Thursday, September 18th
Trinity police station, 9 pm
Andy still couldn’t believe what had happened in just a few hours. He looked around the squalid empty room where he was confined, waiting for Detective Grant. He was sitting on a chair behind a large table, in front of the table there were two more chairs and this was the only furniture. The walls were painted grey and there was a large glass partition but he couldn’t see what or who was behind it. He had only seen a similar room in his favourite investigation series on TV. He was alone in an unnatural silence after all the voices, sirens and noises he had been surrounded by just some minutes before. He had completely lost track of time. Steve Brown had called him at eight p.m., he was at home, just after dinner and he was enjoying a peaceful evening with his family, his favourite time of the day.
Oh, how he wished now he had not accepted to go back to the office, how he wished he had not yielded to the insistence of his colleague. He had sensed there was something wrong and he had not listened to the entreaties of his wife and daughter to stay at home. He had arrived at the office at eight-thirty p.m. and then… Everything was a blur in his mind; the body, the knife, the police officers, the handcuffs, the arrest, the drive in the police car. And now, he was there, at the police station, handcuffed, treated like a criminal and facing days of questioning, accusations, a trial and…
He rested his arms on the table in front of him and placed his forehead on top but he wasn’t able to cry, he kept thinking of his wife and child. Would they believe he was guilty, was the normal simple life he cherished so much gone forever? Desperation was seizing him, he had heard a lot of talk about the detective, Jason Grant, the head of the Homicide Squad, who was known as a tough man. He didn’t take part in the life of the community, he was always taciturn and nobody had ever seen him speak or give confidence to anyone. Andy was a little afraid of talking to him but he hoped the detective would believe his words because people said that he had brought many criminals to justice and he was very good at cracking cases, even the most complicated ones.
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***
Trinity Detective Jason Grant’s home, 9 pm
Jason Grant was relaxing at home, watching TV and drinking a beer, as he did every night when his job as head of the homicide squad allowed him when his phone rang. He lived alone on the outskirts of the little town of Trinity in the house where he had moved from Toronto a few years before. Because of his job, he was often called to other towns to investigate, but he didn’t mind because he liked his job and he had gotten used to thinking that his work was his life. He had lost all interest in meeting people and entertaining relations a few years before when his life had dramatically and drastically changed. What had not changed was his determination to bring criminals to justice, his firm conviction that drug dealers, murderers or people who caused the suffering and death of innocent victims didn’t deserve any pity or any attempt to justify their deeds.
When he talked to Father Mark, the director of Miracle High School, they often discussed this because the priest believed that there should always be a second chance for anyone, even the most hardened criminals, while Jason thought that some crimes which involved cruelty and a disregard for human life could not be forgiven and no second chance should be granted to these criminals.
Jason was a tall man in his early forties, he was slim and he had dark-blue eyes and short, curly, dark blond hair, slightly receding at the temples. Even if he seldom smiled, his face was not hard and he had a way of looking at people that was not devoid of sweetness. He had a congenital problem with his vocal cords and his voice was slightly hoarse. This contributed to his image of a tough policeman but when he spoke to the victims of a crime, especially children or women, he was incredibly soothing. All the agents at the police station considered him a great detective because of his devotion to his job and his intuitive abilities. Everyone trusted his opinions because he was seldom wrong when he detected lies in testimonies or when he pointed at a suspect as the culprit. His colleagues had learned to leave him alone. All their invitations to join them after work for a drink or a chat had been unsuccessful and they had stopped asking him, knowing that he simply preferred to stay alone especially in the last six years after his terrible loss. Everybody at Trinity Police Station knew exactly what had happened while he was working in Toronto even if he had arrived in the little town only four years before. They knew that he had a picture on his desk in his office, the picture of a young girl smiling happily, but nobody at the police station had ever dared to talk about that smiling girl or ask him questions or even express their sympathy to him. The only person he sometimes went to visit for a chat was Father Mark, who had known him since he was a child and who was the only person he talked to about that sweet, smiling young girl who was always in his heart.
When he answered the phone after lowering the TV volume, he knew that something was wrong because nobody called him at night just to talk to him. The voice on the other end of the line was professional and quickly brought him up to date with the latest events at the Kilton Motor Company. The Kilton Motor Company was the local car dealer. Jason had met Mr Kilton only once, and personally, he didn’t like him because he knew some people who had bought a second-hand car from him and had been far from happy with it. The Kilton Motor Company was not far from the motorway in an industrial area on the outskirts of the town.. While Jason, instead, lived not far from the lake in a pleasant district immersed in nature but a short walking distance from the centre of Trinity.
Jason didn’t hesitate, his duty came first. He got ready in a few minutes. He always dressed casually in a shirt and jeans with a leather jacket or a blazer. He drove to the scene of the crime. When he arrived, he parked his car in the parking lot next to Andy Cooper’s car and he entered the building where the lab technicians and the forensic team were already at work. The coroner came to him immediately and led him to the office on the first floor where the victim, Steve Brown, lay in a pool of blood not far from the door. Jason knelt down and examined the body.
The coroner explained that Brown had been stabbed in the chest by a person that stood in the doorway. He died immediately.
