The Burning Man (13 page)

"Good riddance," Downes said.

"I don't like him."

Downes leaned forward and told Gary, in a confidential tone, "I don't either. The guy has no respect for a good citizen like you. Hell, you'd never hide behind a lawyer, would you?"

"No," Gary answered, shaking his head vigorously.

They smiled at each other. Downes turned on the tape recorder.

"Well, Gary, to business. First, though, I'm going to give you those Miranda warnings we talked about."

1. Downes proceeded to tell Gary that he had a right to remain silent and could have a lawyer present during questioning. Gary said he understood his rights, but wanted to talk to Downes, anyway.

"I want to help catch the guy who killed that girl," Gary said."That's great."

Downes had Gary talk about the incident at the Stallion again, so it would be on the tape. Then he drew his chair a little closer.

"Gary, I want to go back to something you told me that I think is really important. Remember you said you were on the way to the Ponderosa after you left Steve's house when you saw a man and woman at the entrance to Wishingwell Park?"

Gary nodded.

"I want you to think about that couple again."

Gary thought real hard. Then, he shook his head.

"I just remember they was hugging, Sergeant Downes."

"Can you remember what they were wearing?"

"Hair color?"

"Uh uh."

Downes seemed frustrated for a moment. Then, he thought of something.

"Gary, you think you can't remember anything else, but I'm going to tell you a few things I learned in police work. Have you ever heard of the subconscious mind?"

"I think so," Gary answered hesitantly, not wanting to admit that he had no idea what Downes was talking about.

'.Right now you're hearing me and seeing me with the conscious mind. That's what you use when you're awake. But you aren't watching those two at the park now, are you?"

"No.

"How could you tell me about them?"

Gary thought for a moment. Then, his face lit up.

"I remembered."

"Absolutely right. But where was that memory stored all this time?"

Gary thought some more. "I don't know," he said, a little dejected that he was not able to answer Sergeant Downes's question.

"Hey, don't feel bad. The answer is tricky. See, you have a subconscious mind that stores stuff when you aren't thinking about it. Not too many people know that. The trick in police work is to help a witness unlock his subconscious mind so he can remember things he thinks he's forgotten."

"How can I do that?" Gary asked eagerly.

"By getting relaxed and concentrating. The more you relax, the easier it becomes to unlock the subconscious.

I want you to close your eyes and get real loose and we'll see what we can do together to catch Sandy's killer, because, from what I know, I think there's a good chance you saw Sandy and her killer when you walked by Wishing Well Park."

Gary did as he was told. The two men sat in silence for a few minutes, until Gary opened his eyes.

"It's no use. All I see is them two hugging."

"Hmm," Downes said thoughtfully. "You know, Gary, if those two weren't Sandy and her killer, they probably were hugging, but what if it was Sandy and the murderer?"

"You mean they wouldn't be hugging?"

"I didn't say that. I don't want to put words in your mouth. What I'm saying is that the mind can play tricks.

For instance, you wanted to hug Karen Nix, didn't you?"

Gary squirmed in his seat and blushed.

"Come on, Gary," Downes said with a hearty laugh.

"Karen Nix is pretty. Any red-blooded American man would want to hug her. Don't tell me it didn't enter your mind."

Gary hesitated.

"Come on now. We've got to be honest with each other here. You did want to hug her, didn't you?"

Gary hung his head and mumbled, "Yeah."

"All right. So, when you saw this boy and girl together, you put them in a romantic situation. But there are other things that look like hugging. What they were really doing could be registered in your subconscious mind."

"What could they be doing if they weren't hugging?"

"You tell me."

Gary puzzled out the problem. It took a while, then he brightened.

"They coulda been wrestling."

"Hey, why didn't I think of that? You're one step ahead of me already, Gary. This is great! Do you see what I mean about the subconscious mind?

Your conscious mind saw two people hugging, but they might also have been doing something else. Your subconscious mind will know the truth. What I want you to do is relax, close your eyes and picture that night."

