by Tyora Moody
Asia questioned, “What do you think of his supposed alibi prior to his claimed arrival?”
Christine sat down in the chair across from Asia’s desk. “He claims he was working late when he received the text. No witnesses saw him leave work since it was after hours. He could have arrived and killed her. But there were no signs of gunpowder residue on his hands. No gun has been found. He claims he didn’t own one.”
Asia stood to stretch her legs, “That’s what bothering me. It’s normal to look at the spouse or a loved one in cases like this, but this is going to be a hard case to bring to the grand jury. The evidence is circumstantial. I’m not sure why Brandon approved these charges.”
Christine crossed her arms. “Family and friends have said on record that Lawrence and Janice weren’t getting along. They said Janice had grown depressed. She filed for divorce two weeks prior to the murder. Maybe he was angry and didn’t want to be stuck with paying her alimony. They’d been together ten years.”
Asia paced the floor. “Do we know if either of them had been unfaithful?”
Christine shook her head. “Just rumors among her family. Lawrence was always away from the home at odd hours, but he denied having any affairs. He said it was the nature of his real estate business.”
Asia looked at her assistant. “We need something that’s going to convince the grand jury this guy needs to go on trial for murdering his wife. By the way, were you able to get the photos for me of Adam Locklear’s crime scene?”
Christine appeared confused, “Yes, I have them. I thought Brandon wanted you to move away from the Locklear case.”
Asia held out her hand. “Where are the photos? I need to do a comparison.”
Christine nodded and went out the room. She returned with a folder. “These were sent over by the crime lab.”
Asia took the folder and laid the contents next to the photos of Janice Warren on her desk. “Come look at this so I’m not having a crazy moment here.”
Christine stepped behind her desk to look at the photos. Her young assistant peered down for a few minutes. She finally turned to Asia, her eyes wide. “These look really similar.”
“You agree with me, then? Whoever shot Janice Warren also shot Adam in a similar fashion. Straight to the head. I’m not into coincidences, but they’re both in their office. Janice at her home office. Adam in his office.”
“You’re not trying to connect these two cases?”
“I’m not trying to on purpose, but my gut says something isn’t right here. What we know is someone shot Warren’s wife. Then someone shot Warren’s lawyer. We want to convict this man of his wife’s murder and the evidence is pretty circumstantial. We need to be digging in all related areas, no matter how crazy it may seem.”
Christine nodded. “After you put it like that, it does seem weird.”
Asia placed her hand on her hips and stared out the window for a moment. She took a breath. “Adam was representing Lawrence. As his lawyer, if he had something to prove his client’s innocence, he would have to tell me.”
“But this wasn’t even your case yet. I mean Brandon hadn’t assigned it yet.”
“I know. But Adam thought the information he had needed to be told to me. Maybe he thought this was the kind of case Brandon would give me.” She looked at Christine. “I need to know more about Janice Warren. What did she do exactly?”
“Well, she ran an online business. She managed a small group of virtual assistants.”
“Find out about her clients. As a matter fact, dig further into both Janice and Lawrence’s past. Did the Warrens have children?”
“No. They didn’t have children. That could’ve been the source of her unhappiness.”
Asia moved papers around on her desk. “True. I want to know about their past relationships.”
Christine frowned. “Brandon wants us to pursue a grand jury in a few weeks. Isn’t this moving away from proving Mr. Warren did it?”
Asia eyed her assistant. “This is about making sure we have a solid case to present. We can’t let anything slip up on us. If we miss something, believe me, Brooke Cannon will make us look like idiots in the courtroom. I know you’re heading out of town tomorrow afternoon for Thanksgiving with your folks in Florida, try to get as much of this to me as possible.”
Christine nodded, “Will do. I hope you’re taking some time off.”
“There will be no missing Thursday’s feast, but I will probably be working after that.”
After Christine left her office, Asia pulled out a mug shot of Lawrence Warren. His face was scruffy, unlike the real estate brochure that was also inside the folder. On the front of the brochure, Warren was dressed in a sharp suit, standing with a wide smile outside a grand home in the background. A memory brushed against her mind, but before the thought fully formed she was interrupted by the phone.
She grabbed the phone, “Hello.”
“Ms. Reed?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“Hello, this is Dana Locklear.”
“Yes, how are you doing?”
“My kids are here at the house. You mentioned letting you know about the memorial services for Adam. I will be having the service next Wednesday. Me and the kids just want to get through the holidays.”
“I’m so sorry. I know this must be a tough time. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Any news?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have any news. Adam’s case is a priority for Detective Coleman.”
“Adam doesn’t have any family and it would be good to get his body buried.”
“I understand. We will keep you updated. I will be at the memorial services next week.”
After Asia hung up the phone, she wondered who else would attend the services to say goodbye to Adam Locklear. She opened the real estate brochure not sure what she was looking for. Maybe they should dig deeper into Lawrence’s financials. There had to be a much stronger motive for a successful real estate guy to kill his wife.
