“I’d appreciate that, ma’am. But I’d like to say something first, if that’s alright with you?”
“Of course.” She holds out her hand, inviting him to talk.
He steels himself, sucking in a deep breath. “Maddox is one of the best people I’ve met. He’s a good friend, a good man, and a good soldier. He listens to his team, takes on board opinions, and steers us all in the right direction. He is moving up the ranks, one of the youngest to reach where he has, and I know that pissed some people off. But I can categorically tell you, there is no way, not a chance in goddamn hell that Connor Maddox did this. Pardon my language, ma’am.”
He blows out a breath, and his shoulders slump a fraction. His uniform is immaculate, his belt buckle polished as if he’d taken extra care to make a good impression today. His speech, littered with the same sentiments the other four men had expressed, with one key difference. I’msure Katie has already picked up on it because her tongue swipes across her lower lip as she shifts in her chair. Interviews, I’ve learned from her, are about timing. Asking the right question at the right time.
“Thank you. Your loyalty to your friend is shared by the others that we’ve spoken to today.”
“So you believe us? Maddox would never do this.”
“The police are still exploring every avenue, and Dr. Jones and I are still investigating our findings as well.”
He leans in, holding eye contact with Katie as he nods, as if she’s told him something irrefutable.
“You mentioned that not everyone was happy about Connor’s success. Can you tell me who?”
He withdraws, glancing toward me awkwardly.
“We do report to the police, but interviews such as these are used as supporting evidence to our assessment of Connor.” I intentionally use Maddox’s first name. “The person you’re referring to won’t find out you’ve spoken about them.”
The muscle in his jaw twitches. “I can’t tell you his name. I don’t want to risk it. But he was there that night when we were out celebrating Jarred’s birthday. You know it was more than just the six of us, right?”
“We’re aware there were some older soldiers out that night in Skallywags. But we’re not aware of their names,” I lie. I want to see if Disney will be honest with us and if his answers match up to what Connor told us at the prison. “Why are you afraid?”
“I’m not afraid,” he scoffs, flinching at the accusation.
“Okay, so why are youapprehensiveabout telling us?” I ask, knowing I need to pull back a little.
“They’re weird. The way they behave is . . . odd.”
“How so?” Katie joins in.
He shakes his head again as he looks out the window. “There’s something not right about them. They...they scare people.”
“People like you and your friends?”
He shrugs as if it bothers him to admit he’s scared of a colleague. But it’s not unheard of. There are plenty of people in the armed forces who seemingly snuck through the cracks of the rigid assessment process in basic training.
“They found out that Connor got promoted. Which is crazy in itself, because no one knew. It was a top-secret thing, and Connor swore us to secrecy. I don’t even know how they found out.”
I swallow the anticipation building in my throat. A few more words of encouragement, and this guy is going to spill his guts.
“And they weren’t happy about it?”
“They were furious. Kept saying that Connorhad been fast-tracked because he had an in with one of the higher-ups. Which, no offense to Connor, is total bullshit. The guy is from butt-fuck nowhere Ohio. The guy doesn’t know anyone here except for his girlfriend, who he spent all his free time with.
“Can you give us a name?”
“Yeah, it's...” The sound of a fire alarm tearing through the office interrupts us as both Disney and I jump to our feet. Thick black smoke billows out from the Roosevelt building. First responders are already trying to tackle the blaze.
Katie watches out the window. We’re safe in this building, nowhere near the flames, but I still reach for her instinctively.
“We should head outside,” I say, indicating for Katie to collect her things.
“Permission to leave and assist, sir?” the young soldier asks, his shoulders pushed back, standing at attention.
“Granted. We’ll finish this later.”
