Be Mine Forever (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“A white Ford pickup.” Mr. Cooper frowned. “It’s still in my name.”

“Okay, Wyatt, write down who you were with last night and where you went.” Kane nonchalantly slid the statement book across the table. “When you’re done, sign it, and Mr. Cooper, I’ll need your signature as well.” He stood. “We’ll be back shortly. He turned off the recording devices and led the way outside.

Jenna looked from one to the other. “Did you pick up anything?”

“I don’t believe he’s involved.” Jo shrugged. “He kept his hands open on the table, he didn’t try and come up with any excuses and appeared to be genuinely shocked.” She smiled at Jenna. “We’ve all been fooled by a psychopath but he isn’t exhibiting any of the usual smartass comebacks I’d expect. He is showing empathy. I believe him.”

Jenna nodded. “That’s good enough for me.” She opened the door to the interview room and smiled at the Coopers. “Thank you for coming by. Once you’ve handed in the statement, you’re free to go.”

Forty-Six

Jenna leaned against the wall watching the Coopers leave the building. She held out her hand for the statement book Kane was holding and scanned the pages. “I’ll get Rowley to speak to this list of kids when he gives Dr. Turner a ride back to the school. It’s only general questions, we won’t need their parents’ permission to speak to them.” She glanced up at him. “Cooper might be as innocent as he seems but he’s still ticking all the boxes.”

“I don’t trust any of them right now.” Kane slid his pen inside his pocket. “Him most of all.” He indicated with his chin toward Dr. Turner moving down the hallway with Rowley.

Jenna turned her back on the visitor’s arrival and walked with Kane and Jo back into the empty interview room. “We’ll leave Rowley to get the paperwork sorted. Once he comes out, I’ll give him the list of Wyatt’s friends, it will give him time to make arrangements with the school to speak to them.” She looked at Jo. “Do your thing, between the pair of you, we might get somewhere with Dr. Turner.”

Her phone chimed. It was Rio from the front desk. “Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s quiet so I hunted down red 1950 Ford pickups in the county. Apart from the one belonging to Turner, there’s none, fitting the year, model, or description, here or in any neighboring counties.” Rio cleared his throat. “They’re a classic car. I found a few around the state in different colors, some are red but not as distinctive as the one owned by Laurie Turner.”

Jenna nodded. “Thank you, that’s good to know.” She disconnected and relayed the information to Jo and Kane. “I’d like to see how Turner explains his way out of the evidence against him.” She ran her fingers along the edge of the statement book and thought for a beat. “I’m wondering if he’s involved in Laurie’s murder as well. From her best friend’s account Laurie was afraid of her father and she has a bolt on her bedroom door. That in itself is a red flag that something wasn’t right between them.”

“He is a school counselor, so he’d have access to the locker rooms the football team uses. No one would have made mention about him wandering inside. He could have stolen the underwear to lay blame on Wyatt.” Jo’s brows furrowed. “He knows the vehicle and could have disabled it but that doesn’t account for the sighting of Laurie getting into a Chrysler sedan the night of her death.”

“We might have a witness seeing her getting into the vehicle, but we don’t know if the driver dropped her home.” Kane scratched his cheek. “Or where she died. We only have the place she was found. Think about this scenario: Turner disables her vehicle and not knowing about her dropping her phone, he’d assume she’d get a ride home with her friends. When she gets home, he strangles her in her sleep. We know she didn’t struggle, if she slept face down, he could have easily strangled her from behind and then taken her body in his vehicle out to the mines and left her there. The stabbing could be a ploy to make us believe someone else was involved.” He looked from one to the other. “The bed linen was changed and everything was neat. It all points to him.”

Jenna shook her head. “The only problem here is the saliva found at the scene matching the sweat at Rowley’s house.” She facepalmed her head. “See, we have evidence but there’s missing bits or things that don’t add up.”

“Ma’am.” Rowley poked his head around the door. “I’ve finished the paperwork with Dr. Turner. I told him you wanted to speak with him.”

Jenna smiled and pulled open the door. “Thanks, Jake.” She handed him a copy of Wyatt Cooper’s statement. “While we’re busy, call the school and hunt down these witnesses and see if they’ll back up Cooper’s alibi. See if you can talk to them after you’ve given Dr. Turner a ride back to the school. This is to do with Mrs. Turner’s murder so there’s no conflict of interest.”

“Sure.” Rowley smiled. “I called Sandy before and she said to thank you all for the flowers you sent to the hospital and the food.” He started to back down the hallway.

“Any time.” Jenna looked at his earnest face. “I’m so happy she’s okay.” She turned to Kane and Jo. “Let’s do this.”

After scanning her card and leading the way into the other interview room, Jenna switched on the cameras and once everyone had stated their names for the record and she’d read Dr. Turner his rights, she sat down. “I’m sure you’re wondering why we need to speak with you, Dr. Turner. Agent Wells would like to question you about the murder of your wife.”

“My wife left me six years ago, if I’d wanted to kill her, I’d have done it by now.” Turner smiled at Jo. “Honestly, the FBI? My wife was a useless nobody. Why bring in the FBI?”

“You mentioned in your statement you didn’t know where Jeanette lived, so I guess you’ve never been to her apartment?” Jo took a neutral pose.

“Why would I want to visit her?” Turner’s confident twitch of the lips returned. “She left me, remember? She took all our money but she never got to keep Laurie, did she? No, I put a stop to that.”

“Okay, so how did your fingerprints get all over her apartment?” Jo’s eyes fixed on him. “Or why was your vehicle seen parked opposite the alleyway to where she lived?”

“I want a lawyer.” Dr. Turner leaned back in his chair, looking smug. “I know my rights. Call Samuel J Cross. I won’t speak to anyone unless he is present.”

Jenna pushed to her feet. “As you wish.” She looked at Kane. “Hold Dr. Turner for questioning of suspicion of murder and take him

down to the cells. I’ll see if I can locate Sam Cross.” She rolled her eyes. Of all the lawyers, she and Sam Cross were usually at loggerheads. She led Jo out of the interview room and they lingered in the hallway. “I figure he’s our man.”

“Yeah, but he’s so smug, I’m expecting him to pull a rabbit out of his hat soon.” Jo stared at Turner through the one-way glass. “The evidence against him for both murders is enough for an arrest warrant but more would be better. If you could get into his office and his home to see if he’s left any incriminating evidence, it might help.” She shrugged. “You don’t need his lawyer’s permission to apply for a search warrant.”

Jenna nodded. “I’ll get that underway.” She sighed. “We have his wife’s autopsy at two. Will you be able to stick around for the interview?”

“You could hold Turner overnight for questioning.” Jo pushed her iPad under one arm and stared back at the prisoner. “The autopsy findings might be crucial to further questioning. I’d wait until you return before you call in the lawyer. If Mr. Samuel J Cross informs you when he plans to arrive, I’ll come back.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ll take Jaime back to the hotel and we’ll have some lunch.”