Chapter Fifteen Brad #5
“Yeah, but what are the odds you’d catch it on that phone, that text, and at that time?”
“One thing I’ve learned from being a detective is there is no such thing as coincidences. My gut steers me, and it’s screaming that something is off here. There’s even more going on. So many foxes, remember?”
“Well, let’s go see what we can find out.”
“Yeah.” I opened the door, and we could see Hank hunched over the table like his head hurt. Good, I hoped it hurt like a bitch.
“Detective Stone and PI Jaminson.” He winced in pain as he turned to address us. “I was hoping to see you both in better light, and here we are.” His odd smile didn’t match his friendly tone, and it made the hairs on my arms stand up. I barely recognized the man.
“What happened to Bradley?” I asked him as I pulled out a chair for Bree and settled into the one next to her.
“When did things get so formal, Hank? I’ve known you half my life.
” I looked down at the file I’d brought in and took my time reading from it.
I clicked my pen after I was done and looked at him.
“I guess I should really call you Zach Savage.”
For a brief moment, I saw the old Hank, but then the creepy smile came over his face again as he nodded slowly. “I wondered if you’d catch that.” He studied me a moment.
“I did, and it got me thinking. Then when I was at Ford’s house and saw all those packages.
I mean, you do get around a lot with your truck.
Was he ordering stuff so you had a reason to go to his place?
” I waited for him to speak, but when he didn’t, I went on.
“When we put it together with a photo we found of you when you were a kid, things really clicked into place. I’m so sorry you lost a friend at such a young age, Hank.
That can have an awful effect on a person, especially a child. ”
“You figured it out.” He sidestepped my emotional comment, then breathed in deeply as though he enjoyed the moment. “That was how I met Ford. He had an obsession with online ordering. I began to see potential in him.”
“Potential?” I laughed.
He switched topics. “To be in the presence of both of you at this point makes me feel honored.”
“I guess you had us all fooled for a long time. I don’t know why you’d suddenly feel honored to be with us, but for such a fan, you had no problem using this on me.” I dropped the evidence bag with the plunger inside on the table. Bree slid her hands from the table and put them between her knees.
“Did you test it for poison?” Ford asked.
Wes is in the process of doing that now.
“It was the poison you inhaled as a child that caused your limp, wasn’t it?” Bree chimed in. Hank’s eyes swung to her. Instantly I felt protective and leaned forward so I was closer to him than she was.
“Smart and beautiful,” he praised. “You always were a bright girl. I’m pleased to see you two figured that one out too.” I shook my head, dumbfounded.
“When did you get rid of the cane?” I asked.
“Let’s see.” He seemed to think about it. “It was around the time I started college. I felt it aged me and drew too much attention.”
“Mm-hmm.” He certainly had proved he was good at blending.
“I’m glad you survived Ford’s little rendezvous at the lake. He was angry at the time.” He shrugged apologetically at Bree.
“That makes two of us,” she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
His expression wavered slightly. “I know, that was wrong of him.”
That was an odd comment, but Bree beat me to the punch. “That’s a strange thing to say.” She pinched her brows together. “Most people learn that hurting someone is wrong at a very early age.”
“Yes, well.” He didn’t seem to like her comment. “We aren’t all the same, are we?”
I slid the three victims’ photos in front of him and waited a beat before I pointed at each one. “Shelly White, Maggie Deloitte, and Sophia McKinnon. You have anything to say?”
He waved a hand straight up through the center of the photos, then jerked it back like he remembered something. Then he pushed Sophia’s toward me.
“That’s not one of mine. I don’t use such barbaric methods to kill—there’s nothing poetic about it.”
“Right.” I tucked her photo under the file. Further confirmation of Jeremy Law’s guilt. “All right, so these two were your victims. You have anything to say about them?”
“It was necessary. Tragic though it may be.” He lifted a hand as if it had been nothing. How could I have missed such darkness in someone I’d known so long? I’d always liked the guy.
“Is that what you want me to tell their families? That it was necessary!” I looked at him like he was nuts. He obviously was.
He spun a rubber ring on his finger. “I want you to tell them that their children were part of something much bigger than they could understand.”
“Explain it to me. Make me understand, and how does Gumbo fit into all of this?” He looked down at his hands.
“He’s merely a pigeon.” He shrugged.
“Ha!” Bree surprised both of us and smacked the table. She gave a dark laugh and turned her chair to look at me. “He killed two innocent women with basically an eyedropper so he could simply puff and run. Nah, he’s nothing more than a coward.”
