Sinnerman (12 page)

When I finished he turned to Trisha and said, “Are you sure?”

Coop and the chief loosened her grip but advised her not to make a move.

“Of course I’m sure,” she said. “That was him.”

***

The chief put Trisha in a room with a couple of his guys and then whisked me over to his office. Giovanni waited outside. I wasn’t sure if he was there for his brother or for me.

“What in the world is going on?” I said. “Is it really him?”

The chief sighed.

“This morning we got a tip from someone who said they saw a guy that matched the description of our sketch. Man said it was his neighbor. We’ve received tons of calls like this. Difference is, when we got to this schmucks house to question him, we found all kinds of evidence in his car.”

“What kind of evidence?” I said.

“He had Polaroid photos of the last two victims in plain site on the passenger seat of his car, and we also found two different strands of hair which we’re running now.” The chief looked me in the eye. “I know this is hard Sloane, but it looks like we got him.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sure you’re in shock,” the chief said, “no one can blame you for that.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s not that. I need to think. I suppose I can’t see him?”

The chief shook his head.

“It wouldn’t do you much good anyway, he hasn’t said much to us since we picked him up.”

“What has he said?”

“Two words. I’m innocent.”

After I finished with the chief Giovanni met up with me in the hall.

“Dinner?”

“I’m exhausted,” I said. “But thank you.”

“Some other time then?”

I nodded and made some lame excuse about how I had to leave. I needed to be alone tonight.

***

I arrived home, changed into a tank top and some grey yoga pants, and then fell back on my bed. With my thumb and pointer finger, I rubbed my temples in a circular motion. Lord Berkeley hopped up on the bed with his miniature-sized tennis ball in his mouth and dropped it three inches or so from my hand and rolled it over the rest of the way with his nose.

“Not tonight, Boo,” I said. “Mommy has to think.”

He looked at me, and I imagined if he could have frowned, he would have. After a couple minutes of staring me down, he decided I wasn’t going to budge and opted for the next best thing—he curled up next to me and took a nap. I stroked his white fur and closed my eyes. The cuffed man’s face was still ingrained in my mind, and I imagined it would remain that way forever. He looked different than I thought he would, and I didn’t know how to feel about that.

I remembered back to a time before I started dating Nick when Maddie, tired of seeing me alone, felt the incessant urge to sign me up on a dating site on the internet. Resistance was futile, and after several months had gone by, I agreed to correspond by email with a guy named Charles David. He only had a couple of profile pictures posted on the site and one was blurry, but the other—his main photo, drew me in. His hair was ash blond and fell to both sides of his face in a perfect wave just like a Ken doll, and his blue eyes reminded me of the water in the Bahamas. But what hooked me was his smile. It was the kind of smile a person could look at forever. We emailed for a couple weeks until I was brave enough to meet. I set the time and place, and while I sat at the restaurant and waited, I tried my best to quell the nerves inside me. And then it was time; he walked in dressed in a white polo shirt just like he said he’d have on and a pair of jeans. But there was just one problem. He didn’t look a thing like the Charles David in the photo, and after a couple minutes of interrogation, he admitted the picture was of his brother—his married brother, Simon David. And that put an end to our date and my stint at online dating.

I thought back to the guy I’d seen that day, the alleged Sinnerman. When we locked eyes I was shocked to find they didn’t look like the eyes of a killer. They weren’t evil like I thought they’d be—they were scared, and for a brief moment—terrified. He looked more like a child who’d just been caught stealing a piece of candy at the grocery store and worried what kind of trouble he was going to be in when the store manager called his parents.

And there was something else that bothered me: his stature. He walked with a slight limp, and I wasn’t sure why, and he had a tiny frame, almost smaller than that of a woman. He looked like a lightweight, and I couldn’t imagine he weighed more than 155 pounds. At that size, it was hard for me to believe he had the power to overtake one woman, let alone several.

I was jostled out of my thoughts by the sound of Lord Berkeley sprinting off the bed when my doorbell rang. I squeezed my eyes open and closed a few times to bring myself back to life and then reached for my 9mm on the nightstand.

I advanced down the hall to the door and shouted, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. Just wanted to see how you were doing.”

I opened the door and Giovanni presented me with the most beautiful arrangement of flowers I’d ever seen.

He eyed my gun and then my dog, who flashed his entire set of pearly whites.

“9mm, nice choice. You pick that out yourself?”

I nodded and invited him inside.

“I’m doing fine,” I said. “Any news?”

He shook his head.

“These are beautiful,” I said, and pointed to the plant with purple flowers he’d just given me. “What are they?”

“Aquilegia vulgaris.”

“I didn’t know you could get flowers like this around here,” I said.

He grinned.

“You can’t.”

“Do you want to sit down?” I said.

“I can’t stay, but I’m glad to see you’re doing so well.”

I found it odd that he drove all the way over just to assess my wellness.

“Do you know about the summer concert series here in town?” he said.

“I go every year.”

“Tomorrow night they have a great lineup. I purchased tickets for the two of us.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “So much is happening right now with the case and everything and things have developed so fast that I should—”

“That’s why this is the perfect escape. You need a night away from this where you can sit back and unwind and take your mind off everything.”

I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. Giovanni smiled at Lord Berkeley and extended his hand out to him. Lord Berkeley snapped his jaw together in response. I scooped him up and excused myself and shut him in the bedroom.

“It’s not a good idea to try and pet him until he knows you,” I said.

Giovanni nodded.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “Pick you up at seven tomorrow night?”

“See you then.”

