Last Day
Authors Notes-
When I originally posted this story it wasn’t anything but a slim storyline I hoped had some potential. The positive feedback encouraged me to take a good look at it and I decided I liked it enough to put in the effort and I’m glad I did.
The reason this story gets more than one brief chapter is your feedback and I want to thank you for the positive words and the constant encouragement.
With that said I have the wrapped the story up and will be posting the remaining chapters between now and Sunday night. They’re written and I’ll be fine tuning and editing them between now and then.
Thanks,
alangator
Part 9
Detective MacDonald looked directly into Amanda’s eye to gauge her reaction to his statement before he made it. For many investigators the process of getting information from people that were reluctant to give it to the Police or other Law Enforcement types or even getting people to confess to illegal activity was more art than science. This was even truer for interrogators who generally had more experience and were looking to elicit specific responses and construct a relationship with their interrogation subject. And while certain parts of Macdonald’s Police work was just average the one thing that he did better than 99% of the population was gauge people’s sincerity and truthfulness under less than ideal circumstances. His slow witted hound dog demeanor led many to assume he was just another mediocre mid-level cog in the process. That facade had lulled many a suspect into giving him the information that he needed to get them for this crime or another.
That rare and special talent had brought him to the attention of other Law Enforcement entities in the area. So over the years bigger departments had attempted numerous times to lure him away with offers of more money or a better pension and benefits package. But Detective MacDonald was a local boy born and raised. Everything and everyone he cared about was located within a 60 mile radius of where he sat right this minute. So the possible suspect and her attorney waited till he was good and ready to talk answer Bill’s question “We’ve confirmed that the FBI Home Invasion Task Force is sure that the men that broke into your home and killed your husband were responsible for at least 3 other similar home invasions over the past year. But some of the evidence we found has us, or should I say Detective Crager and I wondering what we don’t know that your client has neglected to mention to us. Like I mentioned the time-of-death might be off and we continue to look into that. One of the things we find interesting is that we found supplies and internet searches that indicate that Mrs. Fugg and her husband are or were at one-time survivalists. We also found a 5 gallon bucket jammed with survival stuff that had an old fingerprint that belonged to one of the men that died in that house on the night Mrs. Fugg’s husband died. In fact the fingerprint belonged to the man killed by Mrs. Fugg. Also I find it highly unusual that when Chester Fugg opened that front door that late at night she was conveniently sitting in the next room wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a loaded assault rifle. While the evidence collected so far doesn’t point to her killing her husband something isn’t tracking for me and we need better answers than the ones she is giving us. Those answers might allow us to drop her as a potential suspect and shift the focus of the investigation.”
Bill turned to Amanda but before he could get a word out Amanda was speaking. Her words while being her truth didn’t sound as condescending as they could have. After all, the Detective had just implied that she was a possible suspect in her husband’s death. In fact she sounded more like a helpful teacher correcting or enlightening a student than a woman subtly berating the ignorance and misconceptions of a Police Detective that suspected her of some type of crime that contributed to her husband’s death. Going head to head with a seasoned interrogator could be a very tricky endeavor indeed. But growing up Amanda’s grandmother had repeatedly told her when she was young that it’s not what you said but how you said it. So, whenever life spun her emotions up and she was angry or passionate she always tried to remember her grandmother’s words. “Just so you understand that I consider the use of the word Survivalist misleading. The term seems to have been used in the media and Hollywood has bastardized the concept to represent something that I am not. The media and Law Enforcement have let the public assume that if you’re a survivalist then you are running around in the woods playing soldier and plotting the overthrow of our Government which I feel to be the best system of government the world has ever seen. You should know that Chester and I hold or held no animosity or hate toward any religious or ethnic group that wasn’t like us. We also pay our fair share of taxes and don’t own a single illegal weapon. Detective I wouldn’t put too much stock in the fact I store some extra food and medicine or own guns and have plenty of ammunition for them. I take disaster preparedness seriously and refuse to be dependent on the power company to restore my power after an ice storm or having to call 911 to divert precious resources on something I might be able to handle myself. You referred to me as a survivalist and that is not what I am. I’m a woman that had a husband that agreed with me that the world around us had changed. We felt it was important to us to make sure we could take care of ourselves as much as we could under any conditions. My experience is testimony to what can happen and why it makes sense to be a little self-reliant instead of relying solely on 911 to solve any problem that crops up. I’ll admit we did or do keep a little more than the FEMA guidelines recommend. But it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Don’t you think?
Detective MacDonald still wasn’t getting the answers he was looking for so he continued. “You mentioned FEMA guidelines and I’ve seen the site but you have way more than what they recommend. Currently their philosophy is that 3 days of food and water is enough to store for emergencies. Of course that can vary slightly based on where you live and what event you might face. I did an internet search and apparently you’re stocking enough dehydrated food to last almost a year for two people along with enough bleach to disinfect water for half that. So I’d characterize you as stocking more than slightly more than FEMA recommends. Why stock that much extra food?”
