He directed me to one of his client chairs and then returned to his seat. Rolling it forward, he appeared nervous for me, even loosening his tie a little as if it were strangling him.
I sighed. “Yes, things have dramatically changed and now I need your help.”
He released a long breath. “Okay, I’ll let you begin.”
“Greg lied to me and told me he was going to a seminar in Vegas. Instead, he took some floozy to The Bliss Hotel.”
“No, not Greg,” he interrupted to defend his best friend. “I know you’ve suspected he was having an affair. He wouldn’t do that to you or Ava. But no matter what, I know he wouldn’t go to that place.”
I shook my head. “He did, Lucas. I followed him there and even checked into the room next to his. I heard him in there having sex with some skank.”
Lucas scrunched up his face. “I ... I just never would’ve thought ... not in a million years. Gosh, Emily, I’m so sorry. This comes as a complete shock to me.”
“Well, that was the easy part,” I warned him, and his mouth gaped open. “The next morning the slut was gone, but the door was cracked open a bit and I went inside and found him in there ... beaten to death.”
Lucas’s expression froze, then paled, then he grabbed at his heart. “No, no, no, no, not Greg. He can’t be dead. He can’t be.” He leaned over his desk and covered his face with his hands. “No, please ... Oh, God.”
Lucas and Greg had been close friends since high school. They'd gone through college together and Greg had been best man at Lucas and Kay’s wedding. And Lucas had been Greg’s best man at our wedding. I cried along with Lucas, both of us grieving. When he pulled his hands away from his face, his eyes were red. He quickly used his fingers to wipe at his cheeks and put on a brave face. I too swiped away my tears and gathered myself.
When he remained silent, I continued. “When I saw him, I leaned against the dresser, then I got sick and instead of getting out, I ran to the bathroom and threw up, getting a bunch on the floor. Then, on my way out, I stepped in the blood and trailed it back to my room. I’m sure my DNA is everywhere. I went by the hotel later and crime scene tape was across both doors. Greg’s car has been taken in for forensic processing. I received a call from Detective Tanner Sutton, and I’ve agreed to come in for questioning.” I paused for a moment. “Will you be willing to represent me?”
He nodded. “Of course. I’d be upset if you asked anyone else.” He paused for a long time. “I have to ask, Emily, did you—?”
“No, I did not kill Greg,” I shouted, interrupting him. “And before you ask, I don’t have any idea who the tramp was either.”
He pushed his hands down in a calming motion. “Don’t be upset. I had to ask.” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “The police aren’t suspecting you, are they?”
“Well, I didn’t make it easy on myself. Once I began imagining the spouse always being the prime suspect, I made a sad attempt at cleaning up the room, bagging the evidence and taking it with me, and I didn’t bother to report the murder to the police.” His mouth was gaping open. “Then I rented the room Greg was in until Saturday morning. Oh, and the night of the murder, I ran into a private investigator and he even gave me his business card.”
“Dear God,” Lucas said, which didn’t make me feel one iota better.
“Well, on the plus side, I’ve spoken with Liam Marshall, the P.I., and he doesn’t think I killed Greg and I’ve already turned over the bags of stuff to him.”
Lucas squeezed his eyes closed, like he had a massive migraine. “Even if they completely exonerate you from the murder, your failure to report a felony, which a murder is, is considered a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a penalty up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $4,000.”
Slowly I processed the information. While I didn’t relish the idea of going to jail and being away from Ava, it was certainly better than life in prison or the death penalty for killing Greg ... assuming, of course, I was able to convince the police I had nothing to do with Greg’s murder.
We talked the subject to the nth degree and then Lucas drove me downtown to the police station on Belknap Street. On the way, he touched base with Kay, who was feeling fine after her spill down the stairs. I contacted my mother and Ava. My mother wished me luck and I told Ava I loved her with all my heart.
“You’ve got this,” Lucas said in an encouraging tone as he disengaged his seat belt and gazed at me.
