Merciless (21 page)

She raised a blond brow at me. “Is it necessary to keep her cuffed?”

I looked at Nita. “Do you plan on taking another swing at me?”

She shook her head.

I signaled to Officer Orson to remove the cuffs. On his way out the door I said, “Would
you keep an eye on the daughters?”

We sat around the conference table. I inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly
and silently. “Miz Dupris, this is not a formal interview. You are not being charged
with anything. Do you understand?”

A fuck-you look, but no response.

“I will need a verbal confirmation from you that you understand why you’re here.”

“Fine. I know why I’m here. Get on with the questions.”

“Did your daughter Verline live with you permanently?”

“No. She’s been livin’ with Rollie Rondeaux for the last three years. But she and
her babies had been staying with me.”

“For how long?”

“About five days.”

“Was she in your residence for the majority of those five days?”

“No. She took off the morning of the third day, and she ain’t been back.”

“And this didn’t concern you?”

She shrugged. “Verline . . . well, she’s young. She’s got two little ones and an old
man who don’t care about her or them babies. She needs a break once in a while. She
hangs out with her friends a few days and then she comes back.”

“Who are her friends?”

“She don’t tell me.”

“Where does she go?”

Her lips flattened. “She don’t tell me that neither.”

“What’s the longest you remember her being gone?”

“Five or six days.”

“Do you have any idea where she spent those days?”

“Nope.”

“So you weren’t concerned when you hadn’t heard from her?”

Nita shook her head.

“She doesn’t even call you to check on her children when she takes these breaks?”

“Not usually. She knows they’re better off with me than with Rollie.” Nita leaned
closer. “I ain’t gonna let that old man have them. He ain’t any more a father to them
than the police chief is. And now they’re all I’ll have left of my baby girl—” Her
voice broke.

Carsten poured her a glass of water and spoke in low, comforting tones.

When she’d settled, I resumed the questions. “Had Verline mentioned any threats against
her?”

“Only the ones from Rollie. He said he’d throw her ass in the street if she got knocked
up again.”

That sounded like a Rollie bluff.

“Rollie also said that he’d kill her if he ever found out she was fucking around on
him. He’d kill her and not lose a wink of sleep over it. I heard him say that one
time when they were fighting on the phone.”

No mistaking that as a bluff.

“Did she owe anyone money?”

Nita frowned. “I don’t know.”

“Had she been accused of taking something that didn’t belong to her?”

“I don’t know. Why does that matter?”

Because her hand had been chopped off like a thief’s. “Was she involved in any illegal
activity? Like selling drugs?” I sensed Carsten’s displeasure with the question, but
she didn’t object.

“Verline didn’t do drugs, and she stayed far away from people that sell them and do
them.”

I asked a couple more questions, but it was becoming apparent Nita was just a babysitter,
not Verline’s confidante.

“Can you think of anything else that might help us?” I asked.

“That sly bastard Rollie Rondeaux had something to do with her getting killed. Even
if he didn’t do it, he somehow made it happen. He wanted to be rid of her. And he
knows I will fight him tooth and nail on getting permanent guardianship. I’ve done
it with my boys’ kids, and I’ll do it for Verline’s babies, too.”

“Thank you, Miz Dupris. We’ll be in touch.”

I scribbled in my notebook as Carsten walked out and brought in the next family member.

The interviews with the sisters were short. None of them had seen Verline during the
missing days, but all of them were convinced Rollie Rondeaux had killed her. None
could offer proof, but they all believed it.

The last sister to come in was Doreen. She asked if her answers would be confidential,
and I had a glimmer of hope that she could provide new information. When I asked if
she had any idea where Verline might’ve spent those missing three days, she said most
likely with Junior Rondeaux.

There was our first lead.

Shay, Carsten, and Officer Ferguson left to escort the Dupris family out of the station,
leaving me with the tribal police chief. I said, “No love lost between the Dupris
family and Rondeaux family?”

“Ain’t just the Dupris family that takes issues with Rondeaux.”

I shut my notebook before I met the police chief’s eyes. “You’ve known Rollie Rondeaux
a long time. You’ve been a cop on this reservation for years. Do you think Rollie
could’ve done that to Verline?”

