Black Widow (11 page)

26

Stanton got the call around seven in the morning. When he was standing in his bathroom brushing his teeth.

“Tell me you weren’t stupid enough to say anything,” Kai said by way of greeting.

“Morning to you, too.”

“Don’t, Jon. I’m serious. Did you tip Heidi Rousseau off that she had an arrest warrant?”

He spat white foam into the sink. “I talked to her and told her to turn herself in. I never said to run or lawyer up, or anything like that. I never even told her she had an arrest warrant. I only told her to turn herself in.”

Kai mumbled under his breath. “You just said that so she couldn’t get arrested in public.”

“You only wanted the takedown for the news cameras, Kai. I’m not stupid. Please don’t treat me like that again. You gave me this case to work, and I’m going to work it my way. If you don’t like that way, then take me off the case. Take me off homicide if you want. But if I’m here, I work these cases how I want to work them. There’s no other way.”

Kai began to swear. It was a good thirty seconds before he stopped and said, “Fine. Work the case how you want. But if she gets away with this, Jon, I’m not takin’ the shit. You understand me? I won’t be the one to do it.”

“I understand.” He gargled with water. “Where is she now?”

“Her lawyer came. He said she won’t be making a statement. We have enough to hold her for the seventy-two and then we gotta let her go.”

Stanton knew about the seventy-two-hour rule. They had one in San Diego as well. The length varied from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the rule was always the same. After an arrest, the DA’s Office had seventy-two hours to file charges and set a time for the suspect to get in and see a judge about bail. If charges weren’t filed in that time, the suspect had to be released.

“Let her go,” Stanton said.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m going to follow her.”

“We can get a surveillance detail to—”

“No, it’ll be easier if it’s just me. I don’t have any other cases right now. I can be with her all day and most of the night.”

He was silent. “All right. You do what you do. Just get me my arrest.”

“I still don’t think it’s her, Kai. But if it is, she won’t be able to keep it hidden for long. She’ll screw up somehow.”

“I hope so.”

Stanton hung up and placed his phone down by the sink. The blue button-down shirt with a black blazer looked nice for today, but the temperature was over ninety-five. And the humidity would make him sweat as though he were in a sauna. Instead, he opted for Dockers, a black V-neck shirt tucked in with a brown belt, and Italian shoes with no socks. Some of the detectives actually wore shorts on the island, but he wasn’t at that level of comfort just yet.

Before leaving the house, he made sure Mathew and Johnny had breakfast and everything they needed for school that day. He kissed them both and watched as Mathew drove them to school. He’d drop Johnny off first at the elementary school and then head to Henry J. Kaiser High School. The school was named after the business magnate that had founded Hawaii Kai.

After the kids had left, Stanton walked to his jeep. As he turned it on, Suzanne came out of her house and waved.

“Hey. Off to work?” she asked.

“Yup. What do you have planned for the day?”

“Nothing much. I’m officially retired.”

“People in retirement don’t live as long as those that keep working, you know.”

“Work’s overrated. Besides, going to the gym and hanging by the pool can be work, too.”

He grinned and flipped on his sunglasses. “I really appreciate you watching the kids, Suzanne. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Well, you can always repay me with dinner.”

An awkward silence followed. She had moved too quickly, and Stanton guessed she knew it. He tried to make her feel less awkward by saying, “You name the date and place.”

“Okay. How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“You got something better planned on a Saturday night?”

“I’ll have to get a babysitter.”

“My sister’s in town. She could watch them.”

Stanton adjusted his rearview mirror and thought for a moment about the words he would choose next. “Suzanne, I’ve seen things that have changed the way I view people. I can’t trust just anyone with my kids. It took me a year to trust you to be able to watch them, and I knew you were a good person from the second I saw you. It’s just the way I am.”

She shook her and laughed softly. “You’re such a man.”

“What’d you mean?”

“This gallant pose that the world is always at war. Well, the world will leave you alone for one
night while you actually try to relax. My sister is a hundred and twenty pounds. If she tried anything, Mathew can break her like a pretzel. They’ll be fine.”

“It’s not your sister I’m worried about. What if someone tries to break into the house?”

“Jon, you’re coming out with me Saturday. This proves to me you need it more than ever.”

He nodded. “All right. Tomorrow.”

She smiled. “See you then.”

Stanton pulled out of the driveway. Driving down the street, he had to stop for some children playing baseball. They scattered, shouting, “Car!” as he drove by. He looked in his rearview and they had re-formed.

The morning traffic was light today. Hawaii, in a lot of ways, reminded Stanton of Europe. Life was more relaxed here. No one expected you to show up on time for work. On Fridays, no one expected you to stay your full shift. There was nature and sunlight and ocean all around that had to be experienced, and bosses that didn’t understand that lost their good employees quickly.

Stanton went to the precinct for morning roll call. Usually, it was held in a room called the War Room. He went there now and saw everyone drinking coffee and talking. He took a seat in the back, and the detective commander stood up and spoke about last night’s reports. Jones walked into the room. He spotted Stanton, came over, and sat next to him.

