Love Me or Else by Colin McEvoy

Author:Colin McEvoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

CHAPTER 23

When Mary Jane professed her innocence, her voice had completely changed into a slower, low-pitched, angry voice that shocked both troopers. It was a voice they hadn’t previously heard in all the hours they had spoken to Mary Jane. A voice that struck them as just plain evil. Egan felt as if Mary Jane’s sweet old lady façade had been cracked, revealing something else altogether hidden underneath.

This was probably the Mary Jane that Rhonda saw right before she died, Egan thought.

After a few long moments, Mary Jane continued, back in her normal voice, “I feel sorry for anyone that has a terrible thing happen like that, anyone that murders somebody else, takes a life, anyone that commits a robbery, all these manner of things, I think they are in hell.”

She stopped for a moment, before something came to mind that got her upset all over again.

“There’s a chance that some people at the church think that I did this to Rhonda,” she said. “First of all, they never cared for me. They may not like me and that could give them good cause to, you know, blame it on me.”

Mary Jane stopped talking. The troopers desperately hoped she would continue, but when she didn’t, Stumpo prompted her again.

“Has anyone accused you?” he asked.

“Not to my knowledge,” Mary Jane said, starting again. “Mrs. Brunner and Mrs. Zellner, some of the ladies have been a tight knit group of friends for years and I have been on the perimeter. They would have a party, they would go out to dinner together, but they would not think of asking me along with them. It’s that kind of thing. That hurts my feelings.”

Stumpo started to offer up some sympathy, “Fourteen years in the church…”

“That’s a long time,” Mary Jane said, nodding her head in agreement. “You really do always hope that you are liked, but you can’t expect everyone … the truth is you can’t expect everyone to like you.”

Egan changed the subject, “Have you spoken to the Smiths since Rhonda’s death?”

“No, I haven’t had the occasion,” she responded. “I sent flowers and things to the funeral. I couldn’t get close to anyone and they don’t know. Ah, too much on my nerves. I was having such chest pains and stuff, I just couldn’t stand it. I was getting medical attention, psychologically. I got depressed, okay, I was very, very depressed.”

Egan was intrigued again. “Recently?” he asked.

“It was since this thing with Rhonda,” Mary Jane said. “Over the years, I’ve had medical psychological problems. I get panic attacks. I always got something, panic attacks from fretting and frustration and just trying to make a living and live, you know.”

Stumpo brought the conversation back to another topic the troopers had hoped to cover. “Let me ask you something, Mary Jane,” he said. “How did you find out about Rhonda’s death? How did you find out about that?”

“I’m trying to remember…” her voice trailing off a bit. “But I did find out. I think someone called me at the house.

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