Case of the Murdered Bride Ch. 03

"Yes, I know about Schelle." I said, having put the man in prison for murder. "So the DVD, how was it marked?"

"Simple, unmarked, had my name written on it with a Sharpie." Lang replied.

"So, getting back to Diane," I said, "you had no problems with your wife having sex with Rollins while you were away?"

"None at all." said Lang.

"Mr. Lang," I said, adding a tinge of harshness to my voice, "what about Mr. Blair? Was he part of your sexual groups?"

"Yes." said Lang, though resignedly.

"Blair was seen frequently in town with your wife." I asked. "Were they having an affair, and did you know about it?"

"Let me put it this way: they were having sex, and sometimes when I wasn't there with them. I was cool with it; it was no problem. Diane told me of their encounters, and I have no knowledge of her having sex with him without me knowing about it pretty soon afterwards."

"So if Mr. Blair and your wife were planning to run away together, or otherwise cut you out of the picture, you'd be okay with that, too?"

"That's not what was going on." said Lang derisively. "I don't expect you to understand about open marriages or the swinger lifestyle, Commander, but Diane and I trusted each other, and our marriage was based upon much more than just monogamous sex."

"I think you'd be surprised how much I do understand about it, Mr. Lang," I said coldly, "but we're not really talking about that... we're taking about the murder of your wife. Now why in the world should I not believe that you, Mr. Lang, didn't come back from your vacation, go to the hotel and murder your wife and her lover, and then hide from police at your friend Mr. Blair's house? You're a big, strong man, Mr. Lang, you don't hold back, you go and do what you want, whether it's in sales, or in taking vengeance for your wife's affair with your friend Blair--"

"Commander! That's out of line!" shouted the attorney, finally breaking his restraint.

"Is it, Counselor?" I said. "We'll see what Mr. Blair has to say. You'd better pray to God that what he says matches exactly with your story, Mr. Lang." I got up and exited the room, Nash following.

"Well," said the Chief, "do I need to re-hire Ikea to beat a confession out of that guy? You didn't get much out of him, from what I saw."

"No sir." I said. "But it's time to have a word with Mr. Blair now. Nash, watch this one from the anteroom. Cindy, come inside with me; I want you to observe Mr. Blair most very carefully."

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We went into Interrogation-2, where Blair muttered "Finally!" and sat up straight as we took out seats.

"Commander, with what are you charging my client?" demanded the lawyer. He was also a good attorney, but I was not really in a mood to play around with him.

"First of all, counselor," I said, "Mr. Blair was asked directly by police officers the other day... one of those officers happening to be me... if he knew where Mr. Lang was. He said 'No', quite simply and directly. And it very much appears that was a lie. So we have lying to police. We also have him harboring a fugitive and helping that fugitive, the aforementioned Mr. Lang, hide from a warrant for Mr. Lang's arrest. And if Mr. Lang had anything to do with his wife's murder, we'll be adding Aiding and Abetting First Degree Murder to the list."

"For crying out loud." said the attorney. "All of this, keeping my client up late at night, badgering him with questions while he's exhausted... just for that little shit?"

"Counselor," I said, "I'm sure that you've advised your client that if he's sleepy, then he can take the Fifth. Now Mr. Blair I only have a few questions for you. First, did you have a sexual relationship with Diane Lang?"

"Yes I did." said Blair, coldly. So far, he was not taking the Fifth...

"You were part of their swingers' group?" I asked.

"Yes, I was."

"Did you and Mrs. Lang have sex without her husband's knowledge?"

"Not that I know of." said Blair. "Diane and I had sex alone on several occasions, but Larry either knew about it ahead of time, or Diane told him about it afterwards. I brought up a couple of those encounters with Larry myself, and Larry showed no surprise either time."

"So Mr. Lang had no reason to be jealous, to be angry at you and his wife?" I asked.

"Hell, no." said Blair contemptuously. "Larry Lang didn't have a jealous bone in his body. And he was banging other women on occasion, also."

"You were with Mr. Lang on the 9th, Mr. Blair?" I asked.

"Yes." said Blair. "We drove up there together earlier in the day, and we drove back home together after I got a phone call that Diane Lang had been killed."

"Who made that phone call to you, Mr. Blair?" I asked.

"A friend." said Blair. "That's all I'll tell you. I'm sure you can get your buddies in the NSA to tell you who it was, but I won't rat on a friend."

"Oh, we'll find out, Mr. Blair." I said. "And I find it suspicious that you won't tell us."

"Commander," said the lawyer, "this intimidation and harassment of my client is preposterous and offensive."

"Mis-ter Blair..." I said, ignoring the lawyer, my voice slow and pausing, ready to spring the big one, "... your own relationship with Mr. Lang was not platonic, was it? You and Mr. Lang were having a homosexual relationship, weren't you?"

Mr. Blair's eyes widened, then he realized how much I knew. The lawyer pulled Blair by the neck towards him and whispered something.

"No, I'll answer it." said Blair. He sighed, then said "Yes. Larry and I took those fishing vacations, like the one we were on on the 9th, to have sex together."

"Did his wife know?" I asked. "Or did the three of you party together, maybe sharing Larry as well as Diane?"

"Yes she did know." Blair said. "And yes, we partied as a bisexual threesome. You say that like it's a bad thing, Commander."

