I've Got My Eyes on You(8)

“What’s the number?”

Alan reeled it off.

“So, Alan, you went to the party at Kerry’s house, and then to Nellie’s, and then straight home. Did you have your cell phone with you that whole time?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Alan, the Dowlings have a putting green in their backyard. Did you see anybody using it at the party?”

“Like I told you before, some of the guys were on the putting green.”

“Do you remember if you used it at any time last night?”

“I never went over to the practice green. No.”

“So you never touched the putter last night?”

“No.”

“Alan, it was warm last night. Did anyone go swimming in the pool?”

“No, not while I was there.”

“Did you go in the pool?”

“No.”

“Alan, while you’re here, I have a request that will save us some time later. There are a lot of objects at Kerry’s house that have fingerprints on them. I’d like to know whose fingerprints are on which objects. Would you consent to being fingerprinted before you leave? You don’t have to, but it will be very helpful to us.”

Fingerprinted, Alan thought to himself. They must believe I did it. The interrogation room suddenly felt smaller. Was the door locked? Why did I agree to come here? Alan was trying desperately not to show his panic, but he was afraid to refuse. “I guess that would be okay,” he said.

“And finally Alan, we’d like to take a swab of saliva from inside your cheek. That will give us your DNA. Any problem with that?”

“Okay.” Numbly he followed Wilson into another room where his fingerprints were scanned and the swab taken.

“Alan, I appreciate how cooperative you’ve been. I have one final request. Would you mind leaving your cell phone with me for a few days?”

Thoroughly frightened, Alan pulled it from his pocket and placed it on the table. “Okay, but I want to go home now.”

They did not exchange a word during the twenty-minute ride back to Saddle River.





9




The minute Wilson dropped him off, Alan rushed into his house. His parents had not yet returned from golf. He ran to the landline in the living room and paused for a moment as he groped for Rich’s number. Rich answered on the first ring.

“Rich, this is Alan. Where are Stan and Bobby?”

“They’re here at the pool with me.”

“Listen, a detective had me go down to his office at the courthouse. He kept asking about my fight with Kerry. I told him that I stayed with you guys at Nellie’s until we all left together. You got to promise you’ll back me up. Otherwise, they’ll think I killed Kerry. You know I would never hurt her. You know that. Ask the other guys now.”

“They can hear you. I have it on speaker.”

“Rich, ask them. Ask them.”

As he held the phone, Alan could hear his three friends say, “Sure, I will. We’re with you. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks guys. I knew I could count on you.”

Alan hung up the phone and burst into sobs.

? ? ?

After the call Bobby, Rich and Stan looked at one another. All three of them were reviewing exactly what happened last night. They still had a hard time believing that Kerry was dead.

Like Alan, they would be leaving soon for college. They had gone to a movie and afterward went to Nellie’s for pizza.

They were there at 10:45 P.M. when Alan had stomped in. All they needed to do was look at his face to know he was angry. He pulled up a chair at the table where they were sitting and signaled to the waitress, pointing at the individual pizzas at the table and indicating he wanted a plain one.

It was clear to the others that he had been drinking. Rich asked if he had taken an Uber to Nellie’s.

Alan’s slurred response was “No, I’m fine.”

The bigger room by this time was mostly empty. The crowd in the bar area where they were sitting had gathered to watch the Yankees. The game against Boston was in extra innings. The shouts and clapping made the room noisy enough to prevent their conversation from being heard at neighboring tables.

Stan was the first to speak. “Alan, it’s pretty obvious you’ve been drinking a lot. This is a popular hangout for cops. The Waldwick police station is right around the corner.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Alan snarled. “I got here okay; I’ll get home okay.”

“What’s eating you?” Bobby asked, annoyed at Alan’s tone. “It’s not even eleven. How was Kerry’s party? Is it over already?”

“It sucked,” Alan said. “I walked out. That jerk Chris Kobel was hanging all over Kerry. I told him to leave and Kerry started in on me.”

“She’ll get over it,” Bobby said. “You two are always fighting and making up.”

“Not this time. Right in front of me, Chris was telling her they should try to arrive at BC at the same time so he can help her move in. He’s moving in on her and didn’t care if I heard him.”

Before the other three could comment, Alan heard a ping from his cell phone signaling that he had received a text. He reached into his shirt, pulled out his phone and quickly read a message. It was from Kerry. Using two fingers, he typed a response.