“Thanks, Dad.” Jack frowned. “How could I drive him that crazy?”
Clark leaned against the wall. “During his confession, Shaw kept talking about this guy who was following him around, showing up at his house, shadowing him and his mistress. He thinks you’re some avenging spirit sent to torment him for killing his wife. He thought the police were on to him too, so he kept going over what he did wrong. Then we pulled him in for the GPS, and I guess that pushed him over the edge.”
“Why didn’t Liberty Rental have a record of him renting a car, or of the GPS being stolen?” Jack asked.
Clark crossed his arms. “Shaw used a license he’d stolen from one of the other sales reps at his company, and then returned it without the guy knowing. He used a prepaid credit card that he’d been using to hide his affair from his wife. And he used that same card to buy a new GPS and replace the one Tommy stole. So the rental car company had no idea. But the linchpin was that phone app, Jack. You were right. Shaw left his own cell phone at the hotel in Schenectady. The phone records show that Shaw’s cell phone received a call from an unknown number one minute before he called Stacy’s cell phone. We traced the unknown number to an over-the-counter burner phone purchased with the same prepaid credit card. It seems he used that app to re-route the call, making it look like he had an ironclad alibi.”
“So Shaw really planned this thing in detail,” Jack’s dad said.
“Right down to where he was going to attack her,” Clark said. “I’ve no doubt he’d even walked Stacy through the park a few times so she’d go the same way home.”
“He’s a monster,” Jack’s dad said.
“What about her car?” Jack asked.
“The night of the murder, he pulled the starter relay fuse, disabling it so she’d have to walk. And after the murder, he drove her car away from the body so that we’d be looking for evidence in the wrong place—and he staged an accident in a location where he knew the car would be found right away. He needed to firmly establish that she went missing during the time he was in Schenectady with his airtight alibi.”
“With all the security cameras nowadays, how come none of them videotaped him walking back into town?” Jack’s dad asked.
“He dumped the car right next to the main electrical lines. He stayed on the path underneath the lines until they reached Hamilton Park.”
Jack shook his head. “So, one thing I don’t understand. Why did he kill her? What was the motive?”
“That law office you followed him to, they were handling a civil suit against the Darrington Fertility Clinic. A few years back, Stacy Shaw had undergone a botched procedure there, which doctors believed had left her sterile.” Disgust hardened Clark’s features. “Then she got pregnant.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
“The clinic was about to settle with the Shaws’ for two million dollars.”
Jack’s dad spoke in an icy tone. “That man is pure evil.”
“He murdered his wife and child for two million dollars.” Jack stared at the wall.
His dad put his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “And if not for you, Jack, he would have killed again. You saved Murray’s life.”
Jack nodded. “How is Murray?”
“He’s got a concussion and needed some stitches but he’ll be fine,” Clark said. “He’s given a statement, as has the homeless woman, Robyn.” Clark wiggled a finger in his ear. “She insisted on demonstrating how loud her whistle is. My ears are still ringing.”
Jack chuckled.
Jack’s dad tipped his head to the side. “You know, her Red Sox hat looks just like the one—”
Jack talked fast. “That’s great that everyone’s okay. That’s the important thing. Right? That everyone’s good.”
“I’m proud of you, Jack.” Clark grinned. “Hell, even Vargas was impressed, though he’d never admit it.”
Jack looked down; his dad smiled proudly.
“And more good news: they’re working on getting Jay Martin transferred to Fairfield General Hospital,” Clark said. “All charges against him are dropped.”
“What about Tommy?”
“After all his family went through, the superintendent plans to pull some strings. For his cooperation, I think he’ll be looking at some community service. If he keeps himself clean, I think he’ll be able to work something out.”
“I’m sure Mrs. Martin is very grateful,” Jack’s dad said.
“Now.” Clark raised his voice. “We need to discuss what you two did. I specifically told you both that this was dangerous and you should back off. You kept going. There are consequences for that.”