All the Deadly Lies Page 27

  At Mia’s condo, he climbed out of the passenger seat while Mia unlocked the door leading in from the garage. She walked to the back of the car, opened the trunk, and reached for her suitcases.

  “I’ll get those for you,” Jake said.

  “Thanks, you can put them up in the bedroom while I start the coffee.” Mia walked to the kitchen at the back of the condo. Jake headed upstairs.

  He heard Louie and Sophia come in as he started down the stairs. Sophia complimented Mia’s decorating. Louie accepted the offer of coffee.

  “This place is great, Mia,” Sophia said, poking her head in every room while she followed Mia down the hallway.

  “Thanks, I love it.”

  “You’re not afraid out here by yourself?”

  “No one bothers me,” Mia said.

  “Louie told me about the packages you received. It doesn’t bother you that someone’s stalking you?”

  “There’s only been one package.” She looked from Louie to Jake, as Jake flashed Louie the evil eye.

  Jake saw Sophia’s embarrassment, her eyes begging for forgiveness. At the moment, he had none in him.

  “Sophia’s referring to the second package. The one I found when I left here on Tuesday night, Mia,” Jake said quietly.

  “When were you going to tell me about it?” She put a hand on her hip and raised her brow. It floored him how fast her mood had changed.

  “I planned on telling you when you got back from New York. I thought I’d save you the stress until you got home. I’d already closed the door—I didn’t see the need to wake you.”

  “I’ve spoken to you every night since. Still didn’t see the need to inform me?” Her eyes narrowed.

  “No. I gave everything to Dave Guerrera, the officer who took the first package. He’s been doing extra passes by the condo while you were gone. I planned on telling you when you got back tonight. My mistake,” Jake said, defensively.

  Her anger hung thickly in the air. She didn’t take her eyes off Jake. Mia didn’t speak. Her silence said it all. He recognized the look on her face. Not only had Sophia blown it, so he had he.

  “Well, let me tell you, Lieutenant Carrington, I’m a big girl. One who’s quite capable of taking care of herself. I don’t need you or anyone else making decisions for me. Also, don’t assume you’re spending the night. Got it?” Mia said.

  “Clearly,” he replied, hurt. He turned, headed for the door. It would have been a dramatic exit if he hadn’t had to turn and ask Louie and Sophia to join him.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” Louie replied, his shoulders hunched. His hands in his pocket.

  “I’m sorry, Mia. I didn’t mean to start anything,” Sophia said.

  “You didn’t. I’m sorry I’m cutting this evening short. Good night.” She walked them to the door and slammed it closed once they passed through it.

  He stood by the car, waiting for Louie to unlock the door. It was a stressful ride home. Jake cut Sophia off every time she tried to apologize. He also cut Louie off when he tried to smooth out things between them.

  When they drove up in front of his house, Jake climbed out of Louie’s car. He walked away without a single word to either Sophia or Louie.

  Chapter 30

  Upset, his reflexes slow, it took a moment too long for Jake to realize he wasn’t alone when he walked into his house. The under-counter light in the kitchen put the intruder in the shadows. He assessed the height and voice of the visitor.

  “Right there is far enough. Drop your weapon on the floor.” The burglar stepped from the shadows.

  “I’m going to reach into my holster to get the gun. I’ll place it on the floor so it won’t go off.” He hoped it brought him enough time to grab the gun in his ankle holster. “What do you want?”

  “Keep your movement slow and easy. What I want is enough money to get out of this crummy town and for you to leave me the hell alone.”

  “It’s not going to happen, Mark. You took a life.”

  “Damn you, she wasn’t worth all this trouble. How’d you figure it out?”

  “Mark, put down your weapon and we’ll talk.” It looked like a gun he was waving around, but Jake couldn’t make out the type or caliber in the darkened room. “Why don’t you turn on a light?”

  “Shut up. No one tells me what to do. Understand?” Cavilla had him in a sticky position. He was wide open with nothing to hide behind. If he could maneuver into the living without getting shot…

  “Yes.” Cavilla’s voice grated on his nerves. The whiney brat. “Mark, I’m going to bend down and put my gun on the floor now.”

