Wild Break Page 10

I parked the bike, pulled off my helmet, and strolled into the waiting area. Piano music filled the air. A mom read a magazine while she waited for her daughter. I peered into the music room and saw a woman I assumed was Harmony Grant. She was coaching a child prodigy that couldn't have been more than nine years old. The little girl tickled the keys with her tiny fingers, reproducing an almost flawless rendition of Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 23, No. 6, in E-flat Major.

  I smiled at the kid’s mom and took a seat, waiting for the private lesson to end.

  The prodigy finished playing, and Harmony gave the wonder kid a few notes, though she probably didn't need any coaching.

  Harmony escorted her back to the waiting room after the lesson, and the kid’s mom smiled. "Do you think we can move next Saturday’s appointment to Sunday?”

  Harmony smiled. "I'll check the schedule and send you an email. It may have to be later in the afternoon."

  "That's no problem."

  They said their goodbyes and left.

  Harmony addressed me. "Can I help you?"

  I flashed my badge and introduced myself. "I'd like to talk to you about Damien Silver and Alana Steel.”

  There was a momentary twitch of displeasure on her face, then she forced a smile. "Sure. How can I help? I told police everything I knew at the time."

  Harmony had curly brown hair that tickled her shoulders and brown eyes. She had a kind face, and a slender figure.

  "Colt Steel's execution date is fast approaching. His family asked me to look at things once again."

  Harmony cringed.

  "You have some talented students. You must be a good teacher?"

  She smiled. "The gifted ones make me look good."

  "You testified that you were with Damien Silver the night of Alana's murder."

  Harmony swallowed. "Yes. That's correct."

  “Is there anything you want to change about that statement?”

  My question lingered in the air for a moment.

  "No. Why would I?”

  I shrugged. "I found that sometimes details become fuzzier as time passes, and at other times, they come into focus."

  "I don't know what to tell you, Deputy. I stand by my testimony."

  "What can you tell me about Damien Silver?"

  She hesitated. "Have you met the man?"

  "I have."

  "What did you think of him?"

  “I’m more interested in your opinion.”

  She thought for a moment. “He’s an attractive man. I think that’s what drew me to him. That and his confidence and self-assuredness. But pretty soon I realized he is just a narcissist.”

  “Why did you two break up?"

  "Why does anyone break up?" Harmony asked. "It just didn't work out. People grow apart. I don't think I lit his fire the way Alana did. I was always the one chasing after him. Apparently, he never stopped chasing everyone else."

  "Did he ever get violent with you?"

  Harmony hesitated. "No. We got into our fights, like any couple. Things could get pretty heated from time to time. Lots of shouting. But he was never physical."

  "You think he is capable of murder?"

  "You never really know what someone is capable of, Deputy Wild. I think Damien Silver is capable of accomplishing anything he puts his mind to. He's very type-A. An achiever."

  "That's an odd way to characterize murder,” I said.

  "I wasn't characterizing murder. I'm just saying, in general terms, we all have a dark side. Even you, I'm sure."

  She was dancing around the issue.

  Harmony continued, "I think anyone is capable of anything, given the right situations. That's all I'm saying."

  “So, you think he could have killed her?"

  "Now you're putting words in my mouth. I was with Damien the night of the murder. He didn't kill her while I was with him."

  “Do you think it's possible you could have your timeline confused?"

  Harmony shook her head. "No. Absolutely not."

  "When was the last time you saw Damien?"

  "Oh, wow,” she said, searching her memory banks. "It's been years."

  The air was still for a moment.

  “Is there anything you’re not telling me?”

  “I’m telling you everything, Deputy.”

  I gave Harmony my card. "If you can think of any additional details, or things become clearer, give me a call."

  I left the music academy and stopped by JD's house. The lizard-green Porsche was in the driveway. I knocked on the door, and a few moments later, Scarlett pulled it open. Her eyes rounded with excitement, and she wrapped her arms around my neck before I could say anything about her hair.

