Page 78 of Before You Go

“Yeah, I’ll see you at three.”

“Okay, good luck today.”

“Thanks, baby.” I hang up with her after saying goodbye then shoot a quick message to Clay letting him know that Franny and I are good for tonight and that we should be up to his place by six.

After placing my cell on silent, I push back from my desk and walk out to get Greg. The years have not been kind to him; he looks weathered and beat down, like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Then again, he’s carried around the weight of his wife’s death for years. I imagine that even if you know that you are not personally responsible, having the woman you love murdered in your home can make you feel like a failure.

As he and I get settled in my office, Mary comes in to join us, and before long, Greg opens up about Alice and the events that happened the day of her murder. None of the information is new to me, but hearing the story from him as he clutches a handful of Kleenex makes it feel more personal.

He tells us that between school and being a new mom, he could tell Alice was struggling, so he asked his mom the night before her murder to come pick up the baby so that she could have a break.

The day of the crime, he and Alice had a normal morning; they had breakfast, fed the baby, and when it was time for him to leave, he left Alice in the kitchen after giving her some money to get her hair done that afternoon. A little after he arrived at his job, where he worked as a security guard for one of the factories, he realized that he had forgotten his lunch at home, so he called Alice and asked if she could drop it off to him. She gave him a hard time and teased him about being forgetful but agreed to drop it off before her hair appointment.

About an hour and a half later, his friend Beau showed up at the guard shack, something he had never done in the past. He said he was out looking for a job and decided to stop by. Around one, with Beau still there, Greg called Alice when she still hadn’t dropped off his lunch but got no answer at home. He didn’t think much of it, he knew that she was going to get her hair done and figured that’s where she was and that she forgot about him, so he and Beau got lunch from the lunchroom at the factory.

At five, when his shift ended, Greg left to go home, and Beau followed him. The two making plans earlier to go to the gym after Greg changed out of his clothes from work. When they arrived at the apartment, Alice’s car was in the driveway, and nothing seemed strange except that the door was unlocked. Still, Beau made a comment about being careful. At the time, Greg didn’t think much about it and went inside.

The house was dark, so he called out to Alice, she didn’t answer so he went in search of her. That’s when he found her body. At first, he thought that she had passed out, but when Beau, who was behind him, turned on the light, he saw that the clothes she was wearing were soaked through with blood and that there was blood splatter on the walls. Immediately, Greg called the police, and a few minutes later they arrived, and the apartment was taped off as a crime scene.

Within the first forty-eight hours, the detectives working the case had zeroed in on Beau, not only because of his inability to provide an alibi the morning of the murder prior to meeting up with Greg, but because Alice’s friends came forward and told them that on more than one occasion Beau had said or done things to make Alice uncomfortable. And that it was well known that Beau was jealous of Alice and Greg’s relationship, something that even Greg admitted.

Listening to him explain things, I can understand why he was convinced that his friend killed his wife, but that doesn’t change the facts. It wasn’t Beau’s DNA found on the knife that killed Alice, but Charles’, and there was no reason for Charles’ DNA to be inside Alice and Greg’s apartment. None of them were friends, and as far as anyone knew, they didn’t even know each other back then.

After I explain all the evidence that we have against Charles, including DNA, I tell him that we will be moving forward with presenting our case to a judge and charging him for Alice’s murder. The moment I give him that news, he breaks down into tears and tells us that when the detectives told him that they believed that Beau killed his wife, he didn’t believe them, but as the weeks went on and they didn’t have another suspect, he began to question if they were right. Not only was he dealing with the loss of his wife, but he was also questioning if someone he had known most of his life was capable of murder.

“You’ll have to forgive me; this is dredging up a lot of old feelings,” Greg says, wiping his eyes. He looks absolutely wrecked, and I can’t blame him. He just relived the worst day of his life and got news that he likely never thought he’d get.

“That’s understandable,” Mary tells him softly, glancing over at me before focusing back on him. “We know that there will never truly be closure for you in this situation, but we hope that we can at least help you get the justice that Alice deserves.”

“I want that.” He shakes his head and then looks up at me. “I’m guessing that you’ll meet with her sisters at some point.”

“We have a meeting scheduled with them tomorrow.”

“They won’t be easy to convince. They think that I killed her, and I’m not sure that they will ever change their minds about that.” More wetness fills his eyes. “I was young and stupid, and at times, I wasn’t the best boyfriend or husband, but I loved Alice and would never have hurt her.”

“You let us worry about them,” I tell him gently, and he nods.

“Maybe when this is done, my son, Alice’s son, can build a relationship with her family. He’s never had that, and I know there are times that he feels like he’s missing out.”

Shit, that feels like a punch to the gut. His son is not a baby anymore, he’s a grown man who has lived a whole life without his mother or at least having the connection to her through her family. Because of what Charles did, they missed out on so much time together, and there is no getting that time back, regardless of what changes now.

“I hope so.” I stand, and he does the same.

“Thank you.” He holds out his hand, and I take it in mine.

“You’re welcome, Mr. Groden.” I let his hand go and walk him to the door. “I’ll be in touch later this week.”

“I’m looking forward to that.” He says before he leaves.

“You okay?” Mary asks, and I turn to face her while letting out a breath.

“That was more difficult than I thought it would be.”

“Charles ruined a lot of lives.” Her expression is filled with empathy.

“He did.” I agree quietly. “Hopefully, we can right at least one of his wrongs.” And not just for Alice, but for the people she left behind that suffered the most from her loss.

CHAPTER 20

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