Richard was lying across his bed, when a soft knock on the door notified him that it was his turn to go downstairs and be interviewed by Officer Foster. It came sooner than he thought it would. Richard was instantly annoyed. For a few fleeting moments, he gave serious consideration to getting out of it by pretending that his migraine had returned.
The moment passed. He knew that giving in to temptation would only delay the inevitable. Sooner or later, he would have to be interviewed. The longer he put off doing something he dreaded, anxiety made it that much harder to do. Richard sighed and made his way downstairs to find Foster jotting notes down in his pad. He looked up and greeted Richard with a wide shit eating grin. Richard sat down and gazed back at him impassively. Foster shook his head and laughed.
“You know something? You’re such a Dudley-do-Right and your mother being a reverend, I came in here today expecting everybody to be as strait-laced as you. Then Harriet comes walking down those steps. I was so shocked; you could have knocked me over with a feather. I never would have thought you were related to somebody like that.”
“Somebody like that? What does that mean? Do you mean, because she’s a ballerina?”
Foster started to laugh and stopped abruptly, staring incredulously at him, “wait you’re serious, aren’t you?”
Richard nodded and pointed to a picture of Harriet in a classical ballerina stage costume. Foster looked at the photograph and whistled. He shook his head.
“So, she’s a ballerina too? Your family is full of surprises. To think that somebody who associates with the kind of lowlifes that she associates with is also a classically trained ballerina, just blows my mind.”
“What the hell are you talking about Foster?”
“You really don’t know? Well, I’m not going to tell you. If you really don’t know, then your sister doesn’t want you to know. It’s not my place to go around telling somebody else’s personal business.”
“That’s never stopped you before,” spat Richard.
“I’m enjoying myself, so I’m going to let that one slide. Tell me something, is anybody in your family what they appear to be? All these years, I thought you were pure as the driven snow and come to find out, you’re connected to two attempts to take someone’s life. First Carl and now your mother. Unfortunately, your mother did not survive.”
“Who said my mother was murdered?”
“According to everybody at the nursing home, that’s the first thing your sister Rachel said after your mother died. They say she nearly shouted the charge nurse down with accusations.”
“My sister was in shock. You can’t take anything she said seriously.”
“Nevertheless, the accusation was made. Thanks to her threats to sue the nursing home, they called us and requested a full investigation in order to protect their reputation. You know as well as I do, stranger things have happened. It wouldn’t be the first time that a seemingly baseless accusation turned out to be true. That’s why I’m here today, to get to the truth. You and Harriet like to play your cards close to your chest. It makes me wonder what skeletons are rattling around in your brother’s closet. What kinds of things does he get up to?”
“Let me get this straight. You don’t share other people’s business, but you expect me to? Well. that’s not going to happen.”
“Ok, you get points for loyalty. It will be interesting to see if your brother earns any points, when I ask him about you.”
“What does this witch hunt have to do with my mother’s death? Seems to me like you’re just using this so-called investigation as an excuse to go on a witch hunt. I have half a mind to call your superior and make a formal complaint.”
“Oh, climb down off of your soap box Richard. Your other sister Rachel is the one who claims somebody murdered your mother. Unless and until somebody finds physical evidence to point out the murderer, I have to eliminate each and every person who was with her yesterday as a suspect. You and your siblings were with her, when she died. Damn Richard, don’t tell me you’ve been off the force so long that you don’t recognize solid police work.”
“Oh, I recognize solid police work if I see it,” Richard quipped.