The Night Monster_ A Novel of Suspense - James Swain [31]
Burrell stared at the CDs and shook her head.
“You don’t want them?” I asked.
“I’ll just throw them in the file.”
Disgusted, I slipped the CDs back into my pocket.
“I’m sorry, Jack, but more evidence has surfaced linking Tyrone Biggs to the abduction,” Burrell said. “I was in the process of charging Biggs when you called me.”
“What evidence?”
“Biggs secretly made sex tapes of himself and Sara when they were dating. They’re pretty steamy. In one, he’s ties Sara facedown to a bed and has sex with her multiple times. The tapes were found hidden in the trunk of his car.”
“What does that prove beside they were into kink?”
“He was blackmailing her with them.”
“Why? He’s going to be rich once he’s in the NBA.”
“He didn’t want money. He wanted Sara back. Biggs told us so after we confronted him with the tapes. He’s in love with Sara, and wanted to be her boyfriend again.”
“That doesn’t prove Biggs abducted her.”
“Yes, it does. It was his motive. We have our case, and we’re moving forward with it.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“I don’t work for you anymore, Jack. Don’t lecture me.”
Burrell and I did not argue well, and our arguments often ended with one of us getting our feelings bruised. She took out her cell phone and called for backup, then called EMS. Folding her phone, she gave me a harsh look.
“I’m going to play devil’s advocate,” she said. “Let’s pretend you’re right, and the goons that killed these two guys are Sara Long’s abductors. Tell me what their motive is. Are they kidnappers?”
“No,” I said.
“Serial killers?”
I shook my head.
“Then what are they?”
“Serial abductors.”
“You still think this is linked to that cold case from eighteen years ago that you never solved?”
“Yes, I do.”
“All right, let’s pretend that these guys are serial abductors. What’s their motive? Why did they abduct that college student from her apartment when you were a rookie? And why did they abduct Sara Long?”
“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”
“Look all you want, Jack. No one’s stopping you.”
“You’re still going to arrest Tyrone Biggs?”
“Damn straight. Then I’m going to grill him, and find out where he put Sara Long. Biggs killed Sara, and I want to know where he hid her body.”
Outside I heard the wail of sirens. As a rule, police cruisers only came quickly when another cop was making the call. Burrell walked out of the lanai, and stopped at the entrance to the hallway.
“Without any real evidence that someone else abducted Sara Long, you’ve got nothing, Jack,” Burrell said.
I gazed at the bloated corpses floating in the pool. I’d just given Burrell all the evidence she needed, only she’d chosen not to look at it. I was done with the police.
CHAPTER 17
sat on a chair in the empty room, and gave my statement to a Homicide detective, who wrote it down on a notepad. Then he videotaped me. Later, he would compare my answers for any inconsistencies or things I might have left out. The process lasted forty-five minutes, and was draining.
When the detective was done, Burrell entered the room with Buster on a leash. She handed the leash to me, and we walked outside.
“I took him for a walk and gave him some water,” she said, trying to make nice.
“Thank you, Detective,” I said.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“Whatever gave you that idea.”
I put Buster into my car and climbed behind the wheel. Burrell rapped the driver’s window with her knuckles. I lowered the window and she knelt down so our faces were a few feet apart.
“I hate when you pout,” she said.
Her conscience was eating at her. I jammed the key into the ignition and turned on the engine. I left the engine running and looked at her.
“What do you want me to do?” she yelled at me. “Disobey the mayor, and get my ass fired? I don’t want to end up …”
She didn’t want to end up like me. I couldn’t blame her, but that didn’t mean I was going to back off.
“Go ahead and charge Biggs,” I said. “He’s pond scum and deserves the humiliation. When you talk to the press, tell them he’s