by Neal Griffin
Sam stopped smiling and his face turned serious. “What’s this about, Tia?”
“It’s just important, Sam, that you understand you can leave when you want and that you are here voluntarily. Do you understand?”
Tia didn’t want to put Sam on guard by having to advise him of his Miranda rights, so she had intentionally created the circumstances where that wouldn’t be legally required. She merely needed to confirm that Sam felt free to leave.
“I understand what you’re saying, Tia. But really, why am I here?”
Tia motioned to one of the two chairs in the room and Sam took a seat. She saw his eyes go to the thin manila folder she had intentionally left on the desktop. The folder was clearly marked with the logo of the Wisconsin DOJ Laboratory. Tia took the other chair.
“I’d like to discuss a couple of issues related to our homicide investigation.”
“Oh that?” He smiled and his voice was no different from when they had met in his office just a few short days ago. “The press has been pretty rough on you guys. Can’t be easy. I have to say I admire your tenacity.”
“How so?”
“The ME ruled the death a suicide. To a lot of people it seems like the police are way off base.” Sam spoke like he was talking about some rambunctious kids. “But you guys just keep plowing ahead.”
“Actually, Dr. Kowalski has decided to reopen the ME’s investigation. He should be making an announcement later today.”
“Really?” Sam still showed no outward reaction.
“Yes. And we’re preparing to make an arrest of a man by the name of Kevin Moore for his involvement in the murder of Henry Hayes. He goes by Kimo.”
Sam’s brow furrowed a bit and he nodded. “Kevin Moore? Who’s he?”
Big mistake, she thought. He’d have been better off to just own it. “You ought to know. According to the records I received this morning, he signed in for your discussion group at Lincoln Hills fourteen times.”
For the first time she seemed to throw him off. Her knowledge of their association clearly surprised him so Tia let it fester for a moment. He cleared his throat. “So then, you’ve arrested him?”
“Not yet. But only because he’s in the hospital with a concussion and compound fracture of his femur. He’s not going anywhere. But we had a talk. Turns out he and Henry had quite a racket going, extorting men for money.”
“How so?” Sam had regrouped quickly and Tia was impressed at how well he was holding up.
“Henry would have sex with men. Carefully selected men who had a lot to lose. Men like Robert Gosforth. Then he would threaten to go public, accuse them of having sex with a minor. His last take from Gosforth was for a thousand dollars.”
“Gosforth?” Sam nodded and Tia saw no signs of anxiety. Then again, the guy had hidden from Sudanese death squads. His voice was calm. “That’s a name from the staff list.”
“It is.”
“And is he under arrest?”
“No.” Tia shook her head. “I don’t think he had anything to do with Henry’s murder.”
“So then, what do you think?”
“I think Gosforth was bait.”
“Bait?” Sam did his best to look confused.
“When I first spoke to Mr. Gosforth, he told me Reverend Mills invited him to the retreat. I just assumed he was talking about your father.” Tia paused and saw that Sam realized another piece of the puzzle was slipping into place. She leaned in closer. “But it was you. You invited him.”
When Sam only sat wordlessly she pushed a little harder. “I take it Kimo had let you know about Gosforth. That he and Henry had a live one. That they were working a schoolteacher. Turned out to be a churchgoing man. That’s when you decided to visit Gosforth’s church. Get with him one-on-one and invite him down to the retreat. Then you could get Kimo to bring Henry to the woods.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just not following you, Tia.”
She ignored his denial and continued, “After his release from Lincoln Hills, you and Kimo stayed in close contact, right?”
Sam stared back; once again Tia was impressed by his ability to remain calm. His voice was deliberate and clear.
“Sounds like you’ve come to the conclusion Henry Hayes was some sort of predator, exploiting the frailties of others.”
“He sure was. He was a real son of a bitch. And if this was the Sudan or maybe even Afghanistan he’d be taken out, no questions asked. But this isn’t North Africa. This isn’t a war-torn country in the Middle East. It’s Wisconsin.”
