44. Maddy At The Station

Brampton met Madeline Saunders at the front desk of the police station and escorted her to an interrogation room. They exchanged pleasantries as they walked, nobody took any notice as they passed through offices and corridors, and Madeline felt more relaxed by the time they reached Interrogation Room D than she had since leaving home.

He motioned her to a chair on one side of the desk and sat down in one of the two chairs opposite. He placed a brown folder on the table. She glanced briefly at it before turning to look around the room noting the small camera high on one wall and the large mirror on another. She stared at the mirror, patted her hair and raised her eyebrows for the benefit of anyone watching.

Brampton noticed the gesture. Damned cop shows he thought, but said, “I’ve asked Kathy to join us if that’s okay with you?”

“Fine with me,” said Madeline. She had no idea why she was there, even less of a clue why Kathy Chatsworth would join them, but she would stay calm and see what unfolded.

Two minutes later, the door opened and Kathy stepped in. She greeted Madeline, gave her a brief hug before taking the seat next to Brampton.

He cleared his throat and began. “Part of why we’re here today is to sign the form to release Shaye’s house from police custody to you. I’m recording the meeting to help me make my notes and serve as future reference for you if your lawyers need it.”

“This is partly to release my house, but there’s more to it? Is that what you’re saying?” Madeline looked from Brampton to Kathy.

“Mrs. Saunders, we have some questions to ask as part of our investigation,” he’d meant to call her Madeline but old habits are hard to break. “Are you comfortable answering questions today?”

Madeline turned to stare at the mirror and laughed. “My goodness, shouldn’t I have a lawyer present?” Brampton opened his mouth to reply, but she waved her hand dismissively. “I’m kidding. Go ahead. If I start feeling uncomfortable, I can just stop right?” He nodded warily. “But if I stop before you’re satisfied, I might not get my house released today?”

He silently swore at the cop shows again and repeated, “We’re here to release your house, but we also have some questions.”

Madeline took pity on him. “Okay detective, fire away.”

He pressed record. “This is Detective Sergeant Brampton,” he emphasized the title, “interviewing Madeline Saunders with Kathy Chatsworth as witness. We’ll be discussing items regarding the Shaye Alderson murder investigation. Madeline, please confirm you are aware this is being recorded.”

She leaned forward and spoke clearly into the small recording machine. “Madeline Saunders speaking. Yes, I’m aware this is being recorded and I fully agree to it. I do not have counsel present, nor do I believe I need it.”

He dated and timed the recording and moved to his first question.

“Madeline, I understand you have family issues that have put you in debt. With the death of Shaye Alderson, you have inherited her estate, which will solve that problem. Help me understand your perspective on this.”

Madeline listened intently, then genuine surprise lit up her face and she laughed out loud and reached under the desk.

“I’m reaching into my briefcase now for my iPad,” she said, perhaps confusing the interrogation with a late-night traffic stop. Kathy stifled a giggle, Brampton looked annoyed. “Because it will help with this conversation,” Madeline said clearly. She activated PowerPoint.

“If you’d just asked me about this, I could have made it really simple.” She spun the iPad around to face them. “Shaye was going to loan me money. She wanted to give it to me, but I insisted I would pay it back, so we agreed on a loan with very low interest.”

Kathy was surprised. This had not come up in their lengthy conversations. Brampton had on his poker face and just nodded.

“Shaye wanted to use the law firm of Jackson, Jackson and Kelsey, who I think you’re familiar with?” Madeline asked.

“Yes, I’m familiar with them,” said Brampton stiffly.

“They’re the lawyers I use for my family business,” said Kathy helpfully.

Madeline turned her device around and typed rapidly, then turned it back.

“Here is the promissory note drafted by that firm.” She touched the screen making a soft indent. “It’s dated the day before she died. You’re welcome to read it. You’ll see there’s a onetime interest payment. It says I can pay back the loan any time within five years. You’ll see I was setting up a trust account with them so I could make payments whenever I had money available.”

Brampton picked up the iPad, scanned the document, then placed it back on the desktop and nodded for her to continue.

“So you see, money was no longer an issue. Thanks to Shaye I was going to have access to what I needed when I needed it.”

They sat in silence and, before they could respond, Madeline sat back with a tight smile on her face.

“I do understand. When I showed up just after her murder, I was an obvious suspect – a mysterious, long-lost sister in financial trouble.” Kathy heard the hurt in her voice. “You actually thought I could have murdered her. I was coming to the city the day after she died so we could finalize how to set up this money.”

She looked suddenly tired, reminding Kathy that her life was not easy. “We were going to go shopping,” Madeline said softly. “We liked shopping together.”

Sandy moved the iPad back to her. “I wish we had known all this before. You’re right, it takes away what would have been a strong motive.”