Suggesting Murder

by Andrew Hood

  “Why the hell is Belinda talking to Don again without me? Sorry mate, I meant us.”

  “Why do you think? She’s made another complaint about me. It’s probably got nothing to do with your precious taskforce.” Tony replied exasperated.

  “What the hell happened with you two?”

  Adam saw Tony’s face turn confessional for the briefest of moments before he returned to his familiar attitude. “This is between you and me only?”

  “I swear!” Adam said. “I may as well tell you, everyone else knows anyway. When she first started working with us she was like twenty or something, great body, straight out of university. We went out to celebrate breaking a case we had been working on together. I got pissed and grabbed her on the ass a few times is all. Very next day, I turn up to work and Internal Affairs are waiting to talk to me. She never even gave me a chance to apologize. Now I got that shit in my file forever.”

  It was Adam’s turn to fake an emotion. What an idiot! “Anyway, who is the guy with them?” “I don’t know but they have been in there together all morning and the wait is killing me. If they are going to fire me I wish they would just get it over with. Remember, I told you not to trust her. I saw that look on your face yesterday; don’t chase this bird, she’s trouble.”

  Both men looked away quickly when Don emerged from the hallway. “Adam, can I see you for a minute please?” “Sure Don, I’ll be right there.” Adam pretended that he needed to return something to his desk first before heading over. It gave him an extra moment to think before he got there. He didn’t really care if Tony lost his job. He never really liked him anyway. He would at least need to pretend to support Tony or others would find out and no one in the office would trust him again.

  “Back me up Adam!” Tony whispered as Adam passed his desk on the way past.

  “Of course!” Whatever! As he entered the room, Adam noticed Belinda looking directly in front of her. She had not turned to face him as he approached as Don and the stranger did. He knew she was tough, so it probably took a lot for her to admit to being harassed. Perhaps he could take her out for a drink later to make her feel better. He was, after all, the man of the moment. Maybe he could even get her back to his place in her vulnerable state.

  “Hi Don, what can I do for you?” Adam tried to look concerned.

  Don closed the door behind him and didn’t speak until he was back behind his desk. “Adam, you need to know the tape’s running. It’s a bit of a sensitive situation.”

  “Ok, sure I understand,” Adam replied. Almost offhandedly Don started: “It looks like we’ve had a breakthrough in this case Adam. You must be happy?” There was no happiness in Don’s voice. Maybe a little small talk first. “Yeah that’s right. We got our man last night and we should have Shane Kirk coming in this morning which will tie things up. The team really worked well on this one. Belinda did a great job profiling Keyman.” Adam still wanted to know who the man leaning on the wall behind him was. He quickly glanced in his direction but refused to ask the question just yet.

  “Well, actually we’ve already got Shane Kirk. He walked right in here last night with his wife and son. Belinda brought him in at around 11pm.” Adam felt instantly sick. He had trusted Belinda and before telling him she had again gone over his head to Don. “Ah, that’s great. We should start talking to him I guess.” He turned in his chair as if he were ready to go and do it personally.

  Don only gestured with both hands for him to be calm and stay in his seat. “It’s ok. We’ve had a good talk to him already. There will be plenty of time for that later.”

  Adam then noticed the mini-cassette recorder and four tapes on Don’s desk. He guessed that they were probably Shane Kirk’s. Again he felt the pains of anguish in his stomach. He was hoping he could destroy them before anyone had a chance to listen to them. All of the credit for the case would now go to the team, or even Shane, before coming to him.

  It disgusted Adam that the detectives and the police didn’t get more acclaim for doing their job. Actors on TV playing police got more respect than the actual people risking their lives doing the job. Adam figured, at the very least, he had a win on the board. He had to know what else Belinda knew that he hadn’t been told.

  “I’m sorry Don, I’m just a little confused with this new information. Do you mind if I ask who this gentleman behind me is”. Adam turned toward him ready to extend a hand in greeting.

  “That’s Jarrod Stern.” With no further explanation and without skipping a beat Don asked the question that nearly knocked Adam off his chair. “How come you didn’t tell us that you had investigated John Keyman before?”

  This isn’t about Tony, It’s about me.

  ( * ) Adam had to think quickly. “To be honest Don, I got a bit of a shock myself. It was so long ago. I played such a small part in that investigation that it only just came back to me yesterday when Tony mentioned that he had been a person of interest in another case.”

  Don simply repeated the question. “How come you didn’t tell us that you had investigated John Keyman before?” “Ok, I guess I made a wrong step there. I don’t see why it’s a big deal, it was just an oversight on my part and we caught him at the scene anyway. Only the creator of the program could have known where to meet Shane Kirk last night.”

  “That’s right, yet Shane Kirk himself knew about it, even though you supposedly pretended to be him to set it up, and John Keyman, who is now conscious by the way, says you rang him and told him to be there.”

  Adam now didn’t care about the extra person in the room or Belinda for that matter. “Don, when did we start believing suspects and criminals without due diligence?” He was feeding Don back his own words from previous drillings. Adam retrieved his mobile phone from his pocket and held it out.“Why don’t you check it to see if I have made any calls to Keyman or if he indeed got any on his phone?”

