“Are you in charge here?” Alex asked, shielding his sister and his mother behind him.
“Yes. Captain Walter Darnell.”
“Alex Moreland, field commander of the Dallas FBI office.” He held out his hand. Darnell reached out and shook it.
A puzzled look crossed the officer’s face.
“I’m not on the job here,” he explained, still completely blocking Darnell’s way. “I was a guest at the party, and I’ll be happy to answer all your questions.” He took a step forward. “Is there some place we can go to talk privately?”
The captain studied Alex for a moment before shaking his head. “I’ll definitely want to talk to you later, but for now, I need to have a word with the young woman behind you, Mr. Moreland. I’ve been told the victim probably fell from the balcony on this floor, and she might have some information that could help us in the investigation.”
“I’d like to be there when you question her.” Alex stood his ground and did not move out of the way. “Her name is Kate Moreland—my sister.”
If Darnell was surprised by the comment, he never let on. Instead, he pulled Alex aside. “As long as you understand you have no jurisdiction in this investigation. This is my crime scene, but as a professional courtesy, I’ll allow you to stay. Keep in mind, though, you’re only an observer. If you can do that while my colleagues and I get to the bottom of this, we shouldn’t have a problem.”
“I’m staying, too,” Natalie said from behind Alex.
Darnell peered around Alex’s body. “And you are?”
“Kate’s mother.”
Darnell’s eyes shot up to Alex’s, probably looking for help. When none was offered, he said, “That’s not going to happen, ma’am. Witnesses have said they saw you slap the dead man earlier. My men will need to talk to you by yourself.”
“No way I’m leaving my daughter. I’m afraid your questions will have to wait.”
Alex bent over and kissed his mother’s forehead. “I’ll be with her, Mom. The sooner we get this over with, the better.” He turned to where the rest of the gang huddled close by. “Ray, can you stay with my mother while they question her?”
Ray took a step forward to stand beside Natalie.
Alex turned back to Darnell. “Ray Varga is a retired Ranchero police officer and a good friend of the family. I would like to have him with her at all times.”
After thinking about it for a few seconds, Darnell waved his hand to another policeman. “I’ll allow that as well, but the same goes for you, Mr. Varga. You are there only as an observer.” Then he turned back to Alex. “Now let’s you and me take your sister downstairs to somewhere private so my guys can cordon off this entire floor.”
“I won’t leave Kate,” Natalie insisted. “She needs me, Alex. You’ll be so busy with all the police stuff, you won’t be much help to her. Look at her. She’s shaking so badly, I’m worried she’ll go further into shock. Please don’t make me go.” She grabbed his arm. “I’m begging you, son.”
Alex patted his mother’s hand. “It’s not my call, Mom. You’ll be able to be with her soon, I promise. And Ray won’t leave your side.” He met Darnell’s eyes before pleading, “Please, Captain. Kate is very fragile right now. If you won’t allow my mother to stay with her, at least consider letting our friend in the room to be with her.” He turned to Jordan and tried to smile.
Darnell stepped forward. “Because it’s still just a preliminary investigation and we’re only asking questions, I’ll allow it, again as a professional courtesy. But be advised that the same rules apply. This is my investigation and I won’t tolerate interference.”
After hesitating for a moment, Natalie finally agreed to leave her daughter in Alex and Jordan’s hands. Darnell barked an order for everyone to follow him down the stairs. After they reached the first floor of the suite, a group of men wearing CSI shirts rushed up the steps, carrying boxes of equipment.
Rosie, Victor, Lola, and Michael were directed to the corner of the room where the other party attendees waited to be questioned. A young officer approached and stood beside Darnell.
“This is Officer Wiedeman,” the captain said, and then pointed to the other side of the room. “He’s going to take Mrs. Moreland over there to interview her. It shouldn’t last too long.”
Ray introduced himself to Wiedeman, and then both he and Natalie followed him. Jordan glanced over and saw that they’d already set up a table next to the bar. It seemed a shame that they were so close to all that liquor and couldn’t grab one measly drink to calm their nerves, but she knew that was out of the question.
