Bottle Kill Ch. 01

Mike: "Well, they weren't married yet, so technically 'no'. But to answer the gist of your question, I'll just point out that Tiffany Westgate was a beautiful woman and in the prime of her life, and Mr. Boone was elderly and not as vigorous as he made himself appear to be in public. And that's why you'd see all that jewelry on her... all the Viagra in the world wasn't going to keep him going enough to keep her interested in him that way."

"So she was stepping out on him?" Parker asked.

"Oh yes, especially when they were at home and we weren't around." Mike said. "On trips like these, Mr. Boone wanted us to keep close watch on Tiffany. He said it was to keep her safe, but I suspect he wanted to keep her chaste."

"What about him?" asked Parker. "Was he being unfaithful, as well?"

"Not if she were with him on a trip." said Mike. "He doted on her; I think he really was in love with her and possessive of her. Now before they became serious, he was well-known for chasing anything in a skirt. But he'd slowed down from his younger days... a lot."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

James Jensen's interview was shown next. He went through where he was during the timeframe involved, and did not deviate from Mike's answers, except that he was in his room during the time Mr. Boone was playing poker. But he did have some additional things to say when Parker asked about either of the victims having extramarital sexual relations.

Jensen: "Look, this won't make things easier for me, but I'll come right out with it. Tiffany needed a lot more sex than Boone was able to give her. While he was playing poker, she had men in her room playing 'poke-her'. I was one of them, and I think Grayson was banging her, too. It was the only perk that made this assignment really worth doing."

Parker: "Thank you for your candor in letting us know that. I also have to ask: you didn't like this assignment? Why not? Was Boone that bad?"

"No, Boone was fine." Jenson said. "He didn't make things hard for us. Tiffany did; she'd try to sneak away from us, probably to meet a man for sex. And of course she'd make things hard for me sexually, then spend the next hour draining my balls."

Parker: "Did Mike Malone know this?"

Jenson: "Hell no. He's the reason this assignment was so crappy. His security plan was worthless, as you can see from the two dead bodies, may they rest in peace. He acted like this was a real security assignment, but everyone with more brains than a Betta fish could see that it was for optics, for Boone to make himself look far more important than he really was. And then Malone would turn around and leave more holes in the security than a pound of Swiss cheese."

Jenson: "But to answer your question: Mike did not know that I was fucking Tiffany, that Grayson probably was, and that other men were. I think Mike was head-over-heels in love with Mary, Boone's assistant, but she didn't give him the time of day..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Grayson admitted he had been having sex with Tiffany, and he added that Tiffany and Mary might have had a lesbian relationship, but he wasn't totally sure on that. Steve Stewart and Peter Paulson said they had not had sex with Tiffany, but they both knew Grayson and Jenson had, as well as others.

Paulson said that he'd escorted Tiffany and Mary back to their rooms when Tiffany decided to go to bed. He also admitted that Mary came up to his room after leaving Tiffany's room, that he and Mary made love and then slept together the rest of the night, and that he didn't know when Mr. Boone came up to bed. He further explained that he and Mary were dating when they were at home in Las Vegas.

Mary was tearful as she was interviewed by Detective Julia Rodriguez, mostly for the loss of Tiffany than for her boss and employer. Some excerpts from her interview:

Julia: "You escorted Tiffany to her room after she left the dining room? And what time was that?"

Mary: "Yes, we went up to Tiffany's room. Peter escorted us up. I'm not sure what the time was, but it was before nine o'clock. Peter went to his room, and Tiffany and I talked a while."

Julia: "What time did you leave? And what did you do?"

Mary: "Mike sent a text to his team. I sometimes get the texts, since I'm supposed to watch over Tiffany. He said Mr. Boone was about to come up to the room. That's when I left. It was right around ten o'clock."

"So you and Tiffany are... were friends?" Julia asked.

"Yes." said Mary. "We met through the staffing agency, and became friends. And after they became engaged, I saw a lot more of her, and we became closer friends."

Julia peered hard at Mary as she asked: "So you're dating Peter Paulson?"

Mary seemed unperturbed: "Yes, we're dating when we're at home in Las Vegas. Peter seems serious and quiet, but he's a lot of fun when he's off duty, in bed and out. We have sex almost every day, even on road trips like this one... including last night. After I left Tiffany's room, I went to Peter's room and we made love. I spent the rest of the night there."

