Torched (2 page)

K
evin paced back and forth in the waiting area. The two of them didn’t talk much while they waited to find out what was wrong with his car. He glanced at Tara and noticed she was watching him.

“I’m making you nervous, aren’t I? I’m sorry,” he said, as he sat down beside her.

She laughed. “You are fine. I just wish I could help you to relax.” She wrapped her arm around him and rested her chin on his shoulder. “You don’t have to be strong for me,” she whispered.

He turned slightly to look at her. “I’ll try to remember that.” He moved in closer and pressed a light kiss on her lips. As they kissed, he wondered if they would be able to get past this weekend. There was so much to think about where Jake was concerned. He could barely imagine a day without worries anytime soon, let alone being happy and just enjoying Tara.

“Ahem!” Someone coughed loudly, and they broke from the kiss.

Kevin looked up. The mechanic had approached them, and they were both oblivious to his presence.

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” the man said. “We found out what’s wrong with your car. It appears you have some water in your fuel tank. So, the gas wasn’t igniting properly. We need to drain the tank and let it dry out completely. We’ll also need to see if any water made it to the engine. We can start work on it right away, but we need your go ahead.”

Water? Fuel tank?
It didn’t make sense. “Yeah, that’s fine. Thank you.”

“Do you need a loaner car while we fix yours?”

“Yes, please,” Kevin answered, relieved they wouldn’t have to wait too long to get the visit to Officer Jessup over and done with.

The mechanic walked away, and Kevin turned to Tara. Her mouth dropped open. “How do you think—”

“Jake,” he replied, cutting her off. He fell back into the chair and shook his head. “It’s the only thing I can think of. He wanted to make sure we couldn’t leave.”

She reached for his hand, caressing his palm with her thumb.

“Wow,” she mumbled.

He nodded his agreement. “I defended that guy, can you believe it?”

“He’s your brother,” Tara added.

It all seemed so logical, but he still hated how he’d confidently gone along with his brother, wanting to believe his innocence.

“When I think of how I took his side when you doubted him...I could kick myself.”

“You didn’t know. Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s done with.”

He tried to put on a smile, but it was a failed effort. “How’d I get so lucky?” he asked. His gaze met hers, and she still had that twinkle in her eye.

“I’ve known your family for years. I’m in just as much shock as you are.” She moved closer to him. “I’m glad I can be here for you.” She kissed him sweetly. When she pulled away from him, she leaned against him, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her to him.

It would all work out. It had to.

***

A
fter they got the keys to the loaner car and left the mechanic’s shop, they had just enough time to get to the police station for Kevin’s one o’clock meeting. Tara had not asked if she really needed to be there, but she figured it was best, if only to support him. It didn’t make sense that they had not yet called her about her witness statement.

They reached the station and parked. Before he got out, he turned to her.

“I’m going to do what I need to so you don’t have to be a part of this mess.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean...right now you are my first priority.”

His ominous statement worried her. If things got dicey, she didn’t want him to take all the blame. They were in it together.

“You don’t have to be the hero,” she told him, as he held the car door open for her.

He hesitated before speaking. “I’m not trying to do anything heroic, but I’ll do what I have to do to protect you.”

He reached for her hand, and they headed into the police station. Tara’s heart beat faster as her trepidation became overwhelming. Once they were inside, she stopped him before they could reach the front desk.

“Do me a favor, and let me talk to them.”

He shook his head. “No, Tara. They want to speak to me. And it’s my brother. I got us into this mess, and I’ll get us out.”

He turned away, leaving her where she stood.

She watched him walk up to the desk. She had a bad feeling, but she wasn’t sure why. Taking a deep breath for extra courage, she stepped up and stood behind him.

“You may have a seat. They’ll be with you shortly,” the woman at the front desk said.

“Thank you.” He turned around, nearly slamming into her.

“Kevin, don’t do this,” she pleaded.

He took her hand. They walked to the seats along the wall and sat down before Kevin glanced at her.

“I’m worried,” she whispered.

