Page 72 of The Inmate
“How long will this take?” I ask him.
“Depends on what we find.”
“There’s nothing to find.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
I squeeze my knees together. It hits me that even though I know Caleb told him the truth about Monday night, he doesn’t know I know. Maybe I could play dumb and pretend I’m fessing up on my own free will.
“Listen,” I say, “I just… I wanted to tell you that I was mistaken about Monday night. I remembered my boyfriend did go home before bedtime. I got it wrong.”
“Funny. He just told me the same thing.”
I’m too late. I should have told the truth while I could.
“You know,” Santoro says, “I got bullied when I was in school.”
I pick at a loose thread on my skirt. “Oh…?”
Even though I’m not looking in his direction, I can feel his gaze washing over me. “It got pretty bad. Those kids made my life miserable.”
“Kids can be really cruel sometimes.”
“Kids don’t know any better.” He cracks his knuckles. “But adults—they do. They ought to know better, at least. But plenty of adults out there are still bullies.”
I keep my eyes down. I don’t know what to say.
“I’m sure you know all about that, Miss Farrell.”
There’s another crash from the kitchen. These people are destroying my house, but that’s the least of my problems. After that ceramic turtle turned up in the laundry hamper, I don’t know what those people are going to find. But there’s a decent chance I could leave this house in handcuffs.
This is the point when I should be calling a lawyer. For reasons I don’t quite understand, I’ve become a suspect in Dawn’s murder. But lawyers cost money that I don’t have right now, and also, I still feel like getting a lawyer will make me look guilty.
I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent. I don’t need a lawyer to prove that.
ChapterForty-Three
MONDAY
To: Natalie Farrell
From: Dawn Schiff
Subject: Important
To Natalie,
There is a matter of great importance that I need to discuss with you urgently. Please come to my cubicle at the conclusion of the work day today.
Sincerely,
Dawn Schiff
To: Natalie Farrell
From: Caleb McCullough
Subject: Tonight