"Peter's room was within a suite, wasn't it?" Julia asked. "Did you see the others when you went up to see Peter?"

"No." Mary said. "They were probably in their rooms, but I can't say for sure."

Julia: "Did Mr. Boone ever come on to you, try to get you to have sex with him?"

Mary: "He flirted with me a lot, especially if Tiffany wasn't around. She usually was around most of the time, though. He didn't force me to do anything with him, but I gave him head several times. We never had intercourse, though."

Julia: "Was Tiffany faithful to Mr. Boone?"

Mary: "No, not by a longshot. She was cheating on him with younger men every chance she got."

Julia: "Did Mr. Boone know that?"

Mary: "I don't know. Mr. Boone never said a word to me about any of it. I don't know how he couldn't know... it was obvious to everyone else... but sometimes Mr. Boone acted as if he didn't know."

Julia: "Who inherits Mr. Boone's estate? And Tiffany's, if you know that?"

Mary: "Mr. Boone had made a new will, leaving everything to Tiffany. All he had to do was sign it, but he was holding back until she signed a pre-nuptial agreement, which she didn't want to sign. But I think she finally did, and so he signed the will. I have no idea who his last will before that left his estate to."

"And her?" Julia asked. "Did she leave a will? Does she have any family?"

"I'm pretty sure she has no family." Mary said. "As to a will, I don't know if he had one drawn up for her when he made his own. She didn't think in those terms..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Julia interviewed Gabriel 'Gabe' Schwartzmann next. He looked to be in his upper 30s, about my age. He discussed Mr. Boone's financial situation: "It was fine. He had plenty of money, though a good bit of it was invested in the Markets and in startup businesses he supported."

Julia: "Had he not retired from all that?"

Gabe: "He'd retired from actively managing his own money. Have you ever heard of Jesse Livermore? He was one of the best stock market traders ever, back in the early 1900s. He'd make and lose millions, but he'd put some of his money in untouchable trust funds that provided him living money during the times he was down."

Gabe: "Mr. Boone had studied Jesse Livermore, and had done something similar. He had steady income from a trust, and other charitable trusts funded his charitable efforts. And then he'd call me and tell me to put some of his other money into some venture or other. They rarely failed. Some broke even, and some were very successful."

Julia: "Do you know who inherits his estate?"

Gabe: "He had a will made out that would leave everything to his fiancée Tiffany, but I believe it was contingent on them becoming married. Otherwise I don't know who would inherit. And Tiffany did not have a will that I know of..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

3:30pm, Monday, February 8th. Marty McMillan had been plucked out of the Molecular Biology lecture he'd been listening to, and escorted by Campus Police Officers to TCPD Headquarters. He was sitting in Interrogation-A, which was used to interview witnesses or people not yet under arrest. I-1 and I-2 were behind the Booking area, and used for arrested suspects.

I told Captain Michaels and Lieutenant Davis that Detective Julia Rodriguez could not interview McMillan because she had a family connection to someone else at the Biology Conference, and I wanted to err on the side of caution. I also pulled rank and did the interview of McMillan myself. Sr. Detective Teddy Parker went into I-A with me. As our 'Ikea rules' required a Uniformed Presence in the room, Sr. Patrolman Hardy was standing inside the door that led to the lobby.

"Hello, Mr. McMillan." I said as we sat down at the table, opposite McMillan. "This is Detective Parker, and I'm Commander Troy. You and I met yesterday afternoon."

"Yes, I remember." said McMillan. "So why was I brought here?"

"I had you brought here so that we could record this interview on that camera up there." I said, pointing at the camera near the ceiling to my right side and McMillan's left.

"What is it about? Do I need a lawyer?" McMillan asked.

"It's your right to have one, if you wish." I said. "In fact, since you mentioned it, I'm going to read you your rights." I did so, literally, reading the Miranda warning from the card. "Do you understand the rights?"

"Yes, but again, why are you reading me my rights, and why did you have me brought here?" McMillan persisted. He did not look particularly worried, but he also did not look confused nor inquiring.

"We need to ask you some questions regarding where you were last night." I said. "We know you left Room 814 of the Hyatt Hotel by the staircase to the parking lot, and we know you did not re-enter that room. Where were you?"

