Heartless Love

Chapter Four

The minute Tamara arrives back at the station the following morning, she pulls out the investigation board. "Here is the final box of crime scene evidence and files from Sam Thorton's case," Alyce states with a heavy exhale. Suddenly Bryce enters the room and says, "Alyce, don't tell me you've been skipping out on the gym too." Alyce shakes her head with a slight laugh, before leaving the room. Bryce turns to face Tamara and realizes that she is focused on reading something. He walks behind her seat and reads the paper over her shoulder. "So, I'm guessing we are visiting Sam Thorton's neighbor today," Bryce says in a questionable tone. Tamara rests the fingers of her left hand on her forehead as she responds, "No, she can't give us any information we don't already know. Instead, we are going to visit Tony Bellows." Bryce takes a sip of his coffee, before asking, "The man who last spoke to Sam Thorton...right?" Tamara only hums in response as she stands up from her seat and walks over to the box that is labeled Victim #2: Items. The minute she opens the box, her freezes. "Bryce. Did someone mix up the items from Barlowe's box and put them into this one?", Tamara asks. Bryce's eyebrows furrow as he replies, "No? I highly doubt that would have happened." Tamara twitches her right eyebrow as she pulls out a flask that looks exactly like the one Frank Barlowe had. "Well, it's definitely the same brand of flask," Bryce says as he inspects the flask. "We need to go and talk to Tony Bellows," Tamara states. With that, she heads out of the room.

When they arrive at Tony Bellows' home, Bryce tells Tamara, "Let me ask most of the questions this time Lewis." Tamara decides to not argue with him, and just continues to walk to the front door. Bryce places two hard knocks on the door. After a while, the door opens to reveal a little girl. Tamara and Bryce look at each other with slight confusion. "Hello," the little girl says. Tamara softens her facial expression and bends down to the girl's height. "Hello dear. Are you here by yourself?", Tamara asks in a soft tone. The girl shakes her head and answers, "My dad is here too." "Can you get your dad for us?" Tamara requests. The nods her head, before turning around and running down the hall. Tamara stands up and straightens her pants. "Well, her dad has clearly never taught her to not open the door up for strangers," Tamara states, while avoiding eye contact with Bryce. "Don't worry Lewis, I won't tell anyone that you actually have a heart," Bryce remarks with a grin. Before Tamara can reply to his remark, a man comes walking down the hallway of the house. He's an average guy, with only his tallness to set him apart from other men. He is dressed in blue jeans and a white button up. As he gets closer to Tamara and Bryce, he pushes his glasses back up over the bridge of his nose. "Good morning. Sorry about my daughter; we are still trying to teach her the importance of not opening up the door for strangers," he says with an embarrassed snicker. Bryce smiles slightly as he looks over at Tamara. She ignores him and tells the man, "My name is Detective Lewis, and this is Detective Gates. We came to speak with a Mr. Tony Bellows." The man looks between Tamara and Bryce, before responding, "I'm Tony Bellows. I'm guessing this has to do with Sam's murder." "Yes sir, it does. Do you mind if we talk about it inside?", Bryce asks. Tony opens the door wider and motions for the two to come in. Tamara examines the layout of the house as she makes her way to the living room. She and Bryce take a seat on the couch, while Tony sits down of the chair opposite of them. He taps a hand on his leg, before asking, "So detectives, what do you want to know?" Bryce asks the first question, "What did you and Mr. Thorton talk about on the day if his murder?" Tony twitches his eyebrows and thinks for a moment before answering, "He called to tell me that he needed somewhere to lay low for a while. I asked him why. He just kept on saying that someone messed up and they were all being punished for it." "Did he ever say who the person was?", Tamara inquires. Tony shakes his head. "Last question Mr. Bellows, did Mr. Thorton ever tell you anything even remotely related to or about his work?", Bryce asks. Tony looks at the floor in thought, then his eyes flash up to Bryce's. "Actually yes. It seemed unimportant, until now. A month before he was murdered, Sam told me that if an investment deal he was working on went through, he would be free for life and could finally retire," Tony says.

As Bryce and Tamara get back into the car, Bryce asks rhetorically, "What do you think Sam Thorton was investing in that would have gotten him killed?" "I don't know. However, I don't think the investment has anything to do with why he was murdered," Tamara replies. Bryce questions her statement, "What makes you think that?" "Because he said that he and everyone else was being punished for someone else's mistake. If it was his investment deal, then he would have been the one to be murdered first," Tamara says. "Well, let's head back to the station and continue to try and piece together this puzzle," Bryce states as he starts up the car and pulls out of Tony's parking lot and onto the main road.