After they left the jail, the guys went back to the courthouse and once again requested the records. They asked for Duke’s arrest record from when he was fourteen, a copy of the police report from that day and the day they interviewed Grant in the hospital, and a copy of the police report that was done on the property that same day due to the robbery in progress they had been responding to. It took over two hours for the sluggish county workers to produce the records. Once they had them all, they took them outside into the courthouse square and divvied them up. Grant felt like he needed to say something to Cade. He needed to apologize to him, but he just wasn’t sure it was the right time. He kept quiet and began reading through the report he had in his hand. It was Duke’s arrest report.
Subject is a fourteen-year-old Caucasian male. Name is Duke Darby Patrick. Police responded to an alarm on the family estate. Once there they found that estate security had chased off the prowlers. While walking with head of security toward the house for an interview with the owners who were said to have just arrived home, the first officers on scene, Margolis and Lee, noticed a man and a woman near the house, bent over and looking at what appeared to be a small body lying motionless near the house.
Grant had to take a short break. He wasn’t a crier but he was tearing up as he read that his parents were “looking” at him and knowing now that they were probably hoping he was dead. He sucked in a breath and read on.
Officer Margolis said the man looked up and saw them approaching and immediately began calling out for help. “It’s my son! My twelve-year-old son. He’s not moving or responding to us!”
The two officers ran to where the boy was lying in the dirt. His left arm and right leg were both extended at odd angles and there was a significant amount of blood in the dirt around the body. Officer Margolis checked for a pulse while Officer Lee called it in. The boy’s parents seemed suddenly distraught and the boy’s mother had to sit down because she was feeling faint. An interview with the parents was begun, but before it was completed, Detectives Riley and James showed up and took over the investigation.
That report was signed by Officer Margolis. The next one was the report done by Detective Riley. His began with the ambulance arriving and “the boy” being transported to the hospital. The parents were detained until the detectives could establish that they were not on scene at the time of the accident. Once the parents left for the hospital the detectives were introduced to Duke Patrick, the fourteen-year-old brother of the victim. Upon contact, Duke appeared glassy eyed and fatigued. When asked about what happened, Duke said he had no idea. He said his parents came home and found his brother outside like that. He corroborated their story that they weren’t at home. He said the maid was the only other person in the house that he was aware of. When asked if he saw his brother fall, he said, “No.” When asked if he pushed his brother, he said, “No.”
The report went on to include Duke’s interview at the station where he continued to deny having anything to do with Grant falling out that window. They asked him all the same questions and he gave all the same answers. The detective documented that he asked Duke if he was using any drugs and Duke denied it. He agreed to give a urine sample and he agreed to talk to them without his parents or a lawyer present. He repeatedly told them he had nothing to hide.
Fast forward to three days later. Duke was brought back out of juvenile hall for further questioning, this time with a court-appointed lawyer as the county prosecutor planned to arraign him on charges of attempted murder. Duke was told that his parents had taken off for parts unknown and he was going to become a ward of the court. He was also told that his brother was going to live. That was when Duke made that fateful confession. He told them that Grant was standing in front of the window and he just “thought it would be funny” to give him a little nudge, to “scare” him. He said he pushed too hard and Grant fell out. Then the alarm started and all hell broke loose so that’s why he hadn’t gone to check on him. He panicked when the police got there and he lied and said he didn’t do it. The rest of the report said the case was handed over to the district attorney from prosecution and it stopped there.
“Anything new?” Cade asked him when he looked up.
Grant shook his head. “Not that I noticed. I’ll read it again. What about you?”
“I’ve got the name of the cook. His name is Vince Bardot. They have him listed as an employee who was on the premises that day but not at the time of the accident.”
“Bardot? That’s not a common name.” Cade had his phone in his hand. “Any luck?”
“No listings in the white page’s app or in the legal search, but I typed in Chef Bardot and I got two hits. One is from a restaurant in Back Bay from about six years ago, announcing that he was hired as head chef. His bio is impressive, but it doesn’t say anything about working for a private party. The other hit is from just a few months ago. It’s a critic’s review of a new steakhouse that opened down at Boston Harbor. The critic hated the food and he mentions Chef Bardot several times.”
“What’s the name of the restaurant?”
“Surf and Turf.”
“You think we should try there?”
“Absolutely, but they don’t open until four.”