Sam stared back and sat quietly. He mulled over his thoughts and Tia wondered what he might say next. When he spoke it became obvious to Tia he knew she was closing in.
“Everyone, Tia, and I mean everyone is fine with the conclusion that Henry Hayes killed himself. The medical examiner, the mayor, the media … even members of your own department.” A desperation came over him. “I don’t make any excuses for the likes of Robert Gosforth, but what is your obsession with this case?”
“What about the likes of Ezekiel Mills? Do you make excuses for them?”
Sam finally reacted. “I’m not entirely sure what you are implying but I think—”
“How long had Henry been blackmailing your father? It must have started before Henry went to Lincoln Hills, right? How much has your father given him over the years?”
“I think it would be best if you—”
Tia had Sam in a corner and she thought he might be ready to walk out. She kept at him. “Did you encourage Kimo to get close to Henry? To be his friend? His protector? Was that your doing, Sam?”
Tia could see Sam begin to scramble, trying to throw off her rhythm. “Why would you think that Henry could extort my father?”
There it was. Sam’s lifeline. His certainty that Tia didn’t know about his father’s history. She took no pleasure from what she was about to say.
“I know Detective Coleman from Chippewa Falls reached out to you. Let you know we were sniffing around about the report involving your father.”
She waited, but when Sam sat silent, Tia went on. “You tipped off the media. Did your best to shut us down. But, we found him anyway, Sam.”
“Found who?” She could see in his eyes, he already knew.
“Owen Vickers.”
Sam’s voice grew thick. “Owen Vickers is a liar. And if he said anything to you, I’ll have his last dime.”
A new side of the man was coming out. An ugly side. Tia knew she could exploit it. “Is that what you’ve told yourself all these years, Sam? Vickers made it all up?”
“Nothing was ever proven,” Sam said. “No charges were ever filed.”
“Then along comes Henry Hayes and it starts all over again. But Henry wasn’t some innocent fourteen-year-old boy, was he? Henry wasn’t going to be silenced. Henry was nobody’s victim.”
The color drained from Sam’s face.
“Your father was being extorted by Henry Hayes—until Henry was sent off to Lincoln Hills. But that would have been just a short reprieve, wouldn’t it? You knew he’d be back.”
“I’ve heard enough,” Sam said, standing from his chair.
Tia pulled a sheet of paper from the manila envelope and slid it across the desk for Sam to see. “We knew the shotgun recovered from the scene was the weapon used to kill Henry, but we also knew Henry couldn’t have used it to kill himself.”
“And what makes you think that?” Just as Tia had hoped, Sam couldn’t just walk out. He needed to hear more.
“Math,” Tia said with a shrug. “Two plus two kind of stuff.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“The gun was too long for Henry to turn it on himself.” Tia let her words take hold then went on. “It was his gun and he brought it to the woods. But he didn’t shoot himself with it.”
“Then who did?”
Tia remembered the moment she told Carla Hayes her son was dead. She recounted Owen Vickers’s gut-wrenching disclosure of the darkest time of his l
ife. She thought of Robert Gosforth and the personal anguish he would face with his family. It had been an emotional case and now, it was over. She felt no sense of victory.
“We lifted DNA from the shotgun. I had the lab compare it to DNA I collected from a juice can your father drank from when he visited Chief Sawyer.”
“What are you saying?” Sam picked up the one-page report, prepared to fight back against information he knew was flawed. “You found my father’s DNA on the shotgun?”
“No,” Tia said. She let Sam keep reading. “You know we didn’t. But, we did learn something very important.”
Sam read, until he let the report drop slowly to his side.
“The test proves a familial match,” Tia said. “The DNA on the weapon doesn’t come from your father, but from a very close blood relative.”
Silence. “It’s your DNA, isn’t it, Sam?”
“Henry was going to ruin him.” Tia wouldn’t have recognized Sam’s voice if she hadn’t seen him speak the words. “He was never going to stop. He would have destroyed everything.”
