Hold Back the Dark (25 page)

Aimee sat down in the chair across from Kyle and folded her hands in her lap. Josh’s heart nearly broke. He knew why she did that, and he wanted more than anything to take her hands in his to stop their shaking.

“Hello, Kyle,” she said. “What is it you needed to say to me?”

Kyle sank down into his chair across from Aimee. “It’s been so long. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. I had to talk to you. I had to explain.”

“Is that why you left that poor dead puppy at my door, Kyle? So I’d come to see you?” Aimee leaned slightly forward, her eyes intent on Kyle.

Kyle laughed. “I knew you’d understand! I knew it!” He looked at Elise and Josh. “See, she knew all along.”

“No, Kyle,” Aimee said. “I
don’t
see. I don’t see why you killed that dog, buried it, dug it up, and then left it on my doorstep.”

Kyle pushed away from the table and shook his head. “No. No! I didn’t do that. I dug it up, and left it at your door, but I didn’t kill it or bury it.”

“Who did, Kyle? Who killed that dog?”

Kyle looked down. “I don’t know who killed it. I didn’t see that part. It was dead already when I saw him bury it. You had to know the truth about him. I saw the way he looked at you, I couldn’t let you be fooled. I had to make sure you knew the truth about him.”

“The truth about who, Kyle? Who did you see looking at me?”

“That pretty boy. They call him Sean.”

“
S
ean Walter moved back to California about six months ago,” Josh said, his voice quiet and even, his eyes black. He’d practically dragged Aimee out of the interview room the second they had what they needed from Kyle.

She nodded. So much started making sense. Taylor had admired Sean and trusted him when she was a kid. He’d been around when she’d had her first personality shift at age eight, and then he’d gone from her life for years. His reemergence in her life had corresponded to when she’d begun acting out again. Her sudden setback at Whispering Pines had happened right after one of Sean’s visits. If, like many victims, she had been trying to re-create the relationship with her abuser, Brent Mullen was a perfect answer. He was arrogant, selfish, and looked enough like Sean Walter to be his brother.

And there was something more to consider. “Josh, it’s rare that an abuser stops with one victim. There are often chains of victims that go back for years, and if an abuser isn’t stopped, those chains can stretch into the future.”

“I know,” Josh said. “Do you think we could get someone else to corroborate Taylor’s testimony? Assuming she’s ever able to testify?”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. There’s a little boy in that house: Sean’s new stepbrother, Thomas. That child is in danger. If Sean hasn’t already begun to abuse him, I’d bet that it’s just a matter of time.” Marian Phillips’s friendly chatter about how Sean doted on Thomas now made Aimee’s stomach churn.

“Everything here is circumstantial, Aimee. It’s going to take time to get a search warrant, but I’ll get it as fast as is humanly possible.”

“We don’t need a search warrant to protect that child. I’ll go talk to his mother and get her to take the boy out of that house. Or to kick Sean out—it doesn’t matter which. All that matters is that he not be allowed any contact with Thomas.”

“And tip him off that we’re looking at him for the murder? What you’ve figured out about Sean is important, but I’m pretty sure he also murdered two people, and he needs to be stopped. Now we can search the house for evidence to link him to the murders. Even the most careful murderer takes something away from the scene that can end up incriminating him.” Josh crossed his arms over his chest.

Aimee shook her head. This was too much information, too fast. “Wait. Why would he have murdered Stacey and Orrin? I don’t understand that.”

Elise put in her two cents’ worth. “Try this on for size: Sean was helping Orrin with the books for the consulting firm. He knew the names of at least two of the phony subcontractors Orrin was using as fronts to embezzle money from the firm. He’d be able to follow the money trail. What if he confronted Orrin with that information that night, and Orrin countered with the information that he knew Sean had molested Taylor? What if that confrontation escalated and ended up with a man dead on the floor?”

“Do you think Orrin
knew
Sean had raped Taylor? Do you think he knew that and kept it to himself?” Aimee wondered, what kind of father would keep that kind of information to himself? Worse yet, what kind of father would use that information to protect himself?

“It’s hard to conceive of a mind that would work like that,” Josh admitted. “My first reaction would be to pound the guy’s face in, but these people don’t think like you and me.”

Aimee thought back to her first meetings with the Dawkins. Could Orrin be that much of a monster? She thought over everything that she knew about sociopaths, and the information she had about Orrin Dawkin swirled like pieces in a kaleidoscope to form an entirely new picture of him.

