Thirst for Sin (Touch of Evil Book 1), page 17
“You didn’t tell me that you set up a meeting with Francis Walker and his parents.” Joe didn’t need to pull out his chair since it was already positioned away from the table. Benny hadn’t returned to the diner, so she assumed that Joe had talked him out of any sort of confrontation. It didn’t negate the fact that he’d stirred the pot with Joe, and she was now on the receiving end of his wrath. “You’ll get a lot further with the Walkers if you allow me to—”
Brook held up a hand and leaned back in her chair when she spotted Meg returning with their food. They’d both ordered the BLT specials, which included a side of seasoned fries. Joe wasn’t happy with the interruption, but at least he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut about her interviews in front of someone who was connected to the case.
It didn’t help their situation that all eyes had been on them since Joe had returned from escorting Benny out of the diner.
“It was one of the topics that I wanted to discuss with you over lunch,” Brook informed him as she laid a napkin over her lap. She maintained a civil tone, but she wasn’t about to have her every move questioned by a former sheriff who had sought favors from a young twenty-something deputy. “Your presence will only have the Walker family on edge. What I would really like to know is how Benny was aware of such meeting, when I’m sure that Francis wasn’t calling those around the neighborhood with his schedule.”
For a brief moment, she wasn’t sure that Joe was even going to supply her with an answer. She realized that he was in an awkward position with Benny and the residents, who now felt as if their lives were being torn apart all over again, but her investigation was bigger than Vicki Anderson. Apprehending the unsub would end up saving countless of lives.
“Sara Walker works at the only full-service gas station here in town. Not the 7-Eleven, but the small BP station on the corner. She was on break, taking a personal call. Someone overheard the conversation and—”
“Towns like this don’t change, do they?” Brook said with a shake of her head, both in irritation and fondness. “Like I said, your presence isn’t required for the Walker interview. I’m assuming the complete opposite is true with your cousin. Why don’t we spend the rest of our lunch going over how your cousin is connected to Vicki Anderson?”
Brook didn’t give Joe much of a choice in the topic of the upcoming discussion. Anything was better than thinking back to her upbringing. It had technically been typical in every single way, and the town had played a major part in it.
Of course, everyone had turned against her family after the truth had come out about Jacob. She’d almost chosen a nursing home in D.C. for her father, but she had her reasons for keeping him in Morton…selfish as those may be.
It was turning out that she and Joe weren’t all that different after all.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Brooklyn Sloane
November 2021
Friday—3:21 pm
The sound of the ticking clock on the wall behind the desk was basically the only noise reverberating through the police station. The faint odor of brewed coffee from this morning had faded, and in its place was the smell of gun cleaner and disinfectant.
She much preferred the smell of coffee.
“…doesn’t look good. Get him here now, Benny.”
Brook continued to browse through one of the notebooks that she’d taken out from Vicki’s backpack. Thankfully, there had been a pair of latex gloves tucked inside Brook’s briefcase. She had already skimmed three notebooks, but there had been nothing that stood out in regard to a name or a set of initials.
Vicki’s chemistry notebook told another story altogether.
At first, Brook had simply thought the young girl had mindlessly doodled during class. There were dollar signs written in pen over and over through at least ten pages, and then the scribbling had simply stopped. Had Vicki been obsessed with money? Had she needed cash for something important or had she simply been dreaming of something bigger than a small town?
“…serious. This isn’t something that can be…”
While Joe attempted to talk some sense into the former sheriff, Brook stood up with the chemistry notebook in hand. She wasn’t worried in the least that the two men would arrive for the interview. Benny was simply concerned about his son, and both of them were seeing how far they could push her before she pulled rank.
FBI always trumped local law enforcement, though. Benny and BJ would arrive at the station soon enough, even if she had to have the state police drag them both in kicking and screaming.
Brook made her way across the station, through the swinging gate, and pushed open the door. The behavior of three men who had just been questioned by law enforcement wasn’t that hard to predict. None of them had provided anything other than confirmation that Vicki had sometimes bought marijuana from BJ. They hadn’t even been aware that she’d lost her earring that day, nor had they known if she’d been interested in someone else besides Francis Walker.
“Relax, gentlemen.”
Brook could see that her presence had them all nervous. Luke straightened from where he’d been leaning against his truck, while Sam threw his cigarette on the ground and used his boot to crush it into the gravel. John just came across angry that they’d even had to show up.
“I simply want to know if Vicki needed money or had recently come into some cash.” Brook closed the distance between them, causing all three men to line up against Luke’s truck. The weather was still quite gloomy, the ground was still wet, but the rain seemed to be on hold for a moment. “Did she mention needing money to any of you?”
Luke and Sam shared a confused glance, both shaking their heads in response. John was staring at her with a frown. He even lifted his baseball cap a little more off his forehead and stared at the notebook in Brook’s hand.
“John?”
“I took chem with Vicki that semester,” John replied, garnering nods of agreement from the other two men. Luke was the only one of the three who’d aged well. Sam had gained weight, while John had lost most of his hair, thus his choice of wearing a baseball cap. “That entire week she was drawing dollar signs in that notebook.”
