Walking the Gallows ✔️

Chapter 16

Brian POV

He had to admit, it did surprise him that he hadn't cracked yet. After several days being behind bars, not once did he show the slightest bit of guilt. It didn't make any sense, he had to be guilty. What made it harder for Detective Brian Miller to digest was the fact that he was starting to also sway the psychiatrist, Courtney.

She was a lovely woman. She had been his brother's wife before he had died. Brian swore to take care of her soon after the tragedy. However, she was not ready to start working with criminals. He knew it had been a mistake to suggest the idea to her after seeing her interaction with Andy. Maybe she could deal with the common folk for her job, but mass murderers and violent criminals were sneaky and could easily sway her. Had he been in her position, he probably would have been persuaded too. After a while of watching them discuss his life the day before, he found it hard to remember just why he was a suspect in the first place.

"Are you ready?" Brian yawned while speaking. It was way too early to conduct an interview but perhaps it made sense.  If Andy were to wake up early and be tired, it could lead to a breakthrough. His mind would be slower and his thoughts, unguarded. If he was putting up a front, surely he wouldn't be able to keep up a lie.

"Absolutely," she enthusiastically stated, her face betraying her words with an apathetic look. He chuckled slightly as he opened the door for her. She walked out confidently, notebooks in hand.

He watched from the other side of the two-way mirror as she put her papers down onto the interrogation table. She looked up for a moment to smile at him although she would only be able to see a mirror instead. It was at that moment Brian realized how much she had aged since losing her husband. The smile had only accentuated the bags under her eyes and the lines that ran across her skin. She was deeply tired. Even though it was four o'clock in the morning, he wondered why she was so tired. Had she been up the night before working on the case? Was she expecting some kind of unanticipated development in the session?

His skepticism was confirmed when he saw the interaction between her and Andy as he walked in with a guard. She didn't stand up or smile at him like she had the day before. There was not an ounce of friendliness in her appearance. Brian folded his arms knowingly. She was planning something.

The guard left the room and joined Brian on the other side of the two-way mirror standing beside him.

"Sorry, Matthew. Could you stay outside the interrogation room just for a little while longer? Sampson will be there too." The guard was nice enough to do as he was asked. He waited as he was told. Something told Brian things were not going to end well.

Looking back to the scene in front of him, he noticed that Andy was tired as planned. He yawned consistently and he had dark circles around the bottom of his eyes that were much deeper than usual. Neither he or Courtney had spoken a word to each other since coming into the room. It was uncomfortable to witness.

"I'm still not allowed to take the cuffs off?" Andy asked suddenly. His hands were bound in front of him and tied to the center of the table he sat behind.

"I'm afraid not," she said, an unwavering expression of sternness still plastered over her. Without uttering another word, she lifted herself from her seat and walked towards the audiotape recorder. Andy seemed startled by her unexpected movement. He watched her carefully with distrust clear in his eyes.

"Andy," she started. "In order for me to do my job well and prove that you're innocent, I need you to do something for me. Do you understand?" He didn't answer. Instead, he timidly nodded. Brian was even more worried. Courtney hadn't said what she had planned for the session, but he had envisioned pretty much exactly what had happened the day before. It would have consisted of friendly conversation and questioning. There was something so much more psychologically challenging happening and he didn't like it. Even in her most stressful moments, she had never been so serious.