James Andrus: The Perfect Scream

Lynn shook her head, swallowing hard. She doubted she could speak even if she wanted to because her mouth was so dry.

The detective said, “I didn’t know how much time you spent with the fraternity brothers back when your brother was a member. I was hoping you might recognize the girl. It’s not related to our case in any way and you’ll have plenty of time to worry about that in the coming weeks. So forget I even asked about the girl.”

Lynn finally summoned up the courage to say, “Why do you think I did anything wrong?” It was generic enough that he couldn’t use it against her, but maybe she’d have an idea of what evidence they did have.

The detective said, “Leon Kines is a good scapegoat. His motives made sense, no one was going to stand up and fight for him, and it clears our case. But there were a couple of things that didn’t add up, and I did some checking.” He gave her a chance to say something or add a comment. She just kept staring at him.

He said, “The first thing that bothered me was the fact that Leon had a nine-millimeter with him when he was shot by the Daytona police and a thirty-eight was used to shoot the auto parts manager. I realize some people have more guns than they need, but a guy like Leon tends to stick with one. I also noticed your dad had a collection with several thirty-eights in it. We’ve got someone over at his house right now with the search warrant.

“Then I happened to notice your name on the company employees list. That’s a big coincidence. I was able to subpoena your cell phone records. You made several calls down to the hospital in Daytona.” He paused and waited for a response.

Lynn felt like she was going to vomit.

The detective shrugged and kept going. “We had always assumed that a woman was with Connor Tate and that was the only reason he’d drink something with so many pills crushed in it. Then there is the case of Kyle Lee.”

Lynn looked up and wanted to say something. The cop noted her attention.

“Do you remember being stopped for speeding by a patrolman near the marina?” He paused for effect.

Lynn kept still and quiet.

“He didn’t ticket you, but he made a note of the stop. That’s the kind of circumstantial evidence that stacks up in court. Then there are the other little details like the paper you used to start the fire in Atlanta. It was the Jacksonville Times-Union . Leon wasn’t allowed to leave Atlanta without checking with his parole officer. If he started that fire, where did he get a newspaper from Jacksonville? He could do it, it just seems unlikely.”

Lynn swallowed again and realized her hand was shaking, giving her away.

“The last thing,” the cop stated in that same even voice, “ketamine. It was too obscure. The fact that you work in a vet’s office in the evenings, and have access to it, gave us enough for the search warrant for your father’s guns as well as giving me a chance to talk to you.” He looked at her like he expected her to say something.

The detective said, “I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you expected.”

Now Lynn found her voice and said, “No, they worked out about like I thought.” She still was oddly unconcerned. Did that make her a sociopath?

She wondered if that might make a good defense.