by Tyora Moody
Sgt. Madison pointed. “Well, Coleman can bring you up to speed. The Warren case was one of his first cases.”
Coleman nodded. “Yes. Mrs. Janice Warren filed for a divorce. Witnesses in that case point to the fact that the marriage had grown ugly and emotions had escalated. We’re still building the case, but Mr. Warren probably offed his wife to avoid paying alimony.”
Asia nodded. “Sounds like Adam’s kind of case. I’m sure he would’ve found some way to make Mr. Warren appear innocent.”
“You’re probably right, but it also sounds like he would’ve had a hard time if you were the prosecutor.” Coleman smiled before turning back towards the evidence board.
Asia felt her face grow warm. Coleman was definitely attentive last night as he listened to her. He didn’t miss a thing I said.
He continued, “So now on Tuesday morning, Locklear spent time in court with Jack Camden for his bond hearing at 10 am. Camden was arrested Monday evening for domestic abuse charges against his wife.”
Asia shook her head. “Locklear never had a dull case. Jack Camden, isn’t he on the city council?”
Coleman cracked a smile again. “He is. You’re very well-informed. I’m impressed.”
She returned his smile. “I make it my business to know who’s who in this city.”
Coleman looked back at the board. “The week prior, he met with two other clients who have trial dates in the future. One was a vehicular homicide and the other was an assault case.”
Asia crossed her arms. “I don’t know about these open cases. We’re creeping into attorney-client privilege. He wouldn’t share any information. The motive to kill Locklear can be endless. For all we know, Locklear’s death may have nothing to do with any of my cases or the information he wanted to share. Like I said, I don’t know what he meant by having the wrong man.”
Sgt. Madison threw up her hands. “I’m feeling your frustration. We need answers soon. Locklear was well-known in Charlotte. Even the mayor called this morning inquiring about the investigation. Apparently, they were friends.”
Asia scoffed. “Figures.”
Madison winked. “I will leave you two to this. Keep up the good work, Coleman.”
Asia crossed her arms and leaned against the desk as the sergeant walked away. She looked at Coleman who seemed stunned by his superior’s compliment.
Her eyes were drawn to his face and for a few seconds they just stared at each other before she asked, “Do you have camera footage from last night? Surely you saw who came in and out of the building last night.”
A slow grin stretched across Detective Coleman’s face. “That’s what I have for you next. We have the killer on the screen.”
She frowned, “Really? Is this going to be simpler than I thought?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” She followed him over to a desk across from the evidence board.
As Isaac sat down, Asia’s eyes were drawn to the detective’s hands. There was no wedding ring, not that that should’ve been her concern at the moment. She guessed he must have been close to her age or younger. Despite being a new detective, he seemed very comfortable in his role. He certainly was on top of things compared to his veteran partner.
Coleman double-clicked on an icon on the computer screen and a video player displayed. He pressed play. The camera displayed the area outside the office across from the elevator. Isaac explained, “I have logged who arrived on the elevator and …” He clicked. “There’s also a camera in front of the office area. Basically, cameras were installed at all the entry and exit doors in the building.”
Asia nodded. “I was wondering if a camera would be in his office. That would get tricky trying to protect sensitive information from clients.”
“You’re right. We only have the advantage of seeing who entered the law firm, not necessarily his office. I’m not sure how promising these are as leads. I have to warn you some identifying is still to come.”
“Nothing is ever easy, detective.” Asia leaned in closer to the monitor. Her eyes were on the screen, but she had to force her mind to focus. Coleman’s cologne matched his personality, manly, but not overpowering. Just subtle enough to entice her attention. She’d only been around this man twice in the last twenty-four hours and instead of focusing on her ex-boyfriend’s murder, she was wondering about Coleman’s cologne brand.
Maybe she was too close. Too close to this case and…
Asia focused on where Isaac was pointing towards the screen.
“You see his assistant left at 6:54 pm. Locklear was the only one in the office.”
