CHAPTER NINETEEN
Wednesday, March 21, 2018; 9:00 a.m.
Randy Hayward watched Steven Marcus lift the jailhouse phone as he stared through the thick glass separating them. The reporter’s build was still slight, and he couldn’t be much older than Randy, but he looked like the boy next door. A place like this would eat him alive.
Hayward raised the phone to his ear and grinned. “I didn’t think you’d come. I figured you were done with me after our meeting in January.”
“I wasn’t interested in playing games.”
They’d met after Randy’s release from prison in early January. Marcus asked for an interview, and Randy had agreed in exchanged for cash. But when the time came to meet, Randy had had better things to do and had blown off their appointment. “You won’t be sorry you came.”
Marcus didn’t look convinced. “Why am I here?”
“I’m in a bad way. I need a friend,” Randy said.
“If you want a friend, then tell me where Gina is. You know I want to find her.”
Randy looked to the guard standing nearby and leaned forward. “I can’t tell you right now.”
“Then we aren’t friends.” The reporter’s eyes flashed with unexpected anger as he rose and looked ready to leave.
Randy had a knack for knowing how far to push his luck, and with Marcus he was reaching his limit. “Hey now, don’t be so harsh. I can give you what you want, just not right this minute.”
Marcus released a breath and stared through the glass at him. “What do you want?”
“I need the public to know I’m not a monster.”
“I’d say you fit the bill. I know you killed Gina, and the cops have you on security footage stabbing the woman in the convenience store you robbed.”
Randy shook his head, but his grin turned sly. “The attorneys have worked out a deal. I’m gonna be taking the cops to Gina real soon.”
Marcus sat back. “You made a deal?”
“A real sweet one.”
“What happened to Gina?”
Randy rubbed the side of his head, his handcuffs jostling on his wrists. “I can’t tell you before the cops.”
“Why did you kill her?”
“I’ll tell you that after Friday.”
“Friday?”
“That’s when I talk to the cops about her. I’d do it today, but Kaitlin’s the one holding up the show. Cops say she can’t come with us until Friday, and I’ve got to have my sweet Kaitlin at the big reveal.”
“She was stabbed. She’s out of the hospital tomorrow.”
Randy couldn’t say he was sorry. He should have done the same to her years ago. “Ouch. Stabbed. Well, if there ever was a bitch who deserved it, it was her.”
“I thought you were tight with Kaitlin Roe? She was your girlfriend. From what people told me, she would have done anything for you at one point.”
“Not anymore. She’s a viper.” He’d been real nice to her when they’d been dating, and then at the Fourth of July party, he’d gotten a little too drunk. Yeah, he’d hit her, but looking back, he knew both she and Gina got what they deserved.
“When’s the last time you saw her?” Marcus asked.
“Last week.” He made a sucking sound as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “She’d been trying to talk to me for months, visiting and hoping I’d open up to her. She’s like you. She wants your precious little Gina found.”
Marcus shook his head. “Gina was never mine. I never knew her.”
“But you did all kinds of research on her, and you fell for her just like any other guy who spent any time with her. Shit, even dead, Gina could win a man’s heart.”
“If you’re talking to the cops, why am I here?”
“Like I said, I need my story told. I’m going to be on trial, and public opinion matters. You can tell my story best because you understand the effect Gina had on men.”
Marcus shifted, as if uncomfortable with the idea that he’d have anything in common with this piece of garbage.
Randy smiled. “You’re gonna have to put your own shit aside and suck it up if you want the whole story. You look like the kind of man who’d deal with the devil for a good story.”
Marcus tapped a finger on the phone. “What do you want?”
“Money in my cantina account is a nice start. And if you write about me favorably during my trial, I can tell you things that readers will eat up.”
“Consider it done.”
“And give a message to Kaitlin for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Tell her the next time, I hope whoever hates her as much as me finishes the job.”
Kaitlin pulled off the earphones and hit “Mute” on her computer, silencing Jennifer Ralston’s voice. Hearing the dead woman left her unsettled and more worried than ever about Erika. Adler had not returned last night, and she was anxious to see him not only for news but because, like it or not, she felt better when he was around. She’d left him one message, but he’d not called her back. Damn. If she could just get out of this hospital room, she wouldn’t feel so cut off.
