The room felt as though the air had been drained from it, like it’d been hit in the gut, until Cervantes broke the silence.
“Shit, this little creep? He did it?”
As much as I couldn’t believe it either, it appeared a confession was forthcoming. I had questions, sure. What happened to the other man? But I supposed that would come in the next few minutes.
Cassie placed both hands on the window. I glanced over. Her eyes were shut. Her head swung side to side.
“What is it?” I asked her.
She said nothing. Someone else had her attention.
“The hell is wrong with her?” Cervantes said.
“You’ve worked with her,” I said. “Shit like this just happens.”
Inside the interrogation room, the mood had changed. The scared, scrawny man no longer looked so scared. His lips formed a slight smile. He sat up, shoulders back, hand clutching an imaginary knife.
Now Pennington hunched forward, like a leopard ready to pounce. He only needed Seth to make one statement. The trick was leading him there.
“What was the weather like at that point?” Pennington asked.
“Felt like walking through a hailstorm of bullets, man. Wind was ripping down the street. Water pelting me in every direction. I figured out pretty quick that if I huddled up next to a house, it was a lot easier than walking down the middle of the road.”
“And how far away were you?”
“Couple blocks is all.”
“Okay. So on your way back to Alice’s house, did you see anything?”
“Nah. Too dark. Rain was too thick.”
“What were you thinking as you were making your way back to the house?”
Seth smirked. “I’m gonna kill that bitch. Only thought going through my mind.” He hummed a few bars of blues, then sang, “I’m gonna kill that bitch tonight.”
Pennington placed his hands on the table, palms down. He lowered himself an inch or two, slightly below eye level of the other man. He was going for the close. “Seth, did you? Did you kill Alice?”
A long silence ensued. It sounded like the three of us standing behind the glass were in the middle of panic attacks. Our breathing was rapid, shallow. The glass in front of me fogged up with every exhale. It felt as though my heart was going to explode.
“I got there and the front door was still locked. I checked for the spare again, figuring maybe I was being too hasty last time. Still didn’t find it. Was about to try and kick the door in, but I changed my mind at the last second.”
“Why? Seems like the quickest way inside.”
“Someone might be watching. Might call the cops.”
“You didn’t think standing out there in the middle of a hurricane with a large knife was enough to raise suspicion?”
Seth shrugged. “Dunno.”
“So what’d you do to get inside?”
“Went around back.”
Pennington nodded. “You broke in through the rear door.”
Seth took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled. His lips flapped together. Sounded like an eighteen-wheeler blowing out a tire. “I didn’t break in,” he said after a few moments, shrugging and holding out his hands.
“The back door was unlocked when you returned?”
“No, Detective.” Seth brushed his open hand across the table. “It was open.”
“Unlocked?”
“I mean wide open, man. I stepped in and the little bit of light there was glinted off the floor. At first I thought the rain had gotten in. I bent down, stuck my fingers in the puddle. Knew right then it wasn’t water.”
“What’d you do?”
“There’s a junk drawer by the sink, next to the door. I found a cheap flashlight in there. Switched it on. Sure enough, kitchen floor was covered in blood. Tracks and trails, leading from the hall to the back door.”
“You sure about this?”
“Of course I’m sure. I saw it.”
“Was this the first time you saw it? You don’t recall a time lapse, anything like that?”
“You think I blacked out and killed all of them?” Seth pushed back from the table and stood.
Pennington mirrored him. Cervantes exited the room and joined his partner.
“Seth said ‘all,’” I said, not sure if Cassie had rejoined us yet.
“And?” Cassie said. Whoever had grabbed her attention was gone.
“What was he doing in Alice’s room? Trying to find a clue or something? Mourning her? Jerking off?”
After some shouting by Cervantes, the situation in the interrogation room returned to normal. Seth sat back down. So did Pennington. Cervantes remained in the room by the door with his hand where his pistol normally resided.
“I saw all that blood,” Seth said. “And I panicked.” He chuckled softly. “I freaked out is more like it. Ran out of there, tossed the knife into some hedges about a block away, and just ran until I reached a park, where I took shelter in the bathroom with some homeless guy until the storm let up.”
Pennington asked a few more questions, but they led nowhere. Finally, he cuffed Seth.
“What’s this?” Seth asked. “Are you arresting me?”
“You won’t have to worry about where you’re staying for a few nights,” Pennington said. “We’re keeping you on suspicion.”
“Suspicion of what?” Seth thrashed against the man. “I told you, I didn’t do nothing. Let me go.”
“Get him out of here,” Pennington said to his partner.
Cervantes escorted the yelling man out of the room. His shouts faded a few moments later. Pennington joined us behind the glass.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I dunno, man,” I said. “Lots of probable cause from what he told you. Then he admits entering the house with a weapon and intent to kill.”
“I know. His DNA is all over that place, too. Practically every room. But he’d been going there for months, so that’s easy for the defense to write-off.”
“Was it on the women?”
Pennington shook his head. “We weren’t that lucky. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been hesitant with him.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Maybe the story about the other guy isn’t the truth. Maybe they were working together.”
Pennington shrugged and then reached out for Cassie’s arm. “What about you? You buy what just happened?”
“It makes sense,” Cassie said. “On a couple levels. His rage, I can see, I guess. But why kill all the women? Alice was the one who fueled his rage. And if you charge him, are we to believe that Alice is dead? And why would he go back to the house?”
“You gotta find that knife, Pennington,” I said. “If what he said is true, that he chucked it, it’ll provide an answer. Even if only a partial one. Something will be left behind on it if he used it on the women.”
“I’m with you, Tanner. I’ll get a group together to search once he gives up the location. In the meantime, you two get going. We’ve got a ton of paperwork, so nothing to do here for a bit. I’ll be in touch soon.”
We parted with Pennington in the hallway. Cassie led me to the rear parking lot. It was midday, and hot as hell. The sun beat down on the asphalt. Smelled like walking through a tar pit. I had to check and make sure the soles of my shoes weren’t melting to the ground.
“Always this hot this time of year?” I said as we got inside the sweltering car.
“No,” Cassie said. “Nothing like this.”
I put the AC on full blast and rolled down the windows. All it did was push hot air around. At least there was the promise of cooling off soon.
“It’s been a rough one,” I said. “Want me to take you home?”
Cassie adjusted her vent, looked at me, said, “No, I want you to take me out to eat.”