The Boy From Detroit

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kareem reached home at 8:30 p.m., exhausted and his legs sore. Terada's SUV was parked near the curb; the Altima was parked on the driveway, and the black Oldsmobile was parked inside the garage. He knocked on the door. Lamb opened it few seconds later and looked at Kareem.

"Welcome home," Lamb said as he stepped aside to let Kareem in. "We were waiting on you to have dinner. We have some lasagna."

"I'm not hungry." He just wanted to sleep.

"Are you sure? Looks like you've been riding that bicycle across the country."

"I'll freshen up and come."

"Meet us at the table in ten."

Kareem went upstairs, had a bath and changed into new clothes. He felt the urge to creep into bed but now he was hungrier than he was tired. So he returned downstairs with the police report and sat down at the table in front of his plate with a slice of lasagna served neatly with a knife and fork. Kareem placed the police report he'd borrowed from Terada. Terada looked at it and then at Kareem and then finally at Lamb.

"Just returning this," Kareem said.

"Thanks," Terada said as he slid it back across the island toward him. He then began to eat.

"So, what did you find today?" Lamb said as if they already knew that Kareem took it.

Kareem paused and then started eating his food. "Nothing," he lied for some reason. "However, in the report, there was an interesting analysis by a doctor named Dr. Drágfi. Who is he?"

"She," Terada said. "Dr. Drágfi is a woman."

"Oh, my bad," Kareem said.

"Frank has a crush on her," Lamb said.

"Oh, give me a break, will ya?"

Lamb chuckled.

"Who is she?" Kareem insisted.

"Erika Drágfi is an expert behavioral analyst we hire occasionally," Lamb said. "Her expertise has been extremely helpful for us in the past. In fact she's the one that recommended that a lure should be used in this operation to catch the person responsible for the Black Moon Murders."

"She works at the FBI?"

"No. She works out of Red Lake Institution for the Criminally Insane."

"An asylum?" Kareem said.

"We try not to use that word," Lamb said. "We have something to tell you as well," Lamb said. "It's about Jasmine."

Karee's eyes widened with intrigue. "What is it?"

"Well..."

"Please tell me it's something positive."

"Slow down, kid," Terada said. "No one told you that she's going to be released anytime soon so don't get your hopes up."

"What is it?" Kareem asked Lamb.

"Well, there's no easy way to say this but Gabriel, her attorney, said that they found Mackenzie's diary in Jasmine's bag."

Kareem stared at Lamb. "OK. So what does that mean?"

"That she took it," Terada said.

"Did she say why?" Kareem asked.

"She says she has no idea how it got there."

"Well, then she doesn't know."

"That's not going to help her at all. Jasmine has just become the prime suspect for the murders of Lucas Whitt, Winston Brown and Mackenzie Berenger."

Kareem dumped the cutlery down on his plate to a loud clatter. "This is fucking ridiculous."

"Is it?"

"She has motive," Terada said. "Lucas Whitt was her nemesis. And according to Mackenzie's diary, Jasmine had a huge crush on Winston before he chose Mackenzie. And she could've killed Mackenzie for same reason.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Kareem said. "Why kill Mackenzie now?"

"In her diary she'd stated that said you tended to her that night of the party. She's said that you might've even seen her naked even though you wouldn't admit it to her face. And that has apparently made her very mad."

"Prestige, jealousy and envy," Lamb said.

Kareem was speechless.

"Brace yourself, kid," Terada said. "She might be well on her way to juvie."

"We are sorry, Kareem," Lamb said.

"It's only a matter of time until they find more evidence against her," Lamb said. "And even if they don't, in a place like Solace, once they sink their teeth in, especially in a case like this, they will do their best to draw every drop of blood and pin everything on you to make it go away as soon as possible."

Kareem grated the chair back and shot to his feet furiously. "Now why does that sound familiar?" he snapped and went upstairs to his room and shut the door hard.