The Wrong Instinct

Chapter Two: Ice Blue And I Despise You

COOPER AND ALEXA had spent more than two hours interrogating suspects and it got them nowhere. Steve Newman's life revolved mainly around studying, moving back and forth to meet his parents and spending time with his girlfriend and a close-knit group of friends. Everyone had nothing much to add about Steve's life. Alison was going through Steve's footprint but that, too, seemed like a deadend.

In the middle of interrogation with one of the people of interest, there was a knock on the interrogation door. A deputy peeped in and informed the detectives that there was a lead. The two of them stood up in sync and walked towards Alison who was staring closely at her laptop screen.

"Check this out..." Alison faced her laptop towards the two of them. The screen showed a camera footage at a high angle displaying a casino. A truck drove towards the entrance of the casino and Alison fast forwarded the video to a couple of minutes and resumed to normal speed when a man came into the angle and peeped into the window. It rolled down and a shabby image of Steve appeared. He stepped out of the car and handed an envelope to the man. The man then stepped into the car and drove off while Steve's back faced the camera and walked away two minutes after.

"Good work, Ali. Run his face and the number plate. We will go visit the casino."

"Can we make a quick stop for a second?" Cooper asked as they walked out.

"What for?"

"I forgot to feed my fish."

***

"Mr. Lorenz?" Alexa asked as they approached a strongly built man overlooking the casino. Mr. Lorenz tugged his suit and gave both the detectives a sharp look. "We're detectives Alexa Bailey and Jordan Cooper. South Acres P.D." They both slid their blazers to show their badges. "Have you seen this man before?" Cooper handed him a photograph of Steve Newman.

"No."

"Are you sure because he stopped outside your casino this week?"

"What happens outside is none of my business," he said in a gruff voice and continued to supervise the moderately filled casino.

"How about this man?" Alexa showed him the picture of the man that the facial recognition software had caught from the footage.

Mr. Lorenz saw the picture for less than a minute and nodded, his expressions unchanging. "Yeah. He is one of our regulars. Comes twice in a week and sometimes over the weekend. Hasn't shown up this week."

"Do you remember anything else about him?"

"Nothing except that he never plays big but does pretty good for himself. Orders the same drink every time. Always has a blonde chick beside him."

"Okay, thank you. If you remember anything else, here's my card."

As they walked out of the casino, Alexa glanced at him. "Did Alison find anything else about him? Van Burke?"

"No. Her shift's over and so is ours. It's past seven, Bailey. We should head home. I'm sure we both have paperwork from our previous cases. Should I drop you home?" He asked.

"Drop me at the station. I'll walk from there."

Thankfully, Cooper didn't push it. He muttered a response of agreement and silently drove the car. Alexa didn't lie when she said that she doesn't forgive easily but that never meant that she thought ill of Jordan. She has made mistakes and gone against the orders too but Jordan had risked her life in exchange for the life of someone she loves. If Alexa had made any wrong move, the bullet would've hit someone else entirely.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

"Van Burke," she muttered. "His name sounds familiar."

"Alison will share the details first thing in the morning." The car stopped and Alexa got down. Jordan whispered her goodnight and pulled the car onto the road again. She watched his car drive off and turned towards the station. She showed her badge to the desk in-charge and hurried towards her desk. She wouldn't get any peace of mind until she finds out why his name sounds so familiar. She must've encountered him at least once.

She opened her old case reports and ran his name through the software. After ten minutes of slow analysing, she had found a match. Five years ago, she had arrested a young man for accidentally killing his own parents in a car crash. He was drunk and disorganised. During the initial interrogation, he had blamed Van Burke—a leader of a local gang—for the crime but none of the evidence placed Burke at the crime scene or with a motive to kill. And before the case went for trial, Ty confessed and pleaded guilty.

The killer, Ty Archer, was sentenced to life imprisonment under the applicable charges. He was serving time at South Acres Holding Centre—which was not far from here. Alexa checked her watch. Assuming she gets no traffic, she should be back to watch the reruns of the football game and catch enough hours of sleep.

***

She was past the visiting hours but thankfully, one of the guards was an old friend. He helped her convince the warden to let her in. She logged her details and was taken by one of the officers towards Ty's cell. He was sitting on the floor with one leg near his chest and the other stretched out. His dark shabby hair was falling in front of his face, making it hard to see his expression. He held a book in his hand and his head followed the lines on the paper.

The guard's keys jangled as he opened the cell but Ty didn't look up.

Alexa walked inside and the guard locked at the cell again. "Hello Ty. Remember me?"

Ty looked up, his blue eyes adjusting the light from the hallway. He gazed at the woman. "Detective." He put a piece of paper on the page he was reading and closed the book. He ran a hand through his stubble and smiled smugly. "Didn't think I'd see you again."

"I need to ask you something."

"What's the rush, Bailey?" He stood up with his book and kept it on his bed. Ty was taller than she was and had an athlete built with tattoos along every inch of his arm yet Bailey's remained unmoved. Her eyes focused on Ty, observing his every move. From his physical features and his mannerisms, he could fool anyone. He looked more like a model than a murderer. "Let's catch up. Where have you been? How were your last five years?"

"Tell me about Van Burke."

Ty's smile disappeared in an instant. His deep blue eyes turned ice cool. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why did you blame him?"

"Why does it matter?" Ty turned around, making his bed even though it was already made. "I am here now, aren't I?"

"He is a suspect in an ongoing investigation." Alexa rolled her neck around, taking a step forward and facing him. "Lying won't get us anywhere, Ty. Provide me with some good information and you might get some perks here."

"Don't want anything. Life in prison is not so bad."

There was a change in tone again. He was back to his playful demeanour. She had to do something that would get her on his nerves. She didn't know much about him except for that he had killed his own parents. When she had first arrested him as a suspect, he was scared and lost. He was shaking and fumbled with his words. He couldn't look at his parents' pictures. Alexa surmised it was all an act but right now, she hoped it was real. That, despite momentarily, he felt some kind of guilt. Maybe that could help her right now.

"You killed your parents, Ty. The two people that loved you whole. Is this how you give them justice?"

"They are getting justice!" Ty spun to face her. His face was inches away from hers. His eyes turned into a darker shade of blue. His breath had turned ragged and his ears began to turn red. "I am being punished for their deaths. That's enough."

Alexa took a deep breath. "We're done here."

She called the guard and he let her out. She gave him a final look and was about to leave when he called her out. "Bailey," he whispered. Alexa met his eyes and for the first time since she had seen him five years ago, he had the same look on his face that he did when he had confessed to the murder—guilty. "If Van Burke is involved, it must involve a lot of money. He is a greedy man—he'd do anything for money. Even kill."

"I'll make sure you have more books to read for the next few weeks."

"Don't."