2016
Tree Hill, North Carolina
(Three Days Later…)
The young detective sat back in the chair, staring at the large bulletin board. In the center were 13 pictures. It was of his six friends. One set was of the smiling, young happy faces he had remembered palling around with on the beach, at TRIC or the River Court. The second set showed the same faces, ten years older, faces marked by the change of time. The 13th and center photo was the most gruesome of all. It was a close up crime scene picture of a fatally wounded Lucas Scott.
"McFadden."
The door opened and Mouth stood as a senior ranking detective on the force, Paul Tucker, entered the room. He was a balding man in his forties with glasses, a scruffy beard and a belly that just overlapped his wrinkled navy pants.
"Detective Tucker", Mouth shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, kid. Looks like we'll be working together on the Lucas Scott homicide."
"Yes, sir. If you'd like a brief rundown…"
"Whatever you'd like but I have researched this thing in and out. I'm pretty much up to speed."
"Okay…"
"Are we still waiting on the Coroner's report?"
"We already have a preliminary right here."
Tucker glanced it over.
"White male, six foot two, 170 pounds, 28 years old. Single gunshot wound to the chest. Knicked and collapsed the left lung and shattered two ribs before the bullet ricocheted and hit a major large artery near his heart. Ballistics were run on the slug recovered and it is a Glock 33 .357 Magnum. That's a powerful pistol. We recover it yet?"
Mouth shook his head.
"No. We're in the process of getting a dive team to search the river."
"Good and suspects?"
"There are a few but for now we have concluded that Lucas Scott knew his killer. In fact, he knew his killer very well."
"Any known enemies?"
"Try everyone."
Tucker sighed.
"It's a real shame. I remember going to his games. He was a good kid and a hell of a player, too, even in college. It's a shame what happened to his pro career."
Mouth sighed.
"That was the tide that changed everything."
"That's right. You were good friends with him, I hear."
"Once upon a time", Mouth said sadly. "But the sweet guy in the picture up there in that Ravens' uniform is not the same person as that bleeding bearded man crumpled up on the docks. Lucas changed. He became someone else, something else."
"Okay. So what do we have as far as official suspects?"
"These four."
"Four?" Tucker frowned. "It's five."
"Was. I am officially going to clear Brooke Scott."
"Why?"
"Her alibi checks out. Out of all the possible suspects we've narrowed down, she is the only one with an airtight alibi. Her every move can be accounted for starting hours before on to hours after the murder occurred. Unless Lucas was shot from an airplane flying from Texas to Minnesota…"
Detective Tucker put a folder on the table.
"See this? Well, I have five of them. Brooke Scott, Nathan Scott, Haley Scott, Jake Jagielski and Peyton Jagielski. Each with detailed information on the night in question as well as the last ten years. You might want to read up on your little friend, Brooke."
"What?" Mouth asked.
"Seems like her dead hubby isn't the only one who changed over the years. And based on some of the facts I recovered, let's just say this Mrs. Scott cannot be ruled out. Not yet."
"But it was physically impossible…"
"Son, you ever heard of murder for hire? Happens all the time, especially among spouses."
"You have a motive?"
"Not a concrete one, no, but she wasn't very happy with her husband. And there is enough here to keep her as a person of interest."
"Detective Tucker…"
"Look, I've heard good things about you, kid. They say you're fair and honest and smart and you know your shit. I respect that and I don't mind working together but keep in mind, this is my case. I do call the final shots on this one, no pun intended. This isn't about names or money or friends or basketball or who loved who in high school. A man is dead and it is my job to solve his murder and bring a killer to justice."
"I agree."
"Good. Because I know you care about these people but you can't let that bias you. Like it or not, son, in all probability, one of your old chums up there on that board killed one of their own. It's our job to crack the case. I need to know I can depend on you, trust you. I need to know you can do your job."
"I can. I can and I will Detective Tucker. I wear my badge with pride and I take the law seriously."
"Good because if you don't, if you can't do this…if it's too personal, that's understandable but I need to know now before we go any further."
Mouth swallowed hard.
"I give you my word. Past friendships and personal feelings will not hinder this investigation in any way, sir. I assure you I am in this for the long haul."
"That's what I want to hear. Now we know the funeral will be tomorrow at one at the Trinity Chapel?"
"Yes sir."
"We'll be there. According to my sources, all five are now in town and will be in attendance tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see their reactions. I want everyone followed closely, especially the Widow Scott."
Mouth tensed visibly.
"You got it."
"And I'd like to start interviewing them all starting tomorrow and the days after."
"Of course…"
"Now it's safe to say one of the five is probably the murderer. They certainly cannot be ruled out as suspects at this time. So we start with Brooke Davis Scott. 28 year old female, fashion designer and entrepreneur by trade. Married to the victim for almost nine years, no children born to that union. The couple separated briefly three years ago but no divorce petitions were filed by either party. Currently resides in Dallas, Texas. Has an alibi that checks out but I'm still suspicious. She is a person of interest in this murder. We definitely need to speak with her, the sooner the better. In the meantime, I need details of her every move starting the morning of the murder through the present. Eyewitness accounts, phone records, a list of anyone she may have talked to."
