“You fucking cocksucking coward!” O’Ryan screeched, lunging for Buddy. She had forgotten she was still chained to the table and she was yanked back like a dog on a short leash. “Bastard!” she screamed, going into full meltdown. Her chair had been upturned in the scuffle and she kicked it across the room, then yelped from the pain in her foot. “I’ll sue you, you fucking bastards!” she yelled, clutching her foot. “Motherless fucks!”
“Patty?” Jeffrey asked. “Patty?”
Lena fought the urge to put her hands over her ears as the girl wailed like a siren. Jeffrey was scowling when he stood, sticking to the periphery of the room as he made his exit. Lena quickly followed him into the hall, keeping her eyes on O’Ryan until there was a solid door between them.
Jeffrey shook his head, like he couldn’t believe a human being was capable of acting that way. “This is the first time in my life I actually feel sorry for the bastard,” he said, meaning Buddy. He walked down the hall to get away from the noise. “Do you think there’s another Ward brother?”
“There has to be.”
“Black sheep?”
Lena remembered their conversation with the family two days ago. “That’s Paul’s job, I thought.”
“What?”
“Paul said he was the black sheep of the family.”
Jeffrey opened the fire door into the squad room for her. She could see Mark McCallum, the GBI polygraph expert, sitting in Jeffrey’s office. Across from him sat Lev Ward.
She asked, “How the hell did you manage that?”
“Got me,” Jeffrey told her, looking around the squad room, probably for Cole Connolly. Marla was at her desk, and he asked her, “Did Lev Ward come in alone?”
She glanced out through the lobby window. “Far as I can tell.”
“When did he get here?”
“About ten minutes ago.” She smiled helpfully. “I figured you’d want me to go ahead and call Mark over here to get started before lunch.”
“Thanks,” he told her, walking back toward his office.
Lena offered, “You want me to get Brad and go fetch Cole?”
“Let’s hold off on that,” Jeffrey said, knocking on his office door.
Mark waved them in. “Just getting set up,” he told them.
“Thanks for staying in town, Mark.” Jeffrey shook the man’s hand. “I hear you’ve been enjoying the room service over at the Dew Drop.”
Mark cleared his throat and went back to twisting some knobs on his machine.
“Chief,” Lev said, looking as comfortable as anyone can with their body wired to a polygraph machine. “I got your message this morning. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday.”
“Thanks for coming in,” Jeffrey said, taking out his notebook. He wrote as he talked. “I appreciate you taking the time to do this.”
“The family is getting together at the church in a few hours to pay tribute to Abby.” He turned to Lena. “Good morning, Detective,” he said quietly, then focused back on Jeffrey. “I’d like as much time as I can to prepare my remarks. This is a very difficult time for us all.”
Jeffrey didn’t look up from his writing. “I was expecting Cole Connolly to come with you.”
“I’m sorry,” Lev said. “Cole didn’t mention anything to me. He’ll be at the tribute. I’ll tell him to come by directly after.”
He kept writing on the pad. “You’re not having a funeral?”
“Unfortunately, the body had to be cremated. We’re just doing a small fellowship with the family to talk about her life and how much we all loved her. We like to do things simply.”
Jeffrey finished writing. “Outsiders aren’t welcome?”
“Well, it’s not a regular service, more a family gathering. Listen-”
Jeffrey tore off the sheet of paper and handed it to Mark. “We’ll get you out of here as quickly as possible.”
Lev eyed the note, not hiding his curiosity. “I appreciate that.” He sat back in the chair. “Paul was against my coming here, but I’ve always believed it’s better to cooperate.”
“Mark?” Jeffrey asked as he sat down behind his desk. “It’s not too cramped with all of us in here, is it?”
“Uh…” Mark hesitated for a split second. Normally, he was alone in the room with the subject, but it wasn’t as if polygraphs were admissible in court, and Ward hadn’t been arrested. Lena suspected that, more than anything else, lie detector machines were just meant to scare the crap out of people. She wouldn’t be surprised to open one up and find mice inside scurrying on wheels.
“Sure,” Mark said. “No problem.” He fiddled with more dials, then uncapped his pen. “Reverend Ward, are you ready to begin?”
“Lev, please.”
“All right.” Mark had a notebook beside the polygraph that was hidden from Lev by the bulk of the machine. He opened it up, tucking Jeffrey’s note into the pocket. “I’d like to remind you to stick to yes or no answers, if you could. We don’t need you to elaborate on anything at this point. Anything you feel needs an explanation can be discussed with Chief Tolliver later. The machine will only register yes and no responses.”
Lev glanced at the blood pressure cuff on his arm. “I understand.”
Mark flipped on a switch and paper slowly scrolled from the machine. “Please try to relax and stare straight ahead.”
The colored needles on the page twitched as Lev said, “All right.”
Mark kept his tone flat as he read from the questions. “Your name is Thomas Leviticus Ward?”
“Yes.”
Mark made a notation on the paper. “You live at Sixty-three Plymouth Road?”
“Yes.”
Another notation. “You are forty-eight years of age?”
“Yes.”
And another. “You have a son, Ezekiel?”
“Yes.”
“Your wife is deceased?”
“Yes.”
The questioning continued through the mundane details of Lev’s life to establish a baseline for the veracity of his answers. Lena had no idea what the bouncing needles signified, and Mark’s marks were hieroglyphics to her. She found herself zoning out until they got to the important parts.
Mark’s voice remained flat and disinterested, as if he was still asking about Lev’s educational background. “Do you know of anyone in your niece Abigail’s life who might wish her harm?”
“No.”
“Has anyone to your knowledge ever expressed sexual interest in her?”
“No.”
“Did you kill your niece Abigail?”
“No.”
“Has she ever expressed interest in someone you might find inappropriate?”
“No.”
“Were you ever angry at your niece?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever strike her?”
“Once on the bottom. I mean, yes.” He smiled nervously. “Sorry.”
Mark ignored the interruption. “Did you kill Abigail?”
“No.”
“Did you ever have sexual contact with her?”
“Never. I mean, no.”
“Did you ever have any inappropriate contact with her?”
“No.”
“Have you met a man named Dale Stanley?”
Lev seemed surprised. “Yes.”
“Did you go into his garage with him?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a brother named Paul Ward?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have any other brothers?”
“No.”
“Do you know where your niece Rebecca Bennett is?”
Lev gave Jeffrey a surprised look.
Mark repeated, “Do you know where your niece Rebecca Bennett is?”
Lev returned his focus straight ahead, answering, “No.”
“Was there anything in Dale Stanley’s garage that you took away with you?”
“No.”
“Did you bury Abigail in the woods?”
“No.”
“Do you have any knowledge of anyone who might mean to do harm to your niece?”
“No.”
“Have you ever been to the Pink Kitty?”
His lips frowned in confusion. “No.”
“Did you ever find your niece sexually attractive?”
He hesitated, then, “Yes, but-”
Mark stopped him. “Yes or no, please.”
For the first time, Lev seemed to lose some of his composure. He shook his head, as if to admonish himself for his answer. “I need to explain myself.” He looked at Jeffrey. “Could we please stop this?” He didn’t wait for a response before tugging the pads off his chest and fingers.