by Tyora Moody
Jo sat. “Matt, we sure would love to get to the bottom of what happened to Laura. Don’t you think we owe Laura’s parents the truth?”
Silence.
Jo tapped her pen on the table. They were past being nice to the grieving fiancé. “Mr. Vaynor, can you please tell us where you were on Tuesday night after midnight?”
She watched as Matt looked at his lawyer. Adam nodded as if to give Matt permission to speak.
“I went driving around.”
Jo leaned forward. “I assume by yourself or wait, maybe Laura was with you.”
Matt said fast, “No, she wasn’t with me. I was driving around because I was upset. I had been trying to call her. Sarah told me they were not together and I wanted to know where she was. She wouldn’t answer my calls.”
Jo questioned, “But she did finally answer.” She looked at her notes for reference, “Around 10:08 p.m. Would you say that’s about the time you and Laura had your argument?”
Matt looked at Jo, but didn’t say anything.
Jo continued. “You talked a full ten minutes. I assume that conversation really set you off because at some point you realized Laura was out with another man.”
Matt flinched as if Jo hit him. He looked at his lawyer.
Adam shook his head. “Come on, Detective Reed. That wasn’t necessary. If you’re going to treat my client this way, I’ll need to stop this questioning.”
Jo glared at Adam. “Finding out the person you love is cheating on you can drive a person to do things they wouldn’t normally think to do. Isn’t that right, Matt?”
Matt shook his head. “She’d been more interested in planning the wedding than me for a while now.”
Jo eyed Matt. “So, Laura had been stringing you along for a few months. That had to make you really angry. Angry enough to hurt her. Did you hurt her?”
“No—”
Adam interrupted. “Don’t answer that question. Detective, are you accusing Mr. Vaynor of something? Do you have any evidence that would place Laura anywhere near Mr. Vaynor the night of her tragic death?”
Pete snapped, “You tell us. We were having a sympathetic conversation with Mr. Vaynor and he called a lawyer. It’s obvious he was upset and apparently he lost track of time, because it’s clear he has no alibi.”
Jo pulled out the photo of Laura from a folder in front of her.
“We still need to know what you were doing during this time.” She pushed the photo closer. “Did you find Laura? Did you do this to her?”
Matt pushed his chair back, staring at the photo of Laura’s dead body in horror. He wailed, “Oh God! No! I broke off the engagement. It was over. I was hurt, but…”
Adam turned towards Matt. “Don’t say any more.” He looked back at Jo and Pete. “My client has lost a woman that meant the world to him. Let’s stop this. If you don’t have anything, there is no need for you to question him.”
Pete leaned in and stated, “He needs to establish where he was around the time of Laura’s death.”
Jo pushed ahead. “Laura found someone else. That had to make you angry, Matt.”
Matt grabbed his head. “I felt like she was out with someone else, but she wouldn’t say who. I was angry.”
Adam spoke up, “That’s enough, Matt.”
Matt continued. “I knew she was out with someone else. I didn’t want to believe it. She’d been hounding me about getting married for years. I proposed last Christmas, and it’s been nothing but talk about the wedding and how there was so much to do by next summer.”
Adam tapped the table. “We don’t have to continue this discussion. My client just lost his fiancée, his high school sweetheart. Let him grieve.”
Jo wasn’t finished and recognized Matt wanted to get something off his chest. “Where did you go, Matt?”
Matt blubbered. “I went…drinking. I haven’t had a drink in three years. I just went to some bar. I don’t remember where. I don’t remember how I even got back home. I’d been sober for three years. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Matt stared at Jo. The intensity in his eyes practically sucked the breath out of her. She felt his pain at being betrayed, but then Jo remembered something that had been bothering her.
Why did Laura suddenly cancel on her friends? Why take the engagement ring off after being so excited about planning a wedding?
