Misgivings

She didn’t do it--did she? No, she didn’t remember, she didn’t understand. Then what was this? What was this knife doing in her hand? What was her husband doing lying on the floor, looking anything but alive? She stared in shock and amazement at what had obviously taken place.
Liza Reynolds wasn’t a murderer, not her, not when she was so young, so beautiful; she had everything going for her. If she didn’t do it, who did?
Another thing, why was her husband lying on the kitchen floor, dead, blood seeping from his chest, eyes closed? Her husband of five years. Rick hadn’t been the ideal husband, she didn’t love him anymore… she had given up on loving him so long ago, but she did remained faithful. Now, he was dead? “How did it happen?” Liza quietly asked herself.
She looked at the knife in her hand, one of the many chef ones they owned, it had blood at the end, and she dropped it, wondering why it was in her hand in the first place--did she kill him?
Liza shook her head vigorously, “No, Rick! Stop fooling me!” she yelled at the corpse at her feet, she knew better, she knew he was dead, she had checked his pulse a few minutes before and there was nothing. He was dead, she was just refusing to grasp onto that fact.
She sat down at the kitchen table and stared, just stared, wondering how in the world her husband had died, he was stabbed obviously, but by whom, she knew it wasn’t her, or was it? Was Liza Marie Reynolds, a murderer? The murderer of her husband? “No!” she screamed and lunged for the nearby telephone, she then stopped, she knew who she should call, the police was the obvious choice, but she was the only one here, it would appear that she murdered her very own husband, so she called her best friend, Laura Ball.
“Laura!” she exclaimed when her friend had picked up the phone.
“Liza, are you alright?” came the worried voice.
“No, Rick is dead.”
There was a period of silence, and then Laura’s voice came back on the phone, “Come again?”
“Rick… is… dead,” she said slowly, looking again at the unmoving, non-breathing, dead man lying on the floor of the kitchen.
“What happened?” Laura asked more distraught than Liza thought she would sound, she sounded like she was crying.
“He was stabbed with a knife,” she was blank as with her expressions as her words, she had no clue what to say, and when she figured that out, and she still had the problem of how to say what she wanted to say.
“No,” Laura was heartbroken, she had loved Liza’s husband like a brother, and frequently more so, “do you have any clue that did it?”
“I don’t know,” Liza had no clue what to do. “Laura?” she questioned in a very small voice.
“Yes?”
“Can you call the police for me?”
“Of course… anything else?”
“No… I don’t need anything,” Liza admitted, even though she didn’t even feel a personal loss, she had fallen out of love with Rick several years earlier and kind of felt free, “I didn’t kill him.”
“I know, Liza, I know.”
Liza hanged up the phone and sighed, what to do next? Wait for the police and pray that they would listen to her and believe her; no, that was unlikely, they had enough circumstantial evidence to try and convict her of Rick Reynolds’ death.
She had no choice but to wait, she was tied either way, she simply had to face the music and dance, so she sat there at the kitchen table and stared at her hands.
Soon the police arrived at the house, and she let them in, a medical examiner headed straight for the body and two detectives sat Liza down, “Mrs. Reynolds, this must be terrible for you.”
“Yeah,” she answered, terrible that she was going to jail for a crime she didn’t do.
“Did you murder your husband?” asked the other detective, a very handsome man named Kevin Anderson.
“Not that I know of, I don’t remember.”
“Are you lying, Mrs. Reynolds?” questioned Detective John Freeman.
“No, I’m not,” her answers were cold and monotone.
“We need to know if you are,” John exclaimed.
“I’m not lying,”
“Let her be, John, the woman’s husband has just been murdered,” Kevin told his partner; Liza noticed that this handsome detective was quite taken with her.
“I know that,” John answered.
“Then act like you know it!” Kevin argued, “sorry, ma’am. If you prefer, we can talk in private.”
“I’d like that,” Liza told him and Kevin grinned, they went outside and sat on the swing that was on the porch.
“Tell me about your husband, did he ever abuse you, physically or in any another way?”
“He hit me once, but he was drunk.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“I know, but it was only once and he never again did it.”
“Did you have a good relationship with him?”
“We got along.”
“Did you fight often?”
“No, just when it was tax season,” she grinned, “but not really.”
“Do you love your husband?”
She was quiet for a moment, and then when he thought she wasn’t going to answer, she did, “Yes and no, he was my friend, I’m starting to miss him, but in a wife’s sense, no, I didn’t love him. I would never kill him though,” she looked in Kevin’s eyes and he smiled sympathetically.
“I understand; was your husband having any problems at work?”
“Not that he told me.”
“Mrs. Reynolds, was your husband having an affair?”
“No, I had no hints that he could be having an affair,” she remembered Laura’s display of emotion on the telephone and shook it out of her head.
“We’d still like you to come down town for a while, and we’ll discuss this more thoroughly.”
“Am I suspect?” she suddenly asked him.
“Not in my book,” he told her and they shared an understanding smile.

