He’d tossed and turned all night, searched the internet for answers, and finally found what he needed on the school’s website. It was a bio for Dr. Robert Turner, the shrink hired by the school to fix kids’ heads and he just happened to be Laurie’s pa. The post was directed to both parents and students, stating complete confidentiality on any matter of concern. Becky Powell’s death had been all over the news, not her name but the fact a girl’s body had been found in town. He couldn’t eat his breakfast and went back to his room. He read and re-read the post about the doctor before heading to school and the moment he walked into the building, he went to the office. “I want to speak to Dr. Turner.”
“You’re not required to give a reason or your name… well, to me anyway.” The woman behind the counter looked him over. “If it’s an excuse to get out of failing your grades, he won’t help you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to come up with an excuse. “I’ve been having real bad dreams. I need to speak to someone about them is all.”
“Oh, sure.” She lifted the phone on her desk and spoke to someone in hushed tones and then looked up at him. “It must be your lucky day, he’s free now. You can go straight in. Third door on the left. When you’re done drop by and I’ll issue you a hall pass.”
He nodded and tried to squash the rolling in his stomach. Would speaking to the doctor about his fears betray his girl? Turner couldn’t say anything to anyone, so he should be safe. No one would know he’d been to see him. He knocked on the door and stepped inside. Rather than a couch the doctor sat behind a desk and looked at him over his spectacles.
“You’re having bad dreams?” Turner leaned forward and rested his clasped hands on the desk. “Sit down.”
“No, I said that to come and see you.” He sprawled in the chair. “Nothing I say here goes any further, right?”
“That’s correct, patient-doctor confidentiality, but to afford you that, I’ll need your name.” Turner frowned. “What’s on your mind?”
He gave his name and then chose his words carefully, making like he had these friends that he figured were a little crazy because they kept talking about killing girls. When the doctor asked questions, he told him what had been reported in the press but left out any other details. He said he was frightened for his life, that his friends might try and kill him if they knew he’d ratted on them.
“Well, unless you give me their names, you’re not ratting on anyone but as my daughter Laurie was murdered, any assistance you can offer the sheriff will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.” Turner looked nonplused as if discussing his murdered daughter happened every day. “She was a cheerleader like her mom. They’d practice together but I was glad when my wife left. I wanted Laurie to stop cheerleading. I refused to watch her flaunt herself in front of everyone like a common whore.”
Stymied, he stared at Turner. “You saying, you figure she deserved to be murdered?”
“No of course not.” Turner’s fists clenched on the desk. “Let’s say she attracted the wrong sort of attention. Football players are trouble and she knew the risks she was taking.”
He rubbed his chin. This wasn’t going as he’d expected and the doctor was no help at all. “The players are okay guys. She’d have been safer if she’d had a boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Turner leaned back in his chair. “She was sixteen. That’s too young to be involved with anyone, she was asking for trouble going out with Wyatt Cooper and I told her so.”
“So, how can you help me?” He looked across the desk. “They’ve killed again. Last night. It was another cheerleader.”
“How would you know details about the murder unless you were involved?” Turner’s combover dropped over a brow beading with sweat and stuck like a fly in honey. “Did you kill my daughter? Or were you involved in some way?”
“No! I didn’t kill Laurie. This happened last night. Aren’t you listening to me?” Unease crawled over him. “You know, I came here for help, there’s no need to start interrogating me like the cops. I’m in fear for my life, man. They would kill me if they knew I’d been here.”
“I know you were there.” Turner glared at him. “You had to be to know the details. I can only help you if you tell me the truth.”
Panic swept over him. “I was there but I didn’t kill anyone.”
“If you are as innocent as you claim, even if you’re in fear for your life, the sheriff can’t help you. You’d be charged with murder by association… for just being there and not stopping it.” Turner took a folded handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his face. “Now, if you want my protection, you’ll have to come clean and tell me everything.”
“That’s all I can tell you.” He went to rise but Turner raised a hand to stop him. He glared at him. “Why do you want me to stay? You’ve been no help at all. Now you figure I’m involved in Laurie’s murder.” He stared at him. “Do you figure I’d come and confess to her father, if I had? I’m not that stupid. I shouldn’t have come here. I can’t give the others up to the sheriff. If one of them noticed me coming in here then I’m a dead man walking. I needed your help.”
“Okay. I guess if you’d been with those boys when they killed that girl last night but didn’t participate, I could help you.” Turner was clearly trying hard to compose himself and his mouth twitched into a grimace. “In fact, I would give you an alibi.” He cleared his throat. “And maybe even one for last night as well depending on how you cooperate. You see, the sheriff has me on her list of suspects as well. The parents are always their first suspects, and I don’t need her hassling me.”
“Okay.” He hung his head, not wanting to divulge his part in the murders, but the doctor had offered him a lifeline. “They told me last night they’d killed another girl, in a house just off
Main.” He lifted his head. “What they told me made me sick to my stomach, so I had to talk to someone.”
“Is there anything else you remember? Everything you’ve said about Laurie has been in the papers. To confirm their involvement, you’d have to know something that only the killers would know. This includes the time of the murders. That information is crucial to providing an alibi.”
He pushed a hand through his hair. “I’ll give it some thought and get back to you.”
“Good.” Turner’s eyes brightened. “I’ll give you my number and if this happens again, you must give me the time and I’ll say you were with me. I’ll call you, to confirm different times you had a session with me as well or it will appear that you only came to see me when a murder took place.” He looked at him. “Tell me everything you remember and I’ll protect you but you must back me up. If I say you’ve been having counseling sessions with me at the time of the murders or at any other time I give you, you must confirm it. Are we clear?”
“Yeah, anything you say, Doc.” He smiled at Turner. He had him hook, line, and sinker. He’d give him just a taste of what happened and leave out the gruesome stuff. “Yeah, they said they’d strangled them and then took one of their pompoms.”
Thirty-Eight
After waving away offers of help, Jenna delivered the paperwork to the judge for an arrest warrant for Law, and went from there to speak to the DA. She’d discovered during a brief interview with Mr. Law, that he’d been released yesterday and was out searching for his wife. He’d admitted to substance abuse. Doc Brown had dropped by and taken blood for testing. Law would be collected by the county jail and would likely remain there until his court hearing.