Shattered 16
When Ackley relayed Connie's situation, how she had gone into premature labor and was in ICU, Norman merely stared and nodded. His flat affect did not impress the authorities as being in anyway concerned with his wife's condition.
"D-did she tell you, I w-was away?"
"She hasn't spoken with us yet. Where were you?"
"O-Oakland. I drove up t-two days ago."
"What for?"
"To v-visit an old f-friend." Norman wanted to tear out his tongue to keep from stammering. He felt weak, vulnerable-- and stupid. They probably think it's a sign of guilt.
"This friend got a name?"
"I d-don't want her involved."
Ackley smirked at the mention of 'her'. It just kept getting juicer.
"You don't have much of a choice, if this woman can place you in Oakland at the time of the murder."
"W-what happened to Mrs. H-Harrison? W-was she robbed?"
"Only of her life. And you say you didn't do it."
"I d-didn't."
"But your prints are all over the place."
"It w-wasn't me! I t-told you about b-being there to fix the c-c-cabinet."
"You'd better give us that name, and prove to us you weren't even in town when the murder occurred. Then you can go home."
"I st-stayed at the Park Gr-Grande." Norman stated for the record. "Ch-check the hotel. I p-paid by credit c-card. Th-they can v-vouche for me."
Ackley frowned, and slapped his note pad closed.
"Have it your way, Bates. But I'm telling you now, unless there's someone there who remembers seeing your face, a hotel receipt is only going to prove your credit card was in Oakland."
Ackley's chair made a harsh groan across the floor as he rose to leave. A moment later, Norman was alone again and free to rest his head on the table in despair.
It has to be enough-- someone will remember. At least maybe that security guard, in the bedroom. Oh Laney, I'm so sorry! You'll be so worried. But I won't get you involved. I won't! I promise! Connie will back up my story. I told her I was going to Oakland. They'll see the note. Oh, God help me.
Warman and Ackley bumped against traffic as they hurried along the hall.
"I've got a man checking the Harrison kitchen, for that cabinet repair."
"Think that's on the level?"
"It might explain the prints. Or be enough to put doubt in a jury's mind. But it does place him on a familiar footing with Harrison, and there was no evidence of forced entry, so she knew her attacker, or at least let him in."
"Or left the door unlocked by accident. Crime of opportunity."
"Yeh, like some random psycho was going up and down the street trying doorknobs until he got lucky. Anyway, the doc just called. The Missus is awake so now's our chance to get aome answers."
"Or a few more questions."
They were out in the lot now, which was crowded with cars despite the hour. It was still raining slightly, though the chill air was something of a relief from the stuffy offices and recycled AC.
"They get anything from the car?" Ackley turned up his collar as they skipped puddles to the unmarked vehicle.
"No official report yet, but I got the 'unofficial' from Brooks. He said there was nothing out of the ordinary. They want to get a warrant for the computer, in case he's got anything incriminating stored. Oh, and there was one thing. A box of kid stuff."
They slid into their seats with Warman behind the wheel.
"Kid stuff? What's that supposed to mean? Porn?"
"You wish. No, just some little pictures and notes, toys and postcards that look like something you'd empty out of an old dresser drawer. Bates as a kid, and some little girl."
"Got a name on the girl?"
"Elena Kirkpatrick. They were working on a background search, just in case Bates started his hobby early. If she pops up as a 'missing person' we might have a cold case on our hands."
"Something to hold him on, anyway. How long you think before he realizes he's not under arrest and can leave?"
"I don't get the impression he does a lot of thinking for himself. He's like a kid-- a wet-behind-the-ears teenager, lost and confused. Let's get a coffee."
Dr. Corwin had remained on duty in order to be present when the detectives returned. Connie Bates had stabilized and the pregnancy was no longer under immediate threat. He felt it would be best for all concerned to let the investigators get what they were after. Having police present in the ward was proving too distracting to the rest of the staff.
The pair were shown to the patient's private room, and cautioned not to upset her. In short, keep the interview brief and if the slightest rise in blood pressure was monitored on the bedside equipment, they would have to leave. Agreeing with all stipulations, Ackley and Warman were allowed to approach the bed.
Connie opened tired eyes, catching sight of her callers beyond the oxygen tubes and IV lines that flanked her.