Grant started to cuss but then he remembered Cade’s words about patience and kept his mouth shut. Instead he said, “Thank you Cade, for all of this. I’m really sorry that I was an ass this morning. I didn’t mean all of that, I was just tired and frustrated.”
“It’s okay. It does me good to be put in my place sometimes too. I know you appreciate the help.”
“Holy shit, guys, I think I have something here.” Marcus was looking over Duke’s most recent arrest report. When he looked up, there was excitement in his eyes. “The list of staff in the Davis household the day the boy died included their cook, a Vincent Bardot, and their housekeeper, Bethany Sanders.”
“Son of a bitch! No one noticed that?”
“Doubtful that anyone even looked at it. Duke was the common ground they were looking for and they had him,” Cade said. He looked at his watch. “It’s only eleven, I’m hungry. Y’all want to get some lunch and we’ll pick this up afterwards. Maybe we have time to catch up with the grieving Mr. and Mrs. Davis before we go out to the harbor and meet this Chef Bardot.”
********
While Marcus and Cade waited for their lunch, Grant excused himself to go to the restroom. Instead, he went out in front of the restaurant and called Rosa. When she didn’t answer her cell phone he hung up and called Benny’s. His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her voice. “Good afternoon, Benny’s. This is Rosa, how can I help you?”
“Hi, Rosa, it’s Grant.”
There was a short pause and then she said, “Hi, Grant. How are you?”
“I’m miserable. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me for being an ass. I don’t know how to do this. I care about you, Rosa, and that beautiful little girl of yours. That’s never happened to me before and I know I’m going about it all wrong. I want you to be safe, but I also want you to be happy and independent. I don’t want to control or change anything about you. Please forgive me.”
“Grant?”
“Yeah?”
She laughed softly. “Take a breath. I’m not angry with you anymore. I know you’re just caring the way that you care. And just so you know, your friends are loyal to a fault.”
Grant smiled. He knew that, but it was nice to be reminded. “They took my side, did they?”
“Not really. They said you were stupid about women, but they used that as an excuse for your bad behavior.”
Grant laughed out loud at that. “I can always count on them to dig my hole a little deeper. Thank you for forgiving me. I promise I’ll do my best not to snap orders at you like that in the future.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for the heartfelt apology. How are things going there? Any better?”
“I think maybe we got a little break today. We’ll know for sure in a few hours. How is Ana?”
“She’s good. Billy has her playing tee-ball like a pro.”
“Wow, really? I can’t wait to see. I miss her.”
“Just her?” He could hear a smile in her voice and that made his heart feel lighter.
“No,” he said quietly. “I miss you too. I miss you a lot.”
“I miss you too, Grant. But don’t hurry home on our account. We’ll be here when you finish what you need to do out there. How are Grant and Marcus holding up? Sadie misses Marcus. I’m so thrilled for them about the baby!”
“Me too. He misses her too, but I’m sure he’s told her that during the long, drawn out phone conversation they have every night. And Cade is…well, he’s just Cade. I’m grateful for him.”
“Good. I’m grateful for all of you. Ana and I are blessed to have found you.”
“I can’t wait to see you two. Have a great day and I’ll try to call later when we have more time to talk, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
That simple phone call changed Grant’s outlook on everything. When he got back to the table and Marcus and Cade gave him a hard time about “sneaking out” to call his girlfriend, he only smiled wider. He’d never had a girlfriend…ever. He went to boarding school as a kid, an all boy’s boarding school. From there, he went into the navy and learned how to be a man from a bunch of guys looking to put another notch on their bedposts. Grant’s adult life had been pretty good so far, but he had a feeling that the day he met Rosa was the day he discovered what was missing. He didn’t want any more notches. He was ready for something real.
For the first time in days he was able to relax and enjoy his friends’ company at lunch the way that he used to. Knowing Rosa and Ana were doing well and finally being able to verbalize at least a little of what he was feeling helped so much. He hadn’t even realized how much stress he’d been carrying around until it was gone. He and Marcus and Cade put business aside for a couple of hours and just had fun. Afterwards, the tone sobered slightly in the car as they headed over to the Davis estate. This interview would be a tricky one. There was going to be a fine line between being insensitive to parents that just lost their child in the most violent of ways, and confronting two monsters that would kill their own child for money. Grant wasn’t looking forward to either.