Authors: Kristopher Rufty
Lou
slowed the Jeep and turned in. Andy decided if Nicole was home he would check
out the laptop right away. But, he’d need to make sure his car was still in one
piece before he did anything else. Realizing how much he truly cared about his
car, made him understand just how lonely he was.
Andy
sat in his car, smoking a cigarette, leaning out with his feet on the ground
and elbows on his knees. An officer had noticed his trembling hands and offered
him one. Andy accepted, killing his one year of cigarette abstinence. Although
he’d gone so long without one, it was easy to become reacquainted with the practice.
It didn’t taste as good as he remembered, and it felt a little strange between
his fingers, but overall he felt as if he’d been catching up with an old
friend.
From
his car, he watched a dozen or more cops scurry about Danny’s front yard,
entering and exiting the trailer in rotations. Some had on latex gloves, others
had on clear ponchos over their uniforms. Lou Manchu had mentioned rain in the
Jeep, but Andy doubted they had those on for weather protection.
The
blood…
All
over the trailer, dripping from the ceiling, sloughing down the walls. Blood
was everywhere.
He
screwed his eyes shut in hope of blocking the images of Nicole’s devoured body.
She’d been…ripped apart…was the only way Andy knew how to describe it. Her skin,
hulled from the bones, was left around her body like discarded clothes. Jaw
broken, it remained attached to her skull, barely, by thin ribbons of flesh.
The tongue that had been inside Andy’s own mouth in the past, that had licked
his penis, was canted to the side, dehydrated and purple. There was nothing
left of her lips, and her eyes hung out of their sockets like rotten tomatoes
on a diseased vine. Flayed, dissected, innards strewn about, chest broken and
ribcage halved, the white stems sticking out of the mushy flesh—Andy had
vomited upon seeing it.
Sitting
in the car, he felt acidic bile rising in his throat, threatening to launch out
of his mouth. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. It helped his
stomach, but did nothing for his shuddering muscles.
“Want
me to come in with you?” Lou had asked. “Maybe the two of us can come up with
something better than you working at this alone.”
“Not
right now. I need to see if I can even get into the computer first. I’ll let
you know what—if anything—I find.”
Andy
glanced into the Camaro’s backseat. He could see the dark shape of the laptop case
back there. He hadn’t told the police Lou gave it to him. If he did, they’d definitely
confiscate it since it belonged to Rosco. And, he believed Danny and Rosco were
going to be the prime suspects in Nicole’s…death.
Murder.
She’s
dead.
He
thought back to the night before, lying with her in bed, the sweet scent of her
hair, the soft smoothness of her skin, holding her.
Leaving
her.
He
had to. It was the right decision. No matter what’s happened, it was…right.
You
left her alone.
Andy
slapped himself. The stinging tightness in his cheek snapped his mind back to
where it needed to be.
“Sounds
good,” Lou had said. He’d extended his hand. “Here’s to leaving it in the
past.”
Andy’s
lips tightened, nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He shook Lou’s hand, then got out
of the car.
Lou
leaned over so he could see Andy through the opened passenger door. “Maybe we
can get a beer sometime, swap lies about how good we’re doing.”
“I’d
like that.”
“Same
here.”
“Be
careful heading back.”
“Absolutely.
Peace.”
Andy
shut the door and watched Lou back out of the driveway. After a quick
inspection of his car, he clarified no one had tampered with her in any way.
Albeit surprised, he was very grateful.
Then
he’d headed for the front door, the laptop bag strung over his shoulder. The
bulky case bumped his hip as he walked.
“Mr.
Raab?”
Andy
blinked a few times. He turned to the voice. “Yes?”
An
officer was bent over on the other side of the car door, peering through the
window. He was probably in his forties, bald on top with a rim of brown hair
going around his skull. He had a flat, yet kind face that displayed genuine
concern for Andy’s feelings. “Detective Kaufman would like to ask you some
questions, if you’re up to it.”
Andy
nodded once. “Yeah…sure.”
“Are
you sure you’re up for it right now?”
“Might
as well get it over with.”
The
officer frowned. “Okay. Follow me.”