Her phone rang again, making Asia jump in her chair. “Hello.”
“Ms. Reed, it’s Detective Coleman. I think you may want to come see this. Adam Locklear’s case just got more interesting.”
“Really? Unfortunately, I’m supposed to steer clear of anything having to do with Adam. DA assigned me to Lawrence Warren’s case.”
“Well then, this will definitely interest you. This notebook, or diary; really, that we found in Adam’s safe. It belongs to Janice Warren.”
Asia gripped the desk. Then she remembered to breathe. “I’ll be right over.” She hung up the phone, her mind whirling.
These cases really are connected.
Chapter 17
Tuesday, November 22 at 5:30 p.m.
Asia rubbed her head as she read through the highlighted passages from Janice Warren’s diary.
He hit me over and over again. After he finished I lay on the floor for what seemed like hours, too scared to move.
Asia frowned and stared at Coleman. “Who is this guy? Is she saying Lawrence beat her? How did Adam get this diary?”
Coleman leaned back in his chair, clasping his hands behind his head, “As far as how Adam got the notebook I have two theories. Lawrence could have given it to him because he thought it would help his case. Or someone else passed the book to Adam.”
Asia commented, “If it’s Lawrence she’s talking about, this doesn’t help his case. Who else was close enough to Janice to have access to something this personal?” She crossed her arms as though to brace herself for what Coleman would drop next.
“Candie Parker.”
Asia raised her eyebrow. “They knew each other?”
“Candie and Janice were friends. They met when they were escort girls back in the day. This diary reads like a memoir. It’s like Janice was recording her past. She mentions a woman named Candie early in the book. I have confirmed with Candie this morning that they were friends. Also, that argument that happened at the time Officer Lane walke
d in had to do with Brooke.”
“Brooke Cannon?” Asia shook her head, “So it really was a jealousy thing going on? Not that that matters. I want to know if Candie was aware of this diary?”
“She says Janice never mentioned any of this to her. We’re checking the diary for fingerprints to see if we can find others who may have had their hands on the notebook besides Janice and Adam.”
Coleman shuffled the copied pages. “Janice mentions this guy in the highlighted entries quite a bit, but she doesn’t name him.”
“Why? Do you think she was going to try to publish this as a book?”
“It’s possible. Someone could have found out. Maybe didn’t want any secrets revealed. Could be a motive for why she was killed.”
“Yeah, but are there really any major secrets? There is this guy who was pretty horrible to her. He was definitely violent. In this passage, he held a gun to her head.” She looked down at the report Coleman handed her when she arrived earlier. “You know what really stood out to me the first time I looked at the crime scene for Janice was how similar it looked to Adam’s. So, the gun used on Janice was the same caliber that killed Adam?”
Coleman nodded, “Yep. We’re possibly looking at the same person. Adam had that notebook.”
“Explains why the killer took his laptop and phone.” Asia rubbed her hand across her forehead. This was almost too much to process. “Janice had to have this electronically stored in a cloud system somewhere, right? I’m assuming if she had plans to publish this it had to be transferred from this handwritten form.”
“I agree. We’re attempting to track down any electronic versions. We do have phone records that we’re comparing for both of them. Adam’s phone went dead that night. It’s possible the assailant smashed it.”
Asia sighed. “At least something is coming together. There was no camera footage around the Warren’s home?”
“The Warrens had a security system, but get this, the day before she was killed, Janice requested more cameras be placed in the home.”
“Was Lawrence Warren aware of this?”
“He claims he knows nothing about her request for further security. Remember they had been separated and he was living in an apartment.”
Asia contemplated, “It’s possible she wanted the security knowing she would have that big house to herself.”
Coleman shrugged. “They lived in a gated community, actually not too far from Adam’s home.”
“Interesting. Someone or something spooked her. Did she mention any fears to anyone in her life?”
“No. If anything she’d become more withdrawn. People assumed she was depressed about the divorce.” Coleman pointed to the copied passages from the diary. “This guy she writes about was a scary dude. I hate to say it, but it’s not Lawrence. She clearly says she met Lawrence later. Read.”
Asia scanned the passage.
It was hard to believe after so many years I would meet the man of my dreams. Lawrence is truly a kind and sweet man. I’m looking forward to our life together.
Wrong man. Those were Adam’s words to her. “She names Lawrence. Even claims he’s the man of her dreams. So why did their marriage fall apart?”
“It was a complete surprise to Lawrence.”
“I’m not trying to bring an innocent man before the grand jury in a few weeks. We have to dig harder on who this guy could be in Janice’s notebook. How does she end the relationship with him?”
Coleman picked up the last copied page. “Apparently, he was convicted of a crime. Not against her though. He was sentenced to prison.”
“So we can look at who’s recently been released around the time of Janice’s murder? See if there’s any connections.”
Coleman asked, “Still, how would someone find out about Janice writing this diary? How would they know Adam had the book too? Candie didn’t know about the notebook.”
