“No,” Gus said. “I do not recall asking any of the witnesses about their specific concerns regarding Jamie Simmons.”
“That’s not what I asked you. I asked you if any of your one hundred and seven witnesses said anything that would have raised your suspicions about Mr. Simmons’s involvement in Ellie Luke’s disappearance?”
“Well, that’s not what you asked me. Which question would you like me to answer?”
I watched the jury. A few in the front row started to squirm. Gus was technically in the right, but if he played games, it could backfire. Juries do not like feeling as if their time is being wasted.
“Detective, isn’t it true that not one of your one hundred and seven witnesses said anything that caused you to regard Jamie Simmons as a suspect in the disappearance of Ellie Luke?”
“His name didn’t come up,” Gus said.
“So that’s a yes?”
“I was not suspicious of Jamie Simmons twenty-two years ago. That is correct.”
“And you didn’t find anything on Ellie Luke’s phone that led you to suspect Jamie Simmons of any involvement, did you?”
“No, but cell phones weren’t used then the way they are now. Ms. Luke had a very basic flip phone that she primarily used to send and receive calls. She did very little texting. She also kept the phone off when she wasn’t using it. We couldn’t and didn’t use cell phone tracking the way we do today. Additionally, the phone she had was a family cell phone. Her father indicated that he shared it with her. He gave it to her when she worked nights so that she could call if she had an emergency or would be running late.”
“To call if she had an emergency,” Cutler said. “She didn’t call her parents the night she disappeared, did she?”
“She did not, no. Additionally, her phone was never recovered. Neither was her purse.”
“Got it. Detective, you indicated you didn’t suspect Jamie Simmons twenty-two years ago. But you did suspect someone. Isn’t that true?”
Gus looked at me. I felt every muscle in my body go rigid. But Cutler had asked an appropriate question.
“I eventually zeroed in on a person of interest, yes.”
“A person of interest. And who was that person, Detective Ritter?”
Gus cleared his throat. “Dane Fischer.”
“Dane Fischer. And how was he connected to Ellie Luke?”
“He was a second cousin. His mother was Claudia Luke’s first cousin.”
“And why did you first become suspicious of Mr. Fischer?”
“Well, naturally, in any murder investigation, it’s standard practice to inquire whether there might be anyone who had animosity toward the victim.”
“Animosity. Mr. Fischer had more than animosity toward Ellie Luke though, didn’t he?”
“I can’t speak to that. You’d have to ask him.”
Cutler smiled. “Who told you about Dane Fischer?”
“Claudia Luke.”
“Claudia Luke. Ellie’s mother. Jamie Simmons’s mother-in-law.”
“That’s correct.”
“What exactly did she tell you?”
“Objection,” I said. “Again, counsel is soliciting hearsay.”
“And again, I am questioning this detective about the trajectory of his investigation. He has admitted that Dane Fischer was a person of interest. I should be allowed to explore how and why he became a person of interest.”
