“I think I’m glad I’m not the person who set him up.” Nina tilted her glass in Wes’s direction. “To justice, Detective.”
He was more than willing to drink to that.
Twenty-one
It was dark by the time Wes and Nina left Dellarosa’s.
“Maybe you should wait until tomorrow to stop at the house,” Wes suggested.
“I might as well go now,” Nina said. “I’m really not afraid of Kyle. I still think you’re all wrong about him. And besides, I’m already here in Stone River.”
“All right. But here’s the way it’s going to be. I’m going to follow you and park in front of the neighbor’s house. I will watch you ring the doorbell. If you are convinced there’s no one inside, you will wave to me and use your key to go in. I will wait, cell phone in hand, for you to call me and tell me that no one is in there. If my cell doesn’t ring within a minute of you going through that door, I’m right behind you.”
“If you’re so concerned, why don’t you just come in with me?”
“Because you no longer own the house, and I would be entering unlawfully. And on the outside chance that you find something that could be used as evidence, my being there could cause it to be tossed later as part of an improper search. Let’s not take silly chances.”
“Aren’t I entering unlawfully?”
“Debatable. You’re a relative, and you have a key. You could make a case that you’re allowed to enter when the owner isn’t home, because he knows you have the key and permitted you to keep it. I’m a cop. I get no such slack.”
She nodded and walked to the Land Rover. “I’ll see you there, then.”
The drive to the Madden house—now Kyle Stillman’s house—took less than ten minutes. Nina parked right at the curb near the front door, while Wes drove past her and parked two houses up the street, in the shadow of some large trees. Nina got out of the car and walked up to the front door and rang the bell. She peered through the sidelights, then rang the bell again. After several tries, she took the key from her purse and opened the door. She turned to wave at Wes, then disappeared into the house.
The door had barely been closed behind her when Wes took his cell phone out of his pocket and began the countdown. He’d reached fifty-two when the phone finally rang.
“All clear here,” Nina told him.
“Are you sure?”
“Unless someone’s hiding upstairs.”
“Not funny.” He frowned. “Did you leave the front door unlocked?”
“I think so.” She paused. “Want me to go check?”
“No. I want you to get what you went in for and get the hell out.”
“What did I come in here for?” He could hear her shuffling papers around, and a moment later, he heard a file drawer close. “Oh, yes. I’m looking for Dad’s copy of Hansen’s. Which should be right about . . . here.”
“Is it?” Wes asked. “Is it there?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean it’s not on another shelf.”
He listened as she moved books around, knocked a few off the shelf and onto the floor.
“Oops.”
He heard her breathing into the phone, heard another drawer open and close. Heard her footsteps on the hardwood floor.
Heard a car in the driveway.
“Nina, you have to get out. Go out through the back. Kyle just pulled in the driveway.”
“If he pulled in the driveway, he’s already seen the lights on in the study. If I leave before he gets here, he’ll probably call in a burglary,” she told him calmly. “I’m going to stay here, he’ll come in, I’ll act very normal and very natural. I’ll tell him I decided I wanted to go through Dad’s books, and maybe take something back to New York with me. No big deal.”
“And it won’t be a big deal when I ring the doorbell about thirty seconds after he comes inside, so you’d better act surprised to see me.”
She hung up and he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He watched as the house lights went on from the kitchen through the hall. He walked around the side of the house until he could see into the study window. Nina stood behind her father’s desk, her cell phone in her hand. Apparently, in spite of her proclamations to the contrary, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure of Kyle, either.
Kyle stood in the door, lighting a cigarette, and through reading body language and facial expressions, Wes could follow the conversation. Kyle had been surprised to see Nina. Nina was explaining how she’d decided that perhaps she might want a few of her father’s things after all. Why didn’t you call and let me know you were coming, we could have had dinner? It was a whim, spur of the moment. I did call the house phone earlier, there was no answer.
There appeared to be a lull, and suddenly Wes was unable to read Kyle’s expression.
That’s it. Time’s up. Wes walked back to the front of the house and rang the bell.
He was just about to ring it for the third time when he heard footsteps in the hall.
“Detective Powell.” Kyle opened the door. “You’re working late tonight.”
“I was on my way home, and I saw the lights on. I had a few questions and thought if you weren’t busy, now might be a good time to ask them.”
“Well, it isn’t a good time for me,” Kyle told him. “So if you’d like to stop by tomorrow, or the next day, that would be fine. Give me a call and we’ll make an appointment.”
“Actually, it will only take a few minutes.”
“Sorry, Detective. I have company, and I don’t have time to chat right now. If you’d like to come back tomorrow, I’ll be home all day. But tonight is not good.” Kyle started to close the door, and Wes was debating whether or not to stick out his foot to prevent the door from closing, when he saw Nina move into the hall behind Kyle.
“Kyle, I’m going to have to get going now, I’m staying with a friend and she expected me back hours ago and . . . “ She paused and peered around her stepbrother. “Is that Detective Powell I see?”
