Page 6 of If She Remembered
But she knew better than most that it was easy to hide secrets right in the middle of normalcy.And Kate was starting to wonder what secrets might be waiting if they just dug a bit deeper.
"Let's go talk to Jake," she said."If he killed his mother, there has to be more to this story than simple inheritance.And if he didn't, then someone else had access to this house and a reason to want Carol Bennett dead."
CHAPTER THREE
The Richmond Police Department's interview room was smaller than remembered.Maybe, she thought idly, the larger spaces at the FBI field office had spoiled her.They were also a little tough-looking, with pale green walls and a metal table that had seen better days.Jake Bennett sat hunched forward in his chair, his hands clasped tightly together on the table's surface.At twenty-eight, he looked younger than Kate had anticipated, with dark hair that needed cutting and eyes that were red-rimmed from what appeared to be hours of crying.
When Kate and DeMarco entered the room, Jake looked up with an expression that combined hope and desperation.He wore the same clothes he'd apparently been arrested in that morning: khakis and a button-down shirt that suggested he'd been dressed for job interviews rather than murder.
"Mr.Bennett," Kate said, settling into the chair across from him."I'm Agent Wise with the FBI, and this is Agent DeMarco.We'd like to ask you some questions about your mother's death."
Jake's face crumpled at the mention of his mother, and he pressed his palms against his eyes.“Yeah, okay.Thanks.”
“How are you holding up?”DeMarco asked.
He shrugged, and it seemed that the simple act took far too much effort for him."I keep thinking this is some kind of nightmare and I'm going to wake up," he said, his voice thick with emotion."She was fine when I left yesterday morning.We had coffee together at the kitchen table, and she was asking about my interviews."
Kate studied his body language carefully.In her experience, genuine grief was difficult to fake convincingly, and Jake's distress appeared authentic.His shoulders shook slightly as he tried to compose himself, and when he looked up at her, his eyes held the raw pain she'd seen in countless family members who'd lost someone unexpectedly.It was one part of the job she absolutely did not miss at all.
"Jake," she said gently, "I know this is incredibly difficult, but we need to understand what happened yesterday.Can you walk us through your day?"
"You're the first person who's been kind to me since they arrested me," Jake said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand."Everyone else acts like I'm already convicted.Like it’s an open and closed case."
Kate felt a familiar tug of sympathy.She'd encountered many suspects over the years, and she'd learned to distinguish between those who were genuinely confused and grief-stricken and those who were performing innocence.Jake's reaction felt real in a way that was difficult to manufacture.
"Tell us about your mother," Kate said."How was she doing since you moved back home?"
Jake's expression brightened slightly despite his tears."She was so excited to have me back.I mean, I know the circumstances weren't great because I lost my job, but she kept saying how happy she was that I was home again."He paused, gathering his thoughts."She hadn't been doing very well on her own since Dad died two years ago.She tried to act like she was fine, but I could tell she was lonely.But she’d never admit it."
"How could you tell?"DeMarco asked.
"Little things.She'd call me three times a week just to chat, which wasn't like her before.And when I told her I needed to move back home temporarily, she was almost relieved.Like she'd been waiting for an excuse to have someone in the house again."
"What did she do to prepare for your return?"
"She renovated her whole craft room for me," Jake said, his voice breaking again."Moved out all her sewing stuff, bought new furniture, even picked out curtains she thought I'd like.I kept telling her not to go to so much trouble, but she insisted… said it had been my room originally, anyway.It was the room I had when I lived there… had it since I was like five."He shook his head."She was hovering constantly.Making my bed, doing my laundry, cooking all my favorite meals.I have to admit, I was getting a little irritated by it."
"Irritated how?"Kate asked.
"Not angry or anything.Just...I'm twenty-eight years old, you know?I can take care of myself.But every time I tried to do something for myself, she'd already done it.Yesterday morning she was insisting on packing me some snacks to eat between job interviews like I was going to school."Jake's voice caught."Now I’d do anything to have her back, hovering and fussing over me."
The emotion in his voice seemed genuine, and Kate found herself believing his account.A man planning to murder his mother for inheritance money would be unlikely to express irritation at her care, even in hindsight.She'd thought it was a mistake to arrest him from the start, and this was only furthering her doubts.
"Let's talk about yesterday specifically," DeMarco said."What time did you leave the house?"
"Around eleven or so.I had an 11:30 interview downtown, then lunch with a contact from my old company.After that, I had two more interviews.One way out in Brandermill.After that, I grabbed dinner with an old high school friend.Then I got home around 8:30… maybe a little after.”Jake straightened up slightly."You can check all of that.I have my phone, well, I guess the cops have my phone now.But you can call each of the places I interviewed for.I never returned to the house at any point during the day.”
“Did you call your mom to tell her about your dinner plans?”
“No.I didn’t need to.She already knew.”
"We'll definitely verify your timeline," Kate said."Can you tell us about each appointment?"
Jake provided detailed information about his interviews, including the names of people he'd met with and the locations of each meeting.His recall was precise and consistent, suggesting he was telling the truth about his activities.He was able to even give them the names of each person he met with during the interviews and what their positions were within the companies.
"And then, when I did finally get home,” he continued, “I called out to Mom when I came in, but she didn't answer.I figured maybe she was taking a bath or had gone to bed early."His voice dropped to almost a whisper."I found her lying on her bed, and I knew immediately something was wrong."
"What made you know something was wrong?"Kate asked.
