Page 13 of Fifty-Fifty

from the floor above.’

‘What was the noise?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know. It’s hard to describe. It sounded like a groan, or a moan, or something. Maybe someone talking. I don’t know, I can’t really remember. I remember I went upstairs to check on him. He’d been having memory lapses.

They made him disorientated. Old age or, God forbid, the start of dementia or something. I thought maybe he’d fallen. I saw him lying on the bed in the master bedroom. The lights were off in the room, but I remember thinking it was weird.

There was something not right about it.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I couldn’t really see him in the dark, but I saw one of his feet lying on the bed. He still wore his shoes. That was unusual. My dad was always giving me sass about lying on the couch with my boots on.’

‘Did you turn on the light?’ said Eddie.

‘No, I didn’t. I just went over to him, asked him if he was feeling okay. I thought he was maybe taking a nap. He didn’t answer. That’s when I saw what

had been done to him. I held his head and saw that the rest of his face had been so …’ She trailed off, and then said, ‘That’s when I panicked and dialed 911.’

‘Did you see your sister, or anyone else, attack your father last night?’

‘No, I didn’t see it. But I know it was her. She was hiding in the bathroom. I saw the light from the bathroom spill underneath the door. Saw the shadows as

she moved in there. Ready to spring out and maybe kill me too. I knew it was her. I screamed and I ran out the house.’

‘How did you know it was your sister who killed your father?’ I said.

‘Because my sister is the worst bitch I’ve ever known. I knew it was her.

She’s got this front she puts on for the world. Rich, successful. It’s all lies. She’s sick in the head. Our mom, she made things hard growing up. Alexandra is even

more fucked up than me. She just hides it better. The cops arrested her too, when I told them I’d seen her in the bathroom. I saw the cops handcuff her when I was in the back of the squad car.’

A knock on the door. Sofia’s eyes flashed fear as she looked over my shoulder. I got up and saw there were two detectives on the other side of the door.

‘It’s okay, Sofia. You’re doing great. Let me go talk to these guys for a second.’

Sofia was struggling with her breathing, her eyes were wide and I could tell she was reliving that moment when she found her father. I tried to calm her again, and she nodded, closed her eyes. Her fingertips found the grooves in the table again, and started moving. I got up, opened the door, stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me.

The first detective was the one I’d seen earlier, in the yellow shirt, arguing with the sergeant. He was my height, about my build, but ten years older and with a shock of grey hair. His partner wore a three-piece suit, dark, with a navy shirt and pale blue tie. He was younger than me, and had his hair shaved close on both sides, with a flop of hair on top of his head slicked back. They looked an odd pairing.

‘Detective Soames,’ said the man in the yellow shirt, thumbing his chest. He then pointed to the younger man and said, ‘This is Detective Tyler,’ and that was about all the pleasantries that were on offer.

Tyler filled the moment with dead air, not even nodding or smiling. Just staring. This was old-school NYPD – the lawyers are your enemy. Neither of them extended a hand, and they both looked decidedly pissed off at my presence.

‘And you are?’ said Soames.

‘I’m pleased to meet you both,’ I said.

‘Yeah, yeah, what’s your name, pal? We’re ready to interview this suspect,’

said Tyler. His slicked-back hair didn’t move as he spoke. Whatever was holding it in place was industrial strength. He said the word pal like it meant exactly the opposite.

‘I’m Eddie Flynn. I only just met my client. I need a little more time, if you guys don’t mind?’ I said it as politely as I could. They didn’t deserve it, but I was feeling generous.

‘We have to move on this. Clock’s tickin’. You got five minutes then we’ll be coming in,’ said Soames.

‘I might need longer than that. My client just lost her father. She’s not in a fit state at the moment.’