Part 23 (1/2)
Dennis rolled his eyes. ”Because he's a big jerk.”
Suzanne's ears p.r.i.c.ked up. ”Why do you say that?”
”Because that's what Wade said. He said he was a big jerk and Alanna wouldn't forgive him.”
”Did he tell you why?”
”I thought it was 'cause he slept with another girl, but I don't know for sure.”
Suzanne needed a long conversation with her suspect.
”If I showed you some pictures, could you tell me if you recognize any of them?”
He nodded, then he stopped. ”Why?”
”I'm trying to-” she almost said help his brother, but she couldn't do it to this kid. He'd believe her, and when he found out she'd lied to prove his brother was a killer, he'd be devastated. She decided to go for the straightforward approach.
”Dennis, you're an adult, so I'm going to be honest with you, okay?”
He nodded.
”Four young women your brother knew are dead. That's what he lied to us about. He told me he didn't know the girls, but we learned that he did. That's part of my job, finding out when people are lying. People lie so they don't get in trouble. I think your brother might have lied because he hurt those girls.”
Dennis's bottom lip was trembling. ”Wade wouldn't.”
”You know, I was walking around here thinking that Wade seems like a good guy. He likes the Yankees. I like baseball, too.”
”He loves the Yankees.”
Suzanne smiled. ”And he has these awards for preserving historic property; he obviously cares a lot about the city. I can see why you like him a lot. You probably admire him, too.”
Dennis gave a half-shrug, half-nod.
”Is he a good brother?”
”Yeah. He didn't like how Mom made him watch me all the time, even when I got bigger. He said I was a dork. But he didn't like it if someone else ever called me a dork.”
Having brothers and sisters herself, Suzanne understood.
Suzanne switched the line of questioning. ”Have you been to any of the underground parties your brother likes to go to?”
”I don't like them.”
”But you've gone.”
”I went once. Much too loud. It hurt my ears and I hated it. I stay in the car now.”
Suzanne's instincts vibrated in her gut. ”Why do you go?”
”Wade lost his license for drunk driving. I have to drive him.”
”So you were at the party in Brooklyn last Sat.u.r.day?”
”I-” He stopped talking and frowned. He started biting his thumbnail again and didn't look at her. ”You're making me confused.”
”It's an easy question,” she said. ”You're a smart kid; I think you know why I'm asking.”
”No. No.” He wouldn't look at her.
Suzanne couldn't figure out if this was an act or self-preservation. Dennis didn't want to think about his brother being a cold-blooded killer, so he just shut down when he figured out where she was going with the questioning.
Either way, she was onto something, and she'd get Dennis to tell the truth. It was just a matter of time and patience.
She had all the time in the world.
Until James Thorpe walked into the apartment a minute later and put an end to her questioning of Dennis Barnett.
TWENTY-ONE.
Ryan lived in a nondescript, run-down, brown, eight-story apartment building with at least one hundred units in the Fifties near Third. Whereas the Upper West Side near Columbia was a mix of quaint old and new, this section had a mix of office buildings circa the 1950s and a hodgepodge of apartment housing.
Sean appreciated New York, he liked visiting, but seeing so many people packed together reminded him that he was a bit homesick for California and the elbow room he'd enjoyed.
”Keep your mouth shut,” Sean told Trey when he buzzed Ryan's apartment.
”But-”
Sean shot him a stern look and Trey scowled, but didn't talk back.
”Yup,” a voice said in the speaker.
”You called about a phone.”
”Come on up.”
The door buzzed and Sean led the way to the third-floor apartment. The hallways were so narrow he and Trey had to walk single file. The entire building smelled of stale food from poor ventilation, but it wasn't a tenement.
When Ryan opened the door, he seemed apprehensive at the sight of Sean and Trey. Ryan was of average height, gaunt but clean-cut enough that he might still be considered attractive to the opposite s.e.x.
Sean handed him his card. ”The phone you found belongs to a runaway. I need to ask you a few questions.”
”You're a private eye?” Ryan asked, skeptical.
”I was hired by her parents to find her. I know she was supposed to be at a party in Sunset Park. Can we come in?”
Sean took Ryan's moment of hesitation to enter the apartment. Trey was right behind him.