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~Faith~
I sit across from the officers, trying my best to portray the stricken housewife. They’d found Gregg. Apparently, according to them, he must have gotten too close to the edge of the cliff and fallen.
“I knew I should have gone with him,” I fret, and wipe fake tears from beneath my eyes. “If I had gone, maybe…”
As soon as dawn broke that morning, I’d left the comfort of the warm bed I’d shared with Declan the previous night and snuck from the cabin undetected. Declan would no doubt be angry with me when he woke. He might even assume that I’d used him as a scapegoat with the intent of pointing a finger his direction, but even though the thought had crossed my mind, I’m notthatterrible of a person.
I took my time driving back into the city and waited until I had a bit of breakfast before calling the police, giving him plenty of time, I hoped, to wake and clear out. Like me, Declan was more than capable of taking care of himself. If he got caught, it would be a problem for both of us. I didn’t have a ready explanation for that outcome, so I was banking on Declan being smart enough to be gone.
Building on the story we had discussed, I concocted one that I felt was as foolproof as it was going to get.
The youngest officer, tall with dirty blond hair, fair skin, and crystal-clear blue eyes that burst with life entered the living room, swapping places on the opposite couch with the older officer who’d been first on the scene and performed the initial questioning that led to finding Glenn. Now, it was the young male’s turn.
Flipping open a rectangular black notebook, he clicked a slim silver pen and looked at me seriously. “Ma’am, I have a few questions I need you to answer.”
I nod, the cooperative wife, and wiped a distraught tear from my eye.
“When was the last time you saw your husband?”
I look up at the ceiling, a dozen thoughts consisting of Glenn’s last moments racing through my mind like snapshots. “It was around lunchtime…mid-afternoon, I think?” I meet his eyes briefly, then press my lips together and look away again. “He was going fishing.”
The officer jots a few notes. “And what were you doing? Any reason you didn’t go with him?”
“Oh, I don’t like fishing. It’s so quiet and slow. Glenn could do it for hours. I’m more of a person who needs to move and do things. Stay busy, you know?”
“How did you stay busy?”
“I cleaned some. We’d just opened the cabin for the first time in… I can’t honestly remember the last time we were there. It’s been so long.”
“What made you decide to go now?”
Was I imagining the suspicion in his eyes? “Our marriage hasn’t been the best the past few years. We’d just started working on making it better. Glenn thought getting away for a weekend to focus on us would help.”
“And did it?”
I smile softly. “We’d already started working on reconnecting. The cabin was just a bonus. We didn’t get to spend much time together before…” My voice cracked with emotion, but not for the reason the officer likely attributed it to. Clearing my throat, I continued. “It was a beautiful few hours. Glenn could be very romantic when he put his mind to it.”
The officer had been studying me, gauging my response. I can’t tell if he bought my explanation or not, but I’m fairly confident I sold it.
“One more question and then I’ll get out of your hair. Why did you wait until you were home to call for help?”
I had rehearsed this part many times on my way back, so the excuse flowed off my tongue with ease. “My phone service is spotty on a good day. Up there, I was lucky if I could get a single bar now and then. I knew that even if I could get the phone to work, it would drop the call. I didn’t have any choice but to leave back down the hill.” I shook my head. “I told Glenn for years that we needed to have a landline installed, but he always said the whole reason for going was to get away from distractions. He never thought about the what-ifs.”
Without finishing his notes, the officer stands and looks down at me. “Thank you for your time, Mrs. Overmeyer. We’ll be in touch if there’s anything else we need. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Sniffling into a tissue, I dip my head and nod, finding it difficult to hide the smile that threatens to sprout. Hopefully, I won’t have to keep up the rouse much longer. It’s exhausting, going through this process. But it’s necessary. Soon, it will pay off in spades.
The officers linger another hour, while I listened to the reports coming in over their walkies. They’d pulled Glenn’s body from the water several hours ago, started transporting his lifeless body to the morgue less than two hours ago, and they were now finishing their forensics of the property and cabin for signs of foul play. As the older officer had explained earlier, it was a formality. They had to cover all bases.
I bided my time, and once everyone cleared out, and I was finally alone again, I honestly was drained. Who knew murder could take so much out of you?
Remaining cautious, I take my time leaving the couch, and once I finally did, I made my way slowly upstairs to my room. It would be an early bedtime today, my need for rest and recuperation outweighing my desire to make plans for my future. I already had a path sketched out. Now I need to wait until the smoke cleared and any threat of suspicion was cast aside before I could move forward.
It was difficult waiting, but patience, as they said, was a virtue.
The bedroom was quiet, stagnate after being empty so long. Standing just inside the doorway, I took a moment to soak up my surroundings with fresh eyes.
Everything was clean and tidy, just the way I’d left it. The bed was covered in freshly washed linens and was neatly made. The only dish in the room was the single empty glass I kept beside the bed where I slept in case I was thirsty at night. All of the laundry was washed, folded, and put away.
