The moment Andrew and Olivia arrived at the police station, he grabbed her arm. “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?” His voice suddenly became constricted. “Are they gonna start asking why I didn’t tell them sooner, read me the riot act?”
Olivia saw the fear in his eyes. “They might,” she answered, “but so what? You’re telling them now. They’ve got the wrong guy locked up and once you clear Tomas, they’ll have to let him go.”
“And what happens then?” Andrew seemed uncertain.
That was a good question, thought Olivia, and she didn’t have an answer. Who knew what waited up ahead? But one step had to lead to another. Once Tomas was free, the police would have to kick into high gear. And once the killer realized that Tomas was free he might get scared, become careless.
Olivia and Andrew walked into the station and found Wayne and Lorna waiting for them. They approached and looked at Andrew harshly.
“This is Andrew,” said Olivia, to break the tension, “Tomas’s friend.”
Olivia looked over at Andrew, who was pale and seemed as if he might change his mind and bolt at any moment. “Tell them,” she prodded.
Finally, Andrew cleared his throat. “Tomas and I were together the night Todd was killed.”
Lorna frowned. “You were, huh? This is the first time we’ve seen you, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is,” Andrew replied hesitantly.
“And suddenly you saw the light?” she asked. “You just decided to come in?”
Andrew fell silent, clearly unsure what to say.
“Okay, come with me, both of you!” Lorna said skeptically, throwing Wayne a strange glance as she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to someone.
The room Olivia and Andrew were brought into was steely gray with small, cloudy windows and a few metal chairs. The moment she entered Olivia felt claustrophobic.
Another large police officer joined them and shut the door tight.
“So tell us again,” Wayne said, a bit more kindly. “Why didn’t you come forward before?”
Andrew hesitated. “Tomas didn’t want me to,” he continued, breathless. “He thought he would be let go way before this.”
All of them stared at Andrew intensely. “Go on!” Lorna said.
“Tomas didn’t want anyone to find out about us,” Andrew said. “Tomas and I were together at the hotel all night long when Todd was killed.”
A strange leer spread across Lorna’s face. “Well, I can understand that he wouldn’t want anyone to know.”
“That’s all you have to say about it?” Wayne asked Andrew, annoyed.
“That’s it,” Andrew replied.
“Do you have any witnesses?” Lorna pressed forward.
Andrew cleared his throat. “In fact, I do,” he said. “I have a receipt for the night. And the staff saw us check in and check out.”
Wayne and Lorna exchanged a frustrated, defeated look.
“So, Tomas wasn’t at Sketches, like he told us he was?” Lorna pushed further, taking it all in. “He lied to us, actually.”
“Tomas was there early for about an hour,” said Andrew, “then he slipped out to meet me at the hotel.”
The other officer in the room chimed in. “Okay, tell us again, why did you wait so long to come in and talk?”
“Tomas and I thought you’d find who did it and that he would be released long before this,” Andrew repeated, agitated. “When I finally realized it wasn’t happening, I had to come forth, no matter what. Tomas had nothing at all to do with Todd’s murder.”
“So who did?” Wayne zeroed in.
“I have no idea,” breathed Andrew.
Wayne took a few steps toward Andrew. “You’re ready to swear by your statement?” he asked.
“I am,” said Andrew, now trembling slightly. “And also I would really appreciate it if you could keep this as quiet as possible.”
The other officer clicked his heels on the floor. “That’s a tall order, you realize. Maybe we can and maybe we can’t. But okay, come inside with me. We need you to sign the sworn statement.”
Andrew’s eyes closed a moment and he seemed relieved. “I will,” he murmured, as he started following him to the door.
Olivia rose to leave, too, but was surprised to find Lorna’s hand on her wrist.
“Stay right where you are,” she said, turning to Olivia with full force.
Olivia was stunned by her tone and the accusing look.
The door opened and in marched three more officers.
“Remember me, Olivia?” one of the officers asked.
