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“I’m going to ask you to repeat your story one more time, Ms. Merriweather. If anything new occurs to you as you go along, just add it right in. Any little detail that might occur to you might be of help.”
Parker was being gentle with her. Kit had to give him points for that. But he could see the strain that telling the story over and over again was having on Drew.
“She’s stronger than she looks,” Nik commented.
“Yeah,” Kit said, and then shut up as Drew began.
“I first met Juliana and Paulo when they came into Prestige Designs, a store on Pier 39 that carries my designs. Juliana was interested in the bead work I do, and we got to talking. She asked me if I would create a wedding dress for her. She offered me a very generous amount of money, but I couldn’t let anyone know I was doing it, not even my boss. The wedding was a secret. No one could know. I agreed to make the dress and to keep the secret. They were so in love. So happy.”
“And you had no idea who their families were, at first?” Parker asked.
“No. They didn’t tell me their last names. They gave me cash to buy the materials for the dress, and Juliana came to my apartment for fittings. It was only as Juliana and I grew to become friends that she confided in me about the long-standing feud between their families. She’d promised Paulo that she wouldn’t tell anyone in her family, and I think she needed another woman to talk to.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone about the secret wedding, what day it was or when it was taking place?”
Drew lifted her chin. “No. I told you that I didn’t even know when or where the ceremony was going to take place until the afternoon that Juliana came to pick up the dress and she asked me to please come with her to the church. She wanted me to stand as a witness. More than that, she wanted a friend. So I called Prestige Designs to tell them that I wouldn’t be in and I went with her.”
“You got to St. Peter’s shortly before seven,” D.C. prompted.
In the observation room, Kit spoke softly to Nik and Theo. “She was at my office just after seven-thirty. Whatever happened went down fast.”
“What did you do then?” Parker asked.
“Juliana and I entered through the back door of the church, the one next to the parking lot. And Juliana led me through the sacristy and up the back stairs to the choir loft.”
“There was no one else in the sacristy when you walked through it?” Parker queried.
“No. Paulo and Father Mike were in the room on the other side of the altar. I spotted them, but Juliana didn’t want Paulo to see her. Bad luck. So we went up the stairs and directly into the storeroom. I didn’t even get a chance to take the wedding dress out of the bag when we heard angry voices quarreling. Then there were shots. Two.” She paused to take a sip of water.
“That checks out with what J.C. heard,” Nik commented. “Roman arrived, argued with Paulo to stop the wedding, then the gunfire started, and Roman shot DeLucca.”
“I’m still saying that DeLucca pulled a gun and Roman killed him in self-defense,” Kit said.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a witness to verify that,” Theo commented.
At Kit’s angry look, he continued, “I’m just telling it the way a good prosecutor’s going to play it to a jury. The secret to building a good defense is to anticipate your opponent’s moves.”
Kit didn’t comment this time. He was too intent on what Drew was saying. Nik had been right to tell him to listen again. Each time she repeated the story, the events became clearer in his mind.
“Juliana wanted to run out and see what had happened,” Drew continued. “But I got to the door first and opened it just a crack. Paulo was running across the loft toward us. His shoulder was stained with blood. He was carrying a gun and the tote with the money. He gave both of them to me. Said he couldn’t shoot and I’d have to use the gun. He told me how to release the safety and how to hold it.”
While Drew took another sip of water, Nik said, “Dinah traced the serial number on the gun. It belongs to Paulo Carlucci.”
In the interrogation room, Drew continued. “There was another shot. It was louder than the first two.”
“That could have been from the man who shot Father Mike,” Nik said. “J.C. calls him snake eyes.”
“Then we heard footsteps. I looked and saw another man running up the stairs from the vestibule,” Drew said. “He was big and he had a gun.”
“What happened then?” Parker prompted Drew.
Kit could see that her knuckles were white, her back ramrod straight.
