Page 40 of The Girl and the Lies

“Yes,” Officer O’Connell says. “He went with the firefighters to see the remnants of the shed and then sat with us and his mother while she gave her statement as to what exactly happened. She said that she was up early, like she always is, and was making her coffee when she noticed flickering through the kitchen window. She looked outside, and the shed was on fire. The first thing she did was call 911, but then she called her son. He lives in the next town over, so like I said, things were already pretty well under control by the time he made it there. But she was still frantic and thought she might be having a heart attack because of the stress and shock.”

“I need to let you know that the reason I’m asking about all this and why it’s so important to get the full information about Ander being there and what he did is that his wife was murdered this morning,” I tell them.

“While he was at his mother’s house?” Officer Alridge asks, sounding shocked.

“He says that he called her several times while he was there, and that’s what made him worried,” I say.

“He was on the phone a few times while we were handling the situation,” O’Connell confirms. “He told his mother that his wife wasn’t answering the phone and that he was concerned. She was still worried about her heart, so he asked that paramedics bring her to the hospital and get her checked out while he went home. He seemed a little nervous, but he told his mother that he was going to meet her at the hospital soon, so I guess he figured everything was going to be all right.”

“Well, he went home and found his wife, Sabrina, bludgeoned to death. I need to know the timing of his arrival and when he left as precisely as possible so I can create a timeline,” I tell them.

We talk through every step of the morning investigation and start creating a cursory timeline for the events as they unfolded. I’ll need to see Ander’s phone to get the time that his mother called him compared to the time the emergency team was dispatched as well as when he called for help about Sabrina, but right now it seems like an extremely tight turnaround. He got to his mother’s house quickly after she called him, and then there was only a small window of time between when he left to go check on Sabrina and when he called 911 to report finding her body. There wasn’t enough time at either point for him to commit the murder, clean up, get rid of a weapon, and then go about what he needed to do.

I leave the police station and return to Ander’s neighborhood. Only a couple of police cars remain. By now the body will have been removed and transported to the medical examiner’s office. The crime scene investigation unit will be thoroughly processing and recording the scene to make sure every bit of existing evidence is found and can be used later. I notice that Detective Fuller’s vehicle is still there, which means he’s carefully supervising the entire process.

The neighbors that were lined up along the sidewalk have dissipated for the most part. They’ve seen the body being taken out of the house and know now for sure that something horrific has happened inside the quiet, serene-looking home. I have no doubts that many of them demanded answers from the police officers but were told they couldn’t give out any information. The neighbors will have to wait to watch the news to find out all the details that will be shared.

There’s still one woman standing at the edge of the yard across the street, her arms wrapped around herself, watching the house. I jog across the street toward her and introduce myself.

“Did you see anything unusual this morning?” I ask.

“No,” the woman who introduced herself to me as Elsie Campano says. “I didn’t know anything was happening until I heard the sirens and saw the lights. I was really worried, so I came outside to see what was going on and saw Ander out in the front yard with the police. He looked distraught, so I figured something must have happened to Sabrina.”

“How well do you know them?” I ask.

“Ander and Sabrina?” she asks. “Just as neighbors. They are friendly, and we sometimes chat when we are both outside. They brought me some soup when I had a long illness over the winter.”

“But you wouldn’t say that you know then particularly well?” I say. “You aren’t close with them?”

“No,” Annette says.

“Have you ever noticed anything about their relationship that should be cause for concern? Heard yelling, seen them fighting, anything like that?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, they always seemed perfectly happy when I saw them.”

“Do you know of anyone in the neighborhood who does know them better?” I ask.

“I don’t know about Ander as much, but I’ve seen Sabrina spending time with the neighbor next door, Annette Chambers. She might be someone to talk to,” she says.

“Thank you. I appreciate your time.”

“I just can’t believe something like this happened in this neighborhood. It’s always been such a quiet place,” she says.

“Unfortunately, things like this happen everywhere,” I say. “It’s just a good reminder to be aware of your surroundings, keep your doors and windows locked. Take care of yourself.”

I cross the street again and climb the steps to the front porch Elsie indicated. I ring the bell, and a woman who looks like she has been crying comes to the door.

“Yes?” she says.

“Hi, I’m Special Agent Emma Griffin with the FBI. I need to talk with you for a couple minutes,” I say.

She nods and opens the screen door she kept closed between us. “Come in.”

I follow her into the blissfully cool house, and she brings me to a sitting room off the main entrance.

“This is about Sabrina, isn’t it?” she asks.

“Yes,” I tell her. “I heard that the two of you spent time together. Did you know her well?”

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