Tribal Police Chief Looks Twice fidgeted. Then he sighed again. “I honestly don’t
know. But I do know we’ve been making the man wait for over an hour. I’ll be surprised
if he hasn’t left.”

The five of us paused outside the other interview room. Turnbull handed me three aspirins
and a bottle of water before leading the way inside.

Rollie was hunkered down in his chair and appeared to be sleeping. But as soon as
we gathered around the table, he looked up.

His red-rimmed eyes made my heart hurt.

“Thanks for waiting, Mr. Rondeaux,” Carsten said.

“I don’t suppose you can tell me anything Verline’s family said about me, hey.”

“Afraid not,” Turnbull said brusquely. “So let’s get started. When was the last time
you saw Verline?”

“Five days ago.”

“And was everything all right between you?”

Rollie shook his head, and the braids by his temples swayed.

“Care to elaborate?” Turnbull asked curtly.

No response, which annoyed Turnbull.

“It’s okay, Mr. Rondeaux,” Carsten said softly. “Take your time.”

Finally, Rollie said, “We had a big fight. Same old, same old. She’s young, I’m not.
She wanted more than just bein’ my live-in, and I wasn’t about to put a ring on her
finger.”

“What happened after the fight?”

“Again, same old, same old. She packed a bag, shoved the kids in the car, and took
off for her mom’s place.”

Shay tapped his pen on his pad of paper. “How often did that happen?”

Rollie scratched his chin. “I reckon once every two or three months. First time it’s
happened since she had the last baby. But that didn’t change the way she acted. Verline
don’t call, she stays away until she works her mad off. By that time she’s sick of
stayin’ with her mom, so she comes back to me.”

“Were you ever worried when you didn’t hear from her?”

“Worried to the point I file a missing-persons report? Nope.”

“Didn’t it bother you when she took off with your kids and dumped them at her mom’s
house?”

“Course it bothered me. Nothin’ I could do about it. She wasn’t gonna listen to me.
She was young. And as she pointed out, I ain’t got no claim on her.”

“Did you have any idea what she was doing and who she was doing it with when she disappeared
for a few days?”

Rollie went very still. “I heard rumors. Never confirmed or denied.”

“Would any of those rumors ever cause you to become violent with Verline?”

“Huh-uh.”

“How would you describe your relationship with the two children you and Verline have
together?”

“No different than the relationships I’ve had with my other kids. They’re both babies.
Attached to her teat. Alls they care about is her. They don’t need me for nothin’.”

I got the impression that that didn’t particularly bother him.

Turnbull wrote in his notebook. “You didn’t want more kids? Were you mad that she
got pregnant?”

“Having more babies at my age wasn’t something I wanted. It was something Verline
did.”

“So you didn’t threaten her?”

“Nope.”

“Do you know anyone else who might’ve threatened her?”

Rollie just stared at him.

Tension thickened the air.

After a minute or so, Shay prompted, “Mr. Rondeaux?”

“I have many enemies, Agent Turnbull. But none have been so bold as to threaten my
family, let alone act on it. But perhaps that’s what this is about, eh? To prove a
point to me?”

Why hadn’t I thought of revenge on Rollie as a motive for killing Verline? Rollie
was well connected, but that didn’t translate into well liked. Plenty of folks would
love to see his intricate web of favors dismantled. What better way to do that than
to put him under police suspicion that he’d killed his estranged lover?

When Rollie’s gaze connected with mine, I saw nothing in his eyes. My stomach roiled,
and my heart nearly stopped. I’d existed in that black vortex for years, and I recognized
that blank look in him; I saw
it in my own eyes in the mirror after I’d snuffed a life. And for the first time,
I realized that my friend . . . might be guilty of murder. Or more than one murder.

“What about your son?”

“Which son?” Rollie asked Turnbull, tearing his gaze away from mine.

“Junior. He lived with you and Verline for a while. Why did you kick him out?”

He said, “My prerogative,” and nothing else.

For the next four questions, Rollie gave one word answers.

