Iced Malice Read online

  When they got back to the station after a trip to the emergency room, Kendall put Courtney in an interview room and brought her a cup of coffee. Kendall’s leg ached where she’d been stitched up, but she didn’t want to dull her mind with painkillers. Courtney’s wound hadn’t been deep, but had also required stitches. Her parents were hovering at Alverson’s desk, incessantly complaining because they couldn’t be with their daughter. They’d been permitted to hug her when they arrived, but Kendall and Ross had to question her alone.

  The Gullickson boy was in the next room waiting his turn to be interviewed.

  There was a lot to do amid the chaos. Paula Burnham was enlisted to obtain search warrants for Holmes’ apartment and for the Batty home and the apartment above the garage. Ross and Kendall decided to split up for the interviews with Courtney and Gullickson. They had a brief verbal scuffle when Ross insisted he would be the better person to talk to Courtney because she trusted him, but Kendall refused to back down. She would question Courtney.

  Courtney, her stitches looking like a caterpillar worming its way up her neck, sat dejectedly across the table from Kendall.

  “Courtney, you know why you’re here, right?” Kendall asked.

  She returned a timid, “Yes.”

  “You and Trent falsified a crime that wasted a lot of police time and resources. You and your friend will need to explain why we shouldn’t prosecute you.” Kendall hated playing hardball with the girl, but people tended to be the most revealing when they were threatened with punishment.

  “We never thought of it that way. It was all my idea, so please don’t blame Trent. He only went along with it because he’s my friend; he didn’t want to do it. He tried talking me out of it and kept on trying every day that I was up there. If anyone needs to be arrested, it’s me.”

  Kendall had no intention of punishing either of them for their crime. She had heard Trent begging Courtney to let it go and end the charade.

  “Why don’t you start by telling me what this was all about?”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Try me.”

  “I made Trent lock me up so I could lose weight. I’ve been fat all my life, even as a kid. Once I even found a note my kindergarten teacher sent to my mother, suggesting she take me to the family doctor because I was so much bigger than everyone else. Other kids made fun of me my whole life. I’ve always dreamed of losing weight, being more attractive, but whenever I tried to diet, my parents sabotaged it. They think I’m okay like I am, that my being overweight is genetic and I just have to live with it. I can’t afford to live on my own, not while I’m in school, so I could never stay on a diet. I just wanted to be like other girls, have a boyfriend and not have everybody treat me like a freak.”

  Kendall didn’t tell her, but she knew exactly how Courtney felt. Kendall had been her full height, five foot eleven, and thirty pounds overweight by the time she was in sixth grade. She had finally gotten her weight down, but only after she’d been shot in the abdomen in the line of duty.

  Courtney continued. “Then when I met Detective Alverson that night at The Hideout . . .” She flushed and cast her gaze at the floor. “It was stupid, I know, but it kind of felt like a date. I’d been thinking about getting Trent to let me use the apartment so I could lose some weight, and I talked him into letting me stay there until the Battys came home. He didn’t want to at first, but he knew how important it was to me so he let me. It was harder to convince him to lock me in. I really sound pathetic, don’t I?” When Kendall didn’t comment, she said, “I thought if I stayed there until the Battys came home, about six weeks, I could lose maybe twenty-five pounds and look so much better that my parents would finally support me. I’ve already lost fifteen pounds.”

  Not ready to let her off the hook, Kendall asked, “Then why were you begging Trent to let you out?”

  Courtney looked confused.

  “I heard you yelling at him.” Kendall hadn’t heard the words, but had gotten the gist of her plea to be let out.

  Courtney smiled weakly. “Staying in there by myself was so much harder than I thought it would be. After a few days I started asking Trent to let me out, but I had even signed a contract that I wanted him to leave me in there no matter what I said. I had all my research on the case with me, and I kept poring over it, just like the police do with murder books. When I was reading everything for about the third time, I remembered something Daniel said about the disappearances. One time when we were talking, I mentioned that the first couple that disappeared was the only one that was really engaged. He said that wasn’t actually true because one of the other couples had been looking for wedding venues before they disappeared. I didn’t recall reading that anywhere so I started going through everything again. It wasn’t mentioned anywhere. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but I wanted to tell Detective Alverson about it. And it made a good excuse to get Trent to let me out.”

