The Islanders by S. V. Leonard

Author:S. V. Leonard [Leonard, S. V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo
Published: 2021-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sunday 27th July, 13:25

35 Minutes Until The Next Murder

Carly and I sit opposite each other in the living room. I perch on one end of the couch, Carly on the opposite side to me. Carly crosses her slim legs underneath her and rests her clasped hands in her lap.

Carly sits perfectly straight, her back rigid, her chin pointing towards me. Her slender frame manages to be both powerful and fragile at the same time. She’s like an assassin lying in wait for her victim.

‘Thank you for agreeing to chat with me,’ I say. It’s uncharacteristically conciliatory of me but I’m trying not to be unnerved by the poise of my interviewee. Carly’s only response is a slow blink.

So, as expected, she’s not going to go easy on me.

‘Could you please tell me a bit about yourself?’

Carly purses her lips.

‘My name is Carly Chu. I’m twenty-eight years old. I was born in Kent and I now live in London. I’m an actress.’ Her voice is a monotone as she recites her list. ‘But,’ she adds, nodding her head towards the suspect wall. ‘You already know all of this. If you want to know something else, you’ll have to be more specific.’

When I was a police officer, the lack of cooperability of interviewees, particularly when it was in their own interest to assist an investigation, never ceased to amaze me. Why did people insist on making themselves look guilty?

It seems that no matter the situation, people will always behave like people, like human beings. Emotional and unpredictable. What can I ask her that will get the conversation flowing? I need to get Carly talking before I zoom in on specifics.

‘Why did you apply for LoveWrecked?’ Shit. As soon as the question leaves my lips I realise it was a stupid one. Carly wrinkles her nose and gives me a smirk.

‘I didn’t apply,’ she says sarcastically. ‘None of us did.’ Carly folds her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow. ‘No wonder you’re no longer a police officer. You don’t seem to be very good at your job, do you?’

I force my face to remain impassive, but I can’t help feeling off-kilter. I’m really out of practice. I’ve shown my interviewee a weakness and I’ve been tripped up on it. I take a deep breath.

‘Have you ever applied for LoveWrecked in the past?’

Carly narrows her eyes. ‘Does it matter?’ she asks.

I shrug. ‘Have you?’

‘Yes,’ replies Carly.

Again, I keep the emotion from my face. No commiseration, no celebration. ‘So, let me ask you again. Why did you apply for LoveWrecked?’

It’s Carly’s turn to feel the affront and I’m pleased to see the actress, ironically, is worse at hiding it than me. Carly gives me a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

‘Exposure,’ says Carly. ‘I’m an actress. But not a particularly well known one. Being on a show like this is good for my career. Should have been good for my career.’ She corrects herself.

‘And so, when you were chosen for this year’s season, you didn’t hesitate to accept?’

‘Why would I?’ she says.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.