Brenda Jackson - Married Or Not?

“Did she see the murder?”

“She said she saw two men running to a car from behind the restaurant as she was getting into her car. Their car left and she backed out of her parking space and glanced behind the building. That’s when she saw the victim.” The policeman nodded toward the floodlights at the back of the building. “She was able to see that he was covered in blood. That’s when she ran back inside.”

“I’ll talk to her…see if she can describe the men. I wonder if they saw her? Whatever else we do, we need to keep her name out of the papers in case they saw her and go looking for her.”

Greg spent the next half hour studying the crime scene, discussing the findings with the forensic team and studying the body. When he was through, he walked over to the police car where the witness sat in the front seat, staring out the windshield. He nodded to the uniformed officer who immediately got out of the car. Greg slid inside and looked at the witness.

The first thing he noticed was how small she was. She had thick, dark hair that tumbled around her shoulders.

“Ms. Masterson?” he said softly.

As though she were in a daze, she slowly turned to look at him.

“Yes?”

He held his hand out to her. “I’m Detective Greg Hogan.” She hesitantly offered her hand to him. He wasn’t surprised to find it cold. “Would you like to go inside and have a cup of coffee?”

Her husky voice intrigued him. She looked like a teenager and yet sounded like a seductive woman. “All right.”

He walked around the car and helped her out. She was shaking. Scenes like these were rough on civilians.

The manager had closed the restaurant. When he saw Greg at the door, he came over and let them inside.

“Hi. I’m Randy Kramer,” he said, offering his hand to Greg.

Greg shook his hand and replied, “Detective Greg Hogan, Homicide. Could we have some coffee, please?”

“Certainly. I’ve been sending coffee out to the men since they arrived.”

Greg led her to one of the booths. After she slid in, he sat opposite her.

Under the lights, he could see that her eyes were green and she had the longest lashes he’d ever seen.

“I have some questions for you. I know you’ve already talked to one of the policemen. I just have some follow-up questions for you if that’s okay.”

Randy placed two mugs of coffee in front of them. The woman immediately wrapped her fingers around the steaming cup.

Finally, she nodded at him.

“Okay. Let’s start with your name and address.”

“Sherri Masterson. The address is 2610 Mockingbird Lane.”

“Are you employed?”

“I’m finishing my last semester at the university. I help out on weekends at a pet store whenever I can.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

Greg concentrated on getting all of this on paper, but it was tough. He was having such a strong reaction to the woman…girl…that he was embarrassed. He had never met a woman who affected him so suddenly. Maybe he’d been working too many hours or hadn’t been with a woman for too long, but something was going on that was interfering with his concentration.

He cleared his throat. “Let’s go back a few hours and describe what you were doing.”

“They needed me to fill in this afternoon at the pet store for an employee who’d gone home sick. After my eleven o’clock class I went in and worked the rest of the day. A friend called me and asked me to go out. We met and had dinner.”

“Was he with you when you left?”

“No. He’d parked in front. He watched as I crossed the parking lot and waved when I reached my car.”

“Did he see the two men?”

She swallowed. “I don’t know.”

“Okay. So you got in your car. Then what?”

“I dropped my keys and they fell beneath the car. I had to reach under the car a little to get them. When I stood, I saw those two men running to a car parked in back.”

“Did you happen to notice the make or model of the car?”

She was already shaking her head before he finished the question. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about cars. It was either dark blue or black.” She closed her eyes for a moment. Then she looked at him. “I think it had four doors.”

“Texas plates?”

“I didn’t notice. Seeing two men hurrying to a car didn’t set off any alarms for me. I figured they were late for something.”

“Okay. Then what happened?”

“When they backed out, their headlights blinded me. I couldn’t make out anything at all. Then they gunned the car and sped away.”

“What did you do then?”

“I got into my car and pulled out, preparing to drive away. When I glanced around to make sure there were no other cars, I happened to see—” she swallowed again “—this, uh, this man and he was, uh, he was sprawled near the back door of the restaurant. The way he lay, and the sight of so much blood, made me think he was dead.”

“So you came inside?”

“Yes. I told the manager, who called 911.”

Greg leaned back in the booth and Sherri lifted her cup to her mouth, using both hands. She swallowed some coffee and carefully put the cup down.

“I know this is difficult for you.” He looked at his notes deliberately so he wouldn’t see the vulnerability in her eyes. It was all he could do not to move to the other side of the booth and put his arm around her for comfort. “Did you hear anyone say anything?”

“No.”

“Were you in your car or still standing beside it when their lights blinded you?”

“I was standing beside it.”

Which meant that they would be able to identify her. Great. Just great.

“Okay. I’d appreciate it if you could describe these men to me…whatever you can remember. Were they tall or short, thin or heavy, move with a limp, anything like that?”

She clasped her hands and was silent for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not being very helpful, but I didn’t see their faces. I really didn’t pay much attention to them.”

“But you did see them run. Long strides? Short strides? Athletic? Or laboring?”

“Oh. Well, I would say they were both agile. They practically sprinted. They were both tall, at least to me, but then everyone is tall to me.”

“Can you guess a height?”

“Mmm. Maybe five ten, five eleven. How tall are you?”

He was startled by her question. “Six one.”

“I guessed six feet, so I think I’m fairly accurate on their heights.”

“Would you please give me the name of your friend, just in case he may have seen them?”

“Sure.” She gave Greg the name and phone number.

“All right. If you don’t mind coming to the station in the morning I’d like to show you some mug shots as well as get your written statement. I don’t think it will take long.”

“Okay.”

They stood and he escorted her to her car. “I’d like to follow you home, if you don’t mind. I’m somewhat concerned that the men you saw may start looking for you. Let’s keep you as safe as possible.”

“I’m all for that.”

He walked her to her car, noting that the ambulance and the uniforms were gone. Only the yellow tape remained.

Greg waited until Sherri pulled out and headed toward the street and then he pulled in behind her. Once they reached her apartment building, he watched her until she disappeared inside, giving him a little wave as she did.

He needed to get his notes into the computer and get to work.

Sherri hurried into her apartment, closed and locked the door and turned on every light in the place. Then she went into the bathroom and threw up. After she washed her face and rinsed out her mouth, she went into her minuscule kitchen and got out a small carton of yogurt.