Page 84 of Trick
Jase got me a cool cloth to wipe my face, and once I’d composed myself, Randy continued listing the possible charges.
“I’m sure we’ll get him on stalking, and he’ll likely be charged in the attack on Dustin Ellsworth, too. He regained consciousness late last night and has no recollection of the incident, so we don’t have definitive proof. There is, however, a hell of a lot of evidence to suggest it was Darnell.”
“Is Dustin going to be OK,” I asked and was relieved when Randy assured me he would be fine and would likely be released from the hospital in a few days.
“Once we complete our investigation, he’ll probably be charged with something in relation to hacking into your ex-fiancé’s computer network. Bull called me right before I got here to tip me off that he’d found a second Trojan horse in the guy’s gaming system, so somebody else got remote access to it. We think it was Darnell, planting the email evidence to throw us off.” He stopped and gave Jase a pointed look.
“Of course, that information was given to me during a ‘chat between friends’,so it won’t go on the official record. I’ll find a way to point our tech guys in the right direction, and I’m sure they’ll discover proof on their own.”
“Much appreciated,” Jase responded with a smirk, and Randy discreetly flipped him off, then asked the questions he’d originally come here for.
“Did you ever get a sense that something was off about Darnell prior to last night? Did he ever act inappropriately, either saying or doing anything that made you uncomfortable?”
“No, he seemed perfectly normal. He was always kind. Quiet, almost shy sometimes. If anything, he seemed almost fatherly, the way he looked out for me. He would always remind me not to work too hard and even made a cup of tea for me a few times when I’d had long sessions. He changed my tire when I got a flat and walked me to my car a few times when we both happened to be working late.”
Jase and Randy exchanged a quick glance, and my heart sank as I realized what I’d just said.
“You don’t think it was a coincidence that he was working late on those nights,” I stated dully.
Randy shook his head. “Probably not.”
“I’m not sure the flat tire was either, darlin’, especially since you had another one a few days later.”
“Lauren, we found a key on Darnell’s key ring that was labeled ‘My Girl’. King told me there was no sign of forced entry after the break-in at your house Wednesday night. I have the key right here, and I’d like to compare it to your house key.” He pulled a sealed evidence bag from his suit pocket, and I reached for my purse.
Before I could start searching for my key ring, Jase pulled out the key I’d given him and handed it to Randy.
He held it up against the clear bag, and the two keys lined up perfectly. He handed it back to Jase, then asked me if I’d ever given JD a key to my house.
“No,” I denied adamantly
“I didn’t think so, but I had to ask. There was a key machine on the workbench in the supply room. I assume he used it to make extra keys if they were needed around the building. Did he ever have access to your keys, or your purse?”
A memory hit me, and I dropped my head, completely disgusted with myself. “I gave him my keys so he could get the spare tire out of my trunk. He told me to wait in the break room while he changed it, because it was really hot and humid that day. Dammit, I should have just taken the key fob off for him like I do when I get my oil changed. How could I have been so stupid as to give him the whole key ring?”
“Hey, darlin’, you weren’t stupid. You trusted a man who never gave you a reason to doubt him.”
“We’ll be adding breaking and entering to the list of charges, too. That’s all I need for now, although there will probably be more questions later once all the evidence is analyzed and we finish our other interviews.”
He smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “Take care, Lauren, and I hope the next time I see you it’s under much better circumstances. Maybe at Abby’s next cookout.”
He shook Jase’s hand and then left.
I was still upset about everything Randy had told us when my mom called. I groaned when I saw her name on the screen.
“Shit, I don’t need this today,” I groaned. My mother could be…difficult at times, and that was putting it politely.
I almost let the call go to voice mail but tapped the speakerphone button at the last second. I shouldn’t have bothered, since as soon as I greeted her, Mom immediately launched into a complaint that she’d had to find out on the news that I’d been attacked.
“I can’t believe that no one called me. I’m yourmother, Lauren. I should have been notified. If you couldn’t spare a few minutes to call me, then at least Bill should have. Do you have any idea how upset I was when Jim turned on the TV this morning, and there was your face, plastered on the screen?”
Jase’s face filled with fury, and he snarled into the phone, “You find out that your only child was attacked and almost fuckin’ killed and you don’t even bother asking how she is before you start bitchin’ because nobody called you? Un-fuckin’-believable. She’s gonna be OK, by the way, you selfish cunt.”
I lay there, stunned, as he grabbed the phone out of my hand and disconnected the call, jabbing his finger onto the screen so hard I was surprised it didn’t crack. He inhaled deeply, then handed my phone back.
“Well, that was fun,” I said. Jase immediately started to apologize, but I stopped him and said, “At least now I know that my latest stepfather’s name is Jim. I wasn’t sure. By the way, if she ever bothers to call me again, I’m making you answer the phone.”
I snorted and started to laugh then; great big belly laughs that left me red-faced and trying to catch my breath as tears leaked from the corners of my eyes.
