Sitting up, he was experiencing vertigo for a moment, but found he was able to focus on Emily right away. “And what reason might there be?”
“Meet Daniella Anderson. She was forty-two when she was murdered, and no one had any leads as to who was responsible. She had been one of three women to die that way, and the police were never able to make a connection. Not until Olivia—a.k.a. Teresa—had found a connection, and that was Carlisle Castro.”
“You mean to tell me that the CEO of Castro Industries is the connection between the deaths of several women? Why?”
“Yes. You see, the two women who died before Daniella all had worked with Carlisle as his assistants. Daniella was the only one who wasn’t one of his employees.”
“Then who was she?”
“She was the mother of his children.”
David felt as if someone had knocked him down. What would possess a man to kill the mother of his children? He was beginning to think about all the divorce cases he had been handling, and he could see what could motivate someone to do that. Regardless, it still didn’t make any sense.
“Did they find any evidence proving that Castro was the murderer?”
“He didn’t have an alibi for any of the murders, and he was romantically involved with Kathleen Winters. She was the first victim.”
“I just don’t understand,” he said, as he took the file.
“That is just the thing, none of it makes sense. See, when Olivia began poking around into everything, she found out who her father was. She confronted him and was gunned down shortly thereafter. She was left in the streets for dead.”
“I don’t think a CEO would have his own children gunned down. I don’t think he would even go and murder women he was romantically involved with.”
“And that is what witness protection thinks as well. See, they went ahead and put the girls into the program so they would be able to launch their own investigation to ensure that they would be safe. They found evidence of him being at all three crime scenes, but he denied it.”
“None of this is making sense, Emily,” David said, becoming irritable.
“I know, and that is why they gave me this information. We are going to need to talk to Carlisle Castro. We need to figure out who was responsible for the deaths of these three women in order to know where James is.”
David felt as if his head was spinning but nodded. “I am going to need coffee.”
Emily smiled. “Boss, I think it would be best if we moved over to my place so we can figure everything out there. I have more resources, but only if it’s alright with you.”
He took in a deep breath and nodded. Looking at Emily, he knew he couldn’t do this without her.
###
Sitting on one of her sofas, he couldn’t help but feel comfortable here. He was looking through the hard copies of the file and he couldn’t help but wonder where she had gotten all of this information. He looked up at her.
“All three women had another connection, other than Castro,” he said, as he was looking at each of their documents.
“And what connection would that be?”
Looking up at her, he shrugged. He wasn’t sure, but he knew there had to be another connection between them. It seemed to him as if Castro was being set up and he wondered why? People were greedy and their motives weren’t always clear. Emily got up from her chair and sat down next to him.
David noticed how close she was and couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. He had been attempting to get these thoughts of her out of his mind but they weren’t going anywhere. It was as if she had been embedded into his brain. He could feel her body as she leaned against him. She had her tablet in hand and she was showing him something on the screen.
“We could see about doing a web-chat tomorrow. All I would need to do is make the arrangements so we can do it.”
“It sounds like a great idea,” he said. “Do you think we should interview Mrs. Shapiro on her own? She might be able to reveal more information that we don’t have currently.”
Emily thought on it for a moment. “I don’t think she’d be much help, but it never hurts to try. I also think we should go to the police station and see about talking to one of his buddies there. Maybe they could help as well.”
David turned his attention away from her, lost in thought as well. He moved to the floor and put all four of the manila folders on the ground. Taking Carlisle Castro’s, he set it on the side and grabbed the file that had the information on Kathleen Winters.
Opening it up, he began reading through her file, trying to approach it as though he didn’t know anything about her. She was the youngest of the victims at the age of twenty-four, and there was very little information about her. He looked at Emily and she seemed to be curious as to what he was doing.
“Is it alright with you if I use one of the computers?”
She nodded and he got up from the floor. He was overwhelmed when he got to the main page. Her computer wasn’t traditional and he wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing. Emily got up and grabbed one of the rolling chairs and moved in besides him.
Taking over the keyboard, he watched as the screen changed, but she hadn’t clicked on anything. He looked at her and was curious how her computer worked.
“What are you looking for Boss?”
“I want all of the information about Kathleen Winters up. No one has this little information on file.”
Her fingers were as quick as lightning and soon he saw an online profile of her, but instead of it being on just the main monitor, it was also on the other ones as well. Emily looked at him. “What do you want to find out first?”
“I’m not looking for just one thing,” he began. “I am looking for everything.”
It was about an hour later and they had finally gone through everything they had on file. There should have been more information on file for her, but there was nothing. It was as if she knew how to live a transparent life. The only thing remotely helpful was she had given birth about a year and a half before she was murdered. Her son, Emilio, was adopted to the Patrillo family and from what they saw, there had been no contact between The Patrillo family and Kathleen.
