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I didn't get up until almost ten the following day, so I got a late start on things. I decided the best way to figure out Devon's intention was to pay a visit to his home. By now Arnie should have some idea of his schedule so that I could figure out the best time to visit when I could be sure he wouldn't be there. I also wanted to have a talk with the police officer who had shown up at Judy's death in time to assure everyone she had choked. There didn't seem to be any doubt that someone with major pull had engineered that detail. I checked the file Senator Silva had sent me to remind me of the cop's name. It was Floyd Clark. I did some checking to find out when and where he worked.
I caught him at the station just as he came on duty for the day. He agreed to have a cup of coffee with me at a shop around the corner. Beat cops don't have offices or anywhere else private to converse. I thought the direct approach would be best. Either I could tell something from his reaction or he would simply tell me the truth. I began by saying “Officer Clark, the information I have says you were present when a woman named Judy Cantwell died. I'm wondering how you happened to be there, since the restaurant where she died is across town from your normal beat.”
The look he gave me was haunted as he said, “I was finally beginning to believe that day wasn't going to come back to ruin me, and now here you are asking questions. The truth is that I was there because I was stupid.”
“That part is probably true, but I need a bit more detail.”
“Well, I'd only been on the force a few weeks and I was anxious to do a good job and follow orders. When the chief called me in and explained that the mayor needed a favor, I was flattered that I'd been chosen for the job.”
“What exactly was the 'favor' they wanted from you?”
“It all seemed pretty straightforward at first. I was just supposed to show up at a certain restaurant and pronounce a woman dead. They told me she'd choked on her food, and no one had administered the Heimlich. I assumed they meant she was already dead when they talked to me, but when I got to the Coffeehouse Café and realized she'd died only moments before I arrived, I knew I was in trouble. If they knew in advance she was going to die, they had to be involved somehow. I was naïve enough to believe there must be a good reason, so rather than reporting that she'd obviously died of poison, I stuck to the story they'd given me. I've wished a million times since then I'd handled things differently. Eventually I decided that if anyone ever questioned me about that day, I'd tell the truth, but otherwise I'd try to forget it ever happened.”
“I appreciate your being honest with me.”
“Now that Internal Affairs has you investigating, can you tell me what happens to me now?”
“Officer Clark, you’re still way too trusting. I suggest you use your head for something other than wearing a hat. I'm not from IA, and I'm probably not somebody you should be talking to. Since you told me the truth, I'll do my best to keep your name out of things when I turn over the evidence proving who killed Judy, but if you still want to grow up to be a cop, you'd better get your head out of your ass and think before you act.”
Having had my say, I threw some money on the table to cover the coffee and walked out while Officer Clark sat there with his mouth hanging open. I didn't know if I was angrier at the stupid kid or at the higher-ups that didn't mind corrupting a young policeman who just wanted to do the right thing.
I drove home slowly, not wanting to take my anger out on the car. Besides, I couldn't afford to wreck another one. Knowing the mayor's office was involved in the cover-up wasn't a surprise. I knew he was tied to the prostitution ring, and I was sure now that Judy had been killed because she'd gotten too close to one of the people involved. Covering up Judy's murder to protect their illegal and lucrative activities had started a chain of murders by her brother Devon, and the people being murdered were all innocent bystanders. This tragic chain of events should never have happened. Strangely enough, the people who started this mess, like the mayor's son and his criminal friends, were being rounded up and jailed, but the killer they'd created was still out there.
At least the majority of the people connected to the prostitution empire were already getting what they deserved. It was time Devon began paying for his stupidity.
After a quick lunch, I called Arnie to find out when I could reasonably expect Devon to be away from home. According to him, Devon was almost a hermit. So far, other than to occasionally shop for food, he rarely left the house except for the three days a week he drove to the cemetery and sat at his sister's grave. Arnie was convinced that during one of those trips would be my best opportunity to check out his house. The round trip took him a little over three hours, and since he hadn't gone yesterday, I asked Arnie to call me if he went today. If I took off right when he left his house, I could get there in twenty minutes and still have a safe two hours to poke around. I would be looking for whatever I could find, but two things would be at the top of my list. First, I wanted proof that he had killed the other people that had been in the restaurant that day, and second, I wanted to know what kind of schedule he had for eliminating the last two people on his list.