Page 27 of What Have You Done?

‘Yes.’

Stone nods along. ‘And then you went home.’

‘Yes.’

Stone looks him in the eyes and waits. Cameron’s fear escalates. They know. The way the detective is looking at him – they must know. He feels himself begin to tremble. His dad is watching him, concerned.

‘Just relax, son,’ Stone says. ‘We just want to clarify a couple of things.’ The detective is being friendly, even kind.

Cameron swallows. ‘Okay.’

‘Were there any problems in your relationship with Diana? Any arguments? If so, best to tell us now.’

‘No,’ Cameron says. It’s a knee-jerk reaction. He remembers, as soon as he says it, that Diana told Riley things, that Riley knew about the college thing. She must have spoken to the detectives, and that’s why he’s here. Riley has always been a gossip; she should stay out of other people’s business, he thinks bitterly.

Edward Farrell watches his son tremble as he sits in the chair across from the detectives. Cameron’s nervousness dismays him. He glances at Shelby, and she looks wary, even alarmed. What’s going on here? The vibe is different than it was yesterday, even though the demeanour of the detectives has not changed. It’s his son who’s changed.

‘Are you sure, Cameron?’ the detective says now, and waits. Cameron says nothing. The detective says, ‘Because we’ve heard otherwise.’

‘What?’ Cameron says.

‘We’ve heard that you and Diana were having problems.’

Shelby butts in anxiously, leaning forward in her chair. ‘That’s not true, is it, Cameron?’

The detective gives her a quelling glance, and she sits back again.

Cameron doesn’t answer. Edward is worried. His son couldn’t have had anything to do with Diana’s death. But he knows he hasn’t been telling them the whole truth, either. They just have to get past this.

‘I loved her,’ Cameron says at last, stubbornly. ‘She loved me. We were perfect together.’

‘But you must have had disagreements,’ the detective presses. ‘Everyone does.’ When Cameron doesn’t respond, Stone asks, ‘Did you argue with Diana about what colleges to go to?’

Cameron shakes his head and says, ‘No. It wasn’t a big deal. I thought we should only apply to the same colleges, but she wanted to apply to some others too. Because they had better vet programmes.’

‘And how did you feel about that?’

‘I was okay with it,’ Cameron says.

But Edward knows they had a furious argument about it that night – Cameron told him. Diana had broken up with him.

‘Her friend Riley told us she was thinking of breaking up with you,’ Stone says.

‘That’s not true!’ Cameron protests. And then, impulsively, ‘Riley doesn’t like me.’

‘I thought you were friends?’ Detective Stone says.

‘We used to be. We all hung out together. But she didn’t like it when Diana and I got together because Diana didn’t have as much time for her. She was always trying to get between us.’

Detective Stone tilts his head. ‘She said you were possessive.’

‘She would. That’s what I mean,’ he says defensively. ‘She was trying to split us up. But Diana knew I loved her. That’s what mattered.’

‘Okay. So you didn’t argue last night?’

‘No. Like I said, we drove around for a while, then parked and had sex in the truck and then I took her home around eleven. Everything was fine. She went inside and I left.’

Edward watches his son nervously. He knows that what he’s just said isn’t true. He knows they argued. But he’s the one who told Cameron to stick to his story.

---