***

Downtown San Francisco was the last place Liza wanted to be, but there she was, in an interrogation room, with Kevin and John sitting across from her.
“Do you know of any enemies that your husband had?”
“Enemies? No, I don’t know who would kill him,” she answered truthfully. “Rick was a big sweetheart, except when his mother had died, he got drunk that’s when he struck me,” she paused, she could almost feel the slap upon her face, that burning feeling, and it was four months after they had gotten married and she was still in love with him and didn’t understand. After that incident, she began to fall out of love with the big man, “I don’t hate him.”
“But you don’t love him.”
“Not in the way you put it, Detective Anderson.”
“But you cared for him,” John stated.
“Yes, I did, he was a very close friend.”
“Did you ever have an affair?” John asked and Kevin glared at him.
“I’m Jewish, that’s against one of the Commandments, and I would never commit adultery, I would never kill someone, I swear it.”
“Someone killed him,” John exclaimed.
“But not me!” Liza told them, sensing that they were beginning to suspect her.
Kevin was about to say something but an officer entered with a file, “We got a name for the prints of the knife.”
Kevin watched Liza’s expression, it was that of surprise, and that of confusion, “Okay, who?” he asked the officer.
“Liza Reynolds,” The officer stated, and Liza turned pale.
“I didn’t kill him…”
“Liza Reynolds, you have the right to remain silence…” John began, standing up and making Liza stand up.
“I didn’t do it!” She screamed.
“Anything you say or do may be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you do not have an attorney, one will be provided for you.”
“Detective Anderson!” she appealed, “you believe me!”
Kevin stared in her eyes, he wanted to, he liked her, he liked her a lot, but there wasn’t anything he could do, he couldn’t change the way things were.
Tears filled her eyes as John took her out of the room. Kevin stared after her, amazed that this woman who had been calm when they had talked first, was actually the murderer. How can this happen?

***

Liza shivered in the jail cell, now she felt she could trust no one, her name was scorned, and she knew she wouldn’t kill anyone. She closed her eyes and laid down on the bed in the cell. She prayed that her life would be taken from her, she wasn’t guilty, she knew it, or thought she knew it… she figured if you murdered someone you would at least remember it.
She opened her eyes when the door was slammed open; there in front of her was Detective Kevin Anderson, “Hey…”
“What are you doing here?” she asked sitting up, she knew she was falling for him, but she tried desperately not to give in.
“I sprung you out.”
“I’m free?”
“Till the hearing, but I have to keep an eye on you.”
“Kevin, I didn’t commit the murder.”
“I know, Liza, I know, I want to use this period of time to help you prove you didn’t murder your husband.”
“You want to help me?”
“That’s what I said, now, come on, unless you want to stay in that cell.”
“No, of course not,” she stood up and followed him out of the jail, out of the station and into the lights of San Francisco, “now, tell me how you got me out.”
“I saved the captain’s life once, and he said that he would do a big favor for me, and so I told him your story, first he was against it, but I told him that you were delusional,” his face reddened a little, “so, we have two weeks to discover what happened to your husband.”
“Only two weeks?”
“I’m sorry it isn’t longer,” he told her.
“We can try…”
“We’ll find out what happened, don’t worry Mrs. Reynolds.”
“Okay, but where am I going to stay? I can’t stay at my house, obviously.”
“A hotel of course, but you have to call me every three hours during the day, and tell me exactly where you are.”
“We’ll be spending most of the time together anyway, Kevin, but first of all, I want to thank you for getting me out of jail.”
“Hey, no sweat… I don’t want an innocent person to be sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit and let the real murderer make a getaway…” he paused and stared in her eyes, “you hungry?”
“Not really,” she shook her head.
“Maybe you should go get some sleep…”
“I think that’s a marvelous idea,” she said, “start anew tomorrow.”
“Okay, I’ll take you to the hotel on Hall Street, that okay?”
“It’s fine,” she nodded tiredly and he led her to his car, and had her sit down in the passenger side.
When they arrived at the hotel, he handed her his card, “Call me when you wake up, here’s my number, in a case of emergency, call me or come find me, I’m always at the station or at my apartment.”
“Ah, the live to work type,” she smiled and took the card.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Okay, tomorrow.”
She walked in to the hotel and he watched her through the window as she checked in and headed up the stairs to her room, “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered and was lost in a daydream of this gorgeous woman.
He shook his head and drove off towards his apartment.

