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She stepped asideto make way for them. As Jessie passed by her, she noted that Raylene Florencehad a very diffident way about her. She was wearing gray sweatpants and a navysweatshirt without any logo. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, andshe wore glasses. She carried herself with a meekness that was reinforced byher apartment.
The entire placewas a collection of inoffensive choices, from the standard issue, IKEA-stylefurniture to the bland floral prints on the walls. It was hard to tell yet ifthese was Florence’s personal style or just a woman in her mid-twenties doingthe best she could within her budget.
“Thanks for seeingus so late,” Jessie said, stepping into the living room and taking a seat on ahard-backed wicker chair. Ryan took the matching chair and Florence sat on theedge of the adjoining loveseat.
“Of course,” shereplied. “I was a little surprised to hear from you because I already talked tothose other detectives but if it helps, I’m happy to tell you what I can.”
“As I mentioned onthe phone, we’re taking over the case from them,” Ryan said. “We’ve read yourstatement in their report but just wanted to review a few things.”
Raylene Florencenodded and waited for their questions.
"So, just tobe clear, you worked with Clarissa Langley?" he began.
“More forher than with her,’ Florence explained. “I’m an administrative assistant at themarketing firm she worked for, Creative Concepts West.”
“Our understandingis that Ms. Langley was a senior executive at the firm.”
“That’s right,”Florence confirmed. “She was one of the top people there.”
“So why were yougoing to her home?” Ryan wondered.
"She had abig presentation the next day," Florence explained. "Normally shewould have just stayed at the office, but I was told that she was feeling rundown so she decided to work from home that afternoon. Apparently, she calledand said she'd left some materials at her desk. It wasn't pressing but shewanted someone to drop them by that evening. I was assigned to do it."
“This was lastnight, Wednesday,” Ryan noted. “The police report said you arrived aroundseven, right?”
Florence nodded.
“And ourunderstanding is that she called to request her materials around 3 p.m. thatafternoon?” Ryan continued.
“I didn’t get thatcall,” Florence said. “I was just told to take over her stuff. But if that’swhat they said, then I’m sure it’s right.”
“And she wasalone?” Jessie asked, even though she knew the answer.
“Yes,” Florencereplied. “I didn’t know it at the time but apparently her husband had takentheir son out of school early that day. They spent the afternoon downtownbefore going to an L.A. Clippers game, so she had the place to herself.”
“And youdiscovered the body, correct?” Jessie reconfirmed.
“Yes,” Florenceanswered. “When I got there, I rang the bell, but she didn’t answer. I knockedon the front door too but still didn’t get a response. I knew she was homebecause I recognized her car from work. It was in the driveway. I thought maybeshe was in the bathroom or something, so I waited a little bit and called heron her cell. I could hear her ringtone coming from inside. I started to getworried that something was wrong. I knew it was a little weird, but I walkedalong the side of the house, peeking in. That’s when I saw her lying on thefloor. So I called 911.”
“And this is howyou found her?” Ryan asked, holding out his phone to show her an image taken bythe crime scene folks.
It showed ClarissaLangley, thirty-nine, still in the black skirt and beige blouse she’d worn towork that day, lying on her side in her bedroom. Her sleek black hair partiallyobscured her face. Raylene Florence glanced at it for a second, nodded, then lookedaway quickly.
“What was shelike?” Jessie asked, her soft tone suggesting she was more interested ingetting Florence’s personal impressions than something official.
“I mean, I didn’tknow her super well,” she replied. “I know that she was considered great at herjob, a real shark. No one wanted to cross her.”
“Did people resenther for that?” Jessie pressed.
“I’m sure theydid,” Florence admitted. “I don’t want to speak ill of the dead or anything,but she could be pretty harsh. She reamed me out more than a few times, notalways fairly in my opinion.”
“Did you evernotice anyone in particular who mentioned animosity toward her?” Ryan wanted toknow.
Florence thoughtabout it for a moment.
“There may havebeen people who did, but they never directly said so,” she said. “Everyone Ispoke with was more like me. We just tried to avoid her so as to not incur herwrath.”
“So you must nothave been that psyched to be selected to take her the work stuff,” Jessiesuggested.
