“We’ve come to ask you a few questions, if you’re up to it,” Brigid said.
The woman nodded. “Sure, that’s fine. Are you with the police?”
“Something like that,” Brigid said. “I’m like a private investigator and help the police department with some of the leg work to free up their time. Identifying possible suspects, asking basic questions, things like that.”
That seemed to be enough for Celine, who sat back in her chair. She looked as though she was already exhausted and the day had only just started. “I hope they find what they’re looking for and let us go soon. This whole thing is like a nightmare. I’m ready to go home and curl up with a carton of ice cream.”
She ran her fingers under her eyes, fixing her smudged makeup slightly. “I feel as if I’ve run a marathon, and yet all I’ve been doing is sitting here in my office.”
“I can’t say that I blame you,” Brigid responded. “My name’s Brigid and this is Linc,” she said gesturing to her husband. “And this guy is Charlie,” she said as she gave him a pet. “He’s a K-9 officer with the San Antonio Police Department.” Brigid didn’t feel the need to let her know he was retired. That piece of information didn’t seem all that relevant.
“Nice to meet you,” Celine said. “I’m Celine Aguirre, Director here at the Alamo. How can I help you? I’m afraid I don’t know much about what happened. They asked me to look around the crime scene to make sure nothing was out of place, but I couldn’t do it.”
“I can’t say that I blame you. It must be tough knowing one of your employees was murdered right here on the grounds,” Brigid said.
“It is. I keep wondering if there is something I could have done differently. Maybe I should have had more security or had them come in earlier. Something,” she said wistfully.
“Hindsight is always 20/20,” Linc offered. “I’m sure you did the best you could with the knowledge you had at the time. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “It still feels as though somehow I’m indirectly responsible.” She sighed and then cleared her throat. “Anyway, you said you had questions?”
“Yes, I do. First of all, I’d like to ask you about your relationship with the victim, Mark,” Brigid began. “I overheard what that young woman, Zoey, said about you a little while ago. That’s a pretty hefty accusation.” She leaned towards Celine, watching Charlie out of the corner of her eye for any changes.
Celine seemed as though she was pretty torn up about the murder, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t all an act. Brigid didn’t know this woman or what she was capable of.
“Well I guess it won’t do any good to try to hide it now,” she sighed. “Yes, Mark and I were having an affair. It hadn’t been going on very long. Maybe a few months, if that.”
Brigid nodded. “Did you know he was also in a relationship with Zoey?”
“I had recently become aware of it, yes,” Celine admitted. Her words were clipped, as if she were trying to bite back her anger.
“Had you said anything about it to Mark?” Brigid asked as she took a few notes. Finding out your lover was seeing someone else was more than enough motive for some people to commit murder.
“I left a note in his locker last night. I’d been trying to decide what I was going to say and do. I hadn’t realized that he and I weren’t exclusive. I guess I just assumed that since we were having an affair,” she sighed and a single tear began to slip down her cheek before she brushed it away. “I guess these days that doesn’t matter. Times have definitely changed, haven’t they?”
“So you were mad at him,” Brigid said. “Is that what you’re saying?”
Celine looked thoughtful for a moment. “At first I was, yes. But I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re implying.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to get at,” Brigid said gently, noting how still Charlie was sitting. Celine had just said she didn’t kill Mark and Charlie hadn’t even moved. Obviously, he didn’t think she was being untruthful.
“I’m trying to wrap my head around who he was and who may have been in a position to want harm to come to him,” Brigid said. “I need to understand the type of person he was in order for me to identify anyone who may have had a motive to want to see him come to some sort of harm.” She crossed her legs. “Can you think of anyone who would have had a desire to hurt him?”
“One of our other tour guides wasn’t happy I was appointing Mark to a new position. An older gentleman by the name of Jerry Martinez seemed to think he should have gotten it instead,” she sniffed.
“Is he here today?” Brigid asked, jotting down the name.
“Yes, I believe he is,” Celine nodded. “Although I highly doubt Jerry would do something like that, but still. You just never know with people sometimes.”
“Anyone else?” Linc asked as Brigid was writing.
“Well, maybe,” Celine said as she thought. “Last week there was this big guy who stopped Mark one evening while we were leaving the building. Mark seemed to know who the guy was because he told me to go on ahead so he could talk to him. But I didn’t like the looks of the guy.”
“Why’s that?” Brigid asked. “Could you describe him?”
“I can do better than that,” Celine said as she pulled out her cell phone. “I took a picture of Mark and him while they were talking. Like I said, I had a feeling there was something up with him.” She swiped on her phone for a while before turning it to show Brigid.
The photo was slightly grainy, but it was still good enough that Brigid could see him. The guy was fairly big and looked tough. Not exactly the kind of guy you wanted to mess with.
“Would you send me that picture?” Brigid asked. She gave Celine her cell number and the woman pressed send. “Thank you, that’s extremely helpful. I can pass this along to the detective handling this case. I’m sure he’ll be able to figure out who the man in the photo is.”
“Do you think he did this?” Celine asked. “Do you think he murdered Mark?”
