John Kidd shrugged. “Got me. Pamela wanted to keep it. Thought it was kind of weird but I let her have it – I guess she still has it.”
“Thank you,” Reed said. “Mr. Theismann, we accept your offer of a plea to the lesser charges.”
In the other room, Lucinda said, “Jake how can they do this? It’s outrageous!”
“Shh, Lucinda. Listen, we still have the kidnapping rap – we’ve got him dead to rights there.”
Jake and Lucinda turned their attention back to the interrogation room in time to hear Kidd’s attorney ask, “And the federal charges, Ms. Monroe?”
“As long as your client continues to cooperate, tell the whole truth and testify at Ms. Godfrey’s trial, the abduction charge and all related charges will be dropped. The federal government will not prosecute your client.”
“No,” Lucinda screamed into the ears of both prosecutors. “You can’t do this!”
The prosecutors cringed at the loud noise, exchanged a glance, pulled the plugs out of their ears and flipped the switch, cutting off the audio feed into the observation room.
“I’m going in there,” Lucinda said. “They can’t do this.”
Jake grabbed her arms and turned her to face him. “Listen, Lucinda, they can and they did. Confronting them in there right now will do no good. We need to prove he’s lying. Even if most of the story is true, all we need is one inconsistency to give the prosecutors the option of negating the agreement.”
Lucinda jerked away from him.
“C’mon, Lucinda. You know I’m right.”
“I know it. I just don’t like it.”
“Let’s go see if Godfrey’s here yet. You can take your frustration out on her.”
Forty-Six
Lucinda and Jake found Ted at his desk busy with paperwork. He looked up when they entered. “Pamela Godfrey is down the hall. I’ve got an officer in the room with her and her attorney and another posted outside the door.”
“Great,” Lucinda said. “Anything we should know?”
“When we got to her apartment, a packed suitcase sat on the floor by the front door. We smelled a faint whiff of decomposing flesh and knew that gave us the right to look for the source. We followed the odor to the bathroom. We found a human hand in a bag in the back of the toilet.”
“How did she respond to that?”
“She said, ‘Oh, my God! I called the landlord about that smell. I thought it was coming from the sewer lines.’ I asked her how the hand got in the back of her toilet and she clammed up, demanding her attorney before she answered any questions.”
“Well, this ought to be fun. If half of what Kidd said is true, her lawyer won’t let her open her mouth. Let’s go, Jake,” Lucinda said.
Lucinda introduced Jake to Edwin Prager and Pamela Godfrey. “We’ll start off easy, Ms. Godfrey. Just where were you headed when the officers knocked on your door?”
“I was going down to the Outer Banks to get away for a few days.”
“A few days?”
“Yes, when you lose someone you love, you often need some time by yourself to grieve and heal.”
“Do you recall our recent conversation when you told me you didn’t know Jason King?”
“Yes. And I don’t – but I did recognize his name. I told you that.”
“Yes, you did. How about John Kidd? Does that name have any significance for you?”
“No. None at all. Should I know him?”
“He knows you, Ms. Godfrey.”
Pamela furrowed her brow and shook her head. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. In fact, he said you were with him in the Sterling house the morning Jeanine and Parker were murdered.”
“Well, that is a flat out lie.”
Jake jumped into the questioning. “He told us you pulled the trigger. Why would he say that, Ms. Godfrey?”
“I have no idea. But I know he is lying.”
Prager put a hand on Pamela’s arm. “My client has denied these allegations. Let’s move on to another area of questioning or let us leave now.”
“Oh, I see,” Lucinda said. “A man Ms. Godfrey claims she doesn’t know puts her at the scene of a double homicide. We’re to take her word that John Kidd is lying, even though the male victim’s hand was found in the back of her toilet?”
“You had no search warrant, Lieutenant. That so-called evidence will be thrown out of court.”
“I doubt it, but even if it is, you have a sloppy client, Mr. Prager. I’m sure a complete search of her home and her office will lead us to the murder weapon.”
“Murder weapon? I don’t have a murder weapon. I don’t even know what it is.”
“Pamela, please, not another word,” Prager said.
“You didn’t know Jeanine was shot in the head, Pamela? You spent an awful long time fixing her up in bed after she was dead not to notice that.”
“Shot? You mean a gun? I don’t have a gun. I don’t like guns. I loved Jeanine, Lieutenant. I had no reason to kill her.”
“Oh, yes, you did, Ms. Godfrey,” Jake said. “She broke off your affair. It’s one of the oldest motives in the book.’
‘It was a temporary break-up – just a timeout, nothing more. We were getting back together in the fall.’
Jake asked, ‘So, if you weren’t at her house the morning she was murdered, what did keep you away from the office until nine thirty?”
“Pamela, don’t answer that,” her attorney urged.
“Oh, please, it’s a simple explanation.” Pamela blew a forceful blast of air through her lips. “It’s an embarrassing situation that I hope we can keep in this room. The CEO of a major firm spent the night with me the evening before. In the morning, he was hung over, puking and generally making my morning miserable. I asked him not to return.”
“His name?” Jake asked.
