“Do you think any neighbors heard it?”
“No, I don’t know, maybe, does it matter?” Judy sniffled. “His landlord lives downstairs, they’re an older couple. I don’t think they’re home this weekend. They cruise all the time, and John feeds their cat.” Judy’s eyes welled up again. “Now he’s gone, I don’t know what’s going to happen, he was so good at taking care of everything, and he was William’s guardian. I don’t know what William’s going to do now, or who’s going to tell him. He doesn’t have anybody but John. The aunt and uncle haven’t been east in years.”
Bennie patted Judy’s hand again. “The police notify next of kin, so let’s stay on point. Do you know his landlord?”
“But I don’t want the police to tell William. They’re strangers.”
“I’m sure the aunt and uncle will then, but talk to me. Do you know the landlord?”
“Yes, I’ve met him a few times.”
“But you didn’t see him today or his wife?”
“No.”
“So you broke up today and you left the apartment at nine o’clock tonight, is that right?”
“About that, I think, give or take.”
“How much give and how much take?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“How do you know that?”
“I don’t know, I don’t remember, I was so exhausted and I think I looked at my phone because I just kept thinking about calling Mary.” Judy looked at Mary, her eyes welling. “I wanted to come over and tell you everything, that John and I were seeing each other and that we just broke up, but I didn’t call you. It was late and I knew that you needed to rest after the doctor’s appointment, and I didn’t want to upset you or stress you, so I just decided to go home.”
Mary groaned. “Aw, honey, I’m so sorry. You know, you can always call me and—”
Bennie interrupted, “Carrier, is that what you did next? You went straight home?”
“Yes, well, not straight home.”
Bennie frowned. “Where did you go?”
“Let me think, I was really upset and I didn’t know what to do”—Judy’s words ran together with emotion—“and I went to this pocket park because it was such a nice night and I just wanted to calm down, but then I knew I had to get home because the dog had to go out, so I got a cab and went home.”
“What time did you get the cab?”
“I don’t know.”
“Was it a Yellow cab or what?”
“Yes, a Yellow.”
“How long did you spend in the park?”
“About an hour, I think.”
“Do you know or are you guessing?”
“Both.” Judy dabbed her eyes.
“Were there other people in the park, that you saw?”
“Yes, a few.”
“Did you talk to any of them?”
“No.”
“Where’s the park located?”
“Around the block. Does it matter?”
“Then you went home?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do when you got home?”
“I walked the dog. I didn’t take him that day, because he was so bad the day before.”
“Did you see any of your neighbors when you were walking the dog?”
“No.”
“And then what happened?”
“I went to bed and I couldn’t sleep, I was so upset and I thought about calling him, like, so many times, I just kept lying in bed staring at my phone.” Judy’s eyes spilled over with tears, and she began to sob again. “And now … I keep thinking what if, what if … what if I had called, that was probably when the killer was there, and I could have stopped it … or interrupted it and if I did then John would still be alive m—”
Bennie squeezed her hand. “Carrier, we need to sort this out. So then what happened?”
“So you called”—Judy squeezed the Kleenex to her nose, stifling her sobs—“and you told me that the reporter called you and told you that John was dead and I totally freaked out and got a cab to go to his apartment. That’s when I saw you on the street, so I got out of the cab and we walked the last block together, then we saw Mary and Anthony, and I just can’t believe this is happening, I just can’t, it’s so horrible and I feel so terrible—”
“Okay.” Bennie patted Judy’s hand in a final way. “I don’t think you should be going into any police interview.”
“Why, I want to—”
“Carrier, that wouldn’t be smart. We know that the police were called to the scene around eleven thirty, so time of death was before then. The medical examiner can’t always fix time of death with certainty, usually there is a window, maybe an hour, maybe two.” Bennie squeezed Judy’s hand. “Do you understand what I’m telling you? You could have been in the apartment around the time of death, as far as we know.”
“So what are you saying, Bennie?” Judy’s eyes flared, wetly.
“I’m saying that you could be a suspect.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Judy recoiled, aghast, but Mary was in agreement, though she didn’t interrupt Bennie.
“Carrier. You were there at the time, so that’s opportunity. We don’t know how he was killed, so we can’t speculate about that, but you have motive.”
“What motive? Why would I kill John? That’s crazy!”
“Think like a lawyer, not like yourself. You were seeing each other for eight months and you were fighting. You could have been overheard by anyone. Neighbors, anybody with an open window.”
“But I would never kill anybody, much less John! I loved him!” Judy’s voice broke with agony.
“Think about it from the police perspective. They don’t know that, they don’t know you. You get in a fight, maybe you lash out, violently. That’s motive.”
Mary interjected, “Even the lawsuit can be motive. John’s statements in the Complaint, and what happened at the press conference—they’ll find out that we weren’t happy with him. Our fight was in public. Judy, the police could think that you went over to talk to him about the lawsuit, you got in a fight, and you killed him.”
“But I would never!”
Bennie turned to Mary. “DiNunzio, where were you at the time of death?”
“I was home with Anthony.” Mary realized that Bennie was checking if she had an alibi, which, thank God, she did. “Where were you, Bennie?”
“I was at a Town Watch meeting from eight o’clock on. That’s where I was when I got the call. Eight witnesses can attest to that.” Bennie returned her attention to Judy, who was trying to regain her composure. “Carrier, you’re the only one of us without an alibi. You can’t walk into that interview unrepresented. It’s too risky. And we can’t represent you because we’re fact witnesses.”
Mary chimed in, “Judy, she’s right, you should let Anthony take you to our house. You shouldn’t be alone this weekend. I’ll go with Bennie, we’ll give our statements, and find out everything we can about what happened to John.”
Bennie nodded, tense. “That’s what I was thinking. The cops don’t expect the entire firm to show up. Two is a good showing. It’ll take time until the cops discover you guys were dating. Hopefully they—or we—find the killer before you become a suspect.”
Judy sagged, lost in her poncho. “Okay, I get it.”
“I’m in.” Mary grabbed her purse and turned to Anthony. “Thanks so much, babe.”
“Sure thing.” Anthony pursed his lips. “You really feel up to this?”
“I’ll be fine,” Mary answered, meaning it. “It won’t take long.”
“Let’s do this.” Bennie reached for the door handle.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mary and Bennie rode up in the elevator of the Roundhouse, having run the gauntlet of press. Mary hadn’t been here as many times as Bennie, so it was unfamiliar, and she felt vaguely nervous. There was a lot at stake, and they had to get as much information possible without giving any, which would be a neat trick. She smoothed down her jacket, trying to look professional in her maternity jeans, which was mission impossible for girls.