news.
Rollie spoke up first, “Listen, Lou, I don't believe that she had any idea that's where Mr. Pardo was hiding.”
What? Was he defending me?
“Can you at least hear her out first? I've known her for a few years and I can't think of any reason to believe she'd be guilty of anything more than being a busy body with too much time on her hands and a lot of nerve.” He gave me a sideways glance, but I couldn't blame him. He was right.
Lou asked him to leave the room, so he could speak to me alone. He sat down in front of me.
“When did you first meet Eli Pardo?” He asked.
“I met him when you brought him in the other night.” I answered.
Why doesn't he remember that?
He sighed. “I'm going to ask you one more time. When did you first meet him?”
Beads of sweat formed on the back of my neck. Lou was an intimidating man when he wanted to be. “I told you, I just met him. I didn't know...”
He yelled, “How much money did he offer you?”
Money? What is he talking about?
“What money? I don't know anything about any money.” I didn't know where he was going with this line of questioning. I thought we were talking about a murder. What was he implying?
“Then, why did you kill him? How did you know Mr. Slowicki?” Lou moved closer to me. I could feel him breathing on my face.
“Kill? I didn't kill anyone. What is going on here? All I did was take a walk between the buildings to see something, then, Eli appeared out of nowhere. I don't know why he was there or how he escaped. I surely don't know anything about a murder. Why would you even think that? What evidence do you have?” I was beginning to panic and feared I'd never recover.
He smiled. “We have you on camera. You were the only person wandering around between the buildings that night. Were you scoping out the area? And, we have you on camera arguing with the victim and trying to cover your tracks.”
I protested. “No, that's not what that was!”
“Really? Enlighten me, then.” Lou's face was mere centimeters from mine. This wasn't going well.
Chapter Five
I stared at the ceiling. I don't know how many hours I'd been lying in the same position, but I'm pretty sure that my arms and legs were no longer going to be able to function. I guess it could be worse, I could be staring at the ceiling of a cramped jail cell right now.
It had been six hours since I'd been questioned and I still couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get so much worse for me. At least, I could be thankful that I had the night off. Maybe cooler heads would prevail and I wouldn't find myself staring at the business end of gun. What I needed to do was find the real killer or determine whether or not Eli was the real killer and perhaps some of the pressure on me would finally wane and I'd be able to return to my somewhat boring life.
I'd have to remember that I felt this way the next time my car died or I forget to pay my electricity bill again. Not that anything like that happened too often, but it did happen from time to time, especially after I engaged in another holiday decoration war with my very competitive neighbors at Lake Villa, the manufactured home community I'd called home since I'd graduated from college.
Not even my ex-husband could get me to move out of my home. But, it wasn't for lack of trying. I could be a little stubborn when I wanted to and when it came to my life, my car, my child, and my double wide beauty – my home – I had a tendency to go all Mama Bear on someone who wanted me to part ways with any of them.
“How does one find a killer?” I mused.
I'd read enough mysteries and watched enough detective shows to think I had what it took to hunt for a killer. I just wasn't quite sure where to start when all roads seemed to lead to me and Eli.
I grabbed my notebook out of smock pocket and began writing a to-do list like no other.
Rollie spoke up first, “Listen, Lou, I don't believe that she had any idea that's where Mr. Pardo was hiding.”
What? Was he defending me?
“Can you at least hear her out first? I've known her for a few years and I can't think of any reason to believe she'd be guilty of anything more than being a busy body with too much time on her hands and a lot of nerve.” He gave me a sideways glance, but I couldn't blame him. He was right.
Lou asked him to leave the room, so he could speak to me alone. He sat down in front of me.
“When did you first meet Eli Pardo?” He asked.
“I met him when you brought him in the other night.” I answered.
Why doesn't he remember that?
He sighed. “I'm going to ask you one more time. When did you first meet him?”
Beads of sweat formed on the back of my neck. Lou was an intimidating man when he wanted to be. “I told you, I just met him. I didn't know...”
He yelled, “How much money did he offer you?”
Money? What is he talking about?
“What money? I don't know anything about any money.” I didn't know where he was going with this line of questioning. I thought we were talking about a murder. What was he implying?
“Then, why did you kill him? How did you know Mr. Slowicki?” Lou moved closer to me. I could feel him breathing on my face.
“Kill? I didn't kill anyone. What is going on here? All I did was take a walk between the buildings to see something, then, Eli appeared out of nowhere. I don't know why he was there or how he escaped. I surely don't know anything about a murder. Why would you even think that? What evidence do you have?” I was beginning to panic and feared I'd never recover.
He smiled. “We have you on camera. You were the only person wandering around between the buildings that night. Were you scoping out the area? And, we have you on camera arguing with the victim and trying to cover your tracks.”
I protested. “No, that's not what that was!”
“Really? Enlighten me, then.” Lou's face was mere centimeters from mine. This wasn't going well.
Chapter Five
I stared at the ceiling. I don't know how many hours I'd been lying in the same position, but I'm pretty sure that my arms and legs were no longer going to be able to function. I guess it could be worse, I could be staring at the ceiling of a cramped jail cell right now.
It had been six hours since I'd been questioned and I still couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get so much worse for me. At least, I could be thankful that I had the night off. Maybe cooler heads would prevail and I wouldn't find myself staring at the business end of gun. What I needed to do was find the real killer or determine whether or not Eli was the real killer and perhaps some of the pressure on me would finally wane and I'd be able to return to my somewhat boring life.
I'd have to remember that I felt this way the next time my car died or I forget to pay my electricity bill again. Not that anything like that happened too often, but it did happen from time to time, especially after I engaged in another holiday decoration war with my very competitive neighbors at Lake Villa, the manufactured home community I'd called home since I'd graduated from college.
Not even my ex-husband could get me to move out of my home. But, it wasn't for lack of trying. I could be a little stubborn when I wanted to and when it came to my life, my car, my child, and my double wide beauty – my home – I had a tendency to go all Mama Bear on someone who wanted me to part ways with any of them.
“How does one find a killer?” I mused.
I'd read enough mysteries and watched enough detective shows to think I had what it took to hunt for a killer. I just wasn't quite sure where to start when all roads seemed to lead to me and Eli.
I grabbed my notebook out of smock pocket and began writing a to-do list like no other.
Similar Books