  “For Christ’s sake, do it.”

  Jake leaned down and carefully took the safety off and placed it on the floor. “How’d you get in here?” He hoped Mark followed his left hand while he lifted his pant leg with the right one.

  “Fool, you didn’t turn on your alarm. Some cop you are.” Cavilla snickered. “Nice and easy, stand up.”

  “Give me a minute, my knee locked up.”

  “I don’t care. Stand now or I shoot.”

  Jake didn’t doubt Cavilla would, either. On the count of three, Jake moved an inch to his right, then grabbed his gun and fired low. Cavilla’s screams filled the room. Jake rolled as Cavilla started shooting wildly. A bullet flew over his head as he moved to the left, then right. Jake heard a crash of glass as the mirror by the door shattered. A foot away from Mark, Jake charged him. He took Cavilla down as he wildly emptied his gun into the ceiling. He flipped Cavilla onto his stomach and kept his knee in his back. Damn, his handcuffs were in the bedroom.

  Sirens blasted in the distance. Jake hoped a neighbor had called the police when the gun had gone off. A few seconds later the sirens grew louder, their sound blasting away as the patrol cars approached his house. He didn’t even have his radio to warn the cops everything was under control. Jake hoped they didn’t come in shooting and finish Cavilla’s job.

  He dragged Mark up by his shirt collar and then put him in a head lock. “Don’t make a move. I’ll choke you if you fight—you need to understand I won’t hesitate,” he whispered, tightening his grip on Mark. “Where’s your car?”

  “Find it yourself,” Mark said gasping for breath.

  As he made his way over to the front door it flew open. Louie rushed in with his gun leading. “Glad you could make it. I got everything under control.”

  “If that’s the case, why didn’t you answer your freakin’ phone?” Louie asked.

  “I was a little busy. You got your handcuffs on you?”

  “Yeah.” Louie tossed them to Jake. He caught them with his free hand and placed them on Cavilla.

  “They’re a little tight,” Mark complained.

  “No shit,” Jake said and walked away from him. “Put him in a patrol car. I’ll meet you at the station.”

  Louie handed Mark off to a patrolman and walked back to Jake. “Are you all right?” he whispered in Jake’s ear.

  “I feel like a fool. I didn’t even turn on my alarm. For Pete’s sake, I’ll never live this down.”

  “It’s the least of your worries. Hey, I heard on the radio a uniform found Cavilla’s car a block over.”

  Without another word, Louie turned, and walked out. Jake didn’t move until he was alone. He walked to the kitchen cabinet over the refrigerator and pulled out the whiskey, then placed it back on the shelf. It wouldn’t do to go into the station smelling of alcohol.

  * * * *

  Jake took his time going into the station to give the CSIs time to work over Mark’s car. He let Cavilla sit and stew as he skimmed through Shanna’s diary again. He wanted her pain and fear in his head when he questioned Cavilla. In one passage, she described the fear she felt when she had come upon him in her parking lot at school. How he had begged her to get back together. When she
had talked to him she’d thought she’d made it clear they were through. At the end of the diary, in what he thought might be Cavilla’s handwriting, Mark had scribbled across the page in bold childish lettering, It was all Shanna’s fault.

  Behind the observation glass at Interview Room One Jake and Louie watched as Cavilla and his attorney settled into their seats. The room was not designed for comfort. Four hard, wooden chairs were pulled up to the matching table that had graffiti scratched into it over the years, circa 1936. The stark walls painted in light, putrid, institutional green offered no forgiveness. Imbedded in one wall was a two-way mirror—a suspect would have to have been from Mars not to know of its existence.

  Jake’s cell vibrated in his pocket.

  “Jake, it’s Minski from the crime scene investigations. The Cavilla car was a treasure trove of evidence. We have the Wagner girl’s blood and the weapon that killed her.”

  “Thanks, Minski, for rushing it. What kind of weapon?”

