Chapter 34

34

Given Rosalyn and I hadn't hit it off during our previous conversations, I was unsure why she wanted to speak to me and only me.

When I arrived at the police department, I learned Rosalyn hadn't gotten far before she was found at a dive hotel about forty miles away. Whitlock said when they arrested her, she acted relieved, like she'd been sitting at the hotel, waiting for it to happen. He'd done his best to get her to talk on the drive to the station, but she'd said nothing. She'd sat in the back seat, clutching her dog, sobbing the whole way.

After she was brought in, Foley took a turn at getting her to open up. She still said nothing, so he decided to take the dog out of the room, promising the dog would be in good hands while she was questioned. It wasn't the nicest thing to do, but he seemed to believe it had led to her asking for me.

When I entered the interrogation room, the first thing I noticed was the pile of crumpled tissues on the table. Rosalyn's face was stained with tears, and she looked like she hadn't slept since the last time we talked.

The first thing she said to me was, "Have you seen Boomer? Is he all right?"

"I saw him when I came in, and he's just fine. The receptionist is keeping an eye on him, and he's snuggled up in her lap."

"What a relief. Can I get him back?"

"It's not up to me, but I will see if there's anything I can do."

She sniffled a soft, "Thank you."

I took a seat across from her. "I heard you wanted to talk to me."

"I just ... I didn't want to talk to them . I wanted to talk to a woman, someone who understands. The only one I could think of was you."

"I'm glad you asked for me. You can tell me anything. I'm here to listen."

"I guess you know about Eddy."

"I do. His body was found in your rental home last night."

"They think I killed him."

" Did you kill him?"

She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. "It's all so complicated. Everything isn't always black or white."

In this instance, it was, though.

Either she murdered him, or she didn't.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" I asked.

She went silent for a time. "Eddy wasn't always the man he was at the end."

"And what kind of man would that be?"

"Cold. Jealous. Aggressive. Demanding. When we first got together, I thought he was the funniest, kindest man I'd ever met. It didn't last long, not once we were married."

"What changed?"

"I couldn't tell you because I don't know. It was like a switch. One day he was the person I'd married, and the next he was someone else, someone I didn't know anymore."

"Are you ready to be honest with me about the bruises I pointed out the other day? How long had he been abusing you?"

She paused a moment. "Too long … far too long."

"Did you ever try to get away from him?"

"You read Cordelia's notes. You know I did, and you know what he did to me when he caught me."

"Did you ever tell anyone what he was doing to you?"

"I thought about telling my parents."

"Why didn't you?" I asked.

"My parents stopped talking to me after we got married. They were angry with me because I didn't listen to their warnings about him. They couldn't stand him. The thought of calling them up and telling them they were right … it was just too hard. I was embarrassed to admit they'd been right all along.."

"Did Cordelia tell you she'd seen some of the interactions between you and Eddy?" I asked.

Rosalyn crossed her arms, shaking her head shaking as she said, "This is … it's too much. I can't … I don't want to talk about it anymore."

I felt certain I'd been close to a confession, but now she was stalling.

I pushed the chair back and stood. "Hey, I don't know about you, but I could go for a cold drink. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Can I have a glass of water?"

"You bet. I'll be right back."

I stepped out of the room, meeting Foley and Whitlock in the hall.

"Well," Foley said, "what are your initial thoughts?"

"I think I was close to a confession. I need the dog."

"The dog is a distraction," he said.

"The dog is all she cares about," I said. "She threw him a birthday party the other day. Trust me, the dog will bring her the comfort she needs right now."

"I'm with Georgiana on this," Whitlock said.

"Sure, sure," Foley said. "Gang up on me, why don't ya? Fine, get the dang dog and then get the conversation back on track."

I got us each a cup of water, took them back to the room, and then told her I needed to step out again for a minute. She shrugged, and I walked out, went to the receptionist's desk, and scooped Boomer into my arms.

Rosalyn's eyes lit up when I returned.

"Someone was missing his mom," I said.

She threw her arms up, and I handed Boomer off to her.

"I can't thank you enough," she said.

I could think of one way she could.

I sat back down, gave her a moment with Boomer, and then said, "If I leave here and we haven't finished our conversation, I'm not sure they'll let me talk to you again."

It was a half-truth.

I never knew when it came to Foley, but I had a good track record of being persuasive.

