by Bill Evans
“That’s what we’re going to do now,” he replied.
“Why wasn’t that part of the original autopsy? I thought you told me you ruled out poisoning,” Reynolds said.
“The original autopsy is performed looking for normal causes of death. We didn’t have any reason to test for poisons or anything like that when we started.”
“What did you find that leads you to believe you should test for poisons now?” Barry asked.
“The fact that we didn’t find anything else to point to cause of death is the reason we need to go back in and check for other signs now,” the coroner explained.
“What about their internal organs?” Barry asked. “Any signs there that would indicate any foul play?”
“No. Guys, I wish I had something for you, but I don’t. You have my report. We didn’t find anything that would tell us why these two people died two days ago. When I run these new tests, I will let you know what we find.”
“Barry, has your team turned up anything?” Tracy asked.
“Not a thing right yet. We’re just getting started. What are we missing here?” Barry asked the detectives.
“Let’s talk about what we know. So far we’ve been talking about what we don’t know. Let’s talk about what we know.” Richard Tracy got some chalk from his desk drawer and walked over to the blackboard.
Reynolds started. “We know that the two people who died worked together.”
“We know Steve got off work between eleven thirty-five when the newscast ended and eleven forty-five,” Barry added.
“The coroner did determine the time of death was between one and two in the morning,” Tracy said.
“Wait a minute,” Reynold said as if he had finally found something. “What was the time of death for Jesse? What did the coroner say about the girl’s death?
Tracy flipped the pages from his clipboard. “Here it is. Her time of death was also between one and two.”
“That means they could have been together then,” Barry said confidently.
“Why? Why does that tell us they were together?” Tracy questioned. “This only gives us their approximate time of death. It doesn’t tell us anything else right now. It does appear that they both died apparently about the same time.”
“You’re right. I just assumed that if they both died at the same time they had to be together.”
“Barry, has anyone at the station mentioned anything about Steve and Jesse seeing each other?” Reynolds asked.
“I’ve talked to most of the people in the station that have anything to do with this investigation and no one even believes Steve ever had a relationship with Jesse. Nothing points us there. She’s only been at our station for three weeks or so.”
“This only makes sense if the two were seeing each other. Then we have motive from several different places. Steve might have killed Jesse because she threatened to go to his wife about them. Maybe Jesse killed Steve because he wouldn’t leave his wife. Then to make a statement she killed herself in Steve and Janet’s bed.” Reynolds was on a roll and neither Barry nor Tracy wanted to slow him down. “She wasn’t pregnant or that would have shown up in the autopsy.”
“What if Steve’s wife found out and killed both of them?” Tracy had thought this before but had never said it out loud. “Or maybe her family had them killed. They have enough money they could pay someone to have done this.” Tracy really didn’t believe that, but it was another option. “You know Janet did show up with an attorney the first time we met here.”
There was a slight silence as everyone in the room contemplated the different scenarios that were just laid out. Barry was first to speak. “I don’t think Janet knew anything about Jesse.”
“What do you base that on?” asked Reynolds.
“Her reaction when she was told what happened. Maybe it’s a gut feeling. I’m not sure, but she seemed to be hearing these things about Jesse for the first time.” Barry wished he had more, but that was all he had to go on. “Have the two of you interviewed her yet?”
“No, and we need to do that right away. We were waiting for the coroner’s report because we wanted to be able to tell her how Steve died.”
“Maybe she already knows,” Reynolds quipped.
***
Forty-five minutes later, the attorney and Janet Johnson came into the police station. This time they were taken to an interview room and not the conference room. The detectives wanted to make it a little more intimidating. The interview room had a recorder set up on the table with a table microphone. This would be an official interview.
Byron had informed Janet that things might be different this time around when they met with the detectives. Janet was beginning to feel more like a client than friend to Byron. The first thing the police always do in a suspicious death of a spouse is try to rule out the other spouse as quickly as possible. More times than not the spouse did it. The detectives were thinking it was time to try and rule Janet out as a suspect. It didn’t matter that Janet was in Bend, Oregon, at the time, or appeared to be. They’d have to confirm her alibi. They already saw how fast travel can be when you have daddy’s jet. These were some of the issues that needed to be cleared up.
The four sat down at the table. The two detectives sat on one side of the table and the attorney and his client on the other side. They exchanged pleasantries and then Reynolds politely asked, “Are you alright if we record this conversation? It makes it easier for our record keeping.”
The attorney had been through these types of questioning a hundred times in his career. His client list, although small, always seemed to be in one type of litigation or another.
“We’re okay with the recording, but this is beginning to feel more like an interrogation than interview. Now you know why the family wanted me to be here with Janet.”
The detectives looked at each other. They understood what the attorney was saying. “Let’s begin,” and with that Tracy reached over and turned on the recorder. “This is an interview with Janet Johnson. Present in the room are her attorney Byron Culpepper, police Detective Skip Reynolds and I am Detective Richard Tracy. It is three fifteen on October 12. Mrs. Johnson, where were you on the night your husband was found dead?”
