The Truth of Yesterday (74 page)

     “I'm going to switch your cuffs to the front,” the cop said, stopping next to one of the cars.

     “Thanks,” I said, unsure of what else to say to that. I was relieved though. It was very uncomfortable with my arms locked behind my back.

     “You're Killian Kendall?” he asked softly as he unlocked one side of the handcuffs. I gratefully dropped my arms to my side, but he quickly pulled my wrists forward and cuffed them again in front. “I've read about you in the paper.”

     
“About me?”

     “Yeah, I...”

     “Killian!” a familiar voice called from the direction of the street.

     I turned and spotted Micah by the front gate behind the police tape. Another officer stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest, making sure no one dared cross the line.

     “The reporters are here already?” Officer Marshall grumbled. “They're like vultures.”

     “Actually, he's with me,” I said and then I called to Micah,      “Find Novak and Judy.”

     “You shouldn't be talking to him,”
Marshall
said uncertainly.

     “Sorry,” I said and allowed him to push me gently into the back seat. He buckled me in and then he slid in behind the wheel. A metal grill separated the front seat from the back. We didn't speak again until we were on the road.

     “What did you mean you've read about me in the paper?”

     “After you solved that ax murder case. I wasn't on the force yet, but there was a big article about you. It said you'd solved another case too, when you were younger.”

     “Oh, um...I don't know that I solved either of them really.”

     “The article said you did. Is that what you were doing here?”

     “I probably shouldn't say anything...”

     “I'm not going to tell anyone. I think it's awesome that you're so young and you're out there solving crimes that the police can't figure out.”

     “It's not always that they can't,” I said, thinking about Seth and Paul. “Sometimes it's because they don't really care.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Some cases don't seem to get the same priority. Fenton Black was a killer and a criminal and there must be twenty to twenty-five cops crawling around his house, just because he was rich and powerful. I had a friend who was murdered because he was gay and no one cared about finding his killer. The case I'm working on now involves a young guy who was murdered in his own apartment, but because he was a gay escort, nothing happened on his case for over a month.”

     “So you were on a case. Black was involved?”

     I sighed. “I'm not saying anything more about it.”

     
Marshall
looked disappointed. He looked at me in the rear view mirror, his eyes catching mine. “I'm gay too,” he suddenly blurted out.

     I blinked in surprise. I couldn't believe this was actually happening. I was sitting handcuffed in the back of a police car while the cop driving came out to me. This day kept getting more and more bizarre.

     “I've never told anyone before,” he went on.

     “Oh.” I didn't know what else to say.

     “Was that reporter your boyfriend?'

     I nodded. “How did you know he was a reporter?”

     “You get to know the reporters pretty quick around here. It's not like there's that many, and he's been working on that corruption case.” He was quiet for a minute. “I've never had a boyfriend.”

     He obviously wanted to talk about it. “How long have you known?” I asked.

     “That I'm gay?
A long time.
Since junior high at least.”

     “Why didn't you ever tell anyone?”

     “I don't know. I grew up in a small farming town, very rural. All my friends were rednecks. I wasn't like...you
know,
queer acting, so I fit in. It just seemed easier not to tell anyone. I dated a couple girls in high school but it wasn't serious. I never even kissed one of them. Man, it feels good to be telling all this to someone.”

     “Um, glad I can help.”

     “My dad used to be a state trooper, but he was injured in an accident when I was a kid. He always wanted me to become a cop too, so when I graduated high school, I went to community college and went into the police academy as soon as I was old enough. I've never even kissed a guy, but I've thought about it a lot.” He looked at me in the rearview mirror again and I got the feeling he was thinking about it right then.

     “You should, uh, meet more people. Gay people I mean,” I said awkwardly.

     “I don't know where,” he said, blushing. “And I'd be scared. I don't think the guys in the department would be very happy if they found out.” His eyes widened as he thought of something. “You won't tell anyone will you?”

     “No, I won't tell anyone,” I assured him. “I promise. It's not my place to out anyone else.”

     He gave me a tentative smile. “Thanks. Maybe I'll come out some day, but not yet.”

     We arrived at the police station just then, and all conversation about being gay was abruptly dropped. He led me inside, where the officers had apparently been warned of my impending arrival. I was photographed and fingerprinted, just like a real suspect, and then I was allowed to make my phone call. I looked up the phone number for the only lawyer I knew,
Ilana
Constantino
. She was a family lawyer, but she was the only person I could think of to call. I didn't want to panic Adam.
Ilana
agreed to get there as quickly as possible and said she'd call Adam to let him know what was going on.

