Major Crimes Mysteries

The Family McCoy

Chapter 8

Buzz's phone rang and he immediately answered it. "Detective Watson." He said. It has been almost 3 years since he had been able to do it, but it still made him smile each time he said it. The operator on the line let Buzz know that Jason Walkmire was waiting in the entry way. "Please send him up. Detective Sykes and I have a meeting with him. Thank you." With that, Buzz hung up the phone and looked over to Amy.

It was clear at the mention of her name that Amy knew that Jason had followed through with his agreement to come in for an interview. Either he truly didn't have anything to hide, or he was a sociopath who thought her was smarter than the police. They had yet to figure that out.

Buzz walked over to Amy's desk and she stood up. As they were walking towards the department doorway, Jason Walkmire walked through the door. That was fast, Buzz thought. Buzz was glad he and Amy had a chance to talk about the interview strategy they would employ with Jason.

While they agreed that it was a longshot Jason was the killer, both thought Jason Walkmire held back during their initial interview with him at his home. They were not sure why, but both thought maybe there were deeper feelings he had held against Rebecca McCoy or possibly that he had seen more than he was saying.

Amy and Buzz directed Jason to the interview room. In Myra's absence, Mike Tao ran the cameras to ensure the interview was recorded perfectly. Normally, that was Buzz's job, but Mike had become quite the pro in doing the job as well as Buzz had.

Buzz thanked Jason for coming in and immediately started his line of questioning. Amy let him take lead. When Julio was promoted and left Major Crimes, Amy became partnerless. Flynn and Provenza were, well, Flynn and Provenza. There was never a bromance that Amy had seen that compared to those two. Due to them coming into the department at roughly the same time, Wes and Cami paired off. So, it was Amy and Tao who had been left alone once Julio had left. Both felt like they had lost their right arm. Tao moved more into the technical side of assessing the criminals more than he had before, so he rarely left the murder room anymore. Instead, he could be found tinkering with some victim or suspect's phone or computer. So that left Amy alone. When Buzz officially became a detective and assigned to Major Crimes, at Commander Raydor-Flynn's insistence, Amy latched onto Buzz. Every day she was with him, she saw him become stronger and stronger in his capabilities as a detective. Amy had always considered Buzz smart, but his role as detective allowed him to really shine.

"So, tell me what you saw last night, Mr. Walkmire." Buzz had officially begun the interview with absolutely zero formalities like talking about his drive down to PAB. "We are hoping that after further recollection you can remember more from last night." Buzz had decided to hold off in giving Jason his Miranda Warning until something came up that really set off his spidey sense. As of right now, he was a witness with potential. No need to have him lawyer up where they would be at ground zero with a family slaughtered and no witness in sight. He knew he was walking a tightrope, but felt he was secure in what he and Amy had decided to do. He just hoped, especially in this case, that it didn't backfire.

"Let's start at telling me what you do, Jason." Buzz asked.

"Well," Jason started "I own four marijuana dispensaries. I used to be a computer programmer. When California legalized weed, I jumped on the bandwagon and just opened one store. Man, that store went wild, so I was able to open another until I have reached my fourth store in LA and Orange County. My goal is to continue to work the coast. I even have my own special variety that is grown only for my stores. It sells like crazy. I can barely keep up with demand."

"So, tell me about your day yesterday then. What time did you get up?" Buzz asked him.

"I get up at 8 am on the dot every day." Jason responded. "I don't even need an alarm clock."

"Then, what did you do?" Buzz continued

"I am a creature of habit. I am probably one of the most boring people I know. First, I have my mint tea poolside. It is a great way to center myself for the day. I do some meditation, drink my tea, and focus on what tasks need to be done for the day. Then, it is off to my home gym for a two hour work out. Then, shower and get ready to head out to my stores. I really don't need to, but I check in on my businesses each and every day. Even that I am like clockwork. It usually takes me about six hours thanks to the California traffic, but I want to make sure that everything is going ok in them. Anyhow, I get home at around seven o'clock. I'll usually whip up a really quick dinner. I use those meal services. Have you ever tried them?" Jason asked. Both Buzz and Amy indicated they didn't. "Oh wow, you really should. They are a time saver!" After his little diversion, he jumped back onto topic. "I ate dinner and did my normal routine of retiring poolside with a glass of my favorite whiskey. I go between my pool and my hot tub for about three hours before retiring for the night. Normally, I head into bed at eleven o'clock."

"You said you had whiskey. Can you tell me how much you had?" Buzz asked.

"I never allow myself more than four ounces in three hours." Jason responded. "I have to work that stuff off and alcohol isn't particularly good for this physique." He did a muscle arm bend that found Buzz doing all he could to not roll his eyes. He knew he couldn't look at Amy for fear they would both start laughing hysterically.

