CHAPTER 5 : INTERROGATION
Inside the small interrogation room Gary sits quietly at the table. The fatigue of his long day is apparent on his face, and he’s hoping this won’t take long. Detective Cromwell quickly paces back and forth across the little room, intensely studying his captive. After a few awkward moments, Cromwell initiates the investigation.
“Gregory… um, I mean Gary, based on what I’ve seen lately, I have a lot of questions for you.”
Gary looks up, puzzled. “I have nothing to hide and I intend on giving you my full cooperation. You may proceed whenever you are ready.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to start by asking you who your dinner companion was this evening.”
“That was Ray Foster.”
“How long have you known Ray?”
“Just over ten years now.”
“And when was the first time you saw him?”
“That was August 7th, 2003.”
“Wow, Gary! Right down to the exact date, huh? That’s impressive!”
“It was a memorable night, Detective.”
“Oh, right. You were having dinner with your wife that night. What else happened?”
Gary pauses before responding, his eyes squinting as he observes the detective. “You know, I don’t often talk about this, and I’m getting the feeling that you already know quite a bit about it.”
“Gary, I just want to make sure we have all the facts straight, so humor me.”
“My wife died that night.”
“How?”
“Car accident.”
“And?”
“And what Detective?” Gary snaps, raising his arms.
“Who was driving the vehicle?”
“Well, our car was parked, but Ray Foster was driving the other one.”
“The same Ray Foster I just saw you eating with and hugging?”
“That’s correct.”
“No, that’s weird.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well it’s just weird to see something like that. I’m a homicide detective, Gary. I’ve seen a lot of stuff in my days, but this stuff you are up to, I’ve never seen anything this strange, well, this obvious anyway. ”
“I’m not exactly sure what you mean by ‘obvious’, Sir. Since my wife has been dead now for over eleven years, you’re probably a little late, Detective. Plus, it was an accident. Think and ask what you will. I consider myself to be in this world, but not of this world. I try to live my life to the highest standard I know, to be beyond any and all accusations, but try if you must. I just want to warn you that a lot of what you may see will not make sense to this world.”
“You’re right. Your actions would make no sense if you were innocent. That high standard, that’s pretty high, right? Like ‘above the law’?”
“Not above, just not under.”
“Perhaps for the time being Greg, but we will see. I’m sorry; your alias is a little hard to get used to.”
“It’s not an alias, Detective. It’s just what everyone has called me ever since I was a boy. Before I even turned one, my parents somehow managed to move into a neighborhood with two other kids named Gregory already living in it. From that time on, I’ve been ‘Gary’.”
“Alias or not, Gary, I am very good at what I do. You will be found out, whether you think you’re above the law or not. It just seemed too perfect and too convenient at the time, but now, it’s just too obvious to ignore.”
“You mentioned obvious before Detective. What is it that’s so obvious?”
“Why, that you had your wife murdered, of course. It was a very good set up, I’ll admit that, and your cover up was going great, but you’ve exposed yourself now, Gary.” Detective Cromwell sneers his name again. “Now I can see you just as you are. It may have smelled fishy before, but now I believe I am knee deep in the ocean.”
“If it smells fishy to you, that’s probably just yesterday’s lunch, Detective.”
“I speak not of self-caught, fresh deep fried bream, Gary, but of the stench of a guilty man being found out.”
Gary’s head tilts slightly as he thinks momentarily. “You saw that too, eh?” Though he has never noticed him yet, Gary is now realizing how closely the detective has been watching him.
Gary pauses for a moment before continuing. Detective Cromwell is relishing the silence while he waits for reality to hit Gary a little harder.
“Perhaps a spy would be a better job for you, Detective. I want you to know, once and for all, for the record, that I had absolutely nothing to do with my wife’s death, and I have no knowledge of any set ups or cover-ups. This is the first I have heard of such things.”
“Really? Because it is hard to imagine a more perfect way to have a murder look like an accident. A dark rainy night, a young drunk teenager, a car parked directly at the end of a ‘T’ intersection. Looks to me like it would be hard not have someone wind up dead in a situation like that.”
“If you are suggesting that I set this whole thing up, Detective, you have a disproportionate view of my control over things. How could I make sure it was raining? Or how could I make sure a kid I never met before would be heading at my wife and unable to brake or turn?”
“Gary, please,” Cromwell protests. He opens his briefcase and rifles through the papers within.
Cromwell pulls a yellowed paper out and slides it across the table, opened to the five day weather forecast from an ancient August.
