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“What did you do together?”
“We just hang out. Her parents are a real drag so she sees my place as a kind of escape.”
That solved the mystery of where Eliza was disappearing to on her ‘runs’ Ella thought. And it seemed that Eric was either genuinely unaware she was dead or he was a very good actor.
“According to our data, Eliza visited your social media profile regularly, but your profile is completely blank. Any idea why this is?”
“We play Minesweeper together. To get started, she has to go on my profile and invite me to a game. Simple.”
A plausible explanation, Ella thought.
Ripley got right to the point. “Eliza Matthews is dead. We found her body this morning.”
“What? You’re lying.” Eric turned to Ella for confirmation. “Are you being serious?”
Ella nodded. “She was discovered near Holmer Green just on the edge of town.”
Eric clawed his hands and dug them into his face. He stumbled onto the empty sofa and buried himself into the cushions. Then came the sobbing. Ripley turned to her partner and shook her head.
“No. She can’t be gone. Please tell me you’re lying. She was my friend. My best friend. My only friend.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Martin. We’re not lying.”
Eric gripped one of the cushions, tearing off some of the fabric. He threw the remains across the room then buried his face in his hands.
“Why?” he shouted. “Who would hurt Eliza?”
“Eric? Did you have anything to do with this?” Ripley asked.
The suspect unearthed himself and shot glances between both agents.
“No! I didn’t hurt Eliza. I never would.”
Innocent people tended to speak in absolutes. Eric’s emotion was raw and genuine. There was something naturally unnerving about Eric Martin but he wasn’t a killer. Besides, with his weedy frame, Ella doubted he could have subdued Cheryl the way their killer did. Likewise, he didn’t look strong enough to drag Eliza’s body to the dump site.
“We’re sorry, Eric. She seemed like a great girl. If you calm down, you might be able to help us catch the person who did this.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Eric shouted. “She’s gone. Catch whoever you want. It won’t bring her back.” The man assumed a sitting position on the sofa and stared out into the abyss. “Why? Why would someone kill Liza?”
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Eric pushed his hair back and wiped his tears. “I don’t get it.”
“You knew her, maybe better than anyone else. Do you know of anyone who might want to hurt her? Did she mention anyone? Maybe something that was bothering her?”
“I don’t know. She’s a pretty simple girl. Gym, work, TV,” Eric said. “There was one thing, but…”
“Anything. It’s all useful,” Ripley said.
“Liza was getting into the dark stuff.”
Ella this time. “The what? Drugs?”
“No. She’d never touch that stuff. Liza got a new obsession the past couple of weeks.” Eric grabbed a handful of tissues out of a drawer beside his couch. “Let me get my phone. It’s in the other room.” He disappeared out of sight.
Ripley whispered, “He’s a wreck. He’s not our unsub.”