"Did you smoke any marijuana that night?" Amy asked reading Buzz's mind that was where he was going next?"

Jason crunched up his face with a look of disgust. "No way. I can't stand the stuff. I am a whiskey guy. Marijuana stinks too much and I don't like the feeling it gives me. I like the money it gives me, but I tried the stuff once or twice in high school and thought I was going to slip into a coma. And the candies and cookies? Give me a break. Not even a really great profit margin on them either."

"What did the McCoys think of your business?" Buzz asked.

"Patrick was great with it. Even referred patients who needed medicinal marijuana over to me. I repaid him with some joints and great whiskey. Rebecca thought I was pond scum, but hey, I am a legal businessman. I am not some street dealer and I pay my bills. What Rebecca thought of me is of little consequence."

"Did she ever confront you?" Amy asked.

"Nope. She and I just didn't have as close of a relationship as Patrick and I did. But she never stopped the baby from coming over to say hello and hanging out with me. In fact, when Rebecca was in the backyard working or reading a book or whatever Rebecca was doing and I was out, she would let Michaela come and sit with me or bring me flowers or a picture.

Both Amy and Buzz looked at one another. Their looks told them the more they looked at Jason Walkmire, the less he looked like a suspect and more like a witness.

"So, tell us what you saw last night." Buzz asked.

"I had just poured my second whiskey over ice and climbed back into the hot tub. It was 9:30. The McCoys always go to bed at about nine and last night was no exception. They always go early. Patrick has to be at the hospital by five o'clock. Patrick told me Rebecca always goes to bed with him and gets up with him in the morning at about 4 am. She does her office work before getting the kids up for school and such. The only light on in the house was in Katey's room. All of a sudden, I saw a shadow creeping in the backyard of the McCoys. I really didn't think anything of it. Ya know Katey is getting to be a grown woman, so I figured maybe it was her boyfriend coming over for a visit."

There was the comment that triggered Buzz and Amy's interest.

"How did you know Katey had a boyfriend?" Amy interrupted.

"Come on, Detective. Katey was almost sixteen and her mother didn't want her dating. I am shocked she didn't have a little harem of guys." Jason responded.

"How do you know which room belonged to which person?" Buzz asked. After Amy didn't follow up with her question.

Jason responded "Because any time Patrick needed something moved in the house, he would come and get me. I am also quite handy and love carpentry and such. I decorated my house on my own, including putting together my bookcases and such. So, when Rebecca would order her elaborate furniture and such, instead of paying some guy hundreds of dollars, Patrick would grab me and pay me in a bottle of my favorite whiskey. Can I just say I didn't have to buy my own whiskey for a really long time?"

Both Amy and Buzz shook their heads satisfied with his response. Then Amy looked a bit perplexed.

"How did you know that Rebecca didn't want Katey to have a boyfriend?" Amy asked.

"Patrick told me. Rebecca wanted her girls to be perfect. They had to have perfect grades and be involved in lots of extracurricular activities, so they never had time to themselves. I am telling you, detectives, if the college admissions scandal was still going on, Rebecca McCoy would have been a part of it. Even little Michaela had to be perfect. That kid was in more dance classes and such than any 3-year-old should be. And can we talk about her schooling? Kids her age should be getting dirty and making mud pies. Not this little princess. Don't get me wrong. Rebecca loved those girls. It was clear she loved those girls, but man, she rode them. Patrick tried to get her to ease up, but she wouldn't budge.

"Anyhow," Jason continued. "I watched the dude fiddle with a key in the back door and then open the door. He had a key to their house. I can't see the McCoys giving a key to their killer if one of them didn't know him. Can you? He looked around. I know he had to have seen me. There is direct line of sight to my pool from their house, but he didn't seem to care. After a couple of minutes, I heard some pops in relatively quick succession. Then, I heard Rebecca yell out. Timing and everything, I figured she caught Katey. As I was waiting for more fireworks, dude slipped out the way he came in. Get this, Detectives. He locked the door behind him. After he locked the door, he took off running through the backyards. I really didn't think a whole lot of it until I saw the curtains and the room on fire. I grabbed my hose. I had just cleaned my pool deck off early in the evening and didn't put it away. As I called 911, I was spraying the house to put out the fire." Jason described the perpetrator as white, about six feet tall, thin with a black hoodie and black pants on. When asked, he couldn't provide the suspect's hair color and didn't feel he got enough of a look to work with an artist on a composite sketch.

With that, the interview ended. Buzz thanked Jason for coming in. Jason told them to let him know if they had any other questions and he would get back to them immediately.

As all three stood up and headed towards the door, "I still can't believe someone would hurt that baby and I did nothing to stop it. I can't believe I thought it was just some teenager getting her rocks off, when I should have done something." With that, Jason Walkmire hung his head and began to weep before walking back towards the elevators.