“And then what happens? What’s the process?”
“Nothing magical, believe it or not. I just kinda follow my gut, like I always have. I ask for help when I need it, see a different vantage point; that always helps, too. Funny, I wasn’t convinced I had the right person until I got inside of that house, Captain. I didn’t expect to find what I did, but as soon as I got in there and started looking around, I could see that we had him! We finally had him! We found his ass and I needed to find those girls. That’s all I cared about.”
“…And you did. You’re a hero. People are going to be talking about this for years. Anyway.” He sighed. “I’ve never not been unable to get a hold of you and yeah, I was worried, thinking the worst… I thought maybe the stress had gotten to you, the strain of it all. I didn’t know, wasn’t sure. Today was actually the first time I didn’t trust you, but you proved me wrong.” He cleared his throat. “In any case, I had some paperwork in my hand for you. I needed you to sign it, because… I had good news. You were being assigned to the Homicide unit. You passed the tests and I’d signed off on it. The damn irony is almost funny.”
Nick broke out in a smile, then burst out laughing. “That is hilarious…and you thought I’d relapsed right after that…damn.”
The captain rose from his seat and pushed his hands into his pockets. “They’re gonna release you from here in about an hour. Tomas is getting preliminary information from Allen.”
“Is he talking?”
“Not really. He hasn’t asked for a lawyer yet, though. No one is pressing him; he’s just in holding. When you get outta here, come down to the station and get ready. We need you.”
“Get ready?” Nick smirked as he rubbed a spot on his forehead and sighed. “I was born ready…”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Have you ever looked into the eyes of the devil? I have… No, not when I looked at Oliver, or even in the mirror. There are souls inside of these vessels. This is completely different… There is a certain type of person you come across that, when you look at them, they seem to be only a shell, soulless, dead… and if being void of a conscience had a scent, these people would reek. I’ve come across a few in my line of work, and it always leaves you changed once you look into their eyes, mere hollows in their sockets. You’ll never be the same because you shared space with the wickedest of all and, in that process, they’ve taken a piece of you…
Nick went into character, leaving his old self behind…
“So, are you comfortable? Need anything? Thirsty?” He sat down before the man, who possessed a somewhat meek disposition and unmemorable features. He was attractive in a quiet sort of way.
Jaws tight, his face a mask, the guy crossed his long arms over his chest and rocked back and forth in his seat as if trying to get situated—uneasy, but not a nervous sort… His behavior indicated impatience, as if he believed his time was being wasted.
“No, I’m not thirsty,” Allen uttered, devoid of emotion or concern.
“Okay, well, let me introduce myself. My name is Officer Vitale,” Nick said, hand on chest. “I understand your rights have been stated to you, is that correct?”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll let you know before we proceed that I treat everyone I come in contact with professionally, with respect, and I expect the same. My job is to not prove what I think is right; it is all about getting to the truth, okay?”
“I was set up, framed,” he stated. “I didn’t do these things I’m accused of.”
Nick nodded, crossed his legs. “Okay, well, before we get into all of that, I want to make sure that you’re comfortable. Are you? Is it too hot or cold in here?”
The man took a deep breath and nodded abruptly. “No, I’m fine… the temperature is fine.”
“Okay, good. So, as you know, Mr. Allen, a search warrant was acquired for your residence earlier today. Subsequently, the residence and surrounding land were explored.” He cleared his throat, sat back in his seat and traced the rim of his cup, half full with coffee. “In that investigative process, Christopher… Wait, do you prefer to be called Chris or Christopher?”
The man exhaled deeply. “Chris.”
“Okay, Chris. In that investigative process, there were nine children, one of which was post partum by approximately one day according to our preliminary medical intelligence. These children, all girls between the ages of eight and thirteen, were found behind your master bedroom fireplace, enclosed in a makeshift living arrangement. So, as you can see, things aren’t starting off well or looking good on your behalf. You own the property; it is in your name. It was originally a rental, but you bought it. You’ve lived there for approximately three years. This is a problem. I’m certain we can agree on that.”
