Authors: Melinda Parker
“We’ll go there, then. They are a true circle of friends. Supporting each other in everything.”
“So Cindy was Carrie’s accountant and Tucker is their fitness trainer. I wonder if Cindy is everyone’s accountant.”
“Probably.” Mark said. “But I’m not sure that’s relevant to the case at this time. Something to keep in mind, though. What else can you tell me about Tucker?”
The GPS told Mark to pull out on the main street and turn right in a quarter of a mile.
Tucker’s gym was placed just outside the main building of the mall, surrounded by restaurants that looked good to defeat the purpose of his business. They looked in through the huge glass window-walls. There were three women inside, lifting small weights and doing lunges. Tucker was standing off to the side, watching, his arms crossed over his chest, yelling for them to “keep going”, “just three more” and other encouraging words.
He was a short man who had obviously been body-building for some time. His chest was big and bulky. He had a shaved head and a long scar that ran from his left eye down over his cheekbone to his chin.
“Let’s see what Tucker has to say about this business.” Mark pulled open the door and they went in.
Tucker stopped what he was doing when he saw them. They both took note of his face, which seemed to steel itself right before their eyes. His spine straightened. He gave them the impression he might know what was coming.
“Tucker Campbell?”
He walked toward them with his hand extended. “Hello. I take it you are not here for fitness training. How can I help you?”
Mark introduced himself and Ben. “What can you tell us, sir, about Carrie Wellington?”
“Carrie?” Tucker looked off to the side. “Well, she was a great author. And a good friend. She helped me get this place going. I am grateful to her for that.”
Mark glanced at Ben and then back to Tucker. “Do you know what’s happened to her? I notice you used the past tense when you spoke of her.”
Tucker lowered his head and his face flushed. “Okay, well…Cindy kind of called me to tell me what happened.”
“I see.” Mark replied in a slightly cold voice. “And do you know of anything that might help our investigation?”
“Nah. Carrie was a great woman. We’ve been friends for years.”
“How did you become friends with her? Are you a high school friend, like Cindy?”
“No, she invested in my gym, as I said. It wasn’t going very well then.” He glanced at the ladies who were working out. “Business is kind of slow right now, too. I could use a break.”
“Do you expect to get something from Carrie’s will?”
Tucker’s eyes snapped to Mark’s face when he asked the question. Mark raised his eyebrows.
“I…I don’t know. I…could use it. But I wouldn’t kill her for it. I doubt she’d give me that much.”
Ben’s phone buzzed and he picked it up, holding it to his ear and walking away from Mark and Tucker. “Hello?”
Tucker was watching Ben and Mark took a step toward him to get his attention. “How about the others in your circle? Any chance they might have had something to do with this?”
Tucker clenched his jaw. “I don’t think so. I mean, Jackie is moving away, Melissa is, like, this big Christian or something, and Cindy is her best friend.”
“You can’t think of any reason why someone would want to harm Carrie, then?”
“No, I can’t.”
Ben listened for a moment. “Oh really?” He listened some more. “All right, we’ll be right there.” He hung up and walked back to where Mark and Tucker were standing. “We need to get back to the station.”
“All right. Mr. Campbell, if you think of anything that might help us find the killer, please let us know.”
They pushed open the doors and went back out into the sunlight.
“That was forensics.” Ben said, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “Apparently, they were able to pull some stills from the security camera at the Hayes place. The video shows someone getting into the back seat of Carrie’s car.”
“You’re kidding!” Mark felt a bit of a thrill run through him. “Did they get a picture of this man’s face?”
“How did you know it was a man?” Ben asked.
Mark smiled at him. “I’m sure you said at the beginning that it was a man we were looking for. You have good insight. I trust what you say.”
“Well, thank you, sir.” Ben pulled in a satisfied, proud breath. “Anyway, they did get a blurry photo of the man and it has been enhanced a few times so that it is a bit clearer. We should get over there right now and get a copy.”
“Yes. We will show it to Melissa and see if it’s the man she was talking about. Then maybe we can narrow down a name and reason for this travesty.”
“Sounds good, sir.”
“Call Melissa and tell her not to leave. Tell her we are coming back later or tomorrow morning.”
“All right.” Ben got back on his phone and did as he was told.
