Dirty bite, p.17
Dirty Bite, page 17
“If he’d have just stopped running, he wouldn’t have needed stitches,” Kate said, like it was so obvious.
“I haven’t had a chance to tell you, but I talked to Tanya this morning,” Zane poured coffee into the foam cups on the table.
“What was her excuse?” Kate asked, pushing the coffee cup away. It was too hot anyway.
“She said David offered to drive her to the police station, then he didn’t take her there. In fact, she says he hid her phone, then kept rushing her to hurry up. So, she left the house without her phone.” Zane wiped the raspberry jelly that oozed out onto his cheek.
“That sounds like a load of horse shit,” Kate said.
“I thought so, too. But she wants to press kidnapping charges.” Zane sat down, wiping his face with a napkin.
“Seriously?” Kate still didn’t believe it.
“Apparently, he drove her to Greenville. She paid for a hotel room, and she said she has the receipt.”
“Why?” Kate asked.
“She said he wanted her to sign the paperwork to put the duplex in his name. He told her what he did, and she told him it wouldn’t work. That’s about the time they were going to come to the station.”
“I talked to the lady at the nursing home this morning, too. She said Tanya has power of attorney, so Clive’s signature wasn’t valid. He’s apparently not mentally fit to enter a contract.”
“That’s about the gist of it. Anyway, he kept her there until she agreed to give him the duplex now that Allie is dead.”
“Selfish SOB. Wow.”
“That was the last straw. Tanya agreed, so he’d take her home. She said she’d talk to the attorney this morning, so they could draw up the paperwork. She’s a smart woman. She did explain that the contract he got off the internet wasn’t a legal document for the transfer of real estate.”
“So, felony kidnapping, forgery, and eluding. That’s what we have to work with,” Kate said.
“I don’t think we can do anything with the kidnapping charges, but he doesn’t need to know that. And Tanya said, ‘If it keeps him locked up, charge him. I don’t want him on the loose.’”
Kate laughed. “On the loose.”
“You ready to go talk to him?” Zane stood.
“Don’t you want to wait for Rudy?” Kate didn’t budge.
“Let’s see what we can get out of David first. Maybe we won’t need Rudy to talk at all.”
Kate stood.
David grumble something under his breath when they walked him from the holding cell to the interview room. “Can you loosen these, they are hurting me.”
“I don’t care,” Zane said.
“Brutality,” David said.
“Shut up,” Kate said.
Kate walked around in front of Zane and David and opened the door to the interview room. Chief Benoit came around the corner, so Kate held the door, waiting, thinking he planned to go in the room with them.
“Close it,” he said.
Kate let the door close.
“Your boy is staying the night at the hospital. He’s claiming he had a seizure.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “What a joke. You can look at the footage. He didn’t have a seizure in my presence.”
“Well, he’s getting a night in a nice bed and a free meal or two.”
“Free, my ass. Law abiding, job having citizens are paying for that bed and meal.”
“Free to him,” Benoit said. “Let me know how the interview goes with this guy. He’s a peach, isn’t he?”
The chief continued down the hall, and Kate walked into the interview room. Zane waited until she was in the room to cuff David to the table.
“I know you’ve been read your rights, but I’m going to read them to you again. We’ve had new information come to light, and there are new charges.” Zane read David his rights.
“What the f---” David started, but Zane held up his hand.
“Do you understand these rights as I’ve read them to you?” Zane continued.
“I do, but…”
“And with these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us?” Zane asked.
“Whatever. What do you want to know? Other than the kidnapping crap, which is bullshit, by the way.”
Kate sat down, trying to be less intimidating. “What do you know about the night your sister died?”
David shrugged.
“Look, David, we have a witness that puts you at the motel that night,” Zane said. “So you can talk now, or maybe you’ll get another charge of obstructing, maybe accessory after the fact. If you know something, start talking.”
David looked down at his hands, picking at the callouses on his right palm. “I didn’t know nothing. Not ‘til later.”
“You didn’t know nothing about what?” Kate asked.
David glared at her. “Rudy called me. Maybe around two in the morning. Said he needed a ride. Nothing new. He paid good for gas, and I was awake, so I gave him a ride.”
“What happened and who did you pick up? Where?” Zane asked.
“If you have a witness, you already know,” David said.
“I need to hear your version.” Zane had a great interview voice, so soothing and understanding.
“I got the call. It took me about twenty minutes or so to get to the Longhorn. When I got there, I can’t remember what room Rudy said, but I pulled up. He and Laura came running, but not out of a room, and got in the car. They didn’t tell me what happened. I didn’t find out ‘til just now. Well, when I picked Rudy up today.”
“Where did you go that night?” Kate asked.
“He wanted a ride to Laura’s house. So I took them there.”
“Doesn’t Laura have a car?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know, I guess so.” David stared at his hands.
“What did Rudy tell you that night?” Zane asked.
“Nothing. I didn’t know until today.”
“What did he tell you today?” Kate getting impatient.
“If you want to know more, you’ll have to drop the kidnapping charges,” David looked at Kate.
