“Okay, thanks.” Detective Becker said.
“Do you need any help in here?”
“Yes, please.” Detective Becker pointed to the books on the shelf. “Would you please bag up the books regarding plants, animals and the Brandywine River trails?”
Hahn looked at her with his eyebrows raised in confusion. “Okay, if you say so.” He went to work gathering evidence bags and labels and perusing the books.
“I just have to go through the drawers in this dresser and then I think we are almost done. There’s no basement, and other than the two bedrooms, there’s the kitchen, a small family room, attic space and a few closets.”
As she spoke, Detective Becker methodically searched the drawers of Chad’s sole dresser. She opened the drawers, gently sifting through the clothing in each drawer, and then closed the drawer. “Man, this kid was clean,” she said to Hahn. “Not even a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of something or even a dirty magazine.” Finally, as she moved boxer shorts in the top right drawer of Chad’s dresser, she found a manila envelope containing a handful of photographs; color Polaroids and crinkled black-and-whites of different shapes and sizes. Detective Becker immediately realized that the common figure in all of them was a petite dark-haired woman with large, sad eyes. She had seen those eyes before, in the young man awaiting trial on kidnapping and rape charges.
A half hour later, as she followed Hahn out of the house, Becker saw Charlie still sitting at the kitchen table. He had moved only to pour Jack Daniels into his coffee mug and then to stare at the newspaper’s sports section on the table in front of him.
“We are all done here, sir. I apologize for any disruption, and I am sorry for your circumstances.” Detective Becker spoke to Charlie’s back, as he did not turn around or make eye contact in response to her voice. The kitchen door closed behind her with a thud and she gratefully breathed in the fresh morning air and the smell of the Brandywine River.
CHAPTER 20
MARIA: SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
MARIA STRUGGLED TO keep her heavy eyelids open as she held baby Miguel to her breast and tried to get him to latch on to her swollen nipple. His wailing drowned out the sound of Detective Becker’s gentle knock on the open door.
“Excuse me.”
Maria looked up to see the woman who had been to her apartment standing in the doorway to her hospital room. The visitor averted her eyes and looked uncomfortable. Alarm flashed through Maria’s body.
“I’m so sorry to disturb you right now. It looks like you have your hands full. I am Detective Helen Becker. We met two days ago at your apartment—just as this little guy decided to enter the world.” She paused for a moment and finally looked directly at Maria. “I honestly just need to ask you a few questions.”
Maria immediately sat up straighter and responded, “Hello.” Surprisingly, once Maria changed her position the baby settled down and began to nurse.
Detective Becker lingered by the door, again with her eyes averted.
“Does Juan know you are here?” Maria asked.
“No.” Detective Becker responded. “Where is he now?”
“At work… he couldn’t afford to miss again.” Maria looked around the hospital room, as if Juan were hiding behind a curtain. “I know he does not want me to talk to you.”
“I’ll be as brief as possible. I’m sorry about the timing, but as I informed you two days ago, we are sure you are the person who called the police about events relating to the abduction and rape of a woman named Kelly Malloy.”
“I, uhm, I am not sure if I should be talking to you,” Maria said, hesitantly.
Detective Becker ignored Maria’s concerns and kept speaking. “You have no need to worry. I’m only here to investigate this case, I am not investigating you, okay?” She looked at Maria with understanding in her eyes, hoping to avoid the reason for Maria’s reticence. But then she decided to be blunt. “Ms. Hernandez, I am not at all concerned with your status here. That is not what I need to talk to you about. You have my word on that.”
For the next ten minutes, Detective Becker took notes as Maria recounted what she saw only three days earlier from her perch in the Breck’s Mill window. She answered the detective’s questions, explaining that she did not know or recognize the two different men or the woman that she saw that day. She spoke freely until Detective Becker asked her a question that made her uncomfortable.
“Why did you refuse to give your name and phone number to the police when you called to report what you had witnessed?”
