Page 151 of State of Denial

“I’m here,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hope Miller said.

“Great,” Freddie said. “Let me call Captain Malone, and then Gonzo and I can have another chat with them.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

With Malone and Hope watching from observation, Freddie and Gonzo entered the interrogation room.

“We meet again,” Freddie said.

“This is total harassment,” Pascal said. “We told you before we know nothing about what happened to those people.”

“It’s interesting that you failed to tell us how Liliana Blanchet called you racist animals a few days before they were found dead,” Freddie said.

“H-how is that relevant?” Gia asked with a nervous glance at her husband.

“When we asked you before if there was anything else you could tell us about your interactions with the Blanchets, you never mentioned that incident,” Freddie said.

“You’ve hauled us all the way back here from a visit with family to ask us aboutthat?” Pascal asked.

“As we mentioned to you earlier, in a homicide investigation, every detail matters,” Freddie said. “Why did you leave town the minute you were released from our custody the last time?”

“We had plans to visit Gia’s mother.”

“You were told to stay local,” Gonzo said. “According to your neighbors, you beat a hasty retreat. They indicated you were gone within thirty minutes of arriving home.”

“Because we were already leaving later than planned,” Gia said.

“You left out a rather significant detail when we spoke to you,” Freddie said. “The kind of detail that would give someone motive for murder.”

“We didnotkill them, and you’re not going to pin this on us,” Pascal said.

Gia’s hands were shaking so hard that she removed them from the tabletop and put them in her lap. “What kind of people do you think we are?” she asked softly.

“The kind who would torment a young girl online because she was a better gymnast than your kid,” Gonzo said.

“That doesn’t make usmurderers,” Pascal shouted.

“It must’ve made you mad that Liliana Blanchet called you racist animals, especially in front of the other parents,” Freddie said.

“We aren’t racist,” Pascal said. “We just didn’t care for the way Eloise was treated as the next big thing when she hadn’t put the time in with the team that the other girls had. It had nothing to do with race.”

“Sure, it didn’t.” Gonzo opened the laptop he’d brought into the room. “I did some research on the meets in question and took a look at Eloise’s performance and then compared her performances to your daughter’s. Shall we take a look?”

“We’ve seen them,” Pascal snarled.

“Humor me.” Gonzo pressed Play on a video that showed a stunning, flawless performance by Eloise and a much less polished routine from Lacey Cortez. “I’d never watched a gymnastics meet in my life before this, but even my untrained eye can see that Eloise had raw, natural talent, and your daughter, while competent, isn’t in the same league as Eloise was.”

“Lacey is far more talented than she was!” Gia said. “Ask anyone!”

“Did you kill Eloise and her family to get her out of Lacey’s way?” Freddie asked.

Pascal’s eyes bugged out of his head. “No! We didn’t kill anyone!”

“Do we need a lawyer?” Gia asked. “Pascal, we need a lawyer.”

“Who would you like us to call for you?” Freddie asked.

“We don’t know anyone,” Gia said.

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