The Night Stalker_ A Novel of Suspense - James Swain [32]
One of the uniforms took my license, and made a call on his cell. I felt someone bump me from behind, but I didn’t turn around.
“Isn’t that Jack Carpenter?” a male voice asked.
“I think it is,” a female voice said.
“Jack, it’s Chip Wells, with Action Eleven Eyewitness News,” the first voice said. “Can you tell us why you’re here? Are the police using you to find Sampson Grimes?”
Chip Wells was not a friend. He’d done a series of pieces about me when I’d been kicked off the force that had been less than flattering. Something about his tone of voice told me I was being recorded.
“I’m selling Girl Scout cookies,” I said, not turning around.
“Be straight with us,” Wells said. “People want to know what’s going on.”
“Screw ’em,” I said.
The uniform confirmed that I was expected. He led me around the house, and across the alley to the grove.
“Detective Burrell’s in there,” the uniform said.
The grove had undergone a dramatic transformation. Twelve-foot-high metal poles had been stuck around the perimeter and translucent plastic sheeting spread between them, covering everything inside. As I lifted a flap, a black guy wearing a U.S. Marshals cap came out. His shirt had a dark butterfly of sweat, and ringlets fell from his scalp.
“Who let you back here?” he demanded.
I told him Burrell was expecting me, and he told me not to move.
Soon Burrell appeared. Her cheeks were windburned, making her slate blue eyes look electrified in the ruddy glow of her pretty face. She came from a family of cops; her father, two brothers, and uncle had all worn a badge. She was a tough young woman, and stubborn to a fault. In that regard, we couldn’t have been more alike.
“That was fast,” she said.
“Cheeks left you a real mess, didn’t he?” I said.
“That’s an understatement. What’s with the dog?”
“He’s my partner. He’s good at finding things.”
“Is he friendly?”
“Not really.”
Burrell bravely stuck her hand beneath Buster’s snout, and to my surprise, got licked in return. “I like him,” she said.
We entered the tentlike structure. The air was hot and sticky. As we walked, I stopped to look at eight-by-ten glossies attached to tree branches. Each glossy showed a piece of evidence that had been discovered at that spot, and taken away for examination. It was a clever way to preserve a crime scene, and typical of Burrell’s thinking.
We came to the clearing. In its center was a fireplace ringed with darkened stones. Sitting among the stones were several charred cans, including a thirty-two-ounce can of Dinty Moore stew. The can of stew had bothered me the night before, and I used a stick to fish it out of the fireplace. Burrell edged up beside me.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“I’m thinking that thirty-two ounces of stew is more than one person can eat,” I said.
“Do you think Sampson’s kidnapper fed the vagrant before killing him?”
“Yes.”
“I think the other detectives need to hear this.”
The other detectives were my old unit. It was going to feel strange talking to them, but I didn’t see how I had any other choice.
Burrell clapped her hands. “Listen up, everybody. Stop what you’re doing, and come into the clearing. We have a guest.”
Six detectives drifted into the clearing. They were all sweaty and looked drained. I shook their hands and said hello. Their collective reaction to my presence was one of shock. I’d left the force under a dark cloud, and they were surprised to see me back.
“Jack has signed on to help with the Grimes case,” Burrell announced. “He has some insights he’d like to share with us.”
Burrell gave me the floor. I gazed into the detectives’ faces before speaking. Several were trying not to smile, and it made me feel good.
“I’ve been working this case for two days, and here’s what I can tell you,” I said. “Our kidnapper knew the boy and had built a relationship with him. Four nights ago, he came into this grove, had dinner with a vagrant, and killed him. Then he crossed the alley, and coaxed Sampson to climb out of his bedroom window using candy and a toy. He brought the boy back here, and altered his