I parked my own car to avoid bumping into
anyone and took the service elevator up to my place. Everyone
wants to, you know, talk about the team and the playoffs, and
Jesus! Are we really having this conversation? Jessica, dead?”
“Will jumped back into the act. “Yeah, dead. Murdered,
just like I said. You got a problem hearing? We can get someone
to sign for you…. So let’s try to move along with this. When did
you finally see or speak to someone?”
Kyle’s color was somewhere short of white. “Not until
this morning when I got to practice.”
“Are you okay?” Karen couldn’t stop herself from
interceding. He looked as though he was going to be sick.
Kyle nodded unconvincingly.
Kaufman jumped right back in. “You’re a pretty damn
good actor, Sands. You must’ve been rehearsing your reaction
all night long. But getting all dewy eyed doesn’t mean you didn’t
kill her.”
Kyle looked at him and asked, “Do I need an attorney
here?”
“Oh, I dunno. Do you?”
Clearly at a loss, Kyle turned to Karen and said, “Look, I
don’t even know how she was killed.”
“She was beaten to death.”
He closed his eyes and slumped down in his chair. Then
he asked, “Was she raped?”
“We’re waiting for results from the lab. I have to ask
you this. Did you have sexual relations with Jessica last night?”
Karen gnawed on her bottom lip. All her old feelings
about her brother’s handsome friend came rushing back and she
was feeling more like a little girl with a crush than a police
officer conducting a murder investigation.
Kyle looked as though she’d told him his fly was open.
“Sexual relations?”
The short thread of patience Will had exercised until
now broke. “My partner asked whether you got laid last night
before you took off from Ms. Benson’s apartment. Did you fuck
her? Maybe that’s easier for you to comprehend?”
Karen knew that she and Will were close enough for him
to recognize she was off her game. Close enough, in fact, that he
probably suspected that it was Kyle who was throwing her off.
She tried to unclench her jaw and get her poker face back to
preclude any further showdowns with him.
“No, it wasn’t like that. I had planned to break things off
with her. I didn’t want to go to the party. But Jessica did, and she
usually got her way. As soon as I got her home I ended things.
There was plenty of arguing, but definitely no sex.”
Karen could not hold back. “You understand we have to
ask you these questions. We don’t mean to be insensitive, but we
have to move quickly to find out as much as we can as fast as we
can. Time is critical.”
She hoped he recognized what she was doing and felt
better when he nodded to her.
But Will pressed on. “So your story is that you left her
around eleven and didn’t speak to her again?”
“That’s right. I was planning to call her today after
practice and well, you know, try to clean up loose ends.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘loose ends’?”
“It’s just an expression, Detective Kaufman. I don’t like
burning my bridges with people.” He paused for a short moment,
and then, as though he’d had a second thought, said, “It’s called
manners. My mom taught me.”
Karen tried to suppress a smile as Will was boiling over.
“You think you’re real funny, don’t you?”
“Not really, but I do think I’m being harassed, and I’m
getting tired of it. My inclination is to call my attorney and let
you deal with him. So we can handle it that way or just finish
this up with the three of us, okay?”
Will grunted. “So, just how upset was she when you
dumped her?”
Kyle remembered hearing that the less you say to a cop,
the better your chance of not incriminating yourself. “We were
both pretty upset, and hurt.”
Karen spoke his name and he looked at her. Their eyes
caught and his heart did a somersault. She was ions away from
the annoying little girl he had known, and she was clearly trying
to buffer her
anyone and took the service elevator up to my place. Everyone
wants to, you know, talk about the team and the playoffs, and
Jesus! Are we really having this conversation? Jessica, dead?”
“Will jumped back into the act. “Yeah, dead. Murdered,
just like I said. You got a problem hearing? We can get someone
to sign for you…. So let’s try to move along with this. When did
you finally see or speak to someone?”
Kyle’s color was somewhere short of white. “Not until
this morning when I got to practice.”
“Are you okay?” Karen couldn’t stop herself from
interceding. He looked as though he was going to be sick.
Kyle nodded unconvincingly.
Kaufman jumped right back in. “You’re a pretty damn
good actor, Sands. You must’ve been rehearsing your reaction
all night long. But getting all dewy eyed doesn’t mean you didn’t
kill her.”
Kyle looked at him and asked, “Do I need an attorney
here?”
“Oh, I dunno. Do you?”
Clearly at a loss, Kyle turned to Karen and said, “Look, I
don’t even know how she was killed.”
“She was beaten to death.”
He closed his eyes and slumped down in his chair. Then
he asked, “Was she raped?”
“We’re waiting for results from the lab. I have to ask
you this. Did you have sexual relations with Jessica last night?”
Karen gnawed on her bottom lip. All her old feelings
about her brother’s handsome friend came rushing back and she
was feeling more like a little girl with a crush than a police
officer conducting a murder investigation.
Kyle looked as though she’d told him his fly was open.
“Sexual relations?”
The short thread of patience Will had exercised until
now broke. “My partner asked whether you got laid last night
before you took off from Ms. Benson’s apartment. Did you fuck
her? Maybe that’s easier for you to comprehend?”
Karen knew that she and Will were close enough for him
to recognize she was off her game. Close enough, in fact, that he
probably suspected that it was Kyle who was throwing her off.
She tried to unclench her jaw and get her poker face back to
preclude any further showdowns with him.
“No, it wasn’t like that. I had planned to break things off
with her. I didn’t want to go to the party. But Jessica did, and she
usually got her way. As soon as I got her home I ended things.
There was plenty of arguing, but definitely no sex.”
Karen could not hold back. “You understand we have to
ask you these questions. We don’t mean to be insensitive, but we
have to move quickly to find out as much as we can as fast as we
can. Time is critical.”
She hoped he recognized what she was doing and felt
better when he nodded to her.
But Will pressed on. “So your story is that you left her
around eleven and didn’t speak to her again?”
“That’s right. I was planning to call her today after
practice and well, you know, try to clean up loose ends.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘loose ends’?”
“It’s just an expression, Detective Kaufman. I don’t like
burning my bridges with people.” He paused for a short moment,
and then, as though he’d had a second thought, said, “It’s called
manners. My mom taught me.”
Karen tried to suppress a smile as Will was boiling over.
“You think you’re real funny, don’t you?”
“Not really, but I do think I’m being harassed, and I’m
getting tired of it. My inclination is to call my attorney and let
you deal with him. So we can handle it that way or just finish
this up with the three of us, okay?”
Will grunted. “So, just how upset was she when you
dumped her?”
Kyle remembered hearing that the less you say to a cop,
the better your chance of not incriminating yourself. “We were
both pretty upset, and hurt.”
Karen spoke his name and he looked at her. Their eyes
caught and his heart did a somersault. She was ions away from
the annoying little girl he had known, and she was clearly trying
to buffer her
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