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‘You seem to harbor a lot of resentment towards them,’ Ella probed. ‘Resentment that could potentially motivate someone to take extreme actions.’
Holt's lips curled up. ‘Resentment? Maybe. But let's be clear, Detective. I've built a life far removed from those high school dramas. Why would I jeopardize everything I've worked for to settle scores from decades ago?’
‘Really?’ Ripley asked. ‘What about that message you sent to James Gorton last night?’
Holt slapped his knee. ‘Y’all caught that, huh?’
‘Yes we did, and guess who showed up dead barely an hour later?’
Holt’s mouth fell wide open, slowly morphing into an ear-to-ear grin. ‘You’re kidding? Gorton is dead?’
‘Murdered, to be more precise.’
Holt threw his head back and cackled. ‘Well, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I made twenty million dollars last year.’ He shrugged and said, ‘I guess karma bites everyone in the ass eventually, right?’
Ella was barely able to comprehend the words out of the man’s mouth. She guessed he wasn’t familiar with the notion of remorse – or social etiquette.
‘Elation over someone's murder is a curious reaction, Mr. Holt. It certainly doesn't help alleviate our suspicions.’
Ripley leaned in, her tone hardening. ‘Your message to him and this reaction don't exactly paint you in a good light. Why did you message him in the first place?’
'Look,' Holt said, his smile never wavering, 'I just wanted to put a little fear up Gorton's ass. I read about the murders in the news, and I put the pieces together myself. If anything, you could say I was doing him a favor. I was warning him – and rightly so.'
Ella's skepticism remained intact, despite Holt's explanation. ‘Mr. Holt. Even if you didn't commit the murders, inciting fear and enjoying the news of someone's death is concerning behavior.’
‘I'm a businessman, Detectives, not a saint. I've had to be tough to get where I am today. I don't have to be likable, just effective. And trust me, their little circle bullied a lot of people. If they got wind you were a virgin or a Warhammer nerd, you could expect a beatdown in the hallways every day of the week.’
Ella pushed thoughts of her old high school days to one side. ‘We’re going to need the names of anyone you remember from high school. Other members of this clique and the people they picked on.’
Holt went silent then examined his fingernails. ‘You ladies know a good manicure place around here?’
‘Don’t dodge the question,’ Ripley shouted. ‘This isn’t some high school drama, this is real life.’
Holt threw his hands up in surrender and said, ‘Alright, alright. Keep your badge on. What do you want to know?’
‘Friends, enemies, acquaintances, everything.’
‘Well, it depends on the timing. The core was Mark, Miles and James, but they had a rotating cast of girlfriends. So, it depends what year we’re talking about.’
Ella and Ripley exchanged a look that said the same thing. ‘We don’t know, so you’ll just have to give us every name you remember.’
'Well, clique-wise, there was Laura Benson and Tilly Michaels, but that was early in high school. As for their victims, there was Simon Fraser, he was into robotics; Jason White, a theater kid; and a few others whose names escape me now.'
Ella prepared the question that had been on her lips since the beginning. ‘Mr. Holt, were there any kids in your school who particularly liked… puzzles? Or riddles?’
Holt’s face turned pale white.
‘Puzzles?’
Ella read the man’s expression. There was something there.
‘Yes. Puzzles.’
‘Like… ciphers?’
Ella willed him to continue. Her silence did the talking. Holt wrapped one hand around both temples, his arrogant demeanor vanishing into the void.
‘Man, I never thought about that.’