Olivia did; it was one of the policemen she’d met early on, Officer Tan. “Yes, I do,” she replied. She also recognized the other officers. They had picked her and her father up at the airport when her mother and sister left.
“Funny that you’d come into the station on your own like this,” Officer Tan continued. “Some suspects enjoy taunting the police.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Olivia, startled and confused.
“It becomes a game for some killers, trying to see how long they can outwit us,” he went on.
Olivia turned to Wayne, agitated, and saw him shake his head disappointedly.
“We’ve been doing more research on you,” Officer Tan continued. “It seems you have quite a history of taking all kinds of meds.”
She felt a pit in her stomach. Where were they going with this?
“I took some antidepressants after my first fiancé died,” Olivia admitted.
“Someone said you were also taking anti-psychotic medications,” Officer Tan continued.
“Never!” Olivia was emphatic. “I only took regular antidepressants. I was suffering from grief, as you can imagine. I was not psychotic, never have been.”
They glared at her suspiciously.
“There can be a fine line,” Lorna said.
“Are you a psychiatrist, then?” Olivia shot back.
Lorna scowled, but remained silent.
“And what are you implying?” Olivia pressed on. “That I’m insane?”
“You took the meds for quite a while, didn’t you?” Officer Tan pressed forward as the other officers seemed glued to every word Olivia said.
“I took antidepressants on and off,” said Olivia. “It was a hard time for me, they helped.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it was a hard time.” Officer Tan’s eyes looked threatening. “Losing a fiancé does funny things to your mind, doesn’t it?”
They all stared at Olivia as if she were a caged animal, and she felt increasingly uncomfortable.
“Losing anyone close is horribly painful,” said Olivia slowly, feeling the chill in the air now surrounding her.
“Very painful,” Officer Tan taunted her, “but not as painful as for the one who died, is it? Especially when you get another fiancé in such a short time.”
Olivia felt her jaw clenching. They were going after her full force.
“Did you stop taking the antidepressants when you met Todd?” Officer Tan continued. “Or did you start taking them again then?”
Olivia was cornered. “I was happy with Todd,” she tried to answer.
“Those antidepressants could have even made you suicidal, couldn’t they?” Officer Tan wouldn’t let up.
“I was never suicidal,” Olivia answered promptly, “not even in my worst moments.”
“Your worst moments? What do you mean by that?” Lorna pressed.
“I mean when I was saddest, most lonely and lost,” said Olivia.
“That sounds suicidal to me,” Officer Tan quickly commented. “Who knows what a person would do then?”
“No, I wasn’t suicidal,” Olivia insisted. “I never wanted to die.”
Wayne cleared his throat, and the room fell silent. “Olivia,” he said softly, kindly. “Please level with us. Make this easy on yourself. We’ve discovered arsenic amongst your belongings.”
Olivia felt her heart plummet.
“You bought arsenic regularly, in fact, didn’t you?” Lorna chimed in.
Olivia was stunned. She wracked her brain and remembered the homeopath she had seen. He’d given her small amounts of arsenic as an antidote to chronic pain. Yes, she had bought it regularly for a while, kept it with her. Could she have brought some with her on the trip down here? It must have been lodged in a jacket pocket.
“The arsenic was a remedy for pain I was in,” Olivia cried out. “It was prescribed by a homeopath.”
“Very convenient.” Officer Tan’s eyes narrowed.
“So you admit you had arsenic in your possession for a long while?” Lorna asked.
Olivia felt her mouth go dry. She no longer knew what to think.
“It was a prescription!” Olivia’s voice rose even louder.
Officer Tan ran his hands over his face harshly and then turned to the other men in the room. “Okay, we’ve got more than enough. Book her now!”
Olivia felt her world spinning out from under her as two officers came up behind her, spun her around, and cuffed her. As the metal dug into her wrists and they led her from the room, the last thing she saw was Wayne’s face, looking down, shaking his head, as if asking himself how he could have been fooled all along.