IF I FAIL

by Marian Lanouette

“Basically, everyone on our floor. I would think her sister and her friend Meryl.”

  “Do you think Mark knew?”

  “I don’t know. Shanna wouldn’t write in it in front of him. I think he’s the kind of guy to snoop in a woman’s purse.”

  “You know for a fact he did, Donna?” Jake pushed.

  “No. He just struck me as the type. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. You did ask what I thought,” she said uncomfortably.

  “I did. It’s not a problem, Donna. Thanks for your insight. Good bye.” Jake shook her hand when they left her room.

  Outside the dorm, Jake turned to Louie. “It’s amazing none of this came out last year.”

  “Yeah, it is. Every time we think we have a suspect pinned, it turns around. Do you think we have one or two killers?”

  “I don’t know, Louie. I just don’t know. I do know we’re going back, asking all three of them, Meryl, Mark, and Chloe, about her diary,” Jake said, frustrated. “Cavilla’s a good actor. He fooled me.”

  “He fooled me too, Jake. I think his ego is in denial. Not admitting it—in fact, lying about no knowledge of her preference—just put him at the top of my list. I can see him for it.”

  “Yep, I hate liars.”

  “Jake, would you tell someone if the girl you were dating turned out to be gay? I mean, being dumped by a woman for another man is one thing. Being dumped by a woman for another woman? Man, that’s the ultimate insult.”

  “I don’t see where it would make any difference. Dumped is dumped.”

  “Oh, come on. It wouldn’t bother you?”

  “I don’t know. I hope I’m more secure than that,” Jake said thoughtfully.

  “Well, once something like that’s out, the ridicule you’d get would be worse. Don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know, Louie. If someone ridiculed me or carried on, I’d probably just punch them out.”

  “See, it would bother you.” Louie laughed.

  “It would bother you more,” Jake ribbed.

  “Yeah, it would. It’s the Italian macho thing, which I think Cavilla has going on, also. Don’t you agree?”

  “I agree. I can’t wait to question the bastard, see how he reacts.”

  They re-interviewed all the girls from the dorm. Donna turned out to be the only new witness. They recorded their statements. Later, they’d compare them to last year’s statements. Jake didn’t think they got anything new, except from Donna.

  *

  Next on the list would be Meryl Drake’s friends. A cold trail because they didn’t know about her secret. This meant they needed to contact Meryl again. Oh joy, he thought, get all the information on her friends. Before subjecting himself to Meryl’s anger, Jake thought, why not try the Wagners. See if they knew who she hung out with. Jake dialed Chloe’s cell first.

  She answered on the third ring. “What do you want?”

  “Chloe, I have a question for you. Do you know who, besides your sister, Meryl hung out with?”

  “How would I know? We don’t go to the same bars. You know—straight, gay,” she said sarcastically.

  “Okay. Did Shanna keep a diary?”

  “Yes. You didn’t find it in her room at school?”

  “No. We didn’t know she kept one until today.”

  “She always kept it with her.”

  “What did she do with the old ones?”

  “She kept them under a floor board in her room. She thought no one knew about it. Why?”

  “Are you home?” Jake asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Can you check to see if her diaries are still there?”

  “Hold on.”

  Jake figured Chloe put her phone down to go check. After a few minutes she picked the phone up. “They’re all here, except for the current one she normally kept in her purse.”

  “When’s the last entry in the diaries you have there?”

  “About a month before she disappeared.”

  “Can I pick them up, or do I need a warrant?”

  “Come get them. I’ll be home for another hour.” She hung up without another word.

  “Did she have the diary?” Louie asked.

  “Not the recent one, only the old ones. She didn’t know who Meryl’s friends were. She’s going to give them to us without a warrant. I don’t know why she’s cooperating all of a sudden. I hoped she’d have some information on Meryl.”

  “Were you expecting her to confide in you?” Louie looked at Jake.

  “No.”

  “Okay, we’ll do it the old-fashioned way, through good detecting.”

  “This should be fun, going through every gay bar in the city.”