“Piece of cake,” I agreed. But inside, the tuna from lunch was swimming in my stomach and feeling very cramped in its tiny living space.
◆◆◆
Seated in a small cubicle room, across from Detectives Tanner Sutton and James Andrews, I accepted a bottle of water and nervously tried to calm my shaking hands long enough to twist open the top. Detective Sutton, probably in his mid-thirties, was tall, with broad-shoulders and a chiseled jaw. His chocolate-brown eyes matched the coloring in his hair, and he might well have been the most handsome man I had ever encountered. When he first invited me in, he flashed a giant smile of perfect white teeth and asked me to have a seat. But just as quickly, his striking looks morphed into a gruff expression that told me this meeting was going to be all about business and nothing about a little chat.
His colleague, Detective Andrews was about five-eight in height, slightly balding, chunky around the mid-section, probably in his late forties, and he too had a gruff expression on his face.
Lucas gave me an encouraging nod when I was asked to state my full name into a recording device staring at me from the center of a small table. My eyes darted between the small black box and the camera trained on me from the upper corner of the bland room.
“Em ... Em ... Emily Marie Mills. Uh, my maiden name is Thomas. Uh, Emily Marie Thomas Mills.” I was already failing miserably, and this was only my name.
“Mrs. Mills, thank you for coming down,” Det. Sutton said. “Just relax. This is simply to find out what you know.”
Yeah right ... and then arrest me.
“Let’s begin with how you knew your husband would be at The Bliss Hotel.”
I licked my dry lips and then told him about leaving the hospital after Kay’s fall and taking a wrong turn. “I just saw Greg’s car turn left in front of me and I ended up following him.”
“You just happened to see his car,” Det. Andrews said, making the events sound way too fortuitous. “We’ve searched the car and found a GPS tracking device on it. You want to tell us how you really knew he was at that hotel? You knew he was having an affair ... and you intended to catch him red-handed ... didn’t you?”
“I didn’t know about any tracking device on his vehicle. And it was just a coincidence to have seen his car. But yes, once I spotted his vehicle, I did follow him.”
“Okay then,” Det. Sutton said. “Tell us how you just happened to know which room was his? And how you just happened to end up in the room next door?”
“Uh,” I croaked out and stopped to take a few swallows of water. “I uh, narrowed his room down by proximity to where his car was. After watching from the parking lot, I was able to eliminate the surrounding rooms.” My eyes were drawn to that two-way mirror across from me, wondering who was watching and listening on the other side.
“Mrs. Mills,” Det. Andrews jarred my thoughts, “tell us about your relationship with your husband. Any fights, problems, plans for a divorce?”
“No, no, not divorce. I loved my husband. We had a solid marriage and a beautiful daughter.”
“Mmmhmm,” Det. Sutton muttered under his breath. “Is that why he was fooling around behind your back in a run-down motel?” He paused for only a moment. “We’ve already spoken with Julie Henderson, your husband’s secretary. She was very cooperative. Told us all about how you thought your husband was going away on a seminar with Taylor Anderson, whom you thought was a woman. I’ll bet that really made you angry.”
I just stared at him with my teeth ground against each other.
�
�I’ll bet the two of you had a big old fight when he told you that ... didn’t you?” Det. Andrews speculated.
I swallowed hard, remembering I was so angry I had slept in Ava’s room. “The next morning my husband cooked breakfast for me and we ate together. He said I didn’t have anything to worry about and that he loved me.”
“No fight, is that what you’re saying? You were okay with your husband shacking up with some girl in a Las Vegas hotel?” Det. Sutton posed.
“No, of course I was upset. We had a few words about it.”
“A few words,” Det. Sutton repeated in an exaggerated tone. “You were already angry when you thought he was going to Las Vegas with his lover. I’ll bet you really blew a gasket when you saw your lying, cheating husband heading into that sleazy motel. I’ll bet you lost it. Didn’t you? Tell us, Mrs. Mills, what time during the night did you decide to confront your husband about his affair?”
