CHAPTER TEN
Alison remained good to her word. When Detective Moore pulled up outside the office, Alison was waiting with two small takeout cups of espresso, thanks to the espresso machine in Victoria’s office.
Victoria was still inside, getting back to her regular work after staying up all night with Alison.
Alison had learned a great deal from her mentor over the years, and one of those lessons was an incredible work ethic.
Detective Moore stopped the car, and Alison hopped in, passing one cup to the detective and keeping the other for herself. Moore pulled away from the curb and drove one-handed as she tried the espresso.
"Oh, my goodness," Moore exclaimed. "That is good! Here." She grabbed a bag from the console between the two seats and handed it to Alison. "I brought you a croissant. I feel very European right now, having this for breakfast."
Alison smiled as she took the bag. "Thanks." She dipped into the bag and took out the croissant, taking a large bite. Alison hadn’t thought about food or realized she was hungry until that moment. She devoured the pastry and finished the coffee before speaking again.
"Okay, I read the articles that you sent me," she said.
"And?" Moore asked.
"He’s changed a lot," Alison admitted. "When I worked with him before working for Victoria, I think he considered himself a mentor of mine. I don't know if I ever felt the same at the time, and when I started working for Victoria, I knew he wasn’t what a mentor should be."
Detective Moore drove just under the speed limit the entire time, and when she reached any stops, she brought the car to a stop without it rocking back and forth.
"Why was that?" Moore asked.
"I always got the impression he wanted to impress his values and opinions on me instead of encouraging my own," Alison replied.
She was already craving a second croissant.
"Not that his values were anything like they are now.
I remember him being extremely loyal and kind to me, and there was a time when I thought he had feelings for me, but I can't be sure of that. "
"Could that be a reason for him to target you?" Moore asked. "Perhaps he feels spurned, either romantically or professionally, or both."
"It does give a reason, but it’s still been years, and I haven’t spoken to him in that time. If he were upset about any romantic feelings, he would have acted before now. Or if it was because of Victoria, that would have happened already."
"Unless he’s only acted after changing his views. I mean, that’s a massive change. If he was never against early release before, and he’s been vocal about it in the last year, then maybe something changed that affected him personally."
"The articles do contain a lot of emotion, and Victoria pointed out that the reports written by the killer had emotion clouding the facts," Alison admitted.
"I haven’t heard him talking like that before.
He believes that modern forensic psychology is too lenient on criminals, especially repeat offenders.
The articles came across as him not believing people can change, but I won't accept that. "
"I’m with you on that," Moore said. "I have to believe that people can change, or what’s the point of all this?"
"It could be that he’s getting older," Alison admitted. "He’s retired now, and perhaps wants to leave a legacy. Opposing the common thought processes is a good way to do that. If he wrote articles that agreed with everyone else, they wouldn’t get much notice or traction, but by opposing them, he gets his fifteen minutes of fame. "
"And if he’s going around killing people, he gets a lot more than fifteen minutes of fame," Moore pointed out.
They drove the rest of the way in silence, and Alison thought a lot about the man she had once worked with.
Looking back at the man he was then, she couldn’t believe that he could be a killer.
However, with the articles he’d published, it was obvious that he had changed a lot in the last year.
She didn't know where that change had come from or what it meant.
With Philip Grayson being retired, there was only one logical place to find him, and that was at home.
He lived in a gated community, and they had to stop at the gate and speak with the guard on duty.
Detective Moore showed him her ID, and she was waved through with no further questions.
The security at the gate would deter people from entering the property unlawfully, and there wasn’t much more to it than that.
They parked in the central parking lot, with the building surrounding the concrete parkade on three sides. They exited the car and made their way up to the second floor to Philip’s door. Detective Moore knocked when they got there.
It didn't take long for Philip to answer, and Alison was a little shocked at the change she saw in him. He had aged, but that wasn’t the biggest change.
There was no frailty that had come with the aging process, but a bitterness that had overcome him.
His eyes were narrow and distrusting, his hair thinning unevenly, his skin pallid, and he had a permanent sneer on his lips.
"Yes?" he questioned, looking at Moore first before turning to see Alison. His eyes widened in recognition, but not in happiness, at seeing a former colleague. "Dr. Payne? What are you doing here?"
"It’s good to see you, too, Philip," Alison shot back.
"I’m sure it is, but no one turns up unannounced at my door anymore unless they’re the harbingers of bad news. So, out with it!"
Detective Moore showed her ID. "Can we come in and ask you a few questions?"
"Ah, so it’s an ambush," he said. "Yes, well, come in, but wipe your feet on the mat first, and I must ask you to be quiet. Mary is sleeping."
"Mary?" Alison asked softly as she wiped her feet on the mat just outside the door. She knew Mary was Philip’s wife. "How’s she doing?"
"No, not good," Philip said as if he had been inconvenienced. "She stays in bed almost all the time now, and the doctor doesn’t think it’ll be too long. It’ll be a mercy."
As Alison entered the house and followed Philip in, she wondered if he was talking about his wife or himself.
"I suppose you’re working a case," Philip said when he reached the living room and pointed to the couch. "I’ve been keeping my eye on you, Alison. You may not want to hear this, but I was tough on you because I saw something in you. Maybe you still have something in you. In any case, you’re only here because of the people that came before you, and that includes me. "
Alison sat on the couch, and Moore sat beside her. Philip grabbed the armchair and dragged it across the carpet to face the couch, showing a strength that belied his old age. He sat on the chair and clasped his hands together as if he were in a session with the two women.
"What happened to you, Philip?" Alison asked. "I remember working with you, and we had some differences, sure, but ideologically, we were really aligned. I read the articles you had published recently, and they don't seem like you."