“Please,” Maria pleaded with Detective Becker, “don’t ask me that question when you know the answer. We have done nothing wrong.” Maria started to cry. “And I have so much to lose.”
Detective Becker knew that any person hearing Maria’s account would have asked the same question. “Okay.” She said as she closed her writing pad. “You’re right. That is not important. Let’s not worry about that. Thank you again for your time. And, congratulations on your beautiful son.”
As Detective Becker climbed into her car in the hospital parking lot, Juan was straining to push open the revolving glass door to enter the hospital. Two nights of sleep deprivation since his son’s birth, combined with exhausting work framing a house coupled with his anxiety over the detectives’ unfinished business, had left him completely drained. He was relieved that he could take Maria and Baby Miguel home to their own apartment that evening, away from expensive doctors and probing police. He stopped for a moment on his path to the elevators and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He stood in a quiet corner while he dialed the number.
“Hello, you have reached the office of Sara Nuñez. I am away from my desk right now, but I will return your call as soon as I am able to.”
Juan waited for the beep. He took a deep breath before he spoke quietly into Ms. Nuñez’ voicemail box. “Hello, this is Juan Reyes and I am calling again about the status of my citizenship. I have pressing circumstances and I cannot wait any longer for my citizenship status to be final. Please, please, please call me back at 302-555-6321.” Juan snapped the phone closed, angry about the desperation in his voice. He liked to be cool, confident and in control. But his world was spiraling out of control.
Only a few minutes later, as he stepped out of the elevator into the maternity wing, Juan’s heart leapt as he heard his cell phone ring. He stepped into a restroom and answered.
“Hello? Juan Reyes speaking,” Juan said softly.
“This is Sara Nuñez, returning your call. I just got your voicemail. Is everything okay?”
“No, not really. My wife, Maria, is being questioned by the police because she reported a crime that she witnessed. I am afraid they might find out that she is not here legally and they might deport her. On top of that, we just had a baby and I don’t know what will happen to him if that happens.”
“Oh, my gosh,” the voice on the other end of the line said. “You had a baby! Congratulations. A boy or a girl?”
“A boy. His name is Miguel Juan Reyes,” Juan said quickly. “But you don’t understand. My wife entered the country illegally, and now our baby is here. The LACC sent me to you years ago, and I completed my citizenship application a long time ago. I have been waiting patiently, but please tell me, when is that going to happen? What can I do to make it happen right now?”
“Well, I am away from my office right now, Juan, so I don’t have your whole file. I got your voicemail and called you right away. I do recall submitting your citizenship application. Based on my recollection and the documents that I have on my home computer, it seems that your approval and final steps should actually happen any day now. I’ll make some phone calls to INS when I get in tomorrow morning and I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you.” Juan said. “I am sorry that I sound impatient but we have police snooping around right now and it is making me nervous.”
“We’ll sort that through in the morning, Juan. For now, rest assured, no one is deporting a mother of a newborn baby
. Oh, and by the way, your baby is an American citizen because he was born here. So that one is easy. And you are here legally as well. Maria is our immediate concern. We’ll sort it out tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Juan tucked the phone in his pocket and looked around, making sure no one had heard his conversation. Then he hurried back toward the hospital room that contained his whole world, his family.
CHAPTER 21
KELLY: SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
KELLY STEPPED OFF the escalator and walked quickly across the lobby of the New Castle County Courthouse. Her heels clicked on the floor and her right hand firmly clasped the handle of her briefcase as she headed toward the exit. She kept her eyes down in an effort to avoid making eye contact with someone who would feel compelled to start an awkward conversation. She had already endured her co-workers’ feeble attempts to make everything seem normal. Margaret was the only one who had been natural and helpful. She had even made Kelly laugh, commenting that Kelly’s newly cropped hair “might work on Posh Spice, but not on a thirty-something attorney.”
