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I hold up a hand to stop the officers pulling him toward the front door. I lean close to him.
“I can do whatever I want to,” I say, then sweep my hand to the side to tell them to keep going.
They drag him the rest of the way out and I look atSam.
“Clear and search every room. I want every inch of this place covered. Every single door, drawer, and lid needs to be opened. Look under every piece of furniture. I want to know how many pairs of socks this man has and what color underwear he prefers. If this is where Miranda was held, we need to findevidence.”
The search takes the next few hours and when I get back to the police station, I’m sweaty and shaking with both frustration and adrenaline. I didn’t find the kind of evidence I wanted to, but what I’m holding in my hand is something I didn’t expect to find and that could bring this entire case to a close in a matter of minutes. I just have to talk to the man whose handwriting I think I’ve been reading.
He’s sitting in one of the interrogation rooms with his head in his hands. One leg is bouncing and when he looks over at me, his face looks drawn and anxious.
“Are you finally going to tell me why the hell you’ve had me trapped in here without so much as a cup of water for hours?” he asks. “This kind of bullshit isillegal.”
“Actually, it’s not,” I reply, tossing the notebook I was holding onto the table. “You’ve been detained under suspicion of criminal behavior. You are not entitled to any explanation of why until the time comes that we are ready to discuss it with you. You have not been placed under arrest, yet, but you can be held without charges for twenty-four hours if we see fit. Now, I have somequestions.”
“And I have a lawyer. I suggest you give him a call,” he says.
My stomach sinks. That’s the death knell of many an investigation. As soon as someone being questioned asks for a lawyer, the interrogation or interview is done for that moment. It might be done entirely. Lawyers can be slimy, twisted creatures that are capable of getting people off for anything. It’s not a blanket generalization. There are plenty of lawyers who are invaluable and literally make the difference between life and death for an accused. But then there are the ones who care only about dollar signs and wins for their filing cabinet. They can come in and destroy what at one point looked like an ironclad case.
We haven’t gotten quite that far yet. But this guy asking for a lawyer is going to slow us down considerably. I can’t ask him any more questions or say anything else to him until his attorney has arrived and has been given the chance to discuss the situation withhim.
But I don’t have a choice. Detaining him and holding him may be legal, but refusing his attorney isn’t. I get the contact information for Vince Carlisle and have Sam call him. Detective Garrison hasn’t been in the office today. He called in earlier saying he has to deal with something and he’ll be around tomorrow. It’s unfortunate the day he doesn’t come in is the day we might have just blown the entire case open, but I’m not going to hesitate or slow down because he’s not here. I want this done.
It takes a mercifully short amount of time for Mr. Carlisle to arrive. He strides across the department with a tremendous sense of entitlement and power. I step into hisway.
“Mr. Carlisle?” Iask.
“Yes,” he says.
“I’m Agent Griffin. I’ve been asked to assist the Cherry Hill homicide department with an investigation and we have detained a person of interest. He was identified as the perpetrator and I’ve found very suspicious materials after a search of hishouse.”
“I’m assuming that’s why I was called,” he says. “But I wasn’t told the name of my client. Just that he gave my contact information and I need to comehere.”
I realize I never bothered to find out the suspect’s name. It didn’t really matter to me. But now I’mcurious.
“I’ll show you to the room where he is waiting. Can I get you some water or coffee?” Iask.
It’s professional courtesy, but I don’t feel particularly good about offering any service to this man.
“Both. For both of us,” hesays.
“I’ll see if I can find somebody to do that for you,” Isay.
He goes into the room and I ask one of the younger officers to help by bringing the drinks. I don’t have high hopes about getting another chance to talk to this man today.I am completely convinced the door’s going to open above them and they’ll walk out and leave thedepartment.
Which is why I am stunned when the door opens and Mr. Carlisle gestures for me to comein.
“My client is ready to speak withyou.”
I go into the room. The man is sitting up straight now, looking less haggard but still aggravated. He nods his head toward the notebook still sitting on the table where I leftit.
“That’s mynotebook.”
“I’m well aware. I’m the one who took it out of your house,” Ireply.
“Then I’m guessing you read it,” he says.
“Yes. And I’d really like to know why you have a notebook filled with detailed descriptions of the 1964 murders at Camp Hollow,” Isay.
