Fidelity (Infidelity #5)(93)

“Not like that.”

“Like what?” the officer asked.

I pushed back the chair and paced, hoping to calm the queasiness. “He proposed. It wasn’t even a proposal. It was a mandate. He said that after he divorced my mother I would marry him.” My breathing came faster. “He called me a spitfire and said…” I closed my eyes, willing the bile to stay put. “…he’d always wanted to tame me.” I collapsed into the chair.

“I was there,” Daryl said, reaching reassuringly for my hand. “So were Ralph Porter and Mrs. Spencer.”

“And so was your boyfriend, Lennox Demetri?” Emerson asked.

“Yes.”

“And Mr. Demetri was upset?”

“Yes, he was upset. So was I. So was Suzanna. She even cursed… multiple times.”

“Why do you think she was so upset?”

“Oh,” I said, “I don’t know. Maybe because the bitch has been his whore for thirty years and she finally thought she’d get the keys to the castle. She was prancing around like queen regent before the engagement party. And when she finally learns that he’s willing to divorce my mom, instead of giving her what she’s wanted for all these years, he shoved her aside and proposed to me.” I let out a long breath.

Shit!

Both men stared at me with wide eyes. Slowly my tirade registered. I’d spewed the answer—the disgust at not only Suzanna’s behavior but also the hurt that she’d played my mother. It came out of me. Now I heard my words.

“Oh my God,” I said. “I saw her yesterday. They weren’t together. She looked at me with daggers in her eyes. She said something about men… Bryce, Lennox, and even Alton.”

“Miss Collins, where were you yesterday and last night?”

“Yesterday I was at the hotel and then they took me to the hospital. I wasn’t discharged until this morning.”

“Before the hotel?”

“I woke at the hotel.” The day replayed in my head. “Oh, we went to Montague Manor to get my mother’s and my passports.”

“So you were at the manor yesterday. What about Mr. Demetri?”

“Yes, he was with me.”

“Did you have access to any food or drink, specifically your stepfather’s Cognac?”

My head moved from side to side. “We went in, spoke to Jane, I showed Lennox my old bedroom, and we left.” And then I remembered. “Suzanna arrived as we left.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Jane told us she’d passed the front gate. That was why we left.”

“Do the guards at the front gate keep a log of all cars?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably. Alton’s kind of a control freak like that.”

“He was,” Officer Emerson corrected.

“Yes, he was.”

Once we were done, I waited with Isaac and Deloris in a row of chairs as Daryl Owen and Officer Emerson went into another interrogation room. From along the wall where we sat, we could watch the large room filled with multiple desks. Like worker bees, the people buzzed around, in and out. No doubt the discovery of Melissa Summers, Bryce’s episode at the hotel, and now Alton’s death weren’t their only working cases. Nevertheless, they were big cases.

“Miss Alex.”

I stood at the sight of Jane coming into the police station, her eyes filled with tears.

“Jane?”

“Miss Alex, he’s gone.”

I nodded. “Did you… find him?”

She shook her head. “No, Brantley did. Mr. Fitzgerald wasn’t ready to leave for work. He’s always ready at the same time. Brantley could’ve asked someone to go check, but he went up to their room, the one your momma shared with him. He knocked, but Mr. Fitzgerald didn’t answer. He said he knocked again.”

She wiped her eyes. “Brantley took care of Mr. Fitzgerald, like I tried to take care of your momma.”

Tears filled my eyes, not at the loss of Alton, but from the emotion in Jane’s voice.

“Miss Peterson,” an officer said. “We need you to make your statement now.”

She shook her head. “Miss Alex, this is what I was saying. I can’t say nothing.”

“You can, Jane. Be honest.”

“But Miss Suzy, she—”

“Miss Peterson, this way,” the officer repeated.

I reached out to Jane’s arm. “She what?”

“The other night, the two of them got into a fight something fierce.”

“Miss—”

“Officer,” I said. “I’m Alexandria Collins. Miss Peterson works for my family.”

“Yes, ma’am. We know that.”

“She won’t be answering any of your questions until Mr. Owen is done with Mr. Demetri. At that time, he’ll need to speak to her and sit in with her during your questions.”

The officer sighed. “Miss Collins, a statement is all we’re asking. A few minutes. We have a lot of your house staff to question. There’s no reason to make it more complicated.”

“Sir, if you have others to question, feel free to take their statements. Miss Peterson is waiting for Mr. Owen.”

“Fine,” he said, waving to the chairs. “Have a seat, Miss Peterson. You just lost your place in line.”