a fifth while she did a few shots and drank a draft. At closing time, they stumbled to a cab and headed for her place.
No way I’m going to make Jay’s before he leaves , Sean vaguely thought to himself. He also wondered how deep he was going to get with Bethany, and how he was going to get out when he needed to.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Saturday, 5 a.m.
Sean lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Bethany lay on the opposite side of the bed, facing away from him. He vaguely remembered coming inside, getting undressed, and hitting the sheets, followed by some sloppy lovemaking. He searched his mind for any conversations he may have had, coming up empty. He didn’t like this feeling. Should I wake her up before I leave? Leave a note?
He checked his phone. Nothing from Nguyen. He’d have to call again. Did he work Saturdays? Then he saw an urgent message from Chief Hernandez:
URGENT - Det Lovac
Detective, DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT contact Mr. Hutchins. Somehow lawyered up. Very expensive guy, no idea how or why. Under no circumstances are you to question him unless we are prepared to file formal charges, and ONLY with his lawyer present. DO NOT QUESTION UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Messy situation. See attached. Please contact me before taking action.
Chief Hernandez
How the hell did Jay get a lawyer? Why did Jay get a lawyer? He sat back in bed, thinking about Jay’s mom. Office support staff for a temp company. Worked various places. Maybe she was banging somebody in an attorney’s office? Even then, why? It made no sense. Then he checked the attachment. He watched it several times. He remembered what Chi had said, and came to the same conclusion that Hernandez had. Something had to be in that locker. But why was Chi staring at Jay before the book came flying out? It made zero sense.
His mind drifted to the balls of foil on the floor, the letters from BioGyn. What did Sherlock say? When the probable was ruled out, the only thing left was the improbable? Bullshit. He must be playing some con. Some game. What else did he think about all day, pushing that broom around? Sean tried to imagine under what situations Jay could potentially have gotten laid. Prostitutes? Likely. Being around those kids after what he experienced in high school must not be ideal.
He could see Jay plotting and planning, and setting some kind of spring-loaded device. That would explain why he may have been staring at the girl who got clobbered in the face. He was waiting for it to go off. Were you smart enough to wear gloves, Jay? That would be why that Asian girl would think he was a witch. She was watching him, waiting for it to happen. Why didn’t they find anything in the locker? Sean kept running that over in his mind. He would have left some kind of evidence. He’d have to dust the inside of that locker for Jay’s fingerprints. There’d be video of the school stored somewhere. Did Jay have access to the videos? It would be a stretch, but it would be possible.
You could plan something like this for a year, but why that girl? That would mean he did throw something through that window. Maybe Jay was one of those idiot-savants? Maybe LoZiet did something to him, made him snap somehow. He let his mind wander, putting together an action plan before he went to see Hernandez. Dust for prints. Check the tapes. He’d have to come up with a motive. That would mean checking into those three girls in the ice cream shop and the girl who got hit in the face, and watching security footage from the last year or so. Watch for any interactions with Jay. If he found Jay’s prints in the locker, that may be enough for an arrest. Then maybe he could show some recorded interaction, some kind of conversation—or better yet, show those girls doing something to Jay. A reason why Jay would have motive. Then they might have him.
But why the hell did Jay have a lawyer all of a sudden?
He leaned over and shook Bethany
No way I’m going to make Jay’s before he leaves , Sean vaguely thought to himself. He also wondered how deep he was going to get with Bethany, and how he was going to get out when he needed to.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Saturday, 5 a.m.
Sean lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Bethany lay on the opposite side of the bed, facing away from him. He vaguely remembered coming inside, getting undressed, and hitting the sheets, followed by some sloppy lovemaking. He searched his mind for any conversations he may have had, coming up empty. He didn’t like this feeling. Should I wake her up before I leave? Leave a note?
He checked his phone. Nothing from Nguyen. He’d have to call again. Did he work Saturdays? Then he saw an urgent message from Chief Hernandez:
URGENT - Det Lovac
Detective, DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT contact Mr. Hutchins. Somehow lawyered up. Very expensive guy, no idea how or why. Under no circumstances are you to question him unless we are prepared to file formal charges, and ONLY with his lawyer present. DO NOT QUESTION UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Messy situation. See attached. Please contact me before taking action.
Chief Hernandez
How the hell did Jay get a lawyer? Why did Jay get a lawyer? He sat back in bed, thinking about Jay’s mom. Office support staff for a temp company. Worked various places. Maybe she was banging somebody in an attorney’s office? Even then, why? It made no sense. Then he checked the attachment. He watched it several times. He remembered what Chi had said, and came to the same conclusion that Hernandez had. Something had to be in that locker. But why was Chi staring at Jay before the book came flying out? It made zero sense.
His mind drifted to the balls of foil on the floor, the letters from BioGyn. What did Sherlock say? When the probable was ruled out, the only thing left was the improbable? Bullshit. He must be playing some con. Some game. What else did he think about all day, pushing that broom around? Sean tried to imagine under what situations Jay could potentially have gotten laid. Prostitutes? Likely. Being around those kids after what he experienced in high school must not be ideal.
He could see Jay plotting and planning, and setting some kind of spring-loaded device. That would explain why he may have been staring at the girl who got clobbered in the face. He was waiting for it to go off. Were you smart enough to wear gloves, Jay? That would be why that Asian girl would think he was a witch. She was watching him, waiting for it to happen. Why didn’t they find anything in the locker? Sean kept running that over in his mind. He would have left some kind of evidence. He’d have to dust the inside of that locker for Jay’s fingerprints. There’d be video of the school stored somewhere. Did Jay have access to the videos? It would be a stretch, but it would be possible.
You could plan something like this for a year, but why that girl? That would mean he did throw something through that window. Maybe Jay was one of those idiot-savants? Maybe LoZiet did something to him, made him snap somehow. He let his mind wander, putting together an action plan before he went to see Hernandez. Dust for prints. Check the tapes. He’d have to come up with a motive. That would mean checking into those three girls in the ice cream shop and the girl who got hit in the face, and watching security footage from the last year or so. Watch for any interactions with Jay. If he found Jay’s prints in the locker, that may be enough for an arrest. Then maybe he could show some recorded interaction, some kind of conversation—or better yet, show those girls doing something to Jay. A reason why Jay would have motive. Then they might have him.
But why the hell did Jay have a lawyer all of a sudden?
He leaned over and shook Bethany
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