them? Or did I kill them?" he asked, leaning back in the chair and watching her.
"Did you cheat on your wife?"
"Read the tabloids," he suggested. "They have all the answers."
She bit her lip, frustrated, and he stared at her for a moment, his eyes on her mouth.
"What happened the day your family… died?"
"Was murdered, don't you mean?" He liked watching her squirm. Not very noble of him, but then, he took what enjoyment he could find nowadays. "I came home early that Friday afternoon. Diana was planning on taking the children on a visit to her parents the next morning, and I wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. The door was open when I got home, which was odd. Diana had always been pathologically paranoid about her safety. She never would have left the door open.
"I walked inside, and I found them."
"Them?"
"Diana was lying at the bottom of the stairs. In a pool of blood, quite dead." The lies were starting now, tripping off his tongue with the ease of long practice. "She had a knife in her heart."
He could see Cassidy shiver. "What did you do?"
"I think I must have gone into shock," he said, used to this by now. "I ran up the stairs, looking for the children. I must have gotten some of Diana's blood on my hands, because they found my bloody fingerprints all over the place. I couldn't find the children. When I did…" He'd gotten quite good at this part, at making his voice break as he spun the lies.
Cassidy was pale, suffering. He wondered just how far he could push her. "Their bodies were in the bathroom. Just lying there. I don't know what happened next. My mind went blank. When the police arrived I was kneeling by Diana's body, and the children were gone. Someone had removed their bodies, washed the blood away. I couldn't even bury them."
"That's… unbelievable," she said in a hushed voice.
"That was the consensus," he drawled, deliberately breaking the mood.
She'd believed him. Been drawn in by the tale, and now he'd snapped her out of it. She stared at him, white-faced with shock, and he could tell she wanted to run. He had that effect on her. He could also tell that she wasn't going to.
"For a while the family pulled together. The general and his wife flew into New York, and we all faced the media circus. Until the investigation kept coming up blank. No one could find any sign of an intruder in the house, and no one couldfind any trace of my children's bodies."
She didn't flinch this time, though he knew she wanted to. Already she was toughening up. He was going to have to push harder.
"Once I was officially under suspicion things began to change. At first the general was my staunchest defender. It wasn't until the circumstantial evidence started piling up that he began to pull back. Right now he's waging a one-man campaign to get me drawn and quartered. It was no accident that my case went through the New York judicial system in record time. My father-in-law has powerful friends. He wants my head on a platter, and he wants it yesterday."
"Can you blame him? He thinks you murdered his daughter and grandchildren."
"I lost my wife and children," he said coolly. "My heart doesn't bleed for him."
She considered him for a moment. "You said circumstantial evidence. What was that?"
"Motive, opportunity, lack of alibi, physical evidence," he said. "No one else was seen leaving or entering the house that day. The coroner put Diana's time of death as close to the time I was seen coming home as he could possibly manage. My bloody handprints were on the walls, my fingerprints on the murder weapon, which happened to be a butcher knife from my own kitchen."
"And motive?" she asked breathlessly.
His eyes met hers for a still, silent moment. "I'm known to have a nasty temper. I had a not very discreet affair, and Diana wasn't going on a weekend visit to her family. She was leaving me, and taking the children, and she'd already filed papers trying to deny me access to my children."
"On what
"Did you cheat on your wife?"
"Read the tabloids," he suggested. "They have all the answers."
She bit her lip, frustrated, and he stared at her for a moment, his eyes on her mouth.
"What happened the day your family… died?"
"Was murdered, don't you mean?" He liked watching her squirm. Not very noble of him, but then, he took what enjoyment he could find nowadays. "I came home early that Friday afternoon. Diana was planning on taking the children on a visit to her parents the next morning, and I wanted to make sure she had everything she needed. The door was open when I got home, which was odd. Diana had always been pathologically paranoid about her safety. She never would have left the door open.
"I walked inside, and I found them."
"Them?"
"Diana was lying at the bottom of the stairs. In a pool of blood, quite dead." The lies were starting now, tripping off his tongue with the ease of long practice. "She had a knife in her heart."
He could see Cassidy shiver. "What did you do?"
"I think I must have gone into shock," he said, used to this by now. "I ran up the stairs, looking for the children. I must have gotten some of Diana's blood on my hands, because they found my bloody fingerprints all over the place. I couldn't find the children. When I did…" He'd gotten quite good at this part, at making his voice break as he spun the lies.
Cassidy was pale, suffering. He wondered just how far he could push her. "Their bodies were in the bathroom. Just lying there. I don't know what happened next. My mind went blank. When the police arrived I was kneeling by Diana's body, and the children were gone. Someone had removed their bodies, washed the blood away. I couldn't even bury them."
"That's… unbelievable," she said in a hushed voice.
"That was the consensus," he drawled, deliberately breaking the mood.
She'd believed him. Been drawn in by the tale, and now he'd snapped her out of it. She stared at him, white-faced with shock, and he could tell she wanted to run. He had that effect on her. He could also tell that she wasn't going to.
"For a while the family pulled together. The general and his wife flew into New York, and we all faced the media circus. Until the investigation kept coming up blank. No one could find any sign of an intruder in the house, and no one couldfind any trace of my children's bodies."
She didn't flinch this time, though he knew she wanted to. Already she was toughening up. He was going to have to push harder.
"Once I was officially under suspicion things began to change. At first the general was my staunchest defender. It wasn't until the circumstantial evidence started piling up that he began to pull back. Right now he's waging a one-man campaign to get me drawn and quartered. It was no accident that my case went through the New York judicial system in record time. My father-in-law has powerful friends. He wants my head on a platter, and he wants it yesterday."
"Can you blame him? He thinks you murdered his daughter and grandchildren."
"I lost my wife and children," he said coolly. "My heart doesn't bleed for him."
She considered him for a moment. "You said circumstantial evidence. What was that?"
"Motive, opportunity, lack of alibi, physical evidence," he said. "No one else was seen leaving or entering the house that day. The coroner put Diana's time of death as close to the time I was seen coming home as he could possibly manage. My bloody handprints were on the walls, my fingerprints on the murder weapon, which happened to be a butcher knife from my own kitchen."
"And motive?" she asked breathlessly.
His eyes met hers for a still, silent moment. "I'm known to have a nasty temper. I had a not very discreet affair, and Diana wasn't going on a weekend visit to her family. She was leaving me, and taking the children, and she'd already filed papers trying to deny me access to my children."
"On what
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