Final Act (32 page)

“I’m for going in now
,
Gordon.  We make him wait any longer, he’s going to be hollering for his lawyer”,
Withers
said.

“I agree”, Kate said.

“Wait a minute, not so fast”,
Gordon said.
  “I want to make sure all the bases are covered for the search warrant.  How sure are you, Withers, that they will be able to gain access to Ward’s home?”

“Very sure, sir.  I made a call to the house and his sister answered the phone.  She will be home all day.”

“
Good.  Okay, let’s do it.”

Henry looked
up as
they entered the room
and
chose their chairs
. 

Kate reached for the remote control and turned on the video recorder mounted on the wall behind her. 
Withers
stated the date,
and
time
.

“Sorry for the delay, Henry”, Gordon said.  “
At a p
olice station,
there’s always something
going on.  We’ve brought you down here this
afternoon
to clear up a couple of points. 
We s
houldn’t have to keep you too long
. 
How are you enjoying being in the Director’s chair?”

Henry looked surprised by the question.  “It’s okay, a bit of a stretch, but
I’m doing okay.
”

“
You’ve b
een in the theatre business for quite
some time now,
haven’t you?”

“Yes, twenty-five years and counting
.
”

“Thinking of retiring soon”,
Withers
asked.

“No, not for another ten years
at least.”

“
You have h
ealth problems
,
Henry”, Gordon asked.

“No,
typical colds and stuff, that’s all.”

“How long did you work with Jeffrey Stone”, Kate asked.

Henry had to turn his head to answer her as she was sitting slightly behind him. 

“
For the last five years.
”

“Were they a good
five
years?
”

“They were fine.  Typical ups and downs but nothing serious
.
”

“
Always f
ancy seeing yourself as a Director, Henry”,
Withers
asked.

He turned
back to answer him,
his
face red.  “No, producing is my field.”

“You didn’t say
no
when you were offered on the position though, did you”, Gordon
asked
.

“
I d
idn’t want to leave them in the lurch, that’s all.”

“That wasn’t the understanding of the rest of the production crew”, Kate said.

“I can’t help what they think.”

“How would you describe your relationship with Jeffrey’s wife, Catherine”, Kate asked.

A puzzled look
crossed his face.  He said it was good; t
hey had been friends for years.

“Never more than friends?

An emphatic no echoed in the small room.

“Quite a passionate response, Henry, coming from a quiet, calm person like yourself”, Gordon said. 

“I know where you’re headed with this and you’re wrong.  I never wanted Jeffrey’s job or his wife.”

“Ever go into the theatre after hours?  When no one was around”,
Withers
asked.

“I might have, can’t remember.”

“Might have
?
  One of those times you might have, did you happen to run into one of the cast members on the street?”

“Not that I remember?”

“How about Camira? 
You k
new her quite well.  You’d remember seeing her wouldn’t you?”

He looked at
Withers
, a small line of sweat appeared on his upper lip. “Maybe I should have my lawyer here.  I don’t like where this is going.  Good God, I’m not a killer.  I had nothing to do with anyone’s death.”

“Do you want to call one now”, Gordon asked
.

The three detectives held their breath. 
Henry shook his head no.

“Own a gun Henry”, Gordon asked.

“Yes, a semi-automatic handgun – a Desert Eagle. 
I b
ought it
years ago, on a whim.”

“Did you get a license for it”,
Withers
asked.

“Yes, of course.  It’s licensed and registered.”

“Where do you keep it
?
”

“In my library at home, in the top desk drawer.”  Henry
shifted in his seat and began to
tap
the fingers of his right hand on the table.

“
Is the gun s
till there”, Kate asked
.

“Of course, where else would it be?”

“How about in the parking lot of the AST campus
?
  A gun matching
yours, with the same
license and registration number
,
was found abandoned in the lot last night after someone took a shot at Rev. Hanya as she was leaving her office. 
Rev. Hanya is the cousin of Camira.  Small world isn’t it”
,
Withers
asked.

The tapping of his fingers ceased.  Sweat trickled from his forehead
onto his nose.
 

