Early Wednesday morning, I arrived at the precinct and found some new information waiting for me. I laid everything out and started to connect the dots as I could. Two new facts had been uncovered, and they pointed fingers at different people. Ms. Web had a history of alleged violence but had been acquitted every time. In the first case from some years ago, she was accused of murdering Robert News Mann. The prosecutor alleged that Ms. Web killed Mr. Mann over competing interests. The case was mainly circumstantial and hinged on discredited eyewitness testimony. The jury found her to be a sympathetic defendant and voted for acquittal in less than twenty minutes.
A second charge of attempted murder came just last year. Ms. Web was accused of trying to kill Telly Fone. The case against her that time was far more solid, and the star witness in that case was Mr. Fone's younger sister, Celia Fone. With an exhaustive body of evidence, the prosecutor executed a brilliant case that was ultimately upended by a technicality. As the trial neared its end, a defense rebuttal witness brought some unsavory police tactics to light and Ms. Fone's testimony, along with a substantial portion of the evidence, was thrown out. Given the remaining poor state of the prosecution's case, the judge was forced to dismiss all charges without prejudice. So far, no further charges had been brought up against Ms. Web in connection with Mr. Fone's attempted murder.
The key element to both crimes was the M.O. of the killer: poison. Both men had received lethal doses of a poison that caused a slow and steady death. Mr. Fone had miraculously survived, and none of his doctors could provide any explanations. In each case, Ms. Web's motive was vague and hard to pin down, a fact that contributed to her acquittal in the former. She definitely deserved a closer look.
The second bit of news came from the Crime Scene Unit. They had discovered a cache of deleted emails that Mr. Book never sent on his computer. One of them was a letter to Mr. Reader that confessed knowledge of Mr. Reader's "business plans" with Peter. Mr. Book was very upset with the development and threatened to "destroy" the plans. There was no evidence that any such email had ever been sent to Mr. Reader, but if one had (and the subject matter were true), he would have a convincing motive in the murder of Mr. Book.
There now appeared to be three main suspects . Peter, Ms. Web, and Mr. Reader. Peter's involvement in the whole affair was still a bit of a mystery, but he seemed to be entangled with so many of the other people connected to the case. With the new information, Ms. Web and Mr. Reader moved to the top of the list. There were three questions that I needed to find satisfactory answers to. One, why did Allison stop being so forthcoming? Was it because she was upset with Mr. Book's hope for her to go back to Peter? Or did it have to do with something about Mr. Book's life's work. It's also possible that she was just caught off-guard when I uncovered her lie.
Two, what was the relationship between Mr. Book and Peter? According to Allison, they've been friends for a long time and were like brothers. Was Peter blackmailing him? He certainly had something over the old man. Something that made Mr. Book accuse Mr. Reader of betrayal, a young man whom he considered to be like a son.
Finally, what were Peter and Mr. Reader planning? Mr. Reader all but stopped talking when Peter's name came up in the interview, and the detective guessed that Mr. Reader felt as if a secret had been exposed. Even Mr. Book was taken completely by surprise when he learned that the two men had been conspiring together. I had a hunch that Mr. Tek was somehow involved but was trying to downplay whatever role he held. Peter certainly was the common thread in this circle of Mr. Book's social life. A thread that was either harmlessly (maybe unluckily) woven into the fabric or skillfully needled into a vulnerable seam in the pattern.
I received word that Peter had been tracked down and volunteered to come to the station for an interview. Ms. Web, Mr. Reader, and Allison had also been informed that some follow up questions needed to be asked, and all four of them would be in that morning. I wondered which interview would become an interrogation.
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