She cleared her throat once, then twice. "Guess I should start by saying, the day your sister saw me talking to Cordelia, it wasn't about the cat. I mean, I had issues with her cat, but it wasn't what we were talking about that day."

"Just so we're clear, I never believed your story."

A quick nod. "Okay, so Cordelia saw me outside, and she came over. She said she'd been trying to get me alone for days. It was then I learned she'd been watching us for some time. She'd seen the physical abuse, and she said she wanted to help me get away from Eddy."

"What did you say?"

"I refused her help, and she doubled down, telling me she'd come up with a plan, a plan where I didn't have to live in fear because I'd never have to see him again."

"I believe I know the plan."

"How could you?"

"Can I suggest something to you, and you can tell me if I'm right?"

She shrugged. "I guess."

I opened my handbag, pulled out The Pale Horse , and slid it over to her.

"Why are you giving me a book?"

I tapped my finger on the book's cover. "This book is the one Cordelia kept the notes she'd taken about you and Eddy in. I didn't think much about it at first. This morning, I decided to read it, and I discovered something interesting. I now believe Cordelia chose this book for a specific reason."

"What reason?"

"Cordelia knew about the rat poison in your shed, the poison the previous owners left behind after they sold the house to you."

She blinked at me but said nothing.

"Rat poison used to contain thallium, a fact I believed Cordelia knew well. I had no doubt she'd read the Christie novel. And Lorena, the previous owner, admitted Cordelia been in their shed. I'm betting she saw the poison, knew how it worked, and that it was hard to trace. I think she saw it as a way for you to escape. When she came to you with an idea, I believe she suggested you poison him, and she told you how to do it. How am I doing so far?"

Her eyes flooded with tears.

I grabbed some tissues and handed them to her.

"Take all the time you need," I said. "I'm sure this is hard, and I'll bet you're scared. Trust me when I say it's better to be honest and come clean than it is to keep a difficult secret or live a life on the run."

"I never planned on things going this way, not until the power went out at the rental house. And then I panicked. I went over there the day after, and I saw that the refrigerator door was open. I couldn't get it to close again no matter what I did. At first I thought about wrapping a bungee strap around it, but the more I thought about it, the more paranoid I became. I was scared, and so I did the first thing that came to mind."

"You ran."

"I … I did. My original plan was to move Eddy after a few days to somewhere he would never be found. Every time I went to do it, I lost my nerve. And as the days passed, I worried he was starting to decompose, and I didn't know what I'd see when I opened that door again."

"Did you think killing him was your only way out?" I asked.

"If you knew him, you'd understand. He wouldn't have ever let me go. Even if I managed to get away, he'd find me. I didn't want to believe Cordelia's idea was the right one at first. In the end, it came down to one thing—I either ended him, or I ended myself. I did what I had to do to save myself."

I took a sip of water and thought about what to say next. "Going back to the beginning, I just want to make sure I have it right. Did you poison him?"

"I … yes."

"Tell me about it."

"Cordelia suggested I give Eddy a little bit of poison, not too much, just a little, each day. Every morning for six days, I put it in his coffee. Several days passed and nothing happened, and I didn't think it would work. I thought the poison was too old, or his body handled it a lot better than I thought it would, or that I hadn't given him enough of it. On the seventh day, I woke up, and he didn't."

"Was it always your plan to keep him in the refrigerator at your rental house?"

She shook her head. "Cordelia gave me the idea. On the day he died, I waited until nightfall, and then I pulled my car into the garage. I put Eddy in the trunk, and I drove to the rental. My plan was to leave him there for no more than a few days. Cordelia was going to help me figure out what to do next."

"And then she was murdered."

She nodded. "And I lost it."

"Did you have anything to do with Cordelia's death?"

"No."

"Do you have any idea who killed her or why?"

"If I did, I would tell you."

Rosalyn had lied to me before.

What was stopping her from lying to me again?

She gave her dog a squeeze and said, "What's going to happen to me?"

"Foley and Whitlock will come in and take your confession. You need to hire a lawyer, a good one. Do you have someone?"

"N-no."

I grabbed my wallet out of my handbag, fishing out a business card. I stood and handed it to her. "Tiffany Wheeler is a friend of mine. We went to school together. She's good. You can trust her."

Rosalyn thanked me, adding, "You know the saddest thing of all? A life in prison is refreshing after all I've been through. It'll be far less of a hell than the life I would have spent living with him. Because he would never have let me go."