Asia caught her breath as she recognized Adam’s assistant. She’d only seen this woman a few times. Candie Parker was still beautiful, but appeared to have aged a bit. Asia assumed she was in her early thirties. Working the kind of cases Adam worked had to be mind numbing.
Coleman continued, “Around 7:09 pm, this figure gets off the elevator.”
Asia observed a figure dressed in all black exit the elevator. The mystery person was wearing a black ski cap and a large parka. It was chilly yesterday, but not that kind of cold. As the figure moved towards the office doors, Asia noted the body seemed to be tall.
Asia exclaimed, “Stop. Rewind back.”
Coleman paused the video and then rewound back to where the figure stepped off the elevator into the hallway.
“The long legs in straight leg jeans, this is a tall person. The shoes are pretty non-descript, brown, but it could be a man or a woman. What do you think?”
Coleman nodded. “I’m gauging this person’s height is above 5’10 based on the long legs. We’re going to check with ballistics about the angle of the gunshot. That could help us get a better idea of the height.” He zoomed in on the hand. “The shooter is wearing black gloves. It’s hard to pinpoint any true body characteristics especially with the big coat. I’m thinking he or she carried the gun inside the coat.”
Asia nodded. “I would agree. You said you’re talking to Adam’s assistant. I’m wondering why the door wasn’t locked unless Adam instructed her to keep it open for me.”
“That’s a possibility. I will definitely ask her. Ms. Parker should be here in the next thirty minutes.”
Asia took a deep breath. “Mmm. You know Adam was a womanizer. His shooting may not have anything to do with a client or a court case.”
Coleman raised his eyebrows. “Are you trying to move me in the direction of looking at a woman for this? Isn’t it more logical to find out what he wanted to tell you?”
“Of course. It’s just that Candie Parker, well, she’s been with him for a few years. You should know they were involved romantically. I don’t know about recently.”
Coleman nodded. “Thanks for the info. I need to know as much about Adam Locklear as possible. I mean the boldness of someone walking into his office. This was premeditated. They knew he was going to be there and waited until he was alone, and they had some knowledge of the cameras to conceal their identity.”
Asia swallowed. She swung her eyes back to the figure dressed in the large black parka on the screen. “How did they enter and exit the building?”
Coleman pulled up other angles. “Looks like they came up and left from the garage entrance.”
The same way she’d entered only a few minutes later. Asia tried to think of the cars that were there last night. She could only remember Adam’s white Mercedes near the door. “I came through the garage. You didn’t catch which car they left in?”
“No, a car didn’t leave, but I see when you arrived in your car.”
She saw her car on the screen and watched as she climbed out of her own car. “You know I don’t like being in parking garages, especially at night. I felt kind of creeped out being there last night. Are you saying this person just walked out?”
Coleman looked at her, “They could have been hiding. We know someone traveled back down the elevator, but after that we don’t know where they went.”
“You have someone looking at all
this footage, right? They can’t just slip past. You have to look at every single person. Every floor level.”
“I have someone on it. Just remember there are a lot floors. Someone could have slipped that parka off at any time and walked out normally. Or they could have had an accomplice pick them up. We’ll find them.”
Asia nodded, but her stomach was tightening again.
Did the person know I was coming? Whoever did this, did they know I was going to find Adam’s body?
Chapter 7
Thursday, November 17 at 4:57 pm
As she peered at Candie Parker from behind the two-way mirror, Asia noticed her blue eyes were red from crying. The few times she’d seen Candie in person, she was always adorned with long eyelashes and ruby red lipstick. Today, her skin was pale and devoid of any makeup.
Unfortunately, her first time seeing Candie was from her backside. Stunned to see the strawberry blond hair and unclothed backside, Asia had locked eyes with Adam. He looked genuinely shocked that she was there. She didn’t give him time to explain, instead she’d twirled around and marched out of the office. She was too mad to cry at that moment, but later she anguished over allowing herself to be sucked in by him.
