The Other Path
Chapter 24
"And how did David feel?" Kate asks gently.
"He was scared all the time, terrified," Dana replies. "But he wasn't afraid of dying. He was afraid of living. Everything that was easy or fun for other people was torture for him. He didn't want to talk to anyone because he didn't know what to say. And he didn't want anyone seeing him because he didn't know how to act. He couldn't even handle going through the line in the lunchroom. So he sat as far away from everyone as he could, and I brought stuff to him. He loved math and computers because he didn't have to figure out anything about people. And to work on a computer, he didn't have to be with anyone."
"So why was he friends with you?" Kate queries.
"Not friends, co-sufferers, except it isn't as bad for me as it was for David. I think he may have liked me, but I'm not sure."
"But you loved him."
Dana's eyes glisten. "Yes, I did. But he couldn't let even me be close to him for very long. We still talked online. He told me how he designed Trembler so that he and anyone else could do their own thing, no matter how strange it might seem to the world. And later, he told me how he designed the hidden passages in the Palomar building to get around without being seen. And the builders had to sign non-disclosures with multi-million dollar penalties if they ever let his secret out. He had his lawyers convince the city that the whole building was a trade secret, so the plans wouldn't be public. He didn't talk to anyone there either. He sent memos and texts. No one was allowed to come to his office without permission. And if he was there, they couldn't go past the door. I guess someone must have come eventually to find his body. "
"But you got into the passages," Kate argues.
"Only once. He begged me to come. He said that even with everything he did to keep people away, he couldn't stand his life anymore. He pleaded for me to help him. And he told me how to do it so that he wouldn't see me coming and the end would be quick. I loved him too much to let him suffer any longer. I've heard of doctors helping patients with the pain they couldn't cure die. In some places, that's even legal. That's what David wanted. And that was all I could give him."
"You should talk to a lawyer now," Kate advises.
Dana sinks down, pillowing her head on her arms. "Yes. I will."
As Kate leaves the interrogation room, Rick wraps her in his arms, her cheek against the comforting warmth of his chest. "Not the kind of confession you expected."
"No," Kate admits. "The motive was love, but I have no idea how a jury will see it. I guess a lawyer would try the kind of defense used for a mercy killing. And she'll need a really good one. David's kind of pain is a lot harder to understand than something physically excruciating and terminal like cancer."
"So you believe what Dana told you?"
"I do. She's smart, and she's stubborn. She could have kept her mouth shut and had some lawyer claim that finding her DNA in the tunnel didn't prove she killed David. She might even have gotten off that way. But she needed someone to understand David's pain."
"And hers," Rick adds. "So now what?"
"So now I'm going to call my father and see if he can recommend an attorney who can help her."
"Want some company?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Rick hands Kate a latte topped with generous shavings of dark chocolate. "I got this at the Java Hut down the block. I didn't think the swill the squad drinks would be much comfort. Did you get a hold of the lawyer your father suggested?"
"Uh-huh. She should be able to see Dana in a couple of hours."
"So, it's pretty much out of your hands, isn't it?"
"Simmons will want a full report. But unless I have to testify, pretty much."
"You want to go back to the precinct?"
"No. We dropped the Slasher Murders in mid-stream to track down Dana. I want to pick up where we left off and talk to Miriam Halpern."
"She was the month-old hire at Piebold?"
"Right," Kate confirms. "And she's a senior vice president now. Hopefully, we won't have too much trouble getting past her assistant."
Rick winks. "If the Beckett badge won't do it, I can try the Castle charm."
"Ms. Halpern has a very full schedule today," assistant Bryan Fairfield insists. "You'll have to wait until I can squeeze you in."
"This is a murder investigation," Kate declares. "We don't get squeezed in."
"If I understand what you told me, the murder was eighteen years ago," Bryan retorts. "I can't see the urgency, and I doubt that Ms. Halpern will either."
Rick drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Look, we both know that Piebold's been having its difficulties with the press as of late. As I recall, it was something about numbers rolled back on voting machines you sold – after your president promised to deliver an election."
Bryan swallows. "Those stories were a complete fabrication."
"I'm sure they were," Rick agrees, "but it wouldn't hurt at all for a story to get out there about how helpful Piebold was to the investigation of a heinous crime, would it?"
"No, I suppose not," Bryan concedes. "I'll talk to Ms. Halpern and see what I can do."
Rick notes that Miriam Halpern's welcoming smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. That can mean one of two things: that he and Kate aren't welcome or that Miriam uses botox. He pegs them as equally possible. "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle, how can Piebold assist the NYPD?"
"Piebold can't, but I believe you can, Ms. Halpern," Kate responds. "We're investigating a murder that took place a month after Piebold hired you."
"Than what does it have to do with me?" Miriam questions.
"The victim was a Ms. Zina Lorofsky. I believe you were acquainted," Kate replies.
"Yes, I remember Zina. She signed off on hiring me. If I knew anything about her murder, I would have told the police 18 years ago. But I didn't know anything more than I read in The Ledger. I still don't."
"But you know about you. We have a theory," Kate explains, "that the murderer had a problem with one of Ms. Lorofsky's hires. I believe you might fit the profile. Tell me, did anyone object to you taking a job at Piebold?"
"I don't know how you came up with that. I never put it in my bios," Miriam admits. "But yes, my family and my church were deeply against it."
"Against a woman working outside the home?" Rick prompts.
"Yes, exactly. "I'm one of nine children, and I helped my mother raise some of them. So did two of my sisters. Still, my mother was always exhausted. She looked older than she was. And worse, she never got to do the things she dreamed of doing. In the few spare minutes she had, she watched travel shows on TV. And she asked me to take travel books out of the library for her. But she never went much further than the church or the supermarket. I could see the life being sucked out of her, and I couldn't stand the thought of that happening to me."
"So you came to Piebold," Kate surmises.
"I did, and I've always thought it was the best thing I've ever done. But if Zina died because of it…. You'll get the bastard, won't you?"
"We'll try our best," Kate promises.
