Double down, p.14
Double Down, page 14
“You two have been busy,” Shaffer said, studying her. “What do you need help with that I can do? It’s obvious no one on the reservation will talk to me. But I can do digging on the computer to fill in blanks.”
“If you could get the reports on Lora Murdoch’s death and her cousin’s,” she rattled off the name, “and also see what you can find out about Levi Murdoch.” She stared into her iced tea.
“Someone else? Maybe Sander?” Shaffer asked.
“As much as I would love to have this be something Sander did, I don’t think he did. The one I have on the list is Daniel Booth. He learned how to cook meth from Winter and was ready to take over. He’s missing. Whether of his own accord or Sander made him vanish, we don’t know.” Dela thought of someone else. “Jacee Bing. She works in surveillance at the casino, is Ina Winter’s cousin, and is Booth’s girlfriend. She didn’t like the victim and according to her she doesn’t like drugs, but she likes the things drug money can buy. She might have wanted her boyfriend to be making more money and took care of someone she hated.” Dela shrugged. “Those are all the people who we have come up with in our questioning.”
“It’s a good list. I’ll let you know what I find and you keep me in the loop of who you talk to and what you learn.” He closed the notepad and stared at her. “Don’t talk to anyone alone. Once word gets out you aren’t the suspect, the real suspect is going to get nervous. If you talk to the wrong person—”
“The suspect,” Dela said.
Shaffer nodded. “Alone, he, or she, may decide you are a threat.”
“Heath and I have been talking to people together.” She glanced at her watch. “Not to rush you off, but I need to grab lunch and go meet with Chief Steele. He wanted me to repeat what I said in my interview with Detective Jones.”
Shaffer stood. “I heard you were being re-interviewed by the tribal police. Something about the whole interview you did with Jones was erased.”
“Jones probably did it the minute the interview was over. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to keep saying I was the only suspect.”
She moved to the door and opened it. “I’m glad to be dropped down on the suspect list.”
Shaffer stopped and stared at her. “What do you mean dropped down? You’re still at the top because of Mrs. Swan’s statement. But we’re following other lines of inquiry as well.”
“If I were you, I’d do the same. But don’t put too much in the old woman’s words. Because you’re going to find, I didn’t kill him.” She closed the door and leaned against it. When was this mess going to be over?
“Come on, let’s grab some grub,” she said to Mugshot and they walked into the kitchen.
♠ ♣ ♥ ♦
Dela sat in the same interview room as before. This time the fifty-something Chief of Police sat across from her. His plump pale face glistened with perspiration while his doughy body stressed the buttons on his uniform. The man smiled at her when she entered the room. His thick lips drew back, revealing small stained teeth. The man clearly ate badly and drank too much coffee. She’d had few dealings with the chief and hoped he was as pleasant as Heath had made him out to be.
“Ms. Alvaro, have a seat.” He pointed to the chair across the table from him. Once she was seated, he continued, “Would you please state your name and occupation for the recording?” His voice was surprisingly high-pitched for such an ample body.
She offered the information and leaned back in the chair, trying not to look nervous or uninterested. She wanted the man to believe her when she told him the truth.
“The reason for re-interviewing this suspect is due to the fact...” He went on to say the original interview had been wiped from the system and he had taken it upon himself to redo the interview.
Dela waited for him to say something about Detective Jones being taken off the case, but he didn’t mention that. Instead, he said, “Tell me what happened the day Paul Winter was killed.”
Feeling as if she’d recited this a thousand times, she started with the phone call from Ina, and this time she mentioned calling Heath and telling him that Winter would probably be calling them about the donkey being stolen.
Chief Steele held up a hand and circled his finger in the air. “Wind back up. You say you called Officer Seaver and told him you’d been in a fight with the victim and he’d be calling us to complain?”
She feared Heath still hadn’t said anything to his boss and here she’d dropped the news. But it was out and she couldn’t take it back. “Yes. He said he had to go to the casino first and then would stop by and talk to Paul. I called him when I was walking the donkey to my house.”
The man’s small, round, green eyes studied her as his thick bottom lip moved in and out. The air grew hotter and stifling. She held his gaze, feeling like she sat in the principal’s office.
He finally asked, “Why haven’t I heard this before?”
She sighed. “I didn’t mention it before because I didn’t want to get Heath in trouble. And I was afraid if you knew we were friends, you wouldn’t let him work on the case.”
The man poked a thick, stubby finger down on the tabletop. “I’ve known you two were friends since I interviewed him for the job here. I would have taken in anything he said and made my decisions from facts, not friendships. Now I wonder at you keeping this to yourself.” His green eyes felt as if they were poking at her as his finger had the table.
“Ask Heath about his whereabouts. He said, instead of going to the casino he went straight to the Winter residence. And he saw Paul sitting up. Before he could get out and talk to him, Heath received a call about a disturbance, only when he arrived there wasn’t anything happening and no one said they called the police.” She leaned forward. “Which makes me think someone was in the house, watching my fight with Paul, and saw where I put the knife. When they were ready to go out and kill him, Heath arrived. They made a nine-one-one call which lured Heath away and then took the knife I had put in the shed and killed Paul.” Dela stared into the chief’s eyes. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
The man shook his head, jiggling the white jowls under his dimpled chin. “We have an eyewitness that says you killed Winter.”