***

The phone rang and the surprise of it ringing surprised Kevin and he fell out of bed and landed on the floor with a thud. “Ow,” he moaned and reached for the phone, “hello?”
“Good morning, Kevin,” came Liza’s beautiful voice, he smiled and sat up on the bed.
“Morning, Mrs. Reynolds.”
“Well… what are we going to do?”
“I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll come pick you up and we can go out for a cup of coffee and then we’ll head to your house and look through your husband’s things, is that all right?”
“Yes, I may need some emotional support,” she told him matter-of-factly.
For some reason that hurt him, she was still slightly dependent on her deceased husband, he wanted her to be fully dependent on him, and he was falling hard for her, “Okay… I’m here, Mrs. Reynolds.”
“I knew I could count on you,” she smiled across the phone and then hanged up and so Kevin rushed off to the bathroom to take a shower.

***

He picked her up and she was wearing the same outfit she had been wearing the day before, “I need to get some more clothes, I look terrible.”
He smiled sympathetically; he thought she was amazingly breathtaking; he wanted her desperately to be his. He drove in silence to the coffee shop and she was the one to break the silence barrier that had grown between them.
“Kevin, have you ever been married?”
“No, I haven’t, what’s it like?”
“I honestly don’t know, I didn’t live for my husband; I know that sounds rotten, but I was faithful, I really was, and I never looked at another man during those years.”
“That’s admirable,” he exclaimed, but what he really wanted to say was, “look at me!”
“Thank you.”
“How to you feel now that you’re single again?” he asked and noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.
“I feel free,” she said, “free to do anything I want, but then again I remember that I’m a murder suspect and I’m not really free.”
“Don’t worry; we’ll clear your name,” he told her with a grin, “I know you’re innocent.”
“Thank you, Kevin, but I hope you don’t mind me asking, why or even how do you know that I’m innocent?”
“You’re faith, neighbors and family I talked to say you are very strict in your beliefs.”
“I am, I don’t even curse,” she exclaimed.
“Wow, I have a problem with that.”
She grinned, “I know, I heard you talking to yourself, you weren’t exactly using words that I’m used to.”
“My apologies.”
“It’s okay,” she told him as they arrived at a coffee shop.
“My treat,” he smiled at her and she returned her smile.
“Thank you,” she told him and they got out of his car and walked into the coffee shop and walked out a few minutes later with a cup of coffee in each of their hands.
He looked her over; she was a thin and trim woman with shoulder length light brown hair and big brown, almost black, eyes. She was so beautiful and didn’t look old enough to be any man’s wife.
She caught his glance, in truth she was about to look him over, his black hair and hazel eyes were so appealing and he was a old fashioned Sinatra-looking type and she liked men like that, “Well… are we going to my house?”
Kevin nodded, “Yeah, if you feel up to it,” he was slightly embarrassed that she had caught his interested glance.
“I do,” she uttered, “but I don’t know how I’ll feel as soon as we get there.”
“Stay strong; we have only thirteen days to figure out who killed your husband.”
“Okay,” she told him and they went to her house, which had caution tape all around it and a few officers buzzing around.
Kevin led her into the house and curious neighbors peeked out of their homes, recognizing Liza.
They walked into the living room and a couple officers looked at Kevin with inquisitive glances. “What are you doing?” Officer Marks asked him.
“She knows something.”
“She’ll lead you in the wrong direction, Kevin,” Marks told him.
“No, she won’t--we need to see what she knows--you carry on your investigation, I’ll carry on with mine, trust me.”
“Kevin…”
“I’m in charge for now, understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Officer Marks shook his head and walked off.
“All right, I need to see your husband’s files, laptop, address book, check book and so forth.”
“That would be in his study upstairs,” she told him and she led him up the stairs and into the study.
Kevin began looking through Rick’s desk while Liza sat quietly by the window, staring at the highly attractive man standing before her.
“Who is Albert Manchester?”
“His partner in his insurance company, why?”
“It shows an enormous check signed to Albert last week.”
“How much?” Liza inquired, walking over to Kevin.
“Five grand.”
“Wow,” she looked at the entry in the checkbook, “I didn’t know anything about it.”
“Well, let’s see if there is anything on Manchester in the files at the department,” he exclaimed and pocketed the checkbook and crossed over to the laptop.
After an hour at the computer while Liza packed her clothes he found an e-mail from Albert Manchester.
Liza gazed over his shoulder while he sat the computer, the e-mail read…

Rick
The check bounced, what’s going on? We had a deal.
Al

“Aha, we need to talk to this guy,” he unplugged the computer, “we’re taking the computer, if that’s okay,” he asked her and she nodded.
After packing the computer, he looked through the desk some more and came across a small, secret drawer.
“What is it?” Liza questioned excitedly.
He pulled it out and a stack of envelopes lay in the drawer, “Aha…” he pulled the bundle out and looked at it, “who’s Laura Ball?”
Liza gasped her, hand up to her mouth, “My best friend.”
“What?” he exclaimed and opened the envelope that didn’t even have a stamp.
They both read it and Liza wanted to hit something, hardly believing what a fool she had been.

