CHAPTER FOUR #2
Connor’s voice remained calm. “So, you know what happened?”
“Sure, I do. She called me a few days ago. Blamed me for the whole thing.”
He was speaking about something else.
Selena opened her notebook. “What did Karen tell you?”
Gerry shifted in his chair. “Said somebody broke into her storage unit and stole a bunch of stuff. She called it the last straw. Swore it was me and said she was moving. Told me I shouldn’t contact her again.”
“When did she call?”
“Sunday night. Around eight.”
“What was taken?”
“She didn’t say exactly. Boxes. Personal stuff. Papers, I think. She was yelling most of the time.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“That I had nothing to do with it. Which I didn’t. That was fine by me if she didn’t want contact. She’s always blaming me.”
“Is that the last time you spoke with her?”
Gerry nodded. “Yeah.”
Selena rested her pen against the page.
Washington had taught her to deliver difficult facts cleanly, without softening language until meaning disappeared.
Connor approached people differently. He knew which families attended church together, who had grown up on which road, and how grief traveled through a town before official notification reached the next relative.
She left the news to him.
Connor leaned forward. “Gerry, I’m very sorry to tell you this. Karen was murdered last night.”
For several seconds, Gerry did not move.
His mouth opened, then closed. Color drained from his skin.
“How?”
“We aren’t releasing the details,” Selena said. “That protects the investigation. She was attacked at a cabin she had rented.”
Gerry raised both hands to his head and pressed his palms against his temples.
“Jesus,” he whispered. “Lord help us.”
His shoulders began to shake. He bent over the table, covering his mouth as a sob escaped.
Connor let the silence hold.
After a time, Gerry dragged one sleeve beneath his nose and sat upright. His breathing came unevenly.
Selena spoke gently. “I have to ask where you were last night.”
Grief hardened into alarm.
“Well, you ain’t pinning this on me. I was at home.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?”
“Yeah. My roommate, Mel Hinkel. He’s staying with me right now.”
Selena wrote the name. “Mel Hinkel?”
“That’s right.”
“And he can confirm you were home all night?” Selena asked.
Tomes nodded. “Sure. We sat up all night drinking.”
Selena leaned back in her chair. “What time did you start?”
“Seven or so. Kept going past midnight.”
“Did either of you leave?”
“No.”
“Did anyone call or visit?”
Gerry rubbed both palms down his jeans. “I don’t remember. Mel ordered food. Some pizza place delivered around nine.”
Connor said, “We’ll need Mel’s number and the name of the restaurant.”
“I’ll give you both.”
“How was your relationship with Karen?” Connor asked.
“There wasn’t one. Not for a long time.”
“You were married until recently?” Selena said.
Gerry scratched his chin and then subtly shook his head. “On paper. It was over before either of us moved out.”
Selena kept her voice level. “Was the relationship ever violent?”
Gerry turned toward her. “What the hell? You think I did this?”
“We have to ask these sorts of questions to rule you out, Mr. Tomes,” Connor added.
“Then no. I was never violent towards her. I wouldn’t raise my hand like that.”
Connor studied him. “I sense there’s a but coming.”
Gerry stared at the wall. “You know how women get. They see violence differently.”
Selena’s pen stopped. “Explain what you mean.”
A nervous smile came and went from Gerry’s face. “I threw some things. That’s all. Once I put a TV remote through a window during an argument. She said that was violent. Can you believe that?”
“Yes, I can,” Selena answered.
His attention snapped back to her.
Connor said, “Did you ever put your hands on Karen?”
“No! I told you! Never. I never hit a woman.”
“Did you threaten her?” asked Connor.
“No. But she drove me insane.”
“Damage anything else like her property?” Selena prodded.
“A plate, maybe. A cabinet door. We had arguments like any married couple. It was all very plain Jane stuff.”
Selena wrote each item down. “Did Karen ever seek a protective order against you, Mr. Tomes?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
“Did police ever come to the house?” Connor asked.
“Not really...”
“We can check, so you best be honest.” Connor’s voice remained firm but fair.
Gerry shook his head again and looked down at his hands. “Once. A neighbor called because we were shouting. Nothing happened.”
Connor made a note. “Which department?”
“Loyall police, I guess. Look… It was nothing. But she left and that was the end of it, except for this stupid storage business. I wouldn’t touch her stuff.”
Selena said, “Do you know anyone else who wanted to harm Karen?”
“No.”
“Did she have disputes at work?”
“I don’t know. She drove me mad, could have gotten underneath someone else’s skin, I guess.”
Selena considered him for a moment. “What about friends of hers? You get on with them?”
“I don’t know who she talked to anymore!” he said. “I was long out of that scene.”
“Did she ever mention going to a place called the Montgomery property?” Selena now asked.
“No. She only said she was moving. Wouldn’t tell me where. I don’t even know where that is.”
“That was where she was found,” Selena said, pointedly.
Gerry’s anger faded as quickly as it had risen. He stared at the water cup.
“God,” he said. “Is she really gone?”
Connor’s voice softened. “I’m afraid so.”
Gerry lowered his head into both hands and began to sob again. This time he made no effort to restrain it. “I would never have hurt her… I’d have killed anyone who ever touched a hair on her head...”
Selena waited until his breathing eased. “I think that’s all for now, Mr. Tomes. Is there someone who can come get you?”
“Yeah. I can call a friend.”
“Do that,” Connor said. “And we’re sorry for your loss.”
Selena took a card from her jacket and slid it across the table. “My direct number is there. If you remember anything Karen said about the storage-unit break-in, the stolen property, or anyone she feared, call the sheriff’s department or me at the Harlan County field office.”
Gerry picked up the card. His hand trembled.
“Okay.”
Connor stood. “We’ll give you privacy to make the call. Don’t leave the building without telling Cheryl at the desk.”
“I won’t.”
Selena stopped the recording and followed Connor into the corridor.
The interview-room door closed behind them.
Connor lowered his voice. “I’ll check with this Hinkel fellow.”
“Good. Verify the pizza delivery, their phones, and whether either device left the house. Check both men for criminal records as well.”
“I will.”
“Pull the Loyall callout Gerry mentioned. I want the responding officer’s report.”
Connor nodded. “What’s your take?”
“He reacted before we told him about the murder, but the storage break-in explains it. His grief seemed real. That doesn’t clear him. He wouldn’t be the first person to have killed his ex and still grieved them.”
“Glad you didn’t do that to me,” Connor said with a smile. “Even if you’d wanted to.”
Selena ignored that. “I’m going back to the field office.
I’ll call Hannah Montgomery about the property and the keys.
” Selena glanced back toward the closed interview-room door.
“Then I want everything Loyall has on that storage-unit break-in. If it’s connected to Karen’s murder, this started before she ever reached the cabin. ”