Think Murder (12 page)

Jonathan arrived on the scene ten minutes later. Without bothering to park the car, he stopped in the street alongside the cruiser and headed straight for us.

I was surprised when he didn’t immediately address me. Instead, he approached the officers, politely identifying himself as a homicide detective working on a related case. They recapped the incident as I had described it to them and showed him the clip on Stacey’s phone. Jonathan had Stacey forward the clip to his phone and requested that she not delete it from hers. He then asked Stacey and Bruce to wait for him in the rescue center.

Jonathan shook his head and turned to me. “Adina, I’d like you to tell me – in your own words – what happened. Let’s start at the beginning. Where were you when the attacker first made contact?”

I got up and walked over to where I had been when the guy came up from behind me. Next, I showed him the path we had taken from the sidewalk toward the parking lot. Slightly embarrassed, I described the dog’s behavior and my klutzy maneuver.

“So, is this where you fell?”

I nodded. “He landed to my right. Over here.”

Jonathan scrutinized the sidewalk and surrounding area, then bent over to examine something.

“Adina, were you hurt in any way?”

When I shook my head, he told the sergeant to rope off the area and call for a crime scene technician to come out and take a sample of the dark substance. With any luck, it would be the guy’s blood. That is, assuming he had scraped an arm or leg when he toppled to the ground.

We went over what happened next, and I described the attacker as best I could. I told him that the driver was the guy from Redmond’s office.

“You were lucky. These guys were bold.”

Shuddering at the memory, I bent down to praise and pet Brandy, drinking in that warm puppy fix.

Just then the sergeant called out to Jonathan. The technician had arrived. Jonathan greeted him and gave him instructions. That done, Jonathan walked me back to Cutie Pie and I took Brandy inside, giving the dog another hug before leaving him in his enclosure. After Stacey locked up, we all settled onto a nearby bench while Jonathan questioned Bruce.

“The dog’s snarling grabbed my attention and I saw that Adina wasn't holding on to the dog’s leash. I was headed in Adina’s direction when the two of them tumbled to the ground.”

When Jonathan asked him to describe the guy, Bruce noted, “Like I told the other cop, medium build, shorter than I am, but not by much, probably close to 6 feet. Dark hair, and wearing jeans.”

“Stacey, do you have anything to add?” Jonathan asked.

“Not really, it all happened so fast. I’m just glad Adina is OK.”

“Thank you both for your fast thinking. Without it, things might have turned out differently. I have your contact information. I’ll be in touch if I need anything else.”

“Adina, I need a minute to talk to the techie and then I’d be happy to give you a ride home,” he smiled.

Jonathan updated me on the way to my apartment. “We got a clear fingerprint off of the switchblade. Larry, the techie, was able to scan and send it off for processing. If the guy’s in the system, we’ll know who he is within the hour. As for the driver, uniformed officers are on the lookout for Franklin Hogan – your library guy – and the vehicle he was driving. He’ll be brought in for questioning as soon as possible.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

“In the meantime, until these guys are caught, you need to be careful. Avoid going places alone, if possible, especially at night. That includes Cutie Pie.”

My mind reeled as I took in his warnings.

This time I wasn’t surprised when he accompanied me to the door. But I was surprised when he agreed to come in for a cup of coffee.

Jonathan’s eyes swept the room. “Cozy.”

I was relieved to see nothing embarrassing was out in the open. “Such a lovely euphemism… your mother would be proud.”

Jonathan’s deep laugh rang out in the small space. I realized that I had never heard him laugh. It was a wonderful sound.

“By the way, I don’t actually have a coffee maker or coffee. Would you prefer Diet Coke or herbal tea?”

“Herbal tea would be great.”

I gestured toward the kitchenette and the two small wood straight back chairs and tiny table in the corner. He didn’t sit down right away. Instead he positioned himself near the door and checked his phone for messages.

My mind flashed back to earlier in the evening. I knew I had seen the attacker before. It was driving me crazy that I couldn’t remember where. I was filling the electric kettle with water when it dawned on me.

“Farragut Square!”

Startled, Jonathan asked, “What about it?”

“That’s where I’ve seen that guy before. When I met with Glen Gardner that day. There was a guy in a Redskins cap reading a newspaper. It was him. That’s the guy.”

When the tea was ready, he joined me at the table. “Adina, lots of people in D.C. are Redskins fans. Are you sure it’s the same guy?”

“I think so. It makes sense – and it means Glen Gardner wasn’t paranoid. Surely, it’s not a coincidence.”

Jonathan’s phone rang before he had a chance to respond. I could hear the excitement in his voice intensify as the caller answered his questions.

“Progress at last,” he smiled. “The fingerprint on the switchblade belongs to one Rudy Fenner. He’s been arrested in the past on assault charges but has never been convicted. Officers are heading over to his last known address. I’m going to meet them there.” He gulped down the last of his tea. “Sorry, got to run. Thanks for the tea.”

