Page 66 of He Doesn't Deserve You

“Okay, that’s all I needed to know.”

After hanging up the phone, Detective Martin stood up and said to Detective Johnson, sitting across from him, “I’m going to see if Maggie’s neighbor can identify Lily.”

Anna answered the door with a small toddler on her hip.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time,” Detective Martin asked.

“Of course,” Anna replied, opening the door wider. “Please, come in.”

“Thank you,” said Detective Martin as he stepped inside the apartment. He followed Anna into the living room, where she said, “Would you like to have a seat?”

“That’s okay.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’d like to show you a couple of pictures of two women. Could you tell me if either is the woman you saw running out of Maggie’s apartment?”

“Sure.”

Detective Martin pulled up Emily’s photo first and turned the phone to Anna, who immediately shook her head, “No, that’s not her.”

Detective Martin turned the phone back towards himself, brought up a picture of Lily, and then tilted the phone towards Anna. “What about her?” he asked.

Anna took the phone from him and brought it closer to her face. “Yes, that’s her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Did you catch her?”

“We’ve got the suspect in custody, but unfortunately, she is deceased.”

“Was she responsible for Maggie’s death?”

“It appears so.”

“Then good. She can’t hurt anyone else.”

The young child on Anna’s hip began to cry, and Detective Martin said, “I can see you have your hands full. I’m going to go now.” Heheaded toward the door. “Thank you for identifying the suspect. It was very helpful to the case.”

“Glad I could help,” Anna said before closing the door to her apartment.

When Detective Martin returned to the police station, he walked past Detective Johnson’s desk. Johnson looked up, saw Martin, and said, “Hey, look at this.”

Martin approached Johnson and glanced over his shoulder. Staring at the computer screen, he asked, “What do you got there?”

“I ran a background check on Lily Rossi. It shows a long history of mental illness. She has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals since she was seventeen, has been arrested multiple times for domestic abuse, and has had several restraining orders filed against her. According to her court-appointed psychiatrist, she was a ticking time bomb.

“That’s not surprising,” Martin said and took his seat.

“How did you make out with our witness?”

“Good, she positively identified Lily. The medical examiner confirmed that Maggie was strangled with a rope. It looks like Emily’s scarf was planted.”

“Any word on Roman?” Johnson asked.

“I haven’t heard anything. I was thinking of heading to the hospital now for an update.”

“Okay, let me know what you find out.”

“Will do.”

Detective Martin found Emily in the surgical waiting room, her shoulders hunched and her eyes rimmed with dark circles.

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