Zane’s phone rang. He left the room to answer it. Knowing the video was now on, Kate didn’t worry about being alone with David.
“Why did you take your mom to Greenville?” Kate asked.
“I needed to get away. I didn’t have nothin’ to tell you guys and I needed to talk to her. She wasn’t being reasonable at the house, so we went for a drive. No way she was jumping out of the car doing seventy-five miles per hour on Interstate 30. So she had to listen.”
“Because now that your sister is dead, you want the duplex to yourself?”
“I wanted it before she was dead, so don’t make a thing out of it.”
Zane opened the door. “Kate, please come out here.”
Kate looked at the video camera, then stood.
Outside the interview room, Zane put his phone on speaker.
“Okay, Jake, start from the beginning.”
Kate could hear Jake sigh over the speaker phone. Sorry, to trouble you, Rookie!
“I called the M.E.’s office first. Bryce was pissy about it, but he gave me the report.”
Kate looked at her phone. That’s what all the text messages from Bryce had been about. He shouldn’t have been so cryptic; she’d have called him back. “He’s a good brother.”
“He’s a jerk. Anyway, no rape. Semen, but it was degraded, so she hadn’t had sex in a few days. Considering her history, I don’t know if this is normal.”
Kate’s skin flushed. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” She hated that he was slut shaming her.
“Nothing, calm down. She’s a self-confessed sex addict. Well, not self-confessed, because she’s dead and we never heard it from her directly, but you know what I mean.”
Zane said, “Continue.”
“No rape. Scrapes from being dragged. Broken ribs. Bruises on hands and neck. Skull fracture, but not severe enough to have killed her immediately. Dr. McClaren said it could be she had a seizure and smacked her head on something.”
“The way the room looked, that makes sense,” Zane said.
“Also makes sense Rudy and Laura panicked and got the hell out of there,” Jake said.
Kate looked at Zane. “What?”
“I’ll explain it all later. But you’ll probably hear most of it from David,” Zane said.
“She did have heroin and fentanyl in her system, so that explains the overdose. Most of the other stuff is what we already knew. Bryce sent me the print out, I’ll forward it.”
“What about the crime lab stuff?” Kate asked.
“You’re gonna love this, Kate. Allie’s prints aren’t on the machete. They also aren’t on the driver’s side of the car or the steering wheel. She wasn’t driving the car, and she didn’t trash the Corvette, either. At least not from what the fingerprints say. Though she was in the car on the passenger side. Maybe Laura did give her a ride to work, instead of letting her borrow the car.”
Kate asked, “Why would she lie to us?”
“Because she was there,” Zane said. “She’s part of this whole thing.”
“But why leave her car there? That doesn’t make sense.”
Jake chimed in, “Maybe enough people know her car, so she left it there. Getting a ride, she could say she didn’t know what was going on, because Allie had her car.”
“Anything else from the crime lab?” Kate asked.
“There’s nothing from Jonah. No fingerprints, blood, not in the car. Back to Bryce’s report. They found men’s brown hair on Allie, but they haven’t identified it yet. The report says short, brown, man, sent for DNA testing. Semen testing not back yet either.”
“That rules out my brother,” Kate said. “He’s got perfectly red hair.”
“But it doesn’t rule out David, Rudy, or even Jonah,” Jake said.
“It wouldn’t anyway. She was in regular contact with them,” Zane said.
“Was she?” Kate asked. “She and Jonah are allegedly broken up.”
“Jake, I want you to find Laura, bring her in for questioning. I don’t care if you have to arrest her at this point, to get her in.” To Kate. “Go to the Whip N Spur and talk to the managers. See if there was anything strange Friday night.”
“What about the interview with David?” Kate asked.
“Let’s wrap this up, then you go talk to the bar manager.”
“I’ll send these reports to your email, then I’ll find Laura.”
Zane disconnected Jake, and they walked back into the interview room.
No sooner did they open the door, when David said, “I think I want my lawyer now.”
Kate looked at Zane. “This is why you never leave an interview before you’re done.”
“Go…now…before I lose my temper. By the time you get back, he’ll have a lawyer here.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kate parked her unit behind the building at the Whip N Spur. Five other cars were in the lot. She figured they were preparing for the lunch crowd. But it was Monday, and wasn’t that usually the slowest day of the week?
Since she was in uniform, Kate walked to the back door of the restaurant and pulled. It opened. Wow, that’s safe. Opening the door, she walked down a wide, dark hallway that had a half a dozen coats and sweaters hanging on hooks. At the end of the hallway, she saw a stairway on her right and an ordering station on her left. A few more steps and she stood on reddish rubber mats that interlinked and covered the entire concrete floor of the kitchen.
“Help you?” A young man dressed in white cook clothing asked in heavily accented English.
“Manager?” Kate asked.
The young man, maybe nineteen years old, raised his right arm and pointed to the far side of the kitchen. “Corner. Knock.”
Kate nodded. “Gracias.”
The man didn’t respond as he walked around to the prep area.
