Broken Saint, The (21 page)

Chapter 36

“It is 8:35
am
.
Present are Dr. Albert Gerson, Detective Ryan Miner, and Detective Karen
Seagate.” Ryan sat down next to me in the interview room. Dr. Gerson had come
in this morning, a little after eight, saying he wanted to confess to the
murder of Maricel Salizar. We escorted him to the interview room, and I asked
Ryan to turn on the recording equipment.

“Okay, Dr. Gerson, do you wish to make a
statement?” I said.

“Yes, I wish to confess to the murder of Maricel
Salizar.”

“Take us through the events that night.”

“It was about nine o’clock. Maricel and I had
gotten into a fight that evening—”

“What was the fight about?” I said.

“For some months, Maricel had been blackmailing
me. She wanted to raise the amount. I told her I wouldn’t pay any more than I
was already paying.”

“What was she blackmailing you about?”

“She was threatening to reveal that she and I were
having a sexual relationship.”

“Was Maricel your daughter?”

“Yes.”

“And you were having an affair with her?”

“I just said that.”

I let the silence hang in the ugly room for a
little bit. “I find it hard to believe you were having an affair with your own
daughter.”

“I found it hard to believe, as well. I did not
intend it to happen. I intended to help her, to enable her to become a
successful and happy person. I arranged for her to come to the United
States—and to live in our home—just as I told you. That was true. But seeing
her—she reminded me so much of her mother. I don’t expect you to understand
what I am saying—and I certainly don’t expect you or anyone else to condone
it—but I fell in love with Esperanza all over again. Maricel was vulnerable,
and I was helpless to control my feelings for her.”

“How long had this relationship been going on?”

“Over a month.”

“Dr. Gerson, you said she wanted you to pay more.
What were you paying her?”

“I was paying her five-hundred dollars a month.
She wanted me to pay her seven fifty.”

“And what did she say she would do if you didn’t
increase the amount?”

“She said she would reveal the relationship to my
wife, to the university, to the Church, and to the police.”

“And you believed that she would do that?”

“Yes, I believed that.”

“Describe the fight you had with Maricel that
night.”

“She had just told me—”

Ryan spoke. “Excuse me, Dr. Gerson. I need to ask
for a quick break. It is 8:41. We are suspending the interview at this point.”

I looked at Ryan. He didn’t look sick or anything
as he stood up, walked over to the wall unit, and stopped the taping.

“Stay here,” I said to Gerson as I followed Ryan
out of the interview room.

Outside in the hall, I said, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I want you to let me go back in
and interview him solo.”

“What for?”

“Trust me. He’ll open up better if it’s just me.”

“Seems like he’s opening up pretty good as it is.”

“Karen, please let me do this. I mess this up,
I’ll walk back to my desk and fill out my resignation papers.”

“I have to listen in.”

“Do whatever you want.”

I nodded.

Ryan walked back into the interview room. I went a
few paces down the hall, opened the door marked Utility, and walked down the
corridor between the two interview rooms. I turned on the speaker, pulled up a
stool, and looked through the glass into Interview 1. I flipped open my phone
and called the chief’s office. “Margaret, this is Seagate. The chief in? Yeah,
good. Please tell him to meet me. I’m looking in on Interview 1. Right away.
Thanks.”

Ryan walked over to the wall unit and switched on
the recording equipment. “It is now 8:42
am
.
Detective Seagate will be unable to participate in the rest of the interview,
but she has authorized me to proceed.”

Gerson nodded.

“Dr. Gerson, you were about to describe the fight
you had with Maricel Salizar the night of the murder.”

The door opened and the chief came into the
corridor. “Catch me up.”

“The provost turned up ten minutes ago. Said he
wanted to confess to killing Maricel.”

“Motive?”

“He was screwing her. She was blackmailing him,
wanted to up the amount.”

Dr. Gerson said, “We got into an argument. Andrea
was upstairs—she usually goes into the bedroom by nine. But Maricel was threatening
me, her voice getting louder and louder. I tried to get her to stop shouting,
but I couldn’t.”

“So what did you do?”

“I picked up a knife. We were in the kitchen. When
she saw the knife, she came at me, like she was going to take it away from me. I
don’t exactly remember how it happened, but the knife went into her abdomen.”

“Did you stab her again?”

“I think I might have, several more times.”

“Then what did you do?”

“I picked her up, carried her into the garage, put
her in the trunk of my car, and drove to the Greenpath. I know a place, near
where I sit sometimes, where the parking lot comes down close to the path. I
checked to see that nobody was looking. It was already quite dark. I carried
her to the riverbank and just placed her there.”