When they were seated at the table, Natalie glanced over her shoulder, her eyes pleading one last time to be allowed to go with her daughter. Alex put his arm around his sister to reassure his mother that he would take care of her.
“I’ve had my men set up a place for us to talk on the patio. If you’ll follow me, we’ll get this over with as quickly as we can.”
Jordan, Alex, and Kate followed Darnell past the crowd of people who were now all chatting at once. Jordan wondered what they were saying and hoped they hadn’t seen Kate confront Marco earlier, although she knew that information would get out sooner or later.
Captain Darnell held out a chair for both Kate and Jordan before sitting down on the opposite side of the table. Alex took his place next to Kate, and patted her knee under the table.
“I’ll get right to the point, Ms. Moreland. I’ve been told there was a problem between you and the deceased earlier tonight. Is that correct?”
Kate looked at Alex before answering, making Jordan wonder if she had always worked in corporate law or if she had any experience in criminal cases. “Yes. I had just learned that Marco–”
“Don’t say anything else, Kate.”
They all looked up to see Emilio’s lawyer walk out onto the patio area. He pulled up a chair from another table and slid in between Kate and Jordan.
“Jeffrey Hamilton,” he said extending his hand to Darnell. “I’ve been retained by Emilio Calabrese to advise Ms. Moreland. I’d appreciate it if you would direct any further questions to me, and I will confer with my client.” He dropped his hand to his side when the policeman didn’t reach for it. Turning to Kate, he said, “You can hire whomever you want tomorrow, but Emilio wanted to make sure you had representation tonight.”
For the first time since all this happened, a smile tipped the corners of Kate’s lips, and she let out a long, slow breath. “I appreciate the offer, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Okay then,” Darnell began again. “Back to the confrontation—”
“It hasn’t been established that it was a confrontation,” Hamilton interrupted. “My client will acknowledge that she spoke with the dead man earlier, but unless I missed something, she never once said what the conversation was about.”
Darnell looked annoyed before he cleared his throat and began again. “Several people saw you speak to Petrone and then run from the room in tears. May I ask why you were so upset?” He sent a thinly-veiled look of disgust Hamilton’s way.
The lawyer didn’t flinch. “You can ask, and all she’ll admit to is a misunderstanding.”
If the cop was annoyed before, he was clearly ticked off now. “This interview will go a lot faster with just a little bit of cooperation. I’m simply trying to find out the facts here. No one is accusing your client of anything, counselor.”
“Then we’re in agreement,” Hamilton said. “Both my client and Marco Petrone were involved in the planning of the Italian Festival this coming week. They’ve been working very closely to make sure everything goes as planned. Some minor problem surfaced tonight, and my client was upset when Marco reported it to her.” He put his arm protectively on the back of Kate’s chair. “Let me add that Ms. Moreland has been putting in eighteen hour days planning this event, and the lack of sleep has left her emotions fragile. She overreacted. End of story.”
Jordan had never seen a real lawyer in action before, and she
was totally impressed. So far, this man had not allowed Kate to say another word since her initial response, and even that wasn’t anything that could be used against her. She’d heard both Ray and Alex say that interviewing a suspect immediately after the crime was committed before they could lawyer up usually produced incriminating results. She was grateful Emilio had the foresight to quickly send his high dollar lawyer to make sure that didn’t happen.
“So, Ms. Moreland, is your statement that the reported confrontation with the deceased tonight was merely an overreaction?”
“We’ve already established that fact,” Hamilton interjected. He glanced down at his watch impatiently. “It’s been a long day, Captain. I’m sure my client would appreciate if we’d call it a night. I’ll have her down at the station early tomorrow morning for further questioning. She’s very emotional right now as Mr. Petrone was a friend. Can we allow her to grieve before you grill her?” He paused to glance toward Kate and give her a half smile before he leveled his gaze back on Darnell. “I’ve been told the deceased had a lot to drink tonight as well. It wouldn’t be the first time a drunken man fell to his death.”
