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Book: Detective Wade Jackson Mystery - 02 - Secrets to Die For by L. J. Sellers
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Authors: L. J. Sellers
Tags: detective, thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Murder, eugene, homicide, hate crime
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immediately. “Jackson, tell me something I want to hear.”
Sometimes it annoyed him that caller ID announced his name before he could, but he hated when other people hid behind ‘private call’. So he refused to list himself that way. “I have a suspect in custody.”
“Good work. Who is he?”
“Bruce Gorman, the meth-head father of a boy that Raina, the victim, was monitoring through the CSA program.”
“She was a CSA volunteer?” Lammers practically groaned.
“Yep.”
“Damn. I hope the bureaucrats don’t overreact and shut down the program.”
That hadn’t occurred to Jackson. He debated whether to tell her about the possible link to the rape cases, then decided to wait.
“What have you got on him?” Lammers wanted to know.
Good question . “Nothing solid yet. But the victim was on her way to Gorman’s house, and he has a history of violence against women. I’m hoping the boy will tell us that Raina was there.”
“That’s weak, Jackson. Call me when you have some evidence.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jackson took another minute to order pizza for the meeting. During the first week of a tough case, he often ate nothing but junk food and still lost weight. It was the infrequency of meals combined with the high caloric burn of round-the-clock intensity.
He was five minutes early going in, but Quince, Evans, and Schakowski were already in the conference room. Quince hadn’t been up all night and Evans wore her bright-eyed Provigil face, so Schak was the only one with a puffy-eyed hangover look. Besides himself. Jackson avoided coming into contact with mirrors during the first two days of an investigation. Lack of sleep made him look like a suspect.
“I’ve got pizza coming, so no whining about a noon meeting.”
“La Perla’s?”
“Of course.” Jackson took a seat. “Evans, will you keep the board?” He turned to Schak. “Anything to report from the houses on the hill?”
“Nothing. Except for the woman who called in about the Volvo.”
“Evans, tell us about your interview with Jamie, the victim’s friend.”
Evans faced the board and looked back over her shoulder as she talked and made notes. “Jamie is twenty, lives with her parents, and is also a CSA volunteer like Raina. She and Jamie went to high school together. Jamie has taken classes at LCC, but isn’t a student there now. I got all this from her parents. Jamie was too upset to provide much information.”
“What did you learn about Raina?” Jackson asked. “We need to document everything we know about her, so Quince can compare his victims with ours. We need to figure out if these cases are related.”
Evans started a list on the dry-erase board: Raina Hughes , age 20 , CSA volunteer , Lane Community College student . She turned back to the others. “What else?”
“Her mother was a drug addict who died seven years ago,” Jackson reported. “Despite that troubled past, Raina was a good student with no bad habits, says Grandma.” He turned to Schak. “There was a collection of blankets and things in the trunk of her car. Find out if she came into direct contact with homeless men.”
Evans wrote hurriedly to catch up.
mother / dead drug addict
no bad habits
charity work
direct contact with homeless ?
Jackson shook his head, surprised by the picture that was emerging. “Raina seems to be quite a success story.”
Evans looked back at the group. “I just remembered that Jamie said Raina was unpredictable and that sometimes she wouldn’t see her for days.”
“That could be important. Maybe she had a secret boyfriend.” Jackson turned to Quince. “Anything in this profile look familiar?”
“Just the community college. But the rape victims were no longer students.” Quince glanced down at his notes. “Keesha Williams earned a two-year degree as a dental assistant in
Sometimes it annoyed him that caller ID announced his name before he could, but he hated when other people hid behind ‘private call’. So he refused to list himself that way. “I have a suspect in custody.”
“Good work. Who is he?”
“Bruce Gorman, the meth-head father of a boy that Raina, the victim, was monitoring through the CSA program.”
“She was a CSA volunteer?” Lammers practically groaned.
“Yep.”
“Damn. I hope the bureaucrats don’t overreact and shut down the program.”
That hadn’t occurred to Jackson. He debated whether to tell her about the possible link to the rape cases, then decided to wait.
“What have you got on him?” Lammers wanted to know.
Good question . “Nothing solid yet. But the victim was on her way to Gorman’s house, and he has a history of violence against women. I’m hoping the boy will tell us that Raina was there.”
“That’s weak, Jackson. Call me when you have some evidence.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jackson took another minute to order pizza for the meeting. During the first week of a tough case, he often ate nothing but junk food and still lost weight. It was the infrequency of meals combined with the high caloric burn of round-the-clock intensity.
He was five minutes early going in, but Quince, Evans, and Schakowski were already in the conference room. Quince hadn’t been up all night and Evans wore her bright-eyed Provigil face, so Schak was the only one with a puffy-eyed hangover look. Besides himself. Jackson avoided coming into contact with mirrors during the first two days of an investigation. Lack of sleep made him look like a suspect.
“I’ve got pizza coming, so no whining about a noon meeting.”
“La Perla’s?”
“Of course.” Jackson took a seat. “Evans, will you keep the board?” He turned to Schak. “Anything to report from the houses on the hill?”
“Nothing. Except for the woman who called in about the Volvo.”
“Evans, tell us about your interview with Jamie, the victim’s friend.”
Evans faced the board and looked back over her shoulder as she talked and made notes. “Jamie is twenty, lives with her parents, and is also a CSA volunteer like Raina. She and Jamie went to high school together. Jamie has taken classes at LCC, but isn’t a student there now. I got all this from her parents. Jamie was too upset to provide much information.”
“What did you learn about Raina?” Jackson asked. “We need to document everything we know about her, so Quince can compare his victims with ours. We need to figure out if these cases are related.”
Evans started a list on the dry-erase board: Raina Hughes , age 20 , CSA volunteer , Lane Community College student . She turned back to the others. “What else?”
“Her mother was a drug addict who died seven years ago,” Jackson reported. “Despite that troubled past, Raina was a good student with no bad habits, says Grandma.” He turned to Schak. “There was a collection of blankets and things in the trunk of her car. Find out if she came into direct contact with homeless men.”
Evans wrote hurriedly to catch up.
mother / dead drug addict
no bad habits
charity work
direct contact with homeless ?
Jackson shook his head, surprised by the picture that was emerging. “Raina seems to be quite a success story.”
Evans looked back at the group. “I just remembered that Jamie said Raina was unpredictable and that sometimes she wouldn’t see her for days.”
“That could be important. Maybe she had a secret boyfriend.” Jackson turned to Quince. “Anything in this profile look familiar?”
“Just the community college. But the rape victims were no longer students.” Quince glanced down at his notes. “Keesha Williams earned a two-year degree as a dental assistant in
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