Detective Wade Jackson Mystery - 02 - Secrets to Die For (12 page)

“It’s good.” A pause. “I missed her when she was in rehab.”

Jackson had interrogated too many people who were hiding something to miss the signs: the pause, the averted eyes, and now Katie was picking at her egg. If she had been a suspect, he would have pounced. But this was his daughter. What she was hiding involved her mother.
Shit
.
Was Renee drinking again
?

“But you have some concerns? Care to tell me?”

Katie put a piece of pineapple in her mouth and chewed for a long time. Jackson waited it out. Katie had recently promised never to keep important information from him.

“It’s not really a concern. I’ve only been there one day.”

“But you noticed something.” Jackson took a bite of omelet, pretending to be casual about the whole thing.

“It was just a mood swing.” Katie’s discomfort was obvious, but she plowed ahead. “Mom was her usual high-energy talkative self, then suddenly she mellowed out and got real quiet. I’ve never seen her do that before.”

Jackson was puzzled too. It didn’t sound like the effects of alcohol. “Did you see her take anything?”

“No. But she could have anyway. And so what if she did? As long as she’s not drinking, right?”

“I don’t know, Katie. I’ll think about it. Thanks for telling me.” Jackson gave his daughter what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He doubted he’d pulled it off. His brain bounced around, thinking the worst. His ex-wife, and mother of his child, had found a new drug…and he might have to keep Katie away from her all over again. His girlfriend’s estranged husband was back in town…and in all likelihood would interfere with his great new romance. He also had a murder case that didn’t fit any of the typical patterns…and if he didn’t resolve it soon, another young girl would die.

May you live in interesting times, Jackson thought, reminded of the mythical Chinese curse.

Early morning sun brightened the sky as Jackson pulled into the jail’s parking lot. It failed to lift his mood. He tried to connect Raina’s murder with the rape cases, but it only worked if Raina was, in fact, gay and Bruce Gorman was homophobic. If Gorman was a lesbian hater and his son’s foster-care advocate happened to be gay, that could have been a trigger for the rapes of the other women. And the eventual rape and murder of Raina, who threatened Gorman most of all. Jackson would know soon enough.

Gorman sat at a table in a small pale-green room inside the jail. He wore forest-green scrubs and jail-issued slipper socks. Except for the handcuffs, he looked like a low-paid caregiver with a bad attitude. The inmate shook his head when Jackson set his tape recorder on the table.

“I’m not confessing to anything. I was released yesterday. I went to get my son, who was returned to
my
custody last Friday. This kidnapping charge is bullshit.”

Jackson waited to see what else Gorman would say without prompting.

“I didn’t kill that girl either. This is all bullshit.” Gorman slammed his cuffed hands on the table. “If the fucking state would just mind its own business and leave my family alone, none of this would have happened.”

“None of what? You mean Raina ending up dead?”

Gorman clamped his jaw, clearly regretting his last words.

“Why don’t you tell me your side of it? I know Raina was at your home. I know that the two of you argued and that you chased her. Did she provoke you?”

Gorman tried to calculate what Jackson knew and how he knew it. His eyes worked overtime, while his jaw stayed locked.

“Josh told us he heard you talk about moving Raina’s dead body.”

Gorman flinched, then shook his head. “No. No. No. We were talking about a dog. One of our dogs died last week and we buried her in the woods. Cindy got worried about the body being too close to the well. That’s all there is to it. Josh is a kid. He’s confused. He’s mixing up things that don’t have nothing to do with each other.”

Jackson remembered the Boxer coming out of the trees with the human bone in its mouth. What else was buried out there in the woods behind the Gormans’ trailer? “So you admit now that Raina was there? That you argued? Josh says he saw her come to the door. Tell me what happened. Let’s get your side of it nailed down.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” Gorman looked like a man caught in a trap, getting ready to chew off his arm to free the rest of his body. “Raina wanted to see Josh. It was not a good time. I asked her to leave and she refused.”

“Josh says you threatened to kill her.”

“No.” More wild head shaking. “It wasn’t like that. I was upset, I admit. The little bitch kept talking about custody, like she had the power to take Josh away again. I said if that happened, it would kill me.”

A smooth, skilled liar. Not many low-life thugs could pull that story off. Time to mix it up. “When did you find out Raina was gay?”

Gorman looked genuinely surprised. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Damn
. The guilty usually looked pleased when you changed the subject. “I want to know how you feel about gay people.”

“I could care less.” Gorman still seemed confused, but now a little disgust came through. “I mean, if a gay guy hits on me, I’ll punch his lights out, but other than that, who cares?”

“What about lesbians? How do you feel about lesbians?”

“I don’t feel anything, unless I’m watching a porn flick with two women going at it. Then I get a big boner. Why in the hell are we talking about this?”

“Because I think you’re homophobic.” Jackson leaned in and lowered his voice like a conspirator. “I think you hated Raina because she was a lesbian. I think that’s why you sexually assaulted and murdered her.”

Gorman slammed his fists into the table again. “I didn’t kill her! She drove away, and I never saw her again.”

Jackson’s jacket pocket began to vibrate. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the incoming number. It was the evidence lab. Jackson prayed for this to be good news. He turned away from Gorman and said, “Jackson here.”

