Justice in Mystic Grove

by S F Bose

  “I am not lying,” Dom replied, his voice louder.

  Larissa glanced at Newmont. “He is lying.”

  Newmont nodded and looked back at Dom. “Okay, anything else you want to tell me, Dom?”

  “No, that’s it,” Dom replied.

  Newmont looked at Tommy who had kept his eyes on the table. Again, he was faintly smiling.

  “Tommy, were you in Larissa’s car with Dom the day of the murder?” Newmont asked. Tommy’s head snapped up.

  “No I wasn’t. You just heard his story. And I do have an alibi.”

  “You were with your cousin, Fred Graydon, in Madison?”

  “Yes,” Tommy replied, smiling.

  “No, you weren’t,” Newmont replied. “On the day of the murder, Fred Graydon was in Chicago and didn’t return until the next day.”

  Tommy’s mouth dropped open. “But he… ”

  “He told you he’d give you an alibi?” Newmont asked.

  Tommy’s mouth snapped shut.

  “Where were you the day Meagher was killed?” Newmont asked.

  Tommy exhaled and looked glum. “I was home.”

  “Can anybody confirm that?”

  Tommy shook his head. “No, I was alone. I was feeling rotten and went to bed early. I lied because I was afraid. I knew Steven Meagher and was friends with Paulie. With my record, I wanted to stay off your radar.”

  “But if you didn’t kill Meagher… ” Newmont said and let the thought drift off.

  “Come on,” Tommy snapped. “Innocent people get charged, prosecuted, and convicted all the time. I didn’t want to become one of those statistics. I also have a record which made things worse.”

  Newmont watched him. “So you did ask your cousin to provide an alibi for you?”

  “Yeah,” Tommy admitted.

  “He didn’t tell you he had been out of town the day of the murder?” Newmont asked.

  Tommy shook his head. “Fred’s head is in the clouds a lot of the time. After Paulie called me about Meagher’s murder, I knew that the police would eventually question me. Steven Meagher didn’t have a lot of friends or acquaintances. So I thought about it and decided to ask Fred to say I spent the day with him. When he agreed, I gave him the date and the story. He never said a word about being out of town.”

  There was a pause as Newmont jotted down some notes.

  Dom cleared his throat. “So Deputy, is it okay if I hit the road? I’m sorry about the lie, but I’m not your killer.”

  Newmont looked up. “Just a few more things before we wrap up. Dom, you’re now saying that you did drive Larissa’s car the day of the murder?”

  Dom looked at Newmont warily. “Yeah, I did.”

  “Okay. We know that you called Larissa from your cell phone at 2:04 p.m. the day of the murder. When we get the GPS location data for Larissa’s car, it’s going to show us where her car was at that exact time. The data will also show us where her car traveled the day of the murder. That means if her car was parked at the cabin that day, we’ll know it. We’ll also put the paperwork through to get your cell phone location data. That information will show us where your cell phone was at 2:04 p.m. that day. If the cell phone data and Larissa’s car GPS data both record a position at or near the cabin at 2:04 p.m., you have a serious problem. You follow me?” Newmont asked.

  Dom shrugged. “Do what you have to. I didn’t kill anyone.”

  Officer Williams stuck his head in the door and gave Newmont a thumbs-up.

  I wondered what news Williams had that was important enough to pull Newmont out of the interrogation. Everyone’s eyes shifted to Deputy Newmont.

  Chapter 38

  Newmont nodded at Williams. Then he stood and his eyes swept over Dom, Tommy, and Larissa. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said and left the room.

  Another officer entered the room and stood by the door. His nametag identified him as “A. Morales.”

  Dom’s fingers drummed the table. He glanced at me and then at Sam. Finally, Dom leaned forward and looked down the table at Larissa.

  “Larissa, what are you doing? Why are you saying these things about me? I love you.”

  Officer Morales watched Dom closely.

  Larissa just shook her head and looked down at the table. “I can’t talk to you, Dom.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Your girlfriend’s trying to set you up for murder, dude,” Tommy said quietly.

  Dom narrowed his eyes at Tommy. Then he looked back at Larissa. “You know, the deputy said we could leave whenever we wanted to,” he said quietly. “I think the three of us should take advantage of that.”

