I start to have heart palpitations. How would one of my servers know about our money troubles? Nobody ever went without a paycheck.
In the back seat of the officers’ car, I’m sweating profusely. I wipe the pads of my fingers across my forehead and try to breathe calmly. The last thing I need is for them to look over their shoulders and see me in a panic. I need to be cool. I did nothing wrong. I love my wife. I’d never do such a thing. I’m a good person. My family means more to me than my restaurant. I’d give it up in a heartbeat to have Sienna wake up and be okay.
I repeat those words over and over in my head, because that’s what they’re going to ask when we get to the station. And this is what they’ll need to hear from me.
We pull into the parking lot, and LaPierre makes small talk about the weather and how the storm blew the shingles off the station roof.
“If they don’t replace that roof soon, we’ll need buckets next time it rains.”
“It was a bad storm,” I reply, like an idiot, because I’m flustered.
Inspector Lawson leads the way up the steps and says nothing. He looks cranky, and I wonder if this is the start of a good-cop-bad-cop interview. I’m not stupid. I come from a long line of legal professionals, and I attended law school myself, however briefly.
LaPierre holds the door open, and I’m escorted to an interrogation room with double-sided mirrors and a table with two chairs on opposite sides. I stop just inside the doorway.
“Do I need a lawyer for this?”
“That’s totally up to you,” LaPierre replies in a friendly manner, “if you think you need one.”
He’s challenging me. He wants to see if I’m worried about what might come out when I start talking about the tragedy on the rocks.
“We just want to hear what happened from you,” LaPierre adds, “because most of those internet trolls weren’t there. They’re just speculating, and to them, this might as well be another true crime Netflix show.” He gestures for me to take a seat at the table. “I want you to know that we recognize that, and we’re here to help you.”
That’s bull crap, and he knows that I know it. Nevertheless, I remain calm and cool on the outside while my mind screams in terror.
“I appreciate that.” I take a seat.
LaPierre points at a camera in the corner of the room and lets me know that this discussion is being recorded. He then asks me what happened at Peggy’s Cove. I tell him everything, from the moment Sienna and I left the house to when we argued on the rocks and a wave came out of nowhere and swept Sienna into the ocean.
“That must’ve been frightening.”
“It was,” I reply. “I didn’t know what to do. Have you ever been to Peggy’s Cove? Have you seen the power of those waves when they hit the rocks?”
“I have,” LaPierre replies. “There’s no way I would jump in to rescue anyone. We’d both end up dead.”
I stare at him for a few seconds. Grateful. Frozen. “Thanks for saying that. I know, rationally ... that it wasn’t possible to rescue her, but I still feel guilty about it. For not saving her.”
He nods and writes something in his notebook. My sense of relief evaporates.
“What did you do after you saw her fall into the water?”
“She didn’t fall,” I correct him. “A wave knocked her off her feet.”
I clear my throat as I recount every horrendous second—my frantic searching of the waves, how I ran for help. The young couple I encountered, and the guy performing chest compressions, the other pinching her nose and blowing in her mouth. The ambulance finally arriving.
I wipe sweat from my brow while LaPierre writes certain things down.
After all that, I’m in a fragile state. He gives me a moment to recover. We sit in silence for what feels like an eternity. I can’t be sure how long because I’m shredded.
“Let’s move on,” he says. “There’s been talk about your restaurant having financial troubles. Is this true?”
I’m hit with a sudden wave of nausea. Serious queasiness. I glance around for a trash can in case I need to throw up.
“Are you okay?” LaPierre asks.
“Yes.” I swallow hard to keep the bile from coming up. “I just hate people knowing about that.”
“Really? It’s worse than people thinking you tried to murder your wife?”
