Break-In Ch. 03

"Any psychology from that, Dr. Fredricsonnn?" the Chief asked.

Laura said "Yes, two points. I understand that the far side of the bed is Stanley's side. That's unusual; usually the woman prefers to be on the far side, as she's more protected by her husband. Would you agree?"

"That's true in my household." I said. Teresa, Joanne, Theo, Teddy Parker, and Mary all agreed. No one disagreed.

Laura said "But here, it's backwards. Marla is on the near side. That's nothing in and of itself, but I noticed it. And second, Stanley Locklear showed no hesitation in going for that gun, grabbing it, and using it. I have not fully studied people under duress, or people about to kill someone else, but I know that a lot of people whose homes are broken into and face off against the home invader either freeze up or shoot wildly. Stanley did neither; he went for the gun and accurately fired it, albeit from close range."

"Is that good or bad for him?" asked Teddy Parker.

"It could be either." Laura replied. "He had that NRA self-defense course, which would've helped him handle this situation. On the flip side, if he knew he was about to murder his partners, he did so without a second thought."

We finished watching the tape as it showed Marla telling Stanley that he'd just shot his business partners, and Stanley removing their masks.

"He sure looks shocked, there." said Roark Coleman.

"So does she." Joanne said.

"But she never..." I started, then said "I have a question for everyone before Dr. Fredricson and I leave you to the investigation: does anyone know what day the Sanitation Department picks up the trash on Cone Street?"

"On Tuesday." said Teddy Parker.

"Are you sure?" I asked, knowing he was right, but testing him.

Parker: "I'll have to check again, sir, but as of last January, when we were working the Matheson murder-suicide, I checked the trash pickup times, and the Cone Street area was picked up on Tuesdays." (Author's note: 'Price No Object' for the Matheson case.)

"Good job." I said. "Mister Roark, hand Parker the red crowbar." As Roark did so, I said "Yes, it's good to know basic things like that. And that means I need to know if the Crime Lab secured all of the trash at the Locklear home into evidence... every bit of it, including the big trash cans that are put out to be collected. If not, that needs to be secured immediately."

Lt. Mary Milton said "Penny, send them a text, and tell them to make that happen today. And put my name on it as an order." Corporal Scott began typing on her laptop.

"Okay, anything else?" I asked. It was perfect timing:

"K'plaa!" Lt. Mary Milton said excitedly. We all looked at her as she looked up and said "Dr. Fredricson, does the name 'Dr. Peter Frost' ring a Pavlovian bell, pun intended?"

Laura smiled at the joke, then said "As a matter of fact, it does. He's a psychologist in private practice here in Town, doing mostly marriage counseling. He audited a couple of my courses a few years ago. He got into trouble with the State Medical Board, but I don't remember the details of it."

Mary said "Yes ma'am, I see that State record. He was removed from the list of psychologists the Courts would hire to evaluate families and children involved in adoptions, juvie detentions, and divorces after complaints of egregiously bad evaluations. But they didn't strip his license to privately practice psychology."

"He was the marriage counselor for the Locklears?" Cpt. Claire Michaels asked.

"Yes ma'am, that appears to be the case." Mary said. "Bank records show payments to Dr. Frost beginning last September through March of this year. Then they stopped from their joint account, but regular payments of the same amount were coming out of Marla's separate account from March until... the last payment was a little over a week ago."

Roark Coleman said "So she continued seeing the psychiatrist---"

"He is NOT a psychiatrist!"

That explosion came from my wife Laura, whose lovely face was reddening with anger. "He's a psychologist!" she said bitterly.

"What's the difference?" Roark asked, digging the hole deeper.

I patted Laura on the arm before she utterly destroyed my poor Detective, and I said "The main difference is that a psychiatrist is medical doctor and a psychologist is not. A psychiatrist can prescribe medications and perform surgery. Psychiatrists focus on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of various mental and emotional disorders. They are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of a patient's problem."

Me: "Psychologists mainly focus mostly on the study of cognitive, emotional, and social behaviors by observing, analyzing and interpreting the ways in which individuals relate to one another and their environments---"

Chief Moynahan said "That last part sounds like the job description of a Police Commanderrrr." The room erupted, and order was not restored for a long moment...

