“We didn’t actually get that far. We just hoped she wouldn’t know, and then we could both go on with our lives.”
“Thank you for telling us everything,” Steve said as he jotted things down on his legal pad.
“Are you sure Heather wasn’t upset about ending the affair?” Booger pressed. “That seems like something that might set her off.”
“Yes, I am sure. Hell, it was her idea. She brought it up in the first place. I just agreed. We both had been thinking about ending it for a while. There were times I actually threw up in the hotel toilet from the guilt I felt in my stomach after we finished having sex. Heather often said she felt the same way.” “But you still kept doing it?” Steve asked.
“Yeah…” Scottie lowered his head in shame.
Steve reached up and hit the intercom button to signal the guards their meeting was over. Soon, Steve and Booger were headed out of the prison, back through all of the sliding walls of metal bars.
On the drive home, Booger asked, “What do you think about our boy’s confession?”
“You mean about Walters?”
“Yes,” Booger said. “I find it very interesting. I even think maybe she killed Ashley. Regardless, I think it’s time we confront her about the affair.”
After a few moments of silence, Steve said, “I agree we need to confront her, but, for the record, I don’t think it was her. I think there is still something we aren’t considering. If she sets up Scottie to go to death row, how does that help her? She doesn’t get to end up with him. Even if she were a killer, she would want someone else to take the fall, so she ends up with Scottie. Remember, at trial, she was a key witness against him. It just doesn’t add up to me.”
At an intersection, Steve pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Walters. He told her they had a few follow-up questions and asked if she would be available the next morning. Walters said she could meet them at her house at eight thirty, after she got home from dropping her kids off at school.
Then, Steve called Deputy Blackburn and let him know they wouldn’t be at the sheriff’s office until sometime between nine and nine thirty the next morning.
CHAPTER 32
Walters opened the door, wearing tight black yoga pants with a red Lululemon top that accentuated her muscular arms and full chest. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she almost seemed to prance as she moved.
“Please come in. Can I get either of you a cup of coffee?” Walters asked as she led them inside.
“Yes, please. Just black would be great,” said Steve.
“No, thank you, ma’am,” said Booger.
They sat on the same couch as last time, and Walters soon joined them with Steve’s coffee. Walters had fixed herself a drink as well; her glass was filled with some type of dark-green juice.
After a few pleasantries, Walters said, “I am not sure what you came here to ask me about today, but when you left last time, you asked me to tell you if anything came to mind that you might find interesting. After you called yesterday, I began thinking about it, and I remembered something. I am not sure if it will help you, but I thought you might like to know.”
“Please,” Steve said, “anything could be helpful.”
“Well, there was one time in high school when I think Ashley cheated on Scottie. It was during our junior year. Scottie and Ashley were not getting along so well. They may have even broken up at some point; I’m not sure.” Walters settled back in her seat. “Anyway, Ashley disappeared on several weekends during a two- or three-month stretch. I remember it drove Scottie crazy because she wouldn’t tell him where she was going. She would just leave on Friday, after school, and come back late Sunday.”
“Her parents let her disappear all weekend without knowing where she was?” Steve asked.
“No. She told her parents she was visiting Tracy Phillips down at OU. Claremore is such a small school; you knew everyone in every grade. Tracy was a senior when we were sophomores, and we knew her freshman year as well. We were all on the cheer team together.”
Steve followed up, “Her parents didn’t tell Scottie?”
“No. She asked them not to. She told them she was thinking about breaking up with him and didn’t want him just showing up out of the blue. She knew he was possessive and jealous enough to do that if he knew where she was. Her parents were never big fans of Scottie. So, they kept her secret from him.” “Is that where she went?” Booger asked.
“Well, I am pretty sure she went to Norman, but I don’t know if she stayed with Tracy. I remember Tracy came to the funeral. We spoke a little afterward, and I mentioned something about that year Ashley went and visited her at college. She said Ashley never came and stayed with her. I was so upset about Ashley’s death that I didn’t press Tracy on it. I hadn’t honestly even thought about it again until yesterday.”
“Is there anything else out of the ordinary you can remember?” Steve asked.
“No. That was the only thing that has popped into my head. It just made me wonder who she was actually visiting on all those trips to Norman.”
Booger gave Steve a nod, and Steve quickly moved the conversation to Scottie and the affair.
“I think I have told you that we have met with Scottie on a few occasions, and there is one thing he told us that we didn’t want to bring up in front of your husband,” Steve began tactfully.
Walters’s face remained steadily blissful.
She would make a great poker player, Steve thought. “We know you and Scottie were having an affair at the time Ashley was killed. He told us all about it.”
The words broke her instantly. Tears immediately began to flow out of her eyes. “I am so ashamed of what I did. Please don’t tell anyone. Jim and I are now in a much better place. We are happy. Please don’t ruin that for me.” She reached for the tissues on the side table.
“We don’t plan on telling anyone. We just need you to answer some questions for us,” Steve said reassuringly. “When was the last time you saw Ashley alive?”
“That morning. The morning he killed her. I was at their house. Steve and I had decided to end the affair. I went to see if Ashley knew I was the other girl. Once I found out she didn’t know it was me, I left. I texted Scottie and told him what I had found out as I was pulling out of their driveway. That was it. Next thing I know, I am getting a phone call telling me that Ashley is dead, and they think Scottie killed her.”
“What exactly did she tell you that morning?” Booger asked.
“She told me she knew Scottie was having an affair, but she didn’t know who the other woman was. That was about it. She was crying a lot. I tried to comfort her, but it felt kind of wrong knowing I was actually the one causing her pain. So, I left as fast as I could.”
“Are you sure she didn’t say anything else?” Steve asked.
“Like what? It seems you are expecting me to say something in particular,” Walters said intuitively.
Steve clarified, “Did she say anything about her plan to get Scottie in trouble?”
