What Have You Done Page 7

  LIAM DWYER

  He was a match. His fingerprints had been left at the scene, on the dresser and on Kerri’s watch. He tried to remember the last time he’d seen her and if he’d touched her wrist or handled her watch in some way. Perhaps his print had never worn off. No, impossible. There was no excuse to account for his prints being on the dresser in the hotel room. He shut down the database link and pulled up the crime scene photos he’d already loaded into the system. He clicked through each one, hoping to catch sight of himself not wearing any gloves, but in each photograph everyone had his or her gloves on, as was proper procedure. Of course he did. He was a professional. They’d done everything by the book. Always had.

  Liam picked up his phone and called Sean. It rang twice before going to his voice mail. He hung up and tried again. Again, it rolled to voice mail.

  “Dammit.”

  Liam shut off the computer and pushed himself away from his desk. There had to be an explanation. He had to think. How could his prints have gotten onto the crime scene? And worse, how could such a rare blood type have gotten under Kerri’s fingernails?

  Where were you last night? Why can’t you remember?

  Liam pulled his shirt down and traced the scratch from his shoulder to his chest.

  AB negative.

  Liam Dwyer was AB negative.

  14

  The steam from the shower lingered in the bathroom, the light mist floating with the current in the air. Sean did his best to wipe the condensation from the mirror above the sink, but the haze kept returning, smudging the details of his half-shaven face until it once again disappeared behind the thin film. He worked fast to finish up before the shaving cream dried and left his skin to burn. The tapping of the razor against the sink was rapid, thoughts of Kerri Miller taking up most of his morning.

  His sleep had been shallow, and he was tired. He’d gotten in from the marina at midnight and was up at four. He’d gone for a run through the neighborhood to try to keep his head clear. When everything was still dark and empty, Sean felt most at peace. He basked in the quiet, the streetlights the only thing watching him as he jogged through the roads and cul-de-sacs. When his legs could no longer carry him, he’d stopped at a roadside breakfast cart and bought himself a bacon-egg-and-cheese and an orange juice, then returned home before the early onset of rush hour began.

  Despite how much he would try to keep things hidden, he knew his friendship with Kerri and the relationship between Kerri and Liam wouldn’t stay a secret for long. With both Forensics and Homicide working the investigation, someone would eventually discover something, and once they found out about Liam and Kerri being lovers, the news would be passed on quickly. He knew how these things worked. First, it would hit internally and travel through the department. Internal Affairs would get involved, and the brass would try to keep a lid on things, but such news would be too hot to keep under wraps for any extended period of time. It would undoubtedly leak beyond the walls of the station house and out into the streets. The media would have it and then pass it on to the public. At that moment, his brother would become the primary suspect of their murder investigation, and Sean would be chastised for keeping his brother’s affair a secret. But for now, no one knew anything. He’d work hard to keep it that way as long as he could.

  Sean tapped the remaining hairs from his razor, splashed cold water on his face, and toweled off. From the bedroom, he could hear his coffee percolating. He put on his pants and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt as he walked into the kitchen.

  The knock on his door was rapid and light. Sean made his way through the living room and opened the door to find his partner standing before him.

  “Jesus,” Don muttered. “You look like crap.”

  “Long night. Thinking about Kerri and everything. I can’t believe this happened.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s crazy. I’m sorry for your loss. Sincerely. I didn’t know her like you guys did. I’m sorry.”

  Sean stepped aside and allowed Don to walk in and take off his jacket. “You find anything?” he asked.

  “Enough.”

  “I was hoping Kerri would’ve gotten rid of whatever she had of her and Liam after they broke up.”

  “She didn’t.”

  “What’d you find?”

  Don followed Sean into the kitchen. “There were piles of letters in shoeboxes and pictures of the two of them in a bunch of photo albums I found under her bed. The letters were just signed ‘Liam,’ no last name, but he’s in all the pictures. From what I read in the notes and cards, there’s no way you’d think they were just friends. There were a lot of shots showing them hugging and holding hands and planting cute kisses on each other. Puppy love kind of stuff.”

  “What about pictures of me? Or you, for that matter? You’ve been out with all of us more than once.”

  “No. Just Liam.”

  “And these were pictures of them together?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then there was someone else who knew about their relationship. A third person had to be there to take the pictures, right?”

  “Maybe,” Don replied. “But really, anyone could’ve taken the pictures. I get asked by tourists all the time to take their picture. A lot of the photos looked like selfies, anyway.”

  “What else?”

  “I also found a toothbrush, a hairbrush, a few shirts, and a pair of pants. I don’t know if they were Liam’s, but they were men’s things, so I took them just to be safe.” Don fished the flash drive out of his pocket. “I also downloaded all the files from Kerri’s computer and then wiped it clean. I doubt Heckle or Keenan would get the tech unit involved to back trace her hard drive, but if they do, they’ll find whatever I deleted. I didn’t have the proper equipment to do a total purge.” He tossed it to his partner. “There was no time to go through anything in much detail, but I did notice an encrypted file on her hard drive. Not sure how sophisticated the encryption is, but we can have Rocco take a look at it if you want.”