Dear Rick,

I was so surprised to meet you today of all days, you were so charming and so very kind that I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you.
You are handsome and appealing and I only wish you were marrying me instead of Liza… but I understand why… she has money and I don’t… but I shall always love you and I can’t wait till we can go away together and live off her money… I know that this is meant to be… do not waste your years with her… whatever you’re going to do… do it quickly so we can go to Australia and be free to love and to live eternally.
But alas these letters that I will write you every week are our only way to express our undying affection to one another.
Liza is my friend, but you matter so much more than her to me, you are the love of my life, my soul mate… don’t let her hurt though… plas… please.
I must go, I love you forever…

Your little Laura

“Why the double crossing, two faced…” Liza muttered, “can you believe that? She’s in love with Rick!”
“Yeah, but why would she murder Rick? Albert Manchester is our number one suspect.”
“I know… but we need to investigate this wretch,” Liza spat out and crossed her arms in fury, “I can’t believe this…”
“I’ll talk to her, but we can’t make her think we suspect her,” he packed the letters, “come on, we should go, we’ll come back tomorrow.” He smiled sorrowfully at her. They had taken mail, the laptop; address books and whatever could provide information about Rick Reynolds murder.
“I can’t believe this! I didn’t even know my husband! He wanted my money! He was cheating with my best friend!” she wanted to scream but Kevin calmed her down.
“You weren’t in love with him.”
“True…”
“It’s going to be okay, Liza… the sun always shines after the rain,” he told her and she nodded. “We better go, Liza,” he led her out of the house she called her own but now, her house was foreign, a blanket of unfamiliarity had fallen over it.
That evening, Kevin and Liza sat on the couch of Kevin’s apartment and studied the information they had gathered that day.
“I’m so exhausted,” Liza exclaimed, setting down the last appalling letter written by her best friend to her husband.
“Well, I should take you back,” he told her, and set the laptop on the table.
“Kevin?” Liza began gently.
“What?”
“I want to tell you something.”
“What?” he looked at her and she was staring at him, her breathing had become hard and rapid.
“I’m falling in love with you,” she whispered.
Now he couldn’t breathe, so he followed his impulsion, he took her in his arms and passionately kissed her and the kiss lasted a very long time, both surprised at the intensity of the kiss and of the love they were letting grow between them. “I love you, Liza, I have since I first saw you,” he whispered.
She rested her head on his chest, “We met at such a wrong time!”
“No, this is the right time, I can help you, I know I can, I can help you out of this; you’re going to be okay.”
“I’ll be okay as long as you’re beside me,” she told him and they kissed again.
“What we need to do is talk to Albert Manchester, search his apartment or house or whatever and find out what he meant by ‘a deal,’ I think that this may be black mail and he killed Rick because Rick couldn’t pay him.”
“Right now, I don’t care about Rick or Albert, Kevin, you’re the only one I see,” she whispered and cuddled in his embrace and quickly drifted off to sleep, staring at the fire in the fire place.
Kevin smiled softly and turned off the light and sat there on the couch in the dark with Liza sleeping in his arms. The thought briefly crossed his mind that she may indeed be her husband’s killer.

***

The sun rose, and the couple had slept on the couch, Liza resting in Kevin’s arms and Kevin sitting on the couch. He opened his eyes and stared at the sunshine filtered the window and at the sleeping woman in his embrace.
She was so beautiful, so everything he had ever wanted in a woman, she was everything in his life.
She opened her tired eyes, “Morning.”
“Good morning,” he touched her cheek with the back of his hand.
“I love you, Kevin,” she breathed and they greeted one another with an amorous kiss.
“I love you, too.”
“What are we doing today?”
“We need to investigate Albert Manchester.”
“Ah, do you want me to talk to him?”
“No, he mustn’t know that you’re out of jail, if he has any inclination that you are free, he may suspect that you know something about him and he may try to hurt you.”
“Ah, I see; you’re worried about me?”
He grinned, “Yep, that’s part of love.”
“Thank you. I guess I should go back to my hotel before someone sees us and gets some funny ideas.”
“Yeah, I’ll take you back, and you can shower or whatever you need to do, and I’ll go talk to Albert then come pick you up, fine by you?”
“Yep,” she smiled and they kissed again.