"I'll try," Gary said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

"Okay. Now, maybe this will help. Think about what you were wearing. Can you do that?"

Gary nodded.

"What do you see?"

"Uh, I think it was jeans and a short-sleeve shirt."

"Jeans like you've got on now?"

"Yeah. I got four pairs of jeans and it was another one."

"Where is that pair now, Gary?"

"In the closet."

Downes tried not to show his excitement. "Have you done anything to those jeans since you wore them?"

"Oh, yeah. I have to wash them when they're dirty.

It's on the list my mom made up. Every Saturday is wash day and I washed everything in the hamper right when I got up, because I was going to the wedding."

Downes's heart sank. Whiley had been murdered Friday night or early Saturday morning. If there was blood on Gary's jeans and shirt, it was gone now. Out loud, Downes said, "Okay, you're doing great. Keep your eyes closed and feel how warm it is. Picture yourself in your jeans and short-sleeve shirt. You're walking by the park.

Can you see the park?"

"Yeah."

"Is it warm, Gary?"

."Yeah."

"Hey, that's great. You're cookin'. So, go on. What do you see?"

"I see them stone fences."

"Good. Now slow up a little. What do you see? Reiua and let it come."

There was silence in the room. Downes leaned forward expectantly. He could see Gary's features contort with effort. Then, Gary's eyes opened.

"It's no good. I didn't see anything new."

"Not a thing?" Downes said, making no effort to hide his disappointment. Gary felt terrible. Sergeant Downes had so much faith in him and he was letting him down.

"Can I try again?" Gary asked. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. There were the two stone pillars and the path between them. And on the path were the boy and the girl. He was holding her, leaning down, which meant he was taller. And she was.. . what? Leaning into him?

No. Gary slowed time in his mind, trying hard to see, because he wanted to help Sergeant Downes.

"She's leaning back, pushing him away."

"You saw that?" Downes asked excitedly.

"Real clear."

"Is it Sandy?"

"I can't say for sure."

"You've got to try, son. You're doing so well and this is so important."

"I am trying, but..

"You know what might help? Why don't you picture a movie screen in your head and watch what's happening on it. That way, you can slow down the movie to make it easier to see."

"That's what I done," Gary said proudly.

"Pictured a movie screen?"

"No, slowed everything down."

"You done that yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll be damned. You know, Gary, you might be a natural at this stuff."

Gary blushed at the compliment. "I just want to get this guy."

"I know you do, so let's see if you can tell for sure if it's Sandy."

"Okay," Gary said, letting his head sag back. This time he did what Sergeant Downes had suggested and watched the action on a big movie screen take him back in time. The park appeared, flowing like water at first, then solidifying until only the edges were wavy. As he approached the park entrance the scene slowed to a crawl and the two people started to appear. Who were they? He was taller than she, but his face and body were in shadow.

Gary was opposite them now. He willed the picture to grind to a halt and strained to see if the woman's features were the same as ... as those in the photograph of Sandra Whiley at the college that Sergeant Downes had shown him.

"I can see them. She's kind of turning and he grabs her."

"By her shoulders, her shirt?"

"By the shirt. She's making this real fast turn when he grabs her and she whips around and I think they're probably hanging on to each other, kinda .

.. you know."

"Go on, Gary. This is great. Can you see her face?"

"Sorta, but it's like ... I don't know. You probably wouldn't know me if I was on a dark street."

"But you were directly across from her."

"Yeah, when he pulled her back and grabbed her."

"Was it her, Gary? Was it Sandy? Slow the picture.

Make it lighter on the screen. You can do it, Gary. You can add some light. What do you say?"

"I'm ... I think.. ."

"Go ahead. Say it."

"I'm sure it's her. The one that got killed. And ... and that's the murderer, too, because he jerked her back.

They weren't hugging."

"They weren't?"

"No, no. "Cause he was grabbing her and she was pulling away and he.. ."

"What? jerked her back?"

"Yeah. Like that. A jerk, so she spinned around. And that's when I seen her."

