Page 34 of Last Date
“You sure? Maybe he promised you some nice gifts and fancy dinners?”
Captain Roscoe’s hands curled into fists. “You should change the subject, Detective.” His voice was cold and hard. “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“Allister liked men, Detective Bergen. Remember I had a date with him tonight?” I tried not to sound as annoyed as I felt. Who was this clown, and why was he throwing his weight around like a bull in a china shop? I was mystified by why he was the guy his concerned superiors would have wanted for this situation.
“I heard he was bisexual.” Detective Bergen lifted one shoulder.
“I didn’t get that impression,” I said.
Selena sniffed. “He hasn’t dated women since I’ve known him. He certainly never propositioned me.”
Detective Bergen held up his hands. “Okay. Okay. Don’t get all offended. I have to ask difficult questions sometimes.”
“Allister had a busy social life, and it was always men.” Selena gave me a fleeting, vaguely apologetic glance.
Looking at me, Detective Bergen asked, “You didn’t touch the body, right?”
My stomach clenched. “I gave him CPR.”
“I see.” He gnawed his lower lip. “How did you happen to find the body?”
I grimaced. “I was waiting for him in here, but he never came.”
“And that made you angry?”
“What?” I frowned. “No. At most, I was slightly annoyed. We had a date, but he was nowhere around.”
“So you decided to go looking?”
“Is that odd?”
“It’s not your boat.” Detective Bergen shrugged. “Seems weird to go exploring someone else’s boat.”
“He invited me here, so his absence was confusing. I was wondering if maybe he wanted to call the date off, if maybe he was sick or too busy. I had no idea what was going on, I just knew I was spending the evening alone, and I wondered why that was.”
“Gotcha.” Detective Bergen scribbled on his pad for a few moments. “So you went looking for him, and you found him dead?”
“Oh, God,” whimpered Selena.
I sighed. “Yes. I wasn’t sure if he was… gone, so I did CPR just in case.”
“Of course.” He pursed his lips. “We only have your word for all of this because you were alone with Allister the whole time?”
“There were no witnesses, this is true.” I tried my best not to let my anger seep into my voice. “I barely knew Allister. I’d never hurt anyone, let alone someone I hardly knew who had been nothing but nice to me.”
“If they’d had some sort of argument, I’d have heard them.” Selena lifted her chin. “All I heard was silence, and then the paramedics arrived and informed us there’d been a 911 call placed from the boat.”
“Hmmm.” Detective Bergen still looked skeptical.
Naturally, I was in shock about Allister’s death. However, I was also concerned that, should Allister’s death be ruled anything but an accident, Detective Bergen would try and railroad me into an arrest.
“I didn’t kill Allister,” I said gruffly. “I feel like I need to say that to you just so you understand the truth of the situation.Ifsomeone harmed Allister, it wasn’t me.”
“I suppose I’m stuck on the fact that you were the only person downstairs with Allister and therefore the only one who’d have had the opportunity to hurt him.” Detective Bergen’s eyes glittered with suspicion.
“That’s a ridiculous jump. You must know he could have been killed way before I even arrived.”
“Time of death will be helpful, I’m sure.”