Darnell narrowed his eyes. Clearly, he was not happy with the way his questions were intercepted by Hamilton. He pursed his lips and kept his focus on Kate. Jordan imagined him counting to ten before responding. “No, it would not be the first time, Mr. Hamilton, but in this case there were things that indicated Mr. Petrone may have had a little help getting over the railing,” he said simply.
“Like what?”
“For starters, the railing is way too high to accidently fall over it. And then there are the problematic defensive signs—scratches across the railing as if he had tried in vain to keep from falling.”
Hamilton smirked. “And you wouldn’t have tried to catch yourself if you had slipped and fallen?”
The tips of Darnell’s lips curled in a smile as if he had just seen the river card in a poker game and liked what he saw. “One of the valets heard the deceased scream and looked up in time to see him struggling with someone before he fell.”
For the first time a concerned look crossed Hamilton’s face. “Did this valet happen to see who that might have been?”
Darnell shook his head. “Unfortunately, he only saw a shadow.”
“So, we’re back to just thinking it was a possibility that someone other than the victim himself was responsible for his death.”
“We will get to the bottom of this.” He turned his attention to Kate. “One last question, Ms. Moreland. How did you get that black eye?”
“She walked into a door,” Hamilton answered for her, standing up. “Are we done here?”
Darnell rubbed his forehead. “I guess we have to be. I expect to see you and your client at the station by—” He paused as a policeman who looked older than all the others approached and whispered something in his ear. When he finally addressed Hamilton again, he made no attempt to hide the grin on his face. “It seems we have a problem, and Ms. Moreland will have to hang around a little longer.”
Hamilton was already halfway to the door. He turned back with a smirk. “And what might that be, Captain?”
Darnell motioned for the two men now standing in the doorway of the patio to come over. “My colleagues here will need to take swabs from under Ms. Moreland’s fingernails.”
“Not without a warrant,” Hamilton reminded them rather smugly.
The shorter of the two men bent down beside Kate and opened the box he’d brought with him which held the equipment he would use in the investigation. He pulled out a pair of rubber gloves and slid them over his hands. Then he brought out an orange stick and a baggie and waited for the okay from Darnell.
“That’s where you’re wrong, counselor. It seems we have probable cause, but if you insist, we can all sit tight while one of my officers wakes up a judge and gets that warrant.”
“What trumped-up evidence are you going to try to use now?” Hamilton’s voice held a measure of contempt.
Darnell met his eyes and held them. “I’ve been informed the deceased had scratches all over his face. If I were a betting man, I’d guess we’re going to find his DNA under your client’s nails.”
CHAPTER SIX
Jeffrey Hamilton walked back to the table. As if to reassure Kate, he made eye contact with her when he sat down again. Without facing Darnell, he growled, “Get your warrant.”
For the next forty-five minutes, they waited. Finally, a young officer walked out to the patio and handed the captain a document. He shoved it over to Kate’s lawyer and nodded to the CSI tech.
Jordan kept her eyes on Kate while the man scraped under her fingernails. It was hard not to notice the panic spreading across her face as they bagged each specimen separately.
Oh God! Jordan thought. She knows she’s in trouble.
She glanced at Alex to see if his reaction was the same as hers. Although he appeared to be cool and collected, Jordan knew the tiny scowl that wrinkled the corners of his eyes told a different story. It was beginning to look like his sister had somehow been involved in Marco’s death, and he was powerless to stop the unfolding drama that he undoubtedly knew would follow.
Captain Darnell remained silent until the technicians finished up and walked back into the suite, but his eyes studied Kate the entire time. He was probably hoping her body language would give him some insight into her involvement in Marco’s death.
He leaned forward in the chair. “We’re finished for now, Ms. Moreland. However, you’ll need to come by the station first thing in the morning like we agreed.”
“We’ll be there,” Hamilton said, matter of factly. “Until then, is there anything else?”
