Protector - Laurel Dewey [49]
“I’d have to check on that. Why?”
Jane wanted to make the idea sound like her own but was having a difficult time formulating it. “I just wonder if there’s a lead buried somewhere in that. It’s a needle in a haystack, but it’s worth considering.”
“I’ll check into it.” Jane looked outside as Weyler turned down Exposition. “You know, Emily Lawrence hasn’t stopped talking about you. You made a tight connection with that child.”
“I just talked to her. No big deal.”
Weyler observed Jane’s obvious withdrawal. “I’m sure it’ll pain you to know that Emily’s interest in you is driving Martha Durrett crazy.” Weyler stole a glance at Jane.
“Humph!” Jane enjoyed the image in her mind. “So, how’s the kid doing?”
“Alright, I guess, considering. Apparently, she’s still extremely disconnected from the event, mentally and emotionally. No tears, Martha reports, even after you informed her of her parents’ death.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. When you can’t feel...you can’t feel.”
“I don’t think I told you that the DA asked us to put Emily under hypnosis to see if her subconscious mind could tell us anything about that night.”
“Great,” Jane said sarcastically. “She hasn’t been traumatized enough—”
“She wouldn’t cooperate. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get her to go under.”
“Smart girl.”
“From what I hear, Emily has disassociated from the murders and what she witnessed. She’s acting distant and disinterested in the whole thing. Martha says it’s normal behavior, even though it makes the child come off as rather cold and detached.”
Jane listened to Weyler but wondered why he was reporting the details of Emily’s emotional response to the murder to her. It wasn’t Jane’s case. She didn’t want to come off sounding interested in Emily so she put on a casual tone. “What’s going to happen to the kid?”
“In what way?”
“Family. Does she have family nearby to take her in?”
“She has an aunt and uncle up in Cheyenne.”
“Cheyenne?” Jane said under her voice as Weyler turned onto Franklin. “The kid’s going from Washington Park to Cheyenne, Wyoming? That’s gotta suck.”
“You almost sound worried about the child.”
“Worried? Please. Just making conversation, boss. Look at this neighborhood.” Jane motioned outside of the car. “It’s great. It’s comfortable. Cheyenne, Wyoming is like going to Mars. It’s not that I care! It’s just an observation.”
Weyler pulled up in front of the Lawrence crime scene and parked the car. “Me thinks thou doth protest too much, Detective.” Weyler motioned around the house. “I want to take you around the perimeter first.”
The Lawrence house stood in the middle of the tree-lined block, facing Smith Lake. It was the kind of neighborhood that reeked of solid, middle-class comfort. The Washington Park area of Denver was an enigma to Jane. If you snapped a photograph of the streets in summertime and asked someone to guess the location, she figured that Colorado would be low on their list. It was a secret pocket in the Mile High City that felt more like a West coast retreat. Of course, now with the bright yellow police tape surrounding the Lawrence house, the neighborhood vibe had taken a downward turn. Vicious double murders just didn’t happen in Washington Park.
Jane looked across the street to an unmarked police car. “What’s up?”
“We put a 24-hour watch on the house,” Weyler said, picking up a large envelope marked “Crime Scene Photos” from the backseat of his car.
“Chris’ idea?”
“No, just an insurance policy.”
“You think the killers are coming back to grab a souvenir?”
“It’s more to appease the neighbors. These people are like one big family. They have block parties and babysit for each other’s kids. This tragedy has turned the whole place upside down. Come around this way. I’ll show you the backyard first.”
The two-story Lawrence house stood fifty feet from the sidewalk. The entry walk was lined with neatly trimmed juniper bushes and colorful flowers. The house was built mostly of brick except