  “It’ll be a reminder to you that not every woman is after you.” Louie smiled at Jake.

  “It’ll do my ego good,” Jake joked back.

  “I hate this drive,” Louie said, heading back to Wilkesbury.

  “I like it. It’s a quiet scenic ride, good thinking time. Put your seat back, take a nap, Louie, it’ll do you good.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Louie hit the release switch. His seat glided back into a reclining position.

  “Nighty night, sweetheart,” Jake teased.

  In no time at all, Louie fell asleep, giving Jake some thinking time. He rearranged all the new pieces of the evidence, mixing them up with the other evidence, hoping for a clear suspect to emerge. He focused on Chloe when the evidence pointed to her. A brutally honest man, especially with himself, he also admitted he targeted her because she annoyed him. They originally agreed it would be the motive that solved this case. Right now, too many motives, and not enough evidence—a conundrum, for sure.

  He started listing the motives in his head, while Louie snored away. Chloe’s motive would be the ring, valued at fifty thousand dollars. Meryl felt threatened with Shanna dating a man, changing sides. Mark Cavilla, shot down because after spending time with him she preferred the company of women. A strong, powerful motive pointing to Mark, damaging his big ego, in Jake’s opinion, it moved him to the top of the list. A question popped into Jake’s head. He needed to interview the head of the accounting firm, see if everyone knew about Shanna’s sexual orientation.

  They’d been on the road for about fifty minutes when Louie stirred.

  “Well, good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?”

  Louie cleared his head, looked around. “Where are we?”

  “We’re just coming into Southington.”

  “Wow, I slept the whole way?”

  “Yep, and Louie, your beauty sleep didn’t help.” Jake laughed.

  “Cute. You should only be half as handsome as me, you’d be a star.”

  “Right.”

  “Hmm, did your quiet time pay off, or did you spend it all thinking about Mia?”

  “I spent it on the case, believe it or not.” Now that Louie mentioned Mia, Jake’s thoughts went directly to her.

  “Oh, is the mighty Jake pulling back?”

  “No, we just need to close this case.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Louie said reflectively.

  Jake’s phone rang. It was Dave, his friend at the Woodbury Police Department—the lab report came back. The skin cells on the package didn’t match the sample Jake gave them.

  “Thanks, Dave. Can you fax over a copy of the report?”

  “Sure, I’ll get it to you in five minutes. Oh, Jake, she’s one hot woman.”

  “I know, and she’s mine. Remember that.”

  “I will,” he said, laughing. “Bye.”

  “Who’s Dave?” Louie asked, as Jake hung up.

  “Dave Guerrera, at the Woodbury Police department.”

  “What’s going on there?” Louie asked, confused.

  “I told you about the package on Mia’s doorstep Thursday night. Dave called with the lab results.”

  “No, you didn’t say anything about a package.”

  “Someone left a package at her front door. It contained a dead skunk with its throat
slit.”

  “Oh, is that all? And you didn’t think to mention this?” Louie asked, annoyed. Jake knew he hated to be left out.

  “Sorry, Louie, I thought I did. So much happened this weekend, my mind’s reeling.”

  “What sample did you give them?”

  “I gave them Chloe’s DNA sample, but it didn’t match,” he said.

  “Well, that makes sense. Jake, wasn’t that the day the restraining order was put on Chloe to stay away from Mia? Mia doesn’t have a clue who could be doing this.”

  “Yeah, I figured it out this morning. So who has something against Mia?”

  “Ask her,” Louie said.

  “I will when I see her.”

  “You’re not seeing her tonight?”

  “No, she’s packing for her trip. I won’t see her until tomorrow night. I’ll ask her this evening, when I speak with her.”

  They stopped at the Wagners’ house. Picked up the diaries Chloe found under the floor board in Shanna’s closet. She’d packed them in a box, made him sign a receipt.

  “Thanks, Chloe,” Jake said.

  “I want them back. They’re Shanna’s. It’s like talking to her, so make sure nothing happens to them.”

