Page 42 of What Happened Last Night

“Do you really think so, Father?” I asked.

“Of course, my child. And while I am not at liberty to tell you what to do, that’s my advice to you. This secret is a huge burden on your soul, and if your husband has broken one of the Lord’s commandments, then you may well be helping him to see the error of his ways by bringing his actions to light. Pray on it, child, and you shall find the answers you seek. The Lord helps those who seek his guidance.”

“Thank you, Father,” I said.

I didn’t even need to pray on it. The priest had given me the answer I needed. It was worse to lie to the police than it was to break my wedding vows. And if I told the truth, then it might just save both of our souls.

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have told lies,” I said, suddenly needing the penance as well as the advice.

“Are you ready to renounce your sins and complete your penance?” the priest asked.

“Yes, Father,” I said.

“Then your penance is thus. You must say twenty-five Hail Marys.”

“Thank you, Father,” I said.

I left the confessional booth and made my way to the front of the church. I genuflected and knelt before the altar where I recited the Hail Mary prayer twenty-five times. Feeling better than I had since Candy’s body was found, I left the church.

My decision was made. It was time to tell Detective Del Rey the truth and face the consequences of my lies.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jamie

Ileft the chief’s office after a good hour of his ranting and raving at me. He was furious that this had leaked to the press, and while he understood that I was too, I was still the one on the firing line because it was my investigation. I was the one who was meant to be responsible for stopping shit like this from happening. I had given up even trying to get a word in and had just taken the lecture. And things had only gotten worse when we moved on to talking about the actual case.

I gave the chief a rundown of everything we did know, which in fairness was a lot of stuff, but the chief was no fool. He saw straight through everything I was telling him and cut to the chase and asked me point-blank if we had any evidence to suggest which of the Aldens was the guilty party. I hated that I had to say no, but I wasn’t in the habit of lying to the chief and I wasn’t about to start now.

That set another lecture in motion. The first lecture, I accepted even though I knew in my heart that a leak wasn’t really my fault. This lecture I took personally. It was my job to find Candy’s killer and I was the one who was failing.

At the end of the lecture, the chief made it clear to me that he expected some real answers and soon. I knew better than to tell him that I did too, and we were doing the best we could.

Instead, I just nodded meekly, telling him I was sorry and that I wouldn’t let him down. It was all I could do, really. The fact that the case was complicated and full of dead ends didn’t give me an excuse not to solve it. Candy Xavier deserved justice.

I had just left the chief’s office and was on the way back to my own office to lick my wounds a little bit when Officer Dumont appeared.

“Please tell me you have found out who leaked this case to the press,” I said.

He shook his head and my heart sank, but he looked revved up, like something had happened. I waited impatiently for him to share it with me.

“I’m sorry, Detective. I barely got started on that when William Alden came in. He asked to speak to you, but you were with the chief, so I talked to him instead.”

“And?” I prompted him, leading him into my office and sitting down.

He sat down opposite me again where he had been when he delivered the bad news earlier. Maybe this time, he would be bringing me some good news. Something concrete we could actually use.

“And he told me he had been lying about losing his memory because he had been covering for his wife,” Officer Dumont said. “His story was all over the place, and to be honest, I’m not sure I believed most of it, but I figured you’d want to hear it.”

“Of course I want to hear it,” I said, sitting forward, my arms on the desk.

Officer Dumont pulled a notebook out of his pocket and began telling me what William had told me.

“Okay. He said Carlotta lured Candy to their house with the intention of killing her,” he said.

“Well, that’s the first lie right there,” I said.

“Exactly. Forensics found the window she broke to get into the property, right? Not exactly how you’d enter someone’s home if you were invited,” Officer Dumont said.

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