“That bike was reported stolen from Tallahassee six days ago.”
“Great. Just when you think you are getting somewhere,” Harvey said.
“Relax, we are,” Skylar said. “We at least know that Iris wasn’t at the bar after ten and it rules out that it was any of the fraternity brothers.”
“Maybe not,” Harvey still staring at the footage. At around ten fifteen, Gabriel went outside and looked as if he was searching for Iris. He approached the group of smokers and one of them pointed off in the direction of the road. That’s when Gabriel took off, heading for a truck and backing out of the parking lot at a high rate of speed.
Harvey looked back at Skylar. “Well I guess it’s time we have a talk with this Gabriel and find out where he disappeared to.”
“Explains why he didn’t want Dawson saying anything.”
Pete stepped forward to turn off the computer. “Is that everything?”
“Yeah, but we are going to need a copy of that. Can you forward it to the department?” Harvey said taking out a business card and giving it to Pete. “Oh and Pete, if anyone comes in asking to see the footage besides us, you aren’t to let them get near it. And I’m going to need that footage today.”
“You got it. I must say I think I missed my calling when I became a mechanic. I really should have become a cop.”
“Trust me. You wouldn’t have wanted this,” Harvey said, thumbing over his shoulder to Skylar for them to leave. As they headed outside into the parking lot and made their way over to the truck, a black Acura with tinted windows pulled in and honked its horn. A window slipped down ever so slightly.
“Hello officers.”
It was the familiar voice of Callum Jackson.
Callum had been a thorn in Harvey’s side since he’d been hired by Franklin County. A man known to dabble in the illegal yet too elusive to catch, tales of his drug running back in the ’80s had become the stuff of legends. Although it couldn’t be proven, Harvey believed he was responsible for the murder of his sister Evelyn. She’d been working for Callum at the time of her death. The animosity between the two of them was palpable.
Harvey flipped him the bird and they got inside and tore out of there.
Chapter 11
After collecting her truck from the department, Skylar went to speak with Gabriel while Harvey focused on Iris again. The beach house they’d rented was located off County Road 30A at the far end of Egret Land. It was a private and secluded plot of land surrounded by palm trees, silver maples and slash pine. As she approached the beach cottage, she stared up at the two-tier home that provided easy access to the beach and bay. The siding was a rich turquoise, and the roof a steel white, with a wraparound porch. There were several plant pots dotted around outside and the lawn was in perfect condition. If this had been the place Matt had received his beating, no one would have heard him. The closest neighbor was well out of earshot. She could see several of the frat boys around the side of the house diving into a clear blue pool as she parked.
No doubt one of their daddies was paying for this retreat, funding their alcohol binging, and their off-and-on drug habits. After parking and cutting the engine, Skylar climbed out and stretched out releasing the tension. She made her way over to the front entrance and gave the white door a sharp knock but got no answer. Typical, she thought. They were all around back in the pool. Skylar went around the house and approached a black gate on a fence that wrapped the pool area. Several guys were doing shots off one girl’s belly while the rest splashed around in the pool. Lying down with a pair of shades on was Gabriel. One of the other guys went over to him and tapped him on the arm, and he sat up and got this big smile on his face like it was all one big game. He motioned to one of his frat buddies to turn down the tunes.
“Detective. Really. If you want to spend time with me I could have given you my number.”
“Cute,” she said. “Let’s take a walk.”
He made a joke to one of his pals and hopped up, sliding into a pair of flip flops before sauntering over like he was God’s gift to women.
“You want to head down to the beach?”
“Inside will do for now,” she said.
“I like your style,” he replied as if he thought she was interested in more. That was the thing about these kinds of guys, they actually believed their own hype. They bought into the idea that every woman they encountered was into them and dying to go to bed with them. They made their way up to the second tier. He opened a French door and stepped in while asking her if she wanted a drink.
Skylar got out of the heat into the air-conditioned cottage and exhaled hard feeling relief from the sun. “Just a glass of water would be nice.”
She watched him head over to a cupboard, grab a tall glass and fill it with ice cubes from the fridge before filling it with ice-cold water. He handed it off to her and got himself a beer. He cracked off the top and hopped up onto the kitchen counter.
“So, what brings you out here?”
Skylar looked around. “For someone whose buddy just died a few days ago, you seem strangely laid back about it all.”
He shrugged and took a pull on the beer. “It’s sad. Don’t get me wrong. Matt was a top-class guy but crap happens, right? You see it all the time in your line of work.”
“I do but you don’t.”
“My mother died when I was eight, I lost a sister at age twelve in a car accident. I’m familiar with death, detective.” He sniffed hard and gazed around. “That’s why I think it’s important to live in the moment. Don’t get too serious about life. We are only here for a short time on this ball of dirt and then it’s over. Might as well make the most of it.”
“Yeah, and how do you intend to do that?”
“Party. Spend time with good friends and get me a lot of sweet ass.”
“Charming,” she said in an unflattering manner.
