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38
“Sit down, Marsia.”
She sat gracefully in the seat opposite him, gave him a big smile. “May I call you Dillon, since we appear to be on a first-name basis?”
“No.”
A large female guard with pretty dark eyes and a tight mouth stood behind her, arms crossed. She looked like she could bust heads if she needed to, but when she glanced at Marsia, her face relaxed into a near smile, like she was looking at a friend. Her reaction to Marsia reminded Savich that Gay was a psychopath with the ability to draw people to her, a kind of charisma that camouflaged what she really was.
Marsia sat back and crossed her arms, still smiling. “So it takes a death to bring you in for a visit. I must say you’re looking fit, Agent Savich, and quite handsome. I always thought you put the Rasmussen males to shame. Do you think I’ll be allowed to attend Veronica’s funeral?”
“If you were allowed to go to her funeral, you would have to go dressed in orange. A pity it makes you look rather sallow, since it’s the color you’ll be wearing until you’re too old to care.”
He saw a blaze of rage, then it was gone. Marsia laughed, wagged her finger at him. “Not a bad color on me, actually. We’ll see how long I’ll be wearing it, Agent Savich.”
She sat forward suddenly, enough to make her guard twitch, but not enough to caution her. “I know you believe I was behind Veronica’s murder in the cafeteria, but I didn’t know anything about it until a guard told me. I was in the common area, speaking to that very sweet guard. Junior is what he’s called. I don’t know his last name.”
“What were you talking about?”
“There’s only one thing you talk about in Washington if it’s not politics. Football and the status of the Redskins.”
Savich let her words settle a moment, then leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest. “What I’d rather talk about is how you orchestrated Veronica’s murder like a ballet, planned the whole production. It was artistic, even, wasn’t it? Had your fingerprints all over it, crazy and unique. Come on, don’t be shy, Marsia. Wouldn’t you enjoy taking credit?”
“And you’d enjoy sticking me with her murder, wouldn’t you, Agent Savich? Sorry, but as I said, I had nothing to do with what happened to poor Veronica. I was actually very fond of her until she turned on me, implicated me in her own attempts to murder Venus Rasmussen. I understood. Veronica was desperate, didn’t know what to say, and not being very bright, she picked anyone she could to throw to the wolves.”
“Don’t be modest, Marsia. It really doesn’t fit you at all. You weren’t Veronica’s accomplice; you ran the whole Rasmussen plot just like you ran the murder show in the cafeteria—by having someone else do it.”
She waved her hands at him. Savich saw her fingernails were manicured, buffed. Did she get a guard to give her a file?
Marsia said, “Let me tell you something you probably don’t know, and yes, I said the same thing to Warden Putney. You can ask anyone you like, actually. Veronica didn’t make any friends here. She didn’t realize how much she needed friends. She acted like she was better than the others, and no one likes to be treated like that, with no respect. I heard she complained about some of the prisoners, got them into trouble. And what did that crappy attitude get her? A shiv in her chest. Yes, a little over the top, but she should have known you never want to make enemies in prison.”
She cocked her head to one side, her eyes not leaving his face. Again, she smiled. “How remiss of me. I forgot to ask. How are your lovely wife and your little boy? Sean’s his name, right?”
Savich wanted to leap over the table and strangle her, but instead, he said without pause, keeping his voice calm, “Which one of your private gang shoved the shiv in Veronica’s chest? Did you or Zanetti select the prisoner who did the job?”
Another brief flash of rage in her eyes, then she shook her head at him, like a disappointed schoolteacher. “A gang? I do not have a gang. Sure, some of the prisoners tend to stick together, and there are some natural leaders. I steer clear of them, and when I can’t, I am always courteous and attentive. I’ll only have to be here until I’m acquitted at my trial in a few months, after all. If I go to trial, that is.”
“How long did it take you to decide Angela Zanetti was the one to not only keep you safe but solve your biggest problem? And so you seduced her, just as you seduced Veronica.”
“I seduced her? You’re not being very clever today. Actually, Angela—Angie—is very nice, if you show her respect. All Angie and I do is talk, play some basketball, watch TV, since there’s little else to do in this place. Angie really likes Wheel of Fortune. We watch the show together sometimes.”
“So does Angela believe in your undying love, just as Veronica did? Aren’t you afraid of how she’ll react when she’s charged with murder and finds out you’ve only used her, just as you did Veronica?”
Savich saw her stiffen all over, then it fell away, and she eased and gave a little laugh. “That’s a fascinating tale you’re creating.”
“I’m curious, however did you manage to sleep with Angela? You don’t share a cell.”
She cocked her head at him, tap, tap, tapped her fingers on the table.
Savich said, “All eight women who surrounded Veronica will be tried for conspiracy unless they come forward. They were all part of it. Their wall of silence will collapse sooner or later. Do you think Angela will be willing to go down alone for Veronica’s murder? Or, like Veronica, will she turn on you?”
Marsia said in a low, flat voice, “How dramatic of you. It’s really straightforward. Prisoners hate snitches almost as much as they hate betrayal. It’s how many of them got here. Veronica’s deal to lie about me made her a target. That had nothing to do with me. Ask the guards. There was lots of talk.” She shrugged. “Prisoners are unforgiving, I’ve found. Don’t you agree?”
Savich sat back in his chair. “You’re dreaming if you think Veronica’s death will get you off at trial.”
“There you go again, wishful thinking. My lawyer tells me my case might not even get to trial now that Veronica’s dead. The prosecutor has only circumstantial evidence, hearsay, and your own speculation to tie me to anything. Otherwise I’m nowhere in the picture. I know it was you who convinced the prosecutor I was the mastermind behind Veronica, that I manipulated her, even slept with her to buy her loyalty. I admit you’re an excellent salesman. Talk about manipulation, you’re the expert.”
He talked right over her. “You acted fast when you found out Veronica was being moved today. But you’ve been planning her death, probably ever since you heard she and the prosecutor were talking. Actually, I’ll bet you’ve been thinking about how to kill Veronica ever since you were both arrested. Congratulations. The whole production was impressive.” He sat back and clapped, slowly, once, twice, three times. “The reason you’ll fail, Marsia? You believe you’re smarter than everyone else, but you’re not. You had to manipulate only Veronica the first time, and look what happened. You didn’t learn from that mistake. This time you involved eight people. Very stupid.”
