CHAPTER: 43
1200 Words
"What is our next move?" Stuart asked.
"I do not know, Stuart. Think. Search what we have, and then find out what we have missed," Sharon revealed the next course of action.
Stuart grabbed his laptop and headed to his desk, while Sharon started searching on her desktop. They searched for random online tidbits on Adriana and her connections for the next one hour. Sharon was getting ready to give Stuart the rest of the afternoon off when the office phone rang.
"Sarah Miller."
"This is Ex-Detective, Archie Thompson."
Thompson's voice was deep, his tone careful and calculating. A hint of hesitation was evident in his voice.
"Mr. Thompson. Thank you for calling."
"No problem," Thompson said.
"I am working on Adriana Reed's murder. The murder book is slim, and I am wondering if there is anything you might know that is not in the file," Sharon said.
Thompson was silent for a few seconds before saying, "You talked to the store owner?"
"Yes. I spoke with Allen Gray, the grocery store owner, and he told me that there were problems with gangs before the body was found, but the issues stopped after Adriana was murdered. He also said that there were surveillance cameras, but I did not find any tapes."
"Mrs. Stone, you worked for Maury County Police Department, as a Detective, correct?"
"Yes." Sharon knew that he had checked her credentials before calling.
"Then you must be knowing very well that there are some leads the boss will not let you pursue. For whatever reason, the chief did not want us to work the gang angle. It was strange. They were gang members, so if we were able to get those guys on anything even if it was not related to the murder, it should have been good, right? But we were ordered to stop. No idea why," Thompson revealed.
"Were there other leads you were told not to follow?" Sharon asked.
"Well, we never had an interview with the victim's in-laws," Thompson stated.
Strange. The first thing you had to do in a homicide like this one, was rule out family members, Sharon thought.
"I heard something about that. Were you told not to interview the Reed's?" Sharon asked him.
"No. They refused to meet with us and we did not really have any evidence that pointed to them, so the boss told us to leave them alone. We did, but there could have been something there. The families, Reed's and Davies', do not like one another," Thompson shared.
"Mr. Thompson, I hope you will not mind my asking, but I am wondering why this case caused you to leave the force?" Sharon asked him.
Thompson sighed a few times as if he was fighting with himself, whether or not he was going to answer the question.
"We took a lot of criticism for not closing the case. First, we were being pushed to close the case fast, but after we started getting somewhere, or at least were trying to formulate theories, we were stopped from investigating the crime," Thompson shared with her.
"Did you think this was a gang hit of some sort?" Sharon asked.
"There was an inclination to draw that conclusion because in the months following the murder, there weren't any attacks on the store. Seemed like that was a viable avenue, but as you know, gangsters are not just going to stop. And, rich people don't do anything themselves, so I thought Chase might have paid the gang members to kill his wife because she was unfaithful," Thompson explained.
"That is why you wanted more access to the Stone family?" she asked him.
"Correct. I just thought these gangsters would only stop if they had some type of incentive. That was my original theory, but we had to handle the family with kid gloves. It was sickening. The families despise one another, and the husband is an only child. His family has had the money for a very long time. The Davies' had not as much. Chase was this golden boy hero material who had everything. His parents had him after they had given up on having kids, so he is kind of a miracle. He is used to getting his way. What happens if his wife steps out on him?" Archie Thompson told Sharon.
Due to Chase's status, his union with Adriana was even more strange. Golden boy meets failing girl. His parents hire a hitman to kill the failing girl and get their golden boy back. Was that a realistic scenario? As Chase had seemed genuinely distraught over losing Adriana. It was hard to imagine that any parents would deliberately cause their son so much pain, Sharon thought.
"Seems harsh. Were you able to learn anything else about the Reeds?" Thompson asked her.
"Just the stuff we found online. People are pretty tight-lipped about them," Sharon replied.
"What about the friend Adriana was going to meet? Did she ever make the suspect list?" she asked Thompson.
A long uncomfortable silence filled the phone.
"Mr. Thompson, are you still there?"
"Yes. I just... Yes and no. Melanie Jackson made our suspect list, but she was quickly removed," Thompson replied.
"Because you and Detective Mike Jackson cleared her, or did the top brass tell you to remove her?" Sharon questioned him.
Another pause before he said, "We removed her because there was not anything there. She is not terribly forthcoming, but that has nothing to do with her guilt or innocence. Just seems to be who she is," Thompson replied.
Sharon caught a hint of defensiveness in his voice. Perhaps he had developed a fondness for Melanie Jackson. What was it with this lady, Sharon wondered? She seemed to be able to cast a spell on men.
"Mr. Thompson, this is a bit of a personal question, and I understand if you do not want to answer it, but why did you leave the force?"
This time he answered as soon as the question was out of Sharon's mouth.
"Maury County Police Department was not what my dad and his buddies told me it was. I wanted to fight for justice. Not politics and corruption. There are a lot of people doing a lot of good outside of the force. This case just got things all twisted and it was hard to see straight. I decided I'd had enough of the city and MCPD. I quit and headed southwest. Got a little farm out there. I get to go surfing often. Just decided I had enough of the Detective work. You know how it is," he revealed to Sharon.
"Organic farming. That is quite a change," Sharon told him.
"It is. A necessary change," he replied.
"Anything else you want to tell me?" Sharon asked him.
"Just... Don't mess up anything you don't have to mess up. If you stumble on something good, even if it is strange, let it be," Thompson advised Sharon.
"I am sure that will mean something with time. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me, Mr. Thompson."
"Sure thing. Just keep my name out of things," he said.
"Yes. I promise to do that," Sharon replied.
- Writer