After Jonathan left, I sat down to finish my tea. My thoughts raced, rerunning the day’s events in my mind. OMG, I was almost kidnapped or maybe even worse. As long as Bruce or Jonathan had been at my side, I hadn’t let it sink in. Alone in my apartment, my hand trembled as I raised my cup.

A couple of deep breaths later, I got up and washed my face. That helped, but not much. A shower would be nice, if only I could stop shaking. Maybe talking to someone would help.

I powered on my laptop hoping that Julie had time to talk. Unfortunately, she wasn’t online, and she didn’t answer when I called her cellphone.

I felt silly texting Daniel to see if he was home and had time to talk. But I did it anyway. He texted back that he was working late and then heading off to see Nate.

My options were running out. I didn’t want to call home, that would only scare my parents. So I called Duncan.

As soon as he answered, I was afraid I had made a mistake. I tried to keep my tone neutral as I spoke.

“Hi, Duncan. It’s Adina. Do you have time to talk?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I don’t know where to start. You aren’t going to believe what happened, I don’t believe it myself. I mean, I do, but it can’t be true. And now I’m scared, and I’m freaking out and babbling on like an idiot.”

Duncan probably wanted to scream or laugh at my outburst. I would have if I had been on the receiving end of that call. Instead, he said, “Adina, you aren’t babbling like an idiot. Now, calm down and tell me what’s wrong. What happened?”

I told Duncan about the guy and how he had tried to kidnap me, and that I thought maybe the guy had followed me before. I ranted on and on, without giving him a chance to interrupt or comment until I finally ran out of words.

“Sorry to unload on you. I needed to talk to someone, I was driving myself crazy.”

“Nonsense. I’m glad you called. Do you want me to come over and keep you company?”

Tempting as that sounded, it wasn’t a good idea for so many reasons. “No, I’ll be alright. Thanks for offering, and for listening.”

“Adina, I don’t like the idea that those attackers might have followed you and know where you live. To be safe, I’ll swing by and pick you up in the morning.”

Now that was an idea I could live with. “I hate to inconvenience you, but that would be wonderful.”

When my phone rang at 8:00 the next morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jonathan’s voice.

“Sorry for the early hour. I thought you’d want to know that we picked Rudy Fenner up for questioning and arrested him for attempted kidnapping. He had a nasty scrape on his right forearm. We showed him the clip from Stacey’s phone and the switchblade with his fingerprint on it, and he agreed to roll over in exchange for a lesser charge of assault.”

That didn’t sound fair to me, but I held my tongue.

“Fenner told us he was hired last week by someone named Leonard Martinelli to keep an eye on you. More recently he was given orders to scare you. He claims he doesn’t know why, said he was simply doing his job.”

I mumbled, “At least he’s in jail.” And not waiting outside ready to follow me again.

“What about driver of the van, Logan?”

“You mean Hogan.” He corrected me. “No sign of him or the vehicle so far. Still searching for him.” I’d feel a lot better when they had him in custody.

“Do you think this Martinelli guy is connected to Hilary’s murder?”

“The big picture is still fuzzy. I’m not convinced that Fenner is telling us the whole truth. We’ll try to get more information out of him, and at the same time we’re taking a closer look at Martinelli.”

“I hope so.”

“I’ll keep you posted. Have a nice day.” The line went dead.

I finished getting dressed for work in record time and was ready to go when Duncan knocked on the door. He was outfitted in a dark blue suit and tie. Of course, he looks good no matter what he wears.

Duncan’s Black Toyota Prius was parked on an adjacent street. On the way downtown, I told him that the detective had called that morning with an update.

“Oh.” His eyes narrowed. “That’s good, I guess. A bit more attentive than one would expect of a detective.” I hoped I wasn’t blushing when he turned to observe my reaction.

Duncan parked his car in a lot a couple of blocks from the DIPPeR, where he rents a space on a monthly basis. We covered the distance to the office in silence. Before the elevator doors opened on our floor, I thanked Duncan for escorting me to work.

Carol was chatting with Jada in the reception area when we got there. I tried to ignore the smirk on Carol’s face when she saw us walk in together. I could see the wheels turning in her mind.

I was relieved to see that there were no messages for me from Dr. Stickler. Hopefully, my part in that project was over and done with. I didn’t relish the prospect of working with either of them in the future.

Matt wasn’t in the office, but he had flagged some correspondence that he wanted me to respond to on his behalf. That finished, I spent the rest of the morning playing games and surfing the internet.

I went out for lunch with Amber and Michelle. If I’d been alone with Michelle, I might have told her about being followed and all that scary stuff. Amber was another story, she tends to sensationalize things. And I wasn’t up for dealing with her questions.

Initially, our conversation was harmless chatter about work, plans for the weekend, and such. Then Amber surprised me by blurting out, “Adina, what’s the story with you and Duncan? Are you two an item now?”

