The Murder Of 1998

Chapter Thirteen

"He was so kind to us," Cheryl LaBelle whispered with her hands holding onto the kitchen counter. Walter looked down at his red notepad to look at all the information he wrote down beforehand about the family. How they had immigrated to America from France in 1990. But the main question wasn't answered.

Why did they leave their country so suddenly?

"When was the last time you guys saw him?" Seth asked. Cheryl looked at the calendar that hung on the fridge. She slid her finger onto the name of the month, squinting at it.

"Six months ago,"

"And what for?"

"My husband... he needed help with money. So he went to Joe for help and being the good man he was, he helped my husband."

Walter was always good at spotting a liar. He always checked their movements and face every time he suspected they were telling a lie. And he wasn't afraid to call people out on their bullshit. Seth wasn't like that, however. He was a very passive man. Not aggressive like his partner sometimes was.

"Interesting..." Walter whispered as he wrote down the words 'LIAR' in big letters that took up most of the paper. He nudged his partner and showed it to Seth who just frowned.

It was the way she kept moving her light brown hair behind her ear, even when it wasn't in her face.

Seth gently tapped his finger on his thigh. "My partner is telling me that you're lying, Mrs. LaBelle. Mind telling me what the real reason for visiting him was?"

The woman furrowed her eyebrows, looking confused at him. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"You might wanna invest in a hair tie," Walter chimed in. Cheryl turned her gaze to the detective who was faintly smiling at her. "One way to spot a liar is to look at their movements. You have tucked your hair behind your ear nine times since we've walked through those doors. You seem nervous about something. Maybe you should tell us."

There was a few seconds of silence. Cheryl looked at the clock that read seven-twenty pm. She sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know. My husband went to him to help with his money problems. That is all I know."

"Remember, your daughter was murdered. Anything you tell us can only help us find her murderer. Even the smallest details that don't seem that important."

Cheryl felt hesitant to tell the two detectives anything else. She looked conflicted.

"No. I have nothing else to say."

You fucking liar.

"Now if you two could please leave. My husband and I have to get ready for the funeral tomorrow."

Seth nodded his head and pulled Walter along with him.

"Have a great day!"

-x-

Seth closed the door behind him. He was going to have to resume the investigation the next day. He looked at the time on the wall. It was almost ten. The sky was already dark and so was the house. He made his way up the stairs, tired from the argument he had with Walter about respecting people.

He pushed the door open to his bedroom to spot his wife laying on the bed. He nearly had a heart attack when he mistook her red night gown for blood. His eyes wondered over to the book in her hands, remembering that Emily was reading a book when she died.

Evelyn looked up at her husband from the book she was reading. She smiled.

"Hi, honey. How was work?"