Empty House by Laura Rise

Author:Laura Rise [Rise, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laura Rise
Published: 2024-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The interrogation room was a stark, unforgiving space. Bree stood at the one-way mirror, her reflection superimposed over Elaine Brookes' increasingly agitated form. The suspect's sharp features were drawn tight with anxiety, like a string wound too taut.

"Elaine, we need to talk," Bree said as she entered, Mike following closely behind. She had been here before, of course, in rooms like this, coaxing secrets from reluctant lips. But the stakes felt higher now, and her heart thrummed in her ears despite her best attempts to steady it.

"I only ran because you were chasing me!" Elaine blurted out, her voice cracking as a mixture of fear and frustration laced her words. "What was I supposed to do? Stand there and wait for handcuffs?"

Bree exchanged a glance with Mike, who leaned against the wall with arms folded.

She could see the sweat beading on Elaine's forehead, the visible sign of inner turmoil. Bree's own heart raced, each beat a drum sounding the march towards confrontation, but she tempered her intensity with the knowledge that panic could mask innocence just as easily as it could indicate guilt.

Elaine's eyes darted between Bree and Mike, searching for an ally or perhaps an escape that did not exist within these walls. Her agitation was palpable, the air charged with it, and Bree felt the familiar pull of empathy mixed with determination. She knew what it was to be hunted, to feel the heat at your back, and yet her job was to press, no matter the empathy she might feel.

"Please, Elaine," Bree implored, her tone softening. "Help us understand."

But the loop continued, a maddening carousel of accusation and defense that seemed to lead nowhere. Elaine's insistence on her reasoning – that their pursuit had sparked her flight – was a circular argument that offered no answers, only questions that multiplied with each repetition.

Bree watched Elaine's every tremor, the way her fingers twitched around the edges of the notepad she clung to like a lifeline. The fluorescent lighting in the interrogation room cast stark shadows over her sharp features, and the intermittent buzz from one flickering tube above added an eerie soundtrack to the standstill.

“I’m not saying you did this, Elaine,” Bree began gently, hoping that de-escalating Elaine would help her get to the truth. “But what I am saying is that there’s no way you getting to those fires that quickly was a coincidence. And you running… well, let’s just say it’s not going to look very good in front of a jury.”

Bree could tell that landed. Elaine’s panic seemed to crescendo as she pictured the way this would play in court. Her's eyes darted between Mike and Bree, searching for a crack in their synchronized front, or perhaps just help or a sense of safety, but there was none to find.

"I didn’t start those fires. I didn’t kill those women," Elaine said firmly. “But…”

"But what?" Bree asked, a note of interest piquing in her voice. For the first time all day, it felt like they were finally getting somewhere.

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