  Don didn’t even pause. “We did already. He got a call alright. It was made from the public phone at the Shell service station across the street from this station. Keyman says he only went to the meet to protect his business and didn’t intend to shoot anyone. The gun was for self defense only. We can book him for carrying a firearm in public but he has a license for it.”

  “Have we checked his house or his computer? This guy’s not clean. Belinda, you yourself said he was trouble.” Adam was pleading for support but she still didn’t face him or say a word.

  Don continued in Belinda’s silence. “That’s right Adam, and you already knew that and didn’t tell us.” “Ok, what about Kirk? He was a step away from killing his boss, have we forgotten that? His best mate did the same thing and followed through. Why don’t we shift the focus back on to them? See what we come up with.” Adam replied trying to remain calm.

  Don was like stone. Adam had heard of Don’s ability to get confessions out of criminals but never seen it first hand. He was supposed to have worked them until they simply ran out of answers and then he would nail them. Don had instructed all of his team to go in with more information than the suspect at all times. “You insisted on working those cases Adam. You told me you wanted a chance to prove yourself, that you had a feeling about this case. You begged me to make it a taskforce, didn’t you?”

  “Don, I think everything we have discovered since has proved me right, don’t you? Look, maybe it’s not Kirk or Keyman but someone made that program with the intention of people being killed.” Adam now turned to face Jarrod with the unidentified job description. “Why would someone want to kill people for no reason? It’s money related, insurance works, or terrorist related, to create unrest.”

  Jarrod Stern spoke for the first time, his voice low and determined, “or it could simply be a rookie detective looking to make a name for himself by breaking his first taskforce even if he has to invent it.”

  At that moment the phone in the room rang. Interview rooms don’t have outside lines so the call was either expected or there was news that couldn’t wait. Picking up the
line Don never took his eyes off Adam. “Yes! Connect him,” pause, “and the other? Ok.” Don hung up the phone without thanking the caller or saying goodbye. Adam knew he had been waiting for the call which could only be bad.This time speaking to Adam and the room, “They found the program on John Keyman’s personal computer.”

  “There you go. I told you this guy is in on it.” “Matthew also told me the file had not been accessed or opened for at least the last 180 days, maybe longer. He found no evidence that it was created on Keyman’s computer.” Don now turned to Belinda who looked up and returned his stare. “Matthew told me one last thing that was very interesting.”

  “What’s that?” Belinda’s voice was weak. Adam had never heard it so unforthright. “He also found it on Adam’s personal computer. The program, along with logon scripts to get into the Keyman network and software to distribute it over the net.” Don had held Belinda’s gaze the entire time. Now they both slowly turned to look at Adam.

  “I don’t believe this. I left home half an hour ago, how the hell, do you know what’s on my computer.”

  “When you came out, Matthew went in,” Don said. “How dare you go through my house? I’m trying to break this fucking case and you stab me in the back?” Adam turned to Belinda. “You did this you stupid bitch. I was told not to trust you.” His fear now replaced with anger. “I want to see the court order you have to look through my house and I want my solicitor!”

  Don pushed aside the mini-cassette recorder and tapes on the desk and picked up a pile of papers that had been upturned underneath them. He threw the papers at Adam without changing expression.

  Adam immediately recognized the format as a court order but before he could read any of the details Don began the speech. “Detective Adam Kelly, I am arresting you for the murder of Peter Roberts,you can expect more charges to follow. You have the right to remain silent. If you do say anything it can be used against you in a court of law. Let me lastly just say, I’m very fucking disappointed.”

  ( * )

  Adam didn’t know where to look or what to say. His mind was desperately searching for avenues of escape. Don, however, after finally showing his hand, reached across the table and stopped the recorder. He made sure everyone in the room saw the move before he spoke. “Why?”

  “I didn’t . . .” Adam replied half-heartedly. Belinda’s strength had returned: “The tapes off Adam! This is the only chance you will get to explain your actions without it affecting your case. You’re already screwed anyway.”

  “This is insane!”

  “I said, why???”Don yelled. His voice was so loud that everyone in the room jumped in their place. He was now staring at Adam with an intensity that seemed to occupy its own space in the room.

  Adam didn’t flinch; he simply engaged Don head-on. It took a few moments for him to speak and when he did it was at a level no louder than their general conversation.“Because I could!”Adam matched him.“Because when you’re sitting in your car for six hours each day watching some idiot that will probably get off anyway, you start to wonder where the clever criminals are and who’s chasing them.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” “During my previous Keyman investigation someone came up behind me and knocked me out cold. I was then beaten within an inch of my life and robbed. All of that in the line of duty and not a single member of the public knew or gave a shit. Keyman didn’t do it, I know that much, but it doesn’t really matter either way. So I start to think to myself, while lying in a hospital recovery room, what would happen if you raise the IQ level of the criminal? What would Keyman do and how would he benefit.”