Using the table as support, the police captain got to his feet and addressed Kate. “I’d suggest you get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be another long day for you.” He pivoted and walked away, leaving her staring at his back, the shell-shocked look still on her face.
When he was out of hearing range, Alex turned to his sister. “Did you and Marco have some kind of physical altercation tonight, Kate? Will they find his DNA under your nails?”
Kate lowered her head and began to cry softly. “Yes to both questions.”
“Oh, Christ!” Alex moved his chair closer to hers. “Kate, tell me you didn’t have anything to do with what happened to him.”
She shook her head.
“What were you doing in his bedroom? Mom said you went back to my place because you had a headache.”
Before Kate could respond, Hamilton spoke up. “I’m a guest at this hotel, too. Why don’t we all go down to my room and finish this conversation—away from all the chaos?”
“Good idea.” Alex turned his back on Kate to address the lawyer. “On behalf of my entire family, I want to say how much we appreciate your showing up and taking charge, Mr. Hamilton.”
“Call me Jeff.”
“Alex.” He held out his hand. “Let’s see if they’re finished with my mother. After I make sure she has transportation back to my place, Kate and I will come down to your room.”
“I’ll be waiting. Room 828.”
Slowly, the lawyer made his way back into the living room as Jordan peered through the patio door. It looked like the cops were winding things down, and most of the people they’d corralled earlier for questioning were already gone. The few that remained were gathering their belongings.
Kate still hadn’t lifted her head.
Alex’s voice softened. “Do you want me to find another lawyer, or are you comfortable with Hamilton?”
She sucked in a large gulp of air and looked up. “If he’s willing to represent me, I’d like to stay with him.”
Alex nodded. “He was impressive. I’ll give him that. We can ask him tonight about what it will take to retain him for the duration of this—”
“I know you think I had something to do with Marco’s death, Alex, but I swear I didn’t.” Kate pleaded with her eyes for him to belie
ve her.
“Is he responsible for your black eye?”
She dipped her head. “He’d had too much to drink, and we argued. He reacted to something I said and came at me all macho-like. When I threw my drink in his face, he punched me and threw me onto the bed, pinning me down.” She steeled her shoulders before continuing, “For a few seconds I thought he was going to hit me again, but he didn’t. He just suddenly rolled off me. I’d never seen him that angry before and certainly never violent. I was stunned. He must have realized he’d crossed the line because he rushed out onto the patio without saying another word.”
“Did you follow him out there?
“I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. After several minutes, I decided he’d had enough time to calm down, and it was probably safe to come out. When I didn’t see him, I walked out onto the patio, but he wasn’t there, either.” She stopped to swallow before continuing, “That’s when I heard all the commotion from the hotel entrance and looked over the railing. When I saw his body on the ground and all the blood...” She paused when her voice cracked. “I panicked.”
“Was there anyone else in the room?”
She shook her head.
“What were you doing there in the first place?” Alex had switched from concerned brother into FBI agent mode, but he got choked up on the last question.
Kate took one look at his face and began to speak. “Marco called me when I was downstairs waiting for a cab. He begged me to listen to his side of the story. Like a fool, I wanted to believe there was no way our relationship had been built on a pack of lies—that he wasn’t the two-timing scum I knew in my heart that he was. I prayed there was a logical explanation, so I agreed to go up to his bedroom to hear him out.” She bit her tongue and looked up at the sky to keep the tears brimming in her eyes from rolling down her cheeks.
“When we got there, he tried to convince me he was in love with me, not Tina Calabrese. When he couldn’t, he swore he was only going to marry her to get Emilio off his back. He laughed, saying why else would he agree to make love to a woman he couldn’t even stand being in the same room with. He even tried to sweet talk me into climbing into bed with him—said there was no reason why we couldn’t continue our relationship the way we have for the past year. That’s when I lost it and tossed the drink in his face.”
Chicken Caccia-Killer (A Jordan McAllister Mystery) Page 5
