Till Life Do Us Part

Chapter 7

"Tell me everything I need to know".

Tristan toyed with the pen on his table and began. "We were three. There was Linda, me and then Cara. But Cara died when she was only 3. I honestly don't remember much about her....." He glanced guiltily at Danica. "......I hope that doesn't make me a bad person. It's just......." He shrugged. "We weren't so close. Don't get me wrong, I loved her. I did. As much as a 6 year could. If she had stayed, I would have grown to love her as much as I loved Linda".

He was quiet for a little while before taking another sip of his coffee. "It was the same case for Linda and I. We really loved each other, you see.....but we weren't so close. My sister and I.......we were different. She grew up knowing she had a great responsibility being the heir of Rodens so was always so......serious" He smiled fondly at the memory. "She was so uptight. I used to tell her, I'd say, "The best things don't last long, Linda. Enjoy to the fullest while you can". And she'd tell me 'Seems we have very different definitions of the best things of life, brother'. As I grew up I came to understand what she meant, while my own idea of pleasure had been clubbing and drinking and having my pick of the next girl to warm my bed, my sister really enjoyed working. And she loved art, literature, monochrome colors, .......and family". 

Danica hurriedly took notes in her notepad. "You said you weren't so close?".

"She was openly against my lifestyle you see, and I didn't like that. I had been such a brat, I'd tell her she led a boring life and was only jealous of mine. She persistently tried to change me back in high school but I was always so.....mean to her. When she graduated, she stopped. So she'd only make disapproving remarks every then and now, I could take that. And then a week before she died.....she started again". He swallowed visibly but his voice held strong when he continued. "I came home a week to her birthday. She was going to turn 28 and officially inherit Rodens. You see, my father had this......decree made that Linda wouldn't inherit the company till she was 28. I really don't understand why he had to make her wait that long because she had been ready for this responsibility right since she was 20. When my parents died, she still wasn't allowed to take over. So she became the Associate Director while my uncle Edmund acted as the Executive, at least till she turned 28. This was what she had lived for, worked for every single day of her life. When I came, she had been glad to hear that I'd  be staying and actually dropped in at my house. I had been surprised to see her, she hardly visits......she's too busy for that. But she came that day. We chatted.... then she asked me what I was doing with my life, I told her I was "taking time" off to spoil myself. She mumbled something about how I was always spoiling myself and that put me off. So I told her 'Look Linda, it was nice of you to drop in but I think it's high time you left'. I didn't want her bitching me again.....so she left".

"Did you see her alive after that?".

"I did. At a small dinner my uncle had organized in her honour. That was 2 days since I had last seen her. We didn't speak during that period and when I saw her at the dinner......things had been awkward. There had been only a few of us, there was Linda, me, my uncle, his wife and a few of the staff.....Linda's PA, my uncle's, and just a couple more people. I remember I sat at her right and throughout the whole meal....the air had been so tense between us and in no time,  the others soon noticed. My uncle then made a remark about how nice it would be if I could return to Atlanta and learn the ways of the company.....and then Linda just went off. I remember she dropped her fork really loudly and then picked up her napkin and began wiping her mouth so slowly. She said "That would be highly nice if my dear brother wasn't always sooooo busy spoiling himself in the bars of California".........and then she continued eating". He stood up and went over to stand by the window, his hands deeply thrust into his pockets once again. 

"Did anything happen after that?"

"Oh yes......" He turned back to her. "I was self centered, Detective, of course something happened after that. I was so angry and literally went off on her. I raved and screamed but she just kept on shoveling more food into her mouth. I hated the fact that she wasn't affected and so.....I threw a fork at her. That finally got her stopping. The whole table became so quiet.....you could hear a pin drop. Then out of the blue, Linda stood, came up to me.....and slapped me. Right across the cheek" He chuckled softly and resumed playing with the pen. "I was horrified. It didn't even really hurt to be honest but I had never been slapped before you see. So I stalked over to her and nearly came nose to nose with her, screaming 'How dare you!!!'. He chuckled again but Danica could tell there was no humor in it. "Have you ever hated yourself, Detective?" He looked at her intensely. "I do. I hate the boy I was back then. Linda should be alive, she had been so ambitious, so determined, so strong. She should have been the one that stayed, not the little, spoilt Mummy's boy".

