IF I FAIL

by Marian Lanouette

  Piper really started to cry, not just tears running down her face, but short sobbing breaths wracked her body. “Yes, I am.” Piper turned away from Mia, swiping at the tears. Pulling a tissue from her purse, she blew her nose.

  “Why?” Mia grabbed her hand.

  “I’m afraid he’ll leave me.”

  “Is that such a bad thing?” Mia asked, held up her hand when Piper tried to defend Darryl. “Are you so afraid to be alone, Piper, you’d allow someone to walk all over you? You’re one of the strongest women I know. You did a great job raising your children. You take so much on yourself, both at their schools and at church. You’re the greatest friend a person could ask for, especially when someone’s in need of support. You’re a gift to those of us who know and love you.” Mia ended with a smile.

  “I don’t know how to respond. Thank you.” Piper smiled for the first time.

  “I mean everything I say.”

  “I know you do.”

  “What have you dreamed of doing someday, when the children were grown and out on their own?” Mia asked, changing tactics.

  “I always wanted to go back to school. I love interior design. I also wanted to take piano lessons. Stupid, huh?” She laughed.

  “No, it’s not. Let’s go over to the community college after lunch, pick up the brochures for next semester. We’ll check the curriculum and see if anything appeals to you. In the beginning what you want to do is take one course just for the fun of it. That’ll let you know if you like school or not…”

  “Are you telling me to leave Darryl?” Piper asked, pained.

  “No. Only you can decide what you want to do. You don’t have to make a decision today or tomorrow, or even next week. This is a big decision, so consider everything before you make up your mind. Understand?”

  “You’re not telling me what to do. I respect your opinion. Please Mia. I need help,” Piper begged.

  “No, you don’t. What you need is the support and friendship I can give you. In the end, it’s your life. You decide how you want to live it or who you want to love. I’ll be there no matter what your decision, Piper.” Mia picked up the check.

  On the way out, Piper asked. “I know you will. If I stay with him, how will you treat Darryl?”

  “The same way I’ve always treated him. With disdain.” Mia joked.

  *

  Jake gave Mia a call before he interviewed Chloe.

  “Hi, how are you today? See, I asked first.” He laughed.

  “Good…not really. You?”

  “Tough day. I’ll fill you in later. We picked Chloe Wagner up a little while ago on suspicion of murder, in the death of her sister. I wanted you to know.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No. We’ll speak tonight. When’s a good time to call you back?”

  “Anytime. I’m home tonight.” She sounded upset.

  “Mia, what’s wrong?”

  “A friend caught her husband cheating, and she needed to talk. It’s hard to stay neutral, especially since I can’t stand him.” Jake let out his breath. He didn’t need another thing going wrong with them. Selfish? Yes.

  “Okay, you can unload on me later. What I called for besides wanting to hear your voice—do you want me to bring anything tomorrow night?” he asked, hoping she’d extend an invitation for tonight.

  “No, I’m all set. Just bring yourself.” If she heard the question in his voice, she ignored it. Oh, well, he thought.

  “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Bye.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  On their way to the interview room, Jake asked, “So, what did Sophia say?”

  “Oh, you know, the usual. She wants to have another party. I told her to let me pay off the birthday party first.” Louie laughed.

  Sophia had shouted with joy when he told her. What she actually said to him brought a smile to his face—I’ll be waiting for you, Louie, with a big private party for two with lots of champagne. I’ll even be wearing the little red number you gave me for Christmas. No, that he wasn’t sharing.

  “I think she said more.”

  “Why?” Louie asked defensively.

  “Because you got the biggest shit-eating grin on your face. On second thought, please don’t share. I’ll be jealous.”

  Slipping into interview mode when they reached the door, Louie pushed the door open. With a somber expression, face blanked, Jake thanked the officer at the door, dismissing her.

  *

  First thing Jake noticed, Chloe didn’t lawyer up—either brave or stupid on her part. He knew for a fact that she could be conniving, so he wasn’t going to underestimate her.

