Page 17 of What Happened Last Night

I kept coming back to my suspicion that William and Candy where having an affair, and something told me knowing that for sure would help me crack the case. Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t. Even when I let myself assume it to be true, it gave both suspects an alibi—William pushed to the point of breaking and attacking the girl because she was causing a real problem to his home life or Carlotta attacking the girl in a fit of jealous rage. But I allowed myself to believe this was the missing piece, because without some hope to cling to, I knew I would drive myself insane.

I knew Officer Stanford wasn’t wasting any time getting the warrant to get the phone records, and I suspected the judge would have it ready for her today when he saw the case was a murder, but I was too antsy to just sit around and wait. I needed to be doing something.

I checked the time. It was almost nine, and I decided it was time to go and pay a visit to William at home. If he truly had nothing to hide, he would have no problem allowing me to look at his cellphone. Even if he had an affair to hide as opposed to a murder, I thought I could persuade him to hand it over. After all, he wasn’t a stupid man. He must know I could gain access to his call and message logs easily enough, and if he held the cellphone back from me, it would only make him look guilty in the long run once I had the records.

The decision made, I got to my feet and picked up my jacket and headed for the door. I felt better now that I was moving. It made me feel like I had a purpose, and that helped me to straighten out my thoughts a lot more. It didn’t give me any answers, though. Just like I suspected the cellphone wouldn’t. There was the autopsy this evening too, but again, I felt like that wouldn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know.

I pushed the negative thoughts away. I had to stay positive and keep focusing on the things I could do and the things I knew or could find out rather than focusing on what I didn’t know. So much for this being a simple case. It had sure sounded simple. A girl dead. Two possible suspects. But I hadn’t banked on any of the shit that had come with it. And I certainly hadn’t banked on the convenient alcoholic amnesia both suspects were supposedly suffering from.

As I made my way across the lobby toward the parking lot, Officer Stanford was coming toward me. She frowned when she saw me.

“Do you have something?” she asked. “Are you chasing up a lead?”

I shook my head.

“No,” I said. “I’m going over to the Aldens’ place, see if I can find anything out from either of them in a more relaxed setting.”

I held off from telling her I wanted William’s cellphone. I didn’t want her to think I was doubting her efforts to get the phone records quickly. I thought I could probably convince her it wasn’t personal, but how do you convince someone you have to be moving and doing something, even if it’s make work, before you go crazy without them actually thinking you’re going crazy? You don’t. You lie. Like I have.

“Do you want some company?” Officer Stanford asked.

I shook my head again.

“No, it’s fine, thanks. I need you focused on getting those phone records,” I told her.

She held up a piece of paper and smiled.

“It should be pretty quick getting them now that I have this. The judge called me this morning to say the warrant was signed, and I called into the courthouse on my way over here to collect it. I’ll get back on with the phone company straight away.”

“Great. Thank you, Officer. Call me the second you have anything, okay?”

She nodded and started walking toward the building again.

“Ask if you can see the scene,” she shouted back over her shoulder. “I know the CSI guys are pretty thorough, but they could have missed something.”

I gave her a thumbs-up as I headed for my car. I didn’t think the team would have missed anything, but still, it might be worth checking out the scene. Just standing there where Candy stood might inspire me somehow. And like asking for the cellphone, the couple’s reaction might give me something to go on. One of them might be a little more reluctant for me to go up there, and that might at least give me some idea of who had the most to hide. Assuming, of course, the lost memories were a lie.

I got into my car and pulled out of the parking lot, joining the thick traffic weaving slowly through the city. Officer Stanford was right about my asking to see the scene rather than demanding it. I could take the warrant we had and force the couple to show me the scene but letting them think they had a choice gave one or both of them the chance to say no, and that would likely tell me much more than anything I would see in the room. She was shrewd, Officer Stanford, and in some ways, she thought a lot like me. I liked her, and I was definitely glad to have her on my team.

It took me a good hour to get through the traffic in the main city. The joys of traveling through the early morning rush hour of people going to work, taking their kids to school, and generally starting their days. I should have waited half an hour or so before I set off, and that would have left the roads a bit clearer, but the worst of the drive was over now, and once I was on the quieter roads leading to the outskirts of the city where the Aldens lived, it was pretty fast going.

It was almost eleven when I finally got to the house, but I was confident I’d find the couple at home. I couldn’t see either of them being in a rush to go back to work, especially William as his office would be buzzing with the talk of what had happened to Candy. Of course, no one would know William was a suspect at this point, but they would most likely have heard that Candy was dead.

I got out of the car and walked up to the house. The front door stood open and I frowned. I shrugged my shoulders. Maybe it was too hot in the house and the air conditioner was out or something. As I got closer to the door, I knew that wasn’t the case. I could hear the air conditioner whirling, working overtime to try and compensate for the heat drifting in through the open door.

I reached the door and knocked. I waited a moment, but there was no response. I knew I was getting into a gray area, stepping inside the house of the suspects uninvited, but the open door made me think something was definitely wrong here, and before I could talk myself out of it, I stepped inside and started to walk slowly along the hallway.

“Hello?” I shouted. “Mr. Alden? Mrs. Alden? It’s Jamie Del Rey, the detective you spoke to yesterday? Do you have a minute?”

No answer. I kept walking down the hall and peering into the open doors on either side of it. I walked through into the kitchen, noting the still hot pot of coffee sitting on the plate, steam drifting lazily through the air. Someone was here, or they had been very recently.

“Hello?” I shouted again.

I thought I heard a muffled sound coming from the other side of the kitchen, as though someone was shuffling against the wall or something. I looked up. A closed door sat opposite me in the kitchen, and I went and tapped gently on it.

“Go away, William. I have nothing more to say to you,” a muffled voice replied.

It was Carlotta’s voice, and she sounded like she had been crying. Again, I reminded myself that I was very much in the gray here, but I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Carlotta was clearly upset, and judging by what she had said, she was upset with William. This might be my chance to get something useful out of her.

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