Page 48 of Red Snow
“Well, good for you. Maybe I didn’t want her to stay. Have you ever thought about that?” Shit. I’ve have to keep it together, but he’s getting to me already.
“Did you want her to stay?” Granger asks, sidestepping my question.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I just didn’t. I just wanted to fuck her and kick her out, so that’s what I did.” Lie, lie, lie. I don’t like talking to him.
“So you had bad sex, then she felt the need to leave. Did you drive her back?” Granger says. He keeps poking at me with how good or bad the sex was, and it’s really pissing me off. If Mother was here, she’d put this fucker in his place.
“She took a cab.” Lie, even though she did plan on taking a cab before I told her she couldn’t leave. She disrespected my mother and her house.
“She took a cab from Eagle River to Anchorage? That’s not very gentlemanly, sir.”
“What can I say? I guess I’m not much of a gentleman. Is that a crime?”
“Absolutely not,” Granger answers with a smile. “So what time did Brenda leave after you disappointed her with your horrible sex?”
You son of a bitch.
I can’t let him get to me. I exhale again, but it doesn’t work as well as it did the first time.
“I don’t really remember. I think it was about eleven or so. Maybe a little later.”
The room freezes and they both stare at me. If a giant vacuum came into the room and sucked all the air out of it, I imagine this is what it would feel like. I must’ve said something wrong, because both detectives look angry and satisfied at the same time.
“Eleven or a little later?” the darker one asks now. He leans forward on the couch and really pays attention to my face. “That’s very interesting, Jeffrey. According to the medical examiner, that’s right around the same time Mrs. Cox was murdered.”
My breath catches in my throat and I cough a little. I slipped, and they jumped right onto it. Stupid.
Okay, play defense and fix it.
“I may be mistaken on the time that she left. Maybe it was a little earlier, I don’t know for sure. I wasn’t really paying attention to the time. We came in, I fucked her, and she left. I didn’t watch my clock as she walked out, so I’m not one hundred percent sure. But if you’re implying that I killed her, you’re out of your minds.” Good, now’s the time to be upset about being inconvenienced like this.
“Do you mind if we take a quick look around your trailer, Mr. Chapman?” Phillips asks as they both stand up like I already gave them permission. Time to be upset.
“Absolutely not!” I snip. “This is my house, and I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not a crime to have sex with someone then kick them out. I’m not letting you look through anything.”
“Look, asshole,” Granger butts in. “If you’re worried about us being suspicious of you, now would be a good time to make us feel like idiots. We could remove that suspicion right now if we search your trailer and come up with nothing. Otherwise, you’re gonna move up to the number one spot on my shit list.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your goddamn shit list,” I snap. He’s being pushy, and I can’t let him push me around. A normal citizen wouldn’t let this happen. “This is my home, and if you want to search it, you better come with a warrant. Otherwise, you both can go fuck yourselves. Now, I need you both to leave, because I’m already about to be late for work, thanks to this ridiculous questioning. Please leave.”
The two of them look so smug it makes me sick. It’s like they know they’ve got something on me, but I don’t know what it is. They give me the fakest smiles as they start for the door, which I open for them. When they step over the threshold, Granger turns back to me.
“Do you have a lawyer, Jeffrey?” he asks, smiling like the asshole he is. “Because I get the feeling you’re gonna need one. We’ll see you soon.”
I slam the door in his face.
Motherfucking son of a fucking bitch! How the fuck did that just happen? I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything that would give myself away. Stupid fucking cops! Fuck! I should’ve killed them both. They’ve seen the bodies. They’ve seen what I can do, and they have the nerve to come question me in my own house. My mother’s house!
My blood is boiling, but I have to calm down. I have to maintain control. Okay, they’re looking into the murders. Fine. It doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t change anything.
I wish my mother was here to help guide me through this, but she left me. She made me like this and then she left me. Bitch! All women are filthy bitches who are worthy of death. I’ll be the one to bring it to them. Fuck it. The cops can investigate all they want, but they’ll never catch me anyway. I won’t leave any evidence behind, so even if they search the trailer, it won’t matter.
I don’t do my work in this house anyway, so the joke’s on them. I will have the last laugh.
I sit back down on the couch and finish tying up my boots.
