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Detectives Connors and Tomlin would revisit the Rokers under the pretense of following up on information regarding that tracked call. One of them would be wearing a recording device. Agents Wells and Harris would be stationed in an unmarked vehicle not far away, monitoring the entire conversation.
With charges officially dropped on Karl, Locke and Hollis had no legal reason to be included. However, since their research had put the pieces of the puzzle together, Prosecutor Irvin promised to notify them once arrests were made.
Hollis was surprised when Agent Harris pulled her aside after the meeting and said, “I told Agent Wells, you were too smart for your own good. I want to congratulate you on outstanding investigation skills. Too bad the Bureau couldn’t see it.”
She appreciated the compliment coming from him. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. Now Agent Wells and I can retire after hooking the big fish.”
Excitement and anticipation filled the room with the belief that they would make all arrests by the end of the day. Locke and Hollis would meet with Karl and Nyla to break the news of what had gone down. Neither looked forward to doing so since they knew what they had to tell her would be heartbreaking.
***
Detective Connors knocked on the door of the Rokers’ home. He had called this morning, and they had agreed to meet with him. The detectives had deliberately waited for Walter Roker to return to town from a business trip. Since Katherine Farrell said she had been privy to the information, they asked her to join the follow-up meeting, too.
A housekeeper opened the door and stated, “The Rokers are expecting you. Please follow me.”
The woman led them into the living room, where the Rokers and Ms. Farrell sat expectantly. Mr. Roker stood. “I hope this meeting isn’t a waste of our time. It’s been weeks, and we still don’t know who leaked the information about my daughter, placing her life in danger. I’m beginning to think there’s some sort of cover-up at police headquarters.”
“I assure you that is not the case, and we’re doing our best to find the person responsible. I just need to follow up on some of the questions we asked before to make sure we have a clear understanding of everything,” Detective Connors said.
“Fine. Ask your questions,” Roker said, sitting down and leaving the detectives standing. Detective Tomlin took a seat anyway and ignored the older man’s glare.
Detective Connors took out his notepad. “You indicated that you placed the tracker on your daughter’s phone years ago, when she was at college at Yale. Right?”
“It was originally put on her phone before then. When she was in high school,” the older man stated.
“And you never saw a reason to have it removed?”
“I didn’t, but she did,” he said.
“And when was this?” Detective Connors asked.
“When she returned home from college, declaring she wanted her independence.”
Connors nodded. “So if she removed it, how did you get it placed back on?”
“I can answer that, Detective Connors,” Mrs. Roker said. “There was a burglary in Nyla’s condo ten years ago. It frightened Walter and me to death, and I asked Nyla to allow us to put the tracker back on. We promised not to invade her privacy, and would only use it when and if it was absolutely necessary, and she agreed. Until she met Karl Halifax. She thought we were getting into her business and had the tracker turned off again.”
“So, when was it turned back on?”
Walter Roker answered. “When we heard about Karl Halifax killing that man. We couldn’t reach Nyla and figured she had blocked our calls. That’s when we alerted the police that she might be in harm’s way.”
“How did you have the tracker reinstalled without her permission?”
“My attorney took care of it for me. He provided the legal documentation to the phone company that was required.”
“How were you able to do that when your daughter was not a minor?”
“Since I felt she was with an unsafe person, thanks to my attorney, I was able to get a waiver to the age requirement. He explained that as long as Nyla had our calls blocked, her location could not be tracked. However, the moment she removed the block, the tracker would be activated. We were hoping she would call us eventually, and she did.”
Connors nodded. “And what’s the name of your attorney?”
“Michael Ramsey.”
Connors nodded again as he looked up from the pad he’d been scribbling on. “Is Mr. Ramsey a family friend?”
“If I had anything to do with it, Detective Connors, he would be my son-in-law. He and Nyla dated seriously years ago.”