“Did you notice that Mr. Campbell was not in the least shocked to find out about Carrie’s murder? He didn’t ask any questions about it and showed no emotion.”
“Yes, sir, I noticed. Maybe he’d gotten it out by the time we got there?”
“Maybe.” Mark sounded doubtful. “Maybe. He also made a phone call before we were even out of the door.”
“Oh, did he? Well, Carrie Wellington was so well known, sir, and she was known as someone who was loved by all. It would seem to me that her closest friends might react with a little more emotion.”
“So who’s lying then? Cindy? Melissa? Tucker?”
Mark looked at him. “All of them? I don’t know yet. We need more clues.”
Mark took the stills from the technician and stared at them. He was impressed. The photo had obviously been blown up from the original version but it was quite clear. “This is good, Shane. You are good at your job, aren’t you?”
“Thank you, sir. As you can see, he was looking all around him before he got in the car. On the video, he walks past the car twice, kind of circling the block. We think he was deciding whether or not he wanted to get in. Finally, he did. Before he did, he looked toward the camera, not seeing it, and got in. We didn’t notice that he looked directly at the camera at all. We don’t think he knew it was there.”
“That’s a lucky break for us then, isn’t it?” Mark said. He looked over at Ben, who nodded as he took the photos from Mark. “Thank you for your hard work, Shane. We will take these copies now, if you don’t mind.”
“They’re all yours, Inspector. Good luck.”
“Yes.”
Ben gave Shane a nod as he went past, which was returned. Shane swiveled back around to face his computer, leaning forward to look at something on his screen.
They were seated at their desks, looking through documents from Carrie’s house when another technician from the forensics lab approached Mark with a clipboard and some papers.
“Inspector, here’s the documents you requested. The fingerprints found in the car were not in AFIS. The perpetrator hasn’t been fingerprinted. And the murder weapon has been narrowed down to a guitar string. Specifically the ‘E’ string.”
Mark frowned. “A guitar string?”
“Yes, sir. From an acoustic guitar.”
Mark and Ben looked at each other.
Ben shook his head. “I’ve got nothing, sir.”
Mark shook his head. “Me neither. But we have a face and the murder weapon. That’s a good thing. Did you find anything useful in the papers from Carrie’s lockbox?”
“Well, it looks like a good majority of her money is going to Cindy Lockhart. She did leave a small amount for Melissa and Tucker. Nothing for Jackie, who seems to be the odd man out here. Or woman as the case may be.”
“Hmmm.” Mark contemplated Ben’s words.
“I still can’t get Jackie on the phone. And Tucker said she was moving away. She may have already gone.”
“Keep calling. We need to at least find her.”
“Yes, sir.”
They walked up the steps quickly. Mark lifted his hand but before he could knock, the big door opened and Melissa beckoned to them. “Come in, inspectors! I was just about to call you and saw you coming up the porch. I think I know where I saw the man in the bar before.”
“Before you say anything, Ms. Gilmore, please have a look at this photograph. Is this the man you saw in the bar?”
Melissa took the photos from him. Her eyes opened wide and she looked up at him with a fearful look. “That is him! Is he…is he getting into her car? Oh!” She suddenly looked angry, which did not mix well with the joyful look that usually resided naturally on her face. Her small eyes narrowed and she gestured with the photographs. “Please…come in. You have to see this.”
She had apparently been searching her own house for something because when they went into the den where they had been before, there were books and papers pulled out of drawers and spread around everywhere.
“Excuse the mess.” She said. “I was trying to find my scrapbook. You wouldn’t believe how much paper and books I’ve collected over the years. You’d think I was the writer! But I just love to read, so I have all of this here. There’s Carrie’s other works.” She pointed proudly to a shelf high on the wall that displayed all seven of her friend’s children’s books and the three more recent sci-fi books along with the autobiography. “This is what I wanted to show you. Look!” She placed the photo down next to the scrapbook and pointed at a newspaper clipping. It showed two men standing in front of Tucker’s newly remodeled gym, their arms around each other’s shoulders.
“His name is Luke Hayes. I’m almost certain he’s the man who Carrie stopped to talk to in the bar.”
Both men leaned over and scanned the two photos. They had to agree that it looked to be the same man. “So he knows Tucker, does he? We have a name now. And a connection.”