  “Chloe, let’s get started.”

  “You just arrested me for a murder I didn’t commit because you couldn’t control your dick. What do you expect to accomplish here, Jake?”

  Ignoring her, Jake said, “Chloe, we’re going to reread you your rights, record, and videotape this interview.” Jake reread the Miranda Act.

  “Do you understand your rights, Chloe?”

  “As I stated before Lieutenant, I’m not stupid. Of course I understand my rights. Once again, I didn’t kill anyone, especially my sister. Do you hear me?” she shouted.

  “I hear you, Chloe. Let me just record who’s present in this interview before we move forward.” Jake read all the pertinent information into the recorder. When he finished he asked, “Chloe, you understand at this time you’ve been arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of your sister, Shanna Wagner?”

  “Yes, I understand my Goddamned rights. I’m telling you again, I didn’t do it. Why are you doing this to me?”

  Jake continued. “We understand you’ve waived your right to an attorney at this time?”

  “Yes.” She answered more quietly now, obviously realizing the seriousness of her situation. About time, Jake thought.

  “Okay, Chloe. We’re here today because the ring belonging to your sister, Shanna, turned up in her room, in the home you share with your parents. Do you know how it got there?” Jake never took his eyes off her face, looking for signs of deceit.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “No explanation, Chloe? This would be the time to come clean. Don’t you think your parents have been through enough?”

  “Yes, I do. You can ask all you want, Jake. I’m going to tell you the same thing each time you ask. I didn’t put the ring there. I don’t know how the ring got there. Yes, I want this to be over for my parents and myself, so we can get on with our lives. If that’s selfish of me, so be it,” she said passionately. “My sister and I didn’t always get along, but I loved her. Loved her, Jake. I would never hurt her. You think you know her from researching her life? You missed the most important part. You don’t know her at all.”

  “What do you mean, Chloe?” Louie asked.

  “It means what it means.” She shrugged.

  “Not good enough. What does it mean, Chloe?” Louie asked again.

  “My parents think Shanna did no wrong. She was a ‘Miss Goody Two Shoes’ in their opinion. She wasn’t. Shanna enjoyed a different lifestyle than us. She was confused about her sexuality, and just recently she started experimenting with an conventional lifestyle.” Chloe didn’t elaborate.

  “Chloe, please state clearly for the record what you are implying about Shanna?” Jake understood the direction of Chloe’s statement. Not believing his ears, he wondered what game she was playing.

  “Oh, Jake, do I have to spell it out?” She shook her head.

  He noticed that her voice quivered, and her eyes filled with tears that didn’t drop. He ignored it as an act.

  “Yes.”

  Silence filled the room. For the first time since he’d known her, Chloe seemed withdrawn, even contrite. Dropping her head, she refused to meet Jake’s eyes.

  “Chloe?”

  She looked up, tears clinging to her lashes. “Gay, Jake. She was gay. Or more to the point, I think she was bisexual. I don’t think s
he understood what she was.”

  “Oh, come on, Chloe. You don’t expect me to believe this crap?” It annoyed Jake that Chloe would stoop so low, act like she was protecting her sister’s reputation. Not once in the last year did anyone even hint at Shanna’s sexual orientation deviating from what society considered the norm.

  “Chloe, there’s nothing wrong with being gay. Today’s attitudes have changed about it. Anyway, in the last year, nobody’s ever hinted at her being gay. Why are you saying it now?”

  “That’s what you know. The great investigator. Attitudes here in Wilkesbury have not changed. In the business world, you think Shanna would get promoted just as fast if they knew? Plus, she knew it would disappoint our parents, so she didn’t want to be outted. We didn’t get along all the time, especially on one important subject.”

  “What subject?”

  “We fought about her choice of partners.”

  “Who were they, Chloe?”

  “Her friend Meryl, for one. There’s one vicious bitch, if you ask me. She thought she owned Shanna. She went nuts every time Shanna dated a guy. She really didn’t like Mark Cavilla.”