"With all due respect, sir," McMillan said, "before I answer that or anything... what is this about?"

"Do you have a problem cooperating with us, Mr. McMillan?" Teddy Parker said, playing 'bad cop' to my 'good cop'. In this case, it didn't work at all.

"If you're not going to tell me what this is about, I think I do want a lawyer." said McMillan. "I can't afford one, so I want a public defender. I won't answer any questions without a lawyer present, unless you explain what this is about first."

"Let's get him a public defender here, as fast as we can." I said to Teddy. "Stay here, Mr. McMillan. If you need to use the restroom or get a snack, Officer Hardy will assist you." With that, Teddy and I got up to leave via the anteroom.

"Am I free to go?" McMillan said loudly as we were about to exit. "If not, then what am I under arrest for?"

"You are not free to go, at least not yet." I replied. "And if you want to be charged with something, we'll start with obstructing a Police investigation." We went on out of the room into the anteroom.

"That's pretty damn suspicious." Claire Michaels said as she walked with me down the hallway to our offices.

I replied "On the one hand, he's just exercising his legal rights. Perfectly acceptable for him to do so. It's standard interrogation procedure to not talk about the details of the crime until we have to, so no, we're not going to tell him anything just yet. But if I were him, I might do the same thing myself."

And I had in the past, but that's past history. (Author's note: 'No Way Out', among other places.)

"At the very least, sir, he knows his way around Police interrogations." Claire said. "I know he has rights, and we'll honor them. But it's a clear sign something's just not quite right about him."

"Yeah, perish forbid a man exercise his Constitutional rights in this day and age." I replied acidly. "And I know I have to instruct Rookies and new Detectives that asking for lawyers and taking the Fifth are not admissions of guilt. I didn't expect to have to say that to you, a Police Captain."

"Call it a woman's intuition, then." Claire replied. "But something's not right about that guy."

"In truth, I agree with you." I said. "He's definitely clamming up, and it appears to me that he's treating this like some sort of game of cat-and-mouse. And now is not the time to play games like that with me. So... no more Mr. Nice Guy with Mr. Marty McMillan..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Hunter Harris of the law firm of Rosemont & Burisma, P.C., a firm of public defenders, came in and was ushered in to speak to his new client. Seeing that his client claimed to not know what was going on, we were called back in pretty quickly. The lawyer Harris looked surprised to see that it was me, Your Iron Crowbar, personally conducting the interview.

"So what is this about?" Harris said. "With what is my client charged?"

"He's a Person of Interest in a case we are investigating." I said. "We want to ask him some questions, and he asked for a lawyer. So now you're here. Once again, Mr. McMillan, where were you yesterday from the time I saw you at the Hyatt Hotel, until the Campus Police brought you here?"

"And once again, what is this about?" said Hunter Harris. He turned to McMillan and said "Don't say anything. And if you're not under arrest, I'm about to take you out of here." Public Defenders can be very irritating in that they get on their high horses and bluster a lot. But in this case, I was stymied and would not be getting cooperation this way.

"Okay, you want to know what it's about?" I said, letting some anger creep into my voice. "Yesterday your client appeared in the Poker tournament room with Theodore 'Tex' Boone, his fiancée, and their entourage. Your client said he'd been in the honeymoon suite 20 years ago, when Mr. Boone won ten million dollars in a Poker tournament, and Mr. Boone had your client checked into that same suite------"

"Nothing illegal about that." interrupted Hunter Harris. I affixed my gray eyes on him; it was time to break another legal beagle to my fist, to use a little falconry lingo, there.

"Do not interrupt me again." I warned. "If you do, I will shove this here crowbar so far down your throat, you'll be spitting nails for the rest of your life." I was brandishing the red crowbar, and Harris literally physically recoiled at the threat.

I continued: "Your client left that room less than two hours later and did not return to it. I want to know where he went to, and where he was last night and today."

Harris stood up, then looked at McMillan and said "Don't say anything. I'm going to the Courthouse and get you released if they won't formally arrest you and charge you with something."

"Sit down!" I ordered. "Your client is a Person of Interest in the murders of Theodore Boone and Tiffany Westgate last night!"

"Whaaa?!" exclaimed Marty McMillan, his face looking... not quite totally shocked.