Melissa looked at them with a satisfied look on her round face.
“What is that?” Ben looked closely at the picture. “Look at this, sir.”
Mark leaned over the scrapbook to peer into the photo. Behind the two men sat a guitar case.
Mark and Ben looked at each other. Somebody was a guitar player.
“Do you have any idea why he would want to harm Carrie? Why a friend of Tucker’s would do something like this?” Mark asked urgently.
Melissa shook head. “I have no idea.”
“All right, thank you for clarifying.”
“Will you be able to find him? Have you talked to Tucker yet?”
“I’m hoping so, yes.” Mark looked at Ben. “Time to do some more research. We need to find this man.”
“I’m so glad. If it was Luke, he needs to be put behind bars.” Melissa looked sad. “I will miss her so much. She was such a light. To everyone she met. I just don’t understand it.”
“Do you know if Tucker and Luke knew each other in school?”
“Tucker didn’t go to our high school. We didn’t meet him until after. They might have.”
“Thank you for your help, Ms. Gilmore. We’ll be in touch.”
“Anything I can do to help, Inspector. Really.”
They headed back to the station to do more research.
“We should be able to search for him in the Department of Motor Vehicles database, sir.” Ben said. “We’ll track him down and see what he’s up to.”
“Yes, Ben, that’s the plan. We need to do it as quick as possible before he realizes he’s been found out. If Cindy called Tucker, she may have called Luke, as well. If they knew each other.”
“It sounds like the three of them were in on it together. But I don’t understand why.”
“This seems to have something to do with her investments. What we know so far keeps coming back to that.”
“Yes, sir.” Ben was still shaking his head. “It’s such a shame.” He murmured. “Carrie
Wellington
.”
“You sound like you were a pretty big fan, Keyes.” Mark said in a curious voice.
“I was, sir.” Ben gave him a small grin. “I have all of her sci-fi books. Never had the need for the children’s books but I like the way she wrote and was told her squirrel books were cute and entertaining.”
“I’m sure they were.”
“I was at a few of her book signings. I have a copy of her autobiography and, as I said, we had her sign that, as well.”
Mark nodded. “Well then, it should give you great satisfaction to catch her murderer.”
“Yes, sir, I will feel a lot of satisfaction, I can tell you that.”
Back at the station, they went immediately to the research division and approached one of the officers at a computer desk. “Do you have time to do some searching for us today, Drew?” Mark asked in a friendly voice, speaking to the woman. She looked up at him.
“Of course, Mark. Always have time for you. What can I do?”
“Much appreciated. If you would, please search for Luke Hayes in the DMVD. He looks like this.”
Mark set the photo down next to the woman. She glanced at it as she typed on the keyboard. She moved her mouse around the screen, scrolling down through a list of names.
“Well, if he’s from this area, there are 13 men known as ‘Luke Hayes’ in the Valley. I’ll bring them each up and we can look at the pictures and compare them. Do you have an approximate age? Would you say…” She looked at the picture. “Between 25 and 40?”
“I’d say that sounds right.” Mark nodded, leaning over her shoulder to look at the screen. Ben did the same on the other side. Drew narrowed the search down.
“Okay,” she mumbled. “Looks like he’s got brown hair. We can narrow that down. I’d say he’s no less than 150, no more than 200, right?”
“Agreed.” Mark nodded, watching her work.
“That leaves four active licenses in Clements Valley area for Luke Hayes.” She clicked on the first one and immediately clicked off of it. He was a black man. “Okay second one…” They all stared at the face for a moment, trying to see if he looked like the semi-blurry photo. “I don’t know about you two,” Drew said. “But I don’t think this is him.”
“Try the next one.”
When she pulled up the third driver’s license, they knew they had the right Luke Hayes.
“There he is.” Ben was washed over with a feeling of anger. He knew this had to be the man they were looking for. “Let’s go get him, sir.” He said anxiously.
Mark held up one hand. “Just having his address isn’t going to let us get him, Keyes. We have to be smart about this. The man committed a murder. He’s going to know the jig is up soon enough, let’s not go barging in with guns a-blazing and light a-flashing.”
Ben clenched his jaw and his fists at the same time. He almost wanted to punch the computer screen for showing the face of Carrie’s murderer.
