by J A Whiting
Sally put her arm around her sister’s shoulders.
“I’m a chronic worrier,” Bob said. “I worry about everything, all the time. I get anxious over nothing. I don’t think I’d be like this if Sally hadn’t been attacked.”
Nicole and Claire uttered some understanding words.
“Did you see anyone lurking around the park that evening?” Claire knew the three of them saw someone there since they were able to pick a man out of a lineup.
“We all did,” Bob said. “We didn’t think anything of it at the time.”
Penny said, “There was a guy hanging around the baseball field, near the basketball courts. He was sitting on a bench. He made some comments to us as we played.”
“What sort of comments?” Nicole questioned.
“He made some remarks about our playing, the shots we were making,” Bob said. “Minor things like good play, nice basket. We didn’t engage in any kind of conversation with him.”
“What did he look like?” Claire said.
“He was probably mid-twenties,” Shelly said. “His hair was cut a little longer.” She gestured to show Claire and Nicole the length of the man’s hair. “It was dark brown. He was tall, skinny.”
“He was wearing jeans and an orange hoodie,” Penny added.
“Was there anything written on the hoodie?” Claire asked.
“Yes,” Sally said with a nod. “Chatham Village Softball. In black letters.”
“So he lived in town?”
“For a little while,” Bob said. “We found out later that the guy had been in town for only about four weeks. He worked part-time as a mechanic.”
“Was he on the town softball team?”
“He joined, but he didn’t show up much,” Penny said. “The police told us this.”
“Had you ever seen this man before?” Nicole asked.
“Never,” Penny said. “At least, none of us remember ever seeing him around.”
“Was there anything else distinctive about him?”
“No,” Bob said.
Penny gave a shrug. “He was drinking a milkshake while he was sitting on the bench. It was one of those big cups with a straw sticking out the top.”
“What happened when you got home that night?”
“We raced inside our house,” Bob said. “I’m sure our parents were frightened by our report, but they acted calm and confidant. They reassured us, told us we were safe. They called the police.”
“When the police showed up, we talked to them individually,” Sally said. “They asked a lot of questions. A couple of days later, they asked us to come down to the police station.”
“There were men in a line-up,” Penny explained. “We were supposed to pick the man who was at the park that evening. We went in one by one. Each of us picked the same man.”
“He was arrested?” Claire asked.
“He was brought in for questioning. The police thought they had the perpetrator. Unfortunately, Willis was let off for lack of evidence,” Sally said. “I always wonder how many other people he’s hurt in his life. Was he going to stop attacking girls and women? I don’t think so.” Her forehead lined with suppressed anger. “I don’t think so at all. But somehow, he keeps getting away with it.”
Sally’s words made Claire feel ill.
12
“I never touched that little girl,” Brandon Willis, the man who allegedly tried to abduct Sally Harrison, said with a hard shake of his head. “Sure, I was at that park. I was just hanging out. That kid says I grabbed her, well, she’s lying.”
“Why would a five-year-old lie about something like that?” Claire asked.
“Maybe lying isn’t the correct word to use. That little girl was mistaken. I left the park before those kids did.”
Brandon Willis was now fifty-five. His hair was still dark, but the top was thinning. He was no longer skinny, he’d gained some weight and it had settled around his gut like a small basketball. His voice was permanently hoarse from too much smoking.
Detective Gagnon had interviewed Willis before leaving for a conference and told Claire and Nicole that the man was barely able to grunt out a couple of responses to the detective’s questions despite being told that the meeting was a formality due to the request from a family member of Janice Carter to re-examine the case.
Detective Gagnon told Willis he wanted to hear the man’s account of his experience of being arrested and let go due to lack of evidence regarding the attempted abduction. Willis wasn’t having any of it and remained mostly silent during the discussion. Gagnon asked Claire and Nicole to visit the man and see if they could get more out of him.
“Talking to this guy is the last thing I want to do,” Nicole said as she piloted the rental car to northern Massachusetts. “Why didn’t Gagnon ask another detective or officer to go talk to this man?”
Claire watched the trees zip past. “Because this isn’t an open case. Gagnon is doing this research because Kelly Carter Cox asked him to do it. The case is as cold as a winter night. It’s thirty years old. No one in his department has time to work on it. Law enforcement doesn’t have the resources to direct to this old case. That’s why Ian asked if we’d help his friend by gathering information. If we don’t find anything soon, Gagnon will put the murder of Janice Carter back on ice.”
Nicole groaned. “Fine.”
“Brandon Willis was let go. There was no evidence against him. There was nothing to use against him. Nothing at all.”
“But the three Harrison siblings claim it was Willis they saw that night,” Nicole said.
“People can be mistaken. Willis may have resembled the attacker. The kids saw him in the park and thought he was the one who grabbed Sally. The guy was released by a judge who said there wasn’t any evidence against him.” Claire wondered why she was trying to convince Nicole that Willis was innocent when she herself was having the same bad feelings about him.
