Major Crimes Mysteries
The Family McCoy
Chapter 14
The next day was relatively a quiet day and the team focused on putting together new leads and plans for monitoring the funeral the next day. Myra had updated everyone on what she had set up in the mobile unit. Sharon thanked her and stood up to talk to the team. Right as she was ready to begin, Amy's phone rang. Amy looked at Sharon and Sharon gestured for her to accept the call. Sharon held off in making her announcement until Amy would finish her phone call.
"Amy Sykes" Amy answered. Amy listened as the reception area told her there was a person to meet with Major Crimes from Rebecca McCoy's work. Amy told the receptionist to send the person up. As she hung up the phone, she motioned to Buzz to follow her to the elevator. Buzz stood up to join Amy and Sharon asked both to hold on.
"Can you two give me a second, please?" Sharon asked them. "I know this has been a tough case. I wanted to let you all know that I have asked Dr. Joe to come up and speak with you if any of you feel you need it." Like before, Andy stared at her in amazement. Sharon looked briefly at him and smiled. This time, he failed to smile back. Sharon continued. "He will be here after the funeral tomorrow. Nobody will judge you if you feel you need to get some stress off your chest about this case. It has certainly been a rough one." She motioned to Amy that she was done. Amy and Buzz stood up to meet with Rebecca's coworker while the rest of the team headed towards the electronics room to observe the interview.
Jessica Roderick was looking confused standing at the bank of elevators that were at the end of the hallway to the Major Crimes unit unsure of which way to go. Buzz and Amy approached her and introduced themselves. Amy gestured for her to walk towards the interview room. Entering the room, Amy asked her if she would like anything to drink and Jessica pulled her water bottle out of her purse.
"What brings you in today?" Buzz asked Jessica. "I have some information on the McCoy case that I can't get off my head." Jessica replied to Buzz. "I'm unable to sleep. I am tense. I just don't know what to do with it." While both detectives expressed concerns look to the interviewee who at this point was just about in tears, they were both giddy on the inside thinking they may just have had a solid bite in this case.
"Go on." Amy said to Jessica. "We have a realtor in our office. A guy by the name of Eric Mitteran. This guy has a drive like no other realtor I have seen before. Eric is in his twenties. He literally passed his real estate license on his twenty first birthday, you guys. I am not kidding. His goal is to have a reality tv show about selling Hollywood or some bs like that. Don't get me wrong. Eric is a great looking guy. Definitely has a face and body for television, but there is something off about him." Jessica stopped to take a drink of her water. She continued. "Anyway, he blew up last week about a listing that he felt Rebecca should have given him. It was a celebrity listing. Rebecca ALWAYS gets the celebrity listings. She is just at that level of her career. Eric felt that he had earned that listing though. I guess he approached Rebecca about letting him take the listing and she told him no. He then asked her if she would split the listing with him and mentor him on the higher listings. I guess she shot him down. He was furious detectives. Calling Rebecca a bitch. Throwing a tantrum. At the end, he said it would be great if she just curled up and died. Two days later, she was dead, and Eric was nowhere to be found until today. He is showing absolutely no grief that a woman and her family we have worked with for years is dead. He had zero emotions about it. Just went to his desk and started to ask about new listings he could pick up."
Buzz asked Jessica to give a description of Eric. "Better yet, detectives, I can show you a picture." Jessica pulled up her pictures on her phone and handed the phone to Buzz. The picture appeared to be from the most recent Christmas party. "These are the top performing realtors." Jessica said sadly. "The blonde-haired, thin, but muscular guy is Eric." Buzz was looking at a man in his mid-twenties, maybe twenty-five or twenty-six as Jessica had said. Amy and Buzz looked at each other. Amy gave Jessica a phone number to send to which was a repository for the LAPD of potentially relevant crime photos. Jessica did it immediately. Mike informed the detectives when the photo hit the repository and immediately sent it to his computer.
Finally, Amy and Buzz asked Jessica if she knew where Eric lived, and she gave them his address. "I went to parties at his house a couple of times. It is a nice place." Jessica said almost into the air. All stood up and walked to the door. "I really hope I am wrong about this detective. Did we think Eric was a self-absorbed jerk only interested in his wanted celebrity status and ego? Yes. But a murderer? Who could ever anticipate that? Jessica told the two detectives as they started to make their way towards the elevators. Jessica turned as the elevator doors opened and shook the detectives' hands and stopped in. "Please let me know if you have any questions." She told them as the doors closed.
Amy and Buzz almost skipped to the doors giddy with excitement. Both planned to meet with the team and then go to Eric's house. Neither cared that their day should be wrapping up. This was too good of information. Neither could understand why it took Jessica so long to come in, but maybe it was because the thought of working with a murderer was just too overwhelming.
As they walked into the murder room, the team applauded them. "Great interview!" Sharon told them. They looked at the murder board and Mike already had the photo from Jessica on the board. "Go get him and be sure to take a buckle kit with you. We want to make sure we have a DNA match!" Sharon told them.
"I can't believe all this could be because some egomaniac didn't get his chance at fame." Wes told the group. "The guy needs to be strung up if it is." He continued. "We've seen less motives, Wes." Andy responded to him. "I know Lieutenant, but I picture those kids. This all for a chance at fame? Unbelievable!" Wes just shook his head.
Buzz grabbed the buckle kit from Mike. Amy and Buzz waved as they walked out the door letting the Commander know they would call her later with an update. Sharon shook her head at them as she walked into her office.