“Do you want to promote someone?”
Cooper hangs his head and shakes it a bit. “Damn, I think I drank, uh, yeah, drank too fast or, eh, something.”
“Let me get you a glass of water.”
Cooper simply nods and grabs the sides of the recliner as if to hold himself upright. The room starts to get blurry. Soon, the room begins to spin.
King brings Cooper a glass of water, knowing it won’t help.
King holds the glass as Cooper tries to drink from it. He gets some in his mouth, but about half of it dribbles out onto his shirt.
Cooper slowly drawls, “whaaaat ish hippining tos mee?.”
King says nothing, but steps back to watch the final minutes as Cooper struggles to keep his eyes open. He tries to ask for help, but his speech is too impaired. His tongue feels like it has swollen to three times its size. Cooper puts up a good fight, resisting the urge to completely pass out. He slumps over in his chair twice and pulls himself back up into a slouched position. He no longer has a sense of anything around him. The room starts to fade in and out of his vision until finally, his eyes roll back, and everything is black. He slumps to his left and collapses. He lies unconscious with his left arm hanging over the left arm rest, his side against the chair, and his head hanging cocked to the left resting on his left shoulder.
King is pleased with his work, but knows there is much more to do to make this plan a success. King goes into the kitchen and pours more of the rum into the sink. He then takes a small amount of rum and sprinkles it onto the front of Cooper’s shirt so he will still carry a strong odor of rum when the police arrive. King then removes the latex gloves from his back pants pocket and puts them on. He then wipes down the bottle of rum and takes it into the living area. He grabs Cooper’s left hand and presses it multiple times against the bottle, then pours some rum into Cooper’s glass sitting on the round table. He then places the rum bottle next to the glass. Next, he takes the glass he was using for his rum and coke, washes it, dries it, and puts it back in the cupboard.
King then takes a rag and begins to wipe down anything in the kitchen or living room he may have touched. After being satisfied he has gotten everything in the two rooms, he pulls out the small revolver and completely wipes down the outside of the gun, then puts it back in his jacket pocket. He then enters Cooper’s office, sits down at his computer, and types out a letter. He then crumples the letter a bit and leaves it on Cooper’s desk. That should seal the deal, he muses.
King goes back into the living area, keeping his latex gloves on to not leave fingerprints anywhere. He sits on a couch facing Cooper, who hasn’t moved since losing consciousness. King takes in a deep breath and begins to imagine himself owning the entire business and the money he will make. As he is pondering his future, he notices the glass of water on the coffee table in front of the two recliners. Oh my god, I forgot about that glass! He quickly rises, grabs the glass, and takes it to the kitchen where he washes it and returns it to the cupboard. That could have been a fatal error. This causes King to look around more closely for anything else he may have forgotten. Satisfied he has covered his tracks, he sits back down to relax. The only thing to do now is wait for Naomi to return home.
At 8:40 pm, King receives a phone call from Naomi.
“Is it alright for me to come home now?”
“Yes Naomi, I’m waiting for you.”
“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”
At 8:52 pm, King hears the garage door opening. Naomi is home. She enters from the garage into the laundry room and then the kitchen. King is now standing in the living area.
“It’s done Naomi,” announces King, “come look.”
Shaking with nerves and some regret, Naomi slowly walks through the kitchen until she sees Ryan slumped over in his recliner.
“Ahh!” she screams as she puts her left hand to her mouth.
“Calm down Naomi, it’s going to be okay.”
“Is he dead?” she whimpers.
“If not, he’s awfully close. Remember, we need to make this look like a suicide. Now, I need you to stand right here for a minute,” as King points to a spot on the living area floor, about ten feet from Cooper.
“Why?”
“You’ll see, just stand there for a moment.”
Naomi takes a few steps to the spot King pointed to and looks at him. “Now what?”
King reaches into his right jacket pocket and removes the loaded revolver.
“No!, shouts Naomi, “you said you wouldn’t do that in front of me.”
