Alice my wife of 9 years and I were reading news off our respective tablets having finished Saturday morning breakfast when the doorbell rang Alice jumped a little at the interrupting chime I'd noticed that she'd been a bit nervous and clingy for the past week or so her clinginess leading to some mighty good love much better than the dull uninspired intimacy we'd had during the previous 6 months I'll get it I said setting my iPad on the table and heading for the door opening the door I found two men flashing badges identifying them as police officers hello can I help you I inquired MrBrian Campbell the larger of the two asked I nodded we're officers Stevens and Peters from the Austin Police Department sir we're here to execute a search warrant he said handing me a set of papers a search warrant I confusingly exclaimed for what sir it's all explained in the warrant we'll give you a few moments to read through it you can also call your attorney if you feel the need we would also like to speak to your wife Alice Campbell if she is available she's in the kitchen I said as I ushered the two officers into the foyer as I read through the warrant finding that indeed the warrant was directed to my wife Alice and specifically to any firearms that she might own or possess and any property that may have belonged to a MrConrad O'Brien walking with the officers back to the kitchen I asked does this have to do with that rich guy that was found dead last week my wife works for one of his companies but we don't know him I've never even met the guy saying that I looked up and saw my wife's face blanch and her eyes open wide like saucers if they wanted a picture of a guilty face they needn't look any further Alice do you know what this is about I said with an edge to my voice they have a warrant to search our home and the warrant implies that you have something to do with Conrad O'Brien's murder sir please let us ask the questions if you'd please take a seat somewhere outside the kitchen we have a few questions we'd like to ask Mr Campbell is she under arrest I asked I really think she should have legal counsel present before you ask her a bunch of questions Alice do you want me to call my attorney and see if he can get someone to represent you yes please Alice meekly said tears forming in the corners of her eyes that is her right of course one of the officers said why don't we set up an interview for next week right now we're just collecting evidence no one is under arrest actually we'd like to interview you as well MrCampbell we can do it down at the station at the same time that we interview your wife of course you are entitled to legal representation during the interview if you so choose one more thing sir do you have any firearms in the house that we should be aware of first first I'm happy to talk to you here rather than down at the station I never met O'Brien and have nothing to hide second yes I own a few guns all of them are locked in my gun safe except for one of my handguns that is in the drawer of my bedside table could officer Peters accompany you to retrieve the gun in the bedside table and then could you open your gun safe so that we can have a look he asked knowing I didn't have much of a choice and wanting to appear Cooperative I responded sure follow me it's right this way leading officer Peters to the master bedroom once there I pointed at my bedside table it's in the top drawer with gloves on officer Peters opened the drawer and carefully removed my tourist judge using an evidentiary rod and placing the gun into an evidentiary bag thank you sir could you please take me to your gun safe he asked sure write this way I said leading him to my office once there I entered the combination and opened the large heavy door of the gun safe sir we are going to take all of the Firearms to our lab for testing we'll give you a receipt for the items we remov before we leave once the items have been cleared they will be returned to you all right I said knowing I didn't have a choice in the matter Peters spoke into a small microphone Michaels I need you and your team to to come in here and start inventorying the owner's Firearms all right boss be right there I Heard a Voice through Peter's speaker in moments Michaels and his team were in my study with evidentiary containers and bags to inventory and remove the guns I looked at Peters and he nodded and then he cleared his voice all right guys we're here to search the premises for any items listed in the warrant in particular we're looking for any additional Firearms Michaels will assign each of you a search area let's get busy for the next several hours the team spread out and thoroughly searched our house and our two cars that were in the garage while they weren't destructive our house was certainly a mess when the search was called off we waited about 10 minutes while the CSI team and the two officers conferred in their vehicles I kept looking at Alice giving her my best what the hell is going on look officer Peters then knocked on the door I answered and he handed me a receipt and thanked me for our cooperation with the search as if I had a choice I nodded looking through the receipt noting that all they took were Firearms five long guns and four handguns he asked if he could speak to Mr Campbell for a moment and I again ushered him into our home Alice was still at the kitchen table her head was down and it looked like she might have been crying the officer gently said Mr Campbell to which she looked up he handed her a copy of his business card and said to make sure she set up an interview at the station sometime this week when her attorney was available she nodded and said okay he then asked if he and his partner could interview me in my study and that I had a right to have a lawyer if I wanted I said I didn't need an attorney as I'd never met O'Brien and I had nothing to hide the interview was thorough but didn't last more than an hour since I'd never even met met O'Brien as the husband they wanted to see if I might have an axe to grind with the jerk who was apparently having an affair with my wife and check out any Alibi that I offered they asked about my whereabouts on the night O'Brien was murdered I asked which night it happened and they told me the date I opened my iPhone and looked at my calendar I was visiting a friend of mine Lee Rogers out at his place Alice told me that she was going to spend the night with her aunt in fredicksburg so I called Lee and he invit Ed me over when asked what we did I said that we had dinner with Lee's wife Pat we talked for a while after dinner and then Lee took me up in his private plane as he is an avid pilot I explained that his neighborhood Breakaway Park Flyin community in Cedar Park has a private Runway and many of the residents including Lee have their own private planes and Hangers it appeared the officers knew of the neighborhood I told him that we took off sometime around 8:00 p. m. and returned about about an hour or so later they asked who flew the plane and I said that I was not a pilot but Lee had been a pilot for years in the military so I was quite comfortable flying with him they indicated that they might need to corroborate my story so I gave him Lee's full name address and phone number later I talked to Lee and found out that the officers interviewed Lee and Pat at their home who both corroborated my story they also provided the officers with surveillance footage that they obtained from the h the footage was captured by a camera pointed at the runway showing planes as they took off and landed at the air strip the footage confirmed that Lee's plane took off at 85 p.
