Page 8 of Having HIs Back
“Then why can’t you make her come back?” Henry asked.
“Because I don’t have the power to do that. No one does,” Brian said, and Henry buried his face in Kerry’s shoulder while Brian took a bite of the pepperoni slice. “But you have your Uncle Kerry, and he loves you very much.” Brian hoped he hadn’t said anything wrong as Kerry comforted his nephew.
Henry stayed quiet. Phillip ate the rest of his pizza, and eventually Henry returned to his. Once they were done and Kerry took care of the dishes, he settled the boys in front of the television, and Brian accompanied him out to the garage.
Kerry used the keys to unlock the car and opened the back door to get the car seats out. “So, she died in here?”
“Yes.” Brian indicated where they found the body. “I think she died right here. But it’s hard to be sure. There was no blood.”
Kerry followed him over to the driver’s side of the car. “What was she doing in the garage?”
“She must have been getting ready to go somewhere,” Brian supplied.
Kerry shook his head. “I don’t think so. What time did she die?”
“The coroner estimated at 7 AM or so.”
Kerry chuckled nervously. “That would be unusual. The boys might be up that early, but not Caroline. She was not a morning person at all. What was she wearing? Or more importantly, was she dressed? Caroline was never seen in public without makeup, her hair done, and properly dressed. If she was in sweats or pajamas, then she was not going out for any reason.”
“Huh,” Brian remarked. “Then that means that whoever did this lured her out there. I had assumed that she was going somewhere.”
“Caroline worked from home mostly. She was very artistic and had a number of graphic design clients. If she had been going to work, she would have done it at the desk in her room. And at that time of the morning, she never would have left theboys. She may have come out here to get something, but that speaks of coincidence. I’d be willing to bet that someone either lured her out there or she went out there to meet someone and didn’t want to wake Phillip and Henry.”
“Who would she meet out there?” Brian asked.
“I have no idea. Does her car have an alarm? Maybe someone set it off and she went out to silence it.”
Brian shook his head. “No alarm other than the panic button on her key ring.” He had checked all that out when he was here before.
“Then I really don’t know who it could be. She would never meet a client that early, and certainly not dressed like that. She might have worked in sweatpants and stuff, but she met clients looking as professional as possible. She was always proud of that.”
Brian hummed, wishing he could figure out something—anything—about this case. It had him perplexed. “I’m looking into her past. I still think this was personal and not some random act. Someone got her out into the garage, killed her, and hung her to try to cover it up. That’s someone who must hate her a great deal.” He knew that much. “What about her ex-boyfriends?”
“I’d have no idea where they are or how to contact them. I met a few over the years, but that’s all. I don’t remember their names or what they looked like other than plenty of bad hair and teeth, skanky clothes, and on occasion, men in desperate need of a shower. If I tried to remember much about them at all, I don’t think I could. You might start with the boys’ fathers. They have to be suspects of a sort.”
“It’s possible, but what would they have to gain?”
“I don’t know. Maybe one of them wanted their kid. Caroline had custody of both of them, and she wasn’t going to give it up for anyone. When it came to fighting for the boys, shewas like a tiger, and no one wanted to get on her bad side. Ask Henry’s principal. She read him the riot act a few weeks ago because Henry needed help that he wasn’t getting. Apparently, the sanctimonious bastard—her words—didn’t believe that Henry was already reading at a second-grade level and could add and subtract bigger numbers in his head, as well as do basic multiplication.”
“But… isn’t that unusual at his age?” Brian asked.
“Very. He’s going to be a really smart kid, and I think that’s some of the problem right now. Henry thinks about everything so much. Caroline always said that Henry was either going to solve the world’s problems or go crazy with everything going on in his head.”
Brian nodded slowly. “I guess I can understand that. It also helps explain why he’s not talking and pulling into himself. He’s trying to figure things out, but he isn’t coming up with any answers, and his poor head is going in circles.” He really felt for both these kids… hell, every time he had a case that involved kids, it weighed on his heart. But he was a professional, and he was supposed to deal with these sorts of things and not let them get to him. He had to remain as detached as possible. It was the only way to survive.
“That’s a possibility. I’m not sure, and Henry is only talking a little. It seems like he’s communicating only when Phillip is.” Kerry seemed to hesitate. “At this moment, I’m trying not to draw too many conclusions. There are too many variables. But I did speak to the boys. I asked them if they might have seen anyone yesterday morning. Phillip is adamant that he didn’t see anything, but Henry avoided the question. He made like he didn’t hear me, but I know he did. There isn’t enough guile in him to lie.”
“So, you think it’s possible he did?” Brian asked, trying not to let himself get excited. Information from children wasdifficult enough, and from one as traumatized as these two were…. Brian knew Kerry was right and that he shouldn’t push, but he needed to know what might be locked up inside a six-year-old’s head. He sighed and looked around the garage again, hoping for some sort of insight, but all he found was a pair of intense eyes as deep as any lake he had ever seen, filled with hurt and something else that Brian couldn’t quite place. He kept looking into them, Kerry casting some sort of spell.
He leaned forward slightly, getting pulled into Kerry’s intense brown eyes. There was something about this man that got under his skin. Brian wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But damn, it had been a long time since anyone had stoked any kind of heat inside him. Relationships for cops tended to suck. The hours were awful and unpredictable. He had seen many marriages fold under the pressure, and he didn’t want to go through all that… again. Once was quite enough. Still, he parted his lips when Kerry did before realizing what he was doing and backing away.
Kerry shook his head slightly and seemed to realize what was happening at the same time Brian did. He blinked, and Kerry’s cheeks turned pink before he looked away toward the door to the main part of the house. He finished getting the car seats and set them near the door. “I guess….” He cleared his throat, “I guess I thought if I came out here, I’d see something that would help.”
“You already did. Based on what you said and the way she was dressed, your sister was lured out here. Can you think of anyone who would have that kind of interest for her?”
“I keep coming back to one of her old boyfriends….” Kerry lifted his gaze. “Phillip or Henry’s father maybe. But I don’t see Henry’s coming here from Seattle.”
Brian checked his phone. “I had him checked on. One of our officers has been in touch, and according to his wife, he’sbeen out of the country for the last two weeks. Kuala Lumpur on business. Homeland Security confirmed that he hasn’t returned to the country. Phillip’s father is another matter. We haven’t been able to contact him.” Brian looked up from the message and seemed to be going through a list in his head. “Would you please ask the boys if their mother was currently seeing someone?”
