Chapter 56
You should’ve waited in the car.
Vaughn wrapped his arm around Ivy and escorted her from the building. She was trembling. Whispering that this was all her fault.
“It’s not—it’s not your fault.”
Ivy sobbed once. Rebecca Quinn was dead, knife wound to the throat, God only knew where else. Still holding Ivy, Vaughn called Darnell.
“What the hell is going on, Vaughn? I’m hearing from Delaney that—”
“I need CSU.” Vaughn gave the address. “One dead.”
“Dead? Another gassing?”
“No, knife wound.”
Ivy whimpered.
“It’s not your fault,” he repeated. “Darnell, hurry the fuck up.”
After he got off the phone, he called Delaney again.
“What’s up? CSU just arrived.”
“Stack murder one to those charges, Delaney. Throw Zeke Godfrey in a cell. I want to be the first to speak to him.”
“Murder—”
“Just do it.”
He hung up.
“I should have called you,” Ivy whined. “I should have told you about Zeke, about—”
Vaughn removed his arm from Ivy’s shoulder and spun her around. Looked directly into her watery eyes.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“This is not your fault, okay? You didn’t do this. You are not responsible for this. You went to your department head with your concerns, right?”
Ivy didn’t answer.
“Ivy,” Vaughn said, more sternly now. “This isn’t your fault.”
“But if I’d—”
“And if my grandma had wheels, she’d be a bicycle,” Vaughn said, pulling out his best Darnell-ism.
Ivy made a face.
“Wh-what?”
“Come here.”
He embraced her. Held her tightly to his chest until her breathing regulated. Only let go when Darnell arrived on scene.
“What the hell, Vaughn? What—” He noticed Ivy. “What is she doing here? The captain—”
“A student attacked her in her home. He told her that he’d hurt someone, and she suspected another student. Got the address. She’s DOA inside. Apparent knife wound.”
“Jesus. What about the suspect?”
“In custody.”
Vaughn glanced down at his arm. Ivy had done a good job of cleaning him up. It was nothing more than a scratch.
“Who—”
“Delaney has him—in booking now.”
“Delaney? You called Delaney?”
A CSU van pulled up and Landon got out.
“I’ll brief Landon. Get him to coordinate with the tech at Ivy’s place—the knife is still there. Probable murder weapon.”
“This related to the other murders?”
Ivy shook her head.
“Not sure. Maybe. The suspect has already lawyered up.”
“His father is Devon Godfrey,” Ivy said in a small voice.
“Shit, the Devon Godfrey?” Darnell swore.
It clicked—why the surname had sounded familiar to Vaughn. Devon Godfrey was a power broker in Jersey. If he wasn’t worth a billion yet, he was damn close. Vaughn was also aware that Devon had donated quite a bit of money to the PPD.
“Yeah, that Devon Godfrey,” Ivy confirmed.
“Fuck. I’ll call the captain,” Darnell said. His eyes drifted to Ivy. “He’s not going to be happy about this.”
“No, he won’t. We meet Delaney at the station, interview Ivy first. Then we call the captain.”
“He’s not going to be happy about that either,” Darnell reiterated.
“I don’t give a fuck. Ivy, I’ll be right back.”
Vaughn whistled, called Landon over. Met him halfway.
“We need masks for this one?”
“No. Knife wound. One victim—deceased. Weapon should be at the secondary location.”
Landon nodded.
“Delaney called that in already. I have a team over there.”
“Good. I need everything by the book with this one. Suspect’s father is a heavy hitter.”
“Understood.”
Vaughn returned to Darnell and Ivy. The way they fell silent the moment he came near suggested that they must have been conversing. His efforts to calm Ivy down had been erased. She seemed more agitated than ever.
Fucking Darnell.
“This is all over the radio, Vaughn. If we want to get an interview in before the captain catches wind of it, we should move now. I can take—”
“No. I’ll take Ivy. You take your own car.”
“You think that’s a good idea?”
“I don’t care if it’s a good idea. She’s coming with me.”
And I’m running the interview.