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“Name?”
“Sammy Sharons,” he immediately replied, talking desperately. “I swear this was all a mistake. I didn’t want to…god, I don’t even know what I was thinking. I can’t kill someone!”
“Why don’t you start from the beginning, Mr. Sharons? Who and where did you find this man who hired you?”
“I was trolling on the internet, looking for odd jobs. I’ve been out of work for a few months, you see, and I needed money…bad. My ma’s not doing well.” He swallowed, and the nerves seemingly made him shake. “I got on the dark web cause sometimes you can find someone willing to pay big bucks for weird shit like feces or stuff. But for some reason, the prices have been shit lately. That’s when I saw that someone was going to pay a hundred thousand dollars to get rid of her.” He couldn’t look at me but
motioned his chin toward me. “They had her name, picture, everything. I thought it was a joke at first, but then I was desperate, so I reached out.” He ducked his head in shame. “I swear I would never have even responded if I didn’t need the money desperately.”
“So, how do you know it’s a guy?” Officer Simmons asked.
The man shrugged. “I don’t. It could have been a woman, but I just assumed it was a man. Anyway, I talked to him, and he seemed legit. Even sent me ten thousand dollars in cash to prove it. And he told me that he would send me the rest once the job was completed.” The man started weeping in loud, raucous sobs. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have even considered it, but I really needed the money.”
The officers glanced at each other and then back at the assailant as if they weren’t quite sure what to do with the weeping man. I knew this must have been a really weird case for them. And I was also sure they didn’t believe it. Things like that happened in the movies or in big cities. Not here in the backwoods.
“There’s something else,” Nick added. “A few weeks ago, someone tried to run her over with a car in the parking lot.”
Both officers turned simultaneously to regard Nick. “Was this here too?”
“No,” he said. “This was when I went to visit my aunt in Amber.”
“Did you report the incident?”
He shook his head. “At the time, we thought it was an accident, but now it appears it was intentional. The guy didn’t even stop and kept going. And about a week before that, I thought I saw someone lurking at her home.”
The officers turned back to the man on the ground. “Was that you?”
He shook his head in denial. “I only spoke to the guy a few days ago. But there could have been other people who saw the ad and were interested. Not everyone can turn down a hundred grand.”
“So someone really wants me dead….”
Everyone turned to me. Even though it seemed like the voice was coming from far away, I realized then that I was the one talking.
I glanced at Nick, feeling like I was going to have a panic attack. I thought about all the other times I felt like I was being followed or thought I heard something. I thought about how many opportunities they could have had to hurt me.
And then I thought about my daughter.
“Oh god, Violet.” I saw the thought occur to Nick at the same time it occurred to me, and just like that, we were both running toward his car.
“Wait,” Officer Simmons called out. “We’re not done with the interrogation.”
“Figure it the fuck out. We’ve told you everything we know,” Nick growled as he entered the driver’s door. I didn’t even think about going to my car, figuring I could come back for it later. I was already calling the babysitter, my heart squeezing with anxiety as the phone rang. The minute Amy picked up the call, I was a ball of nerves.
“Hello?”
“Amy, is Violet still there? Are you guys okay?”
“Yes, Ms. Moon. Violet’s here, and we’re just watching TV. Do you wanna talk to her?”
“Later. Right now, I want you to lock all the doors and windows in the house. Do you hear me?”
“What? Why?”
“Just do it, okay? And don’t unlock it for anyone else until we get there. And just be on alert.”
“Alright. I’ll do that.”
“Thanks,” I said and hung up. Nick also happened to be on the phone, and he hung up at the same time as me.
