CHAPTER NINE
Alison and Derek headed for the door while Alison looked for the address of Jason Weber's company. They would try there first, and find his home address if they couldn’t find him there. They were almost through the bullpen when Alison’s phone rang: Detective Moore.
"Hello?" Alison answered.
"Dr. Payne, I wanted to run something by you," Samantha said.
"Go ahead," Alison said.
"I think we have him on CCTV. Franklin Howard."
Alison gestured for Derek to keep going while she was on the phone, and she followed after him.
"What do you have?" Alison asked.
"We don't see him at the bar on the night Margaret was murdered, but we did find security footage from behind a liquor store of him at two am, looking a little worse for wear. The liquor store is two blocks from the bar where he claims he was drinking."
Alison and Derek got outside and headed for his car.
"Now, it looks like he was being straight with us about drinking at the bar, but there’s still enough time for him to get to Margaret's house, then to the bar, and then to where he was caught on CCTV."
"What do you think?" Alison asked as she got into Derek’s vehicle.
"I’m inclined to believe him. It’s a shaky alibi if it’s one he tried to create, then he could have been seen on the CCTV at the bar if he wanted to be, although if he did kill Margaret, maybe he didn't want to be seen there from so late in the night so he could claim to have been off camera the entire time. "
"We know he didn't commit the second murder, and they are almost identical," Alison said. "Both victims died slowly with a similar bag put over their heads. Unless someone associated with the case leaked that information or took matters into their own hands, it couldn’t have been copied."
"Yeah, I know," Samantha said. "I just want to cover all bases."
"That’s a good idea always," Alison said. "The ball’s in your court. He’s your suspect, and if you want to keep him and question him again, there’s nothing wrong with that."
"No, I think it’s time to cut him loose," Samantha admitted.
"All right," Alison said. "Listen, I have to go. We’re following up on a lead on another suspect. I’ll keep you updated as we go."
"Good luck," Samantha said.
"Sorry," Alison said to Derek once the call was over. "Looks like they’re cutting Franklin loose." She switched back to her browser and gave Derek the address of the security company.
As soon as he had it, he pulled out of the parking lot, and they were on their way.
While they drove, she checked out the company page to get more information about what they did.
"Okay, so they primarily deal in commercial businesses, but they are expanding into residential, too. Obviously, they weren’t one of the companies that installed the systems at both crime scenes, but Weber will know his way around them. Does that mean he could bypass them so well?"
"Someone did," Derek reminded her. "It might as well be him."
"The stuff the company installs does look state of the art, but does that mean anything?" Alison asked.
"We’ll hopefully know more when we talk with him," Derek said. "So, we know he was fired from his job for some shady behavior, but that behavior hasn’t held him back. How about the guys he started the business with? Are they ex-prison guards, too?"
"I don't know," Alison admitted. "Does a leopard ever change its spots?"
"Not often," Derek confirmed.
Alison remained on her phone, trying to find out more about Weber.
"How’s your dad doing, apart from the obsession with your sister’s case?" Derek asked.
"I think he’s doing okay," Alison admitted. "Sometimes, I think the only reason he’s doing so well is because of the case. He has something to fixate on and live for. I know that’s a morbid way of looking at it, but I get that impression."
"Death can do that to a person," Derek said. "You don’t want to go on, but you find something to live for."
Alison, remember that Derek had lost his wife to cancer five years ago.
"Did—is that what you did?" she asked. "I don't mean to pry into your personal life, so if you don't want to talk about it, feel free to tell me to shut up."
"No, it’s fine," he assured her. "Her death is a part of who I am, and it always will be. When she died, as clichéd as it is, I threw myself into my work. I don't know what I might have done if I weren’t working this job. I have this purpose and a way to make the world a better place, and she always supported me in that. I knew I had to honor her memory. For the first couple of years, it was a great way to cope with what happened, and after that, I just let her go. It wasn’t a decision I ever made; I just stopped one day and realized that I’d made my peace with it. "
"That’s really nice," Alison said. "I was the same after my sister was killed. I had some direction in life before that, but not like I have now. I knew I wanted justice, but I couldn’t get it for her, so I sought it for others.
That pushed me into criminology and then forensic psychology.
I thought that I could honor her memory by helping other people. "
"And have you?" Derek asked.
A police car with sirens blaring tore past them in the opposite direction.
"Yeah, I think I have," she told him. "Maybe my father has, too. He was a cop for some years after her death until his retirement. I really hope I can bring him some peace before he passes. That’s some time away, but it will happen eventually."
"There’s something noble about taking something as terrible as death and using it for good," Derek said. "I truly believe both of us are making the city a better place, and when we team up? Wow, do we ever do an amazing job!"