“I’m a lot of things, Miss Jaminson,” he said quietly, “but I’m not a coward.”
“He’s a coward and a pathetic excuse for a man.” Bree ignored him, and it seemed to anger him. I nodded for her to keep pushing that angle.
Hank began to breathe hard, and his expression changed suddenly to one of anger. “Give me five minutes alone with you and I’ll show you just how—”
Bree moved so fast neither of us saw her snap one of his fingers. His hand jerked back, and his pinky looked dislocated.
“Ouch!” He snarled at her. I was impressed.
“Watch what you say,” she warned. “I’ve got nine more to play with.”
“Psycho bitch.” He babied his hand.
“No, no, no, pretty psycho bitch,” she said.
“At least that’s what you implied that night you approached me in the parking lot.
Right? I know it was you. Because of the way you stand.
I forgot about it but noticed it at the station that day.
You lean your weight on your right side. I just didn’t catch it until now.”
“She is good.” Hank’s anger disappeared as quickly as it came, and he smiled at me.
“I believe you also said prettier than my videos that night in the parking garage,” Bree went on. “So, what the hell does that mean? Were you creepin’ on me?”
I sneaked a glance at Cap, who was behind the two-way mirror. Why didn’t I know about that conversation?
“You know what I wonder about, Stone?” Bree looked at me.
“What?” I played along, but it felt odd for her to call me anything but Brad.
“We have all the video footage of the murders, even the moment where he sprays the girls”—she turned to the two-way mirror as she bluffed—“thanks to the IT guys. Working backward with the girls’ time of death, and now knowing Hank is the murderer, one thing bothers me.
He never watched them die. Why is that?” She continued to direct her words to me and ignored Hank.
“Perhaps he didn’t want to kill them,” I answered. “Real killers drag it out and make their victims suffer.”
“No, they didn’t suffer,” he muttered.
Bree glared at him then and laughed. Hank jerked his handcuffs, and I saw Bree’s face harden. “How would you even know if it was painful or not? You didn’t watch. You’re still here, very much alive.”
“No, because—” He sighed and shook his head slowly. “If only there was more time.”
“What?” I swung my hand around. “Go on, defend yourself.”
“I want my lawyer now.”
“Right.” I shook my head unimpressed. “You can’t defend yourself because you have no idea.”
He grimaced as if my words hurt him. He swung his head to look at me.
“Killing someone with a simple poison is lazy. There’s no art in that, no creativity.
” I didn’t react. “Ford’s powder process is flawless, better than what Johnny got into.
The trick is making sure that every piece is a tiny flake, nothing that can get caught up in the lung or nasal cavity.
It’s smooth like butter going in. After it’s in your system, it releases the poison that stops certain parts of your brain while it attacks other parts.
They’re like a drunk walking as they fall into a sleepy death.
There’s very little pain.” He seemed pleased by that.
“The club was the perfect place. Always packed, everyone on top of one another. It’s so simple to puff a little powder that you can barely see.
The girls looked drunk, and no one’s the wiser. ”
“We found traces in their nasal cavities and lungs. The process wasn’t flawless.” Bree turned her nose up at him. “You’re disgusting.”
I cleared my throat. “However you look at it, Hank, or Zach, or whatever you call yourself, you seem happy enough to do the dirty work for the devil.”
“I’m not a monster, Brad. I’m simply doing what was needed.” He grabbed the marker that was tucked in my folder, swung the file folder around, and wrote, six–nine. “I can’t give you any more than that.” He pushed the folder back and rolled the marker to me. “But you’ll be getting more.”
“And men accuse women of playing games.” Bree rolled her eyes. She pointed to the number he’d written. “Whatever this is, we’re not playing.”
“I want my lawyer.”
“Right.” I nodded and pretended to jot down some notes. “Oh, one more thing. Just before you blew their life away, did you ever look straight into their eyes and think, I’m about to end everything you’ve worked so hard for and destroy everyone you love just because I’m a sick, twisted man?”
“As I said, I killed them, yes. It was necessary.” He moved his gaze over to the pictures again. “A means to an end. I’m just part of the whole. Such a pretty girl.” He touched Sophia’s photo. “Like I said, I had nothing to do with that. It was unfortunate but did provide an interesting twist.”
Bree huffed.
“I want my lawyer,” he repeated.