Andy
stood up, stretching his legs. His thighs pulled taught as a burning sensation
traveled down to his calves. He flung the door shut, dropped the cigarette butt
on the ground, and stomped it out. Then he followed the officer, walking a step
behind him to where a small group had gathered around a man in a long trench
coat. Andy immediately pinned him as the detective. He was dressed like any
hard-boiled detective he’d ever seen in a movie or read about in a book: the
trench coat, cheap suit underneath, fedora on his head. He had hair like Tom
Hanks, black curls but silvery above the ears, and was very short in height. He
resembled a P.I more than an actual cop.
The
detective was firing off orders when Andy arrived.
“…to
keep the press back. They’ll be here any minute, I’m sure. So I need you, you,
and you to run defense at the front of the driveway.” He pointed at three
different uniformed cops. “Do
not
let them get on the grass. If they get
past the ditch, I will leave you lying in it. Understand?”
They
seemed to, since no one spoke up.
“All
right. Get moving.”
The
selected three stepped away from the group, heading to the front. Andy watched
them go, their heads down, hands pressed against their belts. Something about
how they moved reminded Andy of kids who’d just been scolded by a parent. He
looked back to the group and saw the officer who’d brought him over here
speaking quietly to the detective.
“Thanks,”
he told the officer, giving him a firm pat on the arm. “Everyone, if you’ll
please follow Sgt. Peterson here, he’ll tell you what to do. I need a few
moments, okay?” He moved through the crowd, holding his arm out. “Mr. Raab?”
“Yes.
I am.”
He
put his hand delicately on Andy’s bicep. “I’m Detective Albert Kaufman. First
off, let me tell you how sorry I am about your loss. I know this has to be
confusing and saddening. Walking in to find what you did would be awful for
anyone, so I thank you in advance for talking to me now.”
Andy
nodded. “Sure.”
“Do
you think you’ll need to talk to a specialist?”
“A
shrink?”
Kaufman
poked out his bottom lip, bobbing his head. “More or less. More
less
than more.”
Andy
wasn’t sure what that meant but he declined the offer.
“Let
me know if you change your mind.”
He
guided Andy to the front steps and had him sit. Kaufman crammed himself in the
small space available beside Andy. His trench coat made whispered crinkle
sounds as he dug out a notepad and flipped to a blank page. Putting an ink pen
in his mouth, he bit down on the cap, and yanked out the pen. Then he took the
cap out of his mouth, sticking it in a side pocket.
Andy
wondered how the detective wasn’t asphyxiating in the heavy coat.
“All
right,” said Kaufman. “Tell me everything, if you can, about your evening.
Start with the moment you were bailed out of jail.”
Andy
took a deep breath, wiped his sweaty hands on his pants, and leaned forward.
“Lou paid my bail and drove me here.”
“Lou?”
“Lou
Ambrose?”
“Ah.
The infamous Lou Manchu. You run around with him?”
“My
brother did. But, I was friends with Lou back in school.”
“So
why’d he pay your bail if you two aren’t exactly chums anymore?”
Andy
thought about telling him what they’d talked about during the drive, but
decided to keep it to himself for now. Instead, he gave him an edited version,
leaving out the information about the laptop. He even shared what Larry had
attempted to do.
Kaufman
said nothing about the ordeal, just scribbled in his notepad as Andy relayed
the events. When Andy had finished that part, he moved on to where Lou drove
away.
“I
wanted to talk to Nicole and see if she was all right, because I hadn’t seen
her since last night.”
“When
she came to your house?”
“Right.”
“Go
on.”
“So
I knocked on the front door.”
“Were
the lights out?”
“Yeah,
everything was dark.”
“Must
have been the whole time. Someone flipped the breakers. Killed the power in the
whole house. One of the officers noticed the breaker box was open and the main
switch had been set to off.”
Andy
glanced behind him, seeing the glowing windows. He hadn’t noticed someone had
gotten the lights on.
“And
then what happened?” asked Kaufman.
“I
know where Nicole hides a key, so after she didn’t come to the door, I decided
to go in. If she told me to piss off, then I would have. But, I had no idea if
she was just avoiding me or what, so with the lights off and her not answering
the door or her cell, I was a little worried.”
“I
would have been too,” admitted Kaufman.
