Daddy's Little Killer (40 page)

The gasp cut me off.  Hartley's not
Orion's.

"Mr. Hartley?"

"That isn't Harlan Hartley, Doc.  Meet
Dennis Bennett," Johnny's dry pronouncement floated over my
shoulder.  "Curious that he's living out here in seclusion
under an assumed name, wouldn't you say?"

"Is this true?" I asked.

"You'd better come inside," Dennis
muttered.  He stepped aside and let us pass.

"Where is Vinnie tonight?"

"Someplace safe," Bennett squinted hard at
me.  "I sent him away this morning, and I will not tell you
where he is, not while somebody is threatening his life."

"I wasn't aware that happened, Mr.
Bennett.  I would like to know why you gave me a false
identity.  Or does Vinnie believe you're his dead mother's
brother too?"

He sat at the kitchen table and sealed his
lips defiantly.

"I can at least explain why he doesn't like
me, Doc.  Dennis blamed me for not keeping Masconi in jail for
murdering Brighton.  I wonder if he's aware that we had the
wrong suspect after all."

"I think that's obvious,"
Bennett snarled.  "Maybe if you'd done your job better all
those years ago, Gwen wouldn't be dead,
Mr. Johnny-come-lately
."

There was no point in correcting his misuse
of the slur.  Johnny wasn't new to this case or what was going
on in Darkwater Bay. 

"What I want to know, Dennis, is why this
man has targeted your family so many times over the years."

He picked at the cuticle of his left
thumb.  "Maybe because he's nuttier than a fruitcake. 
Isn't that your job to figure out?"

"First Gwen, then Frank's Gwen, then
Brighton, and now Frank's Gwen again.  That's four assaults on
three Bennett girls in over thirty years.  Would you like to
hear my theory?"  I had his undivided attention after
that.

"You know about my sister?"

I nodded.  "I think that if Brighton
and Gwen hadn't reminded him of her so very much, he would've left
them alone.  Dennis, tell me something.  Is that black
hair your natural color?"

He stiffened.

"It's unusual for a man your age.  No
gray, and it's so black.  Some might say blue-black."

"He's a natural blond just like Gwen and
Brighton were," Johnny said.  "That's a good question though,
Doc.  Why did you dye your hair, Dennis?  Were you trying
to hide from someone?"

"It's none of your business."

"I think it's obvious, Johnny.  Dennis
here has been living a lie for a very long time.  I doubt
Vinnie knows he's really Dennis Bennett.  Vinnie would've been
what, three years old when Brighton died?  That murder was so
close on the heels of what Gwen suffered, I'm sure that Dennis and
Frank both knew that their family was this guy's target.  Gwen
changed her name to hide her true identity."

"She wasn't married to Tom Foster?"

Dennis stared at the tabletop.

"Wow.  She lied to me," Johnny
murmured.  "She told me that Tom was a youthful mistake that
lasted less than two months."

"There's nothing wrong with using a
different name.  It ain't a crime," Dennis said.

"No, it certainly isn't.  What is a
crime is dragging your heels and refusing to help me catch the man
who has tortured this family for more than three decades. 
Tell me what really happened, Dennis?  Why all of a sudden did
you decide to live life as Harlan Hartley, to color your hair, to
lay low buried on this dilapidated farm?"

"We have our share of enemies.  It was
Jenny's public fight, not mine."

"Your ex-wife?"

Bennett nodded.  "I wanted no part of
it.  It was over as far as I was concerned."

"Because you know what really happened to
Salvatore Masconi."

He looked up
sharply.  "I don't know any specifics, but there are some who
were there for this family when
his
case fell apart.  We were assured that
Masconi would never hurt another girl again."

"I doubt he harmed any in the first place,"
I said.  "Salvatore Masconi was framed for killing your
daughter, Mr. Bennett.  We have conclusive evidence that he
was innocent."

Dennis hung his head.  "Well then, I'm
sorry for that."

"This friend who assured you, I'm pretty
sure I know who it was," I said.  "He probably helped you get
Vinnie away from here this morning, didn't he?"

Nod.

"Danny Datello."

"He has tried to help us!"

