In Two Weeks (NY State Trooper Series) (12 page)

Chapter Seven 

Jared spent the morning in his office, even though he couldn’t concentrate or get much paperwork done. Nick had decided that it would be better if Jared kept a low profile. Basically, he’d been told to stay out of it. Nick Jenkins had even gone to Jared’s superior and asked him to make sure Jared didn’t fly off the handle.

Jared didn’t care that Nick was a damn good cop; he wanted his hands wet on this one. He had less than two weeks to close this case. Less than two weeks to make sure Ryan was safe so he could move without any ties to her or Lake George.

Nick had called around ten and gave Jared permission to come down and watch them question Eddy. Watch? If Eddy was the perp, Jared wanted to throttle the guy. But the cop in Jared had to consider all the possibilities. George did make more sense.

Jared maneuvered his patrol car in and out of traffic, heading toward the sheriff’s office. It seemed that Eddy Houser had been picked up once before for downloading pornography of the illegal variety. This gave the cops a little more leeway in their questioning.

The idea had been to scare the crap out of him and get him to confess to trashing Ryan’s place. Nick was good at confessions. He was good at playing the cop you could trust. Tell him what he wanted to know, and he’d make sure you got a good deal. He had that “I’m a nice guy” look that made the bad guys spill the beans and the girls fall at his feet.

But Nick was taken. Married three years now, with a kid on the way. Jared took in a deep calming breath as he turned into the parking lot. A detective shouldn’t have a family. They didn’t mix well with police work. Jared had learned that firsthand. Not a mistake he ever planned on repeating.

Jared rolled his car to a stop, barely turning the key before leaping out the door. He took long strides toward the station house.

A few prisoners in orange suits sat against the wall, and a desk deputy held a phone to his ear. He pointed down the hall when he eyed Jared.

“In here,” Jenkins said, waving him down. “Houser’s in there; you can watch from the two-way room.”

“I want to talk to him.” Jared knew they wouldn’t let him. His property had been damaged. And since he and Ryan had admitted to spending the night together, they viewed him as the boyfriend. Not a very comfortable feeling for him.

“You’re lucky I invited you.” Nick opened the door and waited. “This guy’s really nervous.”

“Does he have an alibi for last night?” Jared asked.

“We haven’t even gone down that road.” Nick pushed his suit coat back when he planted his hands on his hips and stared through the two-way mirror. “The college has some pretty strict rules regarding the use of the Internet. Eddy was marked by the FBI about a month ago when a few coeds who ran webcams got harassed. One girl was raped.”

“Get to the point.” Jared stared into the interrogation room. Eddy sat at a metal table with three chairs. His knee bounced uncontrollably while he picked at his nail.

“The feds brought him down because he had naked pictures on his computer of the girl who’d been raped.” Nick turned and made direct eye contact.

Jared had known about the porn, but hadn’t heard this latest development. “You mean to tell me the FBI had already picked him up? And he’s been accused of rape?”

“He was questioned and then released. The victim said she got a good look at the guy who raped her, and he wasn’t Eddy. But we know he goes to these girls’ websites and watches them parade around in their underwear.” Nick stepped across the room, then stopped at the door. “Let’s see what he’s got to say.”

Jared stared through the glass. His pulse elevated. Nick and his partner Walter marched into the small room with freshly painted white walls. These rooms were always stripped bare, making sure there were no distractions.

Nick began by repeating the Miranda rights to Eddy, asking him if he understood.

“The FBI said if I cooperated, they wouldn’t press charges. Why am I here now? It’s not like the girls didn’t know what they were doing and who was watching.”

“Some of them were underage.” Walter lifted a brow.

“I didn’t know. Most girls on campus are over the age of eighteen.” Eddy dropped his gaze to his lap. “It’s not like I touched any of them. Just watched.”

