Passions of the Dead (A Detective Jackson Mystery/Thriller) by L.J. Sellers
Book: Passions of the Dead (A Detective Jackson Mystery/Thriller) by L.J. Sellers
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Authors: L.J. Sellers
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get a swab of the inside of your cheek.” It didn’t hurt to ask. Some criminals didn’t know they could refuse.
“Not a chance.” Engall tried to sound tough, but his voice couldn’t contain his distress. “I’m invoking my rights.” He put his foot back on the floor.
“You haven’t been arrested or charged. I’m just giving you a chance to tell the truth and clear yourself.”
“I want to call my lawyer, and I’m not answering any more questions.”
“Refusing to cooperate will not look good to a jury.”
Engall stayed silent. Jackson finally took him out to the hallway and let him make his call. Afterward he made Engall sit in the interrogation room while he wrote a subpoena to collect his suspect’s shoes and DNA.
Engall’s lawyer showed up an hour later, and Jackson grudgingly released his suspect. Without a witness to place him at the crime scene or a DNA match to any evidence, he couldn’t hold him. He’d arrested Engall for obstructing justice, but it wasn’t a serious enough charge to book him into the overcrowded jail. Jackson would ask Lammers to assign uniform officers to watch Engall round the clock in the meantime. He thought about the officer watching Lori Walker. He still held hope she would be alert soon and able to identify the family’s attacker.
As Jackson finished the subpoenas, he tried to assess Engall’s demeanor during the interrogation. He had been holding back and worried about something, yet his face had shown no dishonesty when he said he’d had a blackout and couldn’t remember anything. Was it possible Engall had killed the Walkers during an alcoholic rage and didn’t remember it? The suspect hadn’t seemed very concerned about Jared’s list of infractions. Yet he was involved in this mess somehow, Jackson was certain. He would have to explore Engall’s connections. For example, did Roy Engall know Jared’s brother-in-law, Kevin Compton, who’d been assaulted at the Time Out Tavern where Engall liked to drink?
Had Jared been blackmailing more than one person? Did he have something on his brother-in-law too? Jackson reached in his desk for some aspirin and checked the clock: 9:12 p.m. Why did he feel so damn tired already? He pushed himself to finish the paperwork, then grabbed the evidence bags with the family’s cell phones. He started on Jared’s first.
He found the Recent Calls menu, then scrolled through the Sent Calls option, which held the last twenty calls Jared had made. Most were to his wife and kids, two were to the Employment Division, and three had no ID available. Jackson entered the numbers in the Lane County database and came up with three businesses: Caldwell Construction, Olive Garden, and Umpqua Credit Union. Just a man looking for work. He would call each business to ask about Jared’s contact, but he didn’t expect much. He would have to wait for the cell phone records to see if and when Jared Walker had called Roy Engall. Maybe Jared hadn’t called his ex-boss at all. Maybe he’d made the blackmail threat in person.
The Received Calls menu showed more of the same, mostly calls from Carla. At the end of the list was a call from Kevin Compton, made Friday at 5:32 p.m., two days before Jared was murdered. Jackson made a note, curious to see if Kevin would mention the call when he questioned him tomorrow. The call seemed a little unusual. In Jackson’s world, brothers-in-law didn’t chat on the phone. They saw each other at family gatherings and made small talk three times a year.
As he slid Carla’s cell phone from its evidence bag, his own phone rang, startling him. “This is Alisha. I’m the nurse you talked to earlier. I found Lori Engall’s cell phone in the ER. You should come get it now. She’s starting to regain consciousness.”
Chapter 7
Northwest McKenzie was still operating downtown near the University of Oregon, but construction had been completed on a new hospital at the edge of Springfield near the
“Not a chance.” Engall tried to sound tough, but his voice couldn’t contain his distress. “I’m invoking my rights.” He put his foot back on the floor.
“You haven’t been arrested or charged. I’m just giving you a chance to tell the truth and clear yourself.”
“I want to call my lawyer, and I’m not answering any more questions.”
“Refusing to cooperate will not look good to a jury.”
Engall stayed silent. Jackson finally took him out to the hallway and let him make his call. Afterward he made Engall sit in the interrogation room while he wrote a subpoena to collect his suspect’s shoes and DNA.
Engall’s lawyer showed up an hour later, and Jackson grudgingly released his suspect. Without a witness to place him at the crime scene or a DNA match to any evidence, he couldn’t hold him. He’d arrested Engall for obstructing justice, but it wasn’t a serious enough charge to book him into the overcrowded jail. Jackson would ask Lammers to assign uniform officers to watch Engall round the clock in the meantime. He thought about the officer watching Lori Walker. He still held hope she would be alert soon and able to identify the family’s attacker.
As Jackson finished the subpoenas, he tried to assess Engall’s demeanor during the interrogation. He had been holding back and worried about something, yet his face had shown no dishonesty when he said he’d had a blackout and couldn’t remember anything. Was it possible Engall had killed the Walkers during an alcoholic rage and didn’t remember it? The suspect hadn’t seemed very concerned about Jared’s list of infractions. Yet he was involved in this mess somehow, Jackson was certain. He would have to explore Engall’s connections. For example, did Roy Engall know Jared’s brother-in-law, Kevin Compton, who’d been assaulted at the Time Out Tavern where Engall liked to drink?
Had Jared been blackmailing more than one person? Did he have something on his brother-in-law too? Jackson reached in his desk for some aspirin and checked the clock: 9:12 p.m. Why did he feel so damn tired already? He pushed himself to finish the paperwork, then grabbed the evidence bags with the family’s cell phones. He started on Jared’s first.
He found the Recent Calls menu, then scrolled through the Sent Calls option, which held the last twenty calls Jared had made. Most were to his wife and kids, two were to the Employment Division, and three had no ID available. Jackson entered the numbers in the Lane County database and came up with three businesses: Caldwell Construction, Olive Garden, and Umpqua Credit Union. Just a man looking for work. He would call each business to ask about Jared’s contact, but he didn’t expect much. He would have to wait for the cell phone records to see if and when Jared Walker had called Roy Engall. Maybe Jared hadn’t called his ex-boss at all. Maybe he’d made the blackmail threat in person.
The Received Calls menu showed more of the same, mostly calls from Carla. At the end of the list was a call from Kevin Compton, made Friday at 5:32 p.m., two days before Jared was murdered. Jackson made a note, curious to see if Kevin would mention the call when he questioned him tomorrow. The call seemed a little unusual. In Jackson’s world, brothers-in-law didn’t chat on the phone. They saw each other at family gatherings and made small talk three times a year.
As he slid Carla’s cell phone from its evidence bag, his own phone rang, startling him. “This is Alisha. I’m the nurse you talked to earlier. I found Lori Engall’s cell phone in the ER. You should come get it now. She’s starting to regain consciousness.”
Chapter 7
Northwest McKenzie was still operating downtown near the University of Oregon, but construction had been completed on a new hospital at the edge of Springfield near the
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