Lestrade turned on the monitor and everyone in the room fell silent. At the request of VeriCorp, they had four separate camera angles pointed at the subject's chair. There was a split screen view on the monitor, but the result was that it was very hard to process unless you focused on only one view at a time. The idea wasn't to catch every reaction in real time, but to later review each of the angles on tape, with the ability to freeze frames and slow the motion. Also per VeriCorp's request, the interviewee was not seated behind a table. It was important for them to be able to see his feet, since one of the easiest body language signs that tells a person's feelings is their foot position and movements.
It was only a moment until Karl Hunter entered the video and took his seat across from the examiner. He had already been questioned before by both the police and in the court at his trial. Regrettably those interviews hadn't been taped, so VeriCorp hadn't been able to see directly how he handled the questions. They had reviewed all of the footage available to them from news clips, but those were not that useful.
The Chief Superintendent was under great pressure from the public to solve the case, and pushed for this latest 'interview' to bring in VeriCorp (and though he would never admit it, Sherlock) who he hoped would gain some insight into Karl Hunter. His organization couldn't afford the money or resources this long drawn-out case would cost them.
Karl Hunter was a fairly handsome sandy haired man in his early thirties. His face had a boyish quality to it, which made him look rather innocent. His eyes appeared a bit red, as if he had been crying, but otherwise, he was very well groomed, and obviously a man of some means. His hair was neatly trimmed, his clothes crisp and ironed.
Sam Sloan's head:
Red eyes but not puffy…Self-induced by rubbing?
Sherlock's head:
Savile Row suit, manicure, metro? Wealthy. Tweezed eyebrows. Who tweezed? Tan. Real or tanning bed? At a time like this? Self assured. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Lestrade's head:
Looks like a decent bloke. What I wouldn't do for a cigarette right now!
After verifying that the people in the control room could hear as well as see the feed, the examiner began the interview.
"Good morning, Mr. Hunter," he said.
"Good morning," answered Hunter leaning forward in his chair, as if eager to start.
"Mr. Hunter, before we begin, can you please repeat the series of numbers that the secretary gave you this morning?"
"Sure," he agreed. "543987," he said, his eyes shifting to the left. He seemed a bit confused by this odd request. It had been made on behalf of VeriCorp, who can sometimes determine if a person is recalling something or making it up based on the way their eyes move when speaking. In this base line test, Karl Hunter's eyes moved left as he recalled the numbers.
"Mr. Hunter, why don't start by telling us why you are here today," began the interviewer.
"As you know, 6 months ago my wife went missing." He took a deep breath and paused to compose himself.
"First I want to say to all of the people working on this case, thank you for working so hard for me and my family. I know you'll find her."
Sam Sloan's head:
Eyes shift left when remembering
Micro smile? Possibly taking enjoyment in lying?
William Conroy's head:
Deep breath - but not shaky. Fake distress
John Watson's head:
This poor guy. Still, I wonder…
Sherlock's head:
You know exactly where your wife is. Where is she?
"I am here today because there are those who continue to believe that I had something to do with my wife's disappearance, even though the conviction was overturned." Here, he looked directly into one of the cameras. "I am here to say to those people, I had nothing to do with her disappearance."
Sam Sloan's head:
Knew exactly where to find the camera?
William Conroy's head:
Liars do look you in the eye
Sherlock's head:
Disappearance? Death, you mean. What did you do with the body?
Sally Donovan's head:
Doesn't seem like a liar. Keep an open mind…
DI Dimmock's head:
Never did trust a man in a fancy suit…
"Mr. Hunter, can you tell us a bit about the last time you saw Eve?"
Hunter considered the question, and then grew very still and his eyes shifted to the right as he recounted the scene. "Yes. We were in the kitchen, and I was cooking breakfast for the kids. They love eggs and toast in the morning, and I like to make them happy. They like it when I make silly faces out of the food on their plates." He paused, and smiled weakly. "My wife was in a rush. She said something about having a big meeting at work. She barely had time to give the kids a kiss before rushing off." He stopped and put his hand up to his mouth, as if suppressing a sob. "We didn't know we'd never see her again!"
Sam Sloan's head:
Not moving when talking - concentrating on keeping lies straight
He's making this up! His eyes are shifting right now which shows constructing
I wonder what Sherlock is thinking?
William Conroy's head:
Impression management - trying to come off as a good guy
Can't recall conversation. Liars are vague and don't recount conversations
This guy knows what happened to his wife!
John Watson's head:
So much useless detail? I wonder what Sherlock is thinking.
