by B. T. Lord
“Hey Cam, you might want to get back to the office. Jace wants to see you. Seems he’s starting to remember some things about the other night.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“It’s still a bit jumbled, but some of it is starting to make a bit more sense.”
He and Cammie were walking towards the conference/interro-gation room a few steps from his cell. She paused outside the door and turned to him.
“Although by law I don’t need to tell you this, whatever you say in this room will be both videotaped and tape recorded.”
He raked his hands through his hair, a gesture Cammie knew he did whenever he was uncomfortable. Or upset. Or angry.
“Look, this is awkward enough for me as it is. Do we really have to record everything?”
“Jace, the whole town knows you left Zee’s with Carolyn. I have to be very careful here. I can’t be accused of any impropriety. Not if I’m going to prove you innocent.”
He glanced at her from beneath his bangs. So Rick hadn’t been yanking his chain after all. He paused for a long moment, swore under his breath, then gave a sharp nod. Cammie stepped aside to let him enter first. He started, then stopped and looked at her.
“Thanks for telling me about the equipment.”
She said nothing, but gave him a small smile.
They sat down across from each other at the oblong table. Cammie pressed a button under the desk, glanced up and saw the red light on, indicating the video camera was running.
“You have been read your Miranda rights, is that true?” she asked.
“Yes it is.”
“And you are making this statement out of your free will?”
“Yes I am.”
“Alright. Tell me what you remember about the night Eli Kelley was murdered,” she began.
“I remember leaving Zee’s with Carolyn,” he began slowly. “We went to her house and right into the bedroom. I lay down on the bed and must have fallen asleep. The next thing I know, I’m awake and – um--” He paused, his face turning a deep shade of crimson.
“It’s alright, Jace. Just tell me the facts.”
He nodded, but refused to look her in the eye. “I – uh – I woke up and found my jeans and shirt were off.”
It took every fiber of Cammie’s being not to visibly react to the words she was hearing.
“You don’t remember taking them off?” she forced herself to ask.
“No. To be honest, I don’t think I did. I think Carolyn did.”
Although it was painful to hear, it also presented a glimmer of hope. If Carolyn undressed Jace and he didn’t realize it, it was entirely possible someone could have dragged him into Eli’s bedroom and set him up to look like the murderer.
“At first I didn’t know where I was, but I knew I wasn’t home. The place felt different; it even smelled different. Like a place drenched in cheap perfume.”
Oh, she liked that.
“I wondered where you were. Then I heard someone singing. And I instantly knew it wasn’t you.”
“How?” she couldn’t help asking.
Jace glanced at her from beneath his brow and smiled. “Because you can sing.”
She guffawed, then gestured to Jace to continue. “Anyway, once I realized it wasn’t you, I remembered where you were. I was filled with – I don’t know. Anxiety. Panic. I knew I had to get to Eli’s place as soon as I could. In fact, I almost killed myself getting my jeans on. When I put on my shirt, I was in such a hurry I threw the damned thing on inside out. I know because I couldn’t button it and when I went outside, my stomach just about got frostbitten. But I didn’t care. I just knew I had to rescue you from Eli.” He looked up to see the puzzled look on her face. “I know, I know, it’s stupid. I’m very aware you can take care of yourself. But it wasn’t you I didn’t trust. It was him. I just knew Kelley was up to something. So, with my shirt hanging open and my parka half on, I grabbed a set of keys I found on the night stand and got the hell out of there. I must have really torn out of her place because I lost that necklace you gave me. I looked around the cabin, but it’s gone.”
The necklace he was referring to was one Cammie had given him the year before when the Night Hawks had won their first championship trophy in three years. She’d gone specifically to Bangor to pick up the silver pendant of two crossed hockey sticks. She’d given it to Jace on the night of the parade through Twin Ponds and he hadn’t taken it off since. She felt a pang to think he’d lost it in Carolyn’s bed of all places.
