Chapter Ten

The Interrogation

The police were at my door in twenty-five minutes, taking notes about the previous events of the day. I told them about Cortney Richardson and her search for her husband.

Officer Hacker-Weissman was there that day, sitting on the couch while drinking a cup of coffee and taking notes.

"This Cortney character sounds like she may be a suspect, Mr. Tanner. We need to question her," she replied.

"Suspect? How can she be a suspect if she's looking for her husband?" I asked, looking confused and puzzled.

"Well, she may be lying about her husband, Mr. Tanner. Perhaps she really does know where her husband is and is trying to smuggle him out of the country or something? Harboring a criminal is against the law, Mr. Tanner. Anyone else, Officer Miller?" she asked, turning to an African-American man.

"We have to talk to Denise Frazier, just so she can confirm that this is the man she saw kidnap Mr. Tanner's daughter. And the Richardson children, maybe. And perhaps Mr. Richardson's old employees in Kenner might be some crucial sources," Officer Miller told her.

Officer Hacker-Weissman nodded. "Okay. And bring that photo of Mr. Richardson when we visit the Fraziers. Miller, can you call either the matriarch or the patriarch of the Frazier residence? We don't want to scare Miss Frazier if we just pop up, unannounced. She's very crucial to the case, but she's still a little girl."

She turned to me. "Mr. Tanner, it seems this case might be solved sooner than we think," she said to me.

"I hope it is. It'll help me sleep better knowing Michelle's killer will be brought to justice," I replied.

Officer Hacker-Weissman gave me a sympathetic look. "I, personally, would like to see this person brought to justice myself. What this person did to your daughter was very sick. Michelle didn't deserve to die like she did, but there's a reason for everything. Think about it, okay?"

I nodded. "I will," I said.

Officer Hacker-Weissman patted me on the back and walked out of the house along with the other officers.

Joey closed the door and stood next to me near the stairs. He blew out a breath.

"Do you think this is the man?" Joey asked.

I shrugged. "Could be," I replied.

Joey rubbed my back. "This is gonna be hard," he said.

I nodded in agreement, my face growing pale.

I was worried about Denise. I was hoping the officers weren't too harsh or persistent with her.

"I think we should go with them to the questioning," I said, rubbing my now sweaty hands on my pants.

"Officer Hacker-Weissman! Wait!" I yelled, running towards her police cruiser.

Officer Hacker-Weissman was talking to another officer before she looked up at me.

"Mr. Tanner, I wanted to talk to you about the case. The SFPD have decided to hire a murder detective to take special care of this case. The detective is a female who recently cracked down a murder of a seventeen-year-old boy in Florida two years ago. The crime was committed fifteen years before in the back of a bowling alley parking lot. I won't go into specific details about how she solved the crime, but I will tell you that she is more skilled than we are. Her name is Lindsay Wu and she's Bakersfield, California. She graduated from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and she majored in Law and Forensic Study. She will help you and you'll sleep much better at night, I'm sure."

She gave me a sympathetic glance. "You look very tired, Mr. Tanner," she replied.

She was right. I was. Every night, I was having horrible nightmares. Or when I wasn't having nightmares, I was up half the night, pondering on how Michelle died. What were her last words? Was she alone when she died? How was she killed?

And most importantly: Who killed her? And why?

Just thinking about it made my stomach turn. I clenched my fists.

"The SFPD will still be of assistance to Detective Wu, so don't worry if the other officers or I won't be around, because that won't be the case. The police chief phoned Wu an hour ago. She's waiting at the station and we called the Fraziers to let us have permission to talk to Denise. Denise and her family are waiting for us."

"I would like to come to the station. Just so I can watch over Denise. I'm worried about her."

Officer Hacker-Weissman nodded at me gravely. "Alright, Mr. Tanner. You can come. What about you, Mr. Gladstone?"

Joey shook his head. "No. That's okay, Officer. I'll be waiting right here. Claire and the girls should be here soon."

"Okay. I'll be back," I told him. "Tell them where I am."

Joey patted my shoulder. "Danny, it'll be okay. I know it," he replied.

I didn't answer. I just nodded to him and let Officer Hacker-Weissman lead me to a nearby police car.

I was inside the station, with Officer Miller and Officer Hacker-Weissman, inside the small investigation room. The room was painted a dark gray with only about six chairs around each square corner of the room. Right in the middle of the room, were a large square table and a small lamp in the middle of the table. And that was it.

Nervously, I took out a package of Kleenex and started wiping the table with it.

"Mr. Tanner, what are you doing?" Officer Hacker-Weissman asked.

