Page 6 of Innocence

“We took the bus,” said Edith.

“You took the bus!” echoed the voices. The children huddled together, staring at the table of men.

“W-we couldn’t get anyone to drive us. We live in the Garden District. Our parents would have been mad if we rode our bikes here,” said Harry.

“Yes, I think they would have. But riding the bus all the way out here was dangerous. You shouldn’t have done that,” said Ian.

“Are we in more trouble?” frowned Warren.

“No,” laughed Nine. “You’re not in more trouble. In fact, you three are the kind of people we love. You risked getting into trouble for someone you care about. That’s important and tells us everything we need to know about what kind of people you are.”

“No bus taking,” said Rafe. “I’ll give you guys a ride home. I can explain to your parents why you rode out here.”

“You’re telling them?” exclaimed Harry. “Man, we’re getting ratted out.” Baptiste could barely control his laughter.

“You know what. Why don’t we call your folks, and they can drive out here and get you? Our Mama makes some of the best cakes and cookies in the world. I’ll bet she’d love to have y’all out here for a while. We can sit up at the café and wait for your folks.”

“I love cookies,” smiled Edith.

“I like cake,” said Harry.

“I like both,” smiled Warren.

“Let’s go.” Baptiste and Rafe left with the kids while the others stayed behind. When they were gone, Nine looked at the group and then at Code.

“You’re not gonna like this.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Sterling Moore, sixty-eight years old. He’s a former college and semi-pro baseball player. No wife, no kids. The Garden District Community Athletic Society was started about fifteen years ago under his direction and his money. He got the kids involved in football, baseball, and soccer, spending most of his own money on the equipment and getting a grant from the city for the land and facilities.

“He controls who coaches the kids, putting them through a pretty intensive background check and criminal check. The night of the murder, he called 911, which, of course, the cops say is because he went too far with the woman and panicked. They arrived to find him knocked out, and, in their infinite wisdom, they can’t explain that part of all this.

“Tracy Bingham was twenty-one years old, a senior at UNO studying psychology. She was found draped over his body, her leg flung over his. She was bleeding from multiple stab wounds, and no, there was no weapon found at the scene. She’d been raped, beaten, and abused.”

“Other than the blood on his body, was there any other DNA evidence?” asked Nine.

“No. None.”

“Code sent us everything,” said Katrina, walking into the room. “Kari and I are headed down there now to get him released into our custody on bail. We may need some backup.”

“I’ll go,” said Ghost.

“So will I,” said Razor. “Gotta earn my keep on the new island.”

With Ghost, Razor, Kari, and Katrina headed to the hospital to speak with Sterling, the others began digging into his background and the background of Tracy Bingham.

“Tracy was a dean’s list student, hoping to graduate in December, a whole semester early. She wasn’t dating anyone, had a solid group of friends, didn’t have a driver’s license, only one credit card that was controlled by her father, but it looks as though she was responsible in her spending with it.”

“This doesn’t make sense. From what I’m seeing, it looks as though she got away from her attackers. Did anyone check the woods behind the park?” asked Gaspar.

“That’s your job,” smirked Code. “I’ll keep checking things here.” Gaspar looked at Nine, Miller, Ian, and Trak.

“You heard the man. Let’s take a walk in the woods.”

Kari held up her ID, and the officer allowed her to enter the room.

“You gonna represent that killer?” he snarled.

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