What Lies Beneath

Chapter 9

Back at the station, the chief was waiting for the trio on the front steps of the station. His eyes locked on Finley Scott being escorted up the steps by Mason. They came to a stop in front of the chief. “Finley Scott, Sir.” Olivia motioned to the mute man staring daggers at her. “I still need to figure out the connection, what she did with the evidence, and why she tipped him off.”

A look of utter disappointment crossed the chief’s face as he nodded once. “Suzie is in room one,” he informed her. “Keep me updated, Pearson.”

“Yes, Sir.” When she saw Finley’s name at the bottom of the page, she just had this feeling that he was the key to solving the murder. If she had been wrong about him and it was indeed another person on that list, the tip Suzie had obviously sent out would have probably sunk this case.

“Where do you want him?” Katherine asked, pulling Olivia from her contemplation.

Thinking on it for a moment. “Put him in an interview room,” she decided. “Thank you, Detective Ambrose.” She held out her hand. Wanting to thank her for more than just escorting Mr. Scott to a room.

Taking the proffered hand, she shook it firmly. “Kat.” She gave Olivia an unyielding look. “And, you’re welcome.” She grinned.

Looking over at Mason who was pushing Mr. Scott through the doors, Olivia said, “Keep them separate.” Halting, he looked at her and frowned, shook his head and just carried on. Of course, he’d known to keep them separate - Katherine and Mason must have at least five years on Olivia. To say that she felt stupid was putting it mildly.

She stopped at her office to retrieve the file for Dona Holden and headed to room one.

The first thing she did when she entered the room was to get the recorder going. “I am impressed,” Olivia said as she took in her posture. Her body and mood seemed deflated, with her elbows resting on the table and her chin cupped in her hands. She looked positively bored stiff. Olivia mused, causing her lips to turn just a little upward. “You actually tipped him off.”

Suzie shrugged once, her shoulders nearly reaching her ears. “Only managed the SOS was still busy with the text when you liberated me of my belongings.”

“So you’re talking now?” Olivia sat down in front of her.

Upon a loaded sigh, she sat up. “Kinda pointless to keep quiet now.”

“Kinda,” Olivia agreed. “Let’s start with the connection. Are you involved with Mr. Scott?”

“No. Well, not in the way you are thinking at least.” Rubbing the tension pulling on her forehead. It would appear that reality might have caught up. “He dated my sister, Amanda Brooks.”

“Brooks?” Olivia vaguely remembers seeing Suzie’s name on that staff list, and it wasn’t Brooks. “You are Thorn, right?”

“I am married.” Ah, that clears it up. Suzie Thorn’s sister, Amanda Brooks is in a relationship with Mr. Scott. Suzie Thorn used to be Suzie Brooks before she got married.

Satisfied with the connection, she moved on. “How did you make an entire box of evidence disappear with no one noticing?” This ought to be interesting, Olivia had wondered how this case just slipped under the radar like this.

“Detective Collins had been killed on duty investigating another murder. They assigned the case to Detective Brown, who was two weeks away from retiring.” She shook her head as though she couldn’t make sense of it herself. “The box landed on my desk for capture when Collins’ office got cleared out. Brown didn’t even know about the case yet. Between the death of one senior investigator and retirement of another, everyone was running around trying to get the cases reassigned.” She got up and fixed herself coffee, without offering. Not offended since Olivia embedded her knee into Suzie’s back a couple of hours ago, she guessed sociability was a futile consideration at this point.

Sitting down, she continued. “No one knew I had a connection to Finley and Amanda, and I said nothing either. My sister was expecting at the time and the entire thing was making her sick with stress.” Shaking her head ruefully, she said. “I knew I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but when that box landed on my desk, they admitted Amanda to hospital for bleeding that morning. I was trying to protect my sister–did little good, anyway.” She shrugged. “She had lost the baby regardless and took off to New York. She was adamant that Finley was with her that night, and I trusted her. If I thought for one second, she was lying about that, I never would have done it.”

“Are you saying that you think he is innocent?”

“I am saying that I trusted my sister.” Olivia regarded her for a moment and decided she was telling me the truth. She motioned to the file in Olivia’s hand. “I shoved that deep into the filing room. Maggie must have found it and handed it to the chief.”

“And the box of evidence?” Olivia asked.

“Shoved it in with boxes in the truck on their way to the storage facility.” If Olivia had dug just a little deeper in that mess, she would have probably found it–the thought ticked her off just a little.