Jo looked at Matt. “You didn’t break off the engagement with Laura the night she died. Did you? Something happened before. She went out with this guy out of anger with you.”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Finally he said, “I messed up. We argued the night before. I was trying to get back with her because I didn’t want to lose her. I wasn’t faithful either, but I still felt like we should have been together."
Jo felt a deep sense of anger well up in her. “So she broke off the engagement because you were cheating. She decides to go out with some guy she’d been flirting with probably to get you out of her mind. You didn’t like it and you wanted her back. If you couldn’t get her back, then nobody would have her.”
“That’s not what happened,” Matt shouted.
Jo pointed her finger at Matt. “You better make sure you didn’t do this, Mr. Vaynor because you will pay for killing Laura Finney. Let me advise you, you better find out exactly where you were that night.”
She got up and left the interview room. If she stayed in there any longer, she might have hit Matt. Why was it so simple for people to betray the people they supposedly loved?
Chapter 13
Thursday, August 27 at 2:22 p.m.
Two days had passed since the interview with Matt, and Jo still was disgusted. Her mood about the case clung to her and only worsened when she got home. She couldn’t even look at Bryan. The details of this case were working her last nerve.
Jo tried to switch her thinking around and put herself in their shoes. Matt had just turned twenty-three years old and Laura was twenty-one. Jo tried to think about their ages and the fact that they were both young and together for so long. Her mind still kept asking the question, was no one really into having a fully committed relationship anymore? Was marriage just something a couple did, and when things became difficult, it was time to look elsewhere? What a joke!
Jo wasn’t laughing. Her life as it once was three weeks ago had turned upside down. She didn’t know what to do at home, and this case was moving at a snail’s pace. If Matt couldn’t prove where he was that night, both she and Pete wanted to arrest him though having a motive clearly wasn’t enough reason. They’d at least finally received the search warrant early Thursday morning.
Matt had only been living at the Greater Hills Apartment for three weeks. From Jo’s walk through earlier, she found boxes still piled up in a second bedroom that Matt had not finished unpacking. The living room and master bedroom were fully furnished. The bedroom had clothes scattered everywhere as if Matt took off his work clothes and left them where they hit the floor. The kitchen had pizza boxes and Chinese take-out spilling out of a trash can in the corner.
The living room was the most orderly room. Almost too orderly compared to the rest of the apartment. Jo moved past CSI as they dusted for prints in the living room. She looked out the window of the second floor apartment. When they turned into the apartment complex, Jo noticed that Pine Woods Park Apartments where Laura’s body was found was not that far away. If they traveled down the road another mile, they would arrive at the crime scene.
Jo was still bothered by the closeness. She turned around and looked at the apartment. They needed to know if the original crime scene took place in Matt’s apartment. Was it possible Laura realized she should make up with Matt even after she broke off the engagement? Whatever was going through Laura’s mind about this new guy, did she still want to plan her perfect wedding? If Laura did come to see Matt that night, Jo tried to think about how Matt would have carried Laura’s body out of the apartment. He would have had to make a lot of noise trying to carry or dra
g her down the flight of stairs.
Beige-colored carpeting was wall-to-wall in the entire apartment. There were no signs of the burgundy-colored fibers that were found on and around Laura. That didn’t mean Matt hadn’t owned a rug. From the quick look the current owner allowed yesterday at Matt’s previous place, there were hardwood floors. Definitely a place for using rugs.
Jo walked up towards the kitchen, where Matt stood with his arms crossed leaning on the kitchen counter. He observed Jo warily as she approached him.
“I can’t answer questions without my lawyer.”
Jo smiled, “I’m sure Mr. Locklear won’t mind you cooperating with us. Matt, did you own a rug at one time?”
Matt considered her question for a few seconds before responding. “I had rugs in my previous place. As you can see here I don’t need them now.”
“What happened to those rugs?” Jo inquired.
Matt shrugged, “I put them in storage.”
“Can we get access to your storage?”
“Why?”