“Why did you carry her down to the river?”

“When I left the house, I didn’t have the kitchen
knife with me. When I lifted her out of the trunk I could tell she was still
alive. The only thing I could think of was to drown her. That is what I did.”

“Dr. Gerson, if you forgot to bring the knife with
you, how did you slit her throat?”

He appeared to flinch. He looked at Ryan. “I
forgot to say that I did that at the house, before I drove to the river.”

I said to the chief, “Her throat wasn’t slit.”

The chief nodded.

“Dr. Gerson,” Ryan said. “What are you doing?”

He looked at Ryan. “I’m confessing to the murder
of Maricel Salizar.”

“You didn’t kill Maricel.”

He shifted in his seat. “I just confessed to you
that I killed her.”

“Maricel’s throat was not cut. And you forgot to
mention that you took her clothes off before dragging her down to the river.”

Gerson sat there, covering his face with his
hands. He began to sob quietly. “Could you turn off the recording equipment,
please, Brother Miner?”

“I didn’t turn it on.”

“This is all me,” Gerson said. “Don’t you see that
I did kill Maricel?”

“No, you didn’t. You violated the teachings of the
Church, and you failed Esperanza and Maricel for many years, but you did not
kill her. You tried to do the right thing by helping her. You have confessed
your sins, and you are making a sincere effort to repent of them. You are now
on a better path, Brother Gerson.”

“If I am a good soul, why are Esperanza and Maricel
dead, and why is Mark battling for his life in the hospital?”

Ryan shook his head. “You know the answer to that
better than I do.”

“That there is no answer to that? That we cannot
know the ways of Heavenly Father?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s not good enough. Not good enough anymore,”
Gerson said. “Not in this case. Not for me.”

“What do you hope to accomplish by confessing to
Maricel’s murder?”

He looked at me. “I hope to enable you to close
the case.”

“Mark will not be held liable for her death.”

He shook his head. “I must be held liable for her
death. It came from my actions. I did it. Don’t you understand that?”

“With Mark’s history of schizophrenia, he’ll be
institutionalized. He won’t even be found competent to stand trial. The phrase
is ‘mental disease or defect.’”

“She died because of me. Heavenly Father knows
that, even if the police department doesn’t.”

“You are not thinking clearly, Brother Gerson. You
were, before this latest episode with Mark, but you aren’t now. When you
admitted your sins, at Maricel’s service, and allowed Christ into your life,
you were living the Lord’s will. But your fear is closing you off from His
love. Because of your fear, you are putting yourself above God.”

“How can you say that? I am admitting before all
the world—and the state judicial system—that I am a miserable sinner, that my
actions have led to the death of my daughter and grievous injuries to my son.
How can you possibly say that I am exhibiting pride?”

“Is God so fickle that He will turn on you now? Is
His love for you so thin, so tenuous that you are no longer worthy? Do you
think so little of the Lord? Can you hate Him that much?”

“With all due respect, Brother Miner, I am not
sure you have earned the right to lecture me on God’s love. I doubt that you
have been where I am now.”

“I understand what you are saying, perhaps better
than you realize. I am a sinner. I, too, have violated a sacred trust. I have
betrayed the one person to whom I have pledged complete and everlasting
fidelity. That betrayal is never far from my thoughts. And it is in all my
prayers, and it will be until my last day on earth. But do you think your sin
is greater than anybody else’s sins? Your anguish is greater than anyone
else’s? Your despair? Are your sins beyond what Christ can redeem? The Lord
will not give you the strength to endure your hardships? You are not Satan,
Brother Gerson, and you are not God. You are just one of God’s children. I beg
you to honor Maricel’s memory. Heal Mark and Andrea. I beg you to love God, and
live His love.”

Chapter 37

“Yeah, Detectives Seagate and Miner. Could you call the doc
on duty for Mark Gerson in 315?”

While we waited at the nurses’ station, I walked
over to look through the glass window. Mark was in four-point restraints. The
leather restraints were on his biceps because his wrists were all bandaged up.

“Karen,” Ryan said.

I turned and the doctor had arrived.

“I’m Dr. Davey.” He was about sixty, with a long,
hangdog face with liver spots ringing his eyes.

“Good to meet you,” I said. “What’s the story on
Mark Gerson?”

“He’s medically stable. We started pumping in his
schizophrenia meds, and we think they’re starting to take effect. But he’s also
on pain meds and a sedative, so he might be kind of groggy. Five minutes,
maximum, please.”

“You bet. Thanks.”

