“Yeah. Duct tape, a ski mask, an old stun gun, a sock—I don’t know what else.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police what Higgins was up to that night?” Kevin asked. “You were safe once you got here.”
He bit his lip. “I was safe, but my mom wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Right after I got sent to the Pen, Higgins wrote me a note. He said he hoped I was doing okay and then down at the bottom he wrote the number 2133 BR. I knew what it meant; 2133 Butler Road is my mother’s address.”
Kevin nodded. “Detective McAllister, do you have anything?”
Mac wanted nothing more than to get the guy out of his sight and back in prison where he belonged. He wanted to go home and take a long hot shower. But he also wanted to know what had happened to Megan’s temporary debit card. Wallace admitted that Joe found Megan’s temporary PIN number scribbled on a Post-it in her purse, and he and Joe had used the debit card at all the locations noted on the bank record.
“That’s all I have,” Mac said, handing the interview back over to Kevin.
Kevin stood up and moved behind his chair. “Just one more thing, Mr. Wallace. What do you think should happen to you and Higgins for your participation in this crime?”
“I think we should die,” Wallace said without hesitation. “I think we should both die for this, at least Higgins should.”
“That’s all I have for you now, Mr. Wallace. Do you have anything you want to add?” Kevin picked up the tape recorder.
Wallace sat back in his chair, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands. “Just that I’m really sorry for what we did. I didn’t mean for that girl to die and I wish I had never met Joe Higgins. Please tell her family I’m sorry and I’ll do anything I can to make sure Higgins never sees the light of day again. I wish I could kill him myself. That’s it; that’s all I have to say.”
“Get on your feet, Mr. Wallace.” Kevin opened the door and signaled for the guard who had brought him in.
“Am I going back to segregation now?” Wallace asked.
“Actually,” Kevin said, “I’m going to have you transported out to Multnomah County because I’m charging you with the crime of murder for the death of Megan Tyson. You’ll be arraigned in the morning.”
Wallace nodded as the guard took his arm and led him out the door.
“That was amazing,” Mac said.
“We took a chance and it paid off.”
Mac rubbed his still-churning stomach. “I don’t think I could have gotten all that out of him. I was ready to leave after fifteen minutes.”
“It’s tough listening to stuff like that, Mac. I don’t think it ever gets any easier, but we had to get everything we could. When this case goes to court, we want the D.A. to have more than enough ammunition to nail those two.” He stood up and grabbed his notes. “Right now we need to type up a probable cause affidavit, then we’ll take the hammer wagon up to Troutdale and pay Mr.
Higgins a final visit. The media will be all over this thing soon.
We’ll give Eric this last bit of information and get a telephonic search warrant for Higgins’s new duplex. It’s coming together, partner. It’s all coming together.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Things progressed rapidly from that point on. After processing Joe’s vehicle, Kevin and Mac searched the duplex and found the setting for Megan’s ring and the cross that had been ripped from her neck. Allison Sprague reported that the blood in Joe’s old apartment was indeed Megan’s.
What really cinched the case was the confession from Mitch Wallace. The other suspects were cleared.
Dana had found Tim Morris at the airport. He canceled his flight and went straight to the Troutdale P.D. When he found out about Cindy, he canceled his plans so he could be with her. The Washington State Patrol found Matthew DeLong at a convenience store just north of Longview at the Mount St. Helen’s turnoff. Now he was back home, paying alimony and still living with his sister.
As it turned out, Joe Higgins had killed Gordon Reed. The murder weapon—Gordon’s own knife—was found in Joe’s tool kit, along with the duct tape he had used on Cindy. The lab techs had matched the tape Mac had pulled from Cindy’s mouth to the roll in Joe’s trunk—a roll that had Joe’s fingerprints all over it.
A search of Gordon’s place revealed that he’d written a note to Joe saying he knew Joe had killed Megan and wanted money for his silence. Megan had told Gordon about the jewelry, so when he saw Joe giving the earrings to Cindy, he put two and two together, then tracked the guy down with the idea of blackmailing him. Joe kept his money and got Gordon’s silence anyway.
The detectives spent a good two weeks processing their evidence before closing the books on the case. They turned everything over to the prosecutor, who felt certain the case would stand up to any attorney Joe Higgins might hire.
Mac had gone home that night exhausted and ready to move on. He’d made it through his first murder investigation and in Cindy’s eyes, at least, had emerged a hero. The guys joked about his getting the girls and saying how jealous they were. Kevin didn’t say a lot, but what he had said was positive. Mac smiled, thinking about Kevin’s remark about God’s guidance. Mac wasn’t certain if God or instinct or both had led them to Joe and Cindy, but he was thankful either way.
Sitting in front of his fireplace, stroking his dog’s silky head, he thought about how well Dana had gained Kevin and Eric’s respect.
They were both rooting for her and had promised to talk to Frank on her behalf. “It won’t be long now,” Mac had told her the day before.
“I hope so. I can’t wait to show those chauvinists what I can do.”
“Chauvinists?”
“Not you, Mac. And not Kevin or Eric. I’m talking about the others—especially Russ and Philly. Those two are something else.”
Mac had to agree. His thoughts made the obvious transition from Dana to Linda. He hadn’t talked to her since she’d walked in on him and Dana. Kevin had advised him to mend the fences regardless of whether or not they still had a relationship.
Mac went to get his cell phone and punched in Linda’s number. He’d apologize for not calling sooner. He’d tell her why Dana had been there. And he’d come clean about his past. Neither Eric nor Kevin held his ancestry against him, so maybe Linda wouldn’t either. He might even agree to go to premarital counseling—that is, if Linda was still interested in working things out. If not, he’d move on.
Secrets, Lies & Alibis Page 33