Jo tilted her head. “Why do you insist on not helping us with the murder of your fiancé or should I say ex-fiancé?”
Matt un-crossed his arms and stood straight. “You want me to be a suspect?”
Jo wasn’t bothered by Matt’s menacing stance. “Matt, I want the truth. I want to be able to tell Senator and Mrs. Finney what happened to their daughter. The search warrant covers all your property, so where is that storage facility?”
Matt dropped his shoulders as though he was defeated. “I can take you there. I want to call my lawyer though.”
“That’s fine. You can ride with us.”
Pete drove as Matt provided directions. Jo mentally noted the storage facility was about two miles away from Matt’s apartment and three miles from where Laura was found. As Pete pulled into the parking lot, Jo’s first thought was these storage units were actually a good place to hide a body. It was sad the way her mind had been trained to think after all of these years in homicide.
They exited the car and followed Matt down a row until they stopped at a storage unit marked 5G. Matt opened the lock and lifted up the door. Like most typical storage units, boxes and furniture were piled high.
Jo stepped inside. “You have a lot of furniture in here, Mr. Vaynor.”
He answered. “I had a lot more room in the house. I couldn’t fit as much as I wanted into the apartment.”
“Why did you move?”
“New job. Not as much pay.”
“Didn’t you used to work for your father?”
“My dad and I don’t get along very well. I was mistaken to think I could work for him.”
Pete walked in and starting looking at furniture. “Where are those rugs, Matt?”
Matt frowned. “I think we put them on the truck first so they would have been last. They’re piled up over here.” Matt walked over to the right side of the storage unit, where rugs lay on top of a dresser.
Jo peered inside the ends of the rolled up rugs. One rug was beige and the other one appeared to be blue. “Are these all of your rugs?”
Matt frowned. “No. One seems to be missing.”
Jo exchanged a look with Pete before asking, “Can you describe it?”
“It was the rug I kept in the living room. It had a burgundy and a black pattern over beige. I wonder what happened to it. I know we took everything off the truck. My mother gave me that rug.”
Jo asked, “Would you have a picture of it?
Matt turned to Jo. “Why? Why are you so interested in that rug?”
Jo’s phone rang. “I have to take this call.”
She walked out of the storage unit. “Hello, this is Detective Reed-Powell.”
“Detective, this is Officer Emmanuel, I think we found something over here at the apartment.”
“What did you find?”
“In the back of the closet in the master bedroom, there was some rope. We bagged it.”
“This is good, Officer Emmanuel. Hey, we need some CSI techs to come to a storage unit about two miles down the road from the apartments.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jo clicked her phone off and walked back towards the storage unit. Matt looked distressed.
He was asking Pete, “Why are you asking about the rug?”
Pete stared Matt down. “Why are you worried?”
“Because I know it must have something to do with Laura. Why else would you ask me? I should have asked my lawyer to come.”
Jo observed Matt. “Calm down, Matt. If you didn’t do anything, you have no reason to get yourself upset.”
She stepped inside the storage unit and examined the other rugs. Each one of the rugs were held together with a rope, probably similar to the same rope the CSI tech just found in Matt’s apartment. Was it like the rope used to strangle Laura?
There was no doubt in her mind that the missing rug was the same one they found wrapped around Laura’s body. Matt Vaynor was looking more and more like their suspect. They had no choice but to arrest him.
Chapter 14
Monday, August 31 at 11:12 p.m.
No one wanted to be in their boss’s office first thing Monday morning. After they made the arrest on Thursday, Matt Vaynor’s face was splashed on the news and social media throughout the weekend. Even CNN picked up on the story. Senator Finney appeared on camera relaying his shock about his former future son-in-law.
Captain Walter Ransom scanned the report again before looking at them. “So Matt Vaynor made bail this morning. Let’s review the evidence. He doesn’t have an alibi, had pretty good motive to kill, and CSI found similar rope, which could have been used as the murder weapon. I see you have confirmed the rug found around Laura’s body is the same rug owned by Matt Vaynor.” The captain sat back and crossed his arms. “Still there are some shaky areas, there is no DNA evidence, and the district attorney is asking for more.”
