Page 20 of Some Saviors Can Break You

“You think it could be him?” Florence asked her partner as they stood outside the interview room looking at the angry man sitting inside it waiting for them.

“His girlfriend seems to think it could be,” Jake replied.

If the man’s partner thought that there was a possibility that he was the Dumpster Killer, a man who had killed fifteen women now since he’d dumped a body the night he’d tried to run her over, then it was something they needed to look into. The sketch from the owner of the car yard that had rented the car under the table had been plastered all over the news. Of all the calls they’d received from people saying they thought they knew the man in the sketch, this one had seemed to be the most promising lead.

Justin Bates was twenty-nine years old, he had an ex-wife who was the mother of his four children, worked as a plumber, and was currently involved with his high school sweetheart who he’d reunited with after his divorce. His wife had moved acrossthe country after they’d split up to be closer to her family, and had full custody of the children. Not only had Justin not fought to keep his kids in his life, he was currently around ten thousand dollars in arrears in child support.

There were several drunk and disorderly, drunk driving, and assault charges on his record. When they’d spoken with his boss when they’d gone in to pick Justin up to bring him in for questioning, they’d learned that the man had a major problem with women.

Complaints filled Justin's personnel file. Almost every house he’d gone to do work in where there was a single woman home alone at the time his boss had received a phone call complaining that Justin had been inappropriate with them.

Of course the first thing she’d asked was why Justin hadn't been fired. The answer was that the company was owned by his uncle who felt obligated to keep Justin employed, given that he had four children who needed food, and clothes, and a roof over their heads. His uncle had been surprised that Justin had found a woman to marry him, and even more surprised that he’d gotten back with his high school girlfriend, and seemed to share her concerns that Justin—who clearly had a violent streak and a problem with women—could be the killer.

Right now, they didn't have anything that would get them a warrant to check out Justin’s apartment, or his computer, phone, or bank accounts, they would have to hope that they could get him to slip up and say something incriminating or for CSU to find some forensics that would connect him to the crimes.

“Let’s go in and see if we can get him to give anything up,” she said as she pushed open the door. “Good evening, Mr. Bates. I'm Detective Harris, and this is my partner, Detective Zeus, we’re here to ask you some questions.”

The look Justin gave her was dripping with condescension, it was clear the idea of being interrogated by a woman did not sit well with him. Since she and Jake had been working together for years now, they didn't have to verbalize anything for them to decide that they would get more out of him if she led the interview. He would be so busy trying to prove that he was smarter than her that he’d be more likely to slip up and say something he shouldn’t.

“What kind of questions?” Justin addressed his question to Jake.

“Do you own a car, Mr. Bates?” she asked as both she and Jake ignored his question.

“This is Manhattan, hardly anyone owns a car,” he snapped, still refusing to look at her when he spoke.

“So, if you needed a car, you'd have to rent one, correct?”

“Why would I need a car?”

“For argument’s sake, let’s just say you did need a car, you’d have to hire it from somewhere, correct?”

“I suppose,” Justin huffed.

“Have you rented a car lately, Mr. Bates?” she asked.

“No,” he replied. But he answered a little too quickly for her liking.

“Where were you three nights ago, Mr. Bates?”

The man gave a disinterested shrug. “Home with my girlfriend, I guess.”

“That’s not what she said,” Florence informed the man. “According to her, you left after dinner and were gone until the early hours of the morning. Where did you go?”

“I was home,” he insisted. “If Kyla said differently, then she’s a liar.”

“Why would she lie about you not being home three nights ago?” she pressed. “What was so special about three nights ago that she would bother to lie about that night in particular?”

“I don’t know why women do the things they do, but I do know they lie,” he growled, throwing a glare her way.

“Let’s say you were out somewhere that night,” she continued, unfazed by his outburst. It certainly wasn't the first time a suspect had yelled at her, in fact she’d been on the receiving end of much worse. “Where would you be?”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere. You suggesting that I'm cheating on my woman?” Justin looked like the thought was outrageous.

“Personally, men who cheat are pretty low in my opinion, right up there with men who abandon their kids, but no you’re not here in a police station being interviewed because you might be cheating on your girlfriend. You’re here because we want to know if you killed anyone. So, Mr. Bates, are you a cheater, or a killer, or just a child abandoner?” Men who made children but didn't stick around to look after them were one of the things she hated the most. Her own father had skipped out on her, her brother, and her mom before she was even a year old. Because of that, her entire childhood had been a living nightmare.

One thing she had learned in her career as a cop was to be prepared for anything.

That was the only reason that she reacted in time.

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