‘Your managers at these sites all held you in high regard. They said that you wanted to learn everything about Lincoln and scrutinised security.’
‘I’m sorry, is this supposed to be evidence? That he was a model employee? I feel like you’re just handing us his defence here.’ Turnbecker chuckled and shook her head.
‘If he could just answer the question. I think somebody who was going to rob a cemetery and break into Lincoln sites to deliver us a code of messages about the former president would be exactly the sort of person you’d expect to be having an unhealthy interest in security and in the man himself.’
‘Is that what they called it, Detective Jackson? An unhealthy interest?’
‘It’s what I’m calling it,’ Darnell replied, banging his hand on the table. They all jumped as his palm met the desk, except for the lawyer, who was not fazed.
‘Then I’d be careful what you say as all they said was that he was a great employee at this point. Nobody mentioned unhealthy. I could have you for slander.’
‘Either way there’s a pattern of behaviour here, soaking in all the information regarding the history and site security before disappearing.’
‘I have an interest in Lincoln, I’ve already said that,’ Spabrunt explained. ‘As for my interest in security, that’s always been the case. Did you bother to interview any of my other previous employers? They’d tell you the same thing.’
The room was getting warm and the water was drying up. The lawyer tapped her pen against her empty glass and wiggled her foot. Spabrunt sighed and wiped the perspiration from his head while the detectives looked to each other to determine where they could explore next in their line of questioning.
‘Do you have any more questions for my client?’
‘I do,’ Darnell said. ‘Why did you change your name by deed poll?’
Spabrunt took a deep breath, looked to his lawyer for reassurance before turning back to Darnell.
‘As you know I have a keen eye for history and naturally I learned a lot about slavery on my journey through these sites. I took it upon myself to research my own family tree and I discovered the Burns family name doesn’t have a particularly heroic past. My ancestors kept slaves on a cotton farm in Oklahoma. That was until the family home on the farm was burnt down by the slaves. My family all died besides one child, Patrick Burns, who I was named after. It’s been passed down the generations. The child was taken into the care of another slave-owning ranch.’
Darnell’s eyes widened and turned to Vanessa who was equally astonished to hear this familiar story. A story she had heard once before over dinner whilst away in a motel with her colleague in Indiana. The detective bit his bottom lip.
‘Now as you can appreciate, with my interest in Lincoln and all, the guy who freed the slaves, I wasn’t particularly keen to keep my name given their background. It would’ve only taken one of these history nerds to research my family tree to realise where I’d come from.’
The detective placed his head in his hands. Vanessa called the time to end the interview and placed a hand on her colleague’s shoulder.
‘Can my client go?’ asked Turnbecker.
‘No, not yet,’ Vanessa replied. ‘We’re keeping him in for now while we look into the timelines of Rick’s, or should I say Patrick’s, career history which is far too coincidental to stomach.’
An officer walked in and took Spabrunt and his lawyer out of the interrogation room. As he left, the suspect turned around to Darnell and smirked before the door closed behind him. The detective banged his fist on the table.
‘Damn it!’
‘That was the Burns Farm which your ancestor, Abram, worked on, wasn’t it?’ Vanessa asked and rested her head on his arm.
‘And his wife, Sojourner.’ Darnell nodded. ‘Now we know what happened to the family of the house she torched.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything?’
‘And let him think he’s got one over on me? Fat chance. No, I’m gonna get him good and proper. He’s not getting away with this. If he’s guessed that I’ve got any association with this, he can tell his lawyer to ensure they’ve got a defence prearranged.’
‘I don’t know why he offered up the story behind his name change so freely. It’s like he’s taunting you. How do you think he found out about that story? He must be close to someone who knows you, or he’s researched your own family tree? It’s so easy with those ancestry websites these days.’
‘I don’t know but I’ll find out. Maybe he researched the slaves who worked on the farm and their decedents and figured he’d get close to the person closest to him and mess with them. We’ll find out though. His computer should give us a good enough claim over that if we manage to get a warrant to seize it.’
‘Well now we have not only the link to all the sites but a link to you too.’ Vanessa spoke almost giddily. Darnell turned to her and grunted with less optimism.
‘I just never realised just how personal this was…’
Chapter 20
Darnell pulled himself together and left the interrogation room with his colleague in tow. As they walked down the corridor, their boss exited his office and double-took at the detectives.
‘Commander Hill! We need to talk to you,’ Darnell said with excitement ringing through his voice. His heart raced as he considered the breakthrough they had achieved.
‘I need to talk to you too.’ He opened his door and allowed Darnell to enter but stepped in the way of the frame before Vanessa could slip past. ‘Just Detective Jackson today, Vanessa.’
Vanessa stepped back and grabbed her chest as if she was wounded. Once again her input didn’t