I was aware of Cindy's eyes averting to me as I answered: "Mr. Blair, it's not for me to decide here if your sexual relations are good or bad. What is bad, inexcusably bad, is the first degree murder of two persons, Mr. Blair. And right now, neither you nor your lover Larry Lang have any alibi, except each other... and that just became flimsy, didn't it?

I continued: "Yes, I'll be finding out who called you and told you of Diane's death. And yes, we can-- and we will-- check your car GPS, but that doesn't mean that you drove up to Lake Amengi-Nunagen together. One of you goes up there, the other stays behind and kills Diane Lang and her lover Tom Rollins."

"Is that a question, Commander?" asked the attorney, "or baseless speculation?"

"Baseless?" I asked. "We'll see. Just one last question: who tore up Mr. Lang's home? And why?"

"I have no idea." said Blair, casually. A bit too casually. He showed no surprise at the question.

"Larry didn't sneak out of your house and go rip the place to shreds himself?" I asked.

"No, he was with me from the time we left until we drove home in the early morning hours, then he was staying at my house the whole time afterwards until you showed up and arrested us." Blair said.

"Are you sure he stayed in your house, including while you were at Lightsource, such as the time you answered our questions?"

"I'm sure." said Blair. "Check my keychain; my alarm system can lock the doors automatically. I had the alarms to the doors and windows set; if Larry had opened a door, the alarm would've gone off. You can check with the NSA... or at least the alarm company... about that."

"I'll be sure to..." I said as I got up, getting tired of Blair's attitude, and also knowing that his lawyer very badly wanted him to invoke. "But it's interesting, Mr. Blair... I never said exactly when Larry's house was trashed. But you seemed to know..." I motioned to Cindy, and we left. I stepped quickly into Interrogation-1, not bothering to sit down.

"One quick question, Mr. Lang." I said. "Why was your house trashed so badly, and who did it?"

"I have no idea." said Lang, not seeming to be surprised at the question. "I was with Blair from the afternoon of the 9th until you came and got us."

"Funny, that." I said. "I never mentioned before that your house was trashed. Yet you seemed to know..." I turned to leave. "We'll be talking again, Mr. Lang."

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"So we have the videotape of Atkins' last interview in Interrogation-Alpha?" I asked Myron on the phone as I walked down the hall, a curious Lt. Cindy Ross following. Myron assured me that we did.

"Okay, Cindy," I said as we reached the anteroom to Interrogation-A, which required that we walk the full back and side lengths of Police Headquarters to reach. Who built this place? I wondered. "I want you to watch and listen in from the anteroom. I'll have Johnson in there with me."

"Roger that." said Cindy. I went on inside, and woke Atkins up.

"Sorry to awaken you, Mr. Atkins," I said, "and I apologize for keeping you here so late at night, and keeping you waiting. I'm afraid it couldn't be helped."

"Well, you're here now." said Atkins. "I'm sure you'll understand when I say let's get this overwith so I can go back home."

"I do understand." I said. "I think we have a suspect in the murder case of Diane Lang, and it appears your client Mr. Rollins actually left your dinner to come to Town and meet Mrs. Lang. Mr. Atkins, did you get any idea of anything suspicious about Mr. Rollins during your meeting?"

"Well, now that you mention it, he did seem distracted at times, as if he wasn't totally focused on our meeting." said Atkins, "And after he got that phone call, he was pretty much distracted, and of course left minutes later."

"Let me ask this, Mr. Atkins, as you're a salesman and a good judge of character: do you think Mr. Rollins would be capable of committing murder? Was he strong enough, mentally and physically?"

"Uhhh..." said Atkins. "He definitely was the controlling, in-charge type. So mentally, yes, he probably could've committed murder. And he was a fairly young, strong man, physically... I assume in your question that you mean killing without a gun... so yes, he probably was physically capable of killing."

"But in your dealings with him, you found him to be pleasant enough, someone you could have a beer with?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was a good guy, that way." Atkins said.

"If you'll stay here just another minute," I said, standing up "I need to check on something before I have my patrolman give you a ride home. Johnson, have the duty desk bring Mr. Atkins some coffee or soda or water if he wants anything."

I left the room, beckoning Cindy to come with me, and gathering everyone in the main conference room.

Part 18 - Clutching at Straws

"Okay, four suspects." I said to them. "Cabbie in the holding cells; Lang in Interrogation-1, Blair in Interrogation-2, Atkins in Interrogation-Alpha. Who do y'all think did it?"

My Detectives looked at me as if to say 'It's late, we're exhausted, and you're playing games with us?'.

"Seriously guys, I think I know who did it, and I'm wondering what you think." I said.

"It's after midnight, Commander." said Lt. Ross, speaking up on behalf of her Detectives. "Why don't you just tell us?"

"Okay, okay." I said. I got out my cellphone and called Paulina. "Yes, Paulina, it's me." I said. "I need a search warrant... yes it's thin... yes, here's what I'm searching for, based upon our video of the interrogations of these guys..." I told her what I was looking for. "Yes, I'll text you the bullet points... okay, thanks Paulina!" I then looked up at my Detectives... and my very tired Police Chief, who had just come into the room.

"Paulina's getting the warrant, and the Duty Desk Sergeant is already sending a team to the location to meet it." I said. "While we're waiting, here's what happened..."

To be continued.

You now have the clues, the same clues that gave the Iron Crowbar the straws he needed to clutch at.

Who killed Diane Lang? Who killed Tom Rollins? And what are those vital clues?

Answer next episode!