“Did you ask her why?” Brook wasn’t sure that such a simple act had anything to do with the young girl’s murder, but nothing should be overlooked when Brook was so close to unearthing the identity of the unsub. “Did she confide in you?”
“I did ask Vicki why she seemed so distracted in class, but she said that I should mind my own business.”
“Did you?”
Luke and Sam were both staring at John with disbelief. Their expressions and body language were enough to convince Brook that this was the first time they were hearing about what happened in chemistry class. A bit of scribbling in a notebook normally wouldn’t be anything of concern, but even they could realize the significance of such a small secret.
“Are you saying that someone killed Vicki over money?” Luke asked, preventing John from answering Brook’s question. “Is that why you’re so hung up on her buying weed from BJ?”
“You think BJ killed Vicki? I was wondering why you were so focused on him.” The revulsion in Sam’s tone had Brook holding up her free hand, but he’d turned his attention to John. “Was Vicki selling drugs for him, man? Why didn’t you say any—”
“Stop making assumptions,” Brook directed, not wanting these men to spread anymore rumors than they already planned to do at the local bar. There were actually two bars—one of each side of town. “Nothing that I have discovered today indicated that Vicki was selling drugs. I’m simply trying to figure out why she was so obsessed with dollar signs when she should have been learning the periodic table. Were her parents having money problems? Did she need money for a car?”
“I didn’t push Vicki for an answer, but I did see her using the pay phone outside of the main football gate a couple of times during that week.” John’s attention veered away from Brook to a vehicle that was slowing down to turn into one of the empty slots near Joe’s truck. “Maybe she was trying to get a job, but I think she would have said something to us. I worked parttime at the movie theater and could have gotten her a job. Same with Sam over at the ice cream parlor.”
“What time did you see Vicki at the pay phone?” Brook asked, pleased that she was finally gaining some ground. Such a random detail was easy to follow up on and could possibly lead her directly to the unsub. It would be relatively easy to gain access to the phone records from back then. “Morning? Afternoon?”
The engine of the vehicle that had parked next to Joe’s truck turned off, and all that was left to hear was the ticking sound as the car cooled down. Brook was hoping for a quick answer, because then she would need to extend another warning to the three men in front of her. Benny and BJ had their full attention, and it was only a matter of time before accusations started to be made.
Now that her presence had sowed doubt amongst the tightknit town regarding Francis Walker’s guilt, the pitchforks would be drawn and pointed toward the one person who had gotten away with too much for far too long, all simply by being the son of the former sheriff.
“John? I need to know what time you saw Vicki using the pay phone.”
“Um, morning. It was usually after cheer practice but before first period.”
“I appreciate the information. The three of you are free to leave,” Brook stated, continuing to stand in front of them until they got the hint. She wasn’t moving until they’d vacated the parking lot. The last thing she needed right now was for the situation to get out of control on the steps of the town police station. “Have a good night, gentlemen.”
Luke backhanded Sam’s arm, giving the others permission to depart the area. It wasn’t long until they were all getting into their vehicles and backing up onto the main drag. Luke and Sam went one way, while John drove in another.
Brook had immediately pegged Luke Harris as the leader of the three men from the get-go. He’d been the captain of the football team, married one of the cheerleaders, and appeared to be the one who maintained his reputation around town. He hadn’t been very complimentary of Francis Walker, but there had been nothing in his statement nor his recollection of their high school days to give her the impression that she was wrong about her assumption of his innocence.
Just as she was about to turn and walk back into the police station, not really wanting to initiate any conversation with Benny and BJ out in this dreary weather, she caught movement from across the street where there was a small hardware shop. Only two vehicles had been parked in front of the building most of the day. Now there were three.
Brook tamped down her frustration at the sight of Matt Henley keeping tabs on the comings and goings of the police station. She mulled over her options before deciding to leave well enough alone…for now. He wasn’t committing a crime, and anything she said would only make him more determined to shadow her every move while she was in town.
“Sloane, I don’t see how my son’s limited involve—”
Brook didn’t bother to censor Benny’s lack of respect toward her. The reason that he’d cut off mid-sentence was due to him following her gaze. He, too, realized who was sitting in the car.
“Son of a bitch,” Benny muttered as he took off across the street without even bothering to look in either direction. “What do you think you’re doing over there? If you so much as say one goddamn word on your…”
“Mr. Morgan, why don’t we head inside,” Brook suggested as she turned and didn’t stop until she had the door opened to the station. “It looks as if your father might be awhile violating that man’s first amendment rights.”
BJ Morgan was the spitting image of his dad, only without the greying hair.
“I don’t know how much help I can be. I didn’t know Vicki all that well.”
“You knew her well enough to sell her pot,” Brook countered, still holding the door opened as she stared him down. She’d given him the reassurance that he needed over the phone this morning so that she could get this interview out of the way. “You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Morgan. I’m not here for some petty drug charges involving your grow operation. All I want to do is hear your timeline of events in the days leading up to Vicki Anderson’s murder.”
