Cause of Death by Laura Dembowski (ereader iphone .TXT) 📗

to prove my innocence keeps my mind off Tracy. Once I’m in jail, I’ll have plenty of time to think about how I should have protected her, and what might have been had she still been alive.

Chapter 16

Margaret

Beth and I never really saw eye to eye growing up. You’d never even know we were sisters unless we told you. We don’t really look alike, and I swear we don’t have a single passion in common.

Don’t get me wrong; I love Beth, and I always have, but I feel like she’s always been the darling of the family, and I’m the outcast. I don’t really like being the outcast, but I’ve built walls around my life, so it’s always been fine.

Until all of this happened. With Lana and Detective What’s-His-Name.

To think people actually believe I killed my daughter. I am an innocent, suburban housewife. I’ve barely gotten any speeding tickets, let alone killed a person.

When I needed Beth, though, really needed her, she came to my defense. She wooed the detective, even slept with him—not that that was much of a hardship for her. She always wanted a break from Devin, and she got one, with his permission to save her darling sister’s life and all. She didn’t tell him she’d already started sleeping with the man, but what Devin doesn’t know won’t kill him. One death in the family is enough.

All of this business of me having killed the detective’s fiancée—that’s outrageous. First he thinks I killed my daughter, and now he thinks I killed his wife, or girlfriend, or whatever she was. I mean, really, why would I do that? I’ve been asked to go back in for further interrogation today. Bet they got the DNA back. Bet it’s not Dave’s. I’m so looking forward to all of those questions.

I have nothing to worry about. I am innocent. Clearly that detective killed his girlfriend, and they are trying to place the blame on me.

I have to give that woman credit for the whole blackmailing scheme she ran on him. I wouldn’t have had the guts to do that. After she was dead, I grabbed my opportunity. The detective was going to be accused and charged with or without me, so I just sped up the process—with Beth’s help, of course. I think she’s rather disappointed I took her boy toy away. Oh well, she’ll live. Just like Devin. At least now they have something in common.

I’m slightly nervous about my trip to the station today. Typically, they’ve come to me. Maybe that was all the boy detective’s idea, and now that the girl is in charge, she means business. It’s fine. I’m sure it will be fine.

I can tell Detective Hutchinson is in a mood today. Her hair is all messy like she had sex this morning. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend; I need to learn more about him.

“I want your daughter’s killer behind bars,” she says, leaning on the table between us, as though that’s barrier enough.

“But my daughter killed herself,” I moan.

“Mrs. Moore,” she says, hands on the cold metal table, her face closer to mine than I would like, especially with her garlic breath, “we’ve already established this is a homicide.”

They did. I’m still not buying what they are selling. They got themselves into this mess with bringing Dave and me down to the station that very first visit, and now they need to show the public they did it for a reason.

“Well, what about those friends of Lana’s, and that boss who came out of the woodwork? Have you spoken with them? Considered them as suspects?” I ask.

“I think Lana was hiding them from you, afraid you’d flip out if she abandoned you.”

“Now, why would my daughter pretend like she never wanted to leave my side just for my benefit? I always wanted her to spread her wings and fly, Detective,” I answer.

I’m getting offended by her tone, and her questions. It’s almost as if I’m not going to walk out of here a free woman, which is making me sweat. I feel like I should start pleading the Fifth and call an attorney, or at least Dave. That must mean I’m desperate, since I know he’s not on my side.

“See, I don’t think she was pretending.”

“I’m confused,” I say, “and it sounds like you are too. Can I go now?” I start to get up.

Detective Hutchinson slams her hand on the table.

“Sit the fuck down!” she yells. “You’re not going anywhere.”

I carefully sit back down and smile at her slightly, trying to warm the heart I know is lurking in there somewhere.

“Your daughter left New York because you had a nervous breakdown, ma’am. Isn’t that true?”

I don’t know what to say. I thought that had been removed from my medical records. I was a little upset about Lana leaving and Dave threatening to leave me for another woman. I had a lot going on. I felt like my life was falling apart, slipping through my fingers, so I had to stop it. I had to do something. I’m not crazy, I swear, but I wanted my family back, and I knew if they thought I was in trouble, they’d run to my side. No one wanted me to die; they just didn’t want to be around me anymore, and I was not okay with that. I did the only thing I could think to do without hurting someone. I did all of that to keep my family, so why would I kill them?

“How do you know that?” I say.

“Nothing can be kept hidden forever. And your husband, he had filed divorce papers at the time, isn’t that right?”

“He did?” My jaw drops, and I lose all composure.

“He never told you?” she asks, eyes bulging.

“No.” I clear my throat and move around in the hard steel chair that is hurting my bottom. “Was it when I was in the hospital?”

“Just before. I guess he changed his mind.”

“I guess he did,” I say.