Claire and Nicole sat with Willis in a coffee shop in a small Massachusetts town about thirty minutes north of Boston. Willis’s dark hair showed some gray at his temples and he had an overall medium-build.
“Did you notice anyone else around that night?” Claire asked. “Were other people in the park?”
“I know there were some people walking around the paths. It was a quiet night. Not many people were out, but I remember a few were walking the paths and sidewalks.”
“What were you doing in the park?” Nicole asked.
“Nothing. I’d been in town. I got a burger and a milkshake. It’s only a few blocks from town to the ball field and park so I walked over. I had nothing to do and it was pretty nice out. I sat on the bench and watched the kids shoot hoops.”
“Did you see the little girl riding her bike?”
Willis made a face. “I don’t know if I actually saw her or I just think I did because there’s been so much talk about it. It doesn’t stand out to me. Maybe she rode by me and I didn’t pay any attention to her.”
“You left the park before the kids did?” Nicole asked.
“That’s what I said.”
“Where did you go?”
“Back to town. I thought I might see a movie.”
“Did you hear anyone scream as you walked away?” Claire questioned.
“No, nothing. No screams.” Willis rubbed at the stubble on his chin.
“I understand the girl’s scream was quite loud,” Claire said.
“Well, if she screamed, it didn’t reach my ears.”
“You were wearing an orange sweatshirt that evening?” Nicole asked.
“That’s what they tell me. I didn’t keep track of what I wore each day.” Willis leaned back in his chair with a sullen expression.
“You owned an orange sweatshirt?”
“Yeah. I joined a softball team. Everybody got the hoodie.”
“The Harrison kids told police the person who attacked Sally was wearing an orange sweatshirt,” Nicole said.
Willis clasped his ha
nds together and rested them on his stomach. “If that was the brilliant evidence, then the police should have brought in the whole softball team as suspects.”
Can you tell us what you did after leaving the ball field?” Claire asked. “Did you end up seeing a movie?”
“I went back to town. The stores were still open, people were walking around. I went over to the movie theatre, but I didn’t feel like going inside. The weather was nice and I wanted to stay out so I decided to walk around town. That’s what I did. Nothing exciting.”
“Where did you go?”
Willis told the young women where he remembered walking.
“That route took you past Janice Carter’s house,” Claire pointed out.
“I guess it did.”
“Did you notice anything when you were out? Did you hear an argument? Angry words? The sounds of a fight?”
“I could tell you I heard a woman scream when I walked by Janice Carter’s place. That would make you think someone besides me had something to do with her murder.” Willis made eye contact with Claire and then Nicole. “But, I won’t do that. You know why? Because I’m not a liar. I didn’t hear nothing. It was quiet in that end of town. Go ahead, now you can think I killed the woman just because I walked by her house. Just because somebody is in the area where a crime gets committed, it doesn’t make that person guilty.”
“We’re only trying to gather information,” Claire explained. “You were released. There was nothing to tie you to any crime. You were in the vicinity of Janice Carter’s murder. Perhaps you saw or heard something that didn’t seem important at the time, but when looking back, might have significance.”
“I don’t know nothing.” Willis tapped his index finger against his clasped hand.
“You moved out of Chatham Village shortly after Ms. Carter was killed?”
“Yeah. I’m a mechanic. I moved to Chatham Village for a job. It didn’t work out. I didn’t get along with the owner so I left.”
“Where did you move to?”
“Revere for a while, then out to the western part of the state, up to New Hampshire. I like to move around. I get bored easy.”
“Then you moved back here to Massachusetts after that?”
“I made a detour to Rhode Island for a while and then to upstate New York. After that, I came here.”
“Are you married?”
“Nope. Had plenty of girlfriends though.” Willis grinned.
“Are you in a relationship at the moment?” Claire asked.
“I’m single right now.” Willis gave Claire a look. “How about you? You free to date?”
“I’m afraid not.” Claire straightened.
“How about you?” Willis shifted his gaze to Nicole.
Nicole’s upper lip curled slightly in disgust. “I have a boyfriend.”
“Well, lucky him.” Willis seemed to enjoy making the two young women uncomfortable.
“Had you ever met Janice Carter?” Claire watched the man’s face. Janice’s friend, Brittany, told them that Janice had gone out with Willis.
Willis crossed a foot over his leg. “I knew who she was. I met her a couple of times.”
“How did you meet?” A sensation of unease shot through Claire’s body.
“At the softball field.”
“Janice played?”
“No, she came with a friend.”
“Who was the friend?”
“Some woman. I don’t remember her name.” Willis leaned his head to one side to get a knot out of his neck muscle.
“What did Janice’s friend look like?”
“Blond. Pretty. Looked like a runner. Thin. She was going out with one of the other players.”
“Do you remember his name?”
Willis stroked his chin. “Bricklin.”
“Janice’s friend dated a man named Bricklin? He was on your team?”
“Yeah. I really didn’t play much. I got busy with other things. But I met Janice a couple of times at the field.”
