Ocasek calls Benjamin and he is more then happy to come in to talk to us. We get him a coffee and we quickly settle him in the interrogation room. I wait at the door, stopping Tench and Ford as they go in. "I want to be a part of this one."
"What are you talking about?"
I chuckle, "Bill, I want to do my job. I am an Agent, let me be an Agent."
"You're not an agent yet." Tench nods and looks around, "But the best way to learn is by doing." I smile and nod, "But if Holden or I tell you to leave, you don't question it, you don't fight it, you leave. Got it."
I nod, "Got it."
"You wanna take lead?" Ford looks over to me.
"Why me?"
"Well, it may throw him off a little more." Ford shrugs.
"Sure, I guess." I nod as we walk into the room, Benjamin is on the other side of the table, drinking his coffee, "Hey, Benji."
"Hey guys, nice to see you again."
Ford and I sit at the table and I smile over to Benjamin, "You do know that you're not under arrest? You can leave any time you want. We just need to ask you some more questions."
"And you're okay with us recording this conversation?" Ford gestures down to the recorder, "It's just so much easier than writing everything down."
Benjamin nods, "Yeah. I want to help if I can."
"You know a lot about this case, Benji." I take a slow breath, "A lot that you're not telling us."
"Uh, no," Benjamin shakes his head, "nothing more than what I already said."
"Well, here's the thing. We talked to Frank. And your brother-in-law paints a very different picture. Of you and your relationship with Beverly." I chuckle, "Franks seems to think you made part of it up. Specifically, you two being engaged," I shake my head, "but that's not true is it? You loved Beverly and you were going to marry her, right?"
"Uh... Well, I didn't have a ring yet, but, um, but I asked her and she said yes."
Ford leans back in his chair, "It sounded like she wanted to keep her options open."
Benjamin just looks over to Ford, he looks as if he is in pain, like that fact causes him great trouble. I place my hands on the table, "Benjamin?"
Benjamin seems to break out of his trance and smiles, "Did Frank say that?"
"He implied it." I shrug, "and a few other things."
The smile fades from Benjamin's face and it replaced with one of almost anger and hate, he never takes his eyes off Ford, "'cause he was jealous."
"Jealous?" Ford shakes his head, "Why would be he jealous? He's married. To your sister."
"Well..." Benjamin takes a quick, deep breath, "He was always asking when... she was coming around, always talking to her like she was his girlfriend."
I lean forward a bit, "what do you mean?"
"Like 'hey, hon,' 'hey, babe,' 'hey, sweetheart, go get me a beer.' And... he was always getting her to sit on his lap."
I look over to Ford, not really having a comment for that, Ford asks very dry pan, "did she want to sit on his lap?"
"well, she had to or it would've been rude."
"did he try to have sex with her?"
"No, it didn't go that far."
I take a deep breath, "The thing is Benji, he told us he was interested."
"Beverly Jean was a beautiful woman. She wouldn't do that."
"Do what? Have sex?" Ford shakes his head, "She had sex with you."
"She loved me."
"But she wasn't exactly saving herself for marriage." Benjamin starts crying, as Ford leans forward, "Do you think you satisfied her, Benjamin?"
A bell begins to go off, so I stand and close the door, turning back to the table and stopping next to Benjamin, "did you see her that night when she got off work?"
"No. I was home, I was watching television."
Benjamin shakes his head, but he doesn't look up to me. "didn't you want her to come over, hang out with you?"
"Of course, I wanted her to come over, because I loved her." Benjamin begins sobbing, "now she's dead." he places his head in his hands, "oh, my God!"
After Benjamin's break down we call it a night, letting him go and heading to a bar. I shake my head as Ford begins over three beers and a glass of wine. He hands me the wine, "here ya go."
I look up to him a bit surprised. "How'd you know I'd want wine instead of beer?"
"Well," Ford sits down across from me, "because you're a lovely young lady... and because when we went out for dinner that's all you drank."
"Sweet of you to remember." I smile.
"see," Tench picks up his beer, "this is why people think you're together."
Ocasek looks between the two of us, "Wait, they're not?"
I shake my head, "no, Mark, we're not. Holden and I have about as much in common as Hades and Zeus."
Tench nods, "Plus, Holdens got a girlfriend."
"anyway," Ford takes a sip of his beer, "did Beverly Jean sleep around?"
Ocasek shrugs, "Alvin tried to pick her up at a bar."
Tench shakes his head, "But she turned him down."
I take a sip of my wine, "Doesn't mean she turned down someone else."
Ford shakes his head, "what was she doing at a bar?"
"Having a drink?" Tench looks over to Ford.
"Was she alone, with girlfriend?"
I clear my throat, "wouldn't have Alvin mentioned that? He said he tried to pick he up a few times."
"either way," Tench looks between Ford and I, "What would that tell us?"
Ford takes a deep breath, "a single woman in a bar..."
"A single woman might go alone just to have a drink."
I shake my head, "no, too risky, if she just wanted a drink she would have brought a bottle from the store and drank at home."
Ford looks over to the bar, "What about her? Is she trying to pick someone up?" we turn and see a young woman, looking over to us as if she is eyeing one of the boys.
Ocasek looks around, "well, probably."
"Why, because she's by herself? Because she's at a bar?"
"Yeah."
I shake my head, "that's an assumption."
"But you just said..."
Ford nods, "say she is looking for someone, does that make her easy?"
"Is she looking for a husband or a one-night stand?" Ocasek looks over to Ford.
"does the difference change your perception of her?"
"sure."
I chuckle, "Why?"
"Well," Ocasek looks over to me, "It changes whether I'd be interested in her, theoretically."
"What if you're looking for a one-night stand... theoretically?"
"No. I don't... It's not my thing."
"Come on, Mark." Ford nudges his arm.
"Leave him alone, you two." Tench points a Ford and I, drink in hand. "Beverly's sexual history is only important because if she was seeing other men, then obviously they're suspects."
I chuckle, "well, it's not like we can stand up, shout 'who here slept with a young blonde woman,' and arrest everyone who raised their hands."
"so, who else can we talk to?"
"There's a couple of friends we could question... again." Ocasek shrugs.
I shake my head, "No, we are not talking to Alvin Moran again. Anyone else? Someone she might have confided in? A best friend, a sister?"
Ford looks over to me, "she did just get her hair done. Right?"
