Chapter 4
“Where is he?”
It felt like déjà vu as I stood in the hallway outside the interview room. Deputy Laura Norris came toward me.
“Who are we talking about?”
“My brother,” I said. “You know exactly who I’m talking about.”
“Calm down, Cass,” she said, which only served to raise my blood pressure. To her credit Laura Norris saw the look in my eyes.
“Detective DePaul is just finishing up, I think,” she said. “I’ll go check.”
“She’s talking to him? Right now?”
I didn’t wait for Norris to tell me where.
I barged through the door beside me. Joe sat at the table, leaning casually back in his chair with his arms crossed in front of him.
Detective DePaul had just stood up and had a pad of paper tucked under her arm.
I could see the top page was covered in her cursive writing.
“Joe, we’re leaving,” I said.
“Good timing,” Detective DePaul said. “We’ve finished for today.”
I glared at my brother. He stayed expressionless. As DePaul left the room, I followed her.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“My job,” she said. “What are you doing?”
“That’s my brother. Do not pretend you didn’t know.”
“I’m aware,” she said. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“He is my brother. You don’t get to question him without me present.”
“You’ll have to take that up with him. Now, if you’ll excuse me …”
“I will not,” I said. “I want to talk to the prosecutor. If you’re not concerned about the Constitution, he will be.”
“Look,” she said. “You’re out of line. Your brother’s not in custody. He was free to leave at any time. He knows that. He came in here of his own volition. He sought me out.”
I clenched my jaw. He what?
“After our conversation this morning, you could have at least had the courtesy to give me a heads-up that you were planning on talking to him today.”
“I have no obligation to do that. Are you planning on representing everyone in this entire town?”
“It looks like I might have to.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you. This sounds like an argument you should be having with your brother, not me. I told you. He’s not in custody. Should he be? Is there something you’d like to tell me about the facts of this case?”
“Cass,” Joe said sharply. “This isn’t necessary. You can stop rattling your sword.”
“Not another word,” I said.
“I’ll let you two work this out,” DePaul said, smiling. “I appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Leary. You understand I’m going to need you to stay available.”
“Sure thing,” he said. DePaul turned on her heel and walked away. When I tried to go after her, Joe put a strong hand on my arm and held me back.
“Come on,” he said. “You can walk me to my truck.”
“Joe, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all morning.”
“I’ve been busy. I was out at a site. Too much noise.”
“I might actually kill you,” I said. “You answered a call from the cops but not me?”
“Maybe not such a good idea right in the middle of the police station. You’re better off doing it at your place. Then you can just dump my body into the lake.”
Jokes. He was giving me jokes. He’d said it all loud enough that the desk sergeant and two deputies nearby heard everything.
“Come on,” I said. Joe smirked as we walked across the parking lot.
My breath came hot. White spots swam in front of my eyes, my rage was so strong.
He climbed into his truck. But I was very far from done with him, so I climbed into his passenger seat.
He started his truck but didn’t drive. As soon as I started in, I knew I’d have a hard time holding my temper.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “Everything. They wouldn’t let me see Katy.”
“Thank God for that,” I said. “You shouldn’t see her. You shouldn’t have anything to do with her. Do you understand how serious this is?”
“Tell me,” he said. “All I know is that Tom’s dead and they think Katy had something to do with it. There’s no way she killed anybody. No way. What do they think they have on her?”
“An eyewitness, Joe,” I said. “Katy’s maid walked in on her holding a knife over Tom’s mutilated body.”
Joe’s face went white.
“You mean to tell me Detective DePaul didn’t tell you any of this?”
“No,” he said.
“Why? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because I knew what you’d do. What you’d say. Exactly this.”
I looked skyward and shook my head. “Has everyone around me lost their minds? The police want to question you in connection with a homicide. A homicide involving your ex-wife who you were sleeping with not very long ago. It doesn’t occur to you that maybe, just maybe, that’s not a meeting you should take without me, you know, tagging along?
I mean, it would be so convenient if you knew a good defense attorney. Oh, wait …”
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Joe said. “I have nothing to do with any of this. I wasn’t even in town this morning.”
“Where were you?”
He hesitated, giving me that look he always did when he wanted me to mind my own business. “You’re as bad as the cops. I was in Northville.”
“Doing what?”
“Look,” he said. “I already told all of this to Sharon. I’ve got nothing to hide. I was hoping she’d let me in to see Katy. Cass, how is she?”
I shook my head. “Not great, Joe. She’s not great.”
“You’ve got to get her out of there. She can’t spend the night in jail. She’s got to be scared to death.”
“She’s going to have to spend at least the weekend there. There won’t be a bail hearing until Monday morning.”
Joe’s face fell. “Three nights? She has to sit in jail for three nights?”
“Tom’s dead, Joe. He didn’t just slip and fall. He was stabbed. No, stabbed isn’t even the word for it. He was carved up. I’ve seen a picture. It’s brutal.”
