'Say, there's one more thing,' Downes said as soon as Gary stood up to go. 'Would you mind letting these fellas take a look around your place? I'd appreciate that.'
'Look around?'
'Yeah. As part of the official investigation. That wouldn't be a problem for you, would it? They'd do it While we were downtown and put everything back real neat.'
'Why would they have to look around?'
'We always look around when we're investigating a case, Gary. Good citizens never object. You don't have anything to hide, do you?'
Gary's thoughts turned immediately to the magazines with the pictures of the naked women, but they were hidden so well he was certain no one could find them.
'Well, Gary?'
'I guess it's okay.'
'That's great,' Downes told him, beaming with good fellowship as he fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it and a pen to Gary.
'Why don't you read this and put your John Hancock at the bottom where I've put the X?'What is it?'
'A consent to search form. It's just routine.'
Gary looked at the form. He could read, but it took a lot of effort and this paper had a lot of hard words on it. After a minute of struggling, he got tired and signed.
Behind Gary, Bob Patrick smiled. Downes saw him, but kept his composure. Everything was going according to plan.
Gary recognized the room right away. It was the same windowless interrogation room where he was questioned the night he was arrested for peeping.
'Can I get you something to drink?' Sergeant Downes asked as soon as Gary was seated. Gary was thirsty, but he shook his head. He did not want to be left alone with the mean policeman, who was lounging in a chair by the door, staring at him.
'Okay, then,' Downes said, taking a seat across from Gary. 'I don't want to keep you long, so why don't we get down to it. What happened between you and that girl at the Stallion?'
Gary shrugged his shoulders and stared at the tabletop.
'I guess I got mad.'
'That's no big thing. If I didn't get mad at you for what you did at the dorm, do you think I'm gonna get bent out of shape because you got mad at some irl? She probably didn't treat you right is what I'm guessing.'
'I was trying to get a date with that girl and she said no. That's why I was mad.'
Downes shook his head in disbelief and chuckled.
'Is that all? Hell, the way you've been acting, I thought you had some deep, dark secret. So, what happened?'
'Chris said she wanted to go out with me.'
'Chris?'
'He's a friend of Kevin Booth. Kevin and Chris was sitting with me.'
'So this Chris said this girl was giving you the eye?'
Gary nodded. 'Only I don't think she really was. I think Chris was playing a joke on me.'
'Why's that?'
'She really didn't seem to like me.'
'What made you think she didn't like you?'
'She wouldn't let me buy her a drink and she told me to go away. Then, she ... she .. .'
Go on.'
'She said I was stupid,' Gary blurted out. His cheeks turned scarlet.
'Well, shit, Gary, that girl had no cause to do that, did she, Pat?'
Gary looked at the other policeman to catch his response, but there was none. Bob Patrick continued to stare with his hard, cold eyes.
Downes leaned across the table. 'Gary,' he asked in a low, sympathetic tone, 'what did you do when you got mad at Karen Nix?'
'I ... I guess I grabbed her.'
'What's all this 'guess' shit?' Patrick snapped angrily. 'Either you did or you didn't.'
Patrick's loud voice startled Gary and he looked to Downes for help.
'Relax, Pat,' Downes said.
'I'm getting sick and tired of this little prick, Dennis.
He's jerking us around.'
'Officer Patrick, my title is Sergeant, and I'm conducting this interview.'
Downes stared hard at Patrick. Patrick tried to meet his stare, then backed down. Gary was elated. Downes turned back to Gary.
'I know this is hard for you, but we need your help to catch the killer. So, tell me what you said to Karen Nix when you grabbed her.'
Gary hung his head. He felt nauseous.
'I ... I guess I said something like I would kill her.'
'Then, Arnie Block came over, didn't he?' Downes asked.
Gary nodded. Downes looked relaxed, but he wasn't, because they were about to get down to the real nittygritty.
'What did you do after you left the bar?' he asked in a casua I tone.
'I don't remember so good. I think I just walked around.'
'Did you go any special place?'
'I went to see Steve.'
'Steve Mancini?'
Gary nodded.
'Did you see him?'
'No. I went by his house, but he wasn't there.'
Downes leaned forward expectantly. 'What did you do then?'
'I went to the Ponderosa.'
Downes's pulse rate jumped. The Ponderosa was a workingman's bar near the Riverview Motel. It was a few blocks from where they were sitting. So was Sandra Whiley's boardinghouse. If Whiley was walking back to her place along High Street and Gary was walking toward the Ponderosa from Steve Mancini's house, they could have met.
'How did you get to the Ponderosa, Gary?'
'I walked down High.'
'So you went by the park?'
Yeah.'
'What side of the street did you walk on?'
'Uhm, the other side. Not where the park is.'
Downes leaned forward. 'This is real important, Gary. The murder could have happened right when you passed by the park, so you could be an eyewitness.'
Gary looked surprised. 'I want you to think real hard.
Did you see anything going on in the park when you passed by?'
Gary's brow furrowed as he struggled to concentrate.
Then, Gary's face broke into a wide grin.
'I did see something, Sergeant Downes. I did.'
'What did you see, Gary?'
'I seen a guy and this girl. They were hugging.'
'Where did you see this?'
'By the big park entrance, near where you go down to the wishing well, only closer to the street.'
'What did the man look like?'