  "It’s so good to see you!" she shrieked in my ear.

  She broke free, then fluffed her newly dyed blonde hair. "What do you think?"

  "I think it looks good!"

  Scarlett was fashionably dressed with a short, leather miniskirt, suede heels, and a cute top that hugged her form. She looked like she'd lost a few pounds, and her legs and abs had more definition. Scarlett always had a great body, but it was clear she had spent more time working on it. That kind of thing happens in LA. Everyone is perfect and in excellent shape in Hollyweird.

  "How long are you staying for?" I asked.

  "Just couple days. I've got my screen test at the end of next week." She crossed her fingers and bounced up and down.

  "You got this. I know it."

  "I hope so!"

  I stepped into the foyer. "Did JD tell you? Chloe-C wants to meet you."

  "What? Shut up! No way!”

  "Yes, way," I said.

  "How did you guys manage that?" Scarlett asked, in awe.

  Jack shrugged modestly. "You know. We have connections, and stuff."

  Scarlett rolled her eyes.

  Another car pulled into the driveway and honked the horn before Scarlett could close the door. A brunette in a midnight blue convertible Mustang waved.

  Scarlett gave me another hug and kissed me on the cheek. "Gotta run!”

  Jack's face twisted. "Where are you going?"

  "I'm gonna hang out with my friends. I gotta have a little fun during spring break."

  "You just got here!”

  "I'll be back later."

  JD gave up. There was no point arguing. He sighed, "Stay out of trouble."

  Scarlett rolled her eyes as she darted out the door and hopped into the passenger seat of the Mustang. The brunette put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway, music blasting. The tires barked as she put the ‘Stang into gear and drove away.

  "Spring break," JD muttered. "That girl is on perpetual break."

  "At least she's keeping her nose clean, and things are looking good for her," I said.

  "I'm not too big on some of the friends she has here. I think she's almost better off in Los Angeles, ironically."

  "She'll be fine," I assured.

  My phone buzzed, and I took the call. It was Denise. "Got an ID on the latest victim."

  25

  "Lauren James," Denise said. "Her friends saw the story on the news, got worried about her, and called the department. Their description of Lauren matches that of the victim. They’re on the way down to the Medical Examiner's Office to make a positive ID now. Might want to get over there and talk to them."

  "I'm on it,” I said.

  I left the bike at Jack's, and we hopped into the Porsche and fought the traffic to the Medical Examiner's Office. I hoped this was the last time I would have to talk to spring breakers about a dead friend, but I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that this wasn't anywhere close to being over.

  Two girls waited in the conference room. Brenda introduced JD and me, and we took a seat across the table from them. They were 18 or 19. The blonde's name was Eden, and the redhead was Autumn. They had weepy eyes and red noses. Mascara streaked their cheeks. They went through tissue after tissue, snatching it from the box on the table that Brenda had placed there for them.<
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  "I know this is difficult, but can you tell me about the last time you saw Lauren?” I asked.

  "We were out at Reefers,” Eden said.

  "No it was Bob's Barnacle," Autumn corrected.

  Eden's face twisted in thought. "Maybe you're right. No, it was Turtle Club." She thought about it for another moment. "I don't know. We were pretty wasted."

  "How are you girls getting into these bars?" I asked, knowing the answer.

  "We're not going to get in trouble, are we?” Eden asked, cautiously.

  "No."

  "Fake IDs,” she said.

  "Hand them over," I demanded.

  Their faces filled with looks of absolute horror.

  "I can’t,” Eden protested. “It's my sister's driver's license. She'll kill me!”

  "She’ll get another one,” I said. “Hand it over."

  Eden huffed, then dug into her purse. She pulled out the driver’s license and slid it across the conference table.

  My eyes turned to Autumn. "You, too."

  She groaned, but complied.

  "So, you were, possibly, at Turtle Club. What happened?" I asked.