Joe gripped his steering wheel. “This wasn’t Katy. You have to know that, right? Whatever that housekeeper saw, she’s mistaken. Have you tried talking to her?”
“No.”
“But you told Katy,” he said. “You tried to reassure her, right? She’s not alone. You’ll be there.”
I took a breath. “Joe, let’s just take a few giant steps backward, all right? Start by telling me exactly what you told Detective DePaul.”
“I already did. She asked me where I’ve been for the last twenty-four hours.
I told her. I had an overnight stay in Northville.
I got a big residential contract out there.
I worked late last evening and got an early start this morning.
By the time I got home, I saw I had a bunch of missed calls and one of them was from Detective DePaul.
She wanted to see me so I came straight over.
The rest, you know. Told her I can scare up a hotel receipt if she needs one. ”
“Did you not notice that several of your missed calls were from me?”
“Look, I tossed my phone in my glove box this morning. I didn’t check it. How in the hell was I supposed to predict what happened?”
“You shouldn’t have come here without me. And you one hundred percent know that. So what’s going on? Why did you blow me off?”
Joe sighed. “I’m not a kid, Cass. I handled my own business. This isn’t something you have to fix for me.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No. I haven’t done anything wrong. I wasn’t in town.
I haven’t even talked to Katy in over two months.
Close to three. I thought this whole thing was a joke, if I’m being honest. It’s incredible.
Katy could not be guilty of this. She’d never hurt anybody.
And she and Tom were trying to work things out. ”
“You know that how?”
“She told me. It’s one of the reasons we ended things.”
“You’ll be called as a witness if this goes to trial,” I said. “You do realize that. Katy’s been cheating on her husband. It’s not going to matter that you claim you ended it. The prosecution is going to want to show how messed up their marriage was.”
“Then I’ll take the stand and say exactly what I said to you just now and what I told Sharon DePaul. I haven’t talked to Katy. She hasn’t called me or texted me. We’ve had no contact. And I wasn’t here. This isn’t about me. At all. Can you get me in to see Katy?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “You need to stay as far away from this as you can. You shouldn’t be volunteering any information at all. Never mind admitting to committing adultery with the prime suspect.”
“Get off it, Cass. What about Katy? If I can’t see her, can you at least get a message to her from me? Tell her it’s all going to be okay. That you’ll help her.”
“I will?”
“You know she’s innocent, just as much as I do. Come on. She’s Katy.”
“Do you still love her?” Though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Joe screwed his eyes shut for a moment as he inhaled. Then he stared at me. “Of course I do. I’ll always love her. I’m not the one who wanted the divorce.”
“Until you found out she was cheating on you with Tom Loomis. Which gives you a motive for killing him, too. Do you see why I want you far away from this? Why going to the cops without me could have put you in serious jeopardy?”
“Except I didn’t kill him. Now Sharon DePaul knows that, too.
She said this is all a formality where I’m concerned as long as there’s no physical evidence of me being there.
Which there isn’t. I’ve never set foot inside Tom Loomis’s house.
I’m not a suspect. Because it’s the truth.
I’m not afraid of Sharon DePaul. I’m afraid for Katy. ”
We were arguing in circles. He would never admit that he’d been a bonehead.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But Katy is absolutely in over her head. That’s the only thing I know.”
“What did she say?” Joe asked. “About what happened?”
I stared at him. “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t ask me to help her, then ask me to turn around and break confidentiality if I get involved.”
“So you will help her?” His face lit up.
“I didn’t say that.”
“She’s still family,” he said. “Whether Emma wants to admit it or not, Katy’s her mother. I can’t stand by and watch her go down for a murder she didn’t commit.”
I wanted to ask him if he was sure about that.
But I was on shaky enough ground as it was.
Which was exactly why I should take the advice I’d just given him.
I should stay as far away from this whole thing as possible.
After all, I was a potential witness too.
I had first-hand knowledge of Joe’s recent affair with Katy.
I’d walked in on them together in the act.
“Please,” he said. “For me. For Emma. At least get Katy through this hearing on Monday. Get her out of that place.”
“I’m not even sure Emma knows what’s going on,” I said. “She’s been tied up at school all day. And Katy is her least favorite person these days.”
“She’s just hurt,” Joe said. “She hasn’t been able to forgive Katy.
Believe me, I understand that. Better than anyone.
But this will devastate Emma. She’s so angry with Katy because she loves her.
She is her mom. And that’s why I need you to do this.
Not for me. For Emma. Just go with Katy to that hearing.
That’s all I’m asking for now. You know she won’t have time to find anybody else. ”
“She’s entitled to a court-appointed lawyer,” I said.
Joe cocked his head to the side and glowered at me. “Really?”
“It’s an arraignment,” I said. “It’s not brain surgery.”
“I want the best lawyer in town for her, Cass. Everyone knows that’s you.”
I still had no idea whether Katy had murdered Tom Loomis. But right now, I had the strongest urge to murder Joe.