Perfect Night

by Laine, Terri E.

  “The last I saw him, he wasn’t happy. He and Evan didn’t get along and things turned ugly at the dinner table.”

  “What was said?” Sheriff asked.

  “Evan asked my father about his no sleeping in the same room rule. Dad said he didn’t have to explain himself. It was his house. Evan told Dad he was too old fashion and that he and I had slept together many times so saving my virtue was far too late.” I hoped the next time I met Evan we weren’t in Mason Creek and I wasn’t on duty. “Dad told him he didn’t deserve any of my virtue and he hoped I’d wake up before I made the biggest mistake of my life.”

  “What happened next?”

  “I told them to stop. I told Dad no one was ever good enough for me in his eyes. I told Evan that he should leave in the morning if he couldn’t respect my father. Then, I left.”

  “Did you see your father after that?” Sheriff asked.

  She shook her head but finally answered no.

  “What about Evan?”

  “He came up to my room and I told him to leave.”

  “He came upstairs even though your father was home.”

  “Yes, and it pissed me off. I knew then things were finished with us.”

  That I hadn’t known.

  “Did you tell Evan things were over?”

  “No. I just wanted him to leave. I thought about going to talk to Dad but decided to wait until morning and it was too late.” Her words ended in a muffled sob.

  “Just a few more questions, Emma. Did you leave your room at any time that night and notice if your father or Evan were gone?”

  “No. I woke up just before you came to the door and Evan came out of his room.”

  “Was that the first time you saw Evan that morning?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “You said you couldn’t hear if someone left, right?”

  “That was with my ear buds in. I took them off at some point in the night. Your banging was quite incessant.” She sniffled and I wanted to bring her tissues.

  “Did your father have an insurance policy?”

  She nodded. “He had a small twenty-five-thousand-dollar policy. I used it to pay for his funeral and pay off his truck.”

  “So, you are unaware of any other policy he might have had?”

  “He didn’t have any other one,” she said.

  “Did he mention considering buying a policy?”

  “No.”

  “If I told you your father took out a two-million-dollar policy a month or two before he died, you would be surprised?”

  She nodded. “I would.”

  “Okay, that’s all Emma.” Sheriff got up and turned off the recording.

  “That’s all. You brought me here to accuse me of murdering my father for insurance money?” she shouted. “He didn’t have any other policies. I checked through his things.”

  “No. I did this to protect you because as I’m sure you will learn, he did take out a policy.”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Yes.”

  She looked in disbelief. “Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone looking at me differently.”

  “This is a part of an investigation.” He looked at the mirror when he said it. “None of it can be spoken about until the trial. I promise, and if it doesn’t come up then, your secret is safe with me.”

  The sheriff left the room with the door open. Emma didn’t leave. I had a feeling she knew I was on the other side of the glass.

  Chapter 31

  Emma

  It didn’t take long for Aiden to walk into the room. As I suspected he’d been behind the glass.

  “Did you know that was going to happen?” I asked. There was a knife’s edge to my tone I couldn’t take back.

  He held up his hands in a pleading gesture as he said, “Yes.”

  “You couldn’t warn me, could you?” I’d seen enough cop shows to figure it out.

  “No.”

  His eyes pleaded me to understand. “You couldn’t contact me because of our relationship, and it could be used against both of us.”

  He nodded.

  “Do you think I had anything to do with it or this money?” I spat.

  “Hell no,” he said and closed the distance. “Of course, I don’t. But he had to do it for the record. We couldn’t leave holes a defense team could use in their favor.”

  “Why would Dad take out a policy?”

  “I have the same question. Do you have any ideas?”

  “None.”

  “Do you know if your father used an insurance agent or just bought insurance online?”

  “I think he had an agent. He has policies to cover the bar for theft, fire and other business insurances.”

  “Can you get me the name of your agent?”

  “I thought you couldn’t talk to me about the case.”

  “I’m not. I’m gathering information. I would ask that you don’t contact the agent. If they contact you, that’s fine. At least until after I speak to them and get the information I need.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Can I ask if you’re any closer to solving this case?”

  “I have a theory,” he said.

  “But you can’t tell me.”

  He silently agreed before kissing my forehead. “Will you be home tonight?”

  Alarm filled me. “Are you kicking me out?”

  “No. I just—”

  “Aiden, today sucked. But I don’t blame you. I wish we weren’t in this situation.”

  “Me too.”

  “I might be late since Jack had to come earlier to cover me. I’ll probably stay until we close.”

  He feigned a dagger to his heart. “I guess it’s hot dogs for me tonight.”

  I laughed and it felt good after all the anger. “You’ll survive.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. You’ve spoiled me.” He kissed me lightly. “Get back to work.”

  And I did. I returned home late at night; Aiden was up in his room watching TV. He turned it off when I came in. “Hey stranger, I thought you’d never get home.”

  “Missed me?” I teased, enjoying our banter.

  “Missed you, I’m not whole until you’re with me.”

  I spun around and my jaw opened. “Mr. Faulkner, did you steal that line from somewhere?”

