CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alison and Detective Moore walked back into the station to find everyone in a pensive mood as everyone waited for the man to finish talking with his lawyer.
"We still don't have a name," Officer Keenan told them.
"As soon as Harold Jenkins was released, he got into his car and left.
I was the one who followed him, as promised, and as soon as Jenkins pulled out onto the main road, I saw a car pull out and begin to follow him.
I followed them both just to be sure, and then I radioed it in. "
"That’s really weird," Alison said. "We put protective detail on him, and someone else follows him at the same time as we do?"
"They can't have seen me following them," the officer said.
"Or maybe they did and didn't care that I was on their tail.
When Harold got home, he went straight inside, and the man following him remained in his car.
I gave it a couple of minutes to see if anything would happen, and then I approached the car and spoke to the man. "
"Did he have anything to say?" Moore asked.
"He refused to show me ID and asked what he was under suspicion of. He quoted quite a few laws and told me I was harassing him. He’s the kind of person that if I had stopped him without him committing a crime, I might just let him go, you know?
Technically, he hadn’t broken any laws, but this was different.
Anyway, it was clear he’d studied the law, and he told me he didn't have any ID, not that he needed to give it to me, and that he would show me copies of his license and insurance online if I needed him to, and I didn't want to mess around with that any longer, so I brought him down here.
Of course, he went off about suing the police force and needing a lawyer, and…
I don't really know what’s what at the moment. "
"You did well," Moore said, patting him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You did the right thing. There are extenuating circumstances, and when we have a chance to talk with him, we can explain that to his lawyer. You did the right thing."
"Thank you, detective."
"Which interview room?" Moore asked.
"Two," the officer said.
Moore patted the officer on the shoulder a second time. Then, she and Alison went off to see if they could talk with the suspect.
He was still conversing with his lawyer when they got there, so they went into the adjoining viewing room to take a look at him. Once in there, Alison had a startling revelation.
"I know him," she said.
"What?" Moore asked.
"I know him," Alison repeated. "He’s Marcus Webb. He’s a former corrections officer who was fired for inappropriate conduct.
I don't know what he’s doing now, but Special Agent Sullivan and I interviewed him as part of a previous case.
He was innocent, but he does have a documented resentment toward forensic psychologists, and he was able to access confidential materials previously.
I don't know how any of this makes sense. "
"None of this has made sense to me so far," Moore admitted. "Did he just fall into our laps?"
"Yes," Alison said.
"He resents forensic psychologists, and you previously interviewed him as a suspect," Moore said. "Maybe the resentment grew after that. It’s weird that he’s driving around with no ID, and he wanted to speak with a lawyer instead of talking to Officer Keenan."
"That’s against him," Alison stated. "Still, if you were the killer, and you had just sent someone a threatening note, and you knew they were at the police station, being interviewed, would you wait outside that police station and follow him home?"
"There are a lot of things I wouldn’t do," Moore admitted.
"He fits with the profile in some ways, but that doesn’t fit in others. That’s not being careful or clever."
Moore pointed toward the one-way glass they stood behind. "Look, he’s done with the lawyer. Come on, I want to talk with him."
They left the viewing room and made their way to the door of the interview room, knocking once before entering.
"My client was questioned by an officer, and then brought down to the police station with no due process and has still not been told what he is accused of," the lawyer blustered, looking down at a document with handwritten notes on it.
"Was that to give you time to concoct some excuse like a broken taillight or something of that ilk? "
"Marcus Webb," Moore said as she led the way to the table.
Marcus looked a little surprised, and it took him a moment for his eyes to widen as he stared at Alison and finally recognized her.
The lawyer restored his bluster. "You state my client’s name as if you have some great secret when there is no law that requires him to identify himself to your officer. If you were to be more civil, my client would be more than happy to answer any of your questions."
"What are you doing here?" Marcus shot at Alison.
"I could ask you the same thing," Alison replied as she sat at the table with Detective Moore.
The lawyer looked between his client and Alison, seeing they obviously recognized each other, but he couldn't connect the dots.
"I was brought down here," Marcus said, becoming unsure about what was going on. The last time he had spoken to Alison, it was because he was a suspect in a murder.
Sometimes, things didn't change.
"Why were you following Harold Jenkins?" Detective Moore asked.
"There is no evidence to suggest that my client was following anyone," the lawyer cut in.
"Except for the officer who followed your client all the way to Mr. Jenkins’s home, and then witnessed Mr. Webb watching the house."
"Come on," the lawyer said. "We both know that won't hold up in a court of law. There is no way to prove that my client was doing anything other than being out for a drive and then stopping to take a break."
"You didn't have your ID on you," Alison pointed out. "That’s unusual."
"And not against the law," the lawyer pointed out. "Your officer is allowed to ask for ID, but citizens of this fine county are under no obligation to present that ID, especially when there is no proof of them committing a crime."
"Harold Jenkins received a threatening letter last night," Detective Moore said.
"Someone broke into his home and left the letter before disappearing.
Harold came to us and gave a statement, and as soon as he left the station, your client followed him home.
Either there was a very big reason for that, or it is one of the greatest coincidences of our times. So, which is it?"
"Are you going to charge my client with a crime?" the lawyer asked.
"Honestly, that depends on the answer he gives," Moore said.
"Are you serious?" the lawyer asked. "You’re resorting to scare tactics?"
"We’re investigating a double homicide," Alison said, speaking directly to Marcus. "The man you followed home might be the third victim. Is it really a coincidence that you followed him home, Marcus? Is that what you want to go with?"
