The Slowest Death Read online

  “Mr. Bolin, we have some questions for Dayton,” Jack said. “Given the circumstances, I decided this was the safest place to ask them. And, no, you can’t ‘talk’ to Zack. But we’ll be glad to answer some of your questions before we start.”

  Liddell interjected, “We know this is a terrible shock to your family, but time is always important; memories are fresher if we do this now.”

  Mr. Bolin took his arm from around his daughter and Mrs. Bolin’s arm took up the empty post. Mr. Bolin said, “Go ahead.”

  Liddell gave them the basics. Mr. Bolin took it all in without a reaction. Mrs. Bolin sucked in a breath like she’d been gut-punched when Jack told them the role Zack and Dayton played in the finding of the body, and again when told that Zack had taken some of the deceased’s property.

  Mrs. Bolin asked, “Why couldn’t she have been brought home right away? Why is she still here? Should we be talking to a lawyer?”

  Mr. Bolin patted her hand. “It’s what they have to do, Sarah. It’s okay. Let’s just let them talk to Dayton and we’ll take her home.”

  “She’s not in trouble with us,” Jack confirmed. Dayton was going to be in trouble enough when she got home. “Dayton, do you think you can answer some questions for us?” Jack asked.

  Doe-eyed, and in a voice so soft it could barely be heard, Dayton answered, “I guess.”

  “Speak up, honey, so the men can hear you,” Mr. Bolin said.

  “Okay, Daddy,” Dayton said, and sat up straighter.

  Liddell would usually do the questioning, because Jack was scarier than the Yeti for some reason. But in this instance, Liddell hadn’t been to the scene.

  “We’ll get to why you were in that house later, Dayton,” Jack said, and saw her flinch. “Right now, I have more important questions. Okay?”

  “Yes.”

  * * * *

  Jack took her back to the beginning.

  “Dayton, I know this will be hard, but I need you to think about your answers. Can you do that for me?” Jack asked.

  She looked at her father. “I’ll try,” she said.

  “You and Zack were on the street. It was cold. He led you to the house. How did you get in?”

  “The back door was open. Zack wanted to go in,” she said. “We didn’t break anything.”

  “I know you didn’t, Dayton,” Jack said. “What rooms did you go into?”

  “It was empty. There wasn’t any furniture or anything. No one lived there,” she said.

  “Answer the detective’s question, Dayton,” Mr. Bolin said.

  She kept her eyes down and said, “We came in the back. The door was standing open. I guess it was the kitchen. Zack said we could get warm in there but it was cold. Like outside. It smelled bad too. I wanted to go back outside, but Zack went into the room where that guy was.” She stopped and Jack could see the terror building.

  “You’re doing good, Dayton,” he said. “Zack went into the room where the body was found. Did you go in there too?”

  “I didn’t at first.”

  “What do you mean?” Jack asked.

  “Well, Zack went in the other room and I stayed by the back door. Then I heard him say something. I thought there might be someone else there. You know. Maybe a homeless person. I was scared and wanted to leave, but I couldn’t leave Zack by himself.”

  Jack gave Mr. Bolin a cautioning look. To Dayton he said, “And you what?”

  “I went in to get Zack. I wanted to leave there. It was scary. It smelled like an…”

  “It smelled bad,” Jack said. “But what did you see?”

  She swallowed, clasped her hands tightly in her lap, and said, “I saw him. He was hanging there. His face was all…”

  “Was the body a man or a woman?” Jack asked.

  “A man. At least I think it was. Yes. It was a man. And he was. He was naked and hanging from the wall.”

  “Where was Zack?”

  “He was over by the body. He didn’t even look at me when I came in. I screamed and ran outside.”

  “Did you run out the front or back of the house?” Jack asked.

  “The front. The door was shut, but it didn’t have a lock on it I guess. And I ran down the street screaming. That’s when I found the policeman. The car was coming down the street and I ran into the street and he stopped and he got out and was asking me like a lot of questions and…”

  “Okay, Dayton. Let’s go slower. Okay?” Jack said and she nodded. Mr. Bolin had taken one of her hands. Her mother held the other. “How far from the house were you when you saw the police car?”

