“Something about the evidence was off?” said Milo.
“No, no, nothing like that. What I’m getting at is in my field you learn to observe. People, their reactions. Kind of like what you do, Doctor.”
I nodded.
“I’m a little uncomfortable getting into this,” said Daney. “It’s nothing I’d want to sign my name to, and I really wouldn’t be comfortable going on record as the source. But if you could confirm it independently…”
He broke off. Scratched his beard. Shook his head. “Sorry for waffling, but it’s…”
He slung his jaw, shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe it’s not a good idea.”
Milo said, “We’re in bad shape on this one, Reverend. Anything you can tell us would be helpful. And if it’s something I can confirm independently, I promise you I will.”
“Okay,” said Daney. “First, let me say that I never brought this up because the boys had clearly done the crime. That isn’t to say I didn’t think they deserved compassion. But everyone had suffered enough, there was simply no point.”
He reached for another doughnut. Chose blindly and extracted an apple turnover. Holding the pastry in one hand, he watched as flakes of dough snowed on the table.
“Eye color,” he said, barely audible. “Little Kristal had brown eyes. I’d never have noticed, but in the evidence packet were photos of that poor little girl. In life and in death. The postmortem shots I couldn’t bring myself to look at. The others were baby pictures, the prosecution was going to use them to build sympathy. Emphasizing how small and cute she’d been… that’s neither here nor there. The point is I saw those photos, but at that time the fact that Kristal’s eyes were brown didn’t mean much. Until I noticed that both Lara and Barnett had pale eyes. Hers were blue or green, I’m not sure. His are definitely blue. I’m no geneticist, but I’ve learned enough science to know that brown eyes are dominant and light-eyed parents usually can’t have dark-eyed kids. I had my suspicions, but like I say, there was no reason to open that can of worms, who would it help? But last night, after you called and asked me to give the case some serious thought, I went on the Internet to confirm and it’s highly unlikely- close to impossible- for two blue-eyed parents to produce a brown-eyed child.”
His speech had grown rapid and the last few words had tapered to whispers, inaudible. Gulping air, he exhaled and put the turnover down. “I’m not out to slander anyone but…”
“Kristal wasn’t Malley’s kid,” said Milo. “Whoa.”
“It’s the only logical conclusion, Lieutenant. And that could be the source of Mr. Malley’s rage.”
“Kristal was nearly two,” said Milo. “You’d think Malley would’ve figured it out.”
“He struck me as an unsophisticated person. He worked rodeos or something like that.”
“Rodeos?”
“Riding, roping, or at least that’s what I heard,” said Daney. “From the defense.”
“Sounds like Ms. Weider did her background research.”
“You bet. She was extremely hardworking and thorough. I was glad when she got the case.”
“You were involved before she got the case?” I said. “I thought she brought you on as a support-person.”
“Just the opposite, actually,” said Daney. “I brought her on. Not officially, but I had a hand in it.”
“How so?”
“I knew Troy from working with him at 415 City. I also knew Ms. Weider from some other youth work I’d done. My seminary had a program, working with inner-city teens, trying to get them involved in summer activities. In the course of that, I developed some contacts with the Public Defender’s Office, because that’s where so many of our kids ended up. I knew several of the P.D.s, but thought Ms. Weider would be perfect for the boys. Because she was so thorough. I called her and asked if she could help out. She said there was a system in place but she’d see what she could do.”
“As a favor to you.”
“Partly,” said Daney. “To be honest, the case attracted her because it was high-profile. She was pretty ambitious.”
“And then she asked you to stay on for support,” said Milo.
“Exactly.”
“You ever tell her about the eye color thing?”
“No, like I said, I didn’t see the point.”
Milo exhaled. “Wow… that’s a bombshell, all right. Thank you, Rev.”
“I don’t like telling tales, but…”
“So you’re figuring Rand knew Kristal wasn’t Malley’s kid and mentioned it to Malley.”
“No, no,” said Daney. “I hadn’t taken it that far.”
“But it coulda happened that way.”
“No, I honestly don’t think so, Lieutenant. How would Rand know?”
“Same way you did. He noticed.”
Daney shook his head. “Rand just wasn’t that observant. But even if he did know, there’d be no reason to throw it in Malley’s face.”
“What, then?”
“What I’m getting at- and this is really out there- is maybe Barnett Malley wasn’t a total victim.”
Daney flinched, pushed the turnover away. “I feel like I’m… wading into something and I’m really not comfortable. Sorry.” Pushing up a corduroy sleeve, he peered at a black-faced sports watch. Milo placed a hand on his arm. Flashed that lupine smile. Daney stiffened for a second. Dropped his shoulders, shot us a look of misery.
“I’ve got that sinking feeling, guys, like when you’ve gone too far, you know?”
I said, “You’re saying Malley found out Lara had cheated on him, built up a whole lot of rage, and decided to act out against Kristal.”
“I don’t want to say more,” said Daney. “Because I’m scared and not ashamed to admit it.”
“Scared of Malley?” said Milo.
“A lot of people depend on me, Detective. That’s why I don’t skydive or ride a motorcycle or go mountain climbing.”
“Miss all that?”
“Not anymore,” said Daney. “Now, I really need to get going- ”
I said, “It’s a whole new way of looking at it, Milo.” To Daney: “Did Malley know Troy and Rand before the murder?”
“I wouldn’t know,” said Daney.
“Lara went to the mall frequently and so did the boys. So there’d be opportunity for Barnett to see them, as well.” I turned back to Milo: “They hung out at that arcade. Maybe Malley was into video games, too. Being an unsophisticated guy.”
Both of us stared at Daney.
He said, “It’s possible.”
Milo said, “Troy and Rand never mentioned knowing Malley? After they got arrested?”
“Troy definitely didn’t,” said Daney. “I wasn’t talking much to Rand, he was pretty nonverbal back then. Right, Doctor?”
“You bet,” I said. “But I always got the feeling he was holding back.”
“Defensive,” he said. “Yes, I sensed the same thing.”
“Frustrating.”
“I tried to open him up,” said Daney, “but not being a psychologist, I didn’t want to step into uncharted territory. In the end, it didn’t matter because the case got settled optimally. Or so I thought.”
“What do you mean?” said Milo.
“Look what happened to Troy. And to Rand.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Rev. About Rand not being perceptive. But if he really knew Malley had some culpability, would he hold on to it for eight years?”
“Maybe,” said Daney, “he was confused.” He stood quickly. “I’m sorry, this is getting way too complicated and there’s nothing more I can tell you. If it ends up helping you, great. But please keep my name out of it.”
He ran his hands over his shirt, as if brushing off dirt.
Milo got up and faced him, used his height to advantage. “Absolutely, sir. I wouldn’t lose too much sleep because, to be honest, I don’t see any way of pursuing any of this.”