Detective most of what we did was based on what FEMA advocated paired with common sense. For some time they have advocated having a minimum of 3 days of food/water and other supplies as a Basic Disaster Supplies Kit. 9-11 and Katrina should have taught us all that 3 days is simply not enough. What if something happened and your son’s friend from baseball was at your house? If you have 3 days of food and water and have unexpected guests during the crisis then you don’t have enough. If something bad happened I’d want to do what I could for my family and friends.” Amanda stopped to see where the Detective would go next.
Mrs. Fugg you mentioned that if my son had a friend over from baseball. How do you know I have a son and that he plays baseball?” A strange look passed across Detective MacDonald’s face. The look was part anger and part curiosity.
Amanda slid around in her chair before she answered. “I saw his picture on your wife’s social media page. It was the one from baseball. Handsome kid, he reminds me of you around the eyes.”
Detective Crager and Bill watched to see what the big cop’s reaction would be. For them the adversarial process that guided our Legal System was about staying professional despite personal dislikes and feelings. The Police and the D.A.’s office were on one side and the possible suspect and their attorney on the other. Smart people in this business kept it about work and stayed away from the personal stuff when they could. Both sides of the adversarial fight understood that life happened and that poking fun at something someone experienced could come back and bit you in the ass. For serious full-time defense attorneys managing their clients rage and desire for revenge was a very counter-productive way to spend time so they did what they could to take the sting out of the battle. And one thing Bill would have never suggested or indicated was OK was to take an interest in the personal life of someone on the other side of the table. But Amanda’s situation wasn’t unique. The Police in order to do their jobs rummaged through people’s lives to find the answers to the questions that they needed. And most of that time that would mean that nothing was off-limits in someone’s personal life. The search for the full truth wasn’t just held in real life. Law Enforcement dug through bills, credit card statements, cell phone usage, mail and even computer to find the information they needed to do their job.
Detective MacDonald stood and left the quickly. As he stood his chair and tipped over and it sat there on the floor untouched. Detective Crager looked over at Bill and he shook his head up and down. Then both of them reached forward and turned their recorders off. And then they sat and waited in silence for the big Detective to return. It was obvious from watching Macdonald leave the room that he was not happy and Bill expected some yelling when he got back to the conference room. Bill hoped MacDonald’s outrage wouldn’t be directed at him since he had just started getting a mild headache at the top of his head. He knew from experience that the headache would continue to get worse the longer the interview went on. Stress was part and parcel of his job but today promised to be a difficult day. In the past Bill had defended miscreants that were criminals since they were children and had problems creep up and dealt with the set-backs just fine. But in this case he was trying to manage the defense of a woman that had seen her husband killed in our own home and the Police seemed to be accusing her of doing something wrong and were harassing her.
15 minutes after MacDonald walked out of the room he quietly came back in and righted his fallen or knocked over chair. Detective Crager’s and Bill’s eye met and without the nod they both reached for the digital recorders and turned them on. Crager stated the date, time, interviewee and case number and everyone sat and waited. This was clearly a time that MacDonald held the floor.
MacDonald looked up. “Mrs. Fugg I understand that you gained access to my families social media page by submitting a friend request that my wife honored. She has de-friended you and I’d suggest you speak with your lawyer to be sure that your actions in the future are within the law in regards to stalking and harassment. Moving on.” Macdonald paused briefly to look down at his notes. “So the abundance of food in your home is to insure you have supplies for others if the need arises is that correct?”
Amanda nodded. “Correct.”
MacDonald pressed on. “Well we live in the suburbs away from the main suburbs. Does that mean you would consider your home a bug-out location?”
Bill chimed in. “Detective I’m not sure where this is going but we seem to be off-track. My client has extra food in her house and owns some firearms all of which are legal. That’s what she and her husband felt was appropriate and she’s broken no law that I know of. I’m not sure I see how it’s germane to what happened there.”
MacDonald gave Bill a brief look that told Bill that he was asking the questions and that it was his job as a Sworn Police Officer to decide what was important. And as with many of MacDonald’s facial expressions other than distaste the look lit across his face and was gone microseconds later. “Counselor, I’m trying to determine if the suspects were of a like mind and that they knew each other through some type of Militia or something like that. So called Militias and Patriot organizations have been linked to a number of crimes across the country. The crimes run the gamut from low level drug sales to bank robbery and illegal weapon theft and sales. There were ties in the Timothy McVeigh Oklahoma City bombing case to the Militia Movement. That cowardly attack cost the lives of over 150 innocent people and injured another 500. The victim and his wife also had items in their residence and on their computer that make me think that they were interested in this militia or patriot movement stuff.”
