“I understand your anger, Mr. Hoftslater, but threats like that serve no purpose other than to put you on our scope. Do you know anyone who would have any reason to harm Samuel?”
The man snorted. “Have you talked to his old man? That guy is a class ‘A’ bastard. He’s the only one I could imagine hurting Sam. The guy was so kind and gentle. Everyone liked him. He had a magnetism to him. People were just attracted to him, you know?”
He made a sound of agreement before he continued, “Did he have any conflicts that you were aware of? Anyone that didn’t get along with him?”
“No, not to my knowledge…” The guy looked away suddenly.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing really. He told me he’d had an unpleasant conversation with someone about a month ago. Maybe a little more than that.”
“Did he say what it was about?”
Garrett shrugged and sighed.
“Mr. Hoftslater, we need to know. Any information you give us can help bring Samuel’s killer to justice.”
“He was interested in bringing another person into the mix. Said he found someone he could see working with the blend we have now.”
“You don’t seem too happy about it.”
“Would you be? Who was he going to take days away from to add a new person?” The guy pushed back in his chair. “But he said the significant other objected to his advances.”
“Would that stop Samuel from pursuing this person?”
“Samuel was a nice guy, but he was rich and used to getting his way. I don’t know if he stopped.”
“Did you get the person’s name?”
The guy gave a snort of disgust. “Ah, that would be a no. I didn’t want to know anything else about another lover. We had quite an argument about it.”
“So, you were disenfranchised from Samuel?”
This time the man laughed. “Disenfranchised? Fuck no. Make up sex from that argument was amazing. I love… loved that man. I’d have married him in a fucking heartbeat. Did I want to share him? Absolutely not, but I’d never hurt anyone he cared about. That isn’t who I am.”
“Do you know what he was doing Wednesday night?”
The guy shook his head slowly. “Wednesday nights he’s with Chloe. You’d have to talk to her.”
“Can I verify your contact information; in case we have any follow up questions?”
“Absolutely.” The man rattled off his number, and he jotted it down before he rose from his chair and extended his hand. “Thank you for coming down to talk with us. I’ll call you if there are any further questions.”
Garrett stood. He paused before he squared up and turned to face him directly. “Detective, he was a good man. I didn’t catch the vibe from you, but man, just because he had an alternate lifestyle, he’s… he didn’t deserve this. Sam, he deserves justice, too.”
“Mr. Hoftslater, nobody deserves what happened to Samuel. Who the man had relationships with only factors into the investigation should his lovers have something to hide or something to do with his murder. All my victims deserve justice, and I will do everything I can to ensure they get it.”
Garrett’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you.”
“We’ll be in contact. I’ll have an officer come escort you out. Do you need a ride home?”
“No, thank you. I’ll grab an Uber.”
He nodded to the man and opened the door for him to exit. He grabbed a patrol to escort him out before they continued to the next interview. He looked at his new partner. “What do you think?”
“His mannerisms were consistent with the tone of his words. I didn’t get the impression he’d been hedging. Did you know about the new mix in the dynamics of the relationship?”
“No. Ava didn’t mention it when we spoke with her this morning. Maybe she wasn’t aware. Let’s see if Chloe knew anything about it.” He glanced at his notebook and tapped it with his pen. “It would cut someone’s time with him. Jealousy is one hell of a motive.”
“Motivation to kill. When you examined the crime scene, did you get the feeling it was a crime of passion?”
He shook his head. “My gut instinct was the man was surprised. No defensive marks, his clothes weren't ripped or torn, his hair wasn’t mussed. I think he met someone he knew there, and they killed him. The wound was clean. I didn’t see anything that would indicate the person was indecisive.”
“How did he get to the warehouse?” They turned and started walking to the interview room where Chloe had been temporarily shelved.