“Did you hear?” Jones whispered.

“I did.”

“She clammed up, man. I couldn’t get anything out of her.”

“If she’s as intelligent as I think she is, that’s the way we expected her to play it.”

Jones was quiet a moment as the commander’s eyes went to him and then away. “What’s the next move?”

“I’m going to tail her.”

“I want in.”

“One person is less noticeable than two. But maybe we could split it.”

“Solid.” Jones held out his fist, and Stanton assumed he wanted him to tap it with his, so he did.

When roll call was over, Stanton exited without saying anything to anyone else. Jones followed him out to the bullpen.

“We’ll split it eight to four and then four to midnight,” Stanton said. “I have my kids, so I’ll take eight to four if that’s okay.”

“Perfect, man. I’m a night owl anyway. You want me to check out some equipment?”

Stanton wasn’t looking to get her on video. She was too smart for that. What he wanted was to get a sense for her. A feel that she was whom he thought she was. So far, he had felt nothing but fear and anxiety from her. Two emotions that pure psychopaths were incapable of feeling.

“You can check out some video if you want. I don’t want any. I’ll text you at four.”

27

Stanton sat outside Queen’s Medical in the afternoon heat. Heidi had come to work at eleven and it was now past two. Stanton wished he’d taken the nightshift, but he couldn’t leave his boys alone. And it was unfair to ask Suzanne to watch them until the middle of the night.

He texted Jones that she was still at the hospital, and would be until eight o’clock. Stanton told him to swing by at that time. No use in him baking in his car for several hours, too.

As Stanton was about to pull away, he saw movement near the passenger seat. Heidi Rousseau stood on the sidewalk, looking at him through Calvin Klein sunglasses.

“How long are you guys going to follow me now?” she said. Stanton didn’t reply. “Well,” she said, “you might as well come to lunch with me.” She climbed into the passenger seat. “There’s a barbeque place up the street that’s really good. Fat Kahuna’s.”

Stanton waited a beat, unsure exactly what to say. She didn’t seem to notice his hesitation and was putting on her seatbelt.

He pulled away.

Stanton had never been to Fat Kahuna’s. It was little more than a shack with tables. But the food appeared greasy
and delicious. There were no waiters, and you ordered from a cashier and then retrieved your food when they called your name.

Heidi ordered wings, two sodas, a pizza and an order of Hawaiian snowballs, a type of pastry coated in powdered sugar.

She paid before Stanton could offer and then walked out onto the patio. Stanton followed and sat across from her at a table under a rainbow-colored umbrella.

“So how long can I expect you to follow me?”

Stanton, for the first time he could remember in an investigation, did not know what to say or do. He had taken every precaution. He hadn’t even parked that close to the hospital. The only thing he could think was that she knew they’d be tailing her and was searching for them.

“You have to admit,” Stanton finally said, “the owner of an escort agency telling me that you were with both victims the night of their deaths is pretty compelling evidence.”

“I wasn’t there and I don’t work at an escort agency.” She folded her arms. “Have you thought that maybe she’s lying to cover for herself? Or someone else?”

“Of course I have. The problem is that I showed a photo of you to one of the employees of the agency and she identified you as working there. Except for the hair.”

Heidi sat quietly a moment. “What color did she say my hair was? Black, shoulder length?”

“Yes.”

Heidi nodded. “That’s not me. I promise you. It’s not me.”

“Everything’s pointing to you, Heidi. So unless you can give me a good reason, this investigation is going to continue until we find something.”

She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. Her hands went to her face and covered it a few moments before running through her hair. She leaned back in the seat and turned toward the ocean.

“I have a sister, Detective.
A twin sister. And it looks like she’s found me.”

28

Stanton surfed in the evening at the North Shore. It was a good few sets before the waves died down. He lay on the beach afterward and stared at the clear blue sky. A few families of tourists were around him today and one asked if he would snap a photo of them. He rose and took the photo. They were a cute family.
The parents and two kids. He handed them back their iPhone and gathered his things to leave.

Stanton had let Jones continue to tail Heidi. Although he had warned him that she had spotted the tail.

The story of a twin sister was far-fetched, and Stanton didn’t buy it. Not yet. So he had asked that they go somewhere quiet and she could tell him about her sister. He hadn’t been thinking they should go to dinner, but when Heidi suggested it, he didn’t say no.

He used the showers nearby on the beach and then dressed in jeans. After sitting in his jeep a good
hour and watching the sunset over the Pacific, he started his vehicle and drove to the restaurant they had agreed to meet at.

The restaurant was another that Stanton hadn’t been to. French fusion. Some of the best chefs in the world came to Hawaii to ply their trade and he wouldn’t be surprised if it was the best French he’d ever had.

The restaurant itself was sparse and simple, with wooden tables, white tablecloths, and candles. Stanton saw Heidi already seated, sipping at a glass of wine.

