More and more, she was wondering if the loose check on his emotions had triggered this man into murder.
One thing was for sure, this slaughterhouse was not the place to question Tim Walters. They needed, at the very least, to get him outside.
"You must clock out and come with us," May said firmly.
Tim glanced at the clock, high on the wall, as if automatically checking the time.
"Okay, okay. I'll step out with you."
He knew he didn't have a choice. But May felt a flare of relief when that knife was finally placed on the counter.
Tim walked to the door, removed his apron and butcher's gloves, and tapped a keypad at the door to clock himself out. Owen walked close behind him and May could see that her deputy was on the lookout for any signs that Tim might make a run for it.
As soon as the door opened, Owen grasped his arm and escorted him out. Breathing a sigh of relief, May followed, feeling glad to be out of that environment and in the fresh air.
Without a doubt, the local police department's interview room was going to be the best place to question this man. She wanted him in a neutral place, somewhere that if he got emotional again, he would not either try to run or try to attack. She’d had more than enough of the physical and verbal threats he’d made. On their own, these threats were enough to get him arrested.
But what May wanted to know was if he done more than simply threaten.
"Come with us, please," she said, indicating the car.
*
Fifteen minutes later, Tim was sitting opposite May and Owen in the tiny interview room at the Forest Hill police department.
Out of his environment, he looked defeated and less threatening. His shoulders were hunched. His hands were in front of him, his fingers loosely linked.
May sat opposite and looked at him sternly.
"Mr. Walters, we arrived to ask you a few questions. We definitely did not expect this level of resistance and aggression. This raises some very serious concerns. That's why you're in here now."
"I know. I — I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was going to be so triggered." He sounded confused about his own overreaction.
"Triggered?" That was an interesting word, May thought. She sensed Owen also focusing strongly on this suspect as he sat beside her. "Triggered how?"
"Triggered by — by mentioning Hayley. I was devastated this happened. But I was trying to forget her."
"Why's that?" May asked.
"Look — I'll try not to get emotional again, okay. She changed over the past month. She started really embracing the whole ethical idea of not killing animals. She was doing some sort of course on the environment and vegetarian living. And she started having a real problem with my job."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. She began criticizing me, and we started fighting."
"How did that make you feel?" Owen asked.
"I — I don't know, exactly. I just felt bad and upset. I mean, my job is what I do! It felt like she was criticizing me personally. Things started going downhill and fast."
"Did you feel angry?" May asked.
"No!"
May stared at him quizzically. Tim reconsidered his words.
"Okay. Yes. Yes, I was angry. I felt mad that things had changed, and in a way I couldn't help. Because she'd changed, that was the problem. She'd changed. She knew what I did when we met. So I was angry but more with life than with her. I was trying to mend things, but how could I leave my job? My dad has shares in this slaughterhouse, we serve the local community. And then she split up with me over it. Said we were done, that she didn't want to see me, that she was going to care for the environment from here on."
"So how did you react?" May asked, watching him closely.