Chapter 13
Katrina was tired of looking at police officers. This entire weekend had been nothing but a nightmare. She still didn’t know what was going on. She did know that she was happy to be out of the safe house which was riddled with bullets now. They were headed back to the precinct where she’d get to see even more police. It’s not that she wasn’t grateful for all they had done for her. She just wanted the nightmare to end. They escorted her to an interrogation room when they arrived at the precinct. Katrina sat around not thinking much of her accommodations.
Det. Johns entered the room twenty minutes later. By this point Katrina was a kettle set to boil. She had been sitting in the interrogation room steaming, with no one to tell her what was going on or why she was placed in an interrogation room. She went on the attack.
“Why did you all throw me into an interrogation room?” she yelled the question at Det. Johns.
“Why haven’t you been truthful?” he recited in a like manner. “How long have you known Maximiliano and Adan Medina?”
“They just started at State this semester. We met at a Graduate meet and greet,” she said. “No one ever asked me how long I’ve known them. What do they have to do with this?” asked Katrina.
“Do you hang around with them a lot?” asked Det. Johns.
“No, I don’t hang out with them a lot. I thought they were a couple of playboys, but harmless enough. They were more interested in partying than going to class. Why?” asked Katrina.
“Did they hang around any of your other friends?” he asked.
“They tried hanging out with Sophie, but once Kim found out she put a stop to it. Why are you asking me so many questions about Adan and Maxi? What do they have to do with this?” She inquired.
“Why do you think they have something to do with this?” he asked.
“Because all your questions are related to them,” she replied crossing her arms in a protective stance.
“Did Kim ever go out with Adan or Maxi?” He asked.
He was met with stony silence. She refused to respond.
“Well, did she?” asked Det. Johns again leering at her. Still no reply was forthcoming from her.
A light bulb went off in Katrina’s head, she looked at him and finally asked, “What happened to Adan and Maxi?”
Detective Johns looked at Katrina. He watched her reaction as he said, “Adan is dead. Maxi is fighting for his life at Holy Crest Hospital. We’re waiting to see if he’ll make it through the night. We believe they killed Kim and have been trying to kill you.” Detective Johns watched a shocked look come on her face. It took her several moments to register what had been said.
“Do you mean to say, they were the ones attacking the house tonight?”
“Yes, along with two other guys.”
“But why would they want to kill Kim. They liked Kim,” said Katrina.
“We haven’t figured out a motive as of yet. Do you know a Maximiliano Cruz?” he asked.
“No, Maxi’s first name is Maximiliano, but his last name is Medina,” she replied.
“That’s your friend Maxi’s real name. We’re running Adan’s prints now to determine his true identity. Homeland security is now involved in this case. If you know what’s going on you’d better speak up now,” said Det. Johns with menace in his voice.
“I don’t know anything,” said Katrina a little shaken by Det. Johns’ demeanor. “I don’t know why they killed Kim or why they came after me. None of this makes sense.”
Detective Johns waited for Katrina to say something else. She remained silent and confused.
“You still haven’t said whether or not Kim ever dated either one of them,” said Det. Johns.
“No! Kim didn't date either one of them. They weren’t her taste. She liked more serious, intellectual type guys,” said Katrina in annoyance.
“Okay, We’re done for now. Just wait here until either I or Det. Christian comes to get you.” Det. Johns left the interrogation room. Det. Christian walked out of the observation room. They met in the hallway.
“I don’t think she knows what’s going on,” said Det. Christian.
“No, she has no clue,” said Det. Johns. “Let’s check in with the captain and see what they’ve come up with on Maxi and Adan.” The detectives walked back to the captain’s office.
Det. Johns knocked on the captain’s door. The captain beckoned for them to come in. He was in heavy conversation with someone on the phone. They grabbed a seat while the captain keyed information into his computer. He turned the monitor towards them and directed them to read. They finished reading the information on Maximiliano at the same time that the captain got off of the phone.
“As you can see Maxi has an extensive rap sheet for one so young. He grew up quick on the streets of Madrid. He was an excellent pick pocket by the age of sixteen. He graduated to breaking and entering at about seventeen, soon after he hooked up with a crew and never looked back. He worked with that crew until he turned twenty-two. That's when he and the gentleman we know as Adan Medina aka Adam Gonzalez decided to head for bigger and better. They began fleecing high society women of their most prized possession "Diamonds". Their normal M.O. is to get close to young ladies in society. They’d attend parties with these young ladies and hit the houses several weeks after they cased the house,” said the captain.
“But what do two thieves have to do with this whole situation?” said Det. Christian.
“A Chocolate Diamond Ensemble. It was recently auctioned off at Tiffany’s. The new owners of the set live here in Chicago. They have been out of the country for the past two weeks. They returned home last night to find their home had been burglarized. Their entire safe was cleaned out. Apparently Ms. Lawson was known for her diamond collection. The thieves escaped with an unspecified amount in diamonds.” said Captain Weatherspoon.
