The Madison Files (Vol. 4 - Case Closed) (2 page)

Trent pulled up to the station with a sigh; neither he nor Madison saying a word the whole ride. They exited in the same silence and entered the station. He took hold of her hand, gently, and guided her into his office, afraid she had plans to run off to her desk or the bathroom. She followed him into his office, waiting as he closed the door and moved over to his desk. “Is something the matter?” she asked.

He arched a brow. “I just assumed you would want to be alone,” he answered.

“Not really the way to respond to someone wanting to be alone,” she stated. He shook his head some.

“The best way to move on is to stay busy, keep distracted, and before you know it, you won’t even be thinking about it,” he responded. She stared at him a moment before shaking her head.

“Is that code for ‘we have work to do’?” she asked. He chuckled a bit, leaning back in his seat and lacing his fingers together behind his head.

“Partially,” he answered. “We need to build up our case against Liam before we get his statement. If we can get a warrant to search his home, we may find some evidence against him, but we have to have a clear link that will give us reason to petition the judge.”

Madison nodded, slowly taking her seat across from him at his desk. She kept her gaze down, at the desk, thinking about it all. All they really had was Jasper’s word against Liam, which she figured he would find a loophole to, and his name on the memos of the victims, which he would find a way out of too probably. He’d already mentioned a couple of ways.

“Well, can’t we just say that there are drugs linked to the case, the victims had his name on their bank payments, and the man who confessed to the crime also confessed to knowing him?” she asked. Trent rocked his head from shoulder to shoulder before sitting straight in his chair and typing on the computer.

“The problem is, Jasper never directly named Liam. He told you Liam’s story, but not his name. However, we may still be able to use the story and the connection,” he explained, still typing at the computer. She nodded slightly, leaning forward a bit to catch a glimpse of the computer screen. It was hard to see anything with the angle of the machine, so she simply leaned back in her seat again, watching him a moment instead.

He remained silent, searching through a few different databases in hopes of finding anything against Liam. The man didn’t seem to have any flaws, at least none he could find; no speeding tickets, no written warnings, nothing. He sighed and leaned back in his seat again. He managed to keep a good case against himself, and with the lawyer job now, it would be even harder to bring him in – whether or not he chose to defend himself.

His gaze shifted to the phone.

“We may have to wait and see if Mister Amsel shows up and what he says in his statement,” he stated. If the man mentioned any names, he’d find the person. If he mentioned any businesses, he would be there. If there was any chance at a witness or a lie, he would unmask it all. “This may actually be the hardest case I’ve been on,” he answered.

Madison’s brows rose and her mind went blank before she looked up to him. “The hardest?”

Trent nodded. “Most cases are solid. There’s a murder, you scope out a few areas, and you bring them in. It rarely lasts longer than a couple of days. Those that last longer, are usually still pretty clear cut,” he explained. He studied her a moment. “I’m sure you’ve seen that in the cases you’ve been on.”

She nodded. “Most of what Drew and I handled were thefts, but even those tend to be easy. Either they’re hitting up homes in the same area or it’s random and there’s usually some DNA left that we can just hit and catch the guy,” she answered.

“Murders don’t happen very often, despite what the news says.” He chuckled a bit. “They usually just report on the same thing several days in a row, making it seem bigger than it is.” She nodded again and let out a small sigh. Of course this case wasn’t that easy, and of course it involved her ex. A man she trusted. She was tired of those thoughts, though, repeating in her mind about how she had trusted him and what their plans were… It was all over; she wished she could just let it go.

But that was always easier said than done.

Trent studied Madison; he could tell she was thinking about him and the whole situation surrounding him. She wasn’t really hard to read, especially with the brows that curved slightly upward into a pout and the heavy frown that soiled her lips. He almost sighed, but didn’t want to express how it bothered him. Despite their previously made agreement, it felt wrong to him to get involved in the situation outside of the professional aspect. If she wanted his help, his advice or his comfort, she would come to him, or so he saw it. He’d pushed his way in the best he could, and it seemed to get nowhere. In short, he was all out of ideas.

He stood from his desk, the sigh finally escaping from his lips. Madison looked up at him and studied him a moment before also rising from her seat. “Are we just waiting now?” she asked, following him as he headed for the door of his office. He nodded.

“It’s about all we can do,” he answered. They didn’t have much to go off of, as they’d already gone over in his office. It was just a matter of waiting on his statement and getting Jasper’s statement. He headed down a hallway, wondering if the man had already been taken to the prison or if he was still in holding at the station. Madison continued to follow after him.

She glanced about the hall, a path she’d traveled on several occasions on many different cases. The holding cells rarely held anyone, however. Most of the suspects were held at the adjoining police station or were taken straight to the prisons. She never saw how long someone was held, though she assumed it was usually short, as they rarely stayed in the cell for longer than a day.

“Where are we going?” she asked, her eyes running over the window of one of the empty cells. She looked back to Trent, a few steps ahead of her.

“To see if Jasper is still around. I want a copy of his statement when we get Liam’s,” he answered. She nodded slightly, noting a change in his tone. It sounded almost personal, with a hint of anger and determination. She knew he wanted this case solved as much her, after the death of Drew, but it seemed almost a bit more than that now. Perhaps it was simply because the case was such a challenge.

“Do you think they can be used against each other?” Madison asked. Trent shrugged. They were going to have to thoroughly question Jasper about his relationship with Liam and ask him about whatever story Liam presented.

“We really just need more evidence,” he answered. They were going to have to ride on the possibility of getting a warrant to search Liam’s home. Though he may not keep the drugs there, he probably had the profits and possible lists of clients. He came to a stop outside of one cell, and looked into the window. Inside, on a small cot, sat Jasper. The other man’s gaze lifted to the window and he grinned a bit.

