by Bill Evans
“I didn’t see anything and he didn’t check in at master control when he came back,” Chris said.
“Don’t we have monitors in master control that show pictures from the security cameras from the parking lot?” John asked.
“We do have security cameras, but the back parking lot camera went out over six months ago. And engineering has never gotten it fixed. Honestly, I didn’t see him come back. I didn’t see anything,” Chris stressed.
John wondered if his co-worker smoked weed on a regular basis and whether he would have really noticed anything out of the ordinary if something had happen. It appeared to him at this time that Chris had probably been loaded from the time he got off work. John remembered something.
“Chris, anyone entering through the back door must punch in an entry code. Is that correct?”
“Yes, they sure do. If the system works correctly there should be a record of every entry.”
“Okay, thanks. When do you work next?”
“I have to be back at midnight,” Chris answered.
John didn’t say anything, but he gave Chris a very concerned look. The two were the same age but they took different paths in their careers. Chris took a job and John had the career. “I would lay off that stuff if you work tonight. The station’s crawling with cops.”
“John, please don’t say anything about the pot. I really need this job.”
10
THE SANTA BARBARA MISSION was a beautiful setting for Steve Johnson’s memorial service. People started gathering at five fifteen for the six o’clock service. All the local stations and some of the Los Angeles affiliates had live trucks parked around the Mission. Even CNN and FOX News had trucks there. Everyone from the CBS station was at the memorial except for those who had to work, which was most of the newsroom. There were still news shows to do and a good portion would be done live from the service.
The seating area was full and people were filling up the two overflow areas, which had flat-screen television monitors so people would be able to see the service. The Mission estimated that more than a thousand people had turned out to pay their respects. Steve’s wife and three girls were as poised as they possibly could be.
Lisa and her husband, Tom, led the station contingency. Barry was there but not with Tami. He still didn’t want anyone at the station knowing about his relationship. He scheduled Tami to work the assignment desk during the service. That way the issue of being together was off the table. Tami wanted people to know about them and she made it clear she would gladly leave her job at the station to make that happen. Barry knew that feeling would be temporary for her and she would resent him later if she had to quit her job. He didn’t have any doubt that Tami wanted a career in broadcasting.
Detectives Tracy and Reynolds attended together. They were there to pay their respects but to also see if there was someone who caught their eye that they had missed. The detectives were particularly interested in talking to Stewart Simpson, the owner of the station. They didn’t know that he had flown back to Dallas that morning.
The casket sat below the makeshift stage. Music played in the background. It was music put together by Steve’s daughters. It was their dad’s favorite songs. They knew the music well. They’ve been hearing it all their lives. The three girls enjoyed putting the music together even though they never understood his musical taste. Several photos were displayed around the room of Steve in various poses from his career in Santa Barbara. Local politicians were all present, and when asked they would claim their love and support for the local news anchor. It was now six o’clock and the service began.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Josh Stevens and I’m the proud brother of Steve. On behalf of my entire family—Janet, Trisha, Christy, and Dawn, we thank you for your prayers, your support and the love you have shown all of us during this time.”
Josh held it together as he made his prepared comments. He seemed as though he had done this before. He hadn’t. It was important to him to get this right because of his close relationship with his brother. “Today we choose to celebrate Steve Johnson’s life for all the contributions he has made to the people around him. His support of local charities is well known in and around Santa Barbara. Look around and you’ll see a community that had great respect for Steve, my brother.”
Josh’s voice was beginning to break up. After a short pause, to gain control of his emotions, he introduced a list of people who would each take their turn telling Steve stories. Some of the stories were funny and some serious. All had a theme of “Steve Johnson, good guy.”
Barry took his turn to talk about Steve as a leader at the station. “As leader in the newsroom, Steve would often fight not to tell a certain story. Or he didn’t want to use a person’s name, fearing that if that person turned out to be innocent he didn’t want to taint their reputation. Yet he was a tough newsman that could go after an interview better than most.”
People in the crowd who knew Steve moved their heads up and down as if to agree. “He never met a charity he didn’t like. He gave this community his time, his energy, and he loved every minute of his life. Steve was a devoted father and husband. Everyone at the station will miss him.”
When Barry finished his remarks, a video started playing on the massive screens placed around the area. The video was a mixture of his news stories showing short clips coupled with home movies that Janet provided.
Lisa would speak next. She had known Steve since he arrived at the station. This was a lot more emotional for her than she thought it was going to be. She had prepared some notes but she wasn’t reading from the paper in front of her. “Steve Johnson was my friend. He was my colleague and he was a true champion in local news. I also knew him as someone who loved his family more than anything else.”
Lisa had begun to cry. It was more than the service. It was the stress from discovering things about Stewart that she couldn’t confirm. “I’m so sorry. I can’t continue.” Lisa Campbell walked off the stage.
No one in the audience knew what was going through her head. It was a very emotional service and the detectives watched like everyone else who believed this was a general manager who was very close to her employee.
