So Weeps the Willow - 36. Salix Babylonica - 7:23 pm

Salix Babylonica – 7:23 pm

Psalm 137: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.

We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.”

Rush looked up at the clock again as Clay returned with a box containing two cups of coffee in one hand and a white bag with greasy spots in the other. He handed the detective the bag and sat down next to him.

“Any word yet?” he asked.

“Nothing new. Ben is in recovery right now. They removed the bullet from his stomach and stopped the bleeding. He’s in stable condition, and they have him in recovery. When he’s awake, the nurse said we could see him.

Rush looked up, his lower lip trembling and added, “I said that already, didn’t I?”

Clay handed him a cardboard container of coffee. It was hot and smelled acrid and foul as did the waiting room. The teen nodded and smiled reassuringly. “He’s fine though? Nothing worse?”

Rush nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Yeah, but he’s hurt bad.”

“One shot missed though,” Clay said, smiling hopefully at his foster dad.

“Yeah, there was only a burn where the bullet passed by his arm.”

“Ben’s tough,” Clay said, opening the bag. “He’ll get through this. We’ll get through this.”

Rush nodded and opened his coffee. He saw a swirl of white in the inky blackness of the brew. “He never should have been at her apartment.”

“No,” Clay agreed, pulling out a burger wrapped in white paper. He offered it to Rush, who shook his head.

“You little shit, you scared the crap outta me too,” Rush said softly. “I could kill you.”

“I’m sorry,” Clay said for the hundredth time. Ever since Carl’s mom showed up and chewed them out royally, he felt like he’d been apologizing over and over. “We shouldn’t have gone there. Both Carl and I know that.”

“Fucking Ben,” Rush snarled. “I’m gonna kill him too.” His voice was soggy with worry and wet with exhausted fear.

“He didn’t know,” Clay said. “He was just asking some questions and she freaked out on him. That’s what he told me.”

“I should have known,” Rush said. They both heard someone enter the otherwise empty waiting room off the surgery suite. It was a nurse in a white cap with a mask pushed up on her head. She approached quickly.

Rush perked up as she spoke.

“Ben is awake and asking for you,” she began. “He’s very groggy and not exactly clear, but if you want to see him, you may.”

Clay watched as Rush was out of his seat and across the waiting room in moments. He followed, trotting, and in his heart, saying a little prayer.

***

“Do you need anything?” Rush asked, brushing Ben’s hair from his forehead. “I can get the nurse.”

“I’m okay,” his partner said, slurring. “Did you arrest her? She shot me.”

“Yes,” Rush responded, sitting down on a chair close to the edge of the bed. He quickly surveyed the array of wires around his partner, and leaned over carefully of the machines, but touching his partner. “She’s in custody. Hammond called and said she’s being…cooperative.”

Ben coughed and then gasped. Clay thought he looked rather ragged, his skin was very pale, and the veins in his neck were bright blue. Rush was tearing up again, and still his voice was steady.

“Do you want some water?” he asked, picking up the plastic cup with the straw protruding out of it. “Here, have a drink.”

Ben closed his eyes and nodded. He leaned forward an inch and looked up as Rush held the cup and the straw at his lips. Ben took a sip, and then another. His Adam’s apple bobbed slowly. He coughed weakly at the effort, and then said, “Thank you.”

“Does it hurt a lot?” Clay asked stepping closer.

Rush looked perturbed at first, then he saw Ben smile and open his eyes.

“I’m okay. You’re here.”

Clay blinked and shook his head, confused. “Of course I’m here. You’re my dad.”

Rush’s head swiveled as Ben smiled at the teen.

Ben’s hand groped the sheet, so Clay took his palm in his hand.

“Where were you?” Ben asked. “I was worried.”

Clay felt his throat thicken. Ben had been shot by a lunatic. Yet he was worried about him. “We did something stupid. Carl and I were at Jake’s dad’s house.”

“Why?” Ben asked. His eyes were shining, but had a question in them.

“We thought maybe his dad was the guy.” Clay continued, “The guy who killed the Wylie guy.”

Ben didn’t answer. His eyes were closed now. The man’s breathing was steady, stable, and his face had relaxed.

“I think we should let him sleep for now,” a voice behind them said. Rush turned and saw the nurse who escorted them in was in the doorway.

Clay immediately responded, walking towards the door. Rush watched him for a minute, then turned to Ben.

“Sleep well, my darling.”

He leaned over kissed Ben, and then stood up and moved to the exit. A sense of relief washed over him, cooling and cleansing him.

***

“Why are you here?” Rush asked as he approached Twyla, his client. She was sitting in the recovery waiting room very near the spots they’d occupied just a half an hour ago.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly added, “What brought you here?”

Twyla didn’t answer at first. She was staring out the window towards the smokestacks from the hospital power plant. The woman sighed and without turning said, “Steve is back in the hospital. He has an infection.”

Rush sat down next to her and grasped her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

She continued, “I heard about Ben. I was just down the hallway.”

“Thanks.”