  “No. But you stole my heart.”

  I moved over and crawled on the bed. He caught me and rolled us on our sides. “You’ve got all the lines tonight.”

  “I’m just not holding back anymore. You have to understand, you’re it for me. My father told me that when I found my person, I’d know it. You are my person, Emma.”

  There was no holding back now. “I’m falling in love with you Aiden. So no jokes, okay?”

  “No jokes. I’m serious about this, about you, about us.” I was caught in the web of his gaze. “That’s why I need you to do one thing for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t be alone tomorrow.”

  Aiden

  I couldn’t answer her questions so I filled the spaces where words would have been with tender kisses and soft touches until she burned with desire. Then I filled her other places until she begged for release. I’d learned her rhythm and the tempo she needed to cross into bliss. I gave her everything she needed to get there. I held her tight because I knew what was coming, and I hated it for her.

  Tomorrow was that day. All the pieces had come together. It was time to topple the bastard that had caused harm to Emma’s father and left her with the pain of it.

  There was no perfect murder. Everyone made mistakes. You just had to find them.

  I’d made a request to interview a person of interest and it was agreed to. I had my questions lined up in my head, but I also had notes and pictures ready to use.

  When the bastard arrived, I had Bess escort the person of interest and their lawyer to the interrogation room. I left them there long enough to make the killer sweat.

  I walked in and dropped
my folder on the table between us. The sound broke the silence for a second. The lawyer and his client turned in my direction. They’d been quietly conversing.

  “First, I’m going to let you know this is being recorded.” I gestured toward the camera before walking over and turning it on. “Now, I’ll read you your rights.” I recited the Miranda warning remembering the look on Emma’s face when it had been said to her because of this asshole.

  I finally sat, placing the Miranda warning statement on the table. “Please sign.” I slid the page halfway over and the lawyer took it. He scanned the page before giving his client the okay to sign.

  “Mr. Evan Daily. That is your name, isn’t it?” I asked.

  “You know it is, asshole,” he said before his lawyer could stop him.

  I leaned back because I had this one in the bag. “Why don’t you tell me where you were the night of Doug Hawkins’ death.” I gave him the exact date. “Let’s say anytime from midnight onward. Oh, and in case you don’t know, Doug Hawkins is Emma Hawkins, your former fiancée’s father.”

  He glared at me.

  “Would you like me to help you with that?”

  The lawyer cut in. “Why is my client here?”

  “He’s a person of interest.” The next I said while tapping the table with my index finger. “He’s the person of interest.” When he didn’t answer, I pulled out a picture of a rental car and slid it around so they could see. “Does this car look familiar?”

  The image had been blown up from a surveillance video shot. The quality wasn’t great. Though the timestamp and license plate were clearly read.

  “It could be any sedan.”

  I nodded. “It could be. But do you recall renting a vehicle?”

  The reason I hadn’t initially come to this conclusion was because I’d assumed Evan had driven his own vehicle to Mason Creek. He had gone to college in Montana. As he and his lawyer decided what to say, I pulled out another document.

  “Does this refresh your memory?” I let them see a copy of the rental agreement.

  His lawyer gave him the go ahead to speak. “Yeah, I guess I rented the vehicle. I don’t remember if it’s this specific one.”

  “The license plate listed on the rental agreement matches the one in the picture, correct?”

  He took the time to check both before saying, “Yes.”

  “As you can see from the timestamp, you were out that early morning on the day Doug died.”

  “There’s no law against that,” he said.

  “And where were you going? And don’t lie. I have video footage in town.” During an interrogation, I could lie all I wanted to. He couldn’t.

  “I was out for a drive.”

  “Are you familiar with Darcy Williams?”

  His lawyer once again gave him the go ahead. “Yeah, I knew her. I wasn’t married.”

  “So you admit you went to see Darcy a little after midnight?” I asked.

  “Yeah, so what? I screwed her.”

  “Yet, you concealed that fact from Emma. So much so, you parked in the town square and walked the rest of the way to Darcy’s apartment.”

  “And?”

  “Why did you drive so slowly past the bar?”

  He shrugged. “I was going to park there.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “There was a car in the lot.”

  “Whose car?” I asked.

  “Doug’s,” he spit out.

  “Let’s move forward. You went to Darcy’s, had sex, then what?”

  “I left.”

  “Did you encounter anyone after you left Darcy’s? And let me caution you, you’re under oath. Lying to me is a criminal offense.”

  He whispered something to his lawyer who nodded.

  “I plead the fifth,” he said with a sardonic smile on his face.

  “Okay. I have video footage of Doug picking you up. Can you tell me why?” I didn’t have the pickup portion, but he didn’t know that. Sam was canvasing town for more external surveillance videos on buildings around town.

  The dumbass was so smug, he blurted, “The sanctimonious bastard was probably going to see Darcy or some other chick but had so much to say about what I was up to,” while the lawyer tried to stop him. But Evan only had eyes for me. “I guess that makes us even. We’ve slept with the same women. Do you have a preference? I know I do.”

