Package Deal (48 page)

When he returned to his house, he picked up the phone.
“Mik
e
, I n
ee
d
the name of that detective you know in Madison
.”

“Talk to me.”

“I found a box of stuff I think may r
e
lat
e
to a crim
e
that was committed there
.
I found it in Carlton’s apartment.
”

“Have the police been there?”

“
I think they were once—when they went to talk to him. But
i
f you’re asking if there was crime scene tape there, the answer is no. Last time I talked to them, they said th
ey had no evidence against him.
He wasn’t around when they went to his apartment or his campus office.
And they w
ouldn’t take my word for it or even pay much attention to my notes.”

Mike gave him the name.
“That scarf could be significant. Don’t touch
the stuff. If there are finger
prints on any of those items, we don’t want them messed up because you’ve had your paws all over th
em,
though I guess
maybe
you’ve
done that
already
?”

“
No
, I
didn’t touch
anything except the corner of the newspapers
.
I made a copy of them—to show to the local cops.
Remember when I did those ride-alongs with the
Chicago
cops? We talked about
preserving
evidence and what messes things up.”

Mike
hummed into the phone
then said,
“
The detective in Madison—Stan—
may
want to come get
the box
or maybe he’ll have you send it. Better ask him how he wants you to handle
it
.”

Marcus’ next call was to the detective.

“This is Stan McCall.”
The man
sounded tired.

“My brother,
Mi
ke
Dunbar,
is
a
police officer
in Omaha.
Says
he knows you
and
gave me your name.” Marcus briefed the detective on what he had found.

“Where is this box?
” The voice evinced interest.
“
In your possession?”

“Yes. I’m at my house and I’m looking at it. No one else has touched it since I took it out of the guy’s apartment.”

“You’re all the way out on the West C
oast?”

“Yes. Mike said he thought yo
u might want to come pick it up
,
or
maybe
I could
send it to
you
.”

“I’m not sure we can get out there right
now
. W
e’re tied up with a big double murder investigation here.”

Marcus heard mumbling in the background.

“Here’s what I want you to do,” the detective continued. “Write down where
you found it, the date and time,
if you remember—”

“I already did that.
I stuck that on a note on the box after I found it.”

“
Good. Can you take it to the post office tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Send it to me certified,
return receipt requested.
Write me a letter
and include
where you
’ve
kept
the box
since you removed it from the apartment
, who
has access to your place, whether
that box ha
s been under lock and key while in your possession,
and how long you’ve had it. Date and sign that letter and give us your full address
and phone number
, email, too, in case we want to
get back to you.
Tape that letter to the
outside of the
box.
I don’t know if
the DA
or the judge
will accept it as evidence, but that information may
help convince
them
.”

“Got it. If the box is what you need, I hope you can put this guy away.”

“Is he still living
there
?”

Marcus s
ighed. “I wish I
knew
.
N
o one has seen him
in weeks
. I don’t know where he is and the cops here won’t do anyth
ing
without a c
omplaint from the girl’s mother. W
e
believe
he went after a child here.”

Stan was silent for a moment. “
Send
us what
you have. I’ll get back to you
.”

Marcus
finished the letter Stan wanted and taped it to the box. Then he
pulled out his notes and began typing the article he had been planning
to write
for
several
weeks.

Th
e
n
e
xt day,
he
mailed the box to the detective
.
Following
his visit to th
e
post offic
e
,
Marcus h
e
ad
e
d
for Amanda’s hous
e
,
e
ag
e
r to r
e
ad with C
e
c
e
lia. H
e
tucked
his
unfinished
article
in his pock
e
t.

An hour aft
e
r r
e
ading with C
e
c
e
lia
,
a s
e
ssion punctuat
e
d
by fits of giggl
e
s from h
e
r and lots of low
e
r-pitch
e
d
laught
e
r from him
,
he
approach
e
d
Amanda.Aft
e
r giving h
e
r a kiss, h
e
pull
e
d
the papers out of his pocket
. “I hav
e
som
e
thing I want you to r
e
ad.”

“You look s
e
rious.”

“I am
.”H
e
bl
e
w into his coff
ee
cup whil
e
sh
e
r
e
ad
the piece
.

H
e
r fac
e
chang
e
d
from interest to concern
as sh
e
r
e
ad, and
s
h
e
shook h
e
r h
e
ad wh
e
n sh
e
got to th
e
part about psychiatric assistanc
e
. “This town is too small
to
includ
e
that
. P
e
opl
e
will find out you’r
e
talking about C
e
c
e
. I
ca
n’t hav
e
that.”

“Amanda. Par
e
nts n
ee
d
to know about such s
e
rvic
e
s. You
said
yours
e
lf how much progr
e
ss C
e
c
e
has mad
e
sinc
e
sh
e
had th
ose
s
e
ssion
s
with
the play therapist
.
You w
e
r
e
lucky to l
e
arn about h
e
r,
and only b
e
caus
e
w
e
dug around and call
e
d
th
e
S
e
attl
e
association. I hav
e
to k
ee
p it in th
e
r
e
.”

“Couldn’t you int
e
rvi
e
w anoth
e
r psychiatrist,
mayb
e
som
e
on
e
from S
e
attl
e
? Som
e
on
e
who can giv
e
general
e
xampl
e
s
?”

Marcus took
the manuscript
from h
e
r
and
mad
e
not
e
s in th
e
margins. “L
e
t m
e
s
ee
what I can do. W
e
n
ee
d
to g
e
t this publish
e
d
. Oth
e
r par
e
nts
deserve
to know what
to look out for—
so what happened to Cecelia doesn’t
happ
e
n to th
e
ir littl
e
girls.
Or boys.
”

“I appr
e
ciat
e
your d
e
sir
e
to al
e
rt p
e
opl
e
, but not at
her
e
xp
e
ns
e
.” Sh
e
placed a hand on his arm
. “
I don’t want anything
that will hurt C
e
c
e
or make people act differently around her
.”

“L
e
t m
e
g
e
t back to you on this.” H
e
hugg
e
d
h
e
r. “Trust m
e
. You know I don’t want to hurt h
e
r.”

“I know that, but this is such a small town.”

Wh
e
n h
e
r
e
turn
e
d
th
e
n
e
xt day
, h
e
had cr
e
at
e
d
a sid
e
bar
after conducting a
phon
e
int
e
rvi
e
w with a child psychiatrist in th
e
S
e
attl
e
ar
e
a. Th
e
e
xampl
e
s giv
e
n w
e
r
e
p
e
rtin
e
nt, but in no way r
e
lat
e
d
to C
e
c
e
lia
’s experience
.Wh
e
n Amanda r
e
ad th
e
r
e
vision, sh
e
smil
e
d
and gav
e
Marcus a hug.