Sophia’s Point Of View
“Bystanders say you were in a vicious argument with the deceased.”
Penelope was the deceased. I was going to be sick.
I kept my gaze focused on the pane of glass behind the officer as I responded.
“I won’t talk without my lawyer present.”
“You do realize this doesn’t make you seem innocent.” He said, slamming his fist on the table.
I wasn’t certain if an officer was allowed to allow his frustration to show so obviously but I guess his patience had worn thin after questioning me for close to five hours only to receive several variations of the same answer.
“I have nothing to say without my lawyer present.” I said evenly, my eyes still on the glass.
Looking away from the glass would mean looking at the officer, at the gruesome pictures on the table of a dead Penelope who would never sip tea daintily.
Nausea bubbled up within me and only focusing on my parting words with Reid kept me strong.
The moment the police had stated their intent of arresting me, he’d embraced me tight, his voice low as he spoke in my ear.
“Don’t say anything until I get our lawyers there.”
I was quivering in his arms, still submerged in shock.
“I didn’t do it.” I whispered.
“I know,” Mr Prescott, said kissing the side of my head. “You are too innocent.”
The officer stabbed his finger at the picture on the table.
“Did you have help dragging her into the pool?”
My eyes moved to the picture on instinct before I could stop myself.
Penelope’s hair was dark against the white marble, her neck twisted at an awkward angle, her eyes wide and blank.
She was still wearing the dress she’d worn to the bar.
Nausea built up in my throat and I gagged before looking away. How could she be dead?
How? She had been fine at The Bar. We’d been wishing each other the best and now she was dead? If I had stayed longer, could I have prevented her death?
How could anyone even want to kill Penelope? Daphne might have been the one to invite here but I really didn’t think Daphne was the sort of person to murder anyone.
No, she was too cold blooded. She seemed like the sort to take her time rendering a person helpless before completely obliterating them. Besides, Penelope was no longer her adversary, I was.
In movies, the next probable suspect would be Mr Prescott, the man whom she had betrayed but that was also impossible.
Mr Prescott wasn’t a murderer and most importantly, he’d been with me all through.
As for Jerry, I didn’t know if he was still in contact with Penelope but even if he had been, he was currently an ocean away facing lawsuits from Kate or so Jill had mentioned at the last party.
My head swam with many thoughts none of which explained what could have happened to Penelope.
“All this can end with the truth,” The officer said drawing my attention back to reality. “Your confession, Mrs Prescott.”
I met his gaze unflinchingly.
“I didn’t do it.”
The officer didn’t seem to believe me.
He tilted his head to the side somewhat curiously.
“In that case, did you pay someone else to do it?” He said with a deceptively mild tone. “We know you recently tried to withdraw a large sum of money in cash. What did you use it for?”
My jaw dropped. How did they know about that? Surely they didn’t want to use the transaction with Dad as a justification for me paying someone to kill Penelope?
“That was for-”
My words were cut short by the abrupt arrival of a stout middle aged man in a crisp suit and a crisper attitude.
“Monitoring my client’s financial affairs isn’t a part of your jurisdiction.” He said by way of introduction before taking his seat next to me.
I didn’t recognise him as a part of Mr Prescott’s legal team but since we were in a different country, it was only normal that he had to outsource a lawyer.
The officer didn’t seem too pleased to see my lawyer, it would seem he had a ruthless reputation.
My lawyer grinned a shark’s grin. All teeth, no warmth.
“You may direct all the questions you have for my client to me.”
I was left astonished at how neatly my lawyer counteracted everything the officer asked and before long, the officer excused himself leaving me and my lawyer alone.
“Thank you.” I told him.
He simply shrugged in response.
“It’s my job. We’ll have you out of here soon.”
We. He and Mr Prescott. For the first time, I wondered how Mr Prescott was holding up. It wasn’t just a murder accusation against his wife, it was the murder of a woman he had loved deeply.