***

Albert Manchester rested his feet on his desk and laughed at the detective standing before him, “You have nothing on me.”
“What makes you think we suspect you? I’m just asking you a few simple questions.”
“This must be some kind of practical joke, did Liza send you here?”
“No.”
He laughed again, “Liza’s the one who did it, she was unhappy with her marriage, and so she ended it the quickest way.”
“Why didn’t she ask for a divorce?”
“Against her beliefs.”
“So is murder,” he reminded Albert.
“Who knows what went through her little mind, Liza is a strange woman, she’s spontaneous and doesn’t show love that easily.”
“What makes you say that?”
“We dated in high school,” Albert told him.
“Ah, I see,” Kevin exclaimed, “tell me, are you married?”
“Nope.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
“Why not?”
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t really, but it helps to know in our investigation.”
“To answer your silent question, I didn’t have an affair with Liza. Liza would never do anything such as that, she wasn’t even in love with Rick.”
“What was your relationship with Rick?” Kevin asked sitting on the edge of the desk.
“We were business partners and that’s it, not friends, nothing more than just associates.”
“So you don’t know much about him?”
“I know him better than I know myself, that guy couldn’t keep a secret if he tried! He would tell me his life story every single week, and frankly it was tiring.”
“I bet, what did you do about it?”
“Nothing, the guy was lonely, he needed to talk to someone.”
“Why not his wife?”
“She wouldn’t listen to him, she spent most of her time at her job, till she quit, by then, Rick wouldn’t trust her as far as he could throw her.”
“What job?”
“She worked as a nanny for her single mother friend, Laura something.”
“Why did she quit?”
“Laura’s child had become impossible, that brat is in a boarding school now.”
“Was Rick ever married before he married Liza?”
“No.”
“Was Liza ever married?”
“Nope, and I wonder what she saw in a guy like Rick.”
“Are you just saying that cause maybe you’re still in love with her?” Kevin interrogated.
“Between you and me, I am still in love with her, but I wouldn’t hurt Rick, Rick was a pussycat, he wouldn’t hurt anyone in his right state of mind. I wouldn’t hurt anyone, and besides, I have an alibi.”
“What makes you think I suspect you?” he questioned the staunch business man. He knew he had asked this question but he felt it necessary to reiterate.
“It sounds like it to me, now, if you want to know anything, I’m an open book.”
Kevin nodded, “I’ll get back to you,” he told him and was soon on his way to pick up Liza.
Liza was wearing a maroon dress when he saw her, she slipped into his car, and they greeted one another with a kiss, “So, what did Albert say?”
“He said you two dated in high school.”
She nodded slowly, “That’s true. We did for a few months.”
“Nothing serious?”
“No, Kevin, nothing serious--worst thing I ever did, dating that jerk,” she mumbled.
“What way has he been a jerk?”
“Following me around, telling me constantly how much he loves me and so forth. He moved here because I did… and ironically got a job with my husband and thought that would bring us closer.”
“He loves you?”
“I don’t love him, Kevin, I love you. I don’t give a feather or a fig about Albert, you, only you.”
He smiled and she smiled, “You’re the love I have been waiting for, Liza.”
“Same here, I’m sorry for making that mistake back then.”
“It’s okay now.”
“I’m innocent.”
“I know, there’s a quote my captain has told me from time to time, it was said by W.B. Yeats, the innocent and the beautiful, have no enemy but time.”
“That’s true,” she told him and rested her head against the window, “thank you, you’re really the only person I can trust now.”
“I’ll always be here for you.”
“Thanks. What do we do now?”
“I need to talk to Laura Ball. Tell me some quick facts about her…”
“She was married in high school and had a child, I was the nanny till the child became then the biggest brat in the world, and she sent the kid to boarding school and I married Rick and then that was that. Her marriage fell through and I guess she turned to Rick, this is sickening, and she was in love with my husband! I want to throw up,” in fact she looked like she might.
“Don’t--yes, it is sick, but she may have not done anything, why would someone in love with someone, kill that someone?”
She looked at him and they laughed, “I don’t know, maybe that someone refused to divorce another someone and marry that someone.”
“And the someone got mad at the other someone and killed the other someone and lets another someone take all the blame.”
“I think we’re confusing ourselves.”
“I think so too… but I think we get the idea.”
“Yep, I got it,” she paused and smiled softly, “I sure hope it isn’t Laura.”
“I know… I know.”
“Even though she’s a rotten low-life.”
He smiled at her, “Where do you want to go?”
“I don’t know, I would like to see Laura, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“For your safety, Liza.”
She nodded slowly, “I know, but still, I feel sort of devoted to her, still.”
“Maybe you should go to your hotel for a while, relax, I’ll handle everything, I promise,” he grinned and she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Okay.”