"Did you see anything shiny, Gary? It would probably have been right then.

In that split second."

"Shiny?"

"We know there was a weapon."

"Boy, I don't..

"You don't see a weapon? We haven't found the weapon, yet. We don't know what he used to kill Sandy."

"Oh."

"So, look at his right hand. Most people are righthanded. It would probably be there."

Gary concentrated real hard, running the picture forward and backward while Downes waited quietly. He could see Sandy. She looked scared.

"What have you got, Gary?"

Gary's eyes opened. "Nothing more," he answered groggily. He was getting tired.

"But you know it's the killer and Sandy?"

Gary nodded. "I could see she was scared."

"Really', You didn't say that before. That's good. See, we're making progress. How are you holding up?"

"I'm hungry."

"Do you want a Coke and a burger?"

"A burger would be good."

"Let's take a break. Then, we'll try again."

An hour and a half later, Dennis Downes was frustrated and Gary Harmon looked exhausted. Gary's eyes were bloodshot and his hair was in disarray from the times he had run his fingers through it. The remains of a greasy hamburger, an empty can of Coke and several paper containers for coffee littered the tabletop. They had been over and over Gary's walk by the entrance to Wishing Well Park and Gary still would not give any more details.

Downes knew he ha reached a dea end with his current approach. He was thinking of giving up when an idea occurred to him.

"Straight across from me," Gary mumbled sleepily. "I know he's taller than she is, but I still can't see enough.

I'm sorry, Sergeant."

"It's okay, Gary. Don't apologize. You've given us our first clues and you've also given me an idea. A way to break through to the truth. Would you be willing to try one more thing before you go home?"

"I'm awful tired, but if you think I can help, I'll try."

"Terrific, Gary. Now, let me tell you my idea. If this doesn't work, we'll call it a night. Have you seen people on TV who can predict the future or read minds?"

Gary nodded.

"Those people are called psychics and some of them help the police. If there's a murder, you give them an object that belonged to the murdered person and they can project their supernatural mind into the mind of the killer through this object and find a missing body or see who did the killing through the dead victim's eyes.

Based on what I've seen you do, I suspect you have a very developed supernatural mind. I want you to use it to help me out."

"Gee, Sergeant, I've never done anything like that," Gary said. He was beat. All he wanted to do was sleep.

He didn't even think he had a supernatural mind.

"I'm not surprised you haven't used your supernatural mind," Downes said. "You didn't even know you had these powers of the subconscious mind, until tonight."

Downes stood and stretched. "We're gonna need something of Sandy's for this. You sit here while I get it.

Do you want another burger or some coffee?"

"That would be good."

Downes left the interrogation room and went next door. Becky O'Shay looked as if she was ready to fall asleep. Sitting next to her was Don Bosco, a short, squat man dressed in tan chinos and a short-sleeve shirt. Bosco had monstrously hairy forearms and bush eyebrows.

y There was even an extra-thick growth of black hair on the psychologist's ears.

"What was that all about?" Bosco asked when Downes entered the room.

"Just an idea I want to try," Downes said.

After he explained his plan, Downes asked, "What do you think, Becky?"

"I think he's covering up. You've got him admitting he saw the murder. We need to have him slipup on a detail that will prove he committed the murder.

I say, go for it."

"Do you see any problems, Don?" Downes asked.

Bosco looked troubled. "I think it could get riskyharmon is reacting like someone who's mentally handicapped..

"He's not that dumb."

"I don't know," Bosco answered hesitantly "And, even If he's of normal intelligence, he's awfully tired.

He's going to be susceptible to suggestion. You have to be very careful not to lead him. Even telling him that he will be able to see things with his psychic powers is suggestion."

"Okay. I'll be extra careful. Don't worry."

Gary held the picture of Sandra Whiley in one hand and her Crusader's Cross in the other. He was leery of holding the dead girl's jewelry, but Downes assured him the object would heighten the psychic forces.

"Okay, Gary, close your eyes and relax like you did before."