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“Nothing, really. She was a beautiful girl. Had long dark hair and a striking face. She was charming and stood by my side for three and a half hours.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“I, um…”
All I did was give a look at his attorney. She immediately gave him the standard speech that he had to be completely cooperative or there was no deal. She said no one cared about his personal life.
Finally, Sloan looked at me and said, “I tried to negotiate a price to sleep with her, but she claimed she never did that. I’m not sure I believed her.”
He told us a few more things he’d learned, but all I could do was sigh. We didn’t seem much closer to solving this case.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I barely noticed Thomas Sloan start to cry.
Terri snapped, “What are you crying about?” She sounded like a mother who’d broken up too many fights between siblings.
Sloan shook his head and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just everything catching up to me.”
Terri didn’t hesitate. “You mean like stabbing people with syringes? You brought all this on yourself. Crying is for when you’re sad, not for when you’re just stupid.”
I thought that was a good place to end the interview.
Chapter84
THOMAS SLOAN HADgiven us three more names as part of his cooperation agreement. They were all fathers of students from the Wolfson Academy who had used The Girlfriend Experience. Walter Jackson worked on backgrounds for everyone. I was surprised to see one of the fathers from the Wolfson Academy, Charles Tassick, had a conviction for dealing cocaine from more than twenty years ago. Maybe that’s how he made enough money to get his son into the academy and to blow on The Girlfriend Experience.
I was gun-shy. I’d been wrong on this case too many times, and I didn’t want it to happen again. I wanted to learn as much as I could about each suspect quietly. That’s why I’d arranged to meet Michelle Finnegan, the secretary at the Wolfson Academy, at a McDonald’s on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and 139th Street.
McDonald’s could be a cop’s best friend. An office when needed. A quick meal if necessary. Whether with a witness, informant, or suspect, a McDonald’s is the right place to meet. The coffee is actually quite good. And no one bothers you if you’re sitting at a corner table in a McDonald’s.
Michelle Finnegan was already waiting for me as I walked into the McDonald’s. After I sat down with a couple of coffees, we chatted for a minute, then I showed her the names Sloan had given me. I appreciated how she studied the list so carefully instead of just giving me a quick answer.
I didn’t want to seem like an officious jerk, even if I was anxious to move on to questions related to my investigation. People say patience can’t be learned, but I’ve developed my patient streak over many years of hard work.
Michelle said, “I know the names, but I’ve never interacted with any of them. Though I think everyone on this list has a son on the football team.”
That eased me into my next line of questioning. I said, “How well do you know the football coach, Perry Martin?”
Her eyes darted up to meet mine. “He’s not calling that crazy phone line too, is he?”
I don’t like to give out information on a case no matter who I’m talking to. All I said was “I like to be thorough. He knows all these men personally. I only met the coach once, briefly. What do you think of him?”
Michelle smiled and said, “He is a genuinely nice man. And his wife is a sweetheart. They have two darling little blond kids. I think the boy is five and the girl is three.”
“Do you have any idea how much Coach Martin is paid?”
Michelle shrugged. “Even though the tuition is outrageous and we receive several donations from families, they don’t tend to pay employees that much. I like it because they work around my schedule. I can’t imagine the coach makes much more than me.”
As I made a note of that, Michelle said, “I’m not sure it means anything, but I know Coach Martin has been trying to get an assistant’s job in college football.”
“Really? Which school?”
“He applied to Syracuse and the University at Buffalo. I think it would be good for his family.”
We finished up and I was closing my notebook, getting ready to leave.
Michelle said, “I know it’s not any of my business, but I’m curious. Does this mean Jaden Banning isn’t a suspect anymore? I heard he’s being moved to a drug rehab facility. I never thought he was dangerous. Just confused and troubled.”
“Confused and troubled can often lead to violence. But I don’t think Jaden has anything to do with what I’m investigating. He was in the hospital at the beginning of the month and has an alibi.”
