Sweet Water(110)

I’m not sure what Josh has taken from Martin’s car. I drift off, and when I wake up, Josh is gone. I’m left wondering if I’ve dreamed him until I see it—a single red rose left on top of the windowsill. He’ll wait to give me the rest.





CHAPTER 30

Statement of Mr. Cassius (Cash) Veltri [October 24 interviewed by Detective Harvey Monroe]

Detective Monroe: Mr. Veltri, you’ve been charged with first-degree arson of the residence of 846 Blackburn Road, which you’ve already confessed to. Do you understand the charges?

Cash: Yes, sir.

Detective Monroe: Why did you commit this crime?

Cash: The house fire was an accident. I broke into the home because the Ellsworths stole my dead sister’s journal, and my mother wanted it back.

Detective Monroe: Please describe in as much detail as you can why you believe they stole her journal. How did you know the journal was in the house?

Cash: I didn’t, but I was sure they at least knew where it was. I was going to wait for them to get home and threaten them until they returned it. No more lies. No more cops covering for them.

Detective Monroe: Why burn down the house then?

Cash: That was an accident. They had candles everywhere. I must’ve knocked one over when I broke in. I don’t know who leaves a house with that many candles burning. Once the fire started, it wouldn’t stop. I ran out. I knew it was over for me then, so I bashed out the windows first, the ones my sister hated.

Detective Monroe: So this was motivated by revenge?

Cash: It wasn’t. I never would’ve went in there if it hadn’t been for the journal. I was just trying to get back what was ours.

Detective Monroe: Cash, why do you think the Ellsworths wanted Yazmin’s journal?

Cash: Because it had the truth in it. About what happened to my sister. And my father.

Detective Monroe: What happened to your sister?

Cash: Finn Ellsworth killed her.

Detective Monroe: Please explain why you think Finn Ellsworth killed Yazmin.

Cash: [Sighs.] The Ellsworths owed my family some money they were never going to repay. Times were hard. I was staging Finn’s kidnapping. Never intended to hurt him. I laced Finn’s joint so it would be easier to take him.

Detective Monroe: With meth and Rohypnol.

Cash: I guess. I honestly wasn’t sure what I bought. I didn’t tell Yaz I laced Finn’s joint; I thought she’d back out. I wanted to still be able to take him if she didn’t agree with how I changed our plan. I wrapped Yazmin’s in pink paper like I always do so they wouldn’t get mixed up. She was in on hitting Finn for two hundred and fifty Gs. But not kidnapping him for more. I never believed her that he’d hand over the money, but she said to give her some time. He was going to screw us, though. That’s what his family does. And we deserved more. I wasn’t letting them get off that easy.

Detective Monroe: Okay, so what happened next?

Cash: They smoked their joints.

Detective Monroe: Then what happened?

Cash: [Crying.] No one was supposed to get hurt.

Detective Monroe: I’m sorry. This part must be hard. I know that you were only trying to protect your sister. I have three of them. I can tell by the way you speak of her that you loved her very much. Cash, I need to understand everything that happened. Especially in tying the right person to the crime.

Cash: Okay . . . Finn was shouting about an Instagram post and so was Yazmin, yelling to take it down. Finn was wobbling already from the drugs, and all I had to do was knock him out, zip-tie him, throw him in the truck.

Detective Monroe: What happened?

Cash: He was angry and drugged. Yaz was probably confused because I hadn’t told her I’d slipped him anything different. She didn’t see me hiding in the woods.

Detective Monroe: And?

Cash: I popped out of the bushes and scared them. I tried to tackle Finn, but he turned into some kind of martial arts . . . soldier. I hadn’t anticipated the rich kid having street smarts. His eyes were closed, and he could barely stand. He didn’t know it was me. I wore a ski mask. He immediately reacted by kicking my knee backward until it almost snapped.

Detective Monroe: And then what happened?

Cash: Yazmin was screaming, “No, don’t. Stop!” She was trying to grab Finn and tell him to run. On his back, grabbing his neck. She didn’t know who I was at first. They’d been hiking on these rocks, and Finn was swaying unevenly on one of them.

Cash: [Crying uncontrollably. Barely able to speak.] When I tried to grab Finn, my sister jumped on my back, realizing who I was. Finn suddenly seemed to find his balance again, standing on one foot, and then he gave me a hard, front kick. Yazmin and me, we flew backward. [Crying.] She cracked her skull and broke her neck. I knew she was dead, instantly.

Detective Monroe: [Pauses.] I’m so sorry, Cash. What happened next?

Cash: Finn crawled into the woods in the other direction with his cell phone. He was calling the cops, so I got out of there. I mean, I checked Yazmin first. [Crying.] Yazmin was . . . gone. I couldn’t go home.

Detective Monroe: Where did you go instead?

Cash: I couldn’t go back to the pizza shop, but I was done with my shift, so I went to a school friend’s house and slept on their couch. I waited for the call from my mom, after the police got to Yazmin, but it didn’t come.

Detective Monroe: I see. And then what?