“Ms. Madden, nice to see you again.” Wes breathed a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t wanted to alert Kyle that he was a suspect at this stage of the investigation.
“Nice to see you, too.” She had a stack of books in her hands. To Kyle, she said, “I found a few old books of Dad’s that I’d like to take, if it’s okay with you.”
“They’re your books. I told you before, anything you want from this house, it’s yours. Just say the word.” He patted her on the back. “Next time, you might want to call first. Not that I mind you coming and going, I certainly don’t. But I’d like to be here when you’re here, so we can visit.”
“I’ll call first next time. Thanks again.” Nina scooted out past him and nodded to Wes as she went down the steps. “Detective.”
Wes nodded in return, and took a few steps backward. Kyle stood in the door, watching Nina get into her car. He continued to stare as she drove off. Wes couldn’t read the expression that crossed Kyle’s face, and it made him uneasy.
“I’m sorry to have disturbed you,” Wes said as he went down the steps. “I’ll give you a call and you can let me know when’s a good time to stop by.”
“Well, you might as well come in, now that you’ve scared away my stepsister.” Kyle stepped back from the door and gestured for Wes to enter.
What the hell, Wes thought as he stepped through the door.
“What was it you wanted to talk about this time?” Kyle asked, not nearly as hospitable as he had been the last time Wes had been there.
“Just a quick question or two. When I was here the other day, why didn’t you tell me that you’d gone through the police academy? That you’d been a Maryland state cop for several years?”
Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t think of it, actually. That was years ago, and since you checked into my background, you know that my leaving MSP was not exactly on friendly terms. I just don’t think about that time anymore. Sorry if that made you feel suspicious toward me—apparently it has, or you wou
ldn’t be back here asking about it. There was no big mystery, though. Maybe if you’d asked me for my employment background instead of what I did for a living, it might have come to mind.” Kyle stood with his arms folded over his chest. “Was that all? Did you drive out here just to ask me about that?”
“I did want to ask you about your stepfather’s affairs.”
“What about them?”
“Were you aware that he was cheating on your mother?”
“Only after my mother told me.”
“When was that?”
“I really don’t recall.”
“Before or after the murders?”
“I don’t recall when they were, sorry.”
“The last one was in 1989. Surely you remember that.”
“I think maybe she didn’t mention it until after he was arrested, and it came out that he’d had all those girlfriends over the years. Yes, I’d have to say that was when I found out.”
“What was her demeanor?”
“She was devastated, of course. She loved Stephen.”
“The last time we talked, you said you knew about her affair with Overbeck.”
“Yes.”
“So did you know about your mother’s affair with him before you knew about Stephen’s affairs?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Just wondering which one she mentioned first.”
“I really don’t remember.” Kyle closed the door slightly. “Now, unless there’s something else . . . ?”
“That’ll do it for tonight.”
“Good night then.” Kyle stepped back, then said as he closed the door all the way, “And next time, call for an appointment.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Wes said as he went down the steps and onto the walk.
On his way back to the car, he dialed Nina’s cell phone. It occurred to him that he’d memorized it.
“Hi,” she answered.
“Hi, yourself.” Wes unlocked the car door and got in.
“You and Kyle have a nice chat?”
“Sure. He couldn’t wait to get me out of there.”
“I think he wanted to go back into the office and see what I’d taken.”
“You do?”
“Yes. He seemed really concerned that I was there, although he was certainly gracious.” She paused, then said, “I’m glad you were there. Something about him tonight put me on edge. I still don’t see him as a murderer, but thanks for being there.”
“Any time.” Wes turned the key in the ignition and drove away from the curb. “So, what did you find?”
“Just a few books that I did want to read again. I didn’t have time to find the Hansen’s, but I can go back again and look.”
“Not alone, okay?”
“I’ll take Regan with me next time. She has a black belt and is a crack shot. She has several handguns.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Uh-uh. She is armed and dangerous.”
“Who’d have thought it?”
“Well, she’s careful with her guns, but I guess living out on the bay, all alone, on that windy dark road with precious few neighbors, she needs to be able to protect herself.”
“As long as she knows what she’s doing.”
“She took lessons for years, and she still goes to a firing range at least once a month. She said she’s never had to shoot at anyone, but if the need ever arose, she wanted to know how to do it right.”
When he didn’t respond, she said, “Wes? You still there?”
“I’m here. I was just thinking, it’s too bad you couldn’t have gotten something with Kyle’s DNA on it.”
“Who said I didn’t?”
“What?” He came to a stop sign and slammed on the brakes. “You found something?”
“Right under my nose.” He could all but hear the smile in her voice. “Kyle smokes cigarettes. He lit one up when he came into the study.”
“I saw through the window. So?”
“So when he went out to answer the door, he stubbed it out in the ashtray.”
“And you swiped it?”
“It’s wrapped in a tissue in my purse. I was so afraid it would start smoking while I was standing there next to him, I couldn’t wait to leave.”
“Where are you? Slow down and let me catch up.”