I knew he was done cooperating, the chief knew he was done cooperating, but Turnbull
didn’t stop—until Carsten interrupted.

“Thanks for coming in and answering the agents’ questions, Mr. Rondeaux. But I believe
that will be sufficient for today. It’s been a tiring day for you; I can’t imagine
you’ll get much sleep, but you should go home and try. Someone from Victim Services
will be in touch in the next few days. We’re sorry for your loss.”

Rollie nodded. It took him a beat or two to push out of his chair, again reminding
me how old he’d started to look. Carsten escorted him out. Chief Looks Twice and Officer
Ferguson followed.

Shay’s voice was cutting. “Did you see how he shuffled out of here like an old man?
Trying to leave the impression that he’s harmless and helpless?”

I kept my mouth shut. Shay wasn’t asking for a response. Just thinking out loud. I
was more than a little confused. More than a little heartsick. I wanted to go home
and try to put this day behind me. I interrupted his muttering. “Are we done here,
Agent Turnbull?”

He aimed a cool gaze at me. “You are, I suppose.”

“What do you have to do?”

“Paperwork on another case. Might as well finish while I’m here.”

I stood. “Are we in the Rapid City office tomorrow? Or here?”

“Rapid City. Unless you hear otherwise.”

“See you.” I found my coat in the employee breakroom, although I had no recollection
of putting it there.

I popped the collar around my ears when the wind sideswiped me. Huge snowflakes swirled,
the effect strangely magical set against the black backdrop of the night sky and the
foggy beams from the parking lot lights. I was so entranced by the sight that I didn’t
notice the hooded figure lounging against the SUV next to my truck until I reached
the driver’s-side door.

My hand automatically went to my holster. People always ask me why I leave my coat
unbuttoned: I’d rather be cold than have buttons keep me from immediate access to
my gun. “If you’re armed, drop it. Slowly. Hands in the air.”

My voice startled him and he leaped back, throwing his arms above his head. “Jesus,
you scared the crap outta me.”

“Who is that?”

“Junior.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yeah. And
shee
, why you always pointin’ a gun at me, hey?”

“Why you always sneakin’ up on me, hey?” I held my stance. “Why are you lurking in
the parking lot?”

“Waitin’ for you.”

“Didn’t you tell me you’d be dead if Saro caught you here?” I snapped.

“I . . . can I put my damn hands down?”

I nodded, keeping my gun on him. “Why were you waiting for me?”

“I wanted to ask you about . . . Verline.” Junior lowered his hood, and I saw misery
etched on his face.

I had a bad feeling about this.

He tilted his head toward the sky and closed his eyes. Snowflakes landed on his cheeks
and melted immediately, sliding down his face like tears. “I can’t believe she’s dead.”

I let my gun fall to my side. “When was the last time you saw her?”

“Four days ago.”

“Where?”

“My place. She’d been staying with me since she’d left Rollie. We were trying to figure
out what to do.”

Oh no. He wasn’t insinuating . . .? Because that would be a total clusterfuck. “What
do you mean, what to do?”

Junior looked at me then with such an expression of desolation that my breath caught.
“I loved her. She loved me. We . . . were together, but I wanted it to be more. She
did, too, I think. Although I know she still wanted to be with Rollie.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. “How long has this been going on?”

“Started after she found out she was pregnant, less than two months after she had
Taj. Rollie didn’t want nothin’ to do with the first baby, and she knew it’d be more
of the same with the second. She hid the pregnancy from him as long as she could.
Then when Rollie found out? He stopped going home. She needed someone she could count
on.” He glanced at the ground. “That was me. I took her to the hospital when she went
into labor a month early, and I was with her in the delivery room. Those boys are
more mine than his. I, at least, wanted them. And her.”

Despite my reluctance to dig deeper into this bizarre love triangle, I knew I didn’t
have a choice, given what Nita had said about Rollie threatening to kill Verline if
he found out she was cheating on him. “Did Rollie know you and Verline had feelings
for each other? Is that why he kicked you out?”

His head snapped up. “No. He was pissed about me working for Saro. Pissed when he
found out I’d been seeing Arlette Shooting Star. But the only reason I did that—”