Dark Corners READY FOR PRC (37 page)

“May we see it?”

“Absolutely.” I led them to the garage that was separate from the house. The garage hadn’t been opened since Danny had passed away, at least not by me. The only thing in it was the car, which I had no use for. The door was hard to open and the air inside was stale. Everything looked just as it had and it occurred to me I should sell the car, rather than letting it slowly die unattended in my garage.

“Have you ever driven this car?”

“No.”

 “Would you mind if we fingerprint it?”

“Why would you want to do that? Did someone see this car at the house?”

“We’re eliminating suspects. Other than that I cannot disclose any information about an ongoing investigation.”

“How does this eliminate me as a suspect? I could have taken a cab or walked.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

“Do we have permission to process the car for forensics or should we get a warrant?”

I didn’t appreciate being strong-armed by anyone, least of all by cop in a bad suit.

“I don’t think you could get a warrant for this. Please don’t threaten me like I'm ignorant. At the moment, you’re fishing for leads and it seems as if I'm becoming a usual suspect for you people. I don't appreciate the implications,” I snapped.

Yellow Tie, who appeared to be the leader, gave me a smile that clearly said go to hell and started to leave the garage. Before he made it to the door, I had collected my temper.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t run forensics on the car.”

He turned around and looked at me.

“I have nothing to hide from you. Just don’t treat me like I'm stupid.”

“You're giving us your permission then?”

“Yes, fine.”

The silent one of the two reached for his cell phone as I walked by.

“Ma’am, we need you to stay with us.”

“Then you're coming back to the house with me because I am not waiting around here.” The two detectives followed me back into the house. I offered them a drink, which they both declined. I made myself tea as they silently watched. The forensic team arrived. The quiet one took them to the garage as I looked for the keys to the car while the other one watched.

After a couple hours, most of the police officers had departed from my house leaving me with just the detectives again. They gathered their things and started out the door. Yellow Tie turned around and asked, as if it was an afterthought, “Have you spoken with Mr. Daniels since last night?”

“No.”

“If you do, please give us a call.” He handed me a card. I nodded and closed the door behind him. As they drove away I called my lawyer in Chicago and left a message. I wasn’t looking forward to the media circus that would ensue once the press found out I was once again suspect number one.

Caught between sleepiness and stress I felt like a time bomb ready to go off at any moment. I wanted to cut and run. It wasn't worth all the pain and regret—why did people keep dying around me? I needed to get away from everything. I needed a vacation to an island somewhere. I promised myself a trip to Hawaii, completely stress free as soon as all of this was over. Self-pity started to move in and set up residence again. I sat in the darkening living room, not bothering to turn on the lights, drink in hand.

I mentally retraced everything that had happened over the last several days. All of the events and clues that I had found or had unfolded over the week took me where? What was the missing piece that connected everything? If Danny was killed by a ghost, Susan’s death made no sense at all—she wasn’t even in the house. But what motive could someone have for harming her and Danny similarly? The only person with a motive was me, and I was certain I didn't do it.

I stayed in my contemplative state until I heard another knock on the door. I hoped it was Gabriel, but no such luck.  When I answered the door, I was irritated to see Mr. Sexton standing in front of me.

“What do you want?”

“I saw the cops messing about all day.  Did they make an arrest?”

“If they did, would I be here? Look, I don’t really have time for this.” I started to close the door.

“Not you, you stupid bitch—that guy.”

“What guy?”

“The one I told that other cop that hangs around here about. He told me to call him if I saw the man again, but I lost his number. Anyway, I saw him just this morning before the police showed up, but they wouldn’t let me anywhere near to tell ‘em.”

“Wait, what, pardon? You’ve been seeing a man outside my house and didn’t bother to tell me? ”

“I told the copper. What the hell would you do about it, girlie?”

I didn’t have energy to fight with Mr. Sexton. “Next time you see him I’d appreciate knowing.” Then something occurred to me. “Are you the one who’s been calling me?”

“Your copper accused me of that same thing—said I'm not to talk to you at all.” He looked around, suddenly nervous, as if Gabriel would appear at any moment, and started to back off the porch.

“Listen, Mr. Sexton—that was a misunderstanding. Call
me
if you see anything,” I said as he walked away his eyes darting back and forth.

I returned to my dark living room with something new to think about. I was cold and vulnerable, but I was in the process of developing a theory. Why didn’t Gabriel tell me about the man Mr. Sexton saw? Why keep that a secret? And why did he stop by my house so frequently even when I was rude to him? What made Mr. Sexton so jumpy? Why did all the evidence and clues we found only show up when he was here? It was a theory I couldn't take lightly, one that would hurt Gabriel regardless of whether or not I was right or wrong if I exposed it. I needed confirmation, but how could I get it without cluing Gabriel in on what I was thinking—which would either hurt him or be very dangerous for me.