  “Not necessary.”

  “You sure?”

  Rocco was a local hacker who’d been busted on drug charges several years earlier. In exchange for probation, he’d agreed to help the department with suspects’ computers and encrypted files from known gang members. The agreement was kept off the books and confidential. Only the most trusted cops were in the loop.

  Sean held the drive between his fingers, studied it for a moment, then tossed it in the garbage disposal. He flipped the switch under the window and listened as the drive was churned into nothingness. “I don’t want to see what’s on that file,” he said. “I’m afraid of what I might find, and we already know too much.”

  “What if it’s proof Liam is innocent?”

  “Liam is innocent.”

  Sean stared into the sink where tiny shards of plastic had been tossed back up from the disposal. “I just can’t see my brother doing something like what I saw in that hotel room. I mean, you should’ve seen her hanging there. It was a mess. I’m talking torture. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was . . . evil.”

  “I can’t see it either,” Don replied. “Not Liam. But we’ve been through too many cases like this over the years, and they’ve all ended the same. The person most likely to commit the crime is usually the one who’s guilty. You and I both know that. From what I’ve seen on this job, I think anyone is capable of anything. You need to look at this like a cop for a second and not as Liam’s brother. Ask yourself who this crime points to right now.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You need to look at this like Heckle and Keenan are going to be looking at this. They’re good cops. They’re going to find out about Liam’s affair with their vic.”

  Sean turned back around to face Don. “Why are you so eager to pin this on Liam?”

  “I’m not. I’m just saying we can’t be blind to what’s in front of us. If he was trying to rebuild his marriage and Kerri was getting in the way of that, there’s motive. You k
now that.”

  “Kerri broke up with him.”

  “What if she changed her mind and was trying to get back together with him? What if she became relentless, and he had to make her go away?”

  “This is all speculation,” Sean said. “We don’t know anything. Kerri could’ve been dating six other guys. That’s why we need to stay quiet and let Heckle and Keenan do their thing. You’re right. They are good cops. They’ll find something, because I know it wasn’t my brother who did this. Liam hadn’t seen Kerri in months. Why would he kill her now?”

  “Because she was pregnant. Maybe that’s why.”

  “What?”

  “Two months pregnant. They found it in the autopsy. I called Jane on my way over to check on the ballistics test from Cutter and innocently inquired about the Tiger Hotel homicide. I got her talking, and she told me about the pregnancy and that they also figure the killer used an extremely sharp instrument to cut her stomach. The medical examiner thought it might have been something like a scalpel. Vanessa keeps medical instruments like that in her workbag, right? Something Liam would have easy access to?”

  Sean covered his face with his hands.

  “And Liam saw Kerri two weeks ago. It hasn’t been months.” Don reached into his coat pocket and came away with his notepad. He flipped through several pages and pushed it across the table. “After I left Kerri’s apartment, I got home and spent some time taking down all the dates on the letters and photos I found and put them in chronological order. Their last picture together was two weeks ago. Heckle and Keenan are going to get her phone records today or tomorrow. Could’ve been even sooner than two weeks ago. I’m just going by the photos. Your brother lied to you. Why would he do that?”

  Sean crossed the room and took the notepad from his partner. He read through the list. There had been three dates after the time Liam had told him he’d last seen Kerri. “She called him the night she was killed,” he said. “Left him a voice mail.”

  “That’s going to be on the phone records, Sean.”

  “Why was she calling him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The rotating fan hanging from the kitchen ceiling spun lazily above the men. Sean watched it turn in circles. “Maybe buying time was the wrong idea,” he said. “We might have to make this go away.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “He’s my brother. He’s family. The only family I have.”

  “And you’re okay turning your back on murder?”

  “I’m not turning my back on murder. I’m protecting Liam. It’s what I’ve always done.” He looked at his partner. “You with me?”

  Don nodded. “Always. You know that.”

  Sean walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. “Where are the items you took from Kerri’s place?”

  “In my trunk.”

  “Let’s check them out.”

  The two men walked to the front door, and Sean stopped, his hand on the knob. He didn’t turn around. “We’re going to let Heckle and Keenan investigate. Hopefully they’ll find who really did this. It wasn’t Liam. Couldn’t be. But at the same time, we’ll look into things on our end quietly. That work for you?”

  “Yup.”

  “You sure? I don’t know where this is gonna lead, and I can’t have you second-guessing what we’re doing here if things go sideways.”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “I’m sorry I got you involved.”

  “Don’t be. It’s cool.”

  Sean opened the door and walked out into the morning air. There was nothing left to say.

  15

  “It’s Jane again. I got some additional results back from the lab.”

  Liam felt his stomach turn as he bounced down the steps from the station house. His mind was racing. What had she found? He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yeah, I’m here. Go ahead.”

