James 516: A London Carter Novel (London Carter Mystery Series)

by BJ Bourg

  Bethany pushed off the wall and walked to the door. “That’ll be up to Sheriff Burke. But if I had my way, you’d be fired and arrested for malfeasance in office.”

  “Kind of harsh on the kid, don’t you think?” I said as we made our way to the conference room.

  Bethany stopped walking and turned to face me, her hands on her hips. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes narrow. She opened her mouth to speak, but her eyes turned suddenly curious. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  The one thing that had been going through my mind was how beautiful she looked when she was angry, but I hadn’t realized it showed in my expression. I tried to recover quickly. “Um, what do you mean?”

  “You were staring at me all funny-like.”

  “No, I wasn’t.” I waved my hand to dismiss the issue. “I was just thinking about something else.”

  “About what?”

  “Stop trying to divert attention away from the real issue.”

  “Which is?”

  “How mean you were to poor Lester.”

  “Well, he really screwed up.”

  “Look, he was just trying to be cool with a fellow officer. You know how it goes.” I tilted my head sideways, reconsidering. “Wait a minute…no, you don’t know how it goes.”

  Bethany Riggs’ eyebrows furrowed. “What’s that mean?”

  “You’re IA, so you don’t know what it’s like to be cool to another cop.” When I saw her fists ball up, I immediately told her I was joking.

  “You’d better be joking,” she warned. She turned and started walking again. “Lester shouldn’t have left Kenneth alone. It’s his fault Kenneth’s dead.”

  “No, it’s Kenneth’s fault that Kenneth’s dead. He made a selfish and cowardly decision to take his own life. That’s nobody’s fault but his own.”

  “Yes, but it’s Lester’s fault Kenneth killed himself while he was in our custody. If Kenneth had killed himself at home or in some cane field, no big deal, but he did it here. Now we’re responsible, you and me, because he was our prisoner.”

  “Well, since you put it that way, I’m pissed at him, too.”

  When we walked into the conference room, Sheriff Burke was on the phone and the entire senior staff was seated around the table, talking in hushed whispers.

  “No,” Sheriff Burke was saying, “I’m not prepared to make a statement… Right… Maybe then… Yeah, call me in the morning… Okay, goodbye.” He slammed the phone down. “How in God’s name did they find out about this shit so fast?”

  “Was that the news media?” asked Captain Trevor Abbott, commander of the support division.

  “No,” sneered a red-faced Burke, “it was the Russian consulate.”

  A bewildered look fell over Captain Abbott’s face. I tried hard to stifle a grin, but it was no use. His level of ignorance was legendary and many often wondered—out loud—what he was doing leading an entire division. Burke looked from Abbott to Bethany. “What did Lester say?”

  Bethany filled him in, and he only nodded as she spoke, staring a hole into the wall opposite where he sat. When Bethany was done, he sighed. “Yesterday and today are the worst days in our department’s history. This is a black eye that’s not going to heal very soon.”

  “It needs to heal before October,” Chief Garcia said. “You’re up for re-election.”

  “I don’t think this’ll hurt you,” I offered.

  Sheriff Burke broke his gaze on the wall and turned to look at me. “Explain.”

  “A rogue cop cheated on his own wife with a captain’s wife. He learns that a former cop was investigating him, so he kills that former cop. He then kills the captain just in case the captain knew anything about it. And it—”

  “Wait a minute.” Sheriff Burke raised his hand. “None of this is sounding good for me.”

  “Except,” I continued, “that we caught this rogue cop mere hours after he killed Captain Landry. He was in custody before the body of Justin Wainwright was even discovered. Sure, our department and our community were hit hard yesterday and today, but we rose to the challenge. Although he was one of our own, we took Kenneth into custody immediately—without hesitation—and we got this case wrapped up within twenty-four hours.”

  “And don’t forget all the lives we saved yesterday at the bank,” Chief Garcia reminded the sheriff.

  Burke frowned. “All that’s nice and great, but we still had a cop kill himself while he was in our custody.”