“I promise Naomi, I’m not going to shoot Ryan,” says King as he stares at Naomi with a steely look in his eyes.
Naomi is taken aback, as the tone of King’s voice and look in his eyes scares her. She then sees King raise his right arm and point the revolver right at her chest.
“Justin, what are…”
BAM! BAM!
King fires two quick shots into the middle of Naomi’s chest. Naomi gasps, steps back, then immediately falls to the floor. Naomi twitches for only a couple seconds before her body lies still. King’s shots were dead on; the hollow point bullets blowing up the heart inside of Naomi’s chest. Her death comes quickly.
King stands there looking at Naomi as gun smoke and the smell of burnt gun powder fills the room. His plan has worked perfectly. King feels a calmness come over him, as the tension has been relieved. The hard part is over, now all he has to do is play it out.
After several minutes of just taking in the scene, King takes his glove-covered hand and rubs it on the outside of Cooper's limp right hand, hoping to transfer gunshot residue from his glove onto Cooper’s hand. He then takes the gun and presses it into Cooper's right hand and fingers several times. He then wraps Cooper's fingers around the gun and rests his right hand on the right arm rest, with the gun still in the hand.
King takes one more look around to be sure he has covered all his bases. He doesn’t want to leave any trace of him being there this night. Once he is satisfied, he steps out on the front porch, locking and closing the door behind him. King then looks down the street to see if anyone is out and about. He does not want to be seen leaving the house. Not seeing anyone, King quietly, but quickly, walks to the end of the cul-de-sac to his parked car on Oak Avenue, just around the corner. He gets in and drives away. Couldn’t have gone better, he thinks to himself.
After the Shooting
The next day, Thursday, King arrives at the office a bit late as usual. He says hi to Lisa, the administrative assistant, and continues straight to his office and closes the door. He tries to focus on what he needs to accomplish at multiple job sites, but finds it difficult to concentrate. He finds his mind drifting to what he will say when the police come to interview him. He’s practiced it in his head numerous times, but wants to be sure he is consistent in his answers. He tries to anticipate what the police might ask him.
After about 45 minutes in his office, Lisa knocks on his door.
“What is it Lisa?”
“I’ve had a couple of phone calls for Ryan but he’s not in the office yet. Was he going to be late today?” she asks.
“Not that I know of,” responds King as he shrugs his shoulders.
“I tried to reach him on his cell, but it went to voice message,” Lisa tells him.
“Yeah, maybe he had a meeting this morning and forgot to tell you,” suggests King.
“Hmm, maybe,” says Lisa as she shuts the door.
At about 9:00 am, Cooper is starting to regain consciousness. He opens his eyes, but items in the room are blurry and his head is pounding. He sits up, but closes his eyes again, and rests in a drowsy condition. He is finally able to sit up in the chair, but doesn’t feel like he can stand yet. He also feels a bit nauseous, and the air has a strange smell to it. What the hell happened to me last night, he thinks.
Cooper’s mouth is extremely dry. As he starts to further gain consciousness, he decides to try to pull himself up to walk to the kitchen for a glass of water. He puts one
hand on each arm rest, carefully centers his legs, then pushes himself into a standing position. He takes a few seconds to maintain his balance. As he turns to start to walk, he sees something lying on the floor about twelve feet away. At first, he is not sure what he sees, but quickly realizes it is Naomi. He starts to move quickly toward her, but loses his balance and falls, hitting his right hip on the coffee table in the center of the room. He screams out as pain shoots into his hip. Cooper slowly gets up on his hands and knees and crawls over to Naomi.
He can’t believe what he sees. Naomi’s blouse is soaked in dried blood. Her mouth is open, and her eyes are shut. Her head is turned to the right and there is a small trail of dried blood that has dripped from the corner of her mouth. Cooper touches her arm and face, knowing instantly she is dead.
“WHAT HAPPENED!?” screams out Cooper. “Who killed my sweet Naomi? HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!”