He hopped down off the counter and put his beer down. “Oh c’mon, detective, live a little. There is plenty of time to catch bad guys.” He tore off his shirt to reveal his hard body with stunning abs. He must have caught her looking as his lip curled up. “What are you, early forties, late thirties? When was the last time you got with a guy my age?”
He got uncomfortably close and she downed the water and placed the glass down.
She stuck a finger up and pressed it against his chest pushing him back a little. “I go for brains not brawn,” she said.
“Oh well, darling, I can give you both.”
“I’m sure you can but let’s keep your brain in your pants for now,” she said brushing past him. “How about you tell me where you were heading on the night Matt was murdered?”
“Heading?”
“We have you on surveillance leaving Harry’s Bar not long after Iris made her exit.”
“Oh, that. Well that’s simple. Her daddy asked me to keep an eye on her.”
“Daddy?”
“Tom Bowman.”
Skylar frowned. “Why did he call you?”
“Didn’t need to, we’re good friends.”
“And you know him because?”
“Well other than the fact that I dated her at one time, and we’re still on good terms, her father is the chief executive officer for Pi Kappa Alpha.”
“Chief executive officer?”
She thought back to the list of names she’d seen on the staff directory when she was browsing the website. She couldn’t recall his name. Then again there were a lot of people involved in the chapter.
“Okay, that’s news to me. But that still doesn’t answer where you went?”
“The group outside said she took off with some people on bikes heading north. I drove around for a while but couldn’t find her so I headed back to the boat.”
“To check on Matt, right?”
He made a clicking sound and pointed at her with his beer bottle in hand. “You got it. Matt’s my boy!”
“Is that so? And how was he when you returned?”
&nbs
p; “Out like a light. That dude had been drinking real hard.”
“So what? You stuck around at the boat until morning?”
“No, I came back here.”
“And left him there.”
“That’s right.”
She cleared her throat knowing he was lying now. The question was why. “That’s interesting. Matt must have a twin because while you were at the boat with him, he was wandering the streets somewhere after being dropped off at the hospital by Dawson Hughes.”
She let the words sink in and the smug smile on his face disappeared.
“Now you want to start by telling me the truth before I arrest you now?”
He threw his hands up. “Whoa, I’m telling you the truth. I mean, okay, you got me. He wasn’t at the boat but I had no idea about the hospital.”
Skylar took a few steps forward, this time being the one to approach him and make him feel uncomfortable. “You knew about the hospital because you were involved in the beating that got him there. Cut the crap!”
He sighed and dropped his head realizing the jig was up.
“All right. I will admit I knew about that. But I was not involved in his murder. The last time I saw him was before we came to the bar. Dawson and Greg Gibson said they would take him to the hospital and make sure he was taken care of. I mean this isn’t like the first time something like this has happened.”
“No?”
“We’re a fraternity, detective. People drink too much. People pass out. People get accidentally hurt going through some of our ceremonies. But we take care of each other and as far as I knew he was lying in the hospital being cared for by the good doctors.”
“Well you are wrong. He never made it into the hospital. He wandered away.”
“So he was alive then.”
“Then he was but that was around nine forty. He died sometime between ten and midnight. You and Iris were missing from the bar at that time. Unless you have an alibi, that places you and her in the crosshair.”
“Me? What the hell are you on about? I was not involved. I have a reputation to uphold as president of Pi Kappa Alpha. The brotherhood means everything to me.”
“Really? And does the brotherhood beat each other?”
“He was treated no different than the other four pledges that night.”
“Oh I think his body would beg to differ. You see, I saw the bruises on Dawson and the marks on him didn’t come close to what was on Matt. He took one hell of a beating. Now, before you say that those bruises might have come from whoever killed him, let me just stop you there. You see we have some very smart people down at the chief medical examiner’s office that can determine when that bruising occurred. And I’ll be the first to let you know that it occurred before he was shot. Hours before.” She paused studying his face. “So you want to tell me why he looked like a Mack Truck had hit him?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, he was treated no different than anyone else.”
Skylar cocked her head and walked away from him. “I did some browsing on the fraternity’s website and came across the words: LOYAL ORDER. For all the things you joke about, loyalty isn’t one of them, is it?” she asked turning towards him to gauge his reaction. He didn’t respond so she continued. “You keep things secret for a reason, don’t you?”
“It’s a fraternity. We are no different than five thousand other fraternities in the USA.”
“Does being a member mean you lie?”
“If it means protecting the fraternity’s secrets. You bet it does.”
She scoffed. “And if those secrets are murder?”
He waved her off. “I know exactly what you are trying to do here and I’m not falling for it. I was not involved in the murder of Matt Carr and neither was any of the fraternity.”
“Then if you had to take a stab at it, who do you think was?”
“If anyone wanted him dead it would be that mad gang of Latinos.”
“What?”
His face twisted up as if he was in pain and he leaned back against the counter. “Matt was studying chemistry.”
“Right, his mother said.”
