Page 31 of Say Nothing
Before Raymond could answer, Derek tapped the photo before him and said, "Sarah Livingstone was found dead in her home three days ago.Someone killed her."
Raymond swallowed hard and continued to look at the photo before him, the one where he’s pointing at her and looks enraged.
"That, that, that’s not what—I would never…My brother is dead, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.I let her have it that day, but that was the last I saw of her.I’ve had run-ins with dozens of people over the years.That doesn’t mean anything."
"How about Margaret Donovan?"Derek asked if he had taken a photograph for her from his bag.He laid that before Raymond, side by side with the first photo."Did you ever have a run-in with her?"
"Yeah, I did," Raymond said authoritatively."It was a long time ago now, but I did, and that’s all it was."
"She was found dead in her home," Derek said."Murdered.Two women who testified against violent criminals are dead.Who’s next, Raymond?Mary Candlemaker?"
The mention of the name sent Raymond’s lip curling up into a sneer.
"I don't ever go near her," he claimed."I don't trust myself to be in the same room as her after what she did to me.I’m not afraid to admit that."
"What would you do to her?"Derek asked.
"That’s not a question I’m going to answer," he replied."You don't deal in hypotheticals, right?"
"No, but we do deal in threats," Derek said.
"I don't make threats," Raymond said."I’m not threatening her.I’ve never threatened anyone.All I do is point out the obvious truths and tell people when they’re wrong."
"And that’s what you were doing in the photo?"Derek asked, pointing again to the photo of him and Sarah.
"Yeah, pretty much," he replied.
"And what happens if they don't listen to you?"Alison asked.
"I’ve got a thick skin," Raymond said."People don't like to hear the truth or that they’re wrong, so they don't listen to me most of the time, but it only takes one or two cracks to get through."
"Or you take out the ones who are most vocal against you?"Derek suggested.
"I didn't kill anyone," Raymond replied."I’ve done nothing wrong.You’re barking up the wrong tree."
"Is that why you ran from us?"Derek asked."That doesn’t seem like something someone does when they've done nothing wrong."
"Why didn't you identify yourself when you approached me?"Raymond asked."That’s what you’re supposed to do, right?But you wanted me to be scared, didn't you?You wanted to sneak up on me, have the upper hand."
"We wanted to talk to you," Derek said.
"Then you could have just said that," Raymond replied."Do you really think that if I killed two women, I’d be at a rally outside the courthouse, instead of hiding out somewhere.And if I were going to kill someone, it wouldn't be the woman I’m seen confronting in a picture on my website.I’m not an idiot.I want these women to suffer for what they did, but not like this.That goes for you, too."He pointed at Alison.
"All right, that’s enough of that," Derek said."I will arrest you for threatening behavior if I have to."
"How do you want me to suffer, Raymond?"Alison challenged.
"Don't play all innocent," Raymond said."It would be fine if these women stuck to the facts, but I watched Mary Candlemaker in that courtroom, and it wasn’t about the facts; it was about tugging at the judge's heartstrings.When she broke down in tears halfway through, it was obviously rehearsed."
"You’re on this crusade with shaky foundations," Alison said."You see what you want to see, but the truth is, I don’t ever coach a woman to cry in court.Have you ever thought about what it's like for them?How do they have to face their worst abusers with the possibility of that abuser going free?Do you think that’s easy?Do you think all of them are lying or manipulating, and all the violent criminals on trial should go free?Prove to me that even one of these violent criminals is reformed and won't pose a risk to society, and they are wrongly imprisoned, and that’s a conversation we can have.I know you hate me, but I’m willing to work with you for the good of everyone, Raymond.I only need you to work with me."
Raymond was silenced monetarily, but he wasn’t ready to go down without a fight."What about Josie Backlund?She embellished her statement, even if the underlying facts were true.What about Patricia Montgomery?She’s a social worker who counsels people, but she couldn’t get through her own statement without breaking down for five minutes.Five minutes!Who cries for that long?And Andrea Merrit.She—"
Derek held up his hand."We get the point, but that point is without any credible evidence.You can't present that as facts when it’s emotion you don't like.We can—"
Derek stopped when a knock came at the door.
"Give us a minute," he said to Raymond.Someone wouldn’t have knocked at the door if it weren’t important.