  “Did Holmes say anything to you tonight? Explain why he wanted to harm you?”

  “No. I didn’t even know who it was until you told me. He had that mask on. I never thought he might be the one who killed those couples. I thought maybe he knew who did.” She pulled a strand of hair back over one ear. “Guess I was pretty naïve.”

  “Courtney, even if you suspected him, you wouldn’t have had any reason to think he’d come after you. We think he got nervous that your disappearance might make us start looking at him, which it did. We talked to Claire Bolte at the library today. He must have seen Ross and me talking to her and thought we’d be looking for him next. Then he watched Trent, who led him right to you, and he overheard what you said about knowing something.”

  “But you won’t have enough evidence to charge him with murdering those couples, will you?”

  “Holmes is dead. We’ll know more about him after we search his place.”

  “Thank you for not arresting us.”

  Kendall gave her a plastic smile. “That hasn’t been decided yet.”

  35

  Kendall left Courtney and took a few minutes to go to the locker room, clean up, and put on a fresh set of clothes she kept there for emergencies. Then she joined Ross as he entered the room where they were holding Trent. Trent sat behind the table, shrinking in the chair.

  Ross took a seat across from him. “Trent, are you aware that what you and Courtney did was a crime?”

  “I just wanted to help Courtney.”

  “But you put her life in danger, didn’t you?”

  Trent’s face turned a sickly puce. “I didn’t know that would happen.”

  Ross slid a photo of Holmes across the table. “Did you ever see this man around Courtney?”

  “He’s dead.” Trent turned the picture over. “I think I’m going to be sick.” Ross rushed him out the door to the men’s room.

  Kendall went for coffee and when Ross joined her, he said, “I sent the kid home with his parents. He obviously didn’t know anything, although he remembered meeting Holmes once at a book club meeting.”

  “I don’t know what to do with Courtney,” Kendall said.

  “Why not just turn her over to her parents?”

  Kendall nodded. She felt a lot of sympathy for Courtney’s predicament. “I suppose we may as well.”

  She joined Courtney. “We’re going to let you go home with your parents.”

  Courtney grimaced.

  “They’ve been frantic, not knowing where you were and if you were hurt. You put them through a lot.”

  “Yeah. Like anyone would abduct a fat girl.”

  “Someone tried to.”

  “Not because he was after my body.” She grinned.

  Kendall suddenly saw why Ross was taken with the girl; she had beautiful features and an engaging smile. “The important thing is you’re all right now. If you don’t mind a little advice, go home and let your parents pamper you. Be grateful you have them.”

  “Right. If I know them, they have five kinds of my favorite—fatt
ening—foods waiting for me.”

  “Tell them you’re too upset for anything heavy; ask your mom for soup or something. Maybe when you explain to them how far you were willing to go to lose weight, they’ll agree to be supportive. Give them a chance.”

  Courtney shrugged. “I guess. My clothes are getting loose, that might help. I could ask mom to go shopping with me. She’d love that.”

  “There you go.”

  36

  After the teens and their parents left the station, Paula told Kendall they had the warrants. They sent the other detectives to the Batty place, and she and Ross headed for Holmes’ apartment.

  Kendall and Ross drove to Holmes’ apartment, an upper flat in a low-rent neighborhood east of downtown Eau Claire. The unhappy owner of the house was waiting for them on the front porch, his hair spiky like they’d just gotten him out of bed, which they probably had since it was nearly dawn. After they showed him their IDs and the warrant, he handed him the key.

  Before he could run off, Kendall said, “Did you know Daniel Holmes?”

  “Nope. Just rented to him. Is that all, ‘cause I have to get home and get ready for work. Have to be in before seven.”