m. and returned at 9:15 p. m.
the officers thanked me for my cooperation and left I returned to the kitchen and confronted my wife what the hell was that all about you work for one of his companies but I didn't think that you had ever met this obrien jerk what the hell is going on Alice were you having an affair with that jerk she looked up at me her lower lip quivering and tears shedding from her eyes she wailed I'm so sorry as she jumped from her seat and bolted to our bedroom closing and locking the door behind her the next week was a whirlwind of activity the local news stations found out about the executed search warrant and hounded Alice and me for an interview or comments Conrad O'Brien's murder was the top local news we said nothing just like her attorney told us my attorney had referred Alice to Ted Walker a criminal defense attorney in town for some reason Alice didn't want me to be in the meeting she scheduled with Ted for Monday afternoon something sure wasn't right obrien had made millions in software and online Ventures his company's once employing over a thousand people locally before moving much of his development work to India several years ago to cut costs still he was frequently in the news often for some type of philanthropy and he still employed quite a few people including Alice rumor was however that old Conrad was a womanizer and he especially liked to bed attractive married women Walker arranged for a sitdown interview with Alice at the police station for Friday morning at 9:30 a. m. she relayed that Ted thought that the police were just fishing for information and that he doubted that anything would come of it well Ted couldn't have been more wrong I received a call from a distraught Alice around 11:30 on Friday morning telling me that after the interview the police placed her under arrest and charged her with Conrad O'Brien's Murder She was booked and put into a cell of the women's jail downtown with a bail hearing scheduled for the following Monday I asked if I could come to the bail hearing and was told that it was not open to the public late Monday afternoon I received a call from Alice sounded like she had been crying she said her bail was set at $500,000 and she asked me to post bail for her since I'd never been involved in the criminal justice system I Googled bail and learned that a bail bondsman would likely charge a 10% non-refundable fee for bail crap $50,000 that we'd never get back I had started a successful recruiting business several years ago and we were doing very well financially but still $50,000 was a lot of money I told her before I posted that kind of money I wanted to meet with her and she needed to be honest with me about what was going on she agreed I guess she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted my cooperation Walker set up an interview for us at an interview room of the jail and said he'd like to be present to explain things I arrived at the jail and they checked me over and made sure I didn't have any Contraband or weapons then I was up ushered into an interview room usually used by defendants and their attorneys Walker and Alice were both in the room Alice was in an orange jumpsuit it didn't look good on her instead of getting answers directly from Alice Walker was acting as her mouthpiece he said that I'd likely learn of the facts anyway so he was prepared to tell me what I wanted to know he said that obrien and Alice had an affair lasting for about 6 months which only ended at his death I was shocked by this Revelation and angrily looked at Alice you cheating woman no wonder intimacy with you was so godamn boring until that prick died he was ringing your charms wasn't he you unfaithful spouse Alice sat there looking stunned and sad at my Outburst bowing her head and crying Walker said he understood that this news was upsetting to me and implored me to take a few minutes and calm down he said that he was certain that while Alice had an affair with obrien she didn't kill him really I responded if you're so damn certain then why did they arrest her for his murder they must have some awfully good evidence against her walker went on to explain that the murder took place at O'Brien's 640 acre ranch located in the Texas hill country west of Austin the house on the ranch was a mini Manion smaller than O'Brien's ostentatious Abode on Lake Austin but it was still a two-story home with over 5,000 square ft with a pool and a tennis court the property had outdoor security cameras equipped with night vision capabilities that captured any vehicle or foot traffic approaching the house from all angles the inside had cameras too but O'Brien only turned those on when he was away and indeed those cameras were off when he was killed Ted went on to explain that the officers showed surveillance footage of of O'Brien's Lamborghini traveling up the lane towards the house at 900 p.