A woman who his last interaction with had been curt and cold. Did he regret not finding closure with Penelope before her passing?
“In exchange for her help, Mrs Isle Terrence expects your full cooperation in finding Lawrence Evergreen.” The words of the lawyer shocked me out of my thoughts for a moment and I stared at him blankly.
“Mrs Terrence’s help?” I echoed.
Isle Terrence. Wasn’t that Rita’s mother in law? The one that had called me a social climber and tried to humiliate me? Alarm bells went off in my head.
“You mean Reid didn’t send you?”
The lawyer smiled and now that it wasn’t being used in my defense, I couldn’t help but cringe a bit at his shark’s smile.
“Reid Prescott’s lawyers will not be able to get you out of this,” He said matter of factly with his hands spread empathically. “Someone seems to be going through a lot of trouble to make sure you get convicted for this murder.”
I’d thought it was unusual how long the interrogation had gone on without the intervention of my own lawyer despite my numerous demands for one.
But hearing it for sure was still disconcerting. Why would anyone want to pin Penelope’s murder on me?
And what on earth did Mrs Terrence want with Father so much so that she wanted to help out someone she detested?
The lawyer watched me carefully as though he could tell the direction in which my thoughts were going.
“I am currently your only way out of this, Mrs Prescott.”
I folded my arms combatively. Just because I was in a tough situation with no alternatives didn’t mean I had to agree to everything being told to me.
“Why would she help me? What does Isle Terrence want with my father?”
The lawyer tilted his head to the side, his sharp gaze not missing a thing.
“Mrs Terrence’s business isn’t any concern of yours, Mrs Prescott.”
“I won’t help you blindly,” I stated blandly. So many things didn’t feel right with this situation. I didn’t know how Penelope died but I would get some answers on this at least.
“Explain what is going on in detail or I will wait for Mr Prescott’s lawyers.”
Isle Terrence’s lawyer looked at me for a few seconds after I stated my ultimatum then he stood up.
Wait, he was actually going to leave? Just like that?
He stopped when he reached the side of my chair before tucking his head in, speaking in a low voice I could barely pick up.
“I would have thought you of all people would want your father found.”
I looked up at him with wide eyes. What was he implying? How much did Mrs Terrence know about Father’s abusive tendencies?
I decided to play dumb.
“Why would I want my father found?”
The lawyer’s lips tipped up into a tiny smirk.
“Aren’t you curious as to why he killed Penelope?”
****
Hours later, there was no longer a case against me.
Jeffrey Sands, Mrs Terrence’s lawyer not only cleared my name but he also got the officers to apologise to me and revoke the stay they had put on my visa.
He was truly a terrifying man.
“Nice doing business with you,” He said taking my hand in a firm handshake. “I’ll be in touch.”
I sincerely hoped Jeffrey Sands and I would never have a cause to be in touch ever again but at the same time, I knew I would never be content until I discovered the whole truth.
Was Jeffrey right? Had Father truly killed Penelope? If he had, why? Was it a setup to pay me back for his humiliation at our last meeting?
Chills ran through me at the thought. My father was abusive but thinking of him as someone capable of murder was a scary thought.
Once the interrogation by the officers was done, Mr Sands took me to the station’s cafeteria where he drilled me thoroughly on Dad asking me all sorts of questions from the last time I saw him down to his favourite foods.
How it would help him with finding Father was lost to me but I could have cared less when the moment I stepped out of the station, there Mr Prescott was waiting for me.
His eyes locked on me immediately after I stepped out and he rapidly closed the distance between us.
“Mr-” I had barely gotten the word out of my lips when Mr Prescott embraced me tightly as though he thought I was going to disappear on him.
I stood still surprised. Was it just me or was Mr Prescott trembling?
Had my arrest really affected him that much?
Mr Prescott ended the hug but he remained close to me and in those gray eyes, I had never seen more trepidation.
Mr Prescott cupped my cheek wiping away a tear I hadn’t even been aware had fallen.
“Let’s go home.”