Chapter Six
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Stephen Glover was a good looking, blond-haired man in this early thirties who was currently wearing a determined expression. He’d been waiting by the door of the consulting company offices when Zach and Leann had pulled up this morning. Now Zach had Stephen sitting in their one and only conference room with a cup of coffee and one of the glazed donuts that Jason had brought in while Leann set up in her brother’s office.
“Do you want me in there with you?” Jason asked. “I can be, if you like.”
“Give me ten or fifteen with him,” Zach replied. “Then come join us. I’m guessing by then I’ll have a better idea of why he’s here. You can visit with your sister while I’m talking to him.”
Chuckling, Jason refilled his coffee. “Then I’ll give you twenty. I can definitely use the time to catch up with Leann. Brinley was bugging me last night about having her over for dinner, which means you would come too, of course. While you’re in there I’m going to check what Jared dug up on the Glover family. Maybe there will be something we can talk to him about.”
Joining the bereaved husband, Zach sat across from him and took a sip from his coffee cup, still sizing up the situation. This was highly unusual, a family member showing up here at the offices. Normally, Zach questioned them in their own home where they were comfortable. If they were a suspect, he might question them at the police station.
He decided to keep the conversation friendly and neutral. Let Stephen drive until Zach figured out why he was here.
“How can I help you, Mr. Glover?”
The man’s eyes were red-rimmed as if he’d been crying most of the night. He looked worn out and ready to sleep for a week.
“I want to know what you’re doing to find the man that killed my wife. I can’t get any answers at the police station. They said that your firm had taken over the investigation.”
Zach nodded. “We have been asked to consult on the case as we have extensive experience with murder investigations. As for what we’re doing, I can assure you that we’re doing all we can to find the person who did this.”
Stephen glanced down at the coffee cup sitting on the table in front of Zach. “I don’t see you doing anything so far.”
Glover thought the cops were sitting around sucking down java and watching Netflix?
“I can assure you that we’re on top of this. Any physical evidence has been sent to the state crime lab and we have to wait our turn for results. As for questioning any persons of interest, that task is split between the police and our firm.” Time to turn the tables on Stephen. “Since you’re here, would you mind answering a few questions? It would be extremely helpful to the investigation.”
Zach had questioned the husband briefly last night at the barbecue but the man had been so overwrought it was difficult for him to concentrate. Better luck might be had today. He didn’t wait for Stephen to give permission.
“How long had you and your wife been married?”
Glover was just tired enough not to have the energy to object. “Almost ten years. We met in college and got married after I finished law school. We moved here about five years ago to be closer to her mother. She’s not doing so well these days.”
“So you didn’t know many of the people at the park last night?”
Stephen shook his head, a haunted look in his eyes. “Just the ones that I’ve met in Tremont these last couple of years. I never thought–”
He broke off, choking as a sob made it difficult to speak. Zach changed the direction of the questioning from last night.
“Does Bitty have any enemies in town? Someone with a grudge?”
“Everyone liked her,” Stephen replied, a note of desperation in his voice. “She volunteered at our kids’ school, she worked part-time at the craft shop and gave scrapbooking classes. She taught Sunday school at our church. Bitty was a wonderful woman. Why would someone do something like this?”
A straightforward question with a murkier answer. “The reasons people do what they do aren’t always clear. He could be angry with Bitty or she could represent someone else, someone that he wants to hurt. At this point I can’t tell you which it is.” He paused before plunging forward. “Did Bitty ever talk about her high school days?”
“Some. She liked high school and she had good friends.”
“So she was popular?”
Shifting in his chair, Stephen appeared confused. “I guess you could say that. What does that have to do with anything?”
Zach wasn’t ready to answer anyone else’s questions. He still had a few of his own.
“Did Bitty ever turn down a guy for a date and make him mad? Did she have any admirers that didn’t take no for an answer?”
Glover’s eyes widened. “Do you think…? This could have been some guy who never got over his crush. Jesus, what’s the world coming to?”
From what Zach had seen? Hell and a hand basket.
“Did she mention anyone?” Zach pressed. “Anyone at all?”
“No, she didn’t.” A rush of tears fell from the husband’s eyes, dampening his cheeks. “Bitty didn’t deserve this.”
“I know and we’re going to do everything we can to bring the killer to justice.” The door swung open and Jason strode into the room, file folder in hand. “Mr. Glover, this is Jason Anderson, the head of our consulting firm. Jason, this is Stephen Glover.”
The two men exchanged a handshake as Jason sat down next to Zach. Jason opened the folder and shuffled through the contents, letting Zach know silently that something had come up in the background check. It was typical to go through a murder victim’s life and finances with a fine-tooth comb.
“I just have a few questions, Mr. Glover. Stephen. Is it okay if I call you Stephen?”
“Sure.” Glover shrugged awkwardly, glancing back and forth between Zach and Jason. “What do you need to know?”
“Do you have any enemies, Mr. Glover? Anyone that might want to hurt you by hurting your wife?”
“No, I told your colleague here.” He pointed to Zach. “There’s no one.”
Jason pulled a piece of paper from the file and pushed it across the desk to Glover. “Can you explain this for me?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Stephen gave the paper a cursory glance. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
Jason sat back in his chair. “Then what is it?”
“Yes, my brother and I got into it about six months ago when Bitty and I were visiting my folks in Seattle. A few punches were thrown and the neighbors called the cops, but it was simply a family disagreement.”
“What was the disagreement about?” Zach queried.
“Leland wanted to borrow money…again. He has trouble holding down a job because he drinks too much. Bitty and I knew he would probably ask again when we were in Seattle and we’d decided to cut him off. He got angry and physical and I defended myself. End of story.”
Stephen shoved the paper back at Jason, who took it and placed it back into the folder.
“Does he still have a drinking problem?”
Glover squirmed in the chair, his gaze darting around the room. “We’ve tried to get him help but so far it hasn’t worked.”
Jason glanced at Zach, nodding. “The murderer here in Tremont is highly organized, Mr. Glover. He makes plans and sticks to them. He’s detail oriented and he’s patient. It doesn’t sound like your brother fits that profile. Thank you for answering our questions. I know how distasteful they can be but we do ask them for a reason. We can officially rule him out now.”
Stephen Glover didn’t seem relieved at that bit of news. If anything, he was more angry.
“I could have told you he didn’t do it. Why aren’t you out there looking for who did this?”
Jason stood, tucking the folder under his arm. “We are looking, but you have to understand that we must rule out the family members first. Statistically speaking, people are generally not killed by strangers. They’re usually killed by family and friends. That’s why we have to do this. I know it feels like an invasion of privacy–”
“You can’t possibly know how this feels.”
“But this is how we find the murderer,” Jason went on as if Stephen had never interrupted. “We rule people out one by one until we have a small pool of suspects to closely investigate. I apologize for upsetting you after all that you’ve been through. Unfortunately, this is my job and sometimes it can rub people the wrong way.”
Jason left the room, leaving Zach with a fuming Stephen Glover.
“So what else are you doing to do to find this guy?” the husband finally asked. “Can I expect more embarrassing questions about my friends and family?”
“It’s possible,” Zach conceded. “If we find something in our research we may have to ask you about it. We are sorry but being polite isn’t going to catch this guy.”
Glover seemed to digest that statement before answering. Leaning forward, he tapped the table with his index finger.
“Then ask me anything you fucking want because I want this guy caught and put behind bars for the rest of his life. Just do that and I won’t care what you say to me.”
“Believe me, that’s what I want too. I’m going to find him and justice will be served.”
With any luck, before the killer had a chance to strike again.