“What were you arguing about?”
She avoided my gazed and the question. “Nothing.”
“Again, Ms. Thompson, if you won’t tell me the truth, I can’t help you.”
She sighed. “He wanted to call things off.”
“Call what off?”
“Our…entanglement.”
“So, you two were romantically involved?”
“Yes. I loved Owen. I would never hurt him. I was just upset. He’d been stringing me along for years. Even when I found out he had a wife and tried to end things, he just kept pulling me back. He told me at lunch that she was becoming suspicious and we needed to cool it for a while. I was upset because he’d been promising me for a whole year that he was going to leave her.”
“I see,” I said, making a note of her confession. “Can anyone confirm your alibi for the night in question?”
“My neighbor. She saw me come home with the groceries. We had a whole conversation in the driveway, and I have a receipt from the store at my house.”
“Good, good. That’s helpful. Now, the prosecution claims they have DNA evidence linking you to the crime scene. Can you think of any reason your DNA might be present in Mr. Davis’ home?”
She hesitated. “Well, I was at Owen’s house earlier that week. His wife was out of town visiting her mother.”
I shook my head. This was one thing I hated about being a lawyer. People omitted vital information that could help their case for the sake of saving face.
“That’s crucial information, Ms. Thompson. Why didn’t you mention this to the police?”
“I was scared,” she exclaimed. “I thought it would make me look guilty.”
“And I understand, but withholding information only makes things worse. Case in point: Look where you’re sitting. Is there anything else you haven’t told me or the police?”
Again, she avoided my eyes.
“Ms. Thompson…”
“Just one thing.”
“Which is?”
“Two days before his murder, his wife confronted me. Apparently, she’s been suspecting him of cheating for a while and had cameras installed in the house. She saw me there and came to my job to confront me in the parking lot.”
I sighed. “Alright, Ms. Thompson. The good thing is you said she has cameras in the home. We can get a warrant to have her turn over the video evidence. The downside to that is hopefully she hasn’t destroyed it. In that case, we would have to go through the security company to get the footage, and that could take a little longer. I really wish you had told the police this. This is time-sensitive information. I’m gonna see what I can do as far as getting you bail, but I won’t make any promises.”
She nodded repeatedly before bursting into tears. I stuck around long enough to comfort her before leaving the room. I stopped by the chief’s office and told him I needed a search warrant for Mr. Davis’ widow before heading home for the day. No sooner than I got in my car did my phone ring with a call from my best friend, Kadeem. I answered on Bluetooth.
“What’s up, man?”
“What’s good, my brotha?”
I sighed. “Long day.”
“Sounds like you need a drink.”
“I damn sure do.”
“Meet me at Kinko’s. We need to catch up anyway. It’s been a minute since we linked.”
“Bet. I’m headed that way.”
