Because You Loved Me. M. William Phelps
get you out of here then. Would you mind coming downtown and giving us a statement?”
“Can’t I go with Nicole?”
“Sorry, Mr. Sullivan, we can’t do that.”
“OK, then.”
“Do you need your medication?”
“I take it at night.”
“OK.”
Later, Billy said it was at that moment when he began to break down. He thought, I’m screwed. Something’s wrong—otherwise they would let me get in the car with Nicole.
This move by Linehan to get Billy and Nicole downtown, later scrutinized, was not unusual. Many people in the neighborhood were being brought in to give statements. Husbands and wives were not allowed to ride together. Standard procedure. There was a brutal murder scene inside a home on Dumaine Avenue. Heck, Jeanne Dominico’s body was still on the floor of her kitchen (where it would stay for about the next twenty-four hours). What people said and the differences in their stories were vital parts of the investigation. Good investigators knew the slightest discrepancy in statements, although not pointing specifically to guilt, could ultimately solve a case.
Linehan got into the backseat of the cruiser with Billy. Another officer drove. It was about 10:30 P.M.
“We’re heading out,” Linehan told Sprankle.
As they drove, Linehan asked Billy, “So how long have you and Nicole been together?”
Billy seemed uncomfortable, antsy. “Fifteen months.”
“How’d you guys meet?”
Casual conversation. Linehan wasn’t fishing; he just wanted basic facts. Billy was under no obligation to answer.
“A mutual friend,” said Billy. It was a lie; they had met in a chat room on the Internet.
For the next few minutes, they discussed where Billy was from and the town of Willimantic itself. Billy seemed quite captivated by the town’s recent popularity.
“The town was featured on a TV program; you know that?” asked Billy.
“Actually,” Linehan said, “I saw it.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Bad publicity for the town, though, huh?”
The program had depicted the town of Willimantic as a haven for drug use, especially heroin.
Billy said, “Me and some of my classmates have tried to boost the town’s reputation.”
“Well, you do what you can, you know.”
“Yeah,” Billy said.
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