The end of the service came when Steve’s three daughters accompanied their mom to the stage. Her voice was soft and almost inaudible. Trisha, the oldest daughter, touched her mother’s arm, and then stepped to the microphone. “On behalf of my mother and my two sisters, thank you for being here. It means everything to us.”
There was a combined choir made up of children from several local charities that Steve had supported over the years. They sang a few hymns as the service ended and the family exited, followed by the rest of those seated. The burial was to be private the next day.
The Mission at Santa Barbara staged a reception area for everyone to gather. Janet, her daughters, her family, and Steve’s family all stayed to thank everyone for coming. As hard as the evening had been, it was a great send-off for one of Santa Barbara’s television favorites.
Lisa, Tom, and Barry were standing away from the crowd when the detectives got over to them. “Nice service,” Tracy stated. The five exchanged hellos and handshakes. “Lisa, is Stewart here tonight?”
“No, he had some meetings in Dallas and he had to leave this morning. Is there something I can help you with?” Wearing her general manager’s hat, she was protecting her owner.
“We’d like to talk to him. Do you know when he’s coming back to town?” Tracy asked.
“I can ask him the next time I talk to him.”
“We’d appreciate that. Have a nice night, folks.” The two detectives walked away to mingle with some of the other people gathering.
Lisa knew the detectives wanted to know about the life insurance policy Stewart held on Steve. She wondered what they would think if they knew about his steak and lobster dinner. Barry hadn’t told anyone about this and Lisa wasn’t sure she was ever going to tell anyone. Her inner voic
es were conflicted. It’s just a coincidence. He has steak and lobster all the time and it has nothing to do with this case.”
John saw Barry and walked over to tell him about his conversation with Chris, the kid in master control. He debated whether he should tell his boss or not about the pot and decided it wasn’t his place. Barry wasn’t happy when John reminded him that the parking lot surveillance camera hadn’t been repaired and therefore they didn’t have any video of people coming and going. He already knew this because that was one of the first things the police asked for. Barry didn’t like being reminded of a missed opportunity.
“Mind if I interrupt?” Barry turned around to see who it was. “Phil Roberts from the ABC station,” the person said as a way to remind Barry who he was.
“Yes, Phil, how are you? Let me introduce you to John Rankin, one of my new reporters.” Turning to John as the two shook hands, Barry said, “John can you give us a minute, please?”
“Sure. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Roberts.” John was close to being embarrassed. He wasn’t used to meeting what he considered the top talent in the market. He was still star struck in his own station.
“Please, call me Phil.” John started to walk away as Phil said one more thing that would make a huge impression on the rookie reporter, “And kid, you’re doing some good work this past week.” John couldn’t believe that Phil Roberts, one of the top anchors in Santa Barbara, had seen his work. His feet wouldn’t touch the ground the rest of the evening.
“Phil, it was nice of you to come tonight. In fact, it was nice to see most of the local news people here tonight. So, what can I do for you?” Barry asked.
“The other night I ran into Billie and she mentioned you might be interested in talking about Steve’s replacement. I don’t want to do that here because that seems wrong. I saw you standing here and wanted to let you know I would be interested in having the conversation.” After a short pause, “When the time is right for you to talk about it,” Phil said.
Barry was smiling on the inside. “I’d like that very much. Let’s set up a lunch somewhere inconspicuous where we won’t have to worry about starting any rumors. Can I get your cell number so I can call to schedule?” Barry took out his cell phone
Phil reached over and took Barry’s cell phone out of his hand and began punching in his contact information. “There, now you have my number. I will look forward to talking to you.” The two shook hands and walked away from each other as if to try and hide the fact they were just seen together.
Off in the distance Barry noticed Lisa watching the whole encounter. She knew without being told what Barry was up to. It would be a great move and a real steal for CBS to land the anchor from ABC. The news director was always cautious about these types of deals, for many reasons. The main one was because most of the time the anchors from other stations would use these conversations to strengthen their own deal without ever jumping ship. “Let’s just see how this plays out,” he said under his breath while giving Lisa a thumps up to indicate it was a good conversation.
11
DALLAS WAS A TWO hour time difference but that never bothered Stewart when he wanted to talk. Lisa thought it shouldn’t bother him this morning, either. “Stewart, it’s Lisa. Say, the Santa Barbara detectives want to talk to you. They wanted me to find out when you were coming back.”
“Good morning, Lisa.” Stewart thought it was funny how she just jumped into the reason for her call without as much as a good morning. The statement didn’t even faze her owner. “What do they want, do you know?”
“Not sure, but I think it has to do with an insurance policy.”
“Okay, I’ll fly back tonight. Why don’t you set up a meeting at the house for tomorrow at ten thirty?” Stewart Simpson baffled his lover sometimes. He always seemed to have everything under control. “Can I see you tonight?”
Lisa thought about her answer. She knew he liked to see her when he liked to see her. The last time they got together she dumped on him and knew he wasn’t happy about it. “I can come over around six. Will you be at the house by then?”
“I’ll make sure I am,” Stewart said, and with that, hung up.