“I never confronted him. I passed out drunk and when I came too and went to leave ... wait went to get some air, I saw his door open.” Shit, why did I say that?!
“So, which was it ... leave or fresh air?” Det. Andrews inquired.
“Fresh air.” I glanced at Lucas and when he looked upset with my answer, my nerves bundled tighter.
“Are you sure you didn’t go in there, beat him with a baseball bat and then track blood back to your own room?” Det. Sutton grilled.
“No, I didn’t,” I answered firmly. “Was that what happened to my husband ... a bat?”
“You tell me. Was it a bat you used on your husband?” Det. Andrews pressed.
“You killed him. We know you did it.” Det. Sutton solidly accused.
“No, I didn’t,” I said adamantly. Sweat suddenly popped up on my forehead and I looked at Lucas for help.
“I thought this was just a little chat,” Lucas griped. “My client has turned over the clothes she was wearing, which clearly don’t show any blood splatter on them, save and except for where she inadvertently stepped in some. She had nothing to do with her husband’s murder. She simply found the door open and entered. After becoming ill at the sight of him, she threw up and then returned to her own room.”
“Not before she tried to clean up the crime scene, which was followed by her renting the room her dead husband was in. Then what, Emily?” Det. Sutton twisted his head in my direction. “Did you just go home and have breakfast ... or what?”
“No,” I screamed out. “I went to my mother’s.”
“You just packed up all the evidence, left and went to mommy’s house. Is that it? Why ... so she could help you cover up what you did? Did you take yourself a nice shower and put on some fresh clothes?” Det. Sutton continued.
“That’s it,” Lucas yelled and pounded his fist on the table. “If you’re only going to point the finger at my client, instead of trying to find out information that might lead to the real killer, then we’re done here.” He turned his gaze to me. “Emily, we’re leaving.” He rose from his seat and assisted me from mine.
“Not so fast. First, we’d like to take your client’s fingerprints and a DNA sample. And we’d like to make a copy of her phone. Might as well do it voluntarily ... you know, so we can find that real killer,” Det. Sutton said in a sneering tone that made me want to slap him.
Lucas nodded and a little machine was produced for me to roll my fingertips over one at a time until they were satisfied with the results. Then a DNA swab was taken from my mouth. After I handed over my phone, a few minutes later a man from tech support returned it to Det. Sutton. “While we have a complete record of everything on your phone, as a courtesy, we’re returning it to you. But, Mrs. Mills, be sure and keep up with it, in case we need a second look,” Det. Sutton said, handing it back to me.
Lucas glared at the detectives and then looked at me. “Let’s go, Emily.”
There wasn’t any disagreement from me. My legs couldn’t carry me out of that claustrophobic room quickly enough.
“Don’t go too far, Emily Mills,” Det. Sutton warned. “I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon ... real soon.”
Lucas smirked. “Yeah, well, let me know when you want to have that chat,” he directed to both detectives, “because we’ll be glad to talk to you then. In the meantime, have a nice day.”
Out in the hallway, I barely made it to the nearest bench. Lucas followed along with me and plopped down beside me. “Lucas, they think I did it. I thought this meeting was going to be about who the girl might be … the one who’s DNA should be in the sheets. I thought they’d tell me about releasing Greg’s body so I could plan his funeral. I thought I’d be able to talk to them about what happened to Ava.”
Lucas had been gritting his teeth, equally as angry as I was. “What? What happened to Ava?”
Once I explained, he said, “We need to file a report and Paul Jensen needs to be investigated.”
“Not with those two detectives?” A maniacal laugh escaped my mouth. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No, with someone who will take you seriously.” He stood and helped me off the bench and we walked down to the receptionist desk and asked to file a complaint.
In the end, the incident was reported to Det. Susan Presley. She was in her early thirties with short brown hair. With a nine-year-old daughter of her own, she took my report seriously and promised to investigate the matter.
When we left, I felt better about Ava’s situation, but worse about mine.
