Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
Katie was refreshed and ready to take on the day, especially after an early run with John. It was one of their routines now when he stayed over and she really enjoyed it.
Katie pushed open the door to the detectives’ office and was surprised to see that McGaven wasn’t already there because he usually was an early bird.
She put her things down and looked down the hallway and into the forensic examination room.
The lights were on but no one was around.
She heard a woman’s voice and assumed it was Eva having a conversation with someone about some reports.
Katie decided to update the murder board and work until McGaven arrived.
She stood in front of it and looked again at the locations the bodies were found.
She opened her laptop and searched for nearby properties to see if Buck’s story rang true.
The County Assessor’s Office had helped Katie to look at all the properties near the crime scenes.
She found one near the Collins property, listing the previous owners: Young, Bradford and Jillian. It had to be it.
Katie dug deeper and found out that Bradford Young, Buck’s father, had died ten years ago.
There was no indication of how he died. Jillian Young, Buck’s mother, was currently residing at a nursing home.
She felt sadness for Buck—his brother in prison for life, dad deceased, and mom in a nursing home.
She got up from her chair and indicated the perimeter of the Young property on the board. It seemed to match what Buck had told her, but did what he describe really happen? She wanted to move forward with an unbiased investigative attitude.
“So you beat me,” said McGaven, walking in.
“And your point is?”
“Well, I almost had a perfect record.”
“Just keeping it real,” she said. “Had a good night’s sleep and then a run early this morning.”
“I see.”
“You see what?”
“It must’ve not been a John sleepover.” He chuckled.
“Really, Gav—you’re going to go there?”
“It’s all in fun.”
Katie sighed. It really didn’t bother her, but she wanted to keep her personal life just that—personal.
“I’m sorry,” Gav said. “I love seeing you both together… finally.”
Katie changed the subject. “So…” she began.
McGaven immediately saw what she had been searching and then looked up at the board. “Oh, I get it. Wow.”
Katie updated her partner on the entire conversation with Buck last night. And she also showed him the background of the property and Buck’s parents.
“What’s your take on Buck?” he said.
Katie sat back and gathered her thoughts. “I’m in the middle.” It was the only way she could describe it.
“Meaning?”
“I think he’s telling the truth, but with the number of bodies and something clearly having gone on in the Collins family at the time, I think he knows more than he’s saying.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s lying about the rest.”
“I know.”
McGaven studied his partner. “Is it because he’s been in the military? His accident? Or something else?”
“I don’t know.”
“Fair answer. Then for now let’s go talk to his twin brother.”
The detectives arrived at the state prison in a little over an hour. It housed some the worst and most violent inmates in the state. Katie drove to the designated area for visitors, attorneys, and law enforcement, cut the engine and waited.
“What’s up?” said McGaven.
“Nothing.” She paused. “It’s so hard for me to forget Buck’s condition, and now we’re going to be visiting his twin brother—there’s no telling what condition he’s in after almost ten years inside.”
McGaven frowned and remained quiet for a bit. “Crime has a way of destroying families.”
“Has he had any visitors?” she said.
“Not for over two years, according to the prison records. And then it was his attorney.”
“That’s terrible. No friends?”
McGaven shrugged. “I don’t know. No one that visited him anyway.”
“But he agreed to talk to us?”
“Yep.”
Katie thought about the best way to approach David Young. It might be best to begin with what they wanted to know.
“I think you should take point,” McGaven said. “You seem to have caught a liking for his brother.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s going to open up to me.”
“No, but let’s see what happens.”
“I’m hoping he might shed some light on our case. We’ll see if he recalls that night Buck described.”
The detectives entered the prison, surrendered their guns in a lockbox, and received visitor badges.
Going through security was like entering another world of high-tech.
It made Katie uncomfortable waiting for each set of gates to open, and then close, behind them.
Finally, they were escorted to an area where inmates met with their lawyers.
There were four rooms—each with locks and extra guards both inside the room and at the door.
Katie glanced to McGaven and nodded. It was customary to check before going into a situation of seriousness that they both were on the same page. Their partnership was based on respect, loyalty, and the ability to always have each other’s back.
The loud snap of the lock and then the clunk of the slide lock before the door opened had an unnatural quality.
Katie entered first, followed closely by McGaven and the guard.
Everyone took their places. The guard at the door, McGaven on his feet, moving to different spots around the room, and Katie at the meeting table.
It was like a play—everyone knew their positions.
No one spoke while they waited. It was unusual for Katie to be nervous before an interview, but this one was different. She felt she had a connection to the crime she didn’t usually.
The entry door shut and was secured. It was up to Katie now.
The man sitting on the other side of the table was not at all what she had imagined.
He was medium build with bulky muscles, had tattoos on both arms that went up to his neck, was clean shaven with piercing dark eyes that watched Katie, not out of curiosity, but like a predator waiting for its prey.
There was definitely a resemblance to Buck, but it was clear they were on opposite sides of the spectrum.
Katie had dealt with this particular type before and knew how she was going to handle David Young. She would wait and see if he had any weaknesses, something that would identify his soft spot—if there was one.
She looked at Young. He watched her, never averting his gaze. He was handcuffed and they were affixed to the table. He leaned forward in a casual position, but looked as if he could strike at any moment.
“Mr. Young, thank you for seeing us today,” she said. “I’m Detective Scott and this is my partner, Detective McGaven.”
