Page 103 of In Cold Blood

“Yep.”

“I wonder how his wife will take to him hooking up with another woman?”

“Not well, but probably better than hearing it was a man.”

Her mouth widened. She stifled a chuckle. “Are you serious?”

“I wish I wasn’t. Seems that’s where he was on the night Luke was murdered. At least that’s his alibi. I’m sure we’ll be able to confirm that with the motel, their surveillance videos, and calling this number,” he said, taking out his phone and bringing up the one he’d gotten from Jack.

Callie leaned forward to see the name, Bob.

“The secrets people hide,” she said.

26

The public’s view of the police was widely inaccurate. Of course, they had TV crime shows to thank for that. Forensics were turned around within hours, and cases were solved within days all while sipping lattes and prancing around a city sporting bronzed skin.

The truth was far from it.

It was a laborious, frustrating, and at times a thankless path.

Two steps forward and five back were the norm.

The truth was more mundane than imagined with investigative work relying heavily on the help of the public and the expertise of those in other cities.

It took a village to solve a crime.

Pats on the back — though unnecessary — only came from a fraction of society and even then, it was short-lived. Media snapped up the negatives and ran with headlines that could get clicks, sell newspapers and get people talking.Couldn’t it have been solved faster? How did they overlook key evidence? Why did it take a change of investigators to bring closure? Why can’t they release information? What are they hiding?The questions were as endless as the wave of critics.

No one wanted closure on a case more than law enforcement.

When people thought the cops were sitting on evidence and doing nothing or had no leads, they didn’t see what was happening behind the curtain. An exhaustive amount of time went into an investigation. Lots of waiting on different agencies, calling phone companies to request records, trying to gather enough evidence to obtain warrants, and beating on doors so they could tie it all together. The way forward wasn’t linear, it was a chaotic journey of retreading the same path, re-interviewing suspects, poring over videos and statements, and examining the tiniest scraps of evidence.

Hours upon hours were logged and even then, a case could go cold.

However, not everything was drawn out. Confirming Jack Grayson’s alibi was a three-step process that took up the majority of the afternoon. The two of them returned to the motel and had them pull the records of those who stayed on the night in question. While Jack had paid in cash to avoid questions from his wife, they had his signature and a video corroborating his arrival, payment, and meeting with Bob.

The two were captured on an outside camera entering a room.

Jack didn’t leave until the early hours of the morning.

A secondary call made by Callie to Gloria Grayson added credibility to Jack’s alibi with her comment that he had “worked late” that evening. She’d said it was something he did frequently, especially when he was nose-deep involved in a case or supposed to be in court on a Monday.

Gloria had no idea. She was oblivious to it all. But the question piqued her curiosity and she couldn’t help but ask what it was concerning. Callie was tactful, saying that it was just procedure. Nothing to worry about. They were checking off peopleassociated with Luke. She never mentioned Bob at the request of Noah. He’d opted to give Jack time to come clean himself. It wasn’t out of respect for him but for Lena. Deep down he believed that Jack would either come clean or it would give him the nudge to call it quits and embark on the life he’d kept in the closet. After all, his nephew and niece had been witnesses. He expected a confession about his personal life within a matter of days.

Callie followed up with a call to Bob. They came to learn he was a regular guy working construction out of Saranac. He’d met Jack through a gay dating app and had been seeing him off and on for the better part of two years. He’d known that he was married but because of loneliness had never pushed the issue.

“We may require you to come into the office and give an official statement,” Callie said. “Uh-huh. Right. Thank you.”

Noah ran a hand around Axel as he sat at heel. The dog had really taken to him in a short amount of time. He could see how handlers bonded. Noah reached into the Bronco and checked the charge on his phone. It was back up to full again.

Callie hung up and looked out across the motel lot.

“Seems his story adds up,” she said. “They fell asleep together after having intercourse.”

“TMI.”

“Sorry?”