“Yeah, well he had come up with this product that made people feel good. Totally legal.”
“Legal highs?” Skylar asked.
“NPS. New psychoactive substances. Yeah. The stuff is something else. Think coke but better, cheaper, safer and it lasts longer. Anyway when it started selling, word was this Latino gang approached him and wanted him to make it for them, he refused and they threatened him.”
She stood there for a second thinking and then reached into her pocket and pulled out the small baggie she’d taken from the boat. “You mean this?” She held up the baggie and he stared at it.
“Where did you get that from?”
Now it was her turn to get a smug look on her face. “It was found on your boat, or should I say your father’s boat.”
“You can’t go on there.”
“I was invited.”
“By who?”
“That’s between me and the brotherhood. You know how us brothers like to keep secrets.” She grinned and he exhaled hard. “So let me guess, if I get this tested it’s going to show up as NPS?”
He nodded.
“Is that where you went last night? Back to the boat to make sure that all of this was gone? Because if it was, you missed a bag of this laying on the counter.”
“No, I just told you. I went looking for Iris, then I went back to the boat.”
She nodded. “Okay, so let’s say I believe you. You want to tell me which of you was involved in the Vagabond Café break-in?”
He stared at the floor.
“Look, Gabriel. This can go one of two ways. I can take you in and arrest you for lying to me and trying to obstruct an investigation. You are aware there is a Psychoactive Substances Act? I only have to think that you are producing, supplying or offering this and it could lead to some hefty charges.”
Gabriel shot back, “Matt said it was legal.”
“Yeah, well, do you want to take that risk? Worst-case scenario, you get let off with a slap on the wrists and your father is humiliated. I’m sure that would affect your allowance. Am I right?”
He groaned. “Then I guess you’ll have to arrest me as I don’t know jack squat about that break-in.”
She knew he was lying but without evidence the court would just toss it out. Heck, it might not even make it into court. After asking him about the break-in she thought that was when he was going to tighten up but instead he continued talking. “I’m telling the truth about going looking for her. Tom and me get on real well and he wanted me to keep an eye out for her. He wanted all of us to do that.”
“Did he know you were seeing her?” she asked.
“I think so.”
“So you didn’t tell him?”
He sighed. “We slept together a few times, okay?”
“And you broke up when?”
“A year ago, around the time she met Matt.”
“That must have burned you being as you were president and all.”
“It is what it is. There is no shortage of ass around these parts. I only sleep alone when I want to, detective.”
“Is that all they are to you? Ass?”
“I’m twenty-two, detective. What do you expect?”
“So did you have a fight with her when you broke up?”
“No. It wasn’t like that.”
“And how did she take finding out that you had beaten on Matt?”
His jaw dropped. “Hold on a minute. No. That wasn’t why he ended up the way he did.”
He was walking right into it.
“Oh so you know he was treated differently.”
He shifted from foot to foot looking uncomfortable. “I admit we ragged on him hard but Matt was a different kettle of fish. He acted all bad ass because he knew how to create this wonder drug but—”
“He was all brain and no brawn, and you were trying to toughen him up,
is that what you’re saying?”
He clenched his jaw. “The fraternity is all about appearances, detective. We make each other look good. If there is one bad apple in the bunch, it can affect the rest of us.”
“Is that why he was murdered? You know, to get rid of the bad apple?”
“Look, I’ve told you what I know. You can spin this whichever way you like. If you’re here to arrest me, arrest me otherwise I think it’s time you leave.”
She nodded. “This Latino gang. They got a name?”
“Yeah. I think I heard Matt say something about the Latin Syndicate.”
Chapter 12
Arresting Gabriel gave her great satisfaction, even if she knew he’d make bail within a matter of hours. It was all about principles. He’d lied, tried to cover up his involvement and being as everyone else in the fraternity looked to him, she figured he was steering the ship and telling them what to do. At least if she brought him in, he might crack.
“Oh, c’mon, I thought you weren’t going to arrest me?” he said. Skylar slapped a pair of handcuffs on him, read him his Miranda rights and strong-armed him out the door back to her truck. Several of his buddies kicked up a fuss and yelled but she ignored them.
“And I thought I was going to grow up to be a ballerina, so I guess we’re both shit out of luck.”
She pushed him up against her truck while she fumbled with her keys.
“You have got to be joking. You’re taking me in this heap of crap?”
“Yep, you got a problem with that?”
“Yeah. Shouldn’t you be driving a cruiser or can’t Franklin afford it?”
“Unfortunately they spent their budget on catching idiots like you,” she said.
“You know my father is going to have your badge.”
“Good. Maybe I’ll give it to him. Oh I’m sure he will be interested to hear about the drugs.”
“They’re not drugs, I just told you.”
“We’ll decide that,” she said opening the door and stuffing him in the passenger side. Several of his fraternity brothers crowded around asking why she was arresting him. She was pretty blunt and straight to the point. “You’ll find out when I return to arrest you all.”
Death Blow Page 9
