Chapter 168: Exclamatory Remarks (1/2)

The prosecutor was faster than expected. Usually, we needed to wait at least a day to get our hands on something like this, but instead, we had it within five hours of that call being made.

With the court order in place, Nash and I had to come up with a plan to take Bill Phillips aside and question him. The hardest part would be to get him inside that room and talk to him.

Fortunately, he was situated on the top floor of the same building, so it wouldn't be suspicious to go up to him and talk. But what bait would be used to pull him down?

”Let's use the BTS Killer case,” Nash said finally. ”He was the one who solidified the name in the media.”

I looked at him curiously. ”Is that so?”

”Yeah. No one wanted to name him because they would give him notoriety, but Bill thought it was a good move, to give something the people could pinpoint and avoid. Now I can see it would be because he wanted to be up there with the named and famed serial killers.” He shook his head in disbelief.

”Let's isolate him completely and ask him, then,” I injected.

The plan was solidified. Nash would take the lead and we would hide a camera in the coat and bring it into the room where we questioned him.

The clock ticked slowly as we ascended the staircase. The floors showed who was more powerful than the other and on the top floor was Bill Phillips, almost the most powerful man in the police department at the time.

”Ready?” Nash whispered.

I pushed the door to the floor open. The station was an open style and the Director-General sat beyond a glass wall. He seemed busy at work but the furrow of his brow and the tension in his limps said another story.

Nash knocked on the secretary's desk and the man looked up, surprised.

”Is the Director-General available to speak?” he asked casually. I was thankful that he had come by because I couldn't have been so suave and charming with others.

”The DG doesn't want to meet anyone today,” the secretary mumbled.

Nash clucked his tongue. ”We actually needed his expert opinion on a case we are working on. Would you mind asking him if he could spare us a little time today?” Nash's tone was light but pleading. There was no urgency in it and I instantly knew that he was baiting the DG by showing that we had a lot on our plate to figure out and he was important in the process.

Being the narcissist that this man was, he would want to know everything we had against him and maybe point us in another direction. He might even have fun watching us run from one place to the other.

We would allow him that delight if he came with us.

The phone call was made and Bill swiveled his head in our direction and looked at us critically. Nash raised his hand in acknowledgment and gave a small bow. The man looked slightly relieved before he hurriedly spoke into the phone.

”The Director-General will see you now,” he said.

Nash nodded. He went into the room and said something to the man, making him come out of the room instantly.

He followed us and the whole way, Nash spoke about the trivial matters while announcing that they should go to a restaurant. A tactic I realized was to show the DG that we wanted his help in private.

The thing about being apprehended was that even if you have been on the other side a thousand times and knew every move written in the book by heart when you were faced with detectives and interrogators, you couldn't tell the difference.

We had created a ruse and invited Bill to advise us on a case. We had rehearsed and prepared the questions many times over the time the prosecutor took to get the court order. We had to keep the conversation as casual as possible for as long as possible and carefully wait for the key moments to initiate the confrontation.

We actually led him to one of the rooms where the DG knew no cameras were installed.

”Let's have a seat,” Nash said casually, pointing towards an old chair. We didn't follow the usual patterns of an interrogation. There was a table in the far corner of the room and the DG sat on one side while Nash and I huddled close to him without looking like we were opposing him. Even the door was hidden from his view unlike when interrogators would intentionally sit between the suspect and the door to show power.

We were simply humble people who wanted to chat with the almighty Director-General.

”I know it's strange that we brought you aside but it felt awkward talking to you about the case in front of so many watchful eyes.”

”That's okay,” Bill assured.