The Frailty of Flesh (32 page)

When he was ready he turned back to Craig. “We knew she’d come out here with a group of friends. Darren and Donny Lockridge were staying with their grandparents, just down the street from where Jessie’s family lived. She’d invited them to come along. The other kids said they left early. Darren and Donny were drinking more than the others. They’d brought extra alcohol in their backpacks. That was one of the things that was odd. The kids all admitted they’d brought clothes for later, as well as food, because they were going to hang out until that night, but Darren had tried to start a fight. Jessie didn’t leave with her friends because she felt responsible for inviting Darren and Donny.

“The last time they saw her, she was here, alone with them.”

Williams was quiet again, and finally Craig asked, “What happened with the case?”

A cold, hard, staccato laugh escaped from Williams. “Boys that young don’t
kill.
Don’t you know that? Oh, they swore she’d been fine when they left her. Why did they leave her alone? She insisted she wanted to spend some time in the woods by herself, so they walked back without her.

“She’d been beaten. Every inch of her, to the point where the skin was ripped and torn and dangling in shreds. A few weeks later Darren and Donny went back home. It was to be expected. School was starting. By then we could only prove that there had been a few times other kids had seen them be mean or a bit aggressive, but nobody had ever seen them beat a girl. Nothing close.

“We knew they’d been with her, and Darren admitted right away they had sex. Smart. She was a virgin, according to her friends, so that made it harder to prove it was rape. And besides, her skin was so broken and torn from the beating it was impossible to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’d been held down and forced. We never could find a conclusive murder weapon. The coroner said a branch, most likely. We turned these woods inside out, looking for any trace of blood, anything.

“We knew they’d had a change of clothes with them, but it was all circumstantial. There wasn’t enough to make a case, and considering how young they were even if we did convict them they’d get nothing more than a slap on the wrist.”

Williams shook his head. “That day, I went to tell Randy his daughter was dead. At first he cried. Then he put his fist through a wall and broke his hand. That’s the stuff that really gets you. It wasn’t just Jessie who died that day. It destroyed her whole family. A few weeks later, Jessie’s brother and sister came home to find their mom in the living room. She must have swallowed all the pills just after they went to school. Randy was killed in a drunk-driving accident not long after that.”

Craig paused. “What happened to the kids?”

“There was no family, so my brother took them.” Williams walked up to Craig. “I know you’re just doing your job, but when I read about that girl my hands shook. And when I heard Donny Lockridge was a suspect, I knew. I knew he’d done it, just like I knew Darren and Donny had killed Jessie.”

Craig swallowed. “The reason I came here to see Brandy was that I thought she had something that could prove that Donny killed Hope.”

Williams’s head snapped up. “Did she?”

“I think so. A locket that matched the one missing from Hope’s body when she was murdered. Brandy said Darren gave it to her, and that it was a replica.”

“But you think tests might prove otherwise.”

Craig nodded.

“The time he served, it isn’t enough.”

Craig hadn’t needed to hear Williams’s story to know that. The photos of Hope Harrington’s body had been enough, and Williams’s story confirmed in his own mind that Donny Lockridge was guilty, but…

It also left him with a question.

“Why didn’t you contact the investigators and tell them about the case here, that Darren and Donny had been suspects?”

“I did.”

Williams walked past Craig, who turned and started to follow him back to the car. He stopped for a moment and looked back at the clearing, trying not to imagine the suffering that girl had endured. It was starting to snow. The first flakes had drifted lazily to the ground while Williams had told his story, but now they were coming down thick and fast, and the wind was picking up.

He hoped the weather would pass so that he could drive home in the morning.

Craig pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. It only took a moment to reply to Ashlyn’s text message, and then he put the phone away. On some level, he’d always known life was fragile, that at any moment something could happen that would destroy a person. He’d been doubting his father and had been so wrapped up in his own problems he hadn’t even thought about her case, and how it might be affecting her. He’d been looking at photos from years before. She’d actually stood over the body of a four-year-old just five days earlier.

And he’d been so weak he’d started to crawl into a bottle.

The drive back to the motel felt slow, slush pulling at the tires and the windshield wipers on high to keep the snow from obscuring their view of the road. When Williams pulled up at the motel Craig gave him his card. “If you think of anything else.”

Williams reciprocated.

“Does Brandy know about Jessie?” Craig asked as he opened his door.

“I told her.”

“She doesn’t believe you?”

A cynical smile spread across Williams’s face as he shook his head.

Craig got out and shut the door. He watched Williams drive away, then fished the key out of his pocket and unlocked his room door. As he reached for the light he felt the thud on the back of his head and saw the burst of stars against the black in his eyes before everything went dark again.

“You know, I’m surprised you wanted to stick on this surveillance.”

Liam’s voice cut through the darkness. A faint glow from the streetlights pinpointed his profile, but it was one of those black nights that engulfed people, objects, houses. For some reason, the darkness emphasized the cold.

“Being stuck in a car with you in the middle of the night when it’s freezing out isn’t so bad,” Ashlyn said.

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

She heard the humor in his words and smiled. “Truth is, I feel the answer to this whole case is in that building. Or at least, the information that will lead us to the answers. Where else would I rather be?”

“I’d settle for bed.”

