Page 67 of Killer Clone

“At first, he asked about the investigation into Otto in a sort of general way. He was wondering if I’d heard anything, had I spoken to the police, that sort of thing. I have to say, it made me feel a little uncomfortable. But I answered him. Then, right before he left, he asked if I’d spoken to a female agent with long dark hair and a tanned complexion, and a tall, buff male agent with short wavy brown hair.” He gestured to them both. “And here you both are. It’s remarkable.”

“But what did you say to him?”

He looked at Stella. “I’d never met you before.” Then he nodded at Hagen. “But I did tell him I’d spoken to a male agent who matched that description.”

“So what happened then?”

“Nothing. He left right after that. The whole interaction took five minutes. Maybe less.”

Hagen finished scratching out a note. “Can you give us a description of the young man?”

Murray looked up, as if pulling his image to mind. “He was a white guy. And young. I’d say late teens or early twenties. Not quite as tall as you, but almost. Maybe six-foot? Athletic build.He was wearing these dirty clothes. A black hoodie. Jeans, I think. Short brown hair.”

“What about any distinguishing characteristics? Did he have a tattoo or scars or something like that?”

Murray shook his head. “No tattoos. At least, I couldn’t see them if he did. I didn’t see any scars either. Basically, he was a pleasant looking guy, if a little plain. And there was something almost charming about him. He looked down on his luck, though.”

“Did you see where he went? Or what kind of vehicle he was driving?”

Once again, Murray shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t go outside with him, so I have no idea if he walked, ran, or used a pogo stick. There was one more thing, actually, though. It also made me uncomfortable. Right before he left, he asked me what time I got off work. I told him five. He seemed upset by this. Then he left.”

Hagen finished writing and placed the notebook in his pocket. “Thank you for that. Just before we go, do you have any security cameras? Any sort of surveillance?”

“No, I’ve never seen the point. But maybe I’ll invest now.”

Stella took out her business card and handed it to the mortician. “Might be a good idea. If you see him again, please call us immediately. We’re going to get someone to escort you home tonight.”

They left, with Hagen placing a call to local MNPD for that escort.

When he hung up, they were barely out of the building before Stella grabbed Hagen’s upper arm, stopping him. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Hagen smiled. “I think we just got a description of Marrion and Walker’s mysterious friend Trevor.”

“Me too.” She took her phone out of her pocket and called Mac. After filling her in on the new development, Stella continued. “I need you to check an alibi for me. Chris Murray. Says he was at the National Funeral Directors Association Convention in Columbus, Ohio the night of Patrick Marrion’s death. He stayed at a Radisson hotel right next to it, I’m assuming. Can you look into that?”

“Should Anja call the hotel?”

“No. But it’s not all that far of a drive from Nashville. He could’ve checked in, come back, killed Patrick Marrion, and been back in time to check out again. I want to know if he was there. Track his car.”

“Right. It’ll take a few minutes. Let you know when I’m done.”

They were down the front steps by the time Stella hung up. Hagen sat at one end of the steps that led to the funeral home.

“We should wait. If he’s lying, we’ll take him in now.”

Stella took a seat next to him. The stone step was cold through her pants, and her breath hung in the air. But being outside in the cold was better than being inside the funeral home.

“You don’t think he’s lying, do you?”

“No.”

“He is kinda creepy.”

“He’s a mortician. We expect him to be creepy, so we see him as creepy. If he was a florist, we’d put his slow, mournful ways down to idiosyncrasy.”

“No, we’d think he was a weirdo.”

“Yes, like everyone else we meet.” Hagen smiled slightly.

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