belief. How could he dare to continue to intrude on my family’s life? He’d done so much harm to various people over the years that I considered him an equal conspirator with my mother.
I wasn’t sure how, but I knew that there would be payback at some point. His perfidy would have a price. It didn’t make me feel better to think that Hamlet had probably made a similar comment before the last act of the play.
I decided to make everyone’s life easier, and I hid the files. Of course, I didn’t have a grand new idea on where to hide the file. So I put them in a plastic bag, and slid them in the pan under the dog cage. It was right where Sheila had hid the files originally – the same place where I’d found them at her house. Now they were in the same place at my house. I knew that Sheila would be able to find them here if need be, but no one else would think to look there.
I didn’t hear any more from Sheila after those two texts, so I knew what I had to do. I had to solve this case and clear her name. I wanted to make sure that she’d be cleared. If the informant was an active participant in the crime, I thought that the fact would mitigate whatever reprimands would be given to her.
So I dialed the number of the last missing witness and waited for him to answer. It was a local number, but I had known that going through the 50 or so Robert Jones in the directory would have taken too long. From Sheila’s texts, time would be of the essence from here on out.
A woman answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Is Robert Jones there?” I asked, hoping against hope that I had the right phone number.
“Robert’s been dead nearly a decade.”
I cringed. My last lead in this case was gone. I decided to see if this woman knew anything about the interview. I was really grasping for what I could get now.
I tried to make my voice sound as official as I could as I spoke. “I’m working on the Frias murder case. We apparently had a statement from Robert Jones about that case, but it’s gone missing. I’m trying to look at the cold case, but obviously it’s more difficult when I don’t know what was said.”
The woman’s voice had gone up an octave when she spoke again. “Oh that case. I remember it like it was yesterday. What can I tell you about it?”
I felt a rush of hope that maybe I’d learn something here. “Do you know what the statement was about? If I could know the content, it would go a long way towards helping me solve this case.”
“Certainly. Robert had gone to the local convenience store.” She named a street address that was a mile or so from the Gillespie house. “While he was there, he saw Mr. Gillespie buying some cleaning products. He reported it to the police, and they took a statement from him.”
“I’m assuming that this was the night of the murder? It had to be, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. It was about 7pm. I remember that because Wheel of Fortune was just coming on. That used to be Robert’s favorite show, and instead he had to run to the store to buy something. He was not happy.”
“And he saw Mr. Gillespie? Was he sure?” I thought about the statements made by the family where they were all in each other’s company for the day. If the father had been at a convenient store, what did that say for the rest of the family? Had they all lied for their father? They’d given him an alibi when he’d had none.
“Yes, he was buying some lotion or some such. I don’t remember the details, but it was him. Robert was certain of it.”
I thought about what she’d just said. That fit with the other witness who had indicated that the murder had occurred in the few minutes leading up to 7pm. Now we had the fact that the Gillespie family had lied for their father. The alibi was shot, and the family was all present at the time of the murder. Mr. Gillespie had fled the country after the fact, and they had not returned. Sheila was right that things tended to become clearer long
I wasn’t sure how, but I knew that there would be payback at some point. His perfidy would have a price. It didn’t make me feel better to think that Hamlet had probably made a similar comment before the last act of the play.
I decided to make everyone’s life easier, and I hid the files. Of course, I didn’t have a grand new idea on where to hide the file. So I put them in a plastic bag, and slid them in the pan under the dog cage. It was right where Sheila had hid the files originally – the same place where I’d found them at her house. Now they were in the same place at my house. I knew that Sheila would be able to find them here if need be, but no one else would think to look there.
I didn’t hear any more from Sheila after those two texts, so I knew what I had to do. I had to solve this case and clear her name. I wanted to make sure that she’d be cleared. If the informant was an active participant in the crime, I thought that the fact would mitigate whatever reprimands would be given to her.
So I dialed the number of the last missing witness and waited for him to answer. It was a local number, but I had known that going through the 50 or so Robert Jones in the directory would have taken too long. From Sheila’s texts, time would be of the essence from here on out.
A woman answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Is Robert Jones there?” I asked, hoping against hope that I had the right phone number.
“Robert’s been dead nearly a decade.”
I cringed. My last lead in this case was gone. I decided to see if this woman knew anything about the interview. I was really grasping for what I could get now.
I tried to make my voice sound as official as I could as I spoke. “I’m working on the Frias murder case. We apparently had a statement from Robert Jones about that case, but it’s gone missing. I’m trying to look at the cold case, but obviously it’s more difficult when I don’t know what was said.”
The woman’s voice had gone up an octave when she spoke again. “Oh that case. I remember it like it was yesterday. What can I tell you about it?”
I felt a rush of hope that maybe I’d learn something here. “Do you know what the statement was about? If I could know the content, it would go a long way towards helping me solve this case.”
“Certainly. Robert had gone to the local convenience store.” She named a street address that was a mile or so from the Gillespie house. “While he was there, he saw Mr. Gillespie buying some cleaning products. He reported it to the police, and they took a statement from him.”
“I’m assuming that this was the night of the murder? It had to be, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. It was about 7pm. I remember that because Wheel of Fortune was just coming on. That used to be Robert’s favorite show, and instead he had to run to the store to buy something. He was not happy.”
“And he saw Mr. Gillespie? Was he sure?” I thought about the statements made by the family where they were all in each other’s company for the day. If the father had been at a convenient store, what did that say for the rest of the family? Had they all lied for their father? They’d given him an alibi when he’d had none.
“Yes, he was buying some lotion or some such. I don’t remember the details, but it was him. Robert was certain of it.”
I thought about what she’d just said. That fit with the other witness who had indicated that the murder had occurred in the few minutes leading up to 7pm. Now we had the fact that the Gillespie family had lied for their father. The alibi was shot, and the family was all present at the time of the murder. Mr. Gillespie had fled the country after the fact, and they had not returned. Sheila was right that things tended to become clearer long
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