She ignored his phone calls which usually were pitiful voice mails of apologies and how she came on to him. The day Brandon assigned her to prosecute a case with Adam on the defense, she decided to kick his butt in the courtroom.
When she did see Candie, usually she’d saunter into the courtroom with some envelope or package Adam needed. He was known for bringing in last minute evidence or some new revelation to the case. A good defense attorney wanted to make the prosecution look like they hadn’t done their homework.
Asia always covered all details no matter how minor. Right now, she was wondering about the timing of Candie’s exit. Approximately fifteen minutes later someone entered the building. It’s possible the killer could have been watching and waiting for Candie to leave.
Asia thought, “But how could someone be so sure they had the perfect opportunity to get Adam?” She paused her thoughts as Coleman sat down to begin the interrogation. Asia peered to the right and noticed Lamb had entered the interrogation room too. A scowl remained stamped on his face.
Candie nervously looked at Lamb as he pulled out a chair before turning her attention back to Coleman. It was clear who was the good cop in the room. Lamb sat a distance away from the table with his arms crossed.
Coleman started, “Thank you for coming in. We know this is hard on you. How long have you worked with Mr. Locklear?”
“About five years. He was a good boss. Am I some kind of suspect?”
“No, but we’ve derived you were the last person to see Mr. Locklear alive. Any information you can share with us would help us get closer to finding a suspect.” Coleman paused. “I’m curious about Mr. Locklear’s work habits. Did he often stay late?”
She nodded. “He comes in late in the mornings usually around 10:00. I arrive at 9:00 to open the office. He usually stays til 9 or 10 most nights. If it was a really big case, sometimes he’d be there all night.”
“So he did have a pattern?”
Candie shook her head. “Not really. His schedule depended on his cases. The easy cases, or what he would call easy, sometimes he left before six o’clock in the evening. That was rare though. If it was a challenging case, those were his words, he would be there a long time.”
Coleman nodded. “Last night, we showed you exited the building around 6:54 pm. Was that an unusual time?”
“I didn’t have a usual time. I stayed if Adam needed me. Sometimes I would stay late too, but lately…”
Coleman nudged, “Lately?”
“I have been having trouble with my son. My mom usually looks after him. But he’s eleven and he gets into things when I’m not around. So I’ve been trying to get home earlier. My mom is getting older and she’s been sick.”
“I understand. Last night, did you know what Adam was working on?”
Candie shook her head. “Probably one of the new cases. I’m not sure. He could have also been wrapping up things on the officer shooting case. Officer Lane was the last client of the day.”
Coleman frowned and peered down at his notes. “Really? Did he stop by? I didn’t see him on the calendar other than for the press conference at twelve o’clock noon. Was he in the office another time after?”
“Actually, Adam went to Officer Lane’s home during the press conference. It was around three o’clock in the afternoon, I think, when Officer Lane stopped by the office. I assume he just came to tie up loose ends since the case was no longer being pursued by the district attorney.”
Asia watched Coleman. He scratched notes down on his pad like he was trying to solve a mathematical equation. She stepped closer to the glass, wondering what was going through his mind.
She peered at Lamb, who was also watching his partner. That man is acting really strange. Maybe it was time for Lamb to retire. He didn’t appear to want to participate in the interrogation, but he was scrutinizing his partner.
Coleman finally spoke, either oblivious or uncaring about his partner’s stare. “Did you usually lock the office door after you left for the day?”
Good question. Asia waited for the answer.
Candie’s lower lip quivered. “Sometimes I did. He would have after hour visitors so I didn’t always.”
Coleman leaned forward, “So he would let you know in advance if he had a visitor coming, right?”
“Sometimes. Other times people just dropped by the office. He never said I had to lock the door or not. I opened the office in the morning so depending on if I was in a hurry, I would lock it back.”
“Last night, were you aware if he had a late appointment?”
Asia could see tears run down the woman’s cheeks.
