Chapter 33
THIRTY-THREE
Amanda stood across from Malone, prepared to stand her ground.
Her gut told her Valerie and Brooke were being held near where they had found Paul’s body.
They could very well be on the property belonging to Bill Johnson’s mother.
“You wanted more to move forward on a search warrant. We have it.” She laid out what they uncovered on Bill’s phone.
“Huh. Sounds like more than enough to me,” Malone said.
“I’m happy to hear you agree. We’ve already called to rush a search warrant.”
Malone narrowed his eyes. “And if I didn’t see your side?”
“It’s better to ask for forgiveness.” She tacked on a wide smile.
“Uh-huh, I’m not much of a merciful man.”
All talk, little bite… At least with her, since she was the daughter of one of his oldest friends.
“When should it be here?” Malone asked her.
“Any minute.”
“While you’re waiting, you want to talk to Johnson? His lawyer’s here.” He nudged his head toward his office door.
“You bet I do,” she said. “I’d like to hear what he has to say about his stalker photos.”
“He’s in Interview Room Two.”
Amanda left the room ahead of Trent, but he soon caught up.
She flung the door open, and Bill Johnson flinched when they burst in.
There was a man beside him with the face of a grandfather.
Not that Amanda was letting that deceive her.
There was hardened experience in his gray eyes, and he showed no reaction to their abrupt entry as he took them in with his gaze.
“Robert Skinner, Mr. Johnson’s attorney,” the man said.
“Detective Steele, and this is Detective Stenson.” With the introductions out of the way, Amanda wanted to get right to the point. “So we had a look at your phone, Mr. Johnson.”
“For which I assume you had a warrant?” Robert said, not wasting a beat.
“You assume correctly. There’s also a legal search being conducted of your client’s house and his van. My partner and I conducted a legal search of his shop for ourselves.” She laid out a copy of all the warrants to back them up.
The lawyer picked them up and glanced them over. “And what do you expect to find, Detective?”
“It’s stipulated in the paperwork, but it authorizes the collection of items that provide evidence your client abducted Valerie, Brooke, and Paul Archer. Mr. Johnson is also suspected of Paul Archer’s murder.”
“Sounds like a violation of the US Constitution if you ask me. A witch hunt.” The lawyer dropped the warrants back to the table.
“I wouldn’t say that. The warrants were signed off by a judge.
They must have seen enough probable cause.
What your client may not have told you is…
” She filled him in on the van used in the abductions, Johnson’s harassing phone calls, and what they saw as his motive.
“And then there are these.” She set out copies of the photographs they had found on the table.
“These were on Mr. Johnson’s phone. They show your client was stalking Valerie and her family.
He tracked her down to her home, cataloged their comings and goings. ”
Bill looked down at them and paled. Wisely said nothing.
“We haven’t found Valerie or her daughter yet, Mr. Johnson. Why don’t you do yourself a favor and save us some trouble? Tell us where they are, and things will go smoother for you.” There was no way she was promising a deal, but this might be enough to bait the hook.
“I don’t know where they—”
Robert put his hand on his client’s forearm and shook his head. “You don’t have to say a word.”
“He’s right, you don’t, but it would be in your best interest if you spoke up.
” Amanda held the silence, letting it stretch out.
When it was clear Bill wasn’t going to volunteer anything, she continued.
“Let me be clear, so I’m not misunderstood.
We have enough to lay charges against you, Mr. Johnson. ”
Bill looked at his lawyer, who nodded. “I wasn’t stalking her, but I was angry. I thought if she knew I was serious, she’d…”
Amanda could argue the proof he was a stalker was in black and white, but why bother? “Don’t stop talking now. That she’d what?”
“I wanted to make her see the mistake she’d made by denying my loan. I wanted to change her mind.”
The lawyer sighed but said nothing.
“How did you plan to make her? With violence?”
“No, I’d never hurt her.” Bill wasn’t meeting her eye. “Or her husband to get to her.”
“People don’t stalk others with gracious intent, Mr. Johnson. Did you abduct her and her family to make her see?”
“No, I swear, I didn’t. I was just going to send her some pictures I took, let her know—”
“That you could get to her?”