“Everyone knew it would be raining that night. That’s a copy of that week’s newspaper. It had been raining for three days at that point, and was supposed to keep up for another two. Anyone with a TV, radio, or newspaper would have known that. You did have a TV or radio back then, didn’t you?” Cromwell asks rhetorically. “Also, at the moment I will not even try to trace your relationship with Ray, but I assume that it did not start that night. You knew him. I’m not sure from where or for how long, but you knew him Gary. Umm, you did pick the restaurant that night, right?”
“Yeah, I wanted to take Julie somewhere nice, and Reginelli’s was one of our favorite places.”
“If you had been there before, then you must have known that it was at the end of Maple Avenue, where it forms a ‘T’ intersection with 32nd Street. And how exactly was it that your car got parked there with your wife in it and you…well, not?”
Gary looks up at Cromwell, and their eyes lock. Cromwell glare is looking right through the man.
“I parked it there. We were leaving, but it was raining, so I pulled the car up. When I got back in it, I realized I had left my credit card inside, so I left Julie in the car and ran back inside to get it. You know, I’ve thought about it thousands of times, Detective, and if I had the power to change any of it, I would. But I can’t. That’s what happened, and now it’s over.”
“So you parked the car right there, put your wife in it, left, and waited? That’s about what I thought.”
Gary smiles and shakes his head.
“What is it Gary? Do you suddenly find this amusing?” Cromwell asks as he attempts to peer inside Mr. Swier.
“Just a quick question before I answer that, Detective. Exactly what has happened recently that made you decide to investigate this accident again?”
“Honestly Gary! Isn’t it obvious? I’ve had a pretty close eye on you and Ray ever since they let him out and I believe that your activities speak for themselves.”
“Right, that’s what I thought, and that’s why I smiled. Jesus says in Matthew 5:10 and 11, ‘Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.’ ‘Blessed’ means exceedingly joyful, and that’s a little tough at times such as these, when you are speaking things falsely against me, simply because I am following the Lord’s teaching.”
Cromwell rubs his temples, looks up at Gary and exhales. He suddenly feels as if he’s trapped in this little with a mad man. “That would explain a lot,” he thinks to himself and he draws this conclusion. “Really? The ‘Lord’ encouraged you to reward the kid who killed your wife. It seems more likely that you are simply paying him for a job well done. I checked out the apartment complex you dropped Ray off at. It turns out that it is rented in your name, Mr. Swier. Your name.”
“Yeah, I know.” Gary seems unaffected by this. “I paid a full year’s rent, up font, in cash. I realize that you really must enjoy detecting otherwise you would do something else with your life, but there’s not much to detect here, Detective. I could’ve told you I rented the apartment for Ray, like I said, I’ve got nothing to hide, just ask.”
With a look of frustrated rage on his face, Cromwell leans toward Gary. “Look, you have no idea why I have this job, and as far as this investigation, I’ll be the judge of what there is, or as you are hoping, isn’t, to find out. I noticed you bought your wife’s killer a car too, huh?” Cromwell’s creepy smile appears.
“Detective, I haven’t really researched the current going rate for hit-men, but I hardly think it’s dropped all the way down to an apartment, a used car, some clothes and a fridge full of food. Don’t you think there would be a lot more recent murders for you to investigate if that was the case? Then you wouldn’t have to sift through ancient files looking for something to do.”
“I think I’ll be the one asking the questions here, Gary. But for now, I’m done. I’ve got a few things to look into. Oh, and don’t worry about your buddy, Ray. I’ll be leaving him out of this for the time being. No need to trouble him with your problems, right? Perhaps next time you can show me some of your Bible verses where God tells you to buy a car for the person who kills your wife. I’d like to see that.”
“No problem Detective. There’s a lot in the Bible I would like to show you,” Gary answers, looking sympathetically at his interrogator.
Cromwell quickly turns away. He’s in no mood for playing mind games right now and has no intention of letting his captive high-jack this interrogation. Spinning back around suddenly, the rage reappears on his face. “Get out of here, Gary! I’m done with you for now,” Cromwell spits between his clenched teeth.
Gary rises, pushes his chair back against the table, and starts toward the exit. Cromwell’s frustrated face relaxes and is replaced by a sinister smile. “And enjoy your freedom… while you still have it,” he adds as Gary exits the interrogation room, pausing mid-sentence for effect.
Outside Gary climbs into his car. Bowing his head, he begins to pray. “Father God, be my patience and my strength. You have given me incredible, unnatural love before, Lord, and I am asking you now to do so again. Help me through this, and help me to use this situation as an opportunity…”