Page 64 of Gamble with Me
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Chester hid his face behind his palms, his shoulders shaking. "It's Malin's handwriting," he mumbled. "They know."
"What?" I wasn't sure if I heard him correctly, and the knock on the door cut off his response. I grabbed a sweater, pulled it over my head to cover my nightgown, and walked behind Chester. He opened the door, welcoming two police officers.
"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Kellerman. My name is Officer Clark; this is Officer Williams. Can we talk?"
I scanned two men who were of similar height and weight. They were dressed in uniforms, and their serious expressions gave me chills.
"Of course." Chester nodded, motioning to the living room. I felt uncomfortable with my naked legs, and my husband was only in a white shirt and pajamas, but the officers didn't seem to mind.
"Mommy? What is happening?" Zara stuck her head out the bathroom door, staring wide-eyed at the police officers. "I didn't steal the chocolate bars."
"Oh." A nervous giggle left my lips, and I crouched before her. "They're not here because of the chocolate. They need to talk to us. I'll explain everything later, okay?" I brushed her hair behind her ears, trying to sound calm. "Wait in your room. I'll join you as soon as possible."
"Okay, Mommy." She ran away, and I joined the men in the living room.
Chester nervously bounced on his feet before the couch while the police officers were looking around. Officer Williams took out a tiny white notebook and black pen, wrote down something, and waited for his colleague to stop admiring my collection of porcelain elephants.
"A person from the apartment on the highest floor called the police this morning," Officer Clark started, taking the miniature elephant with a missing ear into his hand. Zara knocked it off when she was four. "Mrs. Shanahan hysterically screamed about a body hanging from the Kellermans’ window."
"He isn’t hanging fromourwindow," Chester barked, more attacking than was necessary. Officer Clark arched a brow but didn't comment on my husband's tone. I gulped anxiety down my throat, preparing to answer their questions. I didn't know who killed George, but I saw him yesterday. Police would fry me for information.
"When we came to the scene, we realized it's not your window from which the poor guy is hanging," Officer Williams added, looking at me. "The body hung from the apartment above, but it was your window he faced. What message does it send, Mr. Kellerman?"
Both officers glared at my husband as if it were him who murdered George. My heart missed a beat, watching them inspecting his nervous movements. Chester was never a good actor. He wasn't able to mask his emotions. When pushed into the corner, he constantly attacked like a rabid animal.
"How the fuck should I know what it means?" he yelled, and I quickly checked the door. Zara didn't need to hear this, but she would listen to everything if her father didn't stop.
"A dead body hangs before your window, Mr. Kellerman," Officer Clark pinpointed the obvious. His voice was soaked with irritation. "It's clearly a message for you."
"It's not! I don't know him!" Chester objected. "But my wife spoke to him yesterday!"
I stared at my husband, shocked and disgusted at the same time. I didn't know he saw me with George at the fun fair. Yet I would've never expected him to throw me to the police because they asked him two unpleasant questions. It only deepened my frustration with him. But it also brought an idea to my mind. Chester was petrified and pushed the burden of answering on me to avoid being discovered. I heard him mumbling something about Malin. He was deep in some shit which included the Zhumagulovs.
"Is it true, Mrs. Kellerman?" The officers turned to me with surprised expressions, cutting me off from glaring at my husband. "Do you know the victim?"
"Not exactly," I replied, trying to sound confident, but I failed miserably. My voice wavered when an image of a mutilated body appeared before my eyes. "I only know that his name is… was George."
"Did you meet him yesterday?" Officer Clark asked, making notes. My gaze drifted between him and his partner, but I saw nothing suspicious. They only did their job, gathering information and stuff, while I expected them to put me behind bars even when I didn't have anything in common with the murder. For some stupid reason, I felt guilty.
"Yes." I slightly nodded, flashing a glance at Chester's pale face. "He stopped by to say hi."
It was the quickest lie my shocked brain was able to come up with. It wasn't right to say it to the police, but my instincts were on alert. I was sure dragging Zyon's name into this would cause a major fuss. Not to mention, I had to avoid my husband thinking that I had an affair with my boss.
"So, you only know his first name, but he stopped by to say hi?" Officer Williams stared at me doubtfully, looking over his partner's shoulder to check his notes.
"It was our second meeting," I clarified quickly. "I met him at work maybe two weeks ago."
"Where do you work, Mrs. Kellerman?" The officer continued, his probing glance making me highly uncomfortable. I wanted to avoid mentioning Zyon's name, but it was impossible. I unintentionally brought it up myself.
"In The Vortex," I answered, feeling an anxiety squeezing my chest.
"In the restaurant?"
"In the underground casino," Chester interjected, selling me out. I would've gladly claimed to work as a waitress, but he wanted them to know I worked for the fearful mob boss. He wished to direct the police's attention to Zhumagulovs.
"Didn't it explode after the attempted attack on Zyon Zhumagulov?" Officer Clark looked at his partner, who shrugged.
"The Balloon Room was destroyed, but everything else works perfectly," Chester enlightened the situation, deepening my suspicion about his intentions.