“Anyway…I
walked around back. When I got on the porch, I noticed the sliding door was
busted right away. I ran inside, called for her some more, and started to look
around. I used my cell phone for light…and then…well…then…I found her in the
living room.”
“Right.
I know the rest from there. Here come the questions that might sound stupid
now, but let them percolate in your mind for a day or so. Something might
click.”
“Okay…”
“Can
you think of anyone who’d want to hurt her?”
Andy
shook his head. “No. I mean, she didn’t get along with a lot of her neighbors,
but…”
“We’re
already looking into them. Anyone else?”
“She
and Danny fought a lot, but he never laid a hand on her…they
were
having
some problems.” He stopped talking, then looked at Kaufman. He noticed the
reassured expression on his face as he underlined something he’d written. “You
don’t think Danny did this, do you?”
“Ninety-eight
percent of murders are committed by the spouse or family member. She has no
family left in town; you were locked up during the timeline when the murder
most likely took place, so that leaves your brother as suspect número uno.”
“He
would never…” But even as the words left his mouth, they departed without any
conviction. Even Andy didn’t believe them. After all Nicole had told him, which
was later clarified by Lou’s testimony, he was beginning to wonder how well he
knew Danny…if at all.
“Any
idea where Lou Ambrose was during this time?” asked Kaufman.
“During
what time?”
“Between
the hours of seven and ten p.m.?”
Andy
shook his head. “I imagine gathering up the money to come get me out of jail. I
know that Larry called him from the police station, but that was earlier in the
day.”
“Know
what time?”
Andy
tried to make a guess but just shook his head. “No idea.”
“I’ll
look into it.”
“Think
Lou is involved?”
“I
wouldn’t put anything past Lou Manchu. The S.O.B. is slimier than a snake
dipped in petroleum jelly. I know he’s been responsible for many unsolved
crimes around here.”
“Then
you should ask him. Because if he’s involved in this…”
“We’ve
already sent two officers out there to interview him.”
Andy
sighed. He doubted Lou had anything to do with Nicole, but he wanted
confirmation. He also felt these questions were a waste of time. Understanding
why they were important didn’t make him any less aggravated that he had to hear
them. He felt Kaufman should be somewhere else, doing something else to solve
this.
“Did
you notice any unfamiliar vehicles lingering around the property while you were
here earlier today? Or maybe one leaving the trailer park on your way in?”
“No.”
Nod.
Scribble. “See any strangers…”
“Can
we stop this?”
“Pardon?”
“I
don’t want to do this anymore. Not right now.” He was becoming very frustrated with
the interview and was starting to feel smothered from how close Kaufman was
sitting to him. He needed some space.
“Sure,”
said Kaufman, standing. Andy was grateful he’d moved. He felt as if a brick had
been lifted off his lungs. “I’ll swing by your place tomorrow. I’ll call before
I come.”
“Thanks.”
Kaufman
reached inside his coat, removing a stack of white cards. He took one from the
top, and passed it to Andy. “My card. If you think of anything else before
then, let me know.”
“Will
do.”
“Sorry,
again, for your loss.”
Andy
nodded. Kaufman started to walk away, but stopped. He must have noticed what
Andy had also spotted: a female officer running toward him, waving her arms.
“Detective
Kaufman!” she shouted.
“Yes,
Officer Riles, what’s wrong?”
“Just
came over the radio…”
“What
did?”
“The
two officers you sent to Lou Ambrose’s house…” She huffed, trying to find her
breath.
“Yes.
Spit it out.”
“They
found dead bodies. Torn apart like…” She glanced at Andy and stopped talking.
Andy’s
stomach felt as if it was trying to shrink into a wadded ball. His head felt
light, swimmy.
“Dead
bodies?” Kaufman threw the notepad on the ground. “Was Ambrose one of them?”
“Yes.
They found him in his Jeep, mutilated. Inside the house…” She shook her head. “They
said it looks like a warzone over there. Calls came in about shots fired,
people saying it sounded like a gun battle.”
“Damn
it to hell…” growled Kaufman.
Officer
Riles put a finger to her mouth, nervously tugging her bottom lip. “They want
you over there right away.”