Chapter 7 - The Interrogation Under Fluorescent Light
At 5:00 AM, inside Interrogation Room 2 of the County Police Headquarters, Daniel Vance sat shackled to the heavy metal table.
His tailored shirt was wrinkled, his hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot and hollow.
Across from him sat Detective Marcus Stone and Assistant District Attorney David Miller.
On the metal table lay the physical evidence:
The 4K high-resolution photographs of the four open gas burners and the lighter on the counter.
The blue plate with matching chemical residue.
The recorded 911 call from the corded kitchen phone capturing Hannah’s calm, whisper-delivered coordinates and Daniel’s footsteps returning to the room.
The forged $10 million life insurance policy.
"Daniel," ADA Miller spoke, his voice cutting through the silence like a scalpel. "Your accomplice, Vanessa Cole, was arrested at O'Hare forty minutes ago. She has already agreed to a full proffer agreement in exchange for removing the death penalty from her indictment."
Daniel’s jaw dropped. Sweat dripped from his chin onto his orange detention jumpsuit.
"She... she gave you the encrypted drive?" Daniel stammered, his voice reduced to a high, pathetic squeak.
"She gave us everything," Detective Stone replied. "The purchase receipts for the neurotoxin, the offshore bank accounts, and the flight itineraries to Switzerland."
Daniel buried his face in his cuffed hands, weeping in dry, broken gasps.
"Hannah was holding me back!" Daniel sobbed, slamming his chained wrists against the table. "I built that logistics firm from nothing! She wanted a boring, middle-class life! She didn't understand the pressure I was under with the business debts!"
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"You tried to burn your nine-year-old son alive for an insurance payout, Daniel," Detective Stone said with chilling disgust. "You don't get to talk about pressure."
The door opened, and two armed marshals hauled Daniel to his feet, dragging him toward the central detention cells.
