“Yes, that’s where Mike had all his connections. The facility was a small one. Private, but they took state funds.”
“Do you remember the name?”
“I don’t,” he said. “You could probably track him down, though. If I had to guess, I’d say that Mike kept his birthdate the same. The facility would have records, even if he’s deceased.”
“I’ve gotta run.” She looked at her watch. It was a little after 6:00 a.m., nearly sunrise. Nate’s cat was on the windowsill, silhouetted against the pink dawn. “I’ll follow up when I can, but . . . thank you.”
“Is Joe a murderer?” he asked as she packed up. The question was blunt, dropped into the little living room like a stone. “I guess maybe you can’t say, but I had to ask. It’s the one thing we haven’t talked about.”
“Maybe not,” she said. “If he isn’t, he might have you to thank.”
“I don’t know what for. I feel like I held back something terribly important that seems to have ruined his life, one way or the other.”
“Actually,” she said, “if it’s what I’m thinking, it might save his life.”
CHAPTER 68
6:22 a.m.
Zochi stooped under police tape on her way out of the building. Out front, with her butt resting on a bike rack and looking red eyed, was Letty Clark.
Letty yawned. “Anything good from my witness?”
“I think so,” she said. “I’m trying to get my head around it, but . . . I don’t even know how to explain it.”
“Give it a try. Do you think our cases are related?”
“It’s possible, yeah.” With that, she gave Letty the shortest version she could manage about her suspect, Joe DeSantos, who had been prosecuting a case against Letty’s victim, Evan Bolds. DeSantos was in jail on unrelated murder charges, but now the case was getting stranger with an identical twin out there who maybe Joe didn’t know about. The twin was severely disabled, though, and Zochi had no idea if he was still alive.
Joe also had a brother, Robbie. Both Robbie and Joe had an ancient but powerful history with Nate Porter, Letty’s surviving witness. Now, if Zochi could connect Robbie to Evan Bolds? Then yes, her and Letty’s cases could be related.
“Wow,” Letty said after Zochi had spit that all out. “Okay, so it is likely Bolds came here looking to kill Nate Porter.”
“I think so,” Zochi said. “Unless we figure out some other history between Bolds and Porter, I think it was my suspect’s brother Robbie who set it up.”
“So this guy, Robbie, wanted Nate Porter dead?”
“I’m just guessing, but that’s what’s gelling for me, yes.”
“Well, it’s consistent with Porter’s description,” Letty said. “Porter doesn’t know anything about Bolds, but he was attacked by him anyway. There was also this homeless guy who Porter tried to shoo away.”
“Yes, the homeless guy,” Zochi said. “That’s the kicker for me. He was killed in the exact same way that the victims in my Brooklyn cases were killed. The two women? The perp twisted their heads back and snapped their necks, just like how this guy died.”
“Ah,” Letty said. “Right. So maybe Bolds is the killer in your cases, and last night he showed up to kill Nate Porter.”
“Yes, and the homeless guy was in the way. Bolds took him out, because why not? Otherwise, he’s a witness. Then he waited for Porter, but Porter fought back. The elevator shaft was just bad luck for Bolds.”
“Okay, but your suspect’s DNA is on those bodies in Brooklyn, right?”
“That’s the crazy part. DeSantos’s blood was found on both bodies. But if there’s an identical twin out there in a comatose state? If someone drew blood from the twin and left it at a crime scene, it would have the same genetic profile as my suspect.”
“Whoa.” Letty scratched her forehead and seemed to mull it over. “You mean, your case could all be a setup?”
“Maybe, yeah. When I drove down here, I didn’t expect this, but . . . now? I think it’s possible that Evan Bolds killed DeSantos’s mother and ex-girlfriend. And somehow Bolds had blood from an identical twin to plant as evidence against him.”
“Good God,” Letty said, crossing her arms. Around them, birds were tweeting, and delivery people were on the move. The neighborhood was waking up. “So if you can connect Evan Bolds to your suspect’s brother, Robbie, then you’ve got it. Robbie made the whole thing happen.”