“Are we going in?” Madison asked. Trent shook his head.

“We’ll let Billy handle him now,” he answered and looked back to Madison. He eyed her a moment, almost surprised at how composed she really was. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail without any single hair out of place, her eyes weren’t red or puffy, and her make-up wasn’t smeared or messed up. Nothing about her uniform was out of place either. It caused him to smile.

He looked away before she could notice and started back down the hall. She followed him, keeping her gaze back on the cell before pausing. “Wait,” she called out to him and turned around again, opening the door to the holding cell. “Who hired you?” she asked.

“I already told you,” he answered. She paused again and looked to Trent, mouthing ‘phone’ and ‘recorder’. He hesitated a moment, not sure what she was planning, but reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“You never told us who it was,” she insisted. Trent put his phone onto voice recording and put it back into his pocket. Jasper chuckled slightly.

“Who did you go to see after I told you?” he asked. She shook her head.

“I need a name, otherwise you don’t get an easier sentence during your prosecution.” Jasper fell silent a moment, studying the two before slowly grinning.

“I gave you all I could,” he responded. Madison almost made a small face as she stood in the doorway but refrained. She didn’t want him to win; she wanted to hear it from his mouth, that Liam had hired him.

“What if I told you we talked to someone who could prove you did it by your own will?” she asked. Jasper eyed her, trying to gauge whether or not she was telling the truth. He finally shrugged and leaned back on the cot, his fingers lacing together under his head.

“Prove it,” he answered. She stared at him, not sure if her tactics were wrong or he was just some strange man who didn’t fall for them, though she supposed it was the latter. With the difficulty they’d had ever bringing him in and ever building a case against him, he couldn’t be that easy to fool.

“Very well,” she answered with a small shrug. “Your choice.” She turned, allowing the door to close behind her before letting out a sigh. Trent stopped the recording on his phone and smiled a bit at her.

“Nice try,” he answered. He hoped it would work, but he didn’t let his hopes get up. Jasper was a clever and confident man, not so easily fooled by their usual tricks. Madison shook her head; to her, it was only a nice try if it succeeded, otherwise it was a failed attempt. They started down the hallway again, both of them hoping that Liam would soon show up for his statement.

When they entered the main room, however, there was no sign of him and no one approaching them with any news. Trent let out a sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. “I could be getting lunch,” he muttered. He found it highly rude, making them wait like this. He glanced to his watch and then to Madison. “Let’s do it.”

She stared at him. “Do… lunch?” she asked, her brows furrowing slightly. He nodded and started toward the door. “But what if he shows?” she asked. He shrugged.

“He said he had to finish work, didn’t he? That gives us a few hours. They can call us if he shows anyway. There’s nothing else to do here and I’m not skipping my lunch for the likes of him,” he muttered. Madison couldn’t help her small laugh and shook her he head.

“Who knew you had such a large stomach?” He glanced back at her and stared a moment before chuckling and shrugging.

“My father said not long after I was born, I started crying and nothing would shut me up until I was fed. And right afterward I fell asleep.” Madison shook her head some, still smiling.

“Food it is,” she muttered.

*****

At thirty past six, Trent felt further than annoyed, almost angry. He was ready to go home, grab his jacket and just leave, but he was forcing himself to wait, even after all the others had gone home. Sure, a few cops remained in the adjoined station and Billy came around to speak to him a while ago, but he still wondered if Liam was going to show or if he just finding an excuse to buy himself some time.

He stood up from the chair he was seat in and went to grab a cup of, now cold, coffee when the door opened. Immediately, his attention turned to it, only to see Madison in the doorway with a brown bag from a fast food restaurant. “I figured if you were here I could bring you food and if you weren’t, I could have premade breakfast or lunch tomorrow,” she stated, stepping further in and handing him the bag. “Still no show?” she asked.

Trent nodded and eagerly opened the bag, grabbing a handful of fries. “Not a call either, I doubt he’s going to show,” he stated and took a bite of the fries. Madison sighed a bit and sat down at the closest desk. Her gaze fell, not really taking in anything in particular. It disappointed her that Liam didn’t show; she needed it to end, she needed the closure. But she also thought better of him still; even if he had actually done all of this, part of him had to be true.

Maybe she was wrong; maybe she was just being hopeful.

“Can we put a warrant out for his arrest?” she asked. It seemed like a long shot to her, what with only a man’s word that someone whose story matched the life of this man, but it seemed at least a question that should be asked. Trent, of course, shook his head and ate a few more fries.

“There’s nothing we really can do unless Jasper actually says his name,” he answered. And of course, Jasper wasn’t going to blatantly betray the man. It would be a bad move, and it was rather a good move to only discreetly hand in his boss. “About all we could do is watch Liam, but he’d already be on to us and would probably lay low for a while.”

Madison nodded and looked to the door; it would be so much simpler if he would just come in and give a false statement that they could prove wrong. She supposed that would make the job much too easy though, and it wouldn’t be in Liam style. Everything about him always seemed so naturally put together and perfect, such a flaw, such an easy way in, would be hard to get out of him.

She stood up again. “Well, I think we should go home,” she stated with a shrug. “I’m ready to just curl up and relax and I put new sheets on your bed.” He paused, halfway through a bite of his burger, before finishing it and almost grinning. He hadn’t forgotten that he was staying with her, but he didn’t really expect her to acknowledge it so openly and freely.

“I think relaxing in bed sounds amazing,” he answered after swallowing his food. He had enough waiting; if the man didn’t show up tomorrow, he would simply make another call on him and go question Jasper some more himself. Madison gave him a small nod before they headed out of the station and off toward Madison’s home.

*****