She grabbed the back of Kenny’s chair, yanking it from the table and around so that he had nothing to lean on. His eyes flew open, went cold, closed again. “Fine,” she said. “We’ll see how stubborn he’ll be in the general population at the jail.”
“You can’t,” Oaks signed. Danni’s voice trembled as she spoke for her father.
“Watch me,” Olivia snapped back. “Just watch me.”
“He’s a kid,” Roger said aloud, signing at the same time. He was hearing impaired, but she could understand him. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I don’t know that. So I’m going to assume the very worst.” Olivia yanked her handcuffs from her belt and snapped one on Kenny’s wrist.
Kenny’s eyes flew open, stubbornness flashing to panic. “No!” he cried aloud.
Olivia cuffed his hands behind him, then pushed him back in the chair. She had his full attention now. She turned to Danni Oaks, her temper close to breaking.
“Tell him he will talk to me or I will arrest him for hindering an investigation. Tell him my partner died to save his sorry ass and if he doesn’t start talking in the next ten seconds every cop downtown will know why he’s there. Tell him I am sick and tired of his games and I want answers and I want them now.”
Danni signed rapidly, then Oaks stepped in front of Kenny and began to sign.
“What’s he saying?” Olivia asked when Danni didn’t immediately voice.
“To please cooperate. That his own life could be in danger.”
Kenny shot Olivia a look of impotent rage. “Let me go,” he voiced thickly.
“Not until he talks,” Olivia said and Danni signed it, giving Olivia a fearful look.
“How?” Kenny roared.
“He can’t talk if you’ve cuffed his hands,” Danni said quietly. “Please let him go.”
“You’ll cooperate?” Olivia asked him. Danni signed it and Kenny nodded furiously.
Olivia looked at Noah. “Well?” she asked. “Should I let him go?”
“He can’t sign without his hands, Liv,” Noah said mildly. “Let him go.” Olivia noticed Danni’s expression softened when she interpreted for Noah. Kenny’s did, too.
Olivia unlocked the cuffs. “So talk to me, Kenny. First, what did this guy look like?”
Kenny rubbed his wrists resentfully. He deliberately turned halfway in his chair so that he answered Noah. Good cop, bad cop, Olivia thought, satisfied.
“Average,” he signed. “My height, about my weight, average face. He wore a hat.”
Olivia looked at Roger. “Anything you can add?”
Roger shrugged helplessly. “He had a badge, a white shirt. He looked like a cop.”
Olivia nodded. “I know. You told someone when he took Kenny away?”
“Yes. It wasn’t right. He’d taken Kenny away from the cops, not to them. I couldn’t leave my kids alone. I was trying to get the attention of one of the officers when the detective arrived with a piece of paper with Kenny’s name. I pointed around the building. He went running after them and then another cop followed him.”
Roger touched his hearing aid with a tiny wince. “I heard the shot and the second cop came back with Kenny. It didn’t take long for the story to spread, that the detective was dead.” His eyes were stark. “I’m sorry. I know he was your partner. I wish…”
The look she gave Roger was gentle, but inside she was screaming. “I know, but your quick thinking helped Detective Kane save Kenny’s life.” She turned her gaze to Kenny sharply. “My partner died protecting you. What. Do. You. Know?”
Kenny sagged. “My friend saw something,” he signed, slowly. “Sunday night.”
Olivia tapped Kenny’s knee. “Tell me,” she said softly.
“He was at the condo fire. He came back”-Kenny glanced at Oaks from the corner of his eye-“through the window.” Oaks firmed his lips but said nothing.
“He was with Tracey Mullen,” Olivia said. “The girl who died.”
Kenny nodded. “He met her at camp. We were both there.”
“What’s your friend’s name, son?” Noah asked, his face kind.
“Austin Dent.”
Oaks frowned. “Austin was suspended Monday morning. He was smoking in his dorm room. Now that makes sense. We sent him home.”
“Where is Austin’s home?” Olivia asked.
“Duluth.” Oaks fingerspelled it. “I’ll look up his address.”
Noah wrote it down. “At least our shooter doesn’t know where Austin lives.”
Kenny looked sick, his hands trembling as he signed. “The man… He got my cell phone. He has my texts. My phone list. He has Austin’s address.”
Noah was already on his feet. “I’ll call the state police. They can pick Austin up. If the guy drove directly there from here, he’s still two hours away.”
When Noah was gone, Olivia settled in her chair. “What did Austin tell you?”
“Sunday night, he was so upset. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know what he’d done.” Now that he’d started, Kenny’s signs were frantic, but Danni kept up. “He smelled like smoke.” Again he glanced at Oaks from the corner of his eye. “I asked if what he’d done was worse than getting caught smoking and he said yes. So I gave him my cigarettes. We figured Roger would smell the smoke, but he’d think it was from the cigarettes.”
“So Austin got suspended,” Olivia said. “And he never told you anything more?”
Kenny looked away. “He texted me yesterday morning. Said he needed to tell the cops what happened, but anonymously. He asked me to send a letter for him. From a mailbox downtown. That way you wouldn’t know it was him.”
They were just scared kids. But if they’d said something, Kane might… She had to take a moment, let the tightness in her chest pass. “What did the letter say?”
“That he saw a man shoot that security guard. Then the man got in a boat that he’d tied to the dock and got away. That Austin was in the building when it started burning. He was with a girl. He thought she’d gotten out with him, but she didn’t. He couldn’t get back in. The door locked and he’d lost his key inside. He didn’t think you’d believe him.”
“All right,” Olivia murmured. “Kenny, I need to understand. Why, in God’s name, didn’t you tell us this when we asked you yesterday?”
Kenny looked away again and Olivia caught the clenching of his jaw. “Because of Tracey,” he signed. “She was supposed to be mine. Austin knew.”
Olivia closed her eyes, needing a moment to control the sudden rush of fury. “You didn’t tell us because you were mad at your friend for meeting the girl you liked in the condo?” She spoke very slowly. Kenny shot her an uneasy look as Danni interpreted.
“You said they had sex,” Kenny signed, his face anguished. “She was mine. Not Austin’s. I didn’t know she even liked him. She pretended to like me. They must have thought I was pretty funny. Then Austin, wanting me to risk myself, mailing his damn letter. I figured, no.”
“So you never mailed the letter?” Olivia asked, still very slowly.
Kenny shook his head. “Am I in trouble?”
Am I in trouble? Kane was dead and all this kid cared about was his own skin. Self-centered, worthless, piece of- She made herself stop. He’s a teenager. He was angry and scared. He didn’t know this would happen. You can’t blame him. But she did.
“I don’t know.” She looked away, ran a shaking hand over her hair.
Noah sat beside her. “Breathe,” he murmured. He’d heard it all. He understood. “Kenny, what did Austin say the killer looked like?”
“Tall, with brown hair.”
“Old? Young?” Noah pushed gently.
“Not too old, like not as old as our parents. But older than us.” Kenny shook his head. “It wasn’t very specific. I promise I’m not lying.”
Noah drew a breath, let it out carefully. “Did he sound like he could be the man who grabbed you tonight?”
Kenny’s shrug was pained. “I don’t know. I was too scared to look at him.”
“I saw him,” Roger inserted. “He was maybe six feet tall, not really muscular, but not fat. He had a large nose.”