Liz's Secret

Liz’s Secret
“Are you implying that I murdered my own husband?”
“We’re just trying to get an accurate picture of what happened, Mrs. Inglestein. Would you please recount to us in detail the events as they occurred this last Friday and Saturday?”
“I’ve already explained this to officer Desjardin twice. How many times do I have to repeat myself?”
“As often as you are asked, ma’am. Now would you please relate the story for official record?”
“Fine. I got off work around two early Saturday morning and...”
“Please state for the record your employer and occupation.”
“Uh, is that really necessary?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
*sigh* “Fine, I’m a bartender at Stogie’s.”
“Go on”
“Ok, as I was saying, I got off work, and when I arrived home, I...”
“Please state for the record your place of residence.”
*glare* “953 Aqua Drive, Middletown, Ohio. Anything else you’d like to know before I continue? Social security number? Blood type? Mother’s maiden name?”
“I’ll be the one asking the questions. Continue with your story.”
“Fine. When I arrived, my husband wasn’t in bed like he usually is, so I looked around to see if I could find him. When I saw him, he was lying on one of our patio chairs by the pool. He looked so peaceful... *chokes back a sob* I figured he was sleeping. I saw...”
“What time was it when you found him?”
“Oh, I don’t know, around 2:45 in the morning, something like that. I saw...”
“Did you check his vitals then?”
“No, like I said, I thought he was sleeping. I saw a wine glass on the ground, and picked it up and put it in the dishwasher, grabbed a blanket from the closet, put it over him so he would be warm, and went to bed.”
“So he was still alive when you went to bed?”
“YES... Uh, NO... I don’t know, I thought he was sleeping, I told you that already!”
“A simple yes or no answer will do. Are you stating that the wine glass was empty when you got home? You didn’t pour him any wine, perhaps with something to help him sleep?”
“NO, he was sleeping when I got home! How many times do I have to say that?”
“Continue.”
*sigh* Fine, I woke up the next morning and started getting ready for...”
“What time did you wake up?”
“9:30. I started getting ready for school, and...”
“Please state for the record what school you go to.”
“Ohio State. I have a 10:30 English class on Saturdays, my teacher is Mr. Headson, I have an “A” in his class, and my GPA is 3.25, anything else you’d like to know?”
“You have school on a Saturday?”
“So I can work through the week. SO, as I was saying, I was finished getting ready for school, and I went out to the patio to kiss him goodbye and...” *chokes back sobs* “When I leaned down to kiss him, his lips were so cold... I tried to wake him up, but he wasn’t breathing, and he was so cold, and hard, like a statue, and... My husband is DEAD, and I didn’t kill him! I loved him more than anything! How can you do this? Why can’t you just let me grieve in peace?”
“Ma’am, I need you to stop crying and continue your story. What did you do next?”
“How can you be so cold-hearted? You know the rest of the story anyway. I called 911, the police and ambulance came, and took away the body. They put that awful crime scene tape all around my lovely home, forbid me to touch anything in my own house, and you assholes started asking questions and throwing around accusations.”
“No-one has been named as an official suspect yet, ma’am. These questions are all part of a normal homicide investigation.”
“You think I killed him, though. I can see it in your eyes. All of you think I’m some heartless woman after his insurance money. I don’t care about the money, I just want my husband back!” *starts sobbing uncontrollably*

“In local news, Mrs. Elizabeth Inglestein was convicted of killing her husband in cold blood. The well-known John Inglestein, who was an upstanding member of the community, was poisoned by his wife of three years. Mrs. Inglestein was sentenced to thirty years in prison.”

“Here are your belongings, ma’am, you are free to go.”
“Thank you, Officer Adams.”
“Where will you go first?”
“There’s a small pond hidden away in the woods behind my house. My husband and I used to go there to relax and enjoy nature. I’ve really missed the serenity of that place.”
“Sounds peaceful. Your sister is waiting in the lobby for you. Enjoy your freedom!”
“Thanks. Hi Lynn!”

Finally, I’m free! I’m so glad they let out people early for good behavior. I feel so old though. My sister is married, and has kids in school now. There’s a different president, and the country is at war. I was aware of all these things while in prison, but it’s like dreaming them, and then suddenly waking up to find the dream is real.
My sister didn’t take very good care of my back yard. I gave her the house so it would be preserved, but obviously she doesn’t care about the beauty of nature. Oh well. It’s not too bad, and if I just push aside this branch, and move that vine out of the way I think I can still make it through... There, I can see the pond already. If I can just get this branch unhooked from my ankle...
Wow, I hardly recognize this place. There are so many vines and weeds everywhere. And trash too! Someone left a wine bottle next to our bench. Hmm, that is odd; it looks like there is a piece of paper inside of the bottle. I wonder what it’s from. Why, it’s a letter, addressed to me! It’s in John’s writing, and I can almost hear his voice as I read the smudged letters:

Dearest Liz,
I’m sorry I’ve been so dista-- -ecently. I’ve had a lot on m- -ind. You’ve been so busy recently, that I wonder if y-- --en noticed. Th--e is something that I ha-- been wanting to tell you for w---s now, but I just don’t have the heart to s-- -- -- your face. So I’m writing you this to ease my t---bled thoughts.
I know that you usually do --- -aundry, but I thought that I wo--- do it one day to try to be helpful. As I was sorting through the clothes, I found an extraord---ry amount of lingerie, incredibly sexy out--ts that I’ve never seen you wear. I finally realized what has been going on in our mar--age right under my nose... I don’t know why I didn’t see it so--er. You never have time for me; you work very late at night, until after two in the morning. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I called Stogie’s to see if you were there one night. They had never even heard of you. The only obvious answer is that you are having an affair, and have b--- for most of our marriage.
You can’t begin to understand how this breaks my heart. I simply can’t continue living like this. Life without --ur love is pointless. So I’m saying goodbye. I’ve made sure that you’ll have plenty of money, and be well cared for in my absence. Pl--se know that I will love you until my last breath.

John

I can hardly breathe. How could this be? I vowed that one day I would find John’s murderer and get revenge, but I never thought... I can’t even bring myself to think it. I should have paid more attention to him, should have shown him that I loved him. But most of all, I shouldn’t have kept such a big secret. But I was so ashamed! I just couldn’t tell him! And I couldn’t stop, the attention is so addicting, and the money is good... It never even occurred to me that he would be so broken hearted! I just didn’t want him to be angry... I loved being an exotic dancer. Now he’s dead... and it turns out that I’m the killer after all. My secret killed him. And now it’s killed me.