The Night Shift(58)

Keller tilts her head to the side. She feels like shit, but Hal’s the only prosecutor she knows who was on the task force back in the day. Pointedly, she says, “We also think that someone left out a key detail from the investigatory file: something the killer said to Ella Monroe.”

Hal studies her again, frown lines appearing between his eyes. “This is why I recommended you to Stan, you know?”

Keller doesn’t understand.

“You don’t fuck around. I can count on one hand how many people would’ve had the stones to ask me that question.”

“Hal, I didn’t mean to—”

Hal holds up a hand. “Don’t you dare back down.”

His eyes remain fixed on hers. She forces herself not to look away. He seems pissed, but there’s also reverence in his gaze.

“To answer your question: you’re barking up the wrong tree. I didn’t—I don’t—know any of the families of the victims personally. And Ella Monroe never told me the perp said something to her. That’s not something I would’ve left out of the file for any reason.”

Keller feels heat in her face.

“Any other questions?”

Keller has some, but she decides they can wait. She shakes her head.

“Then it sounds like you’ve got some work to do. Talk to HR; they’ll have records of everybody who worked here during the investigation.”

“Thank you, Hal.”

His phone rings again, but this time he picks it up, dismissing Keller without a word.





CHAPTER 52


ELLA





“Why did you threaten Madison Sawyer?” Ella asks for the third time.

The interview room in the juvenile facility is cramped, hot, and smells of cleaning products. Next to Ella are the public defenders, Henry and Julia. The other public defender, the handsome one, didn’t come with them this morning. The lawyers have thus far been mere spectators, letting Ella do the questioning until Jesse warms up to them.

Across the table, Jesse’s arms are folded across her chest, which seems to be her favorite pose. “I didn’t threaten anyone.”

“We have the prosecution file now, Jesse. We’ve seen the texts,” Ella says. There are several angry texts. The last says: You’ll be sorry.

One of Madison Sawyer’s classmates gave the detectives screenshots. The texts don’t say what the girls were fighting about.

Jesse’s jaw is set. “Show me. Show me one place where I threatened her.”

That’s true enough. There’s no explicit threat to the seventeen-year-old girl who died at the ice cream store along with her younger sister and their manager. But You’ll be sorry along with Jesse’s research on the Blockbuster case could be enough for a jury to convict. Not to mention that Jesse lied to the detectives about why she’d gone to the ice cream shop.

“Why were you and Madison in a fight?”

Jesse’s mouth is a slit.

“Jesse, you told your lawyers you’d talk to me. So talk to me.”

Henry finally says something. “We can’t help you, if you won’t open up, Jessica.”

“Fine, I’ll defend myself.”

Ella lets out an exasperated breath. “You told me girls at school had been talking bad about you.” She remembers Jesse’s explanation when they were at Phyllis’s house: “She was talking shit about me.”

Jesse sits in silence. At last, she says, “She was telling everyone I was like a porn queen. That I slept with my teacher at my last school and let him take pictures…”

“Mr. Parke?” Ella asks.

Jesse’s surprised. Ella can see it on her face.

“How’d you—”

“I met with him. I didn’t know he had anything to do with your fight with Madison. I just wanted to understand your history a little better.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Jesse glances at Henry, then at the table.

Henry seems to read the room: Jesse doesn’t want to talk about it in front of him. He stands. “I’m going to get some coffee. Can I get anyone anything? Jesse, would you like some water or a Coke?”

Jesse shakes her head. She whispers “Thank you” in a barely audible tone.

After Henry is out of the room, Ella says, “I know it’s hard, but we can’t help you if you don’t fill us in. It took me fifteen minutes to find Mr. Parke. How long do you think it will take the prosecution to find him? Or a journalist who’s as skilled as you are?” Ella throws in the compliment, which tends to help draw people out.

Jesse’s face is pained now. “I thought we were friends. He said I was talented, like really talented, and he was helping me get a job at the local newspaper. And then he…” She trails off.

“And then he what, Jesse? It’s okay to talk about it.” Ella thinks about Chad Parke’s tale of a young girl obsessed, a woman scorned, setting him up, ruining his life.

“Mr. Parke asked me to come over to talk through some ideas he had on how I can dig deeper on my Blockbuster piece. He used to have pizza parties at his apartment for the whole newspaper staff, so I thought other kids would be there. But when I got there we were, like, alone.”

Ella feels acid rising in her throat. “And what happened?”