  “For the record, I hadn’t been back to town in quite some time. I arrived the day of Doug’s funeral.”

  “Yeah, and you couldn’t wait to get my fiancée.”

  I clamped my lips shut because he wouldn’t dictate this interrogation. “So Doug took you back to the bar. Why?”

  “Don’t answer,” the lawyer pleaded, but it was as if he hadn’t heard him.

  “Because he didn’t want to shame me in front of Emma.”

  “This interview is over!” the lawyer demanded. “We’re leaving.”

  “You can’t,” I said.

  “Why not?” the lawyer snapped.

  I flashed him a smug grin. “Because your client is under arrest.”

  Evan leaned forward and slammed his fist on the table. “For what? Punching the old man? He deserved it. He had his back to me while he told me all the reasons I wasn’t right for his precious daughter. When he turned around, I reacted.”

  The lawyer tried to yank him back so they could confer. He didn’t let him.

  “So you watched him die. I have the footage from inside the bar.” Another lie.

  Evan sneered at me. “You can’t. I took it as proof he was alive when I left. The man tripped over his feet, fell and bumped his head.” His lawyer kept telling him to shut up, but he was solely focused on me. “I know my rights. There is no duty to rescue in Montana. You can’t arrest me because I didn’t call 911. He was breathing. For all I knew, he’d get up in a few minutes. And if he didn’t, Emma would be better off. Because of me, the old man bought a new life insurance policy.”

  That was a shock, and I did my best not to show it. Though I wanted to know why, I continued to goad him into hanging himself. “Yet you took the surveillance video to conceal you’d been with him.”

  “I took it for my protection.” He held up a hand to his lawyer. “I’ve got this,” he said to him.

  Since he was distracted, I asked, “Where is it now?”

  “The original is in my apartment. I have another on the cloud. I can pull it up on my phone.”

  “Your apartment in Montana?”

  “No, Chicago. I’m done with Montana. I have all the credits I need to graduate with my MBA.” He said it like I should be impressed.

  “Well, you’re going to miss graduation.”

  He stood but still leaned on the desk like I should fear him. “Fuck you. You have nothing on me.”

  “Would you like to tell your client, or should I?” The lawyer knew they were screwed. “You see, you admitted to aggravated assault of Mr. Hawkins which is a felony. If your felony results in a death, that’s called deliberate homicide here in Montana. You’ll be subject to the death penalty. I hope it was worth it. You should have called 911.”

  Evan lost it and charged at me. I had the benefit of time as he skirted around the table. I let him hit me because that was an assault of a law enforcement officer. Just another assault charge added to the many.

  Wyatt and Sam, who’d been watching, came rushing in and subdued him. We already had county transport ready to take him to a county jail. He was spitting mad.

  I turned to his lawyer. “You should know, we have a duly executed search warrant for his apartment in Chicago. Well, the Feds do. I called in a favor to a buddy of mine. Anyway, he’s being moved to county.”

  The lawyer said nothing and walked out.

  Though I had paperwork to do, I had to do something first.

  Emma

  I happened to be out front when Aiden walked into the bar. I smiled before I noticed he wasn’t. “What’s wrong?”

  He glanced around. �
�Can we talk outside?”

  That was unusual. I felt nervous butterflies and not the good kind. My stomach continued to churn as he took my hand and led me out the front door. “You’re scaring me,” I admitted.

  “Let’s walk around back.”

  That freaked me out more. He didn’t want anyone to see or hear what he was about to tell me.

  At the back of the bar, there was an outdoor area that had a platform deck. We used that for evening summer-time concerts and special barbecue events when we screened sports games. At the moment, it was empty.

  He never let go of my hand and we were standing close, so he didn’t have to speak loudly. “We have your father’s killer in custody.” Alarm filled me. “I wanted you to hear it from me before the rumor mill got started.”

  “Who is it?” I prayed it wasn’t Jack. We’d come so far in our relationship. I didn’t want to think he’d betrayed my father that way.

  “I don’t want you to think this is your fault in any way.”

  I tried to pull away as anger wanted to take hold. “Just tell me.”

  “Evan, Emma. Evan punched your father, he fell, and you know the rest. For the record, I don’t believe he intended on killing him.”

  I covered my mouth because I was going to scream as my knees buckled. Aiden caught me. Tears burst from my eyes. “He punched Dad and left him there to die?” I choked up. This was my fault. I brought Evan to see my dad.

  “Yes. But I don’t think he waited around to see how serious it was. I’m not trying to give him an excuse. I just don’t think he’s a cold-blooded murderer. He will face the death penalty though.”

  Nothing Aiden said in that moment penetrated. “It is my fault,” I cried.

  I don’t know how long he held me or how I ended up at his home in bed. He stayed with me the entire time.

  There were no words that generated for a long time after. I went through the grief cycle several times before I was coherent.

  Hours later, when my tears had dried, I said, “I couldn’t have done this without you,” as I laid on Aiden’s chest, staring into space.

  “You made sure your dad got the justice he deserved. I’m just happy I was here to help.”