by Raven Snow
“So, I’m told you have some information about the murder,” said Ben, his voice coming from behind all of them.
Tilda nodded. “I-I’m not sure who I should speak to.”
Sutton turned his head once more, focusing on Ben this time. “Sorry, I was going to do a cursory interview with Tilda here before I came and got you.”
Ben nodded. “That’s fine. Go on. Take room A. It’s not in use right now, is it?”
“I don’t believe so, no.” Sutton regarded his boss for a moment, like he was trying to read exactly what he had planned. “This way, please.” He spoke to Tilda next, leading the way back to the room he had been in with Margo and Rowen only a moment ago.
Tilda followed, though she chanced a glance back at the Greensmiths as she went. Her gaze was thoughtful, her mouth a frown. She turned back quickly and disappeared into the interrogation room.
“She’s the killer,” Rowen whispered to Ben.
Ben arched an eyebrow. “Really now? Suppose she’s here to turn herself in?”
“Not a chance,” Rowen said, even though she knew full well that Ben wasn’t being serious. “There’s a good possibility she might incriminate herself, though. Can we look in on whatever it is she’s here to say? Room A has one of those two-way mirrors, doesn’t it?”
Ben sighed. Rowen had made a pretty questionable request. It was one that was difficult for him to even act on given where they were.
“Come on,” said Margo, her voice barely above a whisper. “We almost have this thing solved.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Ben headed in the direction Sutton and Tilda had gone. At least it hadn’t taken much convincing to get him to do so. Granted, that had probably been his plan from the moment he had sent Sutton off to interview Tilda himself.
The room behind the mirror was small and dark. There was a camera and a desk. Tilda was seated so that she was facing the mirror. She was frowning at it, making Rowen worried for a moment that she could actually see the three of them standing there.
Ben must have picked up on Rowen’s concern. “She can’t see or hear us,” he assured her. “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know we’re here.”
“Go ahead,” prompted Sutton, waving a hand as if trying to reassure her. “Do you know who murdered your friend?”
Tilda looked to Sutton once more. After a moment, she nodded. She wiped at her eyes and took one of those big shuddering breaths, summoning tears again. “Yes,” she said, allowing for a big pause. “It was… It was Dave.”
“Really?” Sutton pushed back from the table. “And what makes you say that?”
“She’s full of—” Margo began, but Rowen shushed her. She wanted to hear where Tilda was going with this.
“Teaghan… Teaghan was cheating on him.” Tilda shook her head, sadly. “He found out, and… I feel partially responsible. I brought it up. I thought he knew, but I’d had too much to drink and brought it up. I guess… I guess even if he knew about one or two of the people she had cheated on him with, he wasn’t aware that there were so many more. God, this is my fault.” She buried her face in her hands then, like she felt guilty.
“Yeah, right,” Rowen muttered watching Tilda sniffle some more as Sutton implored her to continue. Rowen took her phone from her pocket. She was dialing before Ben noticed her making a call.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling Dave.”
“Rowen…” Ben began, giving her a measured look.
Rowen shook her head, taking a few steps away so that she could stand in the corner without fear that someone would snatch her phone from her. “Trust me,” she said. “I know what I’m doing.” That was a bit of a stretch, but if anyone suspected her of lying they didn’t make mention of it.
A few rings passed. For a moment, Rowen was afraid it might go to voicemail. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave this sort of thing on a voicemail. Finally, though, Dave picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dave? It’s Rowen Greensmith from the Lainswich Inquirer.”
There was a stretch of silence like Dave was trying to decide if he wanted to talk to her or not. “What do you want?” he asked, not unkindly. There was caution in his tone, though.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’m down at the police station. I was here just doing my own thing when Tilda burst in making a scene. She’s telling everyone you were the one who murdered Teaghan?”
Another stretch of silence. “What?” he asked, then, “That’s not true. She wouldn’t.”
“I’m looking at her right now.”
“And why are you calling me?”
“Because I don’t think you killed your wife. I think Tilda is just trying to throw you under the bus. Am I right?”
“I…” Dave began. “I’m coming down there,” he said, more resolute all of a sudden.
“That’s probably a good idea.” Rowen waited for him to hang up before she lowered her phone. Ben and Margo were both looking at her. “He’s on his way,” Rowen assured them.
“What’s your aim here?” asked Ben.
Rowen tried to fight a smile. “I think we’re finally going to get the truth.”
***
It didn’t take long at all for Dave to arrive. Ben was there to meet him when he did. Rowen stood a few feet away, watching and waiting. “Where is she?” asked Dave. He was looking quite rough around the edges. His polo shirt and jeans looked slept in even though the dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn’t gotten quality sleep in quite a while.
“Tilda?” asked Ben. “She’s in the back talking to a detective. We—”
Dave swept past Ben, heading in the direction Ben had indicated even though he couldn’t possibly know which room Tilda was in. Rowen followed after him. “Tilda?” he called, loudly, getting the attention of just about everyone in the station. He threw open each door he came across. It only took him three tries to find the right one.