  Larissa shook her head. “No way.”

  “I’m good,” Tommy replied. “I plan to stay and hear him out. But you should really leave while you can.”

  Dom leaned closer to Tommy. “If the two of you stay, then I’m staying too. I want to hear everything you and Larissa say. Knowledge is power, Tommy.”

  Tommy laughed. “You have no idea.”

  Dom frowned at Tommy.

  “You’re sure you two don’t know each other?” I asked.

  Dom scowled at me. Then he looked at Larissa. “Larissa, just talk to me, please.”

  Tommy shifted in his chair and looked at Larissa. “Your husband probably had a nice, big life insurance policy, didn’t he Larissa?”

  “A million dollar policy,” I said. Larissa glared at me.

  Tommy whistled. “A million dollars! That’s huge.” He looked at Dom. “With Meagher gone, you thought you’d marry Larissa and get a windfall to boot, didn’t you?”

  “Shut up!” Dom snapped.

  Tommy ignored him. “No ‘happily ever after’ for you, buddy. Think about it. She set you up for murder and she has a solid alibi. When they lock you up, Larissa will walk away with a cool million she doesn’t have to share.”

  Dom shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.

  I looked at Larissa. Her eyes were slits and her face was beet red. Tommy’s attempt to bait Dom and shift blame to Larissa had clearly upset her. She turned to face Tommy.

  “I didn’t set anybody up for anything, Tommy,” she said in a loud voice. “You’re just trying to cast suspicion on anyone but yourself. Well I have news for you. I didn’t kill my husband and I’m the only one here who has a real alibi.”

  Tommy smirked. Dom’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t reply. For ten minutes, Larissa, Dom, and Tommy sat in silence staring at anything but each other.

  ***

  Newmont returned to the interrogation room followed by Officer Williams. Newmont moved his chair to the side and watched as Williams slid a long cardboard box on the table. Williams returned to the door and stood there. Officer Morales moved a few feet away from Williams and kept his eyes on Dom and Tommy.

  Newmont hefted a large blue duffel bag up onto the table next to the box. Tommy’s face fell for a second and then he recovered. He met my eyes and quickly looked away.

  Newmont extracted two plastic evidence bags from the box and held them up. “These are two pipes wrapped with tape at one end. One of them looks like it could have been the murder weapon. Mr. Fontana, we found the pipes hidden in the trunk of your car.”

  Dom’s mouth dropped open. He frowned and then his eyes cut to Tommy. Tommy looked stunned. His eyes widened and his face flushed.

  “Somebody is trying to frame me,” Dom said. He looked at Tommy again. Tommy looked at the pipes and shook his head.

  “Do you think Tommy is trying to frame you? That would suggest you knew each other,” Newmont replied.

  Dom’s mouth opened and closed. Then he said, “I don’t know who it is, but I never saw those pipes before. Someone is trying to set me up.”

  “You need a lawyer,” Tommy said quietly, looking at the bag on the table.

  “I didn’t do anything so I don’t need a lawyer,” Dom replied. “You get a lawyer.”

  Tommy shrugged. “I don’t need a lawyer.”


  Newmont returned the pipes to the box. Then he pulled out a plastic-wrapped rod and held it up.

  “Is that a fireplace poker?” I asked.

  “It is,” Newmont confirmed. He looked at Larissa. “Mrs. Meagher, we found this poker in the trunk of your car.”

  “What? That’s impossible! That doesn’t belong to me!” she exclaimed. Then Larissa’s eyebrows shot up and she looked at Dom and Tommy. “You two put that thing in my car!”

  “I wasn’t anywhere near your car,” Tommy replied shortly.

  “Yes, you were,” Larissa spat. Her face was beet red.

  “I was with Jane, the woman I met at the bar,” Dom said at the same time.

  “That’s BS, Dom. I know what I heard when you called that day! The two of you were in my car and left that thing,” Larissa shouted and pointed at the poker.

  “Quiet!” Newmont said loudly.

  Larissa started to say something else but thought better of it. Instead, she glared at Dom and Tommy. Newmont put the poker back into the box and slid it to his right. Sam reached out and pulled the box closer to him and away from Dom and Tommy.

