Page 12 of What Happened Last Night

“I wouldn’t describe us as having a relationship at all, Detective,” I said.

That much was true at least. What Candy and I had was just about sex. It wasn’t a relationship, not by any stretch of the imagination.

“So tell me, William. What do you think happened last night?” he asked me.

“I think I drank far too much and consequently I have no idea what happened to Candy. I wish I did, but I don’t and I’m not willing to speculate on something so serious when anything I said would be pure guess work. With all due respect, it’s your job to come up with a likely scenario, Detective, not mine.”

That caused Detective Del Rey’s insincere smile to falter a little and I knew I had at least won a tiny part of the battle. He couldn’t argue with my logic. It was his job, and me making a wild guess as to what might have happened wasn’t going to help anyone.

It was hard to keep the smirk off my face as Detective Del Rey and Officer Stanford left the interview room without another word.

Chapter Seven

Jamie

Ileft the interviews with William and Carlotta with more questions than answers, but I was at least starting to put together a theory. I walked along the hallway back toward the incident room with Officer Stanford. Officer Dumont was in there waiting for us.

“Okay,” I said, taking a seat in the incident room. “Officer Dumont, can you complete the paperwork and arrange for William and Carlotta to be released? Be civil, thank them for their help, and so on, but make it clear to them that they may be called back in for further questioning at any time. Make it clear they are to be available if or when that happens.”

He nodded and got up and left the room. I looked at Officer Stanford for a moment and decided to run my theory by her and get her take on it.

“So, I’m thinking that Candy and William were involved in some sort of affair at some point. I think William most likely ended it and that’s why he wanted the restraining order. It seems Candy didn’t take too kindly to being tossed aside. William is being evasive about knowing Candy, and Carlotta’s reaction to the girl’s name being spoken was odd. She acts like she hates the girl, calling her a bitch. It sounds to me like Carlotta found out about the affair, which is why William called it off in the first place. What do you think?”

“I think it’s likely.” Officer Stanford nodded. “Carlotta sure has some sort of grudge against Candy. And William was very careful not to admit to any sort of fling, but he was also very careful in his word choices, making sure he cast doubt on the idea of his knowing Candy well but not outright denying it. Is it at least possible that Carlotta was more involved than being the scorned wife, though?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, the part about the restraining order could be to throw us off the scent of what really happened between the three of them. Could it at least be possible that Carlotta and William invited Candy into their marriage to spice things up a little?”

“Like a threesome?” I said.

Officer Stanford nodded and went on.

“Yes. Exactly like that. It would explain Candy’s presence in the couple’s bedroom. Maybe the whole thing was a sex game gone wrong and neither of the suspects dares to admit it. There’s definitely something they’re not telling us. I mean, I expected them to be nervous in this situation, but they’re both so guarded and more nervous than I would have perhaps expected them to be,” she said.

I thought about it for a moment, but then I shook my head.

“I agree that both William and Carlotta are hiding something, but I don’t think it’s that. Whether Candy really was stalking William and broke into the house or whether she was lured there by one of the couple, I don’t think Carlotta was involved in any sort of sex games with them. The way she spoke about Candy, her tone and the fact she called her a bitch to me and a slut in her first interview, says that she really couldn’t stand the girl.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I just can’t shake the feeling that there’s a whole lot more to this story that we’re missing,” Officer Stanford replied.

“It could be something as simple as pride that’s stopping Carlotta from talking about her husband’s affair,” I said. “I mean, it’s got to hurt to tell strangers that your husband was cheating on you, right?”

Officer Stanford nodded, her face thoughtful.

“It might be worth sending a few officers around the neighborhood. I know the house is kind of remote, but someone might still have seen something. It might give us a clue as to whether Candy was an invited guest lured in or whether she was breaking in. Because I think it could make a big difference to the case. If she was lured in, that makes it premeditated. If she was an intruder, it’s more complicated than that.”

My cellphone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

“Hold that thought. It’s the CSI team. Maybe they’ll have some answers for us,” I said.

I stood up and began pacing, something I often found myself doing while I was on a call. I answered the call.

“Detective Del Rey.”

“Hello. This is Officer Garrison. I’ll be putting together an official report later on today, but for now, I thought you might like to know that the broken window in the basement was likely done by the victim. It was kicked in, and there was a swatch of material on the glass that matches the dress the victim was wearing at the time of her death.”

“Thank you,” I said.

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