“An eye witness who has conveniently gone on a vacation.” Dela leaned back and crossed her arms. “I concede she may have seen the fight, but if she had watched us fighting, she would have seen me put the knife in the shed, grab the halter for the donkey, and lead him away. And if she was watching so closely, she would have seen Paul sit up, Heath’s arrival, and the killer stab Paul if she went over and found him dead after I’d been there.”
“How do you know Mrs. Swan is on vacation?” Chief Steele asked.
“Grandfather Thunder told me. He is friends with the husband of one of Mrs. Swan’s friends.”
Steele studied her some more. “Anything else you care to tell me about that day?”
“There’s nothing to tell. I gave you all the information I know.” She returned his gaze, not flinching, wondering what was spinning in his mind.
“This interview ended at...” He recited the time and stared at the video camera in the corner of the room. The light blinked off, and he shifted his attention to her. “I understand you and Officer Seaver spent his days off interviewing people.”
If he knew, there was no sense denying it. “Yes, we talked to people who might have a reason or know someone who had reason to want Paul dead.”
“It is not regulation for an officer to take a suspect along on interviews.” He continued to study her.
“I’m not going to sit around while my reputation, my job, and possibly my life, are in danger. I was trained to take action. I won’t go with Heath when he questions people, but I won’t stand by and wait for the slow process of a murder investigation to clear my name.” She stood. “If I can’t work, I need something to do. And that something is talking to people. Everything I learn I give to Heath or Special Agent Shaffer. I’m not withholding anything from them or you. I want my life back.”
Her hand was on the door when the chief said, “If you interfere, we will have to put you in jail.”
Dela glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not interfering; I’m collecting evidence to find the real killer.” She opened the door, swung to the left to exit the back door of the building, and ran into Jacob Red Bear.
“Hey.” He held her by her upper arms. “What’s up?”
“I just re-interviewed with Chief Steele.” She tipped her head to the room and stepped back out of his grasp.
“I see. Can I buy you a soda?”
She could tell by his tone he wanted to have a conversation with her outside of the police station. “Sure. Mission Market?”
“Yeah. Give me twenty minutes.”
She nodded and walked out to her car. The Public Safety building had never made her anxious before, but she couldn’t shake the feeling the Chief of Police didn’t seem any more friendly toward her than Detective Dick. She backed out of the parking slot and headed to the market. It would be good to talk to a friend after the afternoon she’d had.
Chapter Twenty-one
Dela sat at a table in the little sandwich shop area of the market. She’d already ordered a soda and a bag of chips. She sat peering out the large glass window watching the locals come and go. The owner of the market called out to each person as they came through the door. The community and friendliness were why Dela had returned after being medically discharged from the army. She knew after the initial questions about the circumstance of her return, that she would be welcomed into the community once again.
“Dela, do you need a refill?” Jessie, a teenager related to Jacob, asked.
“No, thank you. I’m sipping slow.” She’d told the teen she was waiting for Officer Red Bear. That’s when the girl had told Dela she was related to him.
“Sometimes, he’s late. Let me know if you need more.”
“Thanks, I will.” Dela shifted her gaze to the short aisles of snacks and necessities and spotted the one person she didn’t want to see today, or ever. Detective Dick. She started a mantra, “Don’t look this way. Don’t look this way.” Her hand sought the issue of the CUJ that had been sitting on the table when she sat down. She held that up in front of her as if she were reading.
She wasn’t in the mood to deal with him. He would blame her for getting pulled from the homicide and ratted out about helping Sander. Dela studied the photo in the newspaper of young children wearing regalia and dancing. She should have asked the chief what had been done about Detective Dick.
A glance out the window and she spotted Jacob parking next to her car. She let a breath out and peeked over the newspaper. Dick wasn’t anywhere in sight from where she sat. She lowered the paper and folded it back up.
Loud voices jerked her attention back outside. Detective Dick was stabbing Jacob in the chest with a finger as he shouted and flung his other arm around wildly.
Jacob shoved the older man back, said something quiet enough Dela couldn’t even hear the timbre of his voice, and walked by the detective.
A shiver slithered up her spine. Pulling her gaze from Jacob, she found Detective Dick staring daggers at her.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Jacob said, before turning to the counter to order.
Dela nodded her head but her gaze remained locked on Dick. He grinned maliciously and pivoted, striding to his car. She watched the vehicle until she could no longer see it.
Jacob slid into the small booth seat across from her. “Don’t let him get to you. He’s an asshole. Everyone knows it.”
She knew he was talking about Dick. “I don’t want to talk about him,” she said, even though she really did want to know what had transpired that morning between the detective, his boss, and Quinn.
“Good. Let’s talk about you.” Jacob stared into her eyes. “How are you doing?”