  “We’ll keep them locked up, Chloe.” He really looked at her now. It looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “Thank you, Chloe.”

  “Are you any closer, Jake?”

  “I want to think we are.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  They left the Wagners’, drove back to the station. After parking the car they parted ways. Louie went to his desk. Jake went directly to the coffee machine in his office where Detective Brown caught up with him.

  “Lieutenant.”

  “What’s up, Kirk?”

  “The body shop turned out to be a solid lead. I have an arrest warrant. Lanoue and I are on our way there now. It’s a shame. The kid got scared, left the scene, and screwed up his life. He’s only seventeen.” Jake heard the sympathy in Brown’s voice.

  “Okay, pick him up. If you need anything from me, let me know. I’m tied up on my cases, but I can spare whatever time you need.” Jake turned away, though Kirk kept talking.

  “Lieutenant, we still don’t have anything on the school shooting.”

  “I liked your idea to start interviewing everyone here. Hopefully, it’ll intimidate them. Let me know how it turns out or if you need me in the interviews.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  Jake sipped his coffee while walking back to his desk. After sitting down, he pulled out the Wagner murder book, recording his latest interviews and evidence. Putting his feet up, he closed his eyes, letting the information on the Wagner case roll around in his head. Too many directions, he thought. He needed to rein it in.

  Louie settled into his chair, stalled for a few minutes before calling Meryl Drake. It seemed on Saturday she’d displayed some animosity toward Jake. So Louie got the chore of calling her.

  “Hello.”

  “Meryl Drake?” Louie asked.

  “Who’s asking?” she replied snottily.

  “It’s De…” he caught himself, “This is Sergeant Romanelli, Ms. Drake.”

  “What do you want?” she said, venomously.

  “We have a couple of follow-up questions for you. I need to inform you this call’s being recorded.”

  “Well, I told you to talk to my lawyer, not me.”

  “Okay, Ms. Drake. Give me your lawyer’s information for the record. I’ll give him a call.”

  Silence.

  “Ms. Drake, are you still there?”

  “Yes, what questions?”

  “You pulled the lawyer card out, so I can’t speak with you. I need his name and number.” Louie held his breath while he waited for her reply.

  “I don’t have a goddamned lawyer. They cost too much money.”

  “So, for the record, you’ll now speak with me? You don’t have a lawyer at present. You do understand your rights, if you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you.” Louie wanted to make sure he covered his ass here.

  “Yes, just ask your damned questions. I didn’t kill Shanna. I loved her.”

  Louie’s silence hung in the air for a few moments, uncomfortable with her comment, he didn’t know how to reply.

  He went right into his questions. “Ms. Drake, I’ll need all your friends’ names and phone numbers, anyone who hung out with you and Shanna. I’ll also need the name of the place you worked last year, including your boss’s information.”

  “Why?”

  “These are follow-up questions to your interview. It could be pertinent to the investigation,” he offered, surprised when he started to feel sorry for her.

  “It’s a long list, Sergeant. Do you have a fax number?”

  “Yes.” He gave it to her, got a cup of coffee while he waited for it to come through.

  *

  Before Jake read the diaries, he looked over the lab reports Dave sent over from Woodbury. The DNA turned out to be male, not female. Definitely not Chloe’s. He wondered whose it could be. He reached for the phone and dialed Mia’s cell number. She answered immediately.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi. Are you all packed?”

  “Not quite. I’m still choosing my wardrobe. I have my whole closet laid out on the bed. I’m almost there.” She laughed.

  “Your whole closet?”

  “Yes. I don’t know what to wear to the interview. A full suit or a more casual artsy outfit,” she said seriously.

  “It doesn’t matter what you wear, Mia, they’ll love you.” His mind went back to the day she showed up in the red suit; the thought brought a smile to his face. She’d looked incredible in it.

  “Boy, you sure you can’t come for moral support? I won’t be tied up all day. I’d love to show you New York.”