  “DNA came back way quicker than I thought it would. It’s a match between the fetus and the traces of AB negative we found under the victim’s nails. Looks like the father was the killer. We figured that.”

  “Okay.”

  “They also found ketamine hydrochloride in her system. It’s a heavy sedative sometimes used on horses. Normally it wouldn’t be traceable, as the body absorbs it quickly and flushes it through the liver, but when she died, her body stopped functioning, so they found it. The ketamine hydrochloride would explain how whoever did this was able to get her out of the club and into the hotel without her kicking and screaming. She’d be doped up, but nothing too out of the ordinary for a place like the Tiger. A second dose inside the hotel room, however, would have knocked her out and allowed the killer to string her up without much of a fight. It’s hard to tell just how much she had in her system prior to death.”

  “Interesting.” He didn’t know what else to say.

  “We also found microscopic grains of something under her nails when we scraped the blood. Same stuff was on her skin. Sent it out to be analyzed and turns out it’s padding from a seat cushion. We checked the hotel, and no seats were torn. The mattress was okay too. Rob’s going to go back to the club and see about ripped seats there. Not sure if this could lead us anywhere. The FBI lab is running further tests to see if they can narrow the materials that made up the cushion to help us pinpoint what we’re looking for.”

  Liam got into his car and started the engine. “Good finds. I’m heading over to Jefferson Hospital to talk to Gerri. Get her perspective on this. I’ll see you when I get back. We’ll talk more then.”

  “Okay.”

  He hung up and closed his eyes. The DNA from the blood matched the fetus, which meant if that was, in fact, his blood they found under Kerri’s nails, then the baby was his. She’d never said anything to him about being pregnant. He wondered if she’d known and had been protecting him.

  A phone rang.

  The ringing was muffled, but it was there. Liam looked at his own phone for a moment, then turned and looked in the back seat. Nothing. The ringing stopped, then after a few seconds, started again. The trunk.

  Liam threw open his door and ran around to the back of the car. He pressed the button on his keychain, and the trunk’s lid disengaged. He lifted it and looked inside. Kerri’s white phone sat atop a pile of bloody clothes. His clothes.

  “Where are your clothes?”

  “The living room?”

  “No, they’re not.”

  He felt faint, swaying from side to side as his world went out of focus for a moment. He looked at the caller ID: Tina.

  Kerri’s phone stopped. Before it could ring again, he grabbed it, shut it off, and stuffed it in his pocket.

  The wind was picking up.

  Liam fell against his car and dialed his brother. For a third time that day, it rolled to voice mail. He didn’t leave a message.

  16

  The Psychiatric Unit of Jefferson Hospital was quiet and out of the way from the general traffic. The loudspeaker overhead played soothing tunes, the volume turned low. A nurse sat behind a desk answering calls that were routed in succession, one after the other. Liam stepped off the elevator at the fourth floor and followed the yellow dots to the main desk.

  “Yes?” the nurse asked.

  “Liam Dwyer to see Dr. Cain.”

  “Have a seat. I’ll let her know you’re here.”

  He walked to the waiting area and grabbed a magazine. His mind was still racing after finding Kerri’s phone in his car. And his bloody clothes. He still couldn’t remember anything about what had happened that night and refused to consider what the voices within were screaming at him, what logic was dictating. He loved Kerri. He’d never do anything to hurt her. Why couldn’t he remember? What had happened that night?

  A woman was sitting across the way, tearing tiny strips of paper as she rocked in her seat, exhaling heavily. The paper fell gently to her feet, covering her slippers. She was mumbling something, but it was too quiet for Liam to hear. A male nurse came from beyond one of the
three closed doors of the waiting area and approached her. “Greta,” he said.

  The woman looked up at the nurse. “That’s me. I’m Greta. Greta Feely.”

  “I know. Dr. Mecca is ready for you.” The nurse guided the woman to a standing position. “Can you come with me?”

  “I want to see Dr. Mecca.”

  “Okay. Come along with me, and we’ll see him.”

  Greta Feely dropped what remained of the paper and allowed the nurse to take her away. Liam could hear her asking questions as they walked through the door, her voice eventually trailing off. He turned his attention back to his magazine and flipped through the pages without reading any of it.

  “Liam!”

  Liam looked up to see Gerri Cain walking toward him. He smiled and stood. “Hey, Doc. How are you?”

  They hugged.

  “Come inside. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

  “Lead the way.”

  Gerri Cain was an attractive woman, forties, well-built, in shape. Her dark hair held natural curls that hung above her shoulders and bounced when she walked, but it was her confidence that magnified her attractiveness. Liam had always thought she was beautiful, and his respect for her made her all the more alluring. Her husband was a lucky man, indeed. From time to time she worked for the department doing evaluations of recruits and first-year rookies, but most of her practice was private.

  Gerri walked into the office and went for her coffee maker, grabbing two mugs from a shelf near a mini refrigerator. “It’s been a little while,” she said.

  Liam found a seat on one of the leather couches and allowed his body to relax a bit. “Yes, it has.”