A long buzz filled the silence and Vanessa pushed through the doors, holding them for Destiny to enter. After letting the doors slam shut, Vanessa brushed past Destiny and walked quickly down the hall until reaching a door marked, Booking.
Destiny stared at it. “Booking? What am I doing here?”
“You’re not being arrested, Destiny. It’s just that we never had the chance to get your prints and DNA like we did with everyone else. This is the quickest place to get it done. You don’t mind, do you?”
“I…I guess not.”
“Good. Step in and we’ll start with getting your prints.”
Vanessa had prepped the room already. A fresh eight-by-eight inch card sat in the holder, and the ink pad lay open. Beginning with the right hand, Vanessa rolled Destiny’s thumb in the ink pad from nail bed to nail bed, then repeated the process on the print card. This was followed by the index finger through to the little finger, then did the left hand in the same sequence.
When she’d finished, Vanessa examined the card and determined they were clean. She handed some wet towelettes to Destiny so she could clean her fingers. Then Vanessa picked up a kit from the desk that included two long cotton swabs and a vial.
“Open wide for me, Destiny.”
The girl obliged and Vanessa rolled the swabs on the inside of Destiny’s cheek. Putting the cotton ends in the vial, Vanessa snapped off the part of the sticks she’d touched with her gloved hand, and clipped the vial shut. The whole process had taken just a few minutes.
Taking the print card and the vial, Vanessa went back out into the hall. “Follow me, Destiny.”
Vanessa, still not exchanging pleasantries with Destiny, led the young woman through another door into the interrogation suites hallway. At room one, she stopped and pointed inside. Destiny entered, then looked back at Vanessa.
“Where?”
“The chair on the other side of the table.”
The young lady took the designated seat. Vanessa paused long enough for Jason to show up.
Destiny, still wearing her yellow scrubs from work, smiled broadly. “Hi, Detective Strong.”
Jason returned the smile. “Hello, Destiny.”
Vanessa handed him the print card and vial, and Jason left. Vanessa entered the room and closed the door. She put a digital recorder on the desk and started it. “This is Detective Layne in interview room one, and with me is…” She pointed at Destiny. “State your name please.”
“Destiny Carter.”
“Miss Carter is not under arrest and she has not been read her Miranda rights. She is here voluntarily, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The time is seventeen-thirty.” Vanessa locked eyes with Destiny. “Okay, we have a few things to cover and I’ll need you to be completely truthful.”
“Of course.”
“First of all, I need to tell you that we have determined that Janet Ellard was poisoned.”
The girl’s eyes flared, whether from surprise at the announcement or that the detectives had found out, Vanessa couldn’t know.
“Poisoned! By who?”
“That’s what we are trying to determine. Have you ever heard of the drug Uloric?”
“Uloric?”
The drug’s name rolled off the girl’s tongue a little too easily for Vanessa. “Yes.”
“No, I don’t think so. At least, it doesn’t sound familiar. Why?”
“Because that was the drug used to kill Janet Ellard.”
Destiny stared at her, eyes wide. “Do you think I killed Mrs. Ellard?”
“I’m not making any assumptions. Right now, I just need you to answer my questions.”
“I didn’t kill Janet!”
“I didn’t ask if you did.”
Destiny’s eyes moistened and she crossed her arms. “What do you want to know?”
“When you’re at the office, is the front desk computer the one you use?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t use any of the others?”
“No. They’re password protected.”
Vanessa reached behind her and picked up a manila envelope off the floor. She pulled a thick wad of white papers and laid them on the table. “Do you know what that is, Miss Carter?”
“Obviously not.”
“That is the search history from your computer at work.”
“Okay.”
Vanessa ruffled the stack with her thumb. “These pages are filled with searches about how to kill someone with poison, what poisons to use, and more specifically—many articles on Uloric.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Oh, not only is it possible, it’s a fact. Right here in black and white.”
“I never searched for anything like that.”
“It’s on your computer, Miss Carter.”
“Well…others use that computer. Not just me!”
“But this search history is from your log-in.”
“I…it…Colt!”
“What about Colt?”
“He does all the computer work at the office. He knows my password!”
“You’re trying to suggest Colt did the searches using your password. Why would he do that?”
“Ask him!”
“I find that very hard to swallow. I think you killed Janet Ellard!”
Vanessa leaned back in her seat. Destiny had just exposed the exact scenario Alicia Irvine had warned them about. They had no proof who had done the searches.
Destiny’s chest heaved from her outbursts.
A knock came at the door. Vanessa stood. “Sit tight for a minute, Miss Carter.”
She stepped out into the hall. Jason was waiting. Vanessa hooked a thumb back over her shoulder. “She’s a cool customer.”
“I noticed.”
Jason opened the door and stepped inside. “Hi, Destiny.”
“Hello, Detective Strong.”
“Detective Layne needs to be away for a few minutes. Okay if we talk?”
Destiny looked visibly relieved. “That would be fine.”
“Would you like anything? A drink maybe?”
