Page 12 of Whispers Left Behind

“Come on, Bass. Take a seat.”

The man standing beside him pulled out a chair. It didn’t take more than the touch of a hand for him to basically collapse in the seat. The two men had similar square features and dark brown eyes, so she wasn’t surprised by the connection when it was verbally confirmed with another handshake.

“Jack Hanson,” he introduced before pulling out the second chair. “Sebastian’s brother.”

Alex strolled over to the coffee station. The two of them had an unspoken rule when entering an interview room. When the individual in question focused and appeared at ease with oneof them, that person took the lead. In this particular case, Sebastian had heard Kinsley’s name from his mother-in-law. It was understandable that he would subconsciously address her, seeking answers.

“May we get you some coffee?” Kinsley settled in the chair across from them. Sebastian covered his face with his hands in an effort to compose himself. “Water, perhaps?”

“No,” Sebastian replied curtly, dropping his hands until his knuckles hit the table. “All I want is for you to tell me you made an arrest.”

“Bass, you should have some coffee,” Jack intervened before demonstratively patting his brother on the back. “It’s been a long night, and we need to get back to Louise’s house after this.”

Kinsley made the compassionate decision to give Sebastian the time to process his emotions. The weight of grief for a loved one’s passing was all-consuming, and it was obvious from his body language that he was well past the denial stage.

The man was angry, and he wanted answers.

Alex delivered the first two mugs to Sebastian and Jack before returning to the coffee station. It wasn’t long before a mug was set in front of her, the rich aroma of the dark beverage filling the space. Anything was better than being constantly accosted by the rancid odor of Haugen’s breakfast.

The chair’s legs scraped against the tiled floor as Alex pulled out his seat. He didn’t bother to edge closer to the table but, instead, remained far enough away that he was able to rest his elbows on his knees. He held the steaming mug in his hands as he waited for Kinsley to set the tone.

“Mr. Hanson, do you know of anyone who would want to hurt your wife?”

“No one would want to hurt Rachel," Sebastian replied, his voice thick with emotion. He dropped his gaze to his coffee. “She was...beautiful. Sweet. Generous. Kind.”

Sebastian used the back of his hand to wipe his nose.

“A month ago, Rachel brought traffic to a halt over on Third Avenue for a turtle. She was on her way to work, and she braked so hard that the car behind her didn’t have a chance to stop. She literally got out of her car and picked up the turtle, all the while some guy was screaming at her. She carried it across to the pond behind the auto dealership. She always did the right thing, regardless of how it looked to other people.”

“Did Rachel have any plans on Wednesday evening? I know that you were out of town in Bismarck for business, but maybe she mentioned needing to go somewhere later that night?” Kinsley had deliberately inserted his business trip into her inquiry. It wouldn’t do to have him go on the defensive so early in the interview process. “The location where we discovered your wife’s car was on one of the backroads toward Halliday.”

“I spoke to Rachel around six o’clock on Wednesday night.” Sebastian might not have caught on to Kinsley’s tactic, but his brother certainly had if the narrowing of his eyes was anything to go by. “She said that she was going to make herself something for dinner, stream a movie, and then turn in early. The finance department at the dealership had a conference call scheduled with their headquarters in Detroit at eight o’clock the next morning regarding some software update.”

“Do the two of you usually talk every day when you’re out of town on business?”

“Always.”

“Did it strike you as odd, then? Not hearing from her at all yesterday?”

“I don’t know where this is going, but—”

“Jack, it’s fine,” Sebastian interjected, never once taking his focus off Kinsley. “Yes. Look at her phone records. I called my wife back on Wednesday night to say goodnight. It was a little after eleven. She didn’t answer, and I assumed that she wasasleep. As for yesterday, I was in meetings all day, with an important group dinner scheduled at six o’clock. I left multiple messages. I assumed that she was busy at work. I didn’t…”

“You couldn’t have known, Bass.” Jack attempted to ease his brother’s guilt, but he wasn’t even remotely successful in that endeavor.

“I spoke with Tobias this morning. He swears that Rachel didn’t drive out to see him Wednesday night. So, whatever or whoever got my wife on that road is the person who killed her.” Sebastian zeroed in on Kinsley as he began to pepper her with questions. “Did you find her cell phone? Can you trace the call? Maybe find out if someone lured her out to the country? What about street cameras? There might not be any on those backroads, but there are some on the path from our house to the turnoff she usually takes to drive up to Halliday. If she was on her way to the farm, and she didn’t make it to—”

“Your wife appeared to be driving toward home when she was run off the road, Mr. Hanson.”

Kinsley hadn’t been going to offer up any such details in the case thus far, but there were times it benefited from following the respondent’s lead. What she didn’t mention were the several warrants submitted for approval to search his residence, vehicles, and property.

“Can we just cut to the chase?” Jack turned his attention to Alex, who had straightened in his chair. “All anyone can talk about on the news is the Fallbrook Killer. Did Gantz come back to town? Or was he never the guilty party? If Calvin Gantz didn’t murder those two women last year, that means you let whoever it was slip through your fingers. Now Rachel is dead.”

Sebastian pressed a fist to his mouth in response to his brother’s statement.

“We did not—”

“We’re aware of this morning’s headlines, Mr. Hanson,” Alex said, cutting Kinsley off before she spoke out of turn. She took the reprieve to redirect her anger. “While we can’t speak to the specifics of last year’s investigation, there is evidence not consistent with those murders. We don’t believe the cases are related in any way.”

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