He didn’t seem surprised by her admission.

“Let’s think about the worst-case scenarios,” he said. “One...they question me about where my brother is. What do I say?”

“You don’t know,” she replied.

“Right. I haven’t seen him since the altercation yesterday.”

She nodded slowly, but then realization sunk in. “The altercation...are you going to tell them what happened?”

A perplexed expression crossed his face. “I suppose I may have to, but only if I absolutely feel I’ve no choice.”

She didn’t want him to have to explain the details, but he’d feel obligated to tell the truth. It was the kind of man he was. “Okay. Worst-case scenario number two?” she asked.

“Two...they ask me if I lied about Jake being with us at the movies.”

“And what would your answer be?”

He frowned. She saw the wheels turning in his mind. “Well, there’s only one thing I can say. I simply tell them I felt I did the right thing. I had to protect my brother.” She dropped her gaze from his. That’s why she worried the most. They’d have to confess they lied and nothing good would come of it. “They’ll understand!” He appeared confident but naïve.

She lifted her head, raising her eyebrow. “You honestly believe you’ll be able to convince them you had no other choice?”

“I’ll give it my best shot,” he replied.

“Worst-case scenario number three?” She scrunched her nose up. She glanced around the police station, relieved they were alone.

“We wind up in jail,” he stated.

Tara winced. He looked like he was contemplating his options, but he didn’t get a chance to say anything further. She heard the door open and saw Officer Jessup heading their way. It was too late to think about what-if scenarios. She’d have to wait and hope for the best-case scenario...that Jake would be caught and they could put all this behind them.

***

K
evin and Tara rose to their feet as Officer Jessup approached them. “Good afternoon. Thank you for coming in.”

Did I have a choice?
Kevin wanted to blurt out. Instead, he nodded in reply.

“Mr. Crawford, you can follow me.”

“Do I need to come?” Tara asked.

Officer Jessup turned back on her heel and glanced at her. “Not today, Ms. Matthews, but we’ll be sure to let you know if we change our minds.”

Kevin relaxed slightly. He didn’t want Tara to have to be questioned...again. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and followed Officer Jessup through the double doors. They went down the familiar hallway, and she held back, ushering him into the interrogation room. He took a seat, and was surprised he felt more at ease.

Officer Jessup sat down in front of him, paperwork in hand.

“Where’s Officer Grayson?” he asked.

“Around,” she replied.

He looked at the mirror and wondered if Officer Grayson was observing him from behind the glass. He pushed the thought out of his mind and turned his attention back to the officer in front of him.

“Okay, let’s get this started,” he stated, crossing his arms.

She looked up from where she’d been reading something in her notebook. A look of surprise crowded her face. The notebook dropped to the table and she settled back into her chair. “Fine. Where’s your brother?”

“I wish I could help you, but your guess is as good as mine.” The police had no idea where he’d gone, which again showed how smart his brother really was.

She didn’t seem fazed by his answer. She continued, “Last night we received an anonymous phone call placing Jake Crawford as the owner of the evidence. Know anything about it?”

“Evidence?” He did his best to look stumped.

She opened her notebook and removed something from inside. Placing it on the table, she pushed it toward him. The picture of Jake’s hat stared back at him. He studied it, although he didn’t need to bother. It was Jake’s. He had the image embedded in his mind. He looked back up at her and shrugged.

“Do you recognize the hat?” she asked.

He pondered it, then peered back up at her. “I’ve seen blue baseball caps before.”

She smiled, and pointed to the picture. “Focus primarily on the initials. JC...doesn’t it seem a bit coincidental?”

“JC could stand for a lot of things. Doesn’t really prove anything.” Confidence laced his tone. He held his ground and didn’t admit to anything.

She rolled her eyes, retrieving the picture and placing it back in the notebook. “You weren’t the anonymous caller?”

He took a deep breath. His mind raced as he considered what he could say without lying. “I don’t know where my brother is,” he said.

