Chapter 21. Will you recruit or not?
Mr. Buck looked visibly shaken, and Bernie's face registered clear surprise.
Though he didn't understand the situation, Bernie still reached for his handcuffs and stepped forward, only to be halted by Theodore's raised hand.
"Mr. Buck, we need you to provide testimony, we're not arresting you," Theodore explained carefully. "Go tell your wife and children. Don't worry, we'll bring you back home soon."
Despite Theodore's calm assurances and his measured, reassuring tone, the deep-seated wariness of police officers still sent ripples of panic through Mr. Buck's household.
His wife hurried down from upstairs, followed by a chorus of frightened cries from the children.
She was a woman who appeared much older than Mr. Buck, her body worn and shapeless from bearing nine consecutive children, her complexion pale and drawn. Mr. Buck himself was powerfully built with strong, masculine features. The two looked completely mismatched, she could have passed for his mother rather than his wife.
But Mr. Buck showed no trace of dissatisfaction with his spouse. He pulled her into a tight embrace, pressed a gentle kiss to her dry hair, and spoke softly to calm her fears. Then he hugged each of his children one by one before finally climbing into the car with Theodore and Bernie.
Bernie took the wheel again, driving with the same urgent speed as Theodore had earlier. They raced through the empty streets to the police station, then half-escorted, half-supported Mr. Buck into the Homicide Team's interrogation room.
It was already past ten o'clock, and most of the Homicide Team had gone home for the night.
Bernie never questioned Theodore's decision to bring Mr. Buck in. He quickly found someone to handle the paperwork, then pulled Theodore into the sterile interrogation room where a single overhead light cast harsh shadows on the scarred wooden table.
By now, Mr. Buck was visibly panicked, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool evening air.
"Try to relax," Theodore said, sliding a glass of water across the table. "We just need you to help us with some information."
He glanced meaningfully at Bernie.
Bernie opened the case file and methodically recounted the details of all three murders.
When he heard the dates and times of the killings, Mr. Buck immediately recalled Theodore's earlier questioning at his home. The realization hit him like a physical blow, and he began stammering in terror.
He stumbled over his words, desperately pleading with Theodore and Bernie to believe his innocence.
"I know you both must think I'm sick of my wife," Mr. Buck said, nervously wiping sweat from his brow. "But that's not true, it's not like that at all."
"She's given me nine children. She's the mother of my babies. That's a bond that can never be broken. How could I possibly, "
Theodore raised his hand, cutting him off. "I know you're not the killer."
Mr. Buck's eyes widened in stunned silence.
Theodore explained why they'd brought him to the station. "The killer is someone on your coaching staff."
"What I need from you is a complete list of everyone involved with the team, and then we'll work together to narrow it down based on the profile we've developed."
Bernie leaned forward from his position by the wall. "You might be hesitating because you're thinking about your colleagues' feelings, Mr. Buck. But do you really want to work alongside a murderer?"
Theodore slid paper and a pen across the table. Bernie flipped open his notebook and began reading Theodore's profile, point by methodical point.
Mr. Buck wrote quickly, his hand trembling slightly. Within minutes, he'd compiled a list of thirty-one names. Working through Bernie's criteria, he rapidly eliminated most of them, leaving just three possibilities.
Of the remaining suspects, one lived in the South District, one in the East District, and one in the North District. They held positions as head coach, quarterback coach, and offensive coach respectively.
The head coach was the youngest at only thirty-six. A former quarterback with some regional fame, he'd been specifically recruited by the school board. In just one year, he'd transformed the team into championship contenders, clearly talented and driven.
The quarterback coach was forty-three, had never played professionally, and had worked his way through various middle school programs. He lacked natural talent but possessed solid fundamentals and experience.
The offensive coach was thirty-nine, with no background as either player or coach, but he was passionate about football and could discuss strategy with surprising insight. He'd joined the staff through community recommendations.
Bernie read through the profile twice more, urging Mr. Buck to think carefully, but the man could only shake his head helplessly. He couldn't eliminate any of the three.
Mr. Buck now fully grasped the gravity of the situation and had become understandably cautious. Without the clear distinguishing characteristics that Bernie's criteria provided, he wouldn't have felt comfortable eliminating anyone from consideration.
What if he pointed them toward the wrong man?
Bernie scratched his head in frustration, reluctantly closed his notebook, and pushed the list of three names toward Theodore.
The gesture struck Theodore as both amusing and exasperating. He'd never even met these men. Right now, he had nothing but three names on a piece of paper, he couldn't work miracles or read minds.
He picked up the list and studied it for a long moment, then looked up. "Are all three of these men married?"
Mr. Buck nodded.
Theodore pressed further. "Is anyone going through a divorce? Or are there rumors about marital problems?"
Mr. Buck shook his head firmly. "We generally don't discuss personal matters like that at work."
"Come on!" Bernie interjected with obvious frustration. "There are always whispers about this kind of thing. People might not say it to someone's face, but they talk behind backs. You must have heard something, right?"
Mr. Buck hesitated for a moment, then maintained his denial.
Bernie was about to push harder when Theodore gestured for him to stop.
Theodore shifted tactics. "Is any of them providing performance enhancers to the players? Testosterone, for instance?"
Mr. Buck's reaction was immediate and telling, he looked genuinely startled and shook his head vigorously, repeatedly denying any knowledge.
Based on Samuel's forensic evidence, Theodore had initially believed the killer had access to testosterone through black market channels or gyms. But they'd clearly overlooked an obvious source: the school itself.
It was disturbingly common in competitive athletics to introduce performance-enhancing drugs early, and America had an unfortunate tradition of "starting them young."
Theodore studied Mr. Buck's face carefully. "Is it that you genuinely don't know, or that you haven't told us yet?"
The vigorous head-shaking stopped abruptly. Mr. Buck fell silent, his eyes fixed on the table.
Bernie stepped in to assist. "He's going to kill again tonight. Your hesitation could cost an innocent woman her life."
"Mr. Buck, you're clearly a decent man. You want to protect your players, protect your family, there's nothing wrong with those instincts."
Bernie leaned closer, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "You are a good man, Mr. Buck. But someone is about to die right now. She might already be dying at this very moment. The colleague you're trying to protect might be slamming her head against a wall as we sit here talking."
"Tomorrow morning, he'll act like nothing happened. He'll return to school, shake your hand with the same fingers that strangled a woman, and give instructions to your team with the same mouth that cursed his victim as she died."
"Mr. Buck, look at me."
Bernie's tone softened, becoming almost gentle. "You have nine children who look up to you. You need to be their role model. When you go home tonight, what are you going to tell them? That you helped the police catch a dangerous killer, or that you stayed silent when you could have saved a life?"
"Think about this: if your team wins the championship this year and the school throws a celebration banquet, would you feel safe letting that man embrace your children?"
Theodore gave Mr. Buck an encouraging nod, then set down the list and quietly left the interrogation room. He needed to review the other evidence from exhibit 600528 while Bernie worked on their reluctant witness.
He wouldn't put all their hopes on Mr. Buck's cooperation. If the man refused to talk, Theodore needed backup plans ready.
The team had collected numerous pieces of evidence, though most had already been processed with limited results. Samuel's analysis had provided frustratingly few leads.
The one breakthrough was additional fingerprints extracted from the crime scene materials, and they matched the prints from the card they'd made earlier. Now they could be certain that the fingerprints on the props weren't left by random guests, they belonged to their killer.
Once they had their suspect in custody, a simple fingerprint comparison would provide immediate confirmation.
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