  Next, Newmont pulled on some latex gloves. He unzipped the blue duffel and pulled out packets of money held together with rubber bands.

  “We found this bag in a closet in your house, Tommy. Where’d you get all this money?”

  Tommy shrugged. “Poker winnings and currency trading profits. Only a fool trusts our banking system. There’s nothing illegal about keeping cash at home.”

  Newmont nodded and tossed the money back into the bag. “That’s very true. So I won't find fingerprints or touch DNA from Dom on any of this money?”

  “No way,” Tommy replied. However, his eyes narrowed.

  Newmont slid the bag over to Sam and sat down. He peeled off the latex gloves and sat back.

  “Dom did you and Tommy kill Steven Meagher?” he asked.

  “No!” Dom shouted. Tommy shook his head.

  Newmont stared at Dom. “Did you pay Tommy to kill Steven Meagher?”

  Dom stared at Newmont. “I didn’t pay anyone to kill anybody.”

  “And I didn’t kill anyone,” Tommy added in a louder voice.

  I decided to throw a curve ball. “Deputy, what about our witness?”

  Tommy’s eyes shifted to me. “What are you talking about?”

  Dom leaned forward, frowning. Only Larissa looked bored because she’d already seen the video at the cabin.

  “There’s a witness who followed Meagher out to the cabin the day of his murder. The witness hid out of sight by the tree line and saw two men come out of the cabin,” Newmont said.

  Dom looked skeptical.

  “One of them had a mop and smeared their bloody footprints. The other checked Meagher's van and wasn't too happy about something. The witness also made a video.”

  Dom’s face went white and he licked his lips.

  “Well if there was a witness, then you know I didn’t kill Meagher,” Tommy replied. “I was nowhere near that cabin.”

  “The two men hid their faces with ski masks,” I said. “One of them also wore a red, orange, and yellow scarf around his face.”

  “We didn’t find the scarf at Tommy’s house. Our teams are still searching your homes, Dom,” Newmont added.

  “Two men,” Larissa repeated and smiled.

  “Shut up, Larissa,” Tommy erupted. He turned to face her. “I had nothing to do with this. You slept with Dom and were afraid to ask your psycho husband for a divorce. So you decided to murder him instead. Dom found a second guy for the hit and the two of them killed Meagher at your cabin. But you were in on it from the start, weren’t you? I was right about the insurance money too, wasn't I? Oldest motives in the world ~ love and money.”

  Tommy turned back toward the table and slammed his hand on the wooden top.

  I expected Dom to get angry but he just shook his head. “Nice try but I didn’t kill anyone and I didn’t hire anyone to commit murder. You can’t prove that I did.”

  Larissa’s voice shook as she replied. “Don’t even try to drag me into this, Tommy Vann. I was in Chicago with my girlfriend all day. I have witnesses and evidence that I was there. If you ask me, Dom was tired of waiting for me to ask Steven for a divorce. So he recruited you and the two of you killed my husband. That’s what I think.”

  Dom looked at Larissa with hooded eyes. “Larissa, why are you saying crap like that?”

  “Larissa, do Dom and Tommy know each other?” Newmont asked.

  “They must! I’m positive Tommy was in my car with Dom. I know what I heard,” she snapped.

  “Okay,” Newmont replied slowly. “Dom and Tommy, listen carefully. Our forensic technology people will analyze the calls and text messages to and from your cell phones. Tommy, that includes a burner phone we found at your house today. By the time we’re done, we’ll have call and GPS location records for your phones, GPS location data for Larissa’s car, surveillance camera footage from the lot where Larissa parked her car, and surveillance camera footage from Dom’s condo-parking garage.”

  Newmont paused to let that sink in.

  “In the end, we will have a picture of your movements and contacts before, during, and after the day Steven Meagher was killed. I can guarantee that. We may even be able to do body comparisons with the video our witness shot.”

  “You should add checking Larissa’s phone to your list,” Tommy said.

  “Shut up,” Dom growled.

  Tommy shook his head and glanced at Dom. “You’re such an idiot.”