“I have no idea. That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Brigid said. “Would you mind telling me where you were between 6:30 and 7:00 this morning?”
Celine steepled her fingers as she sat back in her chair. “I believe I was at home getting ready for work. I leave the house around 6:45 on average. Sometimes a little sooner, sometimes a little later.”
“Is there anyone who can verify that?” Brigid asked as she took note of what Celine said.
“I don’t think so,” Celine said nervously. “Oh, wait. I’m sure there are security cameras outside of our apartment building. They probably caught me going to my car.” She seemed relieved to have proof. Meanwhile Charlie was simply listening with mild interest.
“I’m sure you understand that I have to ask everyone that question. The police department will follow up and verify it,” Brigid said as the office door opened and Detective Brewer stepped inside.
“Celine Aguirre?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued, “You’re under arrest for the murder of Mark Muller.”
“What? But I didn’t…,” she sputtered as he began to read Celine her rights. She turned to Brigid with wide eyes. “I didn’t do it.”
“We found what we believe to be the murder weapon in your car. Forensics will test it to be certain, but it appears to be the same kind of gun the coroner thinks was used to murder the victim. Do you admit to owning a handgun?” he asked.
“My husband and I have one at home in our safe, but I can’t even remember the combination for it,” she said, tears streaming down her face. She turned and looked at Brigid with a look of horror. “I’m not the one who murdered Mark!”
Another officer came into the room and led Celine away in handcuffs. Brigid stood and placed her hand on the retreating detective’s arm. “Detective, I really don’t think she did it.”
“Why’s that?” he asked with a tone in his voice that sounded as if he was humoring her. Brigid could tell from his
slight smirk he didn’t believe her. She refused to let his attitude phase her.
“Well for one thing, Charlie didn’t even flinch the whole time we were talking to her. Even when she plainly said she didn’t kill him,” she pointed out.
“Brigid’s right,” Linc offered. “She sounded pretty convincing, too. She also gave us two more suspects. One was an unknown guy who stopped Mark just outside the Alamo when he was leaving after work, not too long ago.”
Brigid held up her phone and showed the detective the photograph of the man. A look of recognition slid over his face. “That’s the bartender over at El Lobo,” he said meeting Brigid’s eyes. “I’ve suspected him of being the new muscle for an illegal gambling ring that operates in this area.”
He paused as if he were considering that Celine may not have done it. “It’s not looking good for her. If forensics comes back and says that it was the weapon used in the murder, and since we found it in her car, that’s almost like a signed confession.”
“But why would a guilty woman allow you to search her car, knowing that the murder weapon was in there?” Linc asked.
Brigid nodded in agreement. “That doesn’t sound like something a person would do if they’d committed murder. Why not just give herself up?”
“I agree, those are all very valid points. But the fact of the matter is it’s extremely incriminating for Mrs. Aguirre,” Detective Brewer said. “Keep digging into it. What else have you found out?”
“Celine says she was leaving her house about the time of the murder and that security cameras outside her apartment should be able to verify that,” Brigid said. “There’s also another employee who may have been disgruntled that the victim was getting a promotion over him.”
Detective Brewer nodded. “I’ll get a copy of that security footage. Why don’t you go talk to that employee?” He looked at his watch. “The guy in the photo’s name is Larry Barelli. He’s the bartender over at El Lobo, which is just a few blocks away. Pretty much in walking distance. If you can go over there when you’re done here and see what he was up to this morning, that would be great. In the meantime, I’ll tell my officers to keep an eye out for him. Go ahead and send me that photo. I’ll give you a call if the security footage tells us anything.”
Brigid nodded. “Will do.”
Detective Brewer turned and walked out of the room, leaving Brigid and Linc alone in the office.
“Something isn’t adding up,” Linc pointed out. “Why would she consent to a search if she knew the gun was in her car?”
“I agree,” Brigid said. “And Charlie is either out of practice, or she was telling the truth. If she was, the police just arrested an innocent woman.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing we’re helping. Let’s see what else we can dig up.” Linc said. “If she’s innocent, we can’t let her go to prison. Especially if we’re the only ones who can help her.”
“What happened to the guy that didn’t want to get involved?” Brigid asked playfully.
“That was before there was a chance an innocent woman could go down for murder. If she really did do it, she deserves it. But if she didn’t, we have to find out who the real killer is,” he said.
“You’re right,” Brigid said as she put her hand on the door. “Now, let’s get out there and ask a few more questions.”
CHAPTER 16
As they stepped out of the office, Linc caught the attention of one of the remaining officers who hadn’t left yet. They’d been standing around talking rather than leaving with most of the other officers.
“Excuse me,” Linc said. “Can you tell me where the tour guides are waiting?”
The closest officer, who looked to be a little more seasoned, gave them both the once over. He seemed to be about ready to ask them what business it was of theirs when he noticed Charlie. Once he saw the leash, his skepticism disappeared.
“Is that old Charlie, the lie detector?” he asked with a grin. He squatted down and began to scratch the dog.
