The Wrong Instinct

Chapter Seven: Lies, Alibis and Still So Many Whys

THE SUN WAS about to rise in four hours when Alexa finally returned home. She locked her door behind her and slowly walked towards her bedroom. She re-checked if her gun was still in her nightstand and then began to strip down her clothes. She found her loose t-shirt crumpled up on the floor. She picked it up and slid it on her body. She plopped on her bed, the mattress quickly taking the shape of her form.

Her body was exhausted but she was wide awake. She stared at the blank ceiling as she waited for sleep to embrace her. Her room was filled with silence. She could hear the clock ticking from the living room. Occasionally, there was a rustle of a vehicle passing by the street.

She scooted further into the bed and pulled her duvet. It took about an hour for a deep slumber to catch her. The sleep was so heavy in her eyelids that she didn't even remember switching her alarm off. It was fifteen past ten when her phone rang. Rubbing her eyes, she picked the call up.

"Where the hell are you?" Cooper asked. "Lieutenant and captain want us to brief our progress with Newman's case in less than thirty minutes."

"What?"

"Oh, my God. Please tell me you're already on your way."

Alexa sat up quickly and checked the time. Her eyes widened as she stumbled out of her bed. "No, yes yes. I just stopped by at a cafe for breakfast. I'll be there soon."

"You're a shitty liar, Bailey. Hurry up."

Alexa didn't have time for a shower so she grabbed a new pair of clothes and got changed after brushing her teeth. She tied her hair in a quick ponytail and sprayed a lot of deo. She put on her gun and badge and rushed out of her apartment.

In fifteen minutes, she was walking up to Cooper with a mug of terrible office coffee in one hand and the case file in the second. Her eyes were puffy and face placid but she hoped she didn't look like she hadn't showered.

"Next time, shower," Cooper said as he turned around and led her towards Captain's cabin.

Alexa sniffed herself, "I don't smell bad."

"No," she could hear him smug. "I am just a damn good detective."

***

After the meeting was over, the two of them went towards the briefing room where Ali was already waiting for them. She switched the projector on and passed the remote to Alexa. "So I watched the clip of their fight," Alexa began as she played the clip slide to slide.. "And one of the people to break them up from getting physical is Burke. But look at this," she pointed at a girl in the corner of the frame. "Familiar?"

"Marsha?" Cooper furrowed his eyebrows. "She never mentioned this."

"We need to call her for questioning," Ali said.

"She is in the interrogation room right now. In the meanwhile, Ali, check if Marsha has any connection with Brad." Alexa picked up the manila folder from the desk and went towards the interrogation room along with Cooper trailing behind her. Marsh was sitting on the chair—her shoulders shrunk and face disappeared with any trace of colour.

"Detectives," she said as they sat down. "What happened? Did you find anything out?"

Alexa opened the folder and pulled out a picture of Brad and Steve fighting. "Why were they fighting, Marsha?"

She leaned forward, her fingers instinctively reached Steve's face. "I–I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were present when this happened." Alexa pulled out another photo where Marsha's face was in the frame. "Why didn't you mention this?"

Marsha burst into tears. "Brad won't kill Steve. No. He could never."

"It gives him a motive. I am guessing you know he is a part of a gang." She nodded. "What was your relationship like with Mr. Lucas?"

Marsha pressed her hand against her face, stopping her tears. She rested back on the chair. "He...a—" she sniffed. "I cheated on Steve with Brad, okay!" She yelled, pulling her hands down. "Steve found out and confronted Brad about it. And Brad said some things that...he provoked Steve. Steve is not a violent man but I don't know. He threw a punch at him and I—" She observed both of their faces. "I know what you must be thinking but I am not a bad person! Steve stopped spending time with me. He spent everyday in his stupid apartment, making or breaking some code. I asked him what he was doing, if he could spend time with me but no, he had some new freelance job. He said he would earn a lot if he impressed his boss. But I...I deserve someone who can't live a day without talking to me."

"Earn how much?" Copper questioned.

"I don't know. Twenty grand maybe. Yes. Definitely twenty grand."

Cooper and Alexa shared a look. "What else do you know about Brad?"

"Nothing. It was a one-night stand. I barely knew him. I saw the X tattoo on the back of his left hand and I knew he wouldn't care that I had a boyfriend."

"What about this guy?" He pointed at the photo where Van Burke was pulling Brad away from Steve.

"I don't know who that is but I once saw him leave Steve's apartment. When I asked him about it, he said that they were just settling the argument. I pressed but he refused to tell me more. Oh my God–" her eyes widened. "That's not the killer, is he?"

"We don't know yet but we will call you in more for questioning. You're free to go." They walked out of the interrogation room. "What's your theory?"

"All of them are connected. We need to bring both of them in and ask for their alibis but...again, we can't risk it with whoever Mr. X is. As Ty said, he could be a hitman and Mr. X wanted him dead. Plus this job. Something seems sketchy about it."

"I thought so too," he said. "I asked the secretary. Steve had to pay ten grand which he did two days before he got killed. He still has another ten grand lying around. Probably in cash because his financial records showed zero transfers or deposits." Cooper folded his arms over his chest. "We should visit the crime scene again to check. I don't trust the techs. We don't have enough manpower—they won't do a thorough sweep."

"Alright. Let's go."