Despite the awkwardness, Kelly was a blur of efficiency. She had successfully argued a motion to compel production of evidence in an employment discrimination case, and in fifteen minutes she had a conference call regarding a settlement of another matter. Her mind was focused on clients’ problems and the numerous steps to their solutions, mercifully leaving no room for the terrifying flashbacks and bottomless pit of despair that had been paralyzing her.
As she rounded the corner toward the exit, Kelly spotted Jack Barnard. He had just finished coming through the security check at the courthouse entrance, and he stood only twenty feet away from her. She ducked behind a column, frozen. She was in no mood to discuss the Johnson appeal.
She sheepishly peeked around the column to see if Jack Barnard had moved on. He was still there. As Kelly watched, he finished putting his keys back in his pocket, recovered his briefcase as it came through the x-ray scan, and then he bent down to tie his left shoe. Just hurry up and get the hell out of here, Kelly thought. Her conference call was now twelve minutes away.
Suddenly, a light reflected off something metallic on Barnard’s finger, catching Kelly’s attention. Her mouth dropped in horror as she recognized the large crescent-shaped scar on his wrist just below the palm of his hand, and his chunky gold ring with a red stone. It was as if an electrical jolt had coursed through her body. Shaking, Kelly walked quickly out of the courthouse, no longer caring who saw her, and not hearing them if they spoke to her anyway. Fear, fury and disgust all competed within her as she dialed her cell phone and tried with all her might to keep her composure. She saw goose bumps rise in the flesh of her wrist and she felt her knees shake, all as her body remembered the futile struggle to fight off her attacker.
“Margaret, it’s Kel. Please call John Staley at Energy Enterprises and tell him I can’t do the settlement conference call today. Try to re-schedule it for later in the week. I need to go somewhere right now, and I’ll check in with you later, okay?” Kelly heard her voice grow shaky as she tried not to cry.
“Are you all right, Kelly? You sound weird. Are you sure you’re ready to be back at work?” Margaret asked, with genuine concern.
“I’m fine. I just realized I have to meet with someone and it is urgent. I’ll check in later.” Kelly shut her phone closed as she turned and walked toward the Carvel State Office Building. She walked through the lobby, checked the directory on the wall to find the floor for the Delaware Department of Justice, and strode quickly to the elevator.
“Hello,” Kelly spoke to a middle-aged woman sitting behind a reception desk. “I need to speak with Deputy AG Sam Schultz.”
The woman looked up at her. “Do you have an appointment with Mr. Schultz?”
“Yes,” Kelly lied. She had known Sam since their first day of law school. They sat next to each other in most of their first-year courses, alternately panicking and laughing about the trials and tribulations of a first-year law student. They navigated life in the District of Columbia together, and spent endless hours in study groups. The summer after graduation, they both wound up in Delaware, preparing for the Delaware Bar exam. She knew Sam and she trusted him. But also, as an insider at the Attorney General’s office who also knew Jack Barnard, he was the only person Kelly felt she could talk to about her appalling realization.
Kelly watched Sam walk toward the reception area. With his thin frame, freckled and bespectacled face and shock of red hair he bore a resemblance to Howdy Doody—a resemblance that he used to disarm defendants and their lawyers and to charm jurors. In reality, he was an extremely effective and methodical prosecutor with an impressive conviction record.
“Hey, Kel. How are you doing?” His face showed anguish as he walked up to Kelly and gave her a hug. “I know you have been through hell, Kelly. I didn’t even know you were back at work already.”
“Sam, you are not going to believe what I came here for, but I don’t know where else to go.” Kelly’s voice cracked as she tried not to break down.
“Geez, Kel, come on, let’s go to my office. We’ll talk there.” Sam put his arm around her shoulder and steered her around to walk down a hall. After passing a few closed doors, Sam guided her into a messy office.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you like this. Were you busy?” Kelly asked as Sam gestured for her to take the seat opposite his desk chair.