Barry had called a meeting with John Rankin and Carlos Hernandez to discuss where they were on their investigation. John had kept Barry in the loop daily, but Carlos was doing his own thing.
“So, Carlos, tell us what you’ve got so far.”
Carlos had his pad that he carried for note taking. He flipped through the pages as he began. “I really don’t have anything. Usually on a story like this we’ll uncover something. It might be a simple little clue that will lead us to a bigger clue, but boss, I can’t find anything. There isn’t a witness to talk to and the police still have no evidence.”
“John, do you have anything?”
“Everything I have I’ve shared already. Nothing new.”
Barry wasn’t happy, but he already knew no one had anything. If they did he’d be the first to find out. Barry’s sources had come up empty as well. “I’m not sure how to keep this story alive. We’ve done four days telling our viewers there is nothing new to report.”
This wasn’t the only investigative team not having any luck. Byron Culpepper, the attorney for Janet Johnson, was on the phone with Johnny, his investigator. “Johnny, how is that possible? You have more connections than anyone I know. Are you telling me that someone might have actually committed the perfect crime?”
“Mr. Culpepper, what I’m telling you is that whoever did this knew what they were doing. They have left no evidence of any sort. No witnesses. Everything I’ve learned tells me Steve Johnson was a great guy and loved by many. It doesn’t appear he was having any kind of sexual affair with the dead girl.”
“Then how did she end up in his bed?”
“That’s the magic question. If we can answer that, we will probably figure out what this case is all about. The only connection I have found between Janet’s husband and this Jesse girl is that he offered to mentor her.” The investigator had not uncovered anything.
“What does that mean?” questioned the annoyed attorney.
“Look, this girl was beautiful and just about anyone else would be hitting all over her. Steve wasn’t that guy. He is a decent, all-around nice guy. He offered to work with this girl on her story telling and on-air presentation. Steve did all this work at the station and this wasn’t anything new for him. He mentored a lot of the new people who came through the station. After checking out every source possible, it appears that Steve Johnson was a very dedicated husband. That’s why finding this girl dead in his bed with his wife out of town doesn’t make any sense at all.”
“Thanks, Johnny. If you think of anything at all that we should try or if you find something out or hear about something, you let me know.” The phone call ended.
Lisa was working on getting her own information. The only way Lisa would feel good about it was to eliminate Stewart as a suspect. She dialed the main security gate at Home Ranch Estates where her boss had his house.
“Security supervisor Wilson, please.” Lisa waited while the security supervisor was given the phone. “Mr. Wilson, Lisa Campbell, a friend of Mr. Simpson.”
“Yes, Mrs. Campbell, what can I do for you?” asked the supervisor.
“I’m trying to retrace my steps this past week for a report I’m doing for Mr. Simpson and I need to know what day he arrived. It was either October 10 or 11. Could you look that up in your records?”
“Not a problem, Mrs. Campbell. Give me two minutes.” Wilson went to his computer and looked at his records. “Mrs. Campbell, he arrived on October 9.”
Lisa was hoping for the tenth. The ninth put him here in time to have that steak and lobster dinner with Steve Johnson. Lisa hung up and focused on what motive Stewart Simpson would have to murder Steve Johnson and Jesse Anderson. It surely couldn’t be the life insurance policy. The half million dollars wouldn’t make a dent in his small fortune.
Maybe I sho
uld just ask him all these questions and see what he says, she thought. She decided to wait and see his attitude when she met him for dinner.
***
The conference room at the police station was quiet. Detectives Tracy and Reynolds sat at the table, papers scattered, the walls littered with easel pads full of notes. The detectives hadn’t turned up a single clue. The second insurance policy was interesting, but it only gave them something to question Stewart Simpson about. Once they knew about the policy, they ran background and financials on Simpson. It turned out that the station owner was solvent, more than solvent. Forbes list solvent. That eliminated the insurance policy as motive. They still wanted to talk to him, but they didn’t expect it to go anywhere. Both detectives secretly were looking forward to seeing his house more than anything else.
Lisa hadn’t shared what she’d found with anyone else. Not Barry, not the detectives. She debated it over and over in her head. Her loyalty to Stewart Simpson was stronger than her thought of justice, at least for the moment. She probably had the most incriminating evidence of anyone, and it was minimal at best. Despite all the investigations going on separately, and despite the agreement between the police and the station to share information, no one had anything to share.
“Maybe we’re looking at this from the wrong viewpoint,” Detective Tracy said.
“What do you mean by that?” Detective Reynolds replied. “We’ve been going at this as if Steve Johnson was the focus of the crime. What if it was Jesse? What if she’s the focus and not Steve Johnson?”
“We haven’t really focused on the girl because we just never got to her.”
“Right, but what if the crime was about her and, for whatever reason, Steve Johnson was accidentally caught in the middle of something?” Detective Reynolds said. “What do we know about this girl?” Tracy was looking through his notes to see what he had. He was surprised at how little they knew about her. He was actually embarrassed at how little detective work had been focused on Jesse Anderson.