Page 60 of Fatal Fame
"Did you hear any theories about where he went or whether he was involved in the killings?"
Morrison leaned back, his expression thoughtful. "Mia, there are so many theories about the Hale murders that the case has almost become local legend. Most people believe it was Rebecca's ex-boyfriend who committed the murders and then covered them up because he was a police officer at the time."
"And what do you believe?"
"I don't know. It's not really my place to speculate about such things."
"But if you could, off the record?"
Morrison smiled, recognizing her persistence. "Travis Rudd. Something about him didn't sit right with me. Especially since Rebecca already had a restraining order against him."
Mia's pen stopped moving. "Hold on a second. You said a restraining order? When? Why?"
"Oh, right. That detail never really made it into public discussion." Morrison's expression grew more serious. "About six months before Rebecca and Jacob died, she reported that someone had attempted to break into her home in the middle of the night. They found a window smashed in the back. Rebecca thought she'd scared the intruder off by getting up and turning on the lights when she heard the noise."
"So, they didn't get inside?"
"No, and that's the interesting part. Rebecca used to leave her back door unlocked—this was before the break-in attempt—but the handyman who installed the new door lock had put it on incorrectly. From the outside it looked normal, but you had to pull the handle up instead of down to get the door to open. She eventually had it fixed, but she was certain that if the intruder had known about the quirky lock mechanism, they wouldn't have bothered breaking the window."
Mia scribbled notes furiously, sensing that this information was crucial to understanding the timeline of threats against Rebecca. "What connected this to Travis Rudd?"
"A few days after the break-in, Rebecca found Travis lurking in the bushes near her home. Spying on her, essentially. You know, a Peeping Tom situation. So she confronted him during one of her art classes, he'd been attending her weekend workshops. The confrontation led to her banning him from the classes permanently."
"And then?"
"It escalated. Travis had to be arrested. It was in the paper, though not with many details. The article mentioned that Travis had struck Tom Dillard, who used to assist with the art classes. Tom had to intervene physically to remove Travis from the building. It was quite a scene, from what I heard."
Morrison paused, seemingly reliving the memory. "Rebecca contacted the Sheriff's Office after that incident and requested a restraining order. Whether she actually obtained it is unclear, but that's why my money was on Travis as the killer. Rebecca was genuinely scared of him. I think he'd been stalking her for some time."
"And he disappeared after the murders?"
"Exactly. That only made him look more guilty in most people's minds. The problem was that Mike Torres had broken up with Rebecca shortly before the murders, which made him look suspicious too. So you had two potential suspects, one missing and one with obvious motive."
Mia nodded, processing the implications. "What about Frank Kellerman? His name was also on Keith's list."
"Frank was a school bully when he was younger. Jacob suffered quite a bit from various bullies, though Frank was only about sixteen at the time of the murders. Some people theorized that Frank had shown up at Jacob's home looking for trouble and that Rebecca got in the way. But it doesn't really add up—all the bullying Frank did was confined to school. There were never any reports of him bothering Jacob outside school hours."
"And Danny Walsh?"
"The mechanic?" Morrison asked. "The one who struck Pierce at the town meeting?"
"Yeah. What's his connection to the Hale murders?"
"His son gave a statement to the police after the murders. Connor was out riding his bike that night and apparently sawsomething. But the Walsh family has been very tight-lipped about whatever Connor witnessed. The police investigated Danny because he was a heavy drinker back then and had a reputation for being inappropriate with women—not taking no for an answer, if you get my meaning. However, from what I recall, neither Rebecca nor Jacob was sexually assaulted, which doesn't fit Danny's usual pattern of behavior."
Mia wrote down the information, her notebook filling with connections and theories that painted a complex picture of Rebecca's final months. "I think that covers most of my questions."
"You know, Mia," Morrison said, his tone shifting to something more pastoral, "it wouldn't hurt if you showed up here on a Sunday. Look into darkness long enough, and it's liable to smother you. It helps to have an ally on your side. The Lord would?—"
Mia was quick to interrupt. "David, can I call you that?"
He nodded.
"I appreciate what you're saying, I do. I respect you as a minister, and I'm sure many people benefit from a relationship with God. However, I have difficulty believing in someone who wasn't there when my mother died. It might also explain why my father doesn't come to services. Where is God when all these awful things happen? Blessing someone's pot roast while children are being murdered?" She paused, realizing how harsh she sounded. "I'm sorry. That came out really judgmental and offensive."
"It's okay," Morrison said gently. "You're angry. You have every right to be. God understands anger better than most people think. Look, Mia, I don't profess to have all the answers to life's mysteries. I do know that we play a huge role in it. If God intervened, he would be called a dictator. If he doesn’t intervene, he’s also on the hook. It’s a tough gig, don’t you think?” Hepaused. “As long as we think we are separate from God and one another, we will always have someone to blame.” He paused. “Can I show you something?"
“Urgh. I should probably get going."
