True Crime: Five and Counting

Chapter 6: Silence

     The long gravely road lead down to a construction site. The sounds of hammers and saws were heard long before the half assembled structure was seen. As Detective Mills drove towards the site, he looked at each individual worker wondering which one was Joseph.

     He didn't know what the suspect looked like. He only had a name and title of the construction company he worked for. One of the workers approached the detective's car as he parked.

     "Can I help you?" The worker asked as the detective stepped out of his car.

     Gary flashed his badge.

     "Is Joseph Brigs working today? I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask him."

     "Yeah he's here. I'll go get him." The man seemed a bit irate as he spoke. Perhaps it was due to the heat from working outside. The man spun around and walked off towards the construction.

     Gary was being looked at by many of the workers now. The sounds of loud hammering and electric saws continued, but they were not as loud as before. Everyone was curious and distracted.

     Someone else was walking towards Gary now. He had the look of disgust on his face and sighed as he approached the detective. The black male crossed his arms and stood in front of Gary staring him down.

     "I'm Joseph, whatcha need officer?"

     Gary was surprised by his behavior. Was this guy a cocky killer? Did he think he was one step ahead of the law?

     "Do you know this woman?" Gary showed him the picture of Jenna.

   "Yeah. I know Jenna. What's she sayin?" Joseph was irritated, and clearly thought he was in trouble.

     "She's not saying anything Joseph. She's not saying anything because she's dead." The detective watched the words hit him hard.

     Joseph's arms dropped to his sides. His eyes widened with disbelief. His bottom lip quivered.

     "Dead? What?" Joseph's attitude was gone. This isn't at all what he was expecting.

     "Her body was discovered early this morning. All the children are dead too. Including one of the kids friends..." Joseph squatted down and placed his elbows on his knees. He covered his face with his hands.

     Detective Mills gave him a minute to collect himself. The man was trying to be strong and accept reality.

     "How did she..." The man couldn't finish the sentence.

     The detective told him as much as he could, leaving out details. Joseph sobbed quietly. Gary tried to comfort him with words.

     The detective was confused. The reactions from both men were very similar. Based on where he worked, Joseph had the knowledge of how to sabotage the heating unit and turn it into an unusual murder weapon. Did Mason frame Joseph, knowing the cops would more likely suspect the construction worker?

     Detective Mills gave Joseph his card before leaving. Both men needed time to mourn before being questioned further. He would of course place both men under servailence. Gary didn't want one of them leaving town for any reason.

     Gary also needed some time. He needed to gather more evidence. He wanted to completely rule out an accidental installation of the fan.

     Detective Mills called Jacob, the owner of the house. The landlord had said he had hired licensed professionals to do any and all repairs to his houses. Gary wanted to get the names of these repairmen and make sure that the particular house never needed maintenance as Jacob had said.

     The detective also wanted to talk with the previous tenants to see if they had tried to do any self repairs. Jacob could hopefully give him this information.

     "Hello?" Jacob answered the phone.

     "Hey Jacob, this is Detective Mills. We spoke earlier today."

     "Hey. How can I help you?" The retired fireman sounded tired, so Gary didn't want to keep him on the phone to long.

     "I'm hoping you can get a few names for me."