“Did you see the weapon?” Undercover Man asked.
“It was a handgun.”
The uniformed officer opened a notepad. “What did he look like?”
“About my age. Average height and weight.”
Casey stared at Watts. “A middle-aged man?”
Two police cruisers pulled up.
“Yeah, with dark watery eyes, and he had a big nose.”
Casey’s mouth grew dry and the adrenaline soared. “Oh.”
“I ain’t saying more till I see a lawyer.”
Undercover Man didn’t look pleased. “Get him out of here.”
The officer escorted Watts into a cruiser.
“I know someone who fits that description,” Wesley murmured to Casey. “He was at the funeral, and I’ve seen him a couple of times when I was at Jasmine’s place.”
“Me, too.”
“The apartment manager, right?”
“Yeah.” She shivered in the cool night air. “Paval Gallenski.”
THIRTY-TWO
DAMN IT, ANOTHER BLOODY COP had dismissed her. Casey had lost track of the times she’d busted someone, called police to process the suspect, then once they arrived, had been brushed off in countless irritating ways. Tonight, Undercover Man had said, “We’ll take over from here, Miss. Go back to your bus, and stay away from Mr. Gallenski.” She was almost sorry she’d told the New Westminster police about Paval. Corporal Lundy was the one who needed to know. Although Undercover Man assured her he’d contact Lundy, Casey had left her own message for the corporal.
Traffic was sparse now at ten-thirty, so Casey sped through the intersection, anxious to get home and then go see Summer. After a brief chat with Stan a half hour ago, she’d called Summer to tell her she’d caught the rockhound. She’d left out any reference to Paval.
“That’s awesome. You won’t have to work nights for a while,” Summer had said. “Can we celebrate with some double chocolate fudge ice cream? There’s still a full carton in the fridge, and you could pick it up before you came over, right?”
Since it was Friday night and Casey felt like celebrating herself, she’d agreed. When she called Lou to give him a more detailed account of events, his response was less positive.
“For god’s sake, Casey, you were in Paval’s apartment yesterday. You could have been killed.”
“Only if I’d accused him of murder, and I’m not that stupid.”
“This freak passes himself off as a gentle guy who loves kids and pets, when he actually killed two women, beat up a senior, and threatened kids’ lives. God knows what he’s done to the babies he looks after.”
After Lou’s tirade, he told her that his sister had brought his truck back from Parksville and that he insisted on picking her up. “Pack a bag,” he’d added. “We’re not staying there until the bastard’s caught. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
His call had left her edgy. She thought about phoning Marie to tell her what had happened, but she was furious with her. Marie’s friendship with Paval had made it easy for him track her movements. He must have seen the gun rack in Wesley’s truck when Wes had visited Jasmine. Paval could have asked Jasmine about Wesley’s interest in firearms. When he decided to kill Jasmine, he probably broke into Wesley’s apartment.
Now she understood why Jasmine had kept those two photos in her locker. She’d probably found them while searching the Gallenskis’ place for her missing jewelry. It would have been like Jasmine to confront Paval about the photos, or accuse Ursula of stealing. No wonder she’d planned to move away and hadn’t been that upset when Stan suspended her.
Paval could have seen Jasmine leave to pick Jeremy up from preschool. She might have gone to the church early that day to avoid spending more time at home than necessary. Still, Paval looked after little kids weekdays, so how had he pulled it off? Noel’s van was stolen at 3:00 AM. Had Ursula driven him there, or had he gone himself and left his car within walking distance of Noel’s house? Noel had been to Jasmine’s apartment many times, so maybe he knew what Paval drove. If he did, he could ask his neighbors if they’d seen the vehicle. It was a long shot, but worth a try.
Casey drove past Rhonda’s big old house on the corner and made a right turn into the lane behind the house. She pulled into her parking spot and, turning off the engine, studied the house. As expected, the lights on the main floor and in her third-floor suite were out. The two studio suites on the second floor were also in darkness. The tenants’ cars weren’t parked at their usual spots, but they were rarely home these days. She didn’t blame them for wanting to stay away. The students had come home when the police and paramedics were here yesterday, and she had to tell them about Winifred. Both girls were understandably nervous about being here until the assailant was caught.
Casey looked at the dying cedar hedge separating Rhonda’s property from the sidewalk on Violet. Scanning the yard, she hurried out of her car, up the steps, and into the kitchen, locking the door behind her. She flipped on the light and listened to the silent house.
She peered into the refrigerator’s freezer to make sure the double chocolate fudge was there. Having access to a fridge here on the ground floor and another in her apartment had proven handy when it came to keeping the fattening food out of easy reach.
Casey marched down the dark hallway and upstairs. Normally, the creaking stairs didn’t bother her, but with all that had happened lately, the noise unnerved her. When she entered her apartment, the guinea pigs began their usual chorus of whistling.
“How about a treat guys? You might as well celebrate too.”
Casey flung her coat onto the sofa, and then fed the animals fresh veggies. When she was done, she retrieved Noel’s phone number. Seconds later, she heard his voice and background chatter.
“Have I called at a bad time?” she asked.
“No, we’re just playing poker. Hold on a sec.”
Casey heard the voices fade. She sat in her rocking chair and waited until Noel said, “I was hoping you’d call. Marie told me about Gabrielle’s murder. It’s bloody awful.”
“I know, and I’m pretty sure Paval Gallenski did it.”
“What?” Noel paused. “You’re joking, right?”
“He’s been identified as the guy who took a shot at me the other night.”
“Oh, my god.”
“Corporal Lundy confirmed that Gabrielle’s silver Jetta was in the church parking lot when Jasmine was shot. I think she might have tried to blackmail him.”
Noel let out a whistle.
“Gabrielle met Paval three days earlier when she came to see Jasmine,” Casey added. “She must have recognized him at the church, and there’s something else.” Casey told Noel about the Gallenskis’ bathroom; how the photo of Jeremy had likely been taken there.
“Shit, I can’t believe this. Paval looked after Jeremy for over a year and the little guy always seemed happy around him. If Jasmine had heard even a whisper about abuse she would have moved out right away.”
“Maybe taking a photo was all Paval did. From what I’ve read about aberrant behavior, people don’t just wake up one morning and decide to become sexual predators. The urge develops over a period of time.”
“I can’t wrap my head around this,” Noel said. “I mean, Jasmine really liked him. And why didn’t she tell me about Paval and those photos?”
“She was about to give your ring back, so maybe she thought you’d be too angry to take much interest in her problems. I just wish she’d taken the photos to the police.”
“Yeah well, given that her abuser got away with his crime, I know how useless she thought cops were.”
“That photo would have made her mad enough to threaten Paval with the police and want to move,” Casey said. “Do you know what kind of car he drives?”