The man’s nostrils flared as he hugged himself.
“Now, at this point, Chris, I just need you to explain to me what happened.”
“I can’t explain what happened if I didn’t do it!” He looked away for a brief moment. “I have a roommate that comes into town every few months.” He turned his attention back in his direction. “He must’ve done this… It must’ve been Ted. There’s no way I could afford that mortgage on my salary.”
“I see, I see.” Nick jotted some things down on paper, nodding along the way. “So, you knew nothing about the nine girls in your bedroom wall; more specifically, directly within and behind the fireplace, as well as the chimney?”
“No. I’m telling you the truth!”
“Okay.” Nick took a deep breath and sat further back in his seat before suddenly leaning in close, so close, he could almost smell the fear on the demon before him. “Here’s the problem, Chris.” He ran his finger along his chin and peered at the man. “We’ve pretty much destroyed your house.”
The man’s jaws clenched, the muscles visibly contracting and twisting beneath the pale flesh.
“I’m sorry about that. It was a very nice house… But you see, in that process, we found some things, not just the dolls… Oh, I’m sorry.” Nick smiled ever so slightly. “I meant the girls. And we found their accessories… Goodness, sorry again. I swear, this media coverage about all of this doll business is seeping into my brain and it’s been a really long day.” He jotted down another note or two.
“I’m innocent and you and your guys destroyed my house! I want it fixed, damn it! Do you hear me?! I want every window replaced, and every wall you tore out rebuilt!” The man’s voice rose in a way that caused Nick to raise his own brow.
…Anger and violence if things don’t go as expected…
“Chris, if you are not responsible for the abductions of these children and placing them inside of your house, you have my promise that your home will be repaired on our dime. I’d hate to accuse the wrong man, okay?” He shook his head. “That would be a tragedy. I just want justice for those poor girls and having the wrong guy, well…” He shrugged. “That’s not justice now, is it?”
“No… no it’s not.” The man pursed his lips.
“Okay, so let me just step back a minute here, and give you the benefit of the doubt.” Nick crossed his legs and looked the man square in the eye.
“I’m innocent until proven guilty. Innocent. Do you know what that means?” the man asked smugly.
“Yes, I know what that means, Chris, and yes, you are one hundred percent right.” He shot the man an agreeable smile. “Okay, you know what? You seem pretty upset about this. I’m just tryna talk with you, Chris… find out how those girls got in your house. Let me just ask you a few questions and get this over with, okay? I’m sure we’d both like to go home and besides, if I figure out I’ve got the wrong guy, then I want you out of here as soon as possible, and the real perpetrator to be sitting in this seat that you currently occupy. Okay?”
…This man is completely crazy. He honestly believes he can get out of this…
“Alright.”
“Chris, have you spent any recent time in Brownsville, particularly Linden Boulevard?”
> The man hesitated for a second or two. “No…”
“Okay, okay.” Nick jotted down more notes. “So you are saying that you have not had any professional or leisure travel to that part of Brooklyn?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. I work in Windsor Terrace. I go to work, I go home. Sometimes I take a walk, but I don’t go over to Brownsville… it’s dangerous.”
…Giving considerably more information than what was requested… a sign of deception…
“Mmm hmm, yes, Brownsville definitely is a place one should visit with caution. Now, you work on Flatbush Avenue, correct? You’re a dental hygienist?”
“Yes, I’ve been there for nine years.”
“Nine years, wow. I imagine that’s an interesting job.” Nick issued a light laugh. “All those people, toothaches and route canals. We all have to go to the dentist, right? Always can find a job in the dental field… I bet you’re kept pretty busy.”
“Yes, not much down time.”
“Is it a big place? A lot of patients?” Nick slicked a piece of gum out of its foil wrapper and tossed it into his mouth.