Part 15 - The Nitty-Gritty

Laura stayed at Headquarters to perform annual evaluations of Officers assigned to Headquarters, and she inventoried the Infirmary room to make sure it was properly equipped (it was).

Meanwhile, I was holding a meeting with my three Angels. "Okayyyy... what's the situation with Theo and Claire?" I asked.

Tanya Muscone said "I checked on Theo's grievance. He says her accusation against him for insubordination was improper. But he also is grieving Claire changing up the partnerships over the MCD Lieutenant's objections."

"That won't fly." Teresa said. "Claire is the Captain of Detectives. She can set the partnerships however she wants... unless Don or the Chief overrides her."

"That's technically true." I said. "But the issue of her doing it over Jerome Davis's objections as MCD Lieutenant is a valid one. And I am on the verge of coming in and reversing that; it's killing morale in there."

"Yes it is." Cindy said. "Theo didn't say two words in that meeting this morning, and I could sense his anger and frustration. Jerome spoke up early, and Claire made a point to attempt to shoot him down. He stood his ground, but if you had not been there, Don, and if you had not made a point to praise his observations, it might've gotten worse. As it was, Jerome said no more in that meeting."

Cindy: "And while I'm on this roll, I'm sure you all noticed like I did that Roark and Joanne were verbally sparring. Roark would counter everything Joanne said, and she was getting frustrated... and so was Claire."

I said "Yeah, I'm not liking some things I'm seeing with all that. But let's get through the interviews with the Locklears first. Teresa, go get with Claire and make sure the Detectives are prepared for their interviews, and then I'll take the three of you to lunch..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1:00pm, Monday, June 7th. Stanley Locklear came into Police Headquarters wearing a suit and tie. He and his attorney Michael Thomas McGill were ushered into Interrogation-Bravo. Patrolman Phil Goodwright, who was assigned to Intel, was the Uniformed Presence.

The doors to MCD were closed and the windows in the doors blocked. The Detectives were watching on the 2x2 matrix of screen on the inside end wall. The Chief, me, Teresa, and Captain Michaels were watching in the Main Conference Room.

Senior Detective Joanne Warner and Detective George Newman went into I-B and sat down opposite Locklear and his legal eagle. After introductions, Joanne read Locklear his rights from the card, and Locklear said he understood the rights.

George Newman said "Mr. Locklear, what circumstances brought you to Maple & Hogue? By that I mean how did you meet Tom Maple and Chuck Hogue? Who introduced you to them?"

Locklear looked a bit surprised at the question, probably expecting one about his marriage and home life. He said "I was called by Tom Maple one day. He said they were looking for an ad campaign specialist, and he asked me a lot of questions about my career to that point. Then I had lunch with him and Chuck, and that led to the job offer."

Newman: "So you were brought into Maple & Hogue with the promise you would be made partner?"

Locklear avoided the trap by saying "They never guaranteed that, but the general understanding was that if things went well, I'd become a partner in the firm. And they pretty much treated me like a partner as it was, what with the bonuses I got, and invitations to social events with them."

Newman: "And was it going well?"

Locklear: "As far as I know, things were fine."

Joanne Warner: "Are you sure? It had been three years since you were brought in, but they made no move to make you a full partner. What was holding you back?"

In the Main Conference Room, I winced and said "That question was poorly worded. She may get his hackles up and make this unnecessarily hostile."

In I-B, Michael McGill said "That's an assumption on your part that my client was being held back."

"But is it correct?" Joanne asked McGill, then flicked her eyes over to Locklear and affixed them on him.

"Not to my knowledge." said Locklear, keeping his voice calm and level. "There was no set timetable, but as far as I know, everything was on track for me to become partner."

George Newman essentially cut in: "Mr. Locklear, to the best of your knowledge, was the company doing well? Were you maintaining your customer base, getting new ones?"

Locklear said "I think I told you the other day that I'm not privy to the books, and I'm not. Things seemed steady, as far as I could tell."

Joanne: "Did they bring in any other ad campaign specialists? To do more modern digital ad campaigns?"

"No." Locklear said. Joanne looked at him as if expecting him to say more, but he remained silent.

