But Not Forsworn: A Clint Wolf Novel (Clint Wolf Mystery Series Book 21)

by BJ Bourg

  I finished my dinner and then showered for bed. I was brushing my teeth when my cell phone rang from the bedroom.

  “It’s a blocked number,” Susan called out, hurrying over to hand me the phone.

  I spat out a mouthful of toothpaste, quickly rinsed my mouth, and then answered.

  “This is Clint,” I said with bated breath, knowing this had to somehow involve what was going on out at the Plant residence.

  “Hey, do you know who this is?”

  I recognized Mallory’s voice.

  “Yes.”

  “One says to lawyer up.”

  Before I could utter a word, the line went dead.

  I slowly pulled the phone away from my ear. Susan had a troubled expression on her face, and I guess it was due to my reaction to the call.

  “Who was it?”

  “It was Mallory,” I said quietly.

  “Mallory?” Susan cocked her head to the side. “Why would Mallory block her number?”

  Mallory’s words sounded daunting as I replayed them in my mind. One says to lawyer up. One was code for CS1, which stood for Chateau Sheriff 1, which was the call sign for Sheriff Buck Turner.

  “What did she say?” Susan asked when I just stood there staring, my mind running through all of the possibilities. Nothing made sense. “Clint, for the love of God, what did she say?”

  Susan’s tone snapped me out of my confused trance.

  “She said, One said to lawyer up.”

  Susan blinked. “Lawyer up? For what?”

  I looked at my wife and shook my head. “I have no clue.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Tuesday, September 28

  Chateau Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Operation Center

  State Police Detective David Monier stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and straightened his tie. He then licked his fingers and ran them through his slick black hair. He gave himself a once-over and then smiled. He was ready to take his victim’s statement.

  Turning from the mirror, he made his way promptly down the hallway—ignoring everyone he passed—and pushed open the door to the interview room. He took a long look at his victim.

  Kimberly “Kim” Plant was a mess. Her hair was disheveled. Her left eye was swollen shut. Both lips were busted and there was dried blood caked in her teeth. There was a hole above her upper lip where a tooth had apparently punched through, and that wound was still oozing blood. Kim dabbed at it from time to time with a tissue she’d received from some officer along the way. Her fingertips were all bandaged, but he knew that would’ve been from the lab techs. They had clipped and scraped under her nails in search of her attacker’s DNA, and the process was less than gentle.

  David noticed that Kim’s good eye followed his progress around the room and into his seat. He visually inspected the room and nodded his satisfaction. He had contacted the locals on the drive down here and ordered them to ready the room for him. He wanted everything cleared off the walls. He wanted only a plain desk and two chairs in the room. All drawers in the desk were to be emptied, and the desk was to be situated against the wall to his left. The two chairs were to be facing each other with nothing separating them, because he didn’t want his subject to feel like he or she had a barrier behind which to hide.

  David smiled as he remembered that demand. It didn’t matter if they put a giant marsh buggy in the room—no one could hide from him or escape his probing questions.

  David had also demanded that all recording devices be disabled and removed from the room. The only documentation of the interview would be the one that he produced. He glanced at the ceiling and was pleased to see a hole in the tile. They had, indeed, followed his demands to the letter.

  Once he was seated, he addressed the woman in front of him. “Ma’am, my name is Detective David Monier with the Louisiana State Police. I’ll be handling this investigation. I just want you to know that I’ve never lost a case, so you can rest assured you’re in good hands and I will catch the perp.”

  The woman only stared with the one eye, so he took a breath and opened his notepad. He studied the information he’d received from the first local to arrive on the scene.

  “Okay, so I understand you were attacked in your home yesterday afternoon at some point, is that correct?”

  Kim nodded.

  “Um, what time do you think you were attacked?”

  “I don’t really remember. I think it was around four o’clock.”

  David glanced at his large wristwatch. “So, that would be about ten hours ago, as it is now two in the morning. Okay, what were you doing when you were attacked?”

  “Well, Detective Wolf had left about an hour before I was attacked, but I had—”

  “You say he left about an hour earlier,” David interrupted. “Describe what he was wearing.”

  “Um, well, he had on some Dockers and a Polo shirt,” she said. “I think he was wearing black boots. The combat kind, I think?”

  “Go on.”

  “Um, that’s about it.”

  “Did he have a gun?”

  “Oh, yeah, he had a gun in the holster on his belt.”

  “Was it a black semi-automatic pistol?”

  “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don’t know what semi-automatic means.”

  David began to twist around in his chair to show her the pistol in his own holster, but remembered he had taken it off. He had been taught that it was never a good idea to interview someone while wearing a sidearm.

  “Okay, so you think it was a semi-automatic pistol?”

  Kim nodded, still seemingly unsure of herself.

  David jotted down in his notes that she identified Clint’s sidearm as a black semi-automatic pistol, and he made a note that it was consistent with the Beretta 9 mm pistol Clint carried on duty.

  “What else was he wearing?” David asked, his pen poised over his notepad.

  “I…um, that was it.”