  “A silk scarf and the billy club that assaulted her. Nail the bastard, Jake.”

  * * * *

  As Cavilla and his attorney sat in silence, Jake and Louie entered the room.

  “Do I need to reread you your rights, Mr. Cavilla?” Jake said.

  “Lieutenant, we’ll stipulate to the reading,” Attorney Calvin said. “I also want it on record the police brutality Mark said was perpetrated on him.”

  “Is that a fact, counselor? You don’t want to play that card. Mr. Cavilla broke into my home and held me at gunpoint. I got the advantage and took him down. Isn’t that right, Mark?”

  “You didn’t have to put the cuffs on so tight.”

  Sniveling bastard, Jake thought. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the lawyer, who turned away with, if he wasn’t mistaken, a grin on his face.

  “Okay, let me make a note of who’s present and get the housekeeping chores out of the way,” Jake said, taking a seat at the table. He had Louie take up a position behind Cavilla.

  “Mr. Cavilla, are you aware we found Shanna Wagner’s purse and diary in your closet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you like to tell us how it got there?”

  “How did you find it?”

  Attorney Calvin interrupted Mark’s reply. “Lieutenant, you haven’t stated the charges or what deals are on the table.”

  “Deals, Calvin? You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Mr. Calvin, your client had in his possession the victim’s purse and diary, which places him at the crime scene, as well as the billy club used to violate and beat her, and a bunch of bloody rags, now at the lab for testing and DNA profiling. That’s right, Mark,” Jake said as he watched Mark’s face morph from an expression of arrogance to one of shock. “We got the evidence from your car as well as your house.” Jake turned back to the attorney. “There are no deals on the table at this time, though a confession now will work in your client’s favor. It’ll be up to the district attorney to deal with the both of you.” Jake wanted to get the action going so he added, “I heard you killed her because you couldn’t get it up. Isn’t that right, Mark?”

  “You bastard.” Cavilla jumped up from his seat. Chains attached to Mark’s ankles and fastened to the floor held him in place. Jake nodded to Louie, who walked over to Cavilla and pushed him back in his seat.

  “Lieutenant, this interview is over.”

  “Nice try, counselor. Sit down. Mark, answer my question,” Jake said.

  “I’d like to end this interview. I need time to speak with the D.A. personally.”

  “I’m sure you would, but it’s not going to happen, John. I’ll have Sergeant Romanelli contact him and inform him of your request.” Turning to Cavilla, Jake played a hunch. “What kind of drug did you give her, Mark, something to make her horny?”

  “Lieutenant, my client is not going to—”

  “I could get it up. The bitch was frigid. She made me a laughingstock at work. Why did she even accept a date from me in the first place?” Mark asked. “I can’t believe she wanted a dyke over me. Besides, who said I gave her anything?”

  “Did you?” Jake asked.

  “Mark, don’t say another word.” Calvin put his hand on Mark’s arm.

  Inside Jake smiled when Cavilla pushed his attorney’s hand away. “Am I going to be executed?”

  “It’s not up to me, Mark. Did you drug her?” Jake didn’t bother to tell Mark that the State of Connecticut had abolished the death penalty in 2015. He didn’t see it as his responsibility. Apparently, neither did his attorney.

  “I gave her a little something to cooperate. She was so freakin’ nasty.”

  I got you, you bastard. “The charge is murder in the first degree.”

  “If I confess, do I still have to stand trial?”

  “You should field this question, John,” Jake told the attorney.

  “Mark, we need to talk before you confess,” Calvin stressed.

  “Counselor, you and your client were given two hours to consult before this interview. What did you do with the time?”

  “I want it noted my client is going against his attorney’s advice if he confesses.”

  “Mr. Cavilla, do you understand you’re under arrest for the murder and rape of Shanna Wagner?”

  “Yes.”

  “And are you going against your attorney’s advice of your own free will?” Jake asked, staring into Cavilla’s eyes.

  “Yes. I want it to be over with, but I don’t want to die.”

  “I’m sure Shanna Wagner didn’t want to die either.”

