decentralize from his work he was reasoning about the possibility of her being to that location at the time when the killing was committed, he concluded:
- It still wouldn’t be a conclusive proof.
- Why not? Phelps was shot at four in the morning and I left the building by midnight and only came back at eight in the morning. Besides, a witness saw me kilometers away.
- But you could have taken a taxi.
- And did you have the testimony of a driver who claims having left me at home at the time of the murder?
- Nope. But I only have your word that you weren’t in the building at the time of the murder.
- My word and the witness who saw me at Windsor - she insisted.
- It's all right. Let's leave it for an hour. Now tell me what happened when you returned home?
- The room was a mess because of confusion with Phelps. I put back things in place and wiped the blood from the top of the fireplace. He had fallen against it during our fight and cracked his upper lip...
Richard interrupted before she continues:
- Why didn’t you tell me?
- I said.
- But not in our first interview. You only mentioned this fact two days later, when I had already sent your clothes that you wore that day to analyze and found out that the spot was Phelps’s blood.
- So you think I created the story of the fall, to justify the blood on my clothes?
He agreed with a nod.
- How I wish I had said that before ... - He lamented, shaking his head from side to side.
- I was confused. Did you ever felt being in a state of affairs in which the reasoning seems to function? - She asked and then concluded with a bitter smile on her lips: - No ... Not you. I don’t imagine what it is to lose a child and get all the time thinking about him.
- Maybe ... - he murmured, finally lifting his head and fixing his eyes on her.
- You don’t believe it’s true? - She teased with a smirk. - Why don’t we reverse the position and talk a little about you, mister tough investigator?
- Don’t you think that precipitates a trial?
- No I don’t. I really had too much time to judge you ... Three years to be more exact.
- But there is much you don’t know about me - he said almost without realizing it.
- Like what, for example?
Before the defiant look she gave him, he felt the urge to scream as he had been finished and wounded on that occasion. But he preferred to remain silent than to open his heart to the woman who hated him so much. So, he decided to change the subject:
- This is the case now. We must limit ourselves to the main facts. Phelps blood traces were found in your flat.
- But the body was found downstairs... - And before he argued anything, she hurried forward: - But I know what you will say "He was a slight man and you aren’t as fragile as you seem to be."
At the sound of those words Richard shuddered:
- I said that?
- Now, stop being cynical. I saw those tapes, which means that you also saw them. And speaking about them... how could you remove them from the police station?
- I didn’t remove them. I copied them.
She bit her lower lip and felt satisfied with that revelation. It meant how much he was risking. Somehow she felt an accomplice of the situation.
- Let's go back to it - he said, dodging the issue of the tapes and trying to keep the reins of dialogue. – Let’s proceed.
- Well ... When I said weren’t as fragile as you appeared, I was referring when you lost control and advanced on him as well...
Suddenly she rose and fell on him, striking him with her fists clenched. He got up and, with open palms, tried to keep his distance. But she attacked him with such fury that in the end he had to hold her wrists, imprisoning her in his arms.
Their bodies were so close, that she could feel his heart pounding in his chest. And when he looked up to look in her eyes, he realized the heat wave invading his cheeks, he flushed.
With a mischievous smile and eyes of who enjoyed a bit the reaction she provoked in him, he lamented:
-
Learning to Kill: Stories