  “Those are only two people, did she date anyone else?” Louie asked.

  “Yes. She dated one or two of the girls at school until it started to be a problem, so she stopped.”

  “Who were they?” Jake asked.

  Before Chloe could answer, he threw out another question, “Why didn’t you tell us this at the beginning of the investigation? Why now?”

  “I didn’t want you to label her—push the case aside. More important, I didn’t want our parents to find out. I didn’t think it caused her death. Now, I’m not so sure.” Chloe started to cry.

  Jake had no sympathy for her. “Chloe, your father believes you put the ring in Shanna’s room.”

  “I know,” she whispered.

  “Did you?” Louie handed her some tissues.

  Jake stared at Officer Jones who stood at attention outside the door.

  “No, I didn’t. Jake, please look at me. Yes, I get crazy sometimes. But I didn’t kill my sister. I didn’t put the ring there,” she pleaded.

  “Who did, Chloe?” Jake asked.

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask Meryl? She was over last week visiting my parents, cozying up to my mother. My mother told me Meryl wanted to hang out in Shanna’s room for a while. Telling her how much she missed Shanna. My mother thought it was sweet,” Chloe said with disgust.

  “You don’t like Meryl?” Louie asked.

  “No, I never did. Like I said, she always thought she owned Shanna. It began when they met in the first grade. Most of our fights were about Meryl.”

  “Really. What day did she visit your mother?” Jake said, intrigued.

  “I’m not really sure. You’ll have to ask my mother,”

  “Will your mother remember, Chloe?” Louie asked.

  “I’m sure. She always loved Meryl.” Chloe looked off into the distance.

  “Did you see your sister on the night she disappeared?”

  “No. I saw her on Thursday night. I told you in my original interview and again in our other interviews. I went over to her dorm. My mother made her some food she wanted me to take to Shanna. After I dropped it off, we went out to McDonald’s for a bite. Shanna insisted we make it an early night because she needed to study for her exam the next morning. I never saw her again.” Jake saw Chloe become lost in the memory of her sister.

  Jake cleared his throat twice before Chloe looked up at him. “Chloe, we’re going to break at this time. We’ll resume in fifteen minutes.” He called Officer Jones back into the room. “Officer Jones, Mrs. Wagner may stay in this room until we return. Will it be a problem with your sergeant?”

  “No sir,” Officer Jones replied.

  “This interview has ended. It’s now seven twenty-five p.m. on May 8, 2009. Interview will resume at a later time.” He and Louie left the interview room.

  Louie started to speak. Jake held up his hand, “In my office, Louie, not here.”

  The minute they were in his office, Louie started. “You don’t believe her, do you, Jake?”

  “I don’t know what to believe. We have the interviews tomorrow with Meryl and Mark. We’ll wait until all the interviews are complete to make a decision. In the meantime, I want to verify with Chloe’s mother that Meryl visited her last week. It’s strange that a week after Meryl’s visit, the ring shows up. Maybe Chloe had just waited for an opportunity to hide the ring. When Meryl visited she planted it in the hopes that when it was found her parents would give it to her. Thus, solving her problem with hiding the evidence. She’d get to wear it eventually this way. I don’t think Chloe realizes that this could go either way. It points strongly to her hiding it in the first place. Her father thinks the worst of her. I wonder why? What are your thoughts, Louie?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe Meryl’s playing them against each other? She said she considered them more her parents than her own. For what purpose, I don’t know.” Louie scratched his head.

  “I know this is going to make you crazy Louie, but I don’t want to hold her overnight.”

  “What are you, nuts? Of course it’s gonna make me crazy. What’s your logic here?” Louie looked at Jake like he’d lost it.

  “Okay, I think I jumped the gun. Yes, go ahead, say I told you so. It’s just a feeling. I don’t want her locked up if she doesn’t deserve to be. I want to keep her here while we go to her parent’s house. See if anyone visited them tonight, or if anyone called the station.”

