He had been stabbed to death and castrated.
Chapter Ten
THERE were five of them: Sheriff Dowling, two plain-clothes detectives and two uniformed policemen. They stood in the living room watching Ashley, sitting in a chair, weeping hysterically.
Sheriff Dowling said, "You're the only one who can help us. Miss Patterson."
Ashley looked up at the men and nodded. She took several deep breaths. "I'll - I'll try."
"Let's start at the beginning. Deputy Blake spent the night here?"
"Y-yes. I asked him to. I - I was desperately afraid."
"This apartment has one bedroom."
"That's right."
"Where did deputy Blake sleep?"
Ashley pointed to the couch, which had a blanket and a pillow on it. "He - he spent the night there."
"What time did you go to bed?"
Ashley thought for a moment "It - it must have been around midnight. I was nervous. We had some tea and talked for a while, and I felt calmer. I brought out blankets and a pillow for him, then I went into my bedroom." She was fighting for self-control.
"Was that the last time you saw him?"
"Yes."
"And you went to sleep?"
"Not immediately. I finally took a sleeping pill. The next thing I remember, I was awakened by a woman's screams coming from the alley." She began to tremble.
"Do you think someone came into this apartment and lolled deputy Blake?"
"I - I don't know," Ashley said desperately. "Someone has been getting in here. They even wrote a threatening message on my mirror."
"He told me about that on the telephone."
"He might have beard something and - and gone outside to investigate," Ashley said.
Sheriff Dowling shook his head. "I don't think he would have gone out naked."
Ashley cried. "I don't know! I don't know! It's a I nightmare." She covered her eyes with her hands.
Sheriff Dowling said, "I'd like to look around the apartment. Do I need a search warrant?"
"Of course not G-go ahead."
Sheriff Dowling nodded to the detectives. One them went into the bedroom. The other one went into the kitchen.
"What did you and deputy Blake talk about?"
Ashley took a deep breath. "I - I told him about - about the things that have been happening to me. He was very - " She looked up at the sheriff. "Why would anyone kill him? Why?"
"I don't know. Miss Patterson. We're going to find out."
Lieutenant Elton, the detective who had gone into the kitchen, stood in the doorway. "Could I see you for a moment, Sheriff?"
"Excuse me."
Sheriff Dowling walked into the kitchen.
"What?"
Lieutenant Eiton said, "I found this in the sink." He was holding up a bloodstained butcher knife by the edge of the blade. "It hasn't been washed. I think we're going to get some prints."
Kostoff, the second detective, came in from the bed-room and hurried into the kitchen. He was holding an emerald ring, mounted with diamonds. "I found this in jewelry box in the bedroom. It fits the description we got from Quebec of the ring that Jean Claude Parent gave to Toni Prescott." The three men were looking at one another.
"This doesn't make any sense," the sheriff said. Gingerly, he took the butcher knife and the ring and walked back into the living room. He held out the knife and said, "Miss Patterson, is this your knife?"
Ashley looked at it. "I - Yes. It could be. Why?"
Sheriff Dowling held out the ring. "Have you ever seen this ring before?"
Ashley looked at it and shook her head. "No."
"We found it in your jewelry box."
They watched her expression. She was completely bewildered.
She whispered, "I - Someone must have put it there...."
"Who would do a thing like that?"
Her face was pale. "I don't know."
A detective walked in the front door. "Sheriff?"
"Yes, Baker?" He motioned the detective over to a corner. "What have you got?"
"We found bloodstains on the corridor rug and in the elevator. It looks like the body was laid on a sheet, dragged into the elevator and dumped in the alley."
"Holy shit!" Sheriff Dowling turned to Ashley. "Miss Patterson, you're under arrest. I'm going to read you your rights. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You are entitled to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you by the courts."
When they reached the sheriff's office. Sheriff Dowling said, "Fingerprint her and book her."
Ashley went through the procedure like an automaton. When it was finished, Sheriff Dowling said, "You have the right to make one phone call."
Ashley looked up at him and said dully, "I have no one to call. "I can't call my father. Sheriff Dowling watched Ashley being led into a cell.
"I'll be goddamned if I understand it. Did you see her polygraph test? I would swear she's innocent."
Detective Kostoff walked in. "Sam had sex before he died. We ran an ultraviolet light over his body and the sheet he was wrapped in. We got a positive result for semen and vaginal stains. We - "
Sheriff Dowling groaned. "Hold it!" He had been putting off the moment when he would have to give his sister the news. It had to be done now. He sighed and said, "I'll be back."
Twenty minutes later, he was at Sam's house.
"Well, this is an unexpected pleasure," Serena said. "Is Sam with you?"