Danica was surprised at the candor of his voice as he said those words. He really means them, she realized. 

"The little, spoilt Mummy's boy is dead". She said shortly.

"Huh???".

"He died 4 years ago. Along with his sister. You should be glad he did........sounded like a real brat to me". She shrugged and pretended to write something lazily in her notepad. He was staring at her. When he still didn't stop after some time, she sighed dramatically and dropped her pen, turning to face him and folding her arms over her chest. 

"It's rude to stare, Mr. Roden". She said dryly. A small smile slowly stretched across his lips at her words and he was soon chuckling. At least he was finally looking away, she told herself. 

"You are right. Maybe he did die after all". 

"What happened after that?" She prompted.

"I told my sister 'You'll regret doing that, Linda'." He strolled back over to his seat and folded his arms on top of the desk, facing her directly. "I didn't mean I would kill her, Detective. That would have never crossed my mind. I only meant to ignore her calls and messages for a couple of days. My sister was very predictable. I knew she'd start regretting hitting me as soon as she did and I knew she'd soon be all over me trying to apologize. But I wasn't planning on making it easy for her". He took a sip of his cold coffee. "A few minutes after I left, the calls started coming in. She called me so many times and sent so many messages......but I never replied. Now, I can't stop wondering if she had maybe tried to call me too on the night she was killed. I think she did". His eyes were so haunted Danica couldn't bear to look at them. 

"She was murdered the next day. Throughout the day she had tried to reach me but......." He shrugged "......I still didn't pick up. I knew exactly how tormented and guilty she would be feeling. I was glad she felt that way. The night of thenext day, the night she would be murdered, she came over to see me. I had been on my way out, and right outside my gate she was. Beside her car. I will never forget how haunted my sister looked that day. She came right up to me and just......stopped in front of me and said 'I'm sorry'. Bottom line Detective, I ended up making her feel worse than she already did. I had actually already forgiven her......but I still wanted her to suffer a bit. I left her standing there and drove off to the club. That was the last time I saw my sister alive". Danica's heart squeezed. 

"I was informed early the next day that she had been murdered, strangled in her car. A mile away from my house". His voice was pained. "She had tear streaks down her cheeks Detective, and I knew she had probably cried in her car outside my house before driving off. The thought that someone did that while she was already in so much pain....." He choked on his words but took a deep breath and continued. "During the investigation, all evidence pointed at me. I had been the last person to see her alive, I'd told her she'd regret hitting me the previous day, she had been found a mile away from my house, inheriting Rodens would be my motive.....it was all mainly substantial evidence but in the end, the fingers could point towards only me. But what they didn't know is......I had been attacked too".

"What?" Danica sat straighter in her seat, brows furrowed in concentration. 

"Yes, Detective. A man attacked me in the club that night. He was tall, maybe 6'1, was dressed in a black hoodie, black jeans and a black baseball cap pulled down very low on his face".

"How sure are you it was your sister's killer?"

"He attempted to strangle me too".

Only years of experience stopped her jaw from dropping open. "He really did?".