  “Who do you think called?”

  “Let’s wait and see. I want to talk to dispatch before we leave. I also need to leave Shamus a voice message.”

  Jake went back to the interview room and spoke with Officer Jones, giving her instructions on the prisoner. Next, he went he spoke with Chloe.

  “Chloe, I’m going to check out a couple of things in your story. We’ll be back in an hour or so. You might want to reconsider whether you want a lawyer or not. You can wait in this room with Officer Jones, or you can go back to holding. What’ll it be?”

  “I’ll wait here. I don’t need a lawyer. Why are you being nice, Jake?” she asked, suspiciously.

  “I’m not being nice, Chloe. I just want to clear up a couple of things in your statement. Maybe you won’t have to spend the night here.”

  “You believe me?” she asked, her expression filled with hope.

  “We’ll be back,” Jake said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jake pulled up outside a modest yellow ranch house built in the early eighties, before the big colonial era. A well-manicured lawn, edged with flowers in the early stages of bloom. The door opened before they got to the top step.

  “Lieutenant, Detective,” Joe Wagner said, exasperated.

  Joe looked haunted. Yes, haunted, Jake thought.

  “Hi, Joe. Can we come in?”

  “I don’t want to disturb my wife. Can we talk out here?”

  “No, Joe. We need to speak with your wife,” Jake said.

  “Why? It’s after eight o’clock. Why can’t this wait? I don’t want you upsetting her,” he fumed. “I can’t take any more of your questions or your damned accusations today, Lieutenant.”

  “I’m sorry, Joe, this is important. We need you there also.”

  “Jesus, will this never end?”

  “Will what never end?” Louie asked.

  “The pain, the suspicion—I don’t know, everything.” He held out his hands, palms up.

  “Joe, you didn’t ask about Chloe. Why?” Jake asked.

  “Why? I don’t understand.”

  “Don’t you want to know where she is?” Louie asked.

  “It’s Friday night, she goes out after work with some of the girls.”

  “No, Joe. We picked her up after work tonight. She’s down at the station, being questioned.” Jake watched his reaction, saw the surprise.

  “I should’ve been notified. She
needs a lawyer? Why didn’t she call?” He bombarded them with questions. “You can’t tell her mother that. It’ll kill her. I know what I said today, but I know in my heart, I know she didn’t do it. She couldn’t.” He stared at them.

  “Joe, what we have to ask your wife is important,” Jake said. “Did you have a visitor today or tonight?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Who?”

  “Meryl Drake dropped in. She left about five minutes ago. Why? Will Chloe be home tonight?”

  “What did Meryl want, Joe?”

  “Oh, just to visit. She said she missed us.”

  “Did she visit last week?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Did she go into Shanna’s room for anything?” Louie asked.

  “Yeah, she needed to lie down for awhile. Why?”

  “How long did she stay last week?” Jake asked.

  “Only an hour. I got home after she’d been here for a while. It really picked Anna up. She enjoyed the visit.”

  “Do you know what they spoke about?” Louie asked.

  “She talked about Shanna, their childhood, how much she loved us.”

  “How much Shanna loved you?”

  “No, how much she, Meryl, loved us. How she’d always be there for us. Why?”

  “Okay, let’s go in the house and talk to your wife.” Jake steered Joe into the living room.

  When the three of them entered the room, Anna asked, before looking up, “Did Meryl forget something, honey?”

  “No, Anna. Lieutenant Carrington and Detective Romanelli are here. They want to speak with us,” he said in a subdued voice.

  “Oh? Why? Hello, Lieutenant, Detective.”

  “It’s Sergeant now.”

  “Oh, sorry. Sergeant. Please sit down.”

  “Mrs. Wagner, we have a few follow-up questions for you, alright?” Jake asked respectfully.

  “Okay,” she answered apprehensively.

  “When Meryl Drake visited you last week, did she have a special request?”

  “Yes. Why?” she asked.

  “What did you speak about? How long did she stay?” Jake asked gently.