She ran a hand through the tangle of her hair. More than ever, she wanted to see this podcast to the end.
The four walls of her hospital room seemed to close in around her. She now knew every inch of this room, and it was driving her stir-crazy. She’d watched more television in the last few days than she had in the last five years, and if one more nurse prodded her, she’d go nuts.
The nurses had said no more walking today. She’d pushed herself too hard already. But unable to sit any longer, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, grimacing as her stitches pulled a little. Drawing in a breath, she placed her feet on the floor, stood, and rolled her IV forward a few inches. The discomfort was manageable. She started a slow and steady walk toward the door and the hallway.
Moving more easily, she felt stronger, less vulnerable. She welcomed the buzz of activity at the nurse’s station as family and friends visited loved ones, but the strangers made her uneasy, and she had to remind herself she was safe here. Though tomorrow she’d be back in the real world.
When she made the turn around the corner, the ward doors whooshed open behind her. She turned to see Detective Adler. Relief flooded her, and she had to struggle not to smile.
His tie was neatly tied and his hair combed, but there were dark circles under his eyes. As he approached, his jacket flapped open, revealing his badge and weapon. As soon as their gazes locked, she saw his annoyance and anger. Whatever he had to tell her wouldn’t be good.
“You saw Erika?” she asked.
“I did.” He placed his hand under her elbow and started walking her back toward her room.
Calloused fingers rubbed against her skin, sending energy racing through her body. “Where did you find her?”
“In the city.” His jaw was clenched, and he seemed very aware that there were several people in the hallway watching them. The nurses knew he’d been here shortly after she’d been brought in and he’d sat by her bed for several hours until she had awakened. A few thought they were dating.
“Can you be more specific?” she asked.
“Not here.”
She wondered if he’d heard the nurses’ gossip about them. Either way, he didn’t look pleased by anything right now.
In her room, he closed the door behind them and walked her to the bed. She sat, and he gently helped her into it and then pulled the blanket up to her waist.
“Where is Erika?” Kaitlin asked again.
His expression softened. “She’s dead.”
The air whooshed from her lungs, and her head grew light. “How did she die?”
He pulled up a chair and sat beside her. “I can’t talk about that now.”
“Why not?” Frustration chewed at her. “Jennifer and Erika are dead, and I was stabbed. And you can’t tell me!”
“I would if I could, Kaitlin.” He sounded so damn calm. “But right now I’ve got to put the investigation first.”
Reason cut through her temper and reminded her that he couldn’t keep her in the loop and do his job. “I know. You’re right. Have you spoken to Brad?” she asked.
“I have. But that’s all I can say now.”
Being shut out was frustrating. “When is Hayward taking you to Gina?”
“Friday. Are you up for it?”
“I am.” The statement was more for her benefit than his. “I will be fine.”
He studied her a moment, and she sensed he wanted to say something, but whatever it was, it got shoved to a back burner. Not spoken. But not gone. “Okay.”
When Adler walked through the front door of his home, it was late afternoon. He’d stopped by only to shower, change, and eat a quick meal. However, his gaze was immediately drawn to the light in the dining room. Two sawhorses were balancing a large piece of plywood. The makeshift table was covered with papers and files.
As he shrugged off his jacket, the downstairs toilet flushed, and the sink turned on and off. Logan’s steady, almost rhythmic steps echoed down the hallway. When he rounded the corner, Logan’s hand was on the grip of his 9mm Sig Sauer.
Logan looked at Adler and clicked the safety back on. “Paranoia is my new friend.”
“Really? I thought he was my friend. Fickle bastard.” Adler moved into the kitchen and said a prayer of thanks when he saw the two pizza boxes on top of his newly delivered six-burner stove. “When did the stove arrive?”
“This morning. Countertops come tomorrow.”
He snapped up a piece of cold pepperoni pizza and savoring the flavor, took a bite. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was.
“I ordered pepperoni last night knowing it’s your favorite. Wasn’t sure when you were going to get your ass in the house, but figured I’d leave some out for you. You remind me of my pet dog when I was a kid. He would run off for days at a time, too.”
Adler chuckled and moved to the coffee maker that had gurgled out a fresh pot. “I needed a little time to clear my head.” He sipped the brew, remembering that Logan always liked it strong and bitter. “How’s it going with the case?”
“So far, she’s not telling me too much. Trying to get her to whisper her secrets, but she won’t.”
