Keeping It in the Family (Linstead)

Chapter 50

As expected, Lindsay had sent Halstead and Purrazzo to see Julia Pawlowicz's parents to seek verification of the alibi she had given them. Halstead didn't expect to get much out of the conversation, but right now chasing this up was all they had to work with.

"You take the lead. You did a good job with Julia," Halstead said to Purrazzo when they stepped up to the front door of Misha and Catherine Kutuzov's home.

"Thank you," Purrazzo said. She was all business, and wasted no time knocking loudly on the door.

It was opened after a few moments by a woman who looked a lot like Julia Pawlowicz, only about thirty years older and with white hair.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I'm Officer Purrazzo, this is Detective Halstead, Chicago PD. Can we come in please?"

"What for? What is this about?"

"We have some questions to ask you. It's better if we do it inside."

"Is this about those missing girls? We saw Denis's interview on the news."

"It's better if we come in, ma'am," Halstead said with just a hint of firmness.

"Of course, sorry. Come in."

Catherine held the door for them. Once they had walked in, she led them through to a living room. Misha Kutuzov was sitting there, with a TV show or movie paused on the screen opposite the couch. He had thinning grey hair and a fully beard.

"Misha, these people are from Chicago PD. They want to ask us questions."

"Questions about what?" he asked.

Catherine sat down next to her husband. Halstead and Purrazzo were not invited to sit, so they remained standing.

"Could you tell us where you were yesterday after 1pm?" Purrazzo asked as an opener.

"Here. We were home all day yesterday," Misha said.

"Was anyone else here?"

Misha and Catherine looked at each other. Halstead could sense they were making a decision on something. In that moment, his instinct told him they were about to get a break in the case. They seemed to reach a decision.

"Julia came over to see us in the afternoon," Catherine said.

"Julia did? By herself?" Purrazzo clarified.

Misha sighed. "That's right. She called us last night and asked us to say Denis was with her if anyone asked any questions. After seeing his interview, we wondered if maybe he had something to do with those girls going missing. He's always been a bit weird. But you never want to suspect someone you know of something like that, do you?"

"Please don't punish Julia for this," Catherine said. "I think she's confused and afraid, and she's just trying to stand by her husband."

Standing by him after he's possibly killed two children, Halstead thought angrily. No matter what the parents thought, there was no defending that. He decided to step in.

"We're going to need one of you to come to the station and give a statement to confirm that Julia was here yesterday and Denis was not. Will you do that?"

Misha took on the responsibility. "I'll do it."

"Good, thank you. You can ride with us. I'll make sure you get a ride home when we're done. Officer Purrazzo will wait here. I need to step outside."

Walking quickly out of the front door, Halstead took out his phone to call Lindsay. He felt satisfaction as he always did when a break came in a case. Denis Pawlowicz had lied about his whereabouts, and had admitted to seeing the two girls. In Halstead's mind, that made him almost certainly the killer. If so, he had probably gotten off on spinning a story to the news crew.