Treacherous Secrets novel Chapter 19

Carol burst through the front door shortly after the police arrived. "Where's Emily?" she demanded.

Mario pointed to the family room.

Carol ran into the family room and asked Emily, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you again?"

Emily just stared at Carol and said. "He's dead."

"What do you mean, he's dead?" Carol looked over at the police surrounding Kenton's body by the pool.

"You killed him!" she cried.

"No, I didn't kill him," Emily shouted. She looked at Kenton's prone body and then back at Carol. "But I wanted to. I want to kill you!" She stood up and pushed Carol. "How could you? You were supposed to be my friend."

"It just happened," Carol said, dropping her head.

"Bullshit," Emily hissed.

A female police officer rushed over to the pair "What's going on?" she demanded.

"This fucking slut was screwing my husband," Emily growled.

The officer stepped between the two women. "What is your name?" she asked Carol.

"Carol Butler."

"Why are you here?" the officer asked.

"I live a few houses down. I'm married to Emily's cousin, Damon Butler. Kenton had hurt Emily a few nights ago. When I heard the ambulance, I was afraid that he had hurt her again."

"Were you having an affair with the deceased?" the officer asked, obviously having overheard their argument.

"Yes," Carol answered quietly.

The officer motioned for another officer to come into the house from the patio. "Take Mrs. Butler in the kitchen and take her statement. Detective Carter and Detective Jones should be here any minute to take over the investigation."

The other officer, a young man, probably just out of the academy, took Carol by the elbow and led her to the kitchen.

The front door opened and a tall African American man with extremely short hair that was graying at the temples came in, followed by a woman who looked to be a few years younger. She was close to Emily's height, but with an athletic build. Both detectives wore dark button-down shirts under sports jackets and black slacks. The woman had her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. The female officer, who had been dealing with the investigation so far, approached them and gave them a rundown of what they knew so far.

The two approached Emily. The woman spoke first, holding her hand out to Emily. "I'm Detective Janice Carter and this is Detective Harold Jones," she said, pointing to the partner. "We have been assigned to this case because it appears to be a homicide."

Emily nodded.

Detective Carter took a notebook out of her jacket pocket and a pen. She looked up at Emily, "Tell us what happened."

"Of course," Mario said. He gave Emily's shoulder another squeeze and followed Detective Jones out the front door.

The officer who had been in the kitchen with Carol came out. "Mrs. Butler wants to know how much longer it will be before you will be questioning her," the officer said tightly. Emily suspected that Carol was in full bitch mode and driving the poor officer nuts.

Detective Carter looked at Emily. "Who is Mrs. Butler, and why is she here?"

"Mrs. Butler, Carol, was my friend, and she's married to my cousin, Damon. She was apparently having an affair with my husband."

Raising an eye brow, Detective Carter asked, "And she came here this morning?"

"She saw the fire trucks and ambulance coming down here. They just live a few houses up. She said she was afraid that Kenton had beaten me up again."

"So she knew about what happened the other night?

"She was at the party when Kenton showed up. According to her, she had told Kenton earlier that day that she wanted to end the affair. She called me last night in tears, saying she thought it was her fault Kenton had beaten me up because she ended things with him," Emily said bitterly.

Detective Carter pursed her lips and made several notes. She turned to the officer. "Tell her it will be just a few minutes longer."

The officer nodded and went back to the kitchen where Carol was waiting in the doorway. Detective Carter looked up at her. "If you don't mind, Mrs. Butler, please continue to wait in the kitchen with Officer Martin. I'll be in shortly to take your statement."

Carol looked sad and pissed off at the same time. She looked briefly at Emily, who refused to meet her gaze, nodded and went back into the kitchen with the officer.