He smiled a little and reclined back into his seat. "Yep. In the restroom. One minute I was washing up, the next I had someone behind me, strangling me with a cord. I remember seeing him in the mirror, he never looked up, just kept on pulling on the cord......like a damn professional" He chuckled at his own joke. "So I reached back and kicked him in the balls" He grinned maniacally. "I know for one that s**t hurts like hell, it was the only thing I could think of to do in that moment. Sure enough his grip loosened and it gave me enough time to whip around and elbow him right in the face. I had never been more glad to inflict pain on someone. I so much hope I broke his nose. He tried to reach over again but we went into a full brawl. I wanted to whip his damn cap off, see his face.....but of course he was defensive. Sensing that the fight wasn't going to be easy anymore, he left. He ran out, like the damn coward he was". Danica didn't realize she had been holding her breath till she finally released it. "I went after him but he was already gone. I went back home so disoriented that day. I mean.....I had escaped death by a hair's breadth, you can't just be fine after that. I was shaken throughout the night, couldn't really sleep. Early the next morning, I found out Linda had been attacked too".

Danica studied him pensively for some time. "Why didn't you tell the police this 4 years ago?"

He shrugged but his voice was tight when he spoke. "Would they have actually believed me? They already concluded that the scratches on me were Linda's defense wounds, that I had killed my own sister because I wanted to inherit Rodens. The public was agitated, they had to pin this down on somebody, the easiest target......and that was me. And while I felt guilty about how things ended between Linda and I, I was definitely not ready to go to jail for a crime I didn't commit. So I hit them with my lawyers. And I won the case of course. Throughout that period, I was so angry. Angry that my sister had been killed and angry that I had nearly been put on the chopping block for the bastard's crime". The anger was barely contained in his voice. "The whole experience of being a murder suspect changed me, Detective. I saw life for what it really was. I saw the harsh angles, the colors didn't matter anymore, I only saw the black and white. I don't think they had anticipated this part".

Danica was quiet as she stared intensely into his eyes. They were practically glowing with so much pain, anger and passion. The green abyss seemed to swallow her whole till she feared she'd lose the ability to breathe if she stared any longer. Placing her hands under her chin, she looked away and pretended to stare at the nearest wall in concentration. 

"People don't often think of that aspect". She glanced back at him "What doesn't kill us, only makes us stronger".

His maniacal grin widened. "The day after I was acquitted, I came back here.....to claim my company. No one believed me. The rogue suddenly wants to take over? Nah nah, they didn't take me seriously. Till I arrived the next day with my lawyers right behind me again. They wanted to apply the 28 years decree on me, but they forgot, my dad hadn't made it for me. He had made it for his heir apparent......Linda Roden. I wasn't his heir......I was my sister's. The fight didn't even last as long as I'd wanted it to. The board gave in quickly and I could tell they were pretty confident I would soon drive Rodens into a ditch. But then again, I proved them wrong". His bright eyes looked almost crazed with the excitement of his tale. "I might have been pretty lazy but I had never been dumb, not when I had a father like mine. The years I had been forced to spend earning a degree paid off. And Rodens is now in it's prime, an item of envy among other companies. I might have derived much joy from proving everyone wrong, but the biggest satisfaction of my job comes from the fact that I'm honoring Linda's last wishes. Even in death, what Linda wants, Linda gets. I will personally make sure of that. And that's why I have to find her killer, Detective, because wherever she is, she wouldn't want that bastard still walking the streets with so much liberty".

He was breathing heavily at the end of his speech. Running a hand over his face, he stood up and stalked over to the decanter in long strides, pouring himself a quick drink and downing it in one fast go. Danica watched him. Still breathing heavily, he stood with his back to her and tried to regain composure. She kept quiet and gave him the respect of privacy. In a few moments, he was breathing less heavily and again reaching for the bottle of liquor for another shot. 

"That doesn't seem so wise". She said dryly. Pausing for a moment, his hands still outstretched, he contemplated her statement. "Don't even think of it". She added more strictly this time. 

She could tell he was smiling by the visible relaxation of his shoulders as he replaced the bottle back and dropped his tumbler. Striding back to his seat, he smiled at her apologetically. 

"I'm sorry, Detective. I just get so riled up when I think about all of this".

"You sounded like you might be laying your suspicions on someone......who is it?".

"Oh yes, I do have a suspect". He settled into his seat and leaned forward, resting his intertwined hands on the desk. "My uncle Edmund".