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"Tell me, Clide," Jake said, leaning in closer to the man. "Do you like hurting people? Do you enjoy the feeling of power that comes with it?"
Clide recoiled at the question, his face contorting in anger. "No! How could you say something like that?"
"Because I think you know more than you're letting on," Jake replied, his voice calm and measured. "And I'm not going to stop until you tell me everything."
Clide stared back at him, his eyes blazing with a mix of defiance and fear. Jake knew he was pushing the man to his limit, but he also knew that this was the only way to get the truth.
"I'm telling you, I don't know what you're talkin' about," Clide said. "I'm lonely out in the woods... but I don't kill people. I only was going at this one here because she threatened me."
"You approached her and scared her," Jake said. "You were threatening her."
Clide shook his head, his eyes pleading for understanding. "I didn't mean to scare her. I just wanted to talk to someone, you know? It's lonely out there... I didn't mean any harm."
"Then why were you out there, Clide?" Fiona chimed in, her voice strong and assertive. "What were you really doing in those woods?"
"Please," Clide begged, his hands trembling as they strained against the handcuffs. "I don't know anything about any murders. I'm innocent."
Jake leaned back in his chair, studying Clide's face for any telltale signs of guilt. The man seemed genuinely frightened, but was that fear masking something darker? Jake couldn't shake the feeling that Clide was hiding something.
"Clide, you claim you weren't planning on hurting Fiona," Jake said, his voice steady and authoritative. "But we've received multiple reports of a bearded man following and stalking women in those woods. Now, I'm not saying it was you, but...you fit the description."
Clide's eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously. "No, no! It wasn't me! I-I just like being out there. I wasn't going to hurt anyone, I swear!"
Jake sat back in his chair, watching Clide's frantic movements with a calculating eye. He could see the fear and desperation in the man's eyes, but there was something else there too. A darkness that made Jake's skin crawl.
"Listen, Clide," Jake said, his voice low and dangerous. "We know you've been lurking around those woods for weeks. We know you've been following women and making them feel uncomfortable. Were you aware that a woman died in those woods a couple of years ago?" Jake tapped the photo of Matilda, still out on the table. "This woman, Clide. She died. Are you sure you don't recognize her?"
"I-I swear, I don't know nothing about that woman," Clide stammered. "I--"
Just then, the door to the interrogation room swung open, revealing a sharply dressed man who strode in confidently. Jake tensed up--this guy had 'lawyer' written all over him. The sharply dressed man had on a crisp suit in a deep navy blue, with a white collared shirt and matching navy tie. His shoes were polished to a shine, and he held a briefcase in one hand. He had an air of authority around him and walked with a confident gait. His gaze was confident and calculating, and Jake tensed up as soon as the man stepped into the room.
"I'm sorry for the interruption," he announced, shooting Jake and Fiona a curt nod. "I'm Mark Jenson, Clide's brother and attorney. From this point forward, my client will not be answering any more questions without legal counsel present."
"Brother?" Jake raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden appearance of family in Clyde's life.
"Indeed," Mark confirmed, taking a seat next to Clide and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Mark glanced down at the photo of Matilda down at the table, but his face didn't change as he met Jake's eyes again. "Now, I understand you have some concerns about my brother's activities, but I assure you, he's not a danger to anyone."
Jake exchanged a tense look with Fiona. Mark was confident--too confident, and something about his cold, but firm demeanor struck Jake like lightning.
Jake kept his eyes fixed on the lawyer as he spoke, trying to read between the lines. There was something about the man's voice that made him uneasy, a thinly veiled threat that lingered just beneath the surface.
"I appreciate your concern, Mr. Jenson," Jake said, keeping his tone neutral. "But we have reason to believe that your brother may be involved in a serious crime. We need to ask him some questions and get to the bottom of this."
Mark's expression remained impassive, but Jake could see the gears turning in his mind. He was calculating his next move, trying to figure out how to protect his client from any potential harm.
"I understand your position, Agent," Mark said, his voice even. "But I must insist that my client's rights are respected. He will not answer any questions without my presence. Clide has some mental health issues and fancies himself a wilderness expert... that is why he lives in the woods."
"Fair enough," Jake muttered, "but that doesn't clear him of any wrongdoing."
"No?" Mark taunted. "Are you trying to pin him to a recent crime? Because I just brought him back to town yesterday--he had been visiting family with me out of town."
Jake's jaw tensed. If that were the case, and Clide was out of town with Mark--then that would make it so Clide wasn't even in town at the time of the most recent murders. Jake reminded himself that was who they were looking for--and that Matilda's death, strange as it was, had been ruled as an accident years ago.
"Can you verify this alibi?" Jake asked. "I'm going to need hard proof that Clide was out of town."
"Of course," Mark said smoothly, pulling out a thin folder from his briefcase. "I have his travel itinerary, as well as receipts from the hotel we stayed at. You'll see that we were out of town from the 10th to the 15th."
Jake took the folder and began rifling through the papers. Everything seemed to check out--Mark and Clide had indeed been out of town for the past week. Jake felt a wave of disappointment wash over him--if Clide really was innocent, then that meant they were back to square one in the investigation.
