Page 30 of Jar of Hearts
“White guy for sure, baseball cap pulled low. Jeans and a T-shirt. Not overly built, but not skinny. Clean shaven, I think. He had long legs, and so my impression is that he was tall.” Her head snaps up. “Oh shit. Is he… you think he killed her?”
“I don’t know,” Kaiser says, and it’s the most honest answer he can give. “I’m looking at everything. What else can you tell me?”
“That’s all,” Julia says, and her face crumples all the way this time, a lone tear seeping out of the corner of her eye. “I don’t know for a fact that she got together with him. But it’s something she’s done. She’s a beautiful girl; guys are constantly hitting on her. She has no interest in a relationship, so she, you know, keeps it casual.” She stops, closes her eyes, takes a breath. “Was,” she says, when she opens them again. “Shewasa beautiful girl.”
“I’ve seen her picture on LinkedIn.”
Julia manages a snort. “That’s her professional pic. She’s not buttoned up like that when she’s not in the office.” She reaches into the pocket of her skirt and pulls out her phone. Scrolls through it, then hands it to him.
The picture on it was of the two of them, dressed up for a night out at the club. Julia Chan was a pretty young woman, but Claire Toliver was, to put it mildly, stunning. Dressed in a low-cut, slinkyblack minidress and high heels, she could have passed for a model or an actress, easily. Long, almost-black hair, small waist, generous breasts and hips, legs for days. The word that came to mind as Kaiser examined the photo waslush.
“That was in Vegas last spring, after we graduated.” A small smile crossed Julia’s face. “That was a fun weekend. We’re doing a trip to Miami this May once we—shit…”
Kaiser allows her to cry, sitting patiently until she’s able to get herself under control once again. The conference room door opens and a middle-aged woman looks in, concern etched all over her face at the sight of the younger woman in tears. “Everything okay here? Julia? You all right?”
“I’m fine, Heather, thank you.” Julia wipes her face quickly with her hands. “We’re finishing up. I’ll be right out.”
The woman closes the door, but not before giving Kaiser a dirty look, as if to say,Damn you for making her cry.
“Have you told her parents?” Julia asks.
“Spoke to them yesterday,” Kaiser says, fumbling in his pocket for a tissue. He finds one, wrinkled but clean, and offers it to her. “That’s how I found you.”
“I’ll have to call them.” She blows her nose. “And the Bowens, too. Oh god. How do I tell them…” Her voice trails off.
Kaiser is surprised. “The Bowens? You know about Henry?”
She gives him a look like he’s said the stupidest thing ever. “That she had a son she gave up for adoption? Of course, yeah.Yes. We were living together, Detective. I sat with her watching all those adoption videos when she was trying to pick a family. Kinda hard to hide your pregnancy from your roommate.”
“I didn’t want to assume it was common knowledge.…”
“Well, it wasn’t, but it wasn’t really a secret, either.” Julia rubs her eyes. “She got pregnant midway through her senior year at PSSU. It wasn’t like she announced she was knocked up on Facebook or anything. She carried small, wore baggy clothes, and was off for the summer, so nobody really knew what was going on. Not that she would have denied it if anyone asked. It’s just, people tend to getexcited over pregnant women, and it was weird for her to tell people that she was giving the baby up.”
“Understandable.”
“How didyouknow about the Bowens?” Julia is staring at him. “Her parentsnevertalk about Henry—it’s a sore subject—so it’s hard to imagine them bringing it up.”
Kaiser is silent for a moment. If Claire and Julia were so close, then the young woman might remember additional information that could be helpful, and he needs her to stay focused and talking. Her anxiety is already so high, though, that the news of Henry’s death might send her over the edge. He’s not sure he wants to tell her this part.
“They didn’t,” he finally says. “We know about the Bowens because we found Henry when we found Claire.”
“I don’t understand,” she says, and it’s clear she doesn’t. “She never saw Henry. It was an open adoption, but she only kept up with him via emails the Bowens sent. They didn’t have a relationship. They agreed to let him decide on that when he got older. Is he okay?”
“I’m afraid not.”
He allows this information to sink in. Julia stares at him, as if waiting for the punch line. When it doesn’t come, she sits back in her chair, her fingers at her mouth again. She chews furiously. There isn’t much fingernail there; she’ll hit skin if she doesn’t stop.
“Can I show you a picture?” Kaiser asks. He pulls out his phone.
“OfClaire?” Julia stops chewing, her face a mask of horror.
“No, of the guy she might have been talking to at The Green Bean the last time you saw her.”
She relaxes a little, nods, and he taps on his phone, bringing up a picture of Calvin James. It’s the most recent one he can find, from five years ago, and it’s Calvin’s mug shot from the day Kaiser arrested him. The name board is cropped out. He hands her the phone, wondering if she pays attention to the news, wondering if she’ll recognize him as the Sweetbay Strangler.
Julia’s brow furrows as she zooms in on the picture. She stares at it, then looks up at Kaiser, confused. “I don’t understand.”
“He’s not the man from the coffee shop?”