Candie wiped her eyes with her hands. “He didn’t mention anything to me.”
“Are you okay, Ms. Parker?”
The woman nodded.
Asia felt herself resisting her own emotions. She may have been the one to find him, but Candie worked closely with Adam for years. She was truly grieving.
Coleman said, “We’ll wrap this up soon. I know this was a loss for you. Did you speak to him before you left last night?”
Her voice was low like she was losing it. “I always said good night. Last night, he was bent over his laptop as usual. I tapped on his door, but he barely looked up. I asked him if he needed anything. Sometimes he would ask me to pick up some food from the deli or a burger from Joe’s Burger Joint. He loved the Angus burgers.”
Candie drifted off into a memory only visible by her. She snapped to, looking at Coleman as if she’d been caught. Her eyes were wide. “His last words to me was he would see me tomorrow. Tomorrow is here…”
Coleman scratched some notes on his notepad. “You sure you don’t know what case he could have been concentrating on last night?”
She shook her head. “No. I had the feeling he was processing something. Sometimes when he received a new break in a case, he poured over the evidence or new information to see how everything fit together.”
Lamb interrupted from the corner of the room. “What kind of information?”
Candie cringed from Lamb’s voice. “I don’t know. He didn’t always talk to me about what he was thinking. He had to process it first.”
Lamb leaned forward. “You said sometimes people dropped by the office. Any of them suspicious?”
Candie’s eyes flashed. “I wouldn’t know. Adam had a wide range of clients.”
“He defended murderers.” Lamb snapped.
Candie swallowed. “Innocent until proven guilty.”
Asia had to smile. Candie had definitely spent enough time around Adam to know his mantra.
Coleman interjected. “So you said Adam didn’t really indicate that anyone was coming last night, but you left without locking the door.”
Candie’s eyes darted. “I was in a hurry. My mom
was agitated and my son hadn’t gotten home yet.” Her face grew red, “He knew better. I left in a hurry because I thought I had to track my son down.”
Coleman held up his hand. “It’s fine. I understand. I have a daughter. If she’s not home at a certain time, I would be heading out to look for her too. I get it.”
He has a daughter. Asia shouldn’t have been surprised, not everyone was like her, putting life on hold.
Asia noticed Candie seemed to calm down.
Coleman said, “It would help to know of any after hour visitors.”
Candie’s mouth seemed to droop. “Brooke Cannon stopped by sometimes. She came by Monday evening before I left.”
Asia’s ears perked up.
Brooke Cannon. Was she Adam’s new girl?
Coleman asked, “For the record, who is Brooke Cannon?”
Lamb answered for Candie. “A fellow colleague. She likes to defend dirtbags like Locklear did. So what were they meeting about?”
Candie’s eyes grew angry. “I don’t know. I told you I didn’t know what Adam did all the time.” She heaved. “She’s pretty and they’ve known each other a long time. I assumed they were you know…together.”
Asia stepped back from the mirror. Together. That made sense that Adam would hook up with another lawyer, but Brooke was competition. Brooke Cannon had a similar reputation to Adam. She also had high-end wealthy clients thanks to the law firm she’d inherited from her dad. If she remembered correctly, Adam used to work for Cannon Law Firm before branching out into his own private practice. Asia wondered if they were meeting for more than just romantic reasons.
She peered back inside the room. Candie seemed more withdrawn than when she arrived.
Or was this jealousy?
With her eyes directed at the table, Candie asked, “Are we finished yet? I really don’t have anything more to tell you. I have to get my kid.”
Asia raised her eyebrows. It seemed like the mention of Brooke Cannon’s name resulted in a change in Candie. Her eyes were angry, not heartbroken like minutes before. Asia kind of felt sorry for her. It couldn’t have been easy for Candie to continue working with a man she’d dated only to see him move on to another woman. Why stay? Adam offered a prestigious position even for a paralegal, but there were plenty of opportunities in Charlotte.