“Besides the keys, did you take anything else from Carolyn’s night table?”
He looked at her. “Like a gun?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, like a gun. The 38 we found obviously came from somewhere.”
“I don’t remember the gun. You know as well as I do the only weapon I’ve ever shot is Dad’s hunting rifle. And I only shot that to shut him up when he asked me for the billionth time to go out hunting with him.”
“How would you rate your expertise with a firearm?”
He glanced at her, perplexed by the question before shrugging. “I suppose I could shoot a bear or a moose that was about to attack, but compared to most people in this town, I’d have to say I’m pretty pathetic.”
“Do you recall taking Carolyn’s SUV?”
“I just remember getting into the first vehicle I found and having the key fit the ignition. I have a vague memory of driving the roads to Kelley’s. They were slippery and I had a hard time keeping the SUV on the road.”
“And once you got to Eli’s?”
Jace closed his eyes, his brow furrowed as he concentrated. Then he sadly shook his head. “I don’t remember anything after pulling into his driveway, except sitting in Carolyn’s SUV and realizing that you were already gone, since your Explorer wasn’t there. I did have the idea of heading out to our cabin, but I must have passed out again because I’ve been trying to remember what happened next, but I can’t. It’s a complete blank.”
“Any idea what time this might have been?”
“Obviously after you left. But I can’t give you a specific time.”
“Do you remember how you got the bruises on your face?”
He shook his head again.
“That’s all you remember?”
“For now, anyway. Hopefully that was helpful.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him that his words may have incriminated him even further. The glimmer of hope she’d felt before dimmed. By his own admission, he’d been racing to save her. In his inebriated state of mind, saving her could mean anything. When he arrived and found her gone and Eli inert on the bed, he might have shot him out of anger.
Cammie covered her distress with a smile. “You did fine. If you remembered this much, maybe more will come to you in the new few days.”
She turned off the video and tape recorder. “Is there anything you need?” she asked.
“A file hidden in a cake would be nice,” he said.
Cammie blinked. At least he hadn’t told her to fuck off. Not yet anyway.
“I’ll get Emmy on it right away.”
She walked him back to his cell. After locking him in, she returned to her office where a moment later, Rick quietly entered.
“He remember anything helpful?”
“You can watch the video yourself and give the recorder to Emmy to transcribe.”
“By the tone of your voice, I can tell it wasn’t what you’d hoped for.” She shook her head. “While you were out, Mayor Barnes came by. Seems he got Jace a high priced attorney out of Augusta. Mark is flying him in tonight. He’ll be able to meet with Jace before the arraignment tomorrow morning.”
“First thing in the morning, right?”
Rick smiled. “Of course.”
Cammie shook her head in amazement. The fact that Barnes was using Mark as his personal errand boy showed how serious the mayor was about making sure Jace played in tomorrow night’s game. So was insuring the arraignment was first thi
ng in the morning so Jace would have the rest of the day to practice.
“The mayor also told Jace he could stay with him until the trial.”
Cammie hid her surprise. She hadn’t thought about where Jace would stay once he got out of prison. She supposed Barnes’ house was just as good a place as any.
So why did it bother her so much?
With Rick and Emmy acting as a diversion, Cammie was able to slip out of headquarters again and make her way over to Wanda’s Hair Salon without being seen by the reporters. She took the long way around Main Street, climbing over snow mounds and a chain link fence, then scooting between parked cars before she got to Wanda’s. A part of her knew this was overkill, but Jace’s life was on the line. The last thing she needed was to be dogged by pesky reporters.
