Chasing A Spider- Hostile Territory 18

   Drayton pulled his truck along the shoulder of the road behind an unmarked patrol car. Detective Wayne Hamilton stepped out of the unmarked and walked back to Drayton’s truck to greet him. “What’s going on old friend?” Hamilton said to Drayton, who gave the detective a warm smile. “Trying to assist Mr. Hassey in his efforts to get justice for his brother.” Drayton said, as Hamilton glowered at me. “Can I talk to you?” Hamilton asked in a perturbed tone. Drayton stepped out of his truck and walked behind the gate with Hamilton.

   Detective Hamilton isn’t the lead investigator on my brother’s murder, but I’ve had a couple unpleasant encounters with him previously and today looked to be another acrimonious affair. As I watched him talk with his hands I noticed the disdain on Hamilton’s face as he talked to an impassive Drayton. It was clear that he and Brookings were close friends, which threw another curve in my investigation.

   “Ready to take a hike?” Drayton asked after his chat with Hamilton. “Sure.” I replied. As we entered the woods I was dismayed that Hamilton would be tagging along because I was hoping to gauge Drayton’s reaction at the murder site. Now, with Hamilton eyeing me like a suspect, the trek was pointless. “Have you run down any aliens lately?” Hamilton asked me as we neared the site. I didn’t respond, but the detective pressed on. “What’s the Russian mob up to lately?” I remained silent, which clearly angered Hamilton. “You still into spying on cops for chump change, Hassey?” Hamilton then asked. “Are we almost there?” Drayton asked.

   We arrived at the site and I explained my theory to Drayton, who pretended to be interested, while Detective Hamilton openly belittled me. “That’s a good theory, Hassey, but what does it prove?” “It lends insight into the mind of the killer who murdered my brother.” I replied. “What was going through your mind when you were spying on a decorated police chief  for rent money?” Hamilton scoffed. “It was a legal job.” I replied wearily. “You worked for a drug dealer, but hey, at least you had a roof over your head.” Hamilton sneered.

   Until the house burned down.