“I told him I didn’t want him in my bed again but I didn’t say I didn’t want him as a client. If I give you his name, I’m sure he’ll cancel the contract. You can’t expect me to do that.”
“And we can’t expect you to be honest, now can we? Did you help cut up Parker’s body, Ms. Godfrey?” Lucinda asked.
“Pamela, I really mean it. Shut up now,” Prager said.
“But, Edwin, I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent.”
“Unfortunately, Pamela, that doesn’t always matter.”
“It does here, Mr. Prager,” Lucinda snapped. “All I need from your client is proof that John Kidd lied about some detail of the murders – anything. She gives me that, I can’t say she’ll walk free, but it will definitely improve her situation.”
Pamela shrieked, “I don’t know who John Kidd is! I don’t know what happened in that room. I am heartbroken. I want to kill whoever killed my Jeanine! Can’t you understand that? Don’t you grasp simple human emotions?”
“Lieutenant Pierce, Special Agent Lovett, I am terminating this interview now,” Prager insisted.
“Fine,” Lucinda said. “I’ll go get the arrest warrant prepared and get a search under way.”
“You have no grounds for an arrest.”
“Oh, really? I have a victim’s hand in the possession of your client – and even if you get that evidence thrown out in court, it’s good enough for now.”
The door to the room creaked open. “Lieutenant?”
“Not now.”
“Lieutenant, he said it was an emergency.”
“Too bad. Take a message.”
“But, Lieutenant, it’s just a kid.”
“What? Who?” Lucinda asked, her mind jumping immediately to Charley.
“Freddy Sterling and he sounded really scared.”
Forty-Seven
“Freddy, this is Lieutenant Pierce. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. But I’m scared.”
“Are you at home?”
“No. I’m at a Shell gas station.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. It’s near the airport. A
nd it’s near the Marriott.”
“What are you doing there?”
“I was scared. I don’t know what’s going on and I’m scared.”
“Okay, Freddy, hold on a minute. I’m going to get a police officer near there to stay with you until I arrive. Just a minute, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Putting Freddy on hold, Lucinda called the dispatcher with instructions. “No, I don’t have an address – but there can’t be that many Shell stations by a Marriott, next to the airport.”
“Okay, Freddy, I’m back. Keep your eyes out for a marked police car, okay? Do not go to anyone else.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now, tell me, how did you get there?”
“I walked from the hotel.”
Be careful of your words, Lucinda, this kid has an exceptional mind but his thinking is very literal and linear. “When did you get to the hotel? Why are you at a hotel? Who is there with you?”
“After you left the house today, my grandmother made me pack and she said we may never come back again. But she wouldn’t tell me where we were going. Then we came to the Marriott and she still wouldn’t tell me. All she would say was that I needed to get to sleep ’cause we had an early flight the next morning. I don’t know why,” Freddy said, sounding close to tears.
“Okay, Freddy, everything’s going to be okay. Someone will be there soon and then I’ll hang up and come right over, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Does your grandmother know where you are now?”
“No, she’s asleep. When she started to snore, I looked in her purse and saw the papers she printed from the computer in the lobby. It says we’re going to the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport.”
“And your grandmother didn’t tell you why you were leaving town so fast?”
“No. I told her we were safe ’cause Jason was in jail but she said we had more to worry about than Jason. Is that really his name?”
“No, Freddy. His name is John Kidd.”
“So he even lied about that?”
“Afraid so. He was not …”
“Oh, I see a police car,” Freddy said.
“You see the markings? Are you sure it’s a police car?”
“Yes. He’s pulling in right now.”
“Get the officer to come to the phone.”
Lucinda waited, her nerves afire. She couldn’t imagine anyone could move quickly enough to snatch an official vehicle and get to Freddy that fast, but her imagination had disappointed her many times before. Finally, a male voice came down the line. “Lieutenant Pierce? This is Patrol Officer McKenna.”
In her mind’s eye, she saw him, she knew him and she relaxed. “Thank heaven. Please stay with the boy. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Lucinda dashed to the interrogation room and popped open the door. “Jake!”
Jake opened his mouth to ask what she wanted but when he saw the urgency on her face, he jumped up and came out into the hall without a word. She briefed him on the situation.
Jake asked, “Do you have any idea what all of this means?”
“I’ve got a lot of crazy ideas colliding in my head but I don’t know what to think.”
“What about Godfrey?”
“Just leave her in there. If her attorney gets tired of waiting, he’ll come out of the room and throw a fit. Let someone else deal with it. They won’t let her go anywhere without talking to me first. We can continue the interview later.”
“You don’t like that woman, do you?”
“She and her lover-attorney can rot in there for all I care.”
On the drive over, Jake asked, “Do we need any back-up?”
“I don’t think so. Freddy’s out of the hotel room and in safe hands. I think we can handle Victoria Whitehead, whatever’s going on in her head. I want to keep all of this low key and avoid alerting the media. If I’m wrong, we can call for reinforcements later.”
They stopped at the Shell station to touch base with Freddy and Officer McKenna before going to the hotel. “Freddy,” Lucinda asked, “do you have a key to the room?”