No one can hear Cooper’s screams. He realizes he needs to find his cell phone to call the police. The shock of finding Naomi dead has helped clear his mind, although he is still unsteady on his feet. He sees his cell phone on the round table next to his recliner. He also sees a drink glass and bottle of rum on the table. He grabs the phone and quickly dials 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“I need help! I believe my wife has been shot and she is dead! Someone came in last night and killed her,” he says between panting breaths.
“Okay sir, try to stay calm. I have your address here and we are sending officers out now. Can you tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know. I woke up this morning and was very dizzy, then I saw my wife on the floor. When I checked on her, she was dead. It looks like she was shot.”
“Alright, do you know who came into your house?”
“No, I must have been asleep, I just don’t understand right now. I just don’t know.”
“Are there any weapons in the house right now?”
“No, no weapons. Well, I do have a gun in my office, but that’s it.”
“Our officers are almost there sir, can you walk out your front door for us?”
“Uh, yes I think I can walk now.”
“Okay, when officers arrive, I will need you to walk out your front door with no weapons and your hands in the air. This is only for our officers' protection.”
“I don’t have a weapon.”
“I know, it’s just a precaution. Can you do that for me?”
“Yes.”
The dispatcher keeps Cooper on the phone for another minute or so until officers are on the scene.
“The officers are outside now and ready for you. You can walk outside now. Remember, keep your hands in the air.”
Cooper slowly makes his way to the front door. He unlocks and opens it. He steps outside and hears the command, “hands in the air sir.”
Cooper puts his hands in the air and two officers approach from the side of the house. One officer pats him down for weapons, then tells him he can put his hands down. The second officer, Officer Regan, asks where Cooper’s wife is.
“She is in the living room on the floor”
Just then a third officer arrives and stands with Cooper as Officer Regan and his partner go into the home. Officers find Naomi dead on the floor with what appear to be two gunshots to the chest. Officer Regan finds a Smith and Wesson five-shot revolver on the floor just to the right of the recliner Cooper had been sitting in. Officers check the entire house for any other persons, then quickly secure the scene for detectives and crime scene investigators.
Officer Regan then approaches Cooper again, “Can you tell me what happened here?”
Cooper is crying, “I don’t know, I woke up and she was dead on the floor. That’s all I know.”
“Were you home all night?”
“Yes, as far as I know.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, I can’t remember much of last night.”
“Where were you sleeping?”
“I woke up in my recliner”
“Which one is that?”
Cooper points to his recliner, “that one.”
“Is the gun on the floor yours?”
“Huh? What gun?”
“Alright, I think we better wait for homicide detectives to get here,” Officer Regan says in frustration. “They will want to take you to the station to get a full interview from you. You willing to do that?”
“Of course officer, anything I can do to help.”
Cooper is placed in the back of a police cruiser to keep him secure and out of the crime scene. Paramedics check his vitals and provide him an orange-flavored beverage containing electrolytes. Fifteen minutes later, two detectives arrive followed by two crime scene technicians. By now, neighbors have started to gather in their yards to see what is going on.
Detectives Bill Masters and Jane Tippen arrive and get a quick briefing from officers. Masters and Tippen are seasoned detectives who have worked a number of homicides. Masters and Tippen make a good pair, as Masters takes more of a hard-line approach, while Tippen likes to take more time to build a rapport with witnesses and suspects alike. Masters is 42 years old, about six foot two, with broad shoulders. He has brown straight hair he parts on the left side and wears a neatly trimmed mustache. He typically wears dress pants, a sports jacket, and tie. Today he is wearing a blue tweed sport coat with a matching blue striped tie. Tippen is 37 years old, about five foot six, husky build with short blond curly hair. She typically dresses in cotton-blend pants, a blouse, and a jacket. Today she is wearing beige pants, an emerald green blouse, and matching beige jacket.
