Page 21 of Only Girl Alive

The interview went downhill from there. He stormed off after he answered the majority of her questions. The ones he didn’t answer were marked in her notes. He’d also told her he had sent her the subpoena for Bart’s phone and it would be in her email. This meant he wasn’t afraid of anything that would be on the phone.

Eve interviewed the three officers next. They’d all entered the home. Again, it was pulling teeth. They’d been trained to give her as little information as possible. Her questions were thorough and would land them in trouble if they lied. It was the best she could do until they were further into the investigation and she had more information. They each handed her a one-paragraph written report that was useless and left out all pertinent information. This was expected and didn’t raise red flags. Finally, something normal.

The chief had to wait an extra hour. He wasn’t happy when he sat down beside her. She would not apologize; it was the fault of his stubborn officers.

Jackson’s shortly cropped hair and stiff, large-going-on-fat body screamed lifetime cop. The shiny stars on his collar and immaculately pressed uniform added to her assumption. In his sixties, he and his family were lifelong polygamists. He was part of the problem and held a great deal of power.

“Chief Jackson, may I have your full name?” Eve knew the interview would be a disaster because the chief was friends with Eve’s polygamist stepfather, who now lived in Texas.

“Chief Manny Horise Jackson,” he said with little mouth movement.

Being questioned by a woman was an act against God. She’d had several cases in his jurisdiction but they hadn’t touched him or his department beyond glacial stares from his men. Aaron had mentioned the chief’s relationship with her stepfather as a side note to irritate her during one of those cases. It hadn’t worked like he’d hoped and she was using that information. She didn’t bother with more than a cursory kindness because it would bounce off this man’s brick-wall persona.

Eve slowly wrote the name in her notebook, dragging out the time he was in the vehicle with her. She finally looked up.

“Why did Howard Wall call you directly and not 911?”

He shrugged.

Eve lifted her recorder and spoke into it with a bland expression that matched her voice.

“Chief of Police Jackson shrugged his shoulders at my question.”

He tried staring her down while Eve put the recorder back in the middle console. She had no problem playing games if he insisted. His attitude was that of every man she dealt with in the community and she was not intimidated. She simply held eye contact, her expression unchanging.

“We sit on the same church council and we’re related, as is most of the community,” he replied at last.

“You know each other well?”

“Yes.” He folded his arms over his pooch belly.

Aaron had mentioned this man had ten wives. He was a rising star within the church. Not being able to have sex with them must be difficult. It was a snide thought and she used it to keep her defenses in place. She expected him to bring up her stepfather and she wanted to be ready.

If he knew Howard Wall, he more than likely knew Mr. Tanner. He would know why he only had two wives.

“Did you know Bart Tanner well?”

“No.”

“He’s part of the church—why wouldn’t you know him?”

“We had nothing in common.”

“But you know his brother?”

“Yes, I know Howard. I’ve already answered that question. Move on.”

“Do you have any idea who killed the Tanner family?” She hid the fact she was grinding her teeth and kept her tone level. It practically killed her. She could tell him she didn’t answer to him but like Aaron, he was trying to get under her skin. Just the fact he was sitting here being questioned by her got under his and she needed to be satisfied.

“Uh, no.” His small hesitation said a lot and it was Eve’s job to figure out what was behind it.

“Have there been rumors?”

“It happened yesterday,” he snapped with a look of disgust.

Eve knew what he thought about rumors, especially among women. They weren’t just frowned upon; women were not allowed friendships with other women outside their home because it was thought they gossiped too much and relationships needed to stay in the family. This was simply another way the men controlled their wives. His disgust wasn’t an act but the rest of his interview most likely was.

“Did the murders happen yesterday?”

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