Carl Hovarth looked at his son-in-law through the glass, trying to understand his motives. He had done the same with Lindsay before he had come to watch Michael. But like before, he couldn’t come up with anything that would remotely explain the actions of those two.

He had seen a lot of criminals in his job, from burglars to murderers - he had seen it all as a homicide detective. Never before had he been forced to watch relatives being arrested and questioned. Carl had asked his colleagues to do the interrogation after the FBI had arrested Michael and Lindsay. He hadn’t been sure it was a good idea to be in close proximity of either family member. The chances for him to lash out at them was too high of a risk for him, especially since he had come to know and respect Brian. Justin was Brian’s true love. The mutual respect and admiration had been clear to notice in everything they said and did to and for each other.

“Hey Carl, you going to watch?” Sam, one of Carl’s best officers, asked the older man.

“Yeah.” Carl sighed in reply. “Wanna start with Novotny or Peterson?”

“Novotny. Peterson’s parents are making a fuss so we start with him.” Sam replied. Carl watched his younger officer walk into the interrogation room with Michael’s appointed lawyer.

INTERROGATION ROOM 1 - MICHAEL’S INTERROGATION

“Mr. Novotny, when did you and Lindsay Peterson came up with the idea to hire a professional killer?” Officer Sam asked.

“What are you talking about?” Michael asked back, playing confused and dumb. “I was having a nice walk with a friend who’s also the mother of my daughter. We’ve met that guy in the park and he was asking for directions and a little money. He’s homeless I guess.” He shrugged. His lawyer rolled his eyes at Novotny’s reply.

“Mr. Novotny, this is useless. Cody is an FBI agent. We heard everything the three of you discussed. Cody was wired. And you didn’t just give him a few dollars so let’s cut the bullshit. You and Lindsay Peterson wanted to hire Cody to kill Justin Taylor. We took on everything you had brought to the planned meeting. The money, the details of Taylor.” Sam replied in an annoyed tone.

“We… well, I… Listen, Brian is my best friend, OUR best friend and we have to protect him from that gold digging whore. That’s what Justin Taylor is. He’s trying everything to tie Brian to him. If Brian’s going to divorce the loser he’ll stand to lose everything he’s worked so hard for.” Michael said after stumbling for a bit. The officer had been right, there was no use in denying the facts.

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you created this stupid plan to protect Kinney? Maybe someone should protect him from you and Peterson. Do you even know who Justin Taylor really is? A gold digging whore? Not really. The guy’s a millionaire and famous. Kinney’s money and success looks like pocket money compared to Taylor’s worth. How did this plan come together?” Sam wanted to know.

“Lindsay said it was the best way to get rid of him without Brian losing everything.” Michael shrugged, seeming bored with the interrogation and figuring he could try to put the blame on Lindsay.

“Explain how you and her got in touch with Cody.” Sam demanded.

“Um, she called a few people. I wouldn’t how to find a professional assassin. I mean, they don’t really advertise their jobs and offerings in the yellow pages, you know.” Michael said, shrugging once again. “Then she told me that she had found a way to contact this Cody guy.”

“Okay, how did you get the money? $50,000 is a lot of money.” Sam asked.

“Um, it’s just money that I’ve been saving for a while.” Michael stuttered.

“Saved? Do you mean the money you put aside from your husband Ben Bruckner, from your ex David Cameron and your best friend Brian Kinney?” Sam asked angrily.

“What? How do you know?” Michael screeched. “I mean, what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the money you got from your husband for your store. About $10,000 so far. Add to that the $15,000 from Cameron. He bought a car for you and instead of giving it back to him, you sold it. The car and insurance was in his name. You forged the papers. It’s called fraud. And then about $40,000 you borrowed from Mr. Kinney in the past years. He loaned you the money but you haven’t paid back a dollar yet. You used all those men and their money to get rid of Kinney’s husband.” Sam explained and secretly enjoyed watching Novotny squirm.

“I… uhm, shit. How did you find out?” Michael asked weakly.

