19. Dayton
CHAPTER 19
Dayton
“Y ou should go before you’re late for work,” Franny whispers against my lips, and I smile against her mouth.
“You need to let me go in order for me to do that, baby.”
“Oh yeah.” She breathes, loosening the hold she has on my suit jacket.
After brushing my mouth across hers one last time I step back and slide my hands from her thighs. She looks thoroughly kissed and absolutely adorable with her hair wet from our shower this morning and wearing nothing but a tiny tank and underwear.
“I’ll see you this afternoon.” I straighten my tie.
“You will.” She wraps her hands around the edge of the counter she’s sitting on.
“Fuck me.” With a shake of my head, I step back between her legs and wrap my hand around the back of her neck to kiss her once more because I can’t get enough; I can never get enough. When I pull back again, her hands are once more wrapped around the lapels of my suit jacket, and the heel of her foot pressing into the back of my thigh. “Alright.” I leave her with one last kiss. “That should hold me over.” I let her go, and she laughs. “Be good today.”
“I’m always good.” She smiles as she reaches over for her coffee cup on the counter next to her.
Bending down, I give the top of PJ’s head a rub then grab my briefcase and cell from the counter. With one last look at Franny, I leave my apartment and go to the elevator.
It takes forever to get to work, and when I arrive, Jamie is already at her desk.
“Morning.” I acknowledge her with a dip of my chin and walk into my office, flipping on the light.
“Hey.” She knocks on the open door as I start to unpack my bag. “Mary stopped by a few minutes ago, she told me to let you know she wants to talk to you about the Groden case before Greg arrives for your meeting.”
“Thanks, Jamie.”
“You’re welcome.” She shifts on her heels but stays in the doorway. She rarely comes into my office anymore, and if she does, she leaves the door open. I think it’s her way of showing people that there is nothing going on between us. “Do you need anything, want a coffee?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Alright, I’ll be out here if you need me.” She turns around and walks out, closing the door behind herself.
After getting myself sorted I grab what I need and head to Mary’s office. Since her secretary isn’t at her desk, I knock and wait.
“Come in.” She calls from inside and I push the door open. “Oh, hey Dayton.” She smiles.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to sit in on your meeting with Mr. Groden today, so I wanted you to catch me up.”
“Sure.” I take a seat across from her and dive into what I know. After listening to Janelle’s entire podcast, I feel better informed about the case than I did after reading the case file from Detectives Shaw and Burros. Her investigation was thorough and well thought out. She didn’t leave a single stone unturned or miss the opportunity to interview Alice’s friends and family or anyone else who knew her.
Over the next hour, I tell Mary about the case and my suspicions of Charles being a police informant during the time of Alice’s murder.
Prior to Alice’s death, Charles had gotten away with rape, armed robbery, theft, and dozens of other petty crimes. Every single time he was brought in for something, he was released with a slap on his wrist. It could have been luck, but I don’t think anyone is that lucky. I believe that he used his knowledge of the system and his role as an informant to his advantage. He knew that the detective who had vouched for him would be held accountable for his crimes if he was ever prosecuted, and the detective knowing the same thing, saved his own ass each and every time. That only fed into Charles’ belief that he was untouchable.
It was a sad, vicious cycle, especially when you can look back and see that there are multiple women who would not have been harmed by him if he had been locked up for any of his previous crimes.
“Where is the detective who you suspect of bringing Charles on as an informant?” Mary asks.
“He’s living in a nursing home in Lewisburg.” I pass her a copy of his medical information. “He has Alzheimer’s, so he’s not going to be much help.”
“Darn.” She whispers, looking over the papers I handed her. “What about his partner?”
“I spoke with him, and he said that he didn’t know anything about Charles being an informant, and if he was, that isn’t something he and Wilkos ever spoke about.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No, but I have no evidence to prove he’s lying, and although years might have passed since he wore a badge, that doesn’t mean his loyalty to his partner has changed.”