“Paulo shut off the lights and shoved Juliana in the corner. He stood in front of her. I kept the gun pointed at the door until it opened. And I shot the man who came through it. He stumbled back out. I couldn’t see him anymore.” She pressed a hand to her temple.
“Do you want to take a break, Ms. Merriweather?” D.C. asked.
“No. No, I want to finish this. I went to the door, and Roman shouted to his sister. ‘Juliana, are you all right?’ I could see him reach the top of the stairs. Behind me, Paulo said, ‘Yes.’ Then the man I shot leaped out at Roman. Roman told us to run, to go to Kit. Then we left.”
“You ran along the choir loft and down the sacristy stairs?”
“Yes. We went out the side door and ran along Bellevue until we could hail a cab.”
In the observation room, Kit shook his head. “Why in hell didn’t Paulo and Juliana come with her? Something’s going on here that we’re not seeing yet.” He turned to Nik. “What about Father Mike? Has he woken up yet?”
“Yeah,” Theo said. “I talked to him at the hospital. He and Paulo were talking in the room on the other side of that altar. He says Paulo heard someone come into the sacristy and went to check it out. Then the shouting started and the shots were fired. The next thing he knew, someone hit him on the back of the head. When he came to and got to his feet, he ran into a man with a gun who was wearing a mask. He remembers J.C. throwing her cell, and then the gun went off. His memory’s foggy after that.”
In the interrogation room, Parker prompted Drew. “Then you ran—you and Paulo and Juliana.”
Drew nodded. “We used the sacristy stairs and went out the side door.”
“J.C. must have ducked into the closet by that time, and the man who shot Father Mike must have been checking out the rectory trying to find her,” Nik theorized.
“The Fates were on the good guys’ sides for a lot of this,” Theo said.
In the interrogation room, Drew continued. “We went down an alley, and Paulo hailed a taxi. He told me to take the money and the gun to Kit and ask for help. That was the last I saw of Juliana and Paulo.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t they get in the taxi with you?”
Drew shook her head. “I’m not sure. They were talking about that while I got myself into the cab, and I didn’t catch all of it. But I think Paulo was worried. I don’t think that he was willing to trust Roman’s suggestion that we all go to Kit. They ended up telling me to call Juliana on her cell when Kit had come up with a plan. But then I got in the accident and—”
“Lost your memory,” Parker finished for her. “And Juliana is not answering her cell. You have no idea where the bride and groom might be? They didn’t tell you where they were going to wait for your call?”
“No. If I knew where they were, I’d tell you.”
“I certainly hope so, Ms. Merriweather.” D.C. Parker’s tone had shifted from gentle to stern. “Wherever they are, they could be in mortal danger. Did Juliana tell you where they planned to honeymoon—anything like that?”
Drew shook her head. “She never said a word about that.”
Kit watched as Parker handed her a card and told her to call him if she remembered anything, anything at all, and relief washed through Kit. “He’s going to let her go.”
A moment later, Parker joined them in the observation room. He nodded at Theo. “Good to see you, counselor. Then he shifted his gaze to Nik. “Taking a break, Detective?”
“Ms. Riley’s in my office, sir, finishing up with the artist.”
Parker jerked his head and Nik walked back into the squad room.
“I’m Roman Oliver’s attorney,” Theo said. “I’d appreciate having a word with you when you have a moment.”
Parker studied Theo for a moment, then nodded. “I have an appointment in a few minutes, but I can see you in half an hour.”
“Thanks, Captain.” When he reached the doorway, Theo turned to Kit. “Keep in touch, bro.”
“Ditto,” Kit said.
When they were alone in the room, Parker said, “I’m going to release Ms. Merriweather into your custody. Until we get to the bottom of this, I’m going to give her some protection.”
“You think she’s still in danger?” Kit asked.
“I think there’s a hell of a lot we don’t know yet. Those thugs are hired help, and whoever is behind this may think Ms. Merriweather knows more than she does. They may send more after her. I’ll assign a surveillance team twenty-four seven. But it may not be enough.”