Joanne said "So if they were considering not only denying you the partnership but also terminating your employment, you had no idea of it?"

In the Main Conference Room I winced again, and groaned loud enough for everyone to hear. Claire Michaels said "Well, how is she supposed to ask that, sir?"

I said "She should say we have statements from others to that effect, and leave no doubt of its truth. The lawyer McGill is going to shred her now. He may have Mr. Locklear clam up and stop answering questions."

And in I-B, Michael McGill quickly said: "Are you saying that? Is that true, or are you just making it up?"

"What if I'm not making it up, Mr. Locklear?" Joanne tried. Good grief...

McGill said to his client "Don't answer that. She's being deceptive the way she's asking that." He turned to Joanne and said "Once again, is what you said a true fact? Or are you just making something up to try to entrap my client?"

Newman kept it moving: "Let's keep it moving. Mr. Locklear, how well did you and your wife get along with the Hogues and the Maples?"

His lawyer did not stop him, so Stanley said "Chuck, Tom, and I had a very good professional relationship. Not like we were drinking buddies or anything, but we got along well. We never had problems or arguments over the work; things always flowed smoothly and our ideas were in sync."

Locklear: "As to their wives, I got along with them fine whenever I saw them. Harriet Hogue has a very... strong personality. She led her husband by the proverbial ring in his nose. She was more involved in the company than I thought she should've been, and she was very bossy and sticking her nose into things. To be honest, I was always concerned I'd say or do something to set her off, and she'd go storming off to Chuck or Tom to complain about me. So I avoided her."

Locklear: "Tia Maple was a very nice lady. She and Tom were well-matched as a couple, especially when it came to meeting and securing clients. She was always nice to me, but there was always this little layer of 'I'm up here and you're down there' about her."

Joanne Warner: "And your wife Marla? How did she get along with them?"

Locklear said "Marla got along with Tom and Chuck very well. She had good conversations with them whenever we were thrown in with them at dinners or company events. Her relationship with the wives was... cordial, I'll say. Harriet Hogue couldn't push Marla around like she tried to push everyone else, and Harriet didn't like that."

Locklear: "Tia Maple treated Marla like she treated me... she was nice to us. I always thought that Marla and I could be social friends with the Maples, go to dinners with them and all, but that never materialized. Tia and Harriet Hogue apparently were good friends, though."

George Newman said "Let's talk about your home life. You and Marla were married for how many years?"

"Eleven years." Locklear said.

"How'd you meet?" George asked.

"She worked for a company I did some business for." Locklear replied. "We went out for lunch a few times, then began dating and ultimately married."

Joanne asked "Was... is... the marriage a good one? Or did you have problems along the way?"

Michael leaned over and whispered something to Stanley for several long seconds. At the end of it, Stanley nodded, then said "The early years of our marriage were very good. I was busy with my business, getting it going and keeping it going, and Marla was supportive of that. She got jobs whenever things were at low points, to help with the money."

Locklear: "Things got routine, though, and stale. Last year, Marla began talking about dissatisfaction with the marriage. It really came out of the blue. She said our sex life was unsatisfying, and our daily lives were boring. I asked what I could do to make things better, and she got mad that I wasn't figuring it out for myself. So I asked if she wanted a divorce, and she suggested we try marriage counseling first. So we did."

"Was the counseling successful?" Joanne asked.

Locklear paused for a second, then said "Our marriage improved, but I can't sit here and say the counseling was the reason why." His lawyer leaned over and whispered something, and Locklear nodded, and said no more.

Joanne said "Have you at any time in your marriage had sex with anyone other than Marla?"

"No." said Stanley.

Joanne: "And had Marla cheated on you?"

"Not that I know of." Stanley said. "I thought since she wanted counseling, maybe she really did want to save the marriage, and that she may not have stepped out on me. But I don't know, not for sure."

"Let's get back on track." George Newman said, more to Joanne than anyone else. "Mr. Locklear, who was your marriage counselor?"

"Dr. Peter Frost." said Stanley. "He's a psychologist that specialized in marriage counseling. To be honest, I thought the guy was a quack, a nutjob. But for Marla's sake, I went through with it."

"How long did you go through the counseling?" Joanne asked.