  “How long has he lived here?”

  “He was already living here when I bought the place about a year ago. I’m not around much; I have a handyman that fixes stuff. The guy pays his rent on time, that’s all I can tell you.”

  Kendall said, “You can leave. We’ll be in touch if we have any questions for you.”

  The apartment smelled like stale food, but it was relatively neat. An empty pizza box and three beer cans—apparently Holmes’ last meal—sat on a coffee table in front of a large-screen TV. The furniture, although old, was in good repair. A tiny, second bedroom held a desk with a computer and an old bookcase filled with textbooks, all on the same subject—American literature.

  “Was he a student?” Ross asked.

  “I don’t know. We haven’t got a lot of background on him.”

  “Not like we can ask him.”

  They donned rubber gloves and carefully moved through the apartment, finding nothing that told them any more about Daniel Holmes. Until they reached the bedroom. Crammed onto a shelf in the nightstand was what looked like every book ever written about the Fiancé Murders and a stack of magazines with articles about the case.

  “Looks like what Courtney told us,” Ross said. “The guy was really into those disappearances. But did he do them?”

  “He’s a little young for that; he would have been a kid then. Look at this.” Kendall pulled a stack of magazines out of the opposite nightstand. “Sadism, torture, bondage, you name it. He was into some hinky shit.”

  “Doesn’t make him a murderer,” said Ross. “Lot of guys read that crap.”

  “Right. A lot of guys with sick minds.”

  “I guess you’re right. He doesn’t even have any girlie magazines.”

  “You’re saying if he had both it wouldn’t be so bad?”

  Ross opened the drawer of the nightstand. “Just sayin’ it’s all relative. If that’s all the guy has, he’s probably a freak. If it’s part of the guy’s whole porn collection and the rest is the usual shit, then no, he just likes to take a trip to the dark side sometimes.”

  Kendall stopped what she was doing and faced him. “Do you have some dark-side shit in your collection?”

  “Of course not,” he snapped.

  “Sometimes I think you just like to argue with me.” She pulled open the drawer on the other nightstand. “Here we go,” she said, lifting a pair of bright red women’s panties out of the drawer. “They look pretty new, so they aren’t from the Fiancé Murders. I bet they belong to Karla.”

  “Let’s hope there’s some of her DNA on them.”

  Kendall examined the crotch of the garment and saw an oval stain centered in it. “I think we’re in luck.” She stuffed them into an evidence bag.

  They finished going through the rest of the apartment, but the panties were the only thing possibly linking Holmes to one of their crimes. Kendall still believed the magazines alone pointed the finger at him as their perp and wondered if Ross had been yanking her chain with his defense of them. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  Ross’s cell phone chimed as they headed out to the car after securing the apartment. He frowned and handed her the phone. “Your phone dead? Someone’s trying to get hold of you, called the station.”

  Kendall grabbed the phone, expecting it to be her father, whom she’d been dodging since getting the news about Nash. “Detective Halsrud.”

  “Hey, Kenny, TJ Peacock here. Richard told me the news.”

  “What news?” Kendall asked, her heart pounding with fear. Did she miss a call from Detective Conlin informing her Nash was dead?

  “Shit. Sorry, I thought he called you.”

  “No. Apparently my phone’s been dead for a while. Can you tell me what he wanted?”

  “For the record, I’m not supposta know. But he found out that your guy is alive. Not doin’ well, but alive, anyway. Been worked over real bad and in an ICU in a hospital in Kenosha.”

  Kendall swallowed hard, wanting to scream, cry, and throw heavy objects, but she couldn’t break down in front of Ross. “Can I see him?”

  “Dunno. That’s why I called. If you wanna go to Kenosha, you’re gonna have to come this way. Stop here and I’ll take you there. Are you gonna be okay to drive this far by yourself?”

  “I’ll make it. Thanks. I’ll let you know when I’m on the road. I’ll have to finish up a few things here first.”