“Story? No story. We’re friends. Why would you ask that?”

“Well, Carol said that you two arrived at work together this morning, looking all chummy or something.”

“People arrive at work at the same time, all the time. What’s the big deal?” Michelle came to my defense.

“Well, Carol said that Brenda arrived a few minutes later. It seems Brenda saw you guys walking down the street together, you know, coming from the same direction.”

“Uggh. Carol and her gossiping is going to drive me crazy.” I calmed myself before continuing. “Yes, we came down the street together. So what? Besides, even if we were an ‘item’ – and we’re not – it would be none of anyone’s business. Carol really needs to get a life.”

I had just returned from lunch when Jonathan called again. He recapped what he had already revealed to me regarding Fenner’s arrest. He spoke faster than usual as he described the new developments.

“When I offered Fenner that deal, I didn’t mention the blood sample we took at the scene outside the dog rescue center. I wasn’t sure it was his or that it would prove anything.” He paused for air.

“When the DNA results came back, we were in for a surprise. Fenner had never been required to provide a DNA sample, so there was no identifiable match. However, there was a match to trace evidence from another crime scene – the restroom at McSweeney’s.”

“Wow. So that means Fenner killed Hilary or at least he was there. But how do you know that?”

“There were no fingerprints on the x-acto knife, however there was evidence that she put up a fight. Hilary was clutching a few strands of the killer’s hair when she died. That hair was a DNA match to Fenner’s blood at the assault scene.”

“Please tell me that the deal with Fenner only covered his attempt to kidnap me.”

“Absolutely. The match gave us probable cause to compel him to submit a DNA sample. Once the testing is complete and the results confirmed, he’ll be charged with Hilary’s murder.”

“Wow. Then that’s it. It’s over?”

“Yes, and no. This is a major breakthrough. Fenner is behind bars, and will probably stay there.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of open questions. We still don’t know how Fenner ties into the big picture, or Franklin Hogan, for that matter. We tried to pick Hogan up at the Congressman’s office this morning, but he didn’t report for work today. We’ll keep looking. At any rate, I doubt they’ll give you any more trouble. Of course, be careful and if anything feels out of place, call 911 and then call me immediately.”

Knowing that I had been followed in the past, I resolved to remain hyper-vigilant, even if it meant I jumped when I saw my own shadow. I hadn’t noticed anyone suspicious on the Metro, nonetheless a dingy white van was stopped outside the Metro stop as I exited the station. Hands clenched, fingernails digging into my palms, I crossed the street to avoid walking alongside the van. On closer scrutiny, I noticed a florist’s logo on the driver’s door. The driver was a hefty middle aged man in some kind of uniform. Definitely not anyone I had seen before and not the same van.

My heart was still pounding as I walked home. Maybe I shouldn’t have turned down Duncan’s offer of a ride, but I hated the idea of being needy. Besides, Jonathan’s updates had calmed my nerves even though he had made it clear that the case was not closed.

I repeatedly glanced over my shoulder as I walked the remaining distance from the Metro to my apartment. A sigh of relief escaped when I spotted Daniel a few steps ahead of me. I called out and he waited for me.

“This is a surprise. You’re home earlier than usual.” And just in time to walk me down our dark entryway.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t remember the last time I managed to slip out this early.”

Daniel asked if I felt like visiting. Of course I did. I grabbed a bag of cookies and went to Daniel’s apartment.

We hadn’t had a chance to talk since his trip to the Poconos with Nate. I was glad to hear that it had been a success.

“Stroudsburg was a pleasure. A beautiful region and it was great to get out of the city. We stayed at a quaint country inn. Then, on Saturday, we went on a hike at Bushkill Falls. Amazing place, eight waterfalls, and great views. A bit more rigorous exercise than usual for me, but definitely worth it.”

“Wow. Glad you enjoyed yourself. You work too hard.”

He smiled, “So what’s new with you?”

I gave him an abridged version of the events of the last week, the threat, the attempted kidnapping, the whole mess that had taken over my life.

When I finished talking, concern was etched on Daniel’s face. “Oh, Adina. This situation has really gotten out of hand. Let me know if you need anything at all.”

“You are so sweet to offer. I’m trying to stay optimistic now that the police have finally made some progress… By the way, I’m trying to convince George to install a gate at the entrance to the passage. It would make me feel safer knowing people couldn’t wander around down here outside my door. He didn’t like the idea.”

“Of course he didn’t. It would cost him money.”

“I realize that. But I figured it was worth trying. Maybe we can get him to come around.”

“I’ll raise the subject with him the next time I speak to him. In the meantime, if you need anything, call! If you start to freak out and need to talk, or hear something that scares you, call! Even if it’s in the middle of the night.”

Daniel’s words had a calming effect. I doubted I would ever wake him up in the middle of the night just to talk, but it was nice to know I could.