Major Crimes Mysteries

The Family McCoy

Chapter 29

The shackles of Tristan Roberts could be heard clanging down the hallway as deputies escorted him down the hall to Major Crimes. Buzz's mind immediately went to the sounds he heard when Gene Hecht, one of the two men responsible for the deaths of his father and uncle, was brought into the interview room. He inhaled deeply and tried to center himself.

Although Tristan's drivers license photo showed a young-looking man, the detectives were shocked at how young Tristan looked for being a mass murderer and annihilator of an entire family. Tristan looked like he was still a high school student, but his glare into the eyes of Amy as he was being taken into reminded them of who they would be dealing with. Amy swore there was nothing behind his eyes.

It was decided Tao and Andy would interview Tristan since they had interviewed the father and could pull details of the interview while speaking with him. Andy approached Tao to develop a game plan. Despite everything going on with Sharon, Andy knew he had to bring his A game to this interview. There was no way he was going to let some baby killing dirt bag get off because he wasn't doing his job. Tao was impressed with the way Andy was strategizing with him to get Tristan to confess to the murders. As the two wrapped up, Tao looked at Andy.

"It is good to have you back, my friend." Tao told Andy. "I was worried about you yesterday, but it seems like you're back. Glad to see it."

Andy smiled at him. "Let's get this dirt bag, Mike."

Sharon nodded to both of them without saying a word and directed the rest of the team to the electronics room. Andy and Mike headed to the interview room.

As they stepped in, Tristan was shackled to the table. He looked at the duo and said nothing to them. He had the same glare he had when he singled out Amy as he was being walked into the murder room.

Mike and Andy sat down. They introduced themselves to Tristan and Andy immediately started to read Tristan his Miranda Warning.

"So, Tristan, you have the right to remain" Andy started.

"Men, let us stop right here." Tristan interrupted him. "I murdered the McCoy family and I am happy I murdered them. There, I made your life easier."

Shocked, Andy held up his hands. "Tristan let me finish this." He finished reading him his rights.

"Now, are you sure you don't want a lawyer?" Tao asked him. "You are entitled to a lawyer."

Both were sure they were not going to let some dirtbag slip through the judicial cracks because Tristan claimed not to understand his rights or some other technicality. Both went through each line of the warning to ensure he understood his rights. When he agreed he understood each, Tao and Andy looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

With a cocky voice, Tristan said "So, we ready to do this now or what?"

Andy looked at him and said "Sure, let's do this."

"Yes, I murdered my mother and her entire family and you know what, detectives? I would do it again and again and again. My mother, if you even want to call her that, earned every inch of what I did to her." Tristan told them.

"I'll tell you what, Tristan." Andy stopped him. "Let's start at the beginning."

"Ok." Tristan responded. "Let's start at the beginning." His responses were dripping with sarcasm and a mocking of Andy.

Wes, in the electronics room, told the group "I can't believe this is the same dude who was so helpful and engaging with us the day of the funeral. His affect looks like he is David's evil twin."

Cami started laughing in her squealing laugh. She turned to him and said "Right?" Sharon lifted her hand to the duo to tell them to silent their comments. She wanted it quiet in the room to ensure no one missed anything in case they needed to get in touch with Andy and Tao. At Sharon's gesture, Cami shrugged her shoulders and mouthed "oops" to Wes, who in turn started to silently giggle at her reaction. Although Cami had turned Wes down cold at the suggestion the two go out on a real date versus the dutch treat meals they had been doing, she still held a soft spot in his heart. Learning the story of how Sharon and Andy came together, Wes secretly hoped that Cami would come to the same realization that Sharon had come to and would give him a shot.

Provenza, watching the whole scene, cleared his throat in the two newest detectives' way and grimaced at them when they looked at him. When they turned to look at Amy, she had the exact same look on her face. The two immediately calmed down and focused on the interview at hand.

As the room settled down, Andrea and Rusty stepped into the cramped room making it even more cramped. "In case I need to say this." Andrea started "absolutely no deals for this monster."

"Something tells me we won't need them, Andrea." Was Sharon's only reply. Rusty put his hand on her shoulder as a way to say hello. Sharon reached up to grasp his hand while fighting back her tears.

Back in the interview room, Tristan began telling the detectives about his wonderful childhood. How much his parents loved each other and him. How safe and comfortable he felt with his mother and how she was his whole world. He told the detectives about the times they would go to the beach and talk about nonsense things and just laugh. He told them it was the happiest time in his life and how even though it happened when he was three or four, how he held onto those memories like precious gemstones, so that he never lost them. Then, he told the duo that one day she was just gone. She didn't die; she was just gone. She left without telling any of them goodbye. He told the detectives from then on, his life had changed. While his father fought hard to give him a normal upbringing and he loved his grandmother, it wasn't the same. He tried to put on a normal face. He completed school top of his class, dated girls, hung out with the guys, but deep down he knew something had changed in him and it wasn't for the better.

