“I don’t want to go to sleep.”
“Well, let’s go back down to the kitchen and maybe get sna—”
“I don’t want to go to the kitchen!” he yells with the rage of a grown man. He smashes his fists down on the bed. The deep scowl has returned. His jaw bulges on the sides.
“Is it fighting?” I remember a phrase Tom Bishop used from his police interviews. “Do you hear bad fighting?”
Michael answers by grunting and writhing on the bed.
“Okay — Tom? I need you to listen to my voice.”
“I’m not going to the kitchen!”
“Listen to me. Just my voice. Your house is fading. Everything is fading around you. Can you hear the rain? The rain is starting to come back, like the volume turned up on your stereo. Can you hear it?”
He is relaxing a little, though his fists remain clenched.
Finally: “I can hear it.”
“Follow my voice, and follow the rain. We’re going to go forward in time. Back to the lake house. Back to Joni. You remember Joni?”
The twitch of a smile. “Yes.”
“Okay. We’re coming back from the past, we’re returning to the present. Right here, right now. From Tom to Michael. You’re at the lake house with Joni. With me, Emily. We’re in Sean’s room. You’re lying in his bed. Now, I’m going to count back from five . . .”
Less than a minute later, Michael is sitting up in the bed, legs off the side. He rubs his temple like his head aches mildly, and he wears a sheepish grin. I offer him some water. He drinks it, and I sit back in the chair, watching him.
Frank Mills, in my head: Everything takes longer than expected.
Yeah, this is going to take a little while.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
POLICE REPORT
INVESTIGATORS R. MOONEY and S. STARZYK
WITNESS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, LAURA AVEENA BISHOP
OCTOBER 27
Mooney: Hi, Mrs. Bishop. Thank you for speaking with us. We know things are . . . it’s really hard right now. But you doing this, while things are fresh. It can really help.
Laura: Is Tom okay?
Mooney: He’s fine. We just talked to him. You’ll see him again in just a few minutes.
Laura: Okay.
Mooney: Let’s just get right to the hard stuff. Get it out of the way. What can you tell us about last night? If you could start with when you came home. You came home from work . . . ?
Laura: Yes. I came home from work.
Mooney: And where do you work?
Laura: In the city. In New York City. In SOHO.
Mooney: You’re an art dealer?
Laura: No. I manage artists.
Starzyk: What is that? If I may ask. Getting paintings sold, or something?
Laura: Sometimes. Arranging gallery shows. Museums. Private events. Coordinating publicity efforts.
[Indistinguishable speaking.]
Starzyk: Anybody I would know about? Banksy or someone like that?
Laura: Kate Morrison. Um, Isaiah Jackson-Smith. Corrine Whitman.
Starzyk: Huh. And you’ve been doing this how long?
Laura: I’ve been with United for five years.
Mooney: United. That’s United Artists Management?
Laura: Okay. I mean, yes. How much longer is this going to take? My son . . .
Mooney: Not long. Your son is fine. He’s just in the other room, playing with some toys. An officer is with him. She’s great with kids.
Starzyk: You were out of work for a while, is that right? You had Thomas, and then raised him for a couple of years?
Laura: I got my master’s, and a few months later, had Tom.
Starzyk: Your master’s. From Cooper’s Union. Very prestigious. What about before that? You’re from Stamford, Connecticut?
Laura: Yes.
Starzyk: What was your childhood like? You grew up with three sisters, and you’re the oldest. Then you did some traveling?
Laura: I went to Europe. To Paris. Italy, England. I spent six months in Costa Rica.
Starzyk: And what were you doing?
Laura: Living. Working. Painting.
Starzyk: Ah, so you’re a painter, too. Any success with that?
Laura: How do you mean?
Starzyk: Shows. Big sales, big commissions. I don’t know how it works. Didn’t Jackson Pollock — didn’t he get contracted to do some big painting for a museum?
Laura: I wanted to get out of Connecticut. I wanted to see some of the world before I went to college. It was a structured gap year. It was planned. I didn’t intend to sell paintings. I was studying with people. Learning craft and technique, but also representation. Management.
Mooney: Did you spot any talent?
Laura: Everywhere. The world is full of talented people. Everyone has a talent for something.
Starzyk: But not everyone is able to make a success out of it. That’s where you come in.
Laura: Not everyone has the same set of circumstances . . . Are we going to talk about who killed my husband?
Mooney: Mrs. Bishop, we’re just trying to establish a little about who you are, for the record. I’m sure it’s no surprise that, in these types of situations, we have to ask the spouse some questions. It’s a very difficult position for you, I know.
Laura: I don’t understand. I’ve told you what happened. I told you I heard David struggling with someone. That they were in the kitchen. It sounded like fighting — like wrestling. My son even said he saw someone sitting outside, in a vehicle . . . Why are you looking at me like that?
Mooney: Mrs. Bishop, Mrs. Bishop . . . please. I understand your frustration. We’ve got your statement, and we’re taking it very seriously. The crime-scene unit is still at your house, gathering evidence. We ask these questions because it’s procedure. We’d ask anyone. Hard as it is to ask, or to be asked.
Starzyk: It’s also relevant, Mrs. Bishop, that there are eyewitnesses of you slapping your husband at a restaurant—
Laura: That’s got nothing to do with this!
Starzyk: —and people who have come forward saying your husband suspected you of having an affair. Someone you met in the city at your art gallery.
Laura: I want to go see my son.
[Chairs scraping. Sounds of movement.]
Mooney: I’m sorry, Mrs. Bishop. I apologize for Detective Starzyk. That was out of line. Let’s just get back to the timeline. Okay? You came home from work . . .
Laura: You want the timeline — I already gave my statement at the house. He wants to know all about my life. The two of you bring up something that happened in a restaurant six months ago, out of context, which has nothing to do with this. What kind of police department is this? I want someone else to investigate this. You haven’t even asked me who I think it might be.
Mooney: Who you think this might be? You have someone in mind for your husband’s murder?
Laura: Jesus Christ, you say it like you’ve already decided I’m guilty.
Starzyk: Please calm down, ma’am. You’re getting very agitated. We asked about the timeline because—
Laura: Fine. I came home from work and picked up my son from the sitter. I took him home. I made dinner in anticipation of David’s arrival. He missed the train and arrived home a half hour later. Okay?
Mooney: At eight p.m.?
Laura: At eight. Yes. We ate, we talked. We—