“This doesn’t make me happy.”
“Me either.”
With a nod, she places the papers on her desk. “Are you ready for your meeting with Greg?”
“I’m not feeling very optimistic after listening to the interviews he did with Janelle for her podcast. I know that he and Alice’s sisters have a lot of doubts, it might be difficult to sway their opinions. That said, I’m hoping once I lay things out for them, they will be more inclined to believe the truth.”
“And what do you believe the truth is?”
“That Charles is the person responsible for Alice’s murder, and I don’t think it will be difficult to convince a jury of the same thing if we are able to go to trial.”
“I don’t either.” She passes me all the papers I’ve given to her while we’ve spoke. “You’ve done a good job. I’m looking forward to sitting in on your meeting with Greg this afternoon.”
“Thanks, Mary.” I get up and start for the door. “I’ll see you at twelve-thirty.”
“See you then.”
When I get back to my desk, I go through e-mails and catch up on the work I put off last night. As I’m checking on a few files, my cell beeps with a text, and I find a message from Clay asking if Franny and I would be willing to watch Rowen tonight so that he can take Willow out to dinner.
Dialing Franny’s number, I put the call on speaker as I click through files on my computer.
“Hey, is everything okay?” she answers and just the sound of her voice makes me relax.
“Yeah, I just wanted to check with you about something.”
“What’s that?”
“Clay asked if we’d look after Rowen tonight so he can take Willow out to dinner.”
“Of course, I’m free after our doctor’s appointment, so I’ll be home.”
“I have a staff meeting scheduled for five, but I should be home not long after that.”
“Perfect.” I hear the smile in her voice as she says hi to someone.
“Are you out with PJ?”
“Yeah, I was trying to work, but he got the zoomies and almost knocked over my easel. I brought him out to run off some of his energy.”
“Sorry, I should have taken him out for a walk before I left this morning.”
“We were a little busy,” she whispers, and I grin. My plan was to let her sleep this morning because I know she’s been extra tired lately, but two minutes into my shower, she joined me, and I took full advantage of her being wet and naked.
I look up when there is a knock on my office door, and Jamie pokes her head inside.
“Greg is here.”
“Thanks, Jamie. Can you call Mary and let her know he’s here and get Greg a coffee or whatever he wants?”
“Sure.” She leaves, closing the door behind herself. “Sorry...”
“You gotta go?” Franny says softly, cutting me off
“Yeah, I’ll see you at three.”
“Okay, good luck today.”
“Thanks, baby.” I hang up with her after saying goodbye then shoot a quick message to Clay letting him know that Franny and I are good for tonight and that we should be up to his place by six.
After placing my cell on silent, I push back from my desk and walk out to get Greg. The years have not been kind to him; he looks weathered and beat down, like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Then again, he’s carried around the weight of his wife’s death for years. I imagine that even if you know that you are not personally responsible, having the woman you love murdered in your home can make you feel like a failure.
As he and I get settled in my office, Mary comes in to join us, and before long, Greg opens up about Alice and the events that happened the day of her murder. None of the information is new to me, but hearing the story from him as he clutches a handful of Kleenex makes it feel more personal.
He tells us that between school and being a new mom, he could tell Alice was struggling, so he asked his mom the night before her murder to come pick up the baby so that she could have a break.
The day of the crime, he and Alice had a normal morning; they had breakfast, fed the baby, and when it was time for him to leave, he left Alice in the kitchen after giving her some money to get her hair done that afternoon. A little after he arrived at his job, where he worked as a security guard for one of the factories, he realized that he had forgotten his lunch at home, so he called Alice and asked if she could drop it off to him. She gave him a hard time and teased him about being forgetful but agreed to drop it off before her hair appointment.
About an hour and a half later, his friend Beau showed up at the guard shack, something he had never done in the past. He said he was out looking for a job and decided to stop by. Around one, with Beau still there, Greg called Alice when she still hadn’t dropped off his lunch but got no answer at home. He didn’t think much of it, he knew that she was going to get her hair done and figured that’s where she was and that she forgot about him, so he and Beau got lunch from the lunchroom at the factory.
