Chapter Five
Warrick knocked smartly on Linton's front door. They could hear footsteps approaching and the door opened halfway to reveal Linton's apprehensive face.
"Oh, it's you." he said when he saw Nick and Warrick.
"Where you expecting someone else?" Warrick asked.
"Oh, no." Linton said, shifting his gaze to his feet. "Please come in."
He stepped away, allowing Warrick and Nick to enter his house.
"Mr. Elwell, we'd like to ask you a few more questions." Warrick asked, sitting down on the couch in the living room.
"Okay." he perched himself on the edge of a chair and ran a hand through his unkempt hair.
"We understand that your cousin looked out a lot for you in high school. Kept you from experiencing some unpleasantness." Warrick said, keeping his tone causal. He slung his arm over the armrest and kept his other hand on his knee in a relaxed manner. Nick had adopted a similar posture. As Linton seemed prone to rapid emotional upset, they were trying to keep him as calm as possible for as long as possible.
Linton shifted his eyes to his feet. "Did Freddie tell you that?"
"He said something along those lines." Nick replied.
Linton gave a weak laugh. "I guess that's probably true. I was never very confident in school and I wasn't big and strong like Jack or Freddie. People like me don't usually fare well in school, but I was lucky I guess."
He hung his head in embarrassment, but Warrick could see that his cheeks were burning with shame. A twinge of pity struck him. He had been Linton Elwell when he was in high school, except that he had no one there to defend him. He had experienced first-hand the shame of being made a mockery of by his peers. He had vowed that he would find a way to overcome it all and he had, but that was something Linton had never been able to accomplish.
"I know what that's like, never being able to stand up for yourself. Your cousin had to protect you. I can understand how his behavior could seem demeaning to you. He did it because he cared for you, but it might have been construed as an act of pity." Warrick said evenly.
Linton wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't understand. What do you mean? Are you implying what I think you're implying?"
Warrick didn't answer, but just continued to stare at Linton until the man's eyes grew wide in realization.
"No!" he said, shaking his head and rocking in his seat. "No! I didn't do it! I could never kill Jack! He was good to me! He was my cousin and I loved him! We were family!"
Taking over, Nick said, "Perhaps you were motivated by another reason. We know that Jack and Rebekah had feelings for each other. We suspect that the reason for their falling out was severe and most likely linked to something sexual."
At this, Linton began to chew on a fingernail. "I don't understand." he said.
"We think that Jack might have forced Rebekah to do something that she didn't want to do or at the very least, he made an attempt to do so." Nick said bluntly, leaving his eyes fixed on Linton's face.
"You think he raped her?" Linton was practically shrieking.
"She was your good friend. Maybe she told you what he did to her and maybe you decided to take matters into your own hands." Nick said.
Linton clamped his hands over his ears as tears began to leak from his eyes. "It's not true! I can't be hearing this!"
"Did Rebekah ask you to kill Jack for her?" Warrick asked.
Linton bolted from his chair with such a force that Warrick instinctively moved for his gun, but Linton was not intent on hurting anyone. He merely began to pace back and forth in front of his chair. "No! You're wrong! Jack would never hurt Rebekah! He loved her!"
"Sometimes people hurt those they love." Warrick said knowingly.
"No." Linton whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.
Warrick decided to drop the next bombshell. "Do you own a gun, Mr. Elwell?"
"What? No! I've never even held one let alone fired one!" He turned to face Warrick, his eyes practically popping out of his skull.
He stopped his pacing and turned to face them. He attempted to adopt a more commanding presence, but failed miserably. Linton was trembling all over as he said, "I think it's time for you to leave. You come into my home and accuse me of doing a horrible thing. You accuse my cousin of doing a horrible thing and I will not allow that. Please - please leave now ."
Linton pointed a shaky finger towards the door. Nick and Warrick obliged by leaving as quickly as possible.
Once back inside the car, Nick looked at his partner. "You still think he did it?"
"Definitely." Warrick said as he turned the key in the ignition. "What? You disagree?"
Nick chewed his lip thoughtfully. "I don't know. Maybe, but something doesn't seem right. We're missing something." He rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes as Warrick continued to drive.