Sliding in the front door, she was grateful to see only one customer in Wanda’s. Seventy-five year old Mrs. Rooney was under the dryer, flipping through a magazine. She looked up, saw Cammie and pointed towards the back of the salon. Cammie smiled in thanks, grateful Mrs. Rooney hadn’t thrown a curler at her, then walked towards the storage room where she found Wanda sitting in a chair surrounded by half opened boxes of hair color, mousse and other sundry items. However, rather than unpacking the items and stacking them, Wanda was staring off into space, deep in thought. She was a tall, thin woman, with thick waves of black hair and bright green eyes. She wore a navy blue smock over her jeans and yellow turtleneck. At first she didn’t see Cammie until the sheriff gently knocked on the door frame.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, dropping the clip board she’d held on her lap. Bending down quickly to pick it up, Cammie immediately noted the dark smudges under her eyes. It looked as though she hadn’t slept in days. When she stood up, she smiled nervously at Cammie.
“Is it time for your appointment already?”
“No. I’m not due for another two weeks. Actually, I was hoping you and I could sit and talk for a few minutes.”
A look of panic flashed through Wanda’s eyes. Then to Cammie astonishment, she burst into tears.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I should have come to you before this, but I was so scared.”
She buried her face in her hands and rocked back and forth. Cammie remained where she was, allowing Wanda to release all the pent up emotions she’d obviously been holding in for quite a while. She knew Wanda to be a strong woman who hid the pain of her divorce, and the difficulties of being a single mother with a business to run behind a smile that never faltered. Having been guilty of using the same smile to hide her own demons, she waited in silence for the tears to finally subside.
After five minutes of intense weeping, Wanda finally pulled herself together. She wiped her eyes, taking her tears and mascara with her, then loudly blew her nose on a tissue she produced from her smock. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders.
“I’ve just got to check on Mrs. Rooney’s hair. I’ll be right back.”
Cammie was content to wait. At least here she wasn’t being besieged by reporters or angry townspeople. Her intuition told her that whatever Wanda had to say, it was going to be important. She’d wait all day if she had to.
Luckily she didn’t need to.
By the time Wanda came back with two cups of hot cocoa, her calm serenity was back in place. The two women sat in the storeroom, sipping their cocoa.
“It seems you know why I’m here,” Cammie began.
Wanda nodded. “I’m glad you came by. It’s been such a burden.”
“Suppose you tell me what happened.”
Wanda took a long sip of the cocoa, then cleared her throat. “I was closing up shop at my regular hour when I realized I’d misplaced my car keys. By the time I found them, it was almost a quarter after six. I was frantic as you can imagine. Fran Martin is adamant that I pick up Zoey precisely at six. I called her and explained the situation. She wasn’t too happy, I can tell you that. I had to promise her a free perm. Anyway, I was outside and locking up when I heard a commotion coming from the parking lot next to my shop. At first I thought it was just kids, but then I heard a woman scream. I rushed over to look and that’s when--” She stopped to collect herself as tears threatened to overwhelm her again. She fought against them, and in a voice thick with emotion, she blurted out, “—that’s when I saw Eli Kelley beating up poor Jace.”
“Do you have any idea what it was about?” Cammie asked.
Wanda shook her head. “Eli was cursing up a storm. He was calling Jace all sorts of terrible names.”
“What did Jace say?”
“That’s the terrible part, Cammie. The poor boy wasn’t saying anything. He looked like a rag doll while Eli punched him around. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t putting up more of a fight. I’ve seen him out on the ice. He can be so fierce. But that night, he just let Eli use him like his own personal punching bag. Finally Carolyn threw herself in the middle of the two of them and screamed at Eli to stop.”
“Carolyn as in Carolyn Haskell?”
Wanda nodded. “After she stopped the fight, she and Eli got into a shouting match. Eli called her a whore, and she called him--” Wanda hesitated.
“It’s alright, Wanda. Just tell me what Carolyn said.”
Wanda took a deep breath. When she spoke, it was in a whisper. “She accused Eli of being your bitch. I thought he was going to hit her. Instead, she pushed him so hard in the chest, he fell against his truck. She then began to rant and rave at him. It made absolutely no sense.”
“You don’t happen to recall anything she might have said, do you?”
“It was mostly four letter words. Eli just stood there, staring at her. Then she suddenly attacked him.”
