“He will. He’s pretty headstrong.”
“Yeah, Thomas is headstrong. Headstrong.” She rocked in her chair, and her eyes focused on something through the window. Darek wondered if he’d lost her for good, but then she turned and smiled. “You look so much like my husband.”
“I’ve got to be going, mama. I’ll come back to see you soon.”
“Okay.”
Carla came into the room, and his mother’s eyes lit up. “I had a handsome visitor.”
“I see that. Very handsome indeed, Ms. Linda. Would you like to come down and watch the kids perform today?” There was a school bus outside, and he’d passed a line of kids on the way in.
“I’m going to go, Carla,” Darek said.
“Okay, Detective. Stop by the front desk and sign that paper for me, if you will.”
As he left the room, he heard his mother’s voice. “Did you say, detective? My son is a detective.”
He smiled but didn’t bother turning around. It didn’t mean that she’d recognize him, and he needed to get back to the office and see about that warrant.
He called Lizzy as soon as he stepped out into the parking lot, and he headed for the car while he waited for her to answer.
“Hey, partner. How’s your mother?” Her voice was so full of concern that if she’d been there, he’d have hugged her.
“She’s okay. Just a scratch. She was a real chatterbox, but I finally got away. Did you get the warrant?”
“Yes, and we’re headed there now. I’ll text you the address if you want to meet us.”
He was impressed that she’d worked so fast, but he didn’t want to ask her how she’d done it.
“Wow, okay.” He didn’t know what else to say. “I’ll see you there.”
On the way, his mind drifted to the evidence, and no matter how many times he played it in his head over and over, the feeling that he was being set up wouldn’t go away.
He really didn’t want to have to go and see the doctor, knowing the last suggestion he’d made, but he might have to go to get some peace of mind.
He went across town and met up with Lizzy and Max. By the time he arrived, they’d already gone inside the house without him.
Max came out of the house and walked up to Darek when he stepped out of the car. “We just went in, but it looks like he’s still not home.”
“Let’s get inside. Maybe we can find a clue to where he went.” He led the way, and Max followed. Lizzy wasn’t anywhere to be found. He started upstairs and heard her barking commands.
“Careful what you touch, guys. I’ll be down in the kitchen.” She breezed past him.
“Hey, you sure work fast.” He followed her down to the kitchen, and Max followed in their wake.
“Yeah, it was dumb luck. Chief was on the phone with the judge when I got inside the office. There’s nothing upstairs. The guy is a total neat freak. I’m hoping the kitchen can tell us when he was home last. Maybe there’s something in the trash.” She walked over to the island counter and looked around, but Darek found the trash can under the sink.
“It’s here.” He pulled it out, and she walked over to take a peek.
Darek could smell the rotting food before she had one of the other men take the lid off. Everyone held their breath, and Max tucked his nose into his shirt.
“That’s disgusting. It’s rotten vegetable peelings. Find out when the trash service comes. He’s obviously missed a garbage day, or two.” Lizzy cringed and then stepped away and went to the fridge. She opened the door and took out some containers. “Mold.”
The guy hadn’t been home for some time, and if he took off right after the murder with his order book, then the timeline would work out. Everything was falling into place, but in Darek’s gut, something seemed off.
“It’s all too neat.” He had mumbled under his breath, but Lizzy lifted her head and shrugged.
“What do you mean? The house? The guy was probably obsessive-compulsive or something. I’m surprised he didn’t take out the trash before he fled.”
“No, I mean everything. It’s all laid out too neatly.”
“So, the guy is a lousy murderer. That’s just going to make him easier to catch.” Lizzy leaned against the kitchen counter and folded her arms. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“The guy keeps his house clean, his shop was neat, but he leaves this horribly messy murder that points directly at him. His own workers haven’t even been to his house, which means he’s a private person.”
“Unless they’re lying. They could have been afraid of losing their job.” She let loose a deep breath. “It’s like the trash, Darek. He was in too big of a hurry to care about his trash because he was in too big a hurry to get the hell out of town.”
“But why take the time to carve her up? Why not just gather your shit and go? Not to mention, she was drugged. Drugged not only to knock her out, but to make her bleed. I don’t think this guy is going to ruin everything he had for this girl. There’s something missing. It’s all too neat of a fucking package. You can believe it or stick to your own theories, but that’s mine.”
“Everything points to him, though. We’re taught to listen to the evidence. How can I throw out everything that’s pointing directly to this man?”
Darek knew all too well that sometimes, things aren’t what they seem. After he’d left the girl there in the clearing, a homeless man who had been camping out near the diner had been accused of killing her. No one looked any deeper because everything lined up perfectly to say that the man had done it.
“You’re the one who told me to look deeper on that first day, saying that it’s not going to be wrapped up in a tight little bow, remember?”
“Yeah, but that was before we had any evidence. This is now, and we have a shit-ton of evidence pointing to this monster. Take it as a gift. This case will be solved, and you’ll most likely get your promotion.” She shrugged and walked out of the room, leaving him in there alone with Max.
Max was standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, staring at his shoes. He looked up and met Darek’s eyes. “Don’t blow this, man.”
15
Darek
When they left Victor’s house, Darek felt like Lizzy had taken the case and run with it. She wasn’t exploring his theories or even interested in hearing them. He had her all wrong. She wasn’t the person who wanted to look at every angle; she wanted to please her boss and nothing more.
No wonder she’d survived and pushed her way to the top. She wasn’t on her knees, like some thought, but bent over, kissing Sam Reed’s ass. He couldn’t help but be bitter, especially since she was right about one thing. He should take it as a gift. Solving this case would better his chances of coming on board, and so would getting along with the teacher’s pet.
He was back at the station, thinking about the lost security footage, when Lizzy walked up to him.