I dont know. He hunched over and looked at the floor. He was both exhausted and sad, a mixture that looked to have finally devastated him.
Well leave you alone for now, Mackenzie said. If you dont mind, do you have Mrs. Lynchs hotel information?
Yeah, he said, slowly pulling his phone back out. Hold on.
As he pulled up the information, Mackenzie looked over to Ellington. As always, he was being hyperaware, looking around the place to make sure they werent missing anything obvious. She also noticed, though, that he was tinkering with his wedding ring as he studied the place, turning it slowly around and around on his finger.
She then looked back at Clark Manners. She was pretty sure they may end up questioning him againand probably soon. The fact that he was obsessively cleaning his house after his girlfriends death made sense from a psychological standpoint but it could also be seen as an attempt to get rid of any evidence.
But she had seen people broken over grief before and she felt deep down in her gut that Clark was likely innocent. No one could fake this sort of grief and inability to get a good nights sleep. They may need to speak with some of his friends at some point, though.
As Clark found the information, he handed over his phone so Mackenzie could take it down. She also took down the names and numbers that Clark had pulled up for all of the friends that had been at his apartment on the night Christine was killed. As she took the information down, she realized that she had also been fidgeting with her wedding ring. Ellington had noticed her doing it, managing a quick smile at her in spite of the situation. She stopped rotating the ring when she took the phone from Clark.
***Margaret Lynch was just about the exact opposite of Clark Manners. She was cool and collected, greeting Mackenzie and Ellington with a smile when they met with her in the lobby of the Radisson she was staying in. She led them to a couch near the back of the lobby, though, showing her first sign of weakness.
If I end up crying, Id rather not do it in front of everyone, she remarked, pressing herself into the couch as if she was fairly certain this would indeed happen.
Id like to start with asking how well you know Clark Manners, Mackenzie said.
Well, I spoke to him for the first time two days ago, after all this had happened. But Christine had mentioned him a few times on the phone. She was quite taken with him, I think.
Is there any suspicion on your part?
No. Of course, I dont know the boy but based on what Christine told me about him, I dont see him being the one who did this.
Mackenzie noted that Mrs. Lynch was doing everything she could to avoid words like killed or murdered. She figured the woman was able to keep her head because she was doing a good job of distancing herself from it. It was probably made easier by the fact that the two of them had been living on separate ends of the country for a while.
What can you tell me about Christines life here in Baltimore? Mackenzie asked.
Well, she started college in San Francisco. She wanted to be a lawyer, but the school and the course loadit wasnt a good fit. We had a long talk about her applying to Queen Nash University. A long talk. Her father passed away when she was eleven and really, its just been Christine and I since then. No uncles, no aunts. Its always been a small family. She has one surviving grandmother, but she has dementia and is in a home out near Sacramento. I dont know if you know yet or not, but Im having her cremated here, in Baltimore. No sense in going through the process of getting her back to California just to have the same thing done. We have no ties to the area, really. And I know she enjoyed it here, so
This poor woman is going to be all alone, Mackenzie thought. She was always aware of these sorts of things when interviewing and interrogating people, but this thought seemed to slam into her like a boulder.
Anyway, she got in and within a single semester, she knew she loved it here. She was always very apologetic, worried that I was this lonely old woman living alone without her. She kept in touch, calling about twice a week. Shed tell me about how classes were going and, like I said, she ended up telling me about Clark.
What did she say about him? Ellington asked.
Just that he was cute and very funny. She did mention from time to time that he wasnt very exciting and that he had a tendency to drink too much whenever they were in social situations.
But nothing negative?
Not that I can remember.
Please forgive me for asking, Mackenzie said, but do you know if they were exclusive? Was there a chance Christine might have also been seeing anyone else?
Mrs. Lynch thought about this for a moment. She didnt seem to take offense to the question; she remained just as calm as she had seemed when they had first come into the lobby and met her. Mackenzie wondered at what point the poor woman was going to eventually snap.
She never mentioned any competition for her heart, Mrs. Lynch said. And I think I know why youre asking. I was told what the scene looked likeher being topless and all. I had just assumed
She stopped here and took a moment to collect herself. The words that were coming next caused something to stir inside, but she managed to get it down before the emotions took over. When she resumed, she was still stone-faced.
I had just assumed it was a rape gone wrong. That maybe the man got frustrated for some reason and wasnt able to go through with it. But I suppose theres a chance there was another man in her life. If there was, I just didnt know about it.
Mackenzie nodded. The would-be-rapist theory had gone through her head as well, but the way the shirt had been tossed to the floor and then her head haphazardly lying on itnone of it seemed to add up.
Well, Mrs. Lynch, we dont want to bother you any more than we absolutely have to, Mackenzie said. How long do you intend to stay in town?
I dont know yet. Maybe a day or two beyond the service. At the word service, her voice cracked the tiniest bit.
Ellington handed her one of his business cards as he got to his feet. If you happen to think of anything or hear anything during the funeral or the services, please let us know.
Of course. And thank you for looking into this. Mrs. Lynch looked forlorn as Mackenzie and Ellington left. I suppose so, Mackenzie thought. Shes all alone in a city she doesnt know, having come to take care of her deceased daughter.
Mrs. Lynch saw them to the door and waved them off as they walked to their car. It was the first moment in which Mackenzie realized that her hormones were officially all over the place as a result of her pregnancy. She felt for Mrs. Margaret Lynch in a way she might not have before shed found out she was pregnant. To create life, then raise and nurture it only to have it wrenched away from you in such a brutal fashionit had to be miserable. Mackenzie felt absolutely wretched for Mrs. Lynch as she and Ellington pulled out into traffic.
And just like that, Mackenzie felt a flush of determination. Shed always had a passion for righting wrongsfor bringing killers and other evil men and women to justice. And whether it was hormones or not, she vowed to find Christine Lynchs killer, if for no other reason than to bring some closure to Margaret Lynch.