I'm certain you're too good for your husband. So how about you tell me when the last time you actually saw him was. Let's get him back safe and sound and then I can help set you up with a great divorce lawyer. I'll help you figure it out, okay? I promise."
I promise? Why did he keep saying shit like that to me? He wasn't flirting with me. He was just trying to mess with my head. "I told you everything I know."
"Ensley, no one at the office got a phone call from you once Noah went missing. You said you checked with everyone you know. Yet you didn't check with the people he works with every day? That's suspicious."
"I don't like his co-workers. Speaking of which, they're a bunch of liars. Noah probably was at work and they're just being stupid. Or covering for his cheating ass." I couldn't even think about what I was saying anymore. I was literally turning into a puddle. I stood up so I wouldn't melt into the couch.
He took a step back like he thought I was about to attack him.
"Are you seriously scared of me?" I asked.
"Should I be?"
I swallowed hard. Maybe. If he stayed there much longer...yeah, maybe. I wasn't going to let a bad detective be the one to bring me down.
"Ensley, your husband has been missing since Tuesday night. Not Friday. Why didn't you notify us right away?"
"Because he wasn't missing. I just told you...I saw him Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning."
Detective Torres shook his head. "See...I don’t think you’re being completely honest with me. And I also think you know where he is."
"Well, that's your opinion. And your opinion is wrong."
"You need to tell me where Noah is right now. Before something happens that you'll regret."
"I don't regret anything I've done." There was a lump in my throat that wouldn't go away. It felt like I was choking. God, I'd basically just confessed. I needed to backtrack. I needed to say anything.
"Ensley, what have you done?"
"He killed my baby." Tears started to pool in the corners of my eyes. "Detective Torres, I lied. He did hurt me. Emotionally. Physically." God, all I could ever see was the blood at the bottom of the steps. "He drugged me. For years I was just...nothing. He made me think I was crazy. But he's a monster. You have to believe me."
"I believe you, Ensley. Let's go down to the station and I can get your full statement. And you can tell me exactly what you did."
I shook my head.
"Okay. Then tell me here. What did you do?"
I tore my jacket off because it was like I was standing in Satan's fire.
"Ensley, it's against the law to try to bribe a detective." His eyes stayed firmly on my face instead of wandering down to my revealing Mrs. Claus costume.
Yeah, he hadn't been flirting. He was using me. Tricking me. His promises meant nothing. No one ever kept their promises to me. "I’m not bribing you! It's freaking a thousand degrees in here and you're pointing a finger at me for murdering my husband." I threw my jacket at him.
He dodged it like it contained a bomb.
It didn't. But God, I wish it had. I could just picture stupid Detective Torres exploding into a million colorful pieces.
He shook his head. "I didn't say anything about homicide."
Oh no. Had I said that? My brain was rapidly becoming less mushy now that I could breathe again. "We both know what you were thinking." It was a lame excuse. I needed to do better.
"Ensley, did you murder your husband?"
"No. Of course not. I’m not a lunatic! But he was an asshole. I'm sure a lot of people would be happy if he was dead." Stop talking about Noah being dead.
He was staring at me like I was indeed a crazy woman. "You said he was an asshole. Past tense."
"I meant is. He is an asshole. I went to public school. I never properly learned my tenses."
"Noah was cheating on you. He abused you emotionally and physically. He drugged you. You had every reason to want to kill him.”
Fuck yeah I did. I pressed my lips together, not willing to risk saying anything else damning.
"Ensley, I'm placing you under arrest for the murder of your husband. Obstruction of justice. And bribing an officer."
"Silence isn't consent! I didn't murder Noah. I told you everything I know. And I was wearing this outfit before you showed up. You can't