“No, thank you.”
Jason took Vanessa’s place in the chair. He tapped the pile of searches. “I see you were talking about these.”
“Yeah! She’s trying to say I poisoned Mrs. Ellard!”
“You told her it wasn’t you, I suppose.”
“Yes. Mrs. Ellard was a second mother to me when my birth mother passed away. I loved her. I could never have hurt her.”
“I understand. But aside from these searches,”—e tapped them again for emphasis.—“There’s something else we have to explain before I can let you out of here.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, as part of our investigation, we watched the security video at the office.”
Her upper lip twitched. “You did?”
“We did. And one of the things we were particularly interested in was a delivery from a Fed-Ex driver.”
“We get lots of those.”
“I imagine, but this one was of special interest to us.”
Her eyes narrowed. “The package!”
Jason held his focus, regardless of the fact that her outburst caught him off guard. “The package?”
“The one that Colt asked me to receive for him.”
“Colt specifically asked you to sign for a package?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what was in the package?”
She shook her head. “Just that he asked me to accept it and not give it anyone else.”
“I see. It was Uloric.”
“The drug?”
“Yes. The one used to kill Janet Ellard.”
“I swear, I didn’t know what was in the envelope.”
“Okay, but why did you sign Doctor Dale Ellard’s name to the acceptance form?”
“Colt told me to.”
Jason crossed his arms and locked eyes with her. “I’m not sure I understand. Why would you do w
hatever Colt said?”
She averted her eyes, casting her gaze at the floor. “It’s a long story really.”
“We have time.”
She drew in a long breath. “As you know, Colt and I dated for a while.”
“Yes.”
“Eventually, I decided it wasn’t going to work out. He was more like a brother to me, since I had lived under their roof for a time.”
“And?”
“I broke it off.” She looked up, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I had to. He didn’t take it well.”
“He was angry?”
“Very, and hurt. He swore he’d get even with me.”
“So when he asked you to do him the favor, you obliged.”
She nodded weakly.
“If I understand what you’re implying, you think Colt used your log-in to search for and find the means to kill his mother, then had you sign for the drug, in an effort to set you up for the murder.”
She nodded again, this time with emphasis. “I know it sounds far-fetched, but I wouldn’t hurt Mrs. Ellard.”
“And he did all this because he was angry about the break-up?”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
Jason had seen plenty of situations where love turned deadly, and framing someone was not unheard of, but there were plenty of holes in the story.
A tap at the door.
“Come!”
Vanessa reentered the room, and Destiny stiffened noticeably. Vanessa glared at Destiny, then handed him a sheet of paper. On it were three short words—Prints match receipt.
Jason nodded, handed the note back, and Vanessa left the room.
Destiny’s posture eased. “She doesn’t like me.”
“Well, don’t worry about her right now. There’s just you and me here now. You sure you don’t want something to drink?”
“I am getting thirsty. Maybe some water?”
“Me too.” Jason jumped up. “Water for both of us.”
He left the room, fetched two bottles of water, and returned to his seat. Setting one in front of Destiny, he opened his and took a long gulp. “Ah, that hit the spot.”
Destiny unscrewed the cap on hers, but only sipped it. “Thanks.”
“Of course.” Jason rested his bottle on the table and absent-mindedly picked at the label. “So Destiny, before I arrest Colt for murdering his mother, which it appears he appears to have done, I have to fill in some gaps. Can you help me?”
“I’ll try.”
“Good. Now, as I understand it, Colt got very sick a few weeks back. And he said you took care of him. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Like I said, it’s very hard to tell him no. I feel bad.”
“Sure, sure. But his illness seems to coincide with the package delivery containing the Uloric. Don’t you think it odd he would poison himself?”
Destiny hesitated. “I suppose. If that’s what he did.”
“Yeah, if that’s what he did. But suppose someone was targeting the family. Maybe the same person who poisoned his mother, tried to kill him first.”
The muscles in her cheeks tightened and she fidgeted in her chair. “Or maybe he was trying to set up a cover story.”
“Make himself look innocent, maybe even cast some suspicion on you.”
“Exactly.”
“I see.” He took another long gulp from his water and reattached the lid. “Then there’s the search of Colt’s vehicle. That’s where we found the Uloric.”
“Really?”
Jason bobbed his head slowly, still not looking directly at her, not challenging her. “That’s right. We found both the vial of medicine and a printed email receipt for the purchase.”
Destiny sipped her water.
Jason produced a copy of the email from his pocket. “This is just what it looked like.”
Destiny kept the water near her mouth, barely looking at the paper. “Oh.”
“And the craziest thing is we only found your finger prints on the receipt.”
“I told you I signed for it.”
“No, that was the receipt for the package. This is a copy of the paid receipt.”
“I don’t understand.”
Oh, I think you do, Miss Carter.
“Do you know how we came to find the pills and receipt?”
She shook her head stiffly.
“A call came in to the Crime Stoppers Hotline.”
“Oh.”