They both said nothing at first.

“How’s he doing?” she asked, finally turning to him and breathing in deeply. “I heard someone was arrested.”

“Yeah,” Rush answered and let go of her hand. “They’ve taken Jake’s friend Nats into custody. Ben’s doing fine.”

“I’m glad. Your man is a good guy.” The woman seemed to shake off her lethargy and smiled sadly at Rush. “I guess we found out who did it.” She sounded wooden, almost like she didn’t care anymore. “Jake can rest easy now.” Her eyes filled with tears and Rush took her hand in his.

Clay sat on the bench opposite her and Rush. He watched as the two interacted so carefully, delicately, and with amazing poise. It was apparent Twyla’s husband wasn’t well and Ben was still in recovery after surgery.

“We did,” Rush answered. “What’s Steve’s situation?”

“His chemo opens up problems. He has a bad infection. It’s,” she stopped, her voice blistered with emotion. “They think it’s not good for him.”

“I’m sorry,” Clay said, interrupting them. “It sucks. What’s happening to him.”

Twyla smiled sadly again at the teen. “Thank you. That’s what I think too.”

Rush and Clay sat back. Twyla stood up, and she carefully walked around the chairs and table toward the hallway. They listened as her footfalls echoed and faded into the distance.

***

“Let’s go into a private room for this.” Hammond was looking at Rush, but glancing at Clay, and there was worry set on his face. “There is a lot to go over.” The cop hefted a large leather bag as if to prove the point.

Rush stood and then nodded to Clay. Clay responded with a single bob of his head. He watched as the two men made their way out of the waiting room. Then, he got up and followed.

“She’s talking.”

“I fucking hope so,” Rush whispered angrily as they walked. Clay could feel the rage wafting off his dad.

Hammond remained silent as they found an empty conference room doorway. He gestured for Rush to enter, then saw Clay and shook his head. The teen opened his mouth to protest angrily, but his parent lifted his hand.

“Are you sure you wanna be here Clay?” Rush asked as they stood in the doorway. Hammond cleared his throat. Rush and the boy faced each other and something passed between them.

“I do,” Clay answered simply.

Hammond said, “We can’t leave a juvenile in the hallway by himself, can we?”

Rush nodded and answered, “No, he’s part of this too.”

Hammond moved to one side allowing Clay to enter the room. The three of them sat down at a round table. “You weren’t here, by the way.”

“No,” Clay answered, shaking his head. “I’m not.”

Hammond reached into his bag and pulled from it a thick folder of pages. “As I said, Nats is talking so the picture is becoming clearer.”

“Why did she kill him?” Clay asked, leaning closer and looking directly at the policeman.

“Wylie?” Hammond asked, moistening a finger, and then flipping through some pages, “Or Jake?”

“Let the detective tell the story,” Rush said, placing a hand on Clay’s shoulder.

Clay nodded and sat back, trying to wait patiently. He was bristling though.

Hammond cleared his throat and started, “Nats and Steve were having a thing. Both of them were potters and were around each other at the bar, Gallivants, and at the studio spaces in The Warrens. She maintains it was a casual relationship, but we’re not sure that’s accurate.”

Rush said nothing as Hammond found his place in the stack of papers. “She said that Wylie was using her.”

“Using her for sex?”

“No,” Hammond answered Clay. “She believes they, as in Wylie and her, had a partnership designing pottery and he stole her ideas.”

Rush shifted in his chair as Hammond continued. “Natalie Howe insists Wylie picked her brain about some kind of unique approach to throwing pots, and then dumped her.”

“Is there anything to corroborate her claim?” Rush asked.

“Actually, we finally got Wylie’s emails from his provider. They suggest something very different. Wylie tells some people on a pottery website that he was inspired by a zoo. He patterned these pots off a stylized version of animals and gardens and the people admiring them. There are pictures. He shared a couple of them, and then we found more posted at his Deviant Art account.”

“So, Nats and Steve were lovers?” Clay asked. “And then he got this idea, talked with her about it, and she thinks it was hers.”

“Basically, that’s what she’s saying. I don’t think it’s true. She never had the idea to integrate people and animals into the form of a pot.”

Rush sighed, and then after a reflective moment said, “Wylie was selling these pieces, and Nats got jealous.”

“Yeah,” Hammond said. “She said they got into an argument, and he killed himself. Nats said she found him laying on the floor of his studio.”

“He was strangled to death,” Rush said.

“You can’t strangle yourself to death.” Clay then asked, “Can you?”

Rush and Hammond both shook their heads. The policeman continued, “Howe admits she put Wylie in a cart and took him to the basement. There is an old coal bin next to a boiler down there. She didn’t know what else to do, so she stashed him there.”

“That’s where forensics found his DNA, right?” Rush asked. “Nobody else would have known that detail.”

“We haven’t released that information. Nats definitely moved Wylie down there and hid him, which suggests guilt. We also have her DNA all over the place down there.”

“How did she do it? She’s not that big of a person,” Clay asked.