Ryan and I walked into Mark’s room, which was full
of equipment. In the bed, his arms and legs restrained, his color so pale he
looked like a stretched-out kid.

His eyes were half-open. I could see his pupils
moving from me to Ryan. “Mark, do you remember us? I’m Detective Seagate, this
is my partner, Detective Miner. The doctor said we could talk to you for a
couple minutes, okay?”

He nodded slightly. “I killed her,” he said, his
voice low and shaky.

“How did you do that?”

His breathing was shallow, and he took a moment to
gather his strength. “I drowned her, in the river.”

“Why did you do that?”

He didn’t answer for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“Were you upset with her?”

“I don’t remember.” His eyes scanned the room, as
if he was unsure where he was.

“Had she told you something that upset you?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Did she tell you anything about a recent medical
procedure?”

His brows furrowed, like he was starting to
remember. “I think so, but I don’t remember.”

Ryan spoke. “Did she tell you she had had an
abortion? A few weeks ago?”

Mark’s left hand fluttered a little.

“Do you think that could be it?”

Mark didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t get a
read on whether he was agreeing with Ryan or disagreeing, or even whether he
understood.

“Mark,” Ryan said, “how would it make you feel to
learn that Maricel had an abortion?”

Mark turned his head slightly to the side, like he
didn’t want to talk anymore. His two arms pulled against the restraints.

I looked at my watch. We were over three minutes.
I looked out through the blinds into the hall. A nurse stood there, looking in.
She was about thirty-five, attractive. Dark hair, and big, dark eyes.

“Mark,” I said, “if Maricel had an abortion, that
would mean she wasn’t your girlfriend?”

His head turned farther to the side, and then he
shut his eyes. He was communicating, but this topic wasn’t going to work for
him.

Ryan touched my arm. I looked at him. Ryan said,
“Do you remember being in the meetinghouse yesterday?”

He turned toward Ryan. “No,” he said. “Why would I
be there?”

“You were in the baptismal font.”

Mark shook his head, meaning either it wasn’t
true, or he didn’t know why he was there.

Ryan continued. “Did it have something to do with your
relationship with Maricel?”

“I don’t remember anything about that.”

“You know that when adults are baptized, they are cleansed
of their sins. They enter into a covenant with God.” Mark nodded. “Maybe that
was what you were doing in the baptismal font yesterday: cleansing yourself of
your sins.”

Mark’s breathing was shallow and labored. “I don’t
know.”

“You were trying to cleanse yourself of your sins,”
Ryan said. “You had romantic feelings for Maricel, but then you found out that
she was your half-sister. That wasn’t your fault, Mark. You didn’t know you
were related.”

I turned when the nurse entered the room. “I’m
sorry,” she said. “That will have to be it for now.”

I said to her, “Do you have Mark’s things?”

She pointed to the metal closet in the corner,
near the sink. I walked over to it and opened the door. Inside were his white
shirt, pants, and tie. They had been cleaned, but the blood stains were still
visible. On the shelf at the top were his black plastic watch, his wallet, and
some kind of black ring. I picked it up and looked at it. I tried to slip it on
a finger. The only one it would fit on was my left pinkie, and it was tight.

I said to Ryan, “Go flirt with the nurse, okay?”

Ryan looked puzzled, then nodded and left the
room.

I walked back to Mark’s bed. “Why did you go to
the river that night, Mark?”

“I’m not sure.” He looked confused. “Maricel was
arguing downstairs with someone. I looked out my window and saw Jared’s car.
Then the arguing stopped. I looked out my window, saw him carrying Maricel
toward his car.”

“What did you do next?”

“I came downstairs, got in my mom’s car, and
followed them.”

“Where did the car go?”

“To a house downtown.”

“Did the two of them go into the house?”

“Only Jared.”

“What did you do then?”

“I waited there, a few doors down, in my car. In a
few minutes Jared came out of the house, got into his car, and started
driving.”

“And then you followed him?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“But you ended up at the river.”

He shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

“When you saw Maricel on the ground, near the
river, was she hurt? Was she injured?”

“I don’t know. I think she was sleeping.”

I held the black ring up to his face. “Do you know
what this is?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t know. It’s Maricel’s.”

“Did she give it to you?”

“I think she had it with her, at the river.”

“Did she have it in a pocket or something? Was she
wearing it?”

“She had it in her hand.”

“You mean, like this?” I clenched it in my fist.

He nodded and drifted off to sleep.

The nurse came back in, looking pissed. Behind
her, Ryan shrugged, like he’d done the best he could.

I held up the black ring. “Ryan, you recognize
this?”

He looked at it, startled. “Yes, I do.”