“In fact, maybe you can help us with that.”
“How so?”
“Maybe you could listen to the tape. Sit tight for a minute.”
Jason got up and left the room, going down one door to the observation room.
Vanessa stood in the darkened space, watching through the two-way mirror. “She’s getting very fidgety.”
“I noticed.”
“You don’t have any tape she can listen to.”
“You and I know that, but does she? Just the suggestion of hearing her own voice on the calls has made her very uncomfortable. Any word on the DNA from the vial?”
Vanessa shook her head. “Doc Josie said it will be a while yet.”
“Okay. I’m going to let her stew for a bit before going back in. Are you prepared to be an expert?”
“One that’s hiding behind the mirror? sure.”
Jason smiled. “Let’s hope she buys what I’m selling.”
“Amen.”
Jason left the observation room and stood by the interview room door for another two full minutes before entering. He took his seat, then locked eyes with the now frightened girl.
“I don’t have the copy of the tapes right now.”
A brief glimpse of relief. “Oh.”
“That’s because they are being used for a different purpose.” He pointed at the two-way mirror. “Behind that glass is a voice analyzing specialist. As you have been answering my questions, she has been comparing your voice to the Crime Stoppers tips.”
The color drained from Destiny’s face. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
Jason leaned closer. “You made those calls, didn’t you?”
Fear filled her eyes and her pupils got so small as to nearly disappear. “No…”
“You told us where to find the pills so Colt would be blamed, didn’t you?”
She looked down at her hands, tears welling up. “I…I…”
Jason went all in with his next statement. “The only DNA found on the pill bottle was yours! Colt never handled the bottle because you never gave it to him. In fact, you poisoned him, too.”
She sat still, mute.
“Look at me and tell me I’m wrong, Destiny.”
She looked up at him so suddenly, he blinked. “You’re not wrong! I did it, and he deserved it.”
“He? You mean Colt?”
Tears had given way to anger, and her eyes flared as hatred spilled out of her. “Yes, Colt. He dumped me like a bag of trash, then when his mother cut him off, he came crawling back asking for help.”
“And you couldn’t say no.”
“I loved him! I’ve loved him since the day I first met him. But he just used me.”
“What kind of help did he ask for?”
“Money, of course. What else? That’s all that mattered to him.”
“Why did you poison him?”
She took a deep breath, seemingly relieved to be talking about it. “I thought if he was sick, I could nurse him back to health, and he’d realize he needed me.”
“But it didn’t work.”
“No. As soon as he got better, he asked for a large loan. I gave him the money, but he never even said thank you.”
Jason sat back in his chair and cocked his head to one side. “I get all that, but why Janet Ellard? Why kill the one person who showed you nothing but kindness?”
“Do you know what it’s like to be cast aside, Detective? To be treated like you’re nothing?”
“I don’t.”
“It feels like you’re dying inside. Like l
ife has no meaning, no purpose.”
“I imagine it’s terrible, but why Mrs. Ellard?”
“Because that is the one person Colt cared about. The one person, if he lost her, that would make him feel the pain I felt. He deserved to suffer like he made me suffer.”
“So you tried to frame him, as well?”
A perverted smile curled her lips. “That was the best part. He would lose his mother and go down for doing it.”
The bent and tortured logic warping the mind in front of him reached a level he’d rarely seen. His stomach churned at the mental image of Janet Ellard’s final minutes and how she would never have had a clue who was killing her. It was probably better she didn’t, because the sense of betrayal would have made it that much worse.
Vanessa came into the room. “Stand up Miss Carter.”
Destiny rose slowly from her chair.
“Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
The room filled with the clicking of handcuffs being tightened into place.
Vanessa steered Destiny past Jason. He didn’t look up.
He’d come up with the charade of a voice comparison analysis, and though he rarely used creations like that, it was worth the gamble due to Destiny’s inexperience with police. And it had worked. One of the very few times where lies reveal truth.
Jason pondered what he’d just witnessed. This was one of those cases where solving the who does very little to explain the why.
Though Destiny Carter had her reasons, they were devoid of logic, a creation of a sick mind. But how someone gets to a place so dark as to take innocent lives is a why that remains elusive in these cases.
Jason stood. There was paperwork to be done, and people to be notified—most importantly Dale, Natasha, and Colt Ellard. Those would be better conversations.
Epilogue
The funeral for Janet Ellard was held three days after the arrest of Destiny Carter. Jason and Vanessa attended, sitting near the back of the Travis Park Church. The large stone structure with a history dating back to the early 1800s had been chosen to replace the smaller chapel originally scheduled for the service. The switch had become necessary when Dale Ellard realized how many people were planning to attend.
Inside the foyer, Jason had stood in line to sign the guestbook. Before signing, the detective within him had given in to curiosity and he scanned the lists of names who had signed before him. Many of the signatures read Doctor and Mrs. It seemed half the San Antonio Medical community attended.
A TWISTED MIND (Clean Suspense) (Detective Jason Strong Book 21) Page 14
