Ties That Bind

Chapter 41

TERRY GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND ADDRESSED MADISON. "So let me get this right. We're searching for something we don't expect to find?"

"Yeah." Madison knew he'd see it as a waste of time. "We don't have a choice but to check it out. We're waiting for the DNA results to come in anyhow. It's also an ideal opportunity to speak to Mrs. Younge about her husband." She rang the doorbell.

Brooke cracked the door, opening it only wide enough to allow the width of her face through. Her body was rigid.

Madison remembered her from the crime scene, and the defensive stance she took for her husband. "Mrs. Younge, we're here to search your residence."

"Ethan called. I'm not sure what you expect to find. And I want to make something clear to you. My little girl is inside and I don't need you upsetting her." She moved out of the way, letting them inside. "My husband didn't do what you're accusing him of."

No one likes to think they know a killer, let alone lived with one, raised a family with one. "It seems your husband may be connected to the murders of three women, Mrs. Younge."

"That's absurd. Ethan wouldn't hurt anyone. He's a gentle man. Quiet."

"Normally it's the quiet ones who are hiding something."

"I would know if he was." She crossed her arms. It was her eyes that made Madison uncomfortable. She seemed to have the ability to read thoughts. "You have your mind made up against my husband. You think he did it."

"Evidence points us in that direction. Do you know what his relationship was like with his mother?"

Brooke went quiet, and the concentration in her eyes weakened.

"Is there something you should be telling us?"

She took a seat at the kitchen table and gestured for them to join her. "I can't accept that he did it."

"So you think he did it?"

"I'm not saying that." Her eyes snapped to Madison's. "Their relationship had its problems. His mom couldn't see her son had grown up."

"They'd argue about things?"

"His father owns a company here in town named FYI. You probably know that by now. He was getting ready to retire. Ethan wanted the business. His mom had other plans."

"His mother didn't want him having it?"

Brooke shook her head. "It made Ethan so mad. But he wouldn't have killed her over it."

"Are you sure of that?"

The woman looked into her eyes. Madison thought she was going to get defensive again.

"They fought a lot about it..." She stopped talking a moment. "I can't believe I'm going through this. That we're going through this. It's like a bad nightmare."

"Mrs. Younge, how escalated were these fights?"

"They'd raise their voices, but that was pretty much it."

"Why didn't she want him taking over?"

"She said that it would interfere with him being a good father to Megan. I think she was crazy. Ethan was all about his family. At least, until now."

The woman seemed to doubt her husband's innocence at this point.

"When was their last fight?"

"Just Sunday. We were over there for a roast beef dinner like every other Sunday. And just like every other week, business came up. Frank got so frustrated he said he was going to retire. He'd keep the business himself. Frank wanted to keep the peace. Ethan was quiet when we came home that night. He's been a little different for a while now, actually. I'm not sure why. I thought he was busy at work." Her voice splintered from emotion. "I never thought he was killing people." Brooke's soaked lashes blinked deliberately, almost as if slowed in frame-by-frame photography.

*****

THE SEARCH CONFIRMED ETHAN YOUNGE had an unhealthy interest in G & C ties. His closet was lined with different colors and patterns, but none of them matched the ones used in the murders.

Terry said, "Just one little thing bothers me. The guy in the bar—"

"Ethan."

"Okay Ethan," he said, adding emphasis to his name, "Left behind a towel soaked in blood."

"Yeah."

"Well, wouldn't you think if the guy got into the altercation described, there'd be some physical evidence left over to that effect?"

She thought back to his appearance and couldn't recall any bruising.

"Then again, never mind me. Maybe the guy heals quickly or maybe he's an easy bleeder." Terry tapped his pen against the desk. "Yeah, never mind. I'm thinking out loud."

"Well, it has been over two weeks..."

He likely assumed the conversation was over, but it continued circulating in Madison's mind. A positive match to the DNA, as well as the eyewitnesses would be enough. Who would care if the guy had a speedy recovery from the punch the older man delivered?

"Good work, you two."

The sergeant and the chief stood beside their desks. It was the former who had spoken.

The chief's hands clenched and unclenched. He wasn't as impressed as the sergeant. "We should get this guy. Now." A finger pointed downward.

"We're working on it." Madison wanted to say so much more but kept her mouth shut.

"I'm not sure why the delay. He killed three women."

"Do you want us laying charges before we know with absolute certainty?"

"Nothing's absolute."

Oh, he was an infuriating little man. "No, but things can be more definite than they are now. After we nail him with a positive match to the DNA, there will be no way this guy gets free."

He didn't say anything. Could it be she actually made him speechless? No such luck. His mouth opened.

"I want to watch the interrogation when you report the DNA results."

"Fine." The single word came out. Relatively harmless, yet it carried a tone the sergeant didn't appreciate. His eyes fixed on her. She made no attempt to recoup the word or the attitude. Her cell rang, and she couldn't help but think, saved by the bell, no matter how cliché.

"Knight." She turned away. She sensed their eyes were remained on her, but with the news she was receiving, she couldn't have cared less. She hung up and rose to her feet. "DNA results are in."