Chapter 16

“Are you sure you don’t want to call your attorney, Mr. McDaniels?” Special Agent Sally Roux was sitting across from Tom McDaniels. His tie was loosened and his hair was in disarray from his hands constantly running through it in nervousness.

Tom shook his head, “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m simply here as a courtesy. I want to find out who killed Paula and Stella just as much as you do. Probably even more so. Definitely more so."

“Is that so?” Sally didn’t like Tom McDaniels. There was something about him that screamed phony to her. “You have some nice green eyes there Tom. Is it okay if I call you Tom?”

Tom shrugged.

Sally smiled, “Did you get those green eyes from your mother or your father?”

Tom crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, “I’m not sure how the color of my eyes is relevant to the deaths of Paula and Stella.”

"Oh but it's very relevant Tom. Very relevant," Sally slid a piece of paper in front of him. Tom turned the paper over and saw that it was a copy of his driver’s license. He could see that he was registered as having blue eyes.

He shook his head in disbelief, “Do you think I’m suspicious because I wear contacts? Women these days are so hard to please.”

Sally laughed and then slid another piece of paper to him. Tom turned the paper over to see what looked like a copy of a text conversation.

Stella: “How’s JB?”

Me: “Asleep. How’s the date? Hot????”

Stella: “YES! Tom’s a blue eyed hottie! Ttyl”

Sally walked around the table and stood behind Tom. She bent over until her face was level with his and said, “I don’t know if you know this or not, Tom…but I think most women would consider you a “hottie.”

Tom asked, “Does that include you Agent Roux?”

She laughed again, “No, I don’t go for possible serial killers Mr. McDaniels. Murder doesn’t quite get me all hot and bothered. In any event, it seems to me that you were the last person that saw Stella Meyers alive. You wanna tell me again where you were that night?”

Tom didn’t hesitate, “I was at the home of Eva Lewis. Another woman was also there and could also vouch for me.”

At the mention of her name, Sally’s interest was piqued. “Eva Lewis. Isn’t she the same woman who supposedly had her car vandalized by the Demon King? And if I recall…the police report said that you were at the scene of the crime when she discovered her car had been written on.”

“I had gone to meet her and she saw the car had graffiti on it. I saw the car after she noticed it.”

Sally sat back down, “How well did you know Paula Masterson.”

Tom answered, “We went to high school together. She was friends with some of my friends. We were both part of the same wedding party. It had been years since we had last seen one another. So to answer your question, I didn’t know her very well. We weren’t even friends on Facebook.”

“You said you were at Eva Lewis’ house the night that Stella was killed but Stella was your secretary and you didn’t notice that she was missing? Why didn’t you report her missing?”

“Things had been a bit hectic in my personal life. I was taking a leave of absence. I hadn’t expected to see Stella until I returned to the office.”

“What were you doing at Eva Lewis’ house?” Sally asked.

Tom refused to answer honestly, “It was for personal reasons.”

Sally clucked her tongue, “Personal reasons huh? Is that why she called the cops out to her house? It seems to me that you’re not what you portray yourself to be Tom. Tell me about Tiffany Sanchez.”

“What about her? I don’t know who she is.”

Sally smiled, “Well isn’t this interesting? She’s been inside your home several times and you’re telling me you don’t know her.” Sally pulled a picture of Tiffany out of a file and slid it to him. Tom looked at the photo and after a few moments recognized her.

“I think she may have been a maid but I use a cleaning service so I have no control over who they send.” Tom was beginning to get worried.

Sally nodded, “That’s right Tom. She was a maid that came to your house and cleaned for you but you’re going to tell me you don’t know her?”

Tom gave an exasperated sigh, “The maids come to clean while I’m at work. The only reason I recognized her is because I had come home early one day while she was there. If I hadn’t gone home early, I never would’ve been able to recognize her!”

Sally smiled, “Is that so?” She slid another photograph to him. “Do you remember her or are you going to claim she’s a stranger too?”

Tom looked at the photo in disbelief, “Why are you showing me this?”

Sally leaned forward, “Do you recognize her?”

“Her name is Georgina Ambers. We went on a date once. As a joke, a friend had signed me up on a dating site. I didn’t want to go until I saw her picture. She’s beautiful. I went but we didn’t have much in common. We don’t keep in touch.” Tom explained.

“Yeah it’s kind of hard to keep in touch with someone after they’ve been murdered.” Sally commented.

Tom’s head shot up, “What did you just say?”

“Acting surprised? Don’t tell me you hadn’t read about it in the newspapers? The Demon King is pretty popular news these days.” Sally said.

Tom’s mind was reeling. “I only started keeping up with the articles since Paula’s death. I haven’t read any of the old stories yet.”

“What dating site did you use to meet Georgina?”  Sally asked.

Tom shrugged, “I don’t know. I didn’t set up the account. A friend did it for me.”

“What was the name of your friend that supposedly set it up?” Sally asked.

Tom frowned, “Kevin. Kevin Landers.”

Sally wrote down the information. “There’s so much about you that is a mystery to me. You come across as a successful businessman but you’re hiding so many secrets.”

Tom laughed, “What secrets? Is it a crime to wear green contacts?”

“Tell me about your family.”

Tom stiffened, “I don’t see how my family has anything to do with this.”

Sally continued, “What’s the matter? Don’t like talking about your family?”

Tom sighed, “My father is currently a patient in a residential treatment facility. My mother had left us years ago.”

Sally smiled, “Oh Tom. Do you really think that I don’t already know about your family?”

“If you already know then why are you asking me about them?”

Sally shrugged, “I wanted to see what you would tell me on your own. Your father is pretty famous. Or at least he used to be before he stopped writing and became somewhat of a recluse. Your biological mother abandoned you. Your step-mother passed away. Your younger sister was murdered and your brother died in a fire his first day of college. You have a pretty scandalous past there Mr. McDaniels. I’ve been reading some of your previous interviews with the newspaper and such. You’re kind of famous in this city.” Sally put her elbows on the desk that separated her from Tom. She whispered, “A father in a residential center and a stepmom, a sister, and a brother all dead. Now what I want to know is why you’ve never mentioned them to the public before.”

Tom looked at Agent Roux and said, “I think I would like to call my lawyer now.”