Jared slammed his hand against the table, rage coursing through his veins like a hotrod blazing down the racetrack. Eddy had touched Ryan. Now Jared wanted to wrap his fingers around Eddy’s slimy little neck and squeeze the breath out of him.

“Eddy, would you mind letting us know where you spent last night? We’ve got this little problem, and we really want to just rule you out.” Nick sat down on the edge of the table and smiled.

“Last night?” Eddy’s voice cracked. “Oh, God. I’m going to lose my job.”

“Just answer the question,” Walter snapped.

“What is it that you think I might have done?” Eddy looked up at Nick. Fear radiated from his eyes. “I don’t want to get the girls in trouble.”

“What girls?” Walker asked.

“The college girls I was with last night.” Eddy picked at the skin on his thumb.

Jared narrowed his eyes, peering through the glass, and focused on Eddy’s facial features. Something told him while this guy was a bona fide pervert, he wasn’t the guy they were looking for. “Come on, Nick, mention her name.”

“You were with college girls?” Nick asked. “Not spying on an ex-girlfriend?”

“I wasn’t spying on anyone, why?” Eddy’s eyes widened.

“You know Ryan O’Connor, right?”

“Good job, Nick.” Jared shook his trembling hands.

“Ry…Ryan? What the hell does she have to do with this?”

“Were you with her last night?” Nick asked. His tone was still calm and considerate.

Eddy shook his head vigorously. “I wouldn’t give that woman the time of day.”

“Don’t like her much, huh?” Nick shifted to the side, putting his hand on his thigh. “She a bitch or something?”

“Or something,” Eddy muttered. “But I don’t care what she’s doing these days. We broke up a while ago, and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Okay, then where exactly were you last night?” Nick stood, staring down at Eddy.

“There’s a group of girls on campus. They call themselves The Relievers. I was with them.”

“Doing what?” Nick asked.

“Watching. They do striptease, lap dances, stuff like that. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“We’ll need to verify this.”

“I have the pictures on my PC. I can prove I was with them. They were all of age. We were consenting adults.” Eddy’s voice pitched up an octave. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Who’s Ryan seeing these days?” Walter asked.

“I have no idea,” Eddy said, obviously shaken. “I honestly haven’t seen her or talked to her since we broke up.”

“Why did you and Ryan break up?” Nick asked politely.

“Same reason most girls dump me. I’ve got a little problem with watching.” Eddy drew his hands to his face. “Why must you people humiliate me like this?”

“Not trying to humiliate you, but get to the bottom of a little situation I’ve got,” Nick said.

“You prefer watching people get it on, do you?” Walter asked.

Jared’s breath caught. He knew what they were doing, and he knew it was necessary, but he didn’t like them reducing Ryan to a woman who was just getting it on.

“I think I’ll invoke my Miranda rights now.”

Jared flipped open his phone and called Harmon. He’d put his own guys on this campus call girl stuff and do a little digging of his own. In the process, he’d find out if George had been bragging in prison, and what good old Rudy had been up to the last few days. Too many unknowns.

Harmon didn’t pick up his cell phone, so Jared left a message. He could only hope Frank was onto something. The annoying kid was turning out to be one damn good cop. Jared pushed back the door and met Nick in the hallway.

“He’ll be out by nightfall. The FBI has already ruled him out as a suspect in the college rape,” Nick said. “I’ll keep pressing for information, but my gut tells me this guy isn’t the man you’re looking for.”

Jared raked a hand across his head, then slid his hat on. “Make sure someone is tailing him when he does leave.”

“You got it.”

Jared pulled his sunglasses out, slipped them on, and then stepped out into the parking lot. He ducked into his patrol car and headed toward the hotel.

Eddy was a wacko, and Ryan had known it. He rammed his foot on the gas pedal and the patrol car lurched forward. He whizzed by a car that had slowed below the speed limit.

