Chapter Sixteen #2
“Hmm. I know you’ve already spoken to Special Agent Bell.
To his credit, he made an official request which I’m happy to approve, so get your butts over to the FBI.
Take a car, Gunnar. I don’t want Bryn on the back of your bike until we’re sure you’re not gonna get taken out by a sniper.
I don’t want to be scraping either of you off the asphalt.
Emmett, you can go too. It’ll be good experience.
Also, if anyone over there offers you a job, the answer is no. ”
“Yes, sir, I mean, no, sir… I mean…” Emmett was pink and flustered. Warden gave him a slow, wolfish smile.
“Get to work, gentlemen. You have a killer to catch.”
* * * *
Agent Bell had secured a private room and had already managed to bring in seven of his ten suspects, who’d been seated in a separate room. Bryn was a little nervous about reading so many people in quick succession but it wouldn’t be the first time. He made sure Gunnar was within reach.
“I’ve decided on a change of tack for these interviews,” Bell said.
“Rather than asking about the victims, I propose to assess knowledge of the kill site. The reason for that is to ensure that on the off chance we have a copycat, or two killers working together, this will save time. Only the killer or killers will know details about the tunnel.”
“Do you have reason to believe there is more than one person involved?” Gunnar asked.
“Not at this time, I’m being cautious.”
“Why have the people we’re seeing today landed on the shortlist?”
“Either because they have no alibi for the dates the victims were taken, or their alibis are sketchy for one or more of them.”
“Fair enough. What about the ones who aren’t here yet?”
“Efforts are being made to track them down. They may have arrived before Bryn gets to the end of this first bunch. I should also say, Bryn, if you need a break, you only have to say.”
“Keep the coffee coming, Bell.”
“He’ll take a break after the first three,” Gunnar said. “He’ll need a snack.”
“I will?”
“You will. Non-negotiable.”
Bell grinned. “Are they like this all the time, Emmett?”
“They are and then some,” Emmett replied before ducking his head. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I?”
“We love you, Emmett. Never change,” Gunnar reassured him. “Shall we get started?”
Over the next three hours, Bryn gradually eliminated all the suspects. Only one man had any knowledge of the Boston tunnels and he was an amateur history buff. He didn’t recognize the symbol on the wall and had never been inside any of the tunnels.
One of the three missing suspects had turned up under his own steam. He had a numb face from a dental appointment but was relieved to be able to clear his name.
Finally, it was only the small team left. Bell organized for Chinese food to be delivered.
Bryn didn’t wait for anyone else. He poked into boxes and claimed a portion of mushroom rice and some prawn curry. “So hungry!”
Gunnar held back but Bell had made provision for a wolf-sized appetite and had been generous. Soon everyone was eating.
“Who are we missing, Bell?”
“The two managers. Drake Romano who runs the store and Dave Frederics, the security manager.”
“We met both of them when we went to view their security footage,” Gunnar said.
“Any concerns about either of them?”
“Not at the time, but we weren’t there long. They were cooperative. The manager didn’t stay with us ’cos he had to haul some kid out of a freezer.”
“I’m not going to ask…”
“So where are they?”
“Romano is at the store and had to arrange cover, but should be here soon. Frederics didn’t show up for work this morning. I have people out looking for him.”
“So without jumping to conclusions, that doesn’t look good for him, does it?”
“Can’t say that it does.”
“That place is bristling with cameras. He’s in an ideal job to see everything and everyone. He’d definitely know how to avoid cameras and his build fits the profile.” Gunnar tried not to get too excited that they might have found their killer. “Did he have an alibi at all?”
“No. He isn’t in a relationship. Lives alone and says that at the times the victims were taken, he was either at home or working.
He can produce witnesses that he was at work but no one has eyes on him all the time and part of his role is to walk the premises, including the parking lot, at regular intervals.
He could have disappeared for hours during a working day and anyone who noticed he’d gone would assume he was working someplace else. ”
“I guess the same applies to the manager,” Bryn said. “He must have off-site meetings.”
“He’s a similar character. No family to speak of and not very social. Belongs to a gun club but doesn’t go to the range very often. Members we found who know him didn’t have anything negative to say, though.”
“Neither of them are obvious psychos,” Bryn said.
“They never are.” Bell munched on a spring roll.
A young staffer poked her head around the door. “Agent Bell. Mr. Romano has arrived.”
“Put him in the waiting room while we get the room cleared, Menaz. I’ll come get him myself when we’re ready.”
The remains of the meal were hurriedly cleared away and after a quick comfort break, they were ready.
“How’s your head?” Gunnar asked Bryn.
“Still attached.”
