Page 41 of Say Now
"How has he been in there?"Alison asked the officer when she arrived.
"I haven’t heard anything from them," the officer said."So far, he’s cooperated with everything we’ve asked of him.He put up no fight when we brought him from his cell to the interview room, and no complaints when we cuffed him to the table."
"He’s a seasoned criminal," Kent pointed out."He knows how all of this works."Kent turned to Alison."What does that tell you?When killers are caught, are they more likely to put up a fight or accept they’re done?You’ve had a lot of experience in this."
"Once they’re caught, I find that many of them like to gloat about what they’ve done, or control the situation.They like to show that they are more intelligent or better than everyone else.That doesn’t apply to everyone.We might walk in there and find a man who’s quiet and doesn’t give us anything.Although with his arrest record and the way he’s treated cops before, I’d expect some aggression."
Kent nodded."Let’s get this over with."
Alison followed him into the room.Tommy and his lawyer, Greg Solstein, sat with their backs to them, and it was not until Alison got to the table that she had the chance to look Tommy in the eyes.
Her initial impression was that Tommy was not so different from Captain Kent.They both had a calm exterior, but she could see the rage bubbling beneath.She took a quick glance at Kent to gauge how he was doing being in the same room as his sister's killer—any reaction to that from Kent could derail the entire interview.Kent’s calmness and hidden rage didn't change as he sat down.
Tommy wasn’t a large man, but he had a wiriness about him that suggested fighting strength.He had tattoos visible on his wrists, disappearing under his shirt.There was a small tattoo of his mother’s name on his neck.He had a scar across his right eyebrow, his eyes were hooded and dark, and his lips were tugged into a permanent snarl.His eyes flicked back and forth between Kent and Alison.
"Tommy Castellano," Captain Kent started, "you have been arrested for the murders of Dr.Rachel Kent, Dr.Kevin Hartley, and Dr.Patricia Gates.Do you understand those charges?"
"I didn't kill anyone, man," Tommy said.
"You've been in and out of prison your entire life, haven’t you?"Kent asked.
"Yeah, I have, and I don't pretend I haven’t, but I’ve never killed anyone."He leaned forward."I know you’re trying to pin this on me, but I’m not going down for this, okay?I ain’t got no reason to go about killing anyone when I just got out of jail.I’m on a better path now.That’s the honest truth."
"I want to talk about that," Alison said.
Kent shifted in his seat as Alison took over, but to question why she was asking any questions when he was leading the interview would be to question his own authority, so he said nothing.
"What happened when your brother died?"she asked."You changed after that, didn't you?You’re behavior changed completely.Why was that?"
"I didn't get to…if I were around, maybe it could have been different.I know that’s stupid to think, but it’s like the smallest changes can lead to the biggest changes.If I weren’t in jail at the time, maybe that change would have led to other things.I wanted to go clean to honor his memory and for my mother.I knew I had to be better."
Alison listened to the answer, wondering how many times he had rehearsed the answer in his head before saying it.One thing she knew about the answer was that it was a complete fabrication, and there was another reason for the change in behavior.
Is that connected to how he died and what your brother might have known before his death?
That was a question to follow up on when she interviewed him with Claire the next day.
"I don't believe that," Kent said."If that were true, we wouldn’t be here, would we?It’s the same pattern again and again.You go to jail, you get out, then you commit another crime, and you go back to jail.Only this time, you went big, didn’t you?Oh, your brother would be so proud if he could see you right now."
Tommy was on his feet and lunging forward so quickly that it surprised everyone.Kent and Alison both jumped up, pushing their chairs back and almost falling over them.
The chains snapped tight as Tommy got as far as he could toward Kent without being anywhere close to actually hurting him.
"Don't you dare bring my brother into this.He’s a better man than I will ever be, a better man than any of you will ever be."
"How about you calm down?"Kent suggested, the voice of reason in the room."It’s a good thing you’re chained up, Tommy, or we’re going to have to add assaulting a police officer to your list of charges."
"Can we all please settle down?"the lawyer asked.
Greg Solstein was in his fifties, had a smattering of great hairs across his chin, which matched the salt and pepper hair, and was constantly looking around—his eyes moving while his head remained still.He wore a navy blue suit.
Tommy thudded down into his chair and folded his arms as much as he was able to with the handcuffs and chains.
Kent was slow to pull his chair back into the table and sit down.Alison sat down at the same time, her heart beating a little faster at the way Tommy had moved.Still, it mirrored what Captain Kent had suggested if he ever found himself in a room with his sister’s killer (albeit, he had spoken about being alone).Tommy was the one who showed his anger, while Kent remained calm and in control.
Alison had the feeling that Kent wanted to rile Tommy up, perhaps to get him to say something that would give them an in.
"Are we all calm again?"Kent asked.
