October 8, 2018
Galveston, Texas
When Sudhan arrived at work, she conferred with her fellow detective, Paul Lacroix. He would start digging into Vance’s background.
While Paul was investigating, Sudhan called Officer Torres in for an interview. Louise’s comment from the night before had been nagging her.
“Hi José, I want to review the way you found Dr. Drake one more time.” She nodded towards a chair facing her desk.
José took a seat and a deep breath. “Detective Sudhan, I’ve been trying hard to think of a way out of this, but a confession looks to be the best option. I was on the beach before the call came in through Dispatch. I’d heard chatter about a load of Chinese fentanyl coming in. Enough to ruin thousands of lives…”
He looked up to meet Sudhan’s stern gaze as he continued.
“I thought this would be my chance to shine. My dream has been to become a detective. I’ve admired your skills for many years. I thought this could be my big break. I saw something that I thought could be the “drop.” Just then the couple walking the dog discovered the body and called 9-1-1. I guess I didn’t know how to explain my presence at the beach when I was off duty and still in uniform.”
Sudhan stopped to analyze this confession. Although she understood José’s quest to belong and to succeed, she was stunned that an officer would not be forthcoming earlier in the investigation. “You know that omissions in a report are a serious offense. I’ve also heard that you spoke with someone from the lab after Dr. Drake’s memorial.”
“Yes, when I saw Roy Williams at the memorial, I took the opportunity to chat him up. I wanted to see if I could do a little detective work, even though I wasn’t officially on the case. He’s a strange bird.” José paused. “He intimated to me that a person who worked at the lab, a Billy Stanton, might have benefited from Dr. Drake’s death. He didn’t say how or why. I was going to dig around a little more. I didn’t want to get Stanton in trouble on the word of Williams.”
Detective Sudhan nodded. Galveston was a small town and rumors spread. “I appreciate your concerns, but you should have come forward with this information. We still have Billy as a main suspect. If you learn anything else, please let me know. We will talk later.”
Sudhan knew she would have several more conversations with Officer Torres. He had crossed several lines. His behavior would require sanction. It could wait for now.
After that unsettling meeting, Detective Sudhan joined Paul. Within two hours, they had enough to start the jailhouse interviews.
First, Vance was brought into the interrogation room. After offering him some coffee and kolaches, always a good ice breaker in an interview, Sudhan started. “How is your stay at the jail going?”
“Oh Detective, always interesting. I’m so glad you asked to speak to me.” Vance went on, rapid fire. “I need to tell you about this guy in here, fresh off an oil rig, who was talking nonsense about a boat and a woman who may be dead. Then, at the hospital I overheard some talk about Dr. Finnerty’s friend coming into the ER dead. I think I can really help the police with this investigation.”
Sudhan smiled. “Well, you already have. And what is the inmate’s name?”
“Well, you know that I’ve got a bum rap pending against me. I found that gun on the beach and was trying to get a few dollars to feed myself. I didn’t mean to peddle it to an undercover cop. I ain’t ever used it. I had nothing to do with those robberies. I have no idea who owned it.”
Detective Sudhan looked at Vance with a blank face. She didn’t need him to get the name of the inmate. Only one person had been brought in from the rigs recently, Travis Jones.
“The only problem with that story is that the gun had no sand in it,” Sudhan said. “It hadn’t been lying on the beach. So, I’m thinking someone wanted to get rid of the gun and left it where you found it or gave it to you to fence. I need to know where you actually got it.”
Vance thought for a minute. “So, look. I found it in a Dumpster on Harborside Drive. I was rummaging around looking for something useful. I don’t know any more about it than that.”
Sudan paused. “Well, thank you for your information.”
“Hey, wait, is there some way of getting some help with my charges? Can I help anymore? I hate that a friend of Dr. Finnerty was murdered.”
Sudhan had originally thought about moving Vance into Travis’s cell as an informant but now decided he would never be able to keep his mouth shut.
“I’ll get your cell assignment changed to be closer to Mr. Jones. You keep your ears open and let me know if you learn more.”
The next interview with Travis Jones started as soon as Vance had been safely escorted back to his cell.
“Good morning, Mr. Jones. How are you today? Would you like some kolaches and coffee?” She’d heard Jones was still suffering from the late effects of opiate withdrawal. He was itching all over and having cramps and chills.
“Sure, Detective, don’t mind if I do,” Jones replied.
“It looks like you have gotten yourself into trouble on the rig. It must be hard to see such a well-paying career go away.”