***

Kevin arrived at Laura Ball’s house, and he got out of his car and noticed a for sale sign in the front yard. “Ah…” he looked at the sign and then headed to the front door where he knocked and waited.
Finally an average sized woman with black hair answered the door, “Can I help you?” she questioned confusedly.
“Hi, I’m Detective Kevin Anderson with the San Francisco Police Department,” he flashed his badge and Laura looked at him in shock.
“Good afternoon, detective, something I can help you with?”
“Yes, I’m investigating the murder of Rick Reynolds; can I ask you a few questions?”
“Why… sure…” she said slowly, “won’t you come in?” she opened the door wider and Kevin followed her in the house. “I apologize for the mess it’s in, I’m moving.”
“To where?” Kevin inquired, sitting on the leather sofa in the living room.
“New Mexico,” Laura answered.
“Why so suddenly? Why not wait till after the trial of your friend?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, I’m scared; I don’t want to see Liza go through this.”
“So you believe she’s innocent?”
“I don’t know what I believe.”
“It seems to me, that a best friend would stick by their friend through thick and through thin.”
“That’s what I’m doing in a way, it’s best I don’t stay here, really it is.”
“Try to convince me,” Kevin told her and she seemed to shrink in the chair she was now sitting in, “what was your relationship like with her husband, Rick?”
“He was like a brother to me.”
“Only a brother?”
“Are you implying that I was having an affair with Rick?” she questioned quite suddenly.
“I’m trying to solve this case, because this isn’t an open and shut case as we prefer them to be. I found this letter, as well as many others like it in a secret compartment of Rick’s desk,” he handed her the letter and she read it.
“That’s my handwriting.”
“I know, what were you doing writing your best friend’s husband a love letter?”
“I loved him, Detective, I’ll admit that, but we never physically cheated, we never were alone, we only wrote letters and planned to leave together soon,” she stopped.
“As Liza Reynolds died?” Kevin supplied.
“We weren’t planning a murder! We weren’t going to kill her!”
“That’s what it appears to me, Miss Ball; it appears that you and Rick were conspiring against Liza, to murder her and to leave the country with all her dough.”
“But, you’re mistaken,” she told him strictly, “you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I do, I’ve been a detective for quite some time, Miss Ball, don’t hide the truth.”
“I didn’t kill Rick!” she yelled, “I loved Rick!” she started sobbing and Kevin sighed.
“Don’t leave town that only confirms my suspicion.”
“You have no call to suspect me of the murder of Rick. Liza has the motive, what motive do I have?”
“Conspiracy. You do know that you are a suspect,” Kevin told her and she nodded slowly, “I’ll be in touch,” he stood up and walked out of her house.
Laura stared at the door and started sobbing profusely, “Rick! Rick! What’s happening?” she fell to the floor in a depressed heap.

***

Kevin arrived at the hotel where Liza was and knocked on her door, she smiled when he appeared, “So, you have to tell me everything, this is my name we’re trying to clear.”
“What, no ‘hello Kevin,’ kiss?” he teased and she laughed and threw her arms around his neck and passionately kissed him.
“Hi, Kevin! Now, what happened?”
He laughed and closed the door behind him and they crossed over to the couch and sat down. “Well, Laura seems probable, but so does Albert, Laura seems more likely to have killed you, instead of Rick, and Albert seems more likely to kill Rick, but has an alibi, so I don’t know who to believe.”
“What did Laura say about the letters?”
“She confessed she and Rick were very much in love, but claims that they never physically cheated.”
“Oh, I see, so this is all one big confused mess,” Liza sighed glumly, “what’s going on, Kevin?”
“Well, someone out there killed Rick. I’m thinking it was Laura.”
“Why Laura?” Liza questioned, slightly not wishing it was her once best friend.
“Because she was so crazy about Rick, kind of like a stalker, maybe she just finally snapped and besides,” he paused, “she has her house up for sale.”
“What?” Liza asked in horror, “then it’s got to be her!”
“Not so fast, we’re missing two things.”
“What?” She inquired eagerly.
“Motive and most importantly, evidence.”
“Well, what are we going to do for that?”
“I’ll talk to her a little more and see if she opens up any, I highly doubt she will, and if necessary, we’ll stage something.”
“And Albert?”
“He says he has an alibi, I’ll have to check on it, but we can’t rule him out as a suspect.”
“Of course.”
“Right now, I think we’ll have dinner and then I’ll phone the station and see if anything developed.”
“What would happen if they gather more evidence against me?” she questioned gently.
He looked at her, somewhat surprised at the question, “Well, they’ll come and arrest you.”
“What will happen if they find out that you and I are in love with one another?”
“They’ll take me off the case,” he said sadly, “and send you to jail.”
She cringed at the word, ‘jail,’ and looked at him, a slight hint of tears in her eyes, “You know, I couldn’t bear losing you, Kevin; you’re the first man whom I really felt this for.”
“Really?” he asked happily.
“Yes, I’ve dated several different guys, but you’re the first one that really made me feel worth it.”
“Cause you are, Liza, you’re worth it.”
“Thank you, Kevin,” she whispered and the couple fell into a long and amorous kiss, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” he exclaimed and then he ran out and got dinner and brought it back and they talked about what future they could have together if and when they cleared Liza’s name.
Kevin called the department and it turned out nothing had popped up in Rick Reynolds’ case, the news was received with mixed feelings on Kevin’s and Liza’s part. Both wanting so desperately for this to be over and both wanting to hear nothing more about it.
Kevin propped his feet up on the coffee table and put his arm around Liza’s shoulder. Every single time they were alone, he kept on thinking that she could possibly be the murderer; after all, she was the only one there.
She snuggled in his chest and he couldn’t help but think of how perfectly beautiful she was, and he knew he shouldn’t, but he was in love with her. He sighed, every single minute things just got more and more complicated for the both of them.
“Kevin?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you thinking?”
“How perfect you are.”
She smiled, “You’re so sweet.”
He laughed, “So are you.”
“Will this ever end?”
“Yes, it will. We’ll get married, we’ll have children and our lives will be perfect.”
“Only after this investigation is over.”
“Exactly… but it will be soon,” he promised her.
“I hope so, I hate it all.”
“Anyone would hate it.”
She sighed and closed her eyes, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay,” he told her, kissing the top of her head.

