The tattoo on his right shoulder was the same one in the image that Isabella had sent me. He bore a striking resemblance to his father, though a little leaner.
"You're under arrest for the murder of Riley Reynolds," I shouted. “Face down, put your hands behind your head.”
Sean knew he was busted. He didn't even try to deny it. He complied, and the deputies ratcheted cuffs around his wrists.
We yanked him out of bed wearing only boxers. He'd be given a new wardrobe down at the station. I read him his rights as I escorted him through the house and down the steps.
Julie glared at us. She told her son to keep his mouth shut.
It was hard to believe she was still defending his actions, but what was she going to do?
Paris Delaney and her crew waited outside. The cameraman got the money shot as I perp-walked Sean to a patrol car and stuffed him in the back.
We searched the house, and forensic investigators chronicled the scene. We found one of Riley’s earrings in the bedroom. It had fallen off the nightstand and rested on the floor between it and the bed. It was a match to the earring that was still on her body when the fishermen pulled her out of the water.
I talked to Julie, but she wasn’t too forthcoming.
“I’m not saying anything to you,” she said with a scowl.
“Does the term accessory after the fact mean anything to you? Think about your newborn.”
47
Under the condition of full immunity, Julie agreed to be a prosecution witness. At this point, it was her best option. I don't think she much cared for Sean anyway, and throwing him under the bus was an obvious choice for her.
"Sean had a massive crush on Riley,” Julie said. “It got to be a problem. She had come to me on numerous occasions to discuss how uncomfortable she was around Sean. He constantly made unwanted advances, or so she claimed.”
"Did you ever see those unwanted advances?” I asked as we sat across from her in the interrogation room.
"Yes, I saw him being inappropriate, saying inappropriate things, and making her uncomfortable.”
"Were you aware of your husband's affair with Riley?”
Julie frowned. "Yes. Although I was unaware of it the night she died. It was only after the fact that Richard revealed the truth to me."
"Tell me what happened the night in question.”
Julie took a deep breath. "As I told you before, I came home from having drinks with a friend. Richard was in a panic. Apparently, he had gone out for a jog. Riley had come to the house to see him. Sean answered the door and told her Richard was upstairs in his bedroom. He followed her up there. She refused his advances. Sean forced himself on her, then strangled her." She paused. "Richard came home and tried to deal with the situation. Then I came home. Then you two showed up at the door. We all panicked.”
"So you came to the door and told us a story,” I said.
"I didn't know what else to do!"
She had immunity for the murder. She didn’t have immunity for the embezzlement. The SEC would do a full investigation.
This wasn’t Sean’s first rodeo. He knew the drill, and he knew to shut up. He asked for a lawyer the moment we stepped into the interrogation room.
His juvenile record wouldn’t be admissible, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t getting out of this one.
We left the station and headed back to theAvventura. I called Zoe. “You’ll be happy to know, Sean Pearson is behind bars.”
“I told you I wasn’t crazy.” Then she admitted, “I just had the wrong Pearson.”
“Tell me more about the incident in Pineapple Bay.”
Zoe hesitated. “The accident or the other murder I witnessed?”
“The murder.”