The daredevil behavior. The chilliness. The emotional separation from his family. Stacey Dawkin’s depression. The possible sexual harassment at his office. Had there been something about him that wasn’t quite right? If he had been a sociopath, he would abuse his family and everyone around him in little ways all the time. Using information to blackmail someone else into silence wouldn’t be that big a step.

“It fits with the things you told me about his office.” Aimee chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t want this to be true, Josh.”

“You have no idea how often I think that.” He leaned back in his chair and stretched. “I’ll start pushing the search warrant through right now. Meanwhile, I’m going to pick up Sean Walter for questioning.”

“How long do you think the warrant will take?” Even one more night with a potential molester was too long to leave a little boy unprotected. Aimee shuddered.

“If Judge Leal decides to make my life difficult, it could be a day or two.”

“That’s unacceptable, Josh. That little boy is in danger!” Aimee stood.

“And has been for the past six months. I hate to say it this way, Aimee, but if the worst has already happened, I doubt another day or two is going to make a difference,” he said with a pained expression.

Aimee was livid. “And if it hasn’t? If that child hasn’t been raped yet?
Then
what?”

“Then what’s to say he’s going to be raped now? Aimee, this
has
to go forward by the book. I will not screw up a potential conviction for a brutal double homicide because I wasn’t willing to take this step by step.” He tried to take her hand, but she snatched it away.

Aimee gritted her teeth. They had come so far, yet they were essentially exactly where they were the night they’d met in the emergency room of Mercy Hospital. “Would you be willing to screw up a potential conviction to save a child’s life?”

“Of course I would. Exigent circumstances will always trump anything else.” Josh brought the front legs of his chair down with a thump.

“That’s what this
is,
Josh. You don’t see what I see each day. You don’t see the damage that goes on for decade after decade in people’s lives. Abusers steal everything from these children. They steal their trust. They steal their innocence. They steal their ability to have relationships later. They steal everything before these children even know what is being taken from them.

“None of it can ever be given back fully. Those things are gone forever. Even the ones who manage to heal, bear the scars of those betrayals until the day they die. Even worse, many of them then turn around and perpetrate those same abuses on someone else. Saving Thomas could be the first step in saving a long line of little boys and girls. Isn’t that worth stepping outside the lines?”

Josh’s eyes flashed. “You may be there mopping up the mess years later, Aimee, but I’m there first on the scene. Don’t tell
me
about what kind of pain these sick assholes cause. I’m the one who’s there when the blood is still wet and running.

“If that child molester goes free because we can’t get Taylor to talk, and I’ve compromised my chances of nailing the bastard for killing two people, what happens then? How does that safeguard that long line of little boys and girls, Aimee?

“You have to step back and look at the bigger picture. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s the only system we’ve got.”

“I don’t care about the system. I care about that little boy. I care about Taylor.”

“And I care about all the other little boys and all the other Taylors out there. Let me stop the monster who’s hurting them, Aimee. Give me the chance to do that.”

Aimee bowed her head in defeat. She didn’t know how to argue with him. What he said wasn’t wrong; there was simply another side to it.

Josh turned to Elise. “We need to get a search warrant for Carl Walter’s home and we need it pronto.”

Elise nodded. “I’ll start the paperwork. But we’ve still got Leal for a judge, so we’re not going to get anything pronto.”

“I’ll run an ANI. I want everything on the warrant, including all their cars.” All Name Index would give them the makes, models, and years of all vehicles owned by Sean Walter.

“Make sure you toss his father and stepmother in there. The kid could be using their cars,” Elise pointed out.

“I doubt he bought that Saab he’s driving with his graduation money,” Aimee observed.

Josh grinned. “Good point. I didn’t take you for a car person.”

She shrugged. “I have hidden depths.”

More than he knew. While he and Elise acted on their plans, Aimee was making one of her own.

A few minutes later, Elise stood up and peered over the top of his cubicle wall. “You about done there, cowboy?”

“I’ve got things moving, but it’ll be another hour or so.” He looked up at her. “What do you think we should do in the meantime?”

“I’m considering taking up crocheting. How about you?”

“I’m going to follow Aimee back to her apartment and listen outside the door while she turns all the locks. Then I’m going to come back here and bust that bastard.”

Aimee pulled up in front of Carl Walter’s home. After Josh had brought her back to her condo, she’d called to make sure that neither Carl nor Sean was at home. Then she’d wrapped a scarf around her mauled neck and driven over here before her nerve left her.

