This is the third part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I and Part II before continuing.
Detective Knott thought she had seen it all. But a bride stabbed in the head on her wedding day? That’s a new one.
Once she had finished looking over the scene, she turned to the Officer Bates and said, “Who found the body?”
“The groom’s sister. Her name’s Anita.” He pointed at a woman in a brown dress sitting on one of the benches that lined the area. As soon as she saw her, Knott figured she should have guessed she was the one to find the body as she was covered in blood. A couple women were using a bottle of water and some napkins to wipe off the worst of the blood, but it was going to take a lot more than that to clean her up. Anita didn’t interfere with their work, but she wasn’t helping them either. She just sat there, looking into the distance as though she had lost all reason for living. Her eyes were still wet with tears and her face was red and swollen from crying.
When she noticed Knott walking towards her, Anita sat up a little straighter. She grabbed a napkin from one of the women surrounding her and used it to wipe her face.
“Hi, Anita. I’m detective Knott.”
“Hi,” the woman said weakly. “I’d shake your hand, but…” she held her up her bloody hands and Knott nodded her understanding.
Then Knott turned to the women around Anita and said, “Can I talk to Anita alone, please?”
They all nodded and muttered variations on, “Yes,” before finding other places to be.
Knott sat down next to Anita. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Anita’s face crumpled at the memory. Then she inhaled deeply to pull herself together. She wiped at her face with the napkin one more time before saying, “I went to find her to make sure she wasn’t stuck in the bushes. She had said at the rehearsal dinner last night that she was worried about getting stuck in the bushes. Normally her bridesmaids would be the ones to help her with that, but since they were all going down the aisle before her, she was worried she wouldn’t have anyone there to help her get unstuck and make sure she didn’t tear her dress. So when they started walking down the aisle, I went to go find her so I could help her make sure she didn’t get stuck before going down the aisle. But instead…” Anita’s face crumpled again and she flopped her hands, palms up, as if that described the scene.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. “Anita, I know this is hard, but I need to tell me exactly what you saw. Did you see anyone leaving as you arrived? Was anything out of place that might indicate someone had left in a hurry?”
Anita shook her head. “No. At first, I just saw her train, and I thought she might have gotten stuck after all. Then I saw her feet, and then…”
“I’m sorry, Anita, but I need you to tell me everything you saw in your own words.”
Anita let out a sob, then took in another deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. “She was lying on the ground with a knife stuck in her head. Her eyes were still open, so at first I thought she might still be alive. It seems crazy now, but this whole thing is crazy. So, I went to help her, but she didn’t respond, and that’s when I realized she wasn’t blinking. That’s when I knew she was dead.”
“Do you know of anyone who would have wanted to hurt her?”
Anita shook her head. “No. Certainly no one here.”
“No ex-boyfriends who might have wanted to stop the wedding?”
Anita snorted. “She’s been with my brother for the better part of a decade. I’m sure all her ex-boyfriends are long gone.”
“You’d be surprised how long someone can hold a candle for someone.”
Anita shook her head again. “I’ve never heard her say anything about an ex. The one time she said anything at all about it she said she had a string of boyfriends who turned out to be gay, so I doubt any of them were too broken up to hear she was getting married.”
“Why weren’t you in the wedding party?”
Anita looked straight at Knott, her brow furrowed. “What?”
“Usually siblings of the bride and groom are included in the wedding party. Your other brother is best man. It didn’t strike you as odd that you’re not in the wedding party.”
Anita shrugged. “I never thought about it.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Anita looked Knott full in the face as she said this, and no matter how much Knott studied her face, she couldn’t detect a lie. Knott let the silence draw out because that’s the best way to get someone to say something that ends up giving them away. People hate silence.
Anita let the silence go on longer than most. When she did speak, it was just, “Do you have any other questions?”
Knott smiled a tight smile, hoping to mask her surprise at finding herself on the other side of the line of questioning. “Not right now, but I’ll be in touch if I think of anything else. Thank you for your time. And I’m very sorry for your loss.”
To be continued…