What Have You Done(21)

Sean tapped the remaining hairs from his razor, splashed cold water on his face, and toweled off. From the bedroom, he could hear his coffee percolating. He put on his pants and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt as he walked into the kitchen.

The knock on his door was rapid and light. Sean made his way through the living room and opened the door to find his partner standing before him.

“Jesus,” Don muttered. “You look like crap.”

“Long night. Thinking about Kerri and everything. I can’t believe this happened.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s crazy. I’m sorry for your loss. Sincerely. I didn’t know her like you guys did. I’m sorry.”

Sean stepped aside and allowed Don to walk in and take off his jacket. “You find anything?” he asked.

“Enough.”

“I was hoping Kerri would’ve gotten rid of whatever she had of her and Liam after they broke up.”

“She didn’t.”

“What’d you find?”

Don followed Sean into the kitchen. “There were piles of letters in shoeboxes and pictures of the two of them in a bunch of photo albums I found under her bed. The letters were just signed ‘Liam,’ no last name, but he’s in all the pictures. From what I read in the notes and cards, there’s no way you’d think they were just friends. There were a lot of shots showing them hugging and holding hands and planting cute kisses on each other. Puppy love kind of stuff.”

“What about pictures of me? Or you, for that matter? You’ve been out with all of us more than once.”

“No. Just Liam.”

“And these were pictures of them together?”

“Yeah.”

“Then there was someone else who knew about their relationship. A third person had to be there to take the pictures, right?”

“Maybe,” Don replied. “But really, anyone could’ve taken the pictures. I get asked by tourists all the time to take their picture. A lot of the photos looked like selfies, anyway.”

“What else?”

“I also found a toothbrush, a hairbrush, a few shirts, and a pair of pants. I don’t know if they were Liam’s, but they were men’s things, so I took them just to be safe.” Don fished the flash drive out of his pocket. “I also downloaded all the files from Kerri’s computer and then wiped it clean. I doubt Heckle or Keenan would get the tech unit involved to back trace her hard drive, but if they do, they’ll find whatever I deleted. I didn’t have the proper equipment to do a total purge.” He tossed it to his partner. “There was no time to go through anything in much detail, but I did notice an encrypted file on her hard drive. Not sure how sophisticated the encryption is, but we can have Rocco take a look at it if you want.”

“Not necessary.”

“You sure?”

Rocco was a local hacker who’d been busted on drug charges several years earlier. In exchange for probation, he’d agreed to help the department with suspects’ computers and encrypted files from known gang members. The agreement was kept off the books and confidential. Only the most trusted cops were in the loop.

Sean held the drive between his fingers, studied it for a moment, then tossed it in the garbage disposal. He flipped the switch under the window and listened as the drive was churned into nothingness. “I don’t want to see what’s on that file,” he said. “I’m afraid of what I might find, and we already know too much.”

“What if it’s proof Liam is innocent?”

“Liam is innocent.”

Sean stared into the sink where tiny shards of plastic had been tossed back up from the disposal. “I just can’t see my brother doing something like what I saw in that hotel room. I mean, you should’ve seen her hanging there. It was a mess. I’m talking torture. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was… evil.”

“I can’t see it either,” Don replied. “Not Liam. But we’ve been through too many cases like this over the years, and they’ve all ended the same. The person most likely to commit the crime is usually the one who’s guilty. You and I both know that. From what I’ve seen on this job, I think anyone is capable of anything. You need to look at this like a cop for a second and not as Liam’s brother. Ask yourself who this crime points to right now.”

“I can’t.”

“You need to look at this like Heckle and Keenan are going to be looking at this. They’re good cops. They’re going to find out about Liam’s affair with their vic.”

Sean turned back around to face Don. “Why are you so eager to pin this on Liam?”

“I’m not. I’m just saying we can’t be blind to what’s in front of us. If he was trying to rebuild his marriage and Kerri was getting in the way of that, there’s motive. You know that.”

“Kerri broke up with him.”

“What if she changed her mind and was trying to get back together with him? What if she became relentless, and he had to make her go away?”

“This is all speculation,” Sean said. “We don’t know anything. Kerri could’ve been dating six other guys. That’s why we need to stay quiet and let Heckle and Keenan do their thing. You’re right. They are good cops. They’ll find something, because I know it wasn’t my brother who did this. Liam hadn’t seen Kerri in months. Why would he kill her now?”