The Big Exit by David Carnoy Read Free Book Online Page A

Billings says.
    “And I’ll see your ten minutes and take as long as I like.”
    “We need to question her, Carolyn.”
    “So do I.”
    With that, she heads into the den. When she enters, Beth Hill doesn’t look up. She’s sitting on a beautiful chocolate-colored
     leather couch with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head pressed against her forearms, quietly sobbing. She’s wearing
     black yoga stretch pants and a white T-shirt that’s covered by a gray crocheted cardigan. Her feet are bare.
    Pam Yeagher’s husband, the doctor, also neatly dressed and more well put together than good-looking, has his hand on her back
     and is doing his best to comfort her, murmuring something inaudible in her ear. His hair is almost completely gray, which
     makes him seem a few years older than his wife, though they’re clearly contemporaries.
    “Harry,” Pam says quietly to her husband. “This is Carolyn Dupuy. The lawyer she called.”
    With that Beth looks up at her, then stands up, excited to see her. Carolyn extends her hand but Beth goes right past it,
     opting for a full embrace.
    “Thanks for coming,” she says, hugging her tightly.
    Under the circumstances she should have expected it. Nevertheless the show of affection feels awkward. She’d always remember
     the woman’s piercing stare in court all those years ago when she was part of the team that prosecuted Beth’s fiancé for killing
     a young woman in a drunk-driving accident. Now they’re just acquaintances who see each other in passing in town or at the
     tennis club where Cogan is a member.
    Despite exchanging pleasantries when they crossed paths, Beth always came across as distant, and Carolyn always wondered what
     she was like under the veneer. Some days she had an urge to come right out and ask her.
You hate my guts, don’t you? Go ahead; tell me, it’s okay
. But something always stopped her. Once, a friend walked up just as she was about to ask. Another time she was all set to
     approach when she caught a glimpse of Cogan chatting up some bimbo by the snack bar and became enraged, forgetting about Beth.
    Luckily, while the embrace is forceful, it’s short, and once Beth relinquishes her grip, she sits back down on the leather
     sofa. Carolyn notices the doctor mouthing the word “water” to his wife and making a shooing motion with his hand, seemingly
     encouraging her to completethe mission he’d sent her on, unaware she’d already set the glass on the console to the left, beside a set of family pictures
     that show off the exploits of the couple’s two college-age kids, son and daughter. The gesture indicates that Dr. Harry has
     had lots of experience dealing with crisis situations and has little tolerance for those who don’t. It bothers Carolyn that
     he’s essentially treating his wife like a nurse.
The guy’s a controller
, she thinks.
    “If you don’t mind, Dr. and Mrs. Yeagher, I need to talk to Ms. Hill alone for a few minutes.”
    She makes the request in her polite voice, but it must still come out sounding abrupt because both husband and wife react
     as if she’s insulted them. When Harry Yeagher reluctantly gets up from the couch, Carolyn realizes he’s taller than she thought,
     over six feet. “I’ll get you that sedative,” he says to Beth. “In case you need it later.”
    “Thank you,” she says. “Thank you both.”
    After they’re gone, Carolyn sits down in a club chair across from Beth, leans forward, and starts talking in a quiet but firm
     voice.
    “Here’s how it’s going to go, Beth. The detectives are going to come back in here in a few minutes. They want to take you
     into the station house. It’s purely procedural. They want to interview you in a clean environment. They want to be able to
     videotape your answers and they have to follow certain rules when they’re investigating a case. I just saw my old boss, Dick
     Crowley, the DA, outside talking to the police. He’s making sure that