“No. Grandmother wouldn’t give me one,” he said with a pout. “I’m responsible – I really am – but she said I was too young to be trusted with one.”
“I’m sorry, Freddy. In my book, you are very responsible and very brave. We’re going up to talk to your grandmother right now. You stay here with Officer McKenna, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Lucinda looked into his mournful eyes and ached. She knew firsthand the depth of the wound caused by a sudden and violent loss of parents. And now, she was contributing to the destruction of his last family connection. She knew the DA would want to charge Victoria with something – obstruction of justice, harboring a fugitive or who knows what. She sighed and hopped into the car.
It took a little persuasion at the front desk, but at last they had the room number. They rode up the elevator in silence. Lucinda knocked on the door and got no response. Jake pounded on the door with a fist. A man’s head poked out of the room next door. “Cut that out or I’m calling security!” The man scowled and then retreated back into his shell.
In front of them, Victoria swung the door open. “Freddy, where did you run off to? You … Where’s Freddy? What have you done with Freddy?”
“Freddy is fine, Ms. Whitehead,” Jake said. “But we need to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said, pushing the door shut.
Before it closed, Jake shoved a shoulder into the space and pushed. Victoria ran into the bathroom. They heard the lock click shut. They looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“Ms. Whitehead,” Lucinda spoke through the door, “we are not going away until you come out and talk to us.”
“I’m not coming out.”
“C’mon, you can’t stay in there for ever. And you sure can’t crawl out the bathroom window – you’re on the sixth floor, the fall would kill you.”
“Maybe that would be better,” Victoria whined.
Jake said, “Ma’am, I could be wrong but I have a feeling you really care for your grandson.”
“I certainly do.” Victoria’s voice cracked. “I love that little boy.”
“Yes, ma’am, I thought so. But right now, he’s really scared.”
“He should be. It’s a dangerous world filled with terrible people.”
“I can’t argue that, ma’am. But your grandson needs you. What frightens him the most now is that he doesn’t understand what’s going on with you. You are his rock, Ms. Whitehead, and he is confused.”
Lucinda added, “And you have nothing to fear – John Kidd, the man you knew as Jason King, is in jail. And his accomplice is in an interrogation room at the justice center right now.”
“You have his accomplice?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake said.
For a moment, Victoria was silent. Jake and Lucinda waited. When she spoke again, she asked, “How did you find that person?”
“Kidd told us who was in the house with him the morning your daughter and her husband were murdered and we picked her up,” Lucinda said.
“He told you?” Victoria asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake said.
The lock clicked and the door eased open. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was scared.”
“That’s understandable,” Jake said. “Why don’t you gather your things together and we’ll all go down to the station and you can give us your statement.”
“You understand we need to know everything you know?” Lucinda added.
“Certainly,” Victoria said. “Can I see Frederick?”
“We’ll step out in the hall while you get dressed. Come out when you’re ready and we’ll take you to your grandson.”
Outside the door, Jake asked, “Are you comfortable with her answers? Do you think her reason for running was fear of Godfrey?”
“No, I’m not.
Something about her is off but I’m not sure why – maybe she’s just embarrassed. I don’t know. But it struck me as odd that she didn’t ask us the name of the woman we had in custody.”
“I hadn’t thought about that – it is peculiar. I wasn’t comfortable with her when she came out of the bathroom. She never looked either one of us in the eye. She kept her head down, staring at the floor in front of her feet.”
“I wonder what she’s not telling us,” Lucinda said.
“I imagine we’ll find out when we get her in the room. She doesn’t appear as if she’d be tough to crack.”
“She may be tougher than she seems.”
Forty-eight
Back at the justice center, Lucinda and Jake paused outside the door leading to Victoria Whitehead. “Should we stop in and speak to Godfrey and her lawyer before we talk to Whitehead? The attorney’s been raising a fuss,” Jake said.
“Let him. Maybe Whitehead can give us some information about Godfrey we can use. Let’s talk to her first. How do you want to play it?” Lucinda asked. “Whitehead’s not too fond of me; I could be bad cop – trite, but I think with her it would work.”
“All right, we’ll try that. I’ll start things off and you jump in and be surly when you think the time is right.”
“Okay, but Jake, make sure you call her grandson ‘Frederick’. She’ll love you right away for that.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope,” Lucinda said and pushed open the door.
“Good evening, ma’am,” Jason said. “I understand you know Lieutenant Pierce well. I’m Special Agent Jake Lovett with the FBI.”
“Where is my grandson?”
“Don’t you worry about Frederick, ma’am. We found a glass of milk and a granola bar for him and he’s settled in the break room watching the Discovery Channel.”
“Why isn’t he in here with me?”
“We need to talk, ma’am, and we didn’t want to upset Frederick. Could you tell us where you met John Kidd – or Jason King as you knew him?”
“I met him at the library. Everyone I ever met before at the library has been so nice. I had no idea.”
“When did he move in with you?”
Mistaken Identity (A Lucinda Pierce Mystery) Page 24
