Page 49 of Hunting the Truth
“Sure,” Maya said. “Come on into my office. I’ll get us some coffee. You okay with dogs?”
“I am, although your dog is a little scary.”
“I’ll keep her on leash. Come on in.”
Maya opened the door for Denise, and they stepped inside her office. Maya got a chair for Denise, poured her some coffee and put Juniper on a down-stay next to her. Denise gripped the mug. Her hands shook.
“You know, you look just like her,” she said. “Your mother. I thought I was seeing a ghost when you showed up at my door. I panicked. I’m sorry. I know you were looking for information and I know that you probably don’t have many leads to help with that. I thought all of that was in the past and then there you were standing there, and I was terrified.”
Maya took a sip of coffee. “Based on pictures and what people say, I know I look a lot like my mother. I’m sorry for just showing up at your house and surprising you like that. I should have called first.”
Denise shook her head. “It’s okay. You really do look like her. She was so beautiful, but part of my reaction is that you brought the past with you and that scares me to death. I always felt lucky that no one came after me. Zoey was killed because of what she knew. She protected me by not telling me much, but I knew more than I let on. I’ll answer your questions this morning, but if you call me to testify, I won’t do it.”
“I promise you won’t be called to testify,” Maya said. “I understand why you’re so afraid.”
“It’s funny, my husband doesn’t know about my past. He thinks I’m the perfect housewife. My kids think I’m boring and don’t understand anything they’re going through, and my parents have never talked about what I did. And yet, I can remember it all like it was yesterday.”
“Maybe you can start at the beginning when you and my mom ran away.”
Denise took a deep breath. “Sure. Zoey and I didn’t have many friends. We were kind of the outcasts, but Zoey was always adventurous. My parents thought she was a bad influence, but I didn’t care. When she suggested we run away together, I thought it would be fun. Little did I know about the nightmare it would start.
“We always wanted to see Montana. Don’t ask me why. Looking back, there were probably better places to go explore, but we loved the outdoors and wanted to see Yellowstone National Park. I was naïve and followed Zoey anywhere she wanted. So up to Montana we went, and we settled in a midsized town a few hours away from the park. Things quickly changed when we ran out of cash. I wanted to go home then, but Zoey refused. She said we could figure out how to make money. I went and got a job at a fast-food place, but Zoey thought she could make better money doing other things. I don’t know when she began selling herself, but she was making good money. I joined her, but it was awful the way we were treated and how I felt about myself. We sometimes smoked some dope, but then Zoey began trying harder stuff—that’s when she started getting arrested.
“But the justice system up there was crooked. Zoey was arrested and when she got out of jail, she came home and told me about things that were going on. Things she shouldn’t have seen, including a murder. She’d been approached by a cop to do some dirty work. I begged her to just leave then, go back home, but she said she was going to do what they asked, record conversations, take pictures and gather any evidence she could to link this cop to the crimes. I don’t think she knew at the time that it was more than one cop that was dirty. In fact, based on what she told me, there were judges and lawyers involved too. I think Zoey thought if she could get evidence to take to the state or even the FBI, she would make your grandfather proud. She didn’t know it would cost her life. I didn’t know that either.”
Maya leaned forward. She normally wouldn’t tell a potential witness much about an investigation, but this might be the only chance she had with Denise. “Do you remember names? We’ve linked a cop named Eric Torres to the crime scenes. I believe he killed not only my mother, but also my grandmother. I also think he came after me last night and burned down my cabin.”
“What?” Denise said. “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know about your grandmother. She was always so good to me. And your cabin? That’s terrible too. Eric Torres... I do remember him, but not as a bad cop. He actually took care of us in a way. He was the one cop who tried to help us. In fact, when I wanted to go home, he bought me the bus ticket and told me to stay safe, go to school and not come back. If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
Maya didn’t know what to make of that information. That was opposite of everything she’d heard about Eric. But if he was a good manipulator, then maybe there was another side to him that Denise didn’t know about. Maya needed more information. “What about my mom? Did he help her too? Or did he take advantage of her?”
“He helped her out, but...” Denise set down her mug and clasped her hands together. “I had your mom convinced to come with me and thought Eric would even buy her a bus ticket, but then she found out she was pregnant with you. She said she could never go home and tell her parents. They would freak. She said she would figure out how to get clean. Eric would help her, she knew it, and she would raise you on her own. I told her that was crazy, that her parents loved her and they would help, but she refused to come with me. I always wonder what things would be like if she had just agreed to go.
“Eric was also trying to convince her to leave. He told her it would be safer for her. I don’t think he knew about the evidence at that point, but I think he suspected it. Zoey met me at the bus stop and made me promise to never talk about anything I saw and forget that she even existed. She said that was the only way she could protect me. I feel so guilty about leaving her. I should have told your grandparents where she was, but I was happy just to get home and see my parents again. I went to college that fall and ‘forgot’ everything like Zoey told me to. I never saw Zoey again, but she sent me a letter at one point with a picture of you as a newborn. I could tell motherhood had changed her in a good way, but I never wrote back. Maybe if I had...”
“It’s okay,” Maya said. “You obviously cared about my mom and you’re here now helping me. I appreciate the information. Do you remember the names of any cops that were crooked?”
“I remember two. They were horrible. Blake and someone else... I can’t totally remember. Kind of an Irish sounding last name. They were related. Like cousins or something.”
“Blake Conner?”
“Yes. That was it. He was an awful person. He and the other guy even tried to take advantage of Zoey once, but she fought back. Blake said she would get what was coming to her. He’s the one I remember the most. I was so scared and that’s when Eric offered to help me and I got out of there. Your mom was so much tougher, but I don’t know if that was a good thing.”
Maya sat back in her chair. Blake Conner had tried to assault her mom and he was here now. She had to find out more about him. Maybe he and Eric were working together. That could explain why he was here helping Abigail. He probably had an ulterior motive to finding Eric. “Did you know an officer by the name of Abigail Harper?”
“No, that name isn’t familiar.”
Maya reached over and put her hand on Denise’s. “Thank you so much for this information. It really helps. Is there anything else that I should know? Any other cops that my mom may have threatened by gathering the evidence she did?”
“I can’t think of any right now, but I can call you if I do think of something.”
“That would be great,” Maya said, standing and grabbing one of her cards from her desk. “Here’s all my contact information. I do have one last question if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind, although I do need to get going soon.”
“Do you have any idea who my father is? Did my mom know?”
“No, hon, I’m sorry. To be honest, once Zoey was doing the harder drugs, I think she was with quite a few guys. I’m not certain she even knew, but I do know that she would be proud of you and what you’ve accomplished with your career. I think she secretly wanted to follow in your grandfather’s footsteps, but she never wanted to admit that. I better be going now.”
