Page 40 of The Writer

[Lucero] [Appears confused.] That was like a week ago. I remember now. She asked me where the nearest bathroom was and I told her. That’s all that was.

[Cordova] If that’s all that was, why did you follow her?

[Silence for twenty-eight seconds.]

[Shaw] We have video of you following her, Lucky.

[Lucero] [Voice barely audible.] I was worried about her.

[Shaw] Worried? Why?

[Lucero] I saw this man watching her. He came in behind her from Fifth and followed her through the park.

[Shaw] Oh, and you were just keeping her safe? Is that it? Making sure some other sexual predator didn’t pounce on your girl?

[Cordova] There’s nobody else following her on video. Only you.

[Lucero] I ain’t lying.

[Transcriber note: Shaw places more photographs on the table.]

[Shaw] This is Maggie dead, Lucky. Here’s another picture. And another. We found her right where you left her, up behind Blockhouse. See the bruising around her neck? That’s a handprint. Your handprint. You squeezed so hard, the ME had no trouble pulling exact measurements. He created a mold of her killer’s hand, his full grip. What are we going to find when we compare that mold to your hand?

[Cordova] You a smoker, Lucky?

[Transcriber note: Cordova places a photograph on the table.]

[Cordova] That’s the butt of a Marlboro Red found right next to her body. Coincidently, wefound half a pack of Marlboro Reds in your apartment. We’ll have DNA back in a few days. What are we going to turn up there?

[Shaw] And if that weren’t enough, you forgot your damn watch.

[Transcriber note: Shaw sets another photograph on the table.]

[Shaw] Left it in the mud around a bunch of size-eleven shoe prints I’m pretty sure we’ll match to you too. The watch has your damn name on it, Lucky. Half the people we showed it to on staff at the park said it was yours. They’ve all seen you wear it. You’re making our job so easy on this one, I should give you an honorary detective’s badge. Why’d you kill her in the park? We didn’t find any of these others in the park. Did Maggie try to get away? Tell us what happened, you tell us now, and we’ll put in a good word with the ADA. You make me do this the hard way, and I’ll crucify you.

[Transcriber note: Cordova shows him two more photographs.]

[Cordova] That’s a knee print next to her body. This is a picture of a pair of your jeans found on the floor in your apartment. See the mud on the knees? CSU tells me preliminary tests match it to our crime scene.

[Silence for forty-two seconds.]

[Shaw] You know what? I’m done. Cordova, dropthis fucker in gen-pop for the weekend. Soon as they figure out he’s a child diddler, he’s a dead man. Let’s save the taxpayers some money.

[Lucero] [Barely audible.] Wait…

[Shaw] Wait? Wait why? You got something to say?

[Lucero] I found her. After.

[Shaw] Bullshit.

[Lucero] I went to clean up some branches around Blockhouse. If I picked up mud, that’s how. The band on my watch is busted. It falls off all the time. And yeah, I smoke Marlboro Reds. So does half the city. You found one of my old butts on the ground where I work? Big fucking deal. I smoke a pack a day. Wouldn’t have to look too hard to find more. I went up to Blockhouse to clean up from the storm and found her there. I didn’t touch her. I swear.

[Cordova] If you found her like that, why didn’t you tell anyone?

[Lucero] [Gestures at everything on the table.] Why the hell do you think?

[Shaw] [Picks up one of the books and slams it down on the table.] You stalked that poor girl, and when the timing was right, you tried to snatch her.

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