Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five
I walked into the police station with confidence, but not rude or intimidating. I had been there many times during the John McKinley investigation. I had answered all of the questions they asked me about John McKinley but they evidently didn’t share everything they knew with me. It was certain that the evidence I gave to them helped to bring John McKinley down. 

Detective Hagan was waiting for me when I entered his office. I know the front desk called and alerted him that I was there. He stood and shook my hand before he spoke.

Detective Hagan asked, “What brings you to the homicide desk? Did you sell some incriminating items to someone new?”

I replied, “I have been reading the case file figuring maybe writing a book and you guys left me out of the loop on a lot of stuff. You knew John McKinley was responsible for my husband’s death but no one said a word.”

Detective Hagan replied, “We had what we needed to convict him on the kidnapping case. We even kept the murder case in the background in the event we needed it later and we didn’t want anything else to interfere with the kidnapping and trafficking case. If we failed with the kidnapping charges we would still have the murder and vehicular homicide we could still use for another prosecution.”

I said, “You even knew that he was a hired gun and the husband was involved but you let me believe that the gang just picked a woman and her daughter at random to kidnap and traffic. I must have seemed like an idiot to you.”

Detective Hagan said, “You had some good evidence and we probably would never have made a case without it. John McKinley did pull the trigger and was guilty of that even though he was paid to do so. We couldn’t make the case against Timothy yet. You also need to remember you are not a member of the police department and are not privy to all of the information just because you want it.”

I asked, “So I suppose your intention was to get John to testify against Timothy?”

Detective Hagan answered, “That was exactly what we were going to do but it looks like Timothy knew it too and wasn’t going to allow it. Now we have Timothy in jail and all we can prove at this point is that he killed John. We have a courthouse full of witnesses to testify about that.”

I replied, “Timothy will get some sympathy from jurors because he avenged his wife’s killer.” 

Detective Hagan said, “It is a long time to trial and we are going to try to get enough evidence that he paid John to kill his wife. I understand you had a talk with Timothy’s girlfriend Linda.”

I responded, “I did. How did you know that? Did she tell you?”

Detective Hagan answered, “No, we have been watching her house and worksite ever since we found out Timothy was involved. As soon as we knew there was a girlfriend, we watched Timothy very closely. Her phone is bugged and all of his calls from jail are recorded. They have had a few calls but nothing incriminating has been discussed.”

I replied, “They know you are recording them. They won’t say anything as long as they think they are bugged.”

Detective Hagan said, “We are looking for financial evidence showing money changing hands between Timothy and John McKinley. It was most likely done with cash but where would Timothy get a large sum of cash without taking it out of the bank?”

I said, “Maybe Linda was a go between and fronted the money.”

Detective Hagan responded, “That is a possibility and would make her an accessory. If we find that to be true we can put leverage on her to rat him out to stay out of jail.”

I replied, “I think there is a good chance she is involved even though she worked hard to try to distance herself from him. I don’t know if she had that kind of money but she might know where to get it.”

Detective Hagan assured me they were still working hard on the case and he appreciated all the help I had given them in the past. He couldn’t promise to let me know everything until the case was over since I wasn’t actually law enforcement. 

I left the police station and went back to what has become my new home. Lincoln ran to hug me as soon as I came through the door. Angela was making dinner and it smelled great. I knew I would talk to her after Lincoln went to bed. I enjoyed talking to Angela. It was nice to connect to an older and wiser woman. She helped me to understand life and myself. 

I was missing Charles these days and really needed to talk to him. I made a mental plan to go to his grave on my day off and talk. He never answered of course but I felt a lot better just talking it out. I was off in a couple of days and that seemed like a good chance to chat with him.

Angela always cooked what was considered comfort food. It reminded me of my mom’s cooking and made me feel like I was home. It had been a while since I had talked to mom and maybe I was due for a visit to her while I was off too. I would take Lincoln and give Angela a break for a while.

Angela had made meatloaf and mashed potatoes with green beans, something my mother had made hundreds of times. The taste was very familiar, like they learned from the same mother, but they were both from the same generation so that could be part of the reason. 

I got Lincoln ready for bed. He put on his pajamas, brushed his teeth and said his prayers. He always talked to “daddy” after the prayers were completed. It touched my heart at a time I was missing talking to him myself. I kissed Lincoln goodnight. He would be asleep in a matter of minutes so I walked into the living room where Angela was sitting. I sat in a rocker that was nearby where Angela sat and started a gentle rocking back and forth. 

Angela could see the tear that had escaped my eye while I listened to Lincoln talk to his daddy. I was overwhelmed at the moment that he would never get to know his daddy except through the descriptions that I could give to him. I missed Charles more than ever at this moment.

Angela asked, “Is everything okay?”

I replied, “Yes I am fine. I have been thinking a lot about Charles lately and when Lincoln talked to his daddy after he said his prayers it was just all I could bear at the time. I quickly told him good night and left because I didn’t want him to see me cry.”

Angela replied, “It has been my experience that there is no rhyme nor reason why we have those thoughts of our loved ones. They just happen, randomly. I think they are always there but we stay busy enough to not think about them. When things slow down then the memories find a way to creep out.” 

I replied, “I think you are a wise woman. I hope I can gain some wisdom as I age. I can’t understand why some people are so mean to others. Why would someone pay money to have their wife killed? Why don’t they just leave, instead of leaving a little girl without a mother?”

Angela said, “Well if they paid someone that means there was some degree of planning. If they did it themselves they could argue they just snapped but paying to have it done means planning was required.”

I responded, “That is a very valid point. You could assume there had been some arguments that escalated over time and maybe he reached the stopping point. Maybe a lot was about money. Timothy didn’t want to pay child support. Maybe he didn’t want to give up custody. Maybe he didn’t want to split his assets.”

Angela replied, “Maybe there was no love there to begin with. Marriages usually break up over either money, infidelity, or an issue with in-laws. When infidelity is the reason, money is usually a secondary reason. If money was also a reason, it had to be a lot of money, since the amount needed to get the murder done would have to be deducted from whatever sum that would be gained.”

I replied, “Exactly, the amount of money spent on the killing subtracted from the amount benefitted would have to be large enough to assume all of the prevailing risk. The cops haven’t found any money trail from Timothy to John McKinley. They can’t even find that Timothy had enough money to hire a killer and they can’t find that Linda did either.”

Angela said, “Maybe it never happened and they are just grasping at straws. Until they find the actual evidence it is all just speculation and you can’t go to court with just speculation.”

I responded, “You’re right. John McKinley knew for sure and that is probably why he was killed. But if Timothy had the kahunas to kill John McKinley, why didn’t he just kill his wife himself? Maybe he needed an alibi for the wife’s murder but figured on sympathy when he killed John.”

Angela replied, “This kind of transaction is going to be done with cash. Where would they get that much cash without leaving a trail? Does either of their families have any money?”

I said, “I guess I have some more research to do. I have started making notes to use in the book. I may have to talk with some neighbors again.” 

It was getting late and I had to tell Angela goodnight. I had a work day tomorrow and I intended to make another stop by Timothy’s neighbors on the way home. I don’t know how much financial information the neighbors would have but they might know what direction to look. I may even be on the wrong track altogether. I usually go right to sleep when I go to bed, but tonight my brain was still struggling for answers. 

I not only had Charles on my mind but questions about John McKinley and Timothy also bounced around in the chambers of my memories. I couldn’t figure out how Timothy managed to hire a killer without leaving a paper trail somewhere. 

What about Timothy’s daughter, was he planning on letting them traffic her. Maybe that was how he was going to pay for the wife’s murder. Was Timothy that callous and could he sell out his own daughter?