Chase rearranged his bulk on the chair and leaned forward.“I’m putting it to you, Jason, that you’re lying to me again, just like you did at the beginning of this interview.”
“I’m not, man—I’m telling you the truth, I swear!”
“I put it to you that you scaled that windowsill, climbed in through the window, and surprised Isobel. She started screaming and you panicked. So you hit her with the first object that you found, and then stabbed her until you were sure she was dead. And then you ran and told Alison some cock andbull story about finding her mother already dead and being afraid of being falsely implicated.” He slammed the table with a meaty fist. “Isn’t that the truth, Jason! Confess, son!”
“No! I didn’t do it, sir. I swear. I’m being set up—just like I was that time.”
Chase leaned back and studied the ex-con through slitted eyes.“I don’t believe you. I’m sorry but I don’t. And I don’t think a judge or jury will believe you either.”
“Oh, God, no. Not again!” said Jason whiningly. “This isn’t happening!”
“But it is happening, Jason. So you better tell me the truth. Don’t you want to spare your fianc?e the pain and suffering of not knowing what happened to her mom? Don’t you want her to know what happened, exactly?”
Jason became explosive, and now pounded his own fist on the table.“Of course I want her to know. But I didn’t do it, all right?!”
“All right, all right,” said Chase appeasingly. “Settle down.”
“I looked in through the window, but I never set foot inside that room, I swear. I didn’t touch anything. I was never in that room. And if you know your business you’ll find that I’m telling you the truth. You won’t find any fingerprints or DNA anywhere, and that’s because I was never there. I didn’t touch the woman!”
“Okay, so let’s assume just for a moment that you’re telling the truth. What else did you see? Cause you must have arrived right on the heels of the murder.”
“I didn’t see anyone. Apart from Isobel lying there, I didn’t see anyone else.”
Chase’s face, otherwise so impassive, was now working. It was obvious that he didn’t believe a word this young man was saying. But how was he going to get him to confess? It seemed impossible, as he was sticking to his story, no matter what.
“Okay, let’s take a break,” he said finally.
“Can I go home now?” asked Jason.
“I’m afraid not, son.”
The young man’s expression hardened. “Then I want a lawyer.”
“Of course you do,” said Chase, and left the interview room.
CHAPTER 20
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We were in Uncle Alec’s office, the adults in the room discussing the interview with Jason Rocamora, while Dooley and myself were relegated to the role of passive bystanders. But then isn’t that often the case? People don’t appreciate the value the feline point of view can bring to any conversation, now do they? Odelia sometimes appreciates my input, or Dooley’s, but both Chase and Uncle Alec have in the past often been dismissive of our unique contribution to their cases.
“I think we’ve got our man,” Chase reiterated. He was balling his fists, as if prepared to go mano a mano with anyone who dared to contradict his position. “He did it. I can feel it in my bones. Now all we have to do is make him confess.”
“It does feel like a shoo-in,” Uncle Alec confirmed. “He’s got the motive, he had the opportunity, and he’s got that violent past. But where is the murder weapon?”
“Oh, we’ll find it,” Chase assured the Chief. “I’ve got officers combing through every inch of the guy’s apartment, and Alison Droba’s car. We’re bound to find the evidence we need to get a conviction.” He was balling his fists again. “Just give me another couple of days with the guy, Chief. I know I can break him. I just know it.”
“Let’s just take it easy, shall we?” said the police chief. “I want a confession as badly as you do, but if we can get him on the evidence, that’s just as good.”
“What about Alison?” asked Odelia. She’d been pensive throughout.
“What about her?” asked her partner.
“If Jason killed her mother, why is she defending him? Insisting he’s innocent?”
“Because she’s in love with the guy, that’s why!” said Chase. “She’d say anything to get him off the hook.”
“But Isobel was her mother, Chase. Even if she loves Jason, what he did is indefensible—if he’s guilty.”
“You’re absolutely right,” said Chase, pounding his hand with his fist. “I should have arrested her alongside her boyfriend. If he’s guilty, so is she. She knew he did it, and helped him conceal the evidence—at the very least. Chances are she was in on it. Encouraged him to get rid of her mother so they could get married and stop her mom from cutting her off financially.”
“What do you mean?” asked the Chief.
“Well, now that Isobel is out of the way, Alison will inherit, won’t she?”
“You think the two of them planned this together? Cold-blooded murder?”
“Of course! Bonnie and Clyde got nothing on this couple. Oh, they’re cold, all right. Cold and cunning.” He sprang up from his chair like a coiled spring. “I better nail her before she tries to get away.”