The Death Of Jackson Harris

Chapter 7

The man had to be taken away to calm down in a private cell room. Jacob was furious, and he was forced to go calm down in my new office. This was just as infuriating for me, but I could keep a little calmer than Jacob. This was hard for him. He was used to easily finding the culprit and handing them in. He rarely meets dead ends. I was more used to it than he was.

"We went through the trouble of catching him just for him to pull this stunt!"

"What? You think he was acting?" Grace asked, raising an eyebrow. "That would be hard to pull off in front of actual medical professionals."

"Unless whoever is behind this has people on the inside," I said and looked up the history of the medical professional who attended Phillip. "The person is smart. This can be the procedure. When you're up against a wall, plead insanity and keep your mouth shut. The jury tends to go easy on mentally unstable people. Some can even avoid prison and be sent to a mental ward."

"You think our own people are corrupt?" Jacob asked in a whisper.

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"Actually, that reminds me," Grace said and scrambled to find a piece of paper in the mess of papers she already had on her desk. "Aha! Look! Our very own Reed Santos once pleaded insanity. And, look who was his attorney."

"Austin," Jacob mumbled and handed me the paper containing the case information. "What if Reed is Jackson's second in command?"

"He should at least know something about the man," Grace said, taking my spot at my computer to continue the search regarding the medical professional.

"Have you heard anything from the wife? We haven't got the list of codes from her."

"I haven't, but I'm going to visit her today," Jacob said, grabbing his keys. "Where will you go?"

"I have eight more cases Grace gave me that I should look into. Call me if anything happens."

"Will do," Jacob said with a sigh and walked out.

"I'll go interrogate Phillip if I have a chance. There may be a time that I can see him. Plus, I'm a woman, and some men just feel more at ease with women."

"Good luck; I'm off too. Keep me updated regarding the medical support."

She nodded her head and waved me bye while looking at my computer screen. I closed the door behind me and made my way to the car. It was freezing outside again but not as bad as yesterday. I still turned on my heater, though, and enjoyed the heat that consumed my body. I looked at the first of the eight file cases and sighed. Another murder, but this time, it was a young woman who had also faced sexual assault. The mother found her body in the girl's room and has since moved to a house closer to the town's edge, on the opposite side of her old place. It was a good fifteen-minute drive, but I used the time to formulate a plan. My brain couldn't take more crying women, but I feared I'd have to get used to it with all these crimes Jackson Harris did. I found parking right by the house, and there were some kids playing in the snow with their parents. The poor kids were too young to know how cruel the world they lived in was. I waved hello, and they greeted me back with their innocent smiles.

"Let's see how this goes," I mumbled to myself and knocked on the door.

"Be right there!" a voice yelled from inside the house, and a second later, the door opened to reveal an older woman who seemed to be in her sixties or seventies. "Hello?"

"Hello, ma'am. I'm looking for a Mrs. Ainsley Hansley."

"That's my daughter. How can I help you?"

"I have some questions for her regarding an accident a couple of years back. It's in regards to her daughter."