The agent who had arrived first on the scene recognized the unmistakable voice of his superior and approached him.
“Hello, Jason, sorry to disturb you but I wanted you to see the scene before we take the body to the morgue! We were alerted by an anonymous call at eight-thirty-two p.m.! The voice said that movements and shouting were heard inside the Kilton building and that there were lights on the first floor. We couldn’t trace the phone call because it was too short and came from a prepaid phone that is not registered. When we arrived, the building was deserted. The only light which was on was in this office. When we entered, we found the body of Steve Brown as you see it and a colleague of the victim, Andy Cooper, was next to the body with a blood-stained paper-knife in his hand, in a state of shock. He was not able to give any explanation and we took him to the police station. We hope that, by the time you get there, he will have recovered from his shock. All the evidence points at him, of course, at least for the time being.”
While the agent, David Hogan, was talking, Jason looked around the office. When David finished relating the events to him, he said,
“Tell the technicians to take all the computers in the office to the lab. I want to know everything about this company and the job of the victim and the suspect. I want you to investigate the life of the victim from every possible angle and to learn something more about the relationship between the victim and the suspect.”
“Of course, boss!” Jason looked at him disapprovingly because he didn’t like to be called ‘boss’. David noticed this but he continued,
“We called Mr Kilton as soon as we arrived here but he is out of town, he is in Oshawa for a convention of car dealers and his wife told us that he is coming back tomorrow morning.”
“OK! Are there any witnesses apart from the anonymous call?”
“No. We didn’t find anybody in the vicinity of the building; the only cars parked were the ones of the victim and the suspect. All the lights were off except the one in this office, and at this time, the company is usually deserted.”
“I think I will go to the police station to talk to the suspect, Andy Cooper, before they take him to prison. There is something about this whole business that doesn’t add up, there is something that I can’t quite understand. Why were these two employees here? What were they doing? I need more information before accusing one person!”
Jason knelt once more beside the corpse of Brown, he looked at it for a few minutes, then he stood up and ordered it to be taken to the morgue for the autopsy. He took leave and went back to his car. Before driving to the police station, he made a phone call to his trusted friend and his first ‘informant’, Father Mark.
“Hi, Mark, sorry to disturb you at this time.”
“Hi, Jason. Don’t worry, you know I am always available for you. What’s the matter? Are you OK?” Father Mark had a particular affection for this tough police officer who had a great burden on his heart he had not been able to overcome yet. He knew that he was in reality a good and upright man who had been hardened by his great loss.
“I am OK, Mark, I have just been called to the Kilton Car Dealer for a homicide. One of the employees, Steve Brown, has been killed and I am now going to the police station to interrogate the suspect who was found at the scene of the crime. Am I wrong or have you mentioned Andy Cooper once or twice in our previous conversations?”
“Of course, Jason. The first name, Brown, I think it was, is not familiar but the second one, Andy Cooper, is the father of one of our best students, Meg. He has a beautiful family. I see him whenever the parents of our students are invited. He sometimes helps me with the accounts of the parish and I really can’t believe he is a murderer. His daughter, Meg, is the best friend of Louise, the daughter of Kilton, the manager of the company. I can ask if anybody in the parish knew the victim if you like?”
“Thanks, Mark, you know your help is always appreciated! Good night!”
“Good night, Jason, see you soon!”
Father Mark was really worried when the phone call ended because he knew Andy and his family very well and he was aware that Meg had the highest consideration for her dad, she really looked up to him as her hero. He prayed to God that Jason could exonerate him soon because he knew in his heart that Andy was innocent and he was aware of the effect that a similar predicament could have on a young teenage girl.
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***
Trinity police station, 11 pm
Jason arrived at the police station. He wanted to interrogate Andy Cooper before they took him to prison.
He went straight to the interrogation room where the policeman on duty told him that Andy was relatively calm and that he kept on repeating that he was innocent.
Jason entered the room and went to sit down in front of Andy. Andy was a handsome man, tall with blond hair and green eyes, he looked a little older than Jason, but now his upset face and dishevelled look reflected the shock he had had in the last few hours and his desperation. If he really was the murderer, certainly Jason thought it had not been a premeditated act, because Andy did not have the countenance of a cold-blooded killer.
“Hello, Mr Cooper, I am Detective Jason Grant of the Homicide Squad. Can you tell me what happened tonight?” Jason’s voice was professional and cold.
Andy looked at the detective with a dejected expression and it took him a few minutes to take heart and speak, and when he talked it was almost a whisper.
“I didn’t do anything, Detective, when I arrived Brown was on the floor dead. Instinctively I took the knife. I was unable to move, and a few minutes later, the police arrived and found me there.”
“Andy, I asked you to tell me everything that happened from the beginning,” the policeman told him patiently and a little less coldly.
Hearing that he called him ‘Andy’ made the suspect feel a little more at ease and helped him to collect his thoughts that were still confused.
“At about eight p.m. Steve Brown called me from the office at the Kilton Car Dealership where we both work as accountants. He told me that Mr Kilton wanted to speak to us both in his office. A few days ago, I told Steve that I had noticed some irregularities in the account books and that I wanted to talk to the boss at once, but Steve insisted on speaking to him. I agreed and tonight he was very nervous when he called.”
