Faye Kellerman - Decker 06 - Grievous Sin

by Grievous Sin(lit)

  Beltran nodded.

  Pomerantz said, 'You thought Tandy, who was gasping, had woken you up and had called you down to Sun Valley Pres at midnight because she had lost her keys?'

  Beltran said, 'May I remind Counsel that Mr McKay is not on trial here. There's no reason to impugn the veracity of his statements. We are trying to cooperate with a fact-finding interview.'

  Decker said, 'Did Tandy explain the nature of the trouble she was in?'

  'No, sir, she did not.'

  'Did Marie offer any explanation?'

  'No.'

  'And you went down to help Tandy?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'Without question, you went to help her.'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'And did you find her at Sun Valley Pres in front of Room 416?'

  'Yes - well, no, actually.' McKay paused a moment. 'I went to room four-sixteen and no one was there. Then a

  moment later, Marie came out of the broom closet opposite room four-sixteen.'

  'Can you identify Marie once again for the record?' Marge asked.

  'Marie Bellson.'

  'Marie Bellson came out of the broom closet opposite 416?' Decker asked.

  'Yeah, she was hiding there. She pulled me inside.'

  'Did she shut the door?' Marge asked.

  'Yeah of course she shut the door. She had a dead body inside.'

  Beltran said, 'Lawrence—'

  'Mr Beltran, call a spade a spade. There was a dead body in the closet. Scared the shit out of me. Marie was in the process of putting it in a body bag when I got there. I almost bolted on the spot.'

  'Why didn't you?' Marge asked.

  'Because Tandy..." McKay rubbed his hands over his face. 'She had dope on me. She was blackmailing me—'

  Beltran said, 'Lawrence—'

  'The sergeant knows all this, Mr Beltran. Can you let me get my story out?'

  'I'm trying to protect you.'

  'Mr Beltran, you said, I'd get a year's probation tops. That nothing I'd say would make it worse on me. Is that true?'

  'It's true, Mr McKay,' Pomerantz said. 'As long as we're satisfied that your sole involvement in these activities was that of an accessory only—'

  'What does that mean?' McKay asked.

  Decker said, 'We need to be assured that you didn't know anything about the murder and kidnapping until after the fact, after the felonies took place.'

  McKay was breathing hard. 'I swear on my mother's

  grave that I didn't know a thing until Marie pulled me inside the broom closet.'

  'Where was Tandy?' Marge asked.

  'I don't know. I never saw Tandy. She was gone when I got there.'

  Pomerantz, Decker and Marge exchanged looks.

  'You never saw Tandy?' Decker asked.

  'Nope.'

  'And even though Tandy wasn't there when you arrived, even though you saw a dead body in the closet, you didn't run,' Decker said.

  'I know that sounds crazy, but...' McKay took a sip of water and looked at Decker. 'Tandy had dope on me. You found out anyway. I should have saved myself some energy.'

  Decker was quiet.

  McKay continued, 'Tandy knew I was... investing... pocket money from the folks at the home.'

  'Embezzling not investing,' Pomerantz stated.

  'Misappropriating funds,' Beltran retorted.

  'For God's sake, it was just pocket change. I know private nurses who steal behind their clients' backs. At least my patients gave me the money.'

  'Makes you a prince among men, Leek,' Marge said.

  Beltran said, 'Lawrence, just go on with your story.'

  'Couple of the residents have big mouths,' McKay went on. 'That's not a problem, though. The elderly often confuse reality and fantasy. No one pays them any mind. But Tandy wouldn't let go. She started prying into my affairs to prove what I was doing. Tandy may be nuts but she's not stupid. When she makes up her mind, she's relentless. Just like how she is now with buffing. She wanted me, she was going to have me. Once she knew about my pocket change, I started doing favors for her.'

  Decker said, 'Leek, describe the dead body to me.'

  McKay spoke softly. 'It was a black woman. She wore a nurse's uniform. Her face had been bashed in.' He buried his head in his hands.

  'Did you know for certain she was dead, Leek?'

  Beltran held up his hand and whispered something in Leek's ear. A moment later, McKay answered yes to the question.

  'Did you take her pulse?' Decker said. 'Did you check to see if she was breathing?'

  'I just knew she was dead, Sergeant. Why else would Marie be putting her in a body bag?'

  Decker said, 'But you're a nurse, Leek. Wouldn't doing something like that be second nature?'

  'Don't answer that,' Beltran said.

  'I've been a nurse in a geriatric home for five years, Sergeant,' McKay continued. 'I've been around enough bodies to know when someone is dead. They have a look... the eyes... the pupils... dilated. That vacant stare. I..." McKay held his hand to his mouth. 'She was a mess. Her face had been smashed... front part of her skull, too. Her brains... you could see her brains. She'd been hit very hard.'

  'Hit?' Marge asked.

  'Hit as in smashed up with a hammer.' He shuddered. 'I've seen more dead people than I'd care to remember. But I've never seen someone messed up like that.'

