Both women felt a shiver up their spines. He might be young, but there was a suppressed energy there, core of strength they rarely encountered in men twice his age.

“I know some other people who knew her from golf team,” Aiden said, as if he hadn’t just revealed his inner self.

“Did any of them have a problem with her?” Stavros asked, recovering first.

“Not more than usual on a team. She was a strong leader, some called her a bossy bitch. She was a perfectionist. The women’s team did well under her leadership. Even the men did better, because she wasn’t above telling our captain how to do things.”

“Was Troy on the team?” Vanessa asked, taking out her pad.

Snorting, Aiden rolled his eyes. “Him participate in anything? He’s good with cars, not much else. You saw how easily I caught up with him. I could have taken him down in the parking lot, but I didn’t want us both to be bleeding, or broken. So I waited until we hit the grass.”

The women exchanged a surprised look.

“Did you know Wendy was back?” Vanessa asked sharply.

“If I’d known, she wouldn’t be dead. Wendy meant a lot to me, Detective. I wasn’t still in love with her, but I’ll love her for the rest of my life.” He could see that the two women understood the difference.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Stavros asked.

Aiden had anticipated being interviewed by one or both of the officers. He smiled a little. “I’ve got a couple girls I date, nothing serious. No one special.”

“Are you sexually active?” Stavros said.

Giving her a patient look, he smiled. “I lost my virginity, with Wendy, when I was sixteen. I’m eighteen, and male. You do the math.” He shrugged.

“I think we need to get you home,” Vanessa said. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. The lab has your jacket and the desk sergeant has a receipt for you. We’ll stop for it when we go out. We won’t have results on DNA right away, but we can type and match the blood.”

“Good. I’m glad I didn’t have to fight him. I didn’t want to put you in a difficult position. Better this way.”

Vanessa drove Aiden home, feeling less sure of him than she had. He carried a lot of suppressed anger, though she couldn’t believe it was rooted in his family life. His mother was a lot like hers. She hadn’t met the father, but couldn’t imagine a woman like Deirdre putting up with an aggressive spouse. The things he said, often sounded so cold. It was hard to equate with the handsome, nurturing young man he professed to be. However, his grief at identifying Wendy had been real. Even the best actor in the world, couldn’t pull off that performance. Shaking off her doubts, she pulled up in his driveway, putting the car in gear.

“Thank you for letting me help,” Aiden said, holding out his hand.

“Bring it in,” she held out her arms, giving him a hug. He returned it warmly. “You were a big help. Oh, while I’m thinking about it, you said there were people who might have had conflict with Wendy—on the golf team?”

“Yeah. Jim Butcher, the men’s captain. He might be hard to get hold of, I think he went in the Marines? Maybe Navy. Lonnie Hamilton, she wanted to be captain, and got the job the following year. And Ed Bullock, the coach. He and Wendy didn’t always see eye to eye.”

“Do you think any of them knew she was in town?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to Jim or Lonnie in years. She graduated the year after Wendy and Jim. Mr. Bullock is still coach. I don’t have issue with him.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know any of her other friends, if she had any. Except for Troy, she kept to herself.”

“You believe he isolated her from others.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes. Making her live in that stinking hole of a house….”

“You think he made her?”

“Would you live there, when you could be in a foster home? Unless it was hell there, I can’t see her agreeing.”

“I plan to interview the foster parents soon. I won’t need an assist. I don’t expect them to run.”

“Will you let me know—what they say?”

“I can’t be specific, Aiden. Unless it directly involves you, I can’t allow it. I shouldn’t even have let you in on this much.”

“I understand.” The grim determination was back.

Vanessa had the impression that he would do investigating of his own, and wondered if he’d given her all the names. She drove back to the station, the three names Aiden had given her, resonating in her head. She was sure he’d kept a name or two to himself, so she made a mental note to check out the entire golf team. She also planned a more in depth investigation of Wendy, herself.

