What Have You Done(47)
“Sure. Not certain what you think you’re gonna find, though. Must’ve been a dozen rain-or snowstorms since then to wash away any evidence.”
“I’m not looking for evidence. Just want to get a general sense of the town. Put myself in her shoes. See what she saw.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
What Liam wasn’t telling any of them was that he needed to see the motel and the area where JB worked to see if there was a memory that would jog loose or if his world would continue to drown in waves of amnesia.
He needed to see if this girl’s death could, in any way, point to him.
34
The men sat around a large conference table on the executive floor of the precinct. Sean, Lieutenant Phillips, and Sean’s PBA lawyer, Paul Brown, sat on one side. The detectives from Internal Affairs, Farmer and Nix, sat on the other. Paul Brown was an older man, perhaps in his sixties. He had a thick mat of white hair and a matching white mustache that dominated his face. Nix was short, balding, and slightly unkempt. His tie was pulled down a bit, his top button unfastened. Farmer was taller and more physically fit than his partner. His suit fit him well, his tie appropriately up under his collar. Cuff links glistened in the overhead lighting.
Nix folded his hands on the table and cleared his throat. “Detective Dwyer,” he began. “As you know, it’s standard procedure to interview our officers after a weapons discharge. Detective Farmer and I would like to ask you a few questions about what went on during your arrest of Charles, a.k.a. Cutter, Washington a few days ago.”
Sean nodded. “Yes, I’m familiar with the procedure.”
“Good. Then let’s begin.”
Detective Farmer began speaking, but Sean’s mind was elsewhere. He hadn’t heard from Vanessa since the night before and wasn’t sure what she’d been talking about when she called him about Liam and his boots. He’d tried her several times when he woke, while he was getting ready, and on his way into the station. All of his calls had gone to her voice mail.
“Detective Dwyer?”
Sean blinked and shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you with us?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad. Now, as I said, can you please tell us, in your own words, what happened during the apprehension of Mr. Charles Washington?”
Sean looked at his lawyer and was given permission to begin. He sat up in his chair. “Well, we caught a break from a bystander’s picture that put Cutter at the scene of the stationery store at the time of the vic’s death, so we got a warrant and served it at his girlfriend’s house. We had an arrest team enter through the front with one squad sweeping the ground floor and myself and Detective Carpenter taking the second floor. We also had a uniformed officer out back for additional backup.
“We entered with force, identified ourselves repeatedly as Philadelphia PD, and were met on the second floor by the girlfriend, who tried to block our access to her bedroom, where the suspect was trying to escape from a second floor window.
“Detective Carpenter subdued the girlfriend with his Taser, and we proceeded to the bedroom, all the while instructing the suspect to come out with his arms raised and identifying ourselves as police officers.”
“What about the children?” Nix asked.
“A brother and sister. My partner and I didn’t see them, but they were found by the other team who was sweeping. By the time we got to the bedroom, we heard a gunshot outside in the back. The officer we had stationed there was down, and the suspect was on foot, fleeing the scene. I went out the back window, and Detective Carpenter took the stairs. I pursued down the alley, and the suspect fired two rounds at me while running. I shot him in the leg to stop his progress before he hit the busier streets. I didn’t want to lose him.” Sean fell back in his seat. “I placed the suspect under arrest. By then, units were rolling for backup, and EMT had been dispatched for the officer who was shot. We called in a second ambulance for the suspect. That’s about it.”
The room was silent. Farmer and Nix looked at one another, then back toward Sean. “Have you seen the psychologist?” Farmer asked.
“Yes.”
Nix flipped through a folder that was sitting in front of him. “Psych eval cleared him. He’s good.”
Farmer nodded. “I agree. I’m going to classify this as a good shooting. You’re clear to resume duty. Do you have any questions?”
“No.”
“Does your PBA rep have any questions?”
Paul shook his head. “I’m good.”
Nix closed the folder and motioned toward Phillips. “He’s all yours.”
As the men all stood and shook hands around the table, Sean’s focus was back on getting in touch with Vanessa to find out why she’d called him the night before. What did she want? What did she see?
35
Joyce was at work and wouldn’t be due home until later that evening. Don took advantage of the empty house and sat on the couch of his living room, placing his computer on the coffee table in front of him and powering it up. He plugged the flash drive he’d made from Kerri’s computer into the USB port and waited.
A man’s conscience is a funny thing. As much as Don wanted to help, knew he should help, and was willing to help, his conscience had ended up getting the better of him. The Dwyer boys were family. He’d watched them grow up within the department and was there with them celebrating countless holidays and family vacations. He was Sean’s mentor and Liam’s confidant. He looked at them as if they were related through blood, and they looked at him the same way, but the brutality in which Kerri had been murdered had caused a speck of doubt to creep into Don’s mind until that speck grew into a mass of uncertainty and finally a cancer of conscience. Walking through that empty apartment and sensing the finality of that young girl’s life gave his heart pause. He was certain Liam wasn’t capable of murder, especially the kind of murder he’d seen in the crime scene photos Sean had shared with him, but he had to know for sure, so he’d made an extra copy of Kerri’s files when he got back that night. The first copy had been destroyed in Sean’s garbage disposal. Don was the only one to know about the second copy. An affair, and a pregnancy on top of that, could cause a person to do things well outside of his or her circle of normalcy. He’d seen it so many times before. Some people would go to extremes to keep a secret hidden forever. He was sure Liam wasn’t one of those people, but if those boys could suspect him of such a crime, couldn’t he do the same? If he didn’t find anything, his conscience could rest, and he would help them root out whoever was framing Liam, but if he did find something… well…