“Let’s take a break for a minute,” the lawyer inserted.
“Mr. Johnson, you have no alibi, you have intent, you have motive.” Amanda proceeded as if the attorney hadn’t interjected. There was no way she wanted to ruin the flow.
“Detective, please. My client may have had an issue with this woman, but that hardly makes him guilty of what you’re accusing him of.”
Amanda sat back in her chair, continuing to focus on Bill.
“Did you know Valerie couldn’t have approved your loan even if she wanted to?
Even if she and her family were threatened?
The bank oversees all credit approvals. She has people and policies she has to answer to.
” Her phone pinged with a message. She glanced at the screen and held it so Trent could read it.
“That is a message from the investigators who are processing your van,” Amanda said, directing this to Bill.
“Is there anything you want to tell us before we move on from here?”
Bill looked at his lawyer and shook his head.
“All right, then, we’re finished here.” She got up. “Oh, and just so you know, Mr. Johnson, we’ll also be searching your mother’s property.”
Bill stiffened and bolted up straight. “She has nothing to do with this. Please, just leave her alone.”
“We can’t do that, Mr. Johnson, and I think you know why. Though, we could leave her out of it if you just told us where we can find Valerie and Brooke Archer.”
“I don’t know. I swear to God.”
“Then we have no choice.” Amanda had her hand on the door when Bill spoke again.
“Peggy,” he blurted out.
Amanda turned around. “What about her?”
“You asked me if I knew where she was.”
The back of her neck stiffened. “Do you?” Efforts to reach Peggy Johnson remained unsuccessful, and every call that was sent through to voicemail soured Amanda’s gut. A car was on her house if she turned up, but it hardly seemed like enough.
“No, but she’s just nuts enough to do something like this. She could have them.”
She found it interesting he was now turning on Peggy. Whatever it took to get their focus off him, but she’d play along. “Did Peggy have access to your van on Saturday afternoon?”
“No, yes… maybe? Like I said, I was playing video games. She might have come around to the house and taken it. I get into my games and might not have noticed or heard anything. I play in the basement media room.”
Amanda remembered seeing the gaming console. “Does she have a key for your van?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
Not exactly an answer… “Then she stole the key, got your van, abducted a family, murdered a man, and brought your van back afterward? And all before you noticed?”
“She must have because I didn’t do it.”
“Here’s the thing, two people were involved in the abductions.”
Bill inched forward on his chair. “Oh, I get it now. That’s why you thought we were working together?”
“I still think that.”
“No way I’d pair up with Peg. As I said, the woman’s nuts.”
“All the same, just the right amount of nuts to convince you to go along with her in the abductions and murder?” Amanda tossed out nonchalantly.
“No, I’m not involved in this, but I can see her roping some other guy into this, though. She’s manipulative and can be charming if she needs to be.”
Amanda believed what he was saying about his ex’s character, but that was about all. “Will we find the Archers on your mother’s property, Mr. Johnson?”
“No.”
“Then you’d have no problem telling us why you were at your mother’s during the week?” Sometimes revisiting a question could unearth the truth.
“I told you why. To take a break from my life. That’s all, I swear.”
“Well, we’ll soon find out the truth about everything.” Amanda left the room, and once back at their cubicles, she set the folder down on her desk. “Were you able to see the text from CSI Blair I showed you in there?”
“I couldn’t read all of it.”
“Blair said they found hairs and fibers in Johnson’s van they’re going to test to see if they match any members of the Archer family.” They’d have all this on file from samples collected from the Archers’ house.
“At least that’s something. Do you think Johnson even believes his story about Peggy pairing up with another man and taking off with his van?”
“Who knows. But from the sound of the Johnsons’ relationship, unless they were involved in the abduction together, there shouldn’t be any reason for trace from Peggy to be in Bill’s van.” Amanda texted Blair and shared as much with Trent.
You could find prints and DNA that aren’t in the system. These might match the suspect’s ex, Peggy Johnson.
Emma’s response came fast.
I’ll keep you posted on everything I find.
“You don’t believe him, though?” Trent asked.
“Not for a second. And if he thinks he’s going to stop me from executing the search warrant on his mother’s property, he’s sorely mistaken. Let’s go bring them home.”