He sat across from her. She watched him as she took a long drink and then placed the glass down. She wore a white dress that exposed her shoulders. Stanton was about to comment that she looked nice, but caught himself.

“Do you mind if I take notes?” Stanton said.

She shook her head. “It’s up to you.”

“What’s your sister’s name?”

“Heather Rousseau. Though I doubt you’ll find anything on her that way. I don’t think she’s
used her real name in fifteen years.” She finished the wine and then held up her hand to the waiter and pointed to her glass. “We’re identical twins. I don’t remember a lot from my childhood but I remember Heather. Larger than life.”

“Where is she now?”

She shook her head as the waiter walked over and poured her more wine. “I have no idea. Here, on the island, obviously. But she hasn’t contacted me. She won’t until she feels like it would be more fun to taunt me.”

The waiter asked Stanton if he wanted a drink and he ordered a Diet Coke.

“Taunt you how?” he said.

“I assume you’ve seen my criminal record?” Stanton nodded. “All those expunged cases, that was her. She uses my name and then it takes me months of work to clear it up. She’s doing it here, too. That’s why the escort agency would have my name.”

“That doesn’t sound very twinlike.”

Heidi swallowed some wine and then placed the glass in front of her. She tapped the glass lightly with her fingernail. “My sister… hates me, Detective. She was… when she was
young, she began displaying traits that terrified my parents. She started hurting and manipulating other kids. She became promiscuous at eleven years old.”

Another drink of wine.
Stanton almost felt like telling her to slow down but then realized she might be willing to talk more freely with alcohol.

“So what happened?” he asked.

“She stabbed a boy one day at school. She was twelve, I think. Stabbed him in the genitals. She was transferred to an alternative school and got even worse there. The more authority tried to tell her what to do, the more she rebelled. A girl got into a fight with her there. I don’t know what it was about, but I know my sister cut her eyes out with a razor blade. We’re talking about a twelve-year-old girl. She cut the eyes out and then stood there laughing. The teachers told us that she thought it was the funniest thing in the world.”

The Diet Coke came, and Stanton wanted to wait a beat.
To let Heidi get lost in thought and allow the alcohol to take effect. He opened a straw and took a few sips.

“What happened to her after that?” Stanton said.

“She was taken from us at that point. She was put in the system. Psychiatric hospitals. She was committed until she was eighteen. When she got out, I thought she would be happy to see me. I went and met her at the gates. It was a frightening place. Nowhere a kid should be. She told me… she told me about the hell she went through. She was sexually abused by the guards. Starved and beaten… she blamed me.”

“Why would she blame you?”

“You have to understand how different I was from Heather. Where she was impulsive and brave, I was shy and quiet. We never really bonded. I was close to my parents because I was just home more. She wasn’t close to them at all. Heather thought I had been the one to talk my parents into allowing her to be committed. She thought I wanted her out of my life to get all the attention. But I never did that. I loved my sister. I would never have wanted her to go away.” She inhaled a deep breath and let it out through her nose. “So, it began there. In college. I came to my dorm room one day to find that she had slept with my roommate. A girl who wasn’t even bisexual. Heather had drugged her. It just got worse from there.”

A pang of sympathy went through Stanton. He could see it in his mind’s eye. A shy girl trying to get by while a force she didn’t understand slowly and systematically destroyed her life. He knew now why Heidi didn’t talk at the lunch table.

“I moved everywhere,” Heidi said. “Whenever I could. I never left forwarding addresses. It worked for a while, but she would always find me. And obviously, when I got into medical school, I had to be in one place for four years. Do you know what she did? She killed my boyfriend. Of course, there was no proof. He just vanished one day and everyone thought that med school had been too much for him. But I knew, I know, that’s not what happened.”

“Why is she killing johns?”

“Who knows? Maybe that’s her latest thing. She’s insane, Jon.”

Stanton noticed that she had called him Jon instead of Detective. For some reason, he was glad she did.

“If you’re telling the truth, why didn’t you come to the police? The FBI? We could’ve helped you.”

She shook her head, staring down at the table. “I went to the police once. After my boyfriend. While the investigation was pending, a friend of mine disappeared. It was a message to me. That she could get to anyone she wanted. I withdrew my witness statement after that.”

He sipped his soda. He was leaning toward believing her. Most of the facial cues he had studied on deception weren’t present. Then again, a pure psychopath was typically a perfect liar. No method of dishonesty detection, including polygraph machines, had ever worked on them.

“Let’s say I choose to believe you,” he said. “How do I find her?”

“You can’t. She’s been running and hiding her entire life. The homicide cops in San Francisco couldn’t find her, I can’t find her… not until she wants to be found.”

He thought a moment about whether he should tell her. In the end, he decided it wouldn’t really matter. “I may not know where she is right now, but I know where she’ll be on Tuesday night.”

“Where?”

“On a date with me.”