” I said. My head pounded. I didn’t know what to wish for. Matty picked up speed. Snow pelted the windshield. I know how much he wanted to press the gas. It would do us no good if we got into a wreck on U.S. 12. Mercifully, traffic was light.
“Did you say anything to her?” Matty asked.
“No. Joe and I didn’t think it would do her any good. Vangie needs to stay put. I think no power on this earth would have kept her from trying to come with us if she knew. I’ll call her from the hospital after we’ve had a look at this poor kid.”
“Joe said they might give us some resistance on that,” Matty said. “We’re not her legal next of kin.”
“You let me worry about that,” I said. “Right now, as far as I know, we’re the closest thing she’s got. Vangie said Ben and Sarah Dale don’t really have other family. Ben’s got an elderly aunt and uncle but they’re down in Boca Raton. With the weather, they’re having trouble getting a flight out.”
“What a mess,” Matty said and I knew he wasn’t talking about the roads.
My brother was steady and calm as we made our way west to Hillsdale. I felt suspended in time, praying for a good outcome. Only, I didn’t know what that might be. If this was Jessa, how badly had she been hurt? What had she seen? It seemed as though this nightmare grew deeper with each day.
An hour later, we pulled into the parking lot of the Hillsdale Hospital. Part of me didn’t want to get out of that truck. Would things be worse an hour from now, or better?
“Come on,” Matty said. “Joe’s already here. There’s his truck.”
I gave my little brother a grim nod and the two of us headed into the hospital together. After a few wrong turns, we found the pediatric intensive care unit. As the elevator opened, Joe stood red-faced at the nurses’ desk surrounded by three uniformed officers. One of them had his hands on my brother.
“Joe!” I shouted. The last thing I needed was his temper landing him in legal hot water. I had enough on my plate as it was.
Relief flooded through Joe’s face as he saw me. “Finally. Cass, tell these boys who we are.”
I pulled out my business card. It did no good.
“We’ve got orders,” one of the cops said. He was young, maybe no more than twenty-five. He had a fresh face with rosy cheeks and dark straight hair that he wore slicked back. His nameplate read Denny.
“Officer Denny,” I said. “Can you just point me to your sergeant or whoever’s in charge here?”
He hesitated, then pointed down the hall. A woman in a blue suit leaned against the wall, talking to one of the doctors. She straightened her posture as she saw me coming toward her. I took a breath and barreled ahead. Joe stayed behind, still surrounded by officers, but Matty followed.
I explained who I was as simply as I could. “We just want to help identify this child,” I said. “I need to know if that’s my niece in there.”
She introduced herself as Detective Laura Gold from Hillsdale County.
“Hold it!” a familiar voice boomed from behind me as Detective Carey caught up with us. “I don’t want you anywhere near that child. This is still an ongoing murder investigation and that poor kid may be a material witness.”
“Are you serious right now?” I said. “You think I came here to question her or coach her? Christ. I just want to know if it’s Jessa. That’s all.”
“Brett,” the woman said. “Let’s just handle one thing at a time.”
“That baby won’t be answering any questions,” the doctor said. He was a middle-aged man with a deeply tanned face and wispy brown hair that he wore in a combover.
“What happened?” I asked. “Can you please tell me that much?”
“Dr. O’Dell” was embroidered in blue on the man’s lab coat. O’Dell gave a stern look to Carey and Gold. Gold gave a gesture of surrender.