     I was then led to the holding area. My cuffs were removed and I was locked inside the small featureless cell. My stomach sank as the door swung shut with a loud clang. I sat down on the metal bed built into one wall and suddenly everything caught up to me at once. The lack of sleep, the shock of finding the dead bodies, my fears for Jake, being arrested...whatever had been holding me together completely collapsed and tears began to fall, slowly at first, and then faster as my sobs built. Eventually, I cried myself into an uneasy sleep.

     I startled awake as keys jangled outside my cell. I sat up with a jerk to find the officer who had been giving orders back at Black's house. He didn't look any happier than the last time I'd seen him.

     “You're lawyer is here now,
Kendall
,” he said as he unlocked the door. “If you'd be so kind as to follow me, we'll have that little chat now.”

     I didn't really follow him; he walked a few careful steps behind me, directing me where to go with terse commands. At least he didn't put the cuffs back on. We arrived at an interrogation room, a small room with a table and a few chairs.
Ilana
was waiting at the table, looking as calm and self-assured as always. She was the lawyer that handled all the legal proceedings when Mom gave Adam custody of me, and when Adam had fought his ex-wife for custody of Kane. She was a close friend of the family. It was a comfort just to see her.

     I sat down at the table and the officer sat down across from me. “I'm Detective Rosen,” he told me. “This will all be recorded. Please state your full name.”

     
“Killian Travers Kendall.”

     “Please tell me what you were doing at the estate of Fenton Black this evening when police responded to an anonymous call that a murder had taken place at that address.”

     I looked over at
Ilana
and she nodded. I took a deep breath. “Actually, the anonymous call was me. I was there because I work for Shane Novak; he's a private investigator, retired from the Baltimore City PD.” Rosen didn't look impressed. “I'm working on a case involving a murder in
Washington
DC
, a strangled escort. In the course of my investigation I discovered that Fenton Black was actually the murdered escort's...er, employer. Then I discovered evidence linking him to the killing itself. I turned the evidence over to a Detective Owen Evans of the DC this afternoon and they were planning on moving to arrest Black within the next 24 hours.”

     Rosen was scribbling furiously. He paused when I stopped. “I'm assuming this is the reader's digest version?” he asked dryly.

     
“Yes, sir.”

     “You still haven't explained what you were doing at Black's house.”

     “I was getting to that. The guy that was unconscious behind the couch is a friend of mine. His name is Jake Davis. He used to be Jake Sheridan; maybe you remember the
Sheridan
murders a few years ago.” I could see in his eyes that he did, although he refused to comment. I continued, “I knew he was involved with Black and...
well
...it's a long story...”

     “We've got all the time in world.”

     I took another deep breath. “I guess I felt I owed him a favor, so I wanted to warn him to get out before the police arrived.” I finished up in a small voice.

     “Exactly what do you mean by involved.”

     “I don't know all the details. I've heard that Black was something of a pedophile; he liked his boys young. I think Jake was his...boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he was supplying Jake with drugs.”

     “So you went to warn him that the police were coming?”

     I nodded
miserably,
sure I was going to be charged with something now. I realized just how stupid it had been.

     “What happened when you arrived? I want a detailed step by step account of your movements so we know where you went and what you did.”

     “I parked up the road at a dead-end turnabout.”

     “How'd you know it was there?”

     “A reporter friend told me.” He nodded and I went on. “I walked back and found the gate open. I was trying to decide whether or not to risk going in when a car came along so I went inside to avoid the headlights.” He quirked an eyebrow but I ignored it. “Staying hidden as best I could, I made my way to the back of the house and went in through the garage.”

     “It was all unlocked?”

     “Yes.”

     “And that didn't strike you as odd?”

     
“Maybe a little.
To be honest, I wasn't really thinking very clearly. I was going on a serious lack of sleep; I'd been functioning on adrenaline all day. All I could think about was finding Jake. Anyway, I went inside and it was dark and very quiet. I went down the hall and I saw a light on in the kitchen. I went in and found the guy. He was...dead.” I stop and gulped. “I called the police right away.”

     “But you didn't leave your name and then you stayed.”

     “I don't know why I didn't leave my name. I guess I didn't want anyone to know I was there. Especially if there was a chance I might still be able to find Jake and leave. I told you, I wasn't thinking clearly.”

     “What happened next?”

     “I searched the rest of the first floor and then went upstairs. The door to the sitting room was closed, but I saw a light on so I opened it. There was one guy in the middle of the floor. He was dead too. The door to the bedroom was open so I went in and turned the lights on. That's when I found Fenton Black. I was about to leave when I saw Jake behind the couch. And that's pretty much when you came in.”

     “Do you know of any reason why someone might want to kill Fenton Black?”

     I almost sighed with relief. Maybe they didn't suspect Jake after all. “I imagine people were lining up for the privilege. He was a drug dealer, he ran an illegal escort agency, he was involved with the mafia, and he was behind the corruption with the land deals here on the Shore.”