  My cell phone suddenly vibrated in the chest pocket of my coveralls. I fished it out and looked at the number. It was Kenneth Lewis’ house number. “Shit! It’s Kenneth’s wife!”

  The room turned graveyard quiet. I flipped open my phone. “Hello, this is London.”

  “London, please tell me it’s not true!” Yvette Lewis wailed. “Please!”

  “Yvette, calm down. Where are you?”

  “Is it true? Is he dead?” Yvette was crying uncontrollably.

  “Where’d you hear that?” I asked, stalling.

  “God damn it, London,” Yvette screamed into the phone. “Just tell me! Is Ken dead?”

  “Okay. Yes. Yes, he’s dead. The medics did everything they could for him, but it was no use. It was too late. I’m so sorry, Yvette—”

  I heard a thump and a chorus of pitiful wails in the background. “Yvette…are you still there?”

  “What’s going on?” Sheriff Burke asked.

  I shook my head. “Yvette, can you hear me?”

  Bethany Riggs slapped my arm and headed for the door. “Let’s go.”

  Keeping the phone pressed to my ear, I rushed after her.

  “Keep me informed,” Sheriff Burke hollered from the conference room.

  CHAPTER 13

  There were three cars in the driveway at Kenneth Lewis’ house, so we had to park on the street. I jumped out, rushed to the door, banged on it loudly.

  A tearful lady answered. I recognized her as being one of Yvette’s aunts.

  “Is Yvette still here?” I asked softly.

  The woman nodded and stood back for us to pass. I led the way into the kitchen and through to the living room, where Yvette sat in a ball on the sofa, clutching a box of napkins in her hands. When she saw me, she lurched to her feet and ran to me, threw her arms around my neck, sobbed.

  I held her for a long and awkward moment. Her cries slowly subsided and she finally pulled away from me. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and turned back toward the sofa.

  “Don’t apologize,” I said.

  When Yvette was seated beside her aunt, she motioned for Bethany and me to join them. “I’m sure y’all have some questions,” she said.

  Bethany nodded. “We understand he called you tonight…from a patrolman’s cell phone?”

  “Yeah, he called me from a number I didn’t recognize.” Yvette sniffed, then blew her nose. “He said he was calling to say he didn’t do the things y’all said he did, but I told him I didn’t want to hear his shit. I told him it was over and that I was filing for divorce.”

  I scratched my head. “You were filing for divorce because we arrested him?”

  “I’m filing for divorce because he’s been sleeping with my sister for the past three weeks! While I’m away taking care of our sick mother, she’s back here at my house screwing my husband. If I could, I’d divorce that deceitful witch, too.”

  “How do you know Kenneth had an affair with your sister?” Bethany asked.

  “I suspected something was going on,” Yvette explained. “The last two times I got back home from being at my mom’s for a few days, I found empty wine cooler bottles in the outside garbage can. Ken never drank wine coolers and he never took out the trash, so I knew something was going on. I was back at my mom’s a couple of days ago and I tried calling him, but he wouldn’t answer. I couldn’t leave my mom alone, but I couldn’t take it anymore, so I called one of my friends last night and asked her to drive by my house. She called me later to tell me that Laura’s car was he
re. She drove by again at midnight, and Laura’s car was still here.”

  “Laura…is that your sister’s name?” Bethany asked.

  Yvette nodded.

  “What time did your friend drive by and see Laura’s car here the first time?”

  “It was about eight o’clock.”

  “And when did you get back home?” Bethany asked.

  “I wasn’t supposed to get back here until late this afternoon, but I got my other aunt to go sit with my mom so I could come home early. I wanted to try and catch them in the act.” She shook her head. “I was too late. They were already gone. I remembered Ken saying he had sniper training today and I was going to wait until he got back home to confront him, but he got arrested before that could happen.”

  “How’d you know about that?” I asked.

