Page 97 of Burning Your Lies

“And what did you do at his residence?”

I stare at them in sheer annoyance. “I spoke to him.”

“What was the conversation about?”

My arms fold over my chest. “I am not answering any more questions until I know what this is about.”

Officer Dale shares a look with her partner before nodding. “Henry Pruitt was murdered last night between the hours of eight and eleven p.m. You were the last person to see him alive.”

I can feel it; the perfect blend of shock and rage filling me.

The fucking bitch is setting me up for murder.

When I stand up, my chair goes flying backwards until it hits the wall. “I did notmurderthe man. I spoke to him. And when I left, he was very much alive!”

Officer Stone finds her voice. “Please calm down and take a seat, Mr Rivers.”

“Calm down?” I snarl. “I came here,willinglymay I add? Do you think if I murdered the man, I would have sat here and waited for you to arrive with handcuffs?”

“Nobody is accusing you, Mr Rivers. We are trying to compile a timeline of events. Please resume your seat.”

I turn around and use the slow walk to calm my temper. Every part of me is quivering with rage. I can almost hear Savannah laughing in my ear. She fucking knew I would see Henry to keep him quiet. She reminded me I couldn’t murder him. So, she did it herself and is pinning me for it.

“What was the conversation regarding?”

“I wanted to make sure he was protected from the person behind all these false allegations.”

“False allegations?”

“Theotheraccusation of murder that was headlined in the media. The one where the police have no evidence to arrest me. Somebody is framing me for this.”

“Do you have somebody in mind?”

I almost give her name, but decide to deal with her myself. I don’t give a flying fuck if I go to prison for it. It will be worth it to watch her struggle at her last breath. “I don’t know. If I knew, I would have put a stop to it by now.”

“What do you do for a living, Mr Rivers?”

I straighten my cuffs. “I own a security business.”

Her eyebrows meet in the middle. “And you do not know who is harassing you?”She’s making a mockery of me.“How did the conversation with Mr Pruitt end?”

With him accepting the hush money.

“I told him to be vigilant and call me if he thought he was in any danger.”

“Not the police?”

With a blank stare, I say, “I don’t believe the police force is very adequate at their job.”

“Did an argument ensue between yourself and Mr Pruitt?”

“No,” I answer honestly.

“We have a witness that claims they overheard an argument.”

“What witness?” I snap.

“A neighbour.”

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