  "We were doing Jell-O shots. Then we met these guys. Like I said, we were all pretty slitty."

  "Slitty?" JD asked.

  “Shitty, shit-faced, hammered. Keep up, Jack,” I said.

  His eyes narrowed at me.

  "So, you met these guys," I said. "Continue."

  "Lauren wanted to hook up with one of them. They left, and we never saw them again,” Eden said, beginning to sob.

  "What about the other guys you were talking to?"

  Eden shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they lost interest. They moved on, and so did we."

  “But they were friends with the guy Lauren left with?”

  “Yeah,” Eden said.

  "Do you think you would remember these guys if you saw them again?" I asked.

  "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I don't think I was that drunk."

  "You were pretty wasted," Autumn added.

  "Did you get worried about your friend when you didn't hear from her?" I asked.

  "Like I said, we thought she hooked up, and we figured we'd see her in the morning,” Eden said.

  "We really didn't think much about it," Autumn said. "Until we saw the news. We texted Lauren a few times, and she didn't get back with us. So we got worried, that's when we called the Sheriff’s Department to see if they had any more information about the victim."

  "Where are you girls from?" I asked.

  "We go to Ole Miss,” Eden said. “We’re just down here for spring break."

  "Do you remember these guys' names?"

  Eden and Autumn consulted.

  "I think the guy I was talking to was Charlie," Eden said. "And…"

  “Maddox,” Autumn added.

  “And I think the guy Lauren left with was Jasper?" Eden said, unsure.

  "Yeah, that was it. It was sort of an unusual name," Autumn added.

  "Do you think you could describe the guy that left with Lauren to our sketch artist?" I asked.

  Eden and Autumn exchanged a glance, then looked back to me and nodded.

  "Yeah, but why?" Eden asked. "I've got a picture of him."

  My brow lifted with surprise, and I exchanged a glance with JD. We were both wondering why they hadn't said so earlier. I addressed the girls and said in a slow, perturbed voice like I was talking to a child, “Can you show me the picture?"

  Eden pulled out her phone, launched the photos app, and scrolled through several images.

  She handed the device to me and I examined the photo. There were a few pictures of Lauren making out with the guy who they thought was named Jasper. There was also a front view of the two together looking into the camera.

  Jasper was a good-looking kid with curly brown hair with bangs that fell into his eyes. It was trimmed short on the sides. His skin was clear except for a pimple on his left cheek.

  I texted the images to my phone, then sent them to Isabella and asked her to run them through facial recognition software.

  I handed Eden back her phone.

  I thanked the girls for their time and told them we’d be in touch. Jack held the door for them as they left the conference room. Brenda escorted the sniffling girls to the lobby.

  Isabella called a few moments later. "The guy in the photo is Jasper Perry. Senior at Dartforth University. There are pending charges on his MasterCard at the Sun Palace Motel."

  "Did I tell you how fabulous you are?" I said.

  “Just remember that next time I need you,” Isabella said before she hung up.

  JD and I raced out of the Medical Examiner's Office and hopped into the Porsche, hoping to catch Jasper at the motel.

  26

  The Sun Palace was a small budget motel a few blocks from the beach. It was clean and well maintained and was popular among families and college kids.

  During spring break it turned into a giant frat house.

  We battled the traffic and parked on the street nearby. It took us a while to find a spot. We must have circled the block 3 times. The motel parking lot was full with tailgaters. There were kegs of beer in the beds of pickup trucks. People wandered from room to room. The two-story motel was L-shaped, and there was a small pool by the parking lot that had several lounge chairs at the bottom of the deep end.

  Things had gotten pretty rowdy.

  I certainly wouldn’t swim in that water. Lord knows how many drunk idiots had relieved themselves in it.

  We stopped in the office and asked the clerk for Jasper Perry's room number. He looked it up on the computer and told us #27. We made our way through the horde of spring breakers and found four guys drinking beer in a disheveled room.