  Dom started to stand but Office Morales barked, “Sit down!” Dom hesitated, but sat down.

  Newmont lowered his voice ad looked across the table. “Tommy, you’re a convicted felon. You know what life in prison is like. We’re talking about a Class A felony here. That’s life in prison if you’re convicted. I’d wager we’re going to be able to lift prints or DNA from the money in that bag. If Dom touched the packets, we’ll know and that will link the two of you. If you were with him that day in the parking lot or condo garage, we’ll find you on the surveillance video. Do the smart thing. Tell the truth.”

  “The smart play is to either leave or ask for a lawyer,” Dom said quietly.

  Tommy snorted. “Yeah I’ve had such a great results with lawyers in the past.”

  “Tell the truth, Tommy. That’s all I’m asking,” Newmont replied.

  Tommy swallowed. His eyes moved between Newmont and the table. He glanced at Dom and back to Newmont. Finally, he shook his head and my heart sank.

  Chapter 39

  Tommy leaned forward over the table and buried his head in his arms. “I can’t do it.”

  Dom smiled and looked down the table at Larissa. She stared at Tommy.

  “It’s your decision, Tommy,” Newmont replied.

  Tommy sat up and looked at Newmont. “I can’t spend the rest of my life in a rat hole prison. Can we make a deal? If I give you solid evidence that Dom and Larissa conspired to kill her husband, can I get a deal?”

  “What are you talking about?” Dom demanded.

  “Dom and Larissa conspired?” I asked in surprise and looked at Larissa.

  “More lies to try and make yourself look innocent, Tommy,” Larissa replied and waved a hand dismissively.

  But Tommy’s eyes were locked on Newmont.

  Newmont shook his head. “I can't make deals or promises. However, I did speak to the Assistant DA before this interview. If anyone provides truthful information that leads to a conviction in this case, he’ll take that cooperation into consideration.”

  Tommy frowned. “That’s the best you can do?”

  Newmont nodded. “That’s it.”

  After a pause, Tommy nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out keys, change, and some other items. He placed everything on the table and patted the pocket. I leaned forward to watch him. Frowning, Tommy returned everything to his right pocket and checked his other pocket.

  I leaned
back and looked at Sam. He nodded.

  Suddenly, Tommy swore. “I forgot you took my phone. I need it back,” he said.

  Newmont glanced at Officer Williams and nodded. Williams left the interrogation room. He returned shortly and handed Tommy his cell phone. Tommy fiddled with his phone and then set it on the table close to him.

  “Ready?” he asked. Newmont nodded.

  Dom and Larissa had both turned to look at Tommy and the cell phone.

  Tommy tapped something on his phone and we heard a recording. Dom and Tommy’s voices filled the room.

  Dom: Hello.

  Tommy: Is this Dom Fontana?

  Dom: Speaking. What can I do for you?

  Tommy: It's more what I can do for you. If I had information about a threat to Larissa Meagher, what would it be worth to you?

  Dom: Larissa? Who is this?

  Tommy: My name’s Tommy Vann. Larissa knows me. I’ve heard about a threat to her. How much are you willing to pay me for that information?

  Dom: Are you threatening Larissa? Because…

  Tommy: Listen to me! Someone else has threatened to hurt her.

  Dom: Who?

  Tommy: That information is for sale.

  Dom: Time out. You said Larissa knows you. If someone threatened her, why didn’t you call her?

  Tommy: Because I figured you had more money.

  Silence.

  Tommy: Hello?

  Dom: You’re a friend of Larissa’s?

  Tommy: No, more of an acquaintance.

  Dom: Okay, I'm not paying you anything until I get some proof and know the specifics.

  Tommy: It’s simple. Someone tried to hire me to kill Larissa. What would you pay for the details?

  Dom: Look man if that’s true, you should call the cops.

  Tommy: (Laughs)

  Dom: What's so funny?

  Tommy: It's a cop who wants her dead.

  Dom: A cop? Wait a minute. Meagher?

  Tommy: You got it. If you want the details, it will cost you.

  Dom: Why would Steven Meagher want to kill Larissa?

  Tommy: He knows about your affair with his wife. If you want any more information, you’ll have to pay.