Detective Masters immediately asks patrol to cover Cooper’s hands with paper bags to protect any possible forensic evidence, then transport Cooper to the station and sit with him until detectives return to get his statement. Both detectives then examine the crime scene, taking notes and initial photos of what they observe. Without touching the weapon, Masters examines the gun lying on the floor. From the look of the victim, it does not appear as though she had any chance of survival. The victim, identified as Naomi Cooper, is wearing a light cream-colored blouse, and dark-colored pants. The blouse is soaked in blood and there appear to be two entrance wounds on the victim’s chest. A set of car keys are lying on the floor next to her body. A small hand-held black purse is on the kitchen table.
“Maybe she came home from somewhere and surprised an intruder,” suggests Tippen.
“Maybe,” responds Masters, “but I’m putting my money on the husband killing her. I don’t think an intruder would have left his gun behind.”
“No, probably not,” agrees Tippen.
“Regan said the husband was sleeping in this recliner,” advises Masters. “Looks like he may have been drinking and had the gun with him. If he drank that much rum, it’s no wonder he doesn’t remember much”
“Any sign of forced entry?” asks Tippen.
“Patrol said no, and I haven’t seen any. Regan told me he could hear Cooper unlock the door handle before opening it.”
“What about the deadbolt?”
“No, just the doorknob lock.”
“So, someone could have locked the doorknob and pulled the door shut as he or she was leaving,” suggests Tippen.
“Yeah, I suppose so,” agrees Masters.
Back at the station, Ryan Cooper’s hands are processed for gunshot residue and two samples of his blood are drawn for drug and blood alcohol testing. He is also fingerprinted. He is then placed in an interview room where he is watched by an officer through the one-way window. He is given a large cup of coffee to help him become more alert and coherent. After the electrolytes and now coffee, Cooper is starting to feel better. He continues to review in his head what happened to Naomi and tries to remember the series of events from the night before. He believes he remembers King being at the house, but is not sure.
It seems to Cooper like he has been in the room for hours, but it has only been forty-five minutes when D
etectives Masters and Tippen enter the room, sitting down at the table across from him
“Hello Mr. Cooper,” says Masters. “We are very sorry about your wife.”
Cooper is unable to fight back the tears. Tippen hands him a small box of tissues.
“May we call you Ryan?” asks Masters.
“Yes.”
“Ryan, right now we don’t know what happened in your home last night, other than your wife has been shot. Right now, you are the only witness we have, and we would like to ask you a series of questions. You are not under arrest at this time, and you are free to go if you wish. However, your help would be appreciated,” explains Masters.
“Of course detective, I want to help find who killed my wife. Ask me anything.”
“Why don’t you just tell us what happened.”
“Well,” starts Cooper, “I am having trouble remembering last night. I remember coming home from work, and I believe Naomi had a book club meeting she went to, although everything is kind of hazy in my mind. She would have left a little before seven o’clock. I don’t remember her coming home though.”
Tippen speaks up, “What time would she normally have gotten home?”
“Usually sometime around nine o’clock.”
Tippen continues, “But you don’t remember her coming home? Were you home all night?”
“I believe so. I don’t remember leaving.”
“Okay, just continue with what happened throughout the evening,” says Tippen.
“I have a vague memory of my partner, Justin King coming over to talk business, but I’m just not sure. He often comes over in the evenings when we have things to discuss, so I might be confused. I don’t remember much more, other than waking up this morning in my recliner feeling awful. My mind was in a fog. Once I was able to get up, I saw Naomi on the floor. I crawled over to her and saw that she was dead.”
Cooper starts to cry again and has to pause to compose himself. He uses a couple of tissues to wipe his eyes and blow his nose.
“Take your time,” assures Tippen.
Cooper continues, “I saw blood all over her blouse and on the floor. She was cold to the touch. It was horrible. Who would want to kill sweet Naomi? I then immediately called the police. Now here I am, in a police station with my wife dead.”
Behind The Lies Page 17