  “Sorry, I can’t leave in the middle of an investigation. I need to ask you some questions. I got the lab report back from Woodbury. It ruled Chloe out. They found some DNA on the bag. Sure there’s no old boyfriend who has it in for you? The sample came back—it’s male DNA. Do you know a Mark Cavilla? If not, who’d you piss off lately?”

  “Outside of you, I don’t know. No, I don’t know Mark Cavilla, who is he?”

  “Seriously, Mia, has anybody been threatening you? Have you gotten any unusual phone calls? Anyone following you?” He bombarded her with questions, ignoring hers.

  “No, no, and no, Jake. I’ve only been in contact with you, my friend Piper, and the people at work.”

  “Okay, just make sure your doors are locked when you’re home, okay?”

  “They always are, Jake. I’m a New Yorker. That’s NY 101 in life’s lessons on growing up in the City.”

  “Okay, if you think of anyone, let me know. I’ll go talk to them.”

  “What are you going to do, beat them up?” She laughed.

  “No, there are ways you can scare someone without beating them up, or leaving any marks.”

  “You’re scary, Jake. I’ll take your word for it. Talk to you later.”

  “See ya.” He hoped it turned out to be a childish prank; his instincts told him different.

  Louie walked into his office, helped himself to a seat, and handed Jake a copy of the list Meryl Drake faxed over.

  “What’s this, Louie?”

  “I called Meryl Drake. It’s her list of friends. It looks like we’ll be busy tomorrow.”

  “What do you mean tomorrow? There’s plenty of time to start dialing today,” he said, looking at his watch.

  Louie stared at him. “We’re not doing these in person?”

  “No, let’s start with phone calls, before Meryl can warn them. If anything pops, we’ll give them a visit.”

  “I didn’t get anymore reports from the lab, did you?”

  “No, there weren’t any on my desk or in my email. When we’re done, I’ll give them a call. They did say this week.”

  “Today’s only Monday, Jake.”

&
nbsp; “I know, I know. It’s aggravating.” He rubbed his temples.

  “I know. Sophia said I’m driving her crazy. I think of something, jump out of bed in the middle of the night, and grab the file looking for something—I don’t know what. It’s like something’s right at the edge of my mind while I sleep and it disappears when I wake up.”

  “I got the same thing going on. I don’t think we missed anything, Louie, on either one. We need to uncover everything associated with the new information we got this weekend. I think the diary’s the key. We need to find it. I think the killing goes back to her sexual orientation. See if she accepted any other job offers outside the firm where she worked. See if she planned on leaving the state.”

  “Yeah, maybe the girl from school, Donna, knew if she planned on leaving the area. She kind of hinted at it.”

  “Yep, she did. Okay, I’ll take half of Meryl’s list, you take the other half. It shouldn’t take us long.”

  Only one new piece of information resulted from all the calls—Meryl’s jealousy became a problem for Shanna. Meryl let no one near her. They stopped going out to clubs, when they attended parties, Meryl never left her side. Meryl’s friend, J.D. Whitney, stated they argued a lot. She didn’t know if they did at home. At parties lately it seemed they were always fighting. Meryl’s jealousy raged out of control, especially when someone approached or talked to Shanna. She said they were fighting more often.

  “I made an appointment for ten o’clock tomorrow to speak with J.D. Whitney. She lives in town,” Jake said. He checked his email next, surprised to find the reports on the Adams’ car, including DNA results. The lab found skin cells in the trunk. They also found sweat deposits. DNA belonged to one female, excluding Chelsea Adams, and one male. Neither was in the system.

  Jake hung up his phone, walked out to Louie’s desk to update him.

  “They left behind their DNA. Unfortunately, it’s no one in the system. I’m going to apply for a subpoena. Have Chief Taylor execute it,” Jake told Louie.

  “Well, it’s about time something came through. Who are we going to subpoena?”

  “I’m going to request Lola Adams, Jeff Adams, and Nick Pilarski. Can you think of anyone else?”

  “You’re not going to request the son or the daughter?” Louie asked.