"Yes, sir", Mouth made a note of the lead detective's requests.
"Next we have Nathan Scott, also 28 years old, half brother of the deceased. Former professional basketball player, residing for the last year in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Reportedly was embedded in a nasty battle with Lucas over the family fortune. Where was he during the alleged time of the murders?"
"He doesn't know."
"Excuse me?"
"Suffers from frequent memory loss in association with black outs due to brain damage from two past vehicular accidents. According to his original statement, Nathan Scott has no recollection of his actions or whereabouts from approximately nine o'clock p.m. until three a.m. the following morning."
Tucker chuckled.
"That's original. Good old fashioned amnesia. Haven't heard that one in a while. Nathan Scott better come up with something better than that because trust me, that kind of excuse won't hold up in a court of law."
"I don't know", Mouth said. "In addition to the Scott trust, Nathan was loaded on his own. He has the best lawyers at his beck and call and he won't hesitate to use them."
"I'm sure he won't. And I have a feeling he is going to need them. Both he and his wife, Haley James Scott, 28 years old, stay at home mother to their five year old son, Landon."
"At one time, Nathan and Lucas were closer than close. They were best friends. There have been several incidents over the years that can be attributed to their recent estrangement. It is doubtful Nathan could have physically committed the murder due to his own condition and limited mobility but I say we definitely take a close look at his associates, phone calls, visitors and financial transactions in recent days and weeks. Like their father, Nathan is a powerful man whose conscience was stolen away and lost in time."
"And Haley Scott?"
Mouth shrugged.
"They all changed. I guess we all did. But regardless, Haley isn't a murderer. There isn't a mean bone in her body."
"In your notes it says she and Lucas had a major falling out around four years ago…"
"That is true but I don't have a lot of details on that."
"Get them."
"Will do, sir."
Tucker studied Haley's file.
"It says the night in question, Mrs. Scott boarded a private plane owned by the Scott family kept docked in a bay at the New Brunswick County International Airport. Made a call at 8:24 p.m. to schedule a charter for 11:00 p.m. however she did not arrive to the airport until one that morning. Her whereabouts at during those hours are unaccounted for."
"We'll bring her in", Mouth nodded.
"The Jagielski family…Jake, 28 years old, works and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Is in the Public Relations field for a computer networking company. Was conveniently in town on the night of the murder for business."
"He stayed at the Hilton on Water Street. We'll talk to him, get his story, subpoena any surveillance video from the hotel cameras to track his comings and goings."
"Peyton Sawyer Jagielski, Jake's wife, 28 years old, mother of his three children, eight year old twins, Micah and Mason Jagielski and three year old Dominique aka Minnie. Also the step mother of his deceased biological daughter, Jennifer."
Mouth sighed with sadness.
"Yeah, Jenny. She, uh, she died in a horrible accident seven years ago."
"Mrs. Jagielski attended a party for a colleague in downtown Atlanta but left early and was unaccounted for until the wee hours of the next morning."
"So. Everybody is a suspect, huh?"
"Looks that way. Your friend, Lucas apparently pissed off a lot of people. Three nights ago, he went too far and made the wrong person mad. The question is, who is that person?"
"That's what we're going to find out, sir."
"I want a slam dunk, McFadden. I want a motive and I want physical evidence. I want enough to make an arrest and have the DA prosecute and 12 jurors convict without a hint of reasonable doubt in their minds."
"I agree."
"I know we just talked about this but let me put more emphasis on the situation. I really went to bat for you, kid. I stuck my neck on the line for you. Some of the big bosses wanted you off the case but I convinced them that you'd be a valuable asset not only because of your impeccable record of service to the force, but also because you are so close to this case. At one point and time, you knew these six inside and out. I think your insider knowledge will come in handy."
"Like I said before, I am here to do a fair and impartial job and investigate this case to my best ability and bring a killer to justice…no matter who that person turns out to be and how close they may have been to me at one time."
"So be it. I'm putting my trust in you, kid."
"And you won't be sorry."
Tucker nodded.
"I hear you have a wife and new baby?"
Moth grinned proudly, breaking out the wallet and mini photo album.
"That's my Gigi. We were high school sweethearts, been married for five years."
"Ah, I remember her. She used to call the Ravens games with you."
"That's how we met. And that there is the apple of our eye, little Ella. She's five months old."
"She's a beauty. They both are but you better get used to staring at pictures because for the next few weeks, you're practically gonna be living here at the station in this interrogation room. Until we solve this case, I'm your wife and baby. You got that?"
Mouth nodded.
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, we begin now. The first order of business is to find out what the five are up to right now, especially if the couples are in contact with each other and Brooke Scott. From now on, we know their every move before they do. We attend the funeral as planned and then we begin the interviews, one by one. Hopefully they'll start singing like canaries and we'll have enough to issue search warrants."
"Okay. I'm on it right now, Detective Tucker."
The older man left and Mouth found himself alone staring at pictures of the people he once considered to be like a second family. He could only smile as he remembered the way they once were. Now one was dead and one of the remaining five was likely the killer. And it would be up to him to figure out who and then bring that person to justice.