  “Understand. I’ll be here.”

  Kendall turned to Ross and told him what she’d learned.

  “I’ll drive you there,” he said.

  “No. I appreciate the offer, but I need you here to keep everything going with the team. They’ll be expecting a meeting in the morning.”

  Ross frowned and opened the car door for her. “Don’t forget, he’s my friend too.”

  “I’ll have to talk to Schoenfuss, then I’ll leave right away.”

  “What about Shari? Don’t you think you should take her with you?”

  Crap. Always Shari this, Shari that. It pissed her off, and pissed her off even more that the woman was impossible to dislike. “Sure, I’ll call her as soon as we get this evidence submitted and talk to the boss.”

  “Don’t bother, Kenny, I’ll take care of everything. I’ll drop you off at your car so you can get out of here as soon as possible.” He handed her something. It was his extra cell phone. “Take this. Use it while you get yours charged.”

  As soon as she drove away from the station, she dialed Shari. Ryan answered.

  “Ryan, this is Kendall. Can I speak with your mom?”

  “She tried to call you about five times, but then she had to leave. Did you hear about my dad?”

  Kendall’s heart sank. Shari had been notified again instead of her. She should have guessed; Shari had left without her. “Yes, I did.”

  “Are you going to Kenosha?”

  “Yeah. Do you know if he can have visitors?”

  “I don’t think they told her very much. Just that he was in serious condition. Can I go with you?”

  “No, Ryan, you can’t. Why didn’t you leave with your mom if you wanted to go?”

  “She didn’t want me to miss school tomorrow.”

  Kendall’s attitude festered with resentment again that Shari would be the one making all the decisions about the man Kendall loved. Shari was his ex-wife, after all. Well, almost. “I’m sure she’ll call you as soon as she knows something about his condition.” Kendall reminded herself that Shari had tried to call her. “Ryan, I have to go now. If you hear from your mom, tell her I’m on my way.”

  37

  Joel told Brynn that the cold weather hadn’t caused her car problem. He used to own a Prius, and told her if you left a light on too long it drained the auxiliary battery and the car wouldn’t start. The catch on the trunk hadn�
�t been latched properly, and the trunk light had been on too long. He used jumper cables to give the small battery a boost, then he and Alice had insisted on following her home.

  Brynn couldn’t help but think of the irony of the situation. She suspected Alice of dropping off Charlie Wetzel and letting him freeze, but yet she and her friend Joel had done the right thing and made sure that Brynn didn’t get stranded in the cold.

  Ryan called her the minute she got in and told her his good news that Nash was alive and in Kenosha. Kendall would need her now, Brynn thought. “I’m going to go over and talk to Kendall, offer to go to Kenosha with her.”

  “I’m pretty sure she left already,” Ryan said. “She called here and asked for my mom. Mom got the call and took off right away. She tried calling Kendall, but her phone wasn’t on.”

  Brynn did a quick search online for the town of Kenosha. It was a city about the size of Eau Claire, right on Lake Michigan and close to the Illinois border. “Do you know who she went with?”

  “No.”

  Brynn heard the pain in his voice. “Do you want to come over?” she asked. “I could use some help. I’m doing some searches for Kendall.”

  Shari Nashlund was sitting alone in the ICU waiting room in Kenosha Hospital. Kendall had gone directly there to look for Shari while TJ tried to find them some coffee.

  Shari rushed over to Kendall when she saw her. “I tried to reach you, but your phone didn’t pick up. I’m sorry, but I wanted to get here as soon as I could.”

  The women hugged. Kendall, who thought she’d gotten over her self-consciousness around Nash’s petite wife, awkwardly backed away from the embrace. “Have they told you how he is?”

  “He was in surgery when I got here; they said he had to have an emergency splenectomy to control internal bleeding.”

  Kendall knew enough about the procedure to know it was only done if his internal injuries were extensive. But he could live without a spleen. His immune system would be somewhat compromised, but that would be a small price to pay for being able to live.