Harry gave Beckett a bewildered look. “So you think she used sex as a way to control her class?”
Beckett shook his head. “No. As way to prove to herself she could control a kid that age.” He stared back at Harry. “Sex was the way she got control over everything in her life. It was the only way she knew.”
“Give me your fiancee’s name and address,” Vicky said.
The next interrogation involved one of Darlene’s old boyfriends. According to newspaper accounts, Billy Smithers had been a high school sweetheart who suddenly reappeared in Darlene’s life during one of her early court appearances. Harry remembered the news reports. They had had a bit of a smirk to them. Old boyfriend becomes Darlene’s new beau. Smithers, he recalled, had seemed to revel in the notoriety of it all. Now, as he sat in the interrogation room, he seemed to be enjoying it all over again.
“Look, it was never anything serious between Darlene and me. Not even back in high school. She was just, like, you know, the great-looking girl who put out.” Smithers finished off the comment with a cavalier shrug.
He was in his late twenties, tall and lanky with chiseled features, long sandy hair, and a body that spoke of regular trips to the gym. Harry imagined that women would find him attractive, but there was a hint of arrogance in his eyes, and in his tone of voice, that would be off-putting to men.
“So you dated her in high school because she had a reputation of being an easy lay,” Vicky said.
“Yeah, that’s about it. I mean she was fun in other ways too. But the main reason was she was pretty free and easy about sex.” He grinned at Vicky as if offering some type of apology. “Look, I’m just trying to be honest here.”
“We appreciate that,” Harry said. He wanted to keep the man talking.
“So when you read the newspapers and saw the kind of trouble Darlene had gotten herself into, you weren’t surprised,” Vicky said,
Smithers let out a short laugh. “Hell no. I wasn’t surprised at all. I mean that was what Darlene was all about. In high school there was a rumor that she was screwing one of her teachers.”
“And so when you saw her on the news, you remembered how easy she was and decided to jump right back in,” Vicky pressed.
Smithers twisted in his chair. “Well, yeah. I mean she looked pretty good on TV, you know. And I remembered how good she was… well, you know.”
“In bed,” Vicky said.
“Yeah.” He paused a beat. “Yeah, she was wicked in bed.”
And you figured she didn’t have anybody taking care of her right then. Taking care of her in bed that is.”
“Well, yeah, I guess that too.”
“So you called her.”
“No, actually, I went by her house. I mean I heard her husband had split, and like I didn’t have her number or anything. So I just dropped by.”
“To be supportive,” Vicky said.
“Yeah.”
Harry had no idea where Vicky was going with the line of questioning, but he decided to let her run with it for the moment. Smithers had the feel of a clown to him, not a killer.
“So how supportive were you?” Vicky asked.
Smithers stared at her, a blank look on his face. “Well, you know.”
“No, I don’t know,” Vicky snapped. “Tell me.”
Smithers twisted in his chair again. “I just kind of offered her a shoulder. I mean I gave her what she needed.”
“And what was that? Tell me, Mr. Smithers, what is it you have that every girl needs?”
“Hey, what the hell is going on here? I mean, I’m just trying to help.” He glared at Vicky, and then turned to Harry. “Look, do I need a lawyer here?” His voice held both concern and anger now.
“You think you need a lawyer?” Vicky said.
“Where were you two nights ago?” Harry asked, stopping her.
“I was at a Rays game at the Trop,” Smithers said.
“Alone?” It was Vicky again.
“Alone?” Harry said, letting her know he was doing the questioning now.
“No, I was with two buddies. We go to every home game we can get to.”
Harry picked up a pen and turned to a fresh page in his notebook. “I’ll need their names, addresses, and phone numbers,” he said.
When Smithers left, Harry drew a breath and stared at Vicky for several moments.
“I guess I went a little over the top,” she said at length.
“Yeah, a little. What happened?”
“He was just such a jerk.” She stared at the other side of the room, avoiding Harry’s eyes. “I saw so many guys like him when I was in sex crimes. The big studs, the guys who prey on every woman they consider vulnerable, and who assault or rape the ones who reject them.” She paused as if thinking about what she had said, analyzing it. “No, what really pissed me off is that I’ve dated creeps like that.” She shook her head as if dismissing past mistakes. “Sometimes a guy’s so good looking, or has such a great line of B.S. that it takes you awhile to see past it. Smithers is that kind of guy, and realizing it, just being in the same room with him, pissed me off.”
Harry nodded. “It happens,” he said at length. “Next time use your anger… use it like a rapier not a bludgeon.”
CHAPTER FIVE
At two o’clock Harry and Vicky were back in Rourke’s office.
“First the good news,” Rourke said. “We’re getting a task force. Four detectives from this squad, and six uniforms we’re bringing up to work in plainclothes.” He paused and stared at Harry for a long moment. “Harry, you’ll be lead detective. But I gotta tell you, the brass didn’t want you as lead. You’re not popular upstairs, which is something you know. And it’s mainly due to your big mouth.” He raised a hand, stopping any comment before it could be made. “They wanted Nick Benevuto. Their argument was that he’s senior to you in homicide, which is true. I said I wanted you. So my ass is on the line. You screw up and I lose a big chunk of it; you’ll wish you were never born.”
Again, he held up his hand. “Now the bad news. Tarpon Springs P.D. is screaming that we came in and snatched a major case from them.”
“That’s bullshit,” Harry said. “Vicky and I already had the case. They know that.”
“Sure they do. But their chief sees all the media the sheriff is getting, while he’s just standing around with his dick in his hand.” He glanced at Vicky. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay, cap, I’ve met the chief. It’s a lovely image. The man’s a fourteen-karat asshole.”
Rourke gave her a long look. “Yeah, well anyway, the sheriff agreed to put two of his detectives on the task force and hold a little press conference this afternoon to announce the joint operation. It’s all politics, but we have to live with it.”
“Should be a great press conference,” Vicky said. “Sort of a two-man circle jerk.”
Rourke stared at her again, longer this time. “You’re talking about the sheriff, you know. Our sheriff.”
“Goodness, what came over me,” Vicky answered.
“How long have you worked with Doyle?” Rourke snapped. “Two days? And already I got this?”
Harry fought off a smile. “Who are the two Tarpon dicks we’re supposed to take on?” he asked.
Rourke looked at a note on his desk. “Bob Davis and Jerry Deaver.”
“I know them,” Harry said. “The other cops call them the two D’s.” He offered up a small shrug. “They have the rep of not being very imaginative, but very thorough, so it could be worse.” Harry took out his notebook and wrote down the names of the Tarpon Springs detectives. “Who are the uniforms?” he asked.
Rourke rattled off six names, the last of which was Jim Morgan, the deputy who had done such a good job at the Brooker Creek crime scene. Rourke noticed Harry nodding approval at the mention of Morgan’s name.
“I picked Morgan based on what you put down in your report,” Rourke said. “You wrote that he’d done an excellent job. He also pushed hard for the assignment and I thought you could use an eager beaver on the team.”
“Meaning that the rest of us aren’t?” Vicky teased.
Rourke leveled a finger at her. “Don’t start with me. I get enough from your partner.” He turned back to Harry. “I just sent word out on their new assignments about an hour ago, so they should be learning about it as we speak. They’re all due in here at three on a ‘forthwith’ to get their specific assignments from you, so you’ve got an hour to figure out who you want doing what. Your team can work out of the conference room next to my office.”