Chapter 33
Sunday late morning
JP sat in the truck outside a small, sun-faded duplex, reading through case files again.
Todd Maddox didn’t look like much on paper.
His employment history was mostly in construction, but lately, he’d been working for himself as a handyman.
He had a couple of minor run-ins with police that never turned into charges on his record, but no felonies.
There were no obvious red flags that would justify what Bay had done. On paper, Todd Maddox was clean.
JP set the file on the passenger seat and looked at the house. The problem with paper was that it told you what someone had been caught doing, not what they’d gotten away with.
The duplex sat quiet in the late morning. One car, a red Mazda, sat in the driveway, curtains half-drawn in the front unit.
JP got out, walked up, and knocked. It took a minute. Then the door opened just enough for a woman in her late fifties to peer out.
“Yes?”
“Good morning. My name is JP Torn. I’m a private investigator looking into Todd Maddox.”
The woman’s expression darkened. “That’s over, isn’t it?”
“Not exactly,” JP replied. “I just need to ask a few questions.”
She hesitated, then opened the door wider. “I’m Stella.”
But she didn’t invite him in. They stood just inside the doorway, the smell of coffee lingering in the air.
“Maddox lived next door?” JP asked.
“For three years.”
“What kind of neighbor was he?”
She gave a short, humorless laugh. “Depends on who you ask.”
“I’m asking you.”
She crossed her arms. “He kept to himself. He didn’t cause trouble. He wasn’t loud, and he paid his rent on time, mostly.”
JP waited.
“That’s the part everyone saw,” she added.
“What didn’t they see?”
She lowered her voice. “He had young girls over regularly.”
“How young?”
“They all looked like teenagers to me.”
JP kept his expression neutral. “Did you ever report it?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Report what? A guy having company? You need more than a suspicion for that.”
“Were they the same girls all the time, or different ones?”
Stella shook her head. “I’m not sure. They didn’t stay long. They were in and out at different times of day.” She paused, then added, “But there was one.”
JP’s attention sharpened. “What was she like?”
“Quiet. She didn’t look like she wanted to be there.”
“Did you ever talk to her?”
“No. She didn’t look at anyone.” Stella pressed her lips together. “She was here the day he got killed. I just got a glimpse, but I’m pretty sure she was the same girl I saw once before. Then I didn’t see her after all the chaos started.”
“I need you to describe her.”
“I told you, I didn’t see her clearly.”
“I don’t need perfect,” JP said. “Just what you remember.”
She leaned against the doorframe, thinking. “She was younger than the other one,” Stella said.
“Which other one?”
“The one they arrested.”
JP looked up. “You’re sure?”
The woman nodded. “Yeah. Not a little kid. But younger, like a preteen.”
JP wrote it down.
“Her build?” he asked.
“Small,” Stella said. “Narrow shoulders. Like she hadn’t grown into herself yet.”
JP nodded. “Hair color?”
“Light, or maybe just lighter than the other one. Her hair caught the light when she moved.”
“Long or short?”
“Pulled back in a ponytail,” she said. “But messy, like kids do these days.”
JP made another note. “What about her clothing?”
Stella frowned. “Jeans and a light-colored t-shirt.”
“Anything written on her shirt?” he asked.
She shook her head. “There weren’t any logos, or a school name. Nothing like that.”
“You said she didn’t look like she wanted to be there. What made you think that?”
The woman looked upset. “She wouldn’t look at him. Or at anything, really. She just looked down or away.”
“Was she trying to leave?”
“I don’t know,” Stella said. “But you can tell when someone’s just visiting. And it didn’t seem like that.”
“Did she look scared?”
Stella looked ashamed now. “Not crying or fighting. But when I think back, she was too still, like if she moved, something bad would happen.”
“Did you hear her say anything?” he asked.
“No. That’s what bothered me. I didn’t hear her at all.”
JP nodded. “Did you see her leave?”
Stella shook her head. “No. By the time I saw the other girl come out, I didn’t see the first one anymore.”
“Could she have left earlier?”
“Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe she slipped out another way.”
“Did you see the older girl before she was arrested?” JP asked.
“I saw her go inside. Then I heard raised voices. They weren’t screaming, just sharp. I couldn’t tell what they were saying.” She glanced toward the neighboring unit. “I came to the door, but I didn’t open it all the way.”
“What did you see?”
“The second girl came out fast,” Stella said. “But not running like she was scared.”
“How was she acting?”
“That’s the thing,” she said. “The girl just walked like she was supposed to.”
“Was she alone?”
Stella shrugged. “I didn’t see anyone else. Then the police showed up so someone must’ve called it in.”
“Did you see the older girl when the police arrived?”
“Yeah. She was just standing there with blood on her shirt.”
“Did you ever see Todd with anyone else?”
“He had a girlfriend for a while, but I haven’t seen her in months.”
“Do you know her name?”
“Whitney Pittman. I know because she was getting mail over there. She wasn’t supposed to be living there without my written consent. But when I called Todd on it, he claimed she just stayed over occasionally.”
“You wouldn’t happen to know the girlfriend’s address, do you?”
“I do. Hold on.” She walked over to a small desk, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to JP. “I asked Todd to give me her address so I could verify it. I didn’t take the time to check it out because she left not long after. But it’s not far from here.”
“You’re a sharp lady.”
She smiled for the first time.
“By the way, I didn’t see any of this information in the police report. Did you talk to the police?”
“No. Because I got a phone call from my brother-in-law about my sister. She was rushed to the hospital. I jumped in my car and drove to Arizona. I just got back last night.”
“I’m sure you’ll be hearing from them.” JP took a step toward the door. “I appreciate your time and information.”
She was already pulling the door closed.
JP walked back to his truck, visualizing unpleasant scenes. Then he recalled that Bay had said, He doesn’t stop.
That wasn’t fear talking. That was experience.
JP called Detective Nelson and left him a message with the information he had just gathered.