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Maria Hernandez slumped forward in her chair, resignation settling on her features.
Her dark hair was greasy, and she had bloodshot eyes. Her lips quivered as she swung a look at Stacy and then at Gavin. Stacy thought the girl had aged ten years since she’d been taken into custody.
Maria shook her head. “Why should I help you?”
Stacy sat down in the chair opposite the metal table in the interrogation room at the county jail. This room was down the hall from where she visited when Brandon Deerfield was alive. This time, Stacy had more confidence and the support of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Look at me, Maria.” She resisted. “I’m not playing games. Look at me!”
Maria slowly raised her head. The dark hues of her eyes pulsed with fear. “What?”
“We know everything.” Maria blinked.
“We examined the laptop,” Gavin said, pulling it out of a paper bag. Maria’s eyes grew wide with terror as she studied it from across the room. “Our technicians were able to download all of the conversations that you and Colton DeVito had. We were also able to decode the conversations with Deckhand1801, who we know is Brian Dowdy.”
Stacy leaned closer as Maria looked away. “Brian Dowdy was arrested as part of the group that killed Jesse Williams in Houston. I’m sure he told you about that. Brian was the only one not to do any jail time, but we think he wanted his revenge on Colton in another way.”
Maria squirmed in her seat. “Fine. He and I did talk some on OkCupid.”
“Over fifteen hundred messagesbetween both accounts,” Gavin added. “That’s more than some. Detective Cerrera is going through the messages now, and he’s going to highlight every piece of information that suggests you and Brian conspired to bring Colton back to Cleveland.”
Stacy stuck her index finger into the side of Maria’s cheek and pushed her head to the side until their eyes locked. Maria made a face. Stacy narrowed her eyes.
“I think the original plan was extortion. Take Colton’s money and toy with him emotionally. But then Brian took it to a whole different level. I think he was the one that grabbed you from behind the night that Ruben and Malik nearly killed my partner and me.”
Maria looked back at Gavin with a pleading look. Tears rimmed her eyes.
“I think Brian’s plan was more than just revenge, but he had you and Will Akers and the rest of the crew to steal his money.” Maria seemed to shrink as Stacy spoke. The dank, bland room closed in around them as she spoke.
“But Maria, Brian is dangerous. He’s a serial killer.” Maria’s eyebrows met her hairline.
“He likely killed a young mother, Colton’s parents, and a taxi driver. All in cold blood. He even tried to kill you. He’s dangerous. We need to get him and find Colton. And make no mistake, we will do it with or without your cooperation.”
Gavin stepped over and put the laptop down on the table. “Maria, this is serious. Some serious charges are pending against you. If Brian Dowdy has made promises, they aren’t going to happen. It’s time to think about yourself. My office is willing to consider some lesser charges for your cooperation.”
He slipped a finger into the computer’s small black crease and lifted, separating the monitor from the keyboard.
“Make a final call to him,” Stacy said, her voice flat and serious. “Tell him to meet you at Fairview Park.”
Maria wiped away a tear with the back of her handcuffed hand. “What do I say?”
Stacy wrapped her fingers around Maria’s wrist and squeezed tightly. “I don’t care, and it doesn’t matter. Tell him anything that will get him to come. But tell him to meet you at Fairview Park. In the woods next to your house. Tell him it’s to avoid being seen by anyone during the day. He’s got to be there in two hours.”
Maria stared at Stacy, unsure. “Just do it,” Stacy demanded.
Gavin leaned on the edge of the table on two hands, his lips stretched into a tight line, his eyes as hard as blue granite.
“Lieutenant Tavitt is right. Tell him whatever it takes to get him to show up.”
“Will I be there?” Maria’s voice trembled, and her fingers pulled out of Stacy’s grip.
“No, but we will be,” Stacy snapped back. “Hopefully, the judge denies you bail and remands you until trial.”
Maria blinked and turned her head away. Gavin pushed the power button on the computer. “All charged up and ready to go. Get to it.”
As Maria leaned over the keyboard, a grim-faced guard with round shoulders and a flat jaw re-entered the room. Stacy didn’t remember him leaving the first time.
“Mr. Knox, there’s a call for you at the main desk.”
Gavin raised his eyebrows and looked at Stacy with a plaintive look.
“I’ll be fine,” she said before he could ask.
“I’ll be right back.”
Stacy watched as Maria typed using the keyboard, the keys clacking in rhythm as the chains from her handcuffs grated against the table. After a few beats passed, she looked up.
