Gun Games - Faye Kellerman [123]
“What does Asaroff’s attorney want?”
“All charges against him dropped in exchange for his story. He also pointed out that Nate is a minor. He’s two months shy of eighteen.”
“We could try him as an adult. As far as the charges, it depends on what he has to say and what the D.A. thinks. Call me back after you’ve got him on tape.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Marge disconnected the cell just as Oliver pulled into the visitors’ parking lot. He hunted around for a space. “Here we go.” He slid the car into a slot and shut off the motor. “I think Martin Punsche might be a little upset by our drop-in visit.”
“He may be miffed.”
“I wonder how he’ll spin this latest turn of events to B and W’s full-tuition-paying parents.”
A moment of silence, then Marge snapped her fingers. “I got it.”
“Tell me.”
“What the kids did wasn’t an attempted kidnapping at all.” She grinned. “It was a performance art project.”
“Perfect.” Oliver opened the car door. “Too bad Dylan didn’t have a camcorder. I’m sure lots of museums would have paid top dollar for the video.”
Before coming to Homicide, Decker had worked a number of detective details, specifically six years in Juvenile and Sex Crimes with Marge Dunn. He had interviewed scores of teenaged felons whose emotional state ran the gamut from cocky to scared witless. But in all those years, Decker had never seen a girl as repentant as Darla Holbein. She started the interview with the following statement.
“I deserve to burn in hell.”
Marie Holbein, Darla’s mother, was unmoved. “If you don’t get your act together, Darla, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Stop with the dramatics and tell the lieutenant what happened this morning.”
The girl mumbled something, and her father told her to speak up.
Darla wiped her eyes. “I just want to really say that I’m truly sorry. If the girl wants to see me and yell at me or hit me or . . . I am willing to do that. I would also be happy to do community service at the charity of her choice. And if she wants me to go to jail, I can do that, too. I’m not afraid of jail, because I can do penance in jail. I am afraid of God.”
“Amen,” Marie said.
“Amen,” echoed Dominick, her father.
“I take full responsibility for my wrongdoing.” Her tears were in full force now. “I am very grateful that Jesus has given me this chance to repent and to make things whole again. Our Lord died on the cross for our sins. I just want everyone to know that.”
Marie bit her lip as her eyes became wet. “Jesus will forgive you if you do true penance. So start by telling the detectives what happened.”
By now, both mother and daughter were crying silently. Darla said, “I slept over Cam’s house. We have a project in Government that we’ve been working on. It was due today. So that’s why I slept over her house.” She regarded Wynona and then Decker. “When we have a group assignment, we always work together, although I do most of the work. I’m not complaining, just telling you how it is.”
Wynona said, “Cameron is a good friend of yours?”
Darla looked at her mother. “We’ve known each other forever. We met as little kids in church. We went to all the socials together. She’s a lot of fun. She’s also gorgeous and attracts a lot of male attention.”
“Being too pretty is the work of the devil,” Marie said. “Look at the trouble it got her into.”
“She’s popular, yes, but it’s more than looks, Mama. She’s charismatic. Everyone gravitates to her. It can be fun to be her friend.”
She kneaded her hands.
“About six years ago, her parents quit the church.” She looked to her mother for confirmation. “About six years, right?”
“Yes. About.”
“First her parents quit going to church. Then a few months later, they separated. It was very hard on Cameron. Then her mom got a younger boyfriend, and her dad got a real young girlfriend. Her parents just like . . . freaked. Cameron said they started drinking a lot—right in front of her.”
“My daughter never told me,” Marie said. “Otherwise I would have called Social Services