Page 36 of Say Now
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here and do some proper police work while I go and babysit a potential victim?"
"You need to stop that now," Alison warned."I know you don’t like this, but it’s how it is for now.Don't act like a petulant child."
"And here it is, the revenge for me not believing you."She started the car and drove from the curb.
"This has nothing to do with that," Alison told her."He wants to get under your skin and throw you off, so don't let him.Do your job, and do it well.You do realize that you’ve done most of the work on the case, and he wouldn’t be close to getting Tommy if it weren’t for you.Don't worry, I’ll make that known in my report, but only if you start acting like the agent I know you are."
Claire sighed."Yeah, I’m sorry.He is getting under my skin."
"You were the one who led us here, and don't forget it.And going to pick up one of the potential victims?I can't think of anything more noble than that.So, let’s do that, and then you and I need to run an errand."
"What?"Claire asked.
"The apartment walls link him to the three homicides, and three more than now won't happen.There was nothing about his brother.I’m sure they’re close, and his change happened when his brother died.This is connected to Detective Castellano somehow, and I want to know how, and I want to know why there was nothing connected to his brother in that living room.After we pick up our potential victim and get them somewhere safe, I want to talk to the mother.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The errand before the errand was as simple as it could get.They went to Dr.Zola’s house, explained to her the situation, and she packed a bag and got into Claire’s car.She was taken to the precinct to give a statement, and then they would decide on the next course of action from there.
Once the doctor was in safe hands, they went to talk with Mrs.Castellano.
She lived in one of the poorer areas of the city, showing no signs of any wealth that might have come from a payout from the police.Her house was a single-level dwelling with one broken window on the right side.The doorframe had some wood attached, showing that it had likely been kicked in at some point.
They parked out front and noticed the car sitting down the street with someone sitting in the driver’s seat.The house was being watched in case her son returned there, or he was hiding out there and ventured out.
He’ll see that a mile away.A new car like that sticks out like a sore thumb on a street like this.
They exited the car and opened the rickety wooden gate that gave access to the path curving left and right toward the door.Alison knocked when they got there.An unintelligible shout came from inside, and the tone suggested the person would get there eventually.
When Mrs.Castellano opened the door, she looked Claire and Alison up and down before talking."I've already spoken to the cops and told them everything I know.He’s not here.Please stop wasting my time, and you can tell that cop down the street that he can leave.I don't know where my son is, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell any of you.Have a good day."
Claire held out her arm to stop the woman from closing the door.She took out her badge with her other hand, showing it to her."I’m Special Agent Martinez.We’re not here to talk about Tommy.Well, not fully.My colleague, Dr.Payne, would like to ask you some questions about Arturo."
Mrs.Castellano winced at the name.Something had struck a nerve.
"Please, Mrs.Castellano," Alison begged."I believe you when you say your son wouldn’t come back here and that you don't know where he is.You love your son, and maybe you would hide him, but he’s not made contact with you, has he?"
Mrs.Castellano made a clicking sound with her tongue."I haven’t heard from him in two weeks.Is it really true?Did he really do what they said he did?"
"It looks like it," Alison said."I wish I could tell you differently, but they found some pretty damning evidence in his apartment."
The woman nodded, letting out a long breath through her nose."He always had his problems.They both did.I don't want to lose him, but he makes it so hard!I thought he was done.I really thought he had gone clean.Why can't he just…get his act together!I’m his mother, and I grieve him more than Arturo.He’s the one still alive, and he causes me so much more pain."
"That’s hard," Alison said."Listen, I completely understand if you don't want to talk with us, but I only want to get to the bottom of what is happening, and I think there’s more to this still.We won't take up much of your time, and if you want us to leave at any point, you can say that."
She thought about it for a few seconds."For a start, you can drop the Mrs.Castallano.He was just as bad as Arturo, God rest his soul, but it was never my name.You can call me Lizzy, and I’m making tea.You don’t get to refuse my hospitality if you’re coming in."
Lizzy stepped out of the doorway and walked into the house.Alison and Claire quickly followed.The inside of the house was far worse than the outside.The wallpaper was peeling, the paint was chipped, and the carpets were all stained.The living room furniture looked like it shouldn’t be used ever and should be burned.Instead of a kitchen table, there was patio furniture.
Claire and Alison chose the patio furniture when they got to the kitchen.It looked the cleanest of any furniture.
The house was in disrepair, but Lizzy still took pride in her appearance.She wore a long floral dress that covered her ample frame, stockings underneath, and a pair of fluffy slippers.Her hair was combed and tied up into a neat ponytail with a pink scrunchie.She’d applied a thin layer of makeup that made her look a little younger.
She turned her back on them as she prepared some tea for them.
"Were they close?"Alison asked."Arturo and Tommy?"
"Yeah."Lizzy stopped working for a moment and let a breath out through her nose.Then, she went back to work."They were always close since they were kids.If Tommy weren’t the way he was, he might have become a cop, too.He has this darkness in him, and Artie always had a light.They were always polar opposites, but they were always together, as much as they could be after Tommy went to prison for the first time, and the second, and the third, and…well, you get it."