“How do we go about it then, sir?” He asked.
“What else can your computer tell us about this Luke Hayes of Belmont Ave, Clements?” Mark asked Drew. Drew looked over her shoulder at him.
“I can find out where he works and his credit history. It would take a background check for any further information and that takes time.”
“Give us what you have.” Mark said.
They were sitting in the car, heading to the elementary school where Luke Hayes worked as a crossing guard. According to the computer, he worked there four days a week with Fridays off. He owned his home so he must have had other employment. After a check on his social media usage, Ben notified Mark that he also taught classical guitar to young people ages 6 to 18. He had a few adult clients. He had many friends on social media and lots of followers but rarely got on the page other than to post pictures of his students performing in shows or to announce an upcoming classical guitar show.
“If we are careful, he won’t notice that we are policemen until we already have him cornered. Otherwise, he may run.”
“I hope he runs.” Ben sounded angry. Mark gave him a side glance and grinned.
“Suddenly you are angry at the killer.”
“I’m angry at all killers of innocents, sir. I just happen to want to beat this one up, too.”
Mark chuckled. “Well, rein in your temper, son. We will do this by the book.”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s almost time for the students to be let out. If there are children around, we will need to be even more careful. Listen, I’ve had a thought, go ahead and call for one of the officers nearby to come and act as crossing guard, just to make sure there are no traffic snafus when we pick Luke up. I don’t want any little children getting hurt.”
“Yes, sir.” Ben dialed his phone and put in the order. “There is one just around the corner, sir. He will wait until he gets the call to come to the area.”
“No lights.”
“Yes sir, I didn’t even have to tell him. He said he would be discreet.”
They were at the school quickly, moving through the traffic slowly as parents of small children who were car riders were being picked up. Mark pulled the car onto a side road next to where Luke was standing in the middle of the intersection, blowing a whistle and directing traffic into and out of the school.
They both got out slowly and pretended they were preoccupied talking to each other as they walked back toward the school. Ben pulled up his phone and texted the officer that was waiting to come to the area right then.
When they saw the police car pull up on the other side of the road from where they had parked, they looked at Luke.
Luke was still waving his hands in the air to tell the drivers where to go but his eyes were on the pair of them. Then they moved to the police officer, who had stepped out of his patrol car and was also looking at him.
He suddenly dropped his whistle and starting running down the middle of the street.
“Oh joy!” Ben called out and took off after the suspect. Mark was just behind him, gesturing for the officer to pick up the slack in the middle of the intersection where people were trying to watch the action without running over any children. The officer nodded and took his place, blowing his own whistle and getting the attention of the people around him.
Luke didn’t get far. Ben tackled him swiftly and brought him to the ground, pulling his arms around his back and cuffing him. He read him his Miranda rights and leaned down to growl in his ear. “I’m arresting you for the murder of Carrie Wellington, Mr. Hayes. What do you have to say for yourself? How could you kill someone like her?”
“Someone like her!” Luke spit out. “She was nothin’ but a liar! A liar and a cheat!”
Ben jerked Luke to his feet and pushed him roughly so that he would get out of the street and onto the sidewalk. “Carrie Wellington was a fine woman!”
“She was a cheat and a liar! She made promises and then went back on them!”
“That’s no reason to kill her. Let’s go!”
They sat across from Luke in the interrogation room. He was giving them a stubborn stare, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“You’re not gonna just pin this on me.” He growled. “You want to know the truth? I’ll tell you the truth. Those friends, ha!” He spit the word out. “
Friends
! You need to go talk to Tucker and Cindy again. You need to find out the truth from them.”
“We have you here.” Mark said, calmly. “Why do we need them? What is your connection to them?”
“I’m not going down alone, cop. I’m not gonna be the only one in jail.”
“Right now we have evidence that points only to you. Why should we believe anything you say?” Ben asked.
“Why would I lie now? You got me! I’m just not taking this rap by myself!”
“Then tell us what we want to know.”
“Well, maybe I can get a reduced sentence or something!”
“We can certainly see what we can do about that.” Mark remained calm. “But I’m not the prosecuting attorney and can’t make promises like that. Your cooperation will certainly help you out though. Judges like to see cooperation.”