Chapter 27
Jesse's brow knitted. "Who wants to know?"
I smiled and flashed my badge. "Coconut County. You're under arrest.”
His puffy eyes rounded, and he took off running down the sidewalk.
JD and I gave chase.
Jesse weaved through tourists, bowling some of them over, then darted across the street into traffic.
Horns honked, tires squealed, and grills ate the pavement.
A car almost clipped him, but he made it across.
With my badge held high, I sprinted into the street after him.
Jesse was pretty spry. He barreled down the sidewalk, then veered left into an alley.
I rounded the corner after him with Jack right behind me.
Jesse raced through the narrow passage, fluttering pieces of paper that littered the asphalt.
We chased him past the dumpster that smelled like rotten eggs.
He reached the end of the alley and took a right, running across the parking lot.
I caught up with him before he reached the hedgerow and tackled him to the ground, making sure to use him as a cushion. He groaned under my weight as he smacked the hot pavement.
I slapped the cuffs around his wrists and ratcheted them tight. "You are under arrest for failure to report. You have the right to remain silent…"
I yanked him to his feet, and Jack called dispatch for a patrol unit. We moved across the parking lot to the street and waited.
"What have you been up to lately, Jesse?" I asked with a grin.
"I don't have to tell you shit,” he replied with a sour face.
"You haven't checked in for months. That's a felony. You're going back to the pokey.”
His face wrinkled. "You can't throw me in jail. I didn't do nothing.”
"That's exactly the problem. You're supposed to keep up with your probation officer and the sheriff.”
"I ain’t causing no harm.” He forced a toothless smile. "I'm rehabilitated."
"I'm sure you are.”
I patted him down for weapons and searched his pockets for contraband, mindful of needles.
I found some pills and a bag of crystal.
"Looks like we can add possession of a controlled substance to the charge.” I dangled the bag of meth in front of his face.
"Don't tell me you have a prescription for this.”
"That ain't mine. You planted that shit.”
I scoffed.
I asked him where he was the night Sydney was murdered.
"What's it to you?”
"It was a simple question.”
"I was with my girlfriend.”
"Girlfriend?" I said, full of doubt. "Does this girlfriend have a name?”
"Cynthia.”
"You know where I can find Cynthia?”
"I ain’t going to share her with you.”
"You ever been to the Metropolis?”
"I don't know. I’ve been a lot of places.”
"What about the Harbor House?”
He shrugged.
I asked him where he was the night Polly Madison was killed.
His face tightened. "I was with my girlfriend."
"Cynthia?”
"No, my other girlfriend, Ruth.”
"You’re just a regular ladies’ man, aren't you?”
Jesse shrugged modestly. "Some guys got mojo. Some guys don't.”
Mendoza pulled up, and I stuffed Jesse into the back of the patrol car. Once he was inside, I tapped the quarter panel, and Mendoza drove away.
JD and I jogged back to the Porsche and returned to the station. We filled out after-action reports, then paid Jesse a visit in the interrogation room. He’d been processed and printed and had been sitting in that tiny room long enough to contemplate his existence.
We took a seat across the table from him. The overhead fluorescent lights cast a pale green glow, making Jesse look sickly and crazed. I'm sure he was coming down from his high. Talk about a buzz kill.
I showed Jesse a picture of Sydney on my phone. "Do you recognize her?"
He glanced at the image and studied her face. "Nope."
"You sure about that?"
"Never seen her before in my life."
I tabbed over to a picture of Polly. "What about her?"
His face stiffened, and he swallowed hard. "Nope.”
"Don't lie to me. I saw it in your eyes. You know who she is.”
His face tightened, and he leaned back. "I don't know what you're talking about.”
"How’d you get that scratch on your face?
"What scratch?”
It was a few days old now, but it looked like someone had taken a swipe across his cheek, just above his bushy beard.
"I've got a witness that can put you at Polly’s apartment complex.” My face grew red, and I got a little hot about it. “You assaulted her, strangled her, then tried to cover your tracks! We recovered DNA and hair fibers. Only a matter of time before the analysis comes back from the lab.”
Jesse figured he’d better shut the hell up. His lips grew tight, and he hung his head. His eyes darted around. "I want a lawyer.”
"You’re gonna need one."
I pushed away from the table and stormed toward the door. After a knock, a guard buzzed us out, and we stepped into the hallway.
Sheriff Daniels joined us. "Think this perp is guilty?”
"He doesn't have a solid alibi, and he recognized Polly. Maybe he was too blitzed out of his mind when he attacked Sydney to recognize her.”
“Hopefully, we’ll get something solid to charge him with. Either way, he’s going back to jail for a bit.”
Daniels patted me on the shoulder as he walked away. “Nice work. Now wrap up your other case.”
“We’re on it.”
We left and headed back to the Avventura, feeling reasonably confident we had the right guy behind bars. I grabbed Buddy's leash and took him out for a run.
When I got back to the boat, I worked out, got cleaned up, then we hit Diver Down for dinner. I was only rolling on a few hours of sleep and wanted to keep the evening pretty low-key. After we ate, we chilled out, had a few drinks, and watched a movie in the theater room.
Brenda called the next morning as I was fixing breakfast. "I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news. What do you want first?"
“Give me the bad news.”