Chapter 40: Ralphie Pearce X

42 hours later.

Levi sat behind the two-way mirror, leaning against the back of the steel chair. His legs stretched in front of him whilst drinking a cup of Earl Grey tea.

Levi watched their suspect Natan Watts inside the interrogation room, his hands cuffed to the table. It was only four hours ago when the two CIA agents served him the arrest warrant inside his little cell in Chesapeake Police Department, this time with no chance to post bail for the cold case of Selah Townsend.

Selah Townsend, an environmental lawyer that was found dead with a gunshot wound in the head five years earlier. The ballistic records in the national database matched with the Smith & Wesson 929 revolver that was discovered buried in Watts's garden, thanks to the help of the gun-sniffing-dogs.

Levi watched clad in an immaculate custom made Jon Green suit, he wanted to dress for the occasion. He still had a bandage on his forehead and the neck collar. A pair of Ray-ban sunglasses hid his left eye, fortunately, the swelling had gone down considerably that he can see clearly now.

Levi watched as Sutton and Tillman reentered the room after a 10minute break. They took a seat opposite Watts and his lawyer. Watts' lawyer is a 5'6" brunette woman in her early 40's, her name was Christine Lee. She was a high profile defense attorney, considered one of the best criminal defense lawyers in the State.

"We'd like to offer you a deal in exchange for information on Pearce," Sutton said, after an hour of silence from Watts, as his attorney advised he shouldn't make a comment as to not further incriminate himself.

"You have nothing on my client on the Pearce case." Christine shot back,

"We have an enhanced image of him holding a gun against the victim hours before his time of death."

"A partial image lets put that in the record," Christine emphasized.

"Besides, your people used face identification that is currently not admissible in court," Christine argued, yep, she had done her research. Facial Recognition Software (FRS) in the criminal context has two different functions: face verification and face identification. In some cases, face verification is used as evidence in court but face identification is not accepted as scientifically reliable. Due to its accuracy problems. It is not evidence that is admissible in court.

Tillman turned to look at Watts,

"That may be true, but we have everything beyond a reasonable doubt on the Selah Townsend case, the environmental lawyer you shot and killed inside her car in the parking lot. Funny enough, our associate informed us..." Sutton said, pushing a photo of two women, both blondes in their bikinis. He pointed at the woman on the right and said, "This is the woman you killed, Selah, and the woman beside her was one of her bridesmaids and childhood friend Alia Waller."

"Now, you may wonder where we are going with this. Alia Waller is Judge Joseph Waller's daughter. The same judge that will be handling this case. She grew up with her daughter, and he knew the family well before they moved cities decades later. You'd get life in prison at best for this case. But in regard to the other cases, I can't really say at the moment. It all depends on how valuable the information you'll be giving."

"What other cases?" Christine asked, there were no other cases that she was aware of.

"Dr. Samantha Gray? Have you heard of her?" Tillman asked. Watts remained quiet; he didn't know anyone by that name, while Christine tensed. She recognized the name immediately, from her knowledge all the cases that Sam Gray testified in court had won. "Dr. Gray is leading the forensic investigation. They're turning your home, your vehicles inside out." Sutton informed them they knew the redhead has a reputation, not only in her field but also to those she had worked with.

"If you'll let me consult with my client." Christine started, turning to Watts wanting a moment of his time to discuss taking the deal.

Watts turned to Christine, with a confident look he says,

"They'll find nothing," breaking his silence for the first time in hours. His tone was arrogant and there was a self-satisfied grin plastered on his face. His home and vehicle were all professionally cleaned, the type of cleaners that are used to cleaning a crime scene, not that he even made so much mess, to begin with.

Sutton's mobile vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and read the text on the screen. Next to him, he noticed Tillman do the same, he knew they received the same message from the redhead. And they reckon the slicked blond on the other side of the two-way mirror was reading the same text message. Most likely wearing his signature grin.

"Perfect timing. Do you mind?" Sutton asks the two seated opposite him, with a clear smile on his lips. The day kept getting better and better.

"Dr. Gray, with me and Tillman here is Mr. Watts and his defense attorney, Atty Lee. You're on speaker and under record" Sutton says, placing the mobile on the table.

"Afternoon everyone. Mr. Watts, 2008, was a busy year for you wasn't it?" Sam says over the phone, as she sat before the DNA sequencer inside the Lab. Her back pressed against the plastic chair, her legs elevated on another chair. Her boots were abandoned on the floor below. Boy, was her feet killing her.

Natan Watts did not bother to respond and simply just stared back at the two agents who had a confident look on their faces, "How do I know? Oh, wait. First off I'd like to apologize, we've turned your house into a mess. We've stripped off all your wallpapers and carpets, it's unfortunate, I really liked the monochromatic theme, to be honest." Sam says and everyone could hear the smile on her lips as she spoke.

"Funny thing, though. After we stripped off all your wallpapers we sprayed Luminol and I tell ya, it lit up like Christmas. But it didn't really let us know who the blood belongs too, or if it's even human. So I could only assume that you hired some professional cleaners to clean up the place." Sam says with a saddened tone at the end of her statement. Levi watched from behind the two-way mirror how a microexpression crawled up the man's face, disappearing immediately. It was a smile of derision, confirming Sam's theory on the professional cleaners.

"That's okay though, wanna know why Mr. Watts?" Sam says, pausing for a moment, again Watts refused to answer. This time not liking how enthusiastic the woman's tone was on the other line.

"That's because behind your wallpapers were strands of hair. I guess you made such a stupid mistake of purchasing the wallpapers before you had the place professionally cleaned. And get this Agent Sutton and Tillman," Sam says, in a joking manner.

"Not just from one person, but two. Aren't we blessed with the Irish luck?" The two chuckled at their inner joke. Levi scoffed amused behind the two-way mirror. Irish luck indeed.

"Attorney Lee, please ask me who the hair belongs to," Sam says, playing with them, milking their silence as suffering. Christine turned to the two agents, her brows furrowed together, and said, "Dr. Gray, who does it belong to?"

Sam smiled wider in her seat, "DNA shows it belongs to a 2008 cold case of Victor Mays. the other one was tougher, to be honest. But we were able to find it, a missing person report for Max Mercado from Oregon. Luckily his son Leonard was more than happy to take a 6-hour flight for the DNA testing. I guess the thirst for justice does that. " Sam informs.

"If you recognize the names, Mr. Watts I recommend you take the deal unless you want the death penalty," she says, her tone turning cold. Sutton takes it as his cue to end the call by saying, "Thanks for the update, Dr. Gray, looking forward to your statement in Court." Sutton says, ending the call.

"My pleasure, I'll send you a copy of the forensic report."Christine nodded to her client, silently telling him to take the deal. It was the best he could get. Life in prison with no chance for parole. She knew he'd get the death penalty easily if he refused to cooperate.