Marcus leaned forward on the table and clasped his hands together. "You really have it out for me, don't you? Is this what you do any time there is a murder? You brought me in the hope that I committed it? Well, I didn't kill anyone before, and I didn't kill anyone now."
"So, it is a coincidence?" Alison asked. "That’s what you’re telling us?"
"Are you accusing my client of murder?" the latter asked Moore.
Marcus licked his bottom lip as he stared at Alison and weighed what he wanted to say next.
"You followed a potential victim home, and you don't have any ID on you," Alison said. "What are we supposed to think, Marcus?"
"Honesty?" he asked, taking a deep breath. "I think you’re fishing and you’re out of your depth. I think you don't have a clue who’s killing people, just like you didn't know when you last brought me in, so you thought maybe you’d go with the same suspect again, because what? I’ve been through stuff? "
"You’ve never liked the system, have you?
" Alison asked. "You were fired from your job, which gave you obvious resentment over the prison system and the justice system in general. I can see why you would be angry at me after I spoke to you in connection with a murder. I also know you have knowledge of institutional systems, and you’ve had, at some point, access to confidential files. "
"I can still get my hands on confidential files, but that doesn’t mean a thing," Marcus spat. "Yeah, I hate all of that, and right below that is you and that partner of yours. I don’t have to tell you anything, and that’s the law."
"You’re right to an extent," Moore said. "You don't need to tell us anything, but there are things we need to know. Two people are dead. A third has been threatened. More people will die. There are two options here. Either you are the killer and are going to great lengths not to cooperate because you know what we’ll find, or you’re not the killer and you’re wasting our time when we could be out there catching the actual killer.
I didn't much like the other option at the moment. "
"I know you don't like me," Alison said. "I get that. I also don't care about it one bit. All I care about is finding the killer, and from everything you have said and done so far, you look incredibly guilty."
"Again, are you accusing my client of a crime with absolutely no evidence?" the lawyer asked.
"I can't believe we’re on the same side," Marcus scoffed.
"What does that mean?" Alison asked.
Marcus shook his head and grimaced, still weighing up whether or not he should elaborate on that. He looked to his lawyer, who raised his eyebrows to tell Marcus that it was his choice what he did next.
Marcus sighed and finally spoke. "I’m a private investigator." He folded his arms across his chest and sat back in his chair as if he had just explained everything.
"Okay," Alison said. "You still need to help us connect the dots on why you followed a person of interest home right after he left a police station."
Marcus grimaced again. "My work as a private investigator gives me access to various systems and databases. That’s what you were worried about earlier."
"Oh, that’s not what I’m worried about," Alison admitted. "That’s a part of the bigger picture. What I’m most worried about is you following someone who was threatened by a killer. The more you dodge that question, the more curious I become."
"Yeah, well, I can't talk about my clients, can I?" Marcus tutted.
"You’re following him, so he’s not your client, which means your client had you following him," Moore pointed out. "I really respect your professional integrity, but if you’re not the killer and you want to prove that, then tell us the name of the person who hired you."
"I can't do that," Marcus said, seriously.
"You don't know the name?" Moore asked.
Marcus squirmed a little in his chair. "It goes against my professional integrity. I can’t go around revealing my clients' names when I promise anonymity. That could destroy my reputation and my business. I know that I’m not working for a killer."
"How do you know that, Marcus?" Alison asked.
"You just get to know things," Marcus said, his voice becoming high-pitched.
"Two people are dead," Alison reminded him.
"This is not the time to try and protect anyone, nor yourself or your business. We need that name, Marcus, and we need it now. Tell us the name, and it doesn’t leave the room that you were the one who told us.
I can promise you that. Think what you want about me as a person, but I am one of the best at finding killers.
From one professional to another, who hired you, Marcus? "
Marcus stared at Alison. She hoped she had done enough to convince him after laying it on thick. She needed to know the name, but was being truthful when she told him she wouldn’t reveal her source. She held his gaze, trying to show sincerity by not looking away.
"Linda Ashford," Marcus said.
"Linda Ashford?" Moore asked.
"Yeah," he said dejectedly as if he had just let out a devastating secret. "I don't know why they wanted him followed, but I was to watch him and report everything he did. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, in cases like this, it’s a spurned lover, but I don't know in this instance."
"What makes you say that?" Alison asked.
"I don't know," Marcus admitted. "I’ve spoken to her, and I’ve watched him, and they don't seem like a couple. She’s way out of his league."
"Wait, you’ve been watching him?" Moore asked. "Have you noticed anyone hanging around him? Has he spoken to anyone?"
"I can give you my report, but I haven’t seen anyone. He hasn’t changed his routine or anything."
"How about last night?" Moore asked excitedly. "Were you at his house?"
"Briefly," Marcus said. "I was outside his work, then I followed him home, and then down to the police station shortly after he got home. I waited for him outside the station, then followed him home again, and that’s when your officer picked me up."
"All right," Moore said, a little disappointed. "I would like your full report on Jenkins, and I also need your whereabouts over the past week. Do you have an address for Linda Ashford?"
"Yeah, I do," Marcus said through gritted teeth. "When you go there, I’m not mentioned, yeah?"
Moore looked at Alison and then back at Marcus. "You’ve given us what we need, so we have no quarrel with you. We won't mention your name if we can help it."
"And if you aid us in catching a killer, you can be assured that people will know," Alison said. "That will only do wonders for business."
Marcus sighed through his mouth and sat back in his chair again with his arms folded. "I told you I didn't do it," he said to Alison.
Alison and the detective got up from the table and left the room. Marcus was still on their suspect list until they decided otherwise.
Now, it was time to pay Linda Hamilton a visit and find out why she wanted Harold Jenkins to be watched.