“Learn anything?”
“Nothing you need to know.” He taps his pen. “Where were you on the Wednesday a week before the vigil?”
Emphasis on the ‘you.’ He’s checking my movements. Wednesday before last — the day before the service where Victoria turned up missing.
That must be when she died.
Tap, tap, tap. “I’m waiting.”
“I’m thinking. Let’s see — Wednesday, that was the day I first came in to the station to talk to you guys.”
The pen stills. His face is expressionless, but the flicker of his eyes…he’s thinking back himself, remembering.
“Yeah,” I say, “I came in to chat with you guys. Voluntarily. And then —” And then I was so upset I went to a bar.
“And then?”
I shrug and stretch. “I went home, and later to the Portway Tavern for a burger. That’s where I met Claire Chandler for the first time. She told me about the Church of the Spirit. Suggested I come to a service. You can check with her. She’ll remember.”
“Good. Because we will.”
We engage in a staring match. I can feel the hard edge of the chair under my thighs, hear the distant patter of rain on the roof. The HVAC begins its cycle and blows a fresh gust of dusty air into the room.
“What else were you doing yesterday?”
Where to start? “I talked to Victoria Harkness’s mother.” I raise my hand before he can start a tirade. “She called me. I interviewed Seth Takahashi, before you guys dragged him in. That must be why Detective Candide showed up at my door and brought me back here.” I look around. Had it only been yesterday? “When she let me go, that’s when I walked down to the church and talked to Daniel Chandler.” I give him times of day, as near as I can guess. I have the recording of my conversation, but I want to keep that up my sleeve.
“You were apparently the last person to see Chandler alive.”
“Except for the killer,” I remind him.
Tap, tap, tap.
Finally, Olafson rubs his eyes with thick, callused fingers. “Get out of here, Audrey. Don’t enter any crime scenes. Don’t interfere with us. And come forward if you find anything regarding either of these cases. Don’t play a lone hand.” He glares. “Understand?”
“Yes, Detective. I understand.” It’s all bluster, and I’ve heard the subtext. They’ve got nothing, and he doesn’t want to lose a thread, however thin. He needs my help, whether he wants to acknowledge it or not.
“Stop at the front desk and have Larsen set you up to get fingerprinted. For elimination purposes.”
It’s a reasonable request, but all the same I feel the walls closing in a little.
Still, leaving the station, I walk a little easier, with head held high. I’m not going to be arrested. At least, not today.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MY GOOD MOOD is tempered by the fact that I have a two-mile walk in the rain to get back to my car, which is still parked at the church. This is getting to be a habit.
The visit to the cop shop has reminded me about my previous profession. The methodical plodding. The tedious ticking of boxes. The reports, the forms, the paperwork, the procedure, all intended to boost the prosecutor’s case when it came to a trial. I haven’t been doing any of that. I’m not used to working alone without the scaffolding and structure of the police force. Other eyes to examine findings and other minds to bounce ideas off of. But. No excuses. I’m a team of one; even more important to regroup and rethink.
At home, I shower, change, and head down to the incident room in the basement. I’ve posted pictures of the suspects and victim; now I add Daniel Chandler’s to the collage. I use string to illustrate connections between victims and suspects, multiple strands to indicate stronger ties. I tie one between Morganstern and North, between Morganstern and Takahashi. I make the last one a double.
Finally, I sit with my back to the wall, laptop on my thighs, and begin to type. Collate my notes on each of my interviews. Make lists of bullet points: known facts, things I have to confirm, questions to follow up on.
SETH TAKAHASHI (minister at Riverside Christian)
Motive for VH: didn’t want Victoria to lead people astray.
Opportunity: unknown, but talked to her before Thursday when she invited him to come to the service and a discussion after.
Motive for DC: blackmail?
Opportunity: the police picked him up on the same day Daniel was killed. Was he in custody at the time of death? If not, would he have committed murder the same day? Seems unlikely.
Connections: VH - both part of the faith community; DC - unknown
Remarks: The police let him go. Meaning, there’s no evidence to charge him.
JASON MORGANSTERN (welder and aspiring artist)
Motive for VH: thwarted affection? No evidence, just a guess.
Opportunity: unknown. He might have met up with her, Claire says V. worked with him to find a job and pursue art. V. probably trusted him.
Motive for DC: blackmail?
Opportunity: unknown. but the church was open.
Connections: VH - congregant at her church; DC - unknown.
Remarks: did he steal a welding torch? Why? Is it relevant? Eric North was teaching him about being an artist. Could this have inspired him to use Eric’s picture as place to kill the pastor?
ERIC NORTH (professional artist/painter)
Motive for VH: unknown, did she reject his advances?
Opportunity: unknown, but she probably trusted him
Motive for DC: he sold Eric’s artwork? No evidence, but the picture is missing. Blackmail?
Opportunity: unknown, but the church was open
Connections: VH: knew her as a child; DC: unknown
Remarks: his painting showed VH at the kill site.
DANIEL CHANDLER (bookkeeper for Church of the Spirit)
Motive for VH: unknown. Related to money? Does he get control of the insurance proceeds? Whatever, if he’s a cheater and she’s beautiful and vulnerable, that seems a recipe for trouble.
Opportunity: they often worked together, it would be natural for him to set up a meeting with her. Was the
