At Logan’s cabin, she transferred Carl to her vehicle. Logan rode shotgun. She stopped at the deli. Logan ran inside for three subs; then they drove to the station. Inside the tiny building, Tessa removed one of Carl’s handcuffs and snapped it to a ring mounted on the wall just for that purpose. Then she opened a bottle of water and handed it to him, along with a turkey sub. They ate in silence. Tessa felt better with food in her belly. She hoped Carl did also.
She turned a chair to face Carl, staying just out of reach. He looked more settled, but she wouldn’t trust a man who’d tried to squash her with boulders. “Where are you from?”
Carl picked at his shirt. “Seattle.”
Logan perched on the corner of the desk. “What did you do in Seattle?”
He drank some water. “I used to be a car mechanic.”
Tessa asked, “When did you stop being a mechanic?”
“I don’t know.” He seemed confused.
Tessa tried asking him about something more recent. “When did you come to Widow’s Island?”
“A few weeks ago. I left Seattle a long time ago. I’ve been walking since.”
“Why did you choose Widow’s?” Logan asked.
Carl shrugged. “I just got on the ferry. I didn’t know where it was going.” He looked up. “But I like it here. It’s quiet. I like quiet. I just want to be left alone. I don’t like people.”
She pointed to the plastic bag with Carl’s personal possessions on her desk. “You have a cell phone?”
Carl nodded. “Battery has been dead for two weeks. I was charging it every other day at the library, but I haven’t been to town since . . .”
“What happened?” Tessa asked. “Why did you stop going to town?”
Carl’s gaze drifted away.
Tessa changed the subject. “Do you know Gavin Edwards?”
Carl shook his head. “I never heard that name before.”
Tessa folded her hands on her knees. “Have you ever been to a house on Mimosa Street?”
“I don’t know.” Carl picked dried mud off his pants. “I’ve been to a lot of places.”
Tessa turned to her desk. She picked up a photo of Gavin and showed it to Carl. “This is Gavin.”
Fear widened Carl’s eyes. He cringed backward and turned his face away from the picture. “Stop. Stop it!” he yelled.
“What’s wrong, Carl?” Tessa set down the photo. “You do know Gavin, don’t you?”
He shuddered. “I didn’t know his name.”
“But you killed him,” Logan said.
Carl’s head snapped up. “I didn’t kill anybody.”
“But Gavin is dead,” Tessa pointed out. “You know that, right?”
Carl hung his head and cried softly.
Logan leaned closer. “Where’s your gun, Carl?”
“I don’t have one.” He sniffed.
If he had a gun, why would he throw rocks? Tessa studied him for a minute. He was weird. No doubt about it, and his behavior in the state park had been violent. Was he unpredictable? Did he not remember killing Gavin? She would have to arrest him and refer him for a psych eval.
Tessa softened her voice. “Why did you throw rocks at us?”
He stared at the floor. “I thought you were him.”
“Who?” she asked.
“The one who killed that boy.” Lifting his gaze, Carl nodded at the photo of Gavin. “I saw him do it.”
Tessa sat back, trying to decide if he was mentally ill or an excellent liar. “Tell me what happened.”
Carl took a deep breath. “I’d been camping around the island, but I was tired of being outside. I wanted to be inside. I walked out of the woods and found an empty house. There was a table and chairs in it. It was nice.” He exhaled, as if remembering how nice that was. “I stayed there for a few days. One day I heard a noise outside. A kid came in the back door. I hid in the closet. The door wasn’t all the way closed, so I could see into the room.” Carl went quiet. His eyes moved, as if he were watching the scene instead of sitting in the sheriff’s office. “No! Don’t!” He closed his eyes.
“What happened, Carl?” Tessa prompted gently.
Carl wiped his face with his sleeve. “The first kid had a bottle of vodka with him. He sat at the table and drank from it. I kept quiet and watched him. He looked like trouble. You could see it in his eyes. He was stewing.” Carl chewed on his dirty thumbnail. “A little while later, that boy came in.” Carl pointed to the picture of Gavin.
“Gavin?” Tessa clarified.
Carl nodded. “They argued. I couldn’t hear all the words, but Gavin was really mad. He told the other older kid he wasn’t putting up with his shit. He was going to report him. They shoved each other a few times. They were about the same size. Then the first kid pulled out a gun and shot Gavin in the head.” Carl’s face went white. “I didn’t know what to do.” He began to sob. “I never seen anything like that before. Blood went all over the wall.” He retched.
Logan handed him a trash can.
Carl held it in a white-knuckle grip and breathed until he regained control. He wiped his mouth. “The first kid dragged the body down the basement steps. As soon as he was out of sight, I ran. I went out the back door and headed for the woods. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just ran as far and as fast as I could go. I was a mile away before I realized I left all my stuff behind. But I didn’t go back for it.” He took a sip of water. “I’m not proud of it, but I stole a few things to get by. I wasn’t going back to that house for anything.”
Tessa absorbed his words. She had no evidence other than his statement, but she saw no sign that he was lying. Everything he said made sense. “Can you describe the first kid?”
Carl nodded. “Tall, thin, red hair.”
Tessa froze.
Ian?
She and Logan exchanged a look.
Logan propped a hand on his hip. “How old do you think the red-haired boy was?”
Carl’s mouth twisted. “Maybe seventeen or eighteen. Almost an adult.”
“Would you be able to identify him if you saw him again?” Logan asked.
Carl’s head bobbed in a slow nod. “I’ll never forget what I saw. I’ve dreamed about it every night since.”
“Did he have any distinguishing features, besides red hair?” Tessa asked.
Carl lifted a shoulder. He inclined his head toward the plastic bag. “I took a picture of him, but the phone needs charging.”
“You’re giving me permission to access your cell phone?” Tessa asked. Without permission, she would need a search warrant.
“Yes, ma’am,” Carl answered.
Tessa put on gloves and removed the phone from the bag. She checked the charging port. “This requires a mini-USB size.” She rummaged in her desk, then went to the second desk and found a charger. She plugged in the phone and waited. In ten minutes, the battery showed a 2 percent charge. She turned on the phone.
“The passcode is eight-six-seven-five-three-oh-nine,” Carl said.
Tessa entered the numbers. She opened the photo app. She recognized the inside of the house on Mimosa Street. The viewpoint of the photo was the living room, looking into the kitchen. She could see the trash on the floor and the folding table and chairs in the background. In the foreground, Ian was dragging Gavin’s body toward the basement steps. Gavin was limp, and blood matted his hair.