The hands of the wall clock had passed the one o’clock mark by the time Mills and I checked Hal Morton in, stowed his phone, keys, and wallet, and escorted him into interrogation box one. After placing a bottle of water on the table in front of him, we walked out.
Hal yelled as we left the room. “Hey, what’s going on? How long do I have to sit here?”
I looked back and shrugged before closing the door behind us. “We’ll be back soon.”
Mills and I entered the bull pen, where Henry was reading documents on his computer.
“Are those Hal’s bank records?”
“Yep.”
“So all the warrants came in?”
“They did, and it looks like Hal already closed out Tina’s bank account and transferred what she had to his own, although—”
“Although what?” Frank leaned over Henry’s shoulder and stared at the bank statement. “I don’t see any large withdrawals.”
“That’s correct, but Hal thinks he’s pulling one over on us.”
“How so?” I asked.
Henry opened the tab that showed Tina’s bank statement from yesterday prior to Hal withdrawing everything and closing the account. “See here.” He pointed at the month’s ending balance. “Now, see how much Hal deposited into his own account? That’s fifteen grand less than the final balance in Tina’s account.”
Frank fist-pumped the air. “He held some back in cash so it wouldn’t show as a withdrawal coming from his account.”
“Bingo. Hal did something with fifteen grand that needs to be addressed.”
“Great work, Henry. How about life insurance policies and her will?” I asked.
“Right here.” Henry clicked on another tab at the top of the screen. “Tina had a policy worth two hundred thousand bucks, which was overkill, excuse the pun. It wasn’t like she was the primary breadwinner. The beneficiary was Hal, of course, and he’s the named beneficiary on her will too.”
“And he had her killed before she had the chance to divorce him, remove his name from those documents, and leave all her assets to the kids.”
“That’s how it looks.” Henry stood and went to the printer. “I made copies of everything for you guys.”
I slipped the paperwork into a folder. “Thanks, Henry. Come on, Frank. Let’s go have a chat with Hal Morton.”
We left the homicide department and returned to the jail area, where six cells and three interrogation boxes were located. We watched from the observation room as Hal pounded his fist on the table and cursed. It didn’t look as though he appreciated being in that room for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.
“What do you think?” I grinned at Frank. “Let him stew or just rip off the Band-Aid?”
“Let’s rip it off. Those kids need a permanent guardian, and there’s a good chance it isn’t going to be their father. Tina’s family will likely raise those boys when it’s all said and done.”
We entered the box again and took seats in the chairs facing Hal.
“It’s about time. What the hell do you need to ask me now? I have to get on with my life, bury Tina, and raise my kids.”
“Seems you emptied Tina’s bank account rather quickly. What was the hurry, Hal?”
He stammered before answering, and his face went red. “Why is that any of your business?”
I made a face at Frank then shook my head. “Because we’re the cops, and your wife was murdered. From the moment she took her last breath, everything is our business, so answer the question.”
“Why leave the money in there? I was a co-signer and can pull it if I want to. There’s a funeral I have to pay for and a nanny to hire whenever I’m out of town.”
“Doubt if that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Frank said.
I rubbed my chin as I thought. “So in essence, Tina is paying for her own funeral. That’s messed up, man. Oh yeah, where did the fifteen grand go?”
“Fifteen grand?” Beads of sweat popped up on Hal’s forehead.
“Did I stutter?” I loosened my tie. “Is it hot in here, Frank?”
“Nope, I’m good, but Hal looks like he’s heating up.”
“Humph. That’s odd.” I locked eyes with Hal and waited. He finally looked away.
“I told you, I need to pay for Tina’s funeral,” he said.
“In cash? Nobody does that, and we both know it. Was there somebody that needed to be paid off? Maybe the person that murdered Tina and was trying to send us a message by slashing our tires?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure thing. Here’s how we see it, pal. Tina was going to divorce you because you have a wandering eye and probably other body parts too. By the way, we intend to have a talk with Miss Vasquez later. Anyway, back to my theory. Tina was going to divorce you, and that means your spendable income is going to dwindle significantly. Those hefty maintenance and child support payments, the house being sold or given to her, and having to divvy up all the assets would really put a damper on your lifestyle. It would probably be tough to afford that nanny when you want to go out of town on those”—I coughed into my hand—“business trips to other cities if it was your weekend with the kids.”
“My employer pays for travel expenses.”
“But not child care. Did you intend to leave your kids alone, or were you going to give up joint custody?”
Hal sat silently.
Frank piped in. “But with Tina dead, you’d have her two-hundred-thousand-dollar life insurance policy, all her assets, and everything that was in her bank account. You would be much better off. More money and no payout for child support and maintenance. Sounds like a win for you.”
“I want a lawyer. I’m not saying another word.”
I pushed back my chair and stood. “Good enough. Hope you enjoy your new quarters.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re our main suspect, and you’ll sit here while the investigation continues. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we need to have a word with Miss Vasquez.”
“But I didn’t do it. I was in New York!”
“And fifteen grand easily covers the going rate of murder for hire.” I leaned over the table before leaving. “And we’ll prove that you’re responsible for Tina’s death. We’re cops, and that’s our job.”