  “I found out from Ray’s wife, but it was already out because Laura came over here to see if I’d heard.” Yvette shook her head. “It was all too much for me, and I confronted her right there in my driveway, out in the open.” Yvette fought to choke back the tears. When she had regained her composure somewhat, she continued talking. “Laura admitted coming over here three different times and sleeping with my husband. She said it happened at her house a couple of times, too, while her husband was offshore. The worst thing about it…when she’d come here to be with Ken, she’d tell her husband she was going stay with Mom, and she’s never lifted a finger to help Mom.”

  “Did she say how it all started between her and Ken?” Bethany asked.

  Yvette nodded her head slowly. “She said Ken started patrolling by her house when her husband was offshore and he’d stop if she was outside. She said he started flirting with her and would joke about staying overnight and keeping her safe.” Yvette rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe she fell for his crap. She did say his advances made her feel pretty. I know her husband was away a lot and I guess it can get kind of lonely, but why do that to me? I’m her sister. Why my husband?” Yvette’s already swollen eyes welled up again and she buried her face in her hands. “I feel so stupid!”

  Bethany moved beside Yvette and put an arm around her shoulder. “You’re not stupid, honey. You did what we all did—we trusted him, and he betrayed that trust.”

  After a few minutes of muffled sobbing, Yvette looked up. “I…I know I might get in trouble for telling y’all this, but I knocked the shit out of Laura.”

  The corners of Bethany’s mouth curled up into a smile. “No, you won’t get into trouble for that. If I had my way, you’d get a reward.”

  “But I made her nose bleed!”

  “She had it coming,” I said.

  When we finished questioning Yvette Lewis, we stood to leave, and Yvette followed us to the door. Bethany walked to her car, while I stopped to give Yvette a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around my torso, pressing her face against my chest for a long moment. When she released me, she looked up into my eyes and in a mournful voice asked, “What am I supposed to do now?”

  I just shook my head and walked away. I joined Bethany at the car, and we stopped at Laura LeCompte’s house next.

  Laura’s eyes widened when she answered the knock and saw Bethany and me standing there. “Laura LeCompte?” Bethany asked.

  Laura nodded, her eyes shifting from Bethany to me.

  “Can we ask you some questions about Kenneth Lewis?” Bethany asked.

  Laura stole a nervous glance over her shoulder, stepped outside and closed the door. “Um, sure, what can I do for you?”

  “We understand you were having an intimate relationship with Kenneth Lewis,” Bethany began.

  Laura’s chin trembled, as she wrung her hands in front of her chest. “Does my husband have to know about this? He’ll kill me.”

  “You mean, you haven’t told him yet?” Bethany asked.

  Laura shook her head. “I can’t.”

  Bethany pursed her lips. “While I don’t agree with what you’ve done, it’s certainly none of my business outside of this case. So, you have my word he won’t hear about it from us.”

  Appearing a little more relaxed, Laura took a deep breath. “Okay, what do you need from me?”

  “It’s simple, really. What time did you go to Kenneth Lewis’ house yesterday?” Bethany asked.

  “I think it was about six o’clock,” she said.

  “What do you mean by you think?”

  “I was waiting for my husband to call me from offshore—he usually calls the house phone first—and I wanted him to know I was home. I left right after his call, and I’m pretty sure he called right at six.”

  “How long did it take you to get to Kenneth’s house? Did you go straight there?” Bethany asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. It only took me about five minutes to get there.”

  “So,” I interjected, “you got to Kenneth’s house at about six-o-five PM?”

  Laura nodded. “Thereabouts.”

  I gave Bethany an Oh shit, Kenneth might not have done it look, but she calmly turned to Laura and asked, “Is it possible you’re mistaken about the time? Could it have been later than six?”

  “It’s possible,” Laura acknowledged. “I wasn’t really looking at the clock.”

  “Once you got to his house, did you leave at some point?” Bethany asked.

  “Yeah, I left early this morning, about three.”

  “Did Kenneth act strange at all when you were with him?” I asked.

