CHAPTER FIFTY

 

Beverly accompanied Stone Palmer to visit Isabel Santiago, the woman who was apparently the mother of both Rafael Santiago and Manuel Gonzalez.

The lady has some explaining to do. Beverly assumed that Manuel had been given up at some point for adoption. Or was it Rafael who was adopted? The birth records hadn’t been very clear either way.

While they waited for the lie detector test to be administered to Manuel Gonzalez, Beverly hoped to gain some insight into both he and Santiago from the one person who might be best able to fill in the blanks on the two violent men.

“Do you think Gonzalez did it?” Beverly asked the detective.

Stone glanced at her from behind the wheel. He hated to be wrong on this one with so much at stake, but owed her an opinion. “Well, there’s no question in my mind that the man’s a cold blooded killer with at least three victims. As to whether or not Gonzalez was responsible for Judge Crawford’s death and attacking his wife, it doesn’t exactly fit. But then again, Gonzalez is making a strong case for himself. What do you think?”

“I think that Gonzalez and Santiago are guilty of trying to manipulate us to serve their own best interests,” Beverly answered bluntly. “As to which one committed the crimes against the Crawfords, my gut instincts tell me we’ve got the right man in Rafael Santiago. But the lie detector test may make me rethink my position. And maybe whatever Isabel Santiago has to say...”

“Fair enough.” Stone knew her neck was on the line here as much as his was. Any missteps for either of them could hurt their individual cases and adversely affect their careers.

* * *

When Stone identified himself and Beverly to Isabel Santiago, she unlocked the door and let them in.

“You’re here to talk about my son, Rafael?” Isabel asked warily.

Beverly gazed at her. “We’re here to talk about your other son, Manuel Gonzalez.” She detected fear in the old woman’s craggy face at the mention of the name. “He is Rafael’s identical twin, isn’t he?”

Isabel nodded, slumping onto a chair. “How did you find out?”

“DNA test confirmed that they were identical twins,” Stone said.

“Both of your sons are in serious trouble,” Beverly told her. “We need to know why. Our records had shown that they weren’t related. We’d like you to help us out here—for them.”

With some effort, Isabel leaned over and picked up the cat that scurried over to her. She sat it on her lap and became thoughtful. “I was still living in Cuba when I got pregnant. My lover didn’t want anything to do with me when he found out, so he went back to his wife and I was left all alone. When I found out I was carrying twins, I knew I couldn’t raise them both by myself. I had to choose between them...”

“And you chose Rafael?” guessed Beverly.

Isabel nodded sadly. “If I could do it over again, I would’ve kept them both. But I gave one to my American friend, Rosa. She always wanted a child, but couldn’t have any of her own. She knew the right people and was able to pass him off as her own. She brought Manuel to live with her in this country. Later I came here myself with Rafael.”

She paused, petting her cat almost mechanically. “When Manuel got into too much trouble in Los Angeles where my friend lived, she sent him to live with me here. We agreed that Manuel would be my nephew. But he was more like a stranger. He and Rafael didn’t get along very well. Both were in and out of trouble with the law. I finally had to ask Manuel to leave my house, to try and save Rafael.”

“But you couldn’t?” Beverly regarded the woman, knowing that Rafael had killed his pregnant girlfriend at the very least.

Isabel wiped at tears in her eyes. “No. I lost them both to the streets and drugs.”

“When did they find out they were identical twins?” Stone asked.

Isabel stared at the question. “Manuel made me tell him three weeks ago,” she confessed. “He suspected it for a long time. I thought if I told him it might help get his life back on track.” Her eyes lowered, defeated.

“Do you know if Manuel has been in contact with Rafael?” Beverly asked. Prison and jail records had shown no interaction between the two, but she knew there were ways around that for experienced inmates. Or determined criminal brothers.

Isabel’s mouth furrowed. “Neither of them has talked about it, but I think my sons have been communicating since Rafael was arrested. Now Manuel is in the same boat. Maybe it’s best. I don’t have to be sacred no more.”

Beverly felt sorry for what this woman had already been put through. She wished they could leave it at that, but as a prosecutor she had a job to perform in the interest of justice.

“Manuel has confessed to crimes that Rafael has been charged with,” she pointed out. “Since their DNA matches, we’re not sure who the real culprit is. Maybe you can help keep one of them from taking the rap for crimes he didn’t commit.”

Beverly recalled that Isabel had been Santiago’s alibi at the time the crimes against the Crawfords took place and was to be his attorney’s key witness. Was she lying then? Would Isabel lie now to protect the son she most called her own?

Isabel tossed her cat to the floor and it scrambled away. She wiped her eyes and looked at Beverly and Stone.

“Manuel is a very good liar, but also a very bad person,” she said. “I wouldn’t put anything past him. Don’t know why he’d want to help Rafael. Maybe he just wants to do the right thing.”

Yeah, sure, like prolonging his own life, Stone mused. The sadistic killer would probably kill his own mother if it meant saving his ass from a similar fate.

But Stone conceded that despicable as he may be, Gonzalez could still be right on the money in taking responsibility for another murder and sexual assault.

Or more interested in letting his twin brother off the hook in some sort of symbiotic pact.