“It’s not looking so hot right about now,” Andy said before he walked away.
“Hello, Maegan, are you there?” the voice on the other end of the phone asked.
It was then that I realized how odd the caller’s voice sounded. It was distorted and metallic sounding. Fear and unease washed over me.
“Who is this?” I asked sharply. “What do you want with me?”
“I saved you, Maegan. Did your boyfriend tell you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told the person. “How did you save me? You left evidence behind my shop and at my home.”
“Thom Renzo was a sick fuck who had evil plans for you.” Fear clawed at my throat and made my stomach churn. Bile rose in my throat and I feared that I was about to vomit in front of our customers. I ran into the back room for privacy, knowing that Milo was following behind. I heard him talking on his cell phone and suspected he was calling the police.
“I gotta go, Maegan. I just wanted you to know that I’m not trying to hurt you. I wanted to help you and expose Thom for the sick animal he was. I tried legal channels but no one listened to me. The only thing to do with a sick animal is to put it down.”
“You didn’t hurt Rascal,” I added.
“The cat? He’s not sick, he’s just lonely. Take good care of him and yourself. I’m sorry that I scared you.”
“Wait!” I yelled, but I heard the audible click from the call getting disconnected. “Damn it!”
“Write down everything that person just told you,” Milo said. I looked over at him and saw that he was still on the phone. “Officer Kasey said to do it now while it’s still fresh in your mind. She’s on her way over.”
“Milo, I can’t believe this is happening to me,” I told him, sounding as dazed and confused as I truly felt.
Milo hugged me tight then said, “Sis, write it down.” He slid a piece of paper and a pen to me. “Take as much time as you need. I’ll take care of the shop.”
Officer Kasey must’ve practically been in earshot because she arrived on the scene fast. Had she been assigned to keep an eye on me or was it coincidence? I couldn’t help but crack a small smile when I realized he didn’t ask Jones to watch over me. I wanted to claim it as a victory for women’s lib, but I thought it had more to do with Elijah not wanting Jones near me.
“Keep writing,” she said when I started to put my pencil down, thinking she would want to question me. “I don’t want my questions to influence your perceptions. We’ll go over it once you’re done.”
Her cell phone rang and she moved over to the far end of the room to answer it. Even so, I would’ve known who she was talking to even if I hadn’t overheard her say, “Yes, Detective. I’m with her now. She’s okay.” Officer Kasey listened to whatever Elijah had to say then replied, “Yes, sir.”
After she hung up the phone, I said, “I’m finished now, Officer Kasey.”
“You’ve known me since fifth grade. It’s okay to call me Marley when I’m in uniform,” she said with a rueful smile.
“I’m just trying to be respectful.”
“And I appreciate it,” she replied as she took the sheet of paper from my hands. “Let’s see what you have here.” She set the paper on the counter and pulled a pen out of her pocket. “I’m going to read each thing back to you and I want you to tell me anything that stands out, emphasis on certain words or changes in tone.”
“The voice was distorted by something,” I told Marley, “but I can tell you which words he or she emphasized.”
“You don’t think we’re dealing with a guy?”
I shook my head. “You’ll see what I mean when we discuss each comment.”
“All right.”
We went through my note line by line, discussing every nuance of every word said to me. I understood why Marley wanted me to write everything down before we discussed it. My first impression was crucial, and it would’ve been easy to influence my reactions or forget a key remark during the thorough interview that lasted at least twenty minutes.
“So this killer feels like she saved you,” Marley said out loud.
“You agree it’s a woman?” I asked. “Thom did something horrible to her and she’s trying to get justice when she feels the system failed her.”
“It could also be a man who’s trying to punish Renzo for something he did to his sister, or someone else he loved,” Marley countered. “But a woman could’ve easily pulled off Renzo’s murder. It didn’t require a lot of strength.” She was talking more to herself by that point.
“What did Elijah find last night?”
“I can’t tell you that, Maegan. It’s evidence in an ongoing investigation. I’m certain that Elijah will tell you when he can. He’s not deliberately keeping you in the dark. To be honest, the evidence in the trunk could’ve been planted there by Renzo’s killer. Telling you about those items before we know where they came from could cause undue panic.”
In my heart, I knew what she said made sense. I also knew that if Officer Jones had been standing there, he’d have told me every damn thing they found in that trunk.Double damn you, Elijah.
