Thread of Truth, стр. 38
“Did you believe him?” I asked.
She shifted on the sofa. “Yeah. The timeframe, it sort of made sense. I was just hurt that he'd done it. So I was pretty much just screaming at him. I think I threw something else at him. I don't remember what. I was crying and screaming. I think I told him I didn't want to get married and that he'd never see the baby.” She shook her head again. “I was just ranting.”
Her reaction was understandable. She’d thought their relationship was good and then suddenly learned that it might not have been. They were making future plans and he'd clearly lied about some things. Or maybe just not told her about them. Either way, her reaction made sense.
But it also opened the door to more questions.
“What did he tell you about their relationship?” I asked.
She wiped again at her eyes. “That she was the one who started it. That she was the one who came after him. That she told him if he didn't sleep with her, she'd fail him. It was all her.”
“And you believed that?”
She stared at her hands. “I don't know what I believed.”
“Did he tell you anything else about their relationship?” I pressed. “Was it still happening?”
“No. He swore it wasn't.”
“But were they still communicating?”
“He tried to tell me more stuff about them, but I told him I didn’t want to hear it,” she explained. “I just didn't. I mean, we were about to have a baby. I was totally freaked out.”
“Absolutely. I get it.”
“So I just took off,” she said. “I grabbed the car keys and left. He was still here.”
“And that's when you went to Seaside?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah.”
“To talk to Christine Gonzowski.”
She nodded again. “Yeah. I was just so...angry. I don't even know what I told her because it was like I couldn't see straight. I know I called her a bitch and a whole lot of other things. And I told her to stay the fuck away from Desmond.”
“How did she react to that?” I asked.
She made a face like she wanted to vomit. “She kept telling me to calm down and I told her it would've been easier to calm down if she hadn't fucked my boyfriend.” She shook her head. “I told her I was going to go to the cops, that I'd tell everyone.” She paused. “Then she told me that would be bad for Desmond. And I hated that she was right. It felt like she was winning or something. I told her I didn't care, but she knew I did. Then she started telling me I needed to ask Desmond stuff. About money. It wasn't even making sense. I just started screaming at her again. I told her to stay away from him and if she didn't, I'd kill her.” Her shoulders sagged. “I...was just hurt.”
I had no doubt that she was. But I also knew she was angry.
“Did you see Desmond after that?” I asked.
“No. He was gone when I got home.”
“Did you try to call him?”
“No. I was still just out of it. I wasn't sure I wanted to talk to him.”
“Did you try to find him?”
She looked at me like she didn't understand. “No. I knew where he lived.”
“I meant, did you try to find him after you left school?” I clarified. “Like, did you leave the school and see if he was riding home?”
She was still looking at me when it dawned on her what I was asking. “You think I ran over him?”
“I think you were pretty angry,” I told her. “I think you weren't thinking straight. And I think you felt like he'd betrayed you. I think you knew the route he took from here to get home. He wouldn't have been hard to find.”
“You think I ran over him,” she said, but it was a statement rather than a question. “You think I ran over Desmond?”
“Did you?”
She glared at me with an edge I didn't know she had. “Fuck you. No, I didn't run him over.”
“What the hell's going on?” a voice said behind us.
THIRTY THREE
Bill Cousins was standing in the hallway behind me, his hands on his hips, his brows furrowed.
“He thinks I killed Desmond,” Olivia blurted out.
His head turned slowly in my direction. “Excuse me?”
“I don't think anything,” I said. “I'm asking questions.”
“I thought we agreed that we'd reached the end here,” he said. “The last time you were here. Did we not have that conversation?”
“We did,” I answered. “But I got some new information and it involved Olivia.”
“I didn't do anything to Desmond!” Olivia cried.
Bill Cousins looked thoroughly confused.
“Desmond had a relationship with someone else,” I said. “A teacher. And Olivia learned about it before he disappeared.”
He squinted at me like he was trying to make out the words I was saying. “What?”
“Desmond had a relationship with a teacher at Seaside,” I repeated. “Olivia learned about it. She confronted him, then went to confront the teacher. That was the same day he disappeared.”
He looked at his daughter. “What the hell is he talking about?”
“I don't wanna do this,” Olivia said. She looked at me. “I just want you to go.”
“What is he talking about, Olivia?” her father asked.
She rolled her eyes and jerked her body back into the couch. “Fine. I found out Desmond was sleeping with his teacher. I saw an email. Then I drove to the school and told her to stay away from him. That's it.” She glared at me. “That's literally it.”
“Desmond was sleeping with his teacher?” he asked. He looked at me for confirmation. “Is that what you're telling me?”
I nodded.
A grim smile spread across his face. “I knew it. I knew he