kind of threat?"
Ewyn shrugged. "Take it any way you want."
"I'll eventually get the answers I'm looking for, one way or another."
"Good luck with that." Ewyn snorted. "Now, about the accident…"
"Fine. Do you know anyone who would want to hurt your nieces? Someone connected to your brother's business?"
"What are you saying, Detective? It wasn't an accident." Ewyn glanced down at Kiera and smiled. Her eyes were starting to close, but she reflexively continued to suck on the nipple.
"Oh, it was an accident, all right. However, your brother's disappearance without a trace, combined with evidence of someone else being in your niece's car, brings up a multitude of questions about the cause of the accident." Patterson looked directly at Ewyn. "We found a gun in the car. Carolyn died from a gunshot wound."
"What!" Ewyn shouted, startling Kiera, who jerked awake, eyes wide, hands trembling, and her little legs stiffening. " Shh-yit ," he hissed in an undertone. "How come I wasn't given that information at the hospital? Or when you came to the estate." He eased off the sofa. "Wait. Let me put Kieki in her crib." He hurried into the bedroom, settled Kiera in her bed, turned on the baby monitor, and then turned on the stereo, which had become part of their nightly routine.
Once, when the ringing of his phone had disturbed Kiera, through trial and error, he had discovered music could soothe her back to sleep. Since then, he just turned on the music as soon as he put her to bed then nothing disturbed her.
He put George Winston's December CD into the disc player, adjusted the volume, and dimmed the bedroom lights as he left the room. He strode over to the sofa, snatched his beer off the coffee table and took a long swig, then started pacing.
"Let's hear it."
"I didn't have the information when I came to the Calderone estate, and you showed up at the hospital right after the girls had died. Hospital personnel only had time for minimum cleanup for proper identification. The younger girl wasn't stripped until the bodies were removed to the morgue." Patterson paused. "If you'll recall, I've been trying to connect with you…left messages with your attorney, yet you didn't feel the need to respond."
"Yeah. Some people have that effect on me." Ewyn stopped pacing and sat down. "And your messages weren't specific. Why didn't you tell my attorney?"
"There are some details I don't like discussing on the phone," Patterson snapped. "Besides, when I received the information, there was nothing anyone could have done to change the outcome. As uncouth as you may think I am, I didn't think I should interrupt the funeral with that type of news."
"Uh-huh. Or you decided to play out your version of check…checkmate?"
"Listen. No one thought to examine her before she reached the morgue, since all outward appearances suggested she had died like her sister, as the result of injuries sustained in the crash. The small caliber of the gun made the wound unnoticeable until the medical examiner x-rayed her body, and discovered the bullet," he explained. "Because of the nature of her injuries, an autopsy wasn't a priority, and the ME didn't get to her until the day before the mortuary retrieved the bodies. Hell. Even after finding the gun in the car, quite a few women carry guns, the Calderone name came up--"
"The assumption being people like the Calderones carry guns and deserve whatever happens to them, right?" Eyes narrowing, Ewyn held his temper in check. "Go on."
"Mister Kelley. If I had suspected anything but a tragic car accident, I would have pursued my suspicion from day one, as diligently as any other homicide, regardless of the Calderone name," Patterson declared. "I have been pursuing it from the moment I became aware a crime had been committed, without your family's cooperation, and despite the FBI's interference. I'll continue to do so until it's resolved. However, at this point, I need answers and cooperation from you and your family
Ewyn shrugged. "Take it any way you want."
"I'll eventually get the answers I'm looking for, one way or another."
"Good luck with that." Ewyn snorted. "Now, about the accident…"
"Fine. Do you know anyone who would want to hurt your nieces? Someone connected to your brother's business?"
"What are you saying, Detective? It wasn't an accident." Ewyn glanced down at Kiera and smiled. Her eyes were starting to close, but she reflexively continued to suck on the nipple.
"Oh, it was an accident, all right. However, your brother's disappearance without a trace, combined with evidence of someone else being in your niece's car, brings up a multitude of questions about the cause of the accident." Patterson looked directly at Ewyn. "We found a gun in the car. Carolyn died from a gunshot wound."
"What!" Ewyn shouted, startling Kiera, who jerked awake, eyes wide, hands trembling, and her little legs stiffening. " Shh-yit ," he hissed in an undertone. "How come I wasn't given that information at the hospital? Or when you came to the estate." He eased off the sofa. "Wait. Let me put Kieki in her crib." He hurried into the bedroom, settled Kiera in her bed, turned on the baby monitor, and then turned on the stereo, which had become part of their nightly routine.
Once, when the ringing of his phone had disturbed Kiera, through trial and error, he had discovered music could soothe her back to sleep. Since then, he just turned on the music as soon as he put her to bed then nothing disturbed her.
He put George Winston's December CD into the disc player, adjusted the volume, and dimmed the bedroom lights as he left the room. He strode over to the sofa, snatched his beer off the coffee table and took a long swig, then started pacing.
"Let's hear it."
"I didn't have the information when I came to the Calderone estate, and you showed up at the hospital right after the girls had died. Hospital personnel only had time for minimum cleanup for proper identification. The younger girl wasn't stripped until the bodies were removed to the morgue." Patterson paused. "If you'll recall, I've been trying to connect with you…left messages with your attorney, yet you didn't feel the need to respond."
"Yeah. Some people have that effect on me." Ewyn stopped pacing and sat down. "And your messages weren't specific. Why didn't you tell my attorney?"
"There are some details I don't like discussing on the phone," Patterson snapped. "Besides, when I received the information, there was nothing anyone could have done to change the outcome. As uncouth as you may think I am, I didn't think I should interrupt the funeral with that type of news."
"Uh-huh. Or you decided to play out your version of check…checkmate?"
"Listen. No one thought to examine her before she reached the morgue, since all outward appearances suggested she had died like her sister, as the result of injuries sustained in the crash. The small caliber of the gun made the wound unnoticeable until the medical examiner x-rayed her body, and discovered the bullet," he explained. "Because of the nature of her injuries, an autopsy wasn't a priority, and the ME didn't get to her until the day before the mortuary retrieved the bodies. Hell. Even after finding the gun in the car, quite a few women carry guns, the Calderone name came up--"
"The assumption being people like the Calderones carry guns and deserve whatever happens to them, right?" Eyes narrowing, Ewyn held his temper in check. "Go on."
"Mister Kelley. If I had suspected anything but a tragic car accident, I would have pursued my suspicion from day one, as diligently as any other homicide, regardless of the Calderone name," Patterson declared. "I have been pursuing it from the moment I became aware a crime had been committed, without your family's cooperation, and despite the FBI's interference. I'll continue to do so until it's resolved. However, at this point, I need answers and cooperation from you and your family
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