“I’ve been waiting for you. See the car stopped at the side of the road about one hundred yards up from the stop sign you just passed? Pull up alongside and roll down your window, and I’ll toss it to you.”
“You are one smart woman,” he told her as he slowed down and eased as close to the Land Rover as he could without sideswiping it.
“You betcha,” she said, and tossed the rolled-up tissue into the front seat of his car.
“Was this the only butt in the ashtray?”
“Not the only one, but the only one I knew for sure was his.”
“You might be in the wrong business.”
She laughed softly.
“’Night, Wes.”
“’Night, Nina,” he said as he put the evidence into his pocket, and watched her drive off into the night.
Twenty-two
“So, what do you have for me?” Regan propped the phone between her shoulder and her chin so she could talk and take a cobbler out of the oven at the same time.
“I have a little bit of information,” Mitch told her. “You gonna make it worth my while?”
“Don’t I always?”
“Amen.” He chuckled. “In addition to the two brothers you already know about, Eddie Kroll had two sisters. Dorothea and Catherine. Catherine died in 1993—cause unknown—but Dorothea is the widow of Joseph Brown and the mother of three grown daughters.”
“Dorothea Brown,” Regan murmured. “Dorothea Brown . . .”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to look up anything else because—believe it or not—I actually had to work today. And I had to sort through all the hits I got on the stuff I was looking up for Wes. Do you know how many—”
“Dolly Brown,” Regan all but shouted into the phone. “That sneaky little . . . “
“Whoa, who’s Dolly Brown?”
“Dolly Brown is the woman I’ve been talking to in Sayreville, Illinois. She’s the woman I spent several days with a few weeks ago, and never once did she let it drop that she was Eddie’s sister. That explains why she didn’t want me to talk to Carl, why she was so protective of him.”
“Want to explain to me what you’re talking about?”
“I will call you back in fifteen minutes or less.”
“Let me guess. You’re going to call Dolly Brown and give her what-for for not coming clean.”
“I’m going to do better than that. I’m going to book myself on the first flight I can get out there, and then I’m going to do a little investigative work of my own. I’ll call you back. And thanks, Mitch. Your hard work will be rewarded.”
“I’m counting on it,” he said as she hung up.
Regan called the airlines and made arrangements for a morning flight to Chicago, then shuffled through her purse in search of the small phone book she took with her everywhere. She found the number she wanted, dialed it, and leaned on the kitchen counter while waiting for the familiar voice to pick up.
“Hello?”
“Hello, I’d like to speak with Dorothea Brown, please.”
“This is Dorothea Brown.”
“Dorothea Kroll Brown?”
“Yes. Who is this?”
“This,” she said, grinning from ear to ear, “is Regan Landry.”
A long silence followed, and for a moment, Regan was afraid Dolly was going to hang up on her.
“Dammit.” Dorothea Kroll Brown cursed softly. “I knew I shoulda got that caller ID thing . . . “
“Why didn’t you tell me you’re Eddie’s sister?” Regan asked.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“I don’t feel like talking
about it right now.”
“Well, maybe you’ll feel like talking about it tomorrow.”
“Maybe not.”
“Well, I’d like to see some photos of Eddie.” Regan decided to ignore Dolly’s remarks. She’d made her point. “I realized this morning I’ve never seen a picture of him, except the one in the newspaper, and that wasn’t very good. Eighth-grade graduation or something, right?”
“Something like that.”
“I’m sure you and Carl have pictures of him. I’d like to come and see, if you’ll show me.”
“I’ll have to think about it and call you back in the morning.”
“Well, you’re going to have to call me on my cell phone, because by then I’ll be on my way to Chicago.”
“You ever take no for an answer?”
“Not that I can recall.”
“You know where to find me when you get here.” Dolly hung up.
Regan danced around the kitchen while she speeddialed Mitch. Disappointed to have to leave voice mail, she ran up the steps to the second floor to pack. She hoped Nina wouldn’t object to her leaving for the weekend, but she was excited over the prospect of seeing what Eddie Kroll really looked like.
“Thanks for inviting me to tag along,” Nina said as she got into the front seat of Wes’s car. “I haven’t seen Mrs. Owens since I left Stone River. I hope she remembers me.”
“So do I.” Wes nodded. “Otherwise, I won’t stand a chance of talking to her. She wouldn’t give me the time of day when I called. I thought maybe if I showed up with you, she might reconsider.”
“Well, we’ll soon find out. Porter Street is only two blocks off campus.” Nina pointed to the stop sign up ahead. “You want to go left here.”
“I called Mitch this morning. He told me to express mail the samples we collected yesterday. He’s going to try to rush them through the lab.”
“I heard.” She turned to look at him. “He drove Regan to the airport this morning. She’s going back to Chicago.”
“She’s investigating someone for a book?”
“I think it’ll turn out to be a book. Right now she’s just curious about this guy Eddie Kroll.” Nina filled Wes in on the parts he hadn’t heard.
Dark Truth Page 19
