G
uilt and fear are strong emotions that feast on most people. There are those who seem to have no emotions, but most normal humans have a hard time overcoming their fears or guilt. People who grow up with a fear of the dark, even as adults, will feel a sudden panic when the lights go out unexpectedly at night. Snakes, spiders, and even other things that crawl around on the floor, walls, and, heaven forbid, on the ceiling above you at night can bring out strong emotions from people of all ages.
Captophobia is an anxiety disorder and is the term for the fear of getting caught. It affects most people to some degree. I remembered the term from a couple classes I had long ago on reading body language. In some ways, it’s what makes a polygraph effective.
Guilt can also cause significant anxiety in most people. Knowing you did something, even inadvertently, that caused some tragedy can haunt you for the rest of your life. Even doing something on purpose, that you know you shouldn’t have done, can result in lingering guilt. Many people can’t hold it in and will ultimately confess to someone.
The behavior and responses to these feelings vary from person to person, but it was this line of thinking that had me wondering more about Streelman’s reaction while we waited for our five thirty meeting to get started. He didn’t show up, and neither did Larry or Ed. The police had Bill come in for additional questioning, too.
“Any idea where everyone is?” Dick asked.
“Larry and Ed are packing. They’re leaving in the morning,” Frank said.
“Streelman?” Dick asked.
“The police came and picked him up,” Vince said.
“Did they arrest him?” Pete asked.
“No, I believe they just took him to be interviewed,” Vince said.
“How’s Viv?” Mike asked.
“Hanging in there,” Vince said.
The meeting didn’t last long. After a short debate, the group agreed to play one more day to finish off the team competitions. No one hung around to chat afterwards.
“I want to say this has been a wasted week, but that sounds disrespectful and selfish,” Tom said when we got back to the room.
“It’s a natural reaction. No one is happy about being involved in all this.”
“That’s for sure. Everyone’s dirty laundry gets exposed. Even the innocent.”
“Luckily my life has been boring,” I said.
“How can you say that? You’ve been involved in a number of murder investigations, found a missing person or two, and who knows what else.”
“I mean my personal life.”
“Same here, although I don’t doubt that I’ve said some things and even done a few things that might not be considered politically correct,” Tom said.
“Who hasn’t?”
My phone buzzed, and I saw I had a text from Louise. “May I come up?”
“It’s Louise. She wants to come up. Is that okay with you?”
Tom grinned. “Is the sky blue?”
“Sure, come up,” I texted back.
The knock on the door came almost instantly after I sent the text.
Tom beat me to the door and let her in. She looked great. Dressed in white slacks and a turquoise blouse that was a tad bit tight on her, she definitely had Tom’s attention.
“Officer Strong, how are you doing?” he asked.
“Good, and you two?
“Fine,” we both said.
“I hope I’m not bothering you, but I talked to Vivian and she said she had already talked to everyone and then separately to you two.”
“Yes, she did,” Tom said. He definitely wanted the lead in this conversation.
“James Streelman has become a person of interest but is refusing to say anything to Detective Nichols. We’re not inclined to point a finger at him or Sanchez, but their behavior is making them look very suspicious.”
“We know,” Tom said, although I wondered if he really did.
“We hear that a couple of the guys are leaving in the morning.” She looked at me like she wondered why I hadn’t told her about them. “Larry Brown and Edward White.”
“They might wait until after we play in the morning and then leave,” Tom said.
“Either of those two have any anger issues with Doug?”
“No,” Tom said.
I shook my head when she looked at me.
“Cat got your tongue?”
I smiled. “No. Tom’s doing good.”
“Do you mind if I talk to Tom alone?”
That surprised me, but I didn’t object. The two of them stepped out onto the balcony. I sat down on the couch and watched. She leaned slightly against the balcony railing and stood slightly more erect. Her blouse seemed to stretch a little more. I looked at Tom. If he was a puppy, one of his hind legs would be bouncing up and down right about now. He didn’t have a chance. She smiled and laughed at something he said.
Starting to feel like a voyeur, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. Someone knocked on the door to our hotel room, and when I opened it, I found Edward White standing there alone. At first, he stared at me, motionless, but then he reached out and tried to grab hold of the front of my shirt. I sensed that he had been drinking and had little trouble brushing his hand away. His aggressive behavior continued, and he took a couple of quick steps toward me, forcing me to back away.
“What’s up Ed?”
“You caused all this,” spittle actually shot out of his mouth. “Don’t come back next year or ever. If you do, I’ll finish the job on you.” His eyes shot up at my bandaged forehead.
He tried to grab my shirt again, wobbling a little as he did so. This time I lifted my forearm between us. He grabbed it and held on, making me wonder if the need to hold onto something to steady himself was just as much of a need as his attempt to intimidate me.
“You’re trying to frame one of us!”
“No, I’m not.” I kept my voice down as a counter to his shouting.
“Bullshit! That’s what OSI does, and that’s what you’re doing here. I think I might just kick your ass.”
“Ed, what are you doing?” Tom said.
“Let go of him,” Louise said. They had come in from the balcony and could see us from the living room.
Ed let go of my arm and took a couple of unsteady steps backwards. “You’re both just helping him.”
“We’re trying to find out who murdered your friend,” Louise said. “You should be helping us, too.”
Ed turned around and left.
“Did he hit you?” Tom asked.
“No. I think he’s been drinking and worked up enough courage to come here to vent some of his anger.”
“We heard him threaten you. Want me to go arrest him? Might make him think twice before he does something like that again.”
“No. I think he’s harmless,” I said, but I did wonder about his remark about finishing the job. Had he been the one who attacked me? He was the right size, but beyond that I had no other reason to think he committed either crime.
“Could he have been the one?” Louise asked me, as though she could read my thoughts.
“Possibly, but for some reason, I want to say no.”