“Was it normal for your workmate to stay in the office so late?”
“Absolutely not, I was surprised and I was even more surprised when he told me that Mr Kilton was waiting for us both in his office because the boss always left early in the afternoon. And this afternoon, in particular, he had planned to go to Oshawa for a convention of car dealers.”
“That’s what I was going to say, he can’t have told you that Kilton was waiting for you because he is out of town and he is coming back tomorrow morning.”
“I assure you that is what Steve told me. I made the same objection and he answered that Kilton had changed his mind, otherwise I would never have gone back to the workplace. My wife was listening to my end of the conversation and she can confirm what I am saying.”
“Go on! What else did he tell you on the phone?”
“I have already said that he was nervous and that was strange because there was no reason to be. The irregularities were not so serious and I thought it was something we could easily settle with the boss the following morning. I told him so but he insisted, saying it was only a matter of a few minutes. My wife was perplexed and worried. She asked me not to go but I had promised Steve and so…” Andy had to stop talking because the thought of his wife and daughter took hold of him and he had to fight back the tears.
Jason was looking at him intently, and for some reason — call it intuition, experience, knowledge of human nature — he believed what this man was saying and he sympathized with him. He knew what it meant to have a quiet, peaceful life and suddenly to see it destroyed.
“What happened next, Andy? You must be sincere with me if you want me to help you,” he tried to sound encouraging.
“I drove to the office and I entered the building. When I walked down the corridor that leads to my office and Mr Kilton’s, I immediately noticed that the boss’s room was empty but I thought he was in our office waiting for me, even if I didn’t hear any voices. When I arrived at the door, it was open, and just beyond it, I saw Steve lying on the floor and I stumbled upon the paper-knife that was lying next to him. I inadvertently picked it up, then I knelt next to Steve but there was nothing I could do for him.” Tears were rolling down Andy’s cheeks and he started to tremble at the thought of his friend dead on the floor. “I am sorry for Steve, he was a good man and he was so lonely, but I swear I didn’t do it! You must believe me, Detective!” he implored.
“Now try to keep calm and to remember, this is very important. Did you hear any noise in the building, did you notice anything when you entered and before you found your workmate? Even a detail that seems insignificant to you may be important.”
Andy was at the end of his strength and all the emotions, all the events of these last hours were straining him but he tried hard to collect his thoughts and his memories.
“When I arrived, there was only Steve’s car in the parking lot. I was not surprised because Mr Kilton has a garage in the basement for his car, but when I entered the building, I noticed the light in the reception console that indicates that the garage door is open. Maybe I am wrong but I am fairly certain that I saw it.”
“Thank you, Andy, we will verify what you are saying. Did you notice anything else?”
“No, there was no one around and the building was deserted and silent. Whoever killed poor Steve had already left. He must have killed him between the time he called me and the time I arrived. I had to get dressed and it took me a quarter of an hour at least to drive from my home to the Kilton Company.”
“OK, Andy. I know that you need a little sleep but I have to ask you one more question, OK?” Andy nodded, he was so tired and confused.
“What do you know about your colleague? You said he was lonely. Did he have any relations, friends, people who had something against him? Anything could be useful for us!”
“He always said that he envied my life, so organized and orderly. He had a completely different life. He was not married and he didn’t have a stable relationship. He liked to play cards with friends or gamble and I know he always had money problems, but he was a good man and very competent in his job. He was always kind to me. I think he has a sister living somewhere far from here but he seldom heard from her.”
“What about the irregularities you noticed in the accounts, Andy?” Jason knew he was pressing for information but he felt he had to learn as much as possible.
“I started to notice some discrepancy between the figures that my colleague, Brown, passed me and which seemed like a regular occurrence, and the data I found in the general database. I asked Steve for an explanation and he immediately became nervous. He offered to talk to Kilton and tonight he called me to tell me that Kilton wanted to see us both immediately in his office, which seemed strange to me, but Steve had never lied to me and so I did as he asked! Oh, I wish I had listened to my wife and daughter and stayed at home.” Desperation was seizing him again and he looked at Jason who was standing up.
“Thank you, Andy, for having told me what you know. If you have been sincere and you didn’t kill your workmate, you have nothing to worry about. We will get to the bottom and find the real culprit, you can be assured.”
“I swear I didn’t do it, you must believe me!” Andy said pleadingly. But… was he imagining it or did the detective nod just imperceptibly and smile at him? Did he believe him? He didn’t dare to ask… but he prayed to God to help him and his family.
While Jason was driving back home, well after midnight, he couldn’t help feeling pity for that man who had seen his life shattered in a few minutes. There were many things in the first reconstruction of the events that didn’t make sense; first of all, the motive. Steve had called Andy and not vice-versa. Next, the anonymous phone call; Andy had told him that when he arrived he didn’t see anybody around the building. The phone call must have been made when Andy was already in the office. But Andy said that he didn’t hear shouts and he didn’t notice any movement.
Jason was looking forward to starting his investigation, because his instinct told him that they didn’t have the culprit in prison.
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and then Add to home screen.