“I don’t see her as that irrational.”
“Really? Would a rational woman beat her boyfriend to death with a champagne bottle and leave her fingerprint on a pair of handcuffs? Or would she conspire to murder a brilliant research scientist? Would a rational woman implicated in a murder conspiracy send a homicide detective ricin and potentially place herself in the spotlight?”
T.J. thought long and hard. “I see your point.”
“Great. Glad you’re finally realizing that my instincts are usually right.” She winked.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Dupree had one more piece of unfinished business, but decided to address it without T.J. She found him standing in front of the water cooler eating a Snicker’s bar.
“Early dinner?” Dupree asked.
“Something to tide me over.”
She noticed that he glanced at the handbag hanging from her shoulder.
“Where you headed?” he asked.
“Just have to run a few errands.”
“Need my assistance?”
“Everything’s under control,” Dupree said. “I’ll see you in a couple hours.”
“I may already be gone, so give me a holler on my cell if I’m not here when you get back.”
“Sure thing.”
Through crawling traffic Dupree drove over the Brooklyn Bridge and headed for Mrs. Crawford’s home. When she got there, the street was congested with parked cars, so Dupree found a spot two blocks away.
As in the past, roaming the streets of Brooklyn gave Dupree a feeling of nostalgia.
Making her way to Mrs. Crawford’s, she passed home after home, one more magnificent than the other. One in particular caught her eye.
She’d once lived in such a place. She remembered sitting on the front steps of her mom’s home without a care in the world, eating freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, washing them down with a glass of ice-cold milk. She could still smell the chocolaty scent coming from the oven as her mom baked the cookies to perfection. To this day, she’d never tasted a cookie quite as delicious as her mom’s.
As Dupree climbed up the front steps of Leona Crawford’s home, she remembered her first meeting with the woman—the day she had crushed her heart when she’d told Mrs. Crawford that her daughter had been murdered. Nothing Dupree could say or do could ever begin to erase Mrs. Crawford’s unimaginable pain, but Dupree hoped she could at least give her a breath of relief today.
Dupree knocked softly. Mrs. Crawford opened the door almost immediately. Quite to Dupree’s delight, the woman greeted her with a cordial smile. Her face revealed no obvious signs of distress.
Mrs. Crawford stepped to the side and motioned with her arm. “Please come in, Detective. It’s so nice to see you again.” Mrs. Crawford extended her arm and held Dupree’s hand.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Mrs. Crawford said. “Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee, a soda?”
“No thank you, Mrs. Crawford.”
“What brings you to Williamsburg?” Crawford asked. “I hope you came to deliver good news.”
“I just wanted to let you know that we have arrested four people in connection with your daughter’s murder.”
Crawford’s eyes opened wide. She looked up at the ceiling. “Praise be to God.”
She grabbed a tissue, wiped her eyes, and blew her nose. “That’s… that’s fantastic news, Detective.” Mrs. Crawford inhaled deeply. “I can’t even imagine one person wanting to harm my Lauren. But four? That’s unthinkable. Would it breach police policy if you told me who they are?”
The police department hadn’t yet disclosed the names of the three people charged with conspiracy to commit murder, or the name of the actual killer, so technically, Dupree really wasn’t supposed to share the arrest information with anyone. But at this particular point in time, she didn’t care about protocol. All she cared about was trying to ease some of Mrs. Crawford’s anguish. Besides, what would Mrs. Crawford do with this information, call CNN?
“I don’t know if this will shock you or not,” Dupree said, “but an ex-research scientist from Horizon, the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, and a member of the FDA were all involved in the conspiracy. But the man who actually committed the crime was basically a hired gun.
“Nothing you’re saying is shocking me, Detective. I am surprised that neither Dr. Mason nor Jonathan Lentz’s names came up. I never really trusted Dr. Mason. And I would suspect you know how I feel about Jonathan Lentz.”
“We have no evidence to support the theory that Dr. Mason was involved. Lentz did play a small role, but really wasn’t part of the conspiracy. Unfortunately, he got caught in the middle of a tangled web and ended up a murder victim himself.”
“That’s very sad.” Crawford wiped her eyes again. “I’m glad you found the monsters who took my Lauren. Nothing will bring her back. But at least I can sleep at night knowing that justice will be served.”
“Have you found anyone to escort you to Tijuana for your next treatment?”
“I talked my nephew into accompanying me. It took some convincing, but he’s really a good boy.”
“When are you leaving?”
“In two days.”
“I hope you have a safe trip and that your treatment goes well.”
Mrs. Crawford’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you for… everything.”
They were both silent for a long time.
“I would like to share something with you, Detective. Something highly confidential. Do you have a little free time?”
Dupree didn’t, but sensed urgency in her voice. “Of course.”
“I can’t remember exactly when it all began, but it was about two years ago. For whatever reason, my level-headed daughter became paranoid and feared that if something ever happened to her, no one would finish her research, or it would end up in the wrong hands. You see, Lauren, more than anyone, knew that not everyone in healthcare wanted to see a more effective, affordable treatment for cancer. Or even a cure. Greed is a powerful force.
“Lauren’s biggest fear—perhaps the most significant reason why she was so concerned about her welfare—was that upon her death, Dr. Mason would likely partner with a major pharmaceutical company, one that would stand to gain unimaginable profits. She refused to allow any pharmaceutical company the right to charge an obscene amount of money for the cancer-fighting drugs Horizon researchers developed. So, she devised a contingency plan—a plan to ensure that not a single cancer patient in the world would be denied treatment because they couldn’t afford it.”
“Was there conflict between Lauren and Dr. Mason?” Dupree asked.
“I don’t know if I’d call it conflict. But there were many issues upon which they disagreed. Particularly, Lauren had frequent discussions with Dr. Mason about his desire to partner with a major pharmaceutical company. Her concern escalated a few months ago when she noted Mason’s unusual behavior. In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Lauren had asked Dr. Mason for a letter of resignation. To coin a phrase, they just weren’t reading off the same page of music.”
Mrs. Crawford paused for a minute and stared off into the distance. “I know that you’re a very competent detective. And I’m sure you’ve completed a thorough investigation. Still, I’m not convinced that Dr. Mason wasn’t part of the conspiracy.”
“Sorry you feel that way. But at this point, we really don’t have any evidence that implicates him.” Dupree could see Mrs. Crawford’s eyes tear up. “If you don’t want to continue—”
“I do, Detective. I do.”
Dupree watched a tear trail down the broken woman’s cheek. She wiped it away with the palm of her hand.