FAQ

It is possible, it's not what the movie implied but it is possible. If the whole story was a setup and this was a big head game to mess with Kennesaw and his failed life, then that makes a lot of sense as to why Wayland would run this whole setup. Kennesaw's quasi-confession after Wayland's version of the story, helped ruin Kennesaw and whatever life/reputation he had left. If you believe that Kennesaw did kill Elizabeth that doesn't explain why Wayland was in the park at the end of the movie with seemingly bad intentions. You could possibly think that he was merely wanting to replace Elizabeth as his confidant but that wouldn't explain why he looked like he was looking for trouble when he talked to the prostitute at the end.

It is possible Phillip was on the take as well because he was broke but ended up putting $10,000.00 in Kennesaw's drawer before he left the department. Where did he get the money? Wayland (trying to leave as he thought he got off scott free but before everything went down) told him his debt was taken care of, so it's possible he not only paid his debt off but gave him the $10,000.00 he owed his friend as well. It is possible this was a setup to mess with Kennesaw's life from the beginning and everyone was in on it. Why? Because Wayland loved Elizabeth to the degree that she listened to him go on about how bad his father was and how horrible his family life was, he never slept with her. That means he cared for her and thought of her as more than a prostitute, which is a lot more than Kennesaw did. Kennesaw saw her as an outlet for his frustration, failed sex life and the likely possibility of a failed marriage. Since Kennesaw mistreated Elizabeth (the video tape evidence), it is possible Wayland wanted to take revenge on him for hurting someone he cared about. The unfortunate part about this theory is, if you believe this theory, then it begs the question, why would Wayland kill someone that he cared for so much?