This is the twelfth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, and Part XI before continuing.
The arrest had caused enough of a commotion that Detective Knott wasn’t sure she’d be able to speak to the suspect’s daughter in private anywhere near the scene of the crime, so they went to the police station and found an empty interrogation room. Knott hadn’t had time to get someone on the other side of the double-sided mirror, but she made sure the camera was recording before she said, “Alright. What do you know that I don’t know?”
“You’ve got the wrong guy.”
“And how do you know that?”
Anita hung her head and swallowed hard before saying, just above a whisper, “Because I did it.”
“And why should I believe you?”
Anita’s head snapped up as she looked at Knott in shock. Apparently she hadn’t been expecting that response, but Knott was used to people (especially family members) confessing to all sorts of things to try to get a loved one out of trouble.
After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Because it’s the truth.”
“We traced the knife back to him. We literally have the receipt connecting him to the murder weapon.”
“But he bought it for me. It was a graduation gift.”
“What kind of a gift is a knife?” Honestly, Knott had seen plenty of guns and knives given as gifts, but she needed to hear Anita tell her story to see if it was at all plausible.
“He wanted me to be able to protect myself when I went to live on my own. And it’s better than a gun, which people get as gifts all the time.”
“So, when did you kill her?”
“Right as she was getting ready to walk down the aisle. It’s true what I said about her being worried she would get stuck in the bushes and no one would be there to help her. I really did go to make sure she didn’t get stuck, and to help her if she needed it, but she was mumbling something to herself as I walked up. At first I thought she was just trying to calm herself down, so I decided to sneak up on her and see if I could scare her out of her nerves. Nothing like a good jump scare to relieve the tension.”
“And you thought it would be a good idea to wield a real knife while trying to fake attack your sister-in-law?”
“She never got to the point of being my sister-in-law,” Anita said a little too quickly.
“You seem awfully adamant about that for someone who claims she was just going for a good scare.”
“Initially I was, but as I crept closer, I heard what she was saying to herself. She was saying things like, ‘One more hour and I’ll be rich,’ and, ‘Just one more hour and I’ll never have to worry about money again’.”
Knott leaned back as she took this in.
Anita continued. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I was just so angry. I asked her if she was serious. If she had really done all this for years and years just for money. When she saw me, her eyes widened in fear. I had totally forgotten I was still holding the knife, but for some reason, seeing that look on her face — that same look of innocence she always wore when she knew she was being watched — it set me off. I realized it had all been a lie and I couldn’t believe she would put my family through all that. And for money? We’re not even that rich.”
Knott snorted at the idea of anyone throwing a wedding like that and calling themselves “not that rich.” Sure, it wasn’t the most extravagant wedding she’d ever seen, but it was far more than most couples could afford. Also, “not that rich” is the kind of thing only rich people say.
Knott struggled to cover her snort with a coughing fit, but she could tell by the way Anita looked at her she wasn’t buying it, so she decided to change the subject. After all, she wasn’t the suspect here. “Alright, well, if that’s all, then I’ll go get some legal paper so you can put this all in writing and sign your name to it. Are you willing to do that?”
Anita hesitated. “Is that what it will take for you to let my dad go?”
Then it was Knott’s turn to hesitate. There were all kinds of things that could get her dad out of jail, especially if one or both of her brothers testified to remembering their dad giving Anita the knife as a gift. Besides, the time line of the murder made more sense if Anita had been the one to commit the crime. Her father was already on the dais.
But Knott wasn’t above bending the truth if it meant she could get a signed confession. She was sure one of Anita’s dad’s “not-so-rich” friends could find them an excellent lawyer who might even be able to weasel her out of doing time by pleading temporary insanity or something. Nevertheless, it would be much harder to loophole her out of this if she signed a confession.
“It’s his best chance.”
Anita pressed her lips into a tight line, as though she had been expecting this answer, but still didn’t like it. Then she nodded and Knott went to collect the writing materials.
The end.