AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My name is Julia Park.”
“Ms. Park, how long have you known the victim?”
“I’ve known Annisa for almost ten years. We went to graduate school together in Seattle.”
The female officer nodded as she took down the notes. “What made you come to the victim’s house today?”
“Annisa didn’t answer the texts that I sent her, so I wanted to make sure that she was okay.”
“What made you think that something was wrong? Did you consider that she might have been busy?”
“Well, I dropped her off last night after she was released from jail in Monterey, so I wanted to check on her.”
The female officer stopped writing and looked at her partner. “Did you say that she was released from jail yesterday?”
“Yes, the police thought Annisa had something to do with the death of a scuba diving guide in Monterey. However, the police released her when they found that she didn’t have anything to do with Trevor’s death,” I said, speaking for Julia.
“Trevor?” the officer asked.
“Trevor Jones was the scuba diving guide.”
The officer scratched his temple before he said, “I’m sorry, I don’t see how a scuba diving guide fits into the victim’s death. Can you back up and start from the beginning?”
“Let’s see, this past Sunday, we were supposed to go on a dive trip in Monterey Bay through Bay Area Divers. It’s the same company that Trevor Jones was employed by,” I said.
“Is Trevor the victim?” the female officer asked, trying to keep up with our explanations. She looked from Julia to me.
While the female officer thought about her next question, her partner looked at me and asked, “Were you there as well?” From his raised eyebrow, it was clear that he thought it was suspicious that I was there at the scene of the scuba diving guide’s death as well as this one.
“Yes, that’s right. Annisa and I, along with another friend, were signed up for the dive,” I explained while the female officer furiously jotted the information.
“What happened next?” she asked without looking up from her notes.
“Well, before we got our dive briefing, one of the other divers found Trevor’s body behind the bathroom building. The reason why Annisa was taken into custody was that when she went to the police station to confess that the deceased scuba diving guide certified her inappropriately, the police found a message that Trevor was typing to Annisa on his phone.”
“What do you mean by inappropriately?” the male officer asked.
“When Annisa wasn’t able to complete her emergency ascent without breathing through a regulator, Trevor offered to sign off on the task anyway so that she could pass her open water certification.”
“Why would he do that?” the female officer asked.
“He said that he would submit the false paperwork if Annisa would go out on a date with him,” I mumbled quickly.
The female officer’s face turned from being confused to indignant, and she looked at her partner. The two officers looked at each other in amazement while Derrick and Eric seemed entertained and horrified at the same time by the drama. I had to admit that if I hadn’t been there to witness the events unfolding, I would have said that this was too bizarre to be true.
“You said that Ms. Choi was taken into custody?” the female officer asked. When she went to put her notepad away, she lifted her jacket enough for me to spot her name tag.
“Yes, Officer Vega. That’s right. But she was released when the police officers were able to verify that she didn’t have anything to do with Trevor’s death. You can talk to Officers Shin and Frankel with the Monterey Police Department if you want more details.”
Officer Vega nodded her head and stared at us for a few seconds. I wondered if she was going to question us further, but she said, “You guys stick around while I make a phone call.” Then, she jerked her head for the other officer to come with her. As they were walking away, I saw the two officers exchange a look.
“Oh, my goodness!” Derrick fanned his face with one hand. “I can’t believe that poor dear was arrested, too.” He and Eric had been listening with rapt attention, and Eric kept whispering, “Oh my goodness,” as though he couldn’t quite believe that Annisa was gone.
“Initially, she was arrested, but she was never formally charged,” I said, noting the distinction didn’t make a difference. Annisa was dead. The weight of that realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
“Claire, are you okay?” Julia asked when she saw that I was going to faint.
“Tristan, her face is ghostly white!”
