“Well, explain then.”
“You see, the bottom line, the main concern, is this.”
“Is what?”
“I really care for my players.”
May stared at him cynically as he elaborated on this.
“I really care for my players. I just want to help them if I can. I’m told that if you can just focus the mind, and bring a certain perspective to the challenges you are facing, you can make the world seem a better place.”
“Interesting choice of words,” Kerry said, focusing ever more intently on him.
“You mean, how I care for my players?”
“I mean, bringing a certain perspective to the challenges you face.”
Jessop paled.
“I’ve proven that in the past, have I not? I’ve placed so much time and care into developing their skills and their confidence. I do everything I can to ensure they can reach their full potential. They are an investment financially, sure, I admit that. Sponsors pay for players, for personalities. But also, I value them as people.”
“And that’s why you felt you had to kill two women?” Kerry asked.
“I did not kill anybody,” Jessop insisted, his eyes darting from side to side.
May was proud of Kerry’s tenacity, and she forced herself to remain still and silent. But she needed Jessop to confess, to give himself away; they were out of options at this point.
“I care about my players. I care about their welfare. I’m deeply invested in their development. I genuinely am committed to the success of this team. This town is my home. I’m a local boy. I care about the community.”
“We’re not talking about your team. This is about two murders. Why did Emily get into your car?” Kerry pressed him.
“I—I needed to speak to her.”
May felt a flare of excitement that he was starting to explain. She wondered where this would lead.
“Why? She’s not on your football team.”
Jessop let out a frustrated sigh. “Look, I know this will be difficult for you to understand.”
“Try me,” Kerry challenged.
“I’ve been trying to explain. That we need to look after these players personally. Now Callum. Let’s talk about Callum. One of our most talented quarterbacks. In fact, to be honest, our only decent quarterback. There’s nobody else who makes the grade. For some reason they are in very short supply here.”
“Your point being?”
“He is a brilliant player. But if he has personal problems, his game goes out the window. He loses focus completely, he makes rookie errors. It’s like watching someone who’s never played football before.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that as the team manager, it was my responsibility to make sure that Callum was happy. That he was stable and not emotionally unbalanced. And when he had girlfriend issues, he became emotionally unbalanced.”
“Right. So you killed the women to make sure he was on an even keel?” Kerry asked briskly. “Thanks for that information.”
“No, no!” Jessop wrung his hands together. “I killed nobody! But I counseled the girls. I will admit, I told Emily that she should give up on the idea of getting back together with him. That was why we went for that drive. I wanted to explain to her what a bad idea it would be. To give her an adult perspective on how unstable it would inevitably be.”
“Where did you drive?” Kerry asked.
“To the park. I think it’s called Braeside Park. Anyway, I wanted her to understand that if she went back to Callum, it would all end badly. But she didn’t just accept what I said. She discussed it with me. I mean, we had a real heart to heart. We had ice creams, if I remember. Unfortunately, I paid cash for them, and I have no idea who the vendor was. Eventually she saw it my way. Then I dropped her off at home. I have no idea where she went afterward. But anyway, the fact is, I’m the one who has to manage the team, right? I have to maintain the team ethos, the team unity.”