Chapter 287 - The Biggest Suspect (1)
Chapter 287 The Biggest Suspect (1)
Luke went to Elsa and whispered something to her.
After hearing him out, Elsa rearranged the tasks and had the rookies continue the interrogation, while she and Selina began to question the five biggest suspects.
Luke stood behind them and observed the suspects’ reactions during the interrogation. When the last man came in, the others greeted him. “Hey, Todd.”
He was none other than Todd Vince, the second in command on the crew.
He was the writer and the first assistant director on the movie.
Other than Pierce, the director of the movie, he was the most powerful man in the crew.
After a few minutes of questioning, Todd got up and left.
After a moment, Elsa turned back and looked at Luke. “Did you notice anything?”
Luke approached them and said, “Maybe, but tell me what you found first so that I don’t influence your view.”
Evidence was needed to convict a criminal. He could basically deduce who the murderer was, but that wasn’t proof.
Selina thought for a moment, then said, “As I recall, I didn’t see the props manager and his assistants during the filming.”
Elsa pondered for a moment before she shook her head. “Luke said that the murderer used a trap to kill Sarah, so he didn’t have to be there. He could be using you and Luke as his best alibi.”
Luke nodded inwardly.
Nobody knew how Sarah had stepped into the trap, and it was impossible to identify the murderer since the trap could’ve been set up much earlier on.
Elsa said, “Even the people that were in your line of sight could still be suspects. They might’ve set up the trap before you arrived.” Both Selina and Luke nodded.
Doing so ran the risk of the trap being exposed earlier on, but it also made it much harder to investigate.
Elsa looked at Luke and asked, “Now, can you tell us what you discovered?” Luke said, “Todd is the biggest suspect.”
Both Elsa and Selina were stunned for a moment. Elsa then asked, “Why him?”
As the writer and an assistant director, he was always with Pierce, and a lot of people would have been paying attention to him. Luke had found an excuse. He spread his hands and said, “Precisely because he didn’t have time to commit the crime.” Elsa realized what Luke was getting at. “He used a trap to murder Sarah because he couldn’t disappear for long?”.
Luke nodded and added, “Secondly, as the writer and an assistant director, he’s one of the few people in the crew who can tell Sarah where to go.”
Elsa and Selina were struck with realization.
Although Sarah was only a C-list actress, only Pierce and Todd could order her around in the crew.
In this low-budget horror movie, she was the biggest star.
Of course, in that regard, Pierce held even more power.
If he told Sarah to take off her clothes and give him a lap dance, she would still do it.
But Pierce didn’t have a motive, and his scent wasn’t on the two nooses either.
Luke had compared the scents at the crime scenes with what was on the murder weapons to identity the murderer.
Nobody had been near the area where Sarah had died today, but Todd’s scent was present from the previous day, as well as Sarah’s.
Without looking at security footage, nobody else would realize it since everybody was busy filming and wouldn’t be keeping track of each other’s whereabouts.
If Jennifer hadn’t brought Luke by today, it was possible that Todd might’ve tricked everyone. “If it’s Todd, what’s his motive?” Selina was puzzled. “He’s the writer and an assistant director. What good will it do him for this movie to be haunted by negative news?”
Neither Elsa nor Luke could give her an answer, because there were too many possibilities.
In any case, Elsa simply made a decision. “I’ll have Billy and Simmons continue investigating the set as a distraction. Everybody else will focus on Todd and try to find his weak point.”
Luke and Selina certainly had no objections.
It was best for the three female detectives to interrogate the crew since they were less aggressive as women and would communicate more easily with them.
Both the detectives and the crew members were exhausted by yet another round of questions, but nobody complained.
Who knew whether the crew would still exist after this incident.
Many people in the crew were relying on this movie, and the police detectives were also hoping to close the case as fast as possible to minimize the negative impact.
An hour later, Elsa returned and met up with Luke again. “There’s something wrong with Todd.”
Luke didn’t respond and simply waited for her to continue.
But Elsa just had some water and hinted for Elizabeth to pick up where she left off.
Elizabeth gave everybody a bottle of water and continued, “Based on our investigation, Todd was actually close to Sarah. In fact, it was Todd who recommended her as lead actress.”
Luke continued listening.
“However, it seemed that Pierce wasn’t satisfied with Sarah’s performance and was thinking about replacing her,” Elizabeth went on.
Luke was puzzled. “But filming has already started. Won’t they lose a lot of money if they replace the lead actress now?”
Elizabeth said, “There’ll be losses, but filming only started a week ago, and because Pierce has been unsatisfied with Sarah’s performance, progress has been slow. If the lead actress is replaced, filming will proceed much more smoothly.”
Luke nodded. If Pierce was satisfied with the performance of the new lead actress, it was possible that the crew could save on weeks or even months of filming, so replacing the actress actually wouldn’t be a waste.
Elizabeth said, “Todd and Sarah were more than close. Apparently, they were quite… intimate.”
Looking at Elizabeth, Selina interjected, “That isn’t strange, but that’s just our speculation. Nobody said anything outright.” After adding that, she gestured for Elizabeth to continue.
Elizabeth smiled awkwardly. She was quite embarrassed to talk about it. As a new police detective who had just graduated from college, she wasn’t ready to face the ugliness of reality yet.