Jones shrugged. “Oh, they can’t kick out people who have a little health problem like addiction. I just have to rehab myself and they’ll be glad to have me back.”
“Maybe. The problem is, you had a little trouble keeping your mouth shut while you were detoxing in our jail. You seem to have gotten involved in something more serious than possession of drugs. We’ve traced a timeline on a murder which occurred the day before you went out to the rig. The murder of Dr. Gennifer Drake. With court orders, we looked at your properties and bank account. It looks like you came into some money around then as well. Coupled with those facts, we’re building a pretty good case against you.”
Jones choked on the kolache. He started scratching his forearms. “Wait a minute, I just inherited that money. I ain’t had anything to do with a murder on the Gulf.”
“I didn’t say the murder took place on the Gulf. However, we’re going over your boat, Suzy Q, with a fine-tooth comb. I’m sure we will find some evidence. The money in your account was wired from an offshore bank. Not a typical inheritance route. Another thing that you might want to think about is that whoever hired you might not be so happy to have you walking around. You could be a lot safer here in the jail than you know.”
“Look, I don’t know anything about a murder. I was asked to take a heavy duffle out to sea and drop it there. The guy offered a lot of cash and littering seemed worth it. I don’t know his name but could give a description of the man. He met me at the dock and gave me the duffel. I took it out to sea and dumped it. That’s all I know.”
“Let me get the artist here to get a picture of the man,” Sudan replied, thinking she had him for the attempted murder.
She dismissed Jones and he was escorted back to his cell. Building a strong case against him wouldn’t be hard. There was bound to be evidence on his boat and his DNA might match the evidence from under Drake’s nails. The first link in the chain was in Sudhan’s hands. Now she needed to find the man who wanted to have “a duffle dumped.”
As Sudhan was gathering her thoughts and planning her next move, Paul came in.
“Hey, I thought you would want to know the DNA match was positive for our John Doe. It’s Ernie Pedersen.”
With this information, Sudhan gathered her team and shifted all resources to find the connection between the murders of the microbiologist surveyor and the laboratory researcher. It was unlikely to be a coincidence. Now, with a positive identification, Sudhan could put her foot on the gas. Both victims had connections with the Gulf National Laboratory.
Possessing current photographs of members of the staff at Gulf National Lab including the surveyors, Bert Springer and Ernie Pedersen, Sudhan called Jones back in the interview room after lunch.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Detective,” Jones said sarcastically while he scratched whatever part of himself he could reach. “Hard to believe I’m missing my afternoon repast for another interview.”
Sudhan let the attitude slide. No need to assert my authority yet. “I appreciate your time. You were so helpful this morning that we now have some photos to show you. Please identify anyone you know.”
At this point, she displayed a photo lineup of people including some random government employees.
After a pretense of examining each photo carefully, Jones pointed to Ernie Pedersen. “That’s the man,” he said smugly. “Talk to him, and he’ll let you know who was behind the murder. My identification should help you nail him.”
“Yes, I do believe we have that man. Unfortunately, we are unable to ask him questions from his current whereabouts in the morgue. What we need to know is, can you help us identify someone who was working with Mr. Pedersen.”
Jones looked stunned. Sudhan realized that her earlier warning about being safer in jail had just hit home. Now he was visibly worried. He began to sweat profusely.
“Man, I had no idea. I met that guy in Fisherman’s Folly. There are all kinds of people there. He must have gotten my name through Q-Anon.”
“Well, let’s show you a few more photos and you tell me if you recognize someone else.”
This time Sudhan mixed various people into the photo lineup, including people who worked at or frequented Fisherman’s Folly, as well as Roy Williams and Billy Stanton. She included Stanton on the chance that he had played some part in the case. She wanted to corroborate Torres’s information.
Jones studied the photos. He recognized some of the regulars from the bar and the waitstaff but quickly zeroed in on one photo.
“I remember now. I’ve seen this guy a few times at Fisherman’s Folly. I don’t know much else about him.” He tried to collect himself and regain his earlier swagger. “So, it looks like I’ve really helped you after all.”
“Oh yes. You’ve been very helpful. But it seems not absolutely truthful. We have evidence that Dr. Drake was on your boat.”
“But…”
Sudhan raised a hand to stop his interruption. “And also, that your DNA was under her fingernails. It seems you were more involved than you admitted.”
With the quick turnaround now available for DNA matches, Sudhan knew she had Jones. As she left the interview room, he was scratching himself again, slumped deep in his chair.