The Night Stalker_ A Novel of Suspense - James Swain [36]
In the center of the garage sat a vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycle with chrome so shiny that I could see my reflection in it. It was the only thing in the place that was clean and looked well-maintained. Jed leaned against the seat, and faced me.
“You going to sell the bike?” I asked.
“My father wanted me to keep it,” Jed replied. “He’s going to die soon. Did he tell you that?”
“Yes. Did your father tell you to sell the stuff in the house?”
“Yeah. Called it his life insurance policy.”
Jed’s voice was flat, but there was pain in it. I stepped in front of the bike, and looked him in the eye. Most people hate when I do this, but Jed didn’t flinch.
“I have a pretty good idea who kidnapped your son,” I said.
Jed nearly fell down. “You do? Who?”
“Someone in the neighborhood who had a score to settle with your father.”
“Okay.”
“But I’m having a problem moving my investigation forward.”
“Why?”
“Because the police think you’re guilty. Until I can convince them that you didn’t kidnap your son, I’m stuck.”
“The police.” Jed said the word like it was a curse. He lowered his gaze, and stared at the concrete floor. “What do you want me to do?”
“You could start by answering some questions for me.”
“Go ahead.”
“You tried to burn this garage down four years ago. Why did you do that?”
He swallowed hard. “What’s that got—”
“Just answer me.”
“A kid at school told me my daddy was worse than Ed Gein. I didn’t know who he was, so I looked him up. Ed Gein was a serial killer who made furniture from women’s body parts. They based the movies Psycho and Silence of the Lambs on him. The article said that after Gein was arrested, the local townspeople burned his house to the ground.”
“So you decided to burn your father’s garage,” I said.
Jed nodded. “I was kind of crazy back then.”
“Next question. You failed a polygraph test. Why did you lie to the police?”
“I only lied about one thing.”
I crossed my arms and waited for him to continue.
“I told the police I was at home when Sampson was taken,” Jed explained. “I was actually next door, bumming a joint from my neighbor.”
“You smoke dope?” I asked.
“I quit a year ago,” Jed said. “It was for my friend Ronnie, who was in the house with me. He still gets high.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police that?”
“I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
“It was just a joint.”
“My neighbor does a little selling on the side.”
Jed had lied to protect someone else. That happened all the time during criminal investigations, and the police were used to it. I needed to get Jed back to the station house and have him take another polygraph.
“If I told you that taking another polygraph would help rescue your son, would you do it?” I asked him.
Jed lifted his gaze. “Not if Detective Cheeks was there.”
“You have a problem with Cheeks?”
“Yeah. He hates me.”
“Cheeks is in the hospital. I’ll go with you to the police department and be there when they administer the polygraph. I’ll also tell them ahead of time what you did, and ask them not to ask you to finger your neighbor.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
Jed pushed himself off his father’s motorcycle and slapped me on the shoulder.
“I’m with you, man,” he said.
Jed walked me to my car. I had expected him to be an emotionally twisted young man, and was pleasantly surprised by what I’d found. He was surprisingly well adjusted, considering the circumstances. How Cheeks or anyone else at the police department could consider him their prime suspect was a mystery.
“I’ll need a few hours to get things set up with the police,” I said.
“I’ll be here waiting,” he said.
I got into my car with my dog. As I started the engine, a car pulled in behind me, and four Asian tourists got out. Like the group I’d seen before, they were dressed in black, and began to photograph the house. I motioned to Jed, and he came to my window.
“How long has this been going on?” I asked.
“Years. Ever since my