Even with the lowering gray sky above it, the Mediterannean-style house looked picture perfect, inviting and comforting.

She walked up the path and rang the doorbell. Sarah Barlow opened the door. “Hello, Dr. Gannon.”

Aimee held out her hand. “Hello, Sarah, do you have a minute to talk?”

“Carl’s not here.” She glanced behind her into the house as if he might suddenly appear. Aimee wasn’t sure if it was out of fear, or if Sarah was looking for guidance. Either way, it spoke volumes about their relationship.

“That’s okay. I’d really like to talk to you first.” Aimee had no idea how Carl might react to the idea that his son was a pedophile. Carl was a powerful enough personality that if he chose to protect his biological son from charges like these over the safety of his stepson—another man’s child—she might not be able to convince Sarah that Thomas was in danger.
Unacceptable.

“I really don’t see how I can be of much help. I didn’t know Taylor that well, and I didn’t know Orrin and Stacey anywhere near as well as Carl did. Anything I know, Carl will know, plus a bunch of other stuff.” She smiled. “He’s really smart.”

“He is, and I’m guessing he wouldn’t want to marry a stupid woman. I’m sure you have plenty to offer that would be helpful to me right now.” Aimee hesitated. She didn’t want to lay it on too thick. Or to scare Sarah. “And I think I might have some information that would be helpful to you. If I can come in, I’ll explain everything.”

Sarah thought for a second, then stood aside to let Aimee enter.

“I’ve got the vehicles.” Elise waved a piece of paper at Josh.

“Let’s add ’em to the warrant. What’s he got?”

Elise peered down at the list and then held it out with her arm. “I swear the type is getting smaller every month.”

“You’re just too vain to get bifocals.” Josh took the paper from her. “You ready to type?”

She nodded.

“They’ve got a new Toyota Highlander hybrid.”

“Nice,” Elise said. “Those are snazzy.”

“They’ve got a BMW 350i.”

“Also quite nice.” Elise kept on typing.

Josh stopped talking and stared at the piece of paper. “Holy
shit.”

“They’ve got something even better than the Beemer? What the hell is it?” Elise stood up and looked over Josh’s shoulder.

“Carl Walter owns a 1968 Mercury Cougar.” Josh stared at Elise.

“So he likes classic cars. What’s the big deal?”

“Have you ever seen the taillights on a sixty-eight Cougar? They’re very distinctive.” It had never even occurred to him. It was right there in front of him, and he hadn’t seen it.

“Yeah? How?”

“The taillights are long rectangles divided into three, with a center brake light.” Josh grabbed the pen from Elise’s hand and scribbled a quick sketch on the back of an envelope. “Look familiar?”

“Holy shit.” Elise sat down.

“Exactly.” Josh felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

“You think this is what Taylor is trying to tell us? Do you think Taylor saw him at the scene?” Elise looked as poleaxed as Josh felt.

“At the very least, she saw his car. He could have been leaving just as she got home from Jenna Norchester’s house.” Would the timing have been right? It could be.

Sean could have been driving his father’s car. Taylor had seen Sean leaving her house, then had walked in and found her parents dead on her living room floor. She’d been trying to tell them what she’d seen for days, and none of them had been able to understand her. Aimee had been right.

“How fast do you think we can get this warrant through?” Elise asked.

“I don’t know. You take it. I need to call Aimee.”

“Can I get you some water? Or a soda?” Sarah asked as they walked into the living room.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” Aimee sat on the couch as Sarah sat across from her in one of the easy chairs. “Is Thomas home?”

Sarah blinked. “He’s in his room playing. Did you need to talk to him?”

“Not just yet.” The most important thing was to warn Sarah to keep Sean as far away from her little boy as possible. She heard her cell phone ring in her purse. Without looking at the caller ID, she reached into her bag and turned it off. “I need to talk to you about Thomas. Are he and Sean close?”

Sarah smiled. “They are. Sean’s been amazing. He and Thomas have developed a really special bond, and I’m so grateful. I didn’t know how Sean would feel about me, or about his dad having a new family. But he’s been so nice to us. He plays with Thomas and takes him to movies and all kinds of stuff.”

It was typical for a molester to work on getting a child’s trust first, especially a child who might be in a new or precarious position. Thomas would undoubtedly have some anxiety about his new living situation and his mother’s new relationship. It was a typical pedophile move to target a child in a vulnerable situation like this, gain his trust, then separate him from other adults that he might trust or confide in. “I see. Does Thomas seem happy to go with Sean?”