I bored in and drove on: "And if it's a formal arrest you want, I'm going to make it happen just as soon as I can stand up and get handcuffs out of their pouch on my belt. Mr. McMillan, you are now formally a suspect in the murders of Mr. Boone and Ms. Westgate." I began to stand up.

"Hold on, hold on." said Hunter Harris, sitting down himself to try to get me to. "Give my client a chance to cooperate, here, now that he knows what's going on."

"Yeah, why didn't you just say what it was about in the first place?" McMillan said, trying to put a tinge of anger in his voice. "I would've answered your questions if you had. The only reason I asked for a lawyer is because you were browbeating me, trying to question me while holding back information at the same time!"

Hunter Harris saved his client by putting his hand on McMillan's shoulder and telling him to just be quiet and not get into an argument that would get him arrested.

"Well now you know." I said menacingly. "So, one more time... your whereabouts from the time I saw you yesterday afternoon until the Campus Police came and got you today."

"I need a moment alone with my client." said Hunter Harris.

"No, it's okay." said McMillan. He turned to me and said "After I was checked into Room 814, I stayed there about an hour, then I left. I went down the staircase to the exit door into the parking lot, hoping Mr. Boone and his party wouldn't see me, and I went back to the University Hotel, where I was booked for the Molecular Biology Conference."

"Why did you sneak out of the Hyatt by the stairwell?" asked Teddy Parker. "Why not just take the elevator?"

"I... " started McMillan, who then said: "Mr. Boone was trying to be nice to me, and I didn't want to look like I was ungrateful. So I just went down the nearest stairs, which led to the parking lot."

"Sounds reasonable, and you can certainly check it out." said Hunter Harris.

"And we will be sure to." I replied coldly. "So where were you the rest of the night, Mr. McMillan?"

"I was in my room at the University Hotel until about 8:30pm, when I went across the street to one of the bars." McMillan said, naming the bar. "They weren't serving alcohol, but I ate dinner and then went back to my room an hour, maybe an hour and a half later. I watched TV, then went to bed. This morning I went to the breakfast the Conference provided us, and then went to the lectures, where I was all day until the Police came and got me."

I said "Okay, Mr. McMillan, you are still very much a person of interest in the case. You can either stay here until your story is checked out, which might not be until tomorrow morning; or you can permit yourself to be ankle-monitored and return to the Conference now."

"How about neither one?" said Hunter Harris.

"It's okay." said Marty McMillan to Harris. "I'll take the ankle monitoring."

Harris added: "But after 24 hours I'm going to petition the Court to have it removed if you can't show cause to get a full-blown arrest warrant."

"Good enough." I said. "Mr. McMillan, stay in the County, and especially the State; if you attempt to cross a State line, you will be arrested by Federal Marshals and brought back..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As soon as I got through the anteroom to the hallway, I told Captain Michaels "While he's being ankle-monitored, get a couple of people to University Hotel pronto, and get their video from the past 24 hours. If they ask for a warrant, call in for one, but our guys at the scene shouldn't leave. I don't want that public defender getting there first, and trying to play the intellectual and telling the Hotel people to demand warrants."

I continued: "Have Mary send his DMV photo to their iPhones, and after they're done at the hotel, have them go to the bar he named and ask the people working there if they remember McMillan. Have them ask to see any video the bar might have. And our guys might have to come back later and ask the evening shift people. But get what you can."

"Wilco, sir." said Claire, who peeled off to her office as Teddy Parker and I went on down the hallway.

"Sir," said Parker, "can I ask a question about the interview technique you just used?"

"Come on to my office." I said. We went in and I had Parker sit down in a 'hot chair' as I sat down behind my desk. "So, what was your question?"

"You came down on McMillan like a ton of bricks, sir." Teddy said. "Especially after he asked for an attorney. Were you just trying to intimidate him?"

"Yeah, some." I said. "And when I did tell him that Boone and Tiffany were dead, he definitely looked shocked. And yes, I know what you're thinking: I tell y'all to not assume guilt because someone asks for an attorney or invokes, but it looks like I'm doing that now."

Parker nodded and I continued: "I'm not assuming guilt now... but he got my hackles up, fer sure, and I went on instinct that the hammer was the right approach. It definitely got him agitated, and agitated suspects make mistakes. So tell me, what did you think of that whole thing?"