Tia knew those words amounted to a confession. Sam knew it, too, but Tia still wasn’t satisfied. “All of this, Sam? Kill a seventeen-year-old boy? Just to protect your father?”
“I wasn’t protecting my father. It isn’t about him.”
Tia said, genuinely confused. “Then who? Who were you protecting?”
“Don’t you see? This isn’t about my father. It’s about Darby. It’s about her family. Her neighbors. Who will look out for them, Tia? You?”
“This is about your work?” Tia shook her head.
“Is that so terrible?” It was the first time his voice cracked. “That I recognize the greater good here? That I understand what’s really at stake?”
Tia waited, hoping he’d dig himself in just a little deeper. “All of this, Tia, all of what we’re trying to accomplish, none of that is possible if my father’s work is destroyed. Can’t you understand that? I can control him, Tia. I won’t let him hurt anyone.”
“That’s not a choice you get to make, Sam.”
He looked toward the door. A minute went by before he spoke. “So, am I still free to leave, Tia?”
“Actually, you are,” she said. “Or we can go upstairs, I’ll Mirandize you. And I can record your confession for the murder of Henry Hayes.”
“And if I choose not to?”
“We’ll maintain surveillance of you while we finalize the DNA results. Interview Kevin Moore, probably your father too. Seize more phone records. When we’re ready, we’ll arrest you in a public place. It will cause quite a stir and in the end the results will be the same.”
“Can I suggest a third alternative?” Sam almost smiled. “A compromise of sorts?”
“What’s that, Sam?”
“Let’s take a drive. After that, I’ll tell you what you want to hear.”
FORTY-SEVEN
Tia sat on the couch with Connor, listening to Ben deftly handle every question the media lobbed his way. The announcement of the arrest of Sam Mills for the murder of Henry Hayes reignited the story that had simmered all week. Behind Ben stood Dr. Kowalski and Mayor Andreasen. Both of them had already bitten off huge pieces of humble pie and it was obvious to anyone watching that this was Chief of Police Ben Sawyer’s press conference.
Earlier in the evening, Tia had invited Livy over for dinner; she was pleasantly surprised when Livy asked to bring Rich Puller along. The four of them had enjoyed burgers and brats off the grill, and Rich and Conner seemed to really hit it off. Tia was glad to hear that Livy was back on full duty and Kowalski had apparently spent much of the day in a private meeting with the chief county medical examiner.
Before they left, Rich pulled her aside. “The Chief said I’m back on Patrol starting Monday and that as far as he’s concerned, my training is complete. I want you know how great it was to work with you, Tia. You’re a hell of a cop.” She didn’t doubt he had a long career in front of him, hopefully with Newberg PD.
The press conference was winding down when Tia heard a knock at the door. She figured Rich or Livy had forgotten something so she was a bit taken aback when she saw who was standing on her porch.
“Travis? What are you doing here, man? Don’t you have a flight in the morning?”
“I just wanted to stop by,” he said. “Congratulate you and all. Amazing work, Tia.”
They were talking through the screen door with a june bug buzzing between them, banging on the mesh. Tia stepped outside and they stood together on the porch. The summer evening was warm and fireflies blinked on and off in the surrounding field.
“I’m glad you came by,” she said. “Such a crazy day, we didn’t get much of a chance to talk.”
“How did Mills hold up during booking?”
“Pretty well, actually. I agreed to let him go back to the church for one last time. He wanted to swing by the construction project he’s been working on.”
“Damn,” Travis said. “That’s a bit unusual, isn’t it?”
“What? Like you’re still my sergeant?”
“True. I guess you got me there.”
“But don’t worry, I took Rich with me,” Tia said. “And I had a two officer marked unit follow us, plus I gave Milwaukee PD a heads-up. You good with all that, Sarge?”
Travis rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Well done.”