"We do, don't we?" Alison replied. "Let’s do that one more time and stop this evil person from killing again. I don't like the thought of it resting on my conscience. And I know it’s not my fault, but I also know that when I get the killer, the killing stops."
"We’ll get them together," Derek told her.
"Here’s something," Alison said, scrolling through the posts on her phone.
"What?"
"He was active on social media for a while after being fired from his job," Alison said. "He mentions the Liars quite a few times. And how they destroyed his career."
"So, the exit was far from amicable?"
"It seems that way. He was obviously fired for a good reason, going by my contact, but Weber obviously didn't think so. There’s more here. It’s all so clichéd—posts about making them pay, thinly veiled threats, all without naming who he’s talking about, but with the way he was fired, it’s obviously the prison administration. "
"Would that be enough to set him on this path?" Derek asked. "He gets fired, so he decides to kill women who put people in jail after hearing about them from some inmates?"
"People have killed for less," Alison admitted. "It’s not the strongest motive, but we don't know yet what he was involved in at the prison. If he got caught up with some criminals, and they had enough to blackmail him, maybe they would use that to get him to take revenge for them."
"Let’s find out," Derek said. "That’s the building ahead."
They approached the large brick building, which had no signs out front advertising a security company. Derek parked the car a block from the building when he found a space, and they walked the rest of the way.
They entered the building and were met with an empty entranceway. A sign on the wall displayed which businesses were on which floor and in which room. The security company, SecureTech, was on the second floor. Alison and Derek took the stairs up.
There, they were finally met with a reception desk. A young man in a suit was behind the desk, but he had the air of someone who was more than a receptionist. He drank an energy drink as he watched them approach the desk.
Behind him, there were two desks and two doors leading to other rooms. One other suited man sat at one of the desks.
Neither of the men was Jason Weber. Alison got the impression that the suited men were partners in the company with Jason, and they were doing everything as they grew the company before hiring more employees.
"I’m Special Agent Sullivan," Derek announced, showing his badge at the desk. "We’re looking for Jason Weber."
"Yeah, of course," the man said before taking another swig of his energy drink. "Let me just call his office and get him out here. What’s Jason done now?"
"We just want to talk with him," Derek said.
"Yeah, no worries," the man replied. He picked up the phone and held one of the buttons down. "Hey, Jason, there’s a special agent out here who wants to talk with you…Yeah, I’ll let him know."
The man hung up the phone and looked at Derek with a smile—he hadn’t looked at Alison once yet. "He’ll be right out." The man’s voice was overly chipper.
Derek turned around slowly to take in the office. Alison did the same, but she was drawn back to the man who’d called Jason. She didn't think he was lying, and she’d heard the voice on the other end of the line, but something was off, as if he—
You don't think he’s coming out of the office, do you, and that’s because—
"There’s another way out," Alison said. "Stairs on the back of the building. He’s making a run for it."
Derek shot a glance at the man at the reception desk, and he stared back blankly.
Derek and Alison didn't say a word, but they both turned from the desk simultaneously and ran back the way they’d come, sprinting down the stairs back to the entrance.
"Did you notice a rear exit?" Derek asked as he took the stairs two at a time.
"I didn’t," Alison admitted.
They reached the door at the bottom of the stairs, and Derek passed through first, holding the door open for Alison to follow.
As soon as they were back in the entranceway, they spotted Weber pushing through the front door.
"Stop!" Derek shouted.
Weber didn't stop, nor did he look around when he was shouted at. He continued out of the building and broke into a run on the street.
Derek and Alison were on his trail quickly, pushing through the doors to the street and running after him.
"Stop, Jason!" Derek shouted again.
Weber ignored him and took something from his pocket, his keys, and headed for his car. He reached the black Ford and stuck the keys in the lock, unlocking the door and opening it, but Derek was there.
Derek kicked the door shut, and Weber gave a deep gasp in fright.
"Where are you going, Jason?" Derek asked.
"I had to step out for a minute," Jason replied. "That's not against the law, is it?"
"Not strictly, no," Derek said. "However, you knew we were here to see you, and you made a run for it."
"I’m a busy man," Jason said. "Do you have a warrant for my arrest?"
"No," Derek replied. "Is that what we need? You won't come with us unless we have a warrant? We only want to talk with you, Jason, and I’d rather you come willingly."
Jason stood by his car for a moment in silence, thinking about it. "I guess I can push some things off. If you want to talk, let’s talk."
"Good," Derek said with a smile. He took Jason by the arm. "Let’s go down to the station, and we can talk all about why you tried to run from us. I’m sure it’s a fascinating story.