  She didn’t remember.

  “Did you notice a vehicle or any person around there?” Jack asked.

  “I don’t know,” Dayton said. “Am I in trouble for going in that house?”

  “No, you’re not,” Jack said. It would be trespassing at best. “Where was Zack when you came back with the policeman?”

  “He was standing outside. By the door.”

  “Front or back?” Jack asked.

  “Front.”

  “Was Zack wearing the same clothes as earlier?” Jack asked.

  She looked to her mother and said, “I didn’t notice until the detective came over to the car. I swear.”

  “But you knew that he’d taken some things,” Mr. Bolin said.

  “Not until this detective came to the car, Dad.”

  Jack looked at Mr. Bolin and put a finger to his lips.

  “What was Zack wearing when you went in the house?” Jack asked.

  Dayton didn’t answer.

  “You saw Zack standing outside when the policeman brought you back to the house. Did you notice if Zack was wearing a different coat from the one he’d had on earlier?”

  Tears welled in her eyes but she didn’t answer.

  “Did you know Zack took anything?”

  Dayton’s cheeks turned red and she turned her face downward. “He had on different shoes and the coat. In the police car, he showed me the money and tried to give me the ring. I guess I knew he’d stolen all of it, but I was just so scared…” She said to her father, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

  “Tell the detective the whole truth, hon. You know what your mother and I think about lying.”

  It was obvious to Jack that Dayton cared for this boy. He hoped her eyes were opened by Zack’s lack of judgment, not to mention lack of ethics.

  “I believe you, Dayton,” Jack said.

  Jack asked Dayton to close her eyes. He told Mr. and Mrs. Bolin not to talk. He took Dayton back through her story again. He’d already asked these questions, but sometimes you took a traumatized witness through what they’d seen in layers. The first time they only remembered what was on the surface. The following times they remembered things they smelled, heard, the feel of the ground under their feet, the emotion of things they saw around them. With their eyes closed, they weren’t distracted by anyone. Jack called it emotional interviewing. He lent support when she needed it with a “Keep going” or “You’re doing fantastic, Dayton.”

  They kept at this for another twenty minutes before Jack knew he’d squeezed every brain cell dry. He hadn’t found out much else, but he didn’t think she or Zack had seen the killer, a car, or Sonny’s truck along their path. He knew the money Zack had taken was Sonny’s whether it was in Sonny’s jacket or not. He knew this because Dayton didn’t recall stopping anywhere along the way. They had only gone in that house because she was freezing. She knew Zack only had forty-three dollars. She hadn’t told Zack she’d brought the two hundred thirty-five dollars she’d been saving. When she revealed that tidbit, Jack had to scowl at Mr. Bolin to keep him from saying something.

  Jack finished with the interview, and the Bolins agreed that Dayton would provide fingerprints, and allow Crime Scene to take photos of her and impressions of her sh
oes to eliminate from the scene.

  Jack and Liddell asked the Bolins to follow them and they headed for the hallway. Zack stiffened when he saw Mr. Bolin.

  “I’ll deal with you later,” Bolin said to Zack.

  Zack sneered but said nothing. Jack had no doubt Bolin could take him apart with one finger and had to wonder if he himself would have had that much control if it was his daughter who was running away with a future convict.

  He took them to the front lobby, where they agreed to wait for a Crime Scene tech. Mr. Bolin took Jack aside and asked, “Tell me honestly. Is our daughter going to be charged with a crime? She’s never been in trouble before. Do we need to hire a lawyer? She and that boy are the only witnesses, right? But they’re only witnesses? I mean, you don’t think Zack killed that man, do you?”

  Jack asked, “How well do you know him?”

  Bolin’s jaw stiffened. “Like I told you in there, I don’t know much about him. I’d like to know even less. Listen, my daughter takes in stray dogs and cats. We, her mother and I, have to feed them and find homes for them.”

  Jack said nothing. He knew there was more.

