“I agree,” Mary joined in, because they needed to hear it from her, too. “You should have absolute confidence, going forward.”
Judy nodded. “You have our full attention, and we’re devoting ourselves to this case. It’s what John would’ve wanted. His funeral service is tomorrow, by the way. I made the arrangements.”
“Well done, Carrier,” Bennie said, and just then, Mary noticed her phone screen light up with a text alert. It was from Lou and read:
Check your email. I got something on Shanahan.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Mary and Judy made it through the gauntlet of press outside the Roundhouse, rode upstairs in the grimy elevator, and got out in the lobby, where Mary put a steadying arm on her best friend’s shoulder. “The key thing is, don’t worry.”
“How can I not?” Judy grimaced.
“Because you’re innocent and you’re in excellent hands.” Mary flashed her a smile that was intended to be reassuring, though it took effort. “Detective Krakoff said you could go to the lab directly. Just give them your samples and obviously don’t say anything.”
“Of course not.”
“I’ll come get you when I’m finished. I won’t be long. Don’t go back into the squad room on any account.” Mary gave her a brief hug. “See you in about twenty minutes.”
“Bye.” Judy rallied, turning away and striding down the hall toward the lab, and Mary went down the hall in the opposite direction, getting buzzed into a bustling squad room full of detectives. She was shown to Detective Krakoff, who took her into an interview room, where they could talk privately.
“So is Ms. Carrier giving her samples?” he asked, sitting down.
“Yes.” Mary sat opposite him, her phone in her lap, and she didn’t hide her contempt for what happened the last time. “That was quite a stunt you pulled with the engagement ring.”
“It was no stunt.”
“Yes, it was, and it was unprofessional.” Mary met his eye directly. “I’ve worked my share of murder cases and I know detectives here. I don’t know a single one who would’ve pulled crap like that.”
“I got the answer I wanted.” Detective Krakoff blinked, his expression impassive. “Ms. Carrier was the victim’s girlfriend.”
“That engagement ring doesn’t prove that. You don’t know who John bought it for, nor do you know if he was seeing any number of people. You don’t even really know if it belonged to him. He could even have been holding it for someone, a friend of his who intended to propose to his girlfriend.”
“That’s highly unlikely.” Detective Krakoff lifted a groomed eyebrow.
“But it’s certainly possible, and you can’t eliminate any of those possibilities, which is another term for reasonable doubt.” Mary wanted to shift the conversation. “In any event, you said on the phone that Judy Carrier has become a person of interest.”
“Yes, she has.”
“Why?”
“For all the reasons I told you at the interview. She was the girlfriend, and they were fighting up to and including the time when the victim was killed.”
“But she’s not yet a suspect.”
“No, a person of interest.”
“Then why do you want the samples?”
“We’re investigating. That’s our job.”
Mary let it go. “I advised her to give them because she has to legally, but they will be completely consistent with her innocence. In fact, we went to John’s apartment last night and examined the scene.”
“Oh?” Detective Krakoff look genuinely surprised, which was what Mary had hoped for.
“I have two theories about who killed John Foxman, which I’d like to share with you. The first was the one I mentioned to you, that a burglar entered through the fire escape. The window was unlocked, and the climb is easy enough. In fact it was your first thought, and sometimes the short answer is the easy one.”
Detective Krakoff didn’t say anything, but Mary didn’t need him to. She had come here for a reason. The difference between a person of interest and a suspect was a critical one, and she still had a chance to give the police information that would challenge their initial assumptions and findings. She had a credible alternative in Mike Shanahan, but she also wanted to throw as much as possible on the wall to make Detective Krakoff suspect anybody other than Judy.
“But the second theory, and one I wanted to share with you, involves facts you may not know.”
“Like what?” Detective Krakoff asked, skeptically.
“John Foxman was the guardian of his brother William, who has cerebral palsy and lives at a group home, Poplar House at Glenn Meade in Devon. The supervisor there is Michael Shanahan, and Shanahan has only been there for six months.”
Detective Krakoff slipped his hand inside his breast pocket and pulled out a pen and his skinny notepad, flipping open the cover.
Mary spelled Shanahan for him, but she was going to save the best for last. “John and Shanahan have had a contentious relationship over the past six months.”
“How do you know that? Did the victim tell you or Judy Carrier that, prior?”
“We found some papers on his desk, a draft complaint.” Mary dug in her purse, extracted a manila envelope, and handed it to Detective Krakoff. “Here are copies of the relevant documents, and you can look them over later.”
“You took these from the scene?”
“Yes. It was released early, so why not?”
“Where were they?”
“On his desk in the office.”
Detective Krakoff made a note. “How did you know they were there?”
“We didn’t.”
“How did you find them?”
“We looked.” Mary didn’t say, by accident because it didn’t sound as good. “They support everything I’m telling you. Briefly put, it takes a long time to feed William because he has difficulty swallowing, and Shanahan wanted to put William on a feeding tube, which John felt was out of expedience rather than in William’s best interest.”
Detective Krakoff started taking notes, which encouraged Mary, so she continued.
“John intended to file a complaint with the Department of Human Services regarding mistreatment of his brother by Shanahan. A copy of the draft is in the envelope. There’s no doubt that the filing of such complaint and any subsequent investigation would’ve gotten Mr. Shanahan fired from his job at Glenn Meade. It might have even prevented him from getting a job elsewhere.”
“So you’re accusing Shanahan of murder?” Detective Krakoff looked up.
“I’m trying to cooperate with you in your investigation. I think these facts are very concerning, and they provide a motive for Shanahan killing John. I think that John may have told Shanahan that he intended to file a complaint, and Shanahan may have come to John on Saturday to discuss it. John would have let him in to talk, then there could have been a fight, and Shanahan was the one who killed him.” Mary kept going because he was taking notes. “And I don’t know if John discussed the fact that he was going to file a complaint with William, but if he did, then William could be in jeopardy or even danger. If Shanahan really is the killer, then he might go as far as killing William too, to silence him.”
Detective Krakoff pursed his lips. “Have you met Shanahan?”
“Yes.”
“Did you confront him with this?”
“No, it’s new information to me. I’m asking you to follow up with him, as part of your investigation of John’s murder.”
“How do you know that the victim told Shanahan that he was going to file the complaint?”