Love Vs Murder

Chapter twenty two: To Confess

Against his wishes, Antonio sat with his back against the flimsy chair inside the bare interrogation room. He hadn't waved his right to remain silent, but the investigators wouldn't take no for an answer. Their interrogation techniques and sly comments weren't enough to crack Antonio. He was rock solid. He gazed up at the round clock hanging on the wall ahead of him.

It had been hours of them coming to and from the room, checking to see if he was ready to babble yet. His first request entering the room was for them to get in touch with his lawyer. Since then, he hadn't opened his mouth to say a word. It was apparent that they were in no rush in notifying Antonio's attorney.

The culprit of it all pushed open the door, shutting it behind him. A clipboard tucked under one arm, he used his free hand to scoot the second chair from under the small table to sit in. He groaned aloud, keeping eye contact with Antonio as he set the clipboard down.

"I wanted to come in here and apologize to you for the way that I was behaving before. I'm usually a nice guy. So, let's start over," He proposed, "My name is Detective Marshall. You can call me Marshall if it makes you more comfortable."

"I asked for my lawyer almost four hours ago," Antonio said sternly.

"I know but I'm trying to give you a chance to talk. All of this can be over with just like that," Detective Marshall said with a snap of his fingers, "It takes longer when you don't cooperate." He tried to sound as convincing as possible.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I need my lawyer." Antonio stood on it.

Detective Marshall leaned forward with his finger pointed straight at Antonio, "You seem calm, cool, and collected on the outside but on the inside I know you're fucking panicking. The shit that happened with those guys at the abandoned house, that's terrifying. That could cost you everything but I promise once you start talking and get it all off your chest, you'll feel like a weight has been lifted off of you." He reeled himself back into his chair, "I can help you Antonio, but you have to help me out a little. Let's end this now."

"If I'm arrested for unpaid traffic tickets then why are you even questioning me about something that has nothing to do with that?" Antonio replied.

"Because Antonio, we know. You have a huge reputation out here. People talk, man. We just need your side of the story."

"This is a violation of my rights. I already told you I don't want to talk to you and my lawyer still isn't present. I don't have any information for you and I'll be damned if you twist my words around to incriminate me. For the final time, I need my lawyer." Antonio didn't let up.

Marshall glared at him as if he were imagining himself strangling Antonio, "You're a lot smarter than you look." He muttered as he stood up to exit.

"You just go do what I told you to do." Antonio shot back.

Detective Marshall went out the door. As much as Antonio wanted to drop his head down on the table and take a deep breath, he refrained from it. The camera in the corner of the room indicated that they were still watching him, waiting for him to crumble. He could care less about how much they hounded him. He just kept thinking about Celia and Cameron. He looked back up at the clock to see that it was just a few minutes past one o'clock in the afternoon.

In the morning, before leaving Celia's home, he told her he'd be picking her up at one thirty and promised that she'd have a ring on her finger to show Cameron by the time school let out. Now, that wouldn't happen and there was no telling how upset Celia would be once he showed. He made a note to himself to tell Celia everything if she even wanted to see him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Celia phoned Antonio for a third time, getting his automated voicemail like before. One thirty was approaching rapidly. In the twenty minutes, she had been trying to reach him he didn't reply to any text messages or call back. It was unusual for him. The line beeped and Celia ended the call, tossing her cell phone over on the couch. She grew agitated wondering where Antonio could have been. He was never late for anything he planned. Being early was his forte.