Movement in the doorway caught my eye. It was Gabriel looming in the entrance, the backlight making him appear huge and ominous.

“I was thinking about you,” I said quietly, not making a quick movement.

“Funny how that works,” he responded in a tired voice, walking in and loosening his tie. He plopped down onto the ottoman in front of my chair.

“Before I forget to tell you, I mentioned I was with you last night. I didn't think about it until after I said it. Did I get you in trouble?”

“Don’t worry, I would have told them even if you hadn’t. How are you holding up? ”

“You know, moment by moment. I am becoming a pro at this. ” I couldn't even muster up a wry smile to go with my words.

“I heard you were a handful.” He said a smile touching the corners of his mouth.

“That guy in a yellow tie is an asshole.”

“Detective Jones,” Gabriel said knowingly. “I heard you let him have it once or twice. That’s good, he can be a bully. Did you call a lawyer?”

“Yeah, after they left.”

“Christ, Ella.”

“I have nothing to hide. Who cares if they take Danny’s car?”

“That isn’t the point. If they're trying to make a case against you, you shouldn’t help them. Did you tell them about the affair?”

“No. That would give them motive and they didn’t ask.”

“Not only for you, for Doug too.”

“Doug doesn’t know about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. Susan said he didn’t—and she begged me not to tell him. If he did know about it all along, why would he wait so long?” I rubbed my eyes with my fists. “So now you think I should have told them?”

“I'm torn about this. As a cop, yes, you should have told them. They need all the facts to solve the case. As your—friend, it's better for you if they don't know”

“God, it’s so surreal that just last night we were fighting in here.” I could see Gabriel searching my eyes for signs that I was going to break and fall apart at any moment. “You know, I’m okay. You don't have to stay with me if it's getting you in trouble. I understand.”

“Why do you keep trying to make me leave? You know you may be next on what could be a very short list. You don’t have that many people in your life. Is there even someone else that could stay here with you? Think of me as protective custody.”

“Well, maybe if you leave that list will stay short and I won’t have to worry about you making it onto it,” I said even though I knew he was right, I didn’t have anyone else. However, at the moment I couldn’t be sure I had him either. “Speaking of protective custody, did Mr. Sexton tell you he’d seen a man around my house?”

“Yeah. I checked it out. He was probably lying, giving me a bullshit reason to be on your property. He couldn't give me any details in his description and when I started questioning him his story began to fall apart. I told him to call me instead of investigating it himself. I also said he shouldn’t speak to you being that he doesn’t know how to be anything besides belligerent—”

“And you chose not to tell me?”

“Tell you what? Unsubstantiated stories from a crazy old man? If I had, would that have made you feel better? To think that there is a psychotic man wondering around in your backyard? You have enough to deal with.”

“If someone is creeping around my house I want to know! I have a right to know.”

“Have you seen someone?”

“No, but I see the effects of it every day.”

“Exactly, this changes nothing. What's the difference in letting you think it's a ghost or making you believe there's a person? Besides, he hasn’t called me even once about it.”

“He said he lost your number.” Saying this aloud to Gabriel made me realize how weak the excused actually seemed.

“So he lost my number and he’s bothering you again. Convenient. My guess is that he’s bored. This man is a piece of work.”

“He said he saw the man this morning—and I received some weird phone calls after I spoke to you. One was just breathing, the other told me to get out, that ‘He was in the house.’”

“Do you believe him? Was he telling the truth or trying to scare you?”

“Why would he want to do that?”

“Why did he ever want to bother you? I don’t think the guy’s playing with a full deck.”

I knew he was right, but I wanted so much to believe that we had real proof that some evil man was behind all of this that I clung to my last shred of hope. “What if he’s telling the truth? Couldn’t it be worth pursuing? Sexton wasn’t creepy or mean when he told me this. Maybe, just maybe, there is something here. What could hurt?” I smiled the most charming smile I could muster at the moment.

“Can we at least postpone it ‘til tomorrow?” he asked defeated.

“I’m sorry. I know you’ve had a bad day too.”

His head sagged between his shoulders as he rested his forearms across his knees, and I watched him, unable to sort out my feelings. I was a walking contradiction when it came to Gabriel. At this moment he looked so helpless, so in need of someone much stronger than me—yet I wanted to be that person. I placed my hand on his arm, making a connection. He looked back at me; the air between us grew heavier with each second the gaze lasted.

I had the feeling that neither of us had anyone else in the world. He was definitely my last connection to the world outside of this house. We were there for each other with no need of words or ties. We were bound to each other by kindred spirits, these horrible crimes, and feelings that were too complicated for definition.