Jo stated. “I agree. Matt Vaynor has already hired Adam Locklear as his defense attorney. We still need to find out where Matt was the night he went binge drinking.”
Pete leaned in. “I have talked to some of Matt’s buddies. Matt was a mean drunk. Most of his fights started after he’d had way too much to drink.”
Jo thought out loud. “Someone hit Laura before she was strangled. There’s the bruising on the left side of her face, but as far as we know, there was no previous abuse.”
Captain Ransom slapped the desk. “There could have been abuse that was never reported. You guys need to make sure Matt found Laura that night. He had to have gone drinking somewhere. Check any credit card or debit charges he may have made that night. What about this guy that Laura was supposedly out with? Did this date actually happen and if so where? The timeline is still fuzzy, folks.”
Jo felt overwhelmed as she left the captain’s office. There were still too many missing blanks on the timeline that haunted her all weekend. The more she scoured Laura’s phone records, the more she was coming up empty with this other guy. If Laura really went out on a date, she must have had another way of communicating with this guy. She would need to get with Sgt. Wu to see if he was able to retrieve any other information from Laura’s laptop.
Since this was going to be a long Monday, she called Bryan. He didn’t answer his cell phone so she left a message. “Bryan, I know it’s my turn to pick up B.J. This Finney case has become a bit more hectic now, as I know you’ve seen on the news. I’ll be home late tonight. I do have some dinner selections in the freezer.”
Jo hung up the phone. She was no cook like her mother, but she learned her way around a slow-cooker on the weekends. She did what she could.
Her desk phone rang. Not sure if it was Bryan or not, Jo let the phone ring twice before answering, “Detective Reed-Powell.”
“Tell them to leave him alone.”
Jo frowned. “Who is this and leave who alone?”
“It’s me, Sarah Anderson, Laura’s friend and Matt’s cousin. You talked to me at L
aura’s memorial service. Why are you trying to blame Matt? He couldn’t have killed Laura.”
Couldn’t have killed, Jo thought. She responded, “We’re doing our jobs, Sarah.” Jo recalled those interviews. “Are you covering for Matt since he is your cousin?”
“What are you talking about? Matt didn’t do anything to Laura. Laura was my best friend.”
“Why didn’t you mention that she reached out to you all for help?”
Sarah sucked in a breath. “Look, I felt awful. I’m not a bad person. I was mad with her and I really didn’t take her seriously. I figured she probably just wanted to get out of her date, which she shouldn’t have been on in the first place. She was engaged!”
“Did you know she broke off the engagement with Matt because she found out he was cheating on her?”
Sarah was silent for a moment. “I didn’t know that. I just know Matt was calling her over and over again. Then he called me because he thought we were together. He was frantic and really worried about her.”
Jo thought for a second. “So let me guess, you told Matt that Laura could have been on a date with someone. Didn’t you? He talked to you and asked you why you all didn’t go out, so you had to tell him something.”
“Yes, I told him. Okay, they both didn’t know what they wanted. They had broken up so many times over the years, dating other people, but they always got back together. Laura told me just a few weeks ago how much she loved Matt and that they’d been together so long she felt like they should get married. That’s not a reason to get married, but they seemed like they were made for each other.”
“Have you known Matt to be violent towards Laura?”
“Never. He did stupid stuff, but he would never lay a hand on her.”
“Well, Sarah, if you want to help Matt, you need to tell me more about this other guy. Right now, Matt is our focus and he doesn’t know where he was the night Laura was killed.”
Sarah cried out, “I know where Matt was that night.”
Jo’s hand tightened on the phone. “Are you about to tell me the truth or is this your way of just helping out your cousin? I would be careful, Sarah.”