“We investigated you. Everything.” Sam said and closed the file. “You’re under arrest. My colleague will bring you to your cell soon.”

“Wait! What about bail? I can pay.” Michael yelled but was only met by Sam’s laugh.

“No way, Novotny. All your assets are freezed. The money will go back to its rightful owners after the investigation is closed. Enjoy your stay in the cell.”

Sam was glad the interview was over. Now he needed a coffee before going to Peterson’s interrogation.

INTERROGATION ROOM 2 - LINDSAY’S INTERROGATION

“Mrs. Peterson, why did you hire Cody Bell?” Sam asked while Carl was watching.

“I did not do such a thing. I was merely trying to stop my dear friend Michael from doing something so horrible.” Lindsay replied, acting outraged. Sam realized what she was trying to do and was curious to see where she was going with this.

“Mrs. Peterson, there is no need to pretend anything. Let’s go with the truth. You’ve been caught on tape since Cody Bell was wired and we, along with the FBI agents have heard every single word the three of you exchanged.” Sam told her, waiting for her response.

“I…” Lindsay began to stutter but couldn’t come up with anything.

“Yeah, I thought so. Tell me why you wanted Bell to kill Justin Taylor.” Sam demanded.

“Because that interluper stole my husband… I mean my best friend and father of my son, Gus.” Lindsay replied angrily.

“Nice trip of tongue, Mrs. Peterson. Aren’t you a lesbian?” Sam asked, trying to hide his amusement of her stupidity.

“Yes, I am. But I still love my friend Brian dearly and want the best for him.” Lindsay answered in a soothing tone, trying to sound caring.

“And you think having his husband killed is the best for him? Or that killing his step-father is the best for your son Gus?” Sam asked sarcastically.

“Justin needs to get out of our lives as fast as possible. I won’t allow that ingrate to replace me in Brian’s life.” Lindsay muttered loudly enough for everyone to understand every word.

“Tell me where you got the money from.” Sam demanded.

“I… it’s mine. I have been saving some of my income for the past years.” She stuttered.

“Really? I didn’t know a gallery manager makes that much money a year. I mean, you have over $200,000 saved? Impressive. And here I thought it was from the monthly support payments for Gus AND Jenny Rebecca from Mr. Kinney along with the money you also get monthly from Sam Auerbach. Why would Mr. Auerbach send you money?” Sam was enjoying the realization and shock dawning on Lindsay’s face.

“That’s none of your business!” Lindsay yelled. The police couldn’t know or so she thought.

“On the contrary. Mr. Auerbach explained that he paid you for service rendered. So I wonder what your actual job is, Mrs. Peterson. Are you a gallery manager or a prostitute?” Sam delivered the smackdown without making a face. The thought alone of paying this woman for sex made him want to puke his guts out. He was straight but women like Lindsay had him run for the hills.

“I… why don’t you say a thing?” Lindsay turned to her lawyer.

“What do you want me to say? You’ve been caught. Your parents only paid me to see what they want to charge you with. I don’t think they’ll be happy.” Ralph Turning replied, annoyed.

“There’s also her voice wanting Cody Bell to give her the contact for someone to kidnap Taylor’s child, which isn’t even born at this point.” Sam added and enjoyed Turning’s reaction.

“Wow, you’ve been quite busy. I’m not going to represent you, Lindsay. I’m a father myself and I love my children. One would think that you, as a mother, would never want to hurt a child but I guess you’re really too selfish. Good luck. Or not. May you rot in hell, Lindsay.” Ralph sneered and left the room. Sam followed quickly, relieved to be out of Lindsay’s presence.

He nodded for his colleagues to get Lindsay and bring her to the cell. She wouldn’t be allowed bail, just like Novotny.

Carl had been watching both interrogations in silence. He was a respected detective and his colleagues hated to see him so down. Listening to Michael and Lindsay broke the man’s heart, for his wife Debbie and the rest of the family. But he knew that Brian would be the one to suffer the most.. And he didn’t want to think about the consequences for Gus and Jenny, his beloved grandchildren.