He really wanted to give Ryan a piece of his mind. She should have told him long ago about Eddy’s little underwear fetish. He glanced at his watch, knowing he might already be a few minutes late to pick Ryan up so they could go to the cemetery, but he needed to calm himself before he did or said something really stupid. He rolled the window down and took in a good dose of fresh, cool air rolling in off the lake.

He knew his emotions weren’t all tied up by Eddy and his perverted ways, but by the visit to the cemetery. In years past, he’d visited with a bottle of Jack Daniels. And two years ago, he’d even slept at the cemetery. This year everything was different, and he wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. But he’d made his bed, now he’d have to lie in it.

* * * * 

Ryan pushed open the main doors to the hotel and waited in the cool spring air for Jared. Her eyes shifted around the front lawn, fear always prickling at her neck, even in the scenic beauty of bright colorful bushes lining the walkway to the crystal-clear waters of Lake George. The plush green mountains surrounding the lake only added to the breathtaking view, except today it did nothing to ease her growing tension. Every time her phone rang or someone tapped on her door, she’d practically jumped out of her skin.

Rick had offered to let her take the day off, but where would she go? She didn’t feel safe at home, not after what happened. She didn’t feel comfortable staying at Jared’s since someone had been watching them. Her brother was already at the bar, and she really didn’t feel like hanging out there.

As much as she wanted to blow the whole thing off, she couldn’t.

“Ryan.”

She whipped around, unable to breathe.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Tom had stopped a few feet away from her. “I sort of heard what happened. If you need anything, if I can help in any way, let me know.”

“I’m okay. Jared’s on the case.”

“You guys an item or something?” Tom asked, taking a step closer.

She swallowed, but didn’t back away. Tom seemed genuinely concerned. He might be a little odd, but he wasn’t a psycho. She’d leave that to her stepfather. “Jared and I are close friends.” Her heart skipped a beat, but only because it wasn’t a lie.

“If you’re not seeing him, I’d like a second chance. I think you’re a nice girl.” He smiled, placing his hand on her arm. “I like you.”

Trying like hell not to tremble or pull away, she forced a slight grin and said, “I’m sorry if I led you on. It’s nothing personal, but right now I can’t afford to complicate my life with a relationship, especially one at work.”

His smile faded and his eyes narrowed. They appeared to change color. To darken. When his hand fell from her arm, she saw a coldness in his gaze that frightened her. She took in a breath and chalked it up to being paranoid.

“I guess I understand.” He continued to stare at her.

“Thanks, Tom.” From the corner of her eye, she could see Jared sauntering down the pathway, hand on his gun.

“I’ve got to go,” she muttered, then scurried toward Jared. The last thing she needed was for him to go off half-cocked. She figured his nerves were fried right about now. Jared didn’t drink much, except for the week of his son’s death. Then the bottle became his best friend. A friend she’d taken away from him when she’d decided to let him get lost in her body instead. Except she was the one who was lost now. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake.

“You okay?” He took her by the elbow, but glanced back at Tom. “I’m still waiting to find out what he’s hiding.”

“Did anyone find Jimmy’s dog?”

Jared’s body tensed, giving her the answer she didn’t want to hear. “Oh, God, no.”

“I spoke with Mr. Stevens, and when the time is right, I’ll get Jimmy a new puppy.”

“That poor little boy.” She slid into the passenger seat of her SUV. “Has anyone talked with Eddy yet?”

He slammed her door, scowled, and then jogged around the front of her Honda Pilot. He didn’t say anything when he got in, just started the engine and headed out to Route 9 North.

“You sure know how to pick them,” he finally said about a mile from the cemetery.

“I didn’t date him long, and I only slept with him once, sort of, which was more than enough.” She blinked. What a ridiculous thing to say.

Jared groaned like someone had just sucker-punched him in the gut. “I didn’t need to know that.”

“Look, I don’t sleep around. He’d taken me out seven or eight times, bought me all sorts of nice things. I thought he liked me, but he only liked the underwear he bought me, so I broke up with him. End of story.”