“No, not really. It’s a small but hectic practice. The dentists there are very good, and I’ll miss work tomorrow if I don’t get out of here.” He looked about the place, then focused on the black and white clock hanging on the wall.
…Tick tock…
“No worries, if you aren’t our guy, Chris, I will let you leave. I promise.” He smiled at him. “Thanks for letting me know about the dentists you work for. It just so happens that I’ve got a wisdom tooth that’s been bothering me, and I’m looking for a new dentist, too. I might have to try where you work at, if it’s not too far. Mine retired.” He shrugged. “This tooth, boy.” He shook his head, feigning pain. “It probably needs to be extracted.” He sighed.
“…You should have someone look at it soon.” He lifted his chin and spoke with assurance. “It could get infected, if it’s not already.”
…He wants to feel important, all knowledgeable.
“I agree with you there. It’s just kind of a fear of mine though, you know?” He winced. “First, I got this pain… and that’s a bummer. Then, I have to find a new dentist. I don’t like that.” He shrugged. “I like for things to stay the same… predictable.”
They looked at one another for a moment or two, no words exchanged.
“Some people get a kick out of that, but we, I mean police officers,” he said, pointing to himself, “are afraid of some things, too. Everyone is afraid of something, don’t you think?”
“I’d imagine so.” The man sat a bit straighter in his seat. Nick leaned in closer again, until his knee brushed against the guy’s.
“And I’d imagine a man like you, that’s never been in trouble with the law before, would find this is a little scary, too? Being down here, accused of kidnapping and murder… that’s gotta be frightening.”
Christopher’s blue eyes grew larger as the two men stared at one another for what felt like a long while.
“These are serious charges, right? Multiple charges… Multiple.” He looked down at the floor and shook his head. “One after another, after another, after another…wow.” He sighed, as if the weight of the world sat on his shoulders. “So many, there is no way a person who had done these crimes, if caught, would ever get out of prison, Chris.” Nick cocked his head to the side. “Unless that person actually helped in some way with the investigation… gave the families some peace.” He shrugged. “Then there just may be a way, you know? And, I’m all ears, Chris. I have nothing but time on my hands… Nothing but time.” He grinned at the man and clasped his hands together. “Now, here is where you and I help one another.”
“How?”
“There is something called honesty that I really respect. Honesty gets people more on their side, and honesty is synonymous with order. Everything we do, say and think follows a timeline.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand what you’re implying.”
“What I’m implying, Chris, is that there is a start and an end to everything but sometimes, we don’t see the end coming until it’s far too late… But.” He raised his index finger in the air, paired it with a gentle grin. “When we’re honest, we then take back control over things that appear, well, out of our hands. Chris… you can lead the way. I want you to…”
The man frantically shook his head. “No, no, no!” He waved his hand. “I don’t know anything about any girls, none of that!”
“Chris, we’re past that, okay?” Nick widened his smile. “Right now, I need the timeline. Because if you don’t give it to me, then I’ll make up my own… and my own could never be as exact as yours and if I’m not exact, well, that could affect what happens to you later, down the line, in a way that is clearly not in your favor… Do we understand each other now, Chris? Do you see what I’m implying now?” Nick nodded as he placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Your DNA is all over those girls… DNA doesn’t lie, Chris. You see, DNA is honest. It’s orderly.
The man didn’t reply, simply put his head down.
“I may not like what you did, but if you’re honest with me, then that means I could possibly understand you better. Don’t play games with me. We’re waaaaay past that game playin’ stage. Don’t take yourself through a lot of changes. Now, you seem like a reasonable person… Once you appear unreasonable, then, I will wash my hands of you.”
“You don’t believe me… I didn’t do this! I swear, I didn’t do this!” The man’s lips trembled as his eyes watered and tears threatened to fall.