“The medical examiner believes that Wylie was strangled by a wire, or more likely a cord of some type. The bruising suggested garroting as opposed to someone’s hands.”

“Oh,” Clay responded, then swallowed hard. “Why didn’t anyone know? I mean, I’ve smelled a dead animal even outside and it’s pretty awful.”

“We’re not sure yet. But, there is a theory that the coal dust may have either absorbed the smell or else no one noticed it. The room where we found Wylie’s DNA is in a far corner away from other studio spaces.”

Rush asked, “So, why did she kill Jake? That’s what happened next, isn’t it?”

Hammond sighed. “She said Jake figured out some of the pots were Steve’s and then he started asking around about where he could be. Nats was worried Jake knew too much, or that he was getting too close to the truth.”

“That’s what the text argument was about. She had been playing dumb about Wylie, and then Jake confronted her.”

“That’s right. She killed him to shut him up.”

“Why did she use a heater?” Clay asked. “It’s so strange.”

Hammond nodded. “Nats said she tried using dry ice first. She put some in a bucket and put it in Jake’s apartment while he slept. She thought carbon dioxide would kill a person just like carbon monoxide would. She believed he’d just die in his sleep.”

“But he didn’t,” Clay said. “He woke up the next day and there was the bucket.”

“You read his blog too, I guess,” Rush said. “How did she get a heater in Jake’s apartment?”

“According to Howe, the next morning, she went to see if he was dead. She let herself in with the key Jake had given her, saw him sleeping peacefully and then quickly left. She remembered Jake’s mom had given him a heater a couple of winters ago. She went into the basement and found it. The next night, she brought it up to his apartment.”

“Is that why Twyla found a receipt at her mother’s house?” Clay asked, astounded.

Rush looked sternly at the teen. “How did you know about that?”

“I listened on the phone. She told Ben about it.” Clay puzzled, and then asked. “Why didn’t Jake wake up from Nats in his apartment?”

“The medical examiner noted he had taken sleeping pills. He was out of it,” Hammond clarified.

Rush didn’t say anything else, but looked at the detective and asked., “How did she get it to run? Did she know how to bypass the switch or something?”

“No. The dial was broken and she could only get it running by sliding a penny into the contact. It was dumb luck on her part the stupid thing even worked.” Hammond paused and sighed again.

“It was terrible luck for Jake,” Rush said. The cop nodded grimly.

“I knew we’d been stupid about this case,” Rush said, shaking his head. “Nats was the only one there in the apartment with Jake and the heater. She was the only person who could have done it and hid the evidence of her tampering. That damned penny.”

“None of us knew,” Hammond said. “She was the only one with a key. Eddie had returned his to Jake after they broke up.”

“Eddie was there that night,” Clay said. “The video footage showed him in the building, didn’t it?”

“It did. Eddie’s story has always been he was visiting a friend and not Jake. They weren’t together any longer, and he knew a guy…”

“And that’s where he was that night. At another guy’s apartment in the building.”

“We believe so. Nats Howe acted alone, according to her own statement. She is really broken up about Jake’s death. She breaks down every time we ask her about it.”

“She loved him,” Rush said simply.

“Not as much as she did her own hide,” Clay said brusquely.

Rush looked at his child and tilted his head.

“What?” Clay asked. “It’s true. She strangled her boyfriend over jealousy and then poisoned her best friend because he figured out she was a murderer.”

“He’s got it figured out,” Hammond said, shrugging his shoulders.

“What I don’t understand is dressing up Wylie and leaving him out in the open to be found. Why would she do that?” Clay asked.

“Yeah, that’s a good question,” Rush said.

“Nats has an answer for this. She told us The Warrens had posted this flyer.

Rush and Clay leaned over the paper Hammond had presented.

Major Renovation Planned

The Warrens is growing! We’re proud to announce an expansion of the space. The basement will be gutted and new, larger spaces and more amenities will be offered. To make way for larger studios and building infrastructure changes, the basement areas will be cleared out and gutted. Please pardon the dust and temporary inconvenience from our renovations. Starting on October 1^st, the back entrances and loading dock…

“She had to move the body,” Rush said.

“And she had to hide the reason for his death.” Clay added.

Hammond nodded. “That’s why she dressed him in those clothes. She thought putting blood and a bullet casing near him would confuse us.”

“It wasn’t even human blood?” Clay said.

“I didn’t say she was particularly smart about it.”

“And the stuff in Wylie’s apartment?” the teen asked.

“She had a key to his apartment, right?” Rush asked.

“Yeah. She waited for the roommate to leave one day and then she put that stuff in his room. Nats thought if everyone believed it was a gay serial killer, nobody would look at her.”

“She wasn’t wrong about that,” Clay said.

“No, she was very clumsy about it, but we fell for the idea Wylie and Jake were fooling around.” Rush admitted. “Like I said, we were really very stupid.”

“We were.” Hammond confirmed.

In the background, a code blue sounded. Someone was dying.

The three men continued to talk.