Emily had pulled up her medical records as well but there was nothing on file that stood out. She had only gone to the hospital to deliver her son, but she had never gone to a doctor for check-ups during her pregnancy.
“Do we know who the father of Emilio is?”
“Well,” she hesitated. “Her personal accounts are still around and she has shared correspondence to a man known as Jason Geerdes, but all contact stops two weeks after Emilio was born.”
“What was there last e-mail?”
Emily pulled it up and they both looked at it. Jason Geerdes was not too happy that his son had been put up for adoption and he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t sign custody over to him. David wondered about that too, and he realized that Emily was a step ahead of him.
One of the other monitors now had the information about Jason Geerdes. He was forty-six and had a record for domestic violence and other felonies thrown into the mix. David moved closer to the monitor and looked at Emily. “How did he even know her?”
“I’m not too sure. That is not something I can find on here, but I can tell you this. Jason Geerdes knows Carlisle Castro. The two of them were friends,” she said, as she pulled up a photograph. “It looks as if their families knew one another.”
“Do you think Jason is responsible for the death of Kathleen?”
Emily shook her head. “I don’t have enough information. Besides I’m sure you aren’t making that assumption either. All three women were killed the same way, which isn’t a coincidence. They were all killed by the same person.”
There was no denying that she was correct on that. Even if Jason was angry with Kathleen it didn’t mean that he had a connection to the other two, but they probably should still question him. It was possible he had more in
formation than what they were able to find from some computer.
Chapter 10
It had been another three days and they hadn’t found out anything on their end. This case was becoming frustrating and David was becoming irritable. Yes, this was the sort of thing he wanted to be doing, but he didn’t realize so many people would be hiding the truth from him in order to save face. It was becoming ridiculous, he just wanted a straight answer from someone and so far he wasn’t getting anywhere.
“Boss,” he heard Emily say. She was standing in the doorway of his office and she appeared tired. He wondered if she’d been getting any sleep, because he could see the dark half-moons underneath her eyes. “I have some information for you.”
“On whom?”
“James Shapiro,” she began. “I thought it was odd how he hadn’t changed any of his information when all of this happened. So I was looking into his history. There’s nothing that would set off red flags about him. He is a hard worker and he comes from a family of cops. His father died in the line of duty when he was eight and his mother passed away when he was twelve. He was then raised by his grandmother who passed away when he was nineteen. He had no one other than his fellow officers. As to how he met Olivia, it was when she had been gunned down. He was told to protect her and that is what he did. After they locked Castro up, they all relocated out here.”
“And what is the significance in that?”
“I’m not too sure, but if I wanted to become invisible I would’ve changed my name, so I think it’s curious that he didn’t. It is definitely not the standard operation plan for Witness Protection.”
David was silent for a moment and he couldn’t help but agree with her. “That is something we will eventually find out. Anyway, why do you think the department isn’t willing to assist us in our investigation?”
“Most likely because they aren’t wanting anyone to get involved in whatever the hell they are working on. I don’t like it when people won’t cooperate, but we can’t force them to give us any information. That’s why I took it from their system.”
David walked over to her and saw that she still had that tablet in her hand. He wanted to get her a new one to replace it, but he was no good at shopping. He took it from her and began to read over what Emily found.
“Who is Natalie Granger?”
“She is a murder victim here in town. She was killed the exact way the others were. Whoever started the killings is still out there and they are moving in.”
“You don’t think this is just a copy-cat?”
“No, I think it’s the same person. When they were running the story in the chronicle about the murders, they never released what the signature was.” Emily took her tablet back and after clicking on a few things she showed him a slide of pictures. They were the different women. They reached the final picture. “Each woman had their tongues cut out and they were never able to find them… the tongues I mean. It was assumed that the killer had taken them as keepsakes.”
“But they never found them when they arrested Castro, did they?”
“No, and that was part of the defense’s argument. However, the prosecution made their case against him airtight. Upon interviews with Castro, he maintained his innocence, claiming that he was being set up. Since he lost his case, everyone left it at that and no one attempted to find the truth.”
“How did the girls find out about him?”
“As far as we know so far, they didn’t know anything until Olivia—or Teresa, whichever way you want to refer to her—started poking her nose into things. Since all three women knew Castro, it was easy to make him look guilty.”
David looked up at Emily. “And it’s because of this murder that you think that he’s innocent?”
“Well,” Emily hesitated. “There is more to it than that. I just have this feeling it isn’t him, but that’s why we have to talk to him. If we do, I am sure we will have more information than we do currently.”
“Okay, we’ll still do the web-chat with Castro, but I think it’s best if we also go ahead and set up a meeting with Mr. Geerdes. I think he would be able to provide us with something more than we know now.”
