Chapter 102 Confessions
DETECTIVE ROURKE'S POV
The police station was buzzing with activity. Officers were everywhere processing arrests and filing reports and making phone calls. It had been three days since the raid on the Hayes compound and we were still sorting through everything. Still piecing together the full extent of Hayes's criminal empire.
I was sitting in my office looking at the files spread across my desk. Years of investigation. Years of dead ends and false leads and frustration. And now finally we had what we needed. We had witnesses. We had evidence. We had recordings. We had everything.
There was a knock on my door.
"Come in," I said.
Officer Martinez stuck her head in. "Cross and Harper are here for their statements," she said.
"Send them in," I said.
A moment later Jason and Caitlyn walked into my office. Jason looked better than he had at the hospital. His color was back. His shoulder was healing. Caitlyn looked tired. Like she had not been sleeping well. But she was here. She was ready to talk.
"Have a seat," I said gesturing to the chairs across from my desk.
They sat down. Jason took Caitlyn's hand. She held onto it tight.
"How are you both doing?" I asked.
"Better," Jason said. "Shoulder is healing up nicely. No more infection."
"And you Caitlyn?" I asked. "How are you and the baby?"
"We are okay," Caitlyn said. "The baby is fine. I am just having trouble sleeping. Keep having nightmares."
"That is normal after what you went through," I said. "Have you talked to the counselor the hospital recommended?"
"Not yet," Caitlyn said. "But I am going to. Next week."
"Good," I said. "Therapy can really help with trauma. I have seen it help a lot of people."
"Can we just get this over with?" Caitlyn asked. "I want to give my statement and then go home and try to rest."
"Of course," I said. "Let me start by saying that everything you tell me today will be recorded. It will be used in court when we prosecute the remaining members of Hayes's organization. Do you both understand that?"
"Yes," Jason said.
"Yes," Caitlyn said.
I pulled out my recorder and set it on the desk between us. Then I pressed record.
"This is Detective James Rourke conducting interviews with Jason Cross and Caitlyn Harper regarding the events of January eighteenth at the Hayes compound. Jason let us start with you. Can you walk me through what happened from your perspective?"
Jason took a breath and started talking. He told me about getting the call that Caitlyn had been taken. About gathering his crew and planning the assault. About coordinating with my tactical team. About crashing through the wall and fighting his way into the house.
"I knew I had to get to her," Jason said. "No matter what it took. Even if it meant dying I was going to get to her."
"And when you found the panic room?" I asked. "What happened then?"
"Hayes said he would trade Caitlyn for me," Jason said. "So I went in. Figured at least if he killed me Caitlyn would be safe."
"But he did not intend to keep his word," I said.
"No," Jason said. "He told me he was going to kill me and then kill Caitlyn anyway. Said we would all go down together."
"And that is when my team breached through the wall," I said.
"Yeah," Jason said. "You guys cut through just in time. A few seconds later and Hayes would have shot me."
I nodded and made some notes. Then I turned to Caitlyn.
"Caitlyn can you tell me what happened from your perspective?" I asked. "Start from when Hayes took you from the meeting."
Caitlyn's voice was shaky but she told me everything. About how Viktor had tried to help her. About how the guards dragged her to the panic room. About how Hayes threatened to kill her and the baby if we did not let him escape.
"He was so calm about it," Caitlyn said. "Like killing me was just another business decision. Like my life meant nothing."
"But you are alive," I said. "You survived."
"Because you shot him," Caitlyn said. "If you had not taken that shot I would be dead right now."
"I did what needed to be done," I said. "Hayes was not going to surrender. He was going to kill both of you. I had no choice."
"I am glad you did it," Caitlyn said. "I am glad he is dead. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No," I said. "It makes you human. Hayes tried to kill you multiple times. He terrorized you. He threatened your baby. You have every right to be glad he cannot hurt you anymore."
Caitlyn nodded but she still looked troubled. Like she was wrestling with her feelings.
"Let me ask you both something," I said. "During the time you were held captive did Hayes say anything incriminating? Anything about his business or his crimes?"
"He confessed to everything," Caitlyn said. "He told me he killed people. He told me he ran drugs and guns. He told me he had cops on his payroll. He said all of it."
"Did he give you any names?" I asked. "Any specifics?"
"Some," Caitlyn said. "He mentioned a few cops he had bribed. A few politicians. I wrote down everything I could remember and gave it to Officer Martinez."
"Good," I said. "That is very good. Those names will help us root out the corruption in the department."
I reached into my desk and pulled out a small device. It was a recording device that we had recovered from the panic room.
"I also have something else," I said. "Hayes had security cameras in that panic room. Audio and video. Everything he said to you was recorded."
"What?" Caitlyn said. "He recorded it?"
"He did," I said. "Probably for his own protection. In case someone accused him of something he could prove what really happened. But now that the recording is evidence against him."
"What did he say on the recording?" Jason asked.
"Everything," I said. "He confessed to murder. To drug trafficking. To extortion. To bribery. To kidnapping. To attempt murder. All of it is on tape."
"So you do not even need my testimony?" Caitlyn asked. "You have him on tape confessing?"
"We have him on tape," I said. "But we still need your testimony. We need you to verify that the voice on the tape is Hayes. We need you to confirm the context of the conversation. We need you to tell the jury what it was like being held hostage by him."
"Okay," Caitlyn said. "I can do that."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Testifying can be difficult. The defense attorneys will try to discredit you. They will ask you hard questions. They will try to make you look bad."
"I do not care," Caitlyn said. "If my testimony helps put Hayes's people away then I will do it. I will do whatever it takes."
"That is very brave," I said.
"What about Viktor?" Caitlyn asked. "You said you were not going to charge him. Is that still true?"
"Yes," I said. "Viktor cooperated fully. He gave us information about the organization. He testified against Hayes. And he tried to protect you during the meeting. As far as I am concerned he is a witness not a criminal."
"Good," Caitlyn said. "I am glad. He was always kind to me even when Collin was not."
I made a few more notes and then turned off the recorder.
"Okay
I think I have everything I need for now," I said. "If I have any follow-up questions I will call you."
"Okay," Jason said.