Gnosis

murdered in her duplex. We have every reason to suspect that whoever killed her also killed Colt Rogers.”

“Oh, my God, the poor girl, the poor thing.” Barbara began to cry harder. “This is a nightmare, just a horrible nightmare. Tell me I’m going to wake up and none of this will be true. Please, tell me this is all just a bad dream.”

Laurie closed her notepad and gently touched Barbara on the arm. She left without saying another word.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Dantzler opened the door to the interview room, moved briskly to the table, and sat down across from Greg Spurlock. Milt Brewer followed Dantzler into the room, eased to his right until he was directly behind Spurlock, and leaned against the wall. This positioning was standard procedure when interviewing a suspect. All cops know most humans are not comfortable when someone stands directly behind them, and contrary to what the movies and TV shows portray, detectives doing the interviewing want their subjects to be nervous and on edge, not comfortable.

Greg Spurlock was nervous and on edge long before Dantzler and Milt came into the room. He’d been in there alone for almost thirty minutes, sometimes sitting in the chair fidgeting with his tie, other times pacing the room like a scared puppy. At all times, he appeared to be on the verge of bursting into tears.

Dantzler slapped his notepad on the table, flipped it open, and glared across the table. Spurlock seemed to flinch when his eyes met Dantzler’s. He looked away and shifted in his chair in an attempt to see where Milt was standing. Milt reached down, took Spurlock by the shoulders, and turned him back toward Dantzler.

“Eyes front,” Milt said, harshly. “Don’t look at me unless I ask you a question. Got it?”

Spurlock nodded.

“Okay, Greg,” Dantzler said, “the last time we…”

“Do I need a lawyer?” Spurlock interrupted.

“That’s up to you,” Dantzler answered. “If it takes a lawyer sitting next to you in order for you to be honest with me, then by all means call one. You can use my cell phone.”

“I just don’t want you guys to trick me. You know, get me to fall into a trap.”

“The best way to avoid a trap is by telling the truth. Lying to me, like you did the first time we spoke, will not serve you well. I can promise you that much.”

Milt put his hands on Spurlock’s shoulders, bent down, and whispered in his ear. “Didn’t your parents ever tell you honesty is the best policy? That the truth shall set you free?”

“Yes,” Spurlock mumbled.

“Well, then, this is the perfect time to heed their advice,” Milt said, letting go of Spurlock’s shoulders and leaning back against the wall.

“So, Greg. Do you want to call an attorney?” Dantzler said.

“No, I guess not.”

“You’re sure? I don’t mind waiting if you do.”

“No. It’s okay. Let’s just get this over with.”

Dantzler said, “Greg, the three of us are not leaving this room until we clear up a few things about your actions on that night in nineteen eighty-two. If you’re truthful with us, we can get this over and done with in a relatively short period of time. However, if you persist in being dishonest, we’ll be here until the Messiah shows up. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, let’s begin with the gun that was at the scene. You told me you didn’t see it, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Was that a lie?”

“Yes.”

“You’re telling me now you did see the gun?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you lie about that?”

“I don’t know. I just… did.”

“Where was the gun when you saw it?”

“Between the two victims, but closer to the victim on the right.”

“Did you touch the gun?”

“No, absolutely not.”

“You’re sure about that?”

“Yes, yes, I am.”

“How did you know it was small caliber?”

“My grandfather was a big gun collector. He had dozens of guns-rifles, shotguns, pistols-every kind you can think of. He taught me all about the different types of guns. I could tell from looking at the gun in the barn that it was probably a twenty-two.”

Dantzler nodded. “This is good, Greg. See how much smoother things go when you tell the truth?”

“You’ll want to stay on this path,” Milt said from behind. “Don’t stray from it one inch and we’ll all get along fine.”

“When we first spoke,” Dantzler continued, “you told me you were only in the barn for a minute after Angie went back to the car. That doesn’t square with how Angie remembers it. She claims you were in the barn for ten minutes. Which is it?”

“Well, uh…”

“Come on, Greg,” Milt said. “This is no time to get squirmy on us. Focus on that path I talked about.”

“I would say Angie is closer to being accurate,” Spurlock admitted. “I don’t agree that it was ten minutes, but it was longer than a minute.”

“How long?” Dantzler asked.

“Between five and ten minutes, I would say.”

“All right, Greg, we’re now getting to the heart of the matter. Why did you lie about that?”

Spurlock’s face and neck turned beet red, and his entire body began to tremble. He looked like a man having a seizure or a stroke. His eyes clouded with tears.

“Because I, well, I, uh, sort of touched the bodies,” he finally managed to say. “I know it was stupid, but I did.”

“Why did you touch them?” Milt asked.

“When I bent down next to the bodies, I noticed some money in one of the victim’s jacket. I took it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Milt barked. “How did a numbskull like you ever become a doctor?”

“How much money?” Dantzler said.

“Seven hundred and fifty dollars. It was in a big wad, you know, all rolled up with a rubber band around it. I just… took it.”

“Which victim had the money?”

“They both did. The other victim, the one on the left, had more than six hundred dollars on him. It was in his pants pocket.”

“So, let’s do some accounting here,” Milt said. “You pilfered more than thirteen hundred bucks off two corpses? That’s despicable.”

“I’m sorry, really sorry.”

“You say you ‘noticed’ the money,” Dantzler said. “Is that true, or did you go digging through their pockets and find it?”

“It was in plain view,” Spurlock said. “Like, half in the pocket, half hanging out.”

“Did you also take drugs from the scene?” Milt said.

“No.”

“Plant any?”