Months that included warm weather were my favorite of the year, and summer in Park City was no exception. Skiers had packed up and gone home to await the next season, and the town was replaced with cyclists, golfers, and those who enjoyed the warm weather and the great outdoors, and that group included me. On Wednesdays, the Farmer’s Market lured both residents and seasonal visitors with its wide array of locally grown fruits and vegetables and other novelties. And then there was the annual food and wine festival in July which lasted four days and celebrated at the end with a night of jazz, food from some of the best local restaurants in town, and wine tasting. But one of my favorite events was the summer concert series held at one of the local ski resorts, and tonight I would take my spot on the lawn alongside Giovanni and partake of the cool summer breeze Park City’s air had to offer.

I selected a summery black tank dress for the evening and low peep-toe heels that mimicked the shade of my dress. Giovanni arrived on time and had forgone the suit, and for the time first time since we met, he was dressed in designer jeans and a fitted polo shirt. I always had the impression that he was on the slender side: but the shirt showed off something I hadn’t expected, a toned physique that hadn’t been shaped overnight. It was a different side of him, and I expected it was one of many.

“You look beautiful,” he said when we arrived at the car.

I reached for the handle.

“Let me get that for you,” he said.

I smiled and waited like a high school girl on her first date for him to advance around the side of the car and open my door. There was no way I could ever get used to him doing that for me, it was just too weird.

***

The grassy area that surrounded the outdoor amphitheater was littered with blankets and picnic baskets that had been packed with a wide array of different items from tea sandwiches to bottles of wine. Everyone seemed content just to be there to take in such a perfect night.

“I should have brought a blanket,” I said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I walked out the door and forgot all about it.”

Giovanni turned and smiled at me with his usual laid back attitude and then extended his right hand out with his palm up.

“Here we are,” he said.

On the grass in front of us was an entire set up—a blanket had been spread out, and in the middle of it was an open basket full of food and wine. He’d thought of everything.

“I see you went ahead,” I said.

“I had someone take care of this earlier,” he said. “Does this work for you?”

We were in the exact center of the lawn about a quarter up from the stage with a perfect view of the amphitheater.

I nodded.

Right before the first act came out, Giovanni reached into the basket next to him and pulled out two glasses.

“Red or white wine?” he said. “I wasn’t sure, so I brought both.”

“Red.”

He nodded and poured.

“I’d like to know more about you,” he said.

“I was thinking the same thing about you.”

“Ladies first.”

“Alright then,” I said. “Ask away.”

“Have you always lived here?”

“Not always. I grew up in a small town in California.”

“Why move?”

“My grandfather lived here. When I was a kid, I spent my summers here with my sister.”

“Gabrielle?”

I nodded.

“She was my only sibling,” I said. “It was always just the two of us. After I graduated, I came out for a visit and decided to stay, and I’ve been here ever since. Gabby stayed in California for a while and then joined me here about five years ago.”

“Ever marry?”

“Once,” I said.

“Hmm.”

“We were young,” I said. “Too young. And so different from each other. At the time I thought he was everything I could ask for in a person, but when I look back now, I realize I couldn’t have known what I wanted at the time. He saw things one way, and I saw things in another, and the two didn’t coincide. But even then, it was hard for me to walk away.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“When I commit to something or someone,” I said, “I’m all in, and it’s hard for me to back down from that, even when I know it’s the right thing to do.”

“But you did.”

I took a sip of wine, but what I really wanted was to grab the bottle and polish it off in one long swallow. It wasn’t easy for me to open up, and I was miles away from my comfort zone, but if I expected him to reciprocate, I knew I had to offer something.

“He started drinking,” I said. “At first it was just a few beers here and there, but the months forged on and January turned into June, and by that time he was a full-blown alcoholic.”

“Do you know what caused him to get that way?”

“Some days I thought it was me,” I said.

Giovanni’s hand grazed my knee.

“I doubt that.”

“He wanted kids. I think he thought kids would solve our problems, and that if I got pregnant, I wouldn’t leave.”

“And you didn’t?”

“I’ve always wanted children; it’s just that I haven’t been able to…”

What was I doing? I’d divulged more to Giovanni in a couple hours than I had with Nick in three years together.

“How did it end?”

“At the time I wanted to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and join the FBI, and I was taking steps to begin that process, and he didn’t approve. He actually told me he wouldn’t stand for it, like my life was at his discretion. It was too much. I left, and I never went back.”

“And now?”

“I live life on my terms.”

He grinned and shook his head.

“I meant to say, how is your relationship with Detective Calhoun?”

Somehow I knew he would come up.

“Hard to explain,” I said.

“But you do have one?”

“Had,” I said. “I ended it about a week ago.”

It was all I wanted to say on the subject. Giovanni was quiet for several moments before he spoke again.

“I never thought Detective Calhoun was the right man for you.”

How could he possibly know whether he was or wasn’t?

“Ah, I can tell from the look on your face that I’ve offended you,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said. “It’s just that you hardly know me. Nick isn’t such a bad guy. I’m just at a point in my life where I…”

What was it with me tonight? In one evening I’d turned into Chatty Cathy.

“When I look at you I see an independent woman, one who doesn’t take no for an answer. Someone who never backs down from a challenge. You’re as passionate about the cases you take on as the clients you work for. You like being in a relationship, but you don’t need it to survive. Would you like me to go on?”

I wanted to say something, but what, I didn’t know. He continued.

“I believe what happened to your sister affected you in a profound way, and that you’ve never gotten past it, even though you’ve tried. Somehow you’ve persuaded yourself to believe that once you catch the killer things will change, but deep down you know it will never bring you the peace of mind you long for. There will always be a void in your life, a hole that can’t be replaced. I too have lost the people I love—those closest to me. You learn to live with it, move on, and you do because you have to. But the pain doesn’t ever go away, not all of it.”