Was he flirting or just sincerely tired and making conversation? It was becoming obvious to her she’d spent so much time with Tain and Craig she forgot the subtleties of interacting with other men. With Sims it was so expected she only noticed when he wasn’t being pleasant, and she’d had plenty of practice ignoring other men in her department.

She decided to play it safe.

“Cases like this are pretty demanding.”

“And you’ve been at it for days, but I’m the one whining.”

“It’s okay. One of the things I love about the job is that it’s never predictable.”

“Yeah. It’s hell on your social life, though. I suppose the thing to do is to date cops.”

“That’s what I do,” Ashlyn said.

“Really? And how’s that working out for you?”

“Some days better than others.”

They lapsed into silence again. As soon as she’d heard her own words she knew he’d either prove he was interested by pushing it, or back off because of the tone of her voice. She hadn’t meant for the words to come out as hard as they had, but it was too late to take them back.

All day, part of her had hoped for a response from Craig. Every time the phone buzzed there was that flutter, followed by disappointment. Now it was almost 11
P.M.
and she still hadn’t heard from him.

Sometimes no answer was an answer, but she didn’t want to believe that.

“Not that it’s any of my business…”

Liam let his voice trail off, a way of opening the door. She knew he wanted her to invite him to ask. It was a safety net. You couldn’t get angry at someone if you’d encouraged them to speak their mind.

She gave him his opening.

“But?”

“You and Tain?”

Ashlyn started to laugh, and she had to put her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Once she felt in control enough to maintain her composure she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I didn’t realize it was that funny,” Liam said.

“I’m sorry. It’s just…he’s Tain.” She chuckled. “It feels like I’ve known him forever. Why on earth would you think we were involved?”

“Just a feeling I got when he looked at me. Like if I crossed any lines he’d take me apart, limb by limb.”

“He probably would.”

“So, is that why your dating isn’t working out so well these days?”

There it was. He’d circled back around to the original question, and there was just enough of a lilt in his voice to tell her he was fishing.

Her cell phone beeped.

She pulled it out. A text message, and it only took a moment to confirm it was from Craig.

Talk later.
That was all it said.

She’d texted him the first part of a quote she loved. “Nothing softens the arrogance of our nature…” The second part was, “… like a mixture of some frailties.” Funny how a few words could evoke such a strong memory, but she could almost taste the salt air and feel the sun on her skin as they lay together reading on a gorgeous September weekend when they’d gone sailing and stayed out for a weekend, just a little ways up the coast.

She’d discovered the quote from Sir George Savile and loved it. It reminded her that life was fragile, that everyone made mistakes and that recognizing your own weaknesses helped you forgive the shortcomings of others.

They’d used it as a way to apologize, or extend an olive branch, to each other ever since.

Ashlyn closed the phone and put it away.

“About the case?” Liam’s question cut through her thoughts.

“Hmmm? No. Personal.”

Her phone rang and her heart skipped a beat. She hoped it was Craig, hoped the reason he hadn’t finished the quote was because he actually wanted to talk instead of text, but the call display betrayed that it wasn’t him. “Constable Hart.”

“Ashlyn, it’s Sims. I managed to track down who owns that house. It was tricky. The house is owned by a company, which is owned by another company.”

“And?”

“The family name is Patel. They live in Anmore.”

“Do you know if there are tenants in the house currently?”

“It’s supposed to be vacant.”

“Have you told Tain?” she asked.

“Yeah, he said to let you know right away.”

“Thanks, Sims. I take it things are still quiet there.”

“Not a creature stirring.”

Ashlyn groaned. “How festive of you. Bye.”

As soon as she hung up she dialed Tain’s number.

He answered. “Constable Tain.”

“You didn’t want to share the news with me yourself?”

“Why should I have all the fun?”

She laughed. “I’ll remember you said that next time I order you to do something you don’t like.”

“Changes things, doesn’t it?”

Ashlyn thought back to the day when they’d followed Matt Lewis to Nurani Patel’s house. The girl’s body language had suggested arrogance, which Ashlyn had attributed to the obvious family wealth. Now she wondered how much of that had concealed her guilt. “I’d love to get a search warrant for the Patel home.”

“First things first,” Tain said.

“Sims says this house is supposed to be empty.”

“I’m sure the Patels would be most displeased to find out someone’s using the phone there.”

Ashlyn smiled. “And using it for criminal purposes.”

“Then again, perhaps they won’t mind. A vacant rental that will suddenly find itself in the news. They won’t even need to pay for an ad to get a new tenant.”

“And who says you can’t find the positive in every situation?”

Tain laughed. “I’ll call you if anything happens.”

“Same here.”

“I take it the house is a link to someone in the case,” Liam said once Ashlyn had hung up.

“The family that owns the company that owns the other company that owns the house has a daughter who just happens to be good friends with Shannon Reimer.”

“Let me guess. She insisted she had no idea where Shannon was.”

“Better. When we talked to her and Shannon’s boyfriend, he said Shannon had been planning to run away and that Shannon wouldn’t say where she was going so that they couldn’t be forced to lie to the police or Shannon’s parents.”

“Kids these days. They’re so considerate. Always looking out for their friends.”

“Really warms the heart, doesn’t it?”

They were silent for a moment before he asked, “Do you think Shannon’s in that house?”

Ashlyn paused. “I don’t want to hope for that and be disappointed. The only thing I’m sure of is that Nurani Patel knows more than she told us.”

“This makes it look less likely that it’s related to Reimer’s business interests.”