That didn’t take long. They just get right to the point, Janet thought. She looked at her attorney, who gave her a nod as if it was okay to answer. It was obvious that she had been coached. “I was visiting my parent’s home in Bend, Oregon.”
“How did you find out about Steve’s death?” Detective Tracy asked.
“I was told by Lisa Campbell, the station general manager.”
“Did she call you or did you call her?” Tracy followed up.
“She first called and left me a message. When I returned her call, she told me about Steve.”
“Did she tell you about Jesse Anderson, too?” asked Reynolds.
“No, I don’t believe so.” Janet then remembered the initial meeting with the two detectives and added, “No. She didn’t tell me about Jesse Anderson. You told me about Jesse the day I first met with you.”
“Do you know who Jesse Anderson is?” Reynolds asked.
“I know now. At the time I didn’t know who she was.”
“Gentlemen,” the attorney broke in, “are you thinking my client had something to do with her spouse’s death? Are you treating her as a suspect?”
Tracy answered. “We don’t know. Our goal is to eliminate her as a suspect. Right now we don’t have anything to work with except a husband and his co-worker who are dead. The co-worker was found in his bed—their bed. If his wife knew or thought something was going on between them, then maybe she took matters into her own hands.”
“We want to cooperate, but Janet Johnson is not a hostile witness. She wants to find the answers as well. Let’s keep this as polite as possible and be sensitive that she just lost her husband and is still in shock.”
Reynolds picked up the questioning. “Janet, have you been back to the house in the las
t twenty-four hours or so?”
The attorney didn’t understand the question because he thought he had been with Janet the whole time she’d been in Santa Barbara. His client’s answer caught him off guard.
“Yes. I have been to the house, once. I needed to pick some things up.”
“And while you were there, did you do anything else besides pick some things up?” Reynolds knew the answer before she replied.
“I set my bed on fire.” Janet wasn’t showing any emotion when answering the detective.
“Didn’t you see the crime tape around the door saying, ‘Do not enter?’ Didn’t you think under the circumstances that the bed might be needed as evidence?” Reynolds asked.
Quietly, with her head down, Janet mustered an answer. “I didn’t care. I just wanted to burn the bed. I couldn’t stand the idea that my husband and this whore might have had sex in my bed. I just wanted to burn the bed.” Janet was becoming upset.
“Look, can we take a break or come back tomorrow? Janet is overwhelmed with all of this.” The attorney knew it was a long shot. Why would the detectives want to let her off the hook at this point when they’d gotten her so emotional?
“Just a few more questions before we let you go. Did you kill your husband or Jesse Anderson?’ Tracy asked.
She didn’t answer. All she could do was look up, and she started sobbing. The detectives thought she might be trying to buy some time, but they were wrong. Maybe she was overcome by guilt, they thought. They were wrong again.
“We’re done here,” said Byron Culpepper. “We’ll be glad to come back at another time to answer any more questions, but we’re done right now. My client is too distraught to continue.” The attorney stood and led his client by her arm, and out the door they went.
The detectives stayed back in the room for a few moments. “What do you think?” asked Reynolds.
“I think she didn’t know anything about the other woman. I don’t think she did it, and we still don’t have anything tying the two dead people together.”
“Yes, we do,” Tracy said. “We have a dead girl found in Janet and Steve Johnson’s bed. There is a connection. We just haven’t figured out what it is.”
7
BARRY GOT BACK to his place to find the lights on and a wonderful meal waiting for him. Tami, the intern, was showing her culinary skills, something he hadn’t seen before. He was wondering if she was getting too comfortable with their secret relationship. It was inappropriate on so many levels, but specifically from a human resources standpoint at the station. Barry knew he could lose his job if his boss, Lisa, ever got wind of it.
Tami was in her senior year at USC. This was her third year interning at the Santa Barbara affiliate. Nothing romantic occurred between her and Barry those first two summers at the station, but this summer she pursued him and Barry took the bait. He still couldn’t understand what she saw in him, but he was tired of being alone, and it didn’t matter to him anymore what her reason was. He liked it and the relationship had been easy so far. He wondered if things were changing because she was making him dinner.
“What’s the occasion?” Barry asked as he came through the door.
“I just thought with everything going on you needed a good, home-cooked meal,” Tami said as she greeted Barry with a kiss.
She wasn’t wrong. The past couple of days had been nonstop and Barry wasn’t sure when it would end. He loved it when work was like this, but he was no longer in his thirties. He wasn’t in his forties. Time had a way of catching up with news directors and Barry was starting to feel it. Tami made him feel young. She was five feet six inches tall with long legs—a looker, which would serve her well in the news business.
Their relationship started out innocently enough. Then one day she boldly told Barry she was interested in him. During her first two years interning with Barry she learned a lot, but she was feeling an attraction for her boss that went beyond a mentor-student relationship. When summer ended, she sat her boss down and told him how she felt. Barry didn’t accept it right away, although he wanted to. He knew it could be hazardous to his employment. He’d been down that road before. Tami persisted and even presented a plan. She would take the first semester of the new school year off and stay in Santa Barbara to be with Barry. She would continue earning some college credits from her internship program, but the real focus would be to see if the two of them could have a real relationship. Barry gave in and the two of them had been together ever since.