“Did Amanda know about the evidence?”

She shook her head slightly. “She took off when she lost the baby, didn’t even leave a note. She called me from New York the following day.”

Even though Suzie appeared truthful, Amanda needs to answer some questions–there must be another reason for her to just pack up and head to New York.  

“You realize that you’re facing obstruction of justice, right?”

Her eyes met Olivia’s, and she saw the regret within them.

Chief Callaway was sitting with his phone tugged between his shoulder and ear, typing on the laptop. Someone needs to teach this poor man how to type, Olivia thought. He hung up the phone the instant he saw Olivia. Handing him the recording device, she offered him an apologetic nod. “I think it would be best for you to handle Suzie’s case from here.” They have known this woman for a lot longer than they have known Olivia. They cared for her, and it made Olivia feel like the bad guy for uncovering her secret. She’d have eventually come to it, even without her telltale reaction this morning. Finley Scott was the link, and his connection with Amanda would have eventually led to Suzie. This way just a short-cut and more way more luck than skill.

“Did she really do it?” he asked. Olivia just nodded and turned for the door. She had another interview to conduct.

Finley Scott sat stoically in his chair, completely ignoring Olivia when she entered the room. With no formalities, she pressed record. “Suzie is facing charges of obstruction of justice because she trusted Amanda. Is Amanda going to face those same charges? Did she lie about being with you the night Dona Holden turned up dead?”

With eyes fixated on the wall behind her, he said. “Lawyer.”

Olivia’s has no choice. “Of course. It is your right, after all.” She stopped the recording, gave instructions to the police officer outside his door to have him phone his lawyer and to call Olivia upon his arrival. She decided that Mr. Scott can sit and brood in that tiny room until then.

Olivia couldn’t contain her smile as she stood in the doorway. A chuckle escaped when Katherine started slapping her hand on her desk. Her head hung down as silent laughter racked through her body. She must have been at it for a while now if her vocal cords couldn’t even produce a sound anymore. Turning to a chuckling Mason with a lifted an eyebrow in silent question.

“She’s reminiscing about this morning. Said something about you resembling a spider monkey leaping from a tree. I believe the mental image might have been too much.” He grinned. From scowling to smiling, he just made Olivia’s insides flutter like a damn school girl. To get her hormones back in their box, she returned her attention back to Detective Ambrose, with her red face and glassy-eyes looking comical as she attempted a serious face for the moment.

“Done?” Olivia asked with a small smile.

That’s all it took to get her going again. “Oh, no!” She gasped for air, clutching her stomach as another wave of laughter hit, tears freely streaming down her face. Ignoring the delirious Kat for a moment, Olivia filled Mason in on Suzie and Finley. She didn’t have to, but without their help, the day would have been a monumental disappointment.

“I owe the two of you big time.” Katherine had reined in her hysterics when she heard Suzie’s name. The regret on every person’s face as Olivia informed them about Suzie was making her skin crawl.

Olivia could easily see how someone could defy the law in aid of their loved ones. If she didn’t before, Mr. Bolton surely convinced her. What makes her uncomfortable is the level of trust they freely give. That was just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Olivia was about to go when she recalled she still had something to ask Mason. “How did you know where to find us today?”

“Mmm?” Mason seemed lost in thought.

“I shot him a text when we are heading up. He saw me running up the street, gave me a lift,” Katherine answered instead.

Olivia sure was very grateful for it.

 ***

“Would you say you were forming a friendship with Katherine Ambrose at this point?” Dr. Wilson had a brief gleam of hope in her eyes.

“I’m not sure, really.”

“Did the day’s events influence your progress with trusting people?”

“Of course it did. People are fickle, easily manipulated.”

“And you consider yourself as dependable and impermeable?”

“No, I never once said I was any better. Did you forget about the Bolton case?”

“I have to say, it’s quite refreshing to hear someone admit they aren’t perfect. People use masks to hide their blemishes.”

“Like I said. Fickle.”

Saying nothing she gave Oliva a rueful smile. She hated people who did that–that pitying smile. Poor thing! They would think. Smiling to hide their genuine feelings, the words dying to escape, burning holes through their tongues as it lies and festers.

“You seem to avoid talking about Mason Riley altogether.”

The mention of his name made her stomach dip–that near like floating feeling you get riding an elevator or hitting an air pocket in a plane. Olivia shook her head like a madwoman. “Not yet.” She couldn’t.

Fuck, she couldn’t.