Asia looked at her phone. It was getting late. “I guess we need to end this for the day. I’m due at my parent’s home for Thanksgiving tomorrow. You have plans?”
Coleman stood and stretched. “Yes, my daughter and I usually head down to Columbia, South Carolina to visit with my wife’s parents. Imani likes to spend the holidays with her maternal grandparents.”
“I see. I’m sure it’s good for her grandparents to see her, especially…”
“With their daughter in jail. Yes, I try to give them as much time with their granddaughter as possible. I do need to leave out and get rested for the drive tomorrow.”
“Of course. We’ll get back to who this mystery man is after the holidays. Just as long as we find something very soon.”
“I wish we hadn’t charged Lawrence, but all the evidence pointed towards him. A text was made to his phone from hers the night she was killed. He came to the house because she asked him to come. He could have easily gone over to the house in anger and shot her.”
“You’re right. But he didn’t. Someone set him up. They killed Adam to further cover their tracks.”
Chapter 18
Thursday, Thanksgiving – November 24
It was a day to celebrate and give thanks, but Asia found herself flitting from moments of self-pity to trying hard not to think about work. She rarely took days off and cherished holidays with her family. Today, she was finding it difficult to fully be present.
Jo and Bryan were in the happiest place she’d seen them. BJ was sitting in his dad’s lap while Jo held Alisa. Across from them Toni leaned against her boyfriend, Cam. The young couple was beaming. Asia thought Cam would pop the question at any time. She wouldn’t be surprised if her baby sister were walking down the aisle next year.
She glanced back where her parents sat with her youngest brother. Probably the biggest surprise was her nerdy little brother brought a date this Thanksgiving. Only Toni, Cori’s twin knew Cori had been dating a co-worker for several months.
Last time Asia brought anyone home was in high school and that was because she had to. Her boyfriends had to meet her dad before she went anywhere with them.
She slipped through the kitchen out the side door; she needed some air. It was in the fifties, but the sun shone bright on her parent’s deck. Her long sweater and knit leggings felt good. She’d opted to leave the heels home today and wear her Skechers.
Asia sensed someone standing behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jax grinning at her. She asked, “Aren’t you going to catch the game with the rest of the guys?”
He rubbed his tummy. “I’m so full right now it’s unreal. I needed some air. I knew Vanessa could cook, but she did that.”
Asia had to smile despite being annoyed with Jax’s presence. “Too bad I never picked up her cooking skills.”
“Those skills are priceless. The way to a man’s heart is his stomach, but I haven’t run across a woman yet that can throw a meal down like that.”
“Is that all your criteria?”
He scoffed. “Those are the basics. What about you?”
Asia thought. “That’s a good question.”
“Oh, come on. All women know exactly what they want in a man.”
“Apparently, I haven’t figured that out yet. Maybe because I’ve run across some real scoundrels.”
“I’m sure you will find someone.”
“Aren’t you being encouraging? What’s going on with you?”
“We don’t have to be at each other’s throats, you know? I’m not your enemy.”
“I know. Still, I don’t think you came out here just for air. I remember you said you had something to tell me and Jo.”
“I can always rely on you to not beat around the bush, Asia. You’re right. I do have something to tell both of you. I guess I’ll start with you. Depending how you handle it, at least I know Jo will handle it slightly better than you.” He smiled.
Asia twisted her mouth. “I can’t wait to hear.”
“Well, you know I published a book last year with S & E Publishers, and it became a New York Ti
mes bestseller.”
“Yeah, I read it. True crime always offers an interesting read.”
“Good to know you read it. I hope you like my next book. It’s a work-in-progress now. My agent suggested the topic to me, and I have to say at first I wasn’t too keen on it. But, I eventually decided to go for it.”
Asia frowned. “It’s still true crime?”
“Yes, except instead of an anthology of stories, this one will be a biography.”
“Who are you writing about?”
“Someone you know.”
Asia eyed him. “Who?”
“Jeffrey Maddock”
She stepped back. “You’re serious?”
He shrugged. “It’s a guaranteed bestseller.”
Asia narrowed her eyes. “It also doesn’t hurt that your sister arrested the man and your other sister was on the prosecution team.”
Jax bowed his head. “I was hoping you weren’t going to see it that way. I mean, don’t you have questions about the man? What drives a person to turn into a serial killer?”
“Maddock is evil.”
Jax raised his eyebrows. “Everyone has some evil floating around in them. Why did he have such an intense amount that made him want to kill?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t deserve this kind of attention. He’s a narcissist who got off on control and killing.”
“Those women’s family and friends, don’t they have unanswered questions?”
“Come on, Jax. You know some things people do can’t be explained. The best I can do for families and friends of a victim is to put the person behind bars so they don’t hurt someone else. Ensure they receive punishment.”
“Don’t you ever wonder if we could stop people from doing horrible things if we knew the triggers?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s impossible to know. You’re sounding like a movie I saw a few years ago with Tom Cruise.”