  “What about his wristband?”

  “Oh, yeah, he had on a wristband,” Kim quickly corrected. “It had that police blue line on it. It was one of those silicone bands that people wear. You know what I mean? You can get all kinds of messages put on them and they come in different colors.”

  “I’m familiar with them,” David said with a nod. “And Clint’s wristband had the thin blue line with the words Remember the Fallen on it?”

  “Yeah, it has the thin blue line, but I don’t know about the phrase.”

  “Great.” David glanced over the notes he’d made from the pre-interview he’d conducted with Kim. “Okay, so, Clint left your house at around three, right?”

  “It was a little after three, I believe.”

  “And did he return at some point?”

  “Yes, I think it was him.”

  “And when he returned, was he dressed exactly the same?”

  “Mostly, yeah, from what I could see. I mean, I saw the black boots and all. You know, he approached me from behind, so it was hard to see everything he was wearing, but I did see the black boots and the wristband.”

  “That was going to be my next question,” David said. “He was wearing the same thin blue line wristband, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Please tell me what happened when Clint Wolf returned to your home,” David began, he voice growing stronger with each word, “and brutally beat you and robbed you of your husband’s iPad.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Kim was silent for a long moment, and David thought she might lose her nerve.

  “Come on,” he coaxed, “tell me what you told me earlier—about how Clint Wolf attacked you in your home after you refused to give him permission to access your husband’s gun safe.”

  “Well, the doorbell rang,” Kim began, her lower lip trembling, “and I answered the door. I opened it but no one was there. I looked down the driveway, but no one was around. I figured it must’ve been my imagination, so I turned to close the door and go back inside. That’s when I wa
s grabbed from behind—”

  “When you say you were grabbed from behind, don’t you mean you were grabbed from behind by Clint Wolf?”

  “I believe so.” Kim nodded. “I saw the same wristband on the man who grabbed me, so I think it was Clint Wolf.”

  “And he was the exact same size as Clint, right?”

  “Yeah, it seemed like it.”

  David nodded. “Okay, go on with your story.”

  “Okay, so he grabbed me from behind. He put his arm around my neck and I could hardly breathe. His arm was crushing my throat. He dragged me into the house and I knew he was gonna do something really bad to me.” Kim got choked up for a moment, but recovered and continued. “He kicked the door shut behind us and he demanded to see the iPad. I was surprised at first, because I thought he had come back to attack me—you know, sexually. I guess I hesitated for a while, because he demanded to see the iPad again. I told him I didn’t know the combination to the safe—”

  “Is that when he began beating you?” David interrupted.

  “Yeah, he got really mad and started hitting on me. He punched me a few times in the face and also to my stomach area. I’m not sure how many times he hit me, but it hurt really bad. I’ve never been punched by a man before. It felt like my brain was exploding with each punch and when he hit me in the stomach I lost my breath. It’s like it paralyzed me. I couldn’t talk and couldn’t breathe. I thought I was gonna pass out.”

  “While he was beating you, didn’t he threaten to kill you if you didn’t give him the iPad?” David asked.

  “Yeah, he said if I didn’t give him the combination to the safe he would murder me like he murdered Ralph.” She shuddered. “I can’t believe it was a cop that killed Ralph. I…I don’t know what he did to Detective Wolf that would make him want to murder—”

  “Don’t call him that,” David said sternly. “Don’t you dare call him that!”

  A blank expression fell across Kim’s face. “Excuse me?”

  “He’s not worthy of the title detective,” David explained. “My profession is an honorable one, and Clint Wolf is a disgrace to my badge. I will not have anyone refer to him by the same title I hold. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  Kim swallowed. “Okay, um, I don’t know why Clint would want Ralph dead.”

  “What happened when you gave Clint Wolf the combination to the safe?”

  “Well, he made me open the safe,” she explained. “I don’t think he wanted to get his fingerprints on it. So, I did. I was scared for my life, you understand?”

  “Did he have his gun pointed at you the entire time?”

  “Um, I didn’t see a gun.”

  “But didn’t it feel like he had a gun pointed at you?”

  “I guess so.”

  David glanced down and made some notes. When he looked up, he told her to continue.

  “Well, he made me open the safe and then he made me hand him the iPad.” She shivered. “Once he had it, I thought he was gonna kill me. He asked if I had any duct tape, and I told him I did, and that it was in the utility room. He held onto my throat and made me lead the way to the utility room, and that’s where he taped my wrists and legs together and then put two pieces of tape across my mouth.”

  “Did he place your shirt over your head?”

  She nodded. “He grabbed my shirt by the collar and lifted it high over my head so I couldn’t see anything.”

  “Did you get a look at him at all during this entire ordeal?”

  “I caught a glimpse of him once, but he was wearing a black ski mask.”

  “He knew you had seen his face earlier, so he wanted to hide his identity from you, didn’t he?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what he was doing.” David glanced at his notes. “And you recognized his voice, right?”