“Someone told us that you dated Janice,” Claire said.
Willis uncrossed his leg and sat up, a bit of a flush showing on his cheeks. “Who told you that?”
“I don’t recall the person’s name.” Claire had no intention of revealing the identity of the person who shared the information with them.
“I went out with her once or twice.”
“That’s all?” Nicole asked.
“That’s what I said.” Willis’s tone was angry. “Don’t try to link me to the murder because I went out for a beer a couple of times with that woman.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see Janice more than twice?” Nicole pressed.
“I’m positive.” Willis’s eyes flashed.
“During the initial investigation, did you tell the police you’d dated Janice?” Claire asked.
“Yes, I did. Didn’t you read the case notes?” Willis growled.
“We did.” Claire didn’t reveal that the case notes had been destroyed and that the information they had from the investigation was limited. She didn’t want Willis to discover there might be gaps in what law enforcement knew due to the loss of information. “We want to hear your experiences directly from you.”
“Well, I’ve shared enough about my experiences.” Willis stood up. “This conversation is over. I don’t have to talk to you.” The man leaned down, stared into Claire’s and Nicole’s eyes, and said in a soft, menacing voice, “And don’t you dare try to pin that murder on me.”
13
In the early morning light, Claire headed along the quiet sidewalks to the North End. It was too soon in the day for the hustle and bustle brought by the people hurrying through the city to their jobs and Claire relished the softness of the morning.
Thinking about the tasks she needed to do once she arrived at the shop, Claire stopped in her tracks. Up ahead, a few doors from the chocolate shop, a couple stood speaking with the building’s property manager.
Jim and Jessie Matthews. The owners of JJ’s Bakery. The people who co-won the food festival grand prize with Nicole and her chocolate shop pals, Claire and Robby, and that couple didn’t like sharing the prize one bit.
Nicole had run into the couple several times since the festival and each time, Jim and Jessie practically spit in her eye. Their behavior had upset Nicole who was always friendly and helpful to anyone who ran a bakery, café, or restaurant. Nicole lived by the rule that you always give a hand up to someone trying to improve or to make a living as a cook or a baker or a food establishment owner.
A bad feeling ran through Claire and she watched the couple from a distance until they finished speaking with the property manager and disappeared from view. Claire jogged up the street until she had almost caught up with the manager.
“Joel,” she called.
The man turned around to see who had spoken his name and his face fell when he saw the blond running towards him. “Oh, Claire.” Joel was almost sheepish with her. “Please don’t berate me. It’s not my fault that Nicole is being kicked out. It’s part of my job to present offers to the owner. He is the one who makes those decisions, not me.”
“I understand. Are Jim and Jessie Matthews the ones who are taking over the chocolate shop’s space?”
Joel looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, it’s them.”
“Why, though?” Claire stepped closer to the manager. “Did they tell you why they wanted this space so badly that they were willing to pay so much more than the going rate?”
“I don’t ask questions like that.” Joel shrugged. “If someone makes an offer, I take it to the owner.”
Claire’s blue eyes darkened. “And he accepts solely on the amount of money offered? Even though kicking out a current lessee who has been a perfect tenant could be considered unethical?”
Joel lifted his hands in a helpless gesture. “It’s business, Claire. It’s not personal.”
Claire looked up the street in the direction Jim and Jessie Matthews had gone. “Oh, I
think, in this case, it is personal.” Making eye contact with the property manager, she added, “And we’re going to fight fire with fire. Make an appointment with the building’s owner to meet with me.” Claire leaned forward and said something in a soft voice to the manager.
Joel’s eyes widened. “Will do. How would tomorrow work for you?”
“Tomorrow is perfect.”
When Claire entered the chocolate shop after saying goodbye to Joel, Nicole, in the middle of a rant, was standing at the counter with Robby.
Robby’s facial muscles were tight with anger. “Claire. Did you see those two monsters out there?”
Nicole’s cheeks were flushed red and her lips were pressed tightly together.
“I assume you mean Jim and Jessie?” Claire headed over to the counter.
“They’re the ones moving into my space,” Nicole managed to squeeze the words out of her constricted throat as daggers flew from her eyes. “It’s their way of trying to run me out of business. Can you imagine anyone being so terrible?”
“There’s more than enough business in the North End to support twice the number of bakeries down here,” Robby sputtered. “They’re just enraged that we co-won the grand prize with them.”
“I saw them outside. Those two aren’t used to not beating out all the other bakeries.” Claire took a drink from a glass of water. “They don’t like to share.”
“They’re arrogant snoots.” Robby had his hand on his hip. “They think they can use their money and their clout to put Nicole out of business. She never did anything to them. She’s always as nice and helpful as can be. We won that grand prize with Jim and Jessie fair and square.”
Claire couldn’t help but smile at Robby’s forceful defense of his friend and employer.
“Why are you smiling?” Nicole asked.
“There’s nothing to smile about,” Robby added with indignation.
