A Stranger on the Beach(77)

Caroline went white as a ghost. “He could get out? But he’d come after me. My daughter, my sister. They’re not safe.”

“I don’t think he’ll get out. Callahan’s in the holding cell right now, and they’ll be transferring him to the state prison tonight, where he’ll stay until he’s brought to court. We’re getting ready to file formal charges. Once the charges are filed, he gets a bail hearing. The more evidence we have, the more likely he gets remanded to custody instead of getting bail. That’s why we needed to go through this lengthy interview tonight, and it’s why I need you to sign this search form. Please, it’s important.”

Jess placed the form in front of Caroline, who seemed almost put out as she scrawled her name. Who could blame the poor woman? Her nerves must be shattered at this point.

“Thank you,” Jess said. “And so you know, we’re following up on other search locations as well. The murder weapon hasn’t been found. Neither has—”

“You didn’t find the gun? Did you look in his truck?”

“The truck’s been towed to the lab. The lab is closed because of the storm. As soon as they reopen, our case is top priority.”

“Can’t someone go look inside the truck?” Caroline asked.

“There’s a lot of blood in the truck,” Jess said, as gently as possible. “That blood is evidence. They didn’t want to disturb it, so when they didn’t see a gun sitting in the open, they stopped searching.”

“But if they would just look, I’m sure they could find it right away.”

“The crime scene team is taking over because they have special training. It does mean a brief delay, but it’s the best thing for the case. We need the blood, Mrs. Stark, because we haven’t been able, we haven’t—”

Jess looked down at the table, unsure how best to phrase this. But there was no right way.

“Jason. Jason hasn’t been found. That’s what you mean.”

“That’s right. I’m sorry. Callahan lawyered up. He wouldn’t say what he did with the body. Based on your statement, I think we should be looking in the cave you mentioned, which is on the same beach where Callahan was arrested. Right now, it’s not accessible due to storm surge. I promise we’ll get inside it as soon as humanly possible. We want to find Jason before the evidence is literally washed away. And I know you want to bring him home.”

Caroline’s eyes were large, dark blue, and haunted. She was a beautiful woman, though how that would play in court under the circumstances, Jess couldn’t be sure. A jury might hold it against her.

“He’ll end up at the bottom of the ocean. It’s cold there. So cold,” Caroline said, and looked away.

“I didn’t mean to suggest that. We don’t know where he is, but wherever he is, we’ll find him. I promise.”

Caroline took a Kleenex from the box on the table and pressed it to her eyes.

“Mrs. Stark,” Jess said. “I’m going to check if your sister came to pick you up yet. Apparently, there’s some pretty bad flooding, but hopefully she was able to make it. In the meantime, can I get you something to eat or drink? Oh, and—would you like me to put you in touch with a grief counselor?”

“I couldn’t possibly eat, and I don’t need a counselor. Lieutenant, if you want to help me, please, keep Aidan in jail. After what he did, I’ll never feel safe if he’s out.”

“You are safe. Mrs. Stark, your safety is our top priority. You have my word. Aidan Callahan won’t get anywhere near you.”

Mike Castro knocked on the door of the interview room.

“Your sister’s here, ma’am. She’s waiting in the lobby.”

“Let me walk you out,” Jess said. “I’d like to get Lynn’s contact information and set up an interview about that incident where Callahan tried to run her off the road.”

Jess and Caroline stepped into the hallway, which was much noisier and more crowded than it had been when the interview began hours earlier. The station house now appeared to be functioning as the town’s emergency storm ops center. Firefighters and EMTs mingled with the cops. Several men wearing waders ran back and forth carrying equipment. Everybody looked tired and grim, and some of them were drenched. Jess looked at them and wondered whether her search warrants and labs tests would get the attention they deserved. Working a homicide case in the middle of a natural disaster was not going to be easy.

Jess took Caroline’s arm and steered her through the crowd. As they reached the end of the hall, a door to their right swung open. An officer stepped out, leading a prisoner in a blue jumpsuit and manacles. Before anyone could react, he’d lunged forward, evading the officer’s grip, and grabbed Caroline fiercely with his manacled hands.

“Tell me,” he said, his eyes wild, his mouth working furiously. “I have to know. Did I kill Jason? Or did you? Did you kill him, Caroline?”

The officer threw his arms around Callahan’s waist and wrestled him to the ground. But Callahan’s grip on Caroline was so powerful that she went down with them, screaming.

“Get him off her!” Jess said, falling to her knees beside them.

She reached over and tried to pry the prisoner’s hands from her witness’s clothing. But Callahan refused to let go. It was like he had superhuman strength. In the middle of the scrum, he seemed almost calm, looking directly into Caroline’s eyes.