"We will have an official conversation about
Mr. Datello another day, Dennis.  You may count on it. 
What I need to know is why you changed your appearance about the
same time that Gwen changed her name.  Who were you hiding
from?"

"Like I said.  We had enemies."

"You have one enemy in particular.  Why
does he hate you so much?"

Bennett's voice dropped to a low rasp. 
"We tried to keep him away from her."

"From your sister."  Suddenly, the
light began to illuminate what had remained so obscure in my
mind.

"He wasn't good enough for her, what with
his family history and all.  They were low people, Dr.
Eriksson, crazy people."

"Crazy in what way?"

"His mama," Dennis said.  "She was out
at Dunhaven for years.  In fact, his daddy raised him alone
for the most part."

"What was wrong with his mother?"

"Schizophrenia I think.  This was a
long time ago.  People had different ideas about places like
Dunhaven back then.  It didn't even have the same name. 
Fielding Psychopathic Asylum was what they called it in those
days.  He had such a terrible crush on Gwen.  It scared
us, you know?  We weren't sure what somebody like that might
do to her."

"How did Gwen feel about him?"

Dennis shrugged.  "At first she liked
him well enough.  Frank and I were a lot older you see. 
Overprotective I guess you'd call it.  He was twelve years her
senior and I was ten."

"But something happened, didn't it? 
Gwen became frightened of him."

"I suppose she did."

"Did Gwen ask you to make him leave her
alone?"

Tears slid down Bennett's cheeks. 
"Yeah.  So Frank and I roughed him up a little.  His
daddy came out here and got up in our daddy's face about it, said
he'd go to the cops if we didn't make it right.  Our daddy
didn't back down.  He told the story about how this guy's son
followed Gwen around all the time and scared her.  He said the
boy threatened Gwen if she wouldn't go steady with him."

"I see.  And how did he respond?"

"The kid didn't come back to school for a
couple of weeks.  When he did, Gwen said you could still see
the bruises."

"He beat his son."

"Within an inch of his life, or so we
heard.  He blamed me 'n Frank, I expect.  We never gave
it much thought to tell you the truth, not even the next year when
Gwen disappeared.  We figured it was just one of those random
things."

"But after Brighton?"

Dennis Bennett's face grew taut.  "When
I saw what they promoted that bastard to do in Darkwater Bay, I
knew we'd never get justice for my daughter.  Just like we'll
never get justice for Gwennie's murder now."

Reality of all the events I'd witnessed and
experienced since my arrival in Darkwater Bay snapped into place in
my head.  "This is important, Dennis.  Does Danny Datello
know anything that you just told me?"

"He's out of town with Vinnie.  Are you
telling me that for all these years, this has been the guy, the one
who killed my baby, my sister, my niece?"

"I'm not certain yet," I said, "but I have
the means to find out, Mr. Bennett.  Please don't mention what
you told me to anyone.  I promise.  I will not rest until
we have this man captured." 

I barely waited for Bennett's reluctant nod
before necessity propelled me out of the Bennett kitchen.

Orion followed me out to his car. 

"Do you plan on filling me in on your little
epiphany any time soon?"

"Can you call Darnell and get a John Doe
warrant?  I don't want to take any chances on news of our lead
falling into the wrong hands."

Orion gripped my arm and yanked me out of
the jaws of the car.  "Tell me who you think did this,
Doc?"

"You heard everything he said as clearly as
I did, Johnny.  Christ, this is your city.  I shouldn't
have to explain what the big clue was."

"Assume that I'm too close to the case
then.  Fresh eyes have opened a lot of doors in the past few
days."

"We need to search his home first.  If
we find the safe, it'll probably lead to more conclusive
evidence."

"Like the trailer where he keeps the girls
and commits his crimes."

"It's possible."

"Do I get to know the address?"

I bit down on my lower lip.  The second
I said it, Orion would know who the suspect was.  Could I
control him if he went ballistic?

"Twenty-one three seventeen Carter
Place."

Orion's blue eyes shot
sparks in the moonlight.  "
Jerry
Lowe
?  You think Jerry Lowe is smart
enough to play this kind of game or ambitious enough to commit damn
near perfect crimes?"

