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"Her house?" He narrowed his eyes. "Yes, my running route goes past her house. She lives near one of the trail heads by the lake. But I didn't see her there. I mean, I didn't even think of that till now."
"Did you speak or communicate with anyone during the day?" May then asked.
"I messaged the football training group, making sure they knew about the change in the training time. And then in the late afternoon, I chatted with a few students online. I went to the grocery store, but that was later. At about six p.m. Picked up some food, had an early dinner, and turned in. Then much later in the evening, I got a message from the principal, saying that there had been a second student killed and that we were going to have a staff meeting at eight a.m. to discuss this serious issue. So I moved the morning training forward so it would be finished by then."
Again, the alibi was all but nonexistent. Clearly, not a single person could account for Coach Adamson's time that day.
May was satisfied he would have had the opportunity to murder both girls, and in fact had been in the local area when both had died.
So from that standpoint, their case was looking strong.
Now, she wanted to explore the reasons for his extreme reaction when he'd seen the officers come after him at training earlier.
"When we approached you at the training ground, you reacted violently. You attempted assault. You fled the scene. And you ended up in your office wielding a firearm. Why?"
Adamson hung his head.
"I - I thought you had probably found out about my past. You know, it occurred to me last night, that with these murders, they'd be looking into people's backgrounds and you might discover what I'd done. I never thought you would think I was the killer!" He stared at her, agonized and innocent-looking. "I thought you'd just come to arrest me for impersonating someone when I had a record."
"That was a very extreme reaction, given that we said we wanted to speak to you in connection with the murders."
"I was worried!"
"So you reacted by running away and ending up brandishing a firearm?"
"I panicked!" Adamson's voice was rising. "Where the hell else was I supposed to go?"
"You didn't think of just cooperating?"
"I know it was a stupid thing to do. I wanted to hide. I didn't know what to do.I'd done something terrible. I was ashamed."
He was practically crying again.
"And the firearm?"
"I - I'd gotten it a while ago, just for self-defense. I'm not violent. I do carry it with me to school. I keep it locked away in the locker, not on my person."
Now it was time for the most critical part of the questioning.
"Those photos of the girls in your car. When did you take them? Why did you print them out? Why those two girls?"
He stared at her.
"Photos? What are you talking about?"
"I am talking about this."
May showed him the shots she'd taken of the incriminating evidence. She hoped that this would crack right through his denial.
But instead, the coach turned pale.
"I didn't take those. I know nothing about them!" he said. "Did you plant those there? Are you trying to frame me for this?" He was breathing hard. "I refuse to answer any more questions. This is a setup. I want my lawyer. I need to call my lawyer. Now!"
May stood up.
This was a stumbling block, but it could hopefully be overcome. After all, Owen had just been going through the man's media, and she was sure that this would have included the image files. With any luck, they could get past this denial and then move forward with the questioning by showing him evidence to contradict what he was saying.
“I’m going to step outside for a few minutes. You need to calm down, Mr. Adamson. Calm down and think about your answers.”
