Sam Kincaid 01 - The Commission

to give me the low-down on Sue Ann Winkler and John Merchant.
    “There are no outstanding warrants on either party at the present time. Winkler has two prior misdemeanor arrests: one for possession of a controlled substance, and the other being a minor in possession of alcohol. That’s it for her. Merchant is quite another story. He has two priors for driving under the influence, two for possession of a controlled substance, one for resisting arrest, one for assault on a police officer, one for domestic violence, one for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and his most recent scrape with the law resulted in an arrest for attempted murder, plea bargained down to aggravated assault. He is currently on probation in Salt Lake County for three years on the agg assault conviction. His PO’s name is Jenny Owens.
    “Oh, and one more thing,” said Wheeler. “I contacted the juvenile court, and they show a lengthy juvenile record on him starting at age eleven. Lots of drug and alcohol offenses, several property crimes, and two aggravated assaults. Nice guy, huh.”
    “Yeah, a real Boy Scout. Leave a copy of Merchant’s probation file on my desk and take another directly to Sloan’s office. And get me Jenny Owens’ home telephone number. I need to talk to her before I have a little chat with Merchant.”
    ***
    I met McConnell in the lobby of City Hall. We were five minutes late for our briefing with the mayor and chief of police, so there was little time to exchange information. On our way upstairs, I filled her in on the developments in the case from my end. We agreed that Winkler and Merchant deserved top billing on our list of suspects, particularly in light of the fact that at the moment, they happened to be our only suspects. We decided to run them down after the press conference.
    The news conference was predictable and largely uneventful. The most interesting part of the show turned out to be an angry exchange between Mayor Porter Baldwin and Police Chief Ron Hansen moments before the press conference. The tension between the two was palpable.
    The ensuing argument involved two separate but related issues: How much information about the case should be divulged to the assembled media, and who should conduct the news conference.
    To no one in particular, Chief Hansen said, “Let’s talk about what we should and shouldn’t reveal to the press. We should refrain from discussing any leads currently under investigation as well as the possible physical evidence found at Vogue’s home. Also, I think we should resist speculating about possible suspects or motives for the murder.”
    “Well, Chief, that about covers it all,” replied the mayor caustically. “Since you’d like to prohibit us from discussing just about everything related to the case, why bother conducting a press conference at all?”
    “I think, Mr. Mayor, that we need to conduct the press conference in a way that doesn’t compromise our investigation. It’s possible that our killer could be following the case through local news sources.”
    “That’s well and good, Chief, but we also have an obligation to inform the press and the public about the steps we’re taking to solve a brutal homicide committed against a prominent public official from our community,” countered the mayor.
    Fortunately, Kate intervened before this rancorous exchange escalated further, and offered a compromise that seemed acceptable to both the mayor and Chief Hansen. “Mayor Baldwin, may I suggest a middle ground position that should satisfy your needs without compromising our investigation.”
    “Please do,” he replied curtly.
    “I don’t think we have a problem telling the press that physical evidence was found at the crime scene so long as we don’t reveal the specifics of what we found. We can explain that crime lab personnel are examining the evidence but that we can’t comment further until we receive their report. It’s also okay to tell the press that the investigation has produced several leads so long as we avoid revealing the specifics. As for speculating about possible motives or suspects, I strongly concur with Chief Hansen that it would be premature to start down that path so early in the investigation.”
    Both nodded agreement.
    That issue settled, Chief Hansen moved on. “I believe that it would be best if Lieutenant McConnell and I conducted the press conference.”
    “Sorry, Chief, but I disagree,” said the mayor. “Given