He looked at me with a pained expression that definitely wasn’t a by-product of the ache in his jaw and then reached up with his free hand to rub his neck.
“What the hell,” he muttered. “They’ve prob’ly hit ‘er with it by now anyway. The hair samples from the scenes matched with…”
I immediately cut him off, countering what he was going to say. “…I already told you there’s a logical explanation for that.”
“Let me finish…” he held out his hand to stop me. “They didn’t just match the samples from the two scenes here. They also measured up with hairs lifted from a homicide in Myrtle Beach that happened around a year ago.”
Now I knew what the evidence was Jackie had mentioned earlier.
I offered a cold rebuttal. “A couple of hairs aren’t conclusive, Ben. Even I know that. So does your crime lab. That’s thin and they know it.”
“You’re right, they aren’t,” he agreed. “As far as just comparison goes. But when ya’ combine ‘em with a DNA match, they suddenly take on a lot more weight.”
“So, you’re telling me Felicity’s DNA matches to evidence found at a crime scene in South Carolina?”
“And the two homicides here. Yeah, I’m afraid so. That’s the word anyway.”
“That’s ludicrous.”
“Maybe so, but from what I’m hearin’ it’s still a fact.”
I shook my head and stated flatly, “Well, there’s a simple explanation for that too. It’s a mistake.”
“I wish it was, Row. But, I asked around. After they ran the two here, they sent samples to Washington. What I got told was the Feebs ran ‘em three times. Plus, they got the sample direct from Myrtle Beach and ran that comparison, not us.”
“I don’t care,” I spat. “They’re still wrong.”
“Look, Rowan, I don’t wanna believe it either.”
“Then don’t.”
He sighed and cleared his throat then sat back against the seat in the booth, regarding me silently. He tossed the ice pack onto the table then gingerly pressed his fingers along his jaw line, wincing slightly but remaining silent.
“She didn’t do it, Ben,” I appealed once more.
“Okay, Row,” he spread his hands out in front of him in mock surrender. “Who did then?”
“I don’t know, but I’m damn sure going to find out.”
“How?”
“To start with, I’m going to track down a Lwa.”
“Row…” he shook his head. “Listen, I know you’re convinced this evil spirit Voodoo thing has got somethin’ to do with this…”
“And you aren’t?”
“I dunno. Not quite like you are, I don’t think.”
“Well, were there signs of a Voodoo ritual at the crime scene in Myrtle Beach?” I demanded.
Based on my earlier conversation with the young woman at the university in Louisiana, I knew it was a safe bet his answer would be yes. Still, I didn’t want to show my hand just yet. I needed for him to tell me himself.
“That’s not the point, Row…”
“There were, weren’t there?”
“Yeah, there was, but so what? They’re just gonna say that connects it with the Hobbes murder here. And that’s not ta’ mention the fact that there was plenty of evidence that the whole kinky sex thing was involved.”
“It does connect them, Ben,” I replied. “But, you’ve still got the wrong woman. I don’t know how many times I have to say it-Felicity did NOT do this.”
“Row, are you forgettin’ what she did to that asshole she picked up in the club?”
“She didn’t kill him.”
“Yeah, well she damn near did.”
“She was possessed at the time. You know that.”
“I know you keep sayin’ it, but dammit, Row, it doesn’t make it true.”
“So now you’re calling me a liar?”
“No, what I’m really tryin’ ta’ say is so what? I wanna believe ya’, but come on…how’re ya’ gonna prove she was possessed?”
“Like I said, by finding the Lwa. ”
“And then what? You gonna have a nice chat with it and convince it to confess? Somethin’ tells me even you ain’t that good at the hocus-pocus, Kemosabe.”
“This Lwa is either a personal ancestor or someone who ended up on an altar by mistake, Ben. If I can track down the Lwa, then I’ve tracked down the real killer.”
“Do I hafta remind you that we can’t arrest an evil spirit? Not to mention that you’re never gonna get a court ta’ listen to ya’ with a story like that.”
“I don’t mean the spirit itself. What I’m saying is the Lwa needs a corporeal being in order to manifest physical actions on this plane.”
“Do what?”
“It needs a body. It has to possess someone in order to commit the murders.”
“Yeah, well, I hate ta’ tell ya’ this but you just got finished tellin’ me that it possessed Firehair. Ain’t ya’ kinda diggin’ your own hole for her with that approach?”
“Hers was a collateral possession, Ben. Felicity doesn’t practice Voodoo. Hell, she doesn’t know any more about it than I did when this all started. No…this Lwa is sitting on an altar somewhere, and the practitioner who belongs to it is your killer.”
“That’s a great theory, Row, even if it is all Twilight Zone and shit…but, even if ya’ could get a judge ta’ listen to ya’, you’re still forgettin’ one thing.”
“What?”
“The DNA. It’s the smokin’ gun that puts Firehair at all three scenes. I dunno how you’re gonna get around that, even if ya’ do find this whacked out ghost you’re chasin’.”
“I still say they’re wrong, Ben,” I insisted.
“Row, I told ya’ they ran it three times.”
“So maybe they got the samples mixed up.”
“That’s not real likely.”
“Maybe not, but it’s possible.”
“Yeah, well anything’s possible, but you’re grabbin’ at straws here.”
“Well, the only other explanation is that someone purposely tampered with the evidence.”
“Actually, the other explanation is that she’s…”
“Don’t say it,” I snarled.
“But…”
“I said, DON’T SAY IT.”
“Yeah fine… So, what you’re tryin’ ta’ say is that…well…‘you know who’ is the one who did this?” He deliberately used the verbal evasion in place of Albright’s name. Considering the location, and recent shifts within the department, he couldn’t really be sure about the exact loyalties of all of the other cops in the diner. An outright mention of her wasn’t what you could term a stellar idea; of course, anyone who might be listening and knew my history could have figured out exactly whom he meant.
The truth was, Ben had already taken a huge risk simply by being seen talking to me at such length. Once word made it up the chain of command, he was probably going to have hell to pay, especially considering that I now suspected he had done more than just call in markers to keep himself involved in this case. In fact, he probably owed more favors than I wanted to know about.
“Can you think of anyone else with a reason?” I asked.
“Jeez, Row, I know you two are at odds, but to go so far as to frame Felicity?” He shook his head. “That’s pushin’ a whole ‘nother envelope.”
“Are you forgetting she tried to use me as bait for Eldon Porter? And, as I recall she was actually overheard saying that if I got killed in the process…what was it? Something like, too bad, so sad?”
“Yeah, but she had a way outta that. She could get caught real easy if she tampered with evidence. Besides, like I said, there were tests done at the Feeb’s lab in DC anyway.”
“So? The evidence still originated here.”
“Yeah, but not the evidence from Myrtle Beach,” he reminded me. “It went from them to DC. Never even saw Saint Louis, much less her.”
“Speaking of Myrtle Beach, how did that even get into the mix to begin with?”
“NCIC hit,” he explained. “The bondage aspect along with the ritual stuff. When our two homicides got entered into the computer, that’s what got spit back out.”
“Great.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t wanna tell ya’ this, but you’re prob’ly gonna find out sooner or later. The homicide in South Carolina wasn’t the only hit.”