I quickly tucked the tissue in my pocket. "Sorry, Officer. I'm just a little nervous," I explained.

"Don't worry. Everything'll be fine," she assured me.

I wasn't too convinced, though.

Ten minutes later, Denise showed up with her parents. Denise looked scared and worried. Her parents gripped an arm tightly around her, as if she were going to be grabbed away by the police.

Denise waved at me weakly. I waved back.

A minute later, a skinny, dark-haired Asian woman dressed in a grey suit and black flats appeared. She quickly spotted me and walked over to me.

"Mr. Tanner? It's nice to me you. I'm Detective Lindsay Wu, the one who's going to help solve the mystery of your daughter's murder," she said.

I shook her hand. "Yes. Officer Hacker-Weissman told me about you," I replied.

Detective Wu nodded. "Well, first off, I want to let you know about how sorry I am that this happened. We'll do whatever it takes to bring Michelle's murderer to justice."

"So, you're going to question Denise first?" I asked.

"Yes. We've got Cortney Richardson here as well, waiting to be called. And I tell you, she is not happy."

"About what?" I asked.

"She's upset that we're questioning her and accusing her husband with murder, but you never know."

"Where do you think her husband went?" I asked.

"Beats me. I'd think a most likely place is probably back where he and his family previously lived before moving here. It was Louisiana, wasn't it?"

I nodded. "Is Denise okay?" I asked.

"Denise is just fine. She understands that she's a big help in this case."

I took a peek at Denise. She was drinking from a juice box and looked quite content. One of the officers was talking to her parents.

I felt a little relieved.

Detective Wu looked at her watch. "If you'll excuse me, Mr. Tanner," she replied. "It's time to begin."

"Oh, sure. Go right ahead," I said.

She smiled faintly at me and walked over to the table. She sat down across from Denise and her parents and began flipping through the sheets of paper that were on the table.

"So…Denise. Do you know why you're here?" she asked.

Denise nodded.

"Why are you here?"

"To help find the person who killed Michelle," she answered.

"And you know what he looks like?"

"Yes, I do."

"What did he look like?"

Denise gave Detective Wu the same descriptive, word for word.

"Where were you when your friend was kidnapped, Denise?"

"I was walking with her to school in the morning."

Denise finished the remains of her juice and looked solemnly at the detective.

"And what happened then?"

"This man appeared in a pickup truck and stopped. He asked us where we were going and we told him. He asked us if he could give a ride to school, but we said no and kept walking. Then he drove ahead and asked us if we were sure. We didn't answer him. I just whispered to Michelle to keep walking and ignore him. Then the man stepped out of his truck and walked towards us. He grabbed Michelle and threatened me. Then he put her in his truck and drove off…and that's it."

Detective Wu was taking notes furiously. "And have you seen this man before in the neighborhood, Denise? Before your friend's kidnapping?" she asked.

"No."

"What was the color of his truck? Do you remember?"

"It was black."

"Black?"

"Yep."

"Alrighty….Do you know Cortney Richardson or Thomas Allen Richardson?"

"I know Mrs. Richardson. She has two kids who are twins. Jason and Lacey Lynn. They were in our class and Michelle and I used to hang with them all the time. But I don't know that second person."

"The name 'Thomas Allen Richardson' doesn't ring a bell?"

"Nope."

"Have Lacey Lynn or Jason ever talked about him?"

"They talked about him once. All I remember was the two of them talking about how he was never around, because of his new job. Then I remember Lacey Lynn talking about an argument their parents had over him hardly ever being around the house. Michelle offered to take them to her house to play for awhile, so they wouldn't feel bad."

"So, what you're trying to tell me is that Mr. Richardson was the Phantom of the Neighborhood? He was so mysterious, that even his own children and wife hardly ever saw him?"

Denise shrugged. "I guess so," she replied.

Detective Wu chuckled. "Well, that sounds about right, Denise. One more thing, before I dismiss you. Now, we have a picture of Thomas Allen Richardson. Lacey Lynn and Jason's mother came by to Mr. Tanner's house to give him a photo of him. Mr. Richardson is report ably missing and Mrs. Richardson says that the man in the photo is him. Okay? Now, we have that same picture of him. When I show it to you, I need you to tell me if this is the same man who kidnapped and killed your friend. Now, look."

She dug into the envelope and pulled out the picture of Thomas Allen Richardson and handed it to Denise.

"Is that the same man, Denise?" Detective Wu asked her softly.

Denise took a long glance at it. She looked it up and down. After a minute or so, she put it down gently and looked at me, her parents, the police officers and Detective Wu.

She looked a little pale. "Yes. That's him. That's the same guy who killed Michelle," she said, almost whispering.