"I take it you disagree."

"I thought you told Chris this guy was
older. You think Lowe started killing when he was what, fifteen?
What did Bennett say that led you to this conclusion?"

"He couldn't believe it
when he saw what position
that man
had been promoted to.  I know for a fact
that after Harry McNamara died that Lowe lobbied hard for the
job.  He didn't officially get it until shortly before
Brighton Bennett's murder.  Briscoe told me when he gave me
the Darkwater Bay history lesson.  I should think you'd
remember the event clearly, Johnny.  It was Jerry Lowe that
wanted you moved from Downey Division to central.  Why do you
suppose he did that?"

"Because I was a good cop!"

"Too good.  He had to keep close tabs
on you.  Get the John Doe warrant.  If I'm wrong, I'll
eat my words."

Chapter 38

The moment we entered Lowe's kitchen through
the back door of his house, a flood of memories assailed me. 
I gripped Johnny's arm.

"What's wrong?  Chris assured me that
Lowe is out at OSI with everyone else.  He's not gonna walk in
on us, Doc."

"I remember."

"You remember what you were doing outside
Lowe's house?"

"Not that specifically.  I remember
what I was doing here.  Johnny, he invited me to come here for
lunch Thursday.  We sat at that table and had zucchini
frittata.  I started feeling funny after I started drinking
the glass of chardonnay he gave me," I pointed, "through
there.  In the living room."

Johnny charged through the kitchen. 
"In here?  Then what happened?"

"I felt worse after we started eating
lunch.  Dizzy.  Kind of woozy."

"The son of a bitch drugged you."

"Why not kill me then when he had the
chance?"

"Doc, I do not wanna think about how close
you came to having that happen."

Carrie's recollection of the needle in her
arm ricocheted through me.  "He drugs his victims,
Johnny.  He did it to Carrie Blevins.  The fact that he
did it to me without a needle isn't important."

"Or it explains that bruise on your
arm."

"You mean Maya didn't draw my blood for
testing Thursday night?"

"Of course not.  I would've hounded her
for the results if she had."

"If I was already incapacitated, why inject
me again?"

"Let's look for his safe.  Maybe we'll
have a better idea if we find it."

We were half way through the search of the
living room when Orion's cell phone rang.  He spoke too low
for me to pick up more information than it was Darnell who
called.  When the call ended, he didn't resume his search.

"What's wrong?"

"They didn't have to reach too far to
pretend that someone died at your house, Helen."

"What do you mean?"

"They found two bodies.  Winslow just
called Chris.  Identification on one was easy to
confirm.  He died of a single gunshot wound to the head."

"Rodney?"

Orion nodded.  "She's not certain on
the other yet, waiting for dental records to confirm the ID found
on the body."

"Who was it?"

"Matt Rogers."

"Rogers?  What on earth was he doing
there?'

"Probably his master's bidding.  His
body was found in close proximity to the center of the explosion
that destroyed the house.  Chris says it looks like he planted
the bomb and something went wrong."

"We need to find the safe, Johnny.  If
Lowe could exert that kind of influence over his subordinates, I
can only imagine the lengths he went to to control Hardy and
Weber."

"You think they're being blackmailed?"

"They admitted as much to me
Wednesday.  Of course no one has ever tipped his hand and
given them reason to suspect the identity of the blackmailer, but
any time they stepped out of line, they both received stern
reminders.  Given their behavior on Thursday when I met with
them after interviewing Datello, I surmised that they had received
a dire warning for bringing me into the department."

"I see."

"The only person in that meeting who was
remotely supportive was Jerry Lowe."

"To gain your confidence so you'd accept his
invitation for a cozy dinner for two in his house, no doubt."

"Are you pissed?"  Orion's tone and
terse words said he was.  I couldn't fathom why.  "And
for the record, it was lunch.  You make it sound like I had a
date with the guy."

"Was it?"

"Was it what?"

"A date."

"Of course not."  Still, I didn't
mention that Myre was present at lunch too.  Doubt leeched
into the periphery of my certainty.  "He's a colleague,
Johnny.  I was curious about him, about why Weber and Hardy
had pretty much cut him off from anything pertaining to this
investigation."