"Off and on, from last September until this past April." said Stanley. "After that... well, I'll just say it: I told Marla I wanted to stop the sessions with Frost. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she wasn't happy about that. So I opened up a bank account in just my name, just in case she filed for divorce. That didn't happen... though I'm not sure it won't in the future after what happened the other night. As far as I'm concerned, she cheated on me."

Joanne said "So you didn't know that Marla was still having sessions with Dr. Frost until last week?"

"What?!" gasped Locklear. His lawyer looked stunned, as well. "No, I did not know that! And... and how did she pay for them? I handle the checking account, and I know the money didn't come from there."

Joanne said "So you didn't know she had a bank account in her name only, from last September onwards?"

"No, I didn't know that, either." said Stanley. "But that would make sense, if she was considering divorcing me..."

In the Conference Room, it is possible that I beat on the table with my fist multiple times until it started hurting. "God damn!" I muttered.

"What, sir?" Claire Michaels said angrily. "What in the hell was wrong with that?"

"Watch yourself, Captain." Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle said severely. "That's the Police Commander you're speaking disrespectfully to."

"It's okay." I said. "At least in here when it's just us. But she's right, Captain if you'd said that in front of the Detectives, I'd have to jack you up. As to Joanne, that was a huge mistake she just made. She did not have to let Stanley know that Marla was still seeing Dr. Frost, nor about her account in her own name, at least not yet. It was an unforced error on her part. And a bad one."

I got up. "I'm going down there. There's a line of questioning we need to ask Mr. Locklear, and I'm just going to go get it done."

I left the Conference Room and walked rapidly down the hall to I-B. I knocked on the door and then opened it and went in.

"Hello, Mr. McGill, mind if I barge in?" I asked Michael McGill, who I knew personally.

"Please do, Commander." said Michael Thomas McGill, his eyes boring into Joanne, with whom he was not happy.

"Mr. Locklear," I said as I pulled a chair up next to Joanne, "I am Commander Don Troy. We spoke at your home the other night. I have a couple of questions for you. First, did you ever speak of any sexual fantasies to your wife?"

"No sir." Stanley said. "I never did."

"Did she ever ask you to talk about any sexual fantasies?" I asked. Stanley Locklear started, as if I'd jogged a memory.

Locklear: "In the last couple of months, things seemed to be going okay for Marla and me. We were in bed, and she asked if I had ever had any fantasies about her or anything, about her dressing up, or playing a prostitute for me to hire. I said no."

Joanne cut in and asked: "Did you have those fantasies? Did you write about them on your computer?" I held my tongue for the moment; I would 'address' Joanne's error later, or have Lieutenant Davis do it.

Stanley: " I had wife-watching fantasies, and read that stuff on my computer, but I did not want to see Marla with other men at all; that turned me off as much or more than it turned me on. And no, I did not write about it."

I asked: "Did Dr. Peter Frost ever ask you about your fantasies?"

Locklear said "Not with Marla in the room. But he did meet with us separately a few times, half an hour each, paying as if it was one joint session. And he asked me about having fantasies and roleplay I could talk about with Marla, to spice up our sex lives. I said not really, and nothing I cared to discuss. He said I should consider ideas about swinging, swapping partners, stuff like that. I said I had no desire to see Marla with anyone else, and that ended it... and I ended that session and left."

"When was that?" I asked.

"In April." said Stanley. "I think we had one more joint session, and Frost talked about us expanding our horizons by discussing and acting out fantasies... and he suggested some pretty weird stuff, like what he called 'soft swinging', where couples have sex only with each other, but in a group setting. And that day, when we were going home after that session, is when I told Marla I didn't want to have any more sessions with Dr. Frost."

I said "Did Marla ever say that Dr. Frost talked to her about those types of things?"

"If they did," Stanley replied, "she never said anything to me..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After we left the Interrogation Room, I told George Newman to go on ahead as I held Joanne back by putting my crowbar in her way. After he left the anteroom, I said to Joanne: "Do not ever interrupt my line of questioning of someone unless and until I call upon you to do so."

Joanne said "I'm sorry, sir. That was my bad."

I said "It was also your bad to tell Mr. Locklear that his wife was still seeing the marriage counselor before we needed to. That was an unforced error on your part."