  “I mean, it sounded like it could’ve been him—”

  David reached over and paused the digital recorder. “Kim, remember what I told you earlier; you can’t be guessing about this stuff. You’ve got to be sure. Now, earlier you told me you were positive it was his voice. Are you saying you lied to me? Do I have to go to the district attorney and tell him you committed a felony?”

  “No, sir.” Kim gulped. “I…yeah, I’m sure it was his voice.”

  David fixed Kim with a long stare. Finally, he told her that they would have to start from the beginning and do it all over again.

  “And we’re going to keep doing it until you get it right,” David cautioned, “so make sure you say you’re positive when I ask a question. Don’t hesitate, okay?”

  Kim fidgeted in her chair, but nodded.

  “I’m going to nail him to the cross for what he did to you, but like I told you, you’ve got to be sure of yourself or the DA won’t accept the charges.” David frowned and lowered his voice to a softer pitch. “You do want him to pay for what he did to you, right?”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  “Okay,” David said with a nod, “and I’m going to make him pay dearly, but you’ve got to help me. Now, let’s get started again.”

  CHAPTER 23

  David deleted the previous recording and began a new one. He then went over all of the questions like before, and he received the desired answers. Kim sounded much more confident during the second round of questions. She would be an excellent witness at trial. He could already see himself walking out of the courtroom after the jury found Clint guilty as charged on all counts and fielding questions from the media.

  Usually, the prosecutors were the ones answering questions, but everyone in that courtroom would realize the truth—it was he, State Police Detective David Monier, who had taken down Clint Wolf. A lot of people, including the district attorney himself, had wanted to take Clint down, but none had been able. Where they had failed, David had succeeded.

  I’m handing Clint to Bill Hedd on a silver platter, David thought, so why should he or any of his prosecutors get to bask in the glow of victory? No, I’ll be the one speaking to the media. They will all know it was my work that took down this corrupt cop and—

  “Are we done, Detective Monier?” Kim’s voice ripped David from his thoughts.

  “Just a second,” he said, clearing his throat while he tapped on the desk and studied his notes. There was something he had wanted to ask her earlier, but he had forgotten. Going back over his earlier notes, it finally came to him. “You said Clint believed someone might’ve killed Ralph for what was on his cell phone, isn’t that right?”

  She nodded.

  “And Clint had found out about the iPad your husband had hidden in the gun safe and he wanted it real bad, right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “When you refused to let him in the safe and told him to get a warrant, he left with his partner—who happened to be his wife—and then returned alone to take that iPad from you by force.”

  Although David hadn’t asked for confirmation this time, Kim provided it in the form a nod.

  “Now that we know Clint is the one who went after the iPad, we can safely say he’s the one who killed Ralph and stole his cell phone, which means there’s something on those devices he didn’t want anyone to see.” David leaned in close. “What were on those devices that he wouldn’t want anyone seeing?”

  Kim worked her mouth open and closed, but no words came out.

  “Why’d you lie to Clint about the combination to the safe?” David asked. “You knew it all along, but you refused to give it to him and you told him to get a warrant. Why not just give it to him if it might help him find the person who killed your husband?”

  “Well, because he killed my husband.”

  “Yes, but you didn’t know it at the time, so why lie about knowing the combination?”

  Kim was fidgeting even more than earlier, and David knew he was on to something. When she didn’t answer him right way, he leaned back and folded his arms across his chest.

  “Mrs. Plant, when I first began taking your statement
, you agreed to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” He shook his head. “Don’t start holding out on me now. If I know Bill Hedd like I think I do, he’ll want to put you under oath first thing in the morning and take an official statement from you. You’d better not tell him anything new or different from what you’ve told me, or it could be cause enough for him to dismiss the case—or worse, try to come after you for perjury.”

  “It’s just embarrassing.”

  “I’ve heard it all, trust me,” David said. “You can tell me anything.”

  Kim hesitated some more, but she took a quick breath when David reached to shut off the recorder.

  “No, don’t—I’ll tell you what’s on it,” she said quickly. “Just give me a second to compose myself.”

  David nodded, trying to seem patient, although he was anything but. He wanted to get her statement to Bill Hedd as soon as possible so he could begin working on the affidavit for the arrest warrant. It had always been his custom to meet with the DA or an assistant DA before obtaining an arrest warrant—just so everyone was on the same page—and he wanted to get that ball rolling immediately. There was no time to waste. Clint had already killed one man and then attacked this woman, so it was imperative that he be taken off the streets as soon as humanly possible.

  “Okay, it’s been over a second,” David said, realizing his tone had been rougher than he’d intended. It seemed to have the desired effect, so he didn’t apologize.

  “There are some compromising videos of me on his cell phone,” Kim said slowly. “I’m…um…he’s got videos of me with another woman. We’re just kissing and fooling around, but it’s rather embarrassing. We’re both naked and he’s there and we’re all drunk. I…I never knew he had the iPad. When Detective Wolf—I’m sorry, I mean Clint.” She cleared her throat. “When Clint mentioned there was an iPad and that everything on Ralph’s phone was synched to it, I panicked. I knew I had to get my hands on it and delete the videos before anyone saw them.”