‘Tell me again what he looked like.’
Kassie looked up, disbelieving. She was exhausted, reeked of smoke, and had only just been cleared by the paramedics, but still Gabrielle Grey seemed determined to torment her.
‘What more do you want me to say?’ Kassie croaked.
‘The “man” you’ve described could be anyone. Did he have any distinguishing features at all?’
‘It was dark, the place was full of smoke. I only glimpsed him –’
‘So, “white, middle-aged, goatee”. That could describe half the men in Chicago.’
Kassie glared at her, her deep dislike for this cynical cop growing. They had hurried away from the blazing shack, immediately calling 911. To their dismay, Gabrielle Grey had arrived five minutes after the uniformed officers, waiting patiently for the paramedics to give Adam and her the all-clear, before separating them and spiriting them away to CPD headquarters for questioning. Kassie just wanted to be left alone, to lie down and cry herself to sleep, but she knew she had no power here.
‘His beard was greying,’ she continued unenthusiastically. ‘And he was a little overweight. I grabbed his fat neck when I was trying to pull him off Adam –’
‘We didn’t find any skin under your fingernails when we swabbed you.’
‘It must have come off when I was trying to free Madelaine. I lost two nails ripping at those ropes …’
Kassie’s voice caught, tears pricking her eyes. The thought of Madelaine’s fate was too awful to contemplate.
‘Eye colour?’ Grey continued, remorselessly.
Kassie shook her head.
‘Any tattoos?’
‘Not on his face or neck. I couldn’t see the rest of him.’
‘Scars? Birthmarks?’
‘No.’
‘But you’d recognize him if you saw him again?’
‘Yes. Yes, I would.’
‘Well, thank heaven for small mercies …’
This final comment was aimed at her colleague, but Grey’s attempt at gallows humour fell oddly flat. The experienced detective seemed to have changed since Kassie last saw her – she looked washed out, beleaguered even.
‘And you say this guy drove off?’ her colleague pitched in mechanically. ‘While you were still inside.’
‘Yes, in a black Escalade. You must have seen the tyre tracks.’
‘We saw some tyre tracks,’ he responded coolly.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Kassie exploded, her voice cracking with emotion. ‘Why won’t you believe what I’m telling you? Dr Brandt will confirm everything I say.’
A look passed between the two police officers. Kassie wasn’t sure what it meant. Adam had backed her up, hadn’t he?
‘There was a man there. You should be circulating an image of him, getting his face on the news.’
‘Is that right?’
‘He’s probably injured, bruised. Someone will notice something, someone will know who he is.’
‘Tell me again about your connection to Madelaine Baines,’ Gabrielle interjected, dismissing Kassie’s suggestion.
‘I’ve told you, I’ve never met her. I saw her at the vigil, but that was it.’
‘And you were at Lake Calumet because …?’
‘I’ve explained why we went to the lake –’
‘Sure,’ Grey interrupted. ‘But here’s the thing. I don’t believe in fortune tellers or mediums … or Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. I believe in evidence, facts, concrete connections, so I’m curious as to why you and Dr Brandt keep turning up in this case. So far you are the only thing that links all three victims. You accosted Jacob Jones, you broke into Rochelle Stevens’ house. A teenage girl matching your description was seen hammering on the Baineses’ front door earlier today.’
‘This is nuts.’
‘Is it?’
Gabrielle’s tone was hard, her gaze unflinching. But Kassie wasn’t finished yet.
‘If I was involved, why would I set fire to the shack? Risk my own life? Why would I call 911?’
‘Maybe there was an accident. Maybe the fire got out of control. Maybe you’re telling me a pack of lies.’
Kassie shook her head, lost for words.
‘You’ve admitted you knew Rochelle from your NA meet. And Jacob Jones was responsible for a prior conviction of yours. What I’d like to know is how you knew Madelaine Baines.’
‘I don’t.’
But the look on their faces suggested they knew otherwise.
‘I swear I don’t,’ she repeated, less firmly.
‘We’ve had a look at Mrs Baines’s schedule over the last few months,’ Gabrielle continued. ‘Turns out she helps out with a charity that runs reading schemes in failing schools, trying to get rough, tough kids to read “proper” literature. You were one of the kids registered to the scheme –’
‘What …?’
‘But your membership was suspended because of disruptive behaviour –’
‘I never met her,’ Kassie insisted.
‘Kassie –’
‘Lots of people came into our school and, besides, I was hardly ever there.’
‘Madelaine Baines was in and out of your school for months. You seriously telling me you never met her? That she didn’t have some hand in your exclusion from the programme?’
‘If she did, I don’t remember.’
‘Not good enough, Kassie. Three authority figures have been brutally murdered, three authority figures who you came into contact with.’
‘No …’
But Kassie’s protestations were weak now and Gabrielle went in for the kill.
‘You are the link, Kassie. You and you alone.’