"So, how did you find your mother?" Tao asked him engrossed in the story forgetting that sitting in front of him was a family annihilator.

"I was sitting on a site doing research and looking at articles for colleges I was looking at and guess whose photo popped up, Detectives? Yep, The great Rebecca McCoy!" Tristan responded. "The bitch was looking to expand her real estate business and had posted a digital ad that just happened to pop up right as I was looking at it. I couldn't believe it was my mother. She was older, but it was definitely my mother. So, my research began. I found out what real estate company she worked for. I went there and waited for her to leave for the day. I followed her home to her beautiful home in a beautiful, upscale neighborhood of west LA. I just want to remind you that you know where my father and I live. That bitch never paid my father one dime of child support. Not one penny, detectives." Tristan answered.

Before the detectives could get a word in edgewise, Tristan continued. "One day, I was stupidly brave enough to approach her. I thought she would be happy to see me. Guess what, detectives?" Tristan asked them in a tone continued to be dripping with sarcasm. "She wasn't." He finished his thought, paused, and then went on. "She told me that I had to go away. She told me she couldn't have anything to do with me that if she did, I would ruin her life." He started laughing. "Can you imagine that? I," he said with emphasis beating his index finger into his chest, "would ruin her life." At this point, tears started rolling down Tristan's face, but he wouldn't allow himself to cry. "It was in that second that I knew Rebecca McCoy would die. I didn't know how, but I knew that bitch mother of mine was going to die and I would have the pleasure of doing it."

Although Andy still would refer to Tristan as a dirt bag, he couldn't help but see the hurt, broken four-year-old boy living in a 20-year-old body in front of him and feel some sense of pity for him.

"Tristen, go ahead and continue." Andy asked him with an empathetic tone to his voice. When Tao heard the tone in Andy's voice it shocked him, but one could not help but feel sorry for the kid.

"Anyway, I started watching the house to figure out a way to infiltrate the family when lo and behold, Katey made an appearance. Let me tell you guys, she was one way with her family, but when she was not with them, she was a cliquish wild child. I knew she was my in." Tristan answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

Tristan sat looking at Andy and Tao waiting for some reaction to his last statement. When it didn't happen, he shrugged his shoulders and continued. "So, I put my next plan in motion. That was to get a fake ID so I could try to meet up with Katey with and infiltrate her group. She and her friends hung out in the clubs when I was sure she had told her parents she was studying with her church going friend, Skye. Imagine my surprise when I found out a little boy died pretty close to where she lived and he would have been roughly my age now. Just a bit older than me, but that was easy enough to fix. When he even had my last name, it was like my plan was God approved. I grabbed the social security number for the little boy and went to the DMV. The clerk processed a new license for me without issue. It is so easy to fake an identity." Tristan told them laughing.

"Anyway, I started hanging out at the clubs they were always at. Very careful never to use my own ID to get in and to have me over twenty-one to give them that little bit of extra throw off. Soon enough, Katey came in with Skye and some other friends and my plan went into effect." Tristan said. "I approached her and introduced myself as David Roberts. Her friend Skye quickly tried to hit on me, but I got that out of the way very quickly. I played like I was interested in Katey. I would meet her after school. We would hang out and talk. She thought I was trying to get to know her, but I wanted nothing more than to get the information I needed about her family. She did nothing but bitch about her parents and sisters. She had the family that I wanted. That she stole from me and she did nothing but complain."

"How did you get into Katey's house that night?" Tao asked him.

"Easy. After two weeks, Katey wanted to have sex. She was giving me a hard time. I wouldn't even kiss her. It would have been too disgusting. She was my half-sister in all." Tristan caught Andy rolling his eyes at the last comment. "But she wanted to have sex. She told me her last boyfriend used to sneak into the house so they could have sex. I agreed. My plan was in motion. She went to give me a kiss and I jokingly told her she'd have to wait. She started to tease me and gave me the key to her house giving implicit instructions on how not to do it and get caught by her mom."

"Then?" Tao responded.

"Then I went and grabbed a gun and silencer off the streets. See, detectives, in Rebecca's neighborhood that might have caused a challenge. In mine, it didn't. I learned how to play both sides of the fences well. That night, I snuck in the house just like I was told to do. I carefully climbed the stairs and made my way into Katey's room. She smiled when she saw me and lifted up her shirt to expose her breasts. While her shirt was over her head, I pulled out my gun and lifted it. When she put her shirt down, I shot her before she had a chance to scream. I made it a point to pull her shirt down so it was neat and orderly."

"Why the other kids?" Andy asked him. "You could have killed the parents and got out. Why did you have to kill the two young kids?"