"Mrs. Bates, I'm detectives Len Warman and this is my partner, Steve Ackley. We need to ask you a few questions."
She nodded and observed their movements through half-closed eyes. One stepped to the foot of the bed, the other opened a notebook. They were both perhaps 40, of similar height and coloring, to eyes that couldn't focus.
"We're investigating the murder of your neighbor Mrs. Gloria Harrison. You have our sympathies. I understand you and your husband were friendly with her?"
Another nod. Connie's mouth felt dry and when she spoke her voice was raspy.
"She had no one to help her. Norman ran errands for her or did chores."
"Where was your husband last night?"
Connie shook her head slightly.
"I'm not sure. He said he was going up to Oakland for a few days."
"Does he have family there?"
"He has no family."
"A friend, perhaps?"
"I don't know why Oakland. My husband never had many friends. You don't think he had anything to do with this, do you?"
"We don't know, Mrs. Bates. But his absence does pose the question."
"He wouldn't have hurt her. He's not like that." Not anymore…
"I understand how you feel. But it's important to establish his actions and location before we can eliminate him as a suspect."
"Mrs. Bates, how has he been acting lately? Is he under any sort of strain? Doing anything unusual?"
"We've had a few….. disagreements lately. We're both under a bit of stress with the pregnancy. But you don't think it could be anything that serious, do you?"
"Probably not." The speaker smiled benignly and tucked his notepad into a breast pocket. "And I'm sure if there had been any warning signs of trouble, you would have seen it. We'll check out everything we can, and anything he might tell us, just to be sure."
"One more thing." The second man spoke. "Dispatch said you're the one who phoned in the original complaint. You'd gotten a phone call from Mrs. Harrison's house-- a hang up?" He knew the old woman had been dead for awhile by the time that call was made; there was no need to mention the fact it had certainly been the murderer. "Have you been getting any similar calls?"
Connie's eyes grew wide in shock. Was someone stalking them? Or could it have been Norman?
"My God, what's happening?" she gasped.
The detectives climbed back into the car, keeping small talk at a minimum until they'd left the hospital lot. Too many reporters would pay some eavesdropping schmuck for anything that was overheard. Ackley sipped his cold coffee and grimaced.
"What's your take?"
"Not a lot to hold Bates on but doubt. Until we get word from the ME on exact TOD, and proof that he was out of town, if it exists---"
"If he walks, he's gone."
"Don't think I haven't thought of that. The officers that brought him in, they planning on charging him with resisting?"
"Hopefully. Hell it's something. But something really bothers me."
"What? More than the lousy weather, shitty hours and ugly media?"
"I mean, I really like Bates for this. It would put him away for life. We got prints, similarities with his past killings, and what a history."
"But?"
"It's too…different somehow. I mean, he left the scene a mess. In the past he was almost meticulous. That's what kept him free for so long. No bodies, no crime scenes."
"Yeh, but remember, investigations have come a long way since then. And after all, he was being a good little boy, cleaning up after his mother so she wouldn't get in trouble." Warman's partner shivered after this statement. Murder scenes he could deal with, but the psychology of a murderous mama's boy?
"And the victim. His little-old-lady friends were mother figures. You think he was planning to 'keep' this one and something went wrong?"
"Norman went wrong."
"The rest of his victims were girls and women-- they had a sexual component."
"Except the two men he killed to protect mom."
Warman's phone rang and he just handed it off to Ackley to handle.
"Yeh, what's up? We're on our way back."
"You talk to the wife?" the caller questioned.
"Yeh and I think she's got her doubts about hubby, too."
"You got kids, Ackley?"
"What? No-- you know that, Doug."
"Okay, so the name Laney O'Donnell won't mean anything to you."
"Should it?"
"Hope you're sitting down. Bates' young female friend we did a trace on? Elena Kirkpatrick? She grew up to be a writer of children's books-- Laney O'Donnell, and pretty famous I'm told."
"So no missing person."
"Here's the kicker. She was in Oakland doing a book signing stint two days ago."
"At least she won't be hard to find. Thanks. See you in 10."
Ackley closed the phone and passed it back, but Warman was still in the dark. His friend smirked.
"Looks like we found Bates' alibi witness. You're gonna love this."