***

“You’re in jail!” Laura screamed.
Liza laughed, “Apparently not, Laura,” she walked through the back door and looked at her friend, in her bathrobe.
“But…”
“I have a detective who will do anything for me,” Liza told her, lighting a match and then blowing it out.
“But you killed your own husband.”
“No, I didn’t, you did.”
“I loved Rick! I would never kill the man I loved!”
“Then why do would I?” She asked her.
“You said you didn’t love him…”
“Doesn’t mean I killed him,”
“What are you going to do?”
Liza propped herself on the couch, “Wait for you to confess.”
“Liza, I didn’t…”
“You can deny it all you want, but why were you cheating with my husband? Did he refuse to divorce me? Did you snap and decide to let him have it?”
“Liza!”
“Well, if I didn’t kill him, who did?”
“I didn’t!”
“Why would you cheat with my husband? I thought we were best friends,” she got up and walked to the fire place.
“We are!”
“Then why…” she motioned around at the boxes surrounding the living room.
“I have to go, I can’t watch you suffer.”
“Some friend,” she rolled her eyes, “a friend sticks close at all times.”
“I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t tell me how sorry you are for me! I may be going to jail for a crime I didn’t commit!”
“Liza, there’s nothing I can do for you!”
“You’re right, because you never did anything for anyone else! You tried to steal my husband from me, and you two conspired to kill me!”
“How can I feel anything for someone who killed the man I love?” she questioned her.
“How can you love someone who is married to your best friend?” Liza retorted coldly.
“I think you should go, or I’ll call the police!”
“I have a detective on my side, he’ll do whatever I say,” she said walking towards her ex-best friend.
“Liza, what are you doing?”
“You’re going to confess,” she told her smoothly.
“To a crime I didn’t commit?”
“A crime you did commit…” Liza stated, taking a nearby rope in her hands.
“What are you going to do?”
“Do I need to do anything?” Liza cocked her head to one side and smirked.
“You did kill him…” she said slowly, “and you’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not going to kill you!” she laughed and then smiled, “Even though you did kill my husband and did have an affair with him.”
“We never did anything, just flirt and write letters, we never had the opportunity to be alone.”
“But you would’ve if you could’ve.”
“Look, if you want a confession, I’m sad to disappoint you, but I didn’t do it.”
“Oh?” she said, her voice taking on mocking edge.
Laura gulped, “You need help, Liza…”
“Of course I do, I have to pay for a crime I didn’t commit!
“And you want me to pay for it?” Laura questioned out-raged.
Liza looked at her, “Do you know who killed him?”
“You!”
“I didn’t!” she screamed in horror.
“Of course you did!” Laura yelled back.
“I didn’t! If I did, surely I would remember!”
Laura made a run for the telephone but Liza grabbed her before she made it, “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Look, as far as I know, you’re a murderer and you’re going to kill me!”
“I wouldn’t kill you, or even hurt you, I’m not like you,” Liza told her.
There was a knock on the door and Liza put the rope where she had found it, and Laura calmly opened the door.
Kevin peered through the now open door, “What are you doing here, Mrs. Reynolds?”
Liza stared at the man who so obviously and so completely loved her, “I had to talk to Laura.”
“Did you?” he asked her, he had a look of hurt on his face, “I told you to stay around me.”
“So, I’m restless!”
“It’s for your own safety,” he told her, entering the house, his eyes, filled with pure adoration for her, infiltrating into her soul.
She stared in his eyes, she felt something for him as well, but not nearly as deep as what he felt for her, “Kevin, I know you mean well, but I need answers!”
“I know you need answers! We all do, but I told you to stay put and you had me worried to death.”
“I’m sorry, Kevin,” she whispered, lowering her eyes and staring at the floor.
He embraced her and held her for a moment, “It’s okay, just don’t scare me like that again.”
She turned on a smile and he kissed her gently and Laura sat down and sighed. She had a feeling to betray her friend and to tell the captain of the police force that Liza was romantically involved with this handsome detective.
Liza shot a threatening glance at her one time best friend, hoping that she felt some sort of remnant loyalty to her.

