Ties That Bind

Chapter 42

GOLDEN PULLED OUT ON HIS TIE. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to waste any more of our time, Detectives."

Madison let his comment go and addressed Terry, "So, should I tell them or do you want to?"

He held out his hands. "Go ahead, by all means."

Madison noticed Younge's face pale. "Well, let's start with the search results."

Golden pressed flattened hands on the lapels of his suit jacket and turned to his client. "It's a good indication when they start with the search results."

Younge tried to force a smile, but it was more of a facial twitch at the corner of his lips, they rose and fell so fast. His attention focused on Madison. "You found the ties, right?"

Madison played the power of silence and shook her head before following through with a verbal answer. "No, we didn't. And we didn't find the license plate, or the shoes either."

"I don't understand."

"What don't you understand Mr. Younge? You murdered—"

"Wait..." He let his words trail off. "A couple months back..." He appeared to be calculating what he would say next. His eyes shifted to the table and then up. "Yeah, it was a couple months back now."

"What was a couple months back?"

He glanced at his lawyer, who splayed his hands giving him the go-ahead to talk. "Well, Brooke thought someone had been in the house."

"Elaborate." Don't tell me this guy is going to say his ties were stolen.

"She said when she got home from work the front door was unlocked. She said that the house felt different when she went in. Like it had someone else's presence in there. I told her she was crazy and that she was getting carried away. I said she must have forgotten to lock the door before leaving."

"Did you report the incident?"

"Like I told you, I thought she was being paranoid." He was shaking his head. "I believe her now. Someone stole my ties."

"And the single pair of shoes that would implicate you?"

"What shoes? You mentioned them before."

"Just everyday runners. Cheap."

"I don't buy cheap runners. Only the brand names."

Based on his choice of neckties, and his elaborate collection of them, she tended to believe that statement. He had taste in clothing and spent money on it.

"What about your license plate? It wasn't in your garage, either. Someone steal it, too?"

"I don't like your innuendos, Detective."

Madison ignored the lawyer's interjection and kept her eyes on Younge. "So let me get this straight. You didn't believe you had a break-in at all, but now that some ties are missing that implicate your involvement with three murders, you think they were stolen? But the electronics, jewelry, they were all left?" He nodded. Madison let out a laugh. "Tell me why someone would break into your home and steal three neckties, a pair of shoes, and an old plate."

"I don't know. The ties are worth a lot."

"Those ties showed up on three murdered women."

"One being my mom." His voice softened. "Has her body been released?"

"Not yet."

His eyes glossed over.

It was time for Madison to get to the point. "We have the results of the DNA testing, and yours was a match to physical evidence found at both murder scenes."

Ethan started to speak, but Golden silenced him. "Both? Thought there were three murders."

"Forensics connected him to Saunders and Mrs. Younge. Eyewitnesses connect him to Nguyen." She spoke the words with confidence despite the silent nagging in regards to the fingerprint on the locket. It didn't match Ethan Younge. In fact, neither did any prints lifted from Laura's crime scene.

Golden said, "So forensics matched what, specifically?"

"This is crazy. I didn't do it. How could it match?" Younge was panicking. The lawyer tried to calm him with an extended arm, which was shot down.

"Well, since you love ties, Mr. Younge, you'll be happy to know you left some epithelial behind on the one that strangled Laura. When you were tightening the tie, you were holding it so strongly skin tags rubbed off your hands—"

"But I didn't do it."

"It also matched the skin under Laura's fingernails."

"Impossible."

"Then there's Heather. You improved by not leaving behind personal physical evidence, but where you messed up is allowing yourself to be spotted leaving the scene."

"And my mother. I called it in. Did you redial the last number on the phone?"

"We did. We've been through this, but it doesn't mean Evelyn made the call. You could have just as easily."

"Were my prints on the phone?"

"You could have worn gloves."

"Did you find gloves at the scene?"

"It doesn't mean you didn't discard them before we got there. A lot of murderers will call in the find."

"But she called me over there."

"We've covered that too. That's what you say. Even if she did call you over there, it doesn't mean you're innocent."

Golden said, "That will be enough. Lay the charges or release him."

"Just one more thing. Did you touch her when you found her?"

"No, I didn't."

"Not a little? You didn't kiss her?"

"Absolutely not. I wanted to, but I knew enough not to."

"Well, the evidence says otherwise. A trace of your saliva was found on your mother's forehead." Madison walked over to him. "Stand."

"I didn't do it!" Ethan's cry resonated off the walls of the small room.

She directed him to his feet and pulled his arms behind him. She snapped on the cuffs while reciting his Miranda rights and citing the charges.

He struggled with the escorting officer as he left the room. "I didn't do it."

"They all say that, Mr. Younge."

The lawyer left the room with a nod toward Madison, passing by the sergeant and the chief as they came inside.

"Guess you'll sleep tonight," Terry said before their superiors made it within earshot.

"You should know me better than that by now. I won't rest until it's been passed by the DA and forwarded for trial. There is one thing that bothers me, though. We have a motive for his mother, but why Laura and Heather?"

"We might never know." 

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