© 2018 Dellani Oakes

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Lisa turned off the monitor, taking him in her arms. “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he did it, either. And Vanessa will come to that conclusion, too. We just wait this out. Have you had lunch?”

“No, and I puked up my breakfast when Vanessa read the letter.”

She told one of the officers to go for pizza and talked with Aiden in her office. Food arrived a few minutes later, and Lisa picked up the conversation as if there hadn’t been a break.

“You had no idea about the baby?”

“None. I tried to reach her after she left, but she either cut off her phone, or changed her number. I didn’t have an address. It damn near killed me. I barely even remember that summer.”

“Can you think of anyone else who would want to hurt Wendy?” Captain Stavros asked gently.

“Honestly, Captain, the Wendy I knew didn’t have an enemy in the world. She was beautiful, kind, loving. The only dark spot was Troy. But I can’t believe he did it. I hate him, and I want him to burn, but he didn’t kill her. I do think he knows more than he’s saying. And I think he beat her up. At least now, you have his DNA to compare.”

“We do?”

He explained about his jacket.

“Clever boy! You ever thought of being a cop?”

“Until now, no. But it’s starting to look like a vocation.”

The interrogation of Troy Intriago wasn’t going as well as Vanessa had hoped. She’d rattled him with the baby picture, more than she’d anticipated. He was so hung up on that, for a while, he couldn’t do anything but deny the truth. Doing her best to get him on track, Vanessa kept hammering him with questions.

“When did Wendy live with you?”

“That kid? Dammit! I knew I shoulda nut checked him.”

“When was Wendy living in your grandmother’s home?”

“I dunno. Her last year maybe? Her foster mom was a nosy bitch. Up in her business, so she left.”

Though she tried to rope him back in, he didn’t cooperate. When she pressed, he got abusive. Unwilling to hear him insult her, she had him led back to his cell.

Vanessa walked into Stavos’ office a few minutes later. Sitting heavily, she put her feet up on another chair. “He didn’t do it. I believe he contributed to the bruising, and I think he may be the one who assaulted her.” She wouldn’t look at Aiden when she said that. “But murder? No. I really wanted him for this.”

“Alibi?” Stavros asked.

“Soft. He claims he was home with his grandmother. She confirmed that he was there, but she fell asleep in her recliner at eight o’clock. She can’t account for anything else until yesterday morning. He wasn’t there when she got up at seven. She figured he hadn’t spent the night, because he always makes a pot of coffee for her when he gets up for work. There was no coffee that morning. She was pretty pissed about that.”

“I don’t suppose she could have done it?” Stavros asked.

Vanessa snorted. “No. She could stink someone to death, but she’s had stroke damage. No way she could strangle a healthy young woman.”

“How do you know?” Aiden asked.

“Her face shows signs of it. She has a very uneven gait that isn’t just from alcohol, and she slurs her speech—again, not just booze. I was pre-med before I became a cop,” she explained to the curious teen. “I wish we could have helped Wendy….” The pain of her own past nearly blindsided her. The survivor of an abusive relationship, she understood the younger woman’s pain and shame.

“You didn’t even know her,” Aiden said. “I’m the one who should have.”

“You’re a kid,” Stavros said, not unkindly. “I hate to say it, but chances are good, the police wouldn’t even have listened. If she wasn’t willing to press charges, there would be little we could do. Did he ever hit her in front of you?”

“If he had, we wouldn’t be sitting here, I’d probably be in jail,” Aiden said in a calm, deadly voice. “I’m not a kid, even if I’m young. I can handle myself, and I don’t take shit from anyone. I also won’t watch a man beat up on a woman. My mother was the victim of an abusive father, she taught us to control our anger, but we learned how to defend ourselves, so we won’t ever be a victim. I never have started a fight, but if someone starts it with me….” He shrugged. “Guys bigger and meaner than Troy are scared of me.” He cut his eyes at the police officers. “After a few fights, and a six inch growth spurt, I don’t have much trouble with bullies.”

© 2018 Dellani Oakes

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Vanessa handed her the picture and letter.

