Page 83 of Day Break

The woman was hands down the best detective on the force.

“I’d still snag her up if she wasn’t helplessly in love with her husband,” I joked. “Come on, we don’t want to keep her waiting.” I jumped out and opened Chloe’s car door.

The next few hours would probably be hell on her. I knew that Malory would do anything to get the full truth.

I’d thought of warning Chloe, but I knew better as a lawyer. What Malory got out of Chloe had to be raw and truthful.

I felt sick to my stomach as we were shown into an interview room. Less than a minute later, the interview started, and I did my best to represent Chloe. I was surprised at how well she handled herself.

For the entire inquiry, she sat rod straight in the chair, only taking a couple sips of water as she relayed the events of the other night when she had spotted her ex-husband.

I listened to every detail, hung on her every word as she told Malory of the last time that she’d seen Elliott Meyers prior to that day.

“It was a Tuesday,” she started, but Malory jumped in.

“How do you know that?”

“Every Tuesday, I changed the bedding on our bed so I could wash them. Elliott liked his house run like clockwork. He liked things to happen on the same days of the week. Even to eat the same meals weekly.”

At first, I’d been impressed that she could remember such a detail. Now I understood why. Fear. I could see it clearly as she continued to talk.

“Oh yeah? What did you make for breakfast that morning?” Malory asked.

“I made the standard Tuesday morning breakfast: scrambled eggs, runny, like he liked them, with four slices of pork bacon. He didn’t like the turkey kind.” She rubbed her wrist at this point, as if remembering an old injury. She shook her head as if breaking herself out of a spell. Her chin rose as she continued. “He had two cups of coffee, no cream, two spoons of sugar. He was wearing his black suit with the blue tie and his fancy shoes that I’d shined the night before. He had told me he had a big meeting that day and he had to look his best.”

“What time did he leave?” Malory asked.

“I don’t know. Elliott didn’t allow me to know what time it was,” Chloe answered.

Malory frowned and looked down at a large file. She flipped a page. “There were no clocks in the house?”

“No. The ones on the stove and microwave were set to zero. Elliott deemed time to be something men should worry about. Not women.” She glanced at me momentarily.

Malory mumbled something but then asked, “Go on. What happened after he left?”

“I went about my day. After cleaning up the breakfast mess, I headed upstairs to strip the bed. Once everything was washed, I cleaned the bathrooms. Tuesdays were bathroom scrub days too. I bleached the shower, the tub, the toilets. All of them in the house.”

“How many were there?” Malory asked.

“Ten in the house. Not that we used all of them, but once…” She stopped and slumped her shoulders.

“Go on,” Malory said.

Chloe lifted her chin again. “Once, I skipped one of the bathrooms. Elliott knew instantly. I never skipped any after that.” She looked down at her hands.

“Okay,” Malory said after a moment of silence. “So, the last you saw him was that day, on…” She glanced at the paperwork. “February tenth of last year?”

Chloe nodded. “Until the other night.”

“Do you know if Elliott has frequented Six Seven Restaurant before?” Malory asked.

“I didn’t know anything my husband did outside of the home.” She looked directly into Malory’s eyes. “I wasn’t allowed to leave.”

Malory’s eyebrows shot up. “You… weren’t allowed? I’m sorry.” She leaned forward. “Are you telling me you never left the home?”

Chloe nodded.

“For how long?” Malory asked.