“Yes, very. Never too busy for you though, Kel, so let’s get down to business. What is going on?” He looked straight across his desk and directly into Kelly’s deep blue eyes. He felt that familiar flutter he experienced when they had been students together. For three years he had gazed at her eyes, studied her skin, and even surreptitiously smelled the scent of the shampoo in her hair. His desire for her was unrelenting, and yet she acted as if he were a big brother.
Kelly got up from her chair abruptly to close the door to his office. She started to pace in front of Sam’s desk. “You know about my attack at the river, right?”
“Well, yeah, I heard about it here and read something about it in the newspaper. I wanted to call you right away, but I guess I didn’t really know how to handle that sort of thing between old friends. I am so sorry, really.” Sam leaned forward in his chair and spoke quietly, as if he was afraid to disturb Kelly in any way. “I know that they have a guy in custody, a young turk named Chad McCloskey, and that it has been assigned to an AG.”
“Well, he is not the guy who did it.” Kelly said, her voice breaking.
“What? You’re certain?”
“Yes, I know who did, though.”
“Hold on. Let me get the person assigned to your case to listen to this.” Sam looked uneasy as he spoke.
“No, Sam. You have to hear me and tell me what to do. I know that Jack Barnard attacked me.” She looked him right in the eyes and said, “Jack Barnard, esteemed member of the Delaware Bar, is the asshole that drugged me, raped me and left me bound and gagged in the woods.”
“Kel, do you know what you are saying? Do you have proof of this?” Sam asked.
“Yes, it all makes sense now that I think of it. But I didn’t realize it until a few minutes ago when I spotted him in the courthouse. He has the exact ring and scar that my attacker had, not to mention that his giant white hand matches what I saw, too.” Kelly took a deep breath and looked down at where her fingers nervously played with a suit button. “I don’t think I told the detective about the scar. I only remembered that just now when I saw it. It’s him.”
“So you want to accuse a member of the Delaware Bar that we have known for years of attacking you and brutally raping you—based on a glimpse of his hand?” Sam raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
“It was not just a glimpse. His hand was the only thing I could see when the scumbag was raping me, because I had a blindfold on. So I focused on remembering that detail since it was the only thing I could see. Also, he specifically threatened me the night before I was attacked—only… I did not even thi
nk of that until today.” Kelly swallowed hard and banged her fist on Dan’s desk as she spoke.
“What are you talking about? You say he threatened you?” Kelly noticed that Sam was clenching his fists, and his face turned bright red and then an ashen gray.
“My God, Sam! Can’t you handle this conversation?” Kelly asked, sounding annoyed with him rather than concerned. “You are my friend and you are a brilliant prosecutor. Please, I need you to tell me that you know what to do here!” Kelly pleaded with Sam.
Sam was silent. The image of Jack Barnard on top of his Kel—violating her. Bastard. Fucking bastard! For the first time in his entire career of prosecuting violent criminals, he completely understood the desire to kill another man.
Oblivious to Sam’s inner turmoil, Kelly continued with the facts that supported her case against Barnard. “He screwed up and filed an appeal a day after the appeal period had expired. Of course, I had no choice but to move to dismiss it. And the Court had no choice either—it’s a jurisdictional matter. It was a sloppy procedural mistake that is practically per se malpractice. He completely lost his composure and started screaming at me and threatening me personally.”
Sam took a deep breath and unclenched his hands. “Did anyone else hear these threats?”
“Yes,” Kelly said. “My secretary Margaret heard them, at least. Maybe some other people in my office. He was on speakerphone and very loud.”
Sam scribbled a few notes on a legal pad.
“Oh, my gosh!” Kelly exclaimed, “I just thought of this: I was attacked as I ran along the river near Breck’s Mill. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen Jack Barnard down there fly-fishing in the morning when I run by. He has definitely seen me there and I am certain that he knew that was my routine.”
Sam focused on his notes to keep calm. “Kel, this is definitely adding up. But, it is going to be delicate. We’ll need to start real strong, given his position with the Delaware Bar. Is there anything else you can think of that helps?”
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