Bill looked. “Detective I think that we need to move on. I’m not sure I know what a bug-out location is but that was and is the Fugg’s primary residence. The militia and patriot movement stuff as you put it doesn’t mean that they did anything wrong or that my client had anything to do with her husband’s death.”
MacDonald made some notes and continued without addressing what Bill had said about his questions. “And the fingerprint we found on the 5 gallon bucket?”
Amanda didn’t think she just reacted to the question. “Two things. First of all I told you that Chester knew these guys a few years ago and golfed and did drugs with them recreationally before going to rehab. As far as I knew he didn’t communicate with them since getting back from his stay in there. I take it that you can make an educated guess as to if he had contact with those men using e-mails, phone records, tracking credit card usage and going through our computers. Second of all I think the Glock Evan had on him had been stolen from my vehicle last month. When that weapon was on the ground I recognized a scratch on the slide and I’m pretty sure it was mine. When the weapon was stolen I filed a report with the Police so you can look that up to confirm that I’m being honest with you. So they might have been in our house two years ago or they might have been in it recently without my knowledge or consent. I’d like to believe that Chester had put that chapter of his life behind him. If they were anywhere near our life recently and I found out about it I would have not been happy. It definitely would have put a strain on our relationship. I would have never ever allowed them in my house after what happened two years ago.”
Detective MacDonald nodded. “Well I think that is it. Detective Crager to you have any questions?”
Detective Crager nodded. “Amanda you told us that you met the two of them 2 years ago. Is that correct?”
Amanda nodded and then spoke for the benefit of the two recorders that were recording each and every word said in the interview. “As I said during the previous interview I meet both men over two years ago when Chester knew them. We talked about them after he got back from rehab and agreed that they were bad for him and our family. Their names came up again when we talked about what my expectations for him were after I found out I was pregnant and we both agreed that drugs and people like that were not good for any of us. On the day after he got back from rehab he looked me in the eye and promised to have absolutely no contact with either of them. He was never a hard core drug addict; I viewed him more of a recreational user that allowed drugs to cause him to make some bad decisions on too short a timeframe. He didn’t squander all of our life’s saving or lie, cheat and steal to get drugs it was more casual than that. As far as I know he never saw them again after he got back from rehab.”
Detective Crager made a few notes and looked back up from her pad. “But he did steal money from your saving account to buy drugs didn’t he?”
Amanda looked the Detective in the eye. “Chester took almost half of our savings and bought drugs or gambled it away. Since we were married you might argue that half the money in that account was his so saying he stole the money might be viewed as disingenuous or incorrect. Pine Meadows, the facility that Chester did his rehab at did an out-flow assessment that that indicated that while he had a casual addiction to drugs that he was in a sub-group of ex-users that would benefit greatly from their rehab experience and some out-patient talk therapy while attending support group meetings as needed. They estimated his chance of recovery was greater than 75%. They felt that the gambling was a part of his drug use and they thought that the compulsion to gamble was solely triggered by his drug use and shouldn’t be a problem. He attended a gamblers anonymous meeting occasionally and didn’t even participate in friendly basketball or football pools.”
Crager flipped the page of her pad and then began writing on it while staring at Amanda. Amanda had seen people do it before and she’d love to see how legible the writing was. “And how much did he take?”
Amanda replied. “$16, 000 and change.”
Detective Crager continued to write on her pad. “That’s a lot of money. Most women in that circumstance would have been very angry with him.” The Detective didn’t continue and just looked at her.
Bill broke the silence after 30 seconds. “I’m sorry Detective, did you have a question you wanted to ask or were you just criticizing the behavior of my client’s recently murdered husband?”
Crager looked down at her pad and looked back up at Bill. “I was saying that most spouses would be furious if that happened to them. I wanted to know if Amanda was upset by the drugs, gambling and her husband’s infidelity.”
Bill turned sideways to look at Amanda. Amanda looked at Crager still waiting for a question that was framed to be answered. “I’m still not aware that a question was asked. Do you have a question for me? Or was it your opinion that I should be mad at my husband because you feel that is the correct way to feel? What should I be addressing here?”
Detective Crager nodded her head. “Your husband did drugs, stole money and was unfaithful to you. I could understand that now that you both were parents that you’d be mad at him and want him dead. We found a letter signed by him from 2 years ago. In that letter he admits to the drug use, stealing the money, gambling and an infidelity of some type. What woman would not have been enraged? Tell us what really happened, I know it’ll make you feel better. It always does.”
Before Amanda knew what she should say to that comment Bill spoke. “Detectives, could I have 5 minutes with my client while you wait outside in the hall or get a cup of coffee?”