“It’s Parker. The state lab just called. I had them fast track a DNA comparison on a hair I found in the front seat of Raina’s car against the DNA swab you took from Gorman. They match.”

Jackson’s heart did a little flutter. Gorman had been in Raina’s car. Jackson still needed one more confirmation. “What about the Gorman’s DNA comparison with the sample from the rape cases?”

“Nothing yet. You gave me that request after I sent all the hair samples from the car.”

“Thanks, Parker.” Jackson missed his direct connection to Debbie, a long-time state lab supervisor who had quit last month because of an overtime dispute. Still, Parker was great about relaying information as soon as she received it. Jackson turned back to Gorman. “Have you ever been inside Raina’s car? Think carefully before you answer. Obstructing justice is a felony. If you lie, the DA is not likely to plea bargain a rape and murder charge. And my next call is to the district attorney.”

Gorman put his hands to his face and took a long slow breath. “I didn’t kill her, I swear. But I’ll tell you what did happen.”

Jamie lay in bed and pondered her options. If she got up and got dressed, she would have to talk to that lady cop again today. Detective Evans had come by yesterday, but Jamie had refused to speak to her. This had not made her parents happy. They wanted her to stop obsessing about Raina and get on with her life. They kept pressuring her to ‘find a new focus’. So that was the dilemma. She desperately needed to get out of the house and away from her parents, but she was too depressed to leave the bed.

What if she went over to Paul’s and stayed for a while? He would let her spend a week in bed if that’s what she needed. He was grieving for Raina too and understood her pain. Jamie pushed aside the covers and swung her feet to the floor. You can do this, she told herself. Be strong, like Raina. Raina had wanted her to move out of her parents’ house long ago. She’d called it a sugar-coated poison pill and sometimes lectured Jamie about how unhealthy it was to live with people who were openly prejudiced against gays. It was the only thing they argued about. Jamie knew she needed to get away from her parents, but it was not an easy move to make, especially while she was taking classes. Jamie had never earned enough money to pay for rent, food, car insurance, cell phone, and everything! At the moment, she didn’t even have a job.

Jamie showered for the first time since Friday, then dressed in leggings and a sweater. As she blow-dried her hair, her mother walked into the small bathroom, which could only be reached by coming through Jamie’s bedroom.

“You’re up, dear. I’m so happy to see that.”

“I wish you would knock.”

“I did. But I heard the blow dryer and knew you didn’t hear me.”

Jamie didn’t argue.

Her mother gave her a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re doing better. I have an idea I’d like to share with you later. A plan to help you get through this and move forward.”

Jamie started to brush her teeth.

“Detective Evans is here again,” her mother announced. “You need to come down and speak with her. I’m sure this will be the last time. What could you possibly know that would help them find Raina’s killer?”

Damn. If she had only gotten out of bed ten minutes earlier. “Okay. I’ll be right down.”

Her mother gave her a big ‘good girl’ smile and went back the way she came. Jamie began to think she might have to sneak out when she left for Paul’s. Meanwhile, she would talk to the detective and get the conversation over with. What could she possibly know that would help them find Raina’s killer?

“Was Raina a lesbian?” Detective Evans didn’t waste any time getting to the reason for her visit.

Jamie glanced over at the kitchen to see if her mother was lurking. How should she answer this? Raina would have said “Yeah, so?” If she admitted Raina was gay, then her parents might think she was too. Finally, Jamie said, “I think she was. But we were just friends.”

The detective scowled. “You’re not sure? She was your best friend since high school and you never talked about her sexuality?” Evans had on a green sweater today, which reminded Jamie of Raina, but other than that, the scene felt like a repeat of that first night.

Jamie shook her head. “Not really. I knew she had dated women, but I thought she was just experimenting.”
Oh
,
what a load of crap
. Jamie could hear Raina’s voice in her head, chastising her for being ashamed of them both.

“Can you give me the names of the women she dated?”

“Why is it important?”

“Two other women were recently raped and beaten here in Eugene. We just learned that they were both lesbians.” The detective spoke slowly, as if she were forcing herself to be patient. “If Raina was also a lesbian, then we have a connection between the crimes. That connection could help us find Raina’s killer.”

Jamie felt tears build up in her eyes. She pinched the skin in the pocket of her thumb to distract herself. “What do you want to know?”

“Were you and Jamie lovers?”

“No.” Jamie glanced toward the kitchen again but didn’t see her mother.

“You could be in danger if you were.”

Jamie thought about that night in the park. Some guy had watched her and Raina while they kissed, then followed them for a while. She wanted to believe the incident didn’t mean anything. The park was not that far from a college campus that housed hundreds of horny young men. He was just another creep who got off on watching women kiss, wasn’t he?

“What is it, Jamie? Tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell. I’m not a lesbian.”

Detective Evans didn’t believe her. Jamie could see the distrust on her face.

“Did Raina belong to any lesbian groups? Any place where the perpetrator could easily identify potential victims as gay?”

“I don’t think so. She didn’t mention it. Raina was too busy for stuff like that.” Jamie crossed her arms and sat back. She wanted to help, but she didn’t know anything. She would die before she would let her parents find out she had kissed and fondled another woman.

Evans shook her head, then reached in her bag for a card. When she leaned across the coffee table to hand it to Jamie, the detective said, “Call me when you decide to tell the truth. Young women’s lives depend on it.” Evans strode out of the house without a backward glance.