Chapter 2

Two Detectives were sent to talk to Sue. They knocked on her door.

"John, is that you?" Sue asked.

"No Mrs. Bailey, it's Detective Smith and Detective Cook. We're here to talk to you. May we please come in?"

Sue looked through the peephole and knew the two Detectives from the party the week before. As she opened the door she asked. "Is John ok?"

"Yes, he's fine. He'll be here in a little while. We need to talk to you first."

"About what? You're scaring me!"

"We'll explain everything to you in a few minutes. We have a couple of questions we need to ask you first. Where were you this evening?"

"I was home all night. John was coming over after work. I did leave about an hour ago and went to Tim Horton's and got a Latte and some pumpkin pie for John; he loves pumpkin pie. The receipt's right there on the counter."

"Mrs. Bailey..."

"Please call me Sue. I met you both at the party last week. It's Tom and Ben isn't it?"

"Yes it is. You wore a red wig to that party didn't you?"

"Yes, it was stolen along with some of my other clothes last Monday. John had me file a report. It should be on file. Please tell me what this is all about."

"Mrs. Bailey, I mean Sue, I'm sorry to have to inform you that your husband was found dead downtown tonight."

"What? Dave is dead? What happened to him?" Sue seemed quite surprised the detectives told me later. She looked sad but didn't cry.

"He was killed downtown, supposedly by the serial killer that has been killing a number of men while having sex with them. A witness mentioned that the women wore a red wig or had red hair. He also mentioned she drove a silver car, possibly a Honda. Your vehicle pulled into this lot while we were looking for vehicles that matched the description."

"You think I killed Dave? God knows, I could never do that. Besides our divorce would be final in a couple of weeks. I just went to get pie for John, honest! Look at the receipt."

"Sue, we needed to check on your whereabouts seeing you had the red wig, a car matching the description that we had. But, most of all you were married to the victim."

"God, it wasn't me. It's true that I no longer cared for him but I would never kill him. You have to believe me."

"Sue, we would like permission to search your apartment and your vehicle. We can get warrants but we hope we don't need to."

"No, if it will help, go ahead and search the place. My car keys are on the counter." Sue sat there while the detectives searched her apartment and two patrolmen searched her car.

When they were finished there was a knock on the door. Sue opened it and I walked in. The detectives phoned me and said they were done searching her place and found nothing that would place her at the scene, or any of the clothing she said was stolen. They did ask her to come down to the precinct the following day. They needed to ask her a few more questions.

After the detectives left, I hugged her and told her how sorry I was that she had to go through the interrogation. I wanted to be there for her but since it was her husband who was killed, I wasn't allowed to.

We sat on the couch and I told her what Jen and I had found. She was sad, but she no longer loved Dave. She got up and brought me my pumpkin pie. After eating it I sat and cuddled with her for a couple of hours before going to my apartment. The rules are the rules.

I knew that they wanted to ask her about her whereabouts the nights of the other murders. It was all standard procedure. The problem was most of the murders were in the late evenings and early morning and Sue was usually home alone. Even when I was with her, I would go to my own apartment around ten in the evening. I could vouch for her that far, but I knew better than to lie.

Being a cop I had natural instincts about killings, knowing the spouse is always one of the main suspects. I didn't want to think about Sue that way but had no choice. My mind wouldn't let me think differently.

The following day I drove Sue down to the precinct, but again wasn't allowed to be there during questioning. Sue asked if she was a suspect and was told it was standard procedure but she was a person of interest because of the witness' description of the woman he had seen. She was dressed the same as Sue was at the Halloween party.

When asked about the dates of the other murders, Sue thought back and said she couldn't remember what she did most nights other than we watched TV and I went home and she went to bed. It neither helped or hurt her. There still wasn't any physical evidence.

While I was waiting for her, I saw Lester, the homeless man. They wanted to question him again also. They had him glance into the room where Sue was sitting but said nothing about her. It wasn't a line-up, just wanted to see if he noticed anything about her.

I talked to Lester and even gave him one of my cards. I figured it was near useless but I told him if he ever saw the redhead again or her car to call me. I knew it was a long shot but we had nothing to lose.

After Sue and I left the precinct she told me she would be gone for a week or so. She had to go back to Dave's condo and take care of everything. She was still his wife and would be held responsible.

Her sister Carol volunteered to go with her. They had to take care of the funeral arrangement and all other payments and expenses. I knew it was going to be a rough week for her but she was still the spouse and a good person.

They contacted Dave's employer and found out she was still his beneficiary and first contact. She talked to her lawyer who was handling her divorce and had it stopped. He in turn contacted Dave's lawyer and explained the situation.

Sue thought it best if all transactions went through her lawyer. She had him named executor instead of her, so there wouldn't be a lot of problems with Dave's family. He had two brothers and a sister. His parents were also still living. She knew they were like vultures and would fight her every step of the way, getting anything and everything they could from her.

She decided to let them have everything Dave owned. She already had taken her things when they separated. She set up the funeral and had all the arrangements made. All monies still owed Dave would be sent to the executor and he would make the payments.