  “She wasn’t the sweet innocent girl everyone thought she was. She was a total witch and a lesbian.”

  “Her sexual preference was a valid reason to kill her?” Jake quirked his brow and made a mental note to add hate crime to his list of charges.

  “No, no. I want to tell you what happened in my own words. No one’s going to put any in my mouth,” Mark said.

  “Mr. Cavilla, I’m going to tell you again not to speak until we are able to confer,” Attorney Calvin said.

  “Confer?” Cavilla laughed. “We are conferring. You’re fired.”

  Jake smiled inwardly. He had counted on Cavilla’s ego, and it was coming through loud and clear. “Mr. Cavilla, are you asking for a different lawyer at this time?” Jake asked.

  “No, I don’t need a lawyer.”

  He’d been waiting for those words. All righty then, I should have this wrapped before the night is through.

  “Mr. Cavilla, I’m stressing this is not in your best interest,” Attorney Calvin said, trying to warn him.

  “I’m not stupid. I understand what I’m doing. You’re fired.” Calvin stood abruptly and left the room.

  “Let the record note Attorney Calvin has left the interview,” Jake said, looking up at Louie. Louie coughed into his hand to hide his smile behind Cavilla’s back. “Mark, when did you first decide to kill Shanna Wagner?”

  “I’m going to tell this in my own way. It started with a conversation with Chloe after her arrest. She taunted me and wouldn’t answer any of my questions. She more or less said you were coming after me. Why now? Three months have passed, I don’t get it.” He stared at Jake.

  “Evidence is why now.”

  “I covered myself good. You guys should have found her damn ring in your first search of the Wagner’s house. What took you so long?”

  Jake stared Cavilla down. Silence filled the room.

  Shaking his head, Cavilla continued. “Never mind, it’s not important. I read her diary every night. And every night it made me madder. I’d kill her again if I could. I’m sure you’ll read all about it after we’re done here, but the bitch said some nasty things about me.”

  Jake interrupted him. “Who?”

  “Shanna Wagner,
who else?” Jake nodded for Cavilla to continue. “I called her at school and asked her if we could meet and talk. All I wanted to do was talk. But Shanna said no and didn’t bother to give me an explanation.” Cavilla stopped and took a drink of water from the plastic cup Louie had put on the table before the interview.

  “It was Friday night, so I went out for some drinks. The more I drank the angrier I got. Why wouldn’t she agree to talk? I left the bar and sat in my car for about a half hour, toking on a joint. The higher I got, the more determined I was to talk to her. I drove up to Storrs.”

  “Did she agree to talk to you, Mark?” Jake asked.

  “No, she was leaving her dorm with some other girls, including her pet dyke, Meryl. They didn’t see me. So after they piled into a car, I followed them. They went to a pizza joint and met some guys. I’m sure she was doing them too.”

  “So she was only a lesbian with you?” Jake gave Cavilla a lopsided smirk.

  “Don’t put words in my mouth, man. She was bisexual and who cares anyway. I didn’t want to be caught outside the pizza joint so I headed back to her dorm and waited for her.”

  “How long did you wait?”

  “Until they got back,” Cavilla said.

  “An hour, two?”

  “It was about an hour and a half.”

  “I bet you were getting pissed by then?” Jake said. Ah, premeditation. Jake almost jumped with joy.

  “I was, so I smoked another joint to calm my nerves.”

  “Okay, go on.”

  “See, I wanted her to give me another chance. The one time we made love was a disaster. She left crying. When she left, I thought it was my fault and she let me believe it. If she’d talked to me, everything would’ve been fine. We could’ve fixed it,” Cavilla said. Cavilla looked at the mirrored wall, his eyes unfocused. Jake didn’t care where Mark’s mind wandered, he wanted the whole story now. He had not one ounce of sympathy for Cavilla. The kid had killed a woman because she had rejected him. Pull back, Jake. This isn’t the time to think about Eva.

  “Mark, what happened the night Shanna died,” Jake said, not able to hide his impatience.