“Makes our job easier,” Cooper said as she dragged out a chair and sat down. “But keep in mind that we have his shoe prints and a perfect handprint in the victim’s blood.”
Braddock adjusted the tape recorder positioned on the center of the table. For the record he stated the date and time and named those present. When he’d taken a seat, he said, “Dr. Cost, you may begin the statement you, of your own accord, have prepared. Start by stating your name and address for the record.”
Carter glanced at his attorney, then cleared his throat. “My name is Carter Cost. Dr. Carter Cost. I live at 44 Ledge View Drive. On July thirtieth I was approached by Shelley Patterson and informed that she was pregnant.”
CJ’s insides tied into knots. She ordered herself to stay calm and pay attention. She needed to hear what he had to say. She could deal with the emotions later.
“Do you recall—”
“No questions, Detective,” Parker warned. “Not until he’s finished.”
Braddock yielded to her demand.
“I have an addiction to Vicodin,” Cost confessed, “and Shelley and a number of her ... colleagues had been helping me by obtaining prescriptions for the Vicodin I required. I paid them well and participated in sexual activities, particularly with Shelley, on several occasions.”
Cost stared at the table for a long moment.
The district attorney standing next to CJ whispered something to the chief, but she couldn’t make out his words. She wanted to believe this would finally be over. That Cost had done these horrible things and that now she could finally start to put this nightmare behind her. But she couldn’t get right with the idea. She just didn’t believe he was capable of these kinds of gruesome murders.
“A few days ago,” Cost continued, lifting his gaze to the detectives across the table, “I was contacted by Tyrone Nash. He claimed to have a video recording of the events that transpired in Shelley’s house the night she was murdered. He said that if I didn’t give him three hundred thousand dollars, he would ruin me with the video.”
Therewasa video! CJ rode out the wave of anticipation that urged her to go in there and shake the whole truth out of the man.
Another drawn-out silence from Cost. CJ was on the verge of shouting at him through the glass when he finally continued. “I visited Shelley that night.” He blinked repeatedly, as if holding back the emotion. “We argued. I told her that she should get an abortion ... or else. She threw a remote at me. And a bottle of water. She didn’t hit me and I didn’t hit her. We yelled at each other a lot, made stupid threats, but then I left. When Nash approached me, I was scared. I knew how the argument between Shelley and me would look, and I didn’t want anyone to see the video. Nash said if I gave him the money, he would give me the video. But I didn’t trust him to stick to his word.”
He took a long, deep breath. “Then I learned that Juanita Lusk had tampered with the lab results and that the pregnancy was a hoax. I confronted her at the North Huntsville Free Clinic yesterday. Anyone present can certainly tell you that the confrontation was quite ugly.” He looked from Braddock to Cooper and back. “But I did not kill anyone. I couldn’t kill anyone. I took a solemn oath to help others, I couldn’t possibly kill another human being.”
“Really?” Cooper countered. “And yet you just stated that you ordered Shelley to have an abortion. You don’t feel that to terminate a pregnancy is taking a life?”
“Detective Cooper,” Parker charged, “this is not a debate about Dr. Cost’s stand on the issue of abortion. Your question is irrelevant.”
“I’ll answer the question,” Cost countered. His attorney sent him a look that let him know she wasn’t pleased. “An abortion is a medical procedure available to women, who should always have the right tomake decisions about their bodies and their lives, Detective Cooper. That’s not murder in my opinion.”
“What about,” Cooper returned, “the medical procedure that killed Juanita Lusk? Would that, in your opinion, be murder?” She pulled an eight-by-ten photo from the file in front of her and tossed it at Cost. “What would you call that? A hysterectomy? That one was performed while she was still alive and without anesthesia.”
“Oh my God.” Cost covered his face with his hands. “I didn’t do this.” He dropped his hands away. “I didn’t do any of this. You have to believe me. All I did was ask her to meet me at the clinic at midnight so we could talk. I couldn’t have—”
“Why don’t you tell us where you were last evening after eight,” Braddock suggested.
Cost looked to his attorney. She nodded. Cost turned to Braddock. “Between eight and midnight I was at home walking the floors, trying to figure out how I was going to fix all this. Suzi and I had several discussions on my home phone.”
“That’s correct,” the attorney confirmed. “We spoke four different times, each time on the landline at his home. I recommended that my client attempt to provide Ms. Lusk with a monetary gift for her son’s future as a way of putting this painful business to bed. I further advised my client to do the same with Dr. Patterson, in hopes of avoiding legal action.”
“Shortly before midnight I drove to the clinic to meet Lusk,” Cost continued. “We were going to have it out. She claimed to have something more I needed to see before I started laying all the blame on her. When I got there, the rear entrance was open, and I found ... her.” He let go a big breath. “I was terrified. I ran. Later, I hired three ... prostitutes to help me get my mind off what I’d seen and Nash’s relentless demands. They were with me the rest of the night. I can give you their names.”
“How convenient,” Cooper offered. “And how much did you pay them, Dr. Cost?”
“Five hundred dollars each, for the night.”
“That’s a lot of money to a hooker,” Braddock commented. “Enough to ensure they said whatever you needed them to say.”
“Braddock,” Parker warned, “the three women were still with Dr. Cost when two HPD officers busted into his home and dragged him out of bed. I would think that confirms his statement.”
“That still doesn’t put him in the clear,” Cooper argued. “He admits to being at the scene. Evidence confirms it. We know he had motive for wanting Shelley out of the way and for revenge on Lusk. The bottom line is, we’ve got him. I’m reasonably sure a jury would see things our way, given the evidence and his own statement of motive.”
Cost swallowed hard. “Give me a polygraph. I’m telling the truth.”
“Have you seen this video Nash claims to have?” Braddock asked, moving on.