“What does she mean Troy would know the baby wasn’t his?” Her eyes darted from one to the other.

“One of the things I wanted to ask him.”

“You like him for this?”

“Too early to tell. But it’s possible that he had a motive. One thing I’m very curious about, how did that letter get to his house, among Wendy’s things?”

“Excellent question.”

“Can I go in?” Aiden asked.

“Absolutely not,” Lisa Stavros said. “What makes you think you could make him talk?”

“We have history. He hates me. He thinks I’m a punk kid, and it will make him angry.”

“You absolutely cannot be in that room. But I think we can arrange for him to see you. He’s in booking right now, but he’ll be in the interrogation room in a few minutes. When he makes that walk, we’ll put you where he can see you.”

“Devious,” Aiden said, nodding. “I like it. Tell me where to stand.”

She led him outside a few minutes later. Standing at the end of the hallway, leading to the holding cells, she engaged Aiden in conversation. They were some distance from where Troy would walk, but clearly visible. When he came out of the holding area, on the way to the interrogation room, he saw Aiden and started yelling. It wasn’t even words, he was so angry. He tried to break away and run down the corridor, but two big officers held him.

“You punk! I’ll get you, you cock sucker! You son-of-a-bitch!”

Aiden bridled at that. He could handle being insulted, but not his mother.

Lisa put her hand on his arm. “Don’t give him the win,” she murmured.

Relaxing a little, Aiden nodded. “Can I watch?”

Captain Stavros considered a moment. “Not in the booth. There’s a closed circuit TV in my office. Come.” She led him to her office.

Troy sat in the uncomfortable chair, chained to the table. His ankles were shackled and locked to the floor. He wasn’t going anywhere. He sat for quite some time before Vanessa went in. She had pulled her hair into a severe French twist and black framed glasses perched on her nose.

“She looks like the sexy librarian,” Aiden chuckled.

Stavros chuckled. She’d called Vanessa that from time to time, when she saw her done up interrogation style. “Don’t knock it, it works.”

“I’m not. But even if she’s a lot older, and married, she’s dangerously hot.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that.”

“Never. She’s a lady—who could kill me with extreme prejudice. She’s intimidating as shit.”

They laughed and settled into chairs to watch.

“So, Troy, why did you run?” Vanessa asked, not looking up from the folder.

He squirmed, shifting in his chair. “I figured you want to talk about Wendy. I didn’t do it.”

“I never said you did.” She folded her hands on the stack of pages. “I wanted to ask you questions. It’s been my experience, when a man runs, he’s got something to hide. What do you have to hide, Troy?”

“Nothing. I didn’t even know the bitch was in town.”

“Then why was this letter in your house?”

“Must have been left from when she lived there.”

“I doubt it. Look at the date.” She pointed to the letter. The picture was nearby. Troy ignored the letter and looked at the child. “He looks like that kid!”

“It’s a girl. That’s because he’s the father.”

“The f**k you say! That’s not possible.”

“But it is. She was pregnant when she left. But not with your baby. Did she get tired of you, Troy? Cast you aside? Is that why you killed her?”

“That can’t be his kid!”

“She’s certainly not yours. Did Wendy tell you that? Did she come by to see you, tell you about her baby? Did you lose your temper and kill her in a rage?”

“I don’t—you’re mixing me up!”

“But she did come by. Did she tell you about the baby, her baby—with Aiden. Did she tell you?”

“Yes! I mean no,” he sobbed, shaking his head. “I didn’t kill her. I loved her.” His face twisted in anguish. He looked furious with grief. “A baby?” his voice quivered.

“It’s not him,” Aiden said with confidence.

“He has means and motive,” Lisa Stavros said.

“Yeah. But listen to his voice. Look at his face. He’s hurting like I am. He might be a creep, but he loved her, too.” He looked away. “I thought this would feel better, but it hurts—” He rapped on his chest with his fist. “It hurts.”

© 2018 Dellani Oakes

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