A gaze full of derision lasered into her. “Packing. Thorn went for supplies.”
“So we’ve established that Juri is Thorn. Good. You realize he’s broken a number of laws, and we’re holding him as a suspect in the murders of seven people?”
“He. Did. Nothing,” she hissed. Taylor felt a warmth begin in her chest, noticed the girl’s lips were moving. She stepped to the side, broke eye contact. The warmth ceased. Taylor thought about Ariadne for a brief minute, wondered what she’d make of that. Being around Ariadne made her feel good, even though the woman was certifiable. Now she felt angry, drained. She chalked it up to exhaustion, went back to the girl.
“That’s not what the evidence says. And what about your parents? Wouldn’t they worry if you ran away?”
She tossed her head, then gasped a little when her shoulders pulled tight. She’d forgotten she was handcuffed. She licked her lips. “They don’t care about me.”
“I’m sure they do. What’s your name?”
She didn’t answer, so Taylor took a guess. “You’re Ember, right?”
She stiffened.
“Ember, what’s your real name?”
The girl drew herself up straight. “The only name I have is Ember. And I’m through talking to you. Get me a lawyer, or let me go.”
When did kids get so damn cognizant of the law? Taylor sighed, pulled her hair down and massaged her temples. A voice crackled on her radio-her backup was here. They came through the door a moment later, Paula Simari and Bob Parks.
Parks nodded at Taylor, said, “What have we here?”
“Hey. Girl claims her name is Ember, but that’s an alias. She just invoked. Mirandize her, take her downtown, find out her real name and call her parents. Do whatever it takes,” she said, eyebrow raised. Intimidating children just wasn’t her idea of fun, but she needed answers, and she needed them now.
Simari cracked her knuckles, and Ember jumped. Taylor wondered what made her so anxious. They got her on her feet. As they were walking out, the girl turned back to Taylor, a knowing grin playing on her lips.
“Call Miles Rose. He’s my father’s lawyer.”
She looked Taylor straight in the eye, defiant to the end.
Taylor edged closer. “Miles Rose is a defense attorney, and a smarmy one at that. Why does your father need a defense attorney?”
“He hired him after my brother was killed. We know how justice works in this country. The innocent stand accused and the guilty walk free.”
“Your brother?” Taylor asked, confused.
Ember shook her head. “By the Gods, you are stupid, aren’t you? You’ve already talked to my parents. My brother’s name is Xander.”
“Xander Norwood?” It finally dawned on her who Ember really was. “You’re Susan Norwood, aren’t you?”
The girl’s face closed. “My name is Ember. That is all you need to know.”
Taylor went back to Juri. Maybe she could leverage this new information.
His parents were back in the room, trying to coax him into being the good little boy he should have grown into. He wasn’t falling for it, had turned the other cheek and was ignoring them.
Taylor tapped Mr. Edvin on the shoulder. “May I?” she asked.
His face was haggard, the lines between his forehead deeper, grooves cut in the flesh. “By all means, Lieutenant. I believe Helga and I are going to get dinner. Take all the time you need. I assume our boy will not be coming home right away?”
“Perhaps not, Mr. Edvin. He’s certainly not leaving the hospital for the next few days. The guard will stay on the door in the meantime. Thank you for working with me. I appreciate all your help. We’ll be by your house to talk more later. Here’s my card. Please, call me anytime, day or night, if you have any questions or concerns.”
Taylor opened the hospital room door for them, motioned for Rob to come in again. He slid in and leaned against the wall, out of the way.
The door closed softly behind the Edvins. Taylor took her time getting settled in the chair next to the bed again, weary. She propped her boots on the rail, legs crossed at the ankle.
“So, Juri, it’s just us. Would you prefer me to call you Thorn?”
A small sound of concurrence rose from the bed.
“Thorn, where do you get the drugs? Who’s your dealer?”
He turned to her then, his face so tight as he tried to control his emotions that his cheekbones strained hard and white, nearly cutting through his skin. She could see the tracks of tears as they slid down to his chin. “Is Ember okay? Can I see her?”
“She’s being taken down to the Criminal Justice Center. She’ll be questioned, and we’ll go from there. Where were the two of you trying to go?”
“Away.”
“Okay. I understand. You weren’t happy at home, wanted to run away. But I really need to know where you got the drugs.”
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “A friend.”
“The friend’s name, Thorn. Come on, man, let me help you.”
He shook his head. “He’ll kill me. He’ll hunt me down and kill me. I can’t tell.”
“Okay. Talk to me about Brittany Carson then. What were you doing at her house?” He started to say something but she held up a hand. “No, don’t even try. I’ve got your DNA being analyzed right now, and I’m betting it will match the semen stain we found outside the den window. Were you standing out there, masturbating, watching Brittany?”
Slowly, he nodded, face aflame.
“Thank you for telling me the truth. That’s a start. Did you give her any of the drugs?”
He nodded again. Taylor felt the breath leave her body. She glanced at Rob, saw him staring at the boy with interest.
“Thorn, I know you’ve been read your rights already, but I’m going to do it again, okay? Because I have to place you under arrest for murder.”
“I didn’t murder her! It was Ember’s idea-she hated her. Hated her. I was just going along with it because she wanted me to.” He started struggling in the bed, this time managed to pull an IV loose and detach his heartbeat monitor. The machine began its claxon call and Taylor knew they were done. Two nurses burst into the room, shoving Taylor out of the way. She stepped back, watched them reattach the line, fix the feeds, get the boy settled.
When they were finished, she read him his rights again, made Rob handcuff the little bastard to the bed and walked slowly down the hall to the elevator. She glanced at her watch-7:00 p.m. Brittany Carson’s harvest would have started. She choked on the sorrow, pressed the button on the elevator.
One down. So why did she feel like this was just the beginning?
Twenty-Eight
Northern Virginia June 16, 2004 Baldwin
B aldwin drove, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel while Sparrow worked frantically on her laptop. It only took an hour door-to-door-lucky, considering the time of day and the usual traffic congestion in suburban D.C. They’d sailed up 95, got on the George Washington Parkway, skirted through the western edge of D.C., up the Potomac River and out to McLean, then took Georgetown Pike straight into Great Falls. Baldwin couldn’t help but notice when he passed Spring Hill Road; he’d dated a woman who lived in a neighborhood down there. It was beautiful in this part of the suburbs, ancient trees and horse farms and glens led to stunning houses situated far off the beaten path. Not the usual tableau when one considered murder, unless you counted the infamous story of the
