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“I don’t know. Five or six months ago. I’ve been away, you know?”
“Were you seeing him ten years ago?” Josie asked.
“Ten years ago? I’ve been seeing him since high school—” She broke off, realizing her mistake. “I, uh, listen, I don’t really want to talk anymore, okay? I just want to get this done.” She held up the sock as if offering it to them and then she turned and threw it into the washer.
Josie said, “Let’s talk about Jana Melburn then. You were the last person to see her.”
“No, no, I wasn’t,” Carolina said over her shoulder as she pressed a series of buttons to start the washer. “That guy was the last person to see her.”
Mettner said, “But you lied to the police about what happened.”
She turned back toward them, her fingers now tugging at a strand of her hair. “No, I didn’t. I—”
Josie said, “We saw the video, Carolina. What you told the police and what was on the video were very different things.”
She curled the hair around her index finger. “So?”
“So,” Mettner said. “What we can’t figure out is why you would lie. You didn’t even know Jana Melburn, did you? Or the other guy?”
“No, I didn’t know them.”
“Then why bother to lie about what happened between them?” Mettner pressed.
She twirled the hair around her finger, loosened it and twirled it again.
Josie said, “Did you hear what they were arguing about?”
Carolina didn’t answer right away. Josie and Mettner waited. It was a technique that Josie found extremely useful in both interviews and interrogations. Saying nothing. Most people had to fill the silence eventually. Except that Carolina didn’t.
Josie tried again. “The only reason I can think of why you would lie about something like that is because you were protecting someone. It can’t be Mathias Tobin. You say you didn’t know him. Jana was dead. Was it your mother? Sharon? Did you hear something that put you in danger?”
Still, she said nothing. She pulled so hard at her hair that several strands broke off and floated to the floor. Jaundiced eyes blinked slowly at them. Josie wondered if she was trying to will them away, will this conversation over.
“Carolina,” said Josie. “When is the last time you went to the doctor?”
Immediately, her free hand went to her face, touching the skin beneath each cheek, one side after the other. She gave a nervous laugh. “It’s that obvious, huh? I thought maybe it wasn’t to other people. Red hair doesn’t go well with this look, does it? I thought about dyeing it dark like my mom or Sharon. They both got the dark hair. My grandmother had red like me. They say it skips a generation.”
Her voice had become skittish, almost breathless. Josie had the feeling she would just keep talking if they didn’t stop her. “Jaundice is usually a sign of liver failure. Is that what the doctor told you?”
Carolina nodded. “At the ER, last time I OD’d. Too many drugs for too long. I was hoping to get through Sharon’s funeral without my mom seeing me like this, though.” She touched her forehead.
“Did they talk about treatment?” asked Mettner.
Carolina laughed. “Treatment? For someone like me? Even if I had insurance or could afford it, I’d have to stop using to get better, and I’m not going to do that. I’d like to think I would stop but that’s a lie. Nah. I’m going out like this. This is it. Could be a couple more years or could be a matter of months. All I know is I’m going to try to be obliterated right to the very end. Starting after Sharon’s funeral.”
Mettner said, “Fair enough. But if that’s what you’re going to do, don’t you think Jana Melburn’s family finally deserves to know the truth about the night she died? I know you had a difficult time being a mom and that your relationship with Sharon was strained, but wouldn’t you want to know what really happened to her?”
Josie counted off the beats of silence in her head. When she got to seven, Carolina muttered, “Yeah. I guess. I know my mom would. My mom deserves that after raising her so well.”
“Then tell us,” Josie said. “Tell us what you heard the night you saw Jana Melburn arguing with her brother.”
Carolina used the back of her wrist to swipe at a tear that rolled down her cheek. Sniffling, she said, “Am I gonna have to give a statement or something?”
Mettner said, “Probably, yeah. Depends on what we find out and what it means to the case. After we talk here, we can drive over to the Bly Police Department and get it all down on paper.”
“Bly?”
Josie said, “Jana’s case is in their jurisdiction. We don’t make those rules. Whatever you tell us, you’d have to repeat to them and make a written statement. They would be the ones to act on what you tell them, if necessary.”
