“How do you think Scarlet learned about your history?”
“I don’t know, exactly. If you were familiar with the case and thought I might be that Luna, then spent a lot of time online, you might draw that conclusion. It’s not easy. It takes time. My name isn’t supposed to be out there, but there are a few determined bloggers. I don’t know exactly how, but she got there.”
“She sure went to a lot of trouble to expose your secrets. How’d you feel about that?” Oslo asked.
“I didn’t like it. I didn’t like Scarlet. But I didn’t kill her. I don’t even know if I have an alibi. You should talk to Casey Carr. She saw me later that night and she was sober. Well, she was more sober than I was, so she’d be able to give you a better timeline.”
Oslo slid a paper in front of Luna. “Write down her number for me.”
Luna gave the detective the number for Casey’s dorm room.
“Question for you,” Oslo said. “Why didn’t you change your whole name? Might’ve made your life a lot easier.”
“Maybe I didn’t want it to be too easy,” Luna said.
A young woman in uniform opened the door and leaned in. “Luna’s lawyer is here,” the policewoman said.
Oslo turned to the girl and smiled. “That was fast.”
“I don’t have a lawyer,” Luna said.
Owen’s brother walked into the room. Oslo did a double take.
“Mr. Mann, nice to see you again,” Oslo said.
“How long have you been interviewing my client?” Griff said.
Griff gave Luna the what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-you look.
“Not long,” Oslo answered. “Isn’t this a conflict of interest?”
“Look, I’m just trying to keep two morons from accidentally implicating themselves in a suspicious death that they know nothing about.”
“Luna came here of her own accord,” Oslo said. “I have just a few more questions.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Luna,” Griff said. “In fact, it would be better if you didn’t.”
“That’s okay,” Luna said. “I think I’ll stay.”
October 13, 2019
Margot took Dr. Burroughs into the interview room while Noah reviewed the call history on Burroughs’s secret phone.
Sam Burroughs wasn’t what Burns had expected. Not that he was unattractive. He was tall, big, a rough-around-the-edges, traditionally masculine kind of guy. In short, the opposite of Owen. Burns gestured at the camera in the high corner of the room.
“We’re recording this interview,” she said.
“I assumed as much,” he said.
Burns opened her notebook and clicked her pen to attention. “You had to know that your DNA would still be in the victim’s body. Why didn’t you come to us sooner?”
“You haven’t had time to process the toothbrush,” Sam said. “How do you know it’s a match?”
The detective smiled and nodded. She’d have to be careful with Burroughs. “I have a hunch it’s going to match. Am I wrong?”
“No,” Sam said.
“You knew we’d find out about you eventually, right?” Burns said.
“Maybe,” Sam said.
Burns thought he was avoiding eye contact. In reality, he was trying to make sense of a large brown stain on the wall.
“It would have looked better if you came in on your own.”
Sam’s focus turned to the detective. His eyes narrowed. He spoke just above a whisper. “I don’t give a shit how it looks. I’m still getting used to the fact that she’s dead. I was…sad.”
Now that Sam thought about it, he was gutted. He hadn’t had time to feel anything, to think it all through. He would never see Irene again. She wouldn’t be there to commiserate. She wouldn’t be there to— “Were you in love with her?” Detective Burns asked.
“No. I don’t think so. But we were close, and she meant something to me.”
“How long had you and the victim been sleeping together?” Burns asked.
“Don’t call her that. Say her name,” Sam said.
“When did you and Irene begin sleeping together?”
“A year ago, maybe.”
“Did you meet Irene through Luna?”
“No,” said Burroughs. “The other way around. Irene used to bring Leo Whitman in for his appointments. I’d seen Irene a lot over the years. Always liked her. Then, one day, Luna drove Whitman to the appointment. I was trying to figure out who she was to Leo, why she was doing this favor for him.”
“Did you ever find out?”
“The favor was for Irene.”
“Can you elaborate?”
“When Irene’s mother died, she left most of her estate to her daughter. There was a small trust for Leo. Chantal made Irene the executor of that so Leo wouldn’t tear through the funds. Leo and Irene were not close. I got the feeling she really didn’t like him.”
“Do you know why?”
“Irene thought Leo married her mother for the money.”
“So, Luna starts to bring Leo to his appointments, and that’s how you got to know her?”
“I must have asked what she did for a living. She said she worked at Nyteq. I assumed she was using Leo’s appointments to get face time with me, so I was expecting a hard sell. Then, nothing. Luna asked a few questions about Leo’s care and they left.”
“What happened after that?” Burns said.
“I saw Luna at the hospital cafeteria one day. She was chatting with a few doctors. I asked about her. She had quite a reputation,” Sam said.
He almost laughed at the memory. Then he remembered where he was.
“How so?”
“Whenever you’re around a true salesperson, you know it, right? They’re all the same in some way. It takes a certain personality to do that job. Obviously, there are different versions of it. A used-car salesman and a Rolls dealer might comport themselves differently, but, ultimately, their energy is all about the attack. There’s a vigilance to them. Imagine if you walked into a car dealership and said that you were looking to buy and the salesperson said, Are you sure you need a new car? Have you considered buying used? Or if you want to buy a car and you point to a particular one and the salesperson tells you about all its shortcomings.”