“And you think our perps did the burglary,” said Det. Johns.
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” said the captain. “Kim was their way into the upper crust of society. She was a French-American heiress. Hooking up with her gave them the in they needed.”
“But Katrina said Kim never went out with either of them,” said Det. Johns.
“Yeah, but they tried the younger sister, remember Katrina said that Kim got wind of it, and stopped it. But who’s to say the little sister actually listened to her big sister,” said Det. Christian. “What’s the younger sister’s name?”
“Sophie,” said Det. Johns.
“Remember what Katrina told us in that initial interview. She said that Sophie had been in some trouble in high school. This is her freshman year at State. She’s much younger than Kim and more susceptible to playboys. Maybe they used the younger sister as their in,” said Det. Christian.
“Okay, but it still doesn’t tell us how Kim ended up tortured and dead. These guys have never been involved in an actual murder, so why would they start now?” asked Det. Johns.
“There’s another question that needs to be asked. Where are they getting there information from? These guys aren’t from the U.S. yet they had Katrina’s parents’ address and were able to get the address to the safe house,” said Det. Christian. “I’ve been thinking they have an inside source.”
“Yeah, I agree with the inside source theory. That’s the only way they could be finding her so fast. We also have to factor in the flowers and laptop incidents, it’s almost like they have split personalities. One minute they’re trying to kill her, the next they’re giving her things as if to say I’m sorry,” said Det. Johns.
“Perhaps when we get the sheets back on their accomplices it will shed some light on this situation,” said the Captain. “We’re going to need to speak with the younger sister Sophie. Maybe we’ll be able to put some of the pieces together after talking to her. For n
ow, keep a lid on everything we’ve discussed. I’ll contact the burglary division and get the specifics on the robbery. I’ve already sent Vasquez and Timms home for a couple of hours. They’ll report back at noon. It’s 4:30 now. You two go home, catch a couple of hours of sleep. Be back at noon as well. Perhaps by the time we’ve returned we’ll also have the rap sheets on our other perps.”
“What about Katrina?” asked Det. Johns.
“I’ll take her home with me. My son is on vacation, he can watch her while I get a couple of hours of sleep. Now get out of here,” said the captain.
Detectives Johns and Christian left for a couple of hours of rest. They knew they needed rest to be able to deal with the onslaught of information that was going to come in on their suspects. They also knew when not to argue with the captain.
The Captain picked Katrina up from the interrogation room. He could tell she was upset by the set of her shoulders. He told her he had sent Detectives Johns and Christian home. She wasn’t happy when he informed her that she was going home with him. The Captain explained that he had a wife and a son, who was also a Chicago Police Officer. His son would watch her while he got some sleep. She still didn’t look happy, but what could she do.
They arrived at the Captain’s house twenty minutes later. He parked in the garage and they entered the house. Katrina could hear humming coming from the room ahead. When she entered the kitchen she saw a petite African American female with short cropped bangs. She was cooking breakfast. Katrina saw a mound of scrambled eggs and toast on the kitchen table, bacon was frying on the stove.
“Where’s Jason?” asked the Captain.
“He’s taking a shower. He should be down any second,” replied the woman.
"Diane this Katrina Castillo, Katrina, my wife Diane," said the Captain.
"Nice to meet you," said Diane as she shook Katrina's hand. "Come on in here and have a sit. Breakfast will be ready in a moment. You can lay your bag at the door. I'll clean your clothes while you get some rest. Excuse me for a moment," said Diane as she walked to the stairs and called for their son Jason to come down, breakfast was ready.
Katrina sat her bag at the kitchen door and asked where the bathroom was, she needed to wash her hands. Diane gave her directions and she left the room. When she returned, Jason was sitting at the table. Introductions were made and Katrina sat down.
Diane placed the largest plate of food Katrina had ever seen in front of her. She just stared at the plate. It consisted of mounds of bacon, eggs, and four pieces of toast. Katrina knew she'd never be able to eat all that food. Jason looked up from his plate at her. He noticed she wasn’t eating, so he followed her line of sight to her plate and then he started laughing.
“Mom, you must have thought you were feeding Tim, she can’t eat all that food,” said Jason.
Diane looked at Katrina’s plate and laughed. Katrina’s face was beet red.
“I’m sorry Katrina. I’m used to fixing plates for giant sized men. You don’t have to eat all that food,” said Diane.
The Captain saw a smile cross Katrina’s face for the first time. Katrina ate breakfast and listened to a normal family conversation. Once breakfast was over, Diane showed Katrina to one of their guest bedrooms. The room was gorgeous. It was decorated in rich tones of gold and blue. There was a queen sized bed with an oak headboard. There was an oak armoire with a 29 inch flat screen TV sitting on top. The room had a private bath.
Diane told her to get what she needed from her bag and took the remaining things to be washed. Katrina took a shower. When she exited the bathroom she found a two piece snoopy pajama set lying on the bed. She put it on and climbed into bed. She was sleep in under three minutes.