Chapter 145: Dead End (2/2)

But this woman had seen him naked. Surely, she would know more.

”Do you remember any features of his that stood out to you? Any marks on his body or the way he moved. Anything out of the ordinary?”

She thought about it for a moment. ”He always wore a cap. It looked old but he always kept it safely away before taking off his clothes. Never left it unattended. Looked important.”

I filled with hope. ”Anything distinctive?”

”Just a green hat with a logo. I think it was from that football team.” Oh.

”If you remember anything, give me a call. We're looking for tips on this man.” I got the name of the restaurant and everything but nothing much came from it.

The CCTV footage of him was all blurry and you couldn't make out a single thing about his features. The cap was always in the way and his clothes and walk and everything was so normal that we couldn't follow him. He didn't have a car. He used the vehicles given to him by the restaurants and that was that.

He blended into the crowd like a phantom.

Dead end.

But we didn't stop looking. Nash kept looking for caps that matched the description. He tried to find something… anything… in hopes that it was an important clue.

”It's a personal treasure,” I told him. ”It doesn't need to be expensive,” I groaned. ”Maybe it signifies something emotional… like maybe he has a family member or friend who gave it to him… Or they went to watch the sport together.”

Nash banged his hand on the table. ”Usually, guys go with older siblings or their father to football games, right? So, an attachment to his father. Apathy towards sex, so possible abuse?”

”I don't know about abuse, though,” I grumbled.

We had more clues about his personality. But nothing to find out who he was.

”We have to find some clue to make sense of this!” Nash was irritated.

”Tell the prosecutor that we will keep trying until we find something.” I groaned.

The thing about celebrity cases was that the courts rushed to get a conviction or acquittal. With the prosecution going hard on McCain and his unethical lawyer Collins, the hearing was pushed forward by months.

After merely a week of the confession, the judges sitting in the podium were not as enthusiastic about the hearing.

I wasn't called on the first day. The second day, I was called in. The lawyer representing McCain was an employee of Collins' firm and therefore, I expected them to use the same tricks as his boss.

The prosecutor was the first to question me.

Nash had not been with me at the time and I had interviewed the family, the son, and the perpetrator, so I was their best bet to give a faithful narrative.

I was seated on the witness stand and made to take the oath, which I did without reserve.

”Can you state your name, please?” the Prosecutor asked.

”My name is Evie Marie Lewis,” I said firmly. I was made to spell out my name for the court journalists for record and I did so.

”Can you give me an introduction to yourself and your credentials, please?” he asked. The man's voice was soothing.

”I have a post-graduate degree in foreign languages and linguistics from the University of W, specializing in the game of interaction and pain. Thereafter, I worked as the assistant to Sebastian Butler, Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice, at the University of W. He acts as a consultant for the federal investigation bureau and city police. I obtained an internship at the city police headquarters and have been working under Detective Seth Nash, Head of Behavioral Studies.I have also been extended a permanent position in the department as of one month ago.”

The explanation was long but my accreditations seemed sufficient.

”Can you tell us about the number of cases you have handled in partnership with Detective Nash?” he probed.

”I have handled over thirty-five active cases in the three months of my employment and can boast of a hundred percent solving rate as of this moment,” I added the last part.

”Impressive.”

I nodded in acknowledgment.

”Were you the one who interviewed Mr. McCain?”

I leaned into the microphone. ”Yes, I was the one who interviewed Mr. McCain after he was called to the station for questioning.”