“He was supposed to be at some high school hockey spring league game, I think. Some kid from Grass Lake is supposed to be this up-and-coming talent that major scouts are looking at. Tom was doing a profile on him. Tom asked me to go with him but I just felt like I was dragging so much. I told him to go without me. That’s when he offered me the zolpidem. I told him to go. Have fun. He said he would and told me he’d be out pretty late because he was going for drinks with some work people. He didn’t expect me to wait up. So I didn’t. I went to bed. That was it.”
“What was it?”
“I slept like a rock. The drugs must have worked.”
“And you had wine with them?” I asked. Now I really did want to see her toxicology report.
“I know I shouldn’t have. It probably wasn’t a good idea to mix the two. But it was just a couple of glasses. Anyway, as I was saying, I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the pillow, finally. I didn’t wake up until almost six. Five fifty-three, actually. I saw the time on my phone. I heard the garage door open. That’s what woke me up. Jenna was coming in. I was confused because I never heard Tom leave. Tom usually leaves for work by five thirty. He gets up at a quarter to five most mornings. I always get up with him. I’ll get a workout in before I start my day. Sometimes we sit and have coffee together. I turned over, thinking Tom had just overslept. That’s when the smell hit me.”
“The blood?”
“It was ghastly. I put my hand on Tom. You know, as I rolled over. He was lying there and it was still a bit dark in the room so I didn’t immediately see what happened. I tried to shake him to wake him up. He didn’t respond. I sat up. That’s when I noticed his side of the bed was wet. It was disorienting. It was like my mind was trying to fill in some logical explanation. Had I wet the bed? You know … because of the drug? But I told you. I smelled it. Blood. I honestly don’t remember exactly what happened after that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I was panicked. Or traumatized. Or both. I don’t remember getting out of bed. I don’t remember walking over to the other side of the bed. I certainly don’t remember picking up the knife. When Jenna walked in and started screaming, that’s when everything started back up again. Like when I had a timeline.”
I sat with what she told me for a moment. She hadn’t woken up during the attack on Tom? How was that possible? And if anassailant had broken into the home to carry out the murder, why would he or she risk keeping Katy alive? I knew these were the same questions a jury would have.
“Tell me about the knife,” I asked.
She shook her head. “That’s another thing. I’d never seen it before. It was this big long blade with a wooden handle. It looked like a hunting knife. I don’t know where it came from.”
“It wasn’t Tom’s?” There would be more details about it in the formal police report. Whether there were any other fingerprints on it besides Katy’s. If there was credible evidence that it had been taken from the home.
“If it was,” she said, “I’d never seen him with it. And I’d never seen it lying around the house. But I told you. I don’t even remember picking it up. I was in shock, I think.”
“That part is understandable,” I said.
“I don’t blame Jenna for this,” she said. “If it had been me in her place, I might have thought the same thing. But I didn’t do this.”
“There was no sign of forced entry into your home,” I said. “We don’t have time now, but I’m going to need you to tell me everyone who had access to your home besides you and Tom and the housekeeper.”
“I can do that right now,” she said. “Nobody.”
“Are you sure about that? Does Jenna have a key?”
“No. She comes in through the garage. I have a key to the house on my keychain. Tom has his.”
“What about repair people? Think, Katy. Did you or Tom ever give anyone else the garage codes or borrow a key?”
“Cass, no. Don’t you think I’ve racked my own brain over this? Tom lived alone until we got married. I don’t know anybody else who would have been able to get in. Believe me, if I did, it would have been the first thing I told that detective. I don’t understand it. How could this happen?”
“I’m going to have to ask you some pretty hard questions, Katy. Personal ones. Starting with Joe. You and Joe. You get how this looks. You were cheating on Tom. Did he know?”
She nodded. “Joe and I broke things off months ago. We haven’t been in contact for a long time. And yes. Tom knew about Joe and me. We went through a rough patch last year. Tom wasn’t innocent.”
“He was cheating on you? With whom?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know if he was cheating on me. He was discreet if he was. But he just wasn’t around. Not present, you know? We were thinking of getting a divorce. Or I was, anyway. I was so frustrated with him. I was at my wits’ end and I was weak. That’s what Joe was about. I regret hurting him too.”
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s take Joe out of the equation, if that’s even possible.”
“It’s no secret,” she said. “I swear. Tom knew about it. We were moving past it. We both recommitted to our marriage in the last few months. We talked about counseling. Things were good. We were both hopeful. I love him. I know things will look bad to people on the outside, but I’m in love with Tom. I can’t believe he’s gone. Oh. My sweet, sweet man.”
“Are the police going to find something damaging when they search your phone and social media?”
Ittook Katy a moment to collect herself. “What do you mean?”