Warrick stole a glance at Nick. He could sense his partner's frustration. It was radiating off him in waves. He could sympathize as he feeling the same way.
He was about to suggest grabbing a bite to eat when an idea occurred to him. "Hey. I know it's getting late, but let's pay Rebekah Prescott a visit and see how she likes our theory. Maybe that'll encourage her to fill in some missing pieces to our puzzle."
Nick opened his eyes and turned to smile at Warrick. "I like that idea."
Nick knocked on the Prescott door with a renewed sense of excitement. Perhaps he was feeling prematurely optimistic, but he felt that they were about to fill in a big piece of the puzzle. At least, he hoped so.
The door opened to reveal Rebekah Prescott. If she was surprised by their unannounced arrival, she did not let it show, but smiled graciously as she ushered them inside.
"Please come in, gentlemen. I'm assuming that you have some more questions for me."
"Yes we do." Nick replied, taking a seat on the floral couch.
He gazed into Rebekah's unassuming face and suddenly became embarrassed. The topic about to be broached was a very sensitive one and for some reason, he found himself at a loss as to how to proceed. He shot a look at Warrick, who understood that he was supposed to take over.
"Miss Prescott, we have reason to believe that the reason for the fallout between you and Jack was related to something sexual. We think he either forced you or tried to force you to do something that you didn't want to and for that reason, you parted ways. We also think that Linton found out about this and decided to exact revenge either through his own decision or through your encouragement." Warrick did not waver once through his words and kept his eyes locked on Rebekah's. He wanted to force the issue in such a way that Rebekah would be forced to answer truthfully if she was innocent.
After he said this, Rebekah crumpled in the chair she had been sitting in and covered her face with her hands.
"No, that's not what happened at all." she moaned quietly.
Warrick leaned a little bit closer. "Then, please, tell us what did happen. We need you to fill in the pieces. You're the only one who can."
Sitting up straighter, Rebekah clenched her fists in determination. "About a month before graduation, the two of us were working at his house on a project for our English class. Jack's parents were out of town so we were all alone. We finished our project and just started talking. Everything was so nice and we were having a really great time. And that's when it happened. He kissed me."
"He kissed you?" Nick asked while she paused her story. He certainly hoped there was more to it than that.
Rebekah blushed. "Yes. I'd never been kissed before. You see, I didn't date much - at all actually - in high school. Anyway, it was a nice kiss and I enjoyed it very much because I did have strong feelings for Jack. I kissed him back. Gradually, things got a bit more serious and one thing lead to another."
"You slept with him." Warrick stated, gathering her meaning.
She nodded. "The next day, I was so ashamed over what I had done. I had professed to believe all these things and made a point to try and live my life differently, but I turned into a hypocrite and made myself out to be a liar. I was so angry with myself. So disappointed. I wouldn't see Jack anymore after that. I was afraid of what I might do or say. Then I found out that I was pregnant. That's really why I went to Arizona after graduation. I went there to live with my grandparents and have my baby. That was my decision, not my parents. I didn't want anyone to know about what I'd done."
"So no one knew that you were pregnant? Not even Jack?" Nick asked.
"No. Like I said, I wouldn't talk to him. He thought that I hated him, but I just hated myself for turning into the kind of person I swore I'd never become." Rebekah hung her head and stared at her hands.
"What happened to the baby?" Warrick asked.
"I gave her up for adoption. I wanted her to grow up with a mother and a father. I thought that was the best thing for her. I was so young and didn't feel that I could provide her with what she really needed." Rebekah confessed sadly.
"What changed? I mean, you came back here and went to your reunion. Did something happen?" Nick asked.
"I finally reached a place where I could forgive myself for what I did and then I started to feel guilty about how I treated Jack. Just before the reunion, I called him and told him that I wanted to see him so we could talk. I suggested that we meet at the reunion." Rebekah told them.
"So Rebekah was one of the people Jack was supposed to meet up with at the reunion." Nick thought to himself.
She continued. "When he arrived at the reunion, we snuck out the side door and walked around the track. I told Jack everything. About the baby. My struggles to forgive myself. My intense feelings of guilt over how I treated him. Everything."