"Ah," Philip said, raising a finger into the air. "You have it all backwards, Alison. What you saw of me back when we worked together was not really me, but you gain wisdom with age, and perhaps you will achieve that too, someday. I fully believe what I said in those articles, and I believe you’re the one in the wrong." He wagged his finger in the air. "That’s why you came to my house today, isn’t it? To tell me that I’m wrong, but you’re the one in wrong. "
Philip came across as confrontational without being angry.
He wasn’t the same man that Alison had worked with—there were remnants there, but that man was gone, almost as if someone had replaced him with an approximation, but had made some subtle changes.
She was also sure that he was on his way to losing his mind, and that was something he would never admit.
"No, that’s not why I came here today, Philip," Alison said. "You are right about one thing. I am working on a case."
"We are too lenient, Alison," Philip rambled, uncaring about why she was truly there.
"I think you know that, but are too scared to admit it because we live in a society where we are expected to give second chances.
Would you give a second chance to an animal?
If a dog bit a child, would you let that dog be with the child again? "
Detective Moore remained silent on the couch beside Alison, taking it all in.
"That’s a comparison you can't make," Alison said. "You obviously feel very strongly about my opinions on certain matters. Early release, for instance? That’s giving someone a second chance."
"I do have strong feelings about that," Philip admitted.
"I don't believe criminals should be given second chances like that.
They committed a crime, were sentenced for it, and, by allowing early release, we are negating the sentence.
Was the jury wrong? The judge? The arresting officer?
All of the people who worked to take a criminal off the street. "
Alison sighed through her nose, trying to remain calm about something she was passionate about, something that defined her entire life.
"Why did the dog bite the child in your scenario?" Alison asked.
"Dogs are wild animals," Philip scoffed.
"No, not anymore," Alison said. "We bred wolves and domesticated them into the dog breeds we see today. Wild dogs are either bred to be wild or shaped by their environment. Is it then the dog's fault for—"
"For giving in to their nature?" Philip asked.
"For doing what they were trained or conditioned to do?" Alison corrected. "If someone is forced in some way into a life of crime, don't we have a duty to help them? To rehabilitate them?"
"No, we don't have any duty or responsibility to criminals," Philip said. "They don't deserve any help from us."
"That sounds like a sad world to me," Alison said.
"All right," Detective Moore interrupted. "I love a spirited debate, but I fear we’re getting too far off track here. Mr. Grayson, I need to ask you a few questions."
"What do you think I’ve done?" he challenged.
"I haven’t a clue what you’ve done," Moore said, shifting from side to side to get a little more comfortable. "I’m working on an investigation with Dr. Payne, you were right about that, and I want to ask you a few questions, and then I can form an opinion."
"I was right," he said. "This is an ambush."
"I want to know if you have access to the state correctional database," Moore asked, undeterred.
"Yes, I do, and I don't see what that has to do with anything," Philip replied.
"Thank you," Moore told him. "Now, can you tell me where you were on the nights of the 9th and the 12th of this month?"
Philip scoffed. "Two dates, which I presume lead to two crimes. Can you please tell me what I’m being accused of?"
"We’re not accusing you of anything," Alison said. "We just need you to answer the questions."
"You love this, don't you?" Philip asked.
"I’m trying to do my job," Alison replied.
Philip glared at Alison, then turned back to Detective Moore, glaring a little less. "The 9th and the 12th?" he asked.
"Please," Moore replied.
"I know exactly where I was on those nights, and that’s because I’m always here. I was at home both nights."
"You’re sure of that?" Moore asked.
"Of course," Philip replied. "I don't appreciate being called a liar."
"Can Mary confirm that?" Alison asked.
"Oh, you area monster, aren’t you?" Philip snapped.
"Mary is sick, and you don't get to go in there hassling her. She has some good days, and as soon as she has one, I can bring her down to the station, and she will confirm that absolutely. I really don't know who you think I am, but I’m caring for my dying wife, and I have no time to be out committing any crimes you think I might be committing. Check with the guard at the gate or the security cameras. They’ll show that I never left the building.
Now, I must ask you to leave. If you wish to formally accuse me and arrest me, then do that, but I don't want you in my house anymore. "
"That’s all we need to know for now," Moore said.
"We don't need to bother you anymore, but I would like you to come to the station with your wife if she is able. If we can confirm your whereabouts through the security cameras or another means, I’ll call you personally, and we won't need any further communication. How does that sound?"
"As long as you’re leaving my house, I don't care," Philip said.
Alison looked at Philip. With any other colleague, she might have told them that it was nice seeing them again, but that wasn’t the case with Philip.
She didn't like how he had changed, and that made it hard to feel sorry for him.
Instead of saying goodbye to him, she gave a tight smile as she passed.
"What do you make of him?" Detective Moore asked once they were outside.
"I don't like who he’s become," Alison said. "I don't know that man anymore."
"Do you think he could have done it?"
"I don't know," Alison admitted. "He hates the system enough, and me, to want to do something about it, but he also speaks with such bitterness that I wonder if he's tired of it all. Physically, he’s still capable, but I’m not sure if he is mentally.
The anger is there, but does he have the patience and peace of mind to plan the murders? "
"Let’s talk to the guard and see what we can find.
" Moore took out her phone and checked her messages as they descended the stairs.
She pressed the phone to her ear to listen to the voicemail that had been left.
When she was done, she said, "Change of plan. I’ll have an officer connect with the guard, but we need to get down to the station.
As soon as they released Harold Jenkins, they spotted someone following him. "
"Who?" Alison asked.
"They don't know. Apparently, he won't speak and has requested a lawyer. They have him down at the station now."
Alison hopped into the car quickly, and they took off as fast as they could through the security gate and back to the station.