  Laura shook her head. “He was his normal self. I was sure shocked when I heard he killed that cop—and a little scared. He could’ve killed me, too.”

  Bethany thanked Laura LeCompte for her time, and we walked away.

  “Shit, Beth—”

  “Lieutenant Riggs,” Bethany corrected.

  “Shit, LT,” I said. “How could Kenneth have killed Captain Landry if he was with Laura?”

  “There are two problems with her story,” Bethany explained. “First, she was sleeping with him, so she could absolutely lie for him, and second, she’s not sure about the time.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Thursday, August 18, 2011

  It was eight-thirty when I pulled into the CID parking lot. Lieutenant Bethany Riggs was already there. I hadn’t been given my pass code for the super-secret CID entrance, so I was forced to walk around to the patrol division side of the building. As I walked through the squad room, I heard a television blaring from Captain Landry’s old office. It sounded like news from the shooting, so I hurried to catch it. Jerry Allemand was sitting on Captain Landry’s desk. He nodded toward the forty-two-inch flat screen.

  I sat beside him on the desk, watching intently as the blonde anchor talked.

  “A sex scandal has turned deadly for three Magnolia Parish deputies—two of them high-ranking officials—and has shocked the sheriff’s office to its core. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Sheriff Calvin Burke, who faces a tough opponent in the upcoming October election for sheriff.

  “Sources say Deputy Kenneth Lewis, who is a member of the department’s elite sniper team, was involved in a sex triangle with an undisclosed female. On Tuesday night, Deputy Lewis drove to the top of this bridge”—the cameraman faded away to show that the anchor was standing on the Highway Twelve high-rise—“and fired a fatal shot that killed Captain Anthony Landry, a decorated officer with nearly thirty years of dedicated service to the department, while he supervised the successful release of a dozen hostages during a mid-afternoon bank robbery. In that incident, an unidentified sniper shot and killed the hostage taker seconds before Lewis fired his fatal bullet.

  “While it is unclear if Captain Landry’s widow was involved in a sexual relationship with Kenneth Lewis, Channel Seven News has learned that detectives named Lewis a suspect in the murder shortly after interviewing Mrs. Landry, and he was taken into custody without incident early yesterday afternoon.

  “Late last night, the body of former Internal Affairs Captain Justin Wainwright was discovered in his backyard, the victim of
an apparent sniper attack, and Deputy Lewis was named a suspect in that shooting as well. Before detectives could question Lewis about that shooting, he reportedly used his sniper coveralls to hang himself in the interview room at the Sheriff’s Office CID building in Payneville.”

  When I looked over at Jerry his eyes were wide. “If Kenneth could turn bad, any of us could.”

  I slipped off the desk and punched his shoulder hard. He winced and rubbed away the pain. “Kenneth didn’t turn bad,” I said. “He always was bad. We might not have known it, but he certainly did.”

  Jerry shook his head, unconvinced. “I don’t know…”

  “Well, I do know, but if you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do for you.” I left him to his troubled thoughts and walked down the long corridor that separated the patrol division from CID and stopped by the locked door. I banged on it and waited. After what seemed like too damn long, it swung open.

  It was Gina Pellegrin. A smile played across her face as she stood in my way, looking me up and down. “Damn, you look yummy,” she said. “I never thought I’d ever see you wearing dress slacks and a button-up. You look like church material.”

  I scowled and tried to walk by her. She put a hand on my chest, stopping me. “Here, let me fix your collar.” She reached up and began fussing with the collar, her face inches from mine. My neck tickled as her cool fingers brushed against it. When she was done, she stepped back and cocked her head from one side to the other, admiring her handiwork. “There, now you look like a real detective.”

  I mumbled my thanks and made my way to the cubicle where, just the night before, Lieutenant Bethany Riggs had started typing the arrest warrant for Kenneth Lewis. Bethany was sitting there typing. She looked up casually when I approached, started to turn back toward the monitor, but then jerked her head back toward me. “Damn, you clean up good!”