Barry felt invigorated by her. He was alive again outside a newsroom. It had been awhile since he felt this way in a relationship. Barry wasn’t a rich guy who would attract a girl like Tami normally. And he never fooled himself into thinking it would last forever. Just enjoy her while you can, he told himself.
The girl from USC usually didn’t try to talk shop with Barry away from the station. Tonight was different. The past couple of days had taken a toll on everyone, and so it was the topic tonight.
“What is the latest on this thing?” Tami asked.
“We still don’t have much and you know I can’t tell you because it’s a personnel issue,” Barry reminded her.
“Just tell me the juicy stuff.” Sometimes the conversation showed her age. “Is it true that Steve and Jesse were having an affair?”
“Where did you hear that?” Barry wanted to know.
“It’s just what everyone in the newsroom is saying,” Tami said.
“I don’t think they were. In fact, the police can’t even put them together that night.”
“Why was she found in his bed then?” Tami asked.
“That’s the answer everyone wants to find. Let me change the subject. How would you like to learn to run the assignment desk for a few months? It would be a great way to build your resume and learn the inner workings of news coverage.”
“Sure.” Tami responded with the enthusiasm that Barry loved about her. “What hours do you need me?”
“I need you to take John’s hours on the desk from three until noon,” Barry said.
“Three in the morning? I hope you’re joking.” Tami kind of laughed.
“Yes, those are the hours. And, no, I’m not joking. Just until we get through this and I can find a replacement. We’ll put you on the payroll and you’ll work a full forty hours per week. I really need you to do this for me.”
Tami wasn’t thrilled at starting her work day so early. She worried it was going to cut into her time with Barry. Right now her hours were very flexible depending on what the news department needed. These new hours would mean she would have to leave their house by 2:30 a.m. She would get home just after noon, and if she was going to make time for Barry, she would have to sleep from the time she got home and the time Barry arrived every night. That was usually around seven or so.
In Barry’s mind this was a great schedule. As much as he loved having Tami in his bed, he enjoyed having that big bed to himself when it came to sleeping. Yet another sign of the age difference between the two.
“I’ll do it, but only because you asked me to. When do you want me to start?” Tami asked.
“Not tomorrow morning but the next day. I’ll make sure there is someone working with you until you get the hang of it.”
“That’ll be great. Whatever I can do to help you and the station, you know that,” Tami reassured her partner.
“Thank you. It means a lot to me that you’ll do this,” Barry replied.
The rest of the night was dedicated to romance. Barry thought he had forgotten all about romance until Tami came into his life. He forgot what passion was when experienced correctly. Maybe he was falling in love, but he wasn’t ready to go down that road. Not yet and not now.
***
The Firehouse was a sports bar and tavern where most of the media people gathered after work for a beer or two. On most nights, anywhere from eight to fifteen people showed up. The anchors from the three stations, along with reporters, photographers, and some of the studio staffs w
ould stop by to share in the latest rumors and gossip. The past couple of nights the group from the CBS station didn’t show, leaving all the talk about them.
There was a sense of camaraderie among news people regardless of what media they worked for. Steve Johnson, although he didn’t hang out after work like the others, was still very well liked. The group really didn’t know Jesse Anderson that well because she was so new. The people in the business that met her liked her. The male reporters had taken notice of her the first time she appeared on the air.
Jackson Adams, the NBC anchor, was talking with Phil Roberts, the ABC anchor, when Billie Latzke walked in. It was very rare that three anchors would all show up at the Firehouse on the same night. Billie seldom stopped by, but for some reason tonight everyone was there.
“So, what are you two talking about? Can I guess?” Billie greeted her peers.
Phil was glad to see his sister’s friend. They’d know each other a long time. Steve Johnson had been the senior anchor in town. Phil and Billie followed, and finally Jackson, who had only been at NBC three years.
Billie knew what the anchors were discussing and, in fact, you could hear the same discussion throughout the pub. Everyone was telling their favorite Steve Johnson stories. At one point in the night the owner and chief bartender bought the house a round of drinks and everyone lifted a glass to toast Steve Johnson. It was a remarkable moment and it was recognized by each person, even those who didn’t know Steve.
“What are you guys going to do to replace Steve?” asked Phil.
“We thought we’d come after you. Isn’t your contract about up?”
Phil smiled. He knew Billie was serious.
Jackson interjected for Billie. “I don’t have a contract in case anyone wants to know.”
Stories and lots of laughter filled the room until 1:30 a.m. and then everyone headed home. It was a good night for the people in the local media and they needed this night. Billie was very happy that she accomplished what she set out to do.
***
The morning started early for Barry. He was always up to watch his morning news show. The newsroom thought Barry never slept. He always caught every little mistake no matter when it happened or what show it was in. The only way he could pull this off was by watching every local news show he could. Some news directors ran tape on their shows and then a day or two later played them back. Barry believed in being in the moment. He’d critique it immediately while it was fresh in everybody’s mind. That might be another reason why his stations were always the news leader in the market. His track record spoke for itself.