MacDonald nodded. “Take all the time you need. Just let me know if we need to get someone from the D.A.’s office over here to work something out.”
The two detectives stood up gathered their pads, pens and their digital recorder and moved out of the room.
Bill stopped his recorder and turned to her. “They are trying to imply that you were mad at your husband and had something to do with his death. Is there a letter or e-mails they might have found that could verify any of this?”
Amanda nodded yes. “Just one, before Chester left for rehab he wrote me letter and said that he had a drug problem, had gambled way the money and been unfaithful. We talked and cried a lot when he got back and I forgave him. I’d kill or die to protect either my son or my husband that is how fully I trusted him before the home invasion happened. Bill I didn’t have anything to do with those men or my husband’s death but I left out part of what happened that night. I didn’t know if I could trust you so I kept my mouth shut and if you’re angry I’d understand. I’ll start by saying that I was freaked the hell out after everything happened.”
In 30 minutes Amanda explained what she had done after her home had been invaded and her husband shot and killed in front of her. Within the first 5 minutes of telling the rest of the story she was crying softly. She hated that she was crying but powerless to stop it. Bill understood and while it complicated his job he understood that she had just seen her husband’s murder and might have made some bad choices. After that initial 30 minutes they took another 15 minutes to jot down some notes and work up a game plan. Bill stepped into the hall to ask the two Detectives to join them so that the interview could continue.
The Detectives did the reverse of what they had done before they left the room 45 minutes earlier. They set down their pens and pads and restarted the recorder and then stated the date, time and interview subject along with the case number for the benefit of the recorders.
After the recorders were back on and before the detectives could speak Bill began. “I think we have been cooperative in this matter and it seems you are implying that Amanda was involved in her husband’s death. Also you seem fixated on the fact that two years ago Chester withdrew a large amount of money from their joint saving account while using drugs on a recreational basis. The money Chester Fugg withdrew from their joint account was also his and saying he stole it doesn’t mean his wife felt that way about it. We strenuously object to that characterization of his actions. With these things in mind I want to say that Amanda has agreed to answer the last question you asked and then we are done. Amanda.”
Amanda face told anyone that looked at her that she had been crying. “The letter you found was the one Chester wrote to me before he went to rehab and when this is over I expect it back in the same condition you found it in. When I saw the letter I was shocked and disappointed at what he had done. But Chester and I talked when he returned from rehab and I’m sure that he was a changed man and sorry for the pain he caused everyone that cared about him. I forgave him then as I do now and we had a great marriage since he got back. As we all know infidelity happens all the time. Statistically it might have happened to someone else in this room other than me assuming everyone else in the room is now or has been married. I was never ever murderously angry with him; I was just sad and disappointed at what he had done. That’s all.”
Bill continued. “I’m sorry to say moving forward that we will not be cooperating with your office. You still seem to be implying that you think Amanda did something wrong or illegal in respects to these deaths or acted in a criminal manner. That is not the case and maybe you should be more careful of what you say or do. I know the press is still interested in this story and we will be making a statement to them in the next day or so. Amanda we should be going now. Detectives thank you so much for agreeing to meet us here. We are a little taken aback by the media coverage and avoiding your office was very helpful. If you need Amanda to come into your office please call me first and I will arrange it. Amanda assures me that she had nothing to do with those men breaking into her home and killing her husband and I believe her. So my advice is to go about your job responsibly so that the weight of the story doesn’t crush you if you make a mistake. Also at the risk of sounding foolish Amanda has indicated to me that if her name and reputation are smeared unfairly or that of her deceased husband she will pursue any and all recourse without regard to how it affects you or your reputation and the standing of your Department.”
With that statement made the two of them stood up to leave. Bill gathered his notes and switched his recorder off and slipped it into his pocket. Within 20 seconds of Bill’s last sentence they were in the hall and walked toward the elevators to return to Amanda’s room.
Without slowing down Bill reached into his bag and pulled out 2 cell phones wrapped in their clear theft deterring plastic sleeve. “I got one for you and one for your mother. You’ll both need to limit the people you give the number to or the Police and the Press will bribe, threaten or coerce the number from them. I don’t know how seriously they will pursue you as a suspect but it’s critical you and your mother only discuss the incident under certain conditions and please don’t say anything over the phone that you don’t want made public. They might be able to convince a Judge to write a warrant to have your phones monitored. The key to keeping one step ahead of them is to switch hotels every few days and phones once a week. You need to realize that faulty Police work has sent a lot of innocent people to prison. Numerous programs have used DNA and other cutting edge technologies to exonerate men and women of crimes they never committed. But the process is painfully slow is and the backlog is staggering. While you wait to be freed from a crime you didn’t commit you sit in a cage till they get to you, if they get to you.”