A Cry in the Woods by Eva Sparks

Author:Eva Sparks [Sparks, Eva]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Greene County Sheriff's Office

Greene County, NY

“I didn’t do anything wrong. Why am I in cuffs?”

We’re in an interview room now, sitting across a steel table from Alan Burris, who is currently cuffed to that side of the table. His hair is mussed, and his cheeks are flushed with anger.

A bitter sigh escapes me. “Like I already told you, you kept running after I ordered you to stop. Knowingly disregarding such a command makes you guilty of resisting. That’s why you’re in cuffs.”

He gives a rueful shake of his head. “And like I already told you, I didn’t hear you.”

“You would have heard me if you hadn’t run away in the first place.”

His face contorts in confusion. “What?”

I scoot my chair in a little more and fold my hands on the table. “Look, Mr. Burris. I came to your office to have a civil conversation with you. Instead, you wanted to play a game of chase. And when you play chase with a federal law enforcement officer, you end up in handcuffs. Would you like to tell me why you ran away from me?”

“I didn’t do anything,” he sneers. Anger radiates off him like a heat wave.

“Sorry,” I say. “Innocent people don’t run. So you can drop that act.” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms. “You just let me know when you’re ready to have a conversation with me. I have nowhere else I need to be.”

He locks onto my gaze and holds it for a long time. But he breaks it when he realizes that I’m not matching wills with him but studying his tells.

“Fine.” He sighs. “What are we talking about?”

“For starters, why did you run?”

He grits his teeth and looks away. “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbles.

“What doesn’t matter?”

He answers with a shrug.

“Mr. Burris, what doesn’t matter?”

“She’s not coming back. Nothing will bring her back.”

I nod. “You’re right. Is there anything you want to tell us about Presley?”

“Like what?”

“Like, did you want to hurt her?”

His eyes bulge in their sockets. “Hurt her? Are you ser—wait. Wait, do you think I killed her?” He huffs and looks away. “I wasn’t even in the country.”

“Yes,” I tell him. “We keep hearing that. You were in England, is that right?”

“Yes,” he snaps. “I didn't kill her. I loved her.” His tone is mixed with bitterness and grief. There is a layer to all this that he doesn’t want to talk about.

“Of course you loved her. She was your girlfriend. But we’re here investigating her murder. And you running from having a conversation with me doesn't exactly look good for you. I’m sure you can see how that would make us a little suspicious.”

He nods slowly.

“You know, Mr. Burris. In my experience, it’s the guilty people who run. Never the innocent. Because they have nothing to hide.”

“Neither do I,” he retorts. “I don’t have anything to say to you. I haven’t done anything.”

I study him for a long time, deciding what to do next. If he wants to keep stonewalling me, there’s nothing I can do about that.

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