“You listen to the interviews Kaitlin Roe made?” Adler asked.
“Most of them. She’s got twenty hours of conversation. I can tell you not everyone was glad to hear from her. But no matter what they hurled at her, she stayed on task. She’s like a dog with a bone.”
“What’re your impressions of her during the recent interviews with Detective North?” Adler asked.
“There’s a calm steadiness about her. Her voice trembled a little during the initial questions, but after a few minutes she sounded steady.”
Adler ran his hand over his head. “She’s smart and determined. Times when I think she should be a cop.”
“John, you sound like you want her to really trust you.”
“Don’t all detectives want total trust?”
“Sure. But you and I were partners for over a year. I’ve seen more emotion aimed at Kaitlin than at your ex-wife.”
Adler agreed. There was something about Kaitlin. She’d gotten under his skin the moment he’d first met her. And the more he was around her, the more he wanted to be with her.
Logan sipped his coffee and changed gears. “Has Hayward’s attorney called you?”
“He has. The deal is simple. He tells us what happened to Gina Mason and no charges will be filed on her case, and he gets reduced charges on the one pending.”
Adler shifted his thoughts back to the case and the files Logan had been studying almost nonstop. “What do you think went down on that road with Kaitlin, Gina, and the masked man?”
“Hayward killed her.”
“Did he plan out the abduction and murder, or was it a crime of opportunity?”
“I’d have said opportunity if not for the drugs spiking the booze the girls were drinking. I think Randy had a grudge against Kaitlin and he got Brad to put his girlfriend up to spiking it. All Randy had to do was wait by the river. But he got bored and decided to steal some silver from his mother because he was always cash strapped. He grabbed the silver and waited for the girls. He’d had an obsession with Gina and wanted to hurt Kaitlin, and in one act of violence got everything he wanted.”
“What did he do with Gina?”
“His mother had a garden shed that ‘burned’ to the ground just days after Gina vanished. No one thought much of it at the time, but I think that’s where he stashed her until he could take her wherever he took her. Once she was taken care of, all he had to do was sit back and watch Kaitlin suffer.”
“Shit.” Kaitlin had been a lost, confused kid when she crossed Hayward’s path, and she’d spent the last fourteen years paying for her association with him.
“So, is the DA going to take the deal?”
“Yes, with my blessings as well as the police commissioner’s. It’ll be null and void if Hayward doesn’t show us Gina’s body.”
Logan balled his fingers into a tight fist. “Jesus, that sucks. That piece of shit is getting away with Gina’s murder as well as the convenience store killing.”
“Yes, he is.”
“When does this go down?” Logan asked.
“Friday morning.” He ate another slice of pizza. “Whoever killed Jennifer and Erika was invested in Gina’s case. There was a heart painted at both the Ralston and Crowley murder scenes. One was in blood and the other in red marker. Kaitlin said it reminded her of the logo used for Gina’s search updates.”
Logan crossed to his papers on the sawhorse table and flipped through the case file until he found a copy of a handout. “This flyer and others like it were posted all over Richmond after Gina went missing.”
“Kaitlin said the heart was her idea.”
“Interesting. It’s lopsided and off balance.”
“Like the girl she was.”
Logan held up the flyer. “This particular search was organized by Gina’s church. Dozens of search teams walked along the river and surrounding areas for weeks.”
“Kaitlin said there were also lots of unauthorized searchers.”
“She’s correct. There was a tremendous outpouring of search volunteers. And I’d bet money Jennifer’s and Erika’s killer was on one of the teams.”
“Are there any records of the team members?”
“There are names of the sponsoring organizations but not individual members.”
“So why after all this time did Jennifer’s and Erika’s killer decide to act?”
“You know how it goes. The fuse never really goes out on the crazy ones,” Logan said.
“A trigger could have been a job loss, an angry wife or girlfriend, or what I think happened, Kaitlin returned to Richmond and reawakened all his old demons.”
“What about Steven Marcus? He might have information we’re not seeing.”
“I’m meeting with Kaitlin and him on Saturday. Join us.”
“I’m not technically on the homicide unit.”
Adler shrugged. “We’ve bent a few rules before. Come with us. You have good instincts.”
“Am I gonna make Quinn jealous?”
Adler laughed. “She’ll survive.”