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"Alright," Terrance sighed, slumping into his seat. "We were working on the east wing. I guess it was early in the day. I remember a woman, long hair, and a cute white summer's dress that looked too cold for winter. But I swear, I just remember seein' her, that was it. I didn't do anything else."
"Terrance," Amelia began, her tone firm but not unkind, "we know you went to prison for attempted murder when you were younger."
"Look, that was a long time ago," Terrance replied defensively. "I've changed since then, honest."
Amelia nodded and pulled out a photo from the folder she had been carrying. She placed it on the table in front of Terrance, who flinched upon seeing the grisly image of the dead victims.
"Did you have anything to do with this?" Amelia asked, her green eyes searching his face for any sign of guilt.
"God, no!" Terrance exclaimed, his voice shaking. He seemed genuinely upset by the sight, and Finn could see a flicker of remorse in his eyes. "But I do recognize one of them."
"Which one?" Finn asked, curiosity piqued.
Terrance pointed to the image of Dolores Mayweather, a beautiful brunette with a hauntingly vacant expression. "Her," he said hesitantly. "I saw her at the castle when we were working there. I thought she was really attractive and wanted to ask her out, but never got the chance."
"Why not?" Amelia inquired, leaning forward in her chair.
"Because me and the construction crew only worked there for a few days," Terrance explained, his gaze falling to his hands. "We were kicked off the land by the castle owners before I had the chance to talk to her."
"Kicked off?" Finn echoed, exchanging a puzzled glance with Amelia. "Why?"
"Got no idea," Terrance shrugged. "All I know is that one of the workers found something under the east wing—a piece of an old structure or something. We worried it might be archaeological, y'know? Legally, we'd have to stop all work until it's investigated by an expert. But instead of going through all that, they just asked us to leave."
Finn's thoughts raced as he processed Terrance's words. Was it possible that the castle owners had something to hide? What could have been so important that they would rather dismiss the construction crew than allow the proper authorities to investigate?
"Terrance," Finn said, leaning in closer, his blue eyes locked onto the other man's nervous face. "Did anyone else from your crew have any interest in Dolores or the other women?"
Terrance hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "Not that I know of, no. But if I'm being honest, we didn't really socialize much outside of work. So, I can't say for sure. But listen to me, I was at my trailer last night."
"Did you stay inside the entire time?" Finn asked.
"No," Terrance answered. "I went for a walk around the park at about eight PM."
Finn turned to Amelia. "There will be security cams on that trailer park. If they show him there and never leaving the park, there goes our case."
Amelia nodded.
"Alright," Amelia said, straightening up and folding her arms across her chest. "Thank you for your cooperation, Terrance. We'll get someone to contact the caravan site and see if there's footage backing up your story. Until then, I'm afraid you'll need to wait in one of our cells."
Terrance nodded, mournfully.
As they left the interview room, Finn couldn't help but replay the conversation in his mind. Something about Terrance's story didn't sit right with him, and he felt a growing sense of unease as he tried to piece together the puzzle. The problem was not Terrance, it was whoever had kicked them off the site.
"Amelia," he said quietly, glancing over at his red-haired partner. "I can't shake the feeling that there's more going on here than we realize. The castle owners kicking out the construction crew without a proper investigation... it doesn't make sense."
"I feel that, too," Amelia agreed, her brow furrowed in thought. "Edward Keatings should have told us about that. We need to dig deeper, find out what's really happening at that castle."
Finn nodded, determination coursing through him like an electric current. Whatever secrets lay hidden within the walls of the east wing, he was prepared to uncover them—no matter the cost. Then a pang of doubt made itself known as a thought.
There you go, Finn. Throwing yourself into a case again just to avoid your own problems.
He did his best to ignore that train of thought, but the echo of it remained. He did his best to stay present.
"Amelia," Finn whispered, as they exited the dimly lit interview room, "what if we went back to the castle tonight? Checked out this east wing Terrance mentioned?"
"Under the cover of night?" Amelia asked, her emerald eyes glinting with curiosity. "That could work, but we'll need to be discreet."
"Discreet is my middle name," Finn grinned, his tension momentarily eased by the sense of adventure that coursed through him.
