AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He scoffs and turns back around. “No. Fuck off, lady.”
Surprised by his profanity, and for some reason, trying not to laugh, I clear my throat. “I just need to ask you some questions. I assure you I want justice for you and Mrs. Larsen. I’m just here to make sure we have the wrong guy, so the police can get busy finding the third suspect. From what I understand, the other two confessed, but Mr. Johnson insists he’s not it. And the other two aren’t talking.”
He turns around again, placing a napkin in the book to hold its place, and sets it on the tray that holds various items like a tissue box, a remote for the bed, and a plastic cup of water. “Let’s go into the hallway.”
I thought the room was quieter and more private, but maybe he thinks his wife can hear us.
We find a discrete corner and he waits until I sit before he does, and it reminds me of Eric briefly, until I tell myself to get my head back in the game.
“I’m sure you’ve been over and over this, but can you walk me through the night of the invasion?” I ask.
He blows out a breath and pierces me with watery light-brown eyes. “Maureen and I were watching television in the living room. As soon as I turned it off so we could head to bed, we hadn’t placed one foot on the stairs before our front door was blasted open. I was so startled I almost fell. Three men came inside and ordered us onto the ground as they held guns.”
“Were they wearing masks?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No. The taller of the three went after me first, hitting me over the head and telling me to shut the fuck up, and if I called the cops, he’d put a bullet in Maureen’s head. Then he asked where the safe was and the combination. So I told him. I just wanted those animals out of my house.”
“Maureen must have had a delayed reaction or something, because she started screaming as loud as she could. One of them kicked her in the ribs, then the head. I got up and grabbed the baseball bat I kept behind the door and took a swing at him. He grabbed it from me, and hit me with it. I blocked it with my arm.” He holds up his slinged arm.
I cringe. Poor guy.
“Then, he hit Maureen in the head with the bat. She immediately went unconscious. While they ransacked the house, I called 911 from my cell phone that was in my pocket. They took everything in the safe and a box of real silverware passed down to my wife from her parents. She’s gonna be so upset when she wakes up.”
“How much did they take, Mr. Larsen?” I ask as I jot down notes on my notepad.
“I had eight thousand in the safe, and some jewelry, that Maureen is also going to be upset about. Her mother’s wedding ring, and a few other things.”
I lift Lance Johnson’s bank employee photo out of my purse and show it to him. “Is this one of the men?”
He takes it from me and pulls his reading glasses from the front pocket of his shirt. He studies it a long time before saying, “I’m not sure.” He hands the photo back to me.
“You identified him from a group of photos the police showed you.”
He looks up at me and removes his glasses. “All those guys were in orange jumpsuits. This guy’s in a tie.”
“Right, so that made a difference in identifying them for you?”
He shrugs. “I’m not sure. This guy”—he points at the photo in my hand—“doesn’t look like any of the ones they showed me. Plus, it was dark. I only can say that two were White and one was Black.”
“Did you see what kind of car they got into?” I ask, even though it’s in the report. I want to see if his memory is the same as that night.
He nods. “Yes, a small dark green car. I remembered some of the license plate and I think that’s how they got the other two.”
He’s right, it is.
“Very well,” I say. I stand and put the notebook and photo back into my oversized purse.
Mr. Larsen stands as well.
“Thank you for your time, sir. I’m very sorry about what happened to you. I hope we can find the third guy, and I’ll say a prayer for your wife that she gets better.”
His eyes fill with tears. “I appreciate that. You really don’t think that Lance guy did it?”
“I’m not sure,” I reply. “That’s why I’m here. If he didn’t, he doesn’t deserve to go to prison for something he didn’t do. If he did, well, then, I hope he gets prosecuted fully. In the meantime, we have to be sure. You understand?”
He nods. “That makes sense. I’ll try harder to remember what he looked like. He was kind of off in the background, you know? One of the White guys was the one who hurt me and my wife with the baseball bat while the others took the valuables and cash.”
“I understand.” I squeeze his hand and leave the hospital, fairly sure the police have the wrong guy.