“There,” Maria pronounced with finality. “It’s done.”
“What did it say?” Maria shot Stacy a look. “We’ll check it anyway, so tell me.”
She sighed, filling her cheeks with air. “I told him that something is wrong with Colton’s bank account and that we aren’t able to get any more money out. He’s freaked out. He’s always freaked out about the money. He said he’d meet me.” Maria looked up at Stacy, anger fresh in her features. “That will get him to come. Now, leave me alone.” Her voice grew quiet. “I never want to see you again.”
Stacy smirked. “Good girl.”
“I’ll be at every trial for every suspect charged in this case, and I can’t wait to testify on behalf of the state against you.” Stacy bent over until her forehead rested against Maria’s. “When it comes to your trial, when I tell them that Ruben and Maurice tried to kill me and that you knew about it...." Her voice trailed away. Stacy didn't want to push too hard now. Fear was a powerful emotion that only grew larger in the unknowns.
The door opened behind her. “All done here?” Gavin asked blithely.
Stacy had closed the screen to the laptop and slid it back inside the evidence bag. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Can we talk for a minute—outside?”
Stacy nodded her head to the guard. “We’re done here.” He took two long strides around the table and lifted Maria from the seat by her arm. Stacy watched Gavin leave the room first, and she closed the steel door behind them.
Gavin marched down the narrow corridor until the hallway widened at the end, near the front desk.
“The police searched Kendall Jackson’s home.”
Stacy slowly turned her head to the side. “I don’t understand. He’s dead. Why are they searching his home?”
“Diana had been looking at the pictures of Deerfield and Jackson working their neighborhoods. She wanted to see if there was any more evidence connecting Kendall to the rest of Brandon Deerfield’s crew other than being in the same place with them.”
Stacy folded her arms around her chest.
“His wife was less than cooperative, but they found insulin tablets in a small locked safe under some floorboards in the bedroom.”
Stacy felt a large lump lodge in her throat. “He made sure Deerfield got the tablets.”
“It’s likely. Kendall would’ve been able to get inside of the jail as well as have access to Deerfield’s information.”
Stacy felt some burning and pain blooming in the center of her chest, rippling outward. “But why kill Deerfield? He was the guy that included Jackson in on the racketeering scheme.”
Gavin shrugged. “No honor among thieves. Maybe Deerfield promised him payment or something else that he then reneged on.”
Stacy’s lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes softened. “Gavin, Kendall was going to be a father. He was so excited about it.” She paused for a moment, trying to push back the wet pinpricks, which pushed into the back of her eyes. “I just don’t understand.”
Stacy thought back to Deerfield’s time and how conniving and coy he’d been with her, especially when she asked him questions about Chance. She also remembered him with that explosive device in his hand at the safehouse and how he would have blown up the entire house and killed everyone inside rather than be arrested. Deerfield didn’t care about sacrificing others to get what he wanted, but Deerfield’s group had remained loyal to him, putting their careers and lives at risk in the drugs-for-protection racket. That required a great deal of persuasion on his part.
Gavin searched Stacy’s face as she thought back to Deerfield, the pictures, Kendall Jackson, and now the fact that both were dead. She thought of the others in the group, especially the front men for the scheme, and what Chance had told her about Deerfield and his penchant for threats. Then something hit her mind like a sharp needle. Nothing Deerfield did with the scheme or the safehouse could be accomplished alone. Like Chance, and probably Kendall, he had to seek out help from others to accomplish anything frequently. Stacy thought back to the last time she saw Kendall alive and when she saw him unconscious in the hospital.
“All of this still doesn’t explain what Dowdy was doing in the hospital. Why he came back twice to see Jackson.”
Gavin made a face. “Kendall was someone Deerfield asked to help him with protecting the drug dealers. It added legitimacy to the operation. Kendall did it. But something happened, and Kendall decided to rub out the head of the operation.”
Stacy bobbed her head. “That decision wasn’t made alone. Kendall couldn’t have decided on his own because it would risk the whole operation being compromised if a less experienced cop took over. Jackson has only been on the force for three years. He doesn’t know the culture and the bureaucracy like Deerfield.”
Gavin pursed his lips. “Maybe someone else decided to wipe out Deerfield. And they used Jackson to do it.”
Stacy put her hand on Gavin’s hand, her eyes wide with revelation. “We need to get back to headquarters. Brian Dowdy is the key to everything.”