  'Was the closet a mess, too?' asked Marge.

  'No... not... I don't remember. Maybe they cleaned it up before I got there.'

  Decker said, 'Any idea who messed the body up?'

  'Marie said...' McKay swallowed hard. 'Marie Bellson said that she did everything. So I guess Marie was the one who did the bashing.'

  'Did she say she did the bashing?' Decker said.

  'Not the bashing specifically. Just that she did everything.'

  'Who do you think did it?' Marge said.

  Beltran said, 'What he thinks is irrelevant.'

  'I'll repeat what you said, Counselor. This isn't a trial, just an interview.'

  'I said a fact-finding interview.'

  McKay blurted out, 'I don't know if Marie would have the strength. But Tandy does. She's a strong woman.'

  Decker knew Leek meant Tandy was strong in more than one way. 'How'd you get the body out to the car?'

  'Marie and I loaded the body on a gurney and brought it to her car. No one really saw us. At that time of night, hospitals are empty and no one pays much attention to anybody in an official uniform.'

  Decker knew that to be true enough. 'Where'd you load the body? Front seat? Back seat?'

  'Actually, we tried the trunk at first. But rigor had started to set in. We couldn't... the limbs weren't pliable. So we put the body on the floor of the back seat.'

  Consistent with the evidence found. Decker had located Marie's ID ring in the back seat. She'd probably lost it while she was placing the body in her car. 'When did this all take place?'

  'I don't know..." McKay closed his eyes and opened them. 'Maybe one, two in the morning.'

  Decker said. 'Leek, how'd you know a hammer did the damage to the body?'

  'Marie gave me the hammer. She said get rid of it.'

  'Did you?'

  'Yeah. I dumped it.'

  'Where?'

  'In the canyon somewhere.'

  'Which canyon?' Marge asked.

  'Somewhere in Angeles Crest.' He cleared his throat.

  'Near where I... I pushed and burned... the car.'

  'Why'd you pick the spot you did?' Decker asked.

  'It...' McKay let out a bitter laugh. 'It was a private spot where Tandy and I used to go camping. We used to do that once in a while. She loved to camp.' He paused. 'I didn't mind. It was a lot less public than her spending the weekend in my place. I hated to be seen with her.'

  Decker kept his expression flat. 'What was Sondra Roberts doing while you and Marie Bellson were loading the body inside Marie's car?'

  McKay finished his water. 'I told you Tandy had taken off. I neve
r saw a baby. I never saw her. I didn't know anything about the kidnapping until I heard it on the news the next morning. That day, I spoke to Tandy at the gym - to ask about what the hell was going on. I didn't want to be involved in a kidnapping.'

  Decker nodded encouragingly.

  'Tandy told me she didn't know anything about a baby. Why the hell was I bothering her?' McKay shook his head. 'She acted like she'd never even phoned me. Like she wasn't even there last night. I don't know who took the baby. All I know is, that night Marie was driving my car, following me up the mountain to get rid of the body.'

  'You drove Marie's car?' Marge asked.

  'Yes. Marie drove mine. She wanted it that way. She knew I wouldn't crap out on her if I was driving the car with the body in it. She was right. She followed me to the dumping spot. I swear I don't know what Tandy was doing. News said the baby was found with her parents. So logic would say that Tandy took the baby to her parents. But I don't know that.'

  Decker paused, thinking about what he actually had on Tandy. So far, he could probably get a charge of accessory and make it stick. But with Marie missing, he had no sure-footed evidence to back up murder and

  kidnapping. Nothing to prove that Marie didn't do it. And maybe she did. He said, 'You and Marie drove up the mountain in separate cars?'

  McKay nodded.

  'Did you stop at all?'

  'Stop with a body in the car?'

  'Stop for gas?' Decker asked.

  'Oh, I get it.' McKay clutched his hands tightly together. 'We did stop once. So I could steal a hose... from someone's front lawn.'

  'A hose?' Marge asked.

  'You used it as a siphon,' Decker said. 'Less suspicious than buying containers of gas in the wee hours of the morning and more convenient. Then you doused Marie's car with gas from its own tank. Very good, Leek.'

  'I thought a long time to come up with that,' McKay said. 'I'm glad you're impressed.'

  The guy was serious. Decker gave him a weak smile.

  McKay said, 'I swear that nurse was dead.'

  'Where was Tandy?' Decker asked.

  'I don't know! Why do you keep asking me that? She was gone when I got to the hospital.'

  'Where was the baby?' Marge said.

  'I don't know anything about a baby!'

  Marge said, 'Tell me about you and Marie in the mountains. What'd you do?'

  McKay looked at his hands. 'We drove up to the mountains, I doused Marie's car with gasoline, then Marie and I pushed it off the cliff. It made a huge bang. Marie and I split as fast as we could.'

  'You left in your car?' Marge stated.