At five, when his shift ended, Greg left to go home, and Beau followed him. The two making plans earlier to go to the gym after Greg changed out of his clothes from work. When they arrived at the apartment, Alice’s car was in the driveway, and nothing seemed strange except that the door was unlocked. Still, Beau made a comment about being careful. At the time, Greg didn’t think much about it and went inside.
The house was dark, so he called out to Alice, she didn’t answer so he went in search of her. That’s when he found her body. At first, he thought that she had passed out, but when Beau, who was behind him, turned on the light, he saw that the clothes she was wearing were soaked through with blood and that there was blood splatter on the walls. Immediately, Greg called the police, and a few minutes later they arrived, and the apartment was taped off as a crime scene.
Within the first forty-eight hours, the detectives working the case had zeroed in on Beau, not only because of his inability to provide an alibi the morning of the murder prior to meeting up with Greg, but because Alice’s friends came forward and told them that on more than one occasion Beau had said or done things to make Alice uncomfortable. And that it was well known that Beau was jealous of Alice and Greg’s relationship, something that even Greg admitted.
Listening to him explain things, I can understand why he was convinced that his friend killed his wife, but that doesn’t change the facts. It wasn’t Beau’s DNA found on the knife that killed Alice, but Charles’, and there was no reason for Charles’ DNA to be inside Alice and Greg’s apartment. None of them were friends, and as far as anyone knew, they didn’t even know each other back then.
After I explain all the evidence that we have against Charles, including DNA, I tell him that we will be moving forward with presenting our case to a judge and charging him for Alice’s murder. The moment I give him that news, he breaks down into tears and tells us that when the detectives told him that they believed that Beau killed his wife, he didn’t believe them, but as the weeks went on and they didn’t have another suspect, he began to question if they were right. Not only was he dealing with the loss of his wife, but he was also questioning if someone he had known most of his life was capable of murder.
“You’ll have to forgive me; this is dredging up a lot of old feelings,” Greg says, wiping his eyes. He looks absolutely wrecked, and I can’t blame him. He just relived the worst day of his life and got news that he likely never thought he’d get.
“That’s understandable,” Mary tells him softly, glancing over at me before focusing back on him. “We know that there will never truly be closure for you in this situation, but we hope that we can at least help you get the justice that Alice deserves.”
“I want that.” He shakes his head and then looks up at me. “I’m guessing that you’ll meet with her sisters at some point.”
“We have a meeting scheduled with them tomorrow.”
“They won’t be easy to convince. They think that I killed her, and I’m not sure that they will ever change their minds about that.” More wetness fills his eyes. “I was young and stupid, and at times, I wasn’t the best boyfriend or husband, but I loved Alice and would never have hurt her.”
“You let us worry about them,” I tell him gently, and he nods.
“Maybe when this is done, my son, Alice’s son, can build a relationship with her family. He’s never had that, and I know there are times that he feels like he’s missing out.”
Shit, that feels like a punch to the gut. His son is not a baby anymore, he’s a grown man who has lived a whole life without his mother or at least having the connection to her through her family. Because of what Charles did, they missed out on so much time together, and there is no getting that time back, regardless of what changes now.
“I hope so.” I stand, and he does the same.
“Thank you.” He holds out his hand, and I take it in mine.
“You’re welcome, Mr. Groden.” I let his hand go and walk him to the door. “I’ll be in touch later this week.”
“I’m looking forward to that.” He says before he leaves.
“You okay?” Mary asks, and I turn to face her while letting out a breath.
“That was more difficult than I thought it would be.”
“Charles ruined a lot of lives.” Her expression is filled with empathy.
“He did.” I agree quietly. “Hopefully, we can right at least one of his wrongs.” And not just for Alice, but for the people she left behind that suffered the most from her loss.