“I know it seems strange,” Tia said. “But I just knew he wouldn’t try anything. I guess I kind of trust him, you know? And besides, he kept talking. Got some really good statements. Said Henry had been extorting his father for over a year; close to ten grand. It was never going to stop. Once we got back to the station his lawyer showed up, so that ended all communication. But based on the noncustodial interrogation, and now that we’re moving forward on the evidence, we’ll have a solid case.”
“Sorry I wasn’t more help,” Travis said. “I feel … I don’t know. Like I let you down. Like I’m running out on you.”
She smiled at him. “Well, you are running out on me, but you’ve never let me down, Travis. Not ever.”
“I hope you know, I had to do this. For my family, even for myself. The only real regret I have is I won’t be working with you.”
“You’re going to do great. I’m happy for you.”
“Well, like I said, I just wanted to stop by before I left. Molly isn’t flying out for another week.”
“I’ll stop in and see her before then,” Tia promised. He headed down the steps. “Travis?”
When he turned back to her, she saw a glimmer of the boyish face she’d known most of her life.
“Stay safe out there. And you know, you can always come back, right? I did it. You can, too. Don’t forget that, okay?”
“I won’t, Tia.”
She closed the space between them and hugged him tight. “I mean it. Promise me.”
“I won’t forget, Tia. I promise.”
EPILOGUE
Ten Weeks Later
Tia pulled another bushel of corn from the back of the pickup and carried it to the sales stand. These were their last thirty ears and it wasn’t even 10:00 A.M. There was just no way to keep up with demand. Connor tended to the rest of the stock, which included tomatoes, bush beans, squash, and a half-dozen other vegetables.
The 53206 Farmers Market was in its third weekend of full operations and continuing to gain steam. Alex Sawyer had set up a bistro on the first floor of the building, serving free-trade coffee and pastries made on site. She’d hired a dozen women from the neighborhood to staff the store seven days a week. Some of the same men who had worked on the construction project were now manufacturing coffee tables and cutting boards shaped like the state of Wisconsin. Sales were good. A family-planning clinic and day care center had opened, and plans were under way to bring in teachers to offer preparatory classes on job interviews. The 53206 Transformation Project was but a fraction of the original vision, but it was up and running.
“I’ve got
a couple of fresh oranges in my backpack. Think we could work a trade?”
Tia stopped arranging the corn and looked up to see a familiar face. She came around the fruit stand and hugged his neck.
“I heard you were in town. How are you, TJ?”
“I’m good. Missed you at graduation, you little shit.”
“I’m sorry, man. I really wanted to make it but I couldn’t get away. It looked like we were headed for trial but Sam ended up taking a plea.”
“I heard. Forty to life, huh?”
“Yep. He’ll do a minimum of eighty-five percent,” Tia said. “And we never even had to pick a jury.”
She and Travis had stayed in touch while he’d been away, keeping each other up to date. He’d filled her in on his progress through the academy; she’d briefed him on the legal proceedings in the case of the State of Wisconsin v. Sam Mills.
“What about that other guy?” Travis asked. “The kid from Lincoln Hills?”
“Kimo also took a plea. He’ll do nearly as much time as Sam,” Tia said. “Saved himself a few years by becoming a cooperating co-conspirator. Sam’s phone records were a gold mine, too. Showed dozens of calls between him and Kimo in the weeks before Henry was killed.”
“Who called nine-one-one that night?”
Tia smiled. “That was Kimo. Can you believe the dumb ass went and got all sentimental? Couldn’t leave his boy there in the woods. Made the call, then hightailed it out. ’Course, he didn’t realize Youngblood had to get his clothes back on.”
“How is Jimmy?” Travis asked.
“Got his job back.” Tia shrugged. “Ben was pissed. Police unions, ya know? Our own worst enemy sometimes. But Rich Puller is working out great. Doing some good police work. Him and Livy are still going hot and heavy.”
“Hey there, Hollywood.” Connor came over to shake hands with Travis.
“Hey, Connor,” Travis said. “You’re looking good. Damn man, you got a better tan than most people in San Diego.”
Connor smiled at Tia. “Outdoor living will do that. I’m a full-time farmer now.”
