Joseph tried to grab a punching fist and caught one on the chin for his effort. His head jerked back and he winced, then waded back in to the fray. This time, he grabbed the boy by his belt and yanked, tossing him to the side. The young guy landed with a grunt, scrambled to his feet and started to lunge back at Dylan. Alonso lurched to take a swing at the teen and Joseph stiff-armed him back.
Catelyn stepped in front of the attacker. The surprise of seeing her had him stumbling to a sudden halt, arms pinwheeling, feet dancing backward.
Adrenaline rushing at the surprise attack, she placed a hand against his chest and shoved, mimicking Joseph’s method to keep his brother out of the action. Knocked off balance, the boy went down on his rear. Noticing his hearing aids, she signed to him, “Stop, now.”
Joseph had Dylan’s arms pinned down, but the boy wasn’t struggling, although it looked like he wanted to. Joseph let him go, and Dylan shook his arms then reached up to dab at a cut above his right eye. Alonso hauled himself to his feet. “Chad? What do you think you’re doing?” he signed furiously.
“He killed Tracy!”
“He did not!” Alonso protested. “How could you even think that?” Four hands flew through the conversation. Joseph eyed Catelyn with a warning to stay out of it for now. She backed off and watched the boys yell at each other.
Dylan defended himself, saying, “I was there with Kelly, but I left. Tracy was fine when I left. I don’t know what happened later.”
“You knew Tracy wanted Kelly to break up with you and you told her to stay out of it ‘or else.’ I saw you.”
Dylan looked shocked, then nodded. “Yeah, I did, but I didn’t mean I’d kill her. Get real, man. I just meant I wouldn’t have anything else to do with her. I’d get her blackballed from the group.” He threw his hands up in the air as though in disbelief.
Catelyn almost believed Dylan. He looked so convincing. She fingered the scar on her left arm. Yeah, so had the kid who knifed her in thanks for giving him the benefit of the doubt. She wasn’t falling for that one again.
“We need to either go down to the department where we can hash this all out or find a spot around here to get to the bottom of this.” She pulled out her notebook and pen.
Joseph motioned to the porch. Chad’s hands shook, his fury still palpable, but Catelyn detected grief beneath the anger. Tracy must have meant a lot to him. And what was that about Tracy wanting Kelly to break up with Dylan?
“Joseph, can you give Dylan’s and Chad’s parents a call and let them know what’s going on? I want to do this by the book. I’m not making an arrest—yet—so we can do this here, but I definitely want these parents aware of what’s going on. Plus, Chad’s in no shape to drive home. Someone needs to get his car.”
He pulled his BlackBerry out. “Sure.” He got the numbers from a reluctant Chad and a still-fuming Dylan. Soon he had Chad’s parents on the way and had left a message for Dylan’s mother and one for the kid’s father. They were divorced, but shared custody.
“If this turns into an official investigation interrogation, we’ll have to move it downtown,” Joseph warned.
“Of course. Right now, I just want to talk to Dylan. Informally. He’s over fourteen, I don’t need his parents’ permission for that.”
Nodding, Joseph took a seat on the swing. The still-glowering, yet subdued boys sat in opposite corners of the porch. Catelyn planted herself in a rocker between them. She kept silent hoping one of them would be ready to burst forth with information by the time she got around to asking some questions.
The door to the house swung open and Alonso’s father, Geovani Santino, stepped out.
“I heard a bunch of commotion out here.” Spying Dylan, he signed, “What happened to your eye?”
“My friend went nutso on me.” Dylan’s fingers flew, hands shaped the words and his glare notched up a bit in intensity. Chad Markham, a student at the deaf school and a member of the high school baseball team, fumed, fists clenched at his side.
Joseph raised a calming hand, then watched as a compact car pulled in behind Chad’s Jeep. Chad noticed it, too, and snapped his lips together in a mutinous expression of defiance.
Chad’s parents bolted from the car and raced up the porch. “Chad? What’s going on?” His mother stopped on the top step taking everything in.
Joseph intervened, introduced everyone and explained the situation. Catelyn let him take over. He looked at her face. Take over for now, anyway.
He made sure the parents knew that this wasn’t a formal interrogation. Rather just a “getting together” to see what they could come up with and see if any new information came to light.
Once everyone was settled, Catelyn asked, “Chad, tell us why you think Dylan had something to do with Tracy’s death and Kelly’s disappearance.”
“Because he was there. He said he left, but he didn’t, at least I don’t believe him. He and Kelly and Tracy all had a huge argument earlier that day. He was really mad at Tracy and told her she’d better watch her mouth, or else. I’m Kelly’s friend, her best friend. She was tired of Dylan always telling her who she could hang out with and who she couldn’t. She told me so.”
Catelyn cocked a brow Dylan. The boy leaned over and grasped his head with his hands. She tapped him on the shoulder and signed, “That true?”
A huge sigh rippled through him. “Yes.”
“Anything else you want to add? Because while you keep insisting on your innocence, you’re sure leaving out some chunks of need-to-know information.”
Dylan shook his head. “We argued. So what? We argued all the time. Tracy didn’t like me and didn’t try to hide it. I didn’t like her, either. She was bossy and pushy and…”
“And what?” Joseph practically growled.
“And Kelly’s best friend.” He shot a glance at Chad. “Not him. Tracy wanted Kelly to break up with me and date her brother, Zachary. I was afraid…” He trailed off again, rubbing his eyes as though trying to erase a headache. Everyone sat silent. “I was afraid she was going to convince Kelly I wasn’t good enough for her so I told her to mind her own business and keep her mouth shut.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this when we had you in for questioning?” Catelyn demanded.
Tears filled the boy’s eyes. “Because it makes it look like I had a reason to…do…something to Tracy.” He stood and paced from one end of the porch to the other. Then turned to say, “But I didn’t! I swear! I mean, I sure didn’t like her, but I would never hurt her.”
Joseph frowned at the constant protestations of innocence. He watched Catelyn’s expressions, her eyes. The more the boy talked, the more she became convinced he did do something. And Joseph had a moment of wondering himself. Could it be that Dylan had killed Tracy? Possibly in a fit of anger? An accident?
Blunt-force trauma was the cause of death. Had he picked up a rock and hit her? Pushed her down so she cracked her head against something? But there’d been no sign of that kind of thing at the crime scene. No, the murder