“Now, here’s the thing, Chris.” Nick kept an even, cool tone. “You’ve told several lies in this short period of time.” He clasped his hands. “I don’t believe you have a roommate. There is no Ted, and there never was. You haven’t had a roommate in over five years and I think you are quite comfortable in Brownsville despite you being apprehensive about the level of crime that takes place here. And that’s because the benefits of you shopping for your victims in this area outweighed the possible anxieties you may have had. Now, let’s cut right to the chase.” He counted off his fingers. “We’ve got rental car records in your name, Chris.”
The man chewed his lower lip hard and steady until it reddened.
“We’ve got your work records for the past year. That’s a timeline… I know when you clocked in, clocked out for lunch, returned, and left for home.”
Nick slicked his tongue over his lower lip, waiting, biding his time.
Tick…Tock…
“Let me explain something to you.” Nick casually scratched the side of his nose. “There are over twenty-two missing girls that have disappeared in the last twelve months from Brownsville, Brooklyn alone. Of those twenty-two missing girls, eighteen were under the age of fourteen. The case, as I’m sure you’ve seen from the news coverage over the past few months, was originally called the Missing Brownsville Thirteen. That number stuck, but rose significantly over time. The girls found in your home are Sophia Emerson…” He placed a photo of the girl down before the man. Chris snapped his head to the side. “LOOK AT HER!” Nick yelled.
“Mia Harold.” He started again in a more subdued tone. “Sydney Long, Genesis Quinton, Aaliyah Jordan, Serenity Smith, Taylor Burger, Caroline Fischer, Robyn Jenkins, and the deceased one is Rebecca Jenkins. Now, Chris.” He cleared his throat. “Someone matching your description, driving what seemed to be one of your various rental cars, has been identified as the last person some of these girls were seen with. White guy… thin, tall… dark brown hair… silver car. And here we are, with seven girls who are alive, one dead, and one barely still barely hanging on, not out of the woods yet but out of that number, two are talking, and the rest are beginning to do the same…”
He let the words sit there… marinate… bring down the axe.
“And isn’t it interesting that all of them came up missing around the same area? Now that’s just uncanny, don’t you think?” Nick cocked his head to the side
, clicked his tongue against his inner jaw, and smiled ever so slightly.
Chris Allen faded away, swallowed himself whole, withdrew into a shell right before his eyes.
“All of the girls removed from your home, which are part of the investigation as it stands to date, are of African ancestry. All of them are thin and have long hair. They are young… quite young, and from a physical stand point, they look a bit, well, like life-sized dolls, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Well, maybe I can jog your memory with a few more facts from the timeline, Chris.”
“I have no timeline! That can’t be true because I’ve never seen them so I don’t know if—”
“You do know, Chris.” He pointed in his face. “You know each and every one of their names! You know their height, their weight, and every blemish on their bodies!”
“No no…” the man shook his head vigorously and twisted about in his chair as if needing escape in the worst of ways.
“You have a type. Most people do… You’re no different.” Nick grinned. “What are we going to do, Chris? Hmmm?! What… are we… going to do?!”
The man’s face flushed red. He folded his arms up tightly and looked down, becoming paralyzed in that position.
“Now, here’s the fun part.” Nick sorted through some papers that sat before him. “You agreed to give a DNA sample earlier. You provided it to Officer Stein. I told you that your DNA was all over those girls. Would you like me to tell you what we found?”
“…Yes.” He sniffed, as if coming down with something.
“Your hair, your skin cells are all over them! One of them, Serenity, pissed you off this morning, didn’t she?! She’s got a fresh scar and your skin under her little nails! Feisty little thing, huh? Serenity wasn’t too serene, huh?! So I ask again, what are we going to do about this, Chris?!” he repeated, pressing, pressing, pressing. The man strained in his seat as if attempting to suppress a horrid outburst. His hands gripped the arms of the chair, his fingernails digging into the wood, threatening to splinter it, drag and claw away at the glossy finish.
In the Nick of Time Page 64