“Attacked him?” Cammie questioned. “In what way?”
“One minute she was standing there, screaming at him. The next minute she’d hurled herself at him, trying to scratch his face with her nails. He pushed her so hard, she fell to the ground. Then he got into his truck and drove away like a madman. Carolyn actually picked up a piece of ice and threw it at his truck, but he was already gone. She helped Jace up, put him in her SUV and took off as well.”
She looked at Cammie with haunted, red rimmed eyes. “I didn’t know what to do! I was so shocked. I’ve never seen anything so – so violent before. Or heard such terrible language! When I was told Eli had been murdered and that you’d arrested Jace--” She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. When she opened them, she was once more in control. “I know I should have come to you before with this. I’ve been sick and unable to sleep. I can’t believe Jace could ever hurt anyone, much less kill them, even after what I saw. You have to understand, Cammie, I’ve watched that boy grow up. He’s just not capable of it. Maybe…maybe that’s why I was afraid to come forward. I just didn’t want to add to the suspicions.”
“You’re sure you didn’t see Jace fight back?”
“Right in the beginning, he tried to take a swing, but it was as though he were drunk or something. He was so unsteady on his feet. It was easy for Eli to sidestep his punch.”
Cammie held her breath as she asked the next question. “Do you remember what Eli was saying to Jace? What he was yelling?”
Wanda glanced at her from beneath her lashes and Cammie instantly knew. But she had to be sure. “It’s alright, Wanda. You can tell me.”
“He said, ‘So this is how you treat Cammie? By going behind her back and sleeping with Carolyn?’ That’s when Jace tried to punch him. But he was no match for Eli. After Carolyn broke up the fight, Eli yelled, ‘Do that again, you little fuck, and no one will be able to save you.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I waited until everyone was gone before I left. I was so upset, I got halfway to Fran’s house before I had to pull over and throw up.” She looked up at Cammie, her eyes wide with guilt. “I was going to tell you, Cammie, I really was. I just – I don’t--”
Cammie knew why. And her encouraging smile told Wanda that sh
e knew. She leaned over and patted the woman on the back. “I’m going to need you to come over to the station and make an official statement. Do you think you can handle that?”
Wanda hesitated, then nodded. “Cammie, do you really think Jace would do such a thing? I mean, when I saw him, he could barely stand. Half the time, he didn’t even look conscious.”
Now it was Cammie’s turn to hesitate. She paused, then looked at Wanda. “I’m doing everything I can to piece together what happened that night. Your story has been extremely helpful.”
Wanda smiled in relief. Cammie made her way out of the backroom and out through the salon. She waved to Mrs. Rooney before letting herself out through the backdoor.
Making her way towards HQ, she carefully went over Wanda’s conversation. Thankfully, she now had collaboration to what happened between Jace and Eli. The few words Wanda had overheard made it clear why Eli felt compelled to beat up Jace. She shook her head to herself as she climbed back over the chain link fence. It seemed every time she uncovered new information, it all pointed back to Jace. Any prosecutor could make the reasonable connection that after being attacked by Eli, Jace, in a pique of anger and jealousy, had gone to his house and shot him. It wouldn’t matter if he was drunk or not. It wouldn’t even matter if he was semi-conscious or not. If Doc was right, and Cammie had no reason to believe he wasn’t, Eli hadn’t been in any kind of position to put up a fight. Not that time.
However, Wanda had provided her with a fact that she mulled over as she carefully made her way through the backstreets. If all roads seemed to end up at Jace, it was Carolyn who also seemed to be in the middle of it all. That was worth another visit to the elusive Ms. Haskell. Even if she’d already lawyered up, he wasn’t going to be sitting in her living room when Cammie showed up.
She got to her Explorer, cranked on the music and tore out of the parking lot.
The skies were gray and she could smell snow in the air. The forecast called for flurries, but she could tell they were going to be in for another storm.