  Jarrod Stern shot across the room to Don: “Great, there are people dead because your boy here wanted some sympathy.” “I don’t want your sympathy, but I deserve better than indifference.” Adam hadn’t finished yet. He still had pride in his plan even if the outcome had not been achieved. “So anyway, I spent two months researching brainwashing techniques over the Internet, anything from religious cults to terrorist recruitment strategies. In the end, I developed a delivery method that would not only be localized but also traceable to enable me to base an investigation on. From there I sat back and waited for my turn to shine. No more putting my body on the line. I deserved better than that!!!” Adam had shouted the last line with attitude to match.

  Belinda’s face gave away her shock. “Didn’t you stop to think about the innocent people that may be harmed in this little plan of yours?”

  “You were never supposed to know it was me.”

  She was visibly shaken by his lack of empathy but Adam didn’t care. He would never get her in bed now anyway.

  “You tried to frame an innocent man for the murders you committed.” “I watched him remember. He would have done this if he had the brains to think about it. There is plenty of evidence around to convince a jury this guy is a sociopath.”

  “Well now there is plenty to suggest you’re the same,” Don replied. Adam smiled. “You’ll never get a conviction on me. I’ll just say the stuff on my computer was research into the case. You will never be able to match my voice to the program or you would have figured it out already. Everything else is just coincidental.”

  “You’re a fool Adam,” Don replied. “Even worse for you, you’re a conceited fool. So eager to discuss your grand plan when the tape was turned off, you didn’t think about who might be listening to your confession. I would like to introduce to you ‘Judge’ Jarred Stern. I asked him to drop by this morning to be an impartial witness. He was not given any details about the case before you arrived, to cloud his opinion in anyway. We now have a judge who can testify to your confession in this room today.”

  “You never told me he was a judge!”

  Don was now smiling to himself: “You asked me who he was and I told you his name; that was all that was necessary.”

  Adam suddenly found it hard to breathe. He wanted to throw up.

  Chapter 14

  Sitting in the police interview room, Shane had trouble trying to remember his life before the dramas of the last week. As he looked across at Anita with Leon sitting on her lap he didn’t have the slightest doubt that, whether the law agreed with him or not, he had done the right thing in pursuing his own investigation. At least he had brought about a closure rather than leave it in the hands of someone else.

  He was thankful for the fact that Belinda, whom he had been in touch with for the last two days, had kept her word so far. He was sitting with his family instead of being alone in a cell which meant the world to him under the circumstances.

  “I’m so sorry about all of this, babe.” Shane continued slowly shaking his head from side to side, “you know if there was any way I could take the last week back, I would.”

  “Of course you would, I know that. I’m just really glad you’re finally safe. I was so worried about you.”

  Before Shane could reply, the door opened and Belinda and Don, the man she had introduced to him the previous evening, entered the room.

  “How are you coping Shane? Can I get either of you anything?” Belinda’s voice was almost motherly.

  “We’re fine thanks. Do you have any news? I’m a little anxious to find out my fate.” Don, who didn’t have the motherly tone but was still visually supportive, spoke first: “Shane, we really appreciate what you have done for us over the last week. I have listened to the tapes and I know you rang Adam looking for support. You didn’t get it and I apologize for that.”

  “What did detective Kelly say?” Belinda replied instead: “Shane, you were right, it was him. He just admitted it to us.”

  “Unbelievable!” Shane grunted. “Because of that bastard Peter is dead and I nearly killed Simone. Why the hell would you do something like that?” “Let there be no misunderstanding here Shane. He did the wrong thing and he will pay the price.” Don’s eyes never left Shane as he spoke. “But that still leaves us with you and this subliminal messaging stuff.” He gestured towards Belinda as he s
aid it, like she was the only one who believes in it. “It could get turned on its head in court so you could still be in a lot of trouble.”.

  “But I helped you guys, surely that counts for something?”

  “It does count for something Shane, but you have something else a lot more valuable to us than those tapes.”

  “What?” “You know about a detective who set up a scheme, where innocent people got killed, simply to further his career. Your most valuable asset to us right now is silence.”

  Shane was instantly furious. “I am not going to stay quiet and let him get away with it. You can forget it.”

  Belinda pleaded. “Hear him out Shane, please.” Don continued. “I wouldn’t expect you to, Shane. He needs to pay for what he did. I already told you that.” Then he paused. “I will make you a deal. You keep your silence about Adam Kelly till his trial and if he goes to jail, forever more. If he gets off you have my permission to shout it in the streets at the top of your lungs. The longer I can keep this out of the papers the better. I’m just delaying a scandal here not setting a guilty man free.”

  “Where does that leave me and my family?” “Shane, you have still committed a crime.The woman you hurt is in hospital but she is getting better. If you agree, I will arrange for Belinda to testify on your behalf in court. She can say that you were influenced by the program and were in an unstable state after the death of your friend. My suggestion to you is to plead guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of bereavement and volunteer for community service. You will have an Apprehended Violence Order against your name but we will keep you out of jail.”

  Shane turned to his wife for consultation. “Babe what do you think? I could live with that. At least I will be with you and Leon at home. I could never expect to get off free after what I did to Simone. I need to pay some price.”