PART III Chapter Eighteen
As soon as Tim left, Kate took the water bottle to Megan for DNA testing. The DNA wouldn’t identify a killer but it would help them with a motive if it matched the fetus. There was other work to do, for one thing they needed a complete background on Tim Thomas.
A DNA match would prove Tim had lied about his story that he and Shannon were only friends. Kate suspected he would lie about anything except what she could prove with physical evidence. Kate knew there would be a wait. She needed the DNA and background information before she had another talk with Tim.
Megan worked on extracting a DNA sample to compare with the fetus. They also had found DNA on the gum wrapper that was located at the crime scene close to the driveway beside some bushes where they thought their suspect was waiting for the victim to arrive home. That DNA would also be compared to Tim Thomas.
Megan continued putting together evidence against Tim Thomas. Some things made sense to her and some were a puzzle. She would gather the facts and let the detectives figure out what made sense. She would give what she had to Kate when she finished it. She traced cell phone locations from cell phone pings of all of the people on Shannon’s contact list.
Megan told Kate she had all of the background information about Tim except the DNA test. Kate and Megan made a plan to get take out for dinner and discuss the case at home.
When the day was over Megan walked out to a waiting Kate carrying a folder full of papers. They got into Kate’s car and headed for home, stopping first at a small local restaurant they used for takeout often. They offered sandwiches and salads and knew both Kate and Megan. The advantage of this particular restaurant was it also had a drive thru window.
They both ordered sandwiches and Kate ordered drinks they could pour a dab of Jameson into. They drove their bag full of wrapped sandwiches and chips home to their table where they discussed most of their cases. The two women kicked off their shoes as soon as they got inside their house. They sat at their dining table and ate, before Megan opened her folder to begin telling Kate the things they had learned about Tim Thomas.
Megan opened her folder and took out a number of pages detailing information about Tim Thomas.
Megan began reading, “Tim was thirty two years old and married to thirty year old Christine Thomas. We have his address which is located in an affluent section of town. Tim owns and drives a silver BMW X1 crossover. The most interesting information is that Tim is a vice president of the Citizens Bank, the very bank where our first victim, Susan Warren worked.”
Kate’s mouth dropped with surprise. Both of the cases they were working on may have just got a shot of new relevant information.
Kate said, “That doesn’t prove murder by any means but circumstantially it fits the two incidents together. When we get the DNA profile we should also compare it to the unknown male DNA we obtained from the body of Susan Warren.”
Megan replied, “I already put that on my to-do list. We should add that to our information for Susan Warren.”
Kate said, “I am going to go back and interview the other people that worked with Susan Warren at the bank. Maybe some people there saw them together. She may have even confided to someone about having an affair with her boss.”
Kate had plans to interview Tim Thomas again but wanted to wait for the results of the DNA comparisons and she also wanted to talk to more people who worked for the bank. She firmly believed a detective shouldn’t ask a question she didn’t already know the answer to. She had a list of the employees from the bank who had been there for a long time.
Kate had a list of people she hadn’t interviewed before but she had hoped she could obtain some useful information now. She included several tellers, security and even the president. Kate carefully crafted her list.
Cybil Cranston, teller.
JoAnn Johnson, teller.
Eric Williams, security guard.
John Rogers, teller.
Denise Black, secretary to the president.
Robert Green, President.
Kate began with Cybil Cranston. She didn’t want to interfere with her job so she set up an appointment for Cybil to come to the station. This would also prevent the others at the bank from knowing about the interview. Kate wanted the interviews to take place without Tim Thomas becoming aware of them. She knew that the employees at the bank would talk among themselves but since Tim was a boss it was unlikely they would go and tell him about the interviews.
Kate welcomed Cybil when she arrived and led her to the interview room. Kate asked Cybil to have a seat and pointed to a chair on the opposite side of the table that would separate the two women. Kate shook Cybil’s hand before taking her own seat. Kate asked all of the usual questions about how long she worked at the bank and how well she knew Tim Thomas. She asked about other people too so it wouldn’t be so obvious that Tim was a prime suspect. She wanted Cybil to tell the truth about what she knew.
Kate asked Cybil if she knew anything about Tim’s personal life and Cybil did know that Tim was having affairs with other women. She didn’t know who any of them were and never saw them but had heard the rumors at the bank. She had witnessed Tim taking long lunches and leaving early from work. She was sure Tim was going to see other women but she had never seen him with one.
Kate asked, “Did you know Shannon Graves?”
Cybil responded, “I worked beside her for a couple of years.”
Kate asked, “Did you ever see Shannon and Tim act inappropriately together?”
Cybil replied, “They barely spoke together at work but looking back I guess they were trying to keep anyone from suspecting anything. I didn’t suspect them of anything because I knew Shannon had a steady boyfriend. I think the two had planned on getting married.”
Kate had all the information she was likely to get from this witness. Without her actually seeing Tim with Susan or anyone else it was just hearsay information. Kate thanked Cybil for coming in and asked her to keep their discussions confidential. She gave Cybil her card and told her to call if she thought of anything new.
Kate made notes in her notebook beside Cybil’s name and planned her next interview. She called JoAnn Johnson and asked her if she would come in for an interview. JoAnn agreed to come in for an interview and to keep it confidential.
Kate greeted JoAnn Johnson and invited her to follow her and have a seat. She started with small talk about her job and who she knew at the bank. The conversation finally turned to discussions about Tim Thomas and what JoAnn knew about him. JoAnn told Kate she knew Tim fooled around and admitted that he had once hit on her. She had declined emphatically and Tim moved on. She had also revealed matching info that Cybil had previously revealed. She knew that Tim took long lunches and left work early often.
Unlike Cybil, JoAnn revealed that she had seen Tim with other women in his car a few times. JoAnn had been to Tim’s house for parties and had met his wife. She knew what she looked like so she recognized other women in Tim’s car.
Kate asked, “Did you ever see Susan in his car?”
JoAnn replied, “I saw them leave together a few times but I never saw her actually in his car, although I assumed she had been. She had car trouble for a while and Tim took her home. I think her boyfriend wasn’t able to because of work.”
Kate asked, “Did you ever see Tim and Susan act inappropriately at work?”
JoAnn replied, “Never. They were always professional at work. I don’t think that many people at work put the two together. I had just happened to see them together and even then they didn’t display any form of affection in public.”
Kate asked, “Is there anyone at the bank who is a close enough friend to Susan for her to share personal information with.”
JoAnn answered, “She was always close with Denise Black, the secretary to the president of the bank. They hung out some and if she shared it with anyone it would have been her.”
Kate made a note to interview Denise Black next before thanking JoAnn and giving her the card and speech about calling if she thought of anything else.
The day had been long and Kate had received some confirmations about Tim and his extramarital affairs. She would talk to Denise but not until the next day. She would discuss what the women told her in their interviews with Megan when they got home but the first thing to do was to go and wait for Megan to finish her last task for the day.