Put some eyeliner and earrings on him and she would have thought she was staring into her friend, Robin’s face. While Jacob was decidedly male in his appearance, he had the same qualities as his sister. Dela had found herself forgetting that Robin was dead, more times than not when she and Jacob visited.
“As well as I can considering I’m a suspect in a murder, I’ve been suspended from my job, and I keep being told to let the police handle finding the real killer.” She leaned down and sipped her drink, watching Jacob.
His lips spread into a large grin. “So you’re doing well.”
She laughed and snorted pop out her nose. Grabbing a napkin, she closed her eyes to stop the tears from coming as the carbonation in the drink stung her nose.
Jacob laughed and said, “It’s never a bad day if you can laugh and snort pop out your nose.”
Dela tossed the napkin at him. “Says, you! What did you want to talk to me about? It couldn’t have been just to make me laugh.”
The man she’d known since they were both in grade school sobered. “You need to be careful. I’ve heard you are the one who pointed the finger at Jones being on the side of the drug dealers. Not only is he pissed, but so are the people he’s been helping.”
Wiping the last of the snot from her nose, Dela stared into her friend’s eyes. “I’m sure there will be more people who step forward once the word gets around. He’ll have more than me to worry about.”
“But you’re the one he has had the biggest grudge against for a long time. You’re the one that will be retaliated against.” Jacob studied her. “I know you’ve been through a lot while in the army, but this is different. Drug dealers and their minions aren’t something to take lightly. They don’t play by the rules and come up with new shit all the time. Be careful.”
When she didn’t say anything, he added, “Please. I don’t want to lose you, too.”
His words struck her in the heart. She knew he was talking about the death of his sister. Her childhood friend, whom Dela spent every day wishing she’d not been so nonchalant leaving her friend behind when she’d driven off to go to basketball practice.
“I’m not going anywhere. And no one is going to make me go away. Mentally or physically. I promise.” She reached across the table and grasped his hand. They had been there for each other over the years having bonded over Robin’s brutal murder.
“Make sure you don’t meet anyone involved in this case alone. Always tell Heath or me where you are and who you are talking with.” His dark brown eyes searched her face.
“I will let you, Heath, or Marty know where I am if I’m not at home. Chief Steele pretty much told me not to involve Heath in my investigations, so I’ll be working with Marty from here on out, but I’ll keep you all informed.” She released his hand and leaned back. “And I have Special Agent Shaffer on speed dial. Since Quinn is investigating Detective Jones, Shaffer came to see me this morning to find out what I’ve learned. He gave me the green light to keep talking to people and promised to get me information Heath was unable to dig up.” She smiled. “That means I also have the Feds helping me. No one is going to harm me. Too many people know I didn’t kill Paul and I’m a bulldog when it comes to justice.”
Jacob slurped up the last of his drink and said, “Don’t get too full of yourself. That’s how most people end up in a box.” He stood, walked over to the garbage can, and tossed the cup in. “Remember, call someone before you go anywhere.”
She nodded and he walked out of the market, waving before he drove off in his tribal vehicle.
Dela dropped her cup and empty chip bag in the trash as she walked out of the building. It was four in the afternoon. She called Marty.
“Yo, Dela, what’s up?” he answered.
“Can you come over to my place this evening? I have some good and some bad news and we need to plan a strategy for our moves the next few days.”
“Can I bring Molly? We were going to go out to dinner.”
“Yes. But go to dinner before you come over. I don’t want her saying I ruined her evening.” She was glad her two friends were becoming a couple. Molly deserved someone as fun and nice as Marty.
“See you around seven-thirty.” He ended the call.
♠ ♣ ♥ ♦
Dela sat at her kitchen table, poking a fork at the salad she’d made for dinner. The list she’d made of people she wanted to check up on lay on the table beside her plate. Her gaze kept drifting to the page, reading through the names and the things she wanted to know.
Her phone rang, making her jump. Slowing her racing heart, she answered the restricted number. “Hello?” She had expected Milo Shaffer’s voice.
“You think you’re something special. Well, let me tell you, when this is all over, no one will remember you as the disabled war veteran. You’ll be the sad, lonely woman, who couldn’t keep her nose out of other people’s business.”
The line went dead and her hand shook as she set the phone down. She replayed the voice and words over in her mind. Was it Detective Dick? She wasn’t certain. But who else would have gone to such a stupid means of scaring her?
She dialed Quinn. His phone rang several times and went to voicemail. “Quinn, it’s Dela. I received a threatening call from a restricted number. Is there a way to find out who it belongs to? Call me back, please.”
Then she wrote down the time and the call word for word the best she could remember it.
“Why?” she said out loud, staring at the kitchen window. It was stupid for Dick to call and harass her. He would know she would report the call. It didn’t make sense.
She tossed the rest of her dinner into the trash, cleaned up the dishes, and went out into the backyard to pet Jethro and Mugshot, hoping to ease the frustration that had surfaced and made her antsy.
Her phone rang.
Heath.
“Hi, I know you aren’t supposed to get involved in what I’m doing but can you come over?” she asked before he had time to greet her.
