“No, it sure doesn’t,” Chase agreed. “And he’s not putting in a lot of effort to prove he didn’t do it either.”
“Almost as if he doesn’t care if he goes to prison or not.”
They both stared at the man, who sat hunched over, staring down at the tabletop.
Just then, an officer popped her head in.“Rick Careen is here. Says he wants to see you as soon as possible.”
Chase nodded curtly, and he and Odelia left the small room, followed by yours truly and Dooley, of course. We didn’t want to miss a thing!
Chase didn’t want to put Rick into one of the interrogation rooms, so he talked to the young man in his office instead, which was a lot less threatening or bleak.
Rick glanced around at the posters announcing that the police are your friend, and a warning that you shouldn’t give pickpockets the opportunity to go through your pockets. It seemed like good advice, though of course cats don’t have pockets, so we’ve got those nasty pickpockets fooled.
“So what did you want to talk to me about, Rick?” asked Chase.
“Is my dad still here?” asked Rick, gesturing in the general direction of the precinct.
“Your dad is helping us with our inquiries right now,” said Chase gently.
“I want you to let him go,” said the kid, nodding seriously.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“I’m here to tell you that… that it was me,” said the young man.
“It was you what?” asked Chase, puzzled.
“It was me who did it,” said Rick. “I killed those men. Not my dad.”
“You killed them?” asked Chase, exchanging a look with Odelia.
“Yes, I did. I want to confess. So you see? You can let my dad go now. He didn’t do it. I did.”
“Okay, so tell me some more about that. Take me through the scene, if you will, Rick?”
“Well, first I… I killed… Jona Morro. Because he’s one of the men who killed my sister.”
“And how did you kill Mr. Morro?”
“I, um, I dropped a car on top of him.”
“And how, exactly, did you accomplish that?”
“Easy. I’m a forester. I’m used to cutting down trees. So I simply cut down that car and dropped it on top of him.”
“And Mr. Morro just lay there? He didn’t fight back?”
Rick thought for a moment.“That’s because I hit him first. Knocked him out?” He glanced over to Chase, to see how his words were received.
“Okay, and how about Joel Timperley? Did you kill him, too?”
“Of course. I killed all of them. All four.”
“So talk me through it, Rick. What happened?”
“I, um, I walked into his office and I said I wanted to talk to him.”
“When was this?”
“Um, two nights ago?”
“What time?”
“Ten, no, eleven o’clock.”
“So you walked into his office, and then what?”
“Then I said I wanted him to show me the display. You know, the display for the new Zeus movie? I said I was a big fan, and I wanted him to show it to me.”
“And he didn’t think that was odd? That you wanted to see the display at eleven at night?”
“No, because I said I was such a big fan, see. And so we walked down, and that’s when I hit him.”
“You hit him.”
“Yes, I knocked him out, then strung him up right next to his friend’s… model.”
Chase eyed the young man kindly.“Rick, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m afraid it won’t do your father any good.”
“But I did it!” Rick cried, jumping up from his chair. “I killed them!”
“No, you didn’t.”
Rick sank back down, as tears sprang to his eyes.
“It’s all right, Rick,” said Odelia softly. “You love your dad very much, don’t you?”
Rick nodded wordlessly.
“So he wasn’t with you the morning Jona Morro was killed? Or Dunc Hanover?”
Rick shook his head.“I don’t know where he went. He said he had some things to take care of, but he wouldn’t say what. I’m afraid—I’ve been afraid that…”
“That he permanently took care of the men he holds responsible for your sister’s death?”
Rick nodded.“He’s a good man, detective. He’s my hero. And if he did… something, I know he did it because he believed it was the right thing to do.”
“Rick tried to help his dad,” said Dooley. “But the only thing he succeeded in doing is putting his dad in even bigger trouble than he was already in.”
“Yeah, looks like Dominic’s alibi just blew up in his face.”
“Where was your dad when Joel was killed?” asked Chase.
“Out,” said Rick.
“Just like those other times?”
“Yeah.”
“And last night?”
“He said he was going to the woods to check on the cabin.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
“He didn’t want me to. Said he could handle it.”
“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when he came back?”
“I don’t know. By the time he returned I’d already gone to bed.”
“Hasn’t he said anything to you about where he was? Or to your mom?”
“Mom asked him about it, but he said it was best if she didn’t know.”
“That must have got you worried.”
“It did.” He lifted a teary face to Chase. “I think he did it, detective. I think he went out there and killed those men. And now I don’t know what to do.”
“What does your mom think?”
“The same. We haven’t talked about it, but I can tell she thinks Dad killed them.” He gulped. “He killed them all, didn’t he? And now he’s going to rot in prison for the rest of his life, and Mom is going to die alone—without him. And all because the police couldn’t make the men whokilled Poppy pay for their crime.”
Chapter 33
Harriet and Brutus were back at the offices of Morro& Wissinski, insurance agents, and things were a little worrisome. Omar Wissinski, ever since he was conked over the head, had been behaving strangely. That morning he arrived late, and was in a real state.
“He’s dead!” he cried when he finally walked in, one hour late.
“Who’s dead, Mr. Wissinski?” asked Scarlett, who’d been patiently doing her nails when her boss had failed to put in an appearance.
“Sergio, of course!”
Scarlett’s jaw dropped. “Zeus is dead? Oh, no!”
Omar was pacing the office, clutching at his hair for some reason, as if hoping it would provide the answers he was looking for.“She killed him. I just know she did!”
“Who killed him?” asked Scarlett, looking to the entrance just in case she needed to make a quick getaway.
Omar stopped pacing and planted himself in front of Scarlett’s desk, eyeing her feverishly. “Why, the Careen woman, of course. They arrested Dominic, you know.”
“Oh, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” asked Scarlett, trying to get the man to calm down.
“It is good. It’s very good. But it’s not good enough, is it? They should arrest Kristina, too. She’s behind this whole thing—I just know she is!”
“But isn’t Kristina Careen agro-phobic? Or something?”
“That’s what she says. But I’m sure she’s faking it!”
“But she hasn’t left the house in thirteen years.”
“Of course she has. When no one is watching, she leaves that house—to kill my friends!”
“That’s what Gran said,” Harriet whispered.
“I know she did, sugar pie,” said Brutus.
“She was right. Kristina Careen is faking it!”
“But if she’s faking it, don’t you think someone would have seen her?” asked Scarlett.
“It’s easy enough to make sure you’re not seen if you don’t want to be,” said Omar, who’d returned to pacing the floor. “You don a disguise, or you only leave the house after dark.” He wheeled on Scarlett. “Which is why both Joel and Sergio were killed at night! Of course! Kristina killed Joel and Sergio, and Dominic killed Jona and Dunc and tried to kill me!” He uttered a small cry of anguish and clasped a hand to his face, eyes wide. “She’s coming for me next, isn’t she? Dominic is in jail, but she’s still out there, biding her time.” He glanced to the door, and when he saw the sturdy form of the security man standing sentinel, he seemed to lose some of his anguish. “She can’t come in here, though, can she?”