“How did someone see me if everyone’s supposed to be inside?” She leans my way, lowering her voice as if not wanting Kendra to overhear. “Is it Arturo? I don’t know what’s going on, but he really seems to have a problem with me lately.”
“It’s not Arturo. Someone had their shutters open at dawn and was looking out, waiting for the sunrise.”
She goes quiet and sips her coffee.
“Muriel,” I say. “I need you to answer this very carefully. Before I called you in today, Eric and I went to your old spot. There are fresh footprints that match your boots.”
“I have standard-issue boots.”
I take a deep breath, letting her see my growing frustration. “Muriel. They are your size, and the impression matches the others, the depth indicating someone with the same boots in the same size, with the same weight and gait.”
I’m stretching the truth, but I can see that I’ve sold it, as she nibbles her lower lip.
“Muriel,” I say. “We are dealing with a serious threat, and the last thing I want to spend my time doing is arguing about whether or not a resident was in the forest. But I can’t drop this because we have a curfew, and you broke it. If you can admit to that, we can move forward.”
“Yes.” She exhales the word. “Okay, yes. I went out there. I’m sorry. I know it was wrong, but this lockdown…” She swallows hard. “It’s too much for me.”
I could point out that she’d been in lockdown for one day before she broke it. But I need this confession, so I nod as if in understanding.
“I made a mistake,” she says, “and it won’t happen again.”
“Good. That’s what I needed to hear. Now, I’m afraid we’llneed to discuss a penalty, but if you stick to your promise not to repeat it, we can go easy there.”
She nods vigorously. “I won’t repeat it, and I accept the penalty.”
“Thank you. That makes this much easier. Now I just need one more thing.”
“Sure.”
“The name of the person you were with out there.”
Her head snaps up. “What?”
“You were out there with a man. We found his boot prints.”
“What? No. I was alone. If there are other prints, someone else must have been in the same spot. But not with me. I swear it.”
I gentle my tone, still trying for sympathy. “I don’t think you want to do that, Muriel.”
Her chin rises. “Why not? It’s the truth. I was alone.”
I exhale, slowly and audibly. Then I take out my notebook and flip to the right page. “You were spotted exiting the forest at six thirty. You were seen coming from the northeast, in the direction of your clearing.”
“I admitted that.”
I lift a finger and keep reading. “At six fifteen, two witnesses heard a male and female voice coming from that direction. They went to get a closer look, but the pair parted before they could get close.”
Her jaw works, eyes flashing. “This is Arturo, isn’t it? Both your so-called witnesses. No one was supposed to be in the forest, but he obviously was, following me and making up stories—”
“I’m the one who heard you in the forest.”
She goes still. “What?”
“Eric and I were on patrol with Storm. We heard a male andfemale voice in conversation. We went for a closer look. You may have heard that Storm was injured in a bear encounter. That’s when it happened. That’s why we didn’t get a look at either party.”
“Then you can’t prove it was me. Just because I have a spot where I like to go before dawn doesn’t mean I’m the one you heard.”
“I didn’t consider you until the witness reported seeing you exit the forest about fifteen minutes after we heard voices. You just admitted you were there at that time.”