  The door was open, and the stereo pumped. Empty beer bottles lined every available surface. Dirty clothes were wadded up on the floor. The shirtless men wore board shorts and looked hung over with dark circles and bloodshot eyes.

  I flashed a badge in the doorway. "Which one of you guys is Jasper Perry?"

  They all exchanged a concerned glance, and I recognized Jasper from the photo. His long bangs hung into his eyes. He brushed them aside and said, "That's me. What did I do now?"

  "You remember Lauren James, don't you?"

  He shrugged. "Who is she?"

  "The girl you left Turtle Club with last night?"

  He grinned. "Oh yeah, her. Look, I don't know what she told you, but she was totally willing."

  There were chuckles all around.

  "She didn't tell me anything," I said. "She's dead."

  His jaw dropped. "What?"

  "She was strangled, bound, and dumped in the water."

  He raised his hands innocently. "Don't look at me. She was breathing when I left her."

  "And where was that?"

  "In the alley behind Turtle."

  "Want to tell me what you were doing there with her?"

  "Bumping uglies, man."

  "In the alley?"

  "Right behind the dumpster. She was dirty." He grinned.

  "So, you're saying you two had consensual sex?"

  "She couldn't get enough."

  “Did you use protection?”

  “Of course. The girl was a skank.”

  “She’d clearly do anybody,” Maddox said.

  The room erupted with laughter, and Jasper threw a pillow at Maddox.

  Maddox was a thick blond that looked like a defensive linebacker.

  “And you just left her there when you were finished?” I asked.

  “What was I going to do? Take her home to mom?" Jasper asked.

  His friends laughed again.

  I wanted to smack the smug grins from their faces.

  "You do realize that a girl is dead? And you’re a prime suspect?"

  His face crinkled, dismissively. "That's bullshit. Look, we hooked up. What happened after that isn't my problem."

  "What time did you last see her in the alleyway?" I asked.


  He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe 1 AM?"

  "What did you do after that?"

  "I went back into the bar, found my friends, then we left."

  "I'll testify to that," Maddox, said.

  "Where did you go after Turtle?” I asked.

  "Bumper," Maddox said. "Romeo here met another girl and brought her home."

  The two high-fived. Their palms smacked, and they grinned maniacally.

  "And where is that girl?" I asked. "Should we be looking for her in the water, too?"

  Jasper's face crinkled, dismissively. "No. She left just before you came."

  "So, she spent the night here?"

  “Yeah," Jasper said.

  "Sounds like a long-term relationship for you," JD muttered.

  "Look, if you’ve got something on me, arrest me. Otherwise, leave me alone. I didn't kill that girl. What more do you want from me?"

  Jasper didn't strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed, but you'd have to be pretty dumb to strangle a girl that you'd been seen with in a club and had taken photos together. I didn't like these guys. They were first-class, grade-A douchebags. But that wasn't enough to arrest them.

  "Did you see anyone suspicious in the alley when you left?” I asked.

  “I really wasn’t paying attention."

  I glared at these ass-clowns for a moment. “Let’s see IDs.”

  Groans filled the room.

  “Come on. Let’s see them.”

  They fumbled for their wallets, and handed over their drivers licenses. They were all over 21.

  I figured if we searched the place, we could probably find something we shouldn’t. But at this point, we didn’t have probable cause.

  I told Jasper not to leave town without checking with me.

  JD and I left the Sun Palace and went to Oyster Avenue. It had been a hectic morning, and we were both pretty hungry.

  We stopped at Skiffs, and Jack ordered grilled salmon, and a side salad. I ordered the shrimp kabobs. JD was doing a pretty good job of sticking to a healthy diet. I had to admit, I was impressed.

  Skiffs was one of many nautical-themed restaurants with life preservers and vests hanging from the walls, along with anchors and various other pieces of nautical equipment. The walls were painted white and resembled the hull of a wooden boat. Round aquariums had been placed in the walls, dressed to look like portholes. They teamed with exotic, colorful fish.