Kate walked down the aisle, a salad prep station on her right and the dishwasher area on her left. Just past the dishwashing station, she saw a bulletin board with notices and a schedule. Past that, the only wall that wasn’t completely white, there was a brown door. She knocked.
“What?” A man’s voice from behind the door.
“Peculiar police, sir.”
The door opened to reveal an office so stacked with file cabinets and paperwork, she could barely see the desk. The man’s chair barely cleared the door. It reminded her of the M.E.’s office.
“Is this really important? I have to get this place open for lunch, and find a replacement bartender.” He stood and Kate noticed he was her height. Dark brown hair, thick and kept in place with pomade.
“Well, I’m here about a homicide, so maybe a little important. I’m Corporal Kate Darby.” He didn’t look friendly, so she didn’t bother to put her hand out to shake.
“Homicide?” He asked. “Let’s go in the bar and talk.”
He walked out of the office and turned to make sure the door shut and locked. Walking back the way they came, Kate followed the man through a full swinging door. “Coming out,” he said as he pushed the door.
“Your name, sir?” Kate asked as they sat in the first chairs in front of a round high-top table.
“Sorry, I’m Dean Pinkle.” He smiled, even though it looked forced.
“Well, Dean, I’m here to talk to you about one of your employees, Allie Miller.”
Dean’s eyes went wide. “She killed him?”
Kate’s eyes mimicked Dean’s. “Killed who?”
“Allie dated this guy for a while. She broke it off, but he didn’t seem to want it to be over. The problem with working in a bar or restaurant is they can come visit you at work. And this guy must have been staking out the parking lot, because he came in every shift she worked. Stared at her the entire time. Tipped well, though.” Dean drummed his fingers on the wood surface of the table.
“Have you ever seen him?” Kate asked.
“She never told me who he was, saying she didn’t want any trouble. It didn’t affect her job, so all was good. But it couldn’t have been too good, because the last few weeks she was getting a ride to and from work. Our girls always get an escort to their cars at the end of the night, but she seemed extra cautious.”
“What did she say, exactly?” Kate asked.
“Well, did she kill him? Because it was probably self-defense.” Dean stopped drumming his fingers.
“No, sir, she’s the one who is dead,” Kate said.
Dean’s skin turned pale. “That’s why she didn’t show for her shift Saturday night. Oh, shit, and here I was pissed at her. She really left me in a bind.”
“She was in a bit bigger bind than you were,” Kate said.
“She was tied up?” he asked.
Kate shook her head. “When was the last time you saw Allie?”
“Friday night. In fact, that guy was in here. I actually saw him that night. He was being really weird, accused her of trashing his car, and wanted to know why. She said she didn’t know what he was talking about and tried to continue working. Then he got in her face, and I had to ask him to leave her alone.”
Funny, just a minute before, this guy said he’d never seen the man. Now, he knew it was him getting in Allie’s face. Kate tried not to confront him on his lie, to keep him talking.
“What time was this?” Kate asked, checking her timeline.
“It was after midnight, but we were still pretty full. He walked away, but he screamed at her, “I love you. You know I love you. Please.”
“What did Allie do?” Kate asked.
“She left the bar. My assistant manager took over for her and she called for a ride.”
“Can you describe this guy?”
Dean laughed. “Totally didn’t fit in. His jeans looked like girl jeans and were skin tight.”
“Girl jeans?” Kate asked.
“Yeah, you know, stitching and sparkles on the pockets. He could barely walk in them. How the hell did he sit down to drive here?” Then Dean realized what he was saying. “Oh, shit, did he kill her?”
“We don’t know. Was this guy wearing cowboy boots?” Kate felt nauseous. Had Jonah killed her over the car? And there was a possibility she wasn’t even the one who trashed it.
“Yeah, and they were so out of fashion. Like the Mexicans wear. We call them cockroach killers, because you can smash a roach in the corner with the pointed toes.”
Yep, it was Jonah.
“How long had he been stalking her at work?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know for sure. I just know she started getting rides to work in the last two weeks or so. Allie was a nice girl, you know. I feel bad that I was pissed at her for being a no-show.” Dean slumped over the table, putting his fingers in his perfect hair. “Wow, she’s dead.”
Kate looked around the dark bar and noticed video cameras in every corner. “Do you have many fights in the bar?”
“Not really, but we like to make sure no one underage is being served. We’ve had a fight here and there, but we have bouncers.” Dean sat up, looking at the cameras.
“Would you have time to pull up the video from Friday night?” Kate asked.
Dean shook his head. “We don’t store the footage here. But I can call the company that has it, and have them send it to you.”
Kate stood. “That would be lovely. Is there anything else you can tell me that might help?”
“Just that the guy didn’t leave when Allie left. He stuck around until right before closing time.”
Interesting. Kate thought he was getting a ride from the tow truck driver. Maybe she was wrong. Then again, she wasn’t paying that much attention, because she never expected to revisit the situation.
She gave Dean her card. “I just need footage that would identify the man. I may already know his name. And I’d also like to see video from the back door here, the one that faces the back parking area.”
“I’ll get everything from around eleven or midnight until, say, two-thirty?” Dean said.
