Page 25 of Accidental Murder
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kayla couldn’t imaginehow the police accomplished anything in a precinct where people were constantly coming and going. Noise reverberated off the walls and the ceilings. Blocking it out, she sat in the wooden chair beside Hanrahan’s desk and wrestled with her concerns. Would the police settle for the suspect in custody even if he wasn’t the killer?
Across the room, Hanrahan was vying with fellow officers for access to the coffeemaker. Kayla took the opportunity to browse the inspector’s desk. A gold picture frame held a photo of Hanrahan standing with a pregnant woman whose face matched hers. Was she a twin? Would that make her more sympathetic to Kayla’s plight? A to-go bag from a local diner sat beside the frame, untouched. A stack of paper crowded the corner of the desk closest to Kayla.
At the top of that pile lay an invitation to thePolicemen’s Ball to Honor the Mayor. She pictured the invitation Ashley had been holding. Who had sent it? Or had the killer hand-delivered it?
Ventano’s rap sheet jutted from beneath the invitation.
Kayla glanced at Hanrahan, who now held a cup of coffee but had been waylaid by a chatty cop. Clandestinely, Kayla nudged the invitation to the side and read the rap sheet.
Strike 1: Committed petty theft when he stole a woman’s purse in a park.
Strike 2: Knocked over a liquor store and absconded with less than two hundred dollars.
At the bottom of the page, a notation said Ventano had been charged for breaking into a clothing warehouse and stealing a jacket, but the owner hadn’t pressed charges.
Ventano had never assaulted anyone, Kayla noted. He had never committed homicide. She presumed he was homeless. Was he, as Rodrigo suggested, pleading guilty so he could get free room and board in jail? How had he known the modus operandi of the Second Story Sneak? How had he guessed what Ashley had been wearing? Had a reporter or someone at the precinct passed on the information to him?
“Officer!” Dennis Wald poked his head out of his glass-enclosed office, his gaze smoldering. “I need that file. Now!” Without registering Kayla’s presence, he returned inside.
By the looks on the faces in the squad room, his minions were not happy with his bullish demeanor. How on earth had he risen to the position of captain? Did he have an alibi when Ashley was attacked?
The door leading to the holding cells swung open. Rodrigo, with Ventano in handcuffs, shambled in Kayla’s direction. The duo exited through a pair of broad metal doors.
At the same time Hanrahan returned to her desk. She set a cup of coffee along with a packet of sugar and a miniature tub of cream on the desk. “Sorry it took me so long. This is for you.”
Kayla murmured, “Thanks,” but left the items untouched.
“Your sister liked jazz, didn’t she?” Hanrahan settled into her chair. “Miles Davis, John Coltrane. She had a lot of CDs.”
“Inherited from our father.”
“She owned a lot of novels, too. Suspense and mystery titles.” Hanrahan sipped her coffee and looked over the rim of the cup. “And you like . . . ?”
“Chick-lit and travelogues,” Kayla replied, having anticipated test questions. She had often teased Ashley for her taste in literature. Now, she wouldn’t travel anywhere ever again.
“Your sister donated to a pet shelter,” Hanrahan said. “And food banks.”
“That’s right.”
“The techs examined her computers,” Hanrahan continued, taking a turn in topics. She laced her fingers together and leaned forward on her elbows. “They wanted to find out if she’d had contact with Ventano prior to the assault.”
“Homeless and food banks? Is that your link?”
The inspector drew the suspect’s rap sheet from beneath the invitation to the ball. “Did you read this?”
Kayla’s cheeks warmed. “I?—”
The door to Dennis’s office opened. He exited and tramped across the squad room. At the doorway where the suspect had passed through with Rodrigo, he paused. He spun around and regarded Kayla. His searing gaze unnerved her. He made a slight bow with his head and proceeded out the door.
Why had he acknowledged her? To send a message?
She eyed Hanrahan and stifled the impulse to blurt out the truth. She couldn’t trust the inspector. Twin or no twin. Taking a different tack, she said, “Your boss knew my sister.”
“He told me.”
“After she ended it, he phoned her repeatedly.”
