The Children's Corner
Chapter 56
Kate smiles across the table. "Ms. Stow, this is Mr. Castle. He consults for the department. Ms. Maitland, you and Mr. Castle have already met. Now, I have a few things I need to straighten out. You each gave me the impression that you thought the other was, to put it bluntly, crazy over the issue of animal adoption. Your manager, Mr. Wilson, however, told me that you two take your breaks at the same time and generally hang out together."
"In my experience, friends don't usually call each other crazy," Castle inserts.
"So, ladies," Kate continues. "What's going on here?"
Amy sticks a well-chewed fingernail in her mouth as Stockard sits straighter in her chair. "Nothing," Stockard insists. "Yeah, we're both crazy – about animals. We don't want to see them abandoned to die. There's nothing wrong with that."
"No, there isn't," Kate agrees. "So the question becomes, what did you do about it?"
As Amy starts on another fingernail, Stockard bumps her with her elbow. "We didn't do anything except try to make the customers understand."
"How about Chloe Lambert? Did she understand?" Rick interjects.
Stockard snorts. "She was a plant lady. She didn't care about the damage her crap could do."
"And yet you seemed quite distraught about her death," Rick points out.
"I don't want to see anyone die," Stockard argues after an almost imperceptible pause. "And why are you leaning on Amy and me? Prints O'Plenty has six other employees. So why aren't you questioning them?"
"Because two very sharp detectives went over the security footage from the night of the fire. Usually, the cameras don't pick up that much in the dark, except near the lights. But you two knew that, didn't you? Because you both parked in the shadows. But we know your cars were the only ones in the lot when the fire broke out. I imagine you didn't realize the blaze would provide enough light for the cameras to pick them up. So what were you doing there?" Kate demands.
Amy's lip trembles, and Stockard throws her a warning look. "We don't have to talk to you. We don't have to say anything."
"That's true," Kate replies. "But when the D.A. decides to prosecute you for felony murder, the only way things will go easier for you is if I talk sweet to him. And right now, you're not giving me any reason to do that. So I'll give you some time to think about it. Ms. Maitland, you wait here. And Ms. Stow, you come with me."
Amy gazes around her as Kate leads the way to Holding. "You're going to lock me up?"
"Until we have another chance to chat."
Tears begin to leak from Amy's eyes. "I want Stockard."
"Right now, you might be better off without her. The way she wants you to go, you'll both get life." Kate opens the door to a cell and gestures inside. "Believe me. In there is heaven, compared to state prison."
"Detective Beckett, wait!" Amy urges as Kate closes the door behind her. "Can you really help me?"
"I'll do my best," Kate promises.
"OK, I'll tell you what you want to know."
"You're doing the right thing, Amy," Kate assures the young woman. The detective re-opens the cell door. "We'll go talk now."
Kate signals Rick to follow as she takes Amy into the auxiliary interrogation room. "You want some water?" she asks.
Amy shakes as she takes the chair Kate indicates. "Please."
"I'll get it," Rick volunteers.
Kate checks to make sure the microphone and the camera are on, and Rick returns with bottled water from the vending machine. Kate settles into a seat next to him. "Let's start from the beginning, Amy. How long have you and Stockard known each other?"
"We met in sixth grade. We didn't go to the same school, but we both hung around a dog park. Some of the owners let us play with their dogs. We both loved them, but neither of our families lived in a building that allowed pets. Then when we started high school, we both volunteered at Humane Homes. That's when we found out how many animals are abandoned because people have no idea what caring for a dog or cat is like.
"Sometimes we went to some of those art shows with all the cute pictures of animals. Stockard recognized some people we saw at the shows when they turned in their animals. So we started to figure out why those people decided not to keep them. Then we, Stockard, really, came up with a plan.
"We signed up for chemistry classes at school and the ones the fire department teaches about fire safety. Between those things, we figured out how we could start fires to get rid of those pictures."
"Did you start the fire at Schnelling House?" Rick asks.
Amy swallows. "We did. We took the tour a few times to plan it and make sure we knew when no one would be in the building. We never wanted to hurt anyone. We got jobs at Prints O'Plenty so we could figure out how to set the fire there when no one was around. And we knew that the Beauty Place and The Greenery would be closed too. Stockard wanted the Greenery to burn too so the plants wouldn't poison any animals. It sold a lot of stuff that would hurt them. I knew about a dog that died after eating a rubber tree plant. And the Greenery sold a lot of others, like asparagus ferns, that would make animals very sick."
"You said you didn't want to hurt anyone. Did you know Chloe Lambert stayed late at the Greenery?" Kate presses.
"I didn't, I swear!"
"How about Stockard? Could she have known?" Rick probes.
"No. I don't know. Maybe. Sometimes Stockard worked later than I did. And she liked to eat at the Thai place across the street. I can't eat there because I'm allergic to peanuts. She might have noticed Ms. Lambert stayed at the Greenery after closing. But I don't think so. She never said anything to me about it. And I really am sorry that Ms. Lambert died."
Kate nods. "I'm sure you are, Amy. One more thing. Have you ever met Leland Joffrey?"
"No, but I think I heard Mr. Wilson talking about him, once. He was grumbling, really. Something about owners who don't care what happens to their stores. I didn't catch much, but Mr. Wilson wanted to update some fixtures or something. And I guess Mr. Joffrey said no because Mr. Wilson didn't change anything."
"Moneygrubber," Rick mutters under his breath.
"Is that it, Detective?" Amy wonders.
"For now. Later, you'll have to give me and the arson investigator exact details on how you and Stockard started fires."
"Do I have to go back to a cell?"
"For a while. But you can call a lawyer, and we'll see how things work out."
"How about Stockard?" Rick asks after L.T. leads Amy back to Holding.
"We'll hold her where she can't talk to Amy. And my guess is the next thing she'll do is ask for a lawyer," Kate adds.
"After what Amy told us, she'll need a good one. But what are you going to do about Leland Joffrey?" Rick wonders. "You've still got the whole drug thing hanging out there."
"If he isn't connected to Chloe Lambert's death, that's more a thing for Narcotics or the DEA. Maybe both. Ryan has the right connections. I'll have him make the hand-off."
"So, I guess that ties things up for now." Rick glances at his watch. "Oh, I've just got time to make it to Kitty Heaven. Lily found Felicia's mouse. But it got caught in the springs of the couch. It leaks now. And according to my research, ingesting too much of a good thing could make our favorite feline feel poorly. So I'm picking up the sturdiest model. The picture of it looks like Mighty Mouse.
Rick's rendition of Mighty Mouse's, "Here I come to save the day!" floats back to Kate as the elevator doors close.