Her Last Word(41)
“What did he say?”
“Other than her being hot, he thought she was stuck up and that she believed she was better than everyone else.”
“Did you tell this to the cops?”
“I never mentioned Brad’s name to the cops.”
“Why not?”
“Loyalty. I knew he didn’t have anything to do with whatever happened. He was a horny teenager who could be insecure sometimes.”
“So why are you telling me now?”
She shrugged. “I found out he’s fucking his secretary. Loyalty is a two-way street.”
Cold-case experts will admit spurned lovers are an excellent source for fresh case details. I don’t speak, letting the silence prod her to say more.
“Want to know a secret?” Erika says.
“I love secrets.”
She leaned in. “Brad gave me the Ecstasy the night Gina was taken. He told me it would loosen us all up.”
Hearing her speak so easily about the drugs is jarring, but I stay focused. “You ever talk about Gina’s case with Brad after she went missing?”
“I tried. He never wanted to talk about Gina.”
“Why not?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
She’d said Brad hadn’t been involved in Gina’s case, but something in me tells me to press again. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I think. “I get the feeling that Brad had something to do with Gina’s disappearance?”
She is silent, as if she realizes she might have said too much. “No, no, of course not,” she adds quickly.
“You sound very sure.”
“I am.”
“When’s the last time he saw Randy Hayward?”
She sits straighter. “He called from prison. Said he was about to get out and needed money. Brad, of course, obliged. They’ve been friends since kindergarten.”
“The cops questioned Randy soon after Gina went missing. Do you think he knew something?”
“The cops dropped the charges because they couldn’t prove anything.”
“That’s not what I asked. Do you think he knew more than he was saying?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Did Derek and Brad help him cover up something?”
Instead of answering she checks her watch. “God, look at the time. I have to go.”
CHAPTER TEN
Saturday, March 17, 2018; 1:40 p.m.
Adler and Quinn showed their badges at the front desk of the Richmond city jail and made their way to a set of opening double doors as the guard on the other side saw them approach. They surrendered their phones and weapons into one of the secured lockers and waited for the next set of doors to open. Minutes later both were sitting in an interview room.
Hayward was brought in, and the instant he saw them he smiled. Cuffs rattled as he straddled the chair and sat. Adler introduced Quinn and himself.
“I’ve communicated with Trey Ricker in the Commonwealth Attorney’s office. Your attorney has contacted him, and they’re working on a deal as we speak. If you need confirmation, call Derek Blackstone,” Adler said. “He’ll give you the details. Once the deal is done we go directly to Gina.”
Hayward’s grin was sly. “I know where she is,” Hayward said. “Sometimes I get my lefts and rights mixed up. But once I see where I’m going, I’ll figure it out. It’s only been a few months since I saw her.”
Both said nothing.
“I visit whenever I can,” Hayward said.
“Can you give me a general idea of the location?” Quinn asked.
“You mean like a teaser in a movie trailer?” Hayward asked.
“Yeah, a teaser,” she said softly.
Hayward didn’t speak right away, then said, “She’s at least twenty miles from where she was taken.”
A twenty-mile radius left a lot of territory.
“What do you remember about the night she was abducted?”
“Gina was wearing a green dress, and Kaitlin was wearing a tight, sexy white top.”
Adler had been a cop long enough not to react to guys like Hayward, but there were some times when it took everything in him not to show his hand. “What else do you remember?”
“Kaitlin was scared, but she fought like a wildcat. Tried to save her precious cousin, but she didn’t.”
For a moment neither Adler nor Quinn spoke.
“Is Gina dead?” Adler asked.
Hayward wagged his finger. “I can’t be telling you any more. Not until my buddy, Mr. Blackstone, seals the deal.”
“We’ll be back,” Adler said.
“I’m counting on it. And bring Kaitlin, too,” Hayward said.
“She’s not a part of this,” Adler snapped.
“She is now. If not for her, I’d never have gotten the idea to play my Gina card. No Kaitlin, no talk.”
Adler now wanted Gina Mason found almost as much as Kaitlin. “I’ll talk to Ricker and Kaitlin. It’s not up to me.”
“Give it the old college try, Detective. Hate for Gina to spend eternity lost to the world.”
Outside, Adler removed his phone. He wasn’t sure how Ricker would react to Hayward’s newest condition.