Mortal Crimes: 7 Novels of Suspense by Brett Battles, Robert Gregory Browne, Melissa F. Miller, J. Carson Black, Michael Wallace, M A Comley, Carol Davis Luce
Authors: Brett Battles, Robert Gregory Browne, Melissa F. Miller, J. Carson Black, Michael Wallace, M A Comley, Carol Davis Luce
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Genre Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense
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but it didn't pan out, and the guy was all right.”
“We need to know if he moved.”
“I can get that info for you,” Rory volunteered.
Laura said, “That's okay. We can do that.”
His joviality turned to sullenness in an instant. “That figures.”
Laura was getting tired of babying him. “What kind of restaurant did the Groves family have?”
“Deli. They didn't actually cook anything on the premises, unless you count using a microwave.”
“Did you talk to their workers?”
“What do you think? One was a young kid, the other was a middle-aged woman. Neither one of them struck me as the type who'd kill a little girl.”
“How old was the kid?”
“Twenty or so. But you got it wrong. He was gay as a three-dollar bill. Made me want to wash my hands afterward, just talkin' to him, he was such a fairy. Just made me a sandwich, too; when I found out he was the one who made it, I threw it in the trash.”
The more she saw of this man, the more she disliked him. She made sure to keep her expression and her voice neutral. “Just remind me. What were Kristy's actions the day she disappeared?”
“She helped prepare stuff at the deli in the morning, then she went over to her friend's house, must have been early afternoon. They hung out for a while, and she walked home. She only lived a couple of blocks away. Disappeared on the way back.”
Laura knew all this from the notes she'd been copied on. She had been over it several times since she got the cold case last year, but it was better to hear it from the investigator. She listened carefully to his inflection, so she could get a feeling for his prejudices and what interested him most. He seemed to have a low opinion of the girl, but not the parents. In his mind, the parents were hard-working and decent, and the child had let them down. Did that affect the way he saw Kristy? Did it affect how hard he had worked to find her killer? Did he think Kristy had come to a bad end due to her own actions?
Jaime shifted on his stool. Uncomfortable, Laura thought. Such a big man, he probably didn't find many chairs to accommodate him. “Nobody saw her,” he said.
“Nope. Nobody. Like she disappeared into thin air.”
Laura thought he might have said this a few times; it had the sound of a well-grooved path in his tongue.
Laura and Jaime went over the other information: Kristy's schoolmates, her boyfriends—plural, Flynn had added darkly—and the people in the neighborhood, including a registered sex offender. The registered sex offender had been in jail at the time on another charge.
Laura said, “Did you make the link to Micaela Brashear's disappearance right away?”
“Pretty much. I contacted the TPD detective, can't remember his name now—it's in the report—and it happened pretty much the way I wrote it. He wasn't very forthcoming.”
Laura had read the report several times, but wanted his answer anyway. “Why was that?”
“I think it was because Kristy was so much older. Fourteen, that's a teenager. He really got hung up on that. You know, how a lot of these creeps like kids a certain age? He had a point.”
Laura knew how particular child molesters and child killers could be. “So it went nowhere?”
“Like talking to a stone wall.”
“What about Jenny Carmichael?”
“That was much easier. The Brashear kid and the Carmichael kid were almost the same age. Plus Mt. Lemmon's our jurisdiction, and I worked pretty closely with Artie Schiller.”
Laura remembered how thorough Schiller's report was. He had assembled it as a case file, even though technically the child was considered missing, not dead.
“You know Artie's dead, don't you?” Rory said. “Heart attack. Guy ran in marathons and everything. Guess when it's your time, it's your time, doesn't matter how much frigging granola you eat.” He leaned back, beaming with self-satisfaction. “So what are you going to do now?” he added.
As a courtesy, Laura told him; he'd find
“We need to know if he moved.”
“I can get that info for you,” Rory volunteered.
Laura said, “That's okay. We can do that.”
His joviality turned to sullenness in an instant. “That figures.”
Laura was getting tired of babying him. “What kind of restaurant did the Groves family have?”
“Deli. They didn't actually cook anything on the premises, unless you count using a microwave.”
“Did you talk to their workers?”
“What do you think? One was a young kid, the other was a middle-aged woman. Neither one of them struck me as the type who'd kill a little girl.”
“How old was the kid?”
“Twenty or so. But you got it wrong. He was gay as a three-dollar bill. Made me want to wash my hands afterward, just talkin' to him, he was such a fairy. Just made me a sandwich, too; when I found out he was the one who made it, I threw it in the trash.”
The more she saw of this man, the more she disliked him. She made sure to keep her expression and her voice neutral. “Just remind me. What were Kristy's actions the day she disappeared?”
“She helped prepare stuff at the deli in the morning, then she went over to her friend's house, must have been early afternoon. They hung out for a while, and she walked home. She only lived a couple of blocks away. Disappeared on the way back.”
Laura knew all this from the notes she'd been copied on. She had been over it several times since she got the cold case last year, but it was better to hear it from the investigator. She listened carefully to his inflection, so she could get a feeling for his prejudices and what interested him most. He seemed to have a low opinion of the girl, but not the parents. In his mind, the parents were hard-working and decent, and the child had let them down. Did that affect the way he saw Kristy? Did it affect how hard he had worked to find her killer? Did he think Kristy had come to a bad end due to her own actions?
Jaime shifted on his stool. Uncomfortable, Laura thought. Such a big man, he probably didn't find many chairs to accommodate him. “Nobody saw her,” he said.
“Nope. Nobody. Like she disappeared into thin air.”
Laura thought he might have said this a few times; it had the sound of a well-grooved path in his tongue.
Laura and Jaime went over the other information: Kristy's schoolmates, her boyfriends—plural, Flynn had added darkly—and the people in the neighborhood, including a registered sex offender. The registered sex offender had been in jail at the time on another charge.
Laura said, “Did you make the link to Micaela Brashear's disappearance right away?”
“Pretty much. I contacted the TPD detective, can't remember his name now—it's in the report—and it happened pretty much the way I wrote it. He wasn't very forthcoming.”
Laura had read the report several times, but wanted his answer anyway. “Why was that?”
“I think it was because Kristy was so much older. Fourteen, that's a teenager. He really got hung up on that. You know, how a lot of these creeps like kids a certain age? He had a point.”
Laura knew how particular child molesters and child killers could be. “So it went nowhere?”
“Like talking to a stone wall.”
“What about Jenny Carmichael?”
“That was much easier. The Brashear kid and the Carmichael kid were almost the same age. Plus Mt. Lemmon's our jurisdiction, and I worked pretty closely with Artie Schiller.”
Laura remembered how thorough Schiller's report was. He had assembled it as a case file, even though technically the child was considered missing, not dead.
“You know Artie's dead, don't you?” Rory said. “Heart attack. Guy ran in marathons and everything. Guess when it's your time, it's your time, doesn't matter how much frigging granola you eat.” He leaned back, beaming with self-satisfaction. “So what are you going to do now?” he added.
As a courtesy, Laura told him; he'd find
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