“This is ridiculous.  It can’t be my gun.  It was there t
hree
weeks ago when I had the
actors and staff
over
to the house
for wine and cheese.
S
omeone
asked about the likelihood of a prop gun going
off
. 
I took them into the library and showed them with
my gun how unlikely it was that anything could go wrong
.
”

“Who asked you about prop guns?”

“I can’t remember, the room was crowded, people were talking.  I don’t even know if it was a man or a woman.  I didn’t think anything of it, I just answered the question.”
 

“Where were you last night”, Kate asked.

“Home studying material on past productions of
Death of a Salesman
. 

“Can anyone verify that”, she asked.

“No, I was home alone and...” he paused.  “I want to call my lawyer.  Now.”

“Of course”, Gordon said. 

Kate stated the time the interview had ended and shut the video recorder off.  The three officers
left Henry
staring into space and wringing his hands.
 

“Lawyer or not, he’ll be spending
at least
one
night in lock-up
”,
Gordon said.

Chapter 18

An hour later
Shirley sat at her desk
and read
the ballistic report that put Henry Ward in the running for Hanya’s shooter and,
possibly as
Jeffrey, Catherine and Camira’s killer.  Greed, ambition, debt, and blackmail were the theories being bandied about.

“
So Jeffrey’s sexual preferences weren’t behind the killings.  I high tailed it back here to tell you the name of one of his victims and put forth a strong second candidate and
then
had to wait
an hour before
you finished your interview and debrief.  I thought I’d pee my pants if I couldn’t soon tell someone.”

“
You mean to say you know the identity of at least one of the girls at the cabin,” Kate asked.

“Yes.  Donald and Eleanor Sutton’s deceased daughter, Sybil.  I recognized her in the framed picture he had in his office.  I’m speculating the dark haired girl to be Brenda Parsons’s
sister
– shit, I don’t even know her name, but Jeffrey would have come into contact with her through Brenda.  It should be easy enough to check out.”

“Good work, Shirley.   Have your written up the report?”

“Written, attached to an e-mail and forwarded to Gordon.  He’s probably reading it now.”

A knock on the door.   Shirley opened the door to find Withers standing with a coffee pot in one hand, a plate of cookies balanced on its top.

“Well”
, he
asked
,
“Can I come in or not?”

Shirley smiled and relieved him of the coffee pot and Kate pulled out the extra chair.

“
I brewed
the coffee myself”, he said.  “
The warm oak cakes are courtesy of June who dropped them off ten minutes ago
.”

T
h
e th
ree detectives
hoed into the treats.  “Maybe we should invite Gordon to join us”, Shirley said.  “I could kill two birds with one stone.”

“Gordon’s gone home
; m
uttered something about picking up his wife by 7:00pm, their anniversary or something.”

Shirley’s face fell.  “
I might as well fill you in now Withers.  Gordon can read the report tomorrow morning.  I’ll make it quick.  It’s getting late and I have to be getting home myself.”

Kate excused herself and stepped out into the hallway.  She punched in Roger’s cell.

“How’s it going”, she asked.

A tired sounding Roger said things were fine. 

“Thought I’d bring you up to date on what’s going on.
”

Roger listened without interruption until Kate finished.

“I’ll be damned, Henry Ward was telling the truth about Jeffrey’s sexual tendencies but as far as seeing him shooting at Hanya, no.  It would be against type.  He spreads his poison with his mouth, uses underhand tactics.  But I could be wrong.  Wouldn’t be the first time.
”

“I don’t think you are.
It would be easy to set Ward up.
How did it go for you today?”

“
Not as bad as I thought. “Gordon called late this afternoon.  The
coked up thugs
were paid $10,000 to
do the job, the going price among amateurs for a cop’s life these days I guess.  Divide by five - $2,000 a piece.  I
’m
worth more as a race driver.
  I owe Hazel the homeless a lot.” 

“
Have you heard from her?”

“No, nothing.  So what else is new?”

“That’s it, for now, but not for long, things are starting to move, Roger.”