“So you mentioned. Are you going to tell me about the altercation you had?” She pointed to his face, and he locked eyes with her. “That doesn’t look much better today. Who did you get into a fight with?”

Despite clambering for a way out of telling her the truth, he couldn’t find another answer.

“Jake,” he mumbled.

She nodded. “May I ask what it was about? Family squabble? Personal? Or maybe you just found out he’s been murdering people?”

Kevin’s jaw dropped. “I swear, it wasn’t until the broadcast that I had any idea he killed those people.” As the words rushed out, he couldn’t stop them. He sat back in his chair. It wasn’t his intention to be so vocal, but there was no way of turning back.

She wrote down some notes, but her eyes remained fixated on him. After several minutes, she put down her pencil.

“So, clearly you do recognize the hat and it belongs to your brother. Right?”

He nodded slowly, looking down at the table. There was no avoiding the heat now. He was in deep shit and this time, he doubted whether he could dig himself out of the stack of lies that were now about to collapse on top of him and then bite him hard in the ass.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” she said, picking up her pencil and taking a few more notes. “But I have to ask you one more thing.”

Kevin waited. Everything swirled around in his mind and he couldn’t put two thoughts together.

“When questioned earlier last month, you stated Jake was with you and your girlfriend at the movies. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” he replied. It was as obvious as daylight where the conversation would go next.

“Yet, if the murders are connected...and it’s pretty much a definite they are, then how could Jake have been at the movies with you, when Amy Watters was murdered at the same time?”

He heaved a sigh. Officer Jessup’s eyes never swayed from his.

“You have to do what you have to do. I felt I needed to protect my brother.”

“So, in other words, you and your girlfriend lied to the police?” she shouted impatiently, standing abruptly from her chair and slamming her fists down on the table. “Do you understand that what you did is called obstruction of justice at best, and in the worst case, you and your girlfriend could both be charged with accessory to murder?”

He was well aware of it, but he couldn’t do anything about it. It was over and done with, and now, Officer Jessup looked as if she’d gone off the deep end. Her eyes bulged out of her head, and her face was so red she could have blown a gasket. It wasn’t long before they heard a knock from the other side of the glass. Officer Jessup straightened and walked out of the room.

W
ithin a couple of minutes, Officer Jessup re-entered with Officer Grayson at her side. They sat facing Kevin, and this time, Officer Grayson took the lead.

“Mr. Crawford,” he started. “Let’s get this straight. You and your girlfriend took it upon yourselves to lie to us about your brother’s whereabouts when Amy Watters was murdered, and now you’re ready to come clean?”

“Keep Tara out of this,” he said.

Both officers widened their eyes in surprise.

“You might want to watch that tone, young man,” Grayson warned. “She would be just as responsible for her false statement as you are.”

He looked away from Jessup’s prying eyes. “Maybe we weren’t exactly truthful, but isn’t it more important to find Jake? I felt I needed to look after my younger brother. I honestly didn’t believe he could do something so...so violent. And he looked into my eyes and swore he was innocent. So I believed him, and tried to protect him. Was it wrong? Yes, I won’t deny it and say it wasn’t, but I can’t go back and change what I did for him. If you feel you need to prosecute me, then I can’t stop you. However, I think we can all agree finding my brother and stopping him from murdering again
is
the most important thing to do.”

Kevin studied their faces to see if they would remotely relate to what he’d said. Officer Grayson seemed to draw a blank, and Officer Jessup still looked like she might vault over the table and put Kevin in a headlock.

“I gather you have no intentions of skipping town,” Grayson continued.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he answered.

Jessup stood up from her chair. “Good. Because this isn’t the last time we will have to talk. We’ll contact you when we have more questions.”

“I’ve no doubt,” he answered, pushing his chair back to stand. They shook hands, and Officer Jessup led him to the door.

“I know my way out, Officers,” he informed them.

Jessup stood back as Kevin walked down the hallway. He couldn’t feel totally relieved, because it wasn’t over yet. He went back through the double doors and saw Tara jump to her feet. She rushed to his side.