Rowen didn’t bother going back behind the mirror. She caught the door to the interrogation room before it slammed shut and stood waiting in the doorway. Tilda had turned to look at Dave, her eyes wide. Sutton stood and took a step toward Dave. It looked like he was ready to restrain him if necessary.
Dave raised a hand toward Sutton, imploring him to stop his approach. He took a deep breath as if to try and calm himself. He didn’t look angry, just very, very tired. His gaze fixed on Tilda. “I asked you not to do this.”
“I couldn’t lie for you anymore,” Tilda blurted. “I told them the truth. I told them you killed Teaghan. You don’t have to lie about it anymore. I know it’s… it’s been hard on you.”
Dave opened his mouth to say something else but closed it. He sighed. “You don’t have to lie for her,” Rowen told Dave, urging him to tell the truth. “I know what really happened. You and Tilda were having an affair, weren’t you? That’s why you’re so hesitant to tell the truth. You know you should, but part of you doesn’t want the both of you going down for this. What would the point of that be, right?”
“I’m not comfortable with this,” Tilda said, still playing the victim card with her shaky voice and tearful demeanor.
“I’m guessing you ended things before the reunion,” continued Rowen. She was thankful Sutton was actually letting her talk. It was still difficult to read his sullen expression, but the fact that he was remaining quiet spoke volumes. “Tilda was trying to make a scene, pointing out everyone Teaghan had ever had an affair with. She was trying to rile you up, and it worked. You did get mad. It riled a few people up, actually. Richie didn’t like finding out he wasn’t the only person she’d had an affair with. Initially, Tilda wanted to blame him. After we left Jessi’s house, I’m sure she called just about everyone she knew, though. When Tilda heard we more or less had this thing figured out, she rushed here to throw the blame on Dave. She hoped he’d go along with it.”
“This is ridiculous,” insisted Tilda. “I would never hurt Teaghan. She was my best friend.”
“I’m n
ot sure you and your clique have the best definition of the word friend,” Rowen said, throwing Tilda a stern look. “That said, I don’t think it was done on purpose. I think you guys got into it in the bathroom. Teaghan had a taste for drama, and you were mad to begin with. Maybe it was a shoving match that turned fatal. Maybe it was a crime of passion you deeply regretted after you were done drowning her, once she wasn’t struggling anymore. You couldn’t move the body, though. You had to get Dave’s help for that. He was still fuming, still livid. He was the one who put the body where it was, where it would make a scene. He was still angry at his wife and angrier still now that he couldn’t confront her about it. My guess is that he wasn’t thinking clearly.” Rowen looked at Dave. He had bowed his head.
“I regret what I did. It’s all I can think about.” Dave turned to Ben. “I didn’t know how she had killed my wife, how she had drowned her. I didn’t know any of it until the next day, and by then… I’ll sign any confession you want me to. I can’t live like this.”
“Dave!” Tilda yelled.
Dave just shook his head. “Tilda, tell the truth. Please, just tell the truth.”
***
Rowen wasn’t invited to watch what happened next with Dave or Tilda. Ben ran her out, giving Rowen no choice but to sit and wait in the reception area. She didn’t much like it, but there was no way she was going anywhere, at least not until she found out what happened next. Margo settled in easily, messing about on her phone while she waited. She remained on the edge of her seat, tapping her foot anxiously.
It was a good hour before someone came to the waiting room. Much to her dismay, it was Sutton. “You can go home,” he said, addressing Rowen and Margo. “I’m sure Ben will give you a call when he needs you.”
“You can’t just kick us out,” Rowen said, crossing her arms and refusing to budge. “We’re not hurting anyone. We’re not disrupting anything. We’re just waiting.”
“And I’m telling you that you don’t need to,” said Sutton, his voice oddly calm. He took a deep breath as if whatever he had to say next would require a great deal of strength. “Tilda finally confessed. The chief managed to convince her it was better to admit to the accident now than face a court. Dave already came clean, obviously… I trust you’ll keep all that out of the papers.”
Rowen fought back a smile. It was like a weight had lifted off her chest. Sure, she was happy Tilda had confessed, but there was something else to be happy about, something equally pleasing. “You trust us?”
“More than I did… For now.” The praise sounded a bit like a threat, but Rowen was willing to take it. It was still an improvement. “I don’t buy into the psychic stuff, but you did help. Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m still going to be keeping an eye on the lot of you.”
“Go right ahead, Detective.” Margo stood and winked at the man.
Sutton grunted and turned, retreating back toward the interrogation rooms. Rowen elbowed her cousin as soon as he was out of sight. “I can’t take you anywhere. You’re twice as bad as Teaghan and Tilda ever were.”
“What can I say? High school wasn’t fun for me, and I got married right after. Maybe I’ve got lost time to make up for.”
Rowen nudged Margo on ahead of her. “We have lost time to make up for with Rose. No doubt she needs help with the paper.”
Margo grumbled, but Rowen just smiled. She didn’t much want to spend the rest of the day working, but the only reason she had the opportunity to was because she had solved yet another case. An old school bully was behind bars, and Sutton was very close to tolerating the Greensmiths. Things were looking up! Granted, Rowen had set the bar pretty low, but that was the best place to set it. It made victories like this all the sweeter.
*The End*
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