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THE NEXT MORNING BEFORE heading to Bea’s Salon for an appointment to get her pedicure done, Dana stopped by the police station and got a chance to speak with Terry.
“I didn’t kill Carlos,” Terry said, tearfully.
The department had allowed Terry to speak with Dana since she was technically an employee of the Cozy Cupcakes Café and Dana was taking full responsibility to get counsel for her employee—on the café’s tab. Ranny, the lawyer Dana hired for Terry had just spoken over the phone with Terry moments before to gather some notes. Ranny was going to be stopping by the station soon to see her.
“I believe you, Terry. But you need to tell me what happened. I want to help you.”
“Thanks, Dana. I really appreciate you coming here. But it’s no use. They’re going to pin this on me. My fingerprints are all over the weapon.”
“Yes, I know. But how did you let that happen? Why were you holding the knife? And how did it get cleaned so fast?”
Terry shrugged. “I don’t know. I...I thought I saw a knife in his back, but then I didn’t. I must have been hallucinating. I’m taking a new anti-depressant.”
Dana swallowed hard.
Oh, no. That doesn’t sound very good.
“Excuse me?” Dana leaned in closer. “You’re on an anti-depressant?”
Terry nodded. “Yep. I didn’t want to say anything before.”
“Do the cops know this? Do you have your pills with you?”
She nodded again.
“So you must be seeing a...therapist then?”
Terry nodded.
“Oh, goodness.”
“What is it?”
“Nothing, but...they might try to get you to confess you did it under the influence or...something...or that you were....”
“What? Psychotic?”
“No. I’m not saying that at all. Now tell me what you saw again?”
“I walked in and I saw Carlos with a knife in his back and I screamed. I rushed to the body and turned him on his side. Then I think the knife fell out of his back or something like that and I picked it up and stood up in shock, holding the knife in my hand, backing away.”
“And that’s when you saw us.”
“Yes. I saw Gigi, then you and Katie.”
“Oh, Terry. This is not going to sound good in front of a jury.”
“What is it?”
“How on earth could a knife fall out of a person’s back? I just don’t get it.”
“I know. It doesn’t make sense, does it?” Terry then stared off into space.
Dana placed her palm on her forehead. She felt a strong headache coming on. No wonder Detective Troy and the department thought Terry was guilty.
Goodness. They probably already had a psychiatric assessment arranged for her soon to see if she would be fit enough mentally to stand trial. Well Katie was right about one thing. They really didn’t know their new part time employee very well. Only what they saw on her resume and her personnel file. But that wasn’t much. Now, Dana felt as if she was in deeper than she could handle.