“Yeah, it was rough.But listen to this.During his post-op debrief, he called Hayes a false prophet and said he had promised them that God would protect them.He demanded that Hayes be brought to court-martial for his lies.”
Faith’s brow furrowed.He didn’t believe Hayes would make a blanket statement like that, but he could see how someone might mistake something hehadsaid for a promise of protection.He might have saidRely on God, and Welling’s mind addedand He will answer your prayers.“Did anything come of that?”
“Not for Hayes, obviously, but Welling was psychologically evaluated and determined unfit for continued combat.He received a medical discharge and returned home.”
“So, he has motive.”
“Well, what he might consider motive, at least,” Faith agreed.
“When was this?”Jessica asked.“You said Hayes retired ten years ago.”
“The combat stuff happened thirteen years ago, but he just ran into Hayes last week.He’s been undergoing regular psychiatric treatment with the VA.He might have seen Hayes and suffered a mental break that he acted on in the worst possible way.”
"Got it.Does he live alone?"
“According to the DMV, yes, but I suppose it’s possible that people without driver’s licenses or ID cards could live there.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” Jessica said, pulling her Prius into the parking lot of the apartment complex.Thankfully, the media didn’t know about this lead, so they didn’t have to worry about vultures descending on them while they talked to their suspect.
The apartment complex was fairly standard.Two stories, maybe sixty units split across three buildings.Clean but not fancy.Judging by the quiet, Faith guessed no pets allowed.No one was outdoors, and when she scanned the buildings, she didn’t see any nosy neighbors looking through their windows, all of which were shuttered.It wasn’t likely that anyone had seen anything that could help them determine if Welling had been out and about earlier that morning.
“What do we do if he doesn’t want to talk?”Jessica asked.“We can’t force him to let us in.”
“Let’s see if he’ll talk to us before we start thinking of the worst-case scenario,” Faith said.“But if it comes to that, wedohave a record of an altercation with Hayes immediately before his death.We can use that to authorize searches into his phone and internet records and justify talking to him at his place of business where he can’t as easily hide from us.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“It can be, but it usually isn’t.People like talking to the FBI.They like feeling important.”
Jessica laughed.“Not sure if I agree, but I’ll think positively.”
Welling was in unit thirty-four, a first-floor one-bedroom that sported a knocker in the shape of a globe-and-anchor and a banner with the same logo and the Marine Corps mottoSemper Fidelishanging from a pole in the small plot of dirt in front of his door.A small American flag flew at half-mast next to that banner, and below that, a flag that read MAY WE NEVER FORGET.
Faith sympathized with Welling.Whether he was their killer or not, he had suffered something no leader should ever have to suffer.He had brought men and women into combat and watched them die under his command.That was a pain unlike any other.
Jessica knocked on the door, and to Faith’s mild surprise, Welling answered almost immediately.He looked between the two agents with an irritable expression on his face.“Yeah?”
Welling was tall, six-three or -four.His hair was the same sandy blonde as Faith’s but with a little more gray.His eyes were hazel that tended heavily to yellow, slightly bloodshot now, probably from the beer that Faith could smell emanating from his stained white wifebeater.His arms were long and slender but well-muscled, but he had a sizable paunch that told Faith he’d consumed a great many beers in the thirteen years since leaving the Marine Corps.
He was more than capable of strangling Hayes to death, though.
“Marcus Welling?”Faith asked.
In the same tone, Welling replied, “Yeah?”
“I’m Special Agent Faith Bold.This is my partner, Special Agent Jessica Torres and my K9 unit Turk.”
Welling looked at Turk and blinked, as though noticing him for the first time.“A dog,” he said simply.
Very good, Marcus,Faith thought drily.“Yes.My K9 unit.”
Turk watched Welling with his usual alertness, but he didn’t show any particular sign of distress or suspicion.There was likely no evidence from the scene of Hayes’s murder that Turk could use to identify Welling, but his lack of suspicion counted for something.Turk was usually very good at telling when someone was truly dangerous or merely belligerent.
“What the hell did you bring a dog for?”Welling asked.“I ain’t got weed in here.”
“We’re not here for weed,” Faith said.“We’re here investigating the murder of Robert Hayes.”
Welling flinched and met Faith’s eyes.“Oh, shit.”