  “To my daughter, this boy is someone to be saved. We’ve done everything to discourage her from seeing him. We even took out a restraining order to keep him away from her and our house. Quite frankly, he’s going to get our daughter into serious trouble. And, well, I guess today proves me right.”

  Jack saw Bolin obviously loved his daughter, but he seemed to love being right and in control even more.

  “Mr. Bolin, we may need to talk to Dayton again,” Jack said.

  “She said she didn’t see anyone. Do you think she was…? Do you think she saw something?” he asked, and before Jack could answer he said, “Of course you would have to be certain, wouldn’t you. And if you suspect that she did see someone or something important, the person that did this might think so as well.” He lowered his voice. “Is my daughter in danger?”

  Jack handed him a business card. “There’s no reason to think Dayton’s in any danger,” Jack said. “You might want to keep her home today and consider taking her to a counselor, someone she can talk to.” He didn’t say that a counselor would also help discover why Dayton had run away from home in the first place.

  Mr. Bolin turned Jack’s card around in his hands, saying, “She can talk to me and her mother.”

  “It’s just a suggestion,” Jack said. “Some people talk easier to an outsider.”

  Chapter 10

  “It might take a while for a judge to sign a ward-of-the-court order,” Jack said. He and Liddell crossed Sycamore Street going to the Federal Building. The law said Zack couldn’t be interviewed while he was in custody without being read his Miranda rights, and with a parent or guardian present. Since he wasn’t free to leave, Zack was technically in custody. The court order would allow someone from Child Protective Services to stand in as guardian while they talked to Zack.

  Liddell said, “That boy is incapable of telling the truth, but I think the girl was being honest.”

  “Woehler said he would call us if we can get to Zack.”

  “I call shotgun,” Liddell said.

  “We’re not driving anywhere,” Jack said. “We’re going to see Sonny’s people.”

  “I know. But I’m going to tell Sonny’s people that you’re to blame for not getting to them earlier, pod’na. You’re in the driver’s seat. I’m riding shotgun. I’ve got your back.”

  “Whatever,” Jack said. Sonny’s crew would be all kinds of pissed off that they had sat around for a couple of hours before Jack and Liddell even came to talk to them.

  Jack’s phone rang. It was Angelina Garcia.

  “About time,” Angelina said. “I’ve called a dozen times.”

  “Sorry, we were tied up,” Jack said. His phone showed repeated calls. He hadn’t heard the phone ring once. Technology could be stupid sometimes.

  She said, “The captain called and asked if I wanted to work with you two yahoos again. I said no, so he offered to pay more.”

  Jack said, “Wait a minute. I’ll put you on speakerphone.” They stopped walking and Jack punched an icon on the phone that somehow ended the call.

  “Shit! I hate these things. The square thingies on the screen are too damn small,” Jack complained. The phone rang again.

  He answered. “I’m sorry, Angelina. We must be in a blind spot.” He put the phone to his cheek and it disconnected again.

  “Give me the phone,” Liddell said. It rang again and Liddell punched the answer button, the speaker button, and held the phone up where they could both hear.

  “You hung up on me, Jack. Twice. You’re lucky I understand how technology-challenged you are. Anyway, the captain filled me in on what you’ve got and gave me a list of names. I’m sending you a text with the list. If there’s something you need immediately, let me know. Otherwise I’ll take them in order. Okay?”

  Liddell said, “I’ll do it. My pod’na has spastic fingers. Glad you’re on this, Angelina. How’s Mark?”

  Mark Crowley was her fiancé.

  “You mean Sheriff Mark Crowley? The future father of my children?” she asked.

  “Yep,” Liddell said. “Unless you’ve hooked up with another guy by that name.”

  “He’s fine. I’m fine. We’re all fine. Got to get to work on this list. I’ll text you the list Captain Franklin gave me and you can add whatever. Bye,” she said.

  The list came to Liddell’s phone only seconds later. “She has Sonny, Sully and Mindy on the list. What else do you want me to give her, pod’na?”

  Jack told Liddell to tell her to pay particular attention to Sully.