Tristan looked Andy dead in the eyes and responded, "They had my life, Detective. I thought I explained that. Rebecca gave them my life. I felt bad. That is why they died so easily. I was going to make sure Katey and Rebecca saw their deaths coming. I worked my ass off to make sure I would make my mother proud when I met her. Unlike my stepsister, I had a straight 4.0 in high school. I was high school valedictorian. I never goofed around. It was always about how I do better and my mother didn't care if I lived or died. My wonderful stepsister didn't and she got all the glory from the woman who did nothing but birthed me. I simply went in and shot them. The baby was a bit tougher. I had to put a pillow over her head. I thought about letting her live, but for what? The rest of her family would be dead. She would have the same thing happen to her that happened to me. So, I shot her. In reality, I did it for her own good."

At Tristan's last comment, it took everything for Andy to keep his emotions in check and not jump up and beat the hell out of Tristan. He had seen a lot of cold killers in all his years as a homicide detective, but this one ranked as one of the worst. Any empathy Andy had felt for Tristan was now gone and he wanted to make sure his fate was sealed.

"What about the Dr. McCoy?" Andy asked.

"Nah, I just went in and quickly shot him." Tristan responded. "Patrick McCoy was as big of a victim of Rebecca McCoy as I was. As anyone who knew her was." Tristan went into detail on how Katey explained that he took Ambien to sleep, so Dr. McCoy wouldn't wake to him coming into the house.

Andy with a confused look on his face asked Tristan if he was as big of a victim as he was, why did he shoot him. "He stole my father's life. My father should have been married to my mother, Detective. Have you not listened to a thing I said?" Tristan responded coldly.

Tristan looked at both men and said "So, we've saved the best for last. Let me tell you about the death of my so-called mother. I made it a point to wake her up. Even though she was awakened by the shot to Patrick and I got to her side of the bed as quickly as I could. She started screaming and screaming. I wanted to take my time killing her. Not like the others that I just wanted gone. She was going to pay for what she did to my father and I, detectives. I stabbed her trying hard not to kill her immediately. I wanted to see her squirm as I told her everything my father and I went through. How I cried for nights wishing she would come home. I quoted her from our trips to the beach when she told me how much she loved me and would sing songs to me. I watched her writhe in pain as I would push down on her stab wound. I laughed in her face as I spit on her and called her a piece of shit mother. Finally, I took the billy club and bashed her head in. By that point, she was too weak to scream nor did she fight me. I stood over her as I watched the life go out of her eyes. So, there you have it, Detectives. The story of the death of the McCoy family. Afterwards, I went downstairs, set the fire and walked calmly out of the house."

Tristan leaned back in his chair. "Can I answer any questions for you? You both look like you have questions." Tristan asked the team. "How 'bout you behind the cameras up here? Y'all have any questions I can answer for you?"

The team shook their head in disgust at his cavalier attitude in discussing the murder of an entire family.

"I have one." Tao asked him. "The neighbor saw you. Why didn't you kill the neighbor?

"Now, Detective. Why would I kill the neighbor? Yes, I saw that he saw me, but he couldn't identify me nor did he know who I was. Am I correct?" Tristan asked.

Andy deciding to call Tristan's bluff answered, "Well, here is the thing, Tristan, he can identify you."

Tristan let out a hardy laugh. "Nah, Detective, cuz here is the thing. If he did, your little boy toy detective would have arrested me the day of the funeral. He didn't even attempt to arrest me. If I hadn't spit on Rebecca, I probably would have gotten away with it. I am sure you got me by my DNA, right? But you know what Lieutenant Flynn?" Tristan leaned as close to Andy as he could and whispered, "It was still worth it." He then let out a hardy laugh as he leaned back in.

Andy felt an urge to put Tristan through the wall again. He looked up at the camera picturing Sharon telling him to calm down and rubbing up and down his arm to help him do so.

"How did you do the pictures?" Tao asked him.

"Easy. I just played with the phone settings. I didn't want my dad to have anything to do with this, so I thought that would help him. The kid was just some random kid. It threw you guys off for a bit too so bonus!" Tristan answered.

Both Tao and Andy stood up to arrest Tristan. He gave out a loud whoop and said, "Let's do this, gentlemen!"

Two uniformed officers came into escort Tristan down to the jail. Tao let them know he would be down within the hour to book him in. Both Andy and Mike shook hands and patted each other on the other arm. "We did it, my friend." Tao said.

"Yeah, Mike." This was a particularly rough one. I thought I was finally going to go over that line and put him through a wall.

The rest of the team came into the murder room chatting about the confession and slapping each other on their backs.

"Alright, everybody. This case is far from done." Sharon yelled out to the team before giving assignments to each of them.

After making sure everyone understood what was expected, Sharon stepped into her office to process the next steps in what was coming in her life and sat at her desk staring ahead.

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