“He is in Boston. It would be a two hour plane ride or a five hour car trip. Which would you prefer?”
“The quicker the better,” he said, and Emily nodded. David moved closer toward her and he realized they were only inches away. Generally he would feel uncomfortable, mostly because he was concerned about making her uncomfortable. He sighed. “I think you should go and get some sleep. We both need a few hours before we continue this.”
He watched as she closed her eyes for a moment and then she nodded. “I completely agree with you.”
As they stood there, David was taken by this feeling to just close the gap. He had been attempting to get these feelings to go away but they were still there, stronger than ever. He took a step back and moved towards the door. He noticed that Emily stood there for a moment as if she too was conflicted by something. She finally followed behind him and they both left the office.
###
Marissa was sitting by the window, she looked over to the bed and saw that her sister was sound asleep. It was about time the pills had worked, but she had been careful, afraid of an overdose. No, all Marissa needed was a few hours, and with Olivia knocked out, now was the perfect time. This way she would be back before Olivia had a chance to wake up and find that she’d gone out.
Getting to her feet now that she was certain Olivia was asleep, she grabbed the car keys and was on her way out. Locking the motel door behind her, she felt the cold wind hit her face. It was more than cold out here, and she wanted there to be less snow. She never understood why some people liked it, but then again other people may not understand why she preferred warm weather.
Walking down the street, she noticed that this side of town was not as busy as where they had been. That is why she preferred it. The few people that were out here were shady people as well. If they saw something they wouldn’t speak of it, and that is why she had convinced her sister to come to this side of town.
Making her way to a chain-link fence, she pushed it open slightly and slipped through. This place was a rundown factory and had been a home for squatters for years, but those were not the only people out here. Others were hiding. She entered the building, and all around were tattered blankets and broken glass, accompanied by empty bottles. As she walked, she could hear as her footsteps echoed. She finally made it to the stairs.
As she was climbing them, she heard someone down below. Holding her breath for a moment, she saw him standing there. “Isaac,” she whispered. It was always amazing to be able to see him, because she barely ever had the chance.
“You were supposed to be here an hour ago. What the hell took you so long?”
“It took a while for her to fall asleep. Why, have I missed something?”
“No. He’s still not talking to us.”
“I don’t think he can hold out for much longer,” she said, as she thought about how long he had been here. “What do you think we should do?”
“I think the moment he sees you he’ll let his guard down a little bit. After all, he did trust you. Maybe by taking him by surprise, you will make him reveal more that way.”
Marissa nodded, she knew why she’d been summoned here and she followed behind Isaac. They were heading through the door and then she saw him. He was tied to a chair. She could barely recognize him because he had been bludgeoned so badly, but she did see that look in his eyes. Surprise, anger, and betrayal. No one knew what she’d done, and she wanted it to be kept that way.
“Hello James,” she said, as she stepped closer toward him. “How are you doing?”
He didn’t answer and she flashed him a twisted smile. “You were poking into things you shouldn’t be. I assume you already know that though.”
Again, he said nothing and Marissa shook her head. “We need to know how much informa
tion you have about all of this.”
“Why? If you’re so clever you should have known by now that I have already figured most of it out.”
“Oh really? And how is that working out for you? All of that knowledge led you here and now, no one is ever going to know.”
James could hear how she was taunting him and he locked his jaw for a moment. He was more than angry. He wanted to get out from his bindings and kill her himself. His wife was related to a monster, and she didn’t know it. Olivia trusted Marissa completely. Marissa kept up her façade and it was impossible not to believe her.
“The only thing I’ve never figured out is how you got involved in all of this. I mean, it was your mother who was murdered after all. And now you’re in bed with the son of the man who committed the crime. That barely makes sense.”
Marissa nodded, “It makes perfect sense. You see, when my sister was launching the investigation, she thought it would be wise to go ahead and announce it to the world. I started my own investigation and people were beginning to know we were doing it. I was approached by Isaac here, and he told me the real story as to why my mother and those other women were murdered.”
“Yes, your mother had her tongue cut out of her mouth while she was still alive… all because she was trying to do the right thing.”
“She was going to send a man to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.” James laughed, and he sounded a bit like a maniac. He shook his head. “We can prove that William Gemangini killed all of those people. Have you ever wondered why your mother was involved in it?”
“I know everything and he is innocent. He never murdered anyone.”
“Really? Did they brainwash you that well? You see, your mother got involved because your Uncle Robert was a hit-man for him. She was instructed by your father, a man you and your sister helped put away, to get the hell away from that life, but she didn’t listen. That was why he stayed out of your lives.”
“Castro is the killer of all of those people, including those women,” she said, her voice taking on a shrill quality. “I don’t see why you are arguing with me about something a jury even believed.”
Promised Box Set Page 60