"How did he take it?" Nick asked. He could only imagine how he'd respond if he had been Jack.
"Surprisingly well." Rebekah said with a small smile. "He told me that he was sorry for what happened between us. He said that he still loved me."
Her brows furrowed a bit as she seemed to be recalling something unpleasant. "Jack said that things were about to change, but that he wanted me to know how much he loved me. He said that my phone call had made him see that it wasn't too late to fix things. I asked him what he meant by that, but he wouldn't say. He just told me that he had some business to take care of and that he'd see me later at the reunion and we could talk more. At the time, it didn't strike me as too odd, but now, as I'm remembering it again in light of all that's happened, it seems unusual."
"And you have no idea what he was talking about? No idea what he wanted to fix? No idea what things were about to change?" Warrick asked. He could feel the headache begin to build up again with renewed force. They were about to hit another brick wall.
Rebekah closed her eyes and thought hard for a few minutes. "No. I have no idea. If something bad happened, it must have happened after we stopped hanging out. Otherwise, I would have known about it. Jack and I knew each other very well and I'm quite sure I would have sensed it if something was off. The whole time I knew him, Jack never hurt me or anyone else to my knowledge."
She bit her lip, an action which made Nick say, "You don't seem so sure about that."
Rebekah hesitated before answering him. "There were only a handful of people who had any kind of influence over Jack. He was a very strong person - definitely more of a leader than a follower - but if he was depressed or something, he could have been swayed to do something he, under normal circumstances, would never have done."
"Do you think he was depressed after you parted ways?" Nick asked.
"Well, I know I was. From what I could tell from seeing him around school, he wasn't himself but whether that's just from what happened between us or something else, I couldn't tell you." Rebekah shook her head.
"Who had influence over Jack?" Warrick asked.
"Freddie and Victoria were pretty influential back then. Even Stella was at times. I guess I was too." Rebekah admitted. "Don't get me wrong. Jack was his own person and did what he wanted, but every now and then, when he was down, he was susceptible to the influence of others. I think that could be said of everyone at times though."
A silence fell between them which was broken by Rebekah's heart-aching sigh. "I'm just glad that I got the chance to patch things up with him before he died."
Nick threw himself on his couch so completely bone weary yet wide awake. After hearing Rebekah's story, he and Warrick had reached the same conclusion. Jack Moyer was not the rapist they had thought he was, and Rebekah Prescott was not the manipulating puppet master, pulling Linton Elwell's strings so as to exact revenge upon her victimizer.
This did not mean that Linton was no longer a suspect however as Warrick was quick to point out. He still felt that Linton was guilty or at least hiding something, and if Jack had been a part of something shady, Linton most likely knew what it was.
Nick contemplated what Rebekah had said about influence. Given what he knew about Jack and Rebekah, he couldn't help but thinking that Rebekah probably had more influence on Jack than she realized. She was a good, wholesome girl who cared about others and had probably unknowingly inspired Jack to behave in the same manner. There was no greater inspiration for change than love.
When Jack lost Rebekah and her good influence, had someone else taken her place? Was it Freddie? Nick could imagine what kind of influence Freddie had on Jack - one of that involved a lot of wild partying. Was it Victoria? Nick wasn't sure what kind of influence Victoria had on Jack. She seemed a bit cold and arrogant, but that didn't make her an evil person. And who knew what kind of influence Stella would have on a person? Had one of them lead Jack astray and encouraged him to do something that he regretted? If so, what was it?
Nick rubbed a weary hand across his face. All of these thoughts were not helping. He needed to clear his mind and relax so he could come at the case tomorrow with fresh eyes.
Bolting suddenly from the couch, Nick walked over to his bookshelf and kneeled down to look at the bottom shelf.
Where was it?
His eyes spotted the somewhat worn red book and he pulled it out. His high school yearbook from his senior year. Sitting down, he let the book fall open on his lap and started to flip through the pages. He let his mind get lost in the memories those photos brought forth. Some were good and some were bad, but all of them played a role in shaping the man he had become today.
So absorbed in his thoughts, Nick never noticed the figure lurking just outside in the shadows.