◆◆◆
“I expected they’d think I did it,” I grumbled to Lucas once we were back in his car. “But wouldn’t it be obvious to any moron that it would be impossible for anyone to have created such a bloodbath without getting splatter on them? I don’t get it?”
“Have you heard anything from that P.I.?”
“No.”
“You might want to fire him and hire someone else. If he’s working in conjunction with the police department, he may not have your best interests at heart.”
“I’ll call him and see if he’s done anything. If not, I’ll let him know that his services are no longer needed.”
“Well do it while I can listen in,” he suggested.
Reaching for my purse on the floorboard and digging out my phone, I called the P.I. “Hello, Liam. This is Emily Mills. I was wondering if you had anything to report on my husband’s death.”
“Well, not much. Forensics is backlogged right now, and the sheets haven’t been tested for DNA samples. And uh ... uh...”
“And what?” I demanded.
“Your husband ... his face was unrecognizable, and his teeth were broken to the point dental records aren’t going to match.”
“What about his fingerprints?” I asked.
“Yes, they have those ... but your husband isn’t in the system.”
“What? He worked with the DA’s office. I would’ve thought fingerprinting would’ve been part of being hired. I know I had to be fingerprinted for my position at the bank.”
“That was my understanding too ... but he didn’t pop-up on our database. The police have sent a clerk over to the DA’s office to verify fingerprinting as a part of the criminal background check. Until then, we’re in limbo on positive identification.” He paused. “You may have to come down and identify his body.”
“Oh,” I said in a forlorn voice, my stomach sickening at the thought.
“I know,” he softly said in understanding, because identifying Greg’s bashed in face would be extremely difficult for me. It would be too painful a sight to look at.
“Did he have any tattoos, birthmarks, body piercings, anything that could be easily identified?”
“He had a scar on the back of his right leg from when he was a child. He slid down an embankment on a piece of cardboard and ran over a broken bottle. He still has a mark from it.”
“Okay, let me have the ME look for that before we have you come in. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, deciding to gi
ve him a little while longer before I dismissed his services. I turned my attention to Lucas. “As soon as you drop me off, I’m going over to Greenwood to plan Greg’s funeral. I had been waiting for his body to be released, but there’s no reason I can’t pick out the service package and just hold the date open until I hear from the police.”
Lucas bit at his lip. “Is your mother going with you?”
“No, right now Ava is ... distraught. I can’t leave her by herself and I’m not about to take her to help plan her father’s funeral.”
He nodded. “Kay has a doctor’s follow-up appointment in about an hour. I’m meeting her there. Why don’t you put off planning anything until in the morning? Then Kay can either go with you or keep Ava so that your mother can accompany you, whichever you prefer.”
“Yes, I’d appreciate having someone with me. I’ll talk to Mom and we'll decide what's best for Ava.”
“And Emily, if it comes to it, I’ll identify Greg.”
I gave him a faint smile. “Thank you, Lucas. And thank you for today ... at the police station.”
“Anytime, Emily. Just ask and we’ll be there for you.”
◆◆◆
As soon as Lucas dropped me off at my car, I thanked him again for everything and, with a small wave and an encouraging smile, he left to pick up Kay. On my way home, suddenly I decided to take a detour and go over to Molly’s house. Paul and Molly lived near the Royalty High Country Club in the Rivercrest Estates. With a guarded entrance at the front gate, I had to be announced before being allowed inside the posh neighborhood. Under a canopy of elm trees, I drove along a winding road, passing one mansion after the next until I came to another gate, the one leading down the Jensen’s private driveway. My arrival was of no surprise since, not only had the guard already notified Molly of my visit, but she had also buzzed me in at her own private barrier. The huge wrought iron gates parted in the middle and rolled to each side. Advancing my vehicle, I watched from my rearview mirror as they automatically closed behind me. Their driveway split part way down, one way led to a huge six-bay garage, the other became a circular path bringing guests to the front door.
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