  McKay nodded.

  Marge said, 'Can you answer yes or no for the tape recorder. Did you leave in your car?'

  'Yes, ma'am, Marie and I left in my car. I drove.'

  'What'd you do with Marie?'

  'Let her off in front of a building supply place on Foothill. Her orders. That was the last I ever saw her.'

  'And Sondra Roberts?' Decker asked.

  'I don't know!'

  'Something's bothering me, Leek,' Decker said. 'Lots is bothering me, but we'll start with one thing at a time. You said you pushed the car over the mountain around one, two a.m. Trouble with that one is that the car didn't burn until much later in the morning.'

  'I know.'

  'You know?' Decker said.

  'I went back to the spot before I went to work at the home. You know... just to make sure.' McKay sighed. 'The car was wrecked but in one piece. I panicked. I found the hose I'd used the first time and took gas from my own car. This time I made sure. I threw a burning rag...' He looked down. 'Thing exploded like a nuclear bomb. I've never been so fucking scared in my life. The blast, the heat, the flames. I got out of there so fucking fast. I drove straight to work. Took a shower there.' He smiled at Marge again.'Then I met you a few hours later. Pretty good job of hiding my terror, huh?'

  'Very good,' Marge said.

  'I've done some acting. Actually it was just playing volleyball on the beach for a beer commercial. But people in the business have told me I'm pretty good.' McKay rubbed his face. 'Like that matters, huh? You guys got to believe me. That black girl was dead! And I didn't know anything about the kidnapping until I heard the news. All I did was get rid of the body. Accessory. Like I promised you guys. That's it! I swear!'

  Decker didn't speak for a long time. Finally, Beltran said, 'Are we done?'

  Decker looked at his watch. 'Let's take a break.'

  'You're not finished with your questions?' Beltran asked.

  'No, Counselor, I'm not.'

  'I don't think my client has anything to add to his statement.'

  'A few minutes?' Decker asked.

  'Make it quick,' Beltran said. 'We've been cooperative. But now I'm getting impatient.'

  Decker nodded to Marge and Pomerantz. They followed him outside.

  'What?' Marge said.

  'We're still not there as far as Tandy's concerned,' Decker said.

  'What are you talking about?' Marge said. 'We found Marie's lock box in Tandy's condo, just as you predicted, Pete. We've got Tandy as an accessory based on Leek's testimony—'

  'But she wasn't at the hospital when Leek came down. We certainly can't pin her with murder and kidnapping.'

  Marge said, 'Leek said that Marie wasn't strong enough to deliver those blows to Lily Brooker's head.'

  'Since when is Leek an expert in forensics?' Decker said.

  Marge turned to the DA. 'What do you think?'

  Pomerantz answered, 'Tandy, for all her outbursts, never admitted to anything. Her parents said Marie dropped off the baby. We have Leek's testimony and some circumstantial evidence, but without Marie, we can't do much to Tandy. Too much reasonable doubt.'

  Decker smashed his fist into a waiting palm. 'I'm pissed. She's going to walk with probation, I just know it. The girl is crazy. Probably homicidal crazy. She needs treatment! And she needs to be confined while she's in treatment! We can't let her out on the streets, and that's what's going to happen unless we have more

  dope on her. We can't let her walk!'

  'Think McKay has anything to do with Marie's disappearance?' Pomerantz asked.

  'You mean do I think McKay killed Marie?' Decker shrugged. 'Who knows? I'll tell you this much. I think McKay knows more than he's letting on. I just eel it. The trick is how to get it out of him without Beltran pulling the plug.'

  'Soon as he realizes we're fishing for something bigger than accessory, he's going to pull the plug,' Pomerantz said.

  Decker kept hitting his palm with his fist. 'Why did Leek agree to help Tandy out? Surely he had to realize that embezzlement is a far less serious charge than being an accessory to murder and kidnapping. How'd she talk him into coming down to the hospital at midnight and helping Marie dispose of a dead body?'

  Marge said, 'She obviously has a lot of power over this

  guy.'

  'Lots and lots of power. I've got to believe she has something bigger on him than just embezzlement!'

  'Like what?' Marge said.

  'I don't know!' Decker punched his palm again.

  'Why don't you ask him?' Marge said. 'As if he'd tell?'

  'Funnier things have happened,' Decker said. 'Why don't you ask him, Marge? He seems to like you.'

  'Fine.' Marge led the men as they came back into the interview room.

  'What now?' Beltran asked.

  'Couple more questions,' Marge said. 'Please just bear with me, and then we can call it quits.'

  'I can get out of here?' McKay asked.

  'You discuss that with your lawyer.'

  'But you said no jail time,' McKay began to protest.

  Beltran said, 'Lawrence, let's finish up this interview

  and then I can work on your bail, all right?' To Marge, he said, 'Can we get on with it, Detective?'

  'Leek, something's... it's all right if I call you Leek?'