  * * * *

  Jack would have preferred to just drop in on Sonny’s team of detectives before they had a chance to talk among themselves. Keep witnesses separated. Says so in the police manual. But that wasn’t possible with the way word of Sonny’s murder was spreading. He hoped the discovery of the money would be kept quiet, but Roscoe had witnessed them finding the money on Zack, so hope was not on the table.

  They walked into the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building and handed their weapons over to the two U.S. Marshals at the metal detector. Their guns were put in lockers and they were given the keys. They were on their way to the third floor when Jack said, “Katie! Oh shit! I forgot to call.” Jack hadn’t called to tell Katie that he couldn’t give a talk to her sixth-grade class this morning. “What time is it, Bigfoot?”

  “Almost ten, pod’na. I remind you we haven’t ate. I’m getting hungry and when I do I get cranky.”

  They stepped off the elevator. Jack said, “I’ll be right in there.”

  Liddell walked on and Jack dialed Katie’s cell phone. He hoped he would catch her between classes. He knew Katie would understand why he couldn’t make it to school, but it wasn’t a good precedent to start. His being unavailable—going back on promises, bringing the job home, putting the job ahead of everything else—was one of the reasons for their divorce. Not the only, or even the biggest reason, but it was right up there with not putting the seat down on the toilet, or leaving dirty clothes on the floor, or getting in bed with cold feet.

  Katie answered the phone with, “I know. Something came up.”

  Jack broke a smile. “Sorry, Katie. A policeman was killed last night.”

  “Oh my God, Jack!”

  “Katie, you know I would have been there…”

  She interrupted and said, “You don’t have to explain. I was going to call you anyway. The three students who really needed your attention are out today. They were taken to the Detention Center for breaking into a building last night.”

  Jack suppressed a laugh. The majority of the kids in Katie’s school had multiple problems: abused kids, violent kids, runaways, addicts, kids placed there by family court in lieu of going to a juvenile
detention center, and on and on it went. Hers was the last school most of these kids would attend, the last transfer they would be allowed, the last chance at an education. She was passionate about helping them. It was one of the things he loved about her.

  “You can tell me tonight,” she said. “I know you’re busy.”

  Jack heard raised voices in the background that turned into outright yelling.

  “Gotta go,” she said. “Love you.”

  “I love you too, Katie,” Jack said to an empty line.

  Jack made it to the door of the offices the FBI had loaned to the Federal Drug Task Force, or FDTF, when his phone rang again.

  “Jack,” Captain Franklin said, “I just wanted to warn you that Deputy Chief Dick is on the warpath. I told him you were unavailable and he’s in with the chief right now. Are you going to be able to come back here and brief him?”

  “Not now, Captain.” Jack could feel the impatience at the other end of the call. It almost matched his own. Deputy Chief Richard Dick, aka Double Dick, wanted some dirt he could give the media during an impromptu news conference. Well, Dick ain’t getting dick.

  “I was hoping you could give me something for Chief Pope. At least he’ll know what he’s lying to the deputy chief about.”

  “I hear you, Captain,” Jack said. “We notified Sonny’s live-in girlfriend. Her name is Mindy Middleton. An attorney named Vincent Sullis, from Boston, was with her.”

  Captain Franklin said, “Sonny was from Boston. Why was an attorney from Boston at his house?”

  “We don’t know,” Jack said. “We think Sonny’s girlfriend called this Sully character. He was an overnight guest the night Sonny was murdered. Mindy said Sonny wasn’t home for two nights, and they made it sound like that was part of the reason Sully was there. Sully said he got a call from his Boston secretary this morning telling him that Sonny had been murdered. But he admitted he lied and he refused to tell us how he found out. I seriously doubt that our grapevine reaches Boston or Sully in particular. Mindy didn’t seem to know that Sonny was murdered until we spoke to her, but Sully had told her Sonny was killed. She was drunk. Who knows what she thought. Anyway, Sully won’t stop interfering with our questioning. I don’t want to arrest him. Yet. So we’re going to try to separate her from Sully to see what she knows.”