Sherlock's head:
What's it like in your funny little brains? Why are we still here? He knows he'll never see her again? Clearly, he murdered her.
Sally Donovan's head:
I wonder why he never mentions wife's name? Is he distancing himself from this?
DI Dimmock's head:
This is useless. We've been over this guy with a fine toothed comb. Everything is circumstantial!
"Mr. Hunter, it is well know that you were going through a divorce at the time. Do you think she just left you for another man?"
Karl Hunter shook his head vigorously. "She'd never leave the kids behind! If she was seeing another man, why wouldn't he be a suspect in this?"
Sam Sloan's head:
She wouldn't leave the kids maybe, but what about you?
William Conroy's head:
Leading us away from himself as a suspect
John Watson's head:
I hope Sherlock is getting something out of this. What can we get out of this?
I wonder if Sam Sloan has a boyfriend
Sherlock's head:
This is pointless! She wouldn't leave her kids behind. She's dead.
Lestrade's head:
I hope Sherlock is figuring this out. God, I need a cigarette!
"Mr. Hunter, did you kill your wife?"
He blinked as if the question had been a slap in the face. "Did I kill my wife?" he repeated. He shook his head up and down and said, "I did not kill my wife. I can only hope she is alive! Honey, please come home. Maybe we can work things out!"
Sam Sloan's head:
Shaking head 'yes' while saying 'no' - Contradiction.
Repeating the question is stalling for time
William Conroy's head:
He doesn't think she's alive! The police have still got to consider this man as a suspect!
Sherlock's head:
Police can't take him into custody again without additional physical evidence…we're wasting time here.
"Is there anything you wish to add, Mr. Hunter?"
Hunter found a different camera and looked into it with all of the sincerity he could muster.
"I would never do anything to hurt the mother of my children. You have to believe me when I say I didn't have any involvement in her disappearance."
Sam Sloan's head:
Liar!
William Conroy's head:
Liar!
John Watson's head:
Liar
Sherlock's head:
Liar
Sally Donovan's head:
He is probably lying, but how can we prove it?
DI Dimmock's head:
I'd love to crack this before Holmes. But how? This interview doesn't provide any new clues!
With this last statement the interview concluded. Everyone looked around the room trying to gauge what the others where thinking. Sherlock stood up abruptly and made for the door, John following hastily.
"Sherlock! Sherlock, where the hell are you going so fast?" he had to pedal his legs twice as fast to keep up with the lanky detective.
"I need to speak to a man about a horse," he said cryptically as he continued through the halls.
He navigated around the corridors like a man with a plan, and in fact he intended to head off Karl Hunter before he left the building. He came out on the side of the interview room where Hunter had taped the interview, and sure enough, Hunter was heading to the men's loo. Sherlock swooped in behind him smoothly, motioning for John to wait outside.
Once inside, Hunter headed for the urinal. Sherlock purposely committed the social faux pas of taking up the urinal directly next to him instead of skipping one. He surreptitiously glanced at the man's suit lapel and scanned his shoes. Certainly, that was horse manure he smelled faintly. Hunter glanced at him, annoyed.
"Problem, mate?" he asked.
Sherlock assumed his best Cockney accent by way of a disguise.
"Awright geeezzaa! No problem. I was just wonderin' abaaaht yaaahr pin," he said, pointing to the small pin on Hunter's lapel. "Do yew like 'orses?"
Hunter looked at him with a very cold stare. "Yes. What business is that of yours?"
"Blimey! I didn't mean anythin' by it. I was just wondering," said Sherlock, acting innocently.
"Excuse me," said Hunter. "I have business to attend to."
"I'll bet yew do," said Sherlock, scanning Hunter with his laser-like eyes.
Hunter exited the bathroom quickly and brushed past John on his way out of the building. Sherlock came out to find John grinning widely and handing Sam Sloan a piece of paper with his address and phone number on it. She gave Sherlock a sly smile as she took it and handed a paper with her own number to John.
"I'll see you tonight," she said flirting shamelessly. "We can compare notes." And with that she left in search of her colleague WiIliam Conroy.
"Fraternizing with the enemy?" accused Sherlock in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Enemy?" said John loudly. "She's not our enemy. And it's just dinner," he said as if trying to convince himself.
"She's using you to get to me," said Sherlock, a bit petulantly.
"Get to you?" laughed John, looking his friend up and down.
"When has any woman ever gotten to you?" he asked flabbergasted at Sherlock's nerve.
"Not me. My Intellect. She wants to know how I'm going to approach this case," said Sherlock adamantly. "And you're not going to tell her." And with that, he strode outside to get a taxi, not bothering to wait to see if John was coming.