Manipulative. Using his disability and training in order to make your life more convenient. Treating him like a child.It was all probably true, but Jericho did it anyway. It was better than having to drag the guy down the stairs.Sometimes the end justifies the means?He felt positively Wade-like.
Shit, he shouldn’t have thought of Wade. After getting Will back into his cell Jericho threw himself into his work, and when he went to Kayla’s office later that morning to update her on the case, he didn’t mention Wade’s visit the night before. It wasn’t relevant, and there was no need to bore her with details.
Instead, he reported the new information he’d found. “I contacted Will’s social worker, a guardian assigned by the courts, but he kept Will on a pretty long leash. Said two violent incidents over seven years wasn’t enough to upgrade the time allotted to his case.”
“He’s Will’s legal guardian? I’ve been talking to the prosecutors’ office about all this—it’s possible Will could be declared incompetent to stand trial, but they want us to proceed with the investigation until someone makes us stop. They say the problem won’t be his IQ or his ability to understand what’s going on, it’ll be his ability to communicate and help with his own defense. He could end up committed somewhere instead of convicted. But someone has to start that process. It doesn’t sound like his social worker is going to be standing up for him?”
“Not soon, no.”
“Anything else from him?”
“He said he doesn’t know any specifics in this case, but it’s not uncommon for people with brain injuries to use prostitutes. Their bodies still have the same urges, but their social skills may not allow them to meet people in the traditional ways. So—hookers, if they have the money.”
“And Will had the money.”
Jericho nodded. “He’s not rich, but there was an insurance settlement, and Mr. Appleby was paying him. He didn’t have a lot of expenses. So he could have afforded Lorraine’s time, sure.” It wasn’t like she’d have been charging top dollar. “We didn’t find any appointment book or even a list of clients when we were at Lorraine’s house. No computer, no cell phone. But I checked the records from the last time she was arrested, and she had a phone on her then, so we’re working with the phone companies to see if there’s an account in her name.”
“If there is, where’s the phone?”
“Good question. She might have lost it, but if we find the account, we can check the usage records and see when she last had it.”
“And we’re getting nothing at all from Will?”
“I had a nice picture of a cat until he scribbled all over it. Kinda weird, but I can’t think of a way to make it relevant to the investigation.”
“Got the autopsy report yet?”
“Yeah.” Jericho pointed to one of the files he’d brought in. “It says therewereweapons used. Wood fragments in the contusions, and plastic fibers around her neck. They say not a baseball bat. The weapon was squared off, like a chunk of lumber. They think maybe a two-by-four. They’re doing some more tests on the plastic, but they said it seemed like a feed bag, or something like it. That fake burlap stuff, you know? Called it ‘woven polypropylene.’”
“She have any reason to have those items in the house?” Kayla’s voice was quiet, but they both knew her question was vitally important.
“Maybe.” Jericho had already thought it through, but it felt good to bounce ideas around with someone else. “Who doesn’t have a couple chunks of lumber lying around? And a bag? Could have been grass seed.”
“But those wouldn’t be in the bedroom.”
“Not likely,” Jericho admitted. “So—shit, Kay, I don’t know. If we’re seeing it as a crime of passion, I could see Will doing it. But if we think there was premeditation? If the killer actually brought the tools in with him? Does Will still look like our guy?”
“He still looks like our number-one suspect. If you find someone better, fine, but until then? We dig for whatever evidence we can find.” She seemed to sense Jericho’s dissatisfaction with that answer. “I’ll talk to the prosecuting attorney again. I want to push more on the competency issue—if his public defender is too weak to push for a hearing, maybe we should initiate one from our side so we don’t end up going through an appeal. In the meantime, we need to find those weapons.”
“I’ve got guys searching the woods behind the crime scene, all the way over to where we found Will yesterday. If we don’t find anything in there, we’ll widen the search area. But it’s a big damn forest, Kay.”
“I’ll authorize overtime if we need it.”
Jericho nodded. “Okay. I’m on it. Have we found a psychologist yet? Not necessarily for evidence”—it was hopelessly idealistic and naïve, but he said it anyway—“I want to find out what happened. It’s not just about building a case. This isn’t LA; these people aren’t anonymous. I knew Lorraine, and I know Will, and . . . it’s different up here. I don’t want to win a case, I want to—toknow. To do what’s best for everyone.”
“Welcome to small-town law enforcement.” Kayla’s tone was sardonic, but she softened it with a rueful smile. “I’ve made the request for a psych consult, but I’m not optimistic, not until there’s a hearing to decide if Will can stand trial. So right now—investigate. By the book, so if we need it as evidence, we can use it. But even if Will doesn’t go to trial, you’re right—we still need to know what happened. Lorraine deserves that.”
“We need to find the weapons,” Jericho said, happy to get back on more solid investigative ground.
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” He pushed himself to his feet. “I’m on it.”
“Hey, Jay?” Kayla said softly. She waited until she had his full attention, then said, “I just thought I’d mention—I was talking to Hockley this morning. He told me they’ve got surveillance on Wade Granger. He didn’t say what for, but he said they’re tracking his movements quite closely.” A long pause and a piercing look before she added, “He thought you might want to know that.”
Jericho’s mouth was suddenly dry. “Oh,” he croaked, and his brain stuttered, then kicked into gear. “Okay.” How long had Wade been in his apartment the night before? Had they been near the windows at any point? And, shit, what did it mean that Hockley had told this to Kayla rather than going straight to Jericho with it? Was he expecting her to tell her dad, who would then tell Wade? Had Hockley just compromised a federal investigation in order to keep Jericho from getting caught in an embarrassing situation?
“I’m going to go help search for the murder weapons,” he said, and practically ran down the stairs and out to his cruiser.
