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you get anything interesting from her?” Hank asked.
Jake shrugged. “Not really. She claims she doesn’t remember anything.”
“That’s basically all I got too.”
“She seems believable,” Annie said.
“But she’s still a killer,” Hank said. “There’s no way around that. The thing that escapes me is motive. I couldn’t find any connection between Robinson or Bonfield, to either Cheryl or her parents.”
“I find it hard to believe she could be a hired killer. That seems pretty ridiculous. She’s not the type,” Jake said.
“Most killers don’t seem like killers on the surface,” Hank said.
“Who benefits?” Annie asked. “Does Cheryl benefit from Robinson’s death at all? If not, who does?”
“Follow the money,” Jake said. “It’s almost always love or money.”
Matty listened intently, his head twisting back and forth as he followed the conversation. In the past, Annie had tried to shield him from any discussions they had regarding murder or crime, but Matty has recently straightened them out with his understanding of what some people do to others. Annie had relented and allowed him to listen in unless things got too gruesome.
“There’s certainly lots of money in this case,” Annie said. “I did some research into Bonfield Development. They’re a multi-billion dollar company.”
“And I have my guys checking a little deeper into Robinson’s background, as well as his wife’s. I talked to her. She’s distraught, of course, but if there were any affairs going on, we need to find that out.”
“According to her receptionist,” Annie said. “They were a lovely couple, and she was adamant neither one of them would have an affair.”
“If that’s the case,” Jake put in, “then it’s the money. Again, who benefits?”
“Hank flipped a notepad from his inner pocket and consulted it. “Besides his wife, he has a son, Richard. He’s on the board of directors at Bonfield. We’re checking into him, as well as all of the other board members, but he’s not a priority suspect.”
“Sheridan Construction,” Annie said.
Hank glanced over at her. “Who?”
“Sheridan Construction. They’re Bonfield’s chief competitors in a bidding going on for a prime piece of land downtown. They would certainly benefit by his death.”
Hank thought a moment. “It’s a possibility,” he said. “But big land deals go on all the time, and people don’t usually get killed over it.”
“Just a thought,” Annie said.
Matty seemed to be getting bored with the conversation. He slid off the couch, left the room and disappeared down the hallway toward the kitchen. Annie heard the back door slap shut as he went out to the backyard.
Hank spoke, “I’m going to push the crown to ask the judge for a mental health hearing. If the prosecuting attorney is convinced Cheryl is unable to proceed because she has a serious mental issue, he must bring this to the court’s attention. I expect the judge will order a competency examination be conducted and appoint a psychiatrist or psychologist to conduct it.”
“At least that should give us a diagnosis of her mental condition,” Annie said.
“And whether or not she’s faking it,” Jake added. “But she’s still a murderer.”
“Yes, she is,” Hank said. “But we want to find out why. I’ve questioned a lot of suspects in the last twenty years, and I have a pretty good idea if someone’s lying or not. And my gut tells me Cheryl is seriously confused.”
“So you hope a psychiatrist can get something out of her you can’t?” Annie asked.
“Exactly. I don’t expect she’ll be found incompetent to stand trial. That’s not the issue with me. I want to get at the truth.”
“Yeah, so do we,” Jake said. “We’re just not sure what our next move is.”
“We’ll see what tomorrow brings,” Annie said. “Today was a pretty eventful day.”
Hank looked at his watch. “I have to get going in a minute. Amelia’s