“Yes, it is,” Brigid said. “We’re sort of his handlers for this case.”
“Just head down this hall,” he said gesturing. “There’s a break room down there, third door on the right. It’s the one with a glass door. You’ll see people sitting inside it. Everyone should be in there.”
“Thank you,” Linc said.
Heading in the direction the officer had pointed, Charlie trotted along beside Brigid as if he were having the time of his life. Linc apparently noticed it too.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear Charlie was smiling,” he said with a grin.
Brigid looked down at the dog and thought the same. The corners of his mouth were curled up and his tongue was hanging out happily. “I think you’re right. Maybe he isn’t as much of a fan of retirement as John had hoped he’d be.”
They reached the door and Linc put his hand on the knob. “Maybe he just misses getting out and seeing people. Who knows?” He pushed the door open and all eyes in the room turned towards them. Brigid saw an older man sitting in the back corner with a newspaper. He sipped his coffee nonchalantly, and returned to his paper after seeing them enter.
“Jerry Martinez?’ Brigid asked. The older man looked up with surprise.
“Yes?” he asked. Everyone else tried to look as though they weren’t interested and failed miserably.
“Would you please step outside so we can talk to you for a moment?” she asked politely. He folded his paper and took one more sip of coffee before standing up and making his way toward them. As they stepped back into the wide hall, Linc looked down both sides to make sure they were alone. The only thing in the hall besides them were a few potted plants and a couple of wooden benches.
“How can I help you?” Jerry asked.
Brigid motioned towards one of the benches and the two of them sat down while Linc stood behind Brigid. “My name is Brigid and this is my husband, Linc. We’re working with the police investigators, trying to help them with what happened here this morning,” she explained.
“It’s a shame what happened to Mark,” Jerry began, “but that boy was a mess.” He shook his head and looked down at his wrinkled hands.
“What do you mean?” Brigid asked, curious.
“Well, please understand that most of this is speculation. You know how co-workers talk. It’s inevitable.” He wrung his hands as he looked at the floor, almost as if he didn’t want to look Brigid in the eye.
“People had been talking about him having an affair with the boss. He’d also been seen getting cozy with one of the girls from the gift shop.” He finally looked up. “And then there were also stories that he had a gambling problem.”
Brigid nodded. “Is that so? What made people say that?”
The older man sighed. “Well the kid used to have a pretty decent car, always ate lunch with the other employees, things like that. But lately he started looking a little rough around the edges, and then one day he came to work on the bus. He told everyone he was just cutting back on expenses, but he stopped buying lunch and even tried to borrow money from a few of us.”
“Maybe he was down on his luck?” Linc suggested. “Like he’d gotten behind on his bills or something.”
“That’s what I assumed at first, too,” Jerry agreed. “But then I overheard him on the phone talking with someone. He sounded really worried. From what I gathered, it sounded like he owed somebody money, but he was still trying to place a bet. He could have been trying to get in on a poker game or something like that, too. I wasn’t totally sure. To be honest, my hearing’s not what it used to be.” He said the last part almost as if it were an apology.
“That’s okay, don’t worry about it. You’re being very helpful,” Brigid said. “Did you happen to catch a name?”
Jerry seemed to think for a moment before he finally spoke. “I’m pretty sure he called the guy Bob.”
“Can you tell me where you were this morning between 6:30 and 7:00?” Brigid asked.
Jerry’s eyes went wide. “Am I a suspect?”
Brigid smiled reassuringly. “We’re just checking at this point. Trying to set up a timeline and all that.”
“I was at home, probably sitting at the table eating my breakfast,” he said.
“Can anyone vouch for you?” she asked as she wrote down his alibi.
“Yeah, my wife. We were watching the morning news. I even waved to my neighbor when I left the house a little after 7:30,” he said. “Should I call them?”
“No, no. That’s not necessary. Like I said, we’re just making sure we cross everyone off the list. That’s all. Doesn’t sound like you had a grudge against Mark, did you?” she asked.
“If you’re asking if I liked the guy, the answer is no. I don’t like so-called men that string more than one woman along. Especially when one of them is married. It’s just scummy. Plus, I think he was only having an affair with Celine to get a promotion.”
“Can you tell me a little about that?” Brigid questioned. “Like why you would think that?”
“It wasn’t long after we heard that one guy here was retiring that it seemed as though Mark started hanging around Celine more than usual. You know, making her laugh and being slightly flirty. I thought something was fishy right from the start.
“I found out from Celine that Mark was going to get the promotion. Looks like it worked. That guy was one of the worst guides we ever had here. He didn’t know his stuff like most of us do, which is kind of a requirement when it comes to being the lead.” He shrugged. “But I’m over it now.”
“You don’t care that you were passed over for the promotion?” Linc asked.
Jerry looked up at him. “Oh, sure, I was angry at first. But after I talked with my wife that evening, she pointed out that maybe it was a blessing in disguise. The job has more pay but longer hours. Plus, I’d have to work every other weekend, and that’s when we get to see the grandkids. In the end, it probably was for the best.”
Murder at the Alamo Page 10