m. the night he was murdered a camera in the house clearly showed him walking in through the garage before he turned off the indoor cameras around 10 p. m.
the outdoor cameras captured Alice's Lexus traveling up the lane and parking outside clearly showing Alice walking to the front door and letting herself in I found the level of familiarity with her letting herself inside as unsettling as the rest of the sorted Affair a few minutes later the same camera captured Alice hurriedly leaving the house and practically running to her car making a hasty exit what the hell I exclaimed it sure as hell looks like she did it I looked over at Alice did you really do it I asked her attorney tried to keep her from answering but she didn't heed his advice no I swear to you I didn't do it when I walked in I could see him sitting in his recliner I could see his feet but his back was to me he didn't answer me when I called so I thought he was sleeping or something when I came around the chair and looked at him he had a hole in his forehead right between his eyes with blood all down his front I screamed and panicked and ran back to my car I'm not sure why I should believe you since you've already admitted that you are a cheating conniving Wife Carrying on a six-month Affair behind my back while I bust my back giving you a life that most women would would love to have I'm also not sure why I should Fork over $50,000 to bail you out of this joint Walker tried to interject some much needed calmness and logic into the conversation he explained that being in a community property State half of our money was alyses and that they could obtain the $50,000 with or without my assistance in the end I caved and decided to cooperate but I let Alice know that regardless of my cooperation we were through Walker was optimistic that Alice could beat the charges despite her being at O'Brien's house and fleeing the scene without calling the police Walker summed up the evidence gathered by the police the good news is that ballistics did not match any of the guns from your house as being the murder weapon unfortunately the bad news is that the only people appearing on O'Brien's security footage over the past week were obrien and Mr Campbell details of the case were obtained by the media and they turned our lives into a living hell harassing us outside our home while we were out and even outside my office some of the questions posed to me painted me as the clueless husband asking if I knew she was having an affair with obrien and so on I guess I was a clueless husband I snapped at the reporters once that I'd never even met O'Brien and I was unaware of any relationship between O'Brien and my wife and I certainly would never condone it I kicked Alice out of our bedroom and she was now sleeping in the guest room and using the guest bath she told me that Walker said that we needed to appear as a United couple so that her public opinion wouldn't be too badly tarnished perhaps affecting any eventual jury to hell with you Alice now that your boyfriend is dead you want to be a United couple where was this United attitude when you were stepping out on me and having an affair with that jerk you know what after hearing Walker outline the state's evidence I think you did it not only are you a conniving cheating woman but you're also a cold-blooded murderer I'm glad the state has kept my firearms until the case is over I can't trust you as far as I can throw your sorry back I've even installed a dead bolt on my bedroom door so you can't get to me while I'm sleeping in response she looked with a shocked expression at least she was getting good at that the da met with Walker and Alice several times to try to work out a plea deal they hammered out an involuntary manslaughter deal with a 2-year sentence of which she'd have to serve one year before being eligible for parole why the light sentence I guess the state's case had a big problem with motive why would Alice want to kill O'Brien by all accounts he was good to her and treated her to nice things even setting up a secret bank account to which he funneled money when I found out about her secret account I insisted she pay me back for the $50,000 I had fronted for her bail they also had a problem that despite their best efforts they had been unable to find the murder weapon while Alice maintained her innocence Walker implored her to take the deal as the evidence other than motive and murder weapon was stacked against her and the plea deal was quite favorable why take a chance that a jury would throw the book at her the jury was not going to sympathize with a woman carrying on a six-month Affair and the cameras showed that only she and O'Brien were at the house tearfully she finally agreed at court a week later the judge approved the plea deal and ordered Alice to appear for intake at the women's prison in 2 weeks leaving the courtroom I had her served with my divorce petition nothing like hitting a cheater when she's down the day before she was to report to prison Alice asked if I would sit down and talk with her she disgusted me and I really didn't want to talk to her so I told her I'd talk to her if after our discussion she would agree to sign the divorce petition she agreed so I had my attorney plan on being at our house at 7:00 p. m.
