For the Best by Vanessa Lillie

Author:Vanessa Lillie [Lillie, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542005876
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2020-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

An officer leads Ron and me to a dingy windowless room. We sit at the table with handcuff scrapes across the top, and I’m surprised there’s not one-way glass like on TV. There is a camera set up in the corner, so maybe that’s how it’s done these days.

Detective Ramos doesn’t read me my rights. He merely gestures for us to sit as he plops into his metal chair before he opens a file. Scratching at where his hairline used to be, now all shine, he then crosses his muscular arms across his chest.

On my porch, I’d been too shocked to notice the kind of man working against me. He is serious, with underlying kindness. I imagine he’s a very nice husband. Good father, if he’s got kids. He does not screw around. I’d bet dollars to doughnuts he’s rarely drunk. He likes being straitlaced. He is not impressed by my pink cardigan or tears, should they come.

We get my name, address, and all the basics out of the way. He flips through his notes, but he doesn’t seem to read them. He might be nervous, needing this to work as much as I need it to not.

“Thank you for coming in today, Juliet,” Detective Ramos says. “The video testimony you submitted was helpful. But we need to be on the record today.”

“Of course.” I hold my hands together in the open, nonaggressive way they suggest at HR trainings.

“Could you please tell me what happened on the evening of Sunday, July tenth?”

“I was running a large gala for the Poe Foundation, where I’m . . . was . . . CEO.”

“You’ve been fired?”

“Correct,” I say. I consider my answer and picture a jury or attorney general hearing my answers. “You haven’t found any other suspects. My name was leaked by someone here, I assume, and that’s how it got to Dez Castle, who accused me of the awful crime in front of dozens of reporters. That’s not good publicity for the foundation.”

“So they fired you for Dr. Castle’s murder?”

Ron leans forward and puts a palm flat in front of me. “Do not answer that question,” he says. “It’s ridiculous and gross mischaracterization. If you continue in this manner, we will leave.”

Detective Ramos nods, as if he’s sorry. “Please tell me what else happened that evening of Dr. Castle’s murder.”

“We were announcing that the first-ever Genius Grant was going to be awarded to Dr. Castle. It’s a program he and I had worked on extensively to launch.”

“How did that announcement go?”

I smile, if only to give myself a moment. Of course he saw the video. “Honestly, he was in a mood that night.”

“A mood?”

“He is a brilliant man. Was. He often had new ideas that set our timetable back. On this night, he was having one of his ‘I’m not the right person’ moments. I have a five-year-old, and I recognized he needed a little coaxing. That’s why I invited him for a drink after.”

“Were you upset that he left you onstage? That he didn’t speak to all those donors who were there in his honor?”

I shrug.

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