Young didn’t reply. He gave McGaven a once-over and then his focus came back to Katie.
“We are conducting an investigation where you might have some information that would help us,” she said, keeping her demeanor calm and collected.
Young stared at her.
“Mr. Young, do you understand?”
He began to laugh. “Of course. And no need to be so formal, Detective.” His expression softened immensely at this, giving him more of a friendly appearance.
“Okay,” she said.
“What is this investigation?”
Katie knew he was trying to turn the tables, trying to be in charge of the conversation. “Do you remember your neighbors the Collinses?”
Immediately that hit a hot button with him and his voice changed tone. “What do you want to know about them?”
“It has been brought to our attention that you might have been a witness to something when you were a kid. Is that true?”
“Where did you get such a notion?”
“Is it true you saw Mr. Collins hurt someone?” Katie was mindful not to reveal too much—she was afraid he might clam up.
“Oh, I see,” he said and leaned back as best as he could.
“See what?”
“I see what you’re doing. Have you spoken to my brother?”
“Your brother?”
“Yeah, little Ray-Ray.”
Katie realized he was referring to Buck. It was a good sign he’d used a nickname that seemed like a familiar term of endearment. “Why don’t you tell me about him?”
“I have a brother, Raymond.”
“And where does Raymond live?” she said.
He dramatically shrugged. “Beats me.”
“When was the last time you spoke to him?” She glanced at McGaven who shifted his weight, taking a step closer to the table.
Young glanced over. “Do you bring your bodyguard with you everywhere you go?”
Katie knew he was trying to divert her question. “Don’t need one. When did you last see your brother?”
“I haven’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I saw him before he went into the Marines, but after… he didn’t want me to see him.” He looked down and then back to Katie.
She knew that Buck, suffering from the aftereffects of his severe injuries, didn’t want to talk to anyone, but it wasn’t her place to tell Young that. Instead, she said, “Did something happen when you were kids? Did you witness a crime?”
Young studied her closely, as if he wondered if he should trust her. “Maybe.”
“Can you tell me?”
He took a deep breath. “It was a long time ago—not sure if I remember correctly.”
“Try.”
“As kids, we loved to play games around the neighboring properties, pretend we were spies or cowboys, or whatever. We were inseparable.” He paused, clearly remembering those times. It seemed like he could cry.
“Did you see anything during one of those games?” she asked more gently.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“What did you see?” she said, trying to be patient.
“Mr. Collins was a mean and brutal man. He would often take it out on his wife and sometimes his daughter, who was only a few years younger than us. Misty was a sweet, innocent little girl and to be exposed to…”
“What happened that one night?”
“He must’ve flipped out or maybe Mrs. Collins had had enough…
don’t know for sure.” He looked around the room and then continued.
“Mr. Collins came into the barn mad as hell, breaking things, and then he found a baseball bat and left. Ray-Ray looked at me and we headed out after him… following slowly behind.”
There was quiet for several minutes. No one spoke. Again, Katie felt a chill, as if a ghost had passed through the room. Quickly looking at McGaven, he slightly nodded at her to give her the signal that she was doing great.
“What happened next?” she asked Young.
Shaking his head furiously, he said, “I’ll never forget the screams. It was savage and torturous.”
“Did you see anything?”
“No, we were too far away.”
“What did you do next?”
McGaven moved closer to the side of the table.
“We waited for a while, too scared to move. Finally, we heard the sound of a truck. It stopped from where we’d heard the screams for about ten minutes.”
“What did you do then?” she said.
“Nuthin’—what could we do? We were just boys.”
“Were you ever curious about what happened after that?”
“Sure, but we didn’t speak of it again. We had heard the story that Mrs. Collins and Misty had moved away, leaving her husband,” he said. “Then one day we were playing in a nearby area and it looked like a grave had been dug and then covered.”
Katie took a breath and relaxed her posture a bit. “Did you tell anyone about the grave?”
“Never. I don’t think my brother did either.”
“Did you ever see anyone at the Collins property?”
He shrugged. “You mean family or something?”
“Maybe someone you hadn’t seen there before?”
“I don’t remember seeing anyone. But we never went to play on that property again.”
Katie passed him her business card. She glanced at the guard, who nodded that it was okay. “Here’s my card. If you remember anything more, please call me.”
As Katie passed the card to Young, he grabbed her wrist. The guard and McGaven jumped to her aid.
“No, it’s okay,” she said gesturing for them to stop.
“Please, Detective, I know you’ve seen my brother. I’m assuming you wanted to corroborate the story.”
Katie slowly nodded.
“Please tell my twin brother I miss him and I never blamed him for anything that happened.” There was raw emotion in his eyes.
“Okay.”
Young let go of her wrist, taking the business card.
Katie stood up. “Take care of yourself, Mr. Young.”
The detectives left the meeting room and retraced their steps through the prison, retrieving their weapons and walking out to the parking lot. They were both deep in their thoughts.
Finally, McGaven spoke. “That was like the retelling of a ghost story. It was scary even in the daytime.”
Katie said she’d felt the same way when she talked with Buck.
McGaven’s phone rang.
“McGaven,” he said. Listening, he countered, “When?” He listened further. “Cordon it off and wait for us. Thank you, Deputy Andrews.”
“What?” she said.
“After searching the property thoroughly, they found a secret room at Trey Roberts’ place containing old records.”