***

Laura did feel some loyalty to her, in fact, she was continuing with her plans and quietly leaving town, never to return, or so that was her intention. She was leaving everything behind, Liza, her child and most significantly the memory of her lover. Escaping was her plan; from everyone and everything it stood for, avoiding to be arrested for conspiracy.
She had decided not to tell the police about Liza’s and Kevin’s more than professional relations. She had a feeling Liza was using Kevin so she could escape jail, but there was absolutely no way she knew how to prove that.
So, she would run; run from a crime she wasn’t guilty of, run from everything she had ever known. Maybe to Rio or to Mexico, but somewhere else, somewhere far away.

***

Liza sat up in the big hotel bed; she had had a nightmare, one that was grueling, and one that harbored deep unreality. She had killed her husband, she had taken a knife and had stabbed him, and tears had been streaming down her face.
“No!” she screamed, pressing the sides of her head with her hands, “No! I didn’t!”
She dissolved into tears, she was now convinced about the murder, about who had killed her husband, and the person that had done the crime was her.
How could she though? She wondered, she didn’t even remember the incident. It was just a dream, she had to convince herself it wasn’t true, she was just dreaming, dreams aren’t fact, or are they? What do dreams reveal anyway?
“Plenty,” she moaned aloud, “plenty, I’m a murderer! I’m a murderer!” she sobbed.
There was a knock on the door, and she dragged herself out of bed and out of the bedroom towards the door. After a pause, she opened it. Kevin was standing outside, a grim look on his face.
“Hello, Kevin,” she greeted after trying to catch her breath, yet failing.
“Liza,” he acknowledged.
“What brings you here? It’s three a.m.”
“Liza, why’d you lie to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“You killed him,” he whispered, afraid of the curse of those words, “you’re a murderer.”
“I didn’t!” she persisted, “I didn’t kill anyone! I’m innocent!”
“You did kill him, your journal says so,” he told her.
“Journal?” she asked, amazed that she had forgotten about it.
“Yes, the day before he was killed, you said you wanted him dead, you didn’t want him controlling you any longer.”
“I didn’t!”
“Look, my duty now is to arrest you, you did it, you’re fingerprints are on the weapon, you had motive, you had written it down!”
“I didn’t!”
“Liza, I love you! I will fight for you! I’ll try to get you rendered insane.”
“Yes, insane!” she whispered, “That’s it, I’m insane! I’m nuts!” she started pacing in the hotel room and Kevin finally entered the hotel room, “I’m not a murderer, I’m nuts!”
“Liza, calm down, we’ll go downtown…”
“I’m not a cold blooded killer, I’m just insane…” she started laughing, “I’m insane! Can you believe it? I’m completely insane!”
“Liza…” he began again, staring at her worriedly.
She continued laughing and headed towards the balcony door, “I’m insane…”
“Liza, what are doing?”
She opened the door and ran out and climbed up on the railing.
“Liza! Don’t!” Kevin yelled, grabbing her arm, just before she jumped.
“I’m insane! Nothing matters! Nothing matters!” she kept on saying.
“Liza, let’s go downtown…”
“No! I didn’t do it…”
“We’ll get you some help…” his eyes were full of tears, he loved her so much, and now all his dreams of a future with her, were shattered.
“Help?” she questioned as she stared at him, the word seemed to not register and she just stared at him with her big empty eyes.
“Come down from there,” he told her and picked her up and set her on the ground. “Let’s go,” he whispered, a give in his voice, sorry he had to do this.

***

Kevin walked back to his apartment building, rain falling cold and hard all around. He couldn’t believe what had happened, his one true love was never going to see him again, and she was going to be shipped off to an asylum for treatment.
Laura was not to be heard from, and Albert Manchester was now fully in control of the insurance company, that only left Kevin, he didn’t know what to do now. There was no more fulfillment in his job, there seemed to be no more purpose in his life… life was now empty.
He sighed and stopped and allowed the rain to fall upon him, he decided to move, to go somewhere else, to do something new, to put his past behind him… maybe he’d travel around the world, maybe he’d find love again, or maybe… maybe he would never know love again.



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© Virginia V. Garland