“You need water?”
“I’m good. Let’s get this over with.”
Romano was brought in and Bell gave him the same introduction to proceedings as he’d given the others.
“Got it. And apologies for not being able to get here sooner. I had to find a deputy to cover for me at the store and there’s a flu bug going around. It took a while.”
“Not a problem. You’re here now.”
“Yeah, but I want this all sorted out as much as you do. If this gets you closer to catching Betty-Jo’s killer, I don’t want to delay anything.”
Bryn took Romano’s wrist and nodded that he was ready to begin.
Bell cleared his throat. “Are you aware of the tunnels beneath Boston Common?”
“Yes.” Romano spoke without hesitation.
“Truth.”
“How do you know about them?”
“Dave Frederics told me about them.”
“Truth.”
Gunnar and Bell exchanged looks.
“What exactly did he tell you about them?”
“He said he had found an old entrance to one of the tunnels. He’d done some research on the web and wanted to take a look, so he did. I think he hoped to find historical stuff that might have been left down there.”
“Truth.”
“Do you know if he got inside?”
“Yes, he did. He showed me pictures.”
“When was this?” Bell didn’t wait for Bryn to confirm the truth of that statement.
“Uh, I can’t be sure, but I’d say it was around eighteen months ago.”
“Truth.”
“I’m going to show you a picture, Mr. Romano. It’s a drawing of a symbol and I want you to tell me if you’ve seen it.” Bell pushed the sketch across the table.
Romano looked at it. “It kinda looks like something that was on the wall of the tunnel. Dave thought it might be an old smugglers’ mark. He was fascinated by the historical connection.”
“Truth.”
“Do you think Frederics has been into the tunnels again?”
“Can’t say. I would guess so, because he got really into Boston’s history after that, but I don’t absolutely know.”
“Also true.” Bryn’s hand was shaking. He closed his eyes, the strain of what he was doing evident.
“Bryn needs to take a break,” Gunnar said.
Bell nodded. “We have what we need for now, Mr. Romano. If you’d be so kind as to go with one of my agents, they’ll take a statement from you. Anything you can remember from your conversations with Dave Frederics would be helpful.”
“Am I going to need a new security manager?” Romano asked as he stood.
“That remains to be seen, but if he turns up at work or contacts you in any way, you need to let us know immediately.”
“I will.” Romano left with the same agent who had announced his arrival.
“I need something sugary for Bryn,” Gunnar said.
“Way ahead of you.” Emmett extracted three candy bars from his satchel. “I brought these with me, just in case.”
“My head hurts,” Bryn muttered.
“I’m sure it does. You’ve done too much again.” Gunnar got growly. He thrust a bottle of water into Bryn’s hand then unwrapped one of the candy bars. He broke off a piece. “Open.”
Bryn opened his mouth, accepting the chocolate Gunnar shoved between his lips.
“Hmm, good to know that’s one order you respond to,” Gunnar whispered, his voice low enough that only Bryn would hear amidst the chatter in the room.
Several agents on the investigating team had joined them to hear the results of the readings.
Bryn blinked and gulped. “I’m okay, but I’d like to get back to the apartment so I can take a nap. Is that okay?” He was utterly drained.
“We sure can.”
Emmett was already packing his things. “This was fascinating. I’m glad Warden let me come along.”
Fifteen minutes later, after saying their goodbyes to Bell and his team, Gunnar, Bryn and Emmett were in the car and heading for home. Emmett took shotgun so that Bryn could get horizontal on the rear seat.
“That was a lot for Bryn to handle today, wasn’t it?” Emmett said.
“Yeah. I think it paid off, though.”
“Sure sounded like it. I hope Bell tracks the security guy down fast. Do you think he’s made a run for it?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. This killer isn’t stupid. He’ll have a backup plan. He was right there in the security room with us and I didn’t pick up anything suspect. He was helpful. Normal. He has to be a sociopath.”
Emmett shuddered. “Those poor people. I hate thinking about what he did to them.”
“Try to put it out of your head. When it sneaks in, think of something happy.”
“Will Bryn have to read Dave Frederics when they catch him?”
“Not if he confesses or if they find enough evidence to convict him without a confession. I can’t imagine he thought his kill site would be found so it must be full of forensics. In the image Bryn saw, the killer wasn’t wearing gloves.”
“That would be good. I’m sure Bryn has enough bad stuff in his head already.”
“I’m right here, guys,” Bryn spoke from the back seat.
“You should be sleeping,” Gunnar snapped. “And he’s not wrong.”
“True. Are we there yet?”
“You did not just say that!”
Bryn chuckled. “What can I say? I live to make your world a better place.”