The phone calls that John had mentioned seeing Vicki make the week of her death could have been to BJ. If she were desperate for money, which wasn’t likely given that her two best friends hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort, she might have turned to the one man who had the ability to hook her up with a reasonable amount of ready cash.
BJ was leaner than his father by quite a lot, though he had the same facial features. His dark hair hung to his shoulders with strands that had the appearance of pure grease. His mustache was much of the same and in desperate need of a trim. She’d expected him to reek of either cigarette or marijuana smoke after he’d brushed past her to step into the police station, but all she’d caught was a whiff of leather from his black jacket.
“If you’ll take a seat in the guest chair at the far desk, I’ll be with you in a moment,” Brook instructed as she followed close behind him. She had made sure that her laptop was closed as she’d picked up her phone. Stepping away to make it seem as if she wanted to take a call in private, she then called Frank. She didn’t mind if BJ overheard the request that she was about to make. As a matter of fact, it might make him a little bit more forthcoming with his answers. “Frank, I was hoping that you would still be in the office. I would like to put in a request for a list of calls made to and from the pay phone that would have been outside of the stadium gates of the Sutton High School football field the weeks leading up to Vicki Anderson’s murder.”
“Knowing that you can do it yourself from your laptop, I’m going to assume that this call is for someone else’s benefit,” Frank replied wryly, though there was a slight edge to his tone that had Brook straightening her shoulders. “I will go ahead and put in the request, though. You’ll be busy interviewing one Jeremy Yates. He’s forty-three years of age. On the older end of your profile, but get this—he works for a trucking company. Not as a trucker, but as a sales representative.”
“Let me guess,” Brook replied softly and with a bit of regret. “In the tristate area.”
“You want me to contact one of the field agents in the Pittsburgh office?”
“Not yet. I want to wrap up some things before venturing in that direction. Besides, there’s nothing to tie him to the murder.”
“Brook, don’t wait too long.” Frank’s friendly warning was taken under advisement. “The sheriff has personal ties to Yates. Hell, there are way too many personal ties in that town.”
“I know,” Brook replied quietly as she heard the door open at the front of the station. A quick glance revealed that it was Benny, though that wasn’t surprising in the least. Matt Henley was probably driving around the block until he was in the clear of the former sheriff’s sights. “I’ll keep in touch and let you know if I find any connections.”
Surprisingly, Benny hadn’t gone over to Joe’s desk. He made a direct path toward his son, coming to a stop directly behind the chair as if his mere presence was enough to get her to back down. Gone was the infectious smile, and in its place was nothing but a grimace of contempt.
“Let’s get this over with.”
Benny hadn’t had the decency to wait until she’d disconnected the line. She leveled him a stare and continued speaking with Frank.
“The forensics report is due in the next hour,” Brook lied as she continued to speak with Frank. He would understand her position and go with it. “Once we have that, the phone records, and confirmation on the other matter that we discussed, I should have everything that I need.”
“I might as well use this time to catch you up on Ann’s condition. She’s conscious and they are weaning her off the ventilator. Harden is flying back to D.C. tonight.”
Frank paused long enough for Brook to say something in return that indicated she was wrapping up the conversation, but she remained silent as the two men in front of her became even more impatient. That was fine by her, because such a strong emotion would have one of them inadvertently slipping up in their statements.
“I’ve been trying to keep tabs on the background checks you’ve been requesting, which is how I spotted the correlation of your profile with Yates.” Frank must have been at his computer, because Brook could hear him pecking away at the keyboard. “It looks as if a few of them still haven’t come back, but I’ll check before I leave the office this evening. I take it you still plan to speak with Francis Walker?”
“Yes,” Brook replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. She’d stalled long enough, but it had been enough time to cause BJ’s anxiety to rise higher than before. He was beginning to realize that his father couldn’t protect him anymore. “We’ll talk soon.”
Brook made her way around the desk and set her phone down next to her laptop. She’d purposefully tossed down Vicki’s notebook so that BJ couldn’t miss her name printed on the top right-hand corner.
“You’re wasting your time,” Benny said, resting a hand on his son’s shoulder.
She figured BJ would have normally shrugged it off. He didn’t seem to be the touchy-feely type, but his insecurity had clearly gotten the best of him.
“You keep saying the same thing, Mr. Morgan.” Brook reclaimed the desk chair and reached for her pen. “I’d like to speak with your son alone, if that’s alright.”
“No.” Benny widened his stance. “I know the law, Sloane. I’m either staying or my son gets a lawyer.”
“If that’s how you’d like to play it, that’s fine by me,” Brook stated matter-of-factly as she met his angry gaze head on. “You might consider hiring one for yourself. After all, you did obstruct this investigation twenty years ago by withholding information regarding your son’s illegal drug activities with the victim, along with the fact that you failed to disclose an affair that you had with the victim’s mother. I can have the state police IG, a federal prosecutor, and a team of DEA agents here by tomorrow morning. Considering that you are currently obstructing an investigation which is now linked